E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

VHP’s U-turn on temple issue
THE VHP has harmed its own cause by going back on its earlier promise to honour the court verdict in the Ayodhya case and at the same time launching some shrill verbal attacks on Muslims. Not only have non-saffron parties strongly criticised this breach of faith, even the BJP has had to dissociate itself from the VHP stand, since it knows the sensitivities of the issue.

Change of NC leadership
AS announced earlier, the National Conference leadership has gone into the hands of Mr Omar Abdullah, Minister of State for External Affairs, from his father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir.

Stem the rot in the system
THE 65th conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies held at Bangalore last week has rightly called for a total ban on defections in order to cleanse the system of this pernicious evil.

India’s new drive against terrorism
How the latest strategy is working
Bharat Wariavwalla
PERHAPS, at Kaluchak we defeated the Pakistan-based terror machine. The killing of some 30 civilians and soldiers at Kaluchak in Jammu on May 14 filled the Prime Minister with the resolve to act which he had lacked till then.

MIDDLE

Remembering a stalwart
Baljit Malik
NO, I did not know him as a diplomat or administrator. And, as yet, have not read his autobiography. But I got to know B.K. Nehru as a very special person in a very special place. All of 30 years separated us in age; just as there was a wide gap in intellect and experience.

DEBATE

Hour of reckoning: need for Punjabis to ponder
Cookie Maini
PUNJAB has always been the paradigm of the progressive facade of India. Apart from the fact that it has the highest per capita income, it has been epitomised as the bread basket because of its outstanding contribution to the agricultural economy.

Punjabi spirit is ever alive
PUNJABIS are known for their love for hard work and capacity to take up any job even not matching their qualifications in the times of crisis. They believe in the maxim “do or die” and “remaining usefully employed”.

Hockey champion’s widow languishing
HER husband was a member of the Indian hockey team that won the gold at the 1966 Bangkok Asian games. Today, his widow Bishwasi Toppo is beckoning death in an attempt to escape poverty and illness.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

EDITORIALS

VHP’s U-turn on temple issue

THE VHP has harmed its own cause by going back on its earlier promise to honour the court verdict in the Ayodhya case and at the same time launching some shrill verbal attacks on Muslims. Not only have non-saffron parties strongly criticised this breach of faith, even the BJP has had to dissociate itself from the VHP stand, since it knows the sensitivities of the issue. More important, even the influential holy men in Hardwar, where the two-day meeting of the Kendriya Margdarshak Mandal was held, have been critical of the VHP line. In fact, there was near-total boycott of the meeting by the Akhara Parishad of sadhus. That deflates the VHP claim to be the voice of “millions upon millions of Hindus”. What isolated the VHP all the more was its irresponsible assertion that the carnage in Gujarat was a “victory” of the Hindus. Even staunch Hindus are criticising its stand. The senior-most VHP leader Ashok Singhal in his capacity as a trustee of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas had given a written assurance that the trust would abide by the court verdict on the disputed site in March last year during the standoff between the VHP and the government. It now says that the commitment was made in the background of the assurances given by the Muslim Personal Law Board and the government. While the board had committed that it would not go to court on the issue, it had done so. On the other hand, the government had said that it would remove all restrictions for a smooth shilapujan. It has also not fulfilled its promise. The VHP claims that since they have not kept their part of the bargain, it is not obligatory for it to stand by the agreement.

Such belligerence may gladden the hearts of its diehard supporters, but would not go well outside the Sangh Parivar because the provocative gestures are undesirable, particularly at this stage. Unmindful of the wider ramifications, the VHP has focused on carrying forward its temple agitation. That is unfortunate, because the country is saddled with other problems which require more immediate attention. If it goes ahead with its announced three-phased movement from July to mobilise people’s support in support of the temple construction, the surcharged atmosphere in the country after the Gujarat events is bound to be further vitiated. Its demand for the division of Jammu and Kashmir into four parts, including a separate enclave with UT status, for resettling migrant Kashmiri Pandits has a similar potential. While everyone wants the ordeal of the uprooted Pandits to end, the division of the state could be a remedy worse than the disease. The whole issue, however, needs to be examined and debated objectively.

