The Mumbai Carnage.....will it change anything??

Am back to blogging after almost 60 days. Reasons have been many...most importatly its been grass-roots' action .....all the time....that has kept me away from the keyboard. Check out the latest on www.reacha.org and www.samvedna.wikidot.com

I feel the only way this tragedy can wake us out of our slumbers to make any meaningful change in the country is through ACTION. But, somehow as a nation we are always so eager just to keep talking. This is my gravest concern.

A Karma Yogi is incessantly engaged in meaningful action. He has little time for debates and discussions. You can either debate or do work on the ground. You could most definitely debate to explore the best line of action in order to achieve an objective. But once this is defined the only way forward has to be action.

It is only selfless action that can make a sustainable difference around us. When I say selfless I mean action with passion, with a zeal that goes beyond mere calculations about results, about money, about success. Such action is driven by a divine motive - TO DO GOOD!!

Specifics of this action need to be worked out by people and organisations in the aftymath of this mayhem as per their respective functions. A school teacher has to inspire action in her students in terms of reaching out to their neighbours with the spirit of 'love thy neighbour.' Jesus perhaps foresaw this more than 2000 years ago....that family and neighbourhoods will begin to break apart. And so he preached about the 'larger family.' The Hindu tradition talks about the whole world being a family - vasudev kutumbakum and atithi devo bhava - the guest is like god...take care of him and feel blessed. Islam preaches brotherhood of man - sadly, a far cry from what many of its youngsters are practising today.

At times I feel Islam is going through the same crisis today that Hinduism went in the early part of the AD period. That was when Gautam Buddha came along and Buddhism became widespread. It was later left to Adi Shankara to revive Hinduism with his all encompassing philosophy of advaita.

Does Islam have such a saviour or rather revivor? Even more importantly, do Muslims really feel that there is any need to reform at all. Reform in terms of better health & education for its followers the world over. Perhaps, the Muslim who begins the march on this path would be their most likely modern day Prophet.

I sincerely hope there is this guy somewhere who begins to walk very soon.....for I will be the first to join hands with him. There are many Muslims who are close friends, associates as well as colleagues. I urjge them to take the initiative.....the task of walkinging the path of EDUCATION.

Signing off

Nikhil