This message is not intended to offend anyone's sentiments, it is but a humble appeal for realization.
“A good education is like a savings account; the more you put into it, the richer you are.”
The idea is to inspire my young friends, to encourage them to invest their time wisely in pursuit of activities that would enhance the scope of their academic and professional achievements brilliantly.
Fight that irresistible tendency to question authority for the sake of questioning. But do it by all means if you feel there is injustice.
My observation is that the technology, information overkill and financial opportunities…all have made our youth a bit arrogant and careless.
When we were small, we really enjoyed the outstanding benefits of the joint family system with many elders to support us emotionally and many children from family to share the wonderful process of learning to grow up.
Today’s Youth are fascinated at the pace and ease of communications and expression, that they can establish acquaintances with so many People instantly all across the World. But this acquaintance through gadgets and social networking, unfortunately is scratching the transient shallow layers of modernity and thinking process. Mostly the quality of friendships are suspect.
The Youth feel that their Parents are pressurising them for no reason or picking upon them deliberately , not realizing that their Parents are desperately seeking the liberation of their Children
No Parent would wish that their Children grow up in a Society where they are not able to take care of their responsibilities efficiently.
It is normal that the Youth require to communicate and keep in contact with each other, exchange ideas, keep abreast of the time, be aware, be knowledgeable; however the reality is that when needing to Produce tangible results in a real life task, the Internet Chats and the Knowledge accumulated in the chat rooms will be of no help. Emancipation will not come from pubs.
There is never a short cut. Allot a certain amount of time each and every day by preparing a check list / a fact sheet of the progress made; to prepare a Road and Mind Map for future.
I wonder why there is not enough quality reading among the new youth. Mills & Boon and James Hadley Chase are killers(of time).There is so much of meaningful stuff to read that if we start today and go at it non stop till our death, we will not cover 0.5 % of the available knowledge and unfortunately we have only one life.
If we read the right things, I can assure you we do not need the fancy dressed GODS. The ethics , morality, love, realization.. everything will come to you without murky religions and fancy Gods.
Students need to extend respect to teachers and elders, parents and the family, in consonance with our cultural norms and traditions. Young professionals need to look upto their seniors with independent reverence. (Sounds terribly old fashioned? But true)
It is important to respect others’ faiths and beliefs in the religious, cultural and social identities and to different schools of thought .
To promote appropriate standards of ethical conduct in individual and social life, to maintain honesty and integrity of character and be committed to fight against all forms of corruption, social evils and practices , younger people need to take initiative.
Most youngsters whom I meet are fraught with anxiety over their conflicting image. They have a desire to uphold their Indian traditions, while similarly attempting to keep up with the West. What is important is to have a self image that salutes value.
The young generation is a rather loud generation; they want everything instantly—instant coffee, instant money, instant fame. Ofcourse they are smart, with access to lot more information. They have foreknowledge of things which we had to learn the hard way. Perhaps that gives them a know-it-all attitude and a tinge of arrogance.
There is much more information but very little processing and analysis. There is much more knowledge but little wisdom. Ambition takes over conscience.
You all have a responsibility to contribute to sectoral, family and self development and to promote social and inter-generation understanding and gender equality .
You have a responsibility to protect the sanctity of the idea of family and the free thinking rational human spirit. Those who are already doing it are the enlightened ones and those who don’t can start today.
Make life a promise to give ….and take…..
Jayanthram
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
AN OPEN LETTER TO MY CHILDREN AND MY VERY YOUNG FRIENDS
Dear ones,
I am often acused of advocating free thinking to young individuals and freedom from organised religion and freedom from both manmade Gods and human living Gods.The fact is that I do and I have very strong reasons for this.Let me explain:
When you were 10 years old, you never thought that the twinkling stars far in the sky were large, very large objects that are millions of miles away.Later, in the school, you learned that Earth is a large ball that revolves around a bigger star called SUN.The reason for believing things is "EVIDENCE".Sometimes you can see, touch, feel things for evidence and sometimes you need Scientific tools like a telescope to know that stars are actually big balls.
All murders are committed carefully.No one sees it.But most murderers are caught and punished on the strength of corroborative evidence.Scientists often work like investigators who investigate murders.They make a hypothesis and look for proof.It is the same way a doctor diagnoses a sickness.EVIDENCE is the key.EVIDENCE is a much smarter reason to believe in something rather than TRADITION,AUTHORITY, REVELATION etc.
