Friday, April 8, 2011

Rajinikanth, speak out against corruption.




Just a month ago, when a small country like Egypt rose in unison to get liberation from a totalitarian regime, we were all wondering whether a similar revolution would also break in India. India with a large population of youth is fed up with the way the current political class is running the country as a fiefdom. It was expressed very well by Chetan Bhagat in a discussion board yesterday that we do not have an elected democracy, but we have an elected monarchy! Political observers were of the opinion that the situation is ripe for a sudden outburst against corruption in this country. And it did happen. 


There is an opinion that Anna Hazare’s crusade will fade out as a tamasha and the Govt is perhaps banking on this opinion to gain momentum. Some doubting Thomases have started articulating their reservations. But what they are questioning is the nitty gritty of the issue and not the issue itself. The issue is fight against corruption. Corruption is the basic mantra now that instantly brings people together to voice their opposition. This must be used now to bring sense to the political establishment. The people are waiting for a leader to take up the cause of corruption. And now they find Anna as a selfless and flawless one who can lead them in the fight against corruption.


Expectedly, no political leader of the ruling party had come out in support for this movement. Narendra Modi and Jayalalithaa have expressed support. Infact Jayalalithaa is shouldering the massive burden of taking on the most corrupt outfit of the country, the DMK. Our intellectuals would instantly jump into the fray to say that Jayalalithaa also is corrupt. No, there is a difference. All the corruption charges against her were foisted by Karunanidhi out of political malaise whereas the charges against Karunanidhi & co were slapped by Central agencies and the charges were related to looting nation’s wealth.


My contention is that we as citizens of Tamilnadu also have a responsibility towards stopping this highly corrupt MK from coming back to power. He is banking on the ‘Thirumangalam Formula’ of “cash for vote” which is the worst ever assault on democracy. As popular icons of the State with a good following among people, I expect   Rajinikanth, Kamal hasan and other popular personalities to back up the Fight against corruption. Tamilnadu is the breeding ground for corruption which is now spread to New Delhi also. If we do not eradicate it here, it will not be easy to eradicate it at the National level. A complete wipe out of MK and DMK would be the fitting blow to corruption and would send a strong signal to the corrupt people at other places.



The least I expect Rajinikanth to do is to come out in support of Anna Hazare and
tell the people that corruption starts at the ballot box and 
that they must not sell their votes.  
Our brave Super star need not worry about retribution from MK, for it would amount to admission of guilt 
if MK finds fault with Rajinikanth for his fight against cash for votes. 
Rajinikanth must do this as a responsible citizen and 
also for being one adored by millions of Tamils. 
He must rise to the occasion to show them the way.


Related posts:-

India too is ripe for a revolution..

War against corruption rally, Ramlila ground, Feb. 27, 2011

Primer for a revolution in India: lessons from Tunisia, Egypt

Any possibility of an Egypt-Effect in India?


38 comments:

Rajan Alexander said...

Read about Tamil Nadu Opinion polls

http://exitopinionpollsindia.blogspot.com

Chit said...

Doubt if Rajini has the guts to support Anti-Corruption, because these days he has been associated with the epitome of corruption. He has sacrificed his image for money, there is no doubt about it.

Suresh Kumar said...

i seriously feel we should not disturb mr rajini sir avargal...there is groundwork being done for Endhiran-2 and producers are Sun Pictures..so there is a lot much dependent on the current ruling party for mr rajini sir avargal...so let him rest in peace or pack his things and go back to bangalore..
அவரை 'வால' வச்ச 'டமில்' 'மக்கலுக்கு' அவர் எதுவும் செய்ய வேண்டாம்..நம்ம பிரச்சினையை நாமே பாத்துக்கலாம்..
do we need rajini's support?

Karthiga said...

He seems to be so selfish now.His son-in-law's pictures has been produced by Sun Pictures,even his films.If he was silent in 1996 too,no body would hav expected him to voice now.Y he is very much concerned abt ADMK's corruption nd not DMK's?SELFISH TO THE CORE.

Sheela said...

Dear Mam,

one can understand your anguish, but sadly except public, celebrities of TN would like to ignore Anna Hazare. I doubt Rajinikanth will rise to the occasion.

Sheela

Jayasree Saranathan said...

I am disappointed that even cricketers did not open their mouths. Feel like that we are all fools. We people come together to support be it a cricket match or a matinee idol. They enjoy what we give but slip out when they have to join us.

