Social Service for Happiness - July - 2010

IHA Logo HERITAGE-CARTMAN CARTMAN Logo
Vol. 6 No. 7 July 2010

Editorial Photo of NSRCONTENTS
Editorial
Responses from Readers
News and Comments
Millions Die Due to Neglect
Caste System
India Century Mission
Ethics – Present Status
Social Service for Happiness
& Self Development
Environmental Ethics in
Development Projects
Management Education
Today’s India
Tamizh Pride (Vignettes)



As part of the India Century Mission, issues of April, May and June were booklets on Glimpses of Indian Civilization, Some Seers and Sages of India and Indian Life & Thought & Some Western Exponents respectively. The tenth booklet, the last in the
series, will be brought out in August.

India is going through troubled times. Inflation is at all time high. The recent increase in fuel prices would further aggravate the situation. Though the business & industry sector is doing extremely well, infrastructure sectors are lagging behind. Though India may still attain an 8% growth rate, India will be facing serious problems in every other front.

India is surrounded by hostile neighbours. China is giving nuclear know-how and materials to Pakistan, with the clear intension of strengthening Pakistan to hurt us. We have unnecessarily irritated China by chaperoning Dalai Lama, who has been indulging in political work, though claiming concurrently that he is a pious and peaceful man. Imagine a situation if some of our separatists and leaders of Kashmir valley are welcomed by China, and they set up some hostile centre there. India would certainly object. China has settled her border disputes with all her neighbours, except India, which has been rather rigid. Our relationship with China is 5,000 years old. We are natural friends by culture. But our Establishment, including the Media, has been constantly irritating China by exaggerating border conflicts, by calling China a dragon etc.

Aksai Chin is India’s only by the imagination of a cartographer. Still we claimed it. In Arunachal Pradesh, our claim has not been accepted by world experts. After all, it was an arbitrary decision of Britain, when McMahon drew a line in a map, when China had no central authority. Should we not respect Chinese feelings? Or, should we depend on the map of British imperialism. India is the only country where Hindus are a majority. We should protect and preserve it. A bit of territory here and there is not important. After all we lost one third of our area after partition. Friendship with China is far more important than territory. Now China has become friendly with our enemy, who is out to destroy us. China and Pakistan are unnatural friends. India is militarily far stronger than Pakistan. But we are no match to nuclear Pakistan and China together. United States cannot help us from such a long distance. We helped in the break up of Pakistan. Naturally Pakistan is interested to break us. And China will stand by Pakistan to hurt/ punish India, concurrently with good trade with India.

We cannot have peace with Pakistan without giving up claims on the Kashmir valley, which should be allowed to choose. It is well known that not even 5% will prefer to stay with India. We have 50,000 troops there. Violence erupts every day. We spend Rs 20,000 crores per year to subsidise the government. Let us be content with Jammu as a state and Ladakh as Union Territory. Let us go for peace and use the money saved to feed the 300m who go hungry.

In the nuclear deal between China and Pakistan, we are unnecessarily asking America to help to stop it. US just cannot stop the deal. It is better that we keep quiet and accept the reality with calm resignation. US acts on self interest only. They helped to destroy Mossadique and Allende, destroyed Vietnam, dropped the Atom bomb, interfered in Iraq and now has been arming Pakistan for the last 60 years, knowing fully well that Pakistan is using the money and arms to terrorize India whom they hate. US invaded Iraq to establish democracy, but has been supporting Soudi, Pakistan and other dictatorship. Most nations exhibit hypocrisy without shame. An obscure NGO, somewhere in the West, may declare that Pakistan is a failed State. But US will not allow Pakistan to collapse. Afghanistan is a colony of Pakistan. Pakistan is feeding arms to Taliban surreptitiously, while outwardly pretending that they are trying to destroy Al Qaeda and Taliban militancy. Strangely, Pakistan claims that it is a democratic country, though it has been a dictatorship for long.

Meanwhile, we are spending thousands of crores of rupees for Afghanistan, hoping that it will be in our national interest. Part of the civil population may be friendly to India. But they feel that, while India is a good friend, Pakistan is an inevitable friend. In this quagmire, we are not only losing money but our people as well. Thus our foreign policy all along has been not so successful as we boast loudly. From the very beginning of our Independence, we strutted about as a world power, preaching nonalignment, Panchsheel and the like. Krishna Menon enjoyed berating US with no purpose whatsoever, except irritating US for pleasing USSR. We spearheaded the Panchsheel, which we could not implement in practice. Meanwhile, Bangladesh is pushing Muslims into India. Separatists, insurgents, Maoists and Naxalites are creating dissentions and disturbances in India. We are living in an ambience of terror.

China has marched forward, may be 50 years ahead of us. South Korea and India started together. But Korea has 10 times India’s per capita income. Bangalore will take 50 years to reach the present level of Shanghai and Singapore. Their side of our border is fully equipped with good roads, railroads and troops. On our side, we have primitive conditions of infrastructure. A visitor to Arunachal Pradesh stated that many of them treated him as an Indian, as if they were not Indian.

Fortunately, UPA has three more years. UPA has given stability to India’s polity. Nobody knows what would happen in the next election. Thanks to Sonia Gandhi, Congress Party was able to bring together a coalition of assorted parties, with nothing in common, but thirst for power as the only bond. In the next Election, more Parties will come into being, each one with their own self interest. Congress cannot do much to offenders in the coalition since the coalition will collapse if the guilty are punished. The public have an impression, which may be wrong, that Raja is guilty. But Congress cannot displease DMK. Thus national parties, whether Congress or BJP, will have to be subservient to coalition partners.
The above comments are based on newspaper knowledge, which may not be correct. Our Ministry of External Affairs may know much better. Hopefully, we are wrong in our above analysis and MEA knows and is acting with wisdom.

Destiny was against India for 1000 years. We thought that she would favour us after independence. Let us hope so.

N.S. Ramaswamy, Editor


RESPONSES FROM READERS

Excerpts from Letter from Mr. Sharu S. Rangnekar, Rangnekar Associates, 31 Neelamber, 37G. Deshmukh Marg, Peddar Road, Mumbai – 26. Ph: 6664 0030

“I just received the June 2010 issue of Heritage-Cartman. It has been brought out with top excellence. I must compliment you for this”.
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Letter of 16th June from Mr. V.T. Sundaramurthy, ‘Sri Vaishnava Sri’ 23, Maniyakarar Street, Veerakeralam, Coimbatore-641 007, Tamil Nadu, India E- Mail :< vtsmurthycbe@yahoo.co.in > Phone: 0422-2473853

Respected Sir,
The beautifully carved June issue of Heritage-Cartman carried a brief Biography of Prof..MaxMullar with his picture.If my remembrance is correct Prof..Max Mullar was brought to India by then Imperial Government on a fellowship to help the ‘British Raj’ to rule the Country by following the divide and rule policy. He had profounded the Aryan invasion theory. The theory had helped them to rule successfully over a very long period and same is being followed even now in subtle way. But His Theory was refuted by several Ideologists and he himself withdrew it latter after reaching his home on termination of his fellowship. His theory had hit the roof and groomed caste system In India which goes against the natural growth of Indian society.
With respectful regards
Sundaramurthy V.T

NEWS AND COMMENTS

Enrich Management Academy (EMA)
The Indian Heritage Academy is helping in the establishment of the Enrich Management Academy, which is an unique institution with emphasis on ethical and moral values. This may well be a beginning for transforming Management concepts as an effective mechanism to make human beings more humane and more ethical. EMA is located in the IHA campus.

Visits
Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy, Chairman, IHA and CARTMAN, visited Sikkim and gave lectures on India’s unique heritage and ethical and moral values. Earlier he also visited Sri Lanka, where he delivered a talk on ‘Social Service’, summary of which has been given in this issue.

Centre of Excellence for Animals and Environment
The CARTMAN campus is getting increasing recognition from the Government of India. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has recognized CARTMAN as a Centre of Excellence for Animals and Environment. The Ministry is also considering accreditation of the CARTMAN Eco Park as a Botanical Conservation and Education Centre.

Publication
Indian Heritage Academy (IHA) is producing a Work Manual on Technical and Management Education. IHA is supporting the publication of a journal called ‘Vibrant India’.

Funded by the Dhirubai Ambani Foundation, IHA has produced 9 booklets on ‘Heritage and Culture’ as part of “Heritage-Cartman” journal. One more booklet will come out in August.
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MILLIONS DIE DUE TO NEGLECT
Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy

It is heartening that Government of India has plans to extend additional financial support to reduce the suffering of Bhopal victims. Bringing back Mr. Andersen and reopening the case would take time, and may not be even possible.

As per the court verdict, eight senior officers, including the very eminent and distinguished industrialist, Mr. Keshab Mahindra, have been punished with jail sentence for neglect, which is not obviously willful. Industry sector takes safety as one of their prime concern. In other sectors, there is willful / deliberate neglect, for which nobody is held responsible.