If you ask your young Hindu, Muslim or Christian friends as to what they believe in they will list a few things which are all entirely different.Obviously, all of them cannot be true at the same time.So, chances are that all of those beliefs are wrong.The only reason why they followed it is that their parents followed it.They followed it because their parents followed it.Nothing ever was based on evidence.When a story gets passed on from generation to generation, it acquires some respectability and invincibility.Age brings in credibility.If the original was just a story, then no matter how many generations it travels, it remains a story!But they call it TRADITION or even more grandly....HERITAGE.
Different beliefs are only due to different traditions and they dont mind killing each other on this basis.Shias and sunnis do not believe in the same thing.Catholics and protestants do not believe in the same thing.Brahmins and dalits do not believe in the same thing.They will not hesitate to kill each other to protect their respective beliefs.
Authority without evidence, wheather it comes from a holy book, pope, Ayatolla or Swamiji need not be accepted.You may say that why believe a science authority when he says that light travels at a speed of 186000 miles per second? Good question.The difference is that the people who wrote this figure have seen the evidence and you just believe in the method.We can look at this evidence when we want.But is there any evidence for Mary's body flying off to heaven or for Hanuman tearing open his chest to show Rama inside?
A lion in Africa is is built to survive in jungles.People are built to survive with other people, with many skills to survive.A childs brain is conditioned to absorb all sorts of information.But it cannot differentiate between true or false information.So, whatever the parents tell them, they absorb and here starts the so called tradition.When they grow up they pass on the entire baggage to their children.So even completely false stories grow from generation to generations.We were too young to question.Every child grew up with the firm belief that his parents are right and other parents were wrong.
So what can we do? whenever someone tells this has to be done on account of tradition, look for Evidence( either direct or indirect).
When you know that 94% of the people of this world are believers, you may have a tendency to go with the majority.But are these 94% believing in the same thing? Certainly not.Even in America, the land of opportunities, 14% are catholic,26% are proestant,2% are jews, and 6% are atheists!
If you take the world,33% are christians,21% Muslims,14% Hindus,6% Budhists,12% other religions and 16% non religious.
Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein did not subscribe to any religion.
So,Use scientific method:It sorts out what is true,what is story,and what we are not sure about.It involves watching things happen,trying to think of reasons for whatever happens,testing and validating each idea with experiments,evaluating results,changing the idea and retesting, if the idea does not fit in with whatever we surely know.
I recently met a nice person in a diabetic coma.She was a devotee of Saibaba and used to take the ashes from his ashram for any illness.Sadly the faith took away her health.
You all can conclude that since the ashes did not work for her, it will not work for anyone else.You can certainly find thousands of diabetics who were cured by insulin therapy.Faith will work only if the sickness is essentially a mind issue, not otherwise.
Question every superstition.There is no force stronger than your mind!
To be moral, you do not need GOD or Religion.It comes out of a natural urge to be good and can be cultivated independently.
All the best
Jayanthram
Dear ones,
I am often acused of advocating free thinking to young individuals and freedom from organised religion and freedom from both manmade Gods and human living Gods.The fact is that I do and I have very strong reasons for this.Let me explain:
When you were 10 years old, you never thought that the twinkling stars far in the sky were large, very large objects that are millions of miles away.Later, in the school, you learned that Earth is a large ball that revolves around a bigger star called SUN.The reason for believing things is "EVIDENCE".Sometimes you can see, touch, feel things for evidence and sometimes you need Scientific tools like a telescope to know that stars are actually big balls.
All murders are committed carefully.No one sees it.But most murderers are caught and punished on the strength of corroborative evidence.Scientists often work like investigators who investigate murders.They make a hypothesis and look for proof.It is the same way a doctor diagnoses a sickness.EVIDENCE is the key.EVIDENCE is a much smarter reason to believe in something rather than TRADITION,AUTHORITY, REVELATION etc.
If you ask your young Hindu, Muslim or Christian friends as to what they believe in they will list a few things which are all entirely different.Obviously, all of them cannot be true at the same time.So, chances are that all of those beliefs are wrong.The only reason why they followed it is that their parents followed it.They followed it because their parents followed it.Nothing ever was based on evidence.When a story gets passed on from generation to generation, it acquires some respectability and invincibility.Age brings in credibility.If the original was just a story, then no matter how many generations it travels, it remains a story!But they call it TRADITION or even more grandly....HERITAGE.
Different beliefs are only due to different traditions and they dont mind killing each other on this basis.Shias and sunnis do not believe in the same thing.Catholics and protestants do not believe in the same thing.Brahmins and dalits do not believe in the same thing.They will not hesitate to kill each other to protect their respective beliefs.
