Too much or too little?

They say knowledge is power and information is liberating.

But is it entirely true? Is knowing everything really a boon or is there more to it?

Knowledge is powerful. It can either set you free or pull you down under its weight.

But with great knowledge comes great responsibilities and with extra-ordinary information come some agonizing limitations.

On one hand, knowing too much before the right time can be restraining, but on the other hand, knowing too little can be equally perilous.

So when do we draw the line? How do we decide whether what we know is too little or too much?

We chase answers all our lives. We seek what is unknown, and yet when we have all the answers, it’s not enough. We crave for more. It’s like an eternal thirst that can’t be quenched.

The interesting question here is, what would happen if we knew things even before they happened? Would it avert accidents? Would it lessen the pain of tragedies?

There is no definite answer but its safe to say that it would do no good in any situation.

Future is indefinite and our each and every action holds the potential to change it.

On one hand knowing about a happy ending would make us too lethargic to act in a way that would get us the desired outcome, on the other hand, knowing about a calamity would drain us in a way that we would cease to live in the present.

The fact is that no one can live with the burden of knowing too much before the right time for a long time.

So when they say that ignorance is bliss, they say it right. In some cases, its better to close your eyes and be blind to the future than being a silent spectator to what cannot be changed.

The Thing About Truth…

They say that only truth can set you free, but they never tell you anything about the ‘truth’.

They tell you to be honest and never lie, but they never really define it.

So, what is truth? More importantly, how do we decide if a thing is true or not? Is ‘truth’ a set of commonly accepted facts? Or is it merely a belief?

How do we decide the finality of anything? And why do we depend on the absolution at all?

Is it because we love our comfort zones? Or is it because the inertia is too great to contest?

History has witnessed many great beliefs being challenged and getting replaced by new beliefs. Time has given us sufficient evidence to show that nothing is absolute.

There was a time when Earth was in the center of the universe and there is a time when we are peeping through the windows of the universe to see if we have a neighbor.

Point being, truth can be challenged in light of facts that state otherwise.

Yet another perspective that can question the absolution of truth is relativity.

Every fact, every belief, every bit of information is relative. What is right for one person can be outrageous for another. What is interesting for one can be shady for another.

To quote an example, when its broad daylight in the US, its midnight in Indonesia. Does it mean that either one of the two are false? No. It simply means that both are right, both are ‘true’ with respect to another sun but not to each other.

Common knowledge or wide acceptance elevates the status of any information from ‘fact’ to ‘truth’. But does it mean that the majority is necessarily right? Not always.

The thing about ‘truth’ is that it can be challenged and changed. So, to believe in its absolution and stop looking beyond what is already known, is not just ludicrous but also insipid.

So stop resisting and start looking for it’s never too late to explore!

FUTURE - What and Why?

Future. Future is unknown.

It holds the keys to what might happen. It holds the key to some of the most startling revelations and to the saddest tragedies that we might ever witness.

It holds the power to surprise and shock us. It holds the answer to the greatest and most inexplicable question of life.

Future. Future is made up of moments, connected intricately in symmetrical patterns, resounding in fineness the secret of all existence.

Future. Future is distant. It is hope that destinies can change. It is the determination that some ‘impossibles’ can be made possible. It is the chapter that has new lessons written all over it.

So what is Future? And more importantly why do we count on it so much? Is it because it brings the uncertainty of change or is it because we have got accustomed to the false hopes and promises we expect it would bring?

Are we the humans, the most evolved species on the planet, so powerless and helpless that we waste our entire present in the possibility of a different tomorrow? And why do we expect that tomorrow is going to be any different if today is the same?

If we don’t make our today count, how will tomorrow be better?

Hope. Hope is like a magic drug that can both cure and cause all diseases. It’s like a paradox that has no perfect answer.

Hope and Future are two components of one of the most powerful equation of time. Unfortunately, the combination is lethal, especially when ‘no action’ is the primary catalyst.

So why is future so alluring when today is what holds its reins?

Future will bring glory only when we value our present. Only then life will be as beautiful as we want it to be.

The key to everything thus lies in ‘action’.

So let’s act today. Shall we?

Kashmir Confusion: now and then

Kashmir has been penned down in the pages of history as one the most disputed territories. This dispute is decades old and dates back to the year 1947 when the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir signed an agreement with both India and Pakistan to remain neutral and independent.

India honored that agreement but Pakistan did not. Pakistani raiders and soldiers attacked the state in 1947 forcing the Maharaja to flee to India. The Maharaja asked India to help his people who were being killed and looted by the Pakistani raiders. He also agreed to make Jammu & Kashmir a part of India.

India accepted Kashmir’s annexation and Indian troops were immediately flown to the valley. They were able to rescue a large part of the Kashmiri territory but Pakistan too managed to retain control of a large part of the state, which is now known as the ‘Pakistan occupied Kashmir’.

