Another Thought

Premise --  The Indian National Congress Party, came into power in Karnataka riding on the promise of its' 5 Guarantees. Named as Annabhagya(additional 5 Kgs of free PDS rice), Gruhalakshmi(Rs. 2000/month to female head of households under BPL/APL), Gruhajyoti(upto 200 units of free power), Shakti(free bus ridership for women) and Yuvanidhi(unemployment dole for young graduates), these schemes promised veritable cash savings for all classes, especially women. The schemes were promptly rolled out after the election victory and the government has spent upto X crores to advertise their victory in fulfilling their promises. But has it been a victory for citizens of the state? As two and half year roll by, and nearly  50,000 crores are budgeted for 2025-26 on this scheme, it is necessary that citizens of the state reflect on the impact of these guarantee schemes Middle class perception -- Among the upper middle classes and upper classes of the city, especially the capital city, th...

Thoughts are a great temptation. The indulgence is effortless and instant. One just slips into a thought, as if it were a banana peel and then endlessly slides or perhaps glides? Truly, thoughts are a result of the past. Even ones ponderings on the future, are driven by ones past experiences, follies, tragedies, dreams and desires. And by this age, you tend to acquire a hull full of past, a train full of past, metric tons of past, and all of it demands to used, as if it were cotton! Be woven into threads of thought in unimaginable sequences, dipped and dyed in countless emotions to create soft & indulgent experiences. And such is the experience of simply being lost in thought.  To be lost in thought, is to be completely free of the world's demands. This is different from say thinking, which is intentional. This is also not the same as being thoughtful, which is akin to being intentionally considerate. Their is nothing contrived or intentional or planned, in being lost. It happe...

  We have long misunderstood Gita and Gandhi.  The Gita, doesn't advocate violence, and Gandhi, does advocate violence when necessary. What does this mean?  The Gita's setting in the battle field, atop a chariot has many symbolisms. That man is akin to a chariot. That life is battle field. The purpose of the Gita, was to get a wistful Arjuna, to stand up and kill his own kin. This is evidently absurd for a spiritual scripture.  Yet the Gita makes a very clear distinction between the violence of the mind and the violence of the material. It prioritizes the first, and trivializes the second. Because what are we, but flesh and bone? Instead, it draws us to our mind, where there is great violence & suffering due to illusion or Maya. We are not the body, nor the mind. We are consciousness, that which arises and dissipates. And hence, one must carry on with one's role in this transitory world, no matter what it entails. So effectively, what the Gita advocates is a stil...