Change of NC leadership

AS announced earlier, the National Conference (NC) leadership has gone into the hands of Mr Omar Abdullah, Minister of State for External Affairs, from his father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. The change has been effected amidst much publicity and drama keeping in view the coming assembly elections in the state. Dr Abdullah has been in the news for some time for aspiring to play a role at the Centre and hence his decision to pass on the mantle of party leadership to his son. Whatever his game plan, Dr Abdullah’s son, in his early thirties, seems to have got what he desired. There has been no grumbling from any NC leader for having been denied his due. This is contrary to what happened when Dr Abdullah was favoured by his illustrious father, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, with the party presidentship. One of the prominent opponents was the late leader’s son-in-law, Mr G. M. Shah, who had contributed a lot to the strengthening of the organisation when Dr Abdullah was nowhere in the picture. In fact, politics was never the first love of Dr Abdullah, and he has provided proof of it during the period of his NC captainship. But this cannot be said about his son. The performance of Mr Omar Abdullah as a Central minister or even otherwise has shown that he is quite different from his father. He entered politics, perhaps, because he could not think of joining any other profession. Which means politics is not something having been forced on him. That may be one reason why there is no visible resentment against his elevation to the NC presidentship. He has, however, one major weakness. He belongs to the category of politicians who have got their party’s leadership role as part of inheritance. It is a different matter that he appears to be a promising inheritor of the Sheikh Abdullah legacyy. But the transfer of the leadership role from father to son is not a healthy development in Indian politics. This phenomenon needs to be checked to prevent political parties from becoming family-owned business enterprises.

In any case, Mr Omar Abdullah will have to prove his worth as NC chief. His performance will now be watched more closely. It will be interesting to observe what postures he adopts in the run-up to the coming assembly elections. After taking over as NC President he has referred to three significant issues — the autonomy resolution passed by the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly some time ago, the demand from certain quarters for a division of the border state and the rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits forced to leave their ancestral places in the wake of militancy. The demand for more autonomy and any division of the state on communal lines is not in the interest of the country as a whole. Mr Omar Abdullah has expressed his opposition to the division idea, but he may try to highlight the autonomy question as part of his political strategy in the days to come. He should, however, realise that the autonomy path is full of potholes. It will be better if he concentrates on particularly the economic and educational development of Jammu and Kashmir rather than harp on issues which will take the state nowhere. The Pandits have a genuine grievance, which should be redressed with urgency and tactfulness. The injustice done to them must be undone.

Stem the rot in the system

THE 65th conference of presiding officers of legislative bodies held at Bangalore last week has rightly called for a total ban on defections in order to cleanse the system of this pernicious evil. Significantly, the conference mooted the idea of withdrawing the Speaker’s power to disqualify members under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution and instead keep it with either the Election Commission or the judiciary. Even though the conference has not passed a formal resolution in this regard, the very idea emanating from many presiding officers during the deliberations, as revealed by Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, is commendable. It was indeed a candid admission by the presiding officers that even though they ceased to be members of political parties, once they were elected to the post of Speaker, the decisions they take on disqualification of members are influenced, directly or indirectly, by the political parties they belonged to. Mr Joshi, for instance, said that as the Speakers did owe their allegiance to political parties, it might be difficult for them to be “that much impartial as expected” while taking decisions on disqualification. Over the years, Speakers have been acting in a blatantly arbitrary and partisan manner while exercising their powers on disqualification. Consider the recent Maharashtra example. The hurricane speed with which its Speaker, Mr Arun Gujarathi, had completed the hearings and disqualified as many as seven MLAs just three hours before the crucial vote of confidence on June 13, proved that he was directly instrumental in the victory of the Vilasrao Deshmukh government. Under Articles 122 and 212 of the Constitution, the Speaker’s power of disqualification is, no doubt, subject to judicial review. But this is of little help as the partisan Speaker has already inflicted the damage and wreaked havoc on the system.

The other important recommendation of the Bangalore conference that needs to be pursued to its logical conclusion is the presiding officers’ appeal to the Centre to implement the May 2 Supreme Court directive to the Election Commission. This ruling makes it mandatory for candidates to submit affidavits regarding their criminal antecedents, if any, and their financial and educational background. It is common knowledge that almost all political parties are guilty of fielding candidates of dubious character in the elections to Parliament or state legislatures. They seem to be concerned more with the candidate’s chances of winning the election rather than his/her integrity and character. This is having a deleterious effect on the quality of governance and the image of the representative institutions. But a measure of this import will succeed only if there is a consensus among all political parties. The Vajpayee Government is in principle committed to this reform. The all-party meeting convened by Union Law Minister Arun Jaitley on July 8 should try to forge a consensus on this issue and make suitable changes in the Representation of People’s Act. The Election Commission itself cannot do much in this direction if the lawmakers themselves have no political will to make appropriate changes in the law and stem the rot in the system.

