Theology trouble.......

I have had an experience in the last few days that I find a bit difficult to analyse and digest. I have just finished reading a book titled “Death of a Guru” written by Rabindranath Maharaj. It is supposed to be an autobiography of a person born into a staunch Brahmin family in Trinidad who eventually becomes a Christian pastor. Well, religion always being a contentious issue is a tricky conversation to make or write about. We all have our loyalties to the religion we endorse and in a way show our unquestioned faith and dedication to it. And this emotion is fine with me and it is absolutely understandable. Here I am writing this blog purely based on what I thought about the book and the presentation of its facts and content.

The author first writes about his rise to being a pundit as early as 11 years of age and how people would bow down to him and touch his feet and give him money. He then writes about the caste system and all the popular history that come attached with Hinduism. He mentions that he practiced yoga and meditation everyday to bring him closer to god. Then the book shifts gear to how he picked up smoking and how violent he had become all of a sudden. He speaks about how certain gods like Shiva and Kali brought a chill down his spine, and an incident where the cow he had worshipped for a long time as god had attacked him. The first half of the book where he is hindu is filled with negativity and dark shades.
Then he and his family endorse Christianity and things started falling in place. He miraculously got some money to go to England and his grandmother was cured of arthritis that she had suffered for more than a couple of decades. The transformation from not being able to walk to actually able to squat without support was seen only in a matter of weeks! He recounts enormous number of such case reports that has proven beneficial to him, the highlight being him quitting smoking overnight and him getting through a spinal surgery.

He then becomes a pastor and travels around the world; most of his time spent in criticising Hinduism than promoting his new found faith. He also claims that he had cured a girl of an untreatable blood disease (HIV) through religion. Since Christianity does not have a restriction on eating meat, he attributes it to his improving health which could Hinduism could not provide.He blames eastern religious influences like Hinduism and Buddhism to being the cause of the increase in drug users in western countries. He equates the experience of practicing yoga and meditation to being the same as using addictive drugs like LSD. He also goes to the extent of ridiculing certain hindu gods like Ganesha for possessing an elephant head and the violent nature of Shiva, the destroyer of the evil. He then finds Hinduism as the root cause for India’s problems of poverty and underdevelopment. He criticises great saints and personalities like Swami Vivekananda, Dalai Lama and some eastern missionaries to be the cause of misery, drug abuse and to the growing popularity of yoga and meditation, in his opinion the greatest trap of the east in the western world. The opinions and the innumerable personal examples provided here seem so contrived that it is hard for any sane person to believe.

It is one’s personal choice as to which religion he or she wants to follow. But the point I am trying to make is; promote a religion based on its positives and not by criticising the others that are around. If one has the ability to analyse other religions, then do it ethically and not through concoction of stories packaged as facts. India today is one of the world’s greatest emerging economies with a large mix of different religions in its population. Religion and development have little relation and it is outright idiocy to state that a certain religion has a negative effect on its economic progress.

There have been social and political revolutions that have taken place against certain practices of Hinduism like in the 12th century lead by Basaveshwara and by Swami Vivekananda in the 19th century. This is a phase that religions go through leading to its metamorphosis and its ever-changing interpretation to suit the prevailing social and intellectual ability of its followers. Hinduism and Buddhism are very different today, unlike the way described in this book which is very dark and unethical in its criticism.

The author tries to salvage credibility to his book by saying that he has been a guest speaker in universities like Harvard and Oxford. Making a speech in Harvard, if it is true at all, which I really doubt, does not justify the book’s unethical and blasphemous nature. I need not remind my readers about the beneficial effects of yoga and meditation that now have scientific backing to them. Choosing to use drugs of abusive nature is the prerogative of the individual and he has to deal with the consequences of making a lethal and unlawful choice. He criticises gurus of the east for accumulating vast amounts of money. But I think the Vatican is the richest religious place on earth!! The author himself now lives in Switzerland in a comfortable country home like the loads of other Christian preachers who own private jets. Flimsy arguments like these he poses in the book, and mine that counter them is a list that could see no end. It is not about who is right or who is not; it is just a matter of secular co-existence. Every religion has its positives and negatives, and the big picture lies in relating to a higher cosmic power that we call god, be it any form or conception. The bottom line is to keep away from controversy by not touching the livewire called religious sentiment.

