E D I T O R I A L   P A G E

EDITORIALS

Withdrawal syndrome
PROCUREMENT is becoming a dirty word and the government is busy devising a way to keep out of it and save money. After an unsuccessful attempt to dress up the withdrawal as a kisan-friendly move, it has now admitted that the state governments, rice mills and other private agencies will take over the job.

Potholes on rural roads
THE scheme for rural roads is a classic case of how different agencies of the government fight among themselves to unnecessarily delay the implementation of even such projects as can surely bring about a qualitative change in the living condition of villagers. 

OPINION

US nuclear missile defence and China
by S. P. Seth
WHEN the USA last failed in its anti-missile test, some thought this might be the end of its proposed National Missile Defence (NMD) system. It appeared to prove once again that an anti-missile defence was technically not feasible. Besides, the system, even if working, might be eluded through decoys, and multiple and saturation missile attack.

OF LIFE SUBLIME

The questioning spirit of Socrates
by V. N. Datta
THE martyrdom of Socrates, the Greek philosopher (469 BC - 399 BC), is one of the most moving, sombre and significant episodes of history. It symbolises heroism, self-sacrifice and defiance of abuse of authority. Socrates was a rampaging individualist in an age that imposed authority, and he rebelled against it. He had a fearless spirit which would never give in.

SPIRITUAL NUGGETS

Ill-planned yatra ends

IT is a tribute to the devotion and gritty determination of Shiv-bhaktas that despite the massacre of 32 persons, including 22 pilgrims, at Pahalgam on August 1, the Amarnath yatra this year attracted a record 1.8 lakh yatris. That marks a big jump over last year's figure of 1.49 lakh. This increase was despite the fact that the ice lingam at the cave had melted on July 21, causing disappointment among the devotees. At the same time, it is true that the massacre did cast a shadow over the yatra. The influx of yatris had dried up after that, otherwise the figure might have crossed the two-lakh mark. The militants' death dance gave a lie to the administration's claim of preparedness and foolproof security. There is need for an impartial enquiry to pinpoint exactly what went wrong and where so that there is no repetition of such a ghastly incident. Even more necessary is to go to the bottom of allegations that after the militants sprayed bullets on innocent pilgrims, the police arrived only to loot the victims and others. Several eyewitnesses have alleged that some constables of the Jammu and Kashmir police started removing ornaments, money and other valuables from the bodies of those killed. Chances are that these might not have been genuine constables and might be criminals wearing uniforms but the whole episode has to be investigated to restore the confidence of the people. At the same time, there is need to assess whether the State is really prepared to manage such a huge rush. There were failures galore in providing even basic amenities to the devotees undertaking the annual yatra. The situation could have been even worse if the last batches had not been scared away by the killings.

The government also failed to prevent a shocking exploitation of those pilgrims who were stranded at various places. Human avarice raised its head like a venomous snake at many places. In Jammu, the owners of dhabas prevented philanthropists from running free kitchen, despite knowing full well that the hapless yatris had run out of money. All such exigencies should be taken into account while planning for the future. On the Union Government's recommendation, it has been decided to have the base camp at Langanbal or Chandanwari from next year instead of at Pahalgam. This will ensure that the health resort of Pahalgam does not have to bear the annual brunt of langars and tents. Sparsely populated Langanbal or Chandanwari will be able to cope with the situation better. It has also been decided to bring in legislation in the autumn session of the Assembly for constituting a shrine board for Amarnath yatra on the pattern of the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board. The yatra is not only of immense religious significance but also provides a much-needed source of living to many local people who are in dire straits after a sharp decline in the number of tourists. This year's yatra is believed to have fetched them an additional income of Rs 100 crore.

