Yeh Jo Desh Hai Tera Swadesh Hai Tera - Incredible India

Mixed a few pictures, I took, while wandering around in India, mostly
delhi, with the OST (Yeh Jo Desh Hai Tera Swadesh Hai Tera) from
the movie Swadesh. All the pictures I have also uploaded in many
of my posts as in:

Incredible India

Water Boy - Not A Painting But A Digital Photograph

The Dhebari (Indian Lamp)

On The Turning Away....

Jama Masjid, Delhi, India

Meena Bazaar, Delhi, India

Black And White Delhi

This is for all NRI's and Indians living abroad...enjoy guys!! :)

The List Of Ten Things To Be Done, Before Hitting My Deathbed.

During my V&A training our trainer threw many questions upon us which were carrying this epitome of 'how much you know your own self'. I realized that we know about everything which is unimportant, without knowing what is most important. This Gap, or self-ignorance reduces and limits our perception of perceiving the external world. This wish list exercise is a very minute step towards knowing your own self, because it hardly tells us about our deepest inner self, but no gigantic step is sudden, but an aggregation of such minute steps. And as the famous saying goes 'Know Yourself To Know God'. So I thought to commence with this exercise. Day before yesterday I thought out my wishlist, somewhat performed a soliloquy, articulating my thoughts into speech, and today I'll be putting them into a blog post.

Following are the ten things which I want to do before my song gets over:

1) There are these six books which I want to read before dying : Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak, War And Peace And Family Happiness by Leo Tolstoy, White Fang and The Call Of The Wild, both by Jack London, and Being and Nothingness by Jean Paul Sartre.

2) Attain Enlightenment. The whole purpose of life, in my point of view, is an opportunity to redeem yourself from your old habit patterns, break the chains of bondage, fear, aversion and craving, and eventually harmonize your being with nature, with people around and most importantly with your own-self.

3) I want to love a woman, with all my heart and being. I am not talking about that typical and cliched love we witness around us. I am talking about love, in it's most crystalline form, unadulterated by expectations and craving. But this should happen naturally and should come from within, otherwise that love will never be unconditional.   

4) I want to adopt 2-3 children and raise them as healthy (both mentally and physically) individuals, by inculcating in them high morals, values, and providing them with good education. I will never reproduce, as there are so many children already on this planet.
There is so much to learn from children. They are the apotheosis of innocence and love. 

5) Open up a tea shop, somewhere high up in a Himalayan village, where everyone working in it will be the owner of the tea shop, sharing equal usufructs. We will practice communism in that small institution, spreading good will. The shop will have it's wall full with graffiti, there will be good music playing all through from Pink Floyd to Bhimsen Joshi to Sabri Brothers, shop's ambiance will be benign, peaceful, and full of harmony.

6) Quit smoking. I don't want to die, craving for a cigarette. My last thoughts at the time of my death, should not be persistent with smoking.

7) Participate in both marathon and triathlon.

8) This is from one of my childhood fantasies, that I always wanted to become an engine driver, not an engineer, doctor or advocate, but an engine driver. So I want to work as an engine driver for maybe two or three years. The reminiscence of that view, which I experienced from an engine cabin, when I was a kid, still exhilarates me.

9) I want to swim across, from Rameswaram in India to Mannar in Sri Lanka.

10) To put a tick mark in front of every point in my wishlist. 

What Is Vipassana And Why One Should Try It, Atleast Once, In His/Her Lifetime.

I have been trying many meditation techniques in my life. Initially I had a connotation of meditation as something, after doing which, will fill me with all good, soothing, assuaging sensations in and on my body. So all my efforts and techniques were based upon looking for those particular thoughts and sensations. In the process I was trying to discard all that is unpleasant. Nothing wrong in that; who does not want peace and tranquility after all. But this is a temporary fix. The reason (which I understood later) behind this is the concept of misery. Misery in human life is because of only two reasons. Number one is Craving, and second one is Aversion. And I was doing the same through my meditation. Craving for some particular feelings or sensations or thoughts, while averting the other unpleasant ones.

Then one day I was google-ing Vipassana and came across dhamma website. I registered for a 10 day course, attended it, and survived those 10 days. In those 10 days my connotation for meditation changed. It is now that meditation is all about changing the basic human nature of aversion and craving. And I very well understood the relationship between our mind and body, not by some discourse but by practical application of Vipassana. I realized that there is a very small difference between my Basketball training camps and Vipassana. Practice and practice to change old habit patterns, take the control of mind and body, and to create more equanimity. The rules of this game are very simple, work hard, diligently, patiently, and persistently, and you are bound to succeed.

Now what hard work, what is the work here? The work is very simple too, sit in a posture with back straight, eyes closed. Start from the tip of your head, and move downwards, scanning each body part (initially keep the diameter of the scanner a bit broader, gradually with the period of time, as you get used to this technique, scale it down), upto the feet, and again from feet to the head. But what are we looking for? We are looking for nothing in particular, whatever the sensation is there on the part you are scanning, witness it and move ahead. What if nothing is there? Then witness that nothing is there and move ahead. One have to sit in the same posture and with the eyes closed for 60 minutes. To sit in one posture, eyes closed for 30-40 minutes is easy, but the latter 30-20 minutes are hell, initially. That is the practice of changing the old habit pattern, pain will come, but you have to witness it as a sensation, trying not to create aversion, then aversion comes even after you try very hard not to create it, but then again witness the sensations, moving ahead. And sometimes there are very pleasant assuaging sensations, try not to create craving for it, watch it and move ahead.

