Feeling of Gratitude

It was really great, to feel the pleasure of being grateful. I consider myself very lucky that I am associated with an organisation called MINDS.  As its latest venture, to develop an “Attitude of Gratitude” this Organisation had decided, in consultation with various dignitaries, to celebrate 17^th November as Gratitude Day. This was last year.  It also gives me immense pleasure to note that, it was during our batch’s training (95^th Batch of Man Catchers) that this idea of celebrating the day of gratitude (17^th Nov) was first germinated and introduced. It gives me immense pleasure and I feel all the more grateful to all concerned that I was given the opportunity to plant the first tree of Gratitude at the institute’s premises in commemoration of the day. What a feeling; to be a part of a great idea which all of us are sure will be an international event in the near future. I hope that the tree planted on that day will grow, as it surely would, along with the other subsequently planted trees into a great one providing enough shade and fruits for a long time to come.

While I am in the mood of telling you something on gratitude let me share with all of you a small incident that occurred recently. It was like this.

I was in a rather pensive mood the whole day due to some family happenings and wanted to get out of it.  I have decided to take stroll to remedy that. There is a very vast area of open space at the centre of my city of dwelling and I have decided to go there. There is a very busy road encircling this space and even though the traffic was very thick and unruly I managed to cross it over through the Zebra crossing.

When I reached the other side I saw a tiny old lady probably returning from the temple situated at the centre of this open space and wanting to cross over to the other side. She was reluctant to take the plunge and fear was written large in her eyes.  I felt that she was waiting there for a long time, helpless and undecided. I thought that I should try to help her and approached her. I looked into her eyes and asked, “Can I help you”?

“Won’t it be a bother for you”?; she said in a very low voice. I told her that it will be only a pleasure to me to help her cross over. Her face brightened up even though she was still undecided to take the plunge even with my help. Realising her hesitation I put my hand on her shoulder and immediately she cosy under my arm like a frightened sparrow seeking shelter.  I could sense her confidence improving and slowly I guided her to the other side of the road.

She profusely thanked me for this small gesture and suddenly I felt my melancholy melting away like butter on a hot stove and a great feeling of happiness engulfing me. I told her that I should thank her for giving me such an opportunity to be of some use to her.

I crossed back and walked to my destination a very very happy man.       

Aam Aadmi

This article appeared in New Indian Express. I wish all of you read this . 

An aam aadmi from a different era

By Radha Padmanabhan

He was sitting there all alone in a third class waiting room of the Calicut railway station. We had expected the room to be crowded with dignitaries belonging to the government, with news reporters and others. So we almost missed him. He was reading a newspaper and his back was turned towards us. We thought he was someone else not the man we had come to meet, until he put down the newspaper. The room was dirty, dusty and not spruced up as it is now. He did not ask for help nor were there any toadies round to curry favours because favours he would give none. He was waiting at the station for a connecting train that was expected in a few hours. 

This was way back in the early '60s.

We got a trunk call from Sadasivam, M S Subbalakshmi's husband. They often used to stay with us whenever MS gave a kutcheri. We had gladly agreed to go to the railway station and deliver a simple lunch to the man as he could not digest hotel food. The meal I had prepared was simple, with rice, sambar, tomato rasam, vegetable and curd. 'You should not have taken all this trouble' he said to us as we started to serve him his lunch.'I could have lunched at the railway canteen'.

The simplicity of the man hit us with force. This man who a few years ago occupied the highest position in the land, from 1948 to 1950, the second governor general of India — C Rajagopalachari or CR as he was popularly known, a man of the highest integrity and the strictest of principles.

He was entitled to command the best government accommodation and his needs to be looked after, but he preferred not to. He was a freedom fighter and was awarded the Bharat Ratna. Gandhiji once said that he was the 'keeper of my conscience'. He was a close associate of Nehru and Patel and was respected by them although he had many differences with them. He was a staunch protector of his political principles and never hesitated to disagree with his closest associates. He therefore started a political party — The Swatantra Party.

