O P I N I O N S

EDITORIALS

The stock surge
Rein in the manipulators
A FEW weeks ago Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had observed that he would start worrying when the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex crossed the 8,000-mark. Last week, he still sounded confident when he asserted that no stock market scam was in the offing and that the price-to-earning ratios were well within the “comfort zone”.

German divisions
Towards an era of coalitions
THE hung verdict of Germany's 16th general election has thrown up some questions and given some lessons. The task of forming a sustainable government in a situation where no party has won a clear majority in the 598-member parliament has become quite challenging.

• Thought for the day

ARTICLE

Nuclear doctrines
What India should do for strategic stability
by G. Parthasarathy
On July 8, 1996, the World Court ruled that countries possessing nuclear weapons have not just a “need” but an “obligation” to commence negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament. The World Court also declared that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons would be contrary to the principles of international law. Some doubts were expressed about the use of nuclear weapons when the “very survival of a state” was threatened.

MIDDLE

Mysteries of mantra
by A.J. Philip
OH, you sing like a professional”, I told my colleague’s wife when she sang a couple of ghazals at a farewell party for another colleague. “She is indeed a professional singer”, her proud husband sought to correct me on the spot. I stood vindicated, as my hunch was right.

OPED

Rural employment scheme needs new mindset
by L. K. Singhvi
The National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Act passed by Parliament is indeed a historic and momentous legislation. It is bold in its commitment to reach every rural household and provide at least 100 days of employment to one family member in a year.

When HP got its first Chief Parliamentary Secretary
by A. N. Barowalia
After Himachal Pradesh attained statehood status on November 1, 1971, on the recommendations of the then Chief Minister, the late Dr. Y.S. Parmar, the Governor appointed a ruling party MLA as the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, administered him the oath of office and secrecy and attached him with the Chief Minister for the parliamentary affairs portfolio.

Testosterone therapy for loss of libido
by January W. Payne
A new analysis of published research suggests that testosterone therapy may aid many post-menopausal women dealing with loss of libido. The analysis--labelled a position statement from the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and published in its journal, Menopause, states that testosterone "has a positive effect on sexual function, primarily desire, arousal, and orgasmic response, in women after spontaneous or surgically induced menopause.''

From the pages of

 

REFLECTIONS

EDITORIALS

The stock surge
Rein in the manipulators

A FEW weeks ago Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had observed that he would start worrying when the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex crossed the 8,000-mark. Last week, he still sounded confident when he asserted that no stock market scam was in the offing and that the price-to-earning ratios were well within the “comfort zone”. But the latest 500-point rally in eight sessions straight is quite discomforting even for the believers in the Indian growth story. Alarm bells have started ringing. The first post-reform rally threw up Harshad Mehta as the master scamster who had huge bank funds at his disposal to manipulate the stock market. The second bull-run ended when a Ketan Parikh cartel was caught rigging prices. Hopefully, the Finance Ministry will not like to get caught sleeping again.

It is quite natural even for the non-investors to wonder what has been driving up the stock prices. While the Indian growth story is still intact with an excellent monsoon raising hopes of bumper agricultural yields and corporate performance continues to be encouraging, the real reason for the Sensex scaling new heights is excess liquidity. Too much money is chasing too few shares. Last year foreign financial institutions (FIIs) pumped in $8 billion into the Indian stock market. This year, up to September, the FIIs have already invested $8.5 billion.

What is worrying about the current bull rampage is the mindless surge in the prices of stocks of medium and small companies. It is here that the high P/E ratios are not backed by corporate performance and it is here that small investors usually get trapped. The regulators should immediately get going after the price manipulators. Once the Sensex crashes and the manipulators rush to the exit, greed-driven small investors would find no escape route. Every rally has left many small players bruised. Yet, no lessons are learnt. Significantly, some of the FIIs, including JM Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment and Research, have already given out reports that the Indian market is overheated.

