satya

Do we ever say what we want to say or is it cloaked in formality ? Aren't we prisoners to proprietary , the society and what will everyone say? Isn't life dictated by a series of do's and don'ts?Forever as we are growing up we are told to do this , don't do that as heaven knows what will happen if we go astray from the path set by some old social matriarch . Remember the young innocent game we played when we were kids ( yes we were kids too ) " sauna jaa chirrhea , uutth jaa chiirrhea : that is what life and its so called invisible barriers want us to be.

An interesting and at the same time perplexing conversation was being held on FB yesterday where it said that should on tell the truth or lie specifically? Should we sugar-coat the truth so it is gentle or just lie so that it doesn't the person?

I feel that the lies even if they are small ones hurt the person and then you have to embellish them again ,again so that they can be substantiated . It is like sinking into a bog/sink hole and not being able to touch the bottom.Lies even small ones create doubt , suspicion and makes it difficult for one to trust again.When we are young , we want to be lied to shield away the hurt , mask the pain but as we grow older , truth wins hands down. Is it because we get hardened by time ? Do we all get a thick skin ? 

A " honest lie" ( term coined by lawyers!) is what is practiced in the society. How many times have you said ,"Oh you look beautiful" and not meant a single word of it . All the time you probably are thinking in your mind , couldn't she have chosen  a better dress? What about the meaningless, formality sake conversation , where one asks how one is? And, the reply is fine. Do you go around telling one the whole Ram - katha of how your life is , you just answer with a blatant white lie. A white lie the stand-by foundation of the society , its just polite to  tell a false answer without the audience actually believing it .

We have been taught that honesty is a virtue , it is the tenets of the society . We all want to practice but end up lying gently and lie in one form or in a variation which does not hurt the intended . The words are always said in a gentle way, the intent  is what matters. Are your words meant to hurt, educate, love , heal or just undo the person?

This is the real motive.  I feel , stringing of words have the power to hurt , wound, supplicate and to move heavens! Are you speaking to further your own agenda , or to further your ego?  The level to which your ego is involved indicates how much Satya you want to speak. Honesty in some form can be used as a weapon, so use your words with compassion, love , kindness . Do not maim someone with speaking the truth. Honesty is the best policy , but if you use it brutality it actually defeats the purpose. You then are defeating the intent , by speaking the truth for the sake of speaking truth or for furtherance of ego or wants or desires.

 Lines said by William Blake "Auguries of Innocence'

                      'A truth thats told with bad intent,

                      Beats all the lies you can invent'.

Strive to be gentle , to protect , and to keep both tenets of ahimsa and satya together .They both need to be hand in hand to be practiced and only then they complement each other .

What say ?

Ravneet  Sangha

Just Chill

Just Chill

Life was so simple when the words " just chill" meant to put something in the refrigerator to be cooled down to a desirable temperature. And now, all that the next generation says is just chill . My son's answer to every query posed is just chill mama! It angers, infuriates me to no end but at the same time I smile . How did the baton of being a worried parent pass on so quickly and smoothly without even a bump or a murmur?

This generation of kids who are growing at a faster pace than genesis and are embracing the change as if it was akin to breathing have an attitude where they are more relaxed. They take less tension , do not get worked up  like the parents and are nonchalant about majority of things. A teenager is moody , maddening, impulsive , and will try the patience of a saint . Parents wonder why they do not listen to them, teenagers think the parents are too strict do not reason out , fret over little things .

The child in this day and age is open to excitement, novelty , risk , is heavily influenced by peers ,the society and the combination of all theses makes him do foolish things to impress or to be cool. The words just chill also stem from this belief. To be cool , with it by wearing the kind of clothes parents think are not right , tight jeans, t-shirts which will not let an extra breath in, hair which is either too wild or is cut so short that it's not even there. The teenager looks towards his peers as they are his future, he is brought into a world by his parents , they shape his formative years ,due to cultural, social influences( geographical limitations) and then he wants to move forward to fit into the future, rather than the past . We live in a world made by our peers not by our parents. Yes, they bring us up , they shape the boundaries, the initial years but it is the peers who define the lines for lives. It is looking at them the teenagers that they shape their lives. It is keeping these in mind that they are the main show, and not to be sidelined.And also being with familiar people, teens offers them more comfort . Family is there , to dish out the requisite pocket money which always falls short but friends offer the zone to them ( as they put it). They do not question, do not scold, do not ask , do not put down in any way which is demeaning or makes them feel small.

Teenagers actually learn to be more adaptive , both as individuals and species when they fend themselves against their own cronies and the peers. Actually , parents constant nagging to perform better , to achieve higher results makes them at first say just chill in a very modern western way. This is not limited to the West only but is a cultural constant all around the world. Teenagers want to be understood , they want to talk , to be heard and not be lectured all the time. They say they are not crazy as they look! According, to them they say that life comes with an expiration date and one should enjoy it rather than live in the past worrying about the future.

Just Chill , is the anthem of the youth .