Millions are dying every year due to gross neglect, for which nobody is punished. During the week when the Bhopal tragedy took place, a large number of people and cattle died by drinking polluted Jamuna water which was poisonous. 200 Municipalities are draining the Municipal sewage into our sacred Ganga. Hundreds, may be millions, die every day in road accidents due to overloading, poorly maintained roads, etc. Trains use overaged coaches and tracks. Thousands of poor women die during child birth. Undernourished children die slow death and disease. Inadequately and badly maintained Municipal and Government hospitals take away precious lives. Nobody knows how many die due to lack of minimum health facilities in rural areas. A million Municipal sweepers are handling waste without mask or gloves. 300 million people are still below poverty line, which result in diseases due to inadequate food. Neither the media nor the Government has given sufficient attention to prevent such massive tragedies taking place every year.

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CASTE SYSTEM
Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy

Enumeration of caste in the Census is a regressive step. It is the political system that is encouraging caste and using it for electoral gains. Actually, caste is no longer a factor in many sectors, particularly in private industry. 80 million people gathered in the Kumbh Mela without any concern for caste. Eight crores go to temples, where there is no caste discrimination.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the origin of caste system. But it was conceived to suit the inclination, attributes and interests of people rather than by birth, as it deteriorated later. All are born as Sudras, which means workers. It is through Karma that one becomes a Brahmin and not by birth. This has been clearly stated in hundreds of places in Hindu religious and spiritual literature.

Valmiki was a Scheduled Tribe. Vyasa was son of a fisherwoman. Vidura was born to a low caste servant woman. Narada Rishi was born to a low caste woman. Jabala, or Sathya Kumar, was born to a lady who had served many. Many saints were non-Brahmins. Narayana Guru was an OBC. Even now, Sri Satya Sai Baba and Amritanandamayi belong to backward classes.

At the dawn of civilization, there were only workers, who tilled the land, built homes and carried out the innumerable functions required in society. What was produced had to be sold and exchanged, which gave birth to the Vysya Caste. Trade introduced accumulation of wealth, possessions, inequality, etc. The need for administrators arose to protect property and to maintain law and order. Rulers came as Chieftains of tribes. When society prospered and leisure became possible, man became inquisitive to know the mysteries and purpose of life. Teachers and artists came to fill up the gap. Out of 100 rupees due to a worker, parts were given to traders, rulers and teachers. Without a worker producing product and services, the other three classes cannot survive. Thus Sudras were the foundation and pillars of society.

The Purusha Sooktham states that the Brahmin came from the face, Kshatriya from the hands, Vysya from the thighs and Sudras from the feet. All the four parts are complementary. Without the brain giving instructions, hands, thighs and feet cannot function. Feet cannot think, but feet are equally important. That is why prostration is done by touching the feet. If Brahmins were more important than Sudras, the practice should be to touch the head. This single factor alone shows the importance of workers. Sudras do not mean SC/ST. Caste system was based on functions and attributes. There are innumerable illustrations on Sudras becoming Brahmins, while at the other end, many who are born in the Brahmin caste, did Sudra’s work.

In the early years of evolution of society, children learnt from their parents as there was no school or polytechnic to teach the trade. Thus genetically and by training, carpenter’s son became a carpenter and teacher’s son became a teacher. However, with the establishment of schools, polytechnics and training centres, anybody can pick up any vocation one likes. Thus being born to a specific caste has no relevance. However, the inappropriate political system has perpetuated caste.

Philosophically, God or Chaitanya, which energises electrons to move around the nucleus is the same in the Sudras and Brahmins, in the animals, plant species and inanimate matter. Chaitanya pervades the whole universe of animate and inanimate beings, making no distinction of caste. In Man, Animal and Nature, there are three categories, called Gunas - Sathva, Rajas and Thamas. It is the proportion of the Gunas that determines the level of development of man.

Brahmins are being condemned for all the ills of the society. They were never in power. Only two Avataras were Brahmins, namely, Vamana and Parasurama. There are no temples for them. Krishna was a Yadava and Rama was a Kshatriya. Model for a human being is Janaka, who was half ruler and half sage. Similarly, a manager should be half manager and half sage. This means that everybody should have sage-like qualities, such as ethical and moral values, selfless, cultured, service minded, compassionate, helpful to others, etc. When Yudhishtira wanted advice on how to rule, Krishna told him to take lesson on Rajaneethi from Bhishma, who was not a Brahmin. Rama advised Bharata how to rule during his absence.

The democratic system ought to have obliterated the caste. The directive principles of the Constitution insisted that the society should remove caste and class barriers. But our inappropriate political system is perpetuating caste and inequality. Solution lies in changing the political system, which the commercial sector can do as they have the influence, resources and media power to educate the people on the need for changing the political system.
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INDIA CENTURY MISSION
Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy

One of the missions of the Indian Heritage Academy and CARTMAN is to campaign for the revival and renaissance of ancient India’s thought and wisdom, which is mainly based on the four religions born in India. Our Constitution makers recognized the diversity of our culture and adopted a secular government, and secularism as a basic value in governance, public administration, education and public affairs. Actually, secularism only means equal treatment and impartiality in State policy towards different religions. It was not meant to be anti religion. But in practice, secularism is used against Hinduism. The perverted and distorted interpretation of secularism is hurting India, the only country, besides tiny Nepal, where Hindus are a majority. Hindus do not have even freedom to manage their temples, which are administered by the Government. In some cases, temple funds are diverted for purposes other than religious. Government dare not touch a Muslim or a Christian religious institution. In an educational institution, which taught science and technology, the Director did not even allow lighting of lamp at the beginning of a seminar because it was a Hindu practice. Saraswathi Vandana and singing of Vandemataram were objected to by Muslims.

The US Congress started their session with recitation from the Vedas. In four State Legislators, members even chanted in chorus. Bhagavad Gita is being taught in many US Universities. Our Parliament or State legislatures dare not start their sessions with a Rigvedic Mantra.

Even part of the media takes pleasure in ridiculing Swamis. While it is the duty of newspapers to expose frauds and scandals in the religious fields, the way it is exaggerated gives an impression of an anti-Hindu bias. At the other end, newspapers do not try at all for giving publicity for good Swamis, who are doing yeoman service to humanity. Leaving aside religious and spiritual teachings, which are useful in a corrupt society which is decaying, charitable work is not recognized. For instance, Sri Sathya Sai Baba has 40 million devotees all over the world. He gave two hundred crores of rupees to Chennai. It was not even reported. His birthday was attended by delegates from 140 countries. There was no report about it. There has been no write-up about his two hospitals, with investment of Rs. 200 crores, which he is funding, rendering free service to thousands. He has transformed an arid Ananthapur district into a prosperous area. The Ramachandra Mission has centres in 138 countries spreading a meditation concept which is nonsectarian. The Kumbh Mela attracted 80 million Indians from all community and castes. There was no write-up on such a phenomena, which has no parallel in the world.

A Hindu-Muslim conflict is reported in such a way that it does not rouse communal hatred. But a Dalit beaten or ill-treated is given a caste angle, though it may be a personal dispute based on personal animosity or quarrel over property.

In spite of the hostile Press, a renaissance of ancient thought and wisdom is taking place. The ISKCON is building another temple on Kanakapura Road. The two Satyanarayana Temples in Delhi and Ahmedabad are visited by millions. The Tirupathi, Guruvayur, Madurai and Sabarimala temples are getting increasingly popular. Hundreds of Ashrams have come up, preaching ethics and rendering free service and helping the oppressed. Even India’s unity is not based on an inert Constitution, but on the emotional bond created by Hinduism throughout the length and breadth of the country. In spite of the hostile attitude of politicians in Tamil Nadu, religious fervor in that State is increasing. There is world-wide recognition of the profound truths given in India’s spiritual literature. Eight TV Channels are telecasting Hindu teachings, festivals and prayer rituals. More books are being written on Hindu thought. But our school books do not contain the glory of Hindu heritage.
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ETHICS – PRESENT STATUS
Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy

Most people in the world would agree that ethical behaviour is desirable for the individual and society. But they would also add that it is difficult to survive, not to talk of prospering, in life if one is strictly ethical. In a competitive world, it is impossible to observe ethical and moral values. It is relatively easy for a teacher or a Swami and his followers in the Ashram to observe ethics, as they are contented leading austere life with no ambition to acquire property, wealth or fame. But most people want name, fame, wealth and comfort. Government rules are so intricate and cumbersome that it is practically impossible to run business without bribing officials, breaking rules and being unethical in execution of projects. Since they would lose money, they cannot adhere to the contractual obligations and stipulations.

Very few lawyers will survive if they cannot tell some lies or hide facts. All religions preach ethics, with some variations in priority and emphasis. But even Evangelists forcibly converted millions to their religion, as they were assured of a reserved seat in heaven. Preachers warned people that they would go to eternal hell, if they do not observe ethics. But belief in hell and heaven is waning. To a Jain or a genuine Brahmin, meat eating is unethical, as they would be hurting a living being which experiences pleasure and pain like humans. But 95% of the world population eat meat without any feeling of guilt of inflicting pain on animals. Their assumption that God created animals as food for man is not scientific. Experimentation on animals is justified that it is for welfare of man. In Spain they torture animals for pleasure. Hindus and Muslims sacrifice animals to propitiate God. Hunting as a sport is accepted. These people don’t find anything unethical about such inhuman acts. Those who practiced slavery did not find anything wrong in beating slaves. Killing animals brutally is a sacred duty for Muslim butchers. At times of scarcity, increasing prices of commodities steeply is accepted without guilt. The 200 Municipalities, which lead the city sewage into the rivers like Ganga and Jamuna, do not find anything unethical, though they consider Ganga as sacred. Epicureans and followers of Charvaka recommend that we should simply enjoy life, forgetting God and ethics. They reject the idea that they would suffer in the next birth or that they would be punished later by some unknown force. Every body does something or other unethical to survive, to make money, to gain an unfair advantage over others or to hurt somebody whom they do not like.

