The punishment...

**Disclaimer: The intent of the story is not to bring out the differences but to establish human values. I do not know the credibility of the source. This might also be a work of fiction**

Apartheid was a system racial segregation enforced through legislation by the National Party governments of South Africa between 1948 and 1994, under which the rights of the majority non-white inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed and white supremacy and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained. (Source Wikipedia)

Why am I quoting this?? Because my next story revolves around an incident that happened during this period. As the disclaimer says, I do not know the credibility of this story,..

This story is about an African woman, in her mid forties. A wife to a devoted husband, a mother to a rebellious child. A rebellious child not in the house, but to the system of discrimination shown during that period. Born leader, this child gathered a group of youngsters who decided to fight fire with fire. They acquired arms and through violence, started fighting the non-black forces for the discrimination they had done. An aggressive search was ordered to bring the leader of the group to justice. While the leader was hiding in his house, the soldiers, on the pretext of searching started harassing the family members, this continued for a few days until the leader could take it no more. On that unfortunate day, when the soldiers were harassing the members of the house, this leader stepped out and started shouting at the soldiers. The soldiers shot him dead, took his body. The father protested, requesting the soldiers to at least give the body of their son, the soldiers shot the father and took his body as well. As a warning, they told the lady that if she complained to anyone about this incident, then the bodies of her husband and her son would not be returned. The lady had no choice but to keep quiet.

In 1994, when apartheid ended and Nelson Mandela was made the president of South Africa, one of the first assignments he took was to establish a commission called "the True Commission". This commission would look into any racial discrimination done to the black people and try to do justice to the in-justice done. The lady's case was brought up, and after verification, it was clarified that the soldiers had NOT respected the orders that they were given, injustice was done.

Nelson Mandela along with the soldiers visits the lady's house and asks ##"My dear lady, these are the two soldiers who have acted beyond their orders to kill your husband and son. I could not think of any punishment that would do justice to the fate they have brought upon you. So, I have brought them to you. I will let you decide the punishment. What would you recommend as a punishment to them?"

The lady responds, "Sir, I have lost two of my closest members, both of whom were of great support and strength to me. I have suffered so many years without a word. If I give my recommendation, it will certainly be influenced by my past events, is that acceptable ?"

Nelson Mandela responds, "Certainly, it will be executed without questioning"

The lady responds, "Sir, I have longed for so many years to eat a morsel of food together with my family, and I have none. These two deprived me of that right. As their punishment, I want them to visit my house every Sunday, sit with me, talk to me as though they are my children and eat food with me. Not just this, on every other day of the month, they have to spend time with other families like mine, and share their happiness/sorrow".

Nelson Mandela asks, "That will be arranged madam. But why this punishment?? Are you a religious lady?? I certainly would have come to this decision if I were you. I am curious to know, why did you take this decision ?"

The lady responds, "A punishment should evoke remorse in a person. Every time they eat a morsel of food with families like mine, they will be reminded of the injustice they did, and the sharing of joy and sorrow will help them understand the conditions and emotions we black people have. Its the same blood that runs in all our veins. Understanding us will hopefully make them better people".

********The story ends********

Now, I do not know if this is a true story or not, but its certainly a story that evokes emotions in me every time i listen to it. This is because of the following things:

* The elevated thinking of a mother, who despite of having gone through the pain was able to think beyond the pain and suggest a punishment that would change the mind set of the soldiers.

* My earlier blog also talked about - Justice tempered with mercy, this story also derives the same concept. Justice should be done to change the person from within. It is not "justice" if it makes a person harbor more hatred within him all throughout his punishment and then after the term, he becomes a greater threat to the society.

* A mother, is always a mother! I remember a saying in Kannada "ಕೆಟ್ಟ ಮಗು ಹುಟ್ಟಬಹುದು ಆದರೆ ಕೆಟ್ಟ ತಂದೆ ತಾಯಿ ಯಾವತ್ತು ಹುಟ್ಟೋಲ್ಲ " which translates to, "Our land can give birth to a bad child, but not bad parents!"