The whole simplicity and austerity of this technique lured and impressed me very much. There is no garrulous talk, no fancy music, no place to go to. All one needs is a body and consciousness.  

Anna Hazare, India Against Corruption: First Brush Stroke On The Painting In Making. Lets Take A Pledge To Complete It.

A Painter, Painting At Jantar Mantar.

Kick Off, Racing Start, Eruption. Acceptance of Joint Panel to draft the Jan Lokpal Bill is kick-off, racing start towards democratic awakening. We as the people of India need to carry this momentum till it's last stage, i.e. democratic empowerment and implementation.


After this there are two more crucial steps needed to be taken.Number one, we as citizens of India, have to make sure that Jan Lokpal bill passes through both the houses, i.e. Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Number Two, we as citizens of India have to ensure the effective Implementation of Jan Lokpal Bill.

After such large scale and high-octane awakening, we need to carry this momentum forward, till it's last stage. Then only we can afford to catch some breath.

Let us all take a pledge that we will not sit-back and relax till the picture is painted luminously, and completely.

Why Jan Lokpal Bill, Why Anna Hazare?? Abridged Differences Between Existing System And System Proposed By Civil Society.

Existing System	System Proposed By Civil Society
No politician or senior officer ever goes to jail despite huge evidence because Anti Corruption Branch (ACB) and CBI directly come under the government. Before starting investigation or initiating prosecution in any case, they have to take permission from the same bosses, against whom the case has to be investigated.	Lokpal at the centre and Lokyaukta at state level will be independent bodies. ACB and CBI will be merged into these bodies. They will have power to initiate investigations and prosecution against any officer or politician without needing anyone’s permission. Investigation should be completed within 1 year and trial to get over in next 1 year. Within two years, the corrupt should go to jail.
No corrupt officer is dismissed from the job because Central Vigilance Commission, which is supposed to dismiss corrupt officers, is only an advisory body. Whenever it advises government to dismiss any senior corrupt officer, it’s advice is never implemented	Lokpal and Lokyaukta will have complete powers to order dismissal of a corrupt officer. CVC and all departmental vigilance will be merged into Lokpal and state vigilance will be merged into Lokyaukta
No action taken against corrupt judges because permission is required from Chief Justice Of India to even register an FIR against corrupt judges.	Lokpal & Lokyaukta will have powers to investigate and prosecute any judge without needing anyone’s permission.
Nowhere to go – People expose corruption but no action is taken on their complaints.	Lokpal & Lokyaukta will have to enquire into and hear every complaint.
CBI and Vigilance departments lack transparency. Their functioning is so secret that it encourages corruption within these agencies.	All investigations in Lokpal & Lokyaukta shall be transparent. After completion of investigation, all case records shall be open to public. Complaints against any staff of Lokpal & Lokyaukta shall be enquired and punishment announced within two months.
Weak and corrupt people are appointed as heads of anti-corruption agencies.	Politicians will have absolutely no say in selections of Chairperson and members of Lokpal & Lokyaukta. Selections will take place through transparent and public participatory process.
Citizens face harassment in government offices. Sometimes they are forced to pay bribes. One can only complaint to senior officers. Hardly any action is taken on complaints because often senior officers also get their cut.	Lokpal & Lokyaukta will get public grievances resolved  in time bound manner, impose a penalty of Rs. 250 per day of delay to be deducted from the salary of guilty officer and award that amount as compensation to the aggrieved citizen.
Nothing in law to recover ill gotten wealth. A corrupt person can come out of jail and enjoy that money.	Loss caused to the government due to corruption will be recovered from all accused.
Small punishment for corruption. Punishment for corruption is minimum 6 months and maximum 7 years.	Enhanced punishment – The punishment would be minimum 5 years and maximum of life imprisonment.

"At 78, Anna is not fasting for himself, he is fasting for the future of my kid. I will myself fast on 5th April for a day and ask my 5 year daughter also to skip a meal on 5th April," 
Rakesh, a software engineer. 


VICTIMS OF A ROTTEN SYSTEM


There was much worse corruption in Hong Kong in 1970s than we have in India today. Collusion between police and mafia increased and crime rate went up. Lakhs of people came on the streets. As a result, the government was forced to set up an Independent Comission Against Corruption (ICAC), which was given complete powers. In the first instance, ICACsacked 119 out of 180 police officers. This sent a strong message to the bureaucracy that corruption would not be tolerated. Today, Hong Kong has one of the most honest governance machinery. 


Arvind Kejriwal
(The author is eminent RTI and anti-corruption activist and Ramon Magsaysay Award Winner)
E-mail parivartan_india@rediffmail.com

India Against Corruption, Support Anna Hazare, Posters Designed By Subodh Singh, From USA. Concept Dilip Dwivedi

We've created a poster and are distributing and pasting the printouts in the neighborhood. You can download the PDF and take printouts, and distribute and paste in your neighborhood.

Anna Hazare Fast Unto Death India Against Corruption, Promotional Poster .pdf

http://writingcave.com/anna-hazare.pdf