E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Krishan Kant
VICE-President Krishan Kant died on Saturday, perhaps, a broken man. As was natural in his position, he had the ambition to occupy the country’s highest post. His wish remained unfulfilled for reasons of realpolitik. Being a veteran politician and a man of principles, he realised that this was all in the game. He had begun to adjust himself with the changed realities, as his long-time associates like Mr Mohan Dharia have pointed out. 

Remember the martyrs?
THE contrast could not have been starker. On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Divas in the year 2000 and 2001, impressive functions were held all over the country to remember the magnificent men who laid down their lives to ensure that the enemy was unable to lay claim to even one square inch of Indian territory. Flowery speeches were made that a grateful nation would remember their supreme sacrifice till eternity.

OPINION

Giving the nation new orientation
The key to growth lies in technology mantra
O. P. Sabherwal
“SCIENCE, technology and their applications have been my main calling in life so far. Accordingly, my vision of the future of India is strongly rooted in my faith in the power of scientific and technological knowledge and their beneficial applications,” says the new President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. What are the connotations of this utterance? It certainly brings in a whiff of fresh air into a staid, stultified environment.

MIDDLE

The secret
Raj Chatterjee
HE was a typical, middle-class Englishman with no glaring vices, no conspicuous virtues and not much ambition beyond serving his time in the Company and earning a pension and a gratuity that would enable him to buy a small house back home. In a rare moment of confidence he had once told me that from a grammar school he had gone up to Cambridge on a scholarship.

TRENDS & POINTERS

Dentist runs over husband thrice
A woman who apparently suspected her husband of having an affair was charged with murder for allegedly running him over three times and leaving her silver Mercedes-Benz parked on top of him.

• Most business bosses very religious
  

Now they say wine isn’t good for you
Robin Mckie
IT is one of the comforts of the drinking classes. Wine is good for you. A few tipples every day will guard against heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes, various cancers and myriad other ills, say enthusiasts — pointing to several studies that have supported the health benefits of booze. It’s a perfect excuse to uncork another bottle of burgundy, they say.

Man sues, claiming fast food ruined his health
A 5-foot-10-inch, 272-pound man has sued four major fast food chains, claiming their fare contributed to his obesity, heart disease and diabetes, his attorney has said.

In-flight bodies ‘put in toilets’
AIRLINES which fail to treat the bodies of passengers who die on board ‘with respect’ will be forced to adopt a new code of practice which protects the dignity of the dead.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

EDITORIALS

Krishan Kant

VICE-President Krishan Kant died on Saturday, perhaps, a broken man. As was natural in his position, he had the ambition to occupy the country’s highest post. His wish remained unfulfilled for reasons of realpolitik. Being a veteran politician and a man of principles, he realised that this was all in the game. He had begun to adjust himself with the changed realities, as his long-time associates like Mr Mohan Dharia have pointed out. But his latest experience became the last one as providence willed it so, and he was a great believer in fate. He knew how to blend ideology with pragmatism. This enabled him to successfully face the rough and tumble of politics. He was only a few inches away from getting his last wish fulfilled when he found himself left in the lurch. In fact, at one stage it became almost certain that the ruling alliance’s search for a consensus Presidential nominee had ended in his favour, and he began to receive congratulatory messages. Then another name — that of Maharashtra Governor P. C. Alexander, now a Rajya Sabha member — was clubbed along with that of Krishan Kant. Soon something happened in the corridors of power and both lost the race to the Missile Man, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. The former Young Turk never expected the treatment he received from those in the ruling conglomerate who otherwise admired his qualities of head and heart. As Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, he functioned impartially to the satisfaction of all. He was known for his gentle manners and tactful handling of difficult situations.

Krishan Kant had a special relationship with Chandigarh though he had no landed property here. He represented the city in the Lok Sabha for nearly three years after the parliamentary elections in 1977 as a Janata Party candidate. He could not make it to the Lower House of Parliament again, but he continued his association with Chandigarh by taking active interest in the activities of Panjab University and various organisation like the Servants of the People Society. Even when he was the Governor of Andhra Pradesh he would occasionally visit the city as ex-officio-Chancellor of the university. Krishan Kant was a product of the freedom struggle and went to jail many times like his father. He was full of ideas till his end and wanted to do a lot for the country. Some of his friends and admirers had already started working on schemes for utilising his talent after his retirement, which was due on the conclusion of the August 12 election for the post he held. They must be finding it difficult to bear the loss. In his death at 75 the nation has lost a politician who was genuinely proud of his past and present.