Publisher: “your last book was a total failure and we are thinking of not renewing your contract”
Failed author: “my next book will be a mega seller for sure”
Publisher: “what are you writing on?”
Failed author: "Panacea to untreatable diseases, Religion". I will feature some (not so) real examples in it”

Gold greedy gurus........

The one thing that is on everyone’s lips is the talk about the global financial crisis. The subject dominates conversations in coffee shops to taverns. It is the intellectuals to the school drop outs; everyone has a theory and an opinion about it. How I wished the fund managers and financial advisors had talked and analysed it as much as the general public are doing now!
I was invariably a part of this conversation a few days back. I was sitting there and trying to make sense of all the financial jargon that sprung up like jacks in boxes all around me. I should say that it overwhelmed me pretty badly and left me struck by lightning. I could not make too much sense of all the numerical bombardment. But who should be blamed? The self proclaimed smarties that had held top decision making posts in banks? Or the greedy investment firms occupying expensive real estate in New York City, who think they set financial trends for everyone to follow? Or is it the average dude on the road with no job trying to buy holiday homes?

We were then living in good times. Oil was cheap and people had a lot more to spend. Everyone had extra cash to spend and people were happy. But then, the greed to acquire more kicked in. So the banks came up with this brilliant idea of stated income, verified assets (SIVA) where in where in one has to just state his income and not to bother about proving it and he is sanctioned a loan. Then another bank came up with No income, verified assets (NIVA) where one need not have any income at all, but will still manage to get a loan. Believe me guys, I could relate to SIVA and let it pass by being ultra liberal with my internal ethical instincts, but NIVA was totally unacceptable. But then some Ivy League MBA comes up with the idea of No Income, No Assets (NINA). You don’t have to have job, nor the need to have any assets. Yeah! Who else would like to take a loan would you ask?
What is the logic behind these schemes? Put a person under an obligation he cannot fulfil, promise him a better life and charge him the sky for the loan. Now every bank knew that this was a risky affair. So they sliced up the risks and packaged it to look like a very safe investment with a nexus with credit rating agencies. So the big boys on Wall Street decided to buy these “investments” thinking that it would generate revenue. The insurance companies did not want be left out of the bandwagon. The big boys insured all these so called dream investments with them and the insurance companies were more happy to do so. Higher premiums! All they eventually did was buy liabilities that were labelled as profit making means. The bubble eventually burst and the rest is history.
But one startling revelation here is that all these financial institutions dared to gamble with the money of the people who trusted them to safeguard it. The heads and directors made a fortune while the average investor is left in lurch.
The greed to have everything for oneself has led these people to make decisions that were eventually detrimental to global economics. And the world is left in jitters because a handful of individuals played a dirty unethical game. Fed by this sentiment of material pleasures, the guy next door goes absolutely beyond his financial means to lead a life of luxury and splurge. So everyone has his part in this broth gone wrong. The root cause for all this mess is human greed and I reckon you will agree with me. Greed was a human emotion that was underestimated isn’t it? Well, it’s hard not to recognise it now!

Playing spoilsport....

I was reading an Indian newspaper online yesterday and I came across this bizarre news item in the sport section. It was the President of the All India Tennis Association (AITA), Anil Khanna making some dullard comments on national media. He is trying to unhinge a company which has associated itself with the country’s star tennis player, Mahesh Bhupathi to release their spending details of their scholarships and to scrap their advertising campaign. Apollo tyres in a tie-up with Mahesh Bhupathi are going to help fund prospective junior champions to make them Grand slam winners by 2018. They are selflessly pumping in about 1 billion rupees over 10 years to help actualise a prospicient dream. There is one company for a change who are not looking for quick publicity through funding cricket, but have put their interest in tennis. Imagine being treated like this for doing a favour.
Sports in India other than cricket lack selfless funding to make an impact. Athletes are always left fending for themselves and these financial constrains restrict talented athletes to make it to the international stage. The AITA should respect Apollo tyres for a feat that it is ready for the big task. Getting a huge sponsorship like this is only possible with stars like Bhupathi trying to make a difference to the sport that brought them their riches and fame. This is a commendable act by the champion to put his credibility on the line to create champions. Sponsorships do not come easy and I have had a firsthand experience of that with my sibling. It is a humungous task to convince a funding source that the money they spend on the athlete is justified. Many give up hope due to the slack of the respective sports associations to bring in the critical finances.

