SUFFERING, JOY, and HOPE

When we are put to test, or unwanted events happen, we drown into the sea  of tears, and sadness. Suffering never comes alone. It comes as a legion - one after another. We will not have time even to count them. We suffer so   much that even the good things seem as bad. We do this, and then a little while later do that unfortunately they turn against us. We keep on doing it, nothing seems to work well, nothing seems to be on our favor.

But 

On a sudden day, it is very bright. That gentle breeze that enters the room in the window seems to bring everything fresh. From that time on everything seems to fall in its place. Everything works so well. Good things, like the bad ones, do come in group - one after another. Even the bad events look good - they seem a blessing in disguise now. How happy one is when everything happens as expected.

What we often forget is the link? 

The efforts that we took to set things right. The hard work that we put in to straighten things up. 

Unless one makes such an effort, will he taste such a honey. Could it be possible that things fall on their places, if there had been no such efforts? Without our efforts nothing happens. But they are forgotten in the sudden transition.

That is why it is good not to get drowned in sadness - not good to sit idly without any efforts - keep on trying, Hoping that things will fall on their places.

I have gone through such difficulties ... I hoped ... and I hope ....

Extreme Individualism

It was shocking to watch a short movie titled ‘innocence of Muslims’.  The title had, as far as I am concerned, nothing to do with the so called ‘a short movie’. It was neither a documentary nor a movie in the technical sense of the term. It was not a documentary because it never stated any facts, it had no coherence, and it was not well presented. What one sees in the movie is the hatred towards a particular religious community while praising or attempting to praise Judaism.

One man in the United States had produced such a devastating movie irresponsibly deceiving even the actress in such a way that it is a movie on some clash between some clans in ancient Egypt. If this is what he had done with making of a movie, one can understand well how the movie itself has lots its credibility. Although a particular country cannot be held responsible for one man’s fault, it is high time that a country such as the United States revalues and redefines its understanding of ‘the free individual’. It is not only for the United States but also for other countries which are attempting to replicate the U.S. Model in their own country.

A lot has to do with the historical events and the development of understanding the Individual. One can see it in differences between the Europe and the U.S. Model. There are lots of differences between the two in many respects. The main one that is often noted of Europe is its secular character understood in terms of the rise of unbelief. The majority of them are not believers in the traditional religion, and more not active believers in any religion for that matter. On the contrary United States has more active believers statistically. The former, in spite of having less believers, respects the believers and their system of beliefs that give value to the individual, whereas the latter in spite of its religious character at large displays hatred towards other religious beliefs. It does not mean that I favor secular contents and want to promote secularization. 

What I see much more important is the difference between the conception of the individual understood in terms of rights. While the element of sociality is still operative in the Europe although very mildly, even the milder connection between the individual and the society is cut off in the U.S. Model. One could say that it has taken the path of extreme individuation where sociality is almost invisible. 

[I who am neither an European nor an American acknowledge that I may be wrong and I need to substantiate it with facts, for now it may be seen hypothetically.] Freedom has to be understood as an "Exercise concept" as Charles Taylor puts forward. 

Democracy and Demonstration

India is a country partly ruled by the majority, partly ruled by the law. It gives an equal status to all the citizens of the country yet it tries to fulfill the wish of the majority. In the synchronizing model [of both Republic and democracy], the sufferers are the people because they do not have either control over the rulers or do not receive what they are supposed to receive by the benefit of the law. It is also because the law is in the hands of the few and sometimes dictated by the rulers themselves. 

In the continuous protest that we witness in Tamil Nadu, one can hope to explain the complexity of the phenomenon. The rulers see the manifestation of the people as irrational and as a divisive factor that goes against the rational decision of the majority. The vast majority of the people are made to rationally believe that the nuclear plant is the only option available to the continuous 'power cut' they experience in the country.  Joining hands with the rational belief of the government and the indifferent majority, the 'media' [some of them]     makes a propaganda writing against the protests of the people for their‘collective good’, say the safety of the present and future generation. They write that these manifestations do show that the protesters are against the unity of the country. 