Remember the martyrs?

THE contrast could not have been starker. On the occasion of Kargil Vijay Divas in the year 2000 and 2001, impressive functions were held all over the country to remember the magnificent men who laid down their lives to ensure that the enemy was unable to lay claim to even one square inch of Indian territory. Flowery speeches were made that a grateful nation would remember their supreme sacrifice till eternity. Nearer home, the Punjab Governor, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), organised an “at home” for war widows, war veterans, ex-servicemen and decorated soldiers. But one year down the line, it seems the country has forgotten its heroes. There was almost no function to mark the day on July 26, except in defence establishments like the Western Command headquarters at Chandimandir. Chandigarh, Panchkula, SAS Nagar all forgot about the big day. Things were no different in the rest of the country. The stock reply of a Chandigarh official that the “Union Government did not convey any decision to hold any function to mark Vijay Divas this year” shows that it is taken as no more than a ritual. One cannot believe that the function organised by the Governor last year was only to comply with the instructions of the Centre. He happened to be away to the UK on a private visit on July 26. Perhaps that is what made all the difference. Had he been here, things would have been different. At least that is what one hopes and wishes to believe, if only to wipe off the bitterness caused by the remark of an official from Haryana who when asked about the plans for Vijay Divas, remarked: “Woh kya hai?”

Not just the local administrations, even the Union Government seemed to have forgotten the big day. The supreme commander of the armed forces, the President, did not make a mention of Kargil in his speech, in spite of the fact that it was delivered on Vijay Divas. Surprisingly, even sainik boards treated the day as a non-event. The anguish of the martyrs’ families is palpable. The father of one of them spoke for everyone when he said that “we feel cheated”. Earlier, too, the widows and family members of the martyrs have been getting stepmotherly treatment at the hands of the civil administration. They have to wait for long and have to undergo a lot of hardship in getting various awards and honours announced for them. But at least the martyrs were remembered on special occasions and (crocodile) tears shed for them. This year, even that pretence has been shed. Nothing could be more unfortunate. A nation which ignores its martyrs is hardly worthy of its independence. Hello

OPINION

Giving the nation new orientation
The key to growth lies in technology mantra
O. P. Sabherwal

“SCIENCE, technology and their applications have been my main calling in life so far. Accordingly, my vision of the future of India is strongly rooted in my faith in the power of scientific and technological knowledge and their beneficial applications,” says the new President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. What are the connotations of this utterance? It certainly brings in a whiff of fresh air into a staid, stultified environment. The foremost question is: can science and modern technology in itself transform India’s social fabric and bring dynamism to a limping economy?

Worth recalling is what the great nuclear scientist, Dr Homi Bhabha, said in this regard in a somewhat similar situation, at the onset of India’s nuclear programme: “What the developed countries have and the underdeveloped lack is modern science and an economy based on modern technology. The problem of developing and undeveloped countries is, therefore, the problem of establishing modern science in them and transforming their economy to one based on modern science and technology,” Dr Bhabha said. And he added: “An important question we must consider is whether it is possible to transform the economy of India to one based on modern technology developed elsewhere without, at the same time, establishing modern science in the country as a live and vital force. If the answer to this important question is in the negative, and I believe our experience will show that it is so, then the problem of establishing science as a live and vital force in society is an inseparable part of the problem of transforming an industrially underdeveloped to a developed country”.

The path that Dr Bhabha showed has made it possible to realise India’s nuclear miracle — of acquiring advanced nuclear capability amidst an underdeveloped industrial environment by building a chain of nuclear R&D centres. It is good to note that the vision that Dr Kalam brings with him to the portals of Rashtrapati Bhavan is akin to that of Dr Bhabha. Dr Kalam says, “The answer (to India’s problems) lies, chiefly, in making India a science and technology-driven nation. We have already demonstrated our core competence in agriculture, information technology, space research, atomic energy, defence, some aspects of healthcare and select areas of manufacturing and services, and have started to reap its benefits. We should now develop similar core competence in some critical technologies to address our national priorities.”

