Shri Kapil Sibal

A few days ago, I had the pleasure to listen to Shri Kapil Sibal, minister of Human Resource Development and Science and Technology under the current Shri Manmohan Singh government in India. During his 40 minute speech at MIT that included a Q&A session, he touched on different topics regarding science and technology needs in India, reservation policy for OBC and SC/ST, and use of genetically modified (GM) crops for increasing agricultural productivity.I have always believed that Indian society can use a lot more technology for the betterment of its poor citizens. Kapilji’s mention of solar-powered rickshaws to alleviate the problem of TB in city rickshaw-wallas touched on that theme. I had similar ideas about use of solar power for dairy farmers and specialty agricultural producers.

Kapilji is an amazing speaker, no doubt about that. He explained that problems and challenges faced by India are qualitatively different than that of developed countries; and those challenges need to be understood and resolved by performing research in India, and not by sitting in US. It is in this context that he invited universities like MIT to start world-class research and educational institutions in India, focusing especially in the sectors of agricultural productivity, energy, and health.

Let me now tell you about what I learned most from the talk. When I entered IIT, my opinion was that SC/ST students would lower the quality of education in such institutions. During the talk, Kapilji said that we as a nation cannot prosper by neglecting the underrepresented sections of the society. The backward sections have to be given more opportunities, and these opportunities can be in the form of reservations policies, affirmative action (as in US), or student scholarships (effective, but difficult to implement in India where corruption prevails and decent basic education is sometimes difficult to obtain). Kapilji mentioned that reservations provided a simple and effective means to achieve the goal; however it has to be done without reducing the quality of education. I could not agree more with him, and think that reservations are good as long as SC/ST or OBC’s candidates obtain a minimum threshold marks (let’s say 10% less than general candidates) for entrance into prestigious institutions.

Pushkar Lake

Now that’s funny. World famous Pushkar Fair without the Pushkar Lake. And the lake emptied because Indian government tried to clean it up!!!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Govts-facelift-plan-leaves-Pushkar-without-a-lake/articleshow/5154696.cms

Events like this confirm my long-held belief that ideas are dime a dozen. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry has a revolutionary idea. And money and resources are seldom an issue. What’s most important are people who can think through a problem, and can execute it well. Sadly, people like that are a scarce commodity around the world.

Job Vacancy: Karma Yogis needed!!!

For most people, Yoga implies yoga postures; truth is that yoga postures comprise an extremely small part of the entire Yogic tradition. Patanjali, who is the founder of Yoga, mentions just one sutra on yoga postures in the entire text of Patanjali Yoga Sutra. So what is Yoga?

The ancient path of Indian culture provides for four main branches of Yoga:

1. Raja or AshtangaYoga (Yoga of self-mastery and discipline through postures, pranayaamas, and meditation)
2. Karma Yoga (Yoga of selfless action and service)
3. Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of pure devotion), and
4. Gyana Yoga (Yoga of knowledge and wisdom).

The reason why Bhagwad Gita is revered by Indians and outsiders alike is because Gita is a perfect blend of all forms of Yogas. In Gita, Shri Krishna explains to Arjuna that it is vital to perform the right action (Karma Yoga), but the right action needs to be performed by keeping the mind fixed (Raja Yoga), having devotion to the supreme Being (Bhakti Yoga), and possessing the right knowledge of the scriptures (Gyana Yoga). In older times, society produced Yogis of all kinds, and all form of Yoga was equally prevalent. Buddha was probably a combination of Raja and Gyana Yogi. The Sikh Gurus, and Christ were predominantly Karma and Gyana Yogis. Tulsidas and Surdas were Bhakti Yogis. Adi Sankaracharya, like Sri Krishna, combined all the different forms of Yoga. And that is why the society was in perfect balance.

But the last eight hundred years in India, we have seen a wave of Bhakti Yoga that seems to prevail over all other forms of Yoga. Too much emphasis is given on rituals, pujas, bhakti to God, and visiting temples. Even the Bhagvad Kathas organized in different places in India are less about knowledge but has become either a social occasion or more about devotion to the person reciting the Katha.

Bhakti or devotion should definitely be part of our culture, as devotion to divine or a Guru brings unshakable faith. Also, devotion brings an element of sacredness to life and relationships, a quality that I often find missing in USA. But a society whose people just have devotion, but are physically or mentally weak, or do not have right knowledge, or do not have leaders who devote their life for betterment of society and nation, how can that society survive and advance?

What India needs today is not more Bhakti or Gyana yogis; but Karma and Raja Yogis, people who are both physically and mentally fit and willing to serve the society and the nation.

