I fully agree with 90% of what have been written but this 90% belongs to just 10% of satya Sai Baba's life. I have never been a fan or follower of satya Sai Baba but still I admire what he has done for the masses. Apart from water, health, electricity etc it includes giving them 'faith'.. a firm believe in a god. And you'll agree faith is a great healer. I look at his numerous magical skills otherwise. In our childhood our parents played lot of tricks on us and later we played those 'magical' tricks on our children and made small balls, coins, pens etc vanish in thin here. We did it not to be-fool our kids but to either amuse them or to lead them to something better. And btw 'rebirth' is yet to be disapproved by science. Regards..
25 April 2011
The issue is.. many more have wealthier trusts. The important thing is what are they doing with that. And well proclaiming himself as GODMAN is part of his shady 10 % I mentioned earlier. Some of his followers are well educated and respected personalities, thus I doubt if education has much to do with it. But lets spread education so that at least some of the superstitions are taken care of.
25 April 2011
Let's not miss wood for the trees. His past is shady, his activities smack of frauds, murders and other crimes. But, may be at a very late stage though, he filled a vacuum in spiritual aspirations of his followers. I grade him higher than many more with similar pasts or presents, Pawar for one, who have equal or more money but no philanthropy. Bill Gates after duping crores by his restrictive trade practices donates a fraction of his wealth and is lauded. Lets give devil his due. At least on his last journey. Amen
26 April 2011
There are two issues here. Aadhunikta and social values.
Aadhunikta is just being in sync with today. Sending emails and SMS to announce birth of your child instead of sending letters by post, using computers in place of type writers, driving cars ipo bail-gaadi, using plates ipo pattals, using piped gas ipo gobar ke uple etc is being modern. These are aadhunik cheezen. Use them and be contemporary or don’t use them and be out of sync with today’s world.
And social values are Kaal-Desh specific. One social value may not be relevant at a different place at the same time or at the same place at different times. And in society one may choose to be one with social values or at confrontation with the same.
As far as kissing one’s wife in public is concerned I feel it has got nothing to do with modernity or aadhunikta. It is more a matter of social values. Some societies have adopted it in their values as neatly highlighted by Sachinji others have not. Today our society does not permit it. One has to stop somewhere. From not even walking together in public to just moving together to holding hands in public to kissing in public to… what next…. Members of the society set their limits. I love my wife… I need not make it a matter of public display… yet I am ready to kiss her in public.. Is my samaj ready to accept it? Are you ready?
25 April 2011
I feel modernity is just a change or departure from recent past. It is comparative by means of time and progress not necessarily by means of thoughts. I consider it different from open-ness of
mind. Do we mean that the society has been most open and forward looking today than it was 2 years ago, 200 years ago or 2000 years ago. I refuse to accept that society as depicted in Shakuntalam, in Ramayan and Mahabharat, in various other books of past was comparatively narrow minded than it is today.I feel it was as open or perhaps more open to new ideas then than it is now. Being traditional ie not being modern does not necessarily mean being less open-minded. Bhai I would still walk a mile to eat a chulhe ki roti and I can vouch for it some of them living in far flung villages away from electricity and cell phones are more open minded in their approach than most of us living in our so called modern cities.
25 April 2011
A suggestion in facebook by a member:
"...... on medical check-up of the boy and girl before their marriage, specially in context of possibility of transfer of genes. If medical check-up be done before marriage, the possibility of Thalassemia, Haemophilia, Celiac or Hemoglobinopathy will be known to us. Henceforth, the prevention can be done.Aids and other hereditary diseases can be prevented by just a simple blood test of the couple before their marriage. After a certain period of time it becomes impossible to cure hereditary diseases. So its better to avoid marriage of a couple who have presence of a same gene. Many problems can be avoided by just checking the RH factor of the couple. The children of the couple where girl is RH negative and boy is RH positive, are found with big ailments.
The only solution to prevent /stop diseases like Thalassemia is medical check-up of the couple before their marriage. Actually, there are 23 pairs or 46 chromosomes in one body. If one gene is defected/abnormal, then the other genes of the couple cover this problem. This gene is called as regressive and the patient is called as silent carrier. If both the husband and wife are silent cariers, there is a 25% possibility of Thalassemia in their child.
We can avoid such problems/diseases by medical check-up of the couple before marriage. Hereditary problems are leading to a long list of diabetic and cancer patients today. Doctors believe, if the couple have any gene of such hereditary diseases, there is a great possibility of their children being born patients."
A thought provoking issue. Generally one can see that though we all agree on the importance of such a test the point of contention is -how to go about it. Some of our brothers & sisters have raised some very reasonable issues from ethics to social values....... I just discussed the issue with a Medical Officer and he has informed that this genetic disorder is permanent. Like a blood group it also remains the same throughout one's life.... And here lies the solution. One can get his or her children tested at any stage, even when they are in school years before any talk of their marriage. And subsequently at later stage we can match this report just like we match the gotra at initial stage itself before further talks between two families. I think it will address all embarrassments and other ethical issues. Regards....
24 April 2011
I don’t see any marriage without an arrangement. Two strangers meeting by the road side do not get married instantly. Either it is arranged by the families of the two by checking various compatibility factors or is arranged by just the two of them on a single factor of LOVE between the two. As I see it both are two different versions of arranged marriages. One arranged by experts and other by novices.
Both can succeed or fail. But a prototype developed by experts has greater probability of succeeding over the one developed by amateurs, I suppose.
24 April 2011