Dr Kalam sums up: “A developed India by 2020, or even earlier, is not a dream. It need not even be a mere vision in the minds of many Indians. It is a mission we can all take up — and succeed.”

Quite naturally, there are many and varied expectations from the new President. And there are doubts and scepticism too, whether he is equipped to perform the many-sided role that the President of India has to perform. In particular, there is scepticism in respect to his role as the protector of the Constitution and the fabric of secularism that the Constitution enshrines. One of these sceptics is none else than the Secretary of the Delhi Science Forum, Mr Prabir Purkayastha. “The Constitution of the country is already under siege from those who want India to be imprisoned by its past. The question we meet to ask is whether Kalam’s Vision 2020 for India suffices to grapple with the complexities of the moment?” he asks.

Inherent in these projections is an under-current of thinking that science and technology can be insulated from the mainstream of socio-political currents in the country; and that Dr Kalam had been hijacked by the Sangh Parivar for their own ends. “India’s Missile Man strikes a strange resonance with those who believe in astrology and want to ‘discover’ the atom bomb in the Brahmastra of the Mahabharat and air planes in the Pushpak Rath of the Ramayana,” says Mr Prabir Purkayastha. There is an essential fallacy and simplistic thinking in these projections. Technology quests in the modern era, as Dr Bhabha noted, cannot be isolated from science and scientific thinking, which is bound to collide with the Sangh Parivar’s obscurantism and bid to drag India backwards and make it a hostage of the past.

Dr Kalam himself has amply refuted such simplistic connotations of his technology quests. “I wish to reiterate my unflinching commitment to the principle of secularism, which is the cornerstone of our nationhood. Intolerance and violence in the name of religion is the worst form of irreligion,” he says. And he adds: “We are a country with rich diversity. We have developed a democratic polity under the framework of our republican Constitution. An opportunity to express differing opinions and finding solutions through dialogue and due processes of the rule of law are elements of the functioning of democratic systems.”

It is true that Dr Kalam is an advocate of India developing, through indigenous technology, a strong muscle power, equipped with Agnis and Prithvis as well as nuclear deterrent capability. Nuclear weapon capability and developing missile systems are an essential component of India’s security concerns. Dr Kalam views these capabilities as pre-requisites for India taking its due place among the top five nations of the world. Such thinking is shared by other leading scientists too, for it is based on global and regional realities on the ground. Those working up pacifism to deprive India of nuclear weapon capability are in reality encouraging military adventurers to make inroads into Indian territorial integrity and security concerns. They are out of tune with the grim modern world realities. While India must always advocate and work for nuclear disarmament, this has to be not at the cost of Indian security needs. It would be puerile to club these approaches of Dr Kalam with chauvinism and obscurantism of Sangh Parivar.

The question really is the extent to which the science-technology mantra of Dr Kalam — and one might say, of Dr Homi Bhabha — can be implemented from the President’s seat in Rashtrapati Bhavan. A great deal, I would like to assert, irrespective of the fact that the Presidential powers under the Indian Constitution do not extend to executive powers.

The call of the moment is to give the nation a new orientation — an orientation of scientific thinking, against religious obscurantism, developing indigenous capability of modern technology based on advanced scientific research. From the high pedestal of the President, and with the unique qualities of scientific, technological attainments that he embodies, Dr Kalam is eminently suited to impart this orientation to the nation. That would be Dr Kalam’s greatest gift to the nation. Inevitably, the extend to which these goals are realised will depend on the shape of the nation’s political map.

It would be unfair to compare and contrast the new President’s role with the proactive tradition set by the outgoing President, Mr K. R. Narayanan, in defending the secular fabric of the Constitution. Or, with Mr Narayanan’s great contribution in tilting Indian thinking in favour of the poor and the deprived, the backward castes and the Scheduled Castes. Rather, the election of Dr Kalam adds its own flavour to the nation’s upper echelons. The son of a boatman who could receive college education by pawning the family ornaments, the election of Dr Kalam as President of the Indian Republic should be taken as a testimony to the greatness of India’s democracy, as nothing else could.