German divisions
Towards an era of coalitions

THE hung verdict of Germany's 16th general election has thrown up some questions and given some lessons. The task of forming a sustainable government in a situation where no party has won a clear majority in the 598-member parliament has become quite challenging. Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democratic Party (SPD) could manage only 222 seats, three less than the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its ally, the Christian Socialist Union (CSU). The conservative CDU-CSU coalition, led by CDU leader Angela Merkel, failed to live up to the predictions of pre-poll surveys that the SPD would be swept out of office, to be replaced by a woman chancellor, Germany's first. The SPD apparently lost ground to the Left Party — made up of the erstwhile East Germany's Party of Democratic Socialism and SPD rebels - which finished with a tally of 54 seats. The Green Party finished with 51 seats, which together with that of its ally, the SPD, falls short of the required majority. The third largest party, but way behind the SPD-Green and CDU-CSU alliances, is the Free Democratic Party, which won 64 seats.

The problem is that the leading alliances are hobbled in negotiating the support of the smaller parties. While the CDU-CSU is unwilling to make common cause with the Left Party, the FDP is reluctant to join the SPD-Green combine. In the event, there is now the prospect of a grand coalition - between the CDU and SPD - an experiment that was successful in the 1960s. However, this is only one of the many options in the aftermath of the inconclusive mandate.

The results show that Europe's powerhouse is deeply divided on questions of foreign policy —such as Turkey's membership of the European Union, dealing with Iran and relationship with Washington — and issues of economic and labour reforms. The results also suggest that the system of proportional representation does not always deliver a clear verdict.

Peddlers of death
Public must shun quacks like the plague

THE worst fears about what an untrained “medical man” can do to innocent lives have come true. Three children of Ludhiana have died and two more are struggling for their lives after a quack administered them wrong medicine. A 20-year-old matriculate girl was reportedly practising as a “qualified lady doctor” at a charitable dispensary. She gave them medication for common cold, which was not only meant for some other disease, but was also past the expiry date. This is tantamount to murder and the killers are the persons posing as a doctor and those who employed her. Their irresponsibility has cast a pall of gloom on so many families.

Unfortunately, such quackery is being practised all over the region. If this is the state of affairs in a city as prominent as Ludhiana, one can well imagine the situation in small towns. This happens mainly because of the acute shortage of qualified doctors. People feel that a less qualified practitioner is at least better than no doctor. Little do they realise that little knowledge can be so dangerous. There is also the problem of poverty. Some people just cannot afford the fees of regular doctors. Quacks thrive in this situation of scarcity, with disastrous results at times.

It goes without saying that the government must come down heavily on these fake doctors. But at the same time, it must expand the network of government hospitals where essential medicines are dispensed at a nominal cost. This is one of the essential responsibilities of the government, which is never properly discharged. And the public will have to start a movement of its own to expose the self-styled medical practitioners. They are no friends of society. At best of times, they dispense placebos. And at worst of times, they become messengers of death, as they did in Ludhiana.

Thought for the day

He that plants trees loves others beside himself. — Thomas Fuller

ARTICLE

Nuclear doctrines
What India should do for strategic stability
by G. Parthasarathy

On July 8, 1996, the World Court ruled that countries possessing nuclear weapons have not just a “need” but an “obligation” to commence negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament. The World Court also declared that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons would be contrary to the principles of international law. Some doubts were expressed about the use of nuclear weapons when the “very survival of a state” was threatened.

Despite this ruling, the use of nuclear weapons remains central to the national security doctrines of the five “recognised” nuclear weapons powers. The Bush Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review in 2002 asserts that the American nuclear strategy aims at providing “a range of options to pose a credible deterrent to adversaries whose values and calculations of risk and loss of lives may be very different and more difficult to discern than past adversaries”. The recently formulated US Draft Nuclear Doctrine also speaks of the pre-emptive use of nuclear weapons.

In negotiations held with Iran recently, the UK and France have reserved the right to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapons states in the event of an attack on them, “their dependent territories, their armed forces or other troops, their allies or on a state towards which they have a security commitment”. The use of nuclear weapons is an integral part of the NATO nuclear strategy, under which nuclear weapons can be used even on the presumption that a potential adversary possesses weapons of mass destruction. The Russian Federation also has discarded the earlier Soviet pledge that it will not be the first to use nuclear weapons.