On Anna's crusade, the DMK money distribution spree is the perfect mockery of all that we talk about his fast or corruption or India rising against corruption. I am deeply disturbed by TN developments.

kppradeep said...

Anna Hazara is a hero agreed but this alone is not sufficient
1. First politicos should be prevented from spending crores of money during elections. If an MLA candidate spends 20Crores its natural he will aim to make at least 100 Crores. This shd be stopped. Then any one can stand in elections
2. Election commission shd prevent parties from announcing freebies. The politicos want to keep the people with begging bowl in hand
3. Judicial system shd change so that cases are finished quickly. Unless we instil fear in the minds of corrupt goons that if you do a mistake you will be taken to task, things will be the same
4. Campaigning during election should be allowed for more time and all parties should only talk about what they will do & how they will solve problems. In TN each parties point out the mistakes of others and so want to be elected. This should stop.Each person should be elcted on his merit and not becos of mistake of the opponent
5. We the people should also vow to be disciplined so that our country progresses
6. If the leader at the top is honest then the persons below cannot dare to be corrupt. Ex Narendra Modi
7. Kudos to DrSwamy to have achieved so much in 2G scam with the present legal system (Our legal system is mainly about not punishing the innocent though the guilty might escape)
Good honest people should rule the country and they can be male/female/artist/teacher/doctor/lawyer/hindu/muslim/cricketer etc.
Narendra Modi has proved that if the top person is honest then that state will be free of corruption
In our TN we do not have such a leader. We give DMK/ADMK alternate chance to loot. Both are same
its unfair to criticize Rajini when he is not into active politics. Judge him only when he enters it. So many people asking Rajini about his political entry speaks volume about the faith people have on him

Dr Rama Krishnan said...

My previous comment to your reply did not go through. I will try again later.
Please read the article by Kanchan Gupta on Anna Hazzare.
To me, non elected civilians running the government, having power over elected representatives is insane.
Rama krishnan
http://www.dailypioneer.com/330466/Weak-Government-subverted-state.html

Bala said...

One could see a few ironies in the situation presently concerning Anna and the number 6.

The DMK and MK never miss an opportunity of invoking the name of Anna in every conceivable situation in their speeches, but now they are facing another "Anna" - meaning Anna Hazare - whose crusade against corruption must be causing them some sleepless nights if they have any conscience!

Another point which I find amusing is Karunanidhi's appeal to people of Tamil Nadu to vote him to become the CM for the 6th time!

India has just won the cricket World Cup last week, in which Sachin Tendulkar took part for the 6th time.

He has obviously played his last World Cup and has achieved his life long ambition of winning the cup. The Indian team members dedicated the success to him and carried him on their shoulders round the Wankhede Stadium honouring him.

Another cricketer also played in 6 World Cups. He is Pakistan's Javed Miandad, but his inclusion in their team for his 6th World Cup appearance was resented by the then Pak Captain Wasim Akram and other team members, who ignored him in all respects concerning team selection, field placing and other tactics. Wasim Akram even asked him to field in boundary line area only most of the times even though he was normally a close in fielder in his earlier days, causing him lot of mental pressure. He was just a part of the team due obviously to pressure from higher cricket authorities of Pakistan, with the result that it was a totally forgettable experience for him.

In other words his own team showed no respect to him in his appearance at his 6th World Cup.

Now it is up to the people of Tamil Nadu to decide about MK's appeal to make him the CM for the 6th time.

If he gets elected and becomes the CM again for the 6th time (god forbid), obviously it will become the equivalent of Javed Miandad's 6th appearance only and not like that of the great Sachin.

Bala

kppradeep said...

Mr RK,
1.I completely agree with you.
2.So what if you have yet another law?. Even if a case is foisted against the corrupt the prosecution can mess it up so that the guilty goes scot-free.
3. Why do you stop with Film actors/cricketers to raise their voice? Why not musicians/vidwans/carnatic vocalist/hockey & chess players/actress/business men etc
We also have to change. Self discipline very important
Till then we are cursed that we are ruled by either DMK or ADMK. Party full of sycophants and nothing else. MuKa controls JJ through Sasikala and money.
Rulers will change but our lives will be the same

Jayasree Saranathan said...

@ Kppradeep

//its unfair to criticize Rajini when he is not into active politics. Judge him only when he enters it. //

Rajini came out once before and told the people that no one can save TN if JJ is voted to power.