The sports associations in India are headed by people who are distantly connected with the sport, but come into power due to their political or social connections. Once they get into decision making positions, they have no clue as to how to manage and improve the affairs of the sport. But the disappointing scenario is that they are a constant obstacle to people with a real interest to make a difference. Anil Khanna in his statement repeatedly says that he is not against Mahesh Bhupathi. The very fact that he reiterates the same sentence makes it very obvious that he is targeting him. Bhupathi owns a sports promotion firm which help manage international tennis tournaments in India. These events tend to give our in house players some much needed international exposure which they cannot afford due to the costs involved in overseas trips. If my memory serves me right, Anil Khanna has made another pitch against Bhupati by passing a resolution that private organisers could not conduct international tournaments in India without the AITA’s nod. Well all these series of events and circumstances makes it evident that a person with good intentions is victimised. It is shameful on the president to behave without consideration against a well known personality. This shows that he is the most incompetent person and that he cannot tolerate Bhupathi’s contribution and achievements. He does not have the capacity to either bring in a huge sponsorship deal like Bhupathi has done with the kind partnership of Apollo tyres, or neither let the combination work in peace.

Individuals like Anil Khanna do more harm to the sport than good. His organisational incompetence is showing up and his evil face is being revealed. Another classical example of a sport going rot is hockey with the mess than K.P.S Gill created. He sent our national sport stumbling down like an avalanche after taking over the post of President of Hockey Association. I just hope tennis; a game that has retained some dignity and popularity in India is not headed the same way. Let’s all cross our fingers and support champions like Bhupathi to create their clones to bring us fame.

A presentation ceremony of a tennis tournament.
President: “ ladies and gentleman, lets applaud the players for their fantastic “BAT” (for racquet) skills......
The kids chuckle in the background....

Hypocrites preaching human rights....

I am shocked at the recent bombings in Delhi where in innocent people have become victims to the cowardly acts of some narrow minded individuals lead by a set of bizarre ideologies and psyches that would win a Nobel Prize if ever reasoned out. Imagine if there would be an article published titled the “psyche behind the cause of terror” which has solid scientific backing. Psychology would be the “in thing” and absolutely savvy. But I think you have heard the word “cowardly” way too many times for comfort from the past few days. The sad part is that the word has been used more times than the number of cricket matches that India has played in the last 1 year! Well that is real high frequency I should admit and it is scary. The people who have been using the word “cowardly” have proven themselves that they suit the description best. It is a failure not in my opinion about intelligence of our forces, but the lack of political will from the individuals in responsible and governing positions to send out a stern message that these kinds of insane acts would not be dealt with lightly. We have a dude, who has been a political agenda, an eternal news pot for the press and a topic of casual conversations over beer, enjoying his time in prison from the last couple of years. His nice holiday sponsored by our tax payer’s money is courtesy….. his act of attacking the seat of our democracy, the parliament building. And what has the government done? It has been extending his holiday indefinitely than packing him off to the gallows. Well the explanation is pretty obvious for the moment I think; it is a classical case of vote bank politicking in which the collateral damage are innocent people. If the Indian home minister have had half as much loyalty towards his country than what he owes to his political party president, the lives of innocuous people would have been saved. Karnataka has been a witness to apparently some kind of religious tensions and clashes over the past few days. Any lives taken? NO. The central government wants to pressurise the local government to protect the affected people. Well, I am not saying that it is a trivial issue, but it has been blown so much out of proportion that the situation does not demand. The national human rights commission has stepped up its investigation in this regard. People at the central government have gone into overdrive to make the state government a scapegoat holding them responsible for these incidents. They want to curtail the powers of the state by attempting to use an act that is no longer taught of in law schools.
Why is the home ministry taking all the trouble to protect a bunch of people who live half the country away and why all of a sudden this immense interest in the welfare and the protection of our countrymen?
My impression is that this is a perfect way to make a mountain out of a mole hill to skew the attention of the people away from the real issues that really matter. I believe we have more pressing problems on our hands than investigating petty issues. The ministry has to step up its force on matters that mean a matter of life or death for the common man. We need our resources to be spent on strengthening our internal security to assure a peaceful life for our countrymen. The people responsible should be shown no tolerance and compassion and treated in a way that they chose to be. When they can ruthlessly take the lives of thousands of people who have no connection to them, why should our country give them the luxury called existence?
The human rights commission if they really mean business should initiate legal proceedings against the home ministry for not doing their job. Didn’t the victims of the blast have a right to live? They too have families, had jobs and had been bread earners for them. What can the government do to these victims of a real human rights tragedy? Oh well yes they can, make it a political agenda! Accuse someone else remotely connected with a petty robbery and axe him. Pass the baton on and shun away from responsibility.
The individuals at the powerful executive positions in the country are the most fearful ones I have seen. They fear political repercussions to protect the lives of our people. They fear losing their skin and are ready to trade it for the security of our people. The human rights commission has no real role to play and they are just a puppet in the hands of the ruling governments to act and make a noise when they are told to do so.
The people making statements on human rights should first awaken themselves to the fact that every individual has the right to live, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. Please show human life some respect by using the law in the true spirit of human rights. Avoid being synonymous with hypocrisy.............