Withdrawal syndrome

PROCUREMENT is becoming a dirty word and the government is busy devising a way to keep out of it and save money. After an unsuccessful attempt to dress up the withdrawal as a kisan-friendly move, it has now admitted that the state governments, rice mills and other private agencies will take over the job. Union Minister for Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Shanta Kumar, untutored in ministerial double-speak, has outlined the policy being put together in New Delhi. The Centre is determined to slash the cost of procurement and storage and hence is about to wash its hands off the twin jobs. The earlier claim that the proposed changes would benefit the kisan since there would be no corruption and quality paddy would get quality price was a cover-up and it did not fool anyone. The kisan will continue to be vulnerable and the states, particularly non-rice eating Punjab and Haryana, will have to borrow from the RBI to finance the massive procurement. The real effect will be the worry lines on the kisan’s forehead. Will he get a decent price or in the emerging buyers market will he have to resort to distress sales? The earlier generation had known the pangs of being at the mercy of the trader as the present generation of vegetable and fruit-growers knows. Of course the government will announce the minimum support price (MSP), as it does for a number of agricultural products. But in the absence of 100 per cent procurement, it will remain a wish. Also there are indications that the government is tired of increasing the MSP every year and from now on, it may remain stagnant or the hike will be miserly.

There is more bad news. Mr Shanta Kumar’s Ministry has asked the Agriculture Ministry to offer an incentive to oilseed growers so as to wean the kisan from the paddy-wheat rotation. Obviously, the plan is to revive mustard cultivation in a big way and this will have two advantages. One, the government will be spared the embarrassment of plenty and, two, oilseed import can be reduced. The second one has a nationalistic flavour in tune with the present mood. But there are two problems. One, oilseed cultivation is not a paying proposition and it is mostly a rabi crop. Only castor yields an income of nearly Rs 30,000 a hectare but it is on irrigated land. Anyway it is non-edible and has only industrial application. All over the country, oilseed is a crop reserved for rain-fed areas and not for irrigated states like Punjab and Haryana where wheat yield is very good, if not excellent. As with other ideas emanating from New Delhi, this one too has the faint odour of being manufactured in airconditioned rooms by those who have no living link with farming. Then there is the strident denunciation by the Expenditure Review Commission (ERC) that the food subsidy violates the WTO rules. Now the WTO is the real bogy and at the mention of the name, the government develops tremors. What does the agreement say? It permits food security-related subsidy but it must be imaginative and transparent. The ERC will allow only 10 million tonnes (mt) as buffer stock (slightly less than seven mt of rice and the rest wheat) and seven mt as operational stock (four mt rice and three mt wheat). All expenditure on the rest of stocks has to be shown as “producers’ subsidy”, meaning monetary help to the kisan. Taken together, all this is both confusing and worrisome. If there is one question that demands a wide debate, it is the overall agricultural policy. There is a danger that today’s solution may trigger a bigger problem tomorrow like a shortage of foodgrains to feed the expected population of 1.3 billion by 2025.

Potholes on rural roads

THE scheme for rural roads is a classic case of how different agencies of the government fight among themselves to unnecessarily delay the implementation of even such projects as can surely bring about a qualitative change in the living condition of villagers. The rural road project that the Prime Minister announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort on Tuesday should have been at the implementation stage by now. The government had finalised it five months ago, but it became a victim of a tug of war among the various agencies involved, directly or indirectly. The only thing new about the scheme is that it has been given a proper shape — all villages with a population of 1000 or more will be connected with a road by 2003 and those with a population of 500 or more by 2007. This 100 per cent centrally sponsored scheme will now be formally launched on October 2, the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, with an allocation of Rs 5000 crore as earmarked in the Union Budget. It is believed that at the initial stage the Sadak Vikas Yojana under the broader umbrella of the Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana will be implemented by the states, instead of any Central agency. At least 50 per cent of the allocation is likely to reach the states soon under a formula worked out by a group comprising Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, Union Minister for Rural Development Sunderlal Patwa and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K. C. Pant.

