Two films on the contemporary religious divide were screened at the International Film Festival of India, being held in Goa. The Urdu film, “Khuda kay liye” (in the name of God) tackles the contemporary subject of the inhuman acts done in the name of God. It is a story of the predicament of a modern liberal Pakistani family which bears the brunt of the communal dimensions of two different religions.
The movie is about two musician brothers – one of who gets sucked into the regressive world of religious extremism; while the other is brutalised by the racial profiling in the USA. It also handles other issues like the theological issues, suppression of women and the cultural contextualization of Islam. The last scene has a liberal and a radical competing for the Azaan. The contest for who speaks for Islam has begun!
The second film “Dharma” captures the use of religion to propagate hatred first within the Hindu community against the Dalits and eventually to unleash violence against the other religion. It is about a Pundit - a revered authority on the scriptures - who unwittingly adopts a Muslim baby, thinking him to be a Brahmin. When confronted with reality, he undergoes severe penance. But, he is liberated of his pain only when he finds that love for humanity is the real Dharma! And thus is born his courage to halt the violent rioters!
But the main learning is about the way, various groups are propagating different versions of their religions and the politics of hate. We grow up to learn that the underlying principle of all religions is love for humanity. However, the fact remains that the overriding dimension of religion ranges from suspicion for the other faiths to a violent war with them. In the name of God, the most heinous of crimes are being wrought and justified. Religions speaking about brotherhood and love for mankind are at war with each other.
It is not enough for a faith to be tolerant towards the other. We need to sift the grain (perception) from the chaff (prejudice) first in our own minds. The various dimensions of the philosophy of religions which clash with its practice need to be understood. The vengeful mask of religious identity cannot be allowed to mask our sense of perspective. In the name of mankind, we need to unlearn our prejudices and “develop new dimensions” of empathy, peace and social justice.
In the name of God, hate propels inflammatory actions,
In the name of mankind, let’s ‘develop new dimensions’!
--- Pravin
Monday, November 26, 2007
last monday's post (19 nov)
HABIT
In India, if you visit someone’s home a cup of tea will be served sans the formality of asking whether you want it. But it is a custom that agreed with me for I simply loved tea. Perhaps it was a habit picked up in childhood whilst going with my father for radio recordings of theatrical and music shows. By the time I was in college, I would down at least a dozen cups of tea in a day.
But, habits do hurt! A splitting headache would seize me if I missed my afternoon cup of tea. And my predicament was worst while on a trek in the Sahayadris. I would start off cheerfully but by afternoon my migraine would have developed deadly dimensions. There were two options before me: quit trekking or break the tea habit. I chose the latter.
It was traumatic: my nerves were on tenterhooks, my mood was edgy all day long and the withdrawal symptoms had turned me into a jittery mess! Over a month, I held my resolve and was able to get out of the habit. The liberation from the habit was a major learning. I realised that habits are born out of the conditioning of our psyche. And hence the habit needs to be divorced in the mind before the body can be freed.
More importantly, we need to stop becoming slaves of habit. I have now learnt to accept and enjoy tea with or without sugar, with or without milk, with or without flavours or coffee in all its variants or juices of all types or plain water, too. If we embrace the wide spectrum of plurality, habits have no space to form. So whether it is food, drink, music or any choices, choose not to be a victim of habit by keeping an open attitude toward every new thing that comes before you.
Whether it is things we like or technology we use, we must ensure that we do not become slaves of habit. Therefore we must try out the changing choices. We should break the conditioning of the mind and empower our self-belief. By exploring the various dimensions, we will develop a fuller personality that can adapt to every emerging change and challenge… because we will be habit free!
No habit can seize us without our compliance and permission,
Let’s break every conditioning to ‘develop new dimensions’!
--- Pravin
19 November 2007, Goa.
In India, if you visit someone’s home a cup of tea will be served sans the formality of asking whether you want it. But it is a custom that agreed with me for I simply loved tea. Perhaps it was a habit picked up in childhood whilst going with my father for radio recordings of theatrical and music shows. By the time I was in college, I would down at least a dozen cups of tea in a day.
But, habits do hurt! A splitting headache would seize me if I missed my afternoon cup of tea. And my predicament was worst while on a trek in the Sahayadris. I would start off cheerfully but by afternoon my migraine would have developed deadly dimensions. There were two options before me: quit trekking or break the tea habit. I chose the latter.
It was traumatic: my nerves were on tenterhooks, my mood was edgy all day long and the withdrawal symptoms had turned me into a jittery mess! Over a month, I held my resolve and was able to get out of the habit. The liberation from the habit was a major learning. I realised that habits are born out of the conditioning of our psyche. And hence the habit needs to be divorced in the mind before the body can be freed.
More importantly, we need to stop becoming slaves of habit. I have now learnt to accept and enjoy tea with or without sugar, with or without milk, with or without flavours or coffee in all its variants or juices of all types or plain water, too. If we embrace the wide spectrum of plurality, habits have no space to form. So whether it is food, drink, music or any choices, choose not to be a victim of habit by keeping an open attitude toward every new thing that comes before you.
Whether it is things we like or technology we use, we must ensure that we do not become slaves of habit. Therefore we must try out the changing choices. We should break the conditioning of the mind and empower our self-belief. By exploring the various dimensions, we will develop a fuller personality that can adapt to every emerging change and challenge… because we will be habit free!
No habit can seize us without our compliance and permission,
Let’s break every conditioning to ‘develop new dimensions’!
--- Pravin
19 November 2007, Goa.
Monday, November 12, 2007
WHITHER DEVELOPMENT?