Year 2020, the clerk in the Finance department,
“Sir there has been a request for a room A/C and a new limo”
“from whom?”
“The commission for the Delhi blast investigation of 2008 sir”

Line up and get drunk….its free……

I was at a house party hosted by my friend here in Perth. It was a potluck party and I have to mention that everyone survived my cooking! We had an excellent dinner and some even more delicious desserts. Then being a connoisseur of wines, he laid out a platter of different kinds of wines and cheese which most of them tasted and appreciated well within decency limits.
Imagine a situation where in a random person at a party goes overboard with the alcohol served to them at the host’s place. I have seen it happen umpteen number of times in parties back home in India. But what surprised me most was that it happened here and sadly the person happens to be from my motherland. There arose a situation where this guy went so drunk that he actually ended up verbally offending the host who had so kindly invited him to his house and who played the role of the host to perfection.
With my limited experience with parties involving alcohol and me being an almost novice when it comes to the subject, I was particularly taken aback at this kind of atrocious behaviour. Even as a child, I was brought up in a way where in, if we were invited to a dinner or a lunch, we had to maintain a decorum which caused the most minimal of inconveniences to the host of the party in their house. I was always expected to lend a hand at any household chores or organisation problems. It has been my duty many a times where I have played the role of the food and beverage manager at our friend’s place during a celebration or event.
Another important lesson I was made sure that I learn to perfection was that if we were invited to a third place like a restaurant and if we had the liberty to order according to our wishes, I would have to pick an item on the menu that would be on the lower spectrum of the price list and that which would cause no monetary burden on the person paying the bill.
The incident that I witnessed a few days back has reiterated my preconceived notion that our country men tend to cross the line when there is free alcohol served. I cannot reason out this kind of behaviour and I am not able to judge whether it happens in other cultures and societies as well. I have being witness to such incidents at home and abroad which had multicultural groups in their invitee lists. Every time I have seen one, it has involved an Indian, which I very painfully have to accept at this point in time.
It boils down in my opinion to the atmosphere in which one has been brought up. It is a perfect reflection of the values and culture of public decorum that has been imbibed in a person as child and adolescent. Some of them perceive that if it is something that you don’t have to pay for, try and misuse it to the highest degree and make the person offering it miserable and kick himself in the room after the party for the mistake he made in inviting the wrong person. What saddens me most is that people in other countries now categorise our men or women as junket seekers and it is a reputation that sticks for life.
I am extremely lucky to have been brought up by fantastic parents who have put some of these important and life saving cultures into my genome. I value those upbringing skills to no end when I am exposed to a western society and culture. It has helped me behave in an acceptable and appreciable manner and being accepted in a culture and society that was alien to me. Looking back at it, it is not rocket science that one needs to know these behavioural skills, but as the saying goes, common sense is not common among all people.
I only hope that I am not witness to incidents like these in the future, where it not only puts the person to shame and ridicule, but the our whole country’s image at black and shatters.

Can we still call it Tennis elbow?

Having beaten the stress from the past 5 weeks for the exams, I thought I will catch up with some news on the other side of the globe in my beloved home country. I logged into the online newspaper. I saw a humongous dedicated news edition that only had articles written on the Cricket World Cup which India won in 1983. I was a bit surprised at the entire spotlight it has received. I then thought to myself, is there the existence of responsible journalism anymore? Well, I do accept the fact that it was an achievement considering the circumstances that we won the cup and the unprecedented glory that was part of the package. I do have regard to all the cricketers who represented the country and their contribution to reaching and getting our hands on the penultimate trophy of the sport. With due regards and respects to all part of the squad, I think we have to look beyond those old times and move on. For how long can we just bask on the past glory of winning the cup, about a couple of dozen years back and have valuable money and time spent on its celebrations. If my memory serves me right, I think there is always a mention of the country winning the cricket world cup back in those golden ages when the topic of sport is discussed in India. I don’t deny the fact that it is an achievement; my only disappointment is that why most other sports in India don’t get the same amount of credit and regard. Why are all the other sports neglected and pushed to the way side and its only cricket that keeps the country running. By being the most lucrative cricket body in the world, this is definite proof that the BCCI definitely has some extra pocket money to spend.
Why don’t we remember Leander and Mahesh winning the Wimbledon trophy? I will be surprised if any of our country men or people in the sports decision making arena remember when India won the gold in the Asian games or their splendid performance in the recently concluded Sultan Azlan Shah Trophy.
The cricketers, whether one was a yesteryear player or a current player have received enough monetary benefits and lead comfortable lives. In the pretext of celebrating these occasions of anniversaries of each of our significant wins, there is more money than asked for which is being pumped into their bank accounts.
We have Geeth Sethi and Pankaj Advani who are world champions in Billiards and some notable champion Badminton players like Arvind Bhat and Kanitkar. But the media does not seem to care and nor do the central sport bodies.
I really don’t understand where the root of the problem is present for this kind of discrimination that occurs in sports in India. It may be partly due to the individual administrating bodies that have only the vested interests of its board members and its internal politicking on their agenda than serious sports promotion. I am indeed witness to one of them that occurred to two most promising lawn tennis players in Karnataka.
This celebration now has made me a critic of the saying that history repeats itself. In cricketing terms, it is yet to repeat and we still live and muster pride, courage and solace in the history rather than looking into the future. Cricket is a minority among global games when compared to football, basketball, tennis and others that are played virtually all over the globe, not to mention athletics. With all the resources poured into cricket, I think their performances should have been the top among all world teams and by now should have won the world cup times over and again. India with more than enough green bills in its association should have in my opinion fared much better than its present performances.
What hurts me most is that the media too is always cricket centric and portrays it as being the ultimate sport that man has ever played and it’s the next best thing that has happened to the human race after sliced bread. Is the ratio of expenditure to performance justified in cricket in India? I remember an incident narrated by Geeth Sethi when he led a contingent of sportsmen other than cricketers to the then Prime Minister. I believe the national hockey team mates were filling out a petition to the PM to provide them with jobs. This is an utter disgrace to the national game of India.

Cricketers rob others professionals of their jobs. They have virtually replaced all the models and actors in endorsements and television commercials. Even a trivial ramp show is not spared. Then there is this whole new debate on the recently concluded IPL which in my opinion was the most expensive movie made on this globe. It was total apathy towards the tax payers’ money that was used up to provide power, security and other expenditures for some mega event which was absolutely unwarranted. The revenues generated should have been shared among the owners of the club and the state. This arrangement then would have negated the expenditures incurred for using the state machinery for these events.
I come from a country where for the large section of the population doesn’t know where their next meal is going to be coming. And here we have some rich blokes and their mates spending these insane amounts of money on virtually nothing beneficial. We have problems in food, health care and education; we don’t need expensive events like these.
The media should rather focus on issues like the food crisis, climate change and other more pressing issues rather than giving a subject like this which do not matter to our existence on this planet. Sadly folks, in reality we cannot breathe, eat and drink cricket and please get present to it as quickly as possible.