Not wanting to drag the issue further, India went to the UN with this issue. India said that Pakistan had attacked a neutral State and that State had now become part of India. Therefore, Pakistan should withdraw its soldiers from the State. The United Nations agreed with the Indian demand and asked Pakistan to withdraw its forces from Jammu & Kashmir and called for a plebiscite. But because Pakistan never agreed, plebiscite could never be held and Kashmir was declared a ‘disputed territory’.

Several wars and failed bilateral negotiations later, an important question started doing the rounds of the table. ‘Why doesn’t India simply give up Kashmir to Pakistan and put and end to this ongoing war for ever?’

The answer had more underlying layers to it, than one could have ever imagined not only from the legal point of view but also from the strategic point of view. Firstly, the mountains in Kashmir provide a natural barrier to India. With its natural barrier gone, Pakistani army has an easy run into the Indian Territory.

Secondly comes the issue of the control of the Indus River. The headwaters of the Indus River are located in Kashmir. Whoever controls the headwaters, controls the river. Neither of the states wants to give up on that.

Next, Kashmir, rightly known as the ‘Paradise of Earth’, minus the terrorism, has great potential for tourism. Also, the issue has become a matter of political importance for both the states.

Many attempts have been made so far but none has ever been even close to successful.

When questioned about an option to stay or leave India, most people from the Kashmiri community believe that they would rather stay with India or have their own independent state but not join Pakistan. According to a survey that appeared in Times of India, only 2% people living in J&K want to join Pakistan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans of re-establishing Kashmiri Pandits back in Kashmir have received some stark reactions.

Some believe there is no undoing to what has been done while some believe that a separate area should be allocated. There are voices that still hope for the co-existence of the two communities, on the other hand there are others who believe that community has out grown what was done to it, and there is only moving forward from here.

68 years of struggle with still no viable solution visible.

Is the paradise lost or is there more to it?

         






Heights of Hypocrisy!

I love my country but I can’t remain silent towards the high level of political drama going on. The happenings and the turn of events is such that I feel sorry and disheartened. Everything and everyone is judged on parameters that no one knows. We make extraordinary claims but in reality we are no different. And this apparently is not only true for our political system but also for our social system.

Our sanctimonious political system claims that our minds are getting corrupted by the ‘western ideas and ideals’. It says that we are getting ‘influenced’ by the glimmer of the life there. It says that our own ideals are the highest and therefore most accurate. But is it really true? Or are we simply living in an alternate reality where we discard everything that opposes our own beliefs?

The instances to cite this hypocritical side our society are plenty.

To begin with, we talk of freedom and personal liberty. We claim that that everyone has equal rights and gets to decide what they want and what they don’t but in reality this concept is as vague as the meaning of truth.

Recently, our honorable Supreme Court flatly refused to directly block any pornographic websites on the grounds that it’s a violation of Article 21 (personal freedom). SC agreed that some steps need to be taken but those may not necessarily involve blocking these sites.

Alternate scenario: Supreme Court on Dec 11, 2013 gave a verdict that criminalized homosexuality in India on the grounds that it is ‘against the order of nature’.

My question here is that who gets to decide what is against the ‘order of nature’ and what’s not? As far as I know, nature is full of anomalies and to say that we are even close to understanding it is vanity.

Where did this concept of ‘personal freedom’ go when it came to giving verdict about choosing partners? Porn is personal freedom and partner is not? When will our system and society stand against these dual standards?

The second instance that I would like to cite here is the case of Maggi Vs. Tobacco products.

Our food regulatory authority banned Maggi on the grounds that it has excess lead content and MSG in it, which indeed is harmful for health. Good to see that our authorities are so concerned about our health that they basically banned noodles from all brands in most parts of the country.

Alternate scenario: If these authorities are so concerned about our health, why don’t they start banning tobacco products and alcohol based beverages? Or are they saying that by printing a “statuary warning” on the product label their job is done?

If that is the case, then I would request Nestlé to print lead levels and MSG content on the wrapper of Maggi noodles and end this fiasco for good. I guess that should work for FSSAI as well. It sure does in case of cigarettes.

Also, for those who say that ‘Maggi is toxic’, honestly after eating Maggi for so many years do you really have any actual complaints to file? People do actual drugs and practically drown themselves in natural and artificial narcotics and surprisingly that never raised any questions? Marijuana, Weed, etc.

And why do you think that a multi-million dollar international brand that has been given a green signal by at least seven countries sitting quietly?

What no one is noticing is that this may just as easily be a political ploy to drive out ‘western brands’ and promote Indianization aka the RSS agenda.

First Maggi, then baby power and finally milk powder, too big and synchronized to be a coincidence. Similarly, Maggi, Knorr, Top Ramen and finally Yuppiee, the timing is too impeccable to ignore.

Had they been a Ramdev product or Asaram manufacturing or perhaps even had blessings of RSS or any other political party, any of the banned products would have never met this fate.

I strongly protest against having such dual standards in our governing system and our society. Hope that we soon wake up to see the truth, whatever it might be!