OPINION

India’s new drive against terrorism
How the latest strategy is working
Bharat Wariavwalla

PERHAPS, at Kaluchak we defeated the Pakistan-based terror machine. The killing of some 30 civilians and soldiers at Kaluchak in Jammu on May 14 filled the Prime Minister with the resolve to act which he had lacked till then. In a public speech in Manali where he had a tension-filled holiday two weeks ago, he admitted that he should have acted after the December 13th terrorist attack on the Parliament complex but failed to do so because of international pressure.

So, he did after Kaluchak what he had failed to do after the December 13 event. It appears that our massive deployment of force along the border and the message it carried to Pakistan that we would risk a war with the belligerent neighbour if the latter did not stop its support for terrorist activities had a desired impact on the Musharraf regime.

The strategy has worked. Pakistan has conveyed to us through US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that it would stop for good terrorists activities on the LoC. We believe his assurances, for the present at least, and have, therefore, reached a limited rapprochement with General Musharraf’s Pakistan.

The December 13 event gave us the cause to deploy force aimed at fighting a full-fledged conventional war with Pakistan. The Kaluchak event gave us an occasion to convey to Pakistan that we would use it to prevent the recurrence of such events. Capability and intention have to go together. The scope of the war was deliberately left undefined.

The Vajpayee government did what the USA and Israel have done since the 9/11 event: fight wars against terror with the means they think fit and at the time of their choosing. We have unmistakably conveyed to the adversary our intention to fight a war against terror.

This strategy differs from all other strategies we have deployed in the past: it is offensive in both capability and intention. In 1965 Pakistan started the war and we contained it, by luck and the courage of General Harbux Singh at the battle of Khem Karan. In 1971 we were engaged in a defensive action on the western border to carry out the offensive on the eastern front to break up Pakistan.

In the late eighties and the nineties we and Pakistan have had several military encounters, all over Kashmir. Operation Brasstack in 1987 was an encounter that came about because of a misunderstanding on both sides. The May, 1990, confrontation came about in the wake of the outbreak of wide unrest among the Kashmiris in 1989. Our sarkari defence analysts are silent about it. Only the Americans have talked about it, only to tell us how reckless. We and Pakistan were and how Mr Robert Gates, the CIA Director, saved us from a nuclear collision. The Kargil war of 1999 was launched by Pakistan to shift the LoC in its favour. We beat them by a purely defensive action.

More than at anytime since the 9/11 event there is now a greater recognition on the part of the USA and Britain that they and us have the same enemy: Al-Qaida and other Pakistan-Afghanistan based terrorist organisations. US Defence Secretary Rumsfeld said in Delhi that Al-Qaida was operating along the LoC though later he went back on these words in Islamabad.

Till now the USA and Britain had kept their fight against terror separate from India’s despite our pleadings to make war on terror a common cause. After the 9/11 event Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh even offered bases to the Americans to fight terror but they politely spurned it.

No doubt they needed Pakistan much more than India because that country is the home of some of the most vicious terrorist organisations. Now Pakistan is asked to witness the destruction of the predator it had reared for so long: the terrorist. The move is brilliant, but the person against whom it is directed is also wickedly clever to see through it. General Musharraf is cooperating with the Americans but only to the extent needed to get American money and American support for his regime. Much like his predecessor, Zia-ul-Haq, he cooperates with America but without giving up his policy objective in Kashmir.

Perhaps, General Musharraf would have been able to pursue his objectives in Kashmir had we not shown a glint of steel at the LoC and told him that the cost of supporting terror could be war. It’s our offensive that has made him publicly acknowledge in his recent speech that Pakistan had spawned terrorism in Kashmir. This must greatly disturb the core Pakistani leadership which has been carrying a covert war against India for so long.

We can beat the terrorists in Kashmir by clearly distinguishing them and the political opponents of the present government in Srinagar. For the past 15 years since the first manifestation of political unrest in Kashmir in 1988, Delhi has regarded all dissent in Kashmir as the work of Pakistan and its collaborators in Srinagar. Kashmir is seen as a security problem which can be solved only militarily. The repression of political opposition and rigging of elections, as it is alleged, are our response to the problems we face in Kashmir.

Ridding J&K of terrorists will be possible only when the people of Kashmir enthusiastically support or fight against the terrorists; and that will happen only when the Kashmiris have the government they have freely chosen.