The truth is that some rulers, and a pillar of democracy in fact do not understand that India is also a country that values the protection of every citizen. They think that demonstrations and protests are dangerous to the unity of the nation. They are against the demonstrations only to create an opinion of the majority. They do not understand that these protests are the sources that strengthen the system of the Indian governance in which every body’s right can be protected. It is only the recognition of these protests that strengthen the unity of the country. 

Only when the voices of protests such as these are not respected and the recognition is suppressed, then there emerges a danger of division. The voice for fragmentation may become stronger when the collective rights of the people are not respected. 

Therefore those who oppose a legitimate protest should understand that by supporting a majoritarian decision or the silent acceptance of the decision made by the majority, they are only perpetrating the system of tyranny and not of ‘democracy’ which seems their conviction.

TEACHERS

Everyone will agree that teachers have a role to play in our life. Some value it positively and others negatively. Those who have had great teachers will appreciate teachers and those who have ‘bad’ teachers will hate them if not curse them.

A good teacher is great not because he is an intellectual but because he is able to relate with the students well in such a way that he could motivate them to think on their own and to understand life in a better perspective. But our educational system does not demand teachers who can play the kind of role that they can play in the aspect of motivation.

All that our system demands is that one can be a good teacher when he has the ability to transfer from the ‘printed format to the unprinted format’, that can be stored in the mind! In this way the teachers have no the active role of a teacher. However we still are able to find good teachers in this format too. The students who have the ability to draw the impressions of the mind to the practical problems do appreciate such teachers. Say those who are good computer engineers will definitely appreciate the teacher’s contribution and his communicative skills because of which the student had an interest for the subject.

Some do not have good teachers not because they are bad as such as but lacking the skill, i.e. the ability to communicate well either from the printed one or from their memory. It is because of this some students hate a subject not because the subject is less interesting but because the teachers are less interesting.

I am talking of good teachers in two senses: one who can communicate well the subject matter and one who can relate well with the students who can inspire them in the minimum way, at least. Even if the communication skill is lacking in a teacher, he could very well be called a good teacher because of the second. Because one likes the teacher, one may also develop a liking for the subject.

Well. I want to speak about a good teacher in another sense, not restricted to the realm of the school education. Hr is one who can help the students to become teachers of their own life. A teacher here is called good not because he makes his students well informed and thus able to communicate back to others what he has learned, but because he makes the students to think, ask questions, and to make him a teacher of his own. The teacher makes the students to live on his own independent of the teacher – not in the sense of searching for a job and live on his own but one can know the meaning of being human in the world and to set the framework of his life. In this way even a teacher of history can make the students to ponder from the events of history to think of the contemporary situations. But I do not know whether the educational system will allow such teachers to flourish at all.

I have had good teachers in all sense: A teacher who is good communicator but not kind; a teacher who is gentle and a good communicator; a teacher who is gentle but not a ‘motivational teacher’’; a teacher who is gentle, intellectual, communicator as well as motivational. 

I want to write about everyone – but not now. For now, Thank you my teachers …

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What to say of millions of our children 

who have no opportunity 

to meet a teacher yet?

Being Unmarried ...

I came in contact with a ‘Greek Catholic’ from Romania three years back. Although we have not been meeting often, we did exchange views and opinions on some interesting issues of the Church, when we met. He was married and has a son. He is a jolly good fellow. 

I enjoy chatting with him although I do not understand many things, because he speaks fast and I do not understand much a foreign language when people speak fast. People tell me that I speak very fast and they do not understand. But in many places I see that others speak faster than me and I do not understand. 

This is an irony of life. We become the victim of the same thing by which we victimize others.

He was sharing with us, there was another one this time, so that I can be sure that I understand him, about his difficulties in life. His wife wanted to leave him and the son, only to live with another one. The son wanted to move away from Italy and desired to live in his home land. He had to leave Italy to take care of his son.

I told you that he is a ‘Greek Catholic’. I did not tell you that he is a priest. He has decided to live alone with his son. When we were listening to him, I do not know what he thought, he patted my cheek and said:  ‘I am happy that you are not married’.

Does this mean ... No more Discussion ...