Liberation - Making Sure Nothing Else Matters!

yam hi na vyathayanty ete purusam purusarsabha
sama-duhkha-sukham dhiram so 'mrtatvaya kalpate

O best among men [Arjuna], the person who is not disturbed by happiness and distress and is steady in both is certainly eligible for liberation

Liberation - One word, powerful, deep and is thought provoking. If one is trying to liberate a person, a country, a thing or an animal, then it is very simple. You free the person, country, thing, animal, bird, whatever. But how about liberating one-self? How can you liberate your own self? How can I liberate me? What do I liberate me from? How do I do that? Is it possible? One can easily liberate anything else but one’s own self. In order to do that, one needs to recognize the fact that we are not liberated. But are we really not liberated? Let us put this question the other way round. Are we bound by anything? If one says no, then they are bluffing, nothing else. Are we not bound by our own self? Yes we are. We are bound by many material things, relations, thoughts, and above all we are bound by our greed and our fears and ambitions. If we go and wish and pray, what do we wish for? Almost all the time we wish for comforts, money, relations, success, promotions, material things, what not? We also go to the extent of ‘bribing’ Him. What a joke! How can you even think of asking for material things and sundry when He has made you for a purpose? And to top it, we go to the extent of bribing Him so that he gives us what we want! Wow! How narrow can we get in our mindset?

The day we bid adieu to this material world, we do not take any money, any materialistic things no matter how big or small and also no relation. All we take with us is us, our soul. Not anything more, and not anything less. Annamacharya, a Telugu composer and musician, in one of his songs slaps it in our face when he says ‘it’s the same sleep that even a King or a pauper sleeps. It’s the same place where all of us end up – no matter what our birth and life has been’. All you need is at the most that 7x3 piece of land. That is all you need, or to put it better, that is all your body needs.

But for our soul, it’s a different story all together. It can be liberated, in its true sense. A person with a liberated soul will be totally unattached. Nothing can shake him. Nothing can affect him.  Happiness, sorrow, ups and downs, wealth, poverty, relations, all of them has the same influence on him – none of them matter. None of them can shake him to either side. He is always elated. Constantly. For him, sorrows and distress does not depress him or even shake him; and at the same time he would not fly in air, to cloud # 9. His feet are firmly set on the ground, to reality as it exists. Mind you it is reality as it exists and not as is perceived.

To quote Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan on this verse ‘… remains the same in pain and pleasure, who is wise makes himself fit for eternal life. Eternal life is different from survival of death which is given to every embodied being. It is the transcendence of life and death. To be subject to grief and sorrow, to be disturbed by the material happenings, to be deflected by them from the path of duty that has to be traversed, ‘nityam karma’, shows that we are still victims of ‘avidya’ or ignorance’.

It is the simplest thing not to be influenced by things around. But, it is the toughest thing to stay immune. Take it as you like. The day everything is equal and does not affect you is the day when you have opened for yourself the doors of eternity. And eternity need not be heaven after you are gone. It also can be sheer bliss. That is the ultimate truth and ultimate knowledge. Everything else is your perception.

This is my take on Verse 15, chapter 2 of the Gita :)

STOP TACTICS, THEATRICS AND BLACKMAILS! PLEASE! GOVERMENT & ALSO HAZARE TEAM! INDIAN CONSTITUION & DEMOCRACY ARE AT STAKE!