A recent MORI poll, an independent market research company, conducted among the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, clearly shows how they long for peace and democracy and how they resent foreign militants for all they have done in the state for the past 15 years or so.

True, 72 per cent of the people interviewed are for “azadi”, but they may perhaps settle for autonomy. Mr Shabir Shah is a popular leader in the valley, and he is indeed moderate and certainly has no love for Pakistan. According to the MORI poll, 86 per cent of the people are for free and fair elections, 76 per cent for preserving their cultural identity, Kashmiriyat and 65 per cent think that foreign militants have harmed Kashmir.

The coming election in J&K is of critical importance for India. Pakistan can be more effectively defeated by a fair election than by military means. And we will enrich our democracy by giving Kashmiriyat a well-deserved place in it.

The writer is a Delhi-based thinker and political analyst.

MIDDLE

Remembering a stalwart
Baljit Malik

NO, I did not know him as a diplomat or administrator. And, as yet, have not read his autobiography. But I got to know B.K. Nehru as a very special person in a very special place. All of 30 years separated us in age; just as there was a wide gap in intellect and experience. Yet, such was the quality of this man that he did not allow such considerations to come in the way of a one-to-one association. My B.K. was the Nehru Sahib of Kasauli; Sahib indeed; one who rooted late, but nevertheless rooted himself deep into the ethos and heart of Kasauli.

I became especially proud of him for not joining the Kasauli Club, a place that now gleams with new paint and upholstery while its car park has eaten into its salvia and geraniums, and threatens to worm its way into the tennis courts of yore. No, Kasauli does not have tennis addicts any more; only couch potatoes who have furrowed its fair traditions with indolence and mediocrity. B.K. was a sahib of altogether different standards of etiquette, propriety and social attitude. It was quite remarkable that this man of such rich pedigree and position did not even have his own car and chauffeur even as he and his charming partner, “Fori”, maintained Fair View as a haven of immense style, charm and hospitality.

B.K relished the burfee and gulab jamuns from the halwai in the bazaar just as he did his small measure of Scotch in the evening. As he sat in his garden under the shade of a magnificent apricot tree in straw-hat, maroon jacket and cheque trousers, and as we debated and conversed how to stop Kasauli going the Shimla, Manali and Dalhousie way, Mrs B.K, in spite of the rigours of old age saw to it that the right beverage was served at the right time in the right manner. Moreover, her interventions served up the perfect garnish of anecdote and comment to supplement B.K’s wise and weighty observations on life, society and politics.

Being somewhat of an “outsider” in my manner of dress, and opinion about those who flaunt, and flout authority with overdoses of vanity and ostentation, I owe it to this couple for never once making me feel an outsider in their home. Being a failed amateur poet of sorts, they even appreciated some of my verse as I struggled with my self-confidence as an “outsider” amongst the official and non-official “VIPs” of Kasauli society. And I remember them laughing with good humour when I declared my intention to be a one-person “Kasauli Intelligence Organisation” on the environment!

Finally, I would like to share one vivid memory of the man. A few years ago I drove him and Sampooran Prashar from Shimla to Kasauli in my old green Fiat. We were returning armed with a High Court order to save Kasauli from the clutches of the contractor-bureaucrat-politician mafia. I switched on a cassette of an old Bollywood film — CID. As we negotiated the bends along hills crumbling with man-made avalanches, we listened in silence to the catchy tune and lyrics of “Ye hai Bombay meri jaan....”

B.K. had plenty of heart, plenty of soul and much enlightened concern for this very special place called Kasauli. And even as he takes wing to Brahman Almighty we shall try to keep his legacy alive by lighting a little lamp for this and many more Divalis to come.

DEBATE

Hour of reckoning: need for Punjabis to ponder
Cookie Maini

PUNJAB has always been the paradigm of the progressive facade of India. Apart from the fact that it has the highest per capita income, it has been epitomised as the bread basket because of its outstanding contribution to the agricultural economy. It is also referred to as the sword arm as its valorous men fought battles for the country on various fronts, including two at the state’s very own doorstep.

The people symbolise dynamism, energy, a zest for life and a resilience through various crises its historical vicissitudes threw up — partition, bifurcation and terrorism. Even today a Punjabi family typifies progression in every manner, possession of every possible consumer object available. Gender equanimity visibly is there. Women have freedom from domestic chores for extrovert pleasures as compared to women in other states who still must conform to culinary convention. Even socially the taboos in apparel are fewer. There are no symbols of matrimony like “sindoor” or “mangal sutra” they must adhere to. Punjabi modernity gets confirmed to Anglicisation of conversation with a smattering of colloquial Punjabi phrases.

