THE DESI DEVOLUTION! ;)

Newspapers have become one of the most depressing ways to start our day! When was the last time you read a full page filled with positive or at least neutral reports? Why is our world filled with so many atrocities? Rapes, terrorism, natural calamities...words which hits us every morning :(  Is it even possible to hope for a beautiful and peaceful world? I hold these words by Andy Dufresne (The Shawshank Redemption) close to my heart.. " Hope is a good thing,and no good thing ever dies.. " :)

I have been reading a prose by Swami Sivananda..and it’s about the Universal Laws. I realize how significant a topic he dealt with in that write up…Especially at this crucial juncture of human evolution! Well, by the word ‘evolution’, I did not mean anything physical :)  It’s all about mental evolution…something that silently yet powerfully determines the course of mankind. In this universe,everything has an order..certain laws govern everything that happens in this mysterious cosmos! And we, being an important part of it..have a greater role to play.

We make contributions in two different levels of existence..one is the physical level and the other, the mental level. Einstein explained universe as a ‘time space cloth’, no? And it is said that each of us affect the structure of this ‘time-space cloth’ in a unique way! Leave it…we have a much greater topic for discussion here!  It’s all about the psyche… And how does it affect our personal lives? How it eventually affects our society, nation and the whole world?

Each and every thought has an effect...that’s why the ‘thought power’ was/is & will be a favorite topic of all self help books!   “Whatever is true in the case of an individual is also true in the case of a nation, for individuals make a nation.  As in small, so in great..”  says ancient Hermes.

So, it all begins with a thought!  The collective thought force of the entire population creates the present and future of a nation. What we think, we become…there is no doubt regarding that. Swami explains..

“The collective Karma of a race or a nation is as much a fact in Nature as an individual one.

The same principles underlying the Karmic laws apply, without much wide difference, to national and collective Karma. Nations rise and fall, empires flourish and are dismembered on the same ground. The wise heads in a nation should not neglect the dominating sway of this law.

“In the midst of a national calamity it is well to remember that nothing can come to us which

we have not deserved. We may not be able to see the immediate cause of the catastrophe, but it does not follow that it took place without sufficient cause…”

It’s high time that we start thinking about the real cause behind all these negativity that has crept in to our nation…and as stated above, nothing happens without a reason. So, what could be the reason? I think, it's cultural disintegration. Do you agree? Every nation has its own culture…and the culture is greatly influenced by numerous factors ranging from geography,religions,standard of thinking…and so on. So, every culture is unique and beautiful in its own way. So 'was' our culture. It was very special and unique in many ways! But, does it even exist now? Only a shadow.

The great poet was right. This culture is all about “unity in diversity” .. But the word ‘development’ was totally misinterpreted by us! India lost its soul when people started aping the west. Western culture is well and good in west. But trying to blindly blend it with our original culture was ignorance. That is nothing but the devolution of culture and tradition. I’m  not talking about the usage of iphones, or wearing the western dress or emergence of townships. I’m focusing on the exploitation of nature in the name of development, the traditional art forms being replaced by pop and rap culture, the traditional food being replaced by KFCs, the total negligence towards spirituality, which was one of the strong pillars of our culture…

Once I was travelling in train..that’s when I met Tom and Sierra. They were from England. I wanted to know their feedback about my country…and this is what they said… “We traveled a lot! India is such a big country..One could travel around England in a couple of days, but this is really impossible in India..we could not even cover a state in two days! It’s a beautiful country with lots of different cultures..the climate is really good compared to England :) We were warmly received by villagers..great hospitality! (Tom tried to remember the name of that place, but he couldn't)  And the food is awesome…we love the spicy food!..” Those were the positives..

Now the flip side.. “ the most disappointing thing was..we noticed a lot of malls, big buildings and KFCs..which is what we get to see in the west…this is not the India we read in books… we came to INDIA to see INDIA..not London or New York ..”  Tom & Sierra hopes to visit India again. Because, they love India. 

So, that sums it up!  We have to preserve what we received from our past..the uniqueness..It is the responsibility of an intelligent population! The new generation kids are forced to speak English even before they learn their mother tongue..They are playing games in ipad instead of playing in rain and mud.. Instead of feeding their young brains with moral values and spirituality, we expose them to violence, sex and all such negativity.. No wonder that our society is filled with anti social elements. We created them. The future is not so bright if things don't change. And it’s even more dangerous when we impart the same attitude to our children. Because, in their hands lie the future of this country. We have to teach them the value of our culture and traditions..we have to teach them how to preserve what we inherited from our glorious past..we have to infuse civic sense and pure nationalism in their minds..Let them learn to be proud of India, the land of great saints, mathematicians and scientists!

Let’s pledge to stay original :) Because, I still believe..the tricolour and Gandhiji continues to be the best ambassadors of my India!  You doubt? Ask Mr.Obama ;) 

“India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped  country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural  heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of  decay.”   
                    - Shashi Tharoor