He lived in a small old house in Kilpauk, in Chennai (then Madras). He could have easily got an allotment of a house with a garden—he did not. His family never earned the name of the first family. He did not believe in political dynasty, neither did the Mahatma and nor did his family benefit monetarily. As for Swiss bank accounts, property deals & get rich quickly—these were alien to his ways. Scam is a word that was not in his dictionary.

In some ways he is lucky that he did not live to see the present political scenario with all the scams that are being exposed. Rip-offs, fraud, trickery, swindles, amassing money by means of deception, fake-photos, non-existent addresses, non-existent directors of companies, companies without addresses...the list is endless. Election promises are made claiming to represent the aam aadmi. CR represented the aam aadmi — he was the real aam aadmi.

Winter of our life

My Rotarian friend Mr.Sunil Zachariah had posted this in his page. I have already shared it with my FB fiends. Since I feel many of my friends who are not active in FB may miss it. I am reposting it for those who are not active in FB. those who had already seen it kindly bear with me. 



The winter of our life 

This is one of the nicest e-mails I've seen in a very long time. Its very inspiring. Save it and read from time to time. I wonder who composed this. So philosophical.


And then it is Winter.

You know. . . time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just married and embarking on my new life with my mate. And yet in a way, it seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went.


I know that I lived them all... And I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my hopes and dreams... But, here it is... the winter of my life and it catches me by surprise... How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where did my youth go?
 

I remember well... seeing older people through the years and thinking that those older people were years away from me and that winter was so far off that I could not fathom it or imagine fully what it would be like...


But, here it is... my friends are retired and getting grey... they move slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse shape than me... but, I see the great change...

Not like the ones that I remember who were young and vibrant... but, like me, their age is beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see and never thought we'd be. 


Each day now, I find that just getting a shower is a real target for the day! And taking a nap is not a treat anymore.. it's mandatory! Cause if I don't on my own free will... I just fall asleep where I sit!


And so... now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that though the winter has come, and I'm not sure how long it will last... this I know, that when it's over... its over... 

Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I hadn't done... things I
should have done, but indeed, there are many things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime...

So, if you're not in your winter yet... let me remind you, that it will be here faster than you think.

So, whatever you would like to accomplish in your life please do it quickly! 
Don't put things off too long!! Life goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure whether this is your winter or not! 

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life... so, live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to remember... and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things that you have done for them in all the years past!!


"Life is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to those who come after. Make it a fantastic one."


LIVE IT WELL! ENJOY TODAY! DO SOMETHING FUN! BE HAPPY! BE THANKFUL!


 HAVE A GREAT DAY! Remember "It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold or silver."


Patience with family = Love, Patience with others = Respect, Patience with self = Confidence Patience w/ God = Faith

MAHABHARATAM: The story of the internal conflict (second and final part)

Lessons of Dharma.

Many a gripping situations have been fashioned in Mahabharata to initiate a discussion on Dharma and Adharma. These situations are arranged like beads on a string. Look at the situation where human psyche is considered to be at a battle ground of Dharma-Adharma. Here the human psyche or the mind is the Charioteer, the body is the chariot, and the horses are the desires of the senses. Unless properly guided by the charioteer the chariot is sure to go astray as the horses are bound to run amuck. Look how beautifully the principle is presented symbolically: Arjuna is sitting on a chariot and the reigns of horses are held by the Lord Himself.

The same symbolism found in Kadho Upanishad is used here as well. A great truth is missed if one opts to believe that this is just a chariot. Do not miss out those beautiful metaphors which are unique in literature.

Vyasa has placed this chariot at the centre of a war field where Dharma and Adharma are about to clash. What a profound screenplay! A true student of Geeta has to contemplate the following.  What is the war over here? Whom does the Lord want Arjuna to kill?

In fact the Lord talks to Arjuna about the inner search for the Self.

