SCIY.Org Archives

Originally posted on sciy.org by Ron Anastasia on Fri 09 Dec 2005 10:18 PM PST  

I've just come across a good example, imo, of the kind of multimedia magazine, multi-editor weblog, that we're moving SCIY toward. It's called Boloji.com, and describes itself as:

Boloji.com.. is a website dedicated to study India in particular and expressions on the diversity of life. We welcome articles relating to any section specified under "Channels".  We also welcome Photo Essays..

Here's a sample of the writing of one of their columnists, which includes several Sri Aurobindo quotes relevant to, e.g., the "Virtual Class" discussion we've been having:

pinion
   
Back to the Future

The Counterpoint

Link

Where, then, do we go from here for meeting the future that ominously coincides with the millennium? Once again a cue might be taken from a poem, “The Wind and the Whirlwind” by Wilfrid Blunt. As the eminent philosopher Krishna Chaitanya observes, “Today, most of us find that for really precious insights we have to turn from academic philosophizing to creative poetry and art.” This poem contains a truth that, if grasped, can act as a beacon to light our way across the darkling plain. Significantly, long ago it voiced that about the East which western sociologists are talking so much of today and which the TV serial LEGACY emphasizes:

“Ganges and Indus and the streams of Eden,
Yours is the future of the world’s sublime.
The wisdom of the West is but a madness,
The fret of shallow waters is their bed…
And thou, too, India, mourner of the nations,
Though thou hast died today in all men’s sight,…
Yet shall thy wrong be justified in right.”

Elaborating this, India’s greatest sage of modern times, Sri Aurobindo, wrote:

“The peoples of Europe have carried material life to its farthest expression, the science of bodily existence has been perfected, but they are suffering from diseases which their science is powerless to cure.”

The relevance and the validation of this insight pronounced in the first decade of this century is to be found in the TIME cover story, “The Evolution of Despair” which begins:

“the modern world, for all its technological marvels, can be an uncomfortable unfulfilling place to live…VCRs and microwave ovens have their virtues, but in the everyday course of our highly efficient lives there are times when something seems deeply amiss. Whether burdened by an overwhelming flurry of daily commitments or stifled by a sense of social isolation (or, oddly, both); whether mired for hours in a sense of life’s pointlessness or beset for days by unresolved anxiety; whether deprived by long workweeks from quality time with offspring or drowning in quantity time with them—whatever the source of stress, we here in America at times get the feeling that modern life isn’t what we were designed for.”

Beside this let us place Sri Aurobindo:

“Asia is the custodian of the world’s peace of mind, the physician of the maladies which Europe generates…the spirit of Asia, calm, contemplative, self-possessed, takes possession of Europe’s discovery and corrects its exaggerations, its aberrations by the intuition, the spiritual light she alone can turn upon the world.…Dharma is the Indian conception in which rights and duties lose the artificial antagonism created by a view of the world which makes selfishness the root of action, and regain their deep and eternal unity. Dharma is the basis of democracy.”

Dharma is also the central thrust of the “Thick Face Black Heart” strategy propounded by Ching-Ning Chu as “The Asian path to thriving, winning & succeeding.” As for the methodology for implementing this, particularly in the context of the renewed onslaught of cultural colonization being welcomed in the country, it is necessary to recall Sri Aurobindo’s clarion call voiced in the first decade of this century but prophetically so very true in its closing years:

“We have sought to regain life by following the law of another being than our own. We must return and seek the sources of life and strength within ourselves. We must know our past and recover it for the purposes of our future…read the heart of our religion, our society, our philosophy, politics, literature, art, jurisprudence, science, thought, everything that was and is ours, so that we may be able to say to ourselves and our nation, ‘This is our dharma.’ We shall review European civilization entirely from the standpoint of Indian thought and knowledge and seek to throw off from us the dominating stamp of the Occident; what we have to take from the West we shall take as Indians.”

The great historian, Arnold Toynbee, after reviewing the story of humankind, observed that what had a Western beginning will, quite clearly, have to have an Indian ending if it is not to be extinguished. He was referring to the concept of vasudhaiva kutumbakam ["the whole of existence is one family," see comment below] which he saw as the only alternative to nuclear suicide by the human race.

Back to the future, therefore!

It was Pascal who had remarked that the trouble with the Western man is that he does not know how to be content in an empty room. And there, precisely, lies our strength. In the search for solutions the West has sought out Indian scriptures, intrigued by a civilization still living after 5000 years. American and European management faculty are enquiring if we teach the Upanishadic, Vedantic or Gita system of management. They are astonished that we have not learnt lessons from their social disintegration and are still copying theories and practices that they have long discarded. Stafford Beer writes,

“It is sad to watch the ideologies of the West refusing to accept the evidence of the rubble which was their culture; sadder still is the willingness of the East to sit at the feet of proven failure, to learn how to make the same mistakes—just as if there had been a success.”