Man is exploiting animals and Nature’s endowments in a massive scale to such an extent that it may be difficult to sustain life in the planet, if the present trend and practices continue. Though the Western world has become prosperous in the last 50 years in terms of consumption of goods and services, their unethical practices have led to recession in the economy, since the entire financial transaction system was indulging in fraud and malpractices. Hitler and Stalin killed millions without any compunction. Even torture was resorted to for converting pagans to the so-called civilized religions.

In the two Ithihasas - Ramayana and Mahabharata – thousands died in the wars, leaving behind their wives as widows and children as orphans. Rama got back Sita and Pandavas got back their kingdom. But thousands wailed and suffered. But these were declared as Dharma Yuddha. Strictly speaking, Rama could have fought Ravana and Pandavas the Kouravas in duels, without involving soldiers and others. Similarly, the two world wars and the atom bombs were justified by the victors that they were doing their duty for saving their nations and to avert worse conditions.

Thus, the 5000 years of recorded history would show that man has been unethical towards Nature, animals and fellow men. There is no proof that the offenders have been punished and will be punished in the next birth. Most religions have postulated a god who is merciful, kind, impartial and so on. Hindu religion conceives god as one without name, form or attributes. It postulates god as energy with intelligence or Chaitanya or consciousness or Brahman, which does not interfere in the affairs of mankind. Hinduism asserts that man is the arbiter of his own destiny and that he enjoys or suffers, prospers or fails, be healthy or sick, be rich or poor – all due to his Karma in his previous births or deeds done in this birth in earlier years. They have postulated the concept of Karma or Law of Nature or Law of Cause-effect, with the added provision that such favourable and unfavourable outcomes of deeds done would take place in subsequent births, if not in the present birth.

All religions have directly or indirectly postulated a heaven for good deeds and a hell for evil deeds done, which the Hindus do not accept, though there is a mention of hell and heaven in its mythology. In recent years, violence, corruption, misconduct, rape, torture, fraud, scandals and hundred other undesirable actions are increasing every year, which makes one doubt whether man is really progressing as a better man or he is deteriorating as a human being. But, if one looks at five thousand years of recorded history, mankind has certainly evolved from the stage of cannibals and savages to civilized human beings. Thus many intellectuals and preachers argue that mankind is really progressing, in spite of all the negative tendencies we see around us. In effect, it also means that, in spite of all the negative indicators, ethics is gaining ground in certain segments of society, which would increase to larger numbers in the years to come. A combination of teaching of ethics from school stage onwards at one end and good Government and Management at the other would promote ethical behaviour. For instance, 80 million Indians go to temples, churches and mosques regularly; and yet India is considered to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world, which means unethical. At the other end, in Finland and a couple of Nordic countries, they hardly go to Church; and yet, they are least corrupt in human relations and transactions (though they still eat meat and hurt animals), because of good administration and management of society. Religion has no role in US and some western countries.

During the time of Mao’s rule in China, they were able to bring about or enforce a high degree of ethics in transactions and relationships, because the Chinese Communist system of governance and management was able to improve strict vigilance and control. Also, they utilized social ostracization. But the moment Mao left the scene and Deng introduced the market economy system, Chinese society reverted to their earlier style of functioning, where crime, violence, etc returned with equal virulence as before. India, being democratic with a weak and soft government, is unable to enforce even ordinary rules, such as, “Parking should be done only on one side of the road” and other traffic regulations. When Gandhiji introduced Satyagraha, breaking of the law etc., he was warned by his British friends that the tactics used by Gandhi against the British to get them out would be used against independent Indian Government. Also, in the existing inappropriate political economy system, many, not all, politicians themselves are indulging in large scale corruption; and hence some of the 22 million Government officials are also indulging in massive corruption, are apathetic to people and also behave rudely to citizens. Government has established Vigilance Departments to detect corruption. But it is ineffective. Government has no sense of compassion to animals. For instance, livestock give two lakh crores of rupees worth of output every year. But the Government does not spend any money for prevention of cruelty being inflicted on livestock. Even the 10 crores of rupee budget of Animal Welfare Board of India is used only for neutering dogs (which is for man’s safety) and maintaining Goshalas. Working and meat animals get nothing except worship by Hindus.

Fortunately, some well-managed Indian companies and MNCs do ensure ethical conduct and behaviour of employees and fairness to customers. Tata is well known for their high standard of ethics. Similarly, companies, such as, Infosys, Wipro, L&T, M&M and others have done their best to introduce systems and administrative controls, whereby ethical conduct is facilitated. Technology is also helping, since financial transactions are being done electronically. The regulating and controlling systems are able to maintain a certain amount of transparency in transactions.

The four religions born in India have postulated the Karma theory so that people behave ethically. Even at the time of birth, one’s attitude to ethics is completely or partially pre-determined. Thereafter, parents, education, religious teachings, environment, government’s vigilance, etc., regulate ethical behaviour of citizens.

The Indian religious approach to enforce ethics is to bank on the theory of Karma, which states that people would benefit by being ethical and suffer by being unethical. Thousands of Swamis are preaching the Law of Karma, as an incentive for good behaviour and a deterrent for deviant. They also opine that destiny is of two kinds. The first is irrevocable, which cannot be changed by any amount of good work done. Bhagawan Ramakrishna and Ramana Maharshi had suffered cancer at the end of their life. Sankaracharya and Vivekananda died young. The second kind is where ethical behaviour can erase unfavourable destiny. Instances of such change are illustrated by hundreds of stories in Itihasas and Puranas. In practical terms, ethical behaviour gives us the ability to withstand failures and suffering by bestowing courage and confidence to face negative outcomes. Ethics purifies the mind, which has a salutary effect to maintain good health. An ethical person is liked by others, and in that sense, it is an essential quality for a good manager, leader or professional. Whatever may be the environmental factors, it is possible to observe ethics in many situations, though one may not be able to earn much or rise high in society in terms of name and fame. But the compensation is peace of mind and a sense of wellbeing. Even from the humanistic and common sense point of view, one should observe ethics to the extent one can. It is better to assume that there is another birth and that there is a God or Chaitanya, which may favour or punish us. It is wise to be on the safe side, rather than taking a risk by leading a reckless and an unethical life. The well-known Law of Science says that ‘A force is met with an equal opposite force’. Jesus said that ‘As you sow, so you reap’. In day-to-day life, one could see that good people are popular and bad people are hated. In addition, good administration, governance and management, along with inculcation of ethical and moral values in schools and organizations as well as within the family, would help to practice ethical behaviour.

A major part of India’s spiritual, not necessarily religious, literature is on upholding Dharma, which is essentially Ethics. Vyasa in Bhagavad Gita, Bhishma and Vidura in Mahabharata, Vasishta and Sri Rama in Ramayana, Vishnu Sharma, Kautilya and Bharthruhari and hundreds of Savants have given mankind guidelines and techniques for observing Dharma and ethics.

We play a variety of roles in our life – student, teacher, ruler, father, mother, neighbour, friend, etc. Our sages gave a Dharma for each such role. If everybody observed their duty and ethics, everybody’s right would be automatically satisfied. In mythology, our rulers observed Dharma. So they were a role model for their subjects.

In our case, India has adopted a totally inappropriate political economy model, which has resulted in widespread corruption and Adharma. We have deviated completely from the teachings of our sages and saints. The Indian education system and State policies are unable to take advantage of our scriptures due to the misinterpretation of the word ‘secularism’. A new Political Party has to emerge, which should boldly adopt the advice given by our great Rishis, particularly those which are secular and deal only with ethical and moral values and Dharma. There is sufficient evidence that there is a renaissance, and sooner than later, a segment of modern Indian would follow the teachings of our sages. In any case, though media reports give an impression that many things are going wrong, in reality, a large majority of our people are still observing ethics.
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SOCIAL SERVICE (SS)
FOR
HAPPINESS AND SELF-DEVELOPMENT

Professor N.S. Ramaswamy

Man is only one among one million animal species, and hence getting a human birth is a rare privilege. How we became eligible for this good fortune? The creator is considered to be non-partisan, fair, just, impartial, etc. He would not do this without valid reason. If we assume that the Creator has nothing to do with such decisions, then there must be a Natural Law, or Prakrithi, or an Unknown force, which decides such matters. The whole Universe observes the Law of Order. Speed of light, gravitation, movement of planets and stars etc remain the same. A coconut tree would not bear betel nut. Cows do not eat meat. In the case of man, he deviates from norms, Dharma, ethics, etc., and hence there is inequality, iniquity, injustice etc. According to the four religions, born in India, and the opinion of great thinkers all over the world, we are the arbiters of our own destiny. Our life is based on our good and bad deeds done in previous births and in this birth. Good deeds would result in good outcomes in this birth or subsequent births. In any case, doing good things and leading an ethical life would bring in happiness and public esteem. Social service, in that sense, would be beneficial from the Law of Karma and a practical way of leading a peaceful life, useful to society. Social Service Organisations (SSOs) are doing a great service to mankind by giving opportunities for individuals to engage in social service. The very process of working in a SSO has multifarious benefits to individuals and their families.