It is in this background that one has to assess expressions of “concern” by NATO countries about the “dangers” posed by India and Pakistan possessing nuclear weapons. Many NATO members implicitly claim that India and Pakistan are less “responsible” and “rational” than the five “recognised” nuclear weapons powers. The Americans dispatched the “Gates Mission” to India and Pakistan in 1990 professing that both countries had readied their nuclear arsenals for use against each other. President Clinton’s Adviser Bruce Reidel has claimed that Pakistan was readying its nuclear weapons for use during the Kargil conflict in 1999.

American claims of India and Pakistan being saved from a nuclear holocaust by their diplomacy have been vigorously denied by both sides. Mercifully, the Bush Administration did not state that India and Pakistan were on the verge of nuclear conflict in the events following the December 13, 2001, attack on India’s Parliament by Pakistani terrorists.

The unfortunate impact of western propaganda about India and Pakistan being less than “responsible” nuclear weapons states has been that sections of the elite and the media in India have been echoing this American line. Pakistan decided to acquire nuclear weapons not because India had nuclear weapons, but because its ruling elite believed that after the dismemberment of the country during the Bangladesh conflict, it needed such weapons because of India’s size and conventional superiority. This decision was taken by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in January 1972, well before the Pokhran blast of July 1974. Pakistan has subsequently endeavoured to use its nuclear weapons to blackmail the international community to endorse its ambitions on Kashmir, by repeatedly asserting that Kashmir is a “nuclear flashpoint”. This propaganda no longer works. Pakistan has realised that this assertion only strengthens the international perception that it is “irresponsible”.

Not much has changed since Bhutto decided that nuclear weapons were essential for Pakistan to deter India from overrunning his country. Pakistani strategic thinkers like former Foreign Ministers Abdus Sattar and Agha Shahi and Air Chief Marshal Zulfiqar Ali Khan have also envisaged the use of nuclear weapons by Pakistan for similar reasons. The only authoritative enunciation of when Pakistan would use nuclear weapons has been by the Head of the Strategic Planning Division of its National Command Authority, Lt-General Khalid Kidwai, who clarified that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were “aimed solely at India”.

General Kidwai stated that Pakistan will use nuclear weapons if India conquers a large part of Pakistan’s territory or destroys a large part of its land and air forces. He also held out the possibility of use of nuclear weapons if India tries to “economically strangle” Pakistan or resorts to political destabilisation. The last two reasons given by General Kidwai are obviously propagandist. No Indian government is ever going to attempt to conquer large parts of Pakistan territory. Present international compulsions are such that a prolonged conflict with Pakistan can be ruled out. The possibilities of India and Pakistan resorting to a nuclear conflict are thus virtually nonexistent.

It is because of this realistic understanding that Indian military strategists have looked for “strategic space” to respond militarily to Pakistani provocations in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere. The “Cold Start” concept is one such strategic option to counter Pakistan’s efforts to escalate the support for its jihad in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere in India. Young Indian scholars like Dr Rajesh Rajagopalan of JNU are carrying out serious studies on these issues. Unlike Pakistan, India’s nuclear arsenal and strategy is not “Pakistan-centric”. China’s nuclear and missile assistance to Pakistan, its deployment of nuclear weapons and missiles in Tibet and Xingjiang and the signing of a friendship treaty with Pakistan during the visit of Prime Minister Wen Jiao Bao to Pakistan are factors that Indian strategic planners cannot overlook in determining nuclear and missile capabilities.

China has signed a nuclear “no first use” agreement with Russia. It concluded a “non-targeting” agreement with the Clinton Administration, immediately after our nuclear tests. China has introduced an element of ambiguity in its nuclear policy on India, by stating that it’s “no first use” pledge is for those countries that have signed the NPT, or are members of regional nuclear weapons free zones. New Delhi should, therefore, ask China whether it is prepared to categorically commit itself to a “no first use” pledge with India.

We also need to take some hard decisions on how we are going to counter China’s nuclear and missile assistance to Pakistan. This would involve a more focused approach to the security relations with the countries in the Asia-Pacific Region like Vietnam. With Prime Minister Koizumi having been returned to power with an overwhelming mandate for effecting significant policy changes, a more intensive security dialogue with Japan should also be initiated. A stable multipolar world order is feasible only when there is a strategic, regional balance of power within the Asia-Pacific region. India should contribute proactively in building such a stable balance of power.