Today if DMK is not stopped no one can save India itself. Why Rajini is not coming out to say this out?

Jayasree Saranathan said...

@ rk
Only one comment I didn't publish which was on Gandhi. There is no other comment sent from you pending.

Jayasree Saranathan said...

@ Bala.
Interesting comparison Mr Bala.

kppradeep said...

Rajini sir will comment only when he wants to and not when any one else wants to. Judge him when he enters politics by joining/starting a party
After 1996 he has stayed away from both stupid Kazhagams as they are worse than plagues. If he protests now ADMK will benefit like how DMK did in 1996.
He is a free person and will act when he wants.

BK Chowla, said...

Dilli Door Aste

Karthiga said...

Mam,I told u know I'm in Madurai.Today some DMK people came to my home to distribute money.I'm 20 and was alone in my home.I gained courage,and sent them back by saying 'Voting is my duty,I'll do it wit out being paid'.They were surprised.Later my parents appreciated me but worried abt this incident.Want to share wit u first.I AM SO HAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.

Jayasree Saranathan said...

@ kppradeep.


I am asking Rajini to speak against cash for votes. I didn't ask him to vote for this or that party. If you think that would hurt DMK's chances, let that happen.

Jayasree Saranathan said...

Thanks for sharing Anjali.
The justification you have given is very correct. I suggest that you or anyone seeing these comments, tell the vulnerable people in your localities the virtue of not selling the vote. Since they have given money to your neighbors, you can speak to them to vote according to their wisdom and not money.

Yesterday I also did one thing. Usually we don't get power cuts at night in our locality. Yesterday the power went off at 8-45 pm. I phoned up the EB and told them of the rule on no-power cut in force from Friday onwards and that I would be complaining to the EC. The power was restored within 10 minutes. I informed the EC complaint cell also. I will put a separate post on EC complaint numbers.

My family was worried when I was doing that, but they supported me. We have to be careful about our safety while dealing with a situation like this. You also keep that in mind.

Jayasree Saranathan said...

Mr Bala, long time reader of this blog has sent a long comment. As he had trouble in sending it to this column, he sent it to my mailbox. I am posting it here.

***********

Dear Ms Jayasree Madam,

You have been carrying on a crusade yourself against corrupt regimes of DMK and Congress govts for the past several months and expressing your concern that celebrities like Rajnikant or other film stars or cricketers do not raise their voices against corruption or these govts.
You may also be unhappy about us – the readers and visitors of your excellent blog site for not coming out strongly against these parties in greater numbers.

Since the situation is quite complex it may not be easy to give a very precise explanation for such actions of the celebrities or the middle class people like us.
While I have deep appreciation for your exemplary courage for your writings I will try to present my understanding of the situation in the following paragraphs to the best of my ability.

I re-read the”Need Based Motivation” theory (which I had come across a few years ago) postulated by Professor Abraham Maslow of Brandeis University in 1943 to get an idea about it.

(contd)

Jayasree Saranathan said...

First let us have a look at his theory :

Hierarchy of Needs

1] Physiological Needs – breathing, food, water, sex, sleep, homeostatis, excretion
2] Safety Needs – security of body, employment, resources, morality, family, health, property
3] Love/belonging Needs – friendship, family, sexual intimacy
4] Esteem Needs – self esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others
5] Self Actualization Needs – morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts
People’s actions spring from the above needs starting from the basic needs.

The first two are physical needs; the next two are psychological needs. The highest is the Self Actualization need which is at the 5th level.

The explanation for the impact of these needs is as under:
We feel the basic needs first and go up the order in the hierarchy.

1] If the first need - namely - physiological need is not satisfied at all, then all the other higher needs do not show their heads at all (so as to say)

2] If the first need is satisfied partially then the second need starts showing itself to some extent and so on.

Thus the hierarchy goes up to the highest level in stages.
For our understanding let us assume that the first need is satisfied only to the extent of say 5% in a person. In that case all the other higher needs are totally absent in him.

So we cannot expect him to exhibit any positive behavior as far as security of his own body or family, friendship or esteem etc, forget about self actualization need from him.

At the next stage suppose his basic need (No. 1) is satisfied to the extent of say 10 or 15%, the second need raises its head to the extent of say 5 to 10% and perhaps the third need raises its head to the extent of 2 to 5% and so on.
So for people to achieve a satisfactory level of Self Actualization Need they must have their basic physical needs and psychological needs satisfied to the extent of 60 to 75% at least. (These figures are only shown as examples by me and not given by the Professor).