## - Made up conversation - to give life to the story

Justice tempered with mercy..

Well.. my Advanced Communicator Bronze, Story Telling Project 3 is due tomorrow, so, i have come up with this story for my project.. I hope you like it.

The kingdom of Mayanagar was ruled by an able and just king aatmaswarup. It was his routine to visit his kingdom's fair on his lovely white horse. Strong and sturdy as the king himself, the horse's majestic walk was a sight to see! Shwethakeshi was the king's pride. Everybody loved the king. Everybody but one, kaalu, the petty theif. Don't be hasty in judging him, he didn't hate the king, he just couldn't stand not owning such one-of-a-kind horse. Oh man! Everyday he dreamed of sitting on that horse and riding it and slowly but steadily the dream began to grow on him. He mustered the courage to hatch a plan, a plan to steal the king's horse. On the night of aamayavsya (no-moon-day), kaalu went to the king's stable. He loosened the grips of the rope tied to the sleeping horse. The loosened grip caught the horse's attention and neighed, the soldiers got alerted and kaalu had to leave that place before the soldiers found him out. "Another day!", he said to himself, and this time, i will steal you in broad daylight!

As weeks passed by, kaalu started planning meticulously for his plot. It was flawless, he thought. The day came close when kaalu had to execute his plot. On a sunday, kaalu dressed himself as a crippled beggar, limping his way across the streets of the crowded kingdom fair. He was right where he had planned, the exact street through which the king would pass by every day! On that day, as the king passed by, kaalu shouted, "oh! noble king, won't you help this crippled man cross this busy street?", everybody turned around, the king saw kaalu, he stopped, and replied back, "yes! my beloved citizen, come ride with me, i will take you to your destination", to which kaalu replied, "my lord, i am physically challenged, please help me get on to your majestic horse". To this request, aatmaswarupa got down from his horse, and helped kaalu to get on to the horse, and as he was about to climb the horse, kaalu rode the horse away, in front of everyone, the soldiers rushed to catch him, but their speed was no match to the white beauty. The king was left, separated from his pride, all alone in a crowded streets of the kingdom's fair.

A few months passed by, and one night as the king was taking an evening stroll, he saw someone coming towards him, on a horse, a white one..

"Greetings my noble king", came a voice from the other end. "Hello kaalu, greeted the king!". Kaalu was shocked, how did the king know his name ?? Could it be ?? "Did you know that it was I, who stole your horse on that day?", asked kaalu out of curiosity. "Yes! Your disguise was very revealing", smiled the king. "Then.. then.. why did you not arrest me immediately when you so clearly saw my intentions", asked kaalu. The king smiled again, and said - "kaalu, we were in the middle of a fair, a fair filled with common people. If i had arrested you then, as a thief, let me remind you, that you presented yourself as cripple. With the arrest, my citizens would praise me of course, but from that day on wards, they would also start suspecting every cripple in the society of being a theif. To stop that negative feeling from growing into the minds of the common people, i sacrificed my horse". Kaalu was humbled. All his pride was destroyed by the kings answer. The king continued, "Besides, you rode a king's horse, no body would buy it if they knew that it was a stolen, and I knew you had to come back to me, so all i had to do was be patient". Kaalu feel to the king's feet, asked for forgiveness, and went away. Story ends..

Lets look at this a little closely shall we: We are always very prompt in punishing someone when they do something wrong, be it a theft, a crime or a petty quarrel ?? The outcome is always the same, I have lost something, and justice has to be done for that! But wait.. hold on for a minute, and observe, what will this "justice" beget ?? A temporary satisfaction to the person who raised the voice, and a permanent disbelief and hatred in the person who is punished. And I always wonder, shouldn't justice change the view of a person to make him a better person tomorrow, so that he can contribute to the society and not grow hatred in him and make him an anti-social element.

I love this story, because, when I read this i remember what shakespere through the voice of Portia tells - Justice tempered with Mercy.. Justice tempered with Mercy.. Yes! That's the way it should be..

An afternoon stroll..