Pranavodhanu: saro hyathma Brahma tallakshymuchyate

Aprathenavedhavyam saravathathmayo bhavetu. (Mundaka 2.4)

The ‘Oamkara’ is the bow; the sharp point of the arrow is provided by the soul. It is kept on this bow and aimed and shot at the Brahmam. As the arrow, released from the bow, reaches the target without any impediment. The soul conditioned by the meditation of the Great Ambiance also reached the Brahman without any difficulty.

In order to explain the above principle found in the Upanishad, Vyasa has set a scene in Mahabharata. Let us recall the situation where Dhrona conducts an archery competition. While aiming, Arjuna was persuaded to “see only the eye of the bird” before shooting the arrow.

Like this, if you analyse each situation in Mahabharata, you may be astonished to realise that many such deep philosophies are packaged and presented through simple stories and incidents.

How one can believe a situation in which the commander allows his whole army to be on the side of the enemy? The commander, unarmed, places himself on the other side.  What kind of a war is it and how is it possible to take place physically?

Even the figures used are pointers towards spirituality. Eighteen puranas, 18 sub-puranas, 18 chapters of Geeta and 18 days war; all these are not accidental. They are spiritual numbers and symbols, obviously alluding to spirituality.

Now let us see what Gandhiji has to say in this. “In 1888-89 when Geeta was introduced to me I felt that it cannot be a historical work. In fact, in the pretext of a physical war, it was depicting or describing a war, which takes place continuously in the minds of man. I also felt that, the physical war was brought in, in order to delineate the internal war and make it more attractive.  My in-depth studies of Geeta and the religion have confirmed this first impression.

“Personally, I do not consider that Mahabharata is a historical work in its real sense.  Geeta explains about self realisation and paves the way for achieving it. The war between two armies is just a situation to present this theme”.

Geeta and Mahabharata are created to explain the futility of war and to provide an insight to Dharma and Adharma and guide the humankind in his search for self realisation and ultimately achieve it. It is neither a historical work nor the war of Mahabharata a physical or external war. 

Dr. Sukumar Azhikode has categorically stated in Azhikodinte Lokathil (In the World of Azhikode) the following: “Vedas and Upanishads are the fountain-head of all knowledge. Understanding these is quite difficult. Nevertheless in the form of fables, stories and also in Geeta as a dialogue between a disciple and a guru, certain great saints have tried to bring this knowledge to the midst of the common man. These great saints did not just confine to the caves -their abodes where they did penance- but also indulged in their field of work (Karmabhumi) and they call it the Kurukshetra (the battle field where the so-called war had supposedly taken place). Subsequently, as the time passed, their findings were misinterpreted; as if they preached war and not the philosophy of Monad or oneness”.  This statement of Mr. Azhikode reiterates further the fundamental nature of the matter. Anyone who has studied the Bhagavat Geeta in the light of Upanishads cannot have any other opinion.

There are people in Kerala who profess that Bhagavat Geeta is a battle story. We have to ban these people, instead of blaming the Siberian courts. There is no point in finding fault with any of those religious leaders who seek to ban Bhagavat Geeta.

Adweshta sarvabhutanam mytra: karuna eva cha

Nirmamo nirahangara: samadukha;sukha; kshmi (Geeta 12.13)

Those propagating, due to ignorance or otherwise, that Geeta encourages war is not getting the true meaning of this sloka and they will only help to make the situation murkier.

The Lord in Geeta provides Arjuna with two swords. 

( refer the fourth chapter )

Njanasina athmana: chitwainam samsayam

Using the sword of wisdom you have to decapitate scepticism;

Aathishtothishta bharata

And for that Arjuna you have to rise.   (Aathishtothishta bharata)

Another Sword (war) (refer 15^th Chapter)

Asamgasasthrena dridhena chithwa

“Let non-attachment be your sword; and assault, without any doubt, assault”.

A war is fought sans any doubt or ignorance; and with awareness and knowledge alone.