MIDDLE

Mysteries of mantra
by A.J. Philip

Aum Bhoor Bhuwah Swaha/Tat SaviturVarenyam/Bhargo Devasaya Dhee/Mahi/Dhiyo Yo Naha Prachodayat

OH, you sing like a professional”, I told my colleague’s wife when she sang a couple of ghazals at a farewell party for another colleague.

“She is indeed a professional singer”, her proud husband sought to correct me on the spot. I stood vindicated, as my hunch was right.

For a whole year, I had no contact with Rinku Kalia and I never had any occasion to listen to her. Thus, when I bumped into the couple at a marriage reception last week, I brought up the subject of her singing.

She was extremely happy to tell me that her latest album in both compact disc and cassette formats had just come out. She volunteered to send me a copy the next day.

I was in for a little disappointment when she told me that the album contained her rendering of the Gayatri Mantra and the Maha Mrityunjay Mantra. “Each mantra is sung 108 times. Brijesh Ahuja is my male co-singer”.

Why108 times? For Hindus and Buddhists, the number 108 is of great significance. For instance, Krishna had 108 gopikas, the Hindu chain has 108 beads and there are 108 upanishads, to mention just a few.

My disappointment was because what I had expected from her was light music or ghazals. How could the continuous recital of the mantras interest a non-religious person like me, I wondered.

But then, the Gayatri Mantra has always fascinated me. My first introduction to the mantra came from my happy-go-lucky neighbour at Bhopal, whose wife and daughters gave such a joyous company to my toddler son that he preferred to spend most of his time with them than us.

The family belonged to a small sect, whose members met on holidays and spent their time together chanting the Gayatri Mantra.

When they told me that it was just a four-line mantra, it was difficult to believe that it could hold a group of people together, week after week. I thought theirs was a crazy sect.

But the interest in the mantra that he sparked in me survived. Whenever I heard it, it made me happy. As providence would have it, when we shifted to our own house at Dwarka in New Delhi, I found that pressing my neighbour’s doorbell would trigger an electronic recital of the mantra, an invocation to Sun-God, attributed to sage Vishwamitra.

Over the last one week, I have heard the mantra over a thousand times and never got bored. I listen to it while going to bed and I wake up listening to it. And there has never been a dull moment.

Is it all because of her mellifluous rendering or the greatness of the lines, which are 5,000 years old? It is difficult to give a clear answer. Perhaps, it is a combination of both.

OPED

Rural employment scheme needs new mindset
by L. K. Singhvi

The National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) Act passed by Parliament is indeed a historic and momentous legislation. It is bold in its commitment to reach every rural household and provide at least 100 days of employment to one family member in a year.

More significantly, this Bill has been passed with political consensus. It, therefore, provides an unprecedented opportunity to drastically reduce the number of people below the poverty line and consequently, facilitate improvement in health, education and overall rural development. At the same time, it also poses a formidable challenge for those entrusted with the task of realising its potential.

There has been considerable debate touching on the issues of implementation, likening it to existing poverty alleviation schemes. Mr Bimal Jalan in a recent article has suggested the need for an all-India rural employment agency for its implementation since he feels that the involvement of existing agencies at the district, state and central levels will hamper its effective implementation.

Others have expressed reservations on where the funds to the tune of Rs. 40 to 50 thousand crore annually will come from and whether these will be doled out unproductively.

These are all valid questions. Most of them, however, are based on the premise that the NREG is yet another, though bigger, poverty alleviation scheme.

To realise the full potential of the NREG, we need to approach it with a fresh mindset — the mindset of a resurgent India fast emerging as an entrepreneurial knowledge based economy. India also has a very strong agrarian base and a large proportion of its population is very young. Their aspirations are waiting to be fulfilled.

We, therefore, need to explore and exploit the NREG not merely for poverty alleviation and employment protection, but for poverty elimination and employment promotion. This calls for an innovative approach in dealing with the NREG.

First and foremost, the NREG should be viewed as a broader policy measure for regeneration of rural India, not just as an employment guarantee scheme. This means that emphasis must shift from the doling out of funds on temporary works, kucha roads, digging and filling ditches and unviable projects undertaken under pressure, political or otherwise, to the identification of sound and viable projects and enterprises which build assets and provide jobs in the longer term.

These need to be identified in a professional manner. This will be the key to the short-term job provision and long-term job creation.