But before the formula — only a tentative one — could be evolved the Rural Development Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Planning Commission had been working at cross-purposes, creating confusion leading to an avoidable delay in the task of giving a practical shape to the scheme in the shortest possible time. The Planning Commission wanted it to go to the Surface Transport Ministry whereas the Finance Ministry had its own favourites. The Rural Development Ministry did everything possible to ensure that the ambitious road project remained its own baby. In fact, according to one report, in June this Ministry on its own distributed the budgeted funds for the purpose among the states without finalising the needed modalities. When the southern states complained of discriminatory treatment meted out to them, the allocations, which were on paper by that time, were cancelled. How the project will be finally handled is still a matter to be decided. As roads play a major role in the development of villages, 50 per cent of which are still without this crucial facility, the Prime Minister must see to it that the Sadak Yojana's implementation is the responsibility of a single agency. This is the only way to achieve the target in time — by 2007. 

INDIA & ACHIEVEMENTS OF SAARC
Need for regional perspective
by G. Parthasarathy

ON December 8, 1985, the leaders of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka signed the Charter of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Dhaka. The Charter clearly recognised that SAARC should focus on what unites the member-countries. It specifically excluded any bilateral or contentious issues being raised or discussed in the forums of the association. It recognised that increased exchanges and cooperation between the countries of South Asia would lead to the promotion of understanding and friendship between its peoples. Have the expectations raised about the role of SAARC been fulfilled? What are India’s options when a neighbour like Pakistan adamantly refuses to have even normal trade and economic relations with it?

Ten summit-level meetings of SAARC have been held since the association was established. A wide-ranging programme for cooperation in areas like agriculture and rural development, social development, the environment, meteorology and forestry, science and technology, human resource development, transport and communications and energy has been developed. SAARC members have also cooperated extensively in forums like the WTO and on environment-related issues. NGOs, cultural organisations, human rights groups, journalists and academic institutions in the member countries have come closer together, leading to the evolution of a distinctly South Asian identity and fostering a feeling of togetherness.

While regional economic cooperation has grown in “soft” areas in SAARC, the countries of South Asia have to vastly expand their cooperation in “core” areas like trade, industry and investment, if the organisation is to make a meaningful contribution towards enhancing regional progress and prosperity. The Ninth SAARC Summit in Maldives set up a forum called the Group of Eminent Persons to identify measures to enhance the effectiveness of the association. The group, that included former Foreign Secretary Muchkund Dubey and Dr V.A. Pai Panandiker from India, came out with a report entitled “SAARC Vision Beyond the Year 2000”.

The “core” recommendation of this group was that negotiations should be concluded by 2001 for South Asia to become a free trade area by 2008, with least developed countries joining in by 2010. Investments are to be promoted by finalising a regional investment agreement and customs procedures, customs infrastructure and standards simultaneously harmonised. The ultimate aim is to make SAARC a customs union by 2015 and an economic community by 2020. If implemented, the committee’s recommendations could well lead to South Asia becoming a region where there would be virtually free movement of people, goods, services and investments across national boundaries.

India’s economic relations with its neighbours in South Asia are poised to expand rapidly. Exports from Nepal and Bhutan already enjoy duty-free access to our markets. We have recently concluded a free trade agreement with Sri Lanka. Indian companies are increasing their investments and collaboration there. We removed all quantitative restrictions for SAARC countries in 1998 during the course of negotiations for a South Asian preferential trading arrangement (SAPTA). We have granted wide-ranging and non-reciprocal tariff concessions covering 1758 tariff lines to Bangladesh. We do, however, need to impart greater dynamism to our economic relations with Bangladesh, understand its concerns and compulsions and finalise a free trade agreement with that country. Our economic cooperation with Maldives is also expanding satisfactorily.

Where we have run up against a wall is in the development of economic relations with Pakistan. While we grant “Most Favoured Nation Treatment” (MFN) to Pakistan, our exports to our western neighbour are subjected to severe restrictions, in gross violation of its WTO commitments and obligations. Indian companies can neither invest nor participate in joint ventures in Pakistan. Further, during the course of SAPTA negotiations, Pakistan chose to confine its interaction with India to only 18 tariff lines. More importantly, General Musharraf has made it clear that there can be no progress on issues of trade and economic cooperation with India till the Kashmir issue is addressed on Pakistan’s terms. Pakistan is thus seeking to make the entire process of South Asian economic cooperation hostage to its ambitions on Kashmir.