Social Service (SS) can be to individuals who are suffering due to poverty, handicap, ill-health, mental depression and various other causes who need financial and psychological support. SS can be to the neibourhood, community, caste group, religion and nation. SS can also be to animals for prevention from cruelty to them and also to protect them from over exploitation. SS can also be to protect the environment from pollution, for conservation of ecology, stopping over-exploitation of nature and its endowments, respect for nature, etc. SS can also be for promoting culture, social relationship and harmony in society, inter-religious harmony, international understanding, etc. Most people are not engaged in SS. After retirement, people waste their time by watching cinema, TV serials, gossiping in Clubs, traveling for relaxation, etc. The following article analyses social service to individuals and communities, which would show that those who are engaged in SS would benefit far more than the target beneficiaries, individuals and NGOs engaged in SS. They can enhance happiness which is the true success in life. They will earn public esteem and acquire organizational and leadership qualities. They will develop capability and courage. They may even develop immunity and live long. They would grow in the spiritual ladder towards divinity. They would even develop a purpose in life and avoid loneliness and alienation. They need not be afraid of death and can live with equanimity and calmness. This article proposes a massive social service movement for the welfare of mankind, animals and nature.

All over the world, people join the Rotary and Lions Movements and other NGOs with a variety of motives, one of which is interest in community service. However, they themselves would benefit a great deal through such service by way of enhanced happiness, which is an index of success in life, as well as self development in terms of improved competence and character.

Social Service Organizations (SSOs) have noble missions, with many sided goals and objectives, which benefit individuals and their families, Community and Nation, Mankind and Planet Earth. SSOs bring people together on a common platform, transcending the differences in ideology, profession, religion, language, ethnicity and several such barriers which divide peoples. SSOs bring together nationals from different parts of the world, thus fostering international understanding and peace. Ultimate aim of mankind is to unite under one banner, composed of humanism, brotherhood, peace and harmony. SSOs have social, cultural, professional, philosophical and spiritual dimensions, some of which are obvious, while others are latent in the movement, but which would blossom in the years to come.

The noble ideals of SSOs are by themselves sufficient justification to work in the service of the community. After all, we are all connected in some form or other and are mutually dependent directly or indirectly. Every entity in the world is connected to other entities. While some linkages are strong as in the case of the family or an organization, in the case of others it is weak and less obvious. We depend on the sun, moon, air, water, other nature’s endowments, animal species, fellow-men in various professions and business. We owe a great deal to hundreds of scientists and technologists in the world, Prophets of various religions, teachings of sages and scholars and our forefathers. They have toiled and suffered and have given us this beautiful civilization, which we are enjoying merrily. In every society, Gratitude has a high ethical value. We are expected to contribute (whatever we can to the community) as repaying in return to all these entities for what we have received from them directly or indirectly. Community service is one way by which we can express our gratitude for those known and unknown persons who have made, and still are making our life happy. Innumerable scientists discovered medicine and surgical techniques. Edison and Bell gave us the technology of light and communication, Einstein has stated that mankind owes a great deal to Indian sages who taught the whole world how to count and discovered the concept of zero, decimals, infinity, etc. The present generation cannot do anything to them directly. One way by which we can materially and emotionally express or manifest our gratitude to them is to get engaged in dedicated social service to the community. Also, we ought to be thankful to the community for giving us an opportunity to express our gratitude. People should thank the SSO movement for giving them an organization, platform and opportunity for this. Alone, we cannot do much.

Saints and humanists with compassion have declared “by giving, we become more. Concern and sacrifice for others are the two virtues which distinguish gentlemen from others, who lead a mundane and self centred existence. Happiness lies in giving, and not in taking. Only those who have sacrificed are remembered for ever.” Community service thus gives us an opportunity to climb the humanistic ladder, end point of which is experiencing divinity and happiness.

At the social level, SSOs give members a number of opportunities for enhancing happiness. Husband and wife jointly work, and be together while attending SSO meetings and engaging in social service. SSOs meet professionals of other fields and thus enlarge their horizon and vision. They can learn from each other, thus expanding their knowledge and adding new dimensions and values to themselves. SSOs meet in a non-conflict and non-competitive situations, unlike is the case at home or in business or engaged in professional work. In order to earn livelihood and acquire wealth, most people are engaged in professional work or business, where motivation is generally selfish, i.e. to gain out of transactions and relationships. In the case of SSO meetings and community services, Members in SSOs transit from selfishness to selflessness, from mere careerism to a mission, from grabbing to giving, from individualism to community, from smallness to bigness, from loneliness to camaraderie, etc. From good people, we can learn good things, and from bad people we can learn how to avoid those wrong things. Thus, we have a ‘win-win’ situation, when we get together in SSO meetings or are engaged in community service.

The whole world consists of ‘duality’, such as light – darkness, good – bad, rich – poor, truth – lie, etc. Socio-political systems have not yet found a solution to bring in equity and equality. Destiny and environment make some people rich, while others remain poor. In spite of working very hard, many fail, while others are fortunate by inheriting wealth and lead an affluent life. Therefore, the less fortunate ones need help and support from the more fortunate few. The beneficiaries may even bless the altruistic persons and philanthropists. In a market economy society, there is always an element of exploitation of nature, animals and mankind in transactions and relationships. Already, the whole world is paying a big price for the over-exploitation of nature, animals and mankind as labourers and consumers. What one can do is to reduce such exploitation to the very minimum. SSOs give an opportunity to compensate for such selfishness by giving to the needy what we can afford which can be money or service to those who are less fortunate.

Religious and spiritual people emphasize that our wealth is not really ours, but belongs to God or to humanity. They also say that you can serve God through man, or man through God. In either case, there is a spiritual dimension to sharing wealth and our fortunes with those whose needs are more than ours.

Success in life is really “enhancement of happiness”. Purpose of life itself is to avoid sorrow and suffering and to increase happiness and peace. When we are in non-conflict and non-competitive situations, we are happier than we are while in stress or in conflict or in competition. Thus SSOs give us an opportunity to spend a little time in a happy state when we are engaged in service and that too in a group setting. Group consciousness, at least temporarily, subdues our Ego and individualism role and self importance, on which we usually concentrate most of the time. The word Ego: “mine, my success, my possessions, my family, etc.” restricts our boundary of thinking and acting. When we are engaged in collective effort, we are able to suppress or submerge our narrow minded Ego and sense of self, which takes us away from the vast humanity of which we are only a small part. By being attached to an ideal or a worthy goal, we become closer to the divine and spiritual being. We grow as good human beings and liked by others. There is a theory that we are all connected by Chaithanya or some Divine force, which gives energy to the trillions of electrons and galaxies to move, to tick our hearts, to make a seed become a tree and a human sperm-ovum to become a man. In that sense, we are part of the whole universe. SSOs give an opportunity to give expression to this theory. In small ways, we demonstrate that “you and me are one”, I am part of the Universe”.

Man has a mind. As our minds so we are. Core of management is management of mind. Whatever is outside the mind cannot give us pleasure or pain. Everything is in the mind. Joy, pleasure and happiness are in the mind. Millions like cricket, meat, violent movies, etc., while others don’t. Many eat snakes, dogs and cockroaches, while others don’t. 200 TV serials attract different people. Destiny, education, environment, religion etc condition the mind. Mind wants variety, and hence jumps from thought to thought as well as topic to topic, like monkeys jump from tree to tree. Diversifying and regulating the mind is the essence of Management of Life. SSOs help in developing this essential principle of Management of Life. In office and factories, mind gets stressed due to innumerable factors. We go home fatigued and distressed. In SSOs, we learn how to lead a healthy life – calm, serene, accepting the inevitable, treating all alike, respecting others etc., i.e. good attitude and behavior.

When one comes to SSO meetings, all such anxieties and fears are temporarily set aside. There is an atmosphere of goodwill and bonhomie. Everybody is in a joyful mood, exchanging pleasantries. Mind gets diversified. Members of SSOs meet people of different ideas and ideologies, attitudes and behaviour, interests and motivations, etc. These differences expand the mind, giving it resilience and capacity to endure suffering and to avoid negative tendencies. Thus in meetings and collective community service, mind expands and enhances happiness, which is the real success in life. Money or position cannot give such happiness automatically. Rich people are unable to go to sleep, while millions of poor drop off to sleep the moment they hit the ground. They accept destiny and reality; and surrender. The rich and ambitious struggle and manipulate people and situations. SSO meetings and service give an ambience of ego-lessness, cooperation, camaraderie, service to others, adjusting to others etc. It is a good training exercise.

Body and mind are intimately connected in every sense. The state of health affects the mind and vice versa. Thus a happy mind improves health, enabling the 50 billion cells to multiply, thus improving health and immunity, which in turn, enhance the life span. SSOs recognize merit and concentrates on looking at the good aspects of every body. Negative tendencies are ignored. Even a bad speech is admired. The attitude of “See good things, hear good things, think good things” enables Members of SSOs to develop a positive outlook in life and work. Thus SSOs provide the ambience and opportunities to enhance joy and happiness. Life is a mix of joys and sorrows. SSOs help to increase the former and reduce the latter.