STOP TACTICS, THEATRICS AND BLACKMAILS! PLEASE! GOVERMENT & ALSO HAZARE TEAM! INDIAN CONSTITUION & DEMOCRACY ARE AT STAKE! by Sridhar Patel on Friday, August 26, 2011 at 3:10pm Mr Hazare: What next? Want to 'gherao' parliament? If your condition is to pass a bill that ONLY YOUR bill be passed, NEED NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST OMBUDSMEN BILL, then why do we need a parliament? Why do we need to discuss? Why do we need any other pillar of democracy? We will make life simpler... If we need a solution for anything, we will go on an 'indefinite fast' (Mind you: It is not a 'fast unto death'. Not sure of the choice of words by the team B of jokers). We will get a law without a discussion, and get santri to CJI under its ambit, blackmail, instigate, provoke people at the same time say 'I am peace loving'. If a 'Gandhian' says 'gherao parliament, MP's, 7 RCR, then poor old Gandhi must be turning in his grave now that his last name hijacked and mistaken for another family and now if his idealism too is hijacked. Did anyone who blidnly get carried away by this wave know the meaning of an 'Ombudsman' (English for 'Lok pal') mean? Merriam Webster defines an Ombudsman as: 1: a government official (as in Sweden or New Zealand) appointed to receive and investigate complaints made by individuals against abuses or capricious acts of public officials 2: one that investigates, reports on, and helps settle complaints It DOES NOT say get Judiciary. It is not a way to get judiciary under a Lok pal. If say one doctor was reported a quack in a newspaper, does that mean that the next time you visit a doctor, you ask him to prove he is a doctor? Yes, judges too can be corrupt. But you cannot get them under an ombudsman. Get judicial reforms for that. Nothing else. Even if you drop this, it still does not give you a right to subvert the Constitution of India and Democratic System of India. Those are supreme. Politicians have let the country down and do not forget, We, Indians have let the country down (by making corruption a way of life and 'chaltaa hai', 'jugaad' as part of our life). It is not the other way round. If you say ALL politicians are corrupt, then why on earth did you elect them? Or is it that you didn't even vote? Do not even attempt to hijack the parliament. A lady tried doing it in the mid 70's and left an indelible mark on the face of India called Emergency. Next thing is to get this Lokpal to cover all the states. Remember Indian constitution says that (and I quote the preamble) India is a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic. It is a an amalgamation of Federal and Union structure. How can Centre force states to go for Lokayuktas? That is a state subject for God's sake! Go to the states and fight it over there. Please start it with the North East. That is the most alienated part of the country. Can you? Would you? And Mr. Kejriwal, stop your arrogance and SHUT UP. It is not as much that the governments inaction that is hurting the health of Hazare but your arrogant ways. Whenever I see you talking, I am reminded of the climax scene of a Hindi movie 'Guide' where Raju is forced to go on a fast for rains without his will and wish and then, not let to eat until it rains. By the time it starts raining, people forget that there is someone fasting until death and he is forgotten, and the poor guy dies in a bid to become immortal. Please do not let this old guy die like that for your aspirations. Indian rural society needs more and more of people like Hazare to improve their standard of living - irrigation, grain banks, strengthening grass roots democracy and much more. Lastly, surprise from the most unlikeliest of quarters. Yes, why not make the ombudsman a constitutional body? Prince Gandhi might have had a great media manager and a political advisor who have planted this thought, or he himself might have gotten a 'Eureka' moment, but, I care the least where it came from. But, if the Election Commission is spotless, if the Lokayukata has been spotless, if the CAT (Central Administrative Tribunal) is spotless, if CVC is spotless (Thomas had to quit, and that is because of the checks and balances in the Law and not because he wanted to quit or not because the government wanted him to go), why not have a constitutional body of Lok pal? Think! Act sensibly! Please! India deserves nothing but the best. Let it get it out of discussions, and brainstorming, but not with blackmails.