India cannot allow its regional diplomacy to be stymied by such Pakistani intransigence. In recent years we have actively participated in a multiplicity of forums to expand cooperation in our neighbourhood, whether in the Bay of Bengal, South-East Asian, the Indian Ocean or the Gulf and Central Asian regions. A sub-regional Growth Quadrangle comprising Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and India was set up in 1996. This grouping needs to be activated for the development and optimum utilisation of river water and other resources and to tackle issues like flood control — all areas where functional cooperation can be of immense benefit. The BIMSTEC grouping, bringing together the littoral States of the Bay of Bengal — Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand — has immense potential. Set up in 1997, BIMSTEC focuses on enhancing cooperation in crucial areas like transportation links, trade, investment, tourism, fisheries and agriculture. It is committed to consultations on developing the Asian Highway Network. It should bring India and other participating SAARC members, together with Myanmar and Thailand — both members of ASEAN — in a free trade agreement. Such cooperation will give a boost to prosperity in our North Eastern States.

Our cooperation with the countries of the economically dynamic South-East Asian region is now reinforced by our interaction with them in groupings like the ASEAN Regional Forum and BIMSTEC. The initiative on the Ganga-Mekong Swarna Bhoomi Project taken at the recent ARF meeting will develop our transportation and communications links and economic cooperation not only with Myanmar and Thailand but also with Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. It would also enhance our participation in the development of the Mekong basin. The recently set up Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation needs to be activated with measures for the expansion of trade, investment and communications ties in the Indian Ocean region. With our economy poised for a growth rate of over 7 per cent and a growing demand for energy, we need to explore every avenue to expand trade, energy and investment links in our neighbourhood. Our participation in the initiative taken by Kazakhstan for evolving a framework for cooperation across Asia holds the promise of linking us with countries in the Gulf and Central Asian regions on crucial issues like energy security.

It would be ideal if Pakistan chooses to constructively participate in promoting trade, investment and economic cooperation in South Asia. There are a number of official-level meetings envisaged to implement the recommendations of the Eminent Persons Group. We should wait and see whether Pakistan participates constructively in such meetings. If Pakistan drags its feet, or returns to its usual habit of India-baiting in such forums, no purpose will be served by contemplating higher-level SAARC meetings. We have to go ahead with strengthening ties of regional economic cooperation, including Pakistan if possible, but without Pakistan if necessary. We should also recognise that granting MFN status to Pakistan and allowing it access to our markets in crucial areas like agricultural products and textiles, when it continues to discriminate against our exports and deny us collaboration and investment access, does not serve our interests.

The time has come to deal with Pakistan with a policy of benign neglect on issues of regional cooperation, if it persists with its present approach to trade and economic cooperation with us. This will also relieve us from having to listen to constant homilies about “Indian hegemony” and “Indian insincerity” — now a part of the daily diet of the ruling establishment in Pakistan. Our neighbour should decide whether it wishes to be a constructive partner in economic cooperation in South Asia. It could concentrate its energies at forums like the ECO and OIC, where India is not a member, if it chooses otherwise.

US nuclear missile defence and China
by S. P. Seth

WHEN the USA last failed in its anti-missile test, some thought this might be the end of its proposed National Missile Defence (NMD) system. It appeared to prove once again that an anti-missile defence was technically not feasible. Besides, the system, even if working, might be eluded through decoys, and multiple and saturation missile attack.

Among the opponents of the NMD system are some of the USA’s closest allies in Europe and Canada. Its most vociferous opponent, though, is China. Beijing is also vehemently opposed to the Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) system, a proposed regional defence umbrella likely to include Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. If developed and deployed, it will also protect US troops based in Japan and South Korea.

From Beijing’s viewpoint, NMD has the potential of virtually neutralising its nuclear deterrent. And the regional TMD, if and when deployed and working, will make Taiwan pretty secure against mainland China’s missile attack.

