A very touching tale indeed.

A very touching tale indeed. However, instead of asking whether one agrees or disagrees with the chosen course of action, it would be more insightful to enquire how circumstances affect outcomes by influencing the choices individuals make. A father of more familiar disposition would have preached & thrashed Dr. Arun proffering following justifications :

1.       For lying : ethical dimension.

2.       For watching a John Wayne Film : material dimension.

3.       For Delaying the dad : negligence dimension.

4.       For Botching up the whole plan : management dimension. (others may enrich this glossary too).

The pain inflicted would have only left an imprint of fear on Dr. Arun with a message that either the technique used needs polishing or better alternatives need  to be imagined.

The approach used by his father left an indelible imprint on him that what mattered to his dad was the truth, and the courage required to speak it out, not anything else. What he did to accomplish the task is also a form of violence in which he put his son through a gut wrenching agony for five and half hours while he was supposedly contemplating what went wrong with his son’s upbringing on foot. More importantly it worked on Dr. Arun because I am sure he otherwise didn’t see his father extolling the virtues of beholding the truth while conveniently helping himself to other less reputable options. A path on which I have seen many fathers treading, yours truly included, while preaching better values to children.

Lastly I think the ethical and moral mould of a person is a gift of inborn predilections and influences from the environment. How else can one explain within a single family - even great Mahatma’s not excluded from this conundrum - a heady mix of divergent behaviours even on this uni-dimension of ‘Truth’ without for a moment holding us here to see if we agree on what ‘Truth’ purports.

To round up on a personal note, I never saw my father lie whatever the situation – inconvenient, embarrassing, materially disadvantaging, “white lies”, etc. –; he never preached, but subtly made clear what he desired;  and he not even once used physical violence – but my mother amply doled out humongous share of it for reasons my father I suspect totally disapproved. I for one believe that when it comes to adherence to truth I have resorted to not seldom what goes under the euphemism of “white lies” where everyone is free to pick and choose what to gate in or to keep out. Yet I could say confidently that among all those who have known me in whatever capacity none would say that I have harmed (that would include physical, material, psychological, moral,) her or him in any way; at least deliberately or advertently. Even a person who held such elastic standards stares today in uncomprehending disbelieve at the prevalent zeitgeist that encourages pursuit of pecuniary “happiness” in complete disregard of everything else proved still fortunate to count close individuals, like dear friend Arun Jain, my wife - Mangala and my son - Angad, who come closest to the ideal of ‘truth speakers’ – by that I mean people who have inelastic measuring standard by which they stand.

I trust other friends including more enlightened ones come forward to share their world views.

Cheers and all that,

Lead, Follow or get out of the way!

"Lead, Follow or get out of the way!"

Entrusting our security to a government bureaucracy............

Entrusting our security to a government bureaucracy is like guarding a virgin in a brothel. This moron is a stupid whore. It’s up to the people to figure out the truth, and bit by bit, they are doing so.

How often we have been violent in our personal lives…

How often we have been violent in our personal lives…




Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and founder of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Non-violence, in his June 9 lecture at the University of Puerto Rico, shared the following story as an example of "non-violence in parenting":

"I was 16 years old and living with my parents at the institute my grandfather had founded 18 miles outside of Durban, South Africa , in the middle of the sugar plantations. We were deep in the country and had no neighbors, so my two sisters and I would always look forward to going to town to visit friends or go to the movies.

One day, my father asked me to drive him to town for an all-day conference, and I jumped at the chance. Since I was going to town, my mother gave me a list of groceries she needed and, since I had all day in town, my father ask me to take care of several pending chores, such as getting the car serviced. When I dropped my father off that morning, he said, ' I will meet you here at 5:00 p.m., and we will go home together.'

After hurriedly completing my chores, I went straight to the nearest movie theatre. I got so engrossed in a John Wayne double-feature that I forgot the time. It was 5:30 before I remembered. By the time I ran to the garage and got the car and hurried to where my father was waiting for me, it was almost 6:00.

He anxiously asked me, ' Why were you late? ' I was so ashamed of telling him I was watching a John Wayne western movie that I said, ' The car wasn't ready, so I had to wait, not realizing that he had already called the garage. When he caught me in the lie, he said: 'There' s something wrong in the way I brought you up that didn' t give you the confidence to tell me the truth. In order to figure out where I went wrong with you, I'm going to walk home 18 miles and think about it. '

So, dressed in his suit and dress shoes, he began to walk home in the dark on mostly unpaved, unlit roads. I couldn't leave him, so for five-and-a-half hours I drove behind him, watching my father go through this agony for a stupid lie that I uttered. I decided then and there that I was never going to lie again.

I often think about that episode and wonder, if he had punished me the way we punish our children, whether I would have learned a lesson at all. I don't think so. I would have suffered the punishment and gone on doing the same thing. But this single non-violent action was so powerful that it is still as if it happened yesterday. That is the power of non-violence. "

.......compiled by yadav

Blind tolerance & Common sense

“Blind tolerance kills common sense,”

"Donot Tolerate the Intolerant"---ShreeKrsna Gupte

Quotations: On snakes and mistakes

Quotations:


1. When Snake is alive, Snake eats Ants. When Snake is dead, Ants eat Snake. Time can turn at any time. Don't neglect anyone in your life...
 
2. Never make the same mistake twice,There are so many new ones,Try a different one each day


3. A good way to change someone's attitude is to change our own. Because, the same sun melts butter, also hardens clay! Life is as we think, so think beautifully. 


4. Life is just like a sea, we are moving without end. Nothing stays with us,what remains is just the memories of some people who touched us as Waves. 


5. Whenever you want to know how rich you are, never count your currency, just try to Drop a Tear and count how many hands reach out to WIPE that- that is true richness.


6. Heart tells the eyes SEE LESS, because YOU SEE and I SUFFER lot. Eyes replied, FEEL LESS because YOU FEEL and I CRY a lot.
                             
7. Never change your originality for the sake of others,because no one can play your role better than you.                       
So be yourself, because whatever you are, YOU are the best.