SSOs also help in Self development, in terms of improved health, enhanced life span, increased competence and communication skill, genuine leadership qualities, earning public esteem and goodwill, holistic development of life during productive life as well as during retirement, enlarged friendship circles who help personally and professionally, good thoughts and character resulting in good children, ability to withstand suffering and failure, patience and forbearance, acting as an instrument of god and society, thereby bringing achievement of professional competence and success in business.

Normally, administrators and officers in government, managers and executives in business, professionals in various fields, spiritual teachers, religious leaders as well as all those in positions of power derive their authority by virtue of their position in the hierarchy, money based power, manipulated mass following, compulsion of followers to obey masters, etc. Ability to reward and punish, opportunities for dispensing favours and privileges, etc are the tangible advantages of being in positions of authority in government or business. Managers, officers and administrators are given formal authority by organizations. Subordinators have to simply obey. However, leaders derive their authority over hundreds or even millions by virtue of their service, goodness, charity, compassion to others, sacrifice, ethical and moral life, knowledge, god’s grace, etc. Among these, service to the community, animal species and Nature’s endowments are the major activities which foster leadership qualities and confer informal authority.

All over the world, we have spiritual leaders who exercise their authority over millions by virtue of their spiritual attainment and dedicated service to humanity. In India, we now have Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Amritanandamayi who have millions of followers all over the world from all regions and nations. Gandhiji, as a political leader, is admired and adored by millions in India and abroad. Einstein and Stephen Hawkins are admired and have followers because of their knowledge. Jesus and Buddha have millions of followers by virtue of their sacrifice, truthfulness and compassion. Florence nightingale is remembered for her service to the nursing profession. Like this, in every field, world has produced great leaders in the political, economic, social, cultural, religious and spiritual fields on account of their selfless service and sacrifice for the welfare of mankind, animals and nature. Leadership is universal and eternal, while managerial and official authority is temporary and lasts long only during their position. After retirement, most officers in Government and managers in business do not enjoy public esteem or respect. But leaders are remembered throughout their life and even after they die. Thousands of saints and sages served humanity without even putting their name, as they were totally selfless with no ego or concept of doership.

Most of us cannot attain that high stature, as we are too small and do too little to deserve such a following. But SSOs give us the opportunity and training ground to develop adequate leadership qualities. They will be admired and adored for the quantum and nature of their selfless service to the community, and that too when done without the concept of ego, boastfulness and notion of doership. What is done anonymously for the wellbeing of mankind earns spiritual merit. But, in the secular field, as in the case of SSOs, one gets leadership authority by virtue of service to the community during their life time. Silent service is more effective than what is done for self glorification and publicity. Ideally, one should be a leader while being an officer, manager or professional.

Some Members of SSOs may think that by doing a service to the community, they are making a sacrifice. Engaging themselves in various fields of community service, whether it be in education, poverty alleviation, counseling, etc they lose time and leisure. But in reality, Members of SSOs themselves benefit far more than what they give by way of money, time and effort. Therefore, the motivation for being in the SSO movement could be even selfishness, which means that the selfless service will bring in more benefit for themselves. It is not holy to say that we are holy, or it is not smart to say that we are smart. Community service has its own inherent and intrinsic potential for bringing in enhanced happiness at the personal level at one end and self development at the other. These enable to make life a real success from the societal happiness stand point and also for success in the materialistic world.

From the point of Religion, Spirituality, Culture and Philosophy, the SSO Movement has special significance. The four religions, born in India – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism - believe in the Law of Karma, which simply means that our present life has been designed by the actions done earlier in this birth and previous births. Good deeds done earlier would bring favorable results and evil deeds the opposite. The Karma concept has two parts – the fixed and irrevocable part and the other the variable which can be modified by present good actions. Death is a certainty. Our birth place, parents, religion, attitude and behavior, successes and failures, luck and ill luck are all determined by the Karma, Fate, and Destiny etc, which are different names for the same concept. Thus, by doing good deeds through the SSOs that is by leading an ethical and moral life, compassion, patience, forgiving, friendliness, cheerfulness, selfless work etc we can erase or alter the unfavourable variables of Karma to become favourable. The other four religions of the West Asia – Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam - also emphasize the need for leading an ethical life, service, charity, service, forgivance, sacrifice, prayer, etc. Though these religions do not postulate the Law of Karma, Plato, Shakespeare and most modern scholars like Durant, Toynbee, Frawley and hundreds of others believe in the Law of Karma. The religious part is equally important, which includes Prayer, surrender to God, acting in the name of God, desire-less action, detachment, acting without the notion of non-doer ship expecting no reward etc.

Thus Community service in the SSOs help to grow spiritually and religiously, which in turn would earn the grace and blessing of the God as well as of the community. Even atheists would benefit if they do service in the name of humanity, since in Philosophy, God is present in every animate being and inanimate entity. This means that service has secular and spiritual dimensions, where we would benefit far more than what we put in by way of time, effort an finance to help the beneficiaries of our service. Therefore, those who join the SSOs with an element of differential self interest would find that they would benefit more than the Community, together with better health, longer life span, immunity, bright face etc. Every element of SS, including the organizational discipline, rituals and conventions, would enhance happiness and professional self development, and further hopefully help to get a better life in the next birth for those who believe in it. In any case, we would develop courage and capability. We would not be afraid even of death, which we can really welcome with calm confidence.

Thus SSO is a noble mission where one enjoys life and spreads happiness to all entities. “The time to be happy is NOW, the place to be happy is HERE, and the way to be happy is to make someone else happy and create a bit of HEAVEN right Here”.
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ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
T.N.K. Kurup

Development activities started with a new vigour and direction in India after 1947 when the Country became Independent. Panditji taking a leaf out of the several developmental pattern initiated the Five Year Plans with accent on Irrigation, Power, Agriculture, Metallurgical, Fertilizer plants, Heavy Electricals and Machine tool factories. These Five Year Plans keeping in view of the security threats from outside saw considerable investment in the three arms of defence and defence production units. Now we are in the Eleventh Plan and the emphasis is on infra-structure, Education, Health and Industrial Development is on the pipeline. All these development activities took a heavy toll on our natural resources like forests, water bodies, rivers and environment speaking on general terms. Ethical considerations merit serious review on our developmental activities as they make major dents in environment and the lives of landless labourers and tribal population. This article is devoted to two major entities, Water and Forests.

River Water Pollution

The major cause for river water pollution is the result of urbanization and human settlements along the banks of the rivers. Untreated sewage, effluent discharges from distilleries, tanneries, chemical and fertilizer plants wastes from slaughter houses discharged in the rivers make them polluted to the extent of being unfit for bathing. Clean water available a few decades ago, has become a premium and is only available in bottled form. These contaminated water needs extensive treatment running into crores of rupees, as are evident by the amount spent on cleaning rivers like Ganga and Yamuna, without any tangible benefits. These rivers are the main sources for drinking and extensive treatments are required to make them potable.

In earlier times, water resources were considered as public property and it naturally fell upon the enlightened leaders of the community to safeguard this precious resource. With Government taking over the functions of water supply, Community interest and participation dwindled and with no control on the number of habitations, towns, cities, chemical plants and commercial establishments came up and their untreated effluents found a way to these water bodies. Now the pollution of river water has become so serious, it requires the concerted actions of the Government, industries and monitoring agencies and people at large to prevent the inflow of untreated effluents. The amount involved for sewage treatment plants are also considerable and they are to be spent wisely to ensure proper purification of river waters to a reasonable level of purity.

Sacred Rivers

River Jamuna is considered the most polluted and is a source of water for our Capital City Delhi. Ganga though pristine in places like Gangotri, Rishikesh, etc when she enters the plains are saddled with untreated sewage, effluents from tanneries, agricultural fields, etc with the result during religious festivals when millions take bath in places like Allahabad and Varanasi their health and well being are in danger. It is a sheer miracle that no serious diseases have been reported so far. The river Cauvery considered to be the most sacred in South India is contaminated with toxic chemicals report the “DECCAN HERALD” in their issue of November 2007. CHEMPLAST a P.V.C. manufacturing unit situated off Mettur in Tamil Nadu has been discharging toxic chemicals through their effluents. The Chennai based Community Environment Monitoring Committee (CEM) in their report say that 52 toxic some of them carcigenous are contaminating the river.

Ground Water Pollution
Farmers in 15 villages of Bhavanagar District of GUJARAT went on a relay fast in March this year protesting against land allotment to detergent manufacturers ‘NIRMA” for construction of a Cement Plant and lime stone mine near Mahuva Tehsil reports the journal “DOWN TO EATH” in the issue of March 15th 2010. The villagers contention is that the farm produce in the area is high enough to sustain 51 vegetable dehydration plants which can employ 10,000 having an annual turn over of Rs.300 crores.

Palchimada in the Palakad District of Kerala is another instance where the ground water resources have been depleted by the production of Coca Cola to such an extent water is not available for the residents of the area. They have now sought for compensation and closure of the plant. These are all instances of development totally devoid of environment ethics.