For a change, there is no prologue for this blog.. Its story telling time :)

It was his routine, a stroll in the afternoon around his kingdom to see how things were, expecting to see everyone doing good. On that particular day, destiny had different plans for him. His servants were struggling to keep up with his pace - holding a giant umbrella which shielded the king from the scorching rays of the sun. The land was dusty but this did not bother him. As he walked by, many people came outside to greet him and wish him well. The elders wished the king good health and the young bowed in front of him as a sign of respect, and why not, he had ruled his kingdom with great wisdom and valor. People offered him cool water, fruits and other delicacies which the king accepted with humbleness and gratitude. The act of sharing food to him was a sign of being self sufficient and content.

The king was almost done with his stroll when he saw an old man, perhaps in his 80's, sitting on the ground in the afternoon's heat. He got curious and walked towards the old man. The old man was digging the dusty land with a shovel. His age had robbed him of this strength, but not his will and persistence. Little by little he dug the ground trying to create a niche. Beside him was a bucket full of water and a plant. The king got curious. He addressed the old man, "Hey! Old man, what are you doing ?"

The old man turned around, it took a minute for his eyes to adjust to the bright sunlight. He saw the silhouette of his king. He looked at him, smiled, blessed him and said, "I am planting a coconut plant, my lord".

Raising his eyebrows the king questioned, "A coconut plant?"

The old man continued to smile and said, "Yes, a coconut plant"

To which the king asked, "And how old are you?"

"80... 85, i do not know, i have lost count of my age my lord" came the response.

"How long do you think the plant will take to grow and bear fruits??"

"Perhaps, more than 10 years my lord"

"And do you think you will live that long?" questioned the king!

The old man smiled back and said, "No, if I live for another 5 years, its a miracle!"

The king was confused, "When you know you are not going to survive, why are you taking the trouble of planting a coconut plant, whose fruits you can not enjoy!!".

The old man replied, "Oh king, I was thinking today, and I realized, that I love tender coconut water and I have had them to my stomach's full through out my life. But, none of the trees from which I took the coconuts were planted by me. They were planted by my elders and fore-fathers. It was because of their efforts that I was able to enjoy the fruit. Now, how can I go without doing my part ?? I am going to plant this and water it everyday so that my children and their children can enjoy its sweet fruit".

The king was amazed, an elderly subject of his kingdom with such commitment and dedication, this was his moment of felicity. He ordered his servant to bring a bag of gold coins. He rewarded the old man for his dedication and thought and was about to leave. The old man interrupted. He smiled at the king and said - "My lord..", the king turned back, the old man showed the bag of gold to him and said, "look, my plant has born fruits here". The king simled at the witty answer, he gave him another bag of gold and said, "If I stay here longer, you are going to rob me of all my wealth". They both parted their ways.


I love this story for two simple points in it:
1. The old man's thought to share fruits of his work even after he is gone, ie. the thought of "giving back" to the society and his persistence in doing what he wants to do, not letting the age stop him. There is a saying in sanskrit: Alasyam hi manushyaanaam sharirasto mahan ripuhu. Translation: Laziness is the biggest enemy of the body. Procrastination of late has become a habit. I have to start procrastinating procrastination :) .. any advice here on how to do it, is welcome :)

2. The words chosen by the old man. A saying in Sanskrit goes:
priya vaakya pradaanena, sarve tushyanti jantavaha |
tasmaat tat eva vaktavyam, vachane kaa daridrataa ||

Translation: Everybody loves to hear good words. You have to always speak good words because there is no dearth of it.

Joy can be spread by thoughts, actions and words. The heart to spread joy is all what you need! Happy holidays folks!!

Daivi Vak - The Celestial Voices..

Its been long since I wrote a blog.. As I prepare for my first project under Story Telling - Advanced Communicator Bronze - title from Toastmasters International, I write this blog. Lets dive into the story now, shall we ?

This is a story from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad and it goes like this:

trayah prajapatyah prajapatau pitari brahmacaryam usuh, deva manusyaasurah, usitva brahmacaryam deva ucuh; bravitu no bhavan iti;tebhyo haitad aksaram uvaca; da iti, vyajnasista iti; vyajnasismaiti hocuh, damyata, iti na attheti, aum iti hovaca, vyajnasisteti.

