Tea or Bar rack anyone?

Oh! Maa,

The 75-days countdown to the Lok Sabha polls has begun. Most of those who will hustle, bustle, jostle, lance and thrust at their political adversaries will be known faces. We the voters can now relax before our Xboxes, put our hands behind our heads, stretch our legs and watch the grand cacophony of claims and counter-claims, abuse and praise, credible and incredible promises and denouncements.

Elections in India/Bharat are synonymous to visits to the Children's Park and the Golden Circus merged into one. Petty politicians adept at trapezing will hurl themselves into the open arms of newfound friends in the numerous political outfits seeking an opportunity to test their popularity at the hustings.

The more astute will either hop onto the merry-go-round within their own parties seeking newer constituencies or refusing to hop off from their ceramic horses to afford an opportunity to their more robust colleagues.

The shrewdest, perched on the see-saws, will dig their heels into the sand and soil beneath their feet in a bid to rise above their political adversaries or topple them from their powerful heights.

We the voters have few choices to opt from notwithstanding the call from all the contestants to vote for Change. We have little to do with the selection of the candidates put up by the political parties. We can't even choose not to exercise our fundamental right to vote for the same old faces or the new faces that are ingrained with the age-old political culture.

We can't even cast invalid votes any longer to register our silent but immensely potent protest since the Election Commission of India introduced the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). There is no provision for 'Invalid Vote' on the EVMs. Even if we choose not to go to the polling booth there will be the political supporters of every outfit who will cast their votes and decide our future for the next five years.

If "Five Year Plan" is ever to have a diabolic meaning it is the finality of the EVM that decides our fate. Vote we must...for worse, or the worst. Is it for this reason that Tata Tea cleverly chose to sponsor http://www.Jaagore.com and bring out ads daily on every TV channel urging us to register ourselves as voters?

Tea or the bar rack anyone?

Oh.......(ba).......Maa!!

Hindu Renaissance will counter Pub culture

The recent incidents of violence against pub-goers in Karnataka by so-called protectors of Hindu culture has thrown up the issue of what is considered "Hindu culture".

Hindu philosophy exhorts its adherents to follow 'absolute' moral principles instead of the those of a fleeting nature. Hinduism provides a detailed practical philosophy for self-development and expressly rejects imposition of any kind by the self-styled votaries of the Hindu culture.

What India needs today is not pro-Hindu organisations but genuine Gurus well-versed in the Shastras---Vedas, Upanishads, et al, to travel all over the country teaching the tenets of Hinduism to build up a strong body of young Hindus practising the philosophical ideals, i.e. a Hindu cultural renaissance.

For example, concerned Hindus should encourage the setting up of learning centres of the Ramakrishna Mission in every district of India to facilitate rapid growth of philosophically enriched young Hindus. In this way alone can the 'Pub culture' be countered.

The additional solution in the meantime is to ban pubs. Prohibition while not a solution, drinking in the privacy of homes with companions chosen by the host will certainly rein in misguided youth who equate freedom with anarchy.

Hindus must not ignore the fact that much as they may complain about the rise in the numbers of non-Hindus, Hinduism preaches tolerance by laying emphasis on self-development rather than violence against deviants.

Since Hinduism is a practical philosophy it must be included in the school curriculum along with other subjects. No individual can live without a personal guiding philosophy and a non-religious practical philosophy is necessary for young Indians from their childhood.

Such a practical philosophy can be introduced in school curriculum in the form of simple Yoga and Pranayama exercises at the primary school, gradually introducing the young minds towards more complex practical exercises by the time they reach the Class 12 levels.