This is only one side of Punjab, the urban veneer, the perfunctory facade of the progressive state and its people. Today, the state suffers from an array of maladies, which are gnawing into the vitals of the former front-runner. To begin with, agriculture was what Punjab was synonymous with and what catapulted the state to its exemplary status, post-Green Revolution, when it attained an excellent growth in production. Today agriculture in Punjab has reached its point of exhaustion, sustaining growth seems to be a major problem, which has impacted the overall development of the state. The margin of profit from major cash crops is showing signs of regression in real terms and the farm size is diminishing as it debilitates the farmers’ pecuniary position. The lack of institutional credit, overinvestment and barely no diversification patterns have aggravated the problem. The Punjab farmer has not kept in tune with technological trends — like the usage of I.T. In the post-WTO phase, the state has not adapted and catered to the requirements of the world markets, where competition and quality predominate and transactions take place in real time irrespective of the physical distance.

Apart from problems like over investment, no institutional credit and weather whims, a major flaw has been the lack of requisite education in the rural areas. Even the political agenda lack a focus on education as a priority for the Punjabis. The census data of 1991 revealed that in Punjab rural literacy was only 52.8 per cent as against 72 per cent in the urban sector.

Unfortunately, in Punjab the societal divide is acute. The elite landlords and politicians hardly ever focus on human resource development such as imparting education to their farm hands or alleviating their misery by substantial philanthropic measures. The affluent strata amongst the landed gentry live like the nobility in the pre-revolution France. They reside in their huge farm houses, engage in “shikar”, golf, bridge or summer holidays with NRI brethren in the cooler climes of the West. Whereas the smaller farmer toils for them and remains in his groove of poverty, illiteracy and frustration. Even the education that is imparted to the poor and in the rural areas is so substandard and insular, the poor youth become victims of the opium of fanaticism and chauvinism spewed by politicians who have always wanted to regionalise and even religionise educational patterns to increase their vote bank. So, all they learn is Punjabi, which makes them misfits elsewhere and constricts their exposure. Some may be fortunate to escape abroad in the hope of a better life. That explains the large-scale migrations, legal or illegal. The plight of some of these illegal immigrants is another saga of duplicity and misery. The affluent strata on the other hand educate their children in cosmopolitan. English medium schools leaving the poor as victims of their hypocritical jargon. The literacy rate in the state is slightly higher than the all India average but is below 50 per cent in four districts. No district is covered under the primary education programme. There is preponderance of Scheduled Castes students and those belonging to low income groups among dropouts.

Today the rural areas of Punjab are rampant with malaise like drug addiction and AIDS. No political agenda has contemplated targeting these major social ills which are gnawing the state. On the one hand, the politicians are on their populist target to win votes and the affluent landlords live a life of oblivion and luxury, often it is the former who join politics. Punjabi society has not imbibed the teachings of Sikhism, which emphasises on castelessness gender equanimity and charity work. On the one hand is the acute rural-urban divide, Jat-non-Jat schism, male chauvinism versus feminists rights that steers contemporary polity and governance. Though one-third of the population (28 per cent) in Punjab comprises Scheduled Castes and more than half of it is below the poverty line, the Scheduled Castes component is in the range of only 7 to 8 per cent of the total state plan.

A major flaw in Punjabi society is the lack of culture of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the rural areas as compared to states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as they successfully disseminate ideas and target social ills or concern for environment with commitment. Similarly, in every society “surplus” women, the ones who were extremely wealthy and bereft of domesticity or career commitments, focus on philanthropic work to ameliorate social ills plaguing their environs. Here this genre of women would rather while away their time playing golf or bridge, rather than focus on social activities or improve the lot of their rural gender counterparts or a concern, for contemporary issues like environmental degradation or heritage preservation.

Coming to the social scenario, the female population is diminishing in Punjab, the sex ratio is the most adverse in the country. It dropped from 882 to 874 during 1991-2001 against the corresponding figure of 927 and 933 for India. As compared to the rest of the country, there is sparse gender activism or women’s pressure groups in Punjab. In other states, elite women like Malika Sarabhai, Nita Ambani and Ella Bhat have done phenomenal welfare work.