Prof Maslow has termed the two sets of needs as D needs and B needs. D needs means Deficiency Value needs and B needs means Being Value needs.

Most of the people of India do not have the D needs themselves satisfied satisfactorily. This applies to the middle class people also.

The lower class people do not have even their basic physical needs satisfied in many cases and in the case of the middle class people their basic physical needs may be satisfied to a satisfactory level but their psychological needs may not be satisfied to the level required to make their self actualization needs raise their heads.

Hence middle class people cannot be expected to raise their voices against corruption or injustice as expected by activists like you every time.

Middle class people’s prime concern hovers between the third and fourth needs of Maslow’s list namely Love/belonging and Esteem needs as far as my understanding goes.

Hence whenever they get agitated very much by events like injustice or corruption or act of terrorism etc they try to vent their anger very cautiously only, since they fear for their safety first. But if some people with leadership qualities show the way to exhibit public anger in a convincing way, such people respond cautiously at first and in full measure later on in response to the reaction of others like themselves.

Jayasree Saranathan said...

(contd)

The present event of Anna Hazare’s fast and the middle class people’s strong public support to him is an example. The last few times it happened were at the time of terrorist attack in Mumbai in Nov. 08 or Jessica Lal murder trial case etc

But to expect celebrities to come out openly against corruption or injustice is in my opinion totally out of question since their stakes are very, very high.

Most of the celebrities are on friendly terms with politicians and other influential people. Hence they will do everything to avoid exposing themselves to their friends in high places. Here their safety needs come up very sharply preventing them against them taking action as required by the activists.

Rajnikant did not take any stand in support of the Tamil people initially in the Cauvery water dispute. Only when he was heavily criticized by the press and the people, he came out cautiously against the Karnataka govt.
Since he is a Kannadi he did not wish to displease Karnataka people at first. But as pointed out by his critics - since his earnings were from the Tamils, his loyalty must be with them and not with Karnataka people - he came out in support of the Tamils later on - as I said above only reluctantly.
Another example is that of Sachin Tendulkar when he said that he was first an Indian and then only a Maharashtrian, a comment which attracted severe rebuke from Bal Thackeray and the other Shiv Sainiks.

To understand this behavior let us look at the parameters given by Prof. Maslow in Self Actualization Needs category:

Morality, Creativity, Spontaneity, Problem Solving, Lack of Prejudice, Acceptance of Facts etc.
Whether in the Cauvery water dispute or the present election scenario which of the above parameters are applicable in Rajnikant’s case?

Most of them in my opinion, plus the second basic need, viz safety need.

But what about people like Kiran Bedi or Subramaniam Swamy who come out strongly and fearlessly against the mighty?

Jayasree Saranathan said...

(contd)

Prof Maslow has coined the word Metamotivation to describe the motivation of such people who are self actualized and striving beyond the scope of their basic needs to reach their full potential. Such people are very rare indeed.

You and some other writers have expressed views comparing the situation in Egypt when their citizens came out strongly against their dictator President Hosni Mubarak and threw him out and wondering whether Indian people would also take a similar action in throwing out our own corrupt masters.

I doubt it.

For this again we have to look at Prof Maslow’s needs category very closely and understand them.
His critics have mentioned that his theories were worked out after doing research in the US where the people are basically individualistic. So according to them his theories may not be applicable to other societies where people behave in a collectivistic manner. Middle East countries and less developed countries have such societies.
In India we have a mixed type of society.

The lower class of people will show a collectivistic behavior while the middle class and upper class of people will show an individualistic behavior.
Since India’s middle class is increasing by leaps and bounds we can expect only individualistic type of behavior from our people henceforth. As I mentioned above such people’s needs are hovering between the third and fourth categories only and are yet to reach the Self Actualization Needs category.

Jayasree Saranathan said...

(contd)

So what should we do or how should we go about it?
Here are a few suggestions as per the website of Honolulu Community College website:

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/maslow.htm

The hierarchic theory is often represented as a pyramid, with the larger, lower levels representing the lower needs, and the upper point representing the need for self-actualization. Maslow believes that the only reason that people would not move well in direction of self-actualization is because of hindrances placed in their way by society. He states that education is one of these hindrances. He recommends ways education can switch from its usual person-stunting tactics to person-growing approaches. Maslow states that educators should respond to the potential an individual has for growing into a self-actualizing person of his/her own kind. Ten points that educators should address are listed:

1. We should teach people to be authentic, to be aware of their inner selves and to hear their inner-feeling voices.

2. We should teach people to transcend their cultural conditioning and become world citizens.

3. We should help people discover their vocation in life, their calling, fate or destiny. This is especially focused on finding the right career and the right mate.

