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Thursday,
September 6, 2001, Chandigarh, India   |
Clueless on economy No way to treat an officer Another mega marriage |
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China’s missile supplies to Pakistan
The plight of Maharaja
Acting in harmony with
nature
Standing up for falling
down
Handling those without principles
How to postpone
your sell-by date
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Clueless on economy IT
would sound cynical, even needlessly critical, to say that the BJP-led alliance government is out of its depth to arrest and reverse the economic slowdown. Sadly it is true, or close to the truth. Prime Minister Vajpayee has surrounded himself with two high-powered advisory councils – one of economists and the other of the captains of industry and trade. The government appointed an expenditure review commission (ERC) to recommend ways of reducing revenue spending, including salaries of employees. The RBI does its own research and publishes reports. Then there are chambers of industry and commerce and private organisations like ICRA (Investment and Credit Rating Agency) which come out with their findings and suggestions to tide over the situation. All this proves that the government does not suffer from authentic information or authoritative solutions. Yet nothing has moved at the ground level. The political will to act, or motivation, is missing. Here are two glaring examples. The ERC has come out with a series of ideas to restore health to the finances of the central government. Its reports are collecting dust and the latest on cutting down the staff strength has been passed on to a committee of secretaries for vetting. Secretaries will be affected by downsizing, since a few posts will be abolished, narrowing the promotional avenues of many. Is it difficult to imagine their response? The second relates to drastic changes in labour laws. Failure on this front is said to hold up foreign investment and amendments have become a priority issue. On September 1 the Prime Minister declared his intentions to rewrite labour laws and also shifted Mr Sharad Yadav to the Labour Ministry. He sure knows the attitude of Mr Yadav to reforms, which was the reason for his change of portfolio. The Prime Minister has again elevated labour law reforms to the top of the agenda and has set up a committee of secretaries to frame the rules. Mr Sharad Yadav has been given another chance to prove his ideological credentials. The meeting convened by the Prime Minister and attended by 14 Cabinet Ministers decided to hurry up with road, power, petroleum and railway projects to “create demand”. It is not known if specific projects have been identified and the spadework done on them. Most probably not. Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha has said that budget allocations will be released immediately, forgetting that funds earmarked for individual projects stand automatically transferred to the concerned ministry. He has also promised more money if needed. From where? Tax collection is plunging and expenditure is mounting. There is still time to retrieve the situation. The Prime Minister should leave the matter to the council of economic advisors and push for the implementations of its proposals. |
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No way to treat an officer THE treatment meted out to Mr Abdul Rashid, an IPS officer posted in the militant-infested state of Jammu and Kashmir, for a minor trespass is bound to have a negative impact on the morale of the police force. By withdrawing the personal security of the officer, who is currently posted in Leh, the state government has exposed him and his family members — that includes his wife, two children and 80-year-old father — to risk of being killed by the militants. He was put on their hit list after he foiled a jailbreak attempt in Rajouri in February. The same administration which had praised him for his commitment to duty has taken the strange decision of virtually throwing him on the road, by asking him to vacate the official residence and return the official jeep. All this has been done because a bureaucrat in Delhi wrote to the Jammu and Kashmir administration demanding strict action against him for having spoken to the media about his travails at the hands of the local police during his visit to Delhi. Mr Rashid had gone to Delhi for attending a meeting convened by the Union Home Ministry. A Delhi Police team picked him up for interrogation on the suspicion of being a Kashmiri militant. His identification papers did not help because a few days earlier the Kashmiri militants picked up by the Delhi Police too had shown similar documents before confessing to having engineered the Red Fort blasts. Somehow the media got wind of the incident of harassment and humiliation of the Jammu and Kashmir police officer during his visit to Delhi. The point to note is that he did not