Pained to know ..

Now and then we read about it but here it goes again

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7466916.stm

Sad times, really sad times. This really vindicates my belief that god remains in the idols but not in the minds & hearts of people of India. How can you otherwise explain a country where people are supposed to be so religious and spiritual, where woman is considered as "Devi", as the "Shakti" of all forces, as "Annapoorna", as "Laxmi" and so many other epithets?

How as India become more and more hypocrite? At one hand, I frankly feel we don't have any kind of respect for our ancient vedas and loads of wise books. At the same time I also feel that we would like to emulate the west but for the wrong things. There are two major things which I like to emphasize in this blog.

Looking at the developed world or at the countries who have managed to move in with a great speed, there are two things alarmingly similar.
1. They keep their neighbourhoods, cities, villages, countries clean &
2. They respect the women.

All our ancient scriptures or books of wisdom have emphasized on the character of woman. When women have been disrespected in any kind of society, the society starts degrading. Also, the character of the woman determines the character of the society. Time and again it has reminded us all of the power that woman holds on the destiny of that society. However, as sad it may sound, the fact is we have slowly and gradually stopped reading those great scriptures and forgot regarding the simple things we need to keep in mind.

On the surprising side, I have observed that even though the people of the west or for that matter people outside India, have not had such kind of access to great books, they have somehow build in their culture to create a environment wherein everyone irrespective of sex is treated equally. And this is truly the true reason behind their rapid success. It is said that the word "Shiv Shakti" is actually a representation of the fact that the real power of SHIV lies with the SHAKTI that is 'Parvati'. Without that SHAKTI, SHIV cannot be omnipotent. When that SHAKTI is given the rightful place with SHIV only then SHIV can realise the true powers. When any society have not realised the potent power of the SHAKTI (woman), and mistreated or disrespected it, (e.g., Taliban, Pakistan, etc.) the society has degraded or disintegrated to a large extent. Also, when it has expressed the desire to create a society wherein not only women are respected but given proper justice from time to time, the societies have defied all logic and grown from strength to strength.

Other thing which has been on my mind for a long time now is the thought of clean socieities. Ever since, I have been to countries like UK, Germany and Croatia, I have been thinking all the time on this. I had been to UK at the time of Diwali. When I returned, it was Diwali here in India. People were up to their usual pre-Diwali cleaning stuff. As every Hindu should know there is a belief that we should keep our house, premises clean during Diwali so that Laxmi Devi blesses on the auspicious day of Laxmi Poojan. We really clean our homes like never before and its just wonderful to visit everyone. Which makes me wonder, why the people of the west keep their houses, neighborhoods, cities, villages, countries clean? And somehow the countries who have managed to keep it clean are ultra rich and they have never even read / heard about our beliefs. So basically, we know something through ancient wisdom and we use it conveniently whereas the western people don't know about it and still manage to do it religiously. Why cannot we start with ourselves, than our homes, than our buildings, than our neighborhoods, than our townships, then our cities, then our states and eventually our country. Rabindranath Tagore once said that "If every man kept his house and premises clean, eventually entire country would be clean".

I know, I may have oversimplified the reasons behind great countries, but somehow I strongly believe that these may be the reasons of their greatness. Simple but profound things like this have been advocated to us from ancient times, its time we took heed. Afterall they are simple things to follow after all.

GOD BLESS INDIA & HOPEFULLY RETURN FROM HIS LONG HOLIDAY IN THE WEST !! (Remember God stays where cleanliness is ...)