Reminiscence of the wild, wild days!

Ahh, what pleasure to just recall those wild wild days! One was young, energetic, full of life, with not a care in the world, play, play and play all the time; father’s pet and mother’s anxiety, brother’s play-mate, what pure joy!

To confess, I was a tomboy while I was young. I used to roam the country side, much to the consternation of my mother, along with my elder brother and his friends, flying kites, in Avadi where we lived, a suburb of the then Madras. It was my elder brother, Kumar, who taught me to ride a bicycle. It was pure exhilaration! My mother had difficult time holding me in her hand to plait my unruly hair, as I would be jumping up to go, and run along.

Then we shifted to Saidapet in Chennai. I had a gang of girls with whom I used to cycle the streets of West CIT Nagar, where we stayed. I played cricket and gilli-danda[1] with the boys of the neighborhood. Ah, those were the days.

But then an end came to all these – I was forced to sit in one corner and was made to behave like a girl, at the age of 12, having come of age! There went my freedom for a toss and all the fun involved in that freedom.

After a long time, only when I went to the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), Mussoorie in 1974 as an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) Probationer, at the age of 24, the world opened wide once again. There was a whole new world that opened before me beckoning my inborn wild and adventurous nature.

                                                                           

                                                                                 Crossing the Rothong Pass

I went crazy. I joined Judo, yoga, Transcendental Meditation,[2] horse-riding, trekking in the Himalayas, to Gangotri and Rothong Pass, Rock climbing in Uttarkashi, and so on. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I excelled in all these outdoor activities. Would it be the DNA catching up or the inborn nature showing up or both?

                                 Judo demo in the Academy - me in action (pl. note the audience                                                enjoying it all - a novelty at that time)

The saga continued when in Bangalore I joined Nature Admire and started to go on tracking with them. Remember fondly, sleeping under the sky on Tippu’s Fort, Srirangapatnam, near Mysore, after a day of tiring but exhilarating trek. Went on for rock-climbing near Ramanagaram, near Bangalore and many treks including Anekal and Tumkur areas.

                                                                   With co-participants at the Basic course in                                                                                                          Mountaineering

It almost culminated in going to Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, in 1985 to do the Basic course in Mountaineering. I ended up getting an ‘A’ grading there. We climbed in the Kangchenjunga range of mountains up to 18,000 feet.

                                                

                                                        with Bachendri Pal

At the Mountaineering Institute met the famous Tenzing Norgay, who was still alive and the first woman to conquer Mount Everest, Bachendri Pal. Was I thrilled? Oh yes, as if I had climbed Mt. Everest myself!

                                                                                       Leading the Dasara procession along with the                                                                                           Police Commissioner and the Mayor, Mysore

In my Mysore posting as the Divisional Commissioner in 1992, the bonus came in the form of Police Academy, which had a Horse Riding School. My son Shawn was quite young then, may be 11 years old. We both were regulars early in the mornings for horse riding. That was great fun, catching up with Mussoorie days.

By 1983, I had started with Jane Fonda's workout and had a whale of a time. I had become conscious of the right food to eat and the right time to eat and the benefit in building up muscles, which are like power houses, burning the food you eat even when you are asleep. 

My son started on body building in a local gym near BTM where we stay when he was around 17 years old. This time I followed him and went on to do Resistant training with weights in the gym. Ever since it is I who am following him, literally, either in week-end phone calls or trips to visit him in US!

The day I retired, I bid goodbye to weight lifting. May be a wrong move, I don’t know. But the club in my colony had just started a swimming pool and the first to jump in was me! Oh, how I loved swimming! I would spend hours perfecting my strokes by watching videos of Michael Phelps and his every move. Hmm, those were the days.

As I turned 67 this year, I pulled my sciatic nerve and had to slacken my pace. Still recovering from that pain and muscle degeneration. It is nice to recall the yester-years that have gone by full of activities. It sort of boosts you up! I really need to pull myself by the boot-straps, as they say, and recover and be on my way to higher grounds. Nothing exhilarating like a good physical exercise to energize the body, relieve the mind of any tension and boost up one’s energy levels.