Beijing doesn’t buy the US argument that NMD is a defensive system designed to protect it against “rogue” states. It believes that NMD is directed against China to prevent it from becoming a major global power by perpetuating US “hegemony”. And the theatre missile defence is meant to make Taiwan’s reunification by force an awesome task.

As things stand, China is unlikely to prevail on the USA to abandon its NMD and TMD plans. And going by the pronouncements of Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush and his camp, the US National Missile Defence system will be even more ambitious under him if he were to become the next President. For Mr Bush, China is a “strategic competitor”. To put it crudely, it is a potential enemy.

According to Mr Peter Brookes, an influential adviser to a congressional committee on East Asian affairs, “Washington must acknowledge the possibility of conflict with China, especially over the issue of Taiwan, or even North Korea, and plan accordingly to preserve and protect US national security interests and those of our friends and allies.” Therefore, “parity or near nuclear parity with the People’s Republic of China is not in the United States’ interests.” In any case, China would continue to modernise its nuclear arsenal whether or not the USA went ahead with its anti-missile nuclear shield, so goes the argument.

(As for Russia, China’s strategic partner of sorts on the issue, Mr Bush’s message is unequivocal: “If Russia refuses the changes we propose, to the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, we will give prompt notice... that we can no longer be party to it. I will have a solemn obligation to protect the American people and our allies, not to protect arms control agreements.”)

China’s opposition was recently spelled out in an article in the Australian media by Ms Ren Xiaoping, a spokeswoman of its embassy in Canberra. According to her: “It (NMD) will break the global strategic equilibrium and stability, hinder the nuclear disarmament process, undermine the nonproliferation efforts of the international community and trigger another round of the arms race.” She believes that the USA still perceives the world through the prism of its Cold War mentality. And seeks to “maintain America’s unilateral nuclear superiority.”

As for Taiwan and the TMD, Ms Ren was quite blunt when she said: “We would also like to make it quite clear that any attempt to incorporate, in any way, Taiwan into a theatre missile defence system will undermine the stability of the region and will be unacceptable.”

What are China’s options, if the USA were to ignore its protests? First and foremost, as Ms Ren Xiaoping, points out, “The US insistence on NMD development and deployment will inevitably affect China’s arms control policy.” What it means is that Beijing will feel free to expand its nuclear arsenal. And it will also not feel obliged to follow the global nuclear non-proliferation regime of not supplying missile and nuclear technology and materials to other countries.

Any breakdown of the global non-proliferation regime should worry the USA. But China is already breaching it selectively, in regard to Pakistan and Iran, for instance. Beijing uses arms control as a leverage to influence US foreign and defence policies. The assumption is that non-proliferation is an over-riding goal of US policy.

But, lately, there has been some shift in this. For instance, both Democrats and Republicans have politically upgraded the importance of NMD to US security. In other words, global non-proliferation is still important, but not at the cost of NMD as an instrument of US security. The refusal by the US Congress to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was part of the same process.

This shift is also detected in the US attitude to India’s entry into the nuclear club. New Delhi’s nuclear testing in May, 1998, had led to an unusual joint statement from the USA and China (in June, 1998) condemning both India and Pakistan for their tests. Which seemed to suggest a joint US-China campaign to isolate and pressure India, in particular. But President Clinton’s highly successful India visit appeared to signal a new acceptance of India, despite or because of its new nuclear status.

Therefore, while still committed to global nuclear non-proliferation, the USA has shifted its position in a small but significant way. And if it were to develop a workable NMD system (a big if?), it might become even less worried on the question of nuclear proliferation. In that case, China’s leverage on this score will be further reduced.

Besides, any encouragement of nuclear proliferation by China is not in its own interest. Apart from diluting its special status as a significant global nuclear power, it might make China vulnerable to nuclear danger from multiple sources. Needless to say, Beijing won’t be always able to control its nuclear offspring.

As for expanding its own nuclear arsenal to crash through a US anti-missile shield, it will be terribly expensive. An important reason for the internal collapse of the Soviet Union was its nuclear arms race with the USA, which it couldn’t afford. This might apply to China as well.