Can we still call it tennis elbow? You know Sachin Tendulkar had it…..I thought someone with an unexplained passion and dedication to cricket may want to call it something else, maybe “Cricket elbow”

Child – “mom is school closed tomorrow?
Mom – “why are you asking this question?”
Child – “ you know it is the 60th anniversary of the Indian cricket world cup win, 17th anniversary of the sahara cup win, 32nd of the reliance cup………………{and the list continues}

The circle of life and everything in-between….

Life by no means is a perfect circle. It is not even close to the circles I churned out when I got a grade “C” in geometry while in school. I am sure you would have figured out by now, but my math was as good as my knowledge of the Latin language.
In this circle of life is where “Murphy’s Law” plays its part in many ways and circumstances. It may be career, finances and loads of other problems known to mankind, which more often than not do have preventions and solutions if worked with a diligent mind. But the main obstacle which is almost impossible to overlook is the one concerning health issues. Well, this is where my audience, the part of the “Health Care Sector” shows out its ugly face behind a kind and smiling mask.
As a professional in the health care system, I always wondered the way corporate hospitals run the show and their sustainability strategies. I see my share broker friends investing heavily on the health sector as it yields high dividends and gives more value on selling them. I could never imagine the corporatisation of the health profession. Doctors I agree are not here for charity although a small section of them still do it for saving the grace of this so called “Noble” profession. Doctors also have mouths to feed and families to care and provide for. The point I want to make here is the question of ethical practice, where the intention is to benefit the needy more than making them crib and ponder over the costs incurred.
I would like to narrate an incident where a cousin of mine in India landed up at a fancy corporate hospital for a broken leg. It demanded surgical intervention and rightly so. But the bigger shock was the manner in which the bill for the expenses was generated. Although she was taken into the operation theatre only once and the surgery was performed at a single go, the different procedures of the surgical treatment were billed as three distinct surgeries. Although the anaesthesiologist, the surgeon and all the support staff played their part only once, the bill presented to her categorically stated that each of them be paid thrice! So the surgery cost went up by three times flat. This was an intriguing situation for her and she demanded an explanation for this. The reply given to her was that the insurance is paying for it, and why should she care as to what the bottom line reads? This is just one off real life example I have narrated. Other actions of prescribing an expensive drug because the company would give the doctor a fat payback when cheaper alternatives exist and unnecessary diagnostic procedures to recover the cost of expensive equipment are a few.
Now this opens up a whole new debate about these insurance companies. Since the insurance companies know that hospitals are going to manipulate the costs, they raise their premiums and add a few hundreds of clauses which have an explanation to every tricky question even Einstein could come up with. To augment the agony and to suck the policy holder silently but yet efficiently are the numerous hidden costs behind the Great Wall of China where it is virtually impossible to even imagine that a whole new equation lies behind it. I always wondered why business graduates from premier institutes were paid so high. Does it answer the same question which I am thinking about now?
Well the argument about whether the chicken came first or the egg still persists and it is hard to point a finger at one particular area. But the truth lies in the fact that the general public is getting ripped off their valuable and hard earned money due an unethical system which exists in our country presently.
Here is a situation where we see a vicious cycle of rising costs of insurance and health care expenditure. Health care to a society is one of the main issues which can make or break an economy and a nation. The human resource is one of the most important and strategic resources for a country like India where growth is driven by knowledge processes. With an unethical health care sector, the percentage of people who can afford quality health care is limited. Like medical education and most other needs which has become a luxury only for the rich, it alarms me that health care is also taking the same direction and its effects are already been felt.
Is there a way out to this? Not that I can think of at the moment. As a health professional, the only part I can play here is to endorse ethical practice and not to make my Hippocratic Oath in my graduation gown a formality for nice pictures. The vicious cycle has to be intercepted at some place and why not start from us.
Health care is a delicate and emotional area where hard core corporate rules of making more money and attracting a large number of share holders should not be the ulterior motive. Increasing volumes that have access to genuine care and making it affordable should be the goal. Churning out profits through legal and ethical means should be the path we should resolve to take.

Doctor 1- “Dr 2 bought a Mercedes Benz last week; I am still driving my 1 year OLD Skoda. NURSE! [He shouts], is that medical representative from the MNC drug company representative outside? Send him in and tell the patients to wait……..