How can I not thank God for all the opportunities He keeps throwing in front of me and for the guts and interest He has given me to grab and engage in all these activities as and when I came across them. 

God be praised and all glory to Him alone.

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[1] A game with two sticks, one small and one big. The small stick has pointed ends and with the big stick, one strikes the edge of the small stick so that it flips in the air. Then the player strikes the airborne small stick with the big stick, to send it flying, just as a cricket ball would.

[2] Both Yoga and Transcendental Meditation I gave up once I became a serious Christian, in 1993, as these are not biblical. 

3. Unfortunately I lost my elder brother in an accident in 1972 when he was very young

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Demonetization or demonization?

This is the hottest topic of the day, just sizzling down a bit, but the tamasha is still on, with un-abating long queues in front of the ATMs and Bank branches.

Today, just 15 minutes back, as I went out I saw a few people standing near an ATM and quickly got on to the line. Luckily, I was the 8^th person in the queue and got my first new Rs.2000 very fast. That was amazing. By the time I got out of the ATM, the queue had become serpentine.

I walked on to buy some fruits from the cart-fellow from whom I usually buy. He was so down-hearted, saying people ask for less price while in the whole sale Market he is not getting any such concessions. I wanted to help him and bought some over ripe bananas and sapottas for a hundred rupee note and walked back home, ruminating.

What really was the reason for the Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi to bring out this demonetization move? What a lot of suffering for the common man! Did he think about it all, as he is busy flying around the world, seemingly signing important deals and treaties.

To give some background, it is well known that corruption is endemic in India. India, as per Transparency International’s ranking on Corruption Perception Index, stands 76 out of 165 countries. The World Bank’s survey of ease of doing business places India at 130 in the list of 190 countries. Quite a bad show.

India’s shadow economy or parallel economy fueled by black money is supposed to be 19-20%of the country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Only 2.5% of Indians ever pay Income Tax to the government! The rest are all outside the nation’s tax net.

This is precisely what the black money is all about. It is the money that is not accounted for, for which no income tax has been paid and which gets spent on lavish lifestyles, to fund illegal activities like smuggling, drug dealing, arms transactions, and to support terrorist activities.

More statistics. It is figured that 86% of the money that is in circulation in India is in the higher denominations of Rs.1000 and Rs.500 notes. Obviously, it is these currencies that circulate as black money. It is easier to deal with bigger currencies, for example, while paying a bribe, as these could be stacked neatly in a small suitcase!

So, Modi struck on the higher denominations of Rs.1000 and Rs.500 while demonetizing currencies on 8^th November 2016. So far so good. But can black money be removed from the country by this measure alone? Definitely not.

The rich and the tax-evaders are not going to keep their ill-gotten wealth stacked in their houses. They would have invested in real estate, land and houses, and gold and jewelry.

Also in offshore tax-haven countries, including Mauritius, where they could hide their money, and from where it returns to the country as Foreign Investment, undergoing a transformation from black to white money in the process. 

There could be medium rich business people, who have kept money in gunny bags and sacks in their houses and such money would be rendered valueless with this demonetization move, unless they declare and pay the penalty and the tax due to government.

In this process, Government would garner some money as tax and this could go to fund the projects to spend on the poor.

It is also said that the across the border terrorism from Pakistan, from where fake and counterfeit Indian money are smuggled into India and used to fuel strife in Kashmir valley, will end, as it is mostly composed of higher denominations. 

But restrictions on withdrawals and exchange of old notes for new have shrunk money supply in the market. Every seller of a type is facing the brunt. People do not have money to buy things and so shops and malls are losing out on their business.

Contractors are not able to pay and keep the workers, with the result workers are returning to their homes in villages in different States. Small business men like fish-vender, vegetable venders and small grocery shop owners suffer the most.

Government had kept the withdrawal of notes a well-guarded secret from the public and hoarders, but failed to make adequate arrangements for exchange of old notes to the new.