Displacement of people for construction of Dams

In the year 1950’s when I was attached to the Ministry of Irrigation and Power, GoI it was my schedule to visit the major irrigation and power projects of the Eastern regions of India, viz., Hirakud in ORISSA, Mayurakshi in West Bengal, and all the Damodar Valley Hydro and thermal power projects. It was with a great sense of elation I saw the multitudes of people working in the “temples of modern India” the foot print for other multipurpose river valley project to follow. Little did I think about the displacement of people in the upper regions, their unsettled future and the loss of forests and bio-diversity of the sub-merged area. The only figure which stuck in my impressionable age was that of increased agricultural production and the added up power generation. The social and environmental costs registered in my mind only when the resettlement of displaced persons from Narmada Valley came up and pioneered by Medha Patkar – Narmada Bachao Andolan spearheaded by her. Same is the case with Tehri Dam on the river Bhagirathi in Uttarkhand and the consequent submergence of a bustling township.

In Kerala when the State Government wanted a hydro power unit in KUNTI RIVER submerging part of Silent Valley and the hot spots of BIO DIVERSITY, and home for rare flora and fauna, agitation from environmentalists stopped the Project. A recent newspaper report indicate that the proposed Chalakudy Hydro project, the seventh along the 145 km journey of the already dammed river would submerge 140 hectares of prime forest land which is home to diverse species of fauna, including the great Horn Bill and the Asiatic elephant. It was also reported that 104 species belonging to 34 families of fish will be endangered with the construction of the proposed dam.

The Fall out from Large Dams
Despite substantial evidences assembled by the World Commission on Dams in the year 2000 about the problems that are created by dams exceeding a certain size, the thrust of our Government is to pursue construction of large dams as a preferred strategy for meeting the Country’s irrigation and power needs. As on January 31st 2006 the installed capacity of 254 hydro electric power stations constructed in the various parts of the Country is 31754.45 MW. It is a common knowledge that this capacity can be achieved only at peak levels of water reservoirs. The reduction of power from the year 1994 – 2004 is around 31 per cent. The Govt.of India plans to add 5040 MW of hydro power every year to reach a peak level of 1,55,228 MW in the year 2031-32. The fund requirement is estimated to the order of Rs.30,000 crores every year as per present level for the generation component alone. Other fall-outs are displacement of 0.67 million people each year and submergence of 1,00,000 hectare of land including 40,000 hectares of forest land (Survey of the Status of Environment 2006 – The Hindu).

Similar is the case with large dams constructed for irrigation purposes which have never achieved the targeted areas of irrigation and many of them flooding the areas because of faulty laying of canal systems. In spite of the potential created by these dams, farmers mainly depend on the ground water resources for tiding over their agriculture short-falls with the result the ground water table has gone down badly. Except in a few cases where rain water harvesting structures have been constructed the ground water levels have reached dangerous depths. This is a dangerous situation and the answer is concerted action in rain water harvesting.

FORESTS

Indian forests range from ever green tropical rain forests of Western Ghats and Andaman to the dry alpine scrub, high in the Himalayans. Between the two extreme there are semi green rain forests, deciduous monsoon forests, sub tropical pine forests and temperate montane forests. These forests are habitats for wide range of flora and fawna notable among them being the National pride Tiger and Peacock. These forests also provides a homeland for various tribal population who have made forests their abode for thousands of years. But with the multifold increase in population in other areas, the forest cover has dwindled over the years and the pressures of land, livelihood and development over the years have taken a toll on the forests and their inhabitants.

Mining has created large swathes of red moonscapes in Jharkhand Landscapes and natural beauty have been totally altered in Jharkand, ORISSA and Bellary regions of Karnataka. Railways passing through forest areas have mowed down many elephants in Assam and dams in Subansiri have submerged wild life areas. Roads cutting across National parks and forested areas are threats to wild life movement in search of food as in the case of tiger which need large tracts of land for their movement and survival. In spite of 25 tiger reserves the number of tiger during the last two decades have been dwindled from 3500 to 1500 as per recent census. Even at this juncture there is a face off between the Ministry of Surface Transport and Ministry of Environment and Forests as their interests are divergent for construction of National Highways through forests and wild reserve areas.

In the year 2002 Justice Arigit PASAYAT of the Supreme Court declared “By destroying nature Man is committing matricide having one way killed the Mother Earth”. Chief Justice Venkatachaliah of the Supreme Court was equally clear in enunciating “I place Government above big business, individual liberty above Government and the environment above all”. In spite of these pronouncements from the highest judiciary, encroachment and destruction of forests are taking place in the name of development.

Forests and Climate Change
As per the report of I.P.C.C. forests offer one of the cheapest, most efficient and immediate solution to the world to prevent global warming. Apart from carbon storage and tranquility, their services include water storage, rain fall generation, climate buffering, conservation of bio-diversity and soil stabilization. They moderate the flow of rain water limiting floods in the lower regions and prevent land slides. It takes centuries to create forests wealth but a few days for destruction. These great assets of the country call for preservation.

Forests and Tribals

Ms. Arundhati Roy in her seminal essay published in the ‘OUTLOOK” weekly dated 29th March 2010 says that the tribal people in Central India have a history of resistance that predates Mao by centuries. The HO, the Oraon, the Kols, the Santhals, the Mundas and the Gonds have all rebelled against the British, Zamindars and money lenders and the establishment of the day could never conquer them. She adds further that the Indian Constitution adopted in Parliament in 1950 was a tragic day for tribal people. The Constitution ratified the colonial policy and made the Government, the custodian of tribal homelands. Overnight it turned the tribal population into squatters in their own land. It denied them their traditional rights for forest produce and criminalized their way of life. She says that in exchange for the right to vote, it snatched away their right to livelihood and dignity.

Even in progressive States like Kerala where tiller got his right to the land, the policy of reservation in jobs secured the rights for the backward communities, tribal right to own land is yet to materialize. The agitation spearheaded by Janu needs special mention in this context. In all the development schemes undertaken after independence, the tribals are the most affected and they do not get a place for their settlement after their displacement. Now the major threat to their livelihood, habitation and security is the thrust on mineral rich areas located in forest hinterland by big business and industrialists.

Chhattisgarh, Jharkand, Orissa and West Bengal have signed M.O.Us with Corporate Houses and Multinational Corporations worth billions for steel plants, power plants, aluminium refining and processing plants and Mines and in the process the tribals living in the regions are the worst affected. No wonder they have taken up their causes and unfortunately so through MAOIST Leadership. The problem has to be addressed from their habitation, livelihood and welfare aspects so that lasting solutions are found failing which the establishment will continue to be at logger heads with the affected population endangering the security and sovereignty of the State.

Reports from journals like “Down to Earth” have brought out serious lapses by the monitoring and controlling authorities of the wide spread illegal mining of the forest area by unscrupulous mining overlords. Excessive mining transformed the area to waste lands while the prospective agencies wallow in richer and opulent life styles. Govt. of the day both in the States and Centre should ensure that these natural resources are not depleted by these unscrupulous entrepreneurs. Some of them are in very high positions and they control a few of the State Governments. Judicial interference appears to be the only solution if the politicians and bureaucrats do not stop the carnage.

Sustainable Development

Are we going on correct lines is a question which comes first to my mind. After more than sixty years of planning and development the shortages of power , water, essential food items are persisting mainly due to faulty implementation. From the British time to the present day the development pattern adopted is top down Centre to States to District to taluk down to the people. The chain has many weak links especially lack of commitment and too much of corruption. Results could have been better if the participation of people from bottom to top was initiated for effective implementation. The need of the people must have been better addressed and they would have ensured better and tangible results. Whenever communities have organized themselves there are results for every one to see.

Another worrying aspect is that development of metropolises and mega cities is taking place without any regard for sustainability. A case in point is Bangalore. Deccan Herald dated 28th March 2010 quotes a report from the reputed Indian Institute of Science (IISc Bangalore) which indicate that increasing built up area, rapidly depleting greenery and over exploitation of ground water resources are threatening the City dry and dead. Between 1973 and 2006 the City’s ecological degradation was 66 per cent. The area covered by the water bodies is reduced by about 489 hectares and the built up area has shot up by 632 per cent from the year 1973 much of which took place between 2006to 2008. No wonder with the advertisement appearing in Newspapers about construction of multi storeyed apartments in erstwhile green locations every day, the future for the garden city is bleak. While the State Government wanted all the residents with site measuring 60’ x 40’ to have rain water harvesting installed, we are yet to know what the multi-storyed apartment builders are doing? Not a single apartment has mentioned that they have commissioned R.W.H. and the bore wells from where they are drawing water are being recharged. Is it not mandatory for them to ensure sustainable water supplies? Why the State Government and the people occupying the apartments do not ask this probing question? It is shear indifference.

India’s huge rural population is directly dependent on climate dependent resources –the forests, the agricultural land, grasslands, etc which are under threat by water shortage and flooding. This endemic situation need be addressed with the help of experts to stop this recurring problem, if necessary with transparent public and private participation. It cannot be left only to politicians and bureaucrats. Harness of renewable energy, clean energy sources, protection of depleting national resources, water and green cover retention are all sustainable schemes to be implemented with Public-Private participation and therefore calls for new initiatives and leadership for development with a strong ethical content. Future is at stake if the present situation continue unabated.

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MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy
Management education started in India during late 50s, with two Universities offering Post Graduate Diploma in Management. India now has 2,000 Management Institutes (MIs) within the University system and outside, which is creditable. Some of them, like the seven IIMs, are of international standard, while others, with less resources, are yet to achieve reasonable standards. All these MIs have a role to play, since India has a large Business and Industries (B&I) sector. Most of these institutions can achieve higher standards, if unnecessary controls over them by the Government and AICTE are removed, and they are given autonomy to fix fees and flexibility in designing programme content, admission, etc. With good MIs coming in, many of those who have established merely for making money and conducting low quality programmes would go out.