Secondly, a flexible and constructive outlook is needed in the implementation of the NREG which can allow us to harness the potential of public-private partnership in the identification and setting up of projects and enterprises.

This will enhance the quality of management and reduce the financial burden of the government to the extent that jobs will get created in the public-private run enterprises.

Additionally, this may help meet capital requirements as these projects and enterprises, though being labour intensive, will still need large amounts of capital.

Public-private partnership in enterprise building has been successfully used, at least in a limited manner, in the US through the SBIC programme and in countries like Israel, the UK and Taiwan. Certainly we can do it on a larger scale.

A flexible approach will also help in integrating some of the existing poverty alleviation schemes with the NREG to eliminate duplication of efforts and for a streamlined use of resources. This will make financial requirements more realistic and manageable for the NREG.

Thirdly, it is important to take into consideration regional strengths, local resources, local knowledge and talent while not compromising on technical soundness and sustainability of enterprises. Local democratic institutions like panchayats will also need to be actively involved through a process of dialogue and motivation.

China, in its initial phase of free enterprise, involved local communes and transformed them into entrepreneurial catalysts. Increasingly local institutions like panchayats have started asserting themselves on economic issues which is a good sign. Some success stories at the panchayat and district levels can motivate others in a remarkable manner.

Fourthly, no less important is the need to establish the highest standards of governance in the implementation of the NREG right from the beginning without any compromise. This will ensure high credibility and confidence in the NREG so crucial for its long-term effectiveness in achieving the objective of rural regeneration.

The government has already underlined the need for a higher allocation for rural infrastructure in the farm and non-farm sectors. The NREG is a great opportunity if harnessed innovatively in that direction. Roads, irrigation, water management, energy, education and health infrastructure in rural India are vital for overall national growth and the removal of inequalities.

For water management, thousands of water bodies need to be revived. For electrification and energy needs, biofuels can be successfully used as substitutes for oil. Our Prime Minister has envisioned that every village should have a biofuel power generation plant.

Small and medium enterprise (SME) clusters can be created in diverse parts of India based on local enterprise, traditions and talent. Opportunities and avenues for rural enterprise and infrastructure are huge.

The NREG provides an invaluable opportunity to harness these innovative synergies of the public-private partnership in the interest of inclusive and sustainable economic development.

The writer is an IRS officer. Views are his personal

When HP got its first Chief Parliamentary Secretary
by A. N. Barowalia

After Himachal Pradesh attained statehood status on November 1, 1971, on the recommendations of the then Chief Minister, the late Dr. Y.S. Parmar, the Governor appointed a ruling party MLA as the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, administered him the oath of office and secrecy and attached him with the Chief Minister for the parliamentary affairs portfolio.

Subsequently, the Chief Parliamentary Secretary was attached with the Chief Minister for another portfolio being held by the Chief Minister.

The Chief Parliamentary Secretary was given the status of Minister of State through a government notification. This process continued for some time but the Chief Parlia-mentary/Parliamentary Secretary was always attached with the Chief Minister mainly for the parliamentary affairs portfolio.

During a conference of Governors in Delhi, the then Assam Governor, the late Mr B.K. Nehru quietly inquired from the Himachal Governor if there was any law under which the Governor can, on the recommendations of the Chief Minister, appoint a Chief Parliamentary or Parliamentary Secretary, since “the Chief Minister of Assam had also brought a similar proposal to me. However, I told him that since there is no such provision in the Constitution, it may not be possible for me to act on your recommendation.”

After the conference, the Himachal Governor had detailed discussions with some legal luminaries in Delhi. On his return to Shimla he consulted the Advocate General and the Secretary (Law).

During the discussions the authorities came to the conclusion that since the Constitution Article 164(I) (appointment of Chief Minister and ministers) is silent on the institution of Chief Parliamentary or Parliamentary Secretary, and also no form of oath or affirmation is available under the Third Schedule of the Constitution, it may be constitutionally improper on the part of the Governor in case he acts on the advice of the Chief Minister in this regard.