The Goa Bachao Abhiyan was formed to oppose a Regional Plan that went against the very laws of the land and in the name of development sought to adversely alter the environment of Goa. As an educator making presentations among the villages, I had to study the plan and realised that two disconcerting aspect of the so called development received very little mention in the plan. However, at the ground level, mining andSEZs were the greatest attacks on the constitutional rights of the people.
Basically, the issue is the debate over what is real“development”... that which is planned by a panel of“experts” and provides immediate benefits for a few...or that which rises from the needs of the people and looks at sustainable progress that benefits all...Development as a word encompasses a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development - the development of livelihoods and greater quality of life for humans. Hence its dimensions include governance, healthcare, education, gender equality, disaster preparedness, infrastructure, economics, human rights, environment and issues associated with these.
The human dimensions of development can be ignored only at the cost of negating the ideals as proclaimed in our constitution. Quite often, we fail to notice the growing social discontent going by the confrontations that build up against development that seeks to threaten the immediate future of people… To understand ground reality, we need to move out of our comfort zones and stand face to face with the truth.
A single day spent in a village affected by mining will fill our lungs with mud and clear our minds of our prejudice against those who complain against “development”... A visit to the furious pace of activity in an SEZ that is yet to be given final approval will convince us about the sheer illegalityof it all... it is an eye-opener to realise that the very Government, instead of fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities is facilitating the advancement of irregularities...
Development that severely incapacitates our democratic processes and violates basic human concerns cannot be termed as progress. In fact, nowadays most “development” is actually a mask for land grab with the authorities helping clear the title of that land. We must understand the various dimensions ofdevelopment that range from the genuine to the ingeniously devious... Only then we can “develop new dimensions” in facilitating the progress of our land and its people!
At the crossroads of progress, let’s examine the hidden intentions...
Without involving human concerns we cannot ‘develop new dimensions’...
Basically, the issue is the debate over what is real“development”... that which is planned by a panel of“experts” and provides immediate benefits for a few...or that which rises from the needs of the people and looks at sustainable progress that benefits all...Development as a word encompasses a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development - the development of livelihoods and greater quality of life for humans. Hence its dimensions include governance, healthcare, education, gender equality, disaster preparedness, infrastructure, economics, human rights, environment and issues associated with these.
The human dimensions of development can be ignored only at the cost of negating the ideals as proclaimed in our constitution. Quite often, we fail to notice the growing social discontent going by the confrontations that build up against development that seeks to threaten the immediate future of people… To understand ground reality, we need to move out of our comfort zones and stand face to face with the truth.
A single day spent in a village affected by mining will fill our lungs with mud and clear our minds of our prejudice against those who complain against “development”... A visit to the furious pace of activity in an SEZ that is yet to be given final approval will convince us about the sheer illegalityof it all... it is an eye-opener to realise that the very Government, instead of fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities is facilitating the advancement of irregularities...
Development that severely incapacitates our democratic processes and violates basic human concerns cannot be termed as progress. In fact, nowadays most “development” is actually a mask for land grab with the authorities helping clear the title of that land. We must understand the various dimensions ofdevelopment that range from the genuine to the ingeniously devious... Only then we can “develop new dimensions” in facilitating the progress of our land and its people!
At the crossroads of progress, let’s examine the hidden intentions...
Without involving human concerns we cannot ‘develop new dimensions’...
Monday, November 5, 2007
SEEKH LE
In the Hindi film, Munnabhai MBBS, the rich voice of Sunidhi Chavan belts out a melodious number called “Dekh Le… Aankhon mein aankhen daal seekh le”. (C’mon look into my eyes and learn…). It is a motivational song that is being sung by a dancing-bar-girl sensually provoking a terminally ill patient to look at the positive side of life. The song exhorts to enjoy the journey of life while it lasts instead of wallowing in the despair of an impending death. The lyrics are truly inspiring.
During unlearning workshops, I quiz participants about whether they have SEEN the song. If they have not, I show them the clip and ask the same question once again. Everyone says, “Yes, we have seen the song.”
So I say, “You have SEEN… you have done DEKH LE… now tell me what you learnt… tell me the SEEKH LE you have done…”
Very few attempt an answer… and even among those who do, most describe the beauty and the skill of the dancer… The meaningful words have not been absorbed… The glamour of the visual overpowers the powerful message contained in the song. Even while listening to a song, many of us get caught only in the melody and miss the message.
Although we possess the ability to simultaneously enjoy the multiple dimensions of countless beautiful songs, many of us pick up on only the most appealing and play blind to the rest. The conception of that song itself is a fruit of the many creative dimensions of different abilities. We must develop our ability to see and hear and understand all these dimensions. Otherwise we will only do DEKH LE and forget the SEEKH LE…
an open mind will help you connect to the connotations…
to enjoy every song we must ‘develop new dimensions’…
Regards
Pravin
During unlearning workshops, I quiz participants about whether they have SEEN the song. If they have not, I show them the clip and ask the same question once again. Everyone says, “Yes, we have seen the song.”
So I say, “You have SEEN… you have done DEKH LE… now tell me what you learnt… tell me the SEEKH LE you have done…”
Very few attempt an answer… and even among those who do, most describe the beauty and the skill of the dancer… The meaningful words have not been absorbed… The glamour of the visual overpowers the powerful message contained in the song. Even while listening to a song, many of us get caught only in the melody and miss the message.
Although we possess the ability to simultaneously enjoy the multiple dimensions of countless beautiful songs, many of us pick up on only the most appealing and play blind to the rest. The conception of that song itself is a fruit of the many creative dimensions of different abilities. We must develop our ability to see and hear and understand all these dimensions. Otherwise we will only do DEKH LE and forget the SEEKH LE…
an open mind will help you connect to the connotations…
to enjoy every song we must ‘develop new dimensions’…
Regards
Pravin
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