ayodhya bullshit and sai baba of shirdi

Ayodhya verdict and saibaba.

I recall images from the early 1990s of fanatics tearing a building apart.  Machete wielding loonies running amok. Police either shooting or not shooting. .. bjp elections and resulting years of ultra conservative politics along sectarian hindu lines..  I cant  think of one good thing about it frankly.

Years of legal wrangling. (yet another lawyers picknik) producing really nothing much at all of any value whatsoever for anyone (apart form the lawyers.. of course).

In my current hostel, guests who do not have their own padlock can take one from reception.. I have a small padlock but I took an extra one just the same.  On the key-ring is a plastic medal with an image of sai baba of shirdi.

Now no-one really knows who sai baba of shirdi was or where he actually came from.  he just turned up one day in shirdi and lived in some deserted temple... The one thing everybody knows about him is that he said basically that there are more important things to worry about than petty differences of religion..

This is the point he wanted to make.. like kabir before him.. another of india’s famous saints. 

This is why he is actually so very much loved in India. Coz everyone (almost) recognises both the truth and the importance of his message.  His picture is all over the place.  His message is loud and clear .. forget the differences and focus on the truth which is bigger than all of us.

For what its worth, I am not making any effort at all to try and reconcile the ayodhya or any other fanatics.. it’s a total waste of time.. let them wring each others necks rather than be a millstone around everyone’s neck… they are a small number of clowns with a big loudspeaker.. that’s all. .. be they in orange on a juggernauth on the street or in white on a minbar in the mosque.

To hell with them all.  inveterates!!! 

In indo-china .. Malaysia actually there are saltwater crocs. They have a saying that eventhough the surface of the river maybe calm,  there is no telling how many crocs are in the river.  .. or something like that. (I don’t know malay at all.. I just read it somewhere.)  but this situation brings it to mind. On the surface there appears barely a ripple.. the muazzin cheerfully calls to prayer.. the bells in the temple sound.. even the lamas trumpet up here in darjeeling… but the events of ayodhya outs the truth about sectarian inveterates in this country.. it is a problem that will surface until it is dealt with in the hearts of the people here. at the behest of legitimate leadership.. ie. Until they start taking sai baba seriously and expose the lurking crocodiles. 


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swami nithyananda & the usual accusations

I don’t recall exactly what the charges against Socrates were. They are listed in the apology of Plato.   ...not respecting the gods.. corrupting the youth.. etc.. the usual lawyers picknick .. but I wonder how closely the text resembles the action brought against swami nithyananda.

Nithyananda who? you probably ask..

Well..he is not so recognisable as the Rajneesh.. or saibaba..but  he is an important figure…(and equally as photogenic notwithstanding..)

 I have spoken with a number of indians on the subject who as a rule dismiss it as unimportant.  I rather disagree.   strongly actually.

I am not the judge on this case and do not have all the facts before me..but…

What I have seen of nithyananda on his (web) recorded lectures etc. has left a positive impression on me.  He is a teacher of classical Indian yoga and philosophy.. a (vedantin) acharya lets say.  It is through such teachers that classical India finds expression today.  (and survives..)

Many people recognise him..and he has followers and various ashrams around India as well as a presence internationally .( usa)

What happened earlier this year is that he was arrested on the charge of adultry or something..having sex basically with some film star. And imprisoned .his ashrams were attacked. The one I went to visit in Varanasi was deserted..the police had sealed the building.. his followers had fled.a neighbor of the ashram near manikarnika ghat..pointed this out to me..   (he was scandalised at the action against the swami.)

as I was there I felt I was been watched and that the authorities were being notified.  It was perhaps my own paranoia... but tehn again perhaps it wasnt..  It’s the feeling I had at least.

My question is..why was nithyananda targeted and a serious attempt to shoot him down launched?  Why?

I have a feeling that plain jealousy maybe at the root of it  ..the kind that is allowed a loud voice in a corrupt milieu.

Socrates opted for the hemlock for his own reasons in  what i imagine to have been  a similar situation. .he was making a point in doing so.   Nithyananda on the other hand has more lessons to give…  strength to him.

pedestrianism.. not.

Right of way

Well.. the time has come for a direct assault on the state of India.  But as my resources are limited to a screen and my motivation is that of good-will, the attack is going to be restricted to one criticism.

Now,  in Australia and as far as I know, every country with even a remote claim to be civilized, the right of way is given to pedestrians.

In both India and Nepal pedesrians do not have the right of way.  It has ledto a state of predatory driving and use of vehicles as offensive weapons.   Of course not all drivers are guilty of it but many are.

Recently I went up to the roof of the hostel and watched the traffic, unobserved.  Around half the vehicles evidenced signs of predatory driving and inappropriate use of their warning device.

It is true that on narrow winding streets full of blind corners, use of the horn is necessary.. but.. it is abused to the point of mania  and the traffic is way too fast.

In my (old) lonely planet guide book it mentions that 6 pedestrians per day in delhi are skittled  (fatally) .since then it has probably increased…

But its not danger of being hit by traffic that is way too fast and dangerous that concerns me as much as the noise drivers make with their horns.  They speed through crowded narrow streets with horns blasting like shark among minnows.   IT IS A SERIOUS HEALTH HAZARD.

In traditional religion.. water is sacred.. air is sacred.. but even more sacred still is the ether.    The akash.  In India it is violated more seriously than any element.

The right of way in Australia is given to pedestrians . if pedestrians abuse the right too much then they will be hit sooner or later. But the reverse is not true.. abusive drivers here plow through the streets with impunity.

Some of the worst offenders are actually the police and military. its incredible.  People are just not aware of how big a shock it is to the system.  As if the  air pollution from old and worn out engines wasn’t bad enough.!!!

The right of way in Australia is given to pedestrians.  Australia’s sins are many but pedestrianism isn’t one of them.

Its time India and Nepal reigned in the abuse on the road.  It is aggressive and violent.  Outside the temple ( or mosque ) on the road is the place to practice ahimsa.  (salaam/islaam)Right of way

 Guys!!! Get real about the road rules!!! People will stop coming here if you don’t. its unnecessary and simply too stressful.