Aggression is the most Expressive Sign of the Weak...

...and dealing with aggression, living, and letting others live in peace is the least expressive sign of the strong. Religion confirms this - Jesus Christ or Lord Srirama showed no signs of aggression at any time and were at peace even when dealing with aggression. When do people become aggressive? When they sense there is something lacking that they want to achieve. They want to stretch themselves to achieve it. They want to overpower others to achieve it. Why will anyone want to overpower others if they are powerful themselves and realize it? To the really powerful, it is like adding a drop to the ocean. When do people get angry? When they lack the stamina to deal with the issue with what they are naturally endowed with. So, they realize the need to stretch themselves, thereby exposing, what else - their weakness. A kid once asked me why a lady nearby was shouting so angrily. To make him understand in his own words, i asked him what he does when he is holding his urine for a long time. He said he'll keep jumping, running or even shouting. That's what she is doing, i told him, until she gets rid of that something undesirable she's carrying inside. So, when someone is angry, we should understand that they, like the kid holding pee, need to relieve themselves and help with it sympathetically, if we can, rather than counter with more aggression.

New Year Resolution

Someone forwarded me an e-mail from Sri. V.V.RAO,National coordinator VeTA Convener, Election Watch A.P, Convener, Social audit council on information Right, Coordinator, Forum for intellectual initiative -Hyderabad. I'd summarize it in one word: detachment. When we are detached and unaffected by material happenings, what remains inside is the blissful nature of the soul. A good, but very tough resolution for the new year. Happy New Year!

Indian Woman-Sarpanch dazzles at UN meet

There is news like this and there is news (and no news) about horrible crimes on innocent women. Unless women can feel completely safe living in the country, these news may not make a big difference. For that, as a starting point, we need an honest and capable legal machinery, which can truly distinguish good from the bad in its full depth. Only then will the evil fear it and the innocent will not fear approaching it.

"Samatvam aradhanam achyutasya" - Vishnu Purana (1.17.90)
(The perception of equality of all beings is the worship of God, Achyuta)

Dennis Ritchie

To say just one thing, his creations - Unix & C breathed life into thousands or may be millions of careers, including mine. May his soul RIP and may there be many more such Dennis's with the passage of time.

Dasara Greetings

Every festival brings us the fond hope that good will eventually win over evil.

Wishing you all and all yours, a very happy and purifying Dasara Festival!

May Godess Durga give us all strength to wade away from all durgathis,

dukhas, durmargas, dushtas, and dusthithis.

"जातवेदसे  सुनावामा  सोमा  मरती यतो निधाहधि  वेदः ,
सा  न  पर्शदाथी दुर्गानी विश्वा नावेव  सिन्धुम  दुरिथाथ्यग्नी"  [From  दुर्गा सूक्तं ]

Meaning: Our oblations to the all knowing, the one who can destroy
all those who do not like us, May that divine fire lead us out of all perils,
Like a captain takes the ship across the sea (Sindhum),
And also save us from all wrongs. [From the Internet]

[Destruction above may mean to convert them into people who like us -

does not necessarily imply any violence]

Hinduism teaches to see and revere  God in masculine, feminine, animal, and all living forms as well. Vishnu Pendyala

Algorithm for Learning Self-Control

Not too different from classroom learning. Just install the following wrapper process on your mental activity.

Self_conrol()

                Train the brain with data – build a knowledgebase of what is good and what is not – seek the knowledge.

                Practice, Practice, Practice. Apply discretion for every thought using the knowledgebase. Practice rejecting and ignoring inappropriate thoughts and feelings.

                If (thought_or_feeling)

                {

                                If (is_appropriate()) { think()}

                                Else {ignore()}

                }

Lokpal: Another View

First there was a single ruler (monarchy). Then we split the governance into the executive, parliament, and judiciary. Now we are adding Lokpal. What is the guarantee that Lokpal will be adequate? Frankly, we don't need more government and pay more taxes for it. We need a real government - one which is for the people. We have laws and the infrastructure to make those laws work to ensure checks and balances. Just that they need to work as conceived.

As many luminaries would agree, RTI is one of finest pieces of legislation passed by the Indian  Parliament. The CIC was expected to bring great amount of accountability on part of the government. But has that happened? People are scared to file RTIs for fear of retaliation and petitions are simply piling up in the CIC's office. I personally know of an RTI application made to the Chief Secretary of the State Government requesting to know what action was taken on a letter from the Prime Minister's Office to them, where even the enclosed demand draft was not cashed, speed post receipt confirmation not withstanding. I heard that it is a serious lapse if the fee paid is not cashed, but who would dare to complain against the Chief Secretary? These RTI applicants are already vulnerable and typically apply in despair, so wouldn't even dare to file an appeal. What is the guarantee that Lokpal will not go this route?

 Judiciary was envisaged to punish the corrupt and check the misuse of power. But look at what happened in the cases of S.P.S. Rathore and J Jayalalithaa! How about N Chandrababu Naidu and Nandamuri Balakrishna's cases? Or even the case of the former CJI, Sri KG Balakrishnan? I may not have chosen the most compelling cases, but you get the picture. So, do we really need a Lokpal funded with tax-payers' money in addition to the Honorable Judiciary?

To look at it more positively, we have seen quite many instances in the recent past where even Union Ministers, who were involved in scams were sent to jail by the Judiciary. So, judiciary can be powerful enough to contain corruption, but it seems to need certain circumstances to do so. What were these circumstances in the recent past? Public outcry, wary eyes of the citizens, and an awakened nation.

If we think these circumstances cannot stay for ever, we should capture them in form of stronger laws to stay: Bring better accountability to all wings of the government; Empower the people to get answers from the Honorable Judiciary even with a hand-written letter (currently there is a rule which can force public to come only through a lawyer); Strengthen the RTI law; Remove retaliatory provisions (contempt is an example) of the statute; Remove protectionist laws and procedures that the corrupt are taking cover under; Legislate attaching properties of the corrupt and make them repay illegal assets with a 25% interest penality; Provide protection to the questioning public. These are some of the things that the current activism should bargain for, rather than ask for another governing monster called Lokpal to deal with.