Thereafter, the Governor and the Chief Minister had detailed discussions on this important issue. It was decided that in future no such recommendations would be sent to the Raj Bhavan. The Governor also advised the Chief Minister that it may be difficult for the state government to regulate the salaries and allowances of the Chief Parliamentary and Parliamentary Secretaries because item 40 of List-II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule (Article 246) of the Constitution provides for only the salaries and allowances of the Ministers for the State. There is no such provision for the Chief Parliamentary and Parliamentary Secretaries in the State List.

All sections of society, barring a handful of politicians, have welcomed the landmark judgement of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh through which the appointments of eight Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and four Parliamentary Secretaries have been quashed. This judicial review will certainly have far-reaching political implications across the country.

Testosterone therapy for loss of libido
by January W. Payne

A new analysis of published research suggests that testosterone therapy may aid many post-menopausal women dealing with loss of libido. The analysis--labelled a position statement from the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) and published in its journal, Menopause, states that testosterone "has a positive effect on sexual function, primarily desire, arousal, and orgasmic response, in women after spontaneous or surgically induced menopause.''

The report was sponsored by Procter & Gamble, the maker of Intrinsa, a women's testosterone patch rejected by the Food and Drug Administration last year. It recommends testosterone for post-menopausal women with diminished sexual function, but it says this advice applies only to women taking concurrent estrogen therapy. Not enough evidence exists to make recommendations for women not taking estrogen or for those who wish to use testosterone therapy for longer than six months, the report states.

The report's conclusions are based on randomized, controlled clinical trials, as well as meta-analyses and systematic reviews. Safety and efficacy data regarding pre-menopausal and peri-menopausal women are lacking, according to the report.

The statement is based on an analysis of data involving prescription testosterone products available in the United States and Canada. NAMS said it conducted the inquiry to respond to the need for clearer clinical standards in treating menopause-associated health conditions.

NAMS — a non-profit body that reports a membership of 2,000 practitioners, scientists and other professionals and receives funding from various industry sources — acknowledges that published data on testosterone are limited, but it says the evidence is consistent.

"Adding either oral or nonoral testosterone to estrogen therapy results in a positive effect on sexual function, primarily an increase in sexual desire,'' the statement says. It suggests the use of transdermal patches and topical creams or gels rather than oral medications because adverse liver effects have been associated with oral testosterone.

But some women's health groups have concerns about the long-term safety of testosterone and oppose use of the drug until more research is competed. Several argued against approval of Intrinsa, and an FDA advisory committee decided that such concerns outweighed the product's potential benefits.

``The world changed when the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) revealed the negative long-term health effects of hormone therapy,'' wrote Amy Allina, program director of the National Women's Health Network (a nonprofit that says it does not receive industry funding), in a statement to the FDA in December.

"A six-month study of a testosterone patch that would be the first drug of its kind may have seemed adequate before, but it's not today. ... In the wake of the WHI, it's appropriate and necessary to exercise special caution about the safety of long-term hormone use without long-term data.''

— LA Times-Washington Post

From the pages of

December 20, 1906

A LURID SIDE-LIGHT

The grave situation at Sialkot throws a lurid side-light on the way municipal matters can be managed or, shall we say, mismanaged for the people by the powers that be. The authorities of Sialkot can hardly be ignorant of the fact that trouble has been brewing for months, dissatisfaction has been reigning supreme against the way octroi affairs were being conducted, to be levied by the representatives of the people on the trade of the people themselves. Why is it then that the City Fathers are hardly mentioned in any of the telegrams that have been appearing in these columns? Why is it that the messages seem to convey the idea that the whole tragedy hangs round the Deputy Commissioner-President, and the Secretary of the Municipal Committee? Why should the people not be left to themselves in their own Municipal matters?

REFLECTIONS

In fundamental Buddhism, the emphasis on seeing Truth, on knowing it, and on understanding it. The emphasis is not on blind faith. The teaching of Buddhism is on “come and see”, but never on come and believe. Buddhism is rational and requires personal effort, stating that by only one’s own efforts can Perfect wisdom be realised.

— The Buddha

Unless sounds are put into certain sequences, they do not make music. Unless thoughts are put into certain patterns they cannot find God. The sages are the wise ones who show us these patterns.

— Book of quotations on Hinduism

One can never achieve anything lasting in this world by being irresolute.

— Book of quotations on success

All who read books died and yet no one became any wiser. Only the one who reads the word of Love, becomes wise.

— Kabir