 This is the essence of Bhagavat Geeta. For a Kshtriya (warrior) it is fortuitous. An external war with bows and arrows are normal for him. A warrior (Kshtriya) entering the porch of meditation is a situation which is rather uncommon and exceptional.

“The Bhagavat Geeta should be explained in such a way that all the living creatures in this world are benefitted by it for their salvation”, so says the Great Saint Shankara while introducing his commentary on Geeta.  Geeta should be elucidated only for the betterment of the whole world. There exists a lot of misconception about Geeta. Effort should be taken to eradicate these.

Again quoting Gandhiji; he once said: “I can understand those who cannot approve of my renderings of Geeta. My duty is to fight and prove my rendition as the correct one”. Poojya Swamy Santheepanandgiri (the author of this essay in Malayalam) also is doing the same thing; firmily standing by it; whoever may feel obliged to object to it.

(concluded)

MAHABHARATAM: The story of the internal conflict

MAHABHARATAM: The story of the internal conflict

Translation of an article (in two parts) written by poojya Sandeepanandgiri published in Mathrubhumi (22st and 22^nd Jan 2012) 

 The great war of Mahabharata; has it really happened? (Is it a Historical fact or sheer mythology?)  Till recently this was never a moot point, not even a subject of debate.  The case is not so today. An explanation in this regard has become the need of the hour as lot of misunderstanding and misgivings have arisen lately.

Sandeepananda Giri

 Mahabharata is a store house, an ocean of stories; of equitability, fairness and above all righteousness. It is a great laboratory of Dharma and Adharma.  The whole universe from Sun to mere insect has a role to play in this quite unique and great saga. The philosophical ideals of this great country have made the story into one with eternal values and principles. How can anyone discuss it as mundane sibling revelry for a piece of land? How anyone, who has dwelled deeply into this great saga can ever agree with those who insist that it has physically happened in the way it is depicted.

 There is a new school who wants to prove and disseminate a canard that Geeta propagates violence because everything explained in the stories had happened in real life and it (Geeta) justifies it. One should see through their intentions; which erroneously propose to create that killer instinct in the human psyche.

Now let it be reiterated at the onset;    the war of Mahabharata is not an external battle; instead, it is an internal one. Our history as well as mythology explains about numerous battles that had taken place in this country. Man has fought many a war including two world-wars. Here what should be understood is that this war in question is not such a war.

Mahabharata and Ramayana are bedrock of Indian culture and ethos. Vedas were created even before that. There was no religion called Hinduism in those days. Vedas were much above the level of a common mans understanding. Hence Vyasa created Mahabharata in the form of a story. It is a treasure trove of philosophy and statecraft and that is why Mahabharata has risen to an epic standard.

Asmin itiha aaste iti itihasa

This contains “itiha” (values) hence it is “Itihasa” ( a Great epic)

 Because of its greatness and since it contains valuable knowledge it is called Mahabharata. The knowledge of Upanishad is visible and shining in this. It is explained as follows.

Natatra suryo bhati nachandratarakam

Nemaa vidyuto bhandi kutofyamagni:

Tameva bhandamanubhati sarvam

Tasya bhasaa sarvamidam vibhati. 

(5.15  2.11  6.14 )

Neither the sun nor the moon renders it brilliant; the stars or the fire can never illuminate it; In fact all these shine because IT blazes.

Here this divine glow represents the knowledge.  Krishnadwaipayanan who later became well known as Veda Vyasa or the editor of Veda is the same who composed the Mahabharata as well. His aim was to simplify and explain the Dharma of Upanishad which resulted in Mahabharata.

There is a Mantra in Keno-Upanishad explaining Brahman.

Yachakshusha napasyati

Yeenachakshum shipasyati

Tadeva bramatwam vidhi

Nedam yadidamupasate  (1.7)

“Understand; Brahman is that invisible divine energy which makes the vision possible”.