Once the "devas", "manavas" and "danavas" or "rakshasas" performed penance to gain knowledge. Pleased by their penance GOD himself appeared in front of them and asked them what they wanted. When the intentions were told, GOD called them each and spoke the following:

To the Devas, he said, "Da". The Devas nodded. GOD asked them, "Did you understand?", they said "Yes". He said, "then go and follow it".

To the Manavas, he said, "Da". The Manavas nodded. GOD asked them, "Did you understand?", they said "Yes". He said, "then go and follow it".

To the Rakshasas, he said, "Da". The Rakshasas nodded. GOD asked them, "Did you understand?", they said "Yes". He said, "then go and follow it".

Thus, GOD spoke of the divine knowledge, DA. DA is a root word (or dhatu) in Sanskrit. And the three kinds understood the root word in different ways.

The "Devas" who are beings without a body, are immersed in sensual pleasures. They understood "DA" as "Damyata", which means, refrain (or here, the lesson taught to them was - learn to refrain)

The "Manavas" who are the descendants of "Manu", are always greedy and want everything to themselves, understood "DA" as "Datta", which means, to give (or here, the lesson taught to them was - learn to give)

The "Danavas" or "Rakshasas" who are beings with gigantic body, are cruel and inhuman in nature and they understood "DA" as "Dayadvam", which means, to show mercy.

The lesson helped each of the kinds, live a happy and prosperous life.

Now, Lets go a little deep. If you think about this for a minute, all the "three kinds", are within us. Its the human being who wants sensual pleasure, for which GOD said, "Damyata". For his greed HE said "Datta" and for his cruel nature HE said "Dayadvam" and the lessons addresses points to counter the most important of the arishaD vargas - kama, lobha and krodha respectively. Infact, in the 2nd chapter of Bhagavadgeetha, Krishna talks about the origin of Kama and krodha, and what happens after that. Refer the 62nd and the 63rd slokas.

I am listing a few points I could gather after reading this story:

1. A lot of things can be said - without saying much. In this case "DA". This brings out the actual concept of "meditation". Do more by doing less more on this in a separate blog.

2. Each of the "kinds" understood the meaning based on the experience or a context - which is precisely the underlying point of the Vedas, the Upanishads, and all the Hindu scriptures. People say that these texts are encrypted, but I don't think so. The texts contain contextual meanings not generic ones. The words are woven such that they appear different to people with different mindset and this is what mandated the presence of a "guru" to learn the different meanings of these texts.

3. Management lesson: If you want to make a point, strike at the root. No explanation required!

4. They say spirituality is difficult to understand, but I don't think so. I have given this a lot of thought, and I believe that Spirituality is one of the most easiest things that's told to folks. Its a bunch of simple principles, but the difficulty lies in "following" them for a duration of time which is very long !! This thought in itself is worthy of another blog.. so let me save it for future.

5. The point that all the three kinds are within us, and its is "we" who choose our "kind", reminds me of Harry Potter's statement - The sorting hat allows you to choose your house!!

6. Why is this a "daivi vak" or the Celestial Voice ??

To answer this, I want to quote from T. S. Eliot's "The Waste Land" poem collection, and especially from the poem, "What the Thunder Said" -

Ganga was sunken, and the limp leaves Waited for rain,

while the black clouds gathered far distant, over Himavant.

The jungle crouched, humped in silence.

Then spoke the thunder - DA

So, the next time, in the monsoon season, when you hear the thunder, its a reminder, that you are the embodiment of the three kinds, and you have to follow the lesson taught to you by GOD. These lessons are echoed every where via the Celestial Voice the thunder makes, before the black clouds pour the rain - DA, DATTA, DAMYATA, DAYADVAM !!

Happy Guru purNima everyone :-)

... now it makes sense!