Why are we not returning to our roots for finding answers to our problems? The ancient Indian insight that the flow of Artha (material prosperity) and Kama (desires) has to be canalized between the twin banks of Dharma (righteousness) and Moksha (spiritual liberation) is profoundly valid and needs to be taken to heart one again. A very important pointer to the way out of the morass is provided in The Mother’s reply to a question on how the power of money can be utilized properly:

“Three things are interdependent: desire for power, desire for money and desire for sex…the very need of power has its end in this satisfaction (of the sex impulse), and if one mastered that, if one abolished that from human consciousness, much of the need for power and desire for money would disappear automatically.”

We will hear this again from a very different quarter, in a voice out of India’s ancient past: Yayati, King of Kings. But of that later. For now, let us listen to what two very different persons have to suggest: Dr. Manmohan Singh, the economist-turned-bureaucrat-turned-politician, and Nani Palkhivala, one of our foremost jurists.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, in a speech in November 1992 as Finance Minister, urged that the narrow-minded pursuit of profits be replaced by a new vision for the nation where politicians cease fomenting ethnic and communal conflict and sowing divisiveness in their craze for power; where trade unions stop the blinkered pursuit of higher wages irrespective of falling productivity; where firms fulfill social responsibilities instead of blindly copying Western lifestyles that are life-denying. “Goods and services do exist,” he said, “but the development is essentially not about things, it is about people…we need a new paradigm of development, a paradigm which is inspired by a value-system which puts people at the centre of development, not things… and which makes man live in harmony with nature.” He called upon the silent majority to point out politicians, governments, corporations and individuals who go wrong and suggested the formation of committees of a hundred disinterested citizens at the national, state, district and block levels in order to build up a corpus of citizens who are committed to ensure that the new economically and technologically advanced India is guided by a sense of human solidarity “inspired by the great spiritual ideals which have been our heritage.” Whether consciously or not, he was reiterating the inscription on the Gandhi Samadhi of the Mahatma’s concept of the Seven Deadly Sins:

Commerce without ethics;
Pleasure without conscience;
Politics without principle;
Knowledge without character;
Science without humanity;
Wealth without work;
Worship without sacrifice

Palkhivala points out that while eternal vigilance is undoubtedly the price of liberty, yet in a more profound sense “eternal responsibility is also part of the price of liberty.” De Tocqueville, he reminds us, observed that liberty cannot exist by itself but has to be paired with a companion virtue like morality, common good, civic responsibility.

Our attitude today, however, uncannily echoes that of Mahodara, counsellor of Ravana the demon-king, scoffing at the ruler’s brother Kumbhakarna for criticizing the king’s sacrificing dharma at the altar of desire:

“Work without desire, a pure heart, liberation—
all take time. But
work with desire is fruitful
promptly. No waiting in this life,
no waiting for re-birth.
Hence desire is supremely electable.
To fulfill desire is action’s goal,
To enjoy is life’s acme.” —Ramayana, Yuddhakanda, 64.7-8 (my translation).

This is the hedonistic path of Charvaka which, intermeshing with realpolitik, produces the devastating explosions in Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Chandigarh, Kashmir and Gujarat, spawns the world of narco-terrorism and corruption and shatters the polity. How true are the words of T.S. Eliot in“The Rock”:

“men both deny gods and worship gods, professing first Reason,
And then Money, and Power, and what they call Life, or Race, or Dialectic…
an age which advances progressively backwards.”

And yet, the talisman Mahatma Gandhi had provided is still available to everyone of us who faces a dilemma of choice:

“Whenever you are in doubt or when the self becomes too much with you, recall the face of the poorest and the weakest of men whom you may have seen and ask yourself if the step you are contemplating is going to be of use to him. Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny? Will it lead to swaraj for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melting away.”

The ultimate human tragedy of a talisman ready to hand but never used!