go to the media. The media came to him. His crime was that he did not lie about being ill-treated by the Delhi Police. Yes, he may have violated the service conduct rules by confirming the story which the media had already picked up from other sources. Must Mr Rashid and his family members be made to pay with their lives for what was just a minor violation of the service rules? Looking at the issue in a larger context, it is about time that the service conduct rules are made more flexible because of the virtually “omnipresent” nature of the modern media. There was a time when even a routine armed forces-related story had to be cleared by the Defence Ministry. Not any more. Unless the colonial era rules are modified to meet the requirements of a free and democratic society honest officers like Mr Rashid would continue to be at the receiving end of an insensitive system which encourages bureaucrats to abuse the rules instead of using their mind. |
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Another mega marriage AS
competition gets stiffer, survival becomes difficult, singles look for partners and married ones
split. What does the Hewlett-Packard and Compaq marriage mean for customers, investors, rivals, the corporate world and society? One question whose answer many will look for is: will computers get cheaper? Together HP and Compaq, owning 18 per cent of the global personal computer market, stand between IBM and Dell. Of the four business units that the new company will have , the largest will be of PCs. The merger will result in a $2 billion saving to the company in 2003. With sales and prices already falling, computer prices may drop further. The rivals like Sun Microsystems India do not, however, see any value accruing to the customer. Others like HCL Infosystems see an advantage for themselves in the merger as they will have one less brand to compete with. The established brand of Compaq is expected to vanish from the market soon. Another question already being debated is: will the shareholders gain? The share prices of technology companies associated with HP and Compaq shot up when the merger news spread. The Indian arm of the two MNCs together sell products worth Rs 3,300 crore. The merged entity will become the biggest IT company in the country, displacing Tata Consultancy Services from the top position. This will give at least a psychological boost to the shareholders of the new computer behemoth, already battered by the steeply falling share prices. For the employees of the combined company there is some bad news. There will be lay-offs in Europe, West Asia and Africa. The total strength of the company will be confined to 1.45 lakh employees in 160 countries. The IT sector, already in the grip of a turmoil with profits declining and profit warnings becoming all too frequent, has given a mixed response to the mega development. This is the second large merger in the IT corporate world, the first being of America-on-Line and Time Warner earlier this year. This is the age of giants. The small is no longer beautiful. How good are such corporate behemoths to the health of society? Will the governments, particularly those in the Third World, be able to keep them under control and make them follow the rule book? Or, will these corporate Godzilas run the already shaky, often corrupt governments in the developing world? |
China’s missile supplies to Pakistan CHINA’S unending supply to Pakistan of missiles as well as missile parts and technology has been a major problem for this country because it enhances Pakistan’s security challenge to it. Whether Beijing is still providing Islamabad with nuclear technology or equipment or both is a moot point, however. It is possible that in this field Pakistan has already got what it needed. But on the transference of missiles, directly or through North Korea, there has never been any doubt despite the Chinese government’s repeated assertions that it has been honouring its commitments to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) without having signed it. Indeed, it is in this context that frequent reports about Pakistan’s missile programme being “ahead of India’s” have to be viewed. However, all through the years no remedial action has been possible for two reasons. First, Indian complaints to China on this score, couched in courteous terms, are met with bland denials by the Chinese leaders and officials in the course of a dialogue that is, in any case, as sporadic as it is stilted. Secondly — and this is of critical importance — the USA for all its loud concerns about nuclear and missile proliferation has been prevaricating, to put it no more strongly than that, about Chinese transgressions in relation to Pakistan. Washington has seldom matched its angry words about the Chinese supply line to Pakistan with action even though American laws mandate stringent measures. On one famous occasion not very long ago, the US administration imposed sanctions