This was a poem i wrote when i was in college. It makes perfect sense now.. Thought of posting it :)

I call it - A Ray Of HOPE

Distant voices tell me, that i should carry on
I still wonder - am i floating on the ocean all alone?
They say you never leave people who trust you,
But i am perplexed, tell me, is it true?
I have traveled long and now i am tired
Thinking about the countless days that i have alone cried
I still seek that comfort that you once promised me
I am waiting, waiting, and still wait for that something special from thee

A tear of helplessness sneaks out of my eye
When i see people who need me - need me dire
And i cannot do anything about it

A tear of sadness rushes out of my eye
When i see a hungry baby cry
And i cannot do anything about it

A tear of ruth comes out of my eye
When i see ignorant people searching for a truth in a lie
And i cant do anything about it

Soo much have i seen in life, i ask
I ask, is this how you reward the people who care about you?

And then the voice said - its hard to be a heart broken
But you cannot gain something unless you lose some
For in desperation I teach you to be Humble
For in hunger I teach you to be Patient
For in ignorance I teach you TO Forget AND Forgive
Everything that is done by me has a meaning
And it is you who should always be seeking

LIFE is not something that has been given to end
Call for me and i shall come to you as your friend
Though you are weak, though you are sad
Never lose the hope you have always had
For every day, every time you seek me
I shall always be there for you
Surrender thyself at my feet
And then see what I have for you as a treat

Knowing all i look back
And sometimes wonder was i on the right track?
I think i understand its meaning,
Life is all about how you can be useful to others
And not the the other way round
For its only in giving that you can take
And its only in happiness that you can forget the sorrows
And its only in divinity that you can become one with the divine
And with this union, it is you who can be
A RAY OF HOPE FOR ALL.

God, Religion and Wikipedia!

I was watching this video of Jimmy Wales on the birth of Wikipedia and this blog idea struck my mind. Before going to the core of the topic, let me give you a glimpse of the contents of the 20 minute video (in case you do not have time to watch it!)

Glimpse of the video: This video talks about the concept behind the birth of Wikipedia, the principles of Wikipedia and what it takes to maintain it.

In the contents, somewhere in the middle (may be the 14th minute or so, not very sure..) Jimmy Wales mentions that "there are, at any given moment of time, three or four moderators waiting for me to come online and always ready to help me out... not because i told them to, not because i pay them, its because they want to..."

The last statement struck me like a lightning! and i realized that the essence of Bhagavadhgeetha was being quoted here! Confused?? Let me elaborate -

Krishna in bhagavadhgeetha mentions in the 2nd Adhyaya, Sloka 47 -
Karmanyevaadhikaarasthe maa phaleshu kadaachana |
Maa karmaphala heturbhuhu maa te sangostva karmaNi ||
which is generally translated by people as - do your duty and do not expect the fruits / results.

This translation is a little mutated and is not exactly what the sloka states. For starters, let me split the sloka - the first few words - karmaNi va adhikaraha te maa phaleshu kadaachana - The word "adhikara" used here - does not mean "RIGHT" (as translated by many people) but it means "ELIGIBILITY"

So a more accurate translation would be -
"You have the eligibility to do karma but you do not have the eligibility to expect fruits out of it, you are not the producer of the fruit and neither shall you lean towards not doing any karma at all"

You may wonder - why the second line in the sloka? Well it is to cover the loopholes ;)
How? What?? Huh??? Loopholes???? D'oh!
You see, playing strictly by the rules, if you are allowed to do a karma, and you are not allowed to expect fruits, and if you do not own the fruits - a general thought comes to the mind,"Why should i do Karma then? I can just sit in one place and do nothing!" - to counter this thought, the second line "maa te sangostva karmani" was added. Anyways.. getting back..

Now, let me take argument a little further -
While doing a karma (good/bad) - do it because "YOU" want to do it, and you want to do it because you like doing it. Your Karma should not be influenced by the Arishat Vargas (kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada, matsara). When done so - the fruits born by the karma will always be satisfactory. It is simple yet brilliant aspect of Psychology!

How is all this related to Wikipedia ? Well..........
Jimmy Wales mentions that "there are, at any given moment of time, three or four moderators waiting for me to come online and always ready to help me out... not because i told them to, not because i pay them, its because they want to..."