Another drought… errr…. no it is flood

Over the past three months, both Indian and global climatologists have made dire forecasts about the upcoming drought in India, partly abated by El Nino. And now this week, I read about a major flood in southern India. The sequence of events confirms two things. First, prediction of weather is inherently very challenging, as climatologists from around the world failed in their assessment of how the monsoon season in India would turn out to be. The second lesson is that India as a nation is awfully prepared to withstand both droughts and floods. Other countries facing similar situations have solved similar problems. Agreed, other countries did not have to deal with such a huge diversity in climate and population; nonetheless a developed India should find a way to overcome regularly occurring natural calamities.

Solving any challenge requires three ingredients: idea, resources, and execution. The problem of droughts and floods is not of ideas, as many ideas, such as river interlinking or local water collection, have been proposed over the last two decades. Neither are resources an issue, as we have adequate technology and monetary resources. But the real problem is the lack of execution. What is needed is someone like Sri Sreedharan of Delhi Metro who is given sufficient authority to find and implement a feasible solution to this problem. Hopefully, we will see something happening on this front in next few years.

Arrive, we will

Yesterday, there was an article in New York Times, describing how the terrorist network in Pakistan is alive and thriving. Hundreds of people, Indians, Pakistanis and Americans, left their comments on the article. One particular comment, from an overseas Indian named Zainab Ali living in NY, caught my attention, and so I am reproducing it here:

"Even though Indians and Pakistanis are essentially similar, yet their respective states couldn't be headed on more differing trajectories - Last week, India sent a rocket into space, which circled the moon and discovered water on the lunar surface; Last year, Pakistan sent ten misguided, brain washed young men to Mumbai, who murdered 173 innocent men, women and children.
How did we end up here?
P.S. By no means am i implying that india, my motherland, is perfect, far from it. As an Indian muslim, i am all too aware of the very, very long road india has to traverse before we arrive. But I am confident that arrive, we will."

Arrive, we will.

Paisa, paisa, paisa ....

Swami Ramdevji is building a Peace Ashram in Scotland. And media is shouting, "Swamiji to vyaapaar karne lag gaye hain"; Swamiji has started doing business. And allegations of these kind come up whenever Swami Ramdevji, Shri Shri RaviShankar and others open up an ashram, acquire land, start an Ayurvedic company or charge money for their courses. A decade back, I would have sided against the Swamis, with the arguement that not-for-profit organizations should not be making or raising money. But few years of living outside of my native state of West Bengal and observing how our world operates has taught me otherwise.

Let us consider three large immensely successful America based not-for-profit organizations in different sectors: Harvard University, Catholic Church, and Red Cross. If you look at the reasons for their success, the common denominator is money.

Harvard University is a not-for-profit educational institution and is considered the world's best university, not because it has the best professors and students, but because it has a $30 billion trust that allows it to literally "buy" the best profs, students, and research facilities. The reason why Church can open so many school and orphanages, and convert people to their faith (and I am not saying anything against conversions) is because it is the largest owner of land in the entire world, holding property worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Red Cross is present in any disaster area, because they have so much money that they can pay decent salary to their volunteers and their executive leaders. Believe it or not, the annual salary of Marsha Evans, CEO of Red Cross, in 2003 was hold your breath.... half a million dollars (=2.5 crores)!!! But I have never heard anyone say anything against Red Cross.

So in a nutshell, money speaks. And if organizations like Art of Living has to grow and expand, they will need more money, more land, and more ashrams.

Eliteness

So today over tea with Tarun and Sandeep Muley, we had this question about what defines eliteness. Muley's contention was that a person earning 10 lakh annual salary in India (=20000 USD) is elite since he or she is in the top 5% of Indian population. Whereas Tarun says (and Swati agrees with it) that with 10 lakh, he wont feel elite in any big city in India, because 10 lakh salary does not give him the freedom to do what he wants.

I personally agree with both of them. With a salary of 10 lakh, I should indeed feel lucky in India. But people have the natural tendency of comparing themselves with their immediate friends and family members. I know a person in USA living in Martha's Vineyard whose wife had an inferiority complex because they only had a 2 million dollar (=10 crore ruppees) home, whereas others in the neighborhood had 10 million dollar homes. So yes, if you are part of a materialistic society, one should always strive to earn more. But the trick is not to get too feverish or get caught up with the concept of earning money. Furthermore, just having wealth does not imply happiness. I know rich people in India and USA whose life is full of problems and diseases. If you look at our ancient culture, having money indeed meant more pleasureful life, but was also seen as a way for an individual to contribute more to society. One should always remember the following doha from Kabir:

rukha sukha khai ke, thanda paani peev
dekh paraai chupri mat lalchave jeev.

Eat well, drink well; dont get upset over others lifestyle.