on Iranian and Pakistani entities for receiving missile parts and technology but left China, the supplier, well alone — on the specious plea that “private persuasion” would be more effective with it than “punitive action”. Against this dismal backdrop, it is a small mercy that at long last the USA has taken action of sorts against continuing missile proliferation by China in relation to its “all-weather friend”, Pakistan. While this is some advance over the past, applause by New Delhi would be wholly out of place and an essay in escapism. In the first place, the action is extremely limited — Category Two, not the sharper Category One — and amounts to no more than a mild knock on China’s wrist. Secondly, it is no secret that the Bush administration has taken even this limited action “reluctantly” and under Congressional pressure although some officials were offended by China’s “brazen” attitude that it could get away with what it had done, as so often in the past. Thirdly, the only concrete effect of the Category Two sanctions imposed on China’s Metallurgical Equipment Corporation (and Pakistan’s National Defence Complex) will be that American companies would not be able to launch their satellites on Chinese rockets. This ironically is a double-edged sword that cuts both ways. The damage to the American space industry would be greater than to China because satellite-launching is cheaper in that country. One can rest assured that these powerful US firms would soon bring pressure to bear on the White House to rescind the sanction that would benefit only the European space industry. The Category Two sanctions also mean that it would be illegal to provide US technology to China’s fast growing satellite industry. But the joke is that the Chinese are already getting this technology in abundance through unlawful channels. All this pales into insignificance, however, compared with what has followed within 24 hours of the soft sanctions on China being announced. Suddenly, unnamed US officials have disclosed that when President Bush goes to China in October, he would make them an offer he thinks the Chinese cannot refuse. To persuade the Chinese to give up their opposition to the National Missile Defence (NMD), Mr Bush’s pet project, the USA would be willing to let China modernise its nuclear arsenal and build up a small fleet of nuclear submarines. If for this purpose, China needs to conduct fresh underground nuclear tests, America would not object becuase, standing American policy on the subject on its head, the USA itself is now planning to conduct some nuclear tests of its own though its precise plans are not yet known. The pretext is ensuring the “safety and reliability” of US nuclear weapons. But the reality is that the Americans have now developed the fourth generation nuclear weapons and they find it necessary to test them. Nonproliferation stalwarts and arms control veterans are appalled, of course. Senator John Biden, a leading Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has said that the Bush administration “will go to any length to build a national missile defence, even one they cannot define”. Within the USA doubts about the feasibility of the NMD are on the increase. But for Mr Bush and his advisers, it has become a matter of theological faith. It is totally unrealistic to expect China to accept NMD on any terms. Its position is that the day the USA violates the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty of 1972 to embark on NMD, all of China’s arms control commitments, including its adherence to the CTBT, would cease, leaving Beijing free to do what it likes in the realm of nuclear weapons and missiles. What does all this do to India and its supreme interests? Obviously, it adds to our difficulties. But the point to remember is that wishful thinking is no substitute for hard- headed policies. In recent months many Indians have comforted themselves with the thought that the Bush administration needs India in support of its policy to “contain” China. It is necessary to recognise that the USA has no such policy. Indeed, it would be wrong on this country’s part to join any US-sponsored anti-China crusade even if there was one which is far from being the case. Mr Bill Clinton, accused of being soft on China, had also started with sharp anti-Chinese rhetoric. A similar change in Mr Bush’s earlier hostile stance on China is now visible. Witness, General Colin Powell’s talks in Beijing recently. Interestingly, while China is taking its time to react to the US Category Two sanctions, Pakistan has protested against them, calling them “unwarranted and unjustified”. Islamabad’s anxiety is that the US decision might encourage those elements in America that advocate lifting of sanctions on India but not on Pakistan. An interesting twist to the situation is that Dr Samar Mubarakmand, who conducted Pakistan’s nuclear tests in 1998, also heads the National Defence Complex. He has blithely said