After 12 days, people are still standing in queues. Daily-wage earners are wasting their precious time, when they would otherwise be earning their livelihood. It took more than 10 days for the ATM machines to be calibrated to supply the new notes.

Bringing out the new Rs.2000 note first was another disaster, for who is to give change for the Rs.2000, with Rs.500 notes withdrawn and Rs.100 being in short supply? You have to buy vegetables and fruits for full Rs.100, even if your requirement was only for Rs.50.

I am still wondering what to do with the Rs.2000 I just drew, for who is going to give me change for that in 100s? The new note is as good as useless.

The GDP growth of the country itself is assessed by some to be reduced by 1 to 3 %. In the long run the move might be beneficial and the public might move towards cashless economy, which will bring down corruption.

But I am wondering how will the politicians, including that of BJP, the PM’s party, get money to fight their elections! An impossible scenario, for in Indian elections money power plays a major role.

I am also wondering how did the government allow a politician in Karnataka, Janardhan Reddy, to celebrate his daughter’s wedding on 16^th November 2016, spending Rs.500 crores over five days? PM’s talk about the sacrifices the common man must make to make the country corruption-free, does it not apply to rich and influential politicians?

I am afraid, no demonetization move will really cure the malady of corruption in India, unless the demon inside, that of not considering corruption as a wrong thing, is evicted and banned.

And I am not so sure that this mind set of Indian people can be changed by any demonetization move. It will only turn out to be what it has turned out to be now, a demonization move, for the poor and the needy and the common man. The rich and the wealthy seem to have escaped it all.    

Are all Christians non-corrupt?

The daunting question always is, if Christians have the Bible and the example of Christ and his teachings, then how come some of the Christians are so corrupt? The other way to put it across is, are the Christians always honest and forthright? This is an embarrassing question to answer.

One might continue to ask, how will you justify Christian nations fleecing another country under colonialism and denying human rights to that country under imperialism? For example, how could the British, a Christian nation, suck India’s wealth dry and leave her as a Third world country, a country, which in the 18^th century was at the peak of its prosperity? These are indeed some troublesome questions.

To take first the case of a colonial power of twentieth century, economic exploitation of another country is not a right or a blessing given by God to these Christian countries. However, it is true that such colonialism brought innumerable benefits to the colony.

In case of India, horrible crimes against women and humanity like Sati, where widows were burnt alive on the funeral pyre of the dead husband and female infanticide, where female babies were either starved to death or poisoned to death to mitigate the suffering of her parents to find a suitable husband for her when she grew up paying a huge dowry and jewels, were abolished by the British rulers.

English education was introduced and the minds of Indian middle class and upper class opened under such a cultural impact and fruits of such an impact were great leaders like Gandhi and Nehru, who shaped the independent and modern India.

The lower castes and the out-castes (Dalits) of India found a new voice and livelihood in that education and government jobs were thrown open to them and their status improved. Equality before law was introduced in the courts of law in the country. Christ was introduced to India, which came as a fresh breath to many.

Countless benefits followed by way of introducing railways, public transport, factories, telegraph and so on. Though the benefits primarily went to the British, it transformed India. It woke her up from her deep slumber and she modernized herself. If India is becoming an economic power to reckon with in today’s world, the seed of such greatness were sown during her colonial times.  

Coming back to the individual ethics, especially of Christians, we do find that many Christians are corrupt. There are many who tell lies, cheat in business, destroy other families trying to climb up the ladder of success, deal dishonestly with the neighbor, take bribes, make illegal profits in purchases and so on.

It must be said in defense of the Christians that the percentage of such people among Christians is not very high. Overall the whole community is looked upon as having better morals and ethics than the other religious communities in India.

It must be recognized that in the Bible, the Holy Scripture of the Christians, it is written very clearly that God of the Bible hates bribery, He does not like His people telling lies, cheating in measurements in business or taking advantage of widows, orphans and strangers and showing injustice to the poor or partiality to the rich. Even then some Christians, His people, stumble and go against such commands.