The political reality on the ground is, of course, not such as will lend to smooth forward movement by the new President in the performance of his onerous and many-sided tasks. But as one who has risen to occupy the President’s seat not from the tainted political establishments but independently, as a scientific and technological performer for the country, should be an asset for Dr Kalam, rather than a weakness. The nation’s good wishes are with him, lending immense strength in the performance of his tasks. As an upright President, who tilts in favour of science and technology, the poor and deprived, the persecuted and lower castes. The ruling establishment — or its extra constitutional friends — which may seek to make him a pliable President because they had sponsored him, are likely to be disappointed in their efforts. And for obvious reasons.

The weeks ahead may unroll the new President’s major directions. He has begun well by rejecting efforts to constrict his working in the matter of appointment of key functionaries under him. How Dr Kalam’s tenure in office shapes will depend on the New Delhi scenario, the economy, twists and turns of Indian polity, and the turbulent world. Already events are shaping in riot-scarred Gujarat that may give Dr Kalam many sleepless nights. One can, however, expect that Dr Kalam’s presence at Rashtrapati Bhavan will lend a soothing touch to this troubled area as to other difficult spots.

The writer is a veteran journalist, specialising in science and technology.

MIDDLE

The secret
Raj Chatterjee

HE was a typical, middle-class Englishman with no glaring vices, no conspicuous virtues and not much ambition beyond serving his time in the Company and earning a pension and a gratuity that would enable him to buy a small house back home. In a rare moment of confidence he had once told me that from a grammar school he had gone up to Cambridge on a scholarship. He never mentioned his people, save a sister, older than he and a spinster, who taught at a girls’ school somewhere in Cornwall. I never questioned him further about his background. After a moderately good tripos he had got a job in a multinational and been sent out to India to its subsidiary which I myself joined in the late 30s.

He was my senior by two years and, as we were posted to the same branch, he took me out on my first tour to show me the ropes and, incidentally, to try out on me the Hindustani he was learning across the office desk from the munshi employed by the Company for its expatriates.

He was definitely not what, later, came to be known as “U” and never pretended to be so. Nevertheless he had become proficient in several very “U” pastimes. When, copying him, I bought myself a set of golf clubs, he was already playing to a handicap of two. He had made friends with the C.O. of the local cavalry regiment and borrowed his horses for an early morning ride. At dances other couples would often leave the floor just to watch him and his partner execute a Viennese waltz or a South American tango.

Being young, good-looking and well thought of by his seniors he was much sought after by the memsahibs whose daughters or nieces came out in the “fishing fleet” each winter and departed at the end of it, either with rings on their engagement fingers or undiminished hopes in their hearts for the next season.

What surprised me, and gravely disconcerted the prospective mothers-in-law, was that he never took more than a casual interest in any girl. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that while one or two of them did attract him he always shied off from making any amorous advances to them. If chased too obviously by the “mammas” he would disappear on tour. When his friends pulled his leg about his giving false hopes to the “mammas” and their wards he would say that he was just not the marrying sort.

Then came World War II. He was on the reserve list and was among the first batch of young Englishmen in mercantile firms to be called up. He was sent overseas and I lost touch with him. Sometime in 1942 we heard that he had been killed in Burma. The news saddened me greatly as I had taken a genuine liking to him. I wrote a letter of sympathy to his sister whose address I had obtained by writing to the Company’s H.O. in the U.K. A couple of months later I received an acknowledgement from her. She said that her brother had often mentioned me in his letters to her.

In the winter of 1950-51 my wife and I visited the U.K. We hired a car and motored south from London. We were spending a few days on the moors near Plymouth when it struck us that we could easily cross over to Cornwall and see my old friend’s sister who lived in Truro. We wrote to her and received a warm invitation.

We had intended returning to Plymouth in the evening but she prevailed upon us to spend the night. She was a handsome woman in her 50s, greying, but well-preserved.

That night, sitting by the fire in her living room, she made me tell her all the anecdotes I remembered about her brother. In the end, I remarked that it was fortunate that he had never got married or he would have left a widow as well as a sister to mourn his loss.

She looked at me gravely for a moment. “He could never have got married” she said at last, “same as I. You see, our mother died in a mental home and our younger brother is still in one. Neither of us could have taken the risk of producing children.”

TRENDS & POINTERS

Dentist runs over husband thrice

A woman who apparently suspected her husband of having an affair was charged with murder for allegedly running him over three times and leaving her silver Mercedes-Benz parked on top of him.

The husband’s 16-year-old daughter from a previous marriage was in the car at the time.