Authority without evidence, wheather it comes from a holy book, pope, Ayatolla or Swamiji need not be accepted.You may say that why believe a science authority when he says that light travels at a speed of 186000 miles per second? Good question.The difference is that the people who wrote this figure have seen the evidence and you just believe in the method.We can look at this evidence when we want.But is there any evidence for Mary's body flying off to heaven or for Hanuman tearing open his chest to show Rama inside?
A lion in Africa is is built to survive in jungles.People are built to survive with other people, with many skills to survive.A childs brain is conditioned to absorb all sorts of information.But it cannot differentiate between true or false information.So, whatever the parents tell them, they absorb and here starts the so called tradition.When they grow up they pass on the entire baggage to their children.So even completely false stories grow from generation to generations.We were too young to question.Every child grew up with the firm belief that his parents are right and other parents were wrong.
So what can we do? whenever someone tells this has to be done on account of tradition, look for Evidence( either direct or indirect).
When you know that 94% of the people of this world are believers, you may have a tendency to go with the majority.But are these 94% believing in the same thing? Certainly not.Even in America, the land of opportunities, 14% are catholic,26% are proestant,2% are jews, and 6% are atheists!
If you take the world,33% are christians,21% Muslims,14% Hindus,6% Budhists,12% other religions and 16% non religious.
Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein did not subscribe to any religion.
So,Use scientific method:It sorts out what is true,what is story,and what we are not sure about.It involves watching things happen,trying to think of reasons for whatever happens,testing and validating each idea with experiments,evaluating results,changing the idea and retesting, if the idea does not fit in with whatever we surely know.
I recently met a nice person in a diabetic coma.She was a devotee of Saibaba and used to take the ashes from his ashram for any illness.Sadly the faith took away her health.
You all can conclude that since the ashes did not work for her, it will not work for anyone else.You can certainly find thousands of diabetics who were cured by insulin therapy.Faith will work only if the sickness is essentially a mind issue, not otherwise.
Question every superstition.There is no force stronger than your mind!
To be moral, you do not need GOD or Religion.It comes out of a natural urge to be good and can be cultivated independently.
All the best
Jayanthram
Monday, May 18, 2009
It has been a historic election verdict which confirmed the maturing of the Indian voter to some extent.He has rejected exclusive religiosity, casteism, regional satraps and poverty distributing ideas of communism.
In 1952, when the first election was held, 85 % of the electorate was illiterate and we needed symbols in the ballot paper.It still continues.But the voter at least now knows what he shoul avoid.
"Left" has left the political space and have acknowledged their own irrelevance.As a replacement the new ruling dispensation need to move a bit more towardas the poor and underprivileged to occupy that space.
As MJ Akbar, put it beautifully, "India is not a secular nation because Indian Muslims want it, but because Indian Hindus want it." The splinter parties with their megalomaniac leaders will no more find acceptance and that will be good for the polity.Divisive politics of hatred is weakened and deservve to be destroyed.The Nation, now understands where it need to go and this is great indeed.
A.P.Jayanthram
In 1952, when the first election was held, 85 % of the electorate was illiterate and we needed symbols in the ballot paper.It still continues.But the voter at least now knows what he shoul avoid.
"Left" has left the political space and have acknowledged their own irrelevance.As a replacement the new ruling dispensation need to move a bit more towardas the poor and underprivileged to occupy that space.
As MJ Akbar, put it beautifully, "India is not a secular nation because Indian Muslims want it, but because Indian Hindus want it." The splinter parties with their megalomaniac leaders will no more find acceptance and that will be good for the polity.Divisive politics of hatred is weakened and deservve to be destroyed.The Nation, now understands where it need to go and this is great indeed.
A.P.Jayanthram
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Once again, the election bandwagon is rattling and moving closer.This time the voters of India have special and unprecedented responsibilities.This is no ordinary election.The world is going through the worst recession seen after 1930s and no matter what the pundits say, we cannot be totally isolated from the aftermath of this economic Holocaust.A government that we are going to elect will be playing a very decisive role in managing this turbulence and the future of this nation depends a lot on this.
So, cutting out the rhetoric, what do we aspire for as the desirable outcome of this election. As a minimum non-negotiable precondition, we need a dedicated team of men of integrity and that automatically translates to a complete bar on any candidate with any kind of criminal background.We need to elect honest, level headed and hardworking men and women as our representatives.