What happens when in the Holy Scriptures it is written one can tell lies to feed his family or tell a thousand lies to get a daughter married, or to save the life of a Brahmin? How will a population behave, when it is written in their Holy Scriptures that a businessman’s karma or dharma (his birth right?) is to cheat so that he can make money?[1]

In India corruption is a way of life. It was never seen as something morally wrong that should be eradicated. It was a discomfort with which one must put up. The only moral code written clearly and practiced for centuries was the Manusmriti, which is nothing but a code protecting the values of the higher castes, and notifying the code of conduct of the lower most caste, Sudra and that of the Dalits, as that of rendering service to the other three upper castes.

Servility and inability to forge loyalty except to those who offer monetary benefits or food, reinforced by centuries of such moral codes, had led India to be trodden by foreign conquerors, one after the other as she lay supine under their feet for centuries.

By 900 AD, Muslim conquerors were knocking at her doors and by the turn of 18^th century AD the British, who had come as traders, were well established as rulers in India. Brahmins, the brain power behind India, were busy studying German so that they can be gainfully employed in the service of the Germans, in case they won the World War II and become rulers of India! So much for their loyalty to India.

There were powerful leaders in countries like England and America, who fought against corruption and succeeded in such efforts. These individuals were infused with ‘a certain amount of idealism, courage and intense hatred for injustice.’[2]

A steady supply of such individuals in a society is necessary to cleanse a system or a country’s morals. This was available in the Western societies of England and America, whereas in countries like India it was not available.

The influences of Enlightened Evangelicalism rooted in Biblical values and Rationalistic Humanitarianism on their social moral thought were the twin forces that brought forth such great leaders in these two countries.[3] It was absent in India.

What about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetization effort announced on 8^th November 2016? Will it not curb corruption? Hasn’t India produced a great leader of such a caliber in India?

Rumors are already afloat that Modi had indicated that such a measure will be brought in to his friends in his State Gujarat, his party leaders and his biggest supporters in the business world, Ambanis and Adanis.

Safeguarding their own and their supporter’s money and letting loose these measures on the unsuspecting population and the opposition parties, is not an ethics that would be followed by a great leader, Indian or otherwise.

After all, didn’t Modi cleanse his State Gujarat of Muslim population in orchestrated riots in 2002? Great leader? I don’t think so.

It is difficult for a nation that believes in Scriptures that advocate cheating and lying and killing and in egalitarian injustice based on caste, to produce a leader of great caliber.

Yes, individually some Christians might have failed to live up to the standards of the Bible, but on the whole Bible and its teachings have had salutary effect on the people who believe in it and follow it, anywhere in the world.  

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[1] Prabhupada, “Bhagavad-Gita, As it is,” Complete Edition: Mumbai, 1986, Verse 18.47, p.831

[2] Alatas, “Corruption and the Destiny of Asia,” Rev.ed., Simon and Schuster, 1999, p. 35.

[3] Sunder, L.S., “Values and Influence of Religion in Public Administration,” SAGE, India, 2011, p. 244

Christ and the Transformation of a Society

I have been dealing with corruption and how in some societies this malice has been tackled headlong and successfully curbed. The historical influences that enabled England to achieve this feat, spanning over 5-6 centuries, starting from 13^th to the 19^th century were gone through in the previous blog.

Now the time has come to learn a bit more about the world-view that enabled these monumental changes in their society, that is Christianity or simply the teachings of Christ and the ‘Word,’ the Bible.

Christians inherited the Old Testament (OT) from the Jews. What was once the exclusive treasure of Jews was taken by the followers of Christ and made known world-wide. The Judeo-Christian worldview had been the basis for the legal, political and administrative systems world over today.

There has been no other book like the OT especially in ethical teachings and no wonder the Jews are considered to be the most ethical people in the world even today.  