I SUPPORT ANTI-CORRUPTION, BUT I DO NOT SUPPORT ANNA HAZARE

Extracts from my Facebook notes and discussions: I SUPPORT ANTI-CORRUPTION, BUT I DO NOT SUPPORT ANNA HAZARE by Sridhar Patel on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 2:54pm At the cost of being unpopular, let me be clear: I am a 100% supporter of any anti-corruption movement but, I DO NOT SUPPORT Kisan Baburao - Anna Hazare. Corruption is the biggest leach of Indian society, polity and economy. Agreed. But people who are naming this as the second Independence movement, do you know the difference between Independence movement and a social cleansing mechanism? There is a need for better anti corruption law, but, I DO NOT support Anna, his ways and his theatrics. You have done your part, woke the urban society. Thank you for that. But that is it. Agreed that the entire political spectrum in the country is corrupt, but, you and your team should not cross the line and try to be law makers. If you want to be a law maker, get elected and get into the House. DO NOT try to do it using the blackmail tactics. You do not even represent the entire civil society. Do not forget the Aruna Roy's version of Lokpal is far better than yours but did not get as much air time and remains largely unheard of. Do not try to take the place of the new Father of the Nation. There have been better contenders for that (JP) who could not fit in those shoes.You wont too. History will remember you as the one who got the urban masses educated on the need for anti-corruption bill. Be happy with it. YOU DO NOT DESERVE BEYOND THAT. In response to a friend's comment on this post where he said that I seem to be a Congress supporter, I wrote: I am equally irritated with both the family run businesses (one of Gandhi's and the other one being Sangh). I do not like the 'Rahul Bhajan Mandali' along with the guy himself who lacks experience and is no different from any other person if that family tag is removed nor do I like the octogenrain who ideally should have retired by now along with his senior but who is still sitting in the Lok Sabha with the single wish of doing a 'house warming ceremony' at 7RCR. But I have always liked certain individuals and I do not have any qualms about it. I do not even think twice when I say that AB Vajpayee and PV Narasimha Rao were the best PM's that India ever had. Both of them have had cases of inaction against them (one where the Centre was sleeping when a centuries old structure was being demolished with 'ek dhakka aur do, babri masjid tod do!' slogans running high and the other where the External Affairs minister of the country escorts a dreaded terrorist and a bus over the Gangetic plains and Punjab lead to the hills of Kashmir). They made history in more than one way. Yes, Man was the best FM our country had in the recent times but his self confessed helplessness and coalition compulsions have deprived him of being a good PM. There is no ways about the black money, 3G, CWG, Air India, and all the other scams and the rampant corruption that is running the show. I also mentioned in my note that I do not subscribe to the rampant corruption of this government and nor do I support the ways they are using to handle situations. Especially the way jokers like Ambica Soni, Kapil Sibal, Singhvi, and the gang are handling the government. I guess they never heard of the saying 'It is better to shut you mouth and let people wonder if you are a fool, rather than opening your mouth and confirming that'. As I said, I do support the anti corruption awareness of the day and thank Anna Hazare for that. But, nothing more. That does not mean that I want an anti corruption bill which is not the best around and which can jeopardize the working of any government. I want a government that works on its own and looks after its people any day vis-a-vis a government that would not act and cannot act on anything because even the judiciary comes under a 'super power' called Lokpal. If that is the case then why would you need a parliament, a judiciary or an executive? Lets do away with all of them and create one Lokpal. But what after that? Who will monitor them? If you want judiciary to monitor the executive and a parliament to monitor the judiciary and a Lokpal to monitor the parliamentarians (including the PMO) then that is fine. But if you want to do away with all the existing structure and bodies and get even the judiciary under its perview, then I am sorry. I wont subscribe to it. There should be checks and balances. Correct. But, there should not be any Frankenstine monsters around. We are better without them. I was sharing this with one of my other friends the other day, and I say that here again - corruption has become a part and parcel of our lives. The same people (including you and I) who brag about corruption do not mind bribing a constable for a 'petty traffic offense'. We find it absolutely fine when we say 'do this bit of work and I will give you an extra chocolate' to a kid. We do not even spare God when we say 'I will break a 100 coconuts if you do xyz to me'. We do not realize that all that is ALSO bribing. If you want to fight corruption, start it with a 'No' at home. I said that I thank that guy (Anna Hazare) for the awareness that he generated with the urban folks. But he does not deserve beyond it. If he wants to be a law maker. Let him be one. It is easy to sit in Ramlila Maidan and give a speach. It is a totally different story to sit in Parliament and discuss a bill. If you are saying that MP's are corrupt, I ask who got them there and who made them corrupt in the first place? If putting the bill for discussion in the parliament is the aim, then, why can't an MP (Agnivesh is a strong supporter of his and an MP too) put the so called 'Jan Lokpal' as a private member bill? Then the parliament will have to discuss it. But no, that will take the fizz out, the TRP's will fall for these news channels, and Anna will have to go back to his crusade of agricultural reforms, creating water banks, fighting for the rural issues in the Maharashtra heartland and he is good at that. But, the only problem being he won't get this publicity and attention to do theatrics. Think! :)