Ravneet Sangha

My Spiritual Sojourn

I went for a kirtan darbar held in the city last evening . The 'raison d erte' was that all the ragi jathas were playing and strange that it may seem , I think the advancing years , knees knocking have made me partial to the songs of the Maker . It was indeed an eye-opener and the soul got a bit more weary and saddened.

We entered to a lit up podium , flowers mixed and hoodwinking with artificial flowers and there in I should have realized the deception. It was an exercise in convincing the public concerning their devotion to the Granth. As, someone said today morning, it was a pat on the back , and someone's got to do it. In this day and age we do not worry if it is self-promotion ,I mean if one did not look out for one's interest , who will do ? And , money does make the mare go.

Well , there was a congregation of holy saints, true karma yogis who graced the occasion. The kirtan was loud in the beginning and the instruments were played with extra strength and fervor all indicating that the loud pitch and extreme exaggeration would bring HIm closer. I had always believed that hymns  were sung to God as a humble person who had finished, silenced his ego and was quashing all doubts of his existence, but it seems you have to move all the three worlds. There were serious zakhms on me!

Another strange thing which disturbed me was that a lot of the so called preachers who sat on the dais were disturbed, tensed, the 'noor' missing , a few were at peace and radiated inner solitude but the rest were more worried about their cholas and the positioning of the kirpans. The entourage with them were large with menacing weaponry. I wonder when , they stopped smiling? This kind of religious ascending to reach Him is a no-no for me.There were , however a few who sang and the crowds were swayed by their melodious mellifluous voice who indeed were calling Him to earth .May the Gurus be kind to them.

The sangat came in large numbers, attracted by the fireworks , the lavish langar , and a chance to be blessed by the mere presence of wants  by osmosis. A charged atmosphere , you see! Politicians who graced us by their presence took a short route to supplicate in front of the Guru Granth Sahib , they didn't have time to stand in line like us common minions. Actually, it is my fault to think that they would follow the tenets of Sikhism , they just don't have time to be normal or common. Life for them is a fast paced vehicle to amass more and more so that when death comes they might even strike a deal then.Never trust a man with soft hands, is the old saying.

With a pinch of salt , let me say , for an ordinary nobody like me , it took away a few misconceptions. I was looking a forward to an evening of bliss which I did experience for some time but it did get clouded with moments of extreme materialism , crass exploitation of the gullible public as always.We do love being taken for a ride... kya karein aam a dmi hain , na.

Ravneet Sangha 

Punjab ...

Taking Punjab Forward 2020

Punjab in 2020 will have regained its position of being the top state where it matters . Punjab , a state which has bounced back to its position of being a forerunner in the country by political parties deciding to join hands by doing away the bickering and mudslinging which they were previously famous for. This unique co-operation between two diametrically opposite parties ushered in a new revolution whereby they worked for the common man / aam aadmi keeping him supreme. This path-breaking commitment led to a development which was unprecedented in the country. The parties saved the state and it rose again like a Phoenix to reclaim the punjabi pride which had been reduced to botal, sharaab and nasha and had in the last decade lost its valor and contribution to the armed forces. 

I envisage Punjab to be a state where my children would be proud to be Indians and Punjabis second and not sell their lands to gain ticket to a phoren country to earn dollars. I want Punjab, to resurrect , reconstruct itself in a complete manner so that we secure our future by dealing with primary issues which plague the state . 

Punjab , the land of five rivers has the sixth one in place .. drugs and alcohol which flow freely. A complete , strict in action policing on the border areas with states like Rajasthan which are the conduits for free flow of drugs needs to be enforced. The Border Force Police which  guards this porous border with Pakistan needs to be vigilant and energetic with up-to date equipment and weaponry to deter criminals.

Punjab , primarily an agrarian state with the help of a comprehensive agricultural policy which introduces different cropping patterns, rain-water harvesting  techniques,and where capital is provided by state government  to build an infrastructure to promote vegetable and fruit crops . They would allow the farmer to become economically independent after a gestation period of five years. The farmer today in 2011 is under debt , shrinkage of land, no water, and no viable support price. When the inputs are so high and land cost is spiraling out of control it is easier to fall into the vicious trap of selling the land to a builder to make a quick buck. 

I expect politicians of tomorrow and today to cooperate with themselves in matters of development and not pull each other down as prevalent today.

Punjab has a dismal education system today where the rural child stands no chance against the urban one. There is no science or maths basics. Education is the lodestone of a state . Punjab needs an independent policy which will re-build the state's education policy for the next decade. We need to bring all the children under one umbrella. A dedicated independent policy adhering to the country's framework and policies should be implemented and it should comprise of eminent personalities in the field who will work for the greater good and will not squabble or dither from their responsibilities. 

Punjab has the biggest blot on its reputation where once we were prided as being the defenders of women and now are called kudi-maar .This smear needs to be eradicated , not by mere talk but by definite action. We need to stop this genocide by complete , strict effective enforcing from panchayat level. Also ,girls need to be given monetary backing and the society needs to come forward in unison to stop this rot.

In the end , I would like Punjabis to stand up and be proud of being Punjabi and giving back to the state. We need to retune our selves just like the re-boot of a computer to regain the pride lost. If we can't stay here and make this a better place how can we preach .

Ravneet Sangha