The most important point to note in the victory of BJP in Karnataka is this: It is Mr. Yeddyurappa's personal victory and not an ideological victory of Hindutva of the kind one finds in Gujarat. I have consistently been critical of the Hindutva ideology of the Sangh Parivar but when the Chief Minister ship was not transferred to Mr. Yeddyurappa as promised after 20 months, I too felt like any ordinary citizen of Karnataka that it was unethical. I felt sympathy for Mr.Yeddyurappa for it was pathetic to see him abandon a rally in Tumkur and rush back to Bangalore to reopen negotiations with Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy for the CM post. The whole episode was bathetic.  read more »

I am thankful to Supriya Agarwal for her kind words.. After what Dr. Jasbir Jain spoke about ' Self'- the topic of our discussion today, , I can only elaborate upon what she said.

I want to start my speech with a broad remark; I can think of myself, my identity, either as a 'self' or as a 'soul'. If I think of myself as a 'self' then I seek fulfillment; if I think of myself as a soul then I seek liberation from the bondage to' this- worldly' pursuits.  read more »

The state of Karnataka had never reached the low in morals that it has reached today politically. The two political parties which failed the coalition after twenty months surprised the ordinary simple people of Karnataka by the reasons they gave for their failure. But most people rightly asked: . Does anyone break a promise?  read more »

Once Acharya Kripalani was angry in the parliament over something that I do not remember now, but I remember how he expressed his anger. In a trembling voice the old veteran, who could be critical of Gandhiji when he lived, said: ‘If the minister persists in his folly I will have to walk out of this august house’. He might not have used the same words but he meant it. For Kripalani the great act of protest was walking out. Today ‘walking out’ is nothing, You have to shout and stop all the proceedings for days together, even physically push and pull the opponent but no one is impressed.  Such vehement protest is seen as an obligatory drama as you are in the opposition. Those who rule now did it once and it is your turn now.

The bitterest words that Gandhiji ultimately used against the British who ruled us were ‘Quit India’. He took many years of intense persuasion in words and deeds of Satyagraha to change the hearts of the rulers before he permitted himself these two unkind words against the rulers.  read more »

My grand father, deeply religious and orthodox, would never have used a sentence like “I am an Indian” in his whole life. Yet India was still an idea, a concept derived mostly from her rivers. When he drew water from our well and poured it over his head he recited a mantra which prayed that the waters of the Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswathi, Narmada and Kaveri be present in the well water of our home and sanctify him. As he sat for his prayers he positioned himself in the universe beginning with Bharata varsha and then Bharatha khanda and then Jamboo dweepa which further got focussed into the actual place he sat in and the ever recurring time according to the lunar almanac. Thus seated he  got all the Gods to dwell in several parts of his body who enabled him to propitiate Gayatri- a prayer to enhance the psychic ( Dhee =mental?) energy of the whole of mankind.  read more »

Long long ago M.K.Gandhi, a vegetarian and a believer in non-violence and the possibility of change of heart of the people on this earth was asked by a journalist what he thought of Modern Western Civilization. Gandhi had ironically replied 'it is a good idea'. We need to remember now in the year 2067 his words because what went on as mindless consumption and development in the guise of modern civilization was about to bring the world to utter ruin. Even Gandhi's India and Mao's China went after imitating American civilization and ignored all caution against global warning. Although there was Islamic and Hindu fundamentalism the fundamentalism which had the sanction of all ruling elites of the world was market fundamentalism and as a result of this agriculture in India- which was a way of life, and also a preserver of cultural memories- was marginalized and killed. Everywhere the SE Zs cropped up. Modern medicine which only the very rich could afford lengthened their duration of life and not the quality of life... By the year 2037, there were fewer young people among the very rich.  read more »