I will quote a few passages from OT, to sample biblical teaching on corruption. “Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity. Use honest scales and honest weights, and honest ephah and an honest hin.”[1]                                         Leviticus 19: 35-36                                 

 “Do not have two differing weights in your bag - one heavy, one light. Do not have two differing measures in your house – one large, one small. You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, and anyone who deals dishonestly.”                                                                         Deuteronomy (Deut.) 25:13-16

“Appoint judges and officials for each of your tribes in every town …and they shall judge the people fairly. Do not pervert justice to show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe binds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. Follow justice and justice alone…”                                                                                                  Deut. 16:18-20

“Do not deprive the alien or the fatherless of justice or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge.”                                                                     Deut.24:17

“Do not take advantage of a hired man who is poor and needy … Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it.”                                                                                           Deut.24:14-15

Any number of such verses could be quoted from the OT, commandments given by God Himself though His prophet Moses. This God of the OT, whom Jesus called his Father, declared in Isaiah 61:8,

“For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity.” He desires His people to “let justice roll on like river, righteousness like a never-failing stream.”                                                                                          Amos 5:24

Following such a God led people to be fair in their dealings; show justice to the poor, fatherless, widows and strangers; be honest in their business dealings and fear the Lord God, who had given all these commands, because for them, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”                                                                                                      Proverb 1:7

No wonder the countries listed by Transparency International 2015 as most clean without much corruption, are all in the West, the once strong Christian countries. The first 10 countries being Denmark, Finland, Sweden, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg and United Kingdom. The only Asian country to be found among these squeaky-clean countries is Singapore.

Jesus and His teachings, which are written in the New Testament (NT) portion of the Bible, reiterate all these principles and commandments given in the OT and take these to a higher standard. Jesus mingled with the marginalized in society, gave them a sense of dignity and self-worth. He died for them, the out-castes, Samaritans, lepers, the poor, the widows, the prostitutes and the tax-collectors.

The conducts condemned in the NT are “sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, witch-craft, hatred, discord, jealousy, rage, selfish ambition, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like.”

The desired traits are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control,” towards which every Christian is urged to grow, with the help of the Holy Spirit, without which it will be simply impossible to be such a person.

God of the Bible, whom Jesus Christ came to represent on earth, demands a high level of integrity and ethics in whatever we do in this world, secular or sacred. That Jesus died as a sacrificial lamb to take away our sins, introduced a major concept into the world, that of forgiveness.

Forgiveness, loving neighbors as ourselves, caring for the poor and the needy and the marginalized in society, working to improve society, dealing honestly even in business, giving people a clean administration, of justice and mercy, equality, all became the hallmarks of Christian countries.

The world became a better place to live in because of the teachings of Christ and the One whom He called Father, which are laid down in the NT and OT respectively. These had a major influence in the world through the British Empire, especially in India. Despite all the ills and exploitation of the colonial power, British rule brought in enormous benefits to the people of India.[2]

Today the very same Christian countries have become god-less countries, having thrown away the baby with the bath water. Having rejected Christ and His teachings, the West is groping for spiritual solace from Hinduism and Buddhism, developing a new religion, New Age Spirituality. Is it any wonder morality in the Western countries is on a downward spiral?

It is urgent that we, “Repent and return,” to Christ and His teachings, His life and His example. Nothing is greater in this world, nothing can bring real happiness, peace and spiritual maturity.

Hinduism and Buddhism couldn’t bring any values in the country of their origin. Only in-egalitarian caste system, corruption, dishonesty in business, cruelty to the marginalized, dirt and filth, superstition, false philosophies, gods and goddesses abound.

After tasting the clean waters of the Bible and knowing from history how biblical teachings transformed a society for the better, how is it possible for people to go to murky and muddy waters of Hinduism or Buddhism, expecting health and strength? Any nation and any society so foolish to do that, will only end up like these very countries, where these religions are practiced.

Only Christ and Christ alone can bring in the desired transformation for the better in any individual, society and country.

Let us repent and return to Him.

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[1] Ancient Israelite measurements of dry and liquid food items

[2] Please refer for details my book on the subject, “Values and Influence of Religion in Public Administration,” SAGE, 2011.