Dr Clara Harris, a dentist, when released from jail on bail, told reporters it was an accident. Her husband, Dr David Lynn Harris, an orthodontist who shared a mansion with his wife and their 3-year-old twin sons, died at a hospital.

Clara Harris (44) confronted her 44-year-old husband at a suburban hotel. Witnesses said she got into a fight in front of several hotel employees with a woman she accused of having an affair with her husband.

Then, “she jumped the median and ran over him three times,” Nassau Bay police Lt. Joe M. Cashiola said. “I saw the daughter lying on the ground, crying uncontrollably and sobbing. She had to watch her dad... underneath the car, while they’re putting her mom in handcuffs.”. AP

Most business bosses very religious

The ethical meltdown in some international corporations notwithstanding, business leaders seem to be more religious than the rest of the population, surveys in the U.S. and Europe show.

The difference is most striking in Germany, where 70 per cent of top executives questioned by the reputable Allensbach Institute said they were religious people. This compared with 48 per cent of the general public in western Germany and 23 per cent in the formerly communist East.

In the USA, interviews with a random national sample of 500 company owners, officers, executives, directors or managers revealed a remarkably high influence of faith on their daily decisions at work.

In a poll commissioned by the Central Lutheran Church of Minneapolis and other faith-based organisations, 90 per cent of these business leaders said they were “spiritual,” although only 54 per cent went as far as to describe themselves as “religious.” Almost all business executives — 96 per cent — believe in good and evil. By a narrow margin, they even outdo the population at large in their faith in God: 91 vs. 90 per cent; the latter figure is taken from a 2001 Gallup poll. UPI

Now they say wine isn’t good for you
Robin Mckie

IT is one of the comforts of the drinking classes. Wine is good for you. A few tipples every day will guard against heart attacks, high blood pressure, strokes, various cancers and myriad other ills, say enthusiasts — pointing to several studies that have supported the health benefits of booze. It’s a perfect excuse to uncork another bottle of burgundy, they say.

But now an international team of scientific killjoys has discovered that this reassuring notion may be based on incorrect data. It’s not the wine that helps drinkers to live to a ripe old age, it’s the lifestyle that comes with the consumption of Chablis, Cotes du Rhone and Jacob’s Creek.

According to the findings of scientists at Duke University, North Carolina, and the Institute of Preventive Medicine in Copenhagen, wine drinkers live longer, healthier lives because they ‘consume more fruit and vegetables, have higher fibre intakes and a lower prevalence of smoking’.

By contrast, teetotallers were found to have the worst lifestyles, smoking more cigarettes and munching their way through fatty, unhealthy foods. They are also less likely to exercise regularly and are generally fatter and unfit.

The investigators found that beer and spirit drinkers tend to fall between these two alcoholic extremes.

The finding is startling because it confounds a picture that has been carefully established by epidemiologists over the past 10 years. These studies started with the surprising observation that the French live longer and suffer less heart disease than other Europeans, even though they eat lots of cholesterol-rich meals — crammed with creams, meats, animal fats and cheese — washed down with litres of wine.

Subsequent research suggested that wine, particularly red wine, was the key protective factor in this diet and was helping to guard drinkers against heart disease. Modest drinking (two or three units a day) actually helped to guard against coronary illness, it was claimed.

Researchers claimed that wine contains antioxidants that reduce the activity of free radicals that damage cells of the cardiovascular system, and may in some cases induce malignancy. Drink wine and you will therefore protect yourself against many illnesses.

However, conclusive evidence has been hard to nail down because so many other issues affect longevity and health. So John Barefoot, of Duke University, and Morten Gronbaek, of Copenhagen’s Institute of Preventive Medicine, decided to exploit a long-term health study of 4,500 graduates of North Carolina University.

All subjects are educated, affluent and white, thus balancing out issues of ethnicity and socio-economic background. More importantly, the drinking habits of all the participants were known to researchers.

Barefoot and his team divided these according to five categories: wine-drinkers, beer-swillers, spirit-sippers, teetotallers and those who drink anything put in front of them. The researchers then analysed respondents according to their diets, cholesterol levels, smoking habits, exercise regimes and other habits. The results, published in the forthcoming issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, revealed that wine-drinkers simply have the best lifestyles, regardless of income or socio-economic status. Beer, spirit and general drinkers were less healthy and non-drinkers were the worst.

