As i write, the standoff between terrorists and Indian army commandos in Mumbai continues. Till now, more than 120 people have been killed, around 300 injured by the attacks. Yes, the remaining attackers will be killed, the body count of dead persons will go higher, the eyewitness accounts on 24/7 cable news stations will be told and retold, and the speculation about who may be responsible and how they did it will go on.But behind the sheer horror of such barbaric and seemingly random acts of murder and chaos, what is the lesson we learn?
You will not get any underlying truths from the politicians' sound bites, the expressions of condemnation or the expert talking heads on cable tv. To get a clearer picture, we need to look at events thru the eyes of sastra.The verse that first comes to mind is the famous padam padam ya vipadam natesam. Instead of Louis Armstrong's song, "What a Wonderful World," the reality is: What a Dangerous World this is. Anything can happen and in this world, it's often that it does. Shit happens here. You go to have dinner at a 5 star restaurant (as some were doing at the Taj and Oberoi Hotels in Mumbai yesterday evening), and without warning hand grenades are tossed, explosions go off and automatic rifles are firing rounds of deadly bullets in your direction. Who is shooting, who is dying, who is being injured, who is escaping unharmed?? In the chaos, all seems to be random, and all reason appears to be absent (although we know from sastra that everything follows nature's laws which includes the law of destiny or karma, and nature is under the control of Krishna). Another thought related to this tragic event is how this needless killing is a result of prejudice and brainwashing. My first reaction when i started seeing the unfolding drama on the internet and tv was to condemn the killers. But then i saw a photograph of one of the alleged terrorists who had attacked the VT train station in Mumbai. Most of the people he killed were innocent children, women and vendors who sell chai and snacks at the station. But this killer looked to be only around 20 years old, dressed in a t shirt and jeans, like he could have been a college student. What inspired such misplaced blind faith in him that he chose this path? For sure, it was the work of malicious hate-mongers who misuse the teachings of God to incite hopeless young men to think of themselves as martyrs and actually become murderers. Fundamentalists of all religions are the best and worst at the offense of interpreting God's desires and His words to incite hatred, bigotry and violence to achieve not God's wishes, but their own perverted goals. How can anyone who claims to follow God not accept that everyone who has life, has God within him? How can they claim to be superior to others? How can they justify murdering other jivas, either in human form or animal form? How can one claim to act for the Father while making plans to destroy their Father's other children? So brainwashed boys who still look like children, are inspired to kill innocents by their fundamentalist gurus. The secular societies are also ignorant about how to follow a divine system, a society based on equality and spiritual values. So they create sytems that breed injustice, greed and imbalances. These injustices are the nourishment of the envious fundamentalists. Ignorance on both sides. A world where everyone talks about freedom or truth or God, but no one listens to Him when he speaks or to his pure devotees when they appear. Everyone talks; no one listens.The noise, both inside everyone's mind and outside in the geopolitical world, keeps getting louder and louder. It's the sound of danger. The only real protection in any dangerous situation, is the presence of God. In such dire times as these, we or i need to keep in mind the words of the shastra ( Hare nama hare nama hare nama eva hi kevalam, kaluv nasteva nasteva nasteva gathri anyatha, - In the age of Kali their is no other means, no other means, no other means other than chanting the holy names of hari, chanthing the holy names of hari . In fact, He is more accessible in his names than any other form. Unfortunately, i have no attraction for hearing his names. This is the real tragedy of the precarious times we live in.
Think about this.....
A few thoughts on the unfolding tragedy.ShareYesterday at 10:33pmI know I'm not the only one writing on the topic. I can't be. Too many others shared in the collective tragedy.
However, I don't want to focus on the perpetrators, or their motives or modus operