Sunday, July 15, 2012

‘Mannat’ or Votive Offering


‘Mannat’


Mannat’  is a type of votive offering.  Outside Mount Mary’s Church at Bandra, and many other religious places where miracles are said to occur, there are a number of vendors selling figurines of sundry designs and sizes – of  body parts, children, houses, cars, and even currency notes. These are offered either in anticipation of the fulfillment of a wish or after achieving a particular wish.

Going a step further, there are people who promise to proffer something or to do something for God in exchange for granting a wish. For instance, people promise to break a hundred coconuts for Lord Ganesha, if  he/she passes an exam or obtains a contract. Having obtained the favour the individual will go to any extent to fulfill his part of the contract lest retribution follow his ingratitude. The magnitude of the promised offering varies in proportion to the severity or urgency of the need or problem.

Last month, before the conclusion of a ‘Satsang’ an announcement was made by one of the speakers, urging the participants to abstain from consuming non-vegetarian food for at least three days prior to the next meeting to be held on 8th July 2012. Similar thoughts had been expressed umpteen times during the whole morning, in different ways and manners by different people to the effect that people should give up something prized by them for God so that God might look kindly upon them. That God would be touched by their sacrifice and penance and would certainly grant their wish.

At another prayer meeting, the preacher, adducing references from Holy Scriptures, pounded upon the listeners to offer their supplications ‘with weeping and wailing’. For their tears would  draw out God’s sympathy and He would wipe out their every tear. Within minutes every eye in that spacious hall became cloudy as on a monsoon evening and the lachrymal glands turned into gargoyles spewing their saline  produce profusely. The frenzied populace were literally sniveling and begging for God to open His sympathetic ears and listen to their entreaties.

The whole thing was nothing but melodramatic. The Omniscient and Omnipotent was reduced to a sadist awaiting sobsters so that He could, with a sleight of His hands, wipe out all their tears along with their agonies and pains.

Alas! Does the Almighty lack anything so much so that He needs to wait for devotees to submit some votive offering before doing their bidding? Does it make sense to penalize one’s taste buds so that the Omnipresent can be outreached? Perhaps the preacher above would have made better sense if he had exhorted the people to refrain from speaking untruth or gossip or getting angry or doing anything that would cause harm to others. This would have required more effort than mere abstinence from indulging in gastronomic pleasures.
Some sermonizers are so insistent upon such petty acts that they make you feel guilty, first of all, if you do not make a commitment to chastise yourself, and, secondly, if and when you are tempted to break such an oath made under obvious duress or reneged on some sort of mannat.

May all those who are hoodwinked by such smooth tongued sophists be aware of their guile and not fall prey to their eccentric and fallacious logic. For, the Almighty lacks nothing that necessitates supplementary  inputs from us mortals, nor is He a sadist drawing pleasure from broken hearts or a judge awaiting with a crosier to mete out judgment.

Dominic A Mathias

Weekly Forecasts – A Personal Experience


Weekly Forecasts – A Personal Experience


Last Sunday, my daughter’s weekly horoscope read: “There is international travel ...” When I showed it to her, with a grin on her face, she nodded in understanding acquiescence. For we had just applied online for passport and taken an appointment with Passport Seva Kendra (PSK), Thane, for getting her credentials verified. Since reading sun-signs-based forecasts was a taboo at our home we made no overt comments on it further.

After a couple of days, on 19th June, as we got entry into the PSK office in Thane, and stood in queue for the ‘token’ to be issued, the memory of the forecast generated a tint of smile on my countenance, escorted by an optimistic anticipation … Thanks to Bejan Daruwalla. (Pun intended.)

But, lo and behold, after standing  in queue for over an hour, the fair damsel, an employee of TCS (if the letters on the cord of her Identity Card are to be believed) politely refused to issue the token since my offspring had not brought her SSC certificate nor mark sheet. All our protestations that this was not mentioned at the website in the list of documents to be produced fell on deaf ears. My sweetie was also not allowed to return later or the next day with the required documents: a fresh appointment had to be taken online and return when my PC gave consent!

My first reaction was to curse the prophet who predicted the foreign jaunt of my Aquarian progeny.... However my ever-optimistic mind said: Hold. Appointment can be taken in the evening by logging on to the website at 7.30 pm.

Dutifully, having cancelled all my evening engagements, I booted my PC ten minutes before time. But my master refused to budge till 7.50 pm by which time the last available slots were at 13.45 hrs and 15.15 hrs on 4th July! And by the time I discussed with my better half and agreed upon the slot, even that got filled. The PC instructed me to log on at 7.30 pm the next day for fresh appointment!

Even the slimmest modicum of faith I had on Bejan Daruwalla and his ilk who predict the future of gullible mortals was dashed to the ground.

Earlier on Sunday the 17th June 2012 when I had pointed out her ‘bhavishya,’ my wife had dismissed it with a scorn. Being a Post Graduate in Science besides being a teacher, she made me do a wee calculation. She wanted me to compute the world population and divide it by 12 – twelve being the number of zodiac signs. I griped: ‘The number of digits in that numeral is so many that I can’t even pronounce the figure.”
“Take then the approximate population of India and divide it by a larger number of 100.” This, I felt was more within my brain capacity.

After some back of the envelope calculation I wondered, even if one-hundredth or one-thousandth of Indians were Aquarians, how many of them would go abroad or begin some activity this week that would lead them abroad at a later date. Or for that matter, get some kind of personal news from abroad?
The whole prediction sounds so inane!

There are forecasters who caution people born between certain dates to be alert while driving on a certain day or week, implying that these people are more prone to accidents than others during the week in question. How many of such warnings come true? (Perhaps if the driver is so obsessed with the expectation of an accident it might really occur.)  Will any research prove that all or a majority of those who had met with accidents during the period were, say, Arians or Librans or Scorpions or whatever?

What, then, is the value of these predictions? – one begins to wonder. What is the ratio of ‘truthful’ versus bogus predictions? How many of these predictions and predictors go wrong everyday!

 The absurdity gets compounded when one realizes that innumerable reputed magazines, weeklies and dailies all over the world pander to such forecasts, despite being cognizant of their futility. The need of the hour, instead, is to wean people away from giving credence to such unproved and unprovable casuistry and inculcate scientific thinking in them.

Dominic A Mathias


Thursday, April 5, 2012

SHOULD EUTHANASIA BE LEGALISED?


SHOULD EUTHANASIA BE LEGALISED?

Ms Dee was the cynosure of all eyes when she was betrothed to Mr Tee who was a politician-cum-educationist, running a couple of schools and a Junior College in the Central suburbs of Mumbai. People considered her extremely lucky when she was blessed with her second son in the early 70’s. Surrounded by a happy family and owing property worth crores, Mrs Dee lacked nothing.
But, now in her old age, she does not want to live anymore. No. Not because her elder son had had a premature death. But because she is paralyzed on her left side and is bed-ridden for the past several months. Although doctors have assured her of gradual recovery with physiotherapy, her bedsores have taken their toll. What is more, she is unable to speak except making a few grunts. She needs someone to be beside her 24 hours a day. Mrs Dee now wants to die.
There are hundreds of cases of terminally ill patients with no means to finance their treatment who feel that they are a burden to their impoverished relatives and to the society for using up its resources. All are waiting. Waiting for a physician to administer a wee injection and ease their pain and of their relatives. Just a single syringe is all that is required.
The nay-sayers take up the high moral ground and aver: we cannot create life; therefore, we have no right to take it away. The patients want you, the society, to get into their shoes and then think of creation and morality from their point of view. What will you do? You are at a dilemma. And you cannot escape between the horns of the bull, nor can you tackle the bull by its horns.
    * * * *
Now take the case of Mr P who was in coma for over ten months after a fall from a height at a construction site. One fine day his life-support system was gradually slowed down till his eventual demise. Little does it matter who was behind the relaxation of the life-support system. But the question is: was the person, say, Mr X, justified in performing Euthanasia by Omission, however noble (?) his intention had been?
The term Euthanasia comes from two Greek words ‘eu’ (good) and ‘thanatos’ (death), which is translated as ‘mercy killing’ in common parlance. It is defined as intentional killing a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit by action or omission.
If euthanasia is legalized, as has been done in a handful of countries, what guarantee is there that it will be used only on the terminally ill? Even so, how can you define ‘terminally ill’? Even where a specific life expectancy (like six months) is prescribed, medical experts acknowledge that it is virtually impossible to predict the life expectance of a particular patient. Some people diagnosed as terminally don’t die for years, if at all, from the diagnosed condition!
Legalization of Euthanasia can become an instrument in the hands of ruthless relatives of the ailing person to their advantage – perhaps to inherit property or endowment. Thus it becomes a measure to cut costs on healthcare, or otherwise can lead to tremendous abuse, exploitation and erosion of values. Children who consider their aged and financially depleted parents a burden will be armed with a potent weapon to be rid of them. And strayed couple can wield the same weapon to clear their path to stave off divorce and subsequent exorbitant alimony. Thus it can easily be misused by all and sundry in unimaginable ways.
Prisoners from hostile countries and inmates of prisons such as Guantanamo Bay Prison will too often be induced to become terminally ill so as to be able to ease their pain with impunity!  Possibilities of misuse of euthanasia are endless, which is one of the most potent reasons for not accepting euthanasia as a viable proposition by many nations across the globe.
If euthanasia becomes acceptable the wedge between suicide and euthanasia, also termed as ‘assisted death’ will shrink membraneously. Euthanasia, then, will become ‘assisted suicide’ and assistance to euthanasia will turn into abetment to suicide.
The spiritually minded can take shelter in the metaphysical dictum that all that has been created by God is True, Good and Beautiful. That illness is not a curse but a means to diminish, if not end, the post mortem punishment in hell or purgatory. That in cases of really good and holy persons falling seriously ill, they can offer their pain to ease the pain of others, dead or alive.
However, such wishful thinking can never explain away the good-versus-evil conundrum. To the suffering, the very existence of God as a good and Fatherly figure becomes suspect. Their query boils down to ‘why does a good God, Omniscient and Omnipotent, permit evil, suffering and pain?’ (which discussion is beyond the purview of this essay).
If ever euthanasia becomes legalized, what will happen to the conscience of the administrator of the pain-ease mechanism? Will you as an individual accuse him of homicide or congratulate him for easing someone’s pain?
No doctor who has ever taken the Hippocratic oath wherein are incorporated the words: “I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel”  will ever give acquiescence to such a law  due to its incompatibility with their professional commitments.
There are those who vouch for voluntary euthanasia where alleviation of pain becomes meaningless and death is certain. Even in this case such indulgence can be abused especially in those patients who have become incompetent to take a considered decision. Moreover, no kin can act as surrogate decision-makers for such.
No creature of God should ever feel that he/she is a burden to others. If they feel so, it is not their failing but the failure of their own kith and kin and of the society as a whole. They may be assisted, yes, but assisted to march towards death with a feeling that they are surrounded by loving souls who are reincarnations of God. It is your and my responsibility to make them experience heaven on earth and depart from this earth with a smile on their faces.

M Dominic Arivarasu




Will Anna Hazare Fade Away?


Will  Anna Hazare Fade Away?

He has become the toast of the town, saviour of the masses, scourge of the corrupted and the catalyst of the latest revolution in India’s historic kitty. This dogged septuagenarian has shaken every politician out of his societal stupor eclipsed by his egotistic perambulations. Arundati Roy, Mahesh Bhatt and the intellectual ilk may question his credentials and modus operandi, but the sheer number of his diehard fans and devotees has far exceeded that of any other person living: never had anyone in history had so many contemporaries supporting and defending him or her; nor will ever be.

Here is an iconoclast who cannot wait for any routine parliamentary procedures to commence the discussion on his pet project the Lokpal bill.  In semblance to the saying “if the bhakt cannot go to Eshwar’s portals, let Eshwar come to the  bhakt’s threshold”, since this ironman cannot wait for his turn at the parliament to deliberate upon his project, the parliament has to suspend every activity to mull over his assignment forthwith. The recent episode proved that the government or parliamentarians can brook no procrastination, except at the cost of endangering his fragile health and thereby incurring the wrath of millions.

What makes this apparently simple diminutive man clad in home-spun khadi so potent? What is it in this yokel from Ralegan Siddhi that has made the mighty fall at his feet of clay? How is it that millions of Indians sporting a Gandhi cap identify themselves with him and scream their throats out: I AM ANNA?

BECAUSE this chubby-cheeked ‘maha-atma’, enjoying his second childhood in the last leg of his earthly sojourn has put his own life at stake so as to cleanse the Indian society of corruption! Because the entire population of India is fed up of the corrupt practices of the government ministers, bureaucrats, police officials and the rest of the government paraphernalia.

Just as Gandhiji perfected his form of satyagraha in South Africa before taking on the mission to India, Anna Hazare too began at his village Ralegaon Siddhi, Ahmad Nagar district, Maharashtra.  He motivated his village people not to grease the palms of government officials for discharging their duty of serving the common people. Later he enlarged the scope to encompass the state of Maharashtra. With people’s support he succeeded in uprooting many ministers in the state, thereby antagonizing the high and mighty among the political class.

ANNA HAZARE WILL NEVER FADE because success never went to his head. On his retirement from the Indian Army he gave away his entire savings to charity to buld wells and dharamshalas or free rest houses for pilgrims. Now despite his monumental successes at various levels he still lives in a small room in a dharamsnala he himself had built.

ANNA HAZARE WILL NEVER FADE because Anna is unsurpassed in somatic as well as mental tenacity.  After three days of his fast on his release from gaol, much to the shame and chagrin of his escorts, he sprinted his way to Ramlila Maidan when it began to drizzle, Again, when every ‘Anna’ in India was on tenterhooks as Hazare’s fast entered the 10th day and 11th day, and even as some protesters who were fasting in solidarity with Anna in different pars of India were collapsing Anna still had the strength to address the gathering, as against his will and wont. He could accomplish this feat because, as he said, the youth supplied to him an inexhaustible fund of energy.

ANNA HAZARE WILL NEVER FADE for his nerves of steel that is not flustered by difficult situations. Even as he concluded his 13-day long fast he did not leave before declaring that his fight against corruption was just kept in suspended animation and that it would resume forthwith if situation demanded it. Moreover, the fighter that he is, he was not carried on a stretcher even after such a long fast lasting nearly a fortnight. The doctors attending him called it nothing short of a miracle and Anna’s steely will power.

Yet this was not the first time that death accosted him. He had faced death several times in the past too and survived. In the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965 while he was driving a truck laden with essential supplies to the border posts a couple of fighter jets of the Pakistan Air Force swooped on the convoy. As Anna applied brakes at high speed his heavy vehicle skidded and rolled into a ditch. That day he had stared death in the face twice.

ANNA HAZARE WILL NEVER FADE thanks to the pristine image and the identity that he has created among the middle class. Despite alleging that Anna was steeped in corruption from head to foot, Tewari  had to eat crow soon after.

Coming to the corruption factor: first the good news: a recent study has revealed that Indian deposits in Swiss banks have exhibited a declining trend. Now the shocker:  the deposits in Swiss banks in the year 2010 amounted to a whopping $ 2.5 billion! An unconfirmed report estimates that at least Rs 1456 lakh crores of Indian moneys are stashed away in these banks! If  proved true, imagine what can be done with this mind-boggling amount! India might emerge as the No. 1 country in the world financially and on an average about 60000 crores can be given to each district for its development, which means bestowing as much purchasing power on the Indian population.

Corruption has become institutionalized in India. For example, many people go to driving schools to get licenses because they know that half the fee paid to these schools is used to grease the palms of RTO officials. Or take the case of many popular temples that sell ‘tokens’ to the moneyed to ‘jump the queue’? But how many consider these corruption and are ready to abandon such systems?

It is common knowledge that commissions and judicial enquiries and the like are established in India only to tranquilize the indignation of the public. These are instituted merely to hoodwink the masses. The corrupt officials and politicians almost always manage to salvage their chameleon like pseudo-faces.

Although the public is fed up with the whole system, the political entity has managed to smother this concern and anguish by scuttling the Lokpal bill a number of times. Now that the bill is going to be discussed and passed without doubt, the credit for the same should go to Shri Anna Hazare alone. This saintly figure is fighting corruption not for his own benefit but the billion-odd Indians. This man in the last lap of his life has no personal agenda or benefit in this at all. This single pure disinterested act of Anna alone suffices to elevate him to the pedestal of the likes of Mahatma Gandhi and Buddha. If the Lokpal bill as Anna has envisaged gets passed there will  be more accountability among every Indian leader and the beneficiaries will be the nation and especially the poorest of the poor. Just as the Almighty had sent a Mahatma when Indian independence struggle was struggling to fight with one voice, now at this critical juncture when India has lost its face in the world arena due to rampant corruption as revealed by the several scams surfacing the nation at regular intervals, especially the mother of all scams, the 2G scam, the same Omnipotent has come down to the earth to salvage the remaining pride of India and cause a political and moral revolution.

Will ANNA HAZARE ever fade into oblivion?
Never…ever…

M Dominic Arivarasu