4. We should teach people that life is precious, that there is joy to be experienced in life, and if people are open to seeing the good and joyous in all kinds of situations, it makes life worth living.

5. We must accept the person as he or she is and help the person learn their inner nature. From real knowledge of aptitudes and limitations we can know what to build upon, what potentials are really there.

6. We must see that the person's basic needs are satisfied. This includes safety, belongingness, and esteem needs.

7. We should refreshen consciousness, teaching the person to appreciate beauty and the other good things in nature and in living.

8. We should teach people that controls are good, and complete abandon is bad. It takes control to improve the quality of life in all areas.

9. We should teach people to transcend the trifling problems and grapple with the serious problems in life. These include the problems of injustice, of pain, suffering, and death.

10. We must teach people to be good choosers. They must be given practice in making good choices.
Here is the Wikipedia link giving a diagrammatic representation of Prof Maslow’s hierarchy of needs:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maslow%27s_Hierarchy_of_Needs.svg
Here is the link showing the details about the prof: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslow
About Metamotivation, we can read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamotivation

Once we understand the theories as presented on the above pages, we can get an idea of what the needs of our politicians are and how they act to fulfill them somewhat easily.

The politicians want to satisfy the lower class voters for their votes while they wish to remain with the rich class for their money. They consider the middle class as a nuisance only and hence do not bother about them. But if it comes to be an irritant they have the ability to harass the middle class into submission and hence the middle class people also wish to remain at a safe distance from them!

Bala

Karthiga said...

The dmk people who came to my home also our neighbours..they were not angry on me,but surprised that i refused 1000 rs..so no problem.i nearly convinced 50 people to vote against dmk.

Jayasree Saranathan said...

Dear Mr Bala,
Thanks for your illuminating article.

I appreciate the patience and passion you have in writing the comment. Unless one feels deeply about something and be passionate about it, one can not speak out in length and substance like this. That Rajinikanth does not have such a passion and feeling for Tamil's plight in the hands of an octopus of Corruption called Karunanidhi is what we can not ignore.

As you said, he is in stage 2 in Maslow's hierarchy. But he thought he has gone upto stage 5 when he spoke against corruption long ago, which certainly influenced the public to bring back the then written-off Karunanidhi. That is a costly mistake, we realise now. He created an image that he was in the stage 5 but he continues to be in stage 2 . You also agree with that. So all his talks of respect for morality and good behavior are mere dialogues.

I didn’t ask him to take sides. I am merely asking him to speak against cash for votes. Rajini lost a golden chance to speak so when Anna Hazare’s crusade was running high. That would have camouflaged the vulnerability he is experiencing at stage 2 also served as an outlet for expressing his mind out.

That he didn’t do so shows that he didn’t have a mind for people or the grip of corruption on them. Only when you have a passion for a cause or a feeling for some one or something could you become protective of them. A mother has a deep feeling for the child and therefore becomes protective of the child. The child even after it had grown well into adulthood can be protective of the mother only if he nurtures a feeling for the mother. Or else whatever care he shows towards the mother will be only cosmetic or lip service and not in-depth. Rajini has no feeling for the people. He is concerned that his empire runs well. He is careful that nothing goes wrong with it.

If so, he must know that a day will come when another icon will become the darling of the masses or those in power. At that time who is going to save his interests? For example, does he approve of the way his film Enthiran was run for 3 weeks without giving room for other films? He was not at the receiving end of the pain of oligarchy that showed up its face in running Enthiran. Suppose the power shifts its attention to someone else, and Rajini’s films / interests get a beating then, what will he do? Remember actor Vijay is undergoing such a situation now. Today it is Vijay, tomorrow if it is Rajini, won’t he come out with veera vachanam? Time is not same always.

(contd)

Jayasree Saranathan said...