The best strategy for China would be to build up international opinion against a US NMD system. Whether that will work with the USA, where domestic political compulsions are paramount, is anybody’s guess. 

Of Life Sublime

The questioning spirit of Socrates
by V. N. Datta

THE martyrdom of Socrates, the Greek philosopher (469 BC - 399 BC), is one of the most moving, sombre and significant episodes of history. It symbolises heroism, self-sacrifice and defiance of abuse of authority. Socrates was a rampaging individualist in an age that imposed authority, and he rebelled against it. He had a fearless spirit which would never give in. He would face death rather than flinch from his principles of independent thinking and freedom of expression. He dealt with big questions, the purpose of life and ethics. On his death his most outstanding pupil, Plato, wrote that Socrates was 'of all men of his time, the wisest, the justest, and the best'. Plato was an honourable man; the whole of Western philosophy is generally acknowledged as a series of footnotes to Plato's Dialogues.

Socrates had a great capacity to bear cold, heat, hunger and thirst; he wore shabby clothes and he had a great capacity to control his passions. His endurance was remarkable. He could walk barefoot on ice. By no means an ascetic, he was worldly-wise and exemplified the finest of human values. He was witty as well as a serious disputant and enjoyed good humour. He seldom drank wine, but when he did he would out-drink anybody.

Socrates mixed freely with men at any public place where he would question the right path to real knowledge. A well-formulated question is a powerful weapon in the armoury of a seeker of truth. Questions and answers are co-relative. By adopting the method of cross-examination, he exposed hyprocity, cant and ignorance. Thus he cultivated among his pupils a questioning spirit. He was a questioner of things established, and compared himself to a gadfly whose object was to sting his followers out of their self-satisfaction, placidity and acceptance of the conventional mode of thinking. He regarded cleared thinking as the most important requisite for right living. Thus his aim was to cultivate an intellectual culture to educate the intellect to reason well in all matters and reach towards the truth to grasp it.

Because of his fiercely independent and unconventional views, Socrates began to be assailed as an enemy of religion and a corrupter of the youth. He was dubbed as an anarchist, a threat to the security of the State. In 399 BC, he was charged with not believing in the gids the State worshiped and with corrupting the youth. He was tried in a court of law. He did not produce his weeping children in court to soften the hearts of the judges, as was the custom. He thought it his business to convince the judges with his arguments and not to seek any favour.

Plato was present at the trial, and later he circulated his account of it to combat the other versions which had slighted Socrates. In his defence, Socrates did not recant. He declared that if his life were spared he would follow the same course. He showed a stoic indifference to death. His bold defence is presented by Plato in The Apology of Socrates. Addressing the judges, Socrates concluded his defence: 'The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways — I to die and you to live; which is better, God only knows'. He was sentenced to death. He drank the hemlock with composure, 30 days after his sentence. He refused to escape, and died in his 70th year. Plato was not there because he was ill. The account of his last hours is given in the Phaedo of Plato. According to Plato, the last words of Socrates were, 'Crito, I owe a cock to Asclepius, will you remember to pay the debt'? 'The debt shall be paid, Is there anything else? said Crito. There was no answer to this question. Rest was silence.

It must be remembered that Socrates died when the government in Athens was democratic. The rule of the tyrannical 30 had been brought to an end. The perception of the State was that Socrates was a seditionist creating trouble. It shows how democracies misuse authority with sinister motives.

Humility is the most difficult virtue to achieve, and nothing dies harder than the desire to think well of oneself. Intellectual excellence and humility go ill together, but Socrates was a blend of these virtues. He took all knowledge to be his province, which he regarded as the key to the understanding of human existence through unfettered discussion. Self-knowledge, he thought, was the condition of practical excellence. That is why he said, 'Know thyself and realise the existence of ignorance'. He believed that all wrong action is due to intellectual error; 'The man who understands his circumstances will act wisely and will ever be happy in the face of what to another would be misfortune'. Some of his verbal discourses cry to be quoted, and retain their timeless universality. 'The unexamined life is not worth living' or 'the difficulty is not to avoid death but unrighteouness', etc.