‘Subjects who preferred wine had healthier diets than those who preferred beer or spirits or had no preference,’ say the researchers. ‘Wine drinkers reported eating more servings of fruit and vegetables and fewer servings of red or fried meats. The diets of wine drinkers contained less cholesterol, saturated fat, and more fibre.

‘Compared with all drinkers, those who drank no alcohol consumed fewer vegetables and more fibre. Nondrinkers were less likely to exercise regularly and have a higher mean body mass index. Controlling for income and education had little effect on these associations.’

The team concludes that wine’s apparent health benefits may instead be due to the ‘confounding’ effects of their dietary habits. In short, there is nothing that directly confers any health benefit in a glass or two of wine — except the comfort given to the drinker that he or she has such a sensible way of life. The Gurdians

Man sues, claiming fast food ruined his health

A 5-foot-10-inch, 272-pound man has sued four major fast food chains, claiming their fare contributed to his obesity, heart disease and diabetes, his attorney has said.

The class-action lawsuit, which was filed in the Bronx Supreme Court on July 24, is seeking undetermined compensatory damages against McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Kentucky Fried Chickend on behalf of 56-year-old maintenance worker Caesar Barber and others.

The lawsuit, which estimates that millions of Americans could be included in the claim, also seeks to have the companies label individual products with fat, salt, cholesterol and other dietary content as well as to warn users of the health effects.

New York attorney Samuel Hirsch, who is representing Barber, said yesterday consumers are not getting adequate warning about foods that could cause obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels.

“Fast food chains failed to disclose the contents in terms of calories, fat grams and sodium. Even when posted, the information is not easily understandable to the public,’’ said Hirsch.

A National Restaurant Association executive said: “This lawsuit, which solely makes restaurants responsible for obesity in America, swallows a simplistic notion.

“It is a blatant attempt to capitalise on the recent news stories on the growing rates of obesity.’’ Reuters

In-flight bodies ‘put in toilets’

AIRLINES which fail to treat the bodies of passengers who die on board ‘with respect’ will be forced to adopt a new code of practice which protects the dignity of the dead.

Up to 1,000 people a year die on commercial flights, mainly from heart attacks but also from deep-vein thrombosis.

But the UK Aviation Health Institute (AHI) has accused airlines of ‘serious deficiencies’ in handling corpses, with cabin crew sometimes failing to show even basic sympathy for relatives.

The AHI report, extracts of which have been shown to The Observer newspaper in London, found examples where airlines had:

* put a body in a toilet cubicle for the duration of the flight;

* lain a body on the in-flight kitchen floor;

* failed to offer condolences to bereaved relatives - while speaking to the media;

* left a body uncovered in its seat near other passengers.

The AHI report points out that the only action airlines are legally obliged to take is for the captain to register the death in writing.

AHI Director Farrol Kahn said: ‘You would think it was absolutely basic that staff would be utterly respectful to the body of the passenger who dies and comforting to any relatives or friends travelling with them on the plane or waiting in arrivals, but this often just does not happen.’ British Airways has to deal with five to 10 deaths on board every year. Kahn said he had received complaints from relatives and other travellers who felt BA had not dealt well with passengers as they fell ill or died.

One passenger reported how staff ‘seemed helpless’ when a passenger collapsed on a Concorde flight and, despite the fact that the man had become incontinent and vomited, the plane did not divert to the nearest landing strip or have anywhere to isolate the body, causing distress to the remaining passengers.

A spokesman said the airline tried to be as sensitive and flexible as possible ‘in the most difficult circumstances’ when someone died on board.

And while the AHI said it was standard practice to put bodies in the toilet cubicle on many airlines, this was banned at BA because ‘it can develop rigor mortis and you have to dismantle the cubicle to get it out’. The Gurdians

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Every moment, every thought, every speech, every action shapes your destiny.

Within you is a vast resource of power and knowledge.

Perfect knowledge, perfect peace, perfect bliss are the fruits of self realisation.

He who loves Truth must love all. Truth and love are one.

Where desire is there is no bliss;

where bliss is there is no desire.

Your face and speech advertise the contents of your mind.

— From The Kalyana Kalpataru

***

— Sant Kabir, Kabir Granthavali