that his organisation is not in the missile business and, therefore, US sanctions would have no effect on it. This raises the question why the US policy makers have left out the missile production facility at Fatehjung, between Islamabad and Attock, that China had helped Pakistan build? Under the circumstances what this country needs to do is to strengthen its engagement with both the USA and China. Maximum possible improvement in relations with both is in our best interest. But there is no easy way out of the problem of China’s supplies of missiles to Pakistan. The USA too can make only protest and take cosmetic action. It should also be realised that China’s policy of missile proliferation has more motivations that the desire to build up Pakistan as a counterpoise to India. Taiwan — an issue of the greatest sensitivity to it — also drives China to defy the USA through the proliferation route. Even so, the India-China dialogue needs to be energised and the issue of missiles for Pakistan taken up more vigorously than hitherto. Most importantly, missiles can be countered only by missiles, and nothing else. Today Pakistan — never mind China — is ahead of India in missile building. This state of affairs has to be ended speedily. The question is: Are we up to it? |
The plight of Maharaja THOSE
engaged in the efforts aimed at transferring the management of India's international air carriers, Air-India, to private hands would have never visualised such a pathetic scenario. The search is on for a new aviation company which could agree to take control of this loss-making public sector undertaking along with the Tatas, but everybody is groping in the dark so far. No one is sure about the actual value of Air-India's assets. According to one estimate, it should be somewhere between $ 2.13 billion and $ 500 million. The situation took a turn for the worse when recently a highly respected bidder, Singapore International Airlines (SIA), decided to leave the scene. SIA , as a 40 per cent partner, was a hot contender for acquiring Air-India along with the Tata group. The final calculations had been made and the papers were almost ready, but at the last moment the SIA management got scared of what it mentioned as hostile reactions of politicians and the Press. Now no buyer is coming forward, and the grapevine has it that Tatas too may ultimately say "no", though they have been keen on holding the hand of the Maharaja owing to historical reasons. Air-India was part of the Tata stable before it was nationalised in the fiftees. The Union Disinvestment Minister, Mr Arun Shourie, is upset with the turn of events and it is obvious. There is a slight change in the climate with the Ministry of Civil Aviation having been brought under the charge of Syed Shahnawaz Hussain following the recent Cabinet reshuffle. The new Minister has a long list of problems to handle with care, but the Air-India disinvestment issue tops his agenda. He is young and amiable, unlike his predecessor, Mr Sharad Yadav. But Mr Hussain will have to work hard to create an atmosphere of trust and confidence so that Air-India attracts new bidders. According to the Union Heavy Industries and Public Sector Enterprises Minister, Mr Manohar Joshi, the issue will be taken up afresh by the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment. In his opinion, the Shiv Sena's opposition to the strategic sale of Air-India was not for any ideological reasons. His party spoke against the move because it saw a major unemployment problem as a result of the international air carriers passing into private hands. Since Mr Joshi says the government has begun to speak with "one voice", one can believe the element of political hostility has disappeared, and hopefully Air-India will find a new and better management in the near future. Acid test for
TMC chief The election of Mr G K Govindavasan as the president of the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) within two days of the death of his father and the party’s founder, Mr G K Moopanar, was not entirely unexpected. The change of guard was smooth and swift. Luckily for 37-year-old Govindavasan, it was a cakewalk to the party throne as there was no war of succession. Former Union Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, who was a front-ranking leader of the TMC, left the party just before the elections to the State Assembly in May following differences over the TMC’s electoral alliance with the AIADMK. Two other leaders of the party — TMC Legislature Party leader S R Balasubramaniam and former Rajya Sabha MP Jayanthi Natarajan — did not stake out their claim for the post. Consequently, this helped Mr Govindavasan to emerge as the unanimous choice for the top party post. Mr Govindavasan is no novice in politics. A graduate from Chennai’s New College, he is believed to have received training from his father “from behind the scenes” for a career in politics. It is said that even though he was tipped