The practice of female foeticide is carried out unabashedly. Clinics in cities such as Amritsar use advertising slogans such as “500 rupees now or 5 lakh later”, connecting the potential economic liability of the birth of a daughter and incurring dowry costs with the then option to abort after scan. Core issues like female education and invoking general awareness are not touched by either the politicians in power, the intelligentsia or the affluent people through pressure groups.

The intelligentsia in Punjab can also play a positive role by mooting discussions, brain-storming sessions and seminars to target problem affecting the common person, and how to maximise the utility of the excellent human resource material, person empowerment and tap its entrepreneurial spirit. Some organisations like CRRID have encouraged research work and conferences on major socio-economic issues plaguing Punjab. How many of our regional universities are involved in focusing on problems and finding solutions to contemporary issues besieging the state? Some NRIs have invested in the infrastructural improvement of their villages.

In conclusion, “the redeeming feature for Punjab is the strong agricultural and infrastructural base and human resources that have the requisite resilience to spring back to a higher growth trajectory” as the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr K.C. Pant, has said.

Punjabi spirit is ever alive

PUNJABIS are known for their love for hard work and capacity to take up any job even not matching their qualifications in the times of crisis. They believe in the maxim “do or die” and “remaining usefully employed”.

It is because of sticking to these principles that Punjabis never stoop to begging even under the most difficult circumstances. They started from scratch after partition and became multi-millionaires with their perseverance and rock-like determination.

Way back in 1948, Pandit Nehru, the first P.M. of free India, appointed Dr Shanti Swrup Bhatnagar, formerly of Panjab University, Lahore, as his scientific adviser, a Punjabi, who set up the National Council of Scientific Research, New Delhi, under its aegis NPL, New Delhi, NCL, Poona, and National Road Research Lab, Roorkee, were established. The learned P.M., a keen student of science, wanted to make India like the UK and the USA.

Recently corruption raised its ugly head in this state and many brilliant persons could not achieve their aspired goals. It is a happy sign that evil has been nipped in the bud and this will enable our young and talented brains to reach their targeted goals. For nabbing the culprits, cooperation of the common man is the vital need.

Punjabis have grabbed top positions in foreign lands. Dr H.G. Khorana, 1968 Nobel laureate in genetics, has proved that a Punjabi brain is as good as any in the world and can match with top scientists like Albert Einstein, Plank, Pauling, De Broglie and Hiesenberg, to name only a few.

Cheers to the Punjabi spirit, which is always on the move.

S.S. JASWAL, Patiala

TRENDS & POINTERS

Hockey champion’s widow languishing

HER husband was a member of the Indian hockey team that won the gold at the 1966 Bangkok Asian games. Today, his widow Bishwasi Toppo is beckoning death in an attempt to escape poverty and illness.

She reminisces about the time when her husband was honoured. “When he won the gold medal, the then Prime Minister and President felicitated him. But now there is no one to take care of his family.” IANS

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

All contact-born happinesses are sources of misery.

—The Bhagavadigita

* * *

Surh alone are affected by good or bad omen who do not bear the Lord in their thought.

—Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Rag Asa M 5, page 401.

* * *

Without the society of the righteous people, one remains a beast.

—Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Rag Asa M 3, page 427.

* * *

Within us abides the inexpressible,

yet he is inaccessible;

In between is spread the curtain of egoism.

The world sallies asleep in illusion (maya)

—Sri Guru Granth Sahib, Gauri M 5, page 205.

* * *

Constant action overcomes cold; being still overcomes heat.

Purity and stillness give the correct law to all under heaven.

—Tao The King, 45.2

* * *

He who covereth his sins, shall not prosper, whose confesseth and foresaketh them, shall have mercy.

—Old Testament: Proverbs, 28.13.

* * *

The worlds of one's parents, guru and master must be obeyed as conducive to bliss without a moment's thought.

—Shri Ramachritamanasa, Bala Kanda

* * *

A father has many sons but they all differ in attainments, disposition and conduct.

—Shri Ramacharitamansa, Uttara Kanda.

* * *

Those who obey their father's word, with no thought of right and wrong are crowned with happiness and glory and dwell in the abode of Indra, the king of heaven.

—Shri Ramacharitamansa, Ayodhya Kanda

* * *

Listen, O wretch, said Rama, a younger brother's wife, a sister, a daughter-in-law and one's own daughter are all alike. Whoever looks upon these with a lustful eye may be slain without any sin.

—Shri Ramacharitamansa, Lanka Kanda