When you know and witness that something is badly wrong, you can not close your eyes. Today it is someone’s house that is burning. But tomorrow the fire will come to your house. If you don’t stop it now, there won’t be anyone to save you later. Dharmo rakshathi rakshatha: Dharma protects those whom protect dharma. Be a Jataayu. Jataayu was old and meek. He had nothing to do with Ravana. But when he saw the atrocity of Ravana abducting Sita, he did not remain silent. That is the highest virtue. No one told Jatayu to rise to the occasion, nor did he do that it would increase his stock of punyas. It came naturally to him to oppose the atrocity that occurred in front of his eyes. But Vaali did not rise to the occasion and was punished for that. (Read my post on Vaali vadham)


Maslow has no idea about Dharma or who will be dharmic or when will a person speak for dharma. Dharmic thought can come to anyone in any stage of Maslow’s hierarchy. Even a slum dweller who has absolutely no security for basic needs, can and will speak for dharma. The Dharmic thought is an inborn thing that does not obey Maslow. Millions of people belonging to Maslow’s stage -1 came to the streets to express their disapproval for the British despite grave threat to their life and security. Maslow does not have an explanation for their behavior. The explanation for that is in dharmic thought that one is endowed with.

After reading your post, I checked Rajini’s horoscope. He has his 9th lord Jupiter in 8th . This shows where he stands in the hierarchy of Dharma!

Bala said...

Dear Ms Jayasree Madam,

I can understand your anguish about Rajnikant.

That is the tragedy of our democracy.

He has mass popularity but he has no knowledge of state craft or administration. Added to this he has no guts to take a strong position one way or the other. He wants the cake and eat it too.

Such people will only become a burden to the society at large.

In that respect Vijaykant is better. He has guts and had stood for elections last time, won around 10% of the votes polled etc.

But in his case also no knowledge about state craft or administration.

People aspiring to become leaders should have great courage, knowledge and so many other important parameters - one of which necessarily has to be popularity.

Both these actors have only popularity and nothing else.

So what can we expect from them?

Bala

kppradeep said...

http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=1722
Anna Hazare’s Campaign: truly Gandhian, truly evil – I
Radha Rajan
Check the above link about Anna Hazare, a different opinion

RKV- said...

Mr Bala sir and Mrs Jayasree madam, thought provoking nuggets ! The need based motivation hierarchy reminds me of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's "Religion is all for that man who gets food and who has wealth" as the hierarchy proceeds like, only if physiological needs are satisfied, then one can go to next level. Guru did nt mean religion is impossible for poor ( or middle class) but religion is just a path to spirituality, He had thrown away everything to experience divinity and God, He was experiencing Advaitam in every minute and in every thought, so he had said so.
Maslow's theory is realistic, but gets struck somewhere without transcending itself to divine spiritualism, as pointed out by the author with the exemplification of Jataayu and poor people gathering in masses at the time of independence.
I think the theory gets struck mainly because sex is included in physiological needs. To be really dharmic and to really see and speak with God and experience HIm/Her , two things are mandatory - Bhrmacharinyam and Dhyaanam(extreme dhyaanam). I do not believe in contradiction.I do not say Maslow can't explain or know dharma. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa says "Every man realizes God".
The practical problem is that we have created unnecessary psychological barriers in society through movies and particularly the concept of " if this, then this"- like "if he is so on so, then he must be so on so". This thought is ignorant, it will become elegant only when each one realizes there is nothing called individuality. I guess I have done my karma good to some extent in my previous janma, thats why I am typing this now here. Otherwise, I could have been a slum dweller , even may be converted to Christianity by a proselytizer,who knows?. Realizing Advaitam is what for we are born I guess.
Well, let me come to the point, I am beginning to talk a bit incoherently I guess,I said about "If so, then so" that thing makes middle class people to be in a cat on a wall stage. Being Dharmic requires righteousness, "if I go for meditation and realizing God, how can I earn? And if I speak of corruption and this and that urban middle class people of my stage start mocking at me. This man is delusional, one who does nt know to survive they say." So self-esteem part gets hit here. So let me be a bit materialistic. I have seen a few brahmins who are like racists even knowing what is Advaitam because of this society-created psychological 'if so, then so' factor,.
Gurumurthy sir has once quoted Mahaperiyava saying "AparigrahA"(contentment) and "NirahambAvanA"(humility), the basic qualities for a brahmin. But some middle class people think, if I take these two, self esteem part is lost.So let me alter the cost of dharma a bit. Applies to any middle class , irrespective of being a brahmin by birth or not. Maslow has pointed out realizing inner self(Atman, of course) and culture and being 'world citizens', of course so he goes a way towards Indian spirituality. Finally ippo nan enna solla varen ?!? :P Anyway, middle class, there is only one way, to show anything by voting. At least for the sake of power cuts and explicit corruption, we can make our choice to avoid dmk spontaneously.

RKV- said...

I forgot to say this. Sleep and food also do not come under physiological needs if one chooses complete self-abnegation, and lives just to experience God. But its very difficult, that too in Kali yuga, in the internet and 100s of e-gadgets' age. Choosing this also deviates one from his karma, because to do his/her karma one needs that amount of food and sleep the karma requires. But to realize God, thats the only way, even if it alters karma, says Maa Sharada Devi. I heard Sri Velukudi say in some discourse quoting Sri Krishna "you need not do your karma 100%, at least suffice it." So, middle class has only one option - show whatever in your vote- thats what we can do in this democracy. The author of this blog-madam-must be really courageous, rather its the conviction, that the author has-as Swami Vivekananda says "When an idea exclusively occupies the mind, it is transformed into an actual physical or mental state".
Regards.

Jayasree Saranathan said...

Thanks for sharing your views Mr RKV

G.venkatesh said...

I guess your voice reached him somehow, have a look at this...

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/lokpal-bill-rajinikanth-wants-to-join-anna-hazare-in-his-fight-against-corruption/1/135123.html

Great post and even better comments.

Shanti said...

No, Rajini didn't speak out at all against DMK. He only spoke on Anna Hazare, a safe subject in Tamil Nadu. He has thus proved yet again that he is selfish, who does not want to rock the boat, since he and his son-in-law need the powerful money of Sun Films for their films. Did you notice that he came out quite incoherent in the interview - could not articulate his views properly at all - he can only talk dialogues written by other people - I think.

RKV- said...

yes, he has said he will join anna's crusade.I think he has said only on the poll day most probably to avoid hypes and controversies.

Jayasree Saranathan said...

Rajini's talk after he voted, proved that I am 200% right in my opinion about him. See this video to judge for yourself what he spoke (or not spoke)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbFLVtMQl5A

One can be judged from the company he keeps. MK's association has sucked out whatever right sense he had (or any person will have) normally. In the evening of the poll he sat with Mk to see Ponnar Sankar and got a good dig from Mk. He deserves it. Read this.

http://thatstamil.oneindia.in/movies/gossip/2011/04/14-karunanidhi-slams-rajini-ponnar-shankar-show-aid0136.html

RKV- said...

Saw the link, was that deliberate? allowing his choice of vote to be captured by the media?!? So some fans who do whatever he does did the same?? when did this reach the media on 13th??

Jayasree Saranathan said...

@ RKV

Rajini's interview was beamed immediately in Headlines today. But I didn't see the voting clippings. Came to know later that it was shown in the forenoon of the polling day. I guess that Rajini didn't do it deliberately. He was unaware of it as we could see in HT, video cameras focusing from above his head when he was voting.

Rajini put up a very poor show in that interview. It was obvious he wanted to avoid saying anything that would sound against MK. He had to join MK that evening to see Ponnar shankar. So he would not have deliberately allowed people to photograph him voting.

Bala said...

Dear Jaysree Madam,

I remember a joke published in the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan several years ago.

The picture shows an irritated boss asking one of his employees: "Why are you late for work today man?"

Wearing a child like innocence on his face and bowing slightly the man replies:

"Sir, every morning, on getting up I have the practice of looking at my face on the wall mirror. When I looked at the wall this morning, I could not see my face. Perhaps my wife had shifted the mirror elsewhere without telling me. Not seeing my face on the mirror, I assumed that I must have already gone to the office and went back to sleep. That's why I was a little late, sir".

At that time I dismissed that as a very silly joke.

But the sequence of events of the recent past shows the relevance of that joke.

How?

The employee shows the characteristics of absolute casualness and lack of accountability in his work. But on a more deeper level, he is actually mocking at his employer while showing an innocent face.

Compare this with the reactions of our PM, Kapil Sibal, Karunanidhi, A.Raja, Rajnikant,Suresh Kalmadi and others while dealing with the various scams and corruption related issues.

All of them have shown the same casualness and lack of accountability of the staff member of the joke.

Further all our politicians project themselves to be the servants of the people all the time, but in reality they are only mocking at us.

Rajnikant has only given the latest example of that kind of behavior.

Bala