as a nominee for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections last July, Mr Moopanar wanted his son to “prove himself” before contesting for an entry into any representative institution like Parliament and the State Assembly. The TMC, which has a strength of 22 MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, fought the elections in May in alliance with the AIADMK. Mr Govindavasan is said to have been instrumental in forging the alliance. He no doubt holds the party mantle in the sprawling Satyamoorthy Bhavan, but it is not going to be a smooth affair for him. For the last few months since the run-up to the Assembly elections, the TMC has been embroiled in serious ideological differences and personality clashes. Mr Moopanar could not concentrate on party affairs because of poor health. It may be recalled that the TMC was born following a split in the State Congress in March, 1996, after the then Prime Minister, Mr P. V. Narasimha Rao had decided to forge an electoral alliance with the AIADMK, much against the wishes of a number of leaders, including Mr Moopanar, Mr Chidambaram and Mrs Jayanthi Natarajan, who considered Ms Jayalalitha, the AIADMK supremo, as the epitome of corruption, maladministration and misuse of power. In the last Assembly elections too, leaders like Mr Chidambaram tried their best to avoid an electoral alliance with the AIADMK. However, the latter left the party and floated his own outfit after Mr Moopanar decided to go with the AIADMK. There seems to have been no respite for the TMC since then. It has been under increasing pressure from the Congress to merge itself with the parental party. In fact, the Congress intensified efforts in this direction soon after Mr Moopanar’s death. In a sudden move on September 2, the Congress president, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, nominated five persons, including TMC leader Jayanthi Natarajan, to the affluent Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) Charitable Trust. Apparently, Mrs Sonia Gandhi took this step with a view to exerting pressure on Mr Govindavasan to merge his party with the Congress. Meanwhile, not to be left behind in the race, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha too is trying desperately to prevent the TMC’s merger with the Congress. She has a larger gameplan in this. It is said she indirectly helped Mr Govindavasan to succeed his father so that he would not only ensure the continued division of the Congress vote bank in the State but also force the Congress to ``lean’’ on the AIADMK as in the last Assembly elections. |
Acting in harmony with
nature TWO complimentary streams of Chinese thought, Confucianism and Taoism, developed simultaneously. Confusianism deals with practical life and is concerned with life in society, with human relations, moral values and government. Taoism, on the other hand, is concerned with the observation of nature and discovery of its way or Tao. It deals with the mystical side of life and demands that the higher aim of philosophy should be to transcend the world of society and everyday life which, in turn, should assist an individual to reach a higher plane of consciousness. This is the plane of a truly enlightened soul that can be achieved by mystical union with nature. Taoism emphasises the importance of intuitive wisdom over rational knowledge and is a way of liberation from worldly bondage. In this respect, Taoism is similar to Yoga or Vedanta. It is worthwhile to delve a little deeper into ancient Chinese mystical philosophical thought and to get an insight into it. Taoist scholars realised the limitations of the world of rational thinking and propagated a way of liberation from this world. This liberation is specifically a liberation from strict rules and conventions. Contention of Taoism is that knowledge and reasoning do not necessarily make an individual wise. There is a clear contempt for reasoning and argumentation in Taoism. Taoist scholars concentrated their attention completely on the observation of nature in order to discover the characteristics of the Tao. Careful observation of nature coupled with a clear and powerful mystical intuition has given Taoist sages a profound insight into life. Human happiness is achieved when one follows the natural order, acting spontaneously trusting one’s intuitive knowledge. For this process to yield best results, it is essential for an individual to observe nature and discover the way in which nature functions. One tenet of Taoist philosophy states that key characteristic of the cosmic way is the cyclic nature of its ceaseless motion and change. “What goes up must come down” is the essence of the characteristic of nature’s way. According to Lao Tzu, a proponent of Taoism, “Returning is the motion of Tao and going far means returning”. Thus all developments in nature, those in the physical world as well as those in human situations show cyclic patterns of coming and going, of expansion and contraction. Whenever, a situation develops to its extreme, it is bound to turn around and become its opposite. Those who imbibe and practice these ideas in life get courage and perseverance in times of distress and act with caution and with modesty in times of success. Taoist concept of change is not seen as occurring as a result of a force, but rather as an innate tendency in all things and situations and the change occurs spontaneously in a natural way. Acting in harmony with nature is the key mantra in Taoism and this means trusting one’s intuitive intelligence and listening to the inner voice. The actions of a Taoist seeker arise from his inner wisdom spontaneously and are in perfect harmony with his environment. Those who follow the natural order flow with it smoothly. Yielding to the natural order is termed ‘non-action’ meaning refraining from activity contrary to nature. Non-action is letting things do what they do naturally. According to Haui Nai Tzu, a second century B.C. Taoist scholar, “He who conforms to the course of the Tao, following natural processes of the sun and earth, finds it easy to manage the whole world”. Those who allow nature to take care of themselves are in the real sense followers of Taoism and for them non-action is the real action. |
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Standing up for falling
down SYNCOPE is the temporary reflex loss of consciousness due to insufficient oxygen reaching the brain. Recovery is always rapid once the head is lowered and the blood supply to the brain restored, but it can be very traumatic for the sufferer, particularly if they have blacked out in a public place. In the words of Prof MC Petch, writing about the condition in the British Medical Journal, “People who faint need reassurance, and a few may experience continuing morbidity owing to uncertainty about the next faint and its consequences.” Prof John Stephenson, consultant paediatric neurologist at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children, first recognised this dramatic condition in 1978 and named it Reflex Anoxic Seizure, or RAS. RAS is a sudden dramatic faint which occurs mainly in children, but can occur in adolescents or adults. A sudden shock of pain (however slight), or indeed any unexpected stimuli, causes the heart to stop, the eyes to roll up into the head, the complexion to become deathly pale, the jaws to clench and the body to stiffen with arms and legs jerking. After about 30 seconds or so, the body relaxes and the heart restarts. This can happen many times daily. The network of people with experience of coping with RAS is particularly important because, although the condition can be helped by iron therapy, a medication called atropine sulphate or the fitting of a pacemaker, many families simply have to learn to live with it. Parents can only respond to attacks by reassuring the child, talking calmly to them, and placing them in the recovery position. The good news is that 75 per cent of children grow out of the condition at around school age. Anyone who feels that their child may be suffering from this extremely frightening but often misdiagnosed condition should contact www.stars.org.uk or Trudie Lobban on 01789 450 564, or trudie@stars.org.uk. A significant heart disease can be an underlying cause of fainting, says GP William Franklin. “Another trigger is something less serious called vasogel. This is when the nerve called the vagus in the heart senses the strong, sudden beating and then responds with a reflex action which makes the heart beat slower.” A number of disorders can bring on a vasogel faint, such as dehydration, low blood-sugar or panic attacks. But a sudden reaction to shock, pain, the sight of blood (or even simply the description of blood) airlessness and heat can also have the same effect. Other causes can be situational, such as prolonged coughing, straining to defecate or urinate, or blowing into a musical instrument or a balloon. It is also possible that fainting can result from standing up fast, or from sitting or squatting, because blood can pool in the veins of the legs and reduce the amount available for the heart to pump into the brain. “Dizziness and fainting during pregnancy are pretty common, because your blood pressure lowers as a result of relaxation of the muscles which surround the blood vessels,” he says. What to do if you see somebody faint? Recovery from fainting takes place as soon as normal blood flow to the brain is restored. This usually happens within a couple of minutes, because falling to the ground automatically places the head at the same level as the heart. To ensure that another attack does not happen immediately afterwards, the person who has just fainted should remain lying down for at least 10 to 15 minutes after the attack has occurred. Ideally, their legs should be propped up above chest level and tight clothing loosened. The Observer |
Handling those without principles 1.
