Wishing India the best with wishes that it finds its idealist roots again, those of Gandhi and Nehru, of bringing progress to villages and not villagers into urban slums, of tolerance not destroying temples and mosques.
On the midnight of August 14, 1947 Nehru said:
"Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance"Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru
That India of freedom, aspirations, ideals Rabindranath Tagore best describes in India’s National Anthem:
Showing posts with label Gandhi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gandhi. Show all posts
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
On Faith
From SarvaShiva, Seattle
"Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother" - Kahlil Gibran
"Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe" - Voltaire
"Reason is our soul's left hand, faith her right" - John Donne
"If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm" - Mahtama Gandhi
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase" Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - St. Augustine
"A man of courage is also full of faith" - Cicero
Why do we despair, agreed times are dire, fears real, but that faith works is also real because these men of great intellect and accomplishment would not embrace faith were it an illusion. Perhaps Faith is capabilities coupled with self-confidence in those, and maybe deployable skills are the only real foundation of faith, separating day-dreams from faith, earned from anticipated or entitled.
"Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother" - Kahlil Gibran
"Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe" - Voltaire
"Reason is our soul's left hand, faith her right" - John Donne
"If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm" - Mahtama Gandhi
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase" Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe" - St. Augustine
"A man of courage is also full of faith" - Cicero
Why do we despair, agreed times are dire, fears real, but that faith works is also real because these men of great intellect and accomplishment would not embrace faith were it an illusion. Perhaps Faith is capabilities coupled with self-confidence in those, and maybe deployable skills are the only real foundation of faith, separating day-dreams from faith, earned from anticipated or entitled.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
BP & Oil-spill, Union Carbide @ Bhopal, same damn thing
25 years ago a careless large company caused an accident that killed 25000 people in an erstwhile Indian kingdom called Bhopal. Now another large company has caused an accident which has not killed as many but it's impact may last as long and spread over a larger geography.
The first one got away, and it seems this one is getting away too.
In India and America rich corporations can buy their way out of trouble, then and now. Media gleefully embellishes the story, Politicians make pronouncements and Corporations go on pillaging people, planet, animals and fish, while we the people look on.
Maybe its time we followed the example of a man called Gandhi who took on the mighty might of a mighty Empire by peacefully fighting for freedom and justice for the common Indian oppressed for 1100 years. Now it's time to fight for the common American. Who will lead the fight - we know it's none of the current Democrats and Republicans, nor Bishops and Televangelists. So who will take this albatross off our necks?
The first one got away, and it seems this one is getting away too.
In India and America rich corporations can buy their way out of trouble, then and now. Media gleefully embellishes the story, Politicians make pronouncements and Corporations go on pillaging people, planet, animals and fish, while we the people look on.
Maybe its time we followed the example of a man called Gandhi who took on the mighty might of a mighty Empire by peacefully fighting for freedom and justice for the common Indian oppressed for 1100 years. Now it's time to fight for the common American. Who will lead the fight - we know it's none of the current Democrats and Republicans, nor Bishops and Televangelists. So who will take this albatross off our necks?
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