This great Rishi reiterates with firmness and courage that:

 “Anything which remained alien to self and worshipped on conditionality never is Brahman”

Now this is a very important statement. By this he is pointing towards the limitations of idol worship and temple culture.  He subtly and with care persuades the common man to come out of this kind of faulty worships. This large hearted great soul has presented (chapter three and four) and explained the secret meaning of this Mantra dramatically, by narrating a great war between Devas and Asuras and the man’s eternal search for knowledge using a technique of allegory.

He narrates the story by depicting (allegorically) the Devas as the powers that controls the sense-organs and their leader Indra as the human conceit. The Asuras represents the base instincts of man.

More than five thousand years ago through Upanishads the great Indian rishis have proved that realisation of God is impossible through sense-organs.  What Vyasa is trying to drive home through the story of Mahabharata with Geeta as its epicentre; is also precisely this. He is simply creating a path of self-realisation in an easy format.

The characters in this have elevated the Indian Spirituality to its new heights. All those seekers who have studied and understood The Geeta and the Mahabharata have very well understood this aspect.

Look at the explanation Vyasa himself gives for composing these Great Epics.

Katha imaste kathita mahiyasam

Vithaya lokeshu yasha: pareyusham

Vijyanaviragyaviveshaya vibho:

Vachovibhutirnna tu paramartyam.

This is a story. It is being told with the sole aim of creating knowledge through asceticism (solemnity).

Before venturing to create Mahabharata Vyasa in his prayer to the Lord, says:

“I have a story in my mind; describing different kinds of people from different walks of life, their varied food habits and their way of life; a story of great rivers and mountains. So kindly bestow me with a person who can best transcribe it”.  The lord directs him To Ganapati who according to the Lord is the best.  Now accordingly when approached, a debate takes place between Ganapati and Vyasa. Ganesa places the condition that the narration once started should be non-stop; and Vyasa demands that he should write nothing without understanding it.

 Here, “understanding” is a password (pointer). Vyasa has deliberately brought this story (the story of this debate between Ganapati and Vyasa) obviously an apocryphal one, to forewarn those who seek to understand Mahabharata in its real sense; about its allegoric nature.  Westerners miss this password; whereas the eastern psyche has understood it.

 Mahabharata which instructs not to write without understanding also has another language- the language of asceticism or solemnity. In olden days scholars used to tell things symbolically. For this they used the language of asceticism. The images of all Hindu gods are symbolic.

One may think that the image of Ganapati is rather strange and unusual if not queer.  Is there any point in insisting that such a person does exist? The goddess Saraswati is found sitting inside a lotus! If a child asks the obvious and pertinent question that “won’t the goddess be drowned if she sits on the lotus” the parent is duty-bound to explain the symbolism behind that depiction. 

When it is pointed out that Krishna had sixteen thousand and eight consorts; the majority of Hindus today suffer a kind of discomfiture because they are unable to explain the essence it carries. Ignorance of the principle and the symbolism shows that the modern time Hindu has lost the language of sobriety or asceticism.

 Today this language makes us uncomfortable. We fail to accept that it does not possess any literal meanings. It tells everything figuratively. They prefer to keep such renowned and illustrious philosophies under the wraps. Hence it is rather amusing and is always welcome to argue notionally with these people who are relentless in waging a War (sic) historically.

Swamy Vivekananda has said -“It is my resolve to bring out the gems of our spiritual understanding embedded in these great books. Presently they are under the custody of a few.  They are hidden away in the forests and monasteries.......for eons they are lying unused and unattended to, in the guise of difficult Sanskrit.  I wish to bring them out and spread it among the common man.”

These words of a great humanist who wanted to save his fellow-men from the darkness of evil rituals and show him the path of eternal reality acquires added importance lately.

Vyasa and other monks were very adept and famous for presenting spiritual secrets in the form of stories and fables. Look at how deftly he conjures situations.

A powerful background was created before presenting the Geeta. Looming war clouds and the exigency of a great battle was spellbinding.  And with this as a perfect backdrop, he had dramatically presented Bhagavat Geeta which is the embodiment of all Upanishads, which in turn is the treasure trove of all the spiritual secrets. The characters flashing in the back ground, their birth secrets, their names, even their physical descriptions are all symbolic. 