Most of these institutions are catering only to the B&I Sector, which employs only about 20 million workers, both large and medium scale. The vast Government sector, employing about 20 million, does not have the benefit of MI trained graduates. Railways, Road Transport, State Power Undertakings, Ports, Government Hospitals, Postal Services and other organizations under government control need managerial systems and culture. Without improving the government bureaucratic system, the country cannot develop faster. Therefore, the major reform required is to introduce Management systems and culture into the vast Government sector. The vast non-organized sector, employing 400 million workers, has not benefited at all, since the Government, as the delivery agent of development, is unable to utilize the funds properly to deliver development to vast millions. The State and Local governments are still working with archaic bureaucratic systems, which are obstructing development. Also, they render very poor service to citizens. They should start massive Management Development Programmes to upgrade their managerial skills and to improve employee morale and motivation.

The popular idea is that Management is concerned only with the business sector. In fact, Management is an inherent and integral part of all human endeavours by individuals, institutions, organizations, communities and nations in the political, economic, social, cultural, religious sectors. Every activity has a specialization component and a Management component. Specialization can be thought, attitude, words, actions, decisions, transactions and relationships. It is the Management component that determines the motive and outcome – good or bad - to individuals, organizations and society. Even eating has a Management component, i.e. to determine the right kind of food, to eat at regular intervals, slowly after chewing, not to talk while eating, relishing the taste, gratitude to the cook and the host, etc. Similarly, we should talk with clarity, briefly, listen to others, use appropriate words, etc.

Conventional Management draws its concepts and principles from social science disciplines, such as, politics, economics, psychology, sociology, logic, law, productivity technique, accounting, information system, mathematics, statistics, etc. These are secular and value free. To this has to be added principles and values drawn from ethics, morals, values, philosophy, culture, religion, spirituality, yoga, meditation, silence, prayer, idealism, humanism, compassion, selflessness, sacrifice, forgivance, concern for other entities, such as, neighbours, society, animals, Nature’s endowments, etc. In organization, important values are: discipline, decorum, punctuality, cooperation, gratitude, loyalty, harmony, orderliness, commitment to the job, etc. In a family, mutual respect, regard, tolerance, acceptance, adjustment, love, sacrifice, etc are important. Individuals ought to have values, such as, honesty, integrity, austerity, simplicity, informality, humility, courtesy, politeness, trust, gentleness, moderation, justice, fairness, gratitude, helpfulness, supportive approach, encouraging others, etc. Avoiding negative tendencies are equally parts of Management. Greed, avarice, jealousy, envy, anger, arrogance, boastfulness, vanity, pride, selfishness, rudeness, competition, prejudice, cruelty, callousness, indifference, cheating, lying, maneuvering, violence, etc are neither good for individuals nor for organizations. Mere religiosity does not ensure integrity. For instance, 80 million go to temple in India, and yet we are corrupt, while in some Nordic countries, they do not go to Church, but are not corrupt. Management is essential to ensure transparency and truthfulness.

Observance of ethical and moral values will bring in enormous benefits to all by way of avoidance of sorrow and suffering and attainment of happiness and peace. Performance would improve, tiredness would come down, productivity would go up leading to increased sales and profits. Public acclaim and accountability would bring in expansion and growth. Duration of the MBA programme should be increased by 6 weeks each year to add ethical values into the curriculum.

Thus, ethical and moral values are as important as competence. Leadership would become automatic, which will bring in increased following and performance efficiency. Moral excellence will bring peace to individuals, organizations and society.
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TODAY’S INDIA

T.R. Ramalingam

The Official blurb calls it Irresistible India. And that is no exaggeration. The current population of the country is 1250 million. You can literally feel the sheer human density wherever you go. Corollary to that even in higher tariff classes you will find no accommodation in our Railways. Thanks to the opening out of the Civil Aviation sector, flights will be available at short notice.

Hill stations, Forestry, Woods, Landscape, Animal Parks, Malls, Entertainment, Whitewater surfing, Boating, Bungee Diving, Festivals and Fairs, name it you will find it in Irresistible India.

This is not to gloss over instances of shortchanging, crime – even rape, rude behaviour et al. Most countries have tourist handbooks incorporating the necessary cautions. The tendency to make a quick buck from a tourist is an endemic failing of Less Developed Countries. We are taking initiatives to correct this fitting in with our global aspirations.

The sights for the tourists and the natives are many. The problem is in choice. The writer refers to a few:

One starts with the Himalayas, the year around snow bound mountains and abode of Gods and Sages. Ganga, the Holy River of India, the Brahmaputra and the Indus the latter two shared between two countries with acrimony originate here. The sheer expanse of the Brahmaputra at Guwahati, Assam is a sight etched in the minds of this writer.

Hill Stations: There are quite a few with Darjeeling, West Bengal taking the pride of place. One sees the snow bound Kanchenjanga from anywhere practically, the sunrise over the mountain being an unforgettable experience. Shimla was the winter capital of British India. Himachal Pradesh as such is a place of great scenery. Lesser hill stations are coming up catering to the last minute and near at home classes of tourists.

Architecture: Palaces, Forts, Public Buildings, Temples … the country is speckled with many objects of beauty. The country is dotted with Forts. For that matter even in the district towns of the country one would find buildings with all around moats.

The TAJ fully lives up to its reputation. The Victoria Memorial, the Red Fort, the Hawa Mahal, Akbar’s Fatehpur Sikhri, The Golden Temple, the Big Temple at Tanjore where Raja Raja Chola bathed the idol with water from many rivers he had visited in his conquests, the Char Minar .. .. there are many many things of beauty.

Water bodies: The Kodaikanal Lake and the Chilka Lake with its bird sanctuary are of particular mention. The Periyar Dam also has its sanctuary. In fact all the big dams have popular lakes attached. Hyderabad has its Hussein Sagar Lake with the imposing statue of Lord Buddha. Chennai has the second largest natural beach. Even Bangalore City has its water bodies, so too Calcutta. Many localities’ names end with “pur” – meaning pond. The Beaches are popular to the point of notoriety!

Festivals: For a basically poor country it is amazing, the variety of festivals the people participate in. The Pooram of Kerala, the Sagar Mela of Bengal, The ever thronged Sangam at Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, countless village festivals and towns practically all through the year .. One feels the vibrant pulse of India in these congregations. The Sangam has pilgrims throughout the year. The now extinct Saraswati, Yamuna and Ganga meet here. On the banks of the Saraswati a civilization had existed in 8000 BC, so it is believed. “Cauveripoompattinam” and “Dwarka” (Lord Krishna’s city) have been taken by the voracious sea. The Jallikattu of Tamil Nadu and the Boat Festival of Kerala are two popular festivals. The former is similar to the bullfights at Spain.

The Museums of India are mute witnesses to the affluence of India even two centuries ere; speak a voice of their own. There is a historical observation by Lord Macaulay to this effect, wherein he talks in amazement of the wealth of India. For sure, India has always been affluent and poor at the same time Valmiki says Lord Sri Rama exhausted his treasury (on more than one occasion)]. But the poor have never been as miserable as on today.

Society and Economy: The economy remains largely agriculture oriented to the extent of 28% of the GDP. The villages are unable to sustain the population who migrate to cities and towns in search for jobs. They can send very little money home! Living poorly they throng public Hospitals for indifferent treatment.

The organized sector has made spectacular advances resulting in ‘deep pockets’ of affluence. Cars and high-value real estate are selling like never before. As for Customs, barring the high-end westernized and stressed class, the society remains traditional by and large. Women are treated with respect. It is another story that housemaids are tortured in B ‘Lore in a few cases! Again women in a significant swathe of undeveloped India are unliberated and much at the mercy of bigots, mothers-in-law and unfeeling husbands.

There is a new feature in the Indian Society – uncared elders. Their children have either relocated abroad (the NRI phenomenon) or live outside nuclear families of their progeny caring only for their style of living. The Indian ethos calls for treatment of one’s parents, teacher and guest as Gods.

This writer has never had a head for Economics and Business. Hence there will be no number crunching. After the liberalization policies of the nineties and the IT boom resulting from US outsourcing strategies India has never had it so good. Wise heads opine that by 2020 India will be a global power.

Ex-President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam has prepared a Vision Document to that end which he passionately preaches to the populace.

Even as such Indians and Indian Companies figure in short lists among the World’s richest. There is a new educated class coming up self-assured, combative, competent and confident and taking on their world-peers. Reassuringly 30% of this class is female which speaks of India’s modernity and egality.

This writer with a strong left of centre orientation rues the fact that the present 50% poor will not see any significant improvement in lifestyle even by 2020 without purposive affirmative action.

The long and short of it, Ignore India, it reflects your ignorance.
In this country we always end up with let’s all be well.

Sarveh Janah Sukhino Bhavanthu




TAMIZH PRIDE (VIGNETTES)
T.R.Ramalingam

The World Tamizh Classical Language Meet has just ended. These are extracts from “Tamizhar Varalaru” by Jnana Devaneyan - First Edition – 1972. Devaneyan was a philologist and an avowed Researcher who has published 35 Books on allied subjects.

