Lord Macaulay's Letter to the British Parliament on 2 Feb, 1835:

I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such wealth I have seen in this country, such high moral values, people of such calibre, that I do not think we would ever conquer this country, unless we break the very backbone of this nation, which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and, therefore, I propose that we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose their self-esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.


Has he succeeded? Ponder yourself!

What is the difference between the west and east?

The following was said in an RSS meeting by Shanmuganathanji more than 2 decades back and narrated to me by Dr Karmalkar recently.

Whom do the west regard as superman and what are his attributes?
A man who wears a cape fully covered. A man of steel who can perform feats and do the impossible. One who can lift anything, walk through fire and has superhuman strength.

And what does that mean in India?
The word grossly translates to Mahavira - One who is exactly opposite. Doesn't wear any clothes and one who has conquered the mind.

This is the difference. The indian concept refers to one who has conquered the mind and the western ideology refers to one who has conquered everything else.

The most difficult thing

Ra pagala ozhaikaradu edukku? All for 2 inches of ___. Guess what? Ida control panna mudiyuda? Panna mudile naal aduku muyarchi pannamal erukkalama?

Not possible makes things impossible

We had a horde of visitors in the last month. What surprised me the most was the "advice" or whatever told by most of the persons.. "Philosophy லாம் என்னானாலும் சொல்லலாமே தவிர நடைமுறைக்கு ஒத்து வராது and that time is the only healer". Yeah the 2nd part is acceptable but considering the first part, if so then why all the philosophies etc etc. Vaippaechukku matum naal edukku ada terinjukkanum? And the point is no normal person ie ordinary person advocates practising those so called philosophies. and hence when we say NOT POSSIBLE, WE MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE.

An excerpt from Naan Yaar? by Ramana Maharishi

Through meditation on the forms of God and through repetition of mantras, the mind becomes one-pointed. The mind will always be wandering. Just as when a chain is given to an elephant to hold in its trunk it will go along grasping the chain and nothing else, so also when the mind is occupied with a name or form it will grasp that alone. When the mind expands in the form of countless thoughts, each thought becomes weak; but as thoughts get resolved the mind becomes one-pointed and strong; for such a mind Self-inquiry will become easy. Of all the restrictive rules, that relating to the taking of sattvic food in moderate quantities is the best; by observing this rule, the sattvic quality of mind will increase, and that will be helpful to Self-inquiry.

This is Madras

மெட்ராஸ்ல ஒரு மழை காலம் நால் எப்படி இருக்கும் என்பதற்கு அடையாளம் இது தான். Another act of our inept administration and governance. Improper sewage disposal, poor maintenance of watersheds, canals, sudden opening of dams etc without prior announcement. No effort to clear encroachments whatsover. Here are some videos of the water stagnating and rescue operation using boats. The reason why our marine patrolling is poor is because boats and dinghys are deployed for flood relief. Nice excuse nah.. :P

India

India aka the softest nation in the world. Even the officials and politicians in the underdeveloped African nations would perform better than ours. Who do we blame? The politicians? The civil servants? The public? or The terrorists? In the wake of so many allegations against Pakistan, the issue of the ineptness of the Indian government be it either the congress or the BJP will go under the drain because we have lived with it for more than 60 years, are living with it and will live with it unless everything takes a 180 degree turn. We know about Pakistan. We lack the muscle to even get back our territory occupied by them. They'll always deny involvement. Yes, they may not have supported the attacks but why are they showing reluctance in wiping out the terrorist camps in their nation? Okay, they are of the opinion that the evidence against the terrorists is insufficient, but hten what about Maulana mashood Azhar, the Jaish-e-Muhammed chief? Ain't he a convicted criminal here? What more evidence do you need? Looks as though even if the Pakistani govt officials were witnessing a crime, they'll say that they didn't see the crime as they were wearing cooling glasses. Now back to the main issue. We are now blaming the politicians and bureaucrats at the highest level for this incident? Whom are we to blame? Everyone. There may be exceptions everywhere, but if you consider as a collective unit, we lack in all aspects. Putting things bluntly, I don't have faith in Politicians. Who are the MPs and MLAs? People who have loads of cases against them including criminal cases like Shibu Soren. They are corrupt to the core who are of the opinion that once they attain the post, the next goal is to make as much money as possible. All they want is to retain their seat. If any corruption is exposed, tehy immediately goto a hospital complaining of sickness like Veerapandi Arumugam but then even if their portfolio is removed, the are still given the post of minister and MLA. Who are we to blame? The politicians? Aren't we the people who vote for them? Okay now do we have a choice? All parties are the same. We are given the option to choose among the better of 2 evils. god has given each person his/her own individuality. Certain perople are suited for a particular task while others are for others. If any alternate choice arises, like a few IIT alumni standing (Lok Paritran), maybe a few people will vote for them. Where does the majority of the Indian belong to? The poor who vote for those people who give them money. Some govt instead of focussing on major issues, start doling out TVs and those are now lost to the floods due to what reason? Nothing but their incompetence. I wouldn't be surprised if they give TVs as the older ones are damaged. Best case, even if a few MPs who are efficient are elected, are they the policy makers? Nope. So, apart from developing their constituency, where do we go? Nowhere. Bureaucrats- Some are efficient. There is no doubt about that. But ask any normal citizen and the opinion will be that all civil servants are corrupt. Why? MONEY. Anywhere you go, money talks. And many civil servant are nothing but lapdogs of politicians. Even if some are good, they will be forced to do things against their will else, transfers are there. We have ample funds. What we lack is proper deployment and utilisation. Police~ You may find brave officers like Hemant Kharkare but what are they fit for? 1. Increasing the size of their tummy 2. Their purse. No wonder our homeland security is so lax. If we need to change, the change should start at the grassroot and go to the top. Until then our Vision 2020 looks really reaaaally promising nah?

To be revised and updated.