The Pandavas (five brothers) represent the five elements.  A conjugation takes place between a woman and the Sun (Surya), Air (Vayu), and Indra (The lord of Devas). Kunti’s is such a joining. Karna, who had innate armour, is the son of Surya (Sun). Bhima was sired by the air (Vayu) and Arjuna by Indra (the lord of Devas). Nakula and Sahadeva were born in turn to Madhri from Aswanideva who personified the Earth (Bhumi)-What kind of characters are they? People who claims paternity from the Sun and the Moon! Take the case of Kauravas; they were not even born out of a womb!  What a weird story it is! The language of asceticism is the only recourse to explain all these.

If one fails to understand the logic and the doctrine of these, he will end up with the conclusion that the great Epic Mahabharata is a weird, unbelievable story of a few greedy uncouth people. Do you think this is what the great scholar like Vyasa wanted to convey ultimately? Not clearly understanding the essence of these principles makes the other religionists to ridicule Hinduism.

 The five elements are characters here; the Sun the moon the rivers and mountains; all are vibrant actors in this. Even with an insect Vyasa converses. Looking at his magnum opus which is a great ocean of stories Vyasa himself proudly says:

  Yadihasti tadanyatra

Yanne hasti nakarhichit’

 “What is here may be present elsewhere; but what is not here will not be anywhere else.

(To be continued)  

   

My musing and other: Moral Dilemma more thoughts

My musing and other: Moral Dilemma more thoughts: When my blog on Moral Dilemma was published, my Friend Mr.Rajagopalan had sent me a write up which is really worth reading. Following is ...

My musing and other: Moral Dilemma more thoughts

My musing and other: Moral Dilemma more thoughts: When my blog on Moral Dilemma was published, my Friend Mr.Rajagopalan had sent me a write up which is really worth reading. Following is ...

Moral Dilemma more thoughts

When my blog on Moral Dilemma was published, my Friend Mr.Rajagopalan had sent me a write up which is really worth reading. Following is an edited version of it. So here is another take on Moral dilemma.

The article was originally dated 20^th November 2008. (World Philosophy day)

SHOULD WE KILL HEALTHY PEOPLE FOR THEIR ORGANS?

Consider this. Bill is a healthy man but an orphan; and without any loved ones. Now is it okay to kill him, of course painlessly, so that five others can be helped with his healthy organs? Yes? Or No? Definitely I believe that your answer will be an emphatic NO.

Another case: You were kidnapped along with another six people. The kidnapper keeps a proposal before you.  “If you shoot one of the six he will release the other five; If not he will kill all the six”.( In either case he will release you.) Here also you should kill one to save five; and this being the case and you decide to press the trigger to save the remaining five why not in the first case (the organ case) as well.

You still have qualms about killing Bill? You are still undecided as you were when you read the Railway track story in my Blog?

What was going through the minds of those Pilots of the aircrafts carrying ‘Little boy” and ‘Fat man’ while releasing them over Hiroshima and Nagasaki?  They may not have felt much compulsion in pressing the button. They were sure of approval of an all powerful Government capable of absolving them and a grateful people who could make heroes of them.

George Orwell in his ‘the lion and the Unicorn’ wrote thus.

“As I write this, highly civilized human beings are flying overhead, trying to kill me. They do not feel any enmity against me as an individual, nor I against them. They are only doing their duty… Most of them, I have no doubt, are kind hearted, law abiding men who would never dream of committing murder in private life, on the other hand, if one of them succeeds in blowing me to pieces with a well placed bomb, he will never sleep any the worse for it. He is serving his country which has the power to absolve him from evil”

The third scenario is not that uncommon. We have come across many a time situations in which a driver veering his vehicle one way to save a group of children and killing may be a lone pedestrian or a cyclist who was normally on the right path. His action may have taken place on reflex but even if he  was given enough time to think there might not have any change in the decision where a third choice other than doing nothing is nonexistent. That is he is driving a runaway cab and here too even thou it is not approved he need not fear condemnation. He can very well live with his conscience which will invent enough justification and even praise for his action.