Joseph Anderson states that there is nothing that solidifies and strengthens a nation like reading a nation’s history. The bases for a nation’s history are seven fold: Antiquities, Literature, Folklore, Customs, Written evidence, Geological findings and Oceanographic findings. Pottery has been found even recently testifying to the antiquity of Tamizh. The Tholkappiyam is a great source for referencing olden days extending to the First Tamizh Kazhagam.

• The story starts millenias back, when the geography of the world included the lost continent of Lemuria. The Mediterranean Sea then passed through two Continents.The Himalayas and North India were submerged.The Old Pandiya Land was there.
• The Pandiya Land suffered much reduction in size through two Great floodings, the first around 5,000 BC and the second 2500 BC.
• While corroborative parallel records for the First are not available, the second is supported by records in Babylon, the Bible and Sri Lanka.

The main contentions of the Author are that:
• Man was born in Lemuria
• Man first spoke in Tamizh and this was the first language of mankind.
• Tamizh is the mother of Dravidian Languages as also the Aryan ones
• The Mohanjedaro-Harappan culture was much influenced by the Dravidian. Scholar and philologist of Helsinki Universtiy Dr.Asko Parpola opines that the Indus Valley Script is no longer a puzzle and can be cracked through Old Tamizh.

The popular Wilkipedia states that there is no scientific basis for believing in Lemuria. The belief is that Lemuria was located between the North America and Asia/Australia. The Work charitably adds that “People simply ‘know’ of their Lemurian origins. Lemuria was a highly evolved and deeply spiritual culture. Particularly the Tamils believe in Lemuria.”

The basis for asserting that Kumarikkandam was the homeland of the Tamils:
• Tamizh and the related Dravidian languages are confined to India. In the South the language gains mellowness and literary expanse.
• Languages outside South with southern words have Tamizh roots
• The four Dravidian languages are located for very long in the south and as one goes further south Tamizh gets more refined

The expanse of the kingdom of the Tamizhs can be adjudged from the contention that Chidambaram was equidistant from the Himalayas and the Kumari Mountains. The reference is to the Old Pandiya Nadu.

After the First Flood, Afrika and Australia separated from Kumarikkandam. A great river system named “Pakhruli” was lost after the First Flood.

During the period of the Second Sangham we discern the existence of a mountain which may have been a part of the Kumari range or another and a river Kumari which flew through both Srilanka and India. Along with today’s Thamiravaruni, these were the two major rivers.

Even the residents of the Ganges used to do pilgrimage to the Kumari River.

With the loss of Afrika the Arabian Sea came into being. The Bay of Bengal came up after the Second Flood leading to Pandiya Nadu being surrounded by water on three sides. Sri Lanka, in fact, separated from the land mass after the Second Flood as also a significant part of the Pandiya Nadu.

The First Tamil Sangham was in Madurai and was immersed in the sea even before the dawn of recorded history [5000BC]. The Second too fell to the Sea [2500 BC].Kapadapuram was the Capital during this period. The last Sangham was founded around 500 BC and extended up to 300 AD. Simultaneously the Pandiyan suzerainty also ended. The Capital set up after the Second Flood was named Madurai commemorating the First Capital of Old Pandiya Nadu.

A Pandyan went North up to the Himalayas to make up for the loss of the mountain range down South and other significant losses. There was little resistance to his march. There was one fallout. The Cheras and Cholas came into being. They were deputed to manage the vast Pandiya Kingdom.

One Chola imitated the Pandyan’s feat. Fish and Tiger on the ensign were the symbols of the Pandyans and Cholas respectively. These were symbolically hoisted in the Himalayas. Cheras and Cholas subsequently asserted their suzerainty. However, by and large there was amity between the three Kings. The Author would have it that Narada was called Triloka Sanchari referring to his sojourn through the three Lands!

As for religion the Tamizhs were Vaishnavites and Saivites. There was also an evolved thought of a Formless Divine. The Brahmins are stated to have cannibalised the concept and introduced a Brahma – the Creator, completing a TRINITY.
SOME NUGGETS:

The Old Pandiyanadu had a spread of 2500 “Khal”s southward and a signilficant width. Khal is an ancient measure around one mile. After the First Flood Pandiya Nadu extended 500 Khals south of Kumari Point. During the Second Flood some 1200 Khal wide land known as Nagaland was lost.

Pandiyanadu had a Himalayas in the Kumari Malai and a river akin to the Ganges with plenty to eat by way of natural wealth of flora and fauna – even today’s Tamil Nadu has much despites ecological damage and population pressures.

The land of the Tamils never had deserts and was very fertile. There was plenty of gold to boot and a rich literary tradition as early as 10000 BC when the First Sangham was founded. Barring very few flora and fauna the rest find mention in Tamizh literature. Ponni was so called as it brought along gold dust! Ponni, Porunai and Thamiravaruni signify the same river. In early Pandiyanadu Agriculture was the mainstay; other trades developed subsequently.

The Tholkappiyam is dated 7th Century BC yet it has much reference to olden times. Tholkappiyam carries references to older times including the First Sangham. It delineates the four borders of Tamizhagam of his times i.e. after the Second Flooding. In the South, it was the River Kumari, Bay of Bengal in the East, The Western Ghats in the West and Saptagiri in the North.

Tholkappiyam describes the history of the three Sanghas and the name of the capital of Old Pandiya Nadu after the First Flooding. Only Tholkappiyam and Thirukkural survive from BCE. The Silappadhikaram describes the “Pakhruli” River and the Kumari range of mountains as also the First Flooding

The Second Sangham had 8000 odd Tamil works and 59 Poets. Both Iron and Chariots were first born in Tamizhagam. The Brahmi Script was introduced to Tamizhagam by Emperor Ashoka around 3rd Century BC. The Last Sangha had 49 Scholars, the middle one 59 and the first one 549. As the land was vaster there were many more in the First Sangham

Soils suitable for hunting, grazing, cropping and seafaring were all available signifying the withal for gradual advance of civilisation. The Soil types were Kurinji – mountaneous tract, Mullai – forest like land, Marudham – flat land, and Neidhal – sea adjunct land. It is a significant feature of Pandiya Nadu that all the Land types were available in the same region leading to smooth development of Culture from the Stone Age to Civilised Times.

Kali worship is apparently devil worship; yet it combines worship of Kannagi and Mother. Mari (associated with small pox) was also worshipped.After the disappearance of the monumental Kumari Range and considering that the Rudraksha is a product of Nepal traditionally many settled for a new abode for Shiva in the Himalayas. They founded many cities. Calcutta is a Kali Kottam – the abode of Kali, a pure Tamizh word..... Tamluk is derived from Tamizhagam. Pataliputra derives from Padhiripuram.

After the Big Flood there was a migration to Europe by the Tamils leading to similarities between Teutonic languages and Tamizh. Thirty languages can be seen as originating/influenced by Tamizh.

A Pandiyan captured Java. Gradually the Tamizhs spread to neighboring islands. Sumatra, Borneo and Malaya are among these. Many names point to Tamizh influence. This was during the period after the Second Flood. Through Land and Sea Routes the Three Kings went to various places on Earth brought many rare goods and laid the basis for prosperity of Tamizhs and Tamizhagam.

The Author lists agricultural and other produce from China (Camphor) Java, Moluccas, Indonesia, East Indies, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Arabia, West asia, Little Asia, Mexico and the US (diverse agricultural items) imported to Tamizhagam.

The famous Poompuhar or Kaveripoompattinam was lost around 200 AD to the sea along with Kumari River leading to Pandiya Nadu being sea bound on three sides.

Sadly the work suffers from rabid anti-Brahmanism, an ipso facto feature of Tamil Society. Interestingly, Dr. Asko Parpola speaking during the Classical Language Conference is headlined in the Press of having demolished the Aryan-Dravidian and presented a continuum of culture.

To sum up there is good reason to infer that Tamizh existed even around 10,000 BC in an advanced society. The Tamils were a vibrant entity all through including present times.
Some Fillers for Pagination:

Psychological Depression is deadlier than chronic diseases.
The WHO had conducted a study with a database of 245000 subjects spread over 60 countries.
Depression had more impression on sufferers than Angina, Arthritis, Asthma and Diabetes.
The stigma around mental illness should be reduced. Depression is a disease caused by imbalance of neuro chemicals and on par with other chronic diseases in affecting health.
Projections indicate that Depression will be second only to Heart Disease.
The family needs to be supportive. Also, one should seek therapists and continue with medication.
2007 Statistics:- India confers 1.5 Lac Diplomas and 5.0 Lac Degrees in Engineering comparing with 75000 only in the US and 30000 in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Unless a person has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.
- Anatole France
Less than 10000 Crores have been sent on Rural Employment Guarantee Schemes, a pittance of what we have spent on a recent acquisition of Sukhois.
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SRI RAMANA’S MESSAGE

Far from revealing truth
Words only darken and conceal it,
To let the Truth shine of itself
Instead of burying it in words,
Merge in the heart both word and thought
Let not your intellect become
A slave to the mere sound and fury
Of controversy. Enter the heart
With mind pellucid, concept-free,
And realize your natural Being
As the Truth
The householder who realizes
That he is not the body family-bound
Is a more advanced renunciant than
The ascetic who feels proud at heart
That he has given up all attachments
-Compiled by C.B. Dyuthikar

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