The Good, The Bad and Ugly

I have not posted any musings on Face Book since last 8 or 9 days. Yes did post a link challenging the Myth of Mother Teressa. Received both derisive and appreciative comments.

Today while waiting for my flight at Kolkata airport I did pen my musings as under.

Yes I do enjoy challenging lot of so called basic datums. Certain friends react and certain others respond  to my irksome posts. I do not mind any Good, Bad or Ugly responses to my Posts and even knee jerk reactions. Yes  I do invite derision by being irksome. If I have been able to evoke a response, means the pebble thrown did cause ripples, the only objective of casting a pebble. One of the Koans of Zen philosophy.  

Truth exists therefore it is. Illusion exists therefore it is. Truth and Illusion exists therefore it is. A new truth evolves out of the intercourse of the truth and illusion.  I often see it something similar to building a brick wall. In building a brick wall, a new brick is always placed over two adjoining bricks, bridging and linking up both. All bricks essentially link two bricks lying below it. Never one on top of the other. This results in interlinking of all bricks and gives the brick work strength and stability. If all bricks were placed one above the other, they would not support each other and the individual brick work would have very little or no structural strength. One cannot rationally state or identify any individual brick principally contributing to the strength of the wall. It is the composite interlinking alone that makes a wall stand straight. If someone wishes to build a thick wall, one needs to place bricks facing different directions. Interlinking evolves into a Bi planner grid. Thence truth and illusion often are relative and are dependent on their direction. In short all the arguments, must be taken cognizance of and interlinked to give structural strength to the wall or idea being built and thence only we may conclusively seek evolution to the next level.  

All arguments contribute in evolving to the next level of truth. The ultimate truth is as much an oxymoron as is drawing a finishing line to human consciousness.

My last post was a link that did not agree with the widely proclaimed and accorded Sainthood of Mother Teressa. In India and specially on Face Book too we very have HOLY COWS and GAU RAKSHAK syndrome. One must distinguish that all cows being carted are not consigned to slaughter house. I was not consigning Mother Teressa to Devil hood. I was merely trying to demarcate the premises of truth and illusion.

The Gau Rakshaks among my friends in their misplaced zeal launched into vigilantism and raised arguments not germane to the basic concept of the post.

The post did not say that Mother Teressa did not do anything good. Even often ridiculed Double Shree Ravi Shankar and Puttapurti Sai Baba have done lot of good to the society. The much vilified RSS has worked wonders during any and all Natural Calamities. The schools managed by RSS are providing quality education at affordable cost to millions of not so economically privileged children of LESSER GOD. Ramdev has spread a fresh awareness towards Yoga improving health of millions. His performance or training of yogic exercises  is available to all for free every morning on Television. Yet the same brigade challenges these people/institutions by pointing out the real or virtual chinks in their armors. Ramdev is challenged saying if Yoga could cure so many diseases why Ramdev does not correct his eye problem.There must be thousand others who have tendered yeoman service to the society, with ZERO fan fare and without involving the MUCH SUTO BE WARY OF “WORD OF GOD”.  Mother Teressa too did not believe in miracles or suffering pain to perceive divinity, when it reached her personal self. Unlike her Nirmal Hruday Hospice inmates, she readily accepted medical help for herself in the best of the facilities available.

Lot of my friends would instantly react and say “It is foolish to compare two different individuals/saints”. Well whenever any accolades viz., Bharat Ratna or Nobels are awarded, it is always by comparing several different people or SAINTS in the said category. 

The State or Institutions ordained Halos such as Bharat Ratna and or Nobel create certain myths around ordinary mortal individuals. As I said earlier, that Truth and Illusion both exist conjointly.  My friends have asked questions about Low Salaries to the teachers in RSS sponsored schools. They fight shy in speaking about the unhygienic conditions and the reuse of injection needles in Sisters of Charity aka Mother Teressa’s NIrmal Hruday Hospice. Any word about her accepting money from dubious characters is brushed under you know what. Her comments about Bhopal Gas Tragedy victims, by any lesser mortal would had horrified the society and invited intense derision.

My take Bharat Ratna and Nobel prizes are the illusions and not the truth. They can not belittle unsung efforts of thousands of indigenous heroes viz., the Mountain Man who never had access to any means leave aside millions in green backs and or First Class International Flight Tickets. The ultimate perjury underlining an individual’s sainthood is the Vatican City’s process of canonization, which substantially leans on MIRACLES.

I wish the state had done a proper audit of monies received by Mother Teressa. I would like to quote Swami Vivekanand here. He said,” In your quest for truth, examine all and discard all that do not meet the basic rules of a scientific investigation.”

Like Face Book, society too likes to revel into a propaganda based public perception. Haloes are awarded too easily based on populism. Hitler was declared Man of the Year by Time magazine. Mussolini was declared as God’s child by Pope. Whereas Socrates was sentenced to death by public mandate.