What about their politics?Any extreme hues of opinion should be avoided.You hear passionate arguments that capitalism is dead, based on the meltdown orchestrated by some greedy bankers in America.Others on the extreme fringe says that only communism and unadulterated socialism can work for us.No one seems to think that wealth has to be first created in factories and fields before wealth can be distributed.Otherwise we will be distributing poverty mixed with verbose meaningless ideology.So, let us not look toward USA for unadulterated capitalism or towards Latin America or other pockets that eulogise communist socialist utopia.We have to have a capitalistic wealth creating outlook till we become prosperous enough to distribute this well being by socialistic institutions and tools.So, look for a party that stand by this formula and show signs of rational pragmatic governance.
Do not be carried away by outfits that want to promote any kind of exclusive identities in the name of religion, caste, communal ism or regionalism.India is a diverse civilisation of unimaginable variety and only for this reason, any party that negate this diversity, must not be allowed to come in power.What we need is a party that will stand by the nuances of a mixed economy and secular polity.
33% of global poor are still in India and 75% of Indians even today live below 2 dollars a day.So no communist utopia can distribute anything except abject poverty.At the same time, No propagandists of a "shining India" can hide our slumdogs who struggle for an identity.Considering this, a centrist party that believes in concepts of nationalism, secularism, inclusiveness, business friendly productivity orientation and social responsibility is the answer.We need an economist of competence with impeccable personal integrity to lead the nation in the times of crisis.
We can avoid looking at temple builders, Religious fanatics who do not dare to condemn terrorism of any hue, megalomaniacs who guard their treasure chests, apologist politicians who who do padaseva for the rich and well connected, Leaders who change parties at the drop of a hat(or turban), leaders who want to erect statues of their mentors all over the country, the entire spectrum of small and marginal men who put on their garish make ups like streetwalkers before every election...
Indian democracy has many imperfections like the caste system and grossly insufficient education.We need to correct them.What encourage us is that this democracy has sustained for 50 years in a country of over 1 billion people with innumerable problems.
Let there be no scope for division, polarisation and exclusiveness here.Let there be pragmatic economic thinking with the right dose of well meaning regulation and inclusiveness as the objectives of this election.This is a historic responsibility on the voter.
A.P.Jayanthram
So, cutting out the rhetoric, what do we aspire for as the desirable outcome of this election. As a minimum non-negotiable precondition, we need a dedicated team of men of integrity and that automatically translates to a complete bar on any candidate with any kind of criminal background.We need to elect honest, level headed and hardworking men and women as our representatives.
What about their politics?Any extreme hues of opinion should be avoided.You hear passionate arguments that capitalism is dead, based on the meltdown orchestrated by some greedy bankers in America.Others on the extreme fringe says that only communism and unadulterated socialism can work for us.No one seems to think that wealth has to be first created in factories and fields before wealth can be distributed.Otherwise we will be distributing poverty mixed with verbose meaningless ideology.So, let us not look toward USA for unadulterated capitalism or towards Latin America or other pockets that eulogise communist socialist utopia.We have to have a capitalistic wealth creating outlook till we become prosperous enough to distribute this well being by socialistic institutions and tools.So, look for a party that stand by this formula and show signs of rational pragmatic governance.
Do not be carried away by outfits that want to promote any kind of exclusive identities in the name of religion, caste, communal ism or regionalism.India is a diverse civilisation of unimaginable variety and only for this reason, any party that negate this diversity, must not be allowed to come in power.What we need is a party that will stand by the nuances of a mixed economy and secular polity.
33% of global poor are still in India and 75% of Indians even today live below 2 dollars a day.So no communist utopia can distribute anything except abject poverty.At the same time, No propagandists of a "shining India" can hide our slumdogs who struggle for an identity.Considering this, a centrist party that believes in concepts of nationalism, secularism, inclusiveness, business friendly productivity orientation and social responsibility is the answer.We need an economist of competence with impeccable personal integrity to lead the nation in the times of crisis.
We can avoid looking at temple builders, Religious fanatics who do not dare to condemn terrorism of any hue, megalomaniacs who guard their treasure chests, apologist politicians who who do padaseva for the rich and well connected, Leaders who change parties at the drop of a hat(or turban), leaders who want to erect statues of their mentors all over the country, the entire spectrum of small and marginal men who put on their garish make ups like streetwalkers before every election...
Indian democracy has many imperfections like the caste system and grossly insufficient education.We need to correct them.What encourage us is that this democracy has sustained for 50 years in a country of over 1 billion people with innumerable problems.
Let there be no scope for division, polarisation and exclusiveness here.Let there be pragmatic economic thinking with the right dose of well meaning regulation and inclusiveness as the objectives of this election.This is a historic responsibility on the voter.
A.P.Jayanthram
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