The promulgation of THE EARTH CHARTER, referred to earlier, is a pointer in the right direction. Another is the founding of the Spiritual Unfoldment Society within THE WORLD BANK itself by Dr. Richard Barrett. In an organization seen as wedded to capitalist economics and ruled solely by the intellect, many of its employees have found it necessary to voice the need for promoting spiritual awareness and integrating a higher consciousness into every aspect of life to transform the way in which we interact with one another. Its first significant step was to hold a conference on ethical and spiritual values and the promotion of environmentally sustainable development in October 1995. The shape of things to come is shadowed forth in the opening statement by the President of the Bank, James Wolfensohn about the dawning of a realization that “the World Bank’s central mission is to meld economic assistance with spiritual, ethical, and moral development.” Maurice Strong of the Earth Council asserted in the same conference, “actions that do not flow from our deepest spiritual, ethical, and moral values cannot succeed in building the kind of secure, sustainable, and hopeful future to which Rio pointed and to which we all aspire.”

As for the standard argument that no major change can occur unless society changes, John Hoyt, President, Center for Respect of Life & Environment & CEO, The Humane Society of the United States, says, “Who will ensure that ethical and spiritual values get a fair hearing in the context of the economist’s, the ecologist’s, and the sociologist’s points of view?… I suggest that we begin with each of us individually. Most changes that altered the course of history began with individuals who, by their example and actions, did what many thought impossible…and underlying each one was a moral conviction and certainty.” R.J.Berry, Professor of Biology, University of London, pointed out in the same forum that “healthy people need to do three things: act as spiritual beings, in accordance with moral impulses (humans as divine beings); act as neighbors, to render service to their fellow men and women (humans as social beings); and act as autonomous centers of power (humans as self).”

In this Prof. Berry was following Ernst Schumacher’s concept of appropriate technology which is founded upon a realization of three prevailing levels of being: a spiritual being inescapably concerned with values; a social being concerned with people and other living creatures, and the individual concerned with developing the self. Echoing, perhaps unconsciously, Michael Wood in LEGACY, Richard Barrett urged, “We must stop exporting our consumption-driven, materialistic paradigm”, and emphasized that economic development is meaningless unless it contributes to the evolution of consciousness regarding the interdependence of all forms of life, awareness of the equality of all human beings and the pre-ordinate goal of common good, which constitute the commonalty of religious and spiritual beliefs down the ages.

Norman Rice, Mayor, City of Seattle, also pleaded for changing the entire culture of consumption to teach people to reach beyond oneself to the community “at a time when people all around the world are building walls to cut themselves off from others.” Like Hillary Clinton earlier, he urged for “a vision of leadership based on values and ethics, not sheer political muscle.” Ismail Serageldin, Vice President, Environmentally Sustainable Development in the World Bank, summing up the discussions in the Conference, focused on the meaning of achieving wisdom: “When one thinks in terms not of one’s immediate gratification or of the short term but of what is beyond oneself and of the long term, this is the beginning of wisdom.”

Goran Lindahl, president of ABB, proposes that the onset of globalization calls for big business to become an ally of the United Nations in ensuring the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human rights. He has gone on record stating, “transparency and a free flow of trade, capital, skills, technology and information…will not automatically lead to a better life for all. The pursuit of profit alone cannot hold societies together…Enlightened self-interest alone is reason enough for business to behave responsibly because good social practices help our bottom line… tackling broader social responsibilities also furthers commercial goals…(we) can use our strengths--a global presence, a multicultural perspective, the proven ability to get things done quickly--to complement the actions of others and to fulfil our larger civic role…globalization has thrust upon the international business community another even more challenging dimension to our new civic role…We must now act as co-guarantors of human rights.”

In the midst of this welter of pronouncements ordinating what ought to be done there has been a remarkable development that might well be the light at the end of the dark tunnel that we are so desperately searching for. The Enron and WorldCom debacles and the September 11 terrorist attacks brought to the fore the ordinary human being’s conviction to the right thing for the right reason, regardless of consequences to oneself. Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom, Sherron Watkins of Enron and Coleen Rowley of the FBI are three women who had the courage to put in writing their misgivings about the wrong direction taken by an unscrupulous leadership.

Watkins wrote to Enron’s chairman Kenneth Lay in mid-2001 regarding improper accounting methods being followed. Cooper, in October 2001, informed the WorldCom board about phony bookkeeping to cover up $3.8 billion in losses. Rowley sent a memo to the Director Rober Mueller about the FBI ignoring proposals to investigate a person later found to be involved in the attack on the World Trade Center. In the process they risked their jobs, their mental and physical wellbeing (Cooper lost 14 kg in weight) and privacy. Because they believed “that the truth is one thing that must not be moved off the books, and (stepped) in to make sure that it wasn’t,” TIME magazine named them its PERSONS OF THE YEAR. Enron’s note pads carried this quotation from Martin Luther King Jr. Which only Watkins seems to have taken to heart: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” Even more interesting is the commonalty that these 3 women share: all come from small town in the middle of America, having grown up in families that had hardly any surplus income, are married and, most surprisingly, are the chief breadwinners for their own families. Their husbands are full-time housekeepers. Therefore, in confronting the top leadership of their organizations with wrong-doing, these women were consciously jeopardizing the earning that their families depended upon.

