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Monday,
June 17, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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No letup
in terrorist activity Power
crisis looms large |
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Dr Kalam
as consensus President
The
Idgah story
APHC may
not be a defunct entity yet
Flirting
good, say working women
AIDS
group provokes debate on oral sex MTV sued
over hidden camera prank AI’s
ayurvedic massage on board
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No letup in terrorist activity WHAT happened in Karachi on Friday and near Srinagar on Saturday was not unexpected. Reports are being received that terrorists may intensify their activities in the coming weeks and months. Recent statements of terrorist masterminds like Jehad Council chief Syed Salahuddin, operating from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, make one believe that militants are not lying low. They have become more aggressive in the wake of the Musharraf regime's pledge under international pressure to finish the Pakistan-based terrorist networks root and branch. They have demonstrated this by making an abortive attempt on the life of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah a day after killing 10 persons in a car bomb blast near the US Consulate in Karachi. They missed their real targets at both places — except for one American all the Karachi victims were Pakistani nationals — but they succeeded in conveying the message that their capacity to strike terror remained undiminished irrespective of whatever the Pakistan Government claimed was doing to fulfil the pledge made to the world. General Musharraf can say that the terrorist killings after his drive against the scourge are acts in desperation. But one cannot buy his argument on its face value so long as there is no drastic change in the situation at the ground level. He has to show results to make the world believe that he is sincerely endeavouring to honour his commitments. The truth is that he has been closely associated with Pakistan's efforts aimed at creating the jehadi Frankenstein which has been harming its own creator besides implementing the dirty agenda of the country of its birth. It is as much in the interest of peace in the subcontinent as for the survival of the ruling General to mercilessly kill the jehadi culture, which has been sustaining terrorism besides Pakistan's rotten Kashmir policy. It seems there is a change in the terrorists' strategy. In Pakistan they appear to be trying to gain people's sympathy because of their anti-West sentiments by attacking mainly Western targets (some time ago they killed a few French naval technicians), and in India they are concentrating on security forces and political leaders. Reports suggest that they have plans to enact more Kaluchaks. And they have no dearth of silent sympathisers in Pakistan's ruling establishment. Whatever the reality, India will have to ensure foolproof housekeeping to frustrate terrorist designs. The terrorists who have crossed over to this side of the border from Pakistan before the world community forced the Musharraf regime to abandon terrorism as part of its Kashmir policy need to be brought to justice before they are successful in indulging in heinous activities. There should be no laxity in this crucial task. |
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Power crisis looms large COAL supply to various thermal plants has been disrupted because of non-payment of bills in the past, but rarely has the position been as precarious as it is now. How grim the situation is can be gauged from the fact that according to norms laid down for running the thermal plants, it is mandatory to keep coal stocks for a month, but the plants at Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar have coal only for 10 days while the Bathinda plant is reported to be down to just four days. The plants have been repeatedly slipping up on payment leading to the shrinkage of supply, and things have come to such a pass that some of the plants may even have to be shut down. That will aggravate the power crisis, particularly in view of the fact that the demand is only going to rise in the days to come because of paddy transplantation. The crisis has been brewing for quite some time, without forcing the government to take any resolute action. There are several reasons for this sorry state of affairs, but the main one is unabashed populism. The ploy of offering free electricity to certain sections has proved to be ineffective in garnering votes. Yet, Chief Minister after Chief Minister continues to perpetuate it. One had expected Mr Amarinder Singh to bite the bullet but even he has shied away from taking a hard but unavoidable decision. The result is that the PSEB is groping in the dark and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. In an attempt to pass the buck, some even blame Coal India Ltd for taking such a harsh decision. But CIL cannot really be faulted, considering that it has been saddled with unpaid bills amounting to nearly Rs 150 crore. And it is not only the PSEB which has been sending it regret slips. Other boards are even bigger defaulters. Since over 70 per cent of its total production goes to the power sector, CIL is itself in a fix. It is justified in apprehending that if the power boards do not mend their ways, CIL itself may go down with them. Since its pleas have fallen on deaf ears, it is planning to change the supply system and may go in for contract agreements within the next two months. Such an agreement with the power sector is expected to lead to better supply management and also to reducing the scope of arbitration on the quality aspects and the piling up of dues. Incidentally, the power sector will have to switch over completely to washed coal soon enough. Since CIL does not have enough washing facilities to cater to the demand, it has already requested the power stations to set up washeries at the respective coalfields. |
Dr Kalam as consensus President SOME are bound to say that all is well that ends well. Indeed, it is gratifying that in the person of the distinguished defence scientist and Bharat Ratna, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the country will have a consensus President. But the tortuous, often messy, manner in which this denouement has been reached does neither the ruling combination nor the Opposition parties any credit. In fact, the entire polity has been exposed as bumbling and blundering. In the shabby game of one-upmanship a lot has been damaged, most notably and sadly, the prestige and authority of the Prime Minister. This can in no way be covered up, leave alone undone or mitigated, by the crowing chorus within the BJP camp. The sum and substance of this disingenuous noise is that Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s “masterstroke” has sent the motley crowd in the Opposition into disarray and “nonplussed” the principal opposition party, the Congress, and particularly its inexperienced leader, Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Both these claims are true. But to spite the Congress the BJP has cut more than its nose. Leaders of the Left parties, as so often in the past, are acting as odd men out usually do. Their isolation is far from splendid but they are persisting in their resolve to put up a candidate against the nationally accepted Dr Kalam. This can at best be a quixotic and token gesture much like the challenge in the 1997 presidential poll to Mr K.R. Narayanan by the maverick former Chief Election Commissioner, Mr T.N. Seshan. Merely to outline the dreary sequence of events would drive home the painful point that in the increasingly polarised ambience, politicians in this country, driven by personal, parochial, partisan and other unworthy motives, have lost the art of doing anything properly. Let the story begin with the doings of those who are in power and thus in the driving seat. It is no secret as that far back as a year ago the BJP’s choice for the next incumbent of Rashtrapati Bhawan had focused on the Maharashtra Governor, Dr P.C. Alexander. If it were a totally free agent, the saffron party would have liked to select for the presidency a dyed-in-wool member of the Sangh Parivar. But it knew that many of its 23 partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) wouldn’t swallow this. It, therefore, decided that Dr Alexander was its best bet, and this view was openly aired at a glittering function at the Prime Minister’s house in the summer of 2001 when Mr Vajpayee released Dr Alexander’s book, “India in the New Millennium”. Now Dr Alexander is a first-rate civil servant who had served as Indira Gandhi’s Principal Secretary during her second innings in the eighties and later, in Rajiv Gandhi’s time, held several high posts. He was also very close to Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao during the latter’s five years as Prime Minister. Why then is he in such high favour with the BJP and in such bad odour with Mrs Gandhi and the Congress? The only explanation is that during his long stint in the Raj Bhawan in Mumbai, he is supposed to have endeared himself to the BJP-Shiv Sena combine, especially to the Sena’s supreme commander, Mr Bal Thackeray. Several BJP stalwarts made no bones about their calculation that sending Dr Alexander, a Christian, to Rashtrapati Bhawan would paint Mrs Sonia Gandhi into a corner because the country would not accept Christians in both highest offices, those of the President and the Prime Minister. This was utter nonsense. It was a Brahmin President, Mr
R. Venkataraman, who had sworn in Mr Narasimha Rao, another Brahmin, as Prime Minister. Thereafter no one had said a word when another Brahmin, Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, became President while Mr Rao was still Prime Minister. It was Dr Sharma who had appointed yet another Brahmin, Atalji, as Prime Minister in May, 1996. That his government then did not last more than 13 days is a different matter. However, the fact that crass calculations about the impact on the political struggle were made seriously and indeed advertised as something that would have delighted Machiavelli is revealing enough. All this indicates perhaps why, in spite of his awareness of his party’s preference for the Maharashtra Governor and his own liking for him, the Prime Minister conveyed to the Congress his proposal that the next President should be elected by consensus. And since Mr Vajpayee had made it clear in advance that a second term for Mr Narayanan was not acceptable to the NDA, he told the Congress that the Vice-President, Mr Krishan Kant, would be the appropriate consensus candidate. However, even