According to Socrates, goodness is knowledge and the man who knows what is good is philosopher. In other words, everything worth doing in life is for good alone, good to oneself and good to others. Thus social justice is the foundation of sound and healthy life. Doing good is, therefore, the ruling principle to which knowledge is directed. Thus Socrates laid the foundation of ethics which paved the way for Plato to found a system of ethics. Conflicting systems rose subsequently in successive centuries.

Guru to stress on individual happiness
From Sanjay Suri in London

THIS is one Indian re-export that has risen dramatically around the world over the past few years: the spread of Vipassana, a Buddhist meditation technique.

Official recognition of this comes when the Vipassana teacher from India, S.N.Goenka, addresses the Millennium World Peace Summit at the U.N. in September. In a change from talks of peace on a grand scale that are more usual in United Nations halls, Goenka says he will move for peace at the level of the individual.

“If every individual is unhappy, there can be no world peace,” Goenka says. “If a whole jungle has become barren, it can be brought back to life only if you take water to every tree.” Goenka was in Britain on a lecture tour on his way to the conference in New York.

Some 2,500 years after the teachings of Buddha first spread out from India, Buddhist teachings are once again being re-exported around the world. The last few years have seen a rapid spread of Vipassana courses around Europe.

“There have been 225 10-day courses held in Europe alone last year,” John Luxford, spokesman for the Vipassana Trust in Britain, said in London.

The old technique now taught by S.N.Goenka has been taken to countries such as Russia, Serbia and Hungary.

The Buddhist technique of meditation is also now being taught in countries like China, Cuba, Mongolia and several African countries. “Worldwide now about 1,00,000 people sit through a 10-day course,” Luxford said.

Vipassana has spread extensively over the past five years, Luxford said. There are at present 85 permanent Vipassana centres around the world. The technique is taught in 10-day residential courses that are conducted free of charge.

Vipassana courses have caught the media eye after achieving success in several prisons around the world. The first big programme was conducted by Goenka in Tihar jail in Delhi on the initiative of the former prison chief at Tihar, Kiran Bedi. Courses have since been conducted in prisons in Britain, the U.S.A. and several other countries.

— India Abroad News Service

Spiritual Nuggets

Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigours of the mind.

— Leonardo Da Vinci, Notebooks

***

The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of the subconscious from which it rises.

—Sigmund Freud as quoted in New York Times, September 24, 1939

***

Every mind was made for growth, for knowledge; and its nature is sinned against when it is doomed to ignorance.

— William Ellery Channing (1780-1842), American Unitarian

***

My mind remaineth not steady.

It playeth crores of tricks,

And runneth here and there in the world.

Being engrossed in deceit, egotism and attachment,

Day by day it is entangled all the more.

Like a dog's tail it is never straightened,

Even if one taketh recourse to millions of means.

It is only the wisdom of the Guru and the whip of his love,

Which removeth its evil thought and conduct.

The mind then becometh motionless, O Ravidas.

Taking refuge under the Guru,

it abandoneth all its evil ways at last.

— Sant Ravidas, "Manu mero thiru na rahai", translator, K.N. Upadhayaya

***

O mind, adopt the ways of the tree

And from the cares of the world become free.

Those who come to cut it, it does not hate,

Nor adores them who come to irrigate.

Even to those who hurl stones with force

It yields fruit, with no touch of remorse.

Gales and stones and the fury of rain,

It suffers all, yet does not complain.

It wears winter's frost and summer's heat

To provide wayworn birds a snug retreat.

Likewise, attain an unconcerned state

And on the Lord lovingly meditate.

If for redemption you truly pine,

Repeat continually His Name Divine.

As the bird Chatrik's thoughts are in the rain,

Let His feet in your heart remain.

Thus you would devotion's nectar find

And meet Mira's Lord, merciful and kind.

— Mira's poem, Mana tu vrakshan ki lat laie translated by V.K. Sethi