LOOK out for signs of duplicity and a lack of morals. It is particularly easy to tell with middle managers: do they renege on promises to subordinates when they come under pressure from the top? Small clues can be revealing: wriggling out of commitments, for instance, telling half-truths and having “useful” lapses of memory. 2. Ensure there are witnesses to any serious discussions you have. An unprincipled negotiator will often want to talk to other parties alone, so he or she can give you all different stories that can be backtracked on later. 3. Put important decisions or agreements in writing, and keep your own copies (at home, if necessary). Copy memos and records of conversations to other colleagues, including superiors who will come to your assistance if required. 4. Expect slippery dealings. “Having principles makes people predictable,” says Andy of his experience in various offices. “But someone unprincipled gets up every morning and decides what their interest is that day.” Unless they are very well organised, they will not remember all the half-truths they have told in the past, so your dealings with them could be confusing and disjointed. They often erupt in anger if you challenge their version of events — since you are threatening to expose them by blowing their cover story. 5. Present issues to them in ways that work in their interests, if you have to deal with them. If you jump on your high horse they won’t respect you — and they will get ideas about how to pull your strings. “If you don’t drop clues, they might assume that you are unprincipled too,” says Doris, a researcher. “It can be useful if you pretend to be backslappy as well.” 6. Recognise the potential value of some unprincipled people. Their lack of morals can make them good facilitators, if handled in the right way. Very moralistic people can easily block compromise deals or insist that you all follow outdated rules (‘All my staff must adhere to a strict dress code and polish their shoes each day’), while an unprincipled type will be far less rigid. Some unprincipled people are mad, bad and dangerous, others are rather genial and just want to have a good time. The Observer |
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How to postpone your sell-by date 1. Understand that everyone has a sell-by date, however, brilliant or beautiful. The less you realise this, the more likely you are to meet an abrupt end in the style of French aristocrats. The more you realise how expendable you are, the more flexible and resourceful you are capable of being. 2. Consider putting yourself out to pasture if you start saying things like `I don’t understand how people can act this way’ or `Everything was better when I was in charge’. If you want to keep your job, it is part of your role to interact with the rest of the world. 3. Push yourself to keep learning and to stay up to date. Many managers feel they would look weak if they went in for training, but they are missing out. Bosses who are still shaky on the Internet or get their secretaries to send emails for them are advertising their inability to adapt to the rest of the world. In these times of rapid change and technological developments, you need to keep learning just to stand still. Ageism is usually based on the assumption that older workers are reluctant to learn new tricks. 4. Spread your risks and don’t make yourself dependent on another person or product. You want to survive longer than the silent movie stars who could not cope with the talkies, or the barristers who specialise so much that they are out of business if their part of the law is overhauled. Many members of bands have their careers cut short because they can’t reinvent themselves after a partnership ends. 5. Get in touch with younger generations - the future employers and customers. You don’t have to grow a pony tail, but you will be more in tune with the processes of change if you visit music shops occasionally, find out why fcuk is so popular and watch programmes, such as Big Brother, about twentysomethings. 6. Work on your appearance. Many employees take particular care to look youthful. Very few women go grey anymore. You don’t need to dress straight from a fashion magazine but you should avoid clothes and hairstyles (like the Queen’s) that link you to a bygone era. Even more important than the clothes is your fitness and health. You can look lively and alert in your eighties if you take exercise and stay energetic. 7. Don’t go on holiday if your situation is getting desperate. When Gorbachev got imprisoned in his dacha 10 years ago, he had made no contingency plans in case of a revolt against him and he had no escape plan. Disaster is less likely to strike when you have your response already worked out. The Observer |
Blessed indeed is the soul whose hairs stand on their ends, whose eyes well up with tears and whose voice gets choked with emotion as soon as he hears, remembers or utters the Divine Name. *** If loud chanting of the Divine Name is revolting to our sense of decency away with such rotten and dry notions of decency. *** Earth and water can purify only the exterior of the body, but the Name of God washes out the impurities of the heart. *** It is easy to study the scriptures, it is easier still to sermonise and it is equally easy to enter into polemics and disputations on religious and other topics; but it is very difficult to practise the Name with absolute faith and fullest confidence. *** The following have been declared as the ten offences against the Name: 1. Vilification of saints and devotees 2. Differentiation among the Names 3. Speaking lightly of the scriptures 4. Irreverence towards the preceptor 5. Treating the glory of the Name as nothing but exaggerated praise 6. Commission of sins under cover of the Name 7. Ranking the Name with other virtues and practices such as fasting, charity, etc. 8. Recommending the practice of the Name of irreverent souls. 9. Want of love for the Name even after hearing its glory 10. Emphasis on I and Mine and attachment to objects of enjoyment. — From Hanuman Prasad Poddar, The Divine Name and Its Practice *** Behold here is a paradox: the deep and high are nearer to one another than the mid-level to either. — Kahlil
Gibran, Sand and Foam |
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