“But the fear of losing my job,” said Cooper, “was very secondary to the obligation I felt.” What moved them? Cooper stressed the need for ordinary people to come forward and do the right thing instead of waiting for higher authorities to do what needed to be done.

Ibsen exhorts in his Enemy of the People that a community is like a ship and everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm. “These women saw the ship in citizenship,” writes TIME, “and they stepped up that wheel.” All three have had to pay heavily in terms of ostracism in the organization, hostility. Cooper fought the biggest battle in corporate America and did not get a single word of thanks, let alone a promotion. Watkins was demoted to a rickety office and felt so threatened that she called office security for advice on self-defence and financial worries have led the couple to postpone having a second child, which she finds to be the biggest blow.

Rowley’s messages suggesting investigative and lega strategies are ignored while officials holding leadership positions when FBI failed to act on warnings have been promoted. Yet, none of these women regret having protested. Their approach was to try hard to state the truth, even if they did not win. As Rowley said, “I don’t see any concrete changes...But it doesn’t mean you can stop trying.” Asked what motivated them, Cooper said, “it comes back to values and ethics that you learn through your life,” and quoted her mother, “Never allow yourself to be intimidated; always think about the consequences of your actions.” Which is precisely what Enron’s CEO, Jeffrey Skilling, did not do. Whenever it was obvious that to get ahead rules would have to be broken, he used to say, “Get this structure to work”, carefully avoiding responsibility by not saying, “Do it” and pretending it was all like a game. Cooper and Watkins cited their mothers are role models, and Rowley her maternal grandparents who had no running water, a bathroom or indoor plumbum till her grandfather was 93. The problem, according to Watkings, was that there was a leadership vacuum, with the wrong people--“splashy leaders”--being valued. Cooper said,  People who move to the top are typically racehorses, not workhorses. And they’re very charismatic.” Watkins added a telling supplement: “And the dark side of charisma is narcissism.”  All three agreed that it was a lonely road, and that the resistance they faced was frightening, particularly because what they were doing was for the good of the organization, with its best interests at heart and presumed that the company would be on their side. Most important, unlike the narcissistic CEOs, none of them saw themselves as heroes. Just that they did their job. “This fame thing,” said Rowley, “is greatly overrated.”

Once again, this is not a phenomenon limited to the USA. Most unexpectedly, in the gray clouds that seem to envelop India there are sparks of such commitment that have flashed out from time to time. Of these the most famous has been the case of P.S. Appu who resigned in protest from the Indian Administrative Service against the Indian government’s reluctance to take punitive action against a culpable officer of the elite service. Although his resignation led to prime minister Indira Gandhi revising the earlier decision and dismissing the guilty officer, she replaced him as head of the apex training institution by a person who successfully overturned the high standards Appu had set. This was followed by the resignation of M.N. Buch from the same service in protest against corruption in high places. Despite his expose of widespread corruption in education the Madhya Pradesh government, it has received the 2002 Gold Award under the 'International Innovations Award Programme' of the Biennial Conference of the Commonwealth Association of Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) at Kuala Lampur for the Education Guarantee Scheme involving universalizing primary education in the State, from among 121 submissions from 24 countries! In more recent times, Harsh Mander resigned from the IAS appalled by the inaction of the police and the civil service in the face of communal riots in Gujarat and faced considerable harassment and threats to his personal safety for speaking out on what he had
witnessed, yet remained steadfast in his efforts to bring the truth to public consciousness. Arun Bhatia, another IAS maverick, states, “It is not enough to say ‘I am honest.’ You should enforce your honesty and confront the system.” He has exposed corruption in the Employment Guarantee Scheme, land scandals involving high officials, and contradicted government’s claims that deaths of tribal children were not due to malnutrition. The government responded by initiating disciplinary proceedings against him.

Many more such individuals having the courage of their convictions to confront wrong leadership are sorely needed.       

– Pradip Bhattacharya
February 29, 2004

Back To The Future

–  Westerners on the West 
–  The New World  
–  The First World  
–  The Western Response  
–  The World Situation 
–  The Eastern Scene 
–  Changing Asian Values 
–  India Darshan 
–  Urbanization, Globalization and Consumerism
–  Possible Solutions 
–  Bureaucracy in India  
–  The Counterpoint  
–  India's Heritage  

Attachment: