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Wednesday,
July 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP at the
crossroads Arun
Jaitley’s parting gift US
reluctance |
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Remodelling
school education
Salvation
point
From
rural struggle to urban success
Ronaldo
apologises for ‘awful’ haircut
Extrovert
employees tend to be troublemakers Pandas
in China receive sex education
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BJP at the crossroads THE induction of Mr Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu as President of the Bharatiya Janata Party may indicate a slight improvement on his lacklustre predecessor, Mr K. Jana Krishnamurthy, in public perception. But the flamboyant leader from Andhra Pradesh lacks the requisite elements to put the party on the right track. The BJP today is in a state of flux. It is fast losing its moorings and its earlier principled approach to politics. Apparently, power has considerably diluted the inner vitality of the party. Today, it is oscillating between the Hindutva card and the politics of convenience. It has even cast off its swadeshi mask. This was very much apparent from its advocacy and sponsorship of FDI in the sensitive area of the print media. A pragmatic approach is definitely understandable, but the way the BJP has been running its affairs does not inspire much confidence in the educated middle class as it did some years ago. The mess-up in Gujarat, the erosion of its votebank in the Hindi heartland, the setback it suffered in the recent elections to some state assemblies and municipal corporations show the party's pitiable state. In Uttar Pradesh, it is playing a second fiddle to BSP leader Mayawati, who runs the political show in Lucknow as Chief Minister in her own style. The party leadership is certainly keen on reviving its fortunes in the Hindi belt. It also wishes to rejuvenate the party apparatus with fresh ideas and aggressive politics, keeping in view the Assembly elections in 12 states in the next two years. It will, however, be a mistake for the party to think that it can revitalise its working by playing the Ayodhya card. In fact, its opportunistic politics has disillusioned a sizeable section of the urban voters who once viewed the BJP to be different from other political parties. Unfortunately, the party now gives the impression of being a poor carbon copy of the Congress. This is being said more in anguish than for the sake of rhetoric. Not that everything is lost for the BJP. There are several positive pointers in its favour. Some of its youthful leaders can surely inspire confidence in the urban people. In this context, the person to be watched is Mr Arun Jaitley. He attracts attention, but does not have a solid political base. He has still a long way to go before he consolidates himself politically for the good of the party. Another charismatic leader is Ms Sushma Swaraj. She is an asset to the party, whether she is in the Cabinet or outside of it. The problem with the BJP is its piecemeal approach to men, matters and issues. Instead of looking at burning issues of public interest in a larger national perspective, it tends to be guided either by a retail trader's mentality or votebank politics. The net result is that the party leadership is all the while groping in the dark with a view to finding its new roots. In the near future, the BJP will have to decide whether it should go along with the Vajpayee line or adopt the radical VHP-Bajrang Dal path. Either way the repercussions of its thinking will be far-reaching on the polity. It is time the party did some soul-searching and tried to identify more with the nation's interest rather than stick to its present fragmented approach to key national issues. |
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Arun Jaitley’s parting gift THE Union Government notifying the Civil Procedure Code (Amendment) Act, 2002 on Monday, fixing a time-limit of one year for the settlement of civil cases, is a significant step in judicial reforms as it is expected to help lakhs of litigants in the country. Over the years, the image of the judiciary has taken a beating because of the huge backlog of cases in courts. As litigants have been denied justice for decades and even generations, people seem to be losing confidence in the judiciary. In fact, such is the nature of our administrative system that it took a month for the Centre to notify the Act even though the President had given his assent to the Bill in June. In any case, Monday’s notification can be described as Mr Arun Jaitley’s parting gift to the nation. Mr Jaitley, who resigned as the Union Law Minister on Sunday to take over as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s General Secretary and spokesman, tried his best in the last two years to resolve the differences between the Bar associations and the government on the various proposals that the Vajpayee government sought to introduce in the CPC Act. The Act seeks to introduce comprehensive reforms in the procedure in suits and civil proceedings by way of reducing delays at various levels. Most of the delays take place during pre-trial and at the stage of hearing for various reasons. The Act now limits the number of adjournments in a civil case to three; if a party tries to adopt delaying tactics, the courts will hereafter direct it to pay higher costs to the other party. Another important feature is empowering courts to fix a time-limit for oral arguments and, if necessary, seek written submissions from parties to save time and avoid delays. The judges too have been made accountable. Under the amended Act, they will have to give their ruling within 60 days of the completion of hearing of a civil case. In a litigant society where courts are overburdened with cases, it is very important to ensure speedy justice. An expeditious trial is very important because, as the Supreme Court has maintained time and again, a prolonged trial often amounts to persecution of those arraigned before the court. With over four crore cases, both civil and criminal, pending in courts, what Monday’s notification seeks to achieve might touch only the fringe of the problem of judicial delays. Nonetheless, there is a need for sustained and effective measures to speed up the administration of justice. The notification should be seen against this background. Along with it, other measures are also required to quicken the pace of justice and restore people’s confidence in the judiciary. These include filling of vacancies in courts, improvement in judicial infrastructure and facilities and more effective use of alternative dispute redressal mechanisms. If even a few of these proposals are implemented with sincerity and earnestness, this will help reduce judicial delays to some extent and help the litigants. |
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US reluctance THE US veto in the UN Security Council on the long-term extension of the tenure of the international peace-keeping force in Bosnia is unfortunate. That it was alone in this decision is significant. As a face-saving gesture, the Security Council unanimously agreed to let the UN mission in Bosnia continue for the next 72 hours from 0400 GMT on Monday, while negotiations to decide its fate continue. The USA had sought exemption for its soldiers from the purview of the International Criminal Court which opened its doors at the Hague on Monday. The court has the support of more than 70 nations, though others like the USA, China, Russia, most Arab states, and Israel have not ratified it. This affects its credibility. India has been actively participating in preparatory commission meetings and discussions regarding the ICC. It has, however, not yet signed the charter apparently because of reservations regarding the role of the Security Council. India also wants clarity in “the definition and elements of the crime of aggression.” The court will have the authority to prosecute individuals suspected of war crimes anywhere in the world. It will, however, not have any power to prosecute any nation. The UN has a police training mission in Bosnia, which comprises 1,500 personnel from various nations, including India, who are training a multi-ethnic police force there. The programme is scheduled to be taken over by the European Union by the end of this year. The US veto on the extension of the UN mission in Bosnia, even though its strongest allies, Britain and France, were supporting the extension, does not come across as a principled stand. Rather, it appears to be an opportunistic one. This is evident from the statement of the US Ambassador to the UN, Mr John Negroponte, who said his country could not “accept the additional risk of political prosecution before a court whose jurisdiction the government of the United States does not accept. The United States will remain a special target and we cannot have our decisions second-guessed.” No one likes to have his decisions second-guessed, but if one is the strongest kid in the block, one can get away with it. Since the USA considers itself the world’s self-appointed policeman, here a policing analogy would be appropriate. Police functioning in the USA was similar to Third World policing till 1966 when the US Supreme Court’s “Miranda rights” decision granted custodial safeguards, including the right to an attorney, before interrogation to the accused. Police forces in some cities took strong exception to this “intrusion” into their domain and wondered how they could catch the thieves under such circumstances. They eventually learnt to become better policemen with admirable results. The world needs a body to deter atrocities by dictators and others of their ilk. The USA would do well if it helped the world community to achieve this aim. It should remember that a necessary corollary of “global policeman” would be a “global (criminal) court”. |
Remodelling school education Every budget proposal is a political statement. Like so many other people, I too was looking forward to its presentation in the Punjab Assembly. More than anything else, I wanted to know for myself to what extent the new government was prepared to do things which would have the stamp of political courage. While I have certain reservations in regard to some of the budget proposals, what I liked the unstated suggestion that the government was prepared to break with status quo. Even if a quarter of the things projected in the budget get implemented, that would be a step forward. What about education? I raise this question for two reasons. First of all, it is even more difficult to bring about structural changes in the management of education than it is to see the financial proposal through. The second reason is no less important. If Punjab as a state is to perform, remoulding education is imperative. As a matter of fact, recasting the economic policies and remoulding education go in hand in hand. One cannot be done without the other. In any case, it would take several years before the results become visible. Not many political parties are prepared to wait that long. But if political changes have to be carried out, there is no getting away from the fact that education will have to be remodelled. In the field of education, three things call for urgent attention. The first one is the overall funding allocated to education. While the all-India average in the outlay on education is over 22 per cent of the budget, in Punjab it is 18.5. Clearly, a significant degree of readjustment is called for. Secondly, as the new government has already discovered for itself, the per capita cost in government schools is Rs 40-Rs 50 higher than in private schools. Another related fact is that school teachers in Punjab are paid approximately 33 per cent more than their counterparts in most other states. In terms of performance, however, the situation is highly unsatisfactory. The third issue relates to the management of higher education. For instance, the bulk of the expenditure in respect of colleges (almost 90 per cent of it) is on salaries. Everything else is neglected. There is so much wrong with the way undergraduate education is organised in the state that the issue requires close and constructive attention. Punjab is not the only state which is guilty of it. In most of the other states, the same thing is happening. Hopefully, as is contemplated, the UGC will give the lead in this regard in the near future. All the same, there are certain marginal problems which can be taken care of. In this limited space, however, I wish to confine myself only to the first two issues. Regarding the proportion of budget on education, things can be set right in about two-three years. The important thing is to first recognise that Punjab is out of step with the rest of the states as far as the outlay on education is concerned. When that recognition dawns upon the policy-makers, the rest will follow. It is the inter-sectoral allocations which need to be given particular attention, it may be said in passing. The basic problem at the school level is the lack of accountability and the bureaucratic mode of functioning. In a sense, these two issues are linked to the extraordinary degree of politicisation which has gripped the school system. While reducing the incidence of politicisation is an important precondition for reform, equally important is what is to be done to remodel the bureaucratic structure. The two most important things to do evidently are to decentralise and to debureaucratise. Can the ideal of panchayat control over the schools be achieved in the near future? The answer is in the negative. What can, however, be achieved is to decentralise the system. As of today, everything is controlled by the DPI (Schools). Why is it not possible to delegate 80-90 per cent of these functions to the various Divisions of the state? At that level, it is invariably Class I officers who are in charge of things. If powers are delegated to them, things would start changing. How powers are delegated to those in charge of Divisions and those in charge of districts are matters which need to be debated. The bureaucrats now in position would have something to say in this regard; so would have the politicians. Instead of continuing to function as we have been doing for the last 55 years, let some radical decisions be taken and the functioning of the department decentralised as well as streamlined. As of today, perhaps, it is not 100 per cent possible to vest the authority of school management in local committees which would be an extension of the panchayats. But surely some tentative steps can be taken in that direction. I recall a discussion along these lines at a meeting at Chandigarh some years ago. One of the senior ministers tried to refute my argument by saying that people like us who have a city background do not understand power relations in villages. While I could not disagree with that statement, two things need to be noted. Punjab is more urbanised than a number of other states. Secondly, the ideal is to vest the local people with authority so that the teachers become accountable to parents who would without question be interested as well as involved in what is happening. To say that power relations in the countryside tilt in certain directions which are determined by political groups and caste formation, etc, is true. But surely is that the situation which we would like to perpetuate forever? We would like to see things changes so that the parents of those children who go to school do not remain uninvolved in what is happening. Some tentative steps in that direction can be taken. Once started, this process will generate certain pressures which, in course of time, will define themselves more precisely and more positively. I recall in this connection the experience of the UK. Following their own model, the British established the formal system of education in India. Somehow without visualising how this system could be misused, even before 1947, the system of transfer of teachers along with other government officials came to be introduced. This does not happen in the UK. All teachers are appointed to a particular school. This happens even though the entire funding comes from the same source — the government. Also we should not forget that before 1947, school education was controlled by district boards. Therefore, if a teacher was transferred, this happened within the district. When in the sixties of the last century, the district board control was abolished, the system of transfers came to be extended to transfers all over the state. This abuse of the system has to be corrected rightaway and this is the time to do so. Who will oppose the change? Both politicians and teachers will do so. During the last three-four decades vested interests have grown up. They will fight any kind of change. The way to combat this kind of onslaught is to first take a political decision to decentralise. Having done that, the next step should be to debureaucratise. To vest partial management and control in the panchayats and the local bodies would be the beginning of that process. What has been suggested above is neither new nor original. These things have been discussed time and again over the years. Several other states have carried out all kinds of changes. It is not possible to provide details in a brief article, but the fact of the matter is that in several large states, like MP and AP these experiments have been undertaken successfully and without any annoyance to anyone. The truth of the matter is that in Punjab, which is a much smaller state, the management of education is poorer than in several large-sized states. Even UP despite the fact that it handles one-sixth of India’s population, is managing things better than Punjab. In certain respects, decentralisation in particular, it is almost a pioneer. What is required is the will to do things. The budget proposals suggest that something of that kind may be forthcoming provided there are worthwhile and practical proposals under discussion. Once the budget is out of the way, particular attention needs to be devoted to education. In any case, education is the largest department. It handles a little less than a quarter million persons. If something can be done in regard to education, it would be time to turn to other departments
too. The writer is a well-known educationist. |
Salvation point Although I’m no antiquarian to delve into the roots of a place, the name of Jhakolahri — a nondescript railway station on the outskirts of Pathankot — has always intrigued me. I’ve often asked learned people in Pathanti, the cultural zone girdling the tiny place, about this unusual name, but so far no one has come out with any persuasive answer. Despite their limitations I cannot leave the matter there and forget about the spot that unfolds a vital chapter of my childhood memories. First, my guess about the origin of this sonorous name. In simple terms, “Jhako” means “just look at” or “dekho” and “Lahri” a habitation or cluster of huts. A large number of hamlets around carry this suffix — Preetlahri, Kesholahri, Matalahri, etc. The rail station, just a dot on the track between Pathankot and Amritsar, doesn’t offer any visual delights worthy of a dekho. But there is one thatched hut on the national highway running parallel to rail track that warrants all the attention. Maybe it is this shack that supplied the name to the station. Outwardly this straw hut may not interest you but once you enter the portal and look at that rickety table laden with pans of sweets, you just begin to salivate. The sight of burfi, peras and laddoos at once tickles your taste buds. In the blistering heat of May and June the loostruck peasants from the peripheral hamlets throng this sweetshop to slake their thirst with Panditji’s aromatic and frothy pera lassi. About 50 years ago I discovered this wonder-joint on my way to a city school with a hostel — in those days called a boarding house. I was waiting for a bus when Panditji called me from behind and asked me to identify myself. He nodded and beamed when he heard my answer. He said I could entrust him with the baggage whenever I came home for a vacation. For six years — two in the high school and four in college — that straw hut remained my cloakroom with no lock and no key. In the heat and dust of summer whenever I left home for school or college, I would dream of Panditji’s watering hole with that soul-lifting concoction — particularly at moments when I leapt over numerous treacherous patches in the marshy stretch between my hamlet and Jhakolahri. In the rainy season countless waterways mushroomed to hamper the pedestrians on their way to the station. Without asking me what I would like to drink or eat, Panditji would straightway pick up four or five jumbo peras from one pan, drop them in one bronze container, add curd and a few chunks of ice, crush the contents with a wooden contraption and then give a furious spin to the stuff inside the container, of course after adding a tumbler of water from his earthen pitcher. A minute later he would transfer the cool lassi into a king size glass, sprinkle a few drops of keora on the top and then hand over the tonic to me. The very first sip would transport me to the looless magic land — far away from the sand storms of my village which in those days seemed Spartan without electricity. Looking back, I think I did deserve that treat after those acrobatics between my tiny hamlet and the tinier salvation point called Jhakolahri. |
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From rural struggle to urban success Aruna Goel was born in a backward rural area of Narwana in Haryana. Aruna went to school and began proving her brilliance in each class. She shocked the feudalistic ruralites by topping the eighth class board examination. The matriculation examination in those days was handled by Panjab University. She topped the Sangrur district of the joint Punjab and Haryana at that time. Aruna was sent to Inderprasth College for Girls in Delhi despite opposition from family members and relatives. She completed her pre-university with distinction in three subjects. Suddenly, her care-free and dreamy days came to an end when her mother fell sick. “I was only 16. On my mother’s sick bed my marriage was planned. When my husband-to-be came to see me, I shot a question at him. In those days it was unthinkable for a girl to open her mouth in front of elders of the family in such a situation. In retrospect, I feel that I was so driven by my passionate dream that nothing could obstruct me when I blurted ‘Will you allow me to continue my studies?’ As by all means I wanted the tag of MA with my name.” He was a schoolteacher at Karnal at that time. Perhaps, it was the teaching line, which had enabled him too to act ahead of his times when he promised his child-bride that she could continue her education. Aruna Goel completed her graduation as a private candidate within the next three years. During this period, she not only gave birth to two sons but also had the additional responsibility of rearing two sisters and one brother of her husband. “There was no question of hiring a servant to assist me in the household work as my husband was earning only Rs 160 per month. Right from sweeping the house to cleaning of utensils, washing of clothes, cooking three meals of the day, sending his three brothers and sisters to school to rearing of my two children was all done by me alone. Whatever little time I could save out of this entire daily schedule was all that I could devote to my studies. I never saw any film nor I went to any market nor indulged in any source of entertainment. Frankly, even the thought did not ever cross my mind when there was no money nor I had any time for any such activity. But I think I could manage to do all this only because my husband gave me rocklike support. Even he too at that age never thought of seeking entertainment outside home”. After three years of rigorous schedule, circumstances and luck offered her a little olive branch when her husband got the offer to join, as a research scholar in the Department of Public Administration in Panjab University. Besides his stipend of Rs 250, he also got tuition for Rs 100. Thus the salary amount had risen from Rs 160 to Rs 350, bringing much required relief to the family and especially to Aruna. She joined the Department of Sanskrit to do her Master’s as a regular student in 1958. What really made her to take up Sanskrit? “Sanskrit shalokas were part of my everyday routine. Sanskrit came easily to me. Immediately after the completion of her Master’s, the UGC offered her scholarship to do her Ph.D. She completed her doctorate in the stipulated period of three years. She was promptly invited to teach in the Evening College of Panjab University, which she did for the next one year. But since it was a temporary job her selection in the GCG-11 came as a celebration. However, within a year, she was selected in the Correspondence Department of Sanskrit in Panjab University, bringing her the cherished reward of her dream to be called a Professor. All Aruna Goel’s perseverance to fulfil her cherished dream, she not even once neglected the five children that she was rearing. Not only the sisters and brothers of her husband were given ample support and opportunity by her to achieve higher education but also her own two sons were inspired to target high in life. While her two sisters-in-law are today teaching in the colleges in Delhi, her brother-in-law is an engineer. As for her sons, the elder one became an IAS officer of the Karnataka cadre, two days later of the required minimum age of 21 years. Her second son successfully did law graduation in the first division from Panjab University. Aruna Goel, the unassuming lady, has four books to her credit and another two are under print. Besides, she has 36 research articles published in the prestigious journals. She is not only the Professor and Head of her department but also is working on a major UGC project, “Modern knowledge and Sanskrit literature”. Incidentally, one of her books under print is a pioneer work titled, “Sanskrit literature and environment”. Yet another dimension of her personality is that she has opened a Trust in her in-law’s district, Kaithal, by the name, Rural Women Education, of which she is the Director. She visits this Trust every month, where in she inspires girls of surrounding rural areas to continue their studies. “Unfortunately, especially in Haryana, parents prefer not to send their daughters to school on one pretext or the other. The Trust tries to educate people about the importance of girls’ education. Besides, we support the education of girls, who cannot afford it”. Aruna Goel is a perfectionist in everything that she does. Be it her favourite hobbies like gardening, cooking, stitching, embroidery and knitting or her home, which is a live example of her perfection. She is also a wandering minstrel, adding yet another dimension to her personality of being a passionate traveller. She has been invited by all prestigious institutions of Sanskrit of India and abroad to deliver lectures. |
Ronaldo apologises for ‘awful’ haircut Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo has apologised to Brazilian mothers for his haircut, which has started a new trend among the country’s boys. According to the Las Ultimas Noticias, the boys are horrifying their families by copying the striker’s partshaved style. Ronaldo told the paper: “I think there must be a lot of mothers who are very angry with me.” Meanwhile, in the Folha de SP newspaper’s reader poll, 79 per cent said the haircut was “awful”. Reuters A Chinese boy sports a “Ronaldo” hairstyle as he wears a traditional Chinese undergarment during a family outing in Beijing on Tuesday.
A 25-year-old mother faces two counts each of felony murder and first-degree child abuse for leaving her children in a hot car while she had her hair done. Tarajee Shaheer Maynor allegedly spent 3 & 1/2 hours at a hairdresser’s shop, leaving her two children strapped into a parked car on a sunny, 30-degree day. When she came back, 3-year-old Adonnis and his sister, 10-month-old Acacia were dead. She was charged on Sunday and faces up to life in prison if convicted. She told the police that she was abducted and raped before returning to find the children dead in the vehicle. Detectives found inconsistencies in her story, and she soon confessed.
DPA Scientists look for secret of youth The humble fruitfly may hold the secret of youth for humans, according to scientists who have genetically modified the insect to live longer and healthier. The issue is “can we do for people what we have done for fruitflies?”, Dr Michael Rose from the University of California’s evolutionary biology department told a seminar on anti-ageing in Singapore. “We have found fruitflies with postponed ageing are more robust physiologically. They don’t get sick often, reproduce more and show higher resistance to acute stress.” Rose said researchers have always used fruitflies because they are easy to work with and are abundant, and the results from studies in areas such as genetics and developmental biology have advanced the study of humans. “A lot of biology research in fruitfly has proven relevant for humans. It paved the way for research in humans,” he told AFP on the sidelines of a conference. “Research on postponing ageing in humans is in its infancy, but modern biology is so powerful that if you motivate people to tackle the problem, progress can be really fast.” But while fruitflies have been genetically modified to live longer, Rose said he did not believe people should be “genetically engineered”. Conference organiser and Chairman of the American Academy of Anti-ageing Medicine Dr Robert Goldman, said scientists studying anti-ageing in humans were looking at various ways of achieving this goal, including hormone replacement, gene therapy and cloning.
AFP |
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Extrovert employees tend to be troublemakers
That chatty co-worker in the cubicle next to you may really not be getting any work done. New study findings suggest that some of the most outgoing employees are also the biggest troublemakers. Generally, these so-called extroverts have been seen as energetic, assertive types who often excel at work particularly in jobs requiring lots of interaction with others. But not all research into personality and job performance has found extroversion to predict good job performance. And, the combination of being highly outgoing but less-than-conscientious may make for the most counterproductive of employees, the findings indicate. “We sometimes call them ‘high-maintenance’,” study author Alan Witt said. According to Witt, pre-employment testing that has sought to predict job candidates’ performance has traditionally been somewhat simplistic — essentially asking whether employees will do the core job well, and not whether they’re likely to be counterproductive overall. So researchers are looking at the combinations of personality traits that may better predict a job candidate’s odds of being a prized employee — or, as Witt said, a “problem child”. In his study, Witt looked at 105 4ne private company whose work was largely project-based. Employees completed questionnaires that yielded scores for extroversion and conscientiousness — the tendency, for instance, to think before acting or to follow workplace rules and norms. Witt also interviewed supervisors about employees’ counter-productive behaviour — like breaking company rules, excessive absenteeism and arguing with co-workers. He found that while extroverted, conscientious employees were least likely to be rated counter-productive, those less-than-conscientious extroverts reportedly stirred up the most trouble at work. These employees, while out-going, can also be described as “immodest” and “reckless”, and are likely to be irresponsible, in-effective and “sure to let others know when there is a problem”, Witt pointed out. In contrast, conscientiousness had little to do with job-performance ratings among employees who tended to keep to themselves — the so-called introverts. According to Witt, “Introverts usually don’t get into too much trouble.”
Reuters |
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Pandas in China receive sex education Didi, a male giant panda received an unusual gift for his sixth birthday — a session on sex education. The session, held at the China Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centre in Wolong, South-West China’s Sichuan province, was a part of the sex education lessons that are becoming standard for all giant pandas as they attain adulthood at the prestigious research centre. Didi, gleefully accepted his gift as his eyes were glued to the screen while it showed a couple of giant pandas mating passionately. The centre shows sex education films to male giant pandas every morning and evening in their mating season. The male giant pandas that have reached sexual maturity are given ringside seats to watch their peers mating, Xinhua news agency reported. “Through this kind of sex education, we expect to arouse the sexual instincts of giant pandas, enhance their natural mating ability and raise their reproductive capacity,” said Zhang Hemin, Director of the research centre. “We won’t use drugs, such as viagra, to help giant pandas increase their sexual desire and capacity. We believe this can be achieved through sex education and physical exercise,” said Zhang Guiquan, an official of the centre.
PTI |
Why dear heart are you worried about what to do When the good Lord Himself provides sustenance for you. Creatures among rocks and boulders He created, Before them, their means of living He placed. Beloved Madhava! One who keeps company of saintly men is saved By your grace, above others he is placed; As out of dead wood, Green leaves sprout. Mother, father, kinsmen or wife None will abide with you all your life! The Lord provides for all mankind Why then harbour fear within your mind? Rehras, Sri Guru Granth Sahib
*** Whoever serves you, on him will Nanak sacrifice his life. Those who meditate on you, those who worship you, Will live in peace for all their lives; Those who meditate on you, will gain salvation. And be freed from the noose of Yama; Those who worship the Lord who is without fear They will themselves be freed of fear; Those who serve the Lord Will merge in the person of the Lord; Twice blessed are they who contemplate God Nanak will give his life for them. The treasury of your worship is beyond count Your worshippers worship you in infinite ways; Worship you who are infinite and without end; Many are the ways to worship you Many forms of penance and endless the forms of prayer; Many a sacred text is read, Many a way to serve you, including the six Karmas; Says your slave Nanak, those worshippers are best Who please the Lord and by Him are blest. Rehras, Sri Guru Granth Sahib
*** For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. — The Holy Bible, Romans
*** Souls are points of light without gender. Love is natural between them. Seen in this light, lust and frustration are only due to a lack of real love. Transitory sexual enslaved enjoyment is nothing compared to the loss of awareness it entails. — New Beginnings (A Brahma Kumaris' publication) |
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A follow-up on the life of Dr Aruna Goel reads like fiction. But it is true and many women get inspired. Here is a woman who rose, despite the shackles of mind-set, traditions, conventions and trying socio-economic situations, to fulfil her dream. 