before the Congress leadership — that had some reservations about Mr Kant — could consider the Prime Minister’s offer, he apologetically withdrew it. Why? Because hardliners in his party, including some aggressively articulate junior ministers in his government, forced him to do so. To overrule Atalji they argued that the NDA (for which read the BJP) must have its own man in Rashtrapati Bhawan, especially in times when the political situation could be uncertain. Dr Alexander was their man and a “unanimous” decision in his favour was taken. This, incidentally, was the second time the hardliners had railroaded the Prime Minister into reversing his decision on a serious issue. In April they had vetoed Mr Vajpayee’s firm resolve to sack Gujarat’s errant Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi. To the Andhra Chief Minister, Mr Chandrababu Naidu, goes the credit for forcing the candidature of Dr Kalam down the BJP’s throat after he had read out the Riot Act to Mr Pramod Mahajan, a hardliner who is also the Prime Minister’s main trouble-shooter. It should have been obvious that the Kalam bandwagon had the potential to turn into a juggernaut. But in such poor shape is the once grand old party, the Congress, that it just did not catch on. Its greater failure was that it took no initiative of its own and simply waited for the Prime Minister to make the first move. As an astute analyst has pointed out, the Congress seems to have convinced itself that it has only to sit hand on hand to come to power in the next election because the saffron crowd is doing an excellent job of self-destruction. The Congress leadership has been foolish also in relying on the hope that Mr Narayanan would agree to contest against the NDA’s nominee whoever he or she might be. It misjudged his calibre, style and attributes. The ultimate insult to the Congress — after its belated decision to support Dr Kalam, something that could be done more speedily and graciously — has come from the CPM politburo member, Mr Sitaram Yechury. According to him, the Congress has “ceased to be an Opposition party”. The Left parties’ determined opposition to Dr Kalam on the ground that he is the choice of the “forces of communalism and right reaction” may have the virtue of consistency. But, then, as the old saying has it, consistency can also be the “hobgoblin of little minds”. Look at the damage the Indian Left — “cabin’d, cribbed and confined” to West Bengal, Tripura and, to a lesser extent, Kerala — has inflicted on itself. It has had to strangle its cherished baby, the People’s Front, because of the enthusiastic endorsement of Dr Kalam’s candidature by Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party. A word needs to be said about the point raised by the Left — that Dr Kalam, though a world-renowned scientist and the country’s pride, has no experience of politics or even knowledge of constitutional and political intricacies. This is doubtless true. But surely someone of his calibre and mental sophistication and stature can learn rather fast. Moreover, in dealing with complex and complicated constitutional issues, the Head of State has the best possible advice available to him from not only the Attorney-General and other legal luminaries but also from the entire paraphernalia of the Indian State. Other countries have had scientists or individuals outstanding in fields unrelated to politics as presidents. As soon as the State of Israel was created, it invited Einstein to become its first president. The greatest scientist of our times courteously refused whereupon Chaim Weizmann, another top-class scientist, was elected as the Israeli Head of State. President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine is a nuclear scientist which, incidentally, Dr Kalam is not. He is an outstanding missile technologist, indeed India’s “missile man”. But nuclear science is not his field. |
The Idgah story ALMOST every town in India has an Idgah. These places are for offering prayers by Muslims on Id (hence the name) and used by all for leisure and recreation. Srinagar in Kashmir too has an Idgah, which is one of the landmarks of the city. It has in its own way become a historic area. Since the start of the militancy it has acquired a new importance. A portion of the grounds has been converted into a graveyard for those killed in the militancy and has become hallowed ground for the relatives and comrades of those now resting there. The rest of the area is still used for daily sports activities by young men and women. In this graveyard lies buried Maulvi Farooq, the late Mirwaiz of Kashmir, and father of Umer Farooq, one of the present leading lights of the Hurriyat movement. He was killed 12 years ago by marauders whose identity is not known. Neither has it been confirmed what was the purpose of killing a popular religious leader, a perfect gentleman and a fine orator. Different interpretations have been given. This assassination took place in the heat of the separatist movement. The burial procession was so overwhelmed that over a dozen people got killed, leading to a great upsurge. I had a happy and affectionate friendship with Mirwaiz Farooq, tracing back to family links. He was young, charismatic, learned, a brilliant speaker and a darling of the masses who came to hear him. when he rose to speak at public functions, men went into raptures and women wept with affection. He was a man of peace and although the hardliners seemed to blame his assassination on the authorities, he was, according to a version, eliminated because some feared that he might work for a deal between New Delhi and the separatists. This is also stated to have seen the end of some other leaders, like Dr A.A. Guru and Qazi Nissar, the Mirwaiz of South Kashmir. After the killing of Mirwaiz Farooq, his young son, Umar Farooq, took over as Mirwaiz and became a highly respected Hurriyat leader. It was here in Idgah, on the anniversary of the killing of Mirwaiz Farooq, that Abdul Ghani Lone, popular Hurriyat leader, was so tragically shot dead. He lies buried here too. Idgah has been the favourite spot for religious meetings as well as political congregations. From Idgah you could also see the temple at Hari Parbat many miles away. From Idgah the Hindus who went there turned to pray towards the temple. I was born and brought up in an area near Idgah and in my student days was a daily visitor to the grounds for school games. Idgah has an impressive stone mosque called Ali Masjid. There is a moat around the grounds lined by giant chinars and willows. Beyond are waterways and rice fields. When summer comes the fields become a stretch of flowering yellow mustard plants. In summer in the ground sprinkle out vendors with wood fires roasting singharas which are grown in Dal Lake. This merry-making draws large crowds. In winter Idgah becomes a stretch of snow. On another side of the grounds used to be a brick rest house for Buddhist monks who came from Ladakh trekking on yaks and mules and horses. Often leading these groups came the Kushak of Hemis monastery, near Leh. He did not put up at Idgah. Being a friend of my father, Shamboo Nath Dar, who was a half-Buddhist and half-Hindu and represented the Kashmiri Buddhists in many organisations, the Kushik lived with us with his retinue of lama priests who would be constantly turning prayer wheels. The Kushik was a benign and divine person. And very intelligent. He learnt to speak English and even to use a typewriter. He would stay with us for weeks together. We lost touch with him after the 1947 conflict and could not follow the installation of his successor. Idgah used to be the centre of much rivalry between Maulvi Yusuf Shah, the elder of the Mirwaiz dynasty, who migrated to Pakistan after the tribal raid on Kashmir, and Sheikh Abdullah, the nationalist leader. On Id Maulvi Yusuf Shah and Sheikh Abdullah, who represented rival factions, would come to Idgah with their followers for prayers. There would be rival speeches, often drowning the Id festivity while in nearby houses gorgeously-dressed young girls would be singing and dancing the rouf. Idgah became a battleground of rival ideas. Those were peaceful times and the worst that would happen would be sometimes a war of fisticuffs. After a clash for a few minutes, we would throng Idgah again to sing and eat and play. All the year round there was happiness and goodwill. My earliest memory is of a dark night near the mustard fields under a chinar of a man singing songs of love. Two years ago when I went there recounting childhood memories at that very spot was the new graveyard. |
APHC may not be a defunct entity yet JAMMU: Whither the All Party Hurriyat Conference? Or is it the start of its withering? These questions are being debated by the supporters and the activists of the 23-party conglomerate which had remained the main political forum for the separatists in the Kashmir valley since 1995. These questions have emerged following the arrest of the JKLF Chief, Mohd. Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Sheikh Aziz Ahmed, and after the killing of Abdul Gani Lone as they had been the most vocal members of the seven-member Executive committee of the APHC. What has intrigued a cross section of people in the state is that the river Jhelum was not set on fire when Mr Geelani was arrested. There were breezy demonstrations in a segment of Srinagar when Mohd. Yasin Malik was detained under the POTA. There were hardly any murmurs when Sheikh Aziz Ahmed of Peoples' League or Ghulam Nabi Sumji of the Muslim Conference were arrested four months ago. The call for
hartal given in protest against the arrest of Syed Ali Shah Geelani did not evoke as much response as one had expected. The reason stated to be the nature of charges framed against Mr Malik and Mr Geelani. While two persons arrested near Batota over a month ago had revealed that one lakh dollars recovered from them were to be delivered to Mr Malik. Though Mr Malik had refuted this charge, he continues to be in the jail. Even close supporters of Mr Geelani were shocked when it was revealed that the separatist leader, who has been considered as a hardliner trying to secure Kashmir's incorporation with Pakistan, had been accepting Rs 7,100 as pension that he was entitled as a former member of the state Assembly. This very disclosure had forced people not to respond to the call for hartal. Among the seven Executive Committee members only three had their constituencies, Mr Lone, Mr Geelani and Mirwia Umar Farooq. Mr Lone is no more. Mr Geelani is in Ranchi Jail and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq is yet to be free from his honeymoon. The show these days is being run by the APHC Chairman, Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat and Molvi Abbas Ansari. Prof. Bhat has been seen spending more time in his ancestral place in Sopore than in the APHC headquarters. When a senior APHC leader was contacted on telephone to find out whether the arrest of four party leaders had been a major setback for the conglomerate he sobbed and said "yes, we are on the crossroads of an unknown destiny." He was critical of the Government policy maintaining that "on the one hand, the Centre was keen on initiating dialogue with us while on the other our leaders were being booked under fictitious charges simply to weaken our resistance." Another Hurriyat leader said "by arresting Mr Geelani, Mr Malik and others the government was trying to clear the decks for manipulated Assembly election." He said the Government had fears that one call for boycott from the APHC would result in very poor polling percentage that could affect India's image in the international fora. However, a senior police officer said that the APHC had ceased to be a political force. During the last three years the conglomerate had lost its shine and strength. Whoever "will run the Hurriyat show has simply to enforce the directions received from across the border and this is what its senior leaders have been doing for all these years." He said that "It is an open secret that the APHC has to bank on the moral and material support from Islamabad. "Hence whether Mr Geelani or Mr Malik "are out of jail or behind the bars will have hardly any impact on the survival of the conglomerate except that its nuisance value may not be available." Kashmir watchers are of the opinion that since the centre was keen to rope in moderates in the separatists camps it had initiated strong measures against the hardliners so that those who were willing to participate in the Assembly election or those who were prepared to join the national mainstream and open a dialogue with the Government faced no threat from the hawks. But the actual threat to the moderates is from the guntoting youths and not from orators like Mr Geelani. It is yet to be seen whether the arrest of senior Hurriyat leaders will ultimately infuse new vitality in the organisation or lead to its down the hill journey. One thing is certain: so long militants are able to call the shots, the APHC may not be defunct entity. |
Flirting good, say working women MOST
working women in Britain say that flirting is good for their health and confidence and one in 10 has had a fling with her boss, a new survey showed. The poll of 5,000 working women for the British edition of
Top Sante magazine and the private health care organisation BUPA found that three out of four had flirted with a colleague at work, and 28 per cent had a sexual relationship with him. A total of 61 per cent believed flirting at work was good for their health and confidence. More than 80 per cent said that if a male co-worker, boss or client made a pass at them, they would feel flattered and laugh it off, while 13 per cent said they would lodge a complaint. Of the 10 per cent who have had a fling with the boss, only 11 per cent ended up marrying him, although a further 12 per cent were promoted. One in five of those polled by the magazine said that she would flirt with the boss to boost her job prospects. However, virtually all the women — nine out of 10 — said they were worn out by the demands of work and home, which they believed was damaging to their health, notably those returning to their jobs after having a child. They feared their family lives were being driven to “breaking point.”
Top Sante editor Juliette Kellow said: “Superwoman type role models aren’t at all helpful to ordinary working women with families who don’t have an army of people from nannies, personal secretaries and cleaners to support them. “Working women are heartily sick of these do-it-all role models. It’s time for superwoman to be put back in her
box.” AFP Blood thinner isn’t worth aspirin A blood thinner that works slightly better than cheap aspirin at preventing repeat heart attacks or strokes is not worth the extra cost when used long term, a study concludes. But heart doctors say the analysis is speculative and does not reflect how the medicine is used today. Researchers looked at aspirin at 4 cents, the drug Plavix at $ 3.22 a pill and a combination of the two to figure out their cost-effectiveness in treating heart disease. Using aspirin alone was cost-effective, while using Plavix alone or with aspirin was not, they reported in Sunday’s
New England Journal of Medicine. Cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol, however, said it is premature to make such an assessment because long-term use of Plavix has not been tested in patients and the medicine is not prescribed that way. “It’s only recommended at the current time for nine months of therapy, whereas this analysis is assuming a lifelong therapy, said Topol, who is from the Cleveland Clinic and took part in one Plavix study. Like aspirin, Plavix, also known as clopidogrel, keeps blood platelets from sticking together and forming clots. It has been shown to work somewhat better than aspirin, which cuts the risk of heart attack, stroke or death by 30 per cent in people with heart disease. Topol said Plavix is generally used for 30 days after an angioplasty, and guidelines issued in March recommend it for 90 days after chest pain or a mild heart attack.
AFP |
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AIDS group provokes debate on oral sex Johannesburg The LoveLife Campaign, which receives money from the government, UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, defendedits advertising campaign that encourages young people to try “sucking, licking and kissing a person’s genitals’’ as an alternative to penetrative sex. The proposal has sparked considerable raising of eyebrows for its advocacy of unorthodox sex. Responding to a request for his opinion on the campaign, Deputy President Jacob Zuma was quoted as saying: “I can’t answer on wrong things that people do that are unnatural. I can’t talk about that.’’ LoveLife CEO David Harrison said oral sex could save the lives of thousands of young people at risk of contracting the AIDS virus HIV which has already infected an estimated 4.7 million South Africans or about one in ten. Half of all South Africans have engaged in full penetrative sex by the time they were 16 years old, LoveLife’s Harrison said. “And this is driving the HIV epidemic. This is what is causing literally thousands of lives to be lost,’’ he was quoted as saying. “If we can stop young people having penetrative sex — even if we can’t turn them into saints — we will change the course of this epidemic,’’ he said. HIV infections are normally transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids. In Africa, the illness is transmitted largely through heterosexual contact, and women are especially susceptible if the vagina has sores of any kind. LoveLife says the disease is known to be transmitted through oral sex. South Africa has an infection rate that features among the highest in the world. South African children often start having sex before their teens, and LoveLife has worked to boost the age for first sex. An epidemic of child rape — fostered by the myth that having sex with a virgin can cure AIDS — has spread the devastating effects of the disease.
DPA |
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MTV sued over hidden camera prank
Los Angeles James and Laurie Ann Ryan, of Washington, D.C., also named the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas in the suit, which accuses the resort and the cable network of invasion of privacy, infliction of emotional distress and fraud, among other things, their attorney said. The suit, originally filed in Los Angeles in April, gained public attention this week after it was moved to federal court. He said the couple became unwitting participants in a practical joke filmed for a series under development at MTV called “Harassment’’ while they were on vacation in January.
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AI’s ayurvedic massage on board London “In every Air India flight there will be two expert masseurs from Kerala specialised in ayurvedic massage and they will provide foot and neck massage to passengers in first class and executive class,” Hussain told reporters here. The Minister said the Kerala Government has promised to provide enough number of trained masseurs.
PTI |
The goodness in your heart is such that it wants your mind to have beautiful thoughts. The nature of the mind is very greedy. The nature of the heart is to become satisfied with whatever comes its way. So the marriage between the mind and the heart must take place for you to taste the nectar of tranquility, the elixir of immortality. People often ask, "How can I experience the splendour and strength of the heart? How can I attain evenness of mind?" Continually welcome God's grace in your life and allow your pride to be washed away in devotion. Let the mind spend a little time in the light of the heart, in the lotus of the heart. Let the mind rest in the luminous light. The mind will ripen in the heart and become mature. Liberation is possible. — Swami
Chidvilasananda, Gems from the magic of the Heart. *** One may peruse cart-loads of books; Piles upon piles of treatises may one scan; Yea, one may read boat-loads of volumes; and may fill up cellars with books thus read. Indeed one may read ceaselessly for months — Nay, even for years and years; Even for the whole life-time to the count of one's last breath. (Yet, all this is an exercise in vain) Nanak, one thing alone matters with the dear Lord; (It is the love and sweet remembrance of His sublime Name) For all else is sheer prattle of the vain. —
Guru Nanak Dev
*** Thought is pure by nature, and all mental construction tarnishes it. All search ends up contrary to its goal. By their detachment from texts the Zen masters intend to force their disciples not to dwell any longer in sterile erudition and to turn away from language in order to free the mind from impurity. —
Daniel Odier, Nirvana Tao |
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