Toys of life

I was reading about the concept of desire sometime ago. Everyone has desire at every stage in life. Some term it greed, which basically is excessive desire. Desire or 'want' starts at a very young age which would start with toys. I will explain the term 'toy' as a synonym of desire.

As a kid, why does he need a toy? To fulfill his dream of playing with it - showing it to friends and feel proud of owning it. Imagine, the friends did not like it or did not wish to play with it, then, that kid would not buy that toy. For example, it is rare for a kid to have an urge to buy a musical instrument or a home improvement set. He will have very few to show them to. There are two possibilities if he owns such things - either he is forced to own them or he really has a passion to own them. So, a toy, in a way is synonymous to desire. If you have it, you want to show it and take pride out of it.

When the kid reaches some age, he would want a bike(bicycle). Then, some sports gear. Some kids want video games, play stations, and various computer oriented games. Boys make sure that their friends keep them in good terms. They would not miss opportunities to display their new 'toys'. This is the second phase of desire. This phase ends with getting a car as present once the kid enters college.

What is the next toy? College is over. A nice job, and some gadgets to fill his home. Sure, he will get a nice job. Smooth sailing one with good money pushed into his pocket every month. With money pouring in, 'toys' change. He wants to sell his old college car and buy a new one. A good entertainment system at home is good! So, there he goes to buy a new home theatre. Few more things bought and the house is all set.

It does not end here. A nice house is yet to be owned. Sure. Few years of job and savings out of it will help him buy a house. Doesn't he want to buy a good house so that his friends and relatives visit and appreciate it? Surely! He does want it. Guests will be invited to visit his family and commend his achievement of owning a house. Couple more things to fit to his 'toys' list - stocks, shares and more savings in the bank.

Days change and new day rolls by, but the wishlist doesn't end. New things always keeps adding. Man doesn't understand that some power drives him to desire for more. Many times, he doesn't understand the need of 'toys' or desire, but just imagines that he wants it. One should always think before going for his next 'toy', "Have I become a toy in the hands of Him?"

Rang de basanti

I don’t know why the movie was named so, but I would have named, “Be the Change”. That is the whole moral of the movie, Rang de basanti, which was released around the globe this week-end. After watching the movie in Somerville theatre here in Boston, I cannot keep my fingers at place without scripting my thoughts. This was my first movie in that theatre and the place looks antique from inside. I would not make any comment on the movie or the cast. But, the movie has surely aroused my mind to discuss about the new struggle for freedom – the freedom from corruption, the freedom from bureaucracy – overall, the freedom of living a better life in India.

Think about the struggle for independence in India between 1850 and 1947. We get a gamut of names to list who played important roles. We have the trio – Lal, Bal, Pal, we have Bhagat Singh and his men, and last but not the least, MK Gandhi and his men. Every Indian was involved in the freedom movement. Why did they fight for it? Didn’t they have better things to do in life? In 1857’s Sepoy Mutiny, did they know that India would be free from the hands of British? In March1931, when Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev were hanged to death, did they have hints that in August of 1947, India will attain independence? No one dreamt the exact date of free-India when Gandhi did the Non-cooperation movement (early 20s) and civil disobedient movement in 1930. People had a goal in mind, but time was the factor. The goal was to remove Queen’s hands from the subcontinent.

What was the reason to gain independence? Do we deserve it seeing the present state of affairs? No, we don’t deserve. We, the people of India, are not showing gratitude to those people who struggled for it. Yes. When the British rule was prevailing, rich were becoming richer, the poor, poorer. The acts and pacts helped the Dewans and toiled the javans who worked for meager pays. The lives of farmers became worse with taxation and rules of owning lands. No doubt, there were rich Indians in that era. Nawabs, Dewans, Kings of princely states, their officials, and a bunch of people in the society were the men who called the words. They were the esteemed class of society, the other part of society, filled with farmers, artisans, people in small industries and businesses, craftsmen, and the rest who constituted more than 80% of Indian population at that time.

‘Azaadhi’ – Freedom. Why ‘azaadhi’? To reform the situation then prevailed in India; to see a developed India and reduce and remove the barrier between the rich and the poor. If those people who died come alive and step their feet on India, they would surely rethink their effort. At most they would think is, “did we do a mistake?”, if not, “did our struggle go waste”, or, “does India deserve it?”.

Nearly 60 years past gaining full autonomous power, the country still has not completed the dreams of the martyrs. Let that be incomplete. At least, it has not fulfilled needs of one billion humans who presently strive for the struggle of a better life. Just ask a politician, “what are the reasons?” – Surely, he or she will start a lecture, “population, illiteracy, bla bla bla”. Show him the population density of Japan and mention the cost of living of few places around the globe. India is far better than many places. Illiteracy is soon going out. The old men on the hot seats don’t talk much about bureaucracy and corruption. Those men have completed their terms and have few pennies to make and put in their pockets. So, no complaints from them about the system.

Who will complain? Me, you, and the present youth. Who should take the next struggle into action? The coming generations. If previous century was the struggle for Independent India, this century should be the struggle for a Better India. We should join hands in making our motherland a better place to live with no conflicts and discriminations.

Talking about how to build our future, I think we need Gandhi-part 2. Take his example. Gandhi’s father was a dewan. MK Gandhi had a degree in Law from England. Why should a person with such good opportunities spend his life of fighting for freedom of land? The reason was his visit to South Africa. One should know the reason behind his South Africa journey from India. After his return to India from England, Gandhi did not find a suitable job. He was not allowed to teach English in school as he did not qualify for that post. Basically, Gandhi, in that critical phase of his life, was a loser. Hence, his Africa plan made him see the racial discrimination and aroused him to eradicate it. Gandhi was the mastermind in pulling the then youth into freedom movement. So, don’t you think, we need Gandhi-2? A Gandhi-2, who can drive the present to fulfill the dreams of the past to create a better future.

How to live for 100 years?

My mind had this question for a long time. I found a few leads. One, present day science. The other, the ancient Veda-s and Upanishads. Interestingly, science and Upanishads have lot of things linked and which are of valuable discussions. This thought is NOT linked to any religion, and is purely on way of life and how to achieve long life. I started this thought by comparing machines with man. Have you ever seen a machine running for 24 hours, 365 days, and successfully for 100 years? I have not seen a real machine, but have seen 'machines' in the form of humans running for 100 years.

First, my science explanation: Dr.Langmore and his team have found out that the main concept of aging is in a chain of DNA, called Telomere. The concept is simple. Telomeres are chains which protect cells during replication and regeneration. They act as buffer zones and allow cells to occupy bit of its space. Hence, by aging, telomeres, become smaller in size and eventually, lesser in number too. This makes cell regeneration restricted to lesser space, in turn leading to NO regeneration. Scientists are now finding telomerase, an enzyme, which can maintain telomeres for a longer time. But, this has one drawback, cancer cells will stay longer, and the person suffering from it has to suffer longer. Anyway, modern science, has found some positive concept for my thought.

Linked with modern science is ancient Indian scriptures, the Vedas and Upanishads. Based on 'Ishavaasyopanishad', a human can desire to live for 100 years by performing the right deeds, personal and social (" kurvanneveha karmaaNi jijIvishEt shatam samAH"). Also, in India, elders bless, "Shathamaanam bhavati Shataayuh purushaha shatendhriya aayushyevendhriye prathithisTHathi". It basically means, live long for 100 years, with all your senses and organs maintained in good shape. With these verses written ages ago, one should believe that living for 100 years is purely in our hands, which is termed as, Self. The deeds I mentioned, are in practical sense, the work, the job, the physical action of the body and the mental work involved it them. With these actions neatly balanced, this thought comes to an end.

You can email me your comments to: kumar.shyam@gmail.com