We vs They

The hate politics is looming large in the Indian political landscape. Our so called representatives are hell bent on adding fuel to the fire and thereby keeping their vote-bank intact. Parochialism seems to be the convenient path to secure the political future and nationalism appears to be a thing of the past. The politicians are on a competitive spree to divide the people on every possible ground a human ingenuity can devise –religion, region, caste, language, region, culture, creed, gender and what not.
However, isn’t it very convenient way to bash only the politicians for all the evils? It is naïve to assume India as a country of innocent people being ruled by tyrant politicians. Politicians are no doubt making inferno out of spark. But the truth is that there exists a spark in the civil society. The spark exists in the form of ‘We are good, they are bad’ attitude. While there is nothing wrong in taking legitimate pride in ones nation, ones religion, ones culture etc. things start taking wrong turn when sense of pride is stretched to the feeling of superiority. Such and attitude convinces the people that their religion is the only way to salvation, their culture is the best culture, their community is superior over all others etc. The politicians only widen the already existing schism between the communities and spread hatred through their propaganda machinery.
So, it does not absolve us of any guilt to single out politicians as demon and treat ourselves as paragon of virtues. We citizens also need to do introspection why there is more hatred and intolerance in the country than ever before. Isn’t it ironic that in the land of Gandhi, the non-violence and tolerance are appearing to succumb to hatred?
It is the historical obligation of the current generation of Indians to keep intact the ideals and values for which our freedom fighters sacrificed their lives. In order to stop the social fabric to rip apart, each of us need to fight the divisive and sectarian forces prevalent in the country by emphasizing on our national identity over all sub-national, regional and parochial identities. It also requires to do away with ‘We vs They’ attitude and internalize the fact that all the citizens of the country have equal rights irrespective of their region, religion, caste or creed as guaranteed by our Constitution. If this attitudinal transformation is not brought about among the people, the existence of our nation will be in peril. Somebody rightly said, “People get the government they deserve”.

जलाओ दिए, पर .....

दीवाली आने वाली है और फिजाओं में उमंग ही उमंग है..परन्तु अभी भी दीवाली की रौशनी धरती से अन्धकार मिटाने में सफल नही हुई है..ऐसे में मुझे एक कविता याद आती है जो मुझे बचपन से ही अच्छी लगती है..लेकिन इसका असली मतलब मुझे अब समझ आया है....

जलाओ दिए पर रहे ध्यान इतना अँधेरा धरा पर कहीं रह न जाए।
नई ज्योति के धर नए पंख झिलमिल, उड़े मर्त्य मिट्टी गगन स्वर्ग छू ले,
लगे रोशनी की झड़ी झूम ऐसी, निशा की गली में तिमिर राह भूले,
खुले मुक्ति का वह किरण द्वार जगमग, ऊषा जा न पाए, निशा आ ना पाये
जलाओ दिए पर रहे ध्यान इतना अँधेरा धरा पर कहीं रह न जाए।

सृजन है अधूरा अगर विश्‍व भर में, कहीं भी किसी द्वार पर है उदासी,
मनुजता नहीं पूर्ण तब तक बनेगी, कि जब तक लहू के लिए भूमि प्यासी,
चलेगा सदा नाश का खेल यूँ ही, भले ही दिवाली यहाँ रोज आए
जलाओ दिए पर रहे ध्यान इतना अँधेरा धरा पर कहीं रह न जाए।

मगर दीप की दीप्ति से सिर्फ जग में, नहीं मिट सका है धरा का अँधेरा,
उतर क्यों न आयें नखत सब नयन के, नहीं कर सकेंगे ह्रदय में उजेरा,
कटेंगे तभी यह अँधरे घिरे अब, स्वयं धर मनुज दीप का रूप आए
जलाओ दिए पर रहे ध्यान इतना अँधेरा धरा पर कहीं रह न जाए।
-गोपालदास "नीरज

The significance of Dusshra for an agnostic

Being a true agnostic, I do not get the same feeling of reverence and devotion on seeing an idol of Goddess Durga or Lord Ram which a devout Hindu normally gets.So, for me, Navratri and Dusshra do not bring any special joy to my life. However, I strongly believe in the message these festivals represent. The victory of good over evil, which is symbolically represented by these festivals, is the root of human conscience.All religions originate with the pursuit of goodness and benevolence.However, as it happens, over a period of time, all religions have the tendency to degenerate into meaningless rites and rituals and the true message and motive behind the religion is lost somewhere.The unquestioned and blind faith in any religion enables the vested interests to exploit the religious feelings of masses for their narrow sectarian ends.
The increasing communalisation of Indian society where there is a frantic race for proving ones religion as the best one is a manifestation of this phenomenon. While the symbolism of the festivals is necessary to reinforce the pursuit of goodness, the believers should also extend this symbolism to their day to day life as well and understand the true message of their religion.As an agnostic, I may not worship Lord Ram's idol, but I definitely try to imbibe the values which Ram represents. This is not because I am accidently born to a Hindu family but because these values of compassion, love,morality,commitment appeal to my human conscience. So when I greet my friends on dusshra, I also wish that the spirit of goodness spreads wide and deep and not just remains confined to the symbolism.

क्या यह गाँधी के सपनों का भारत है?

अहिंसा से जूझता हुआ भारत,
धार्मिक उन्माद में डूबा हुआ भारत,
असत्य को सत्य पर विजयी देखता भारत,
धर्म, जाति और क्षेत्र पर बँटा भारत,
पर्यावरण को नष्ट करता हुआ भारत,
भ्रष्टाचार में लिप्त भारत,
क्या यह गाँधी के सपनों का भारत है?
हरगिज़ नहीं यह भारत तो गाँधी से बहुत दूर जा चुका है।
यहाँ गाँधी महज इतिहास पुरूष बनकर रह गए हैं,
सरकारी दफ्तरों में फोटो लगाकर और
गाँधी जयंती को ड्राई डे मनाकर ही सीमित हो गई है,
गाँधी की विरासत इस भारत में.