Now if he was just a passenger of the car he also has a choice of doing nothing and in the process five people die instead of one. Even then he need not fear any condemnation. It will be difficult even for the kin of the five died to blame him for not acting or not taking the life of one person instead of the five died.

 If the five survived, you also have the approval of the five survivors and their kin and perhaps complimented based on a Chinese adage: “Who should do the difficult job; he who can”

 But if this selection is done by you alone, there will be lingering doubts about your unconscious prejudices which may have affected the selection. In such a scenario, the guilt feeling arising out of just leaving the six to their death (fate?) may not be greater. Guilt feelings arising out of omission may be preferable to that arising out of commission

The choice in the first case is far easier because sufficient scope for rationalization of your choice exists.

(i)                           How can you be certain that the organ transplant will save the lives?

(ii)                        Would the quality of life of the person after transplant justify the taking of a healthy life?

(iii)                       Will not cadaver organs be available if you wait?

(iv)                      Why you yourself are not prepared to donate a kidney or a denotable organ?

Let me wind up for the time being. Other challenging Philosophical questions shared by my friend  Mr. Rajagopalan; I shall discuss with you another time.

So kindly be generous with your honest comments and;

 Watch this space. 

The Moral Dilemma

First the story. A group of children is playing on a railway track. There is also a disused track inter connected to this track nearby on which a lone child is playing. Let us also assume that you are at the junction of the track; when you noticed to your horror that a train was fast approaching the children who are still playing unaware of the catastrophe. Being at the track interchange junction you are in a position to change the course of the train to the unused track in time so that you are able to save all those in that track. But if you do so you may have to sacrifice the lone child who also is unaware of the approaching train. What should you do in this situation?

Should you let the train to proceed on its track and allow the children to be mowed down or should you change the track of the train forcing it to avoid the usual track and save that majority of children; mean while sacrificing the lone child on the disused track?

The immediate response to this dilemma would have been to divert the train so that maximum lives are rescued on the expense of one. It might be thought to be the most rational decision because; considering the number of lives saved you may even think that it is the one and only recourse available. But at the same time have you ever thought that the child who chose to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

The right thinking child’s life is being sacrificed for the sake of those who are ignorant and careless; who chose to play where the danger was?

This kind of situation arises every day in our lives. You can find it happening every where. It happens in your office and at home. It is there in politics and in society. It is the bane of democracy in a way where the majority rules the roost.  Many a time a minority is sacrificed for the sake of a majority. It is not at all important even if the opinion of the majority is all utter rubbish or that of the minority’s wise and far sighted. The child who wisely chose to play safe and selected the unused track is sacrificed for the sake of that foolish bunch and every body will happily go home. Not a tear will be shed for his sake.

In the opinion of the great critic Leo Velski Julian; he would not attempt to change the course of the train due to the following reason.

First of all the boys playing on the operational track might be fully aware of the risk they are taking in doing so and might be vigilant enough to any incoming trains and are prepared to save themselves at the nick of the time. On the other hand the boy who is playing on the disused track is sure that no train is expected on that track and might be oblivious of the incoming train even if it gives a siren. If the train is diverted that lone child will definitely die for it will never come to his mind that the train can come on the track on which he is playing.

More over that track was not in use may be because it was a faulty one and not safe for the train to run on it. Hence diversion of the train on to such a track not only will kill the lone child but also put the lives of all those traveling in the train in jeopardy. May be you might be inviting a larger catastrophe by diverting the train, in order to save a few lives.

Coming back to our situation the moral of the story as I said earlier is about the brute power of majority. May be that is why EM Foster the great essayist of yester years have named his essay about democracy as “Two cheers to Democracy”; because after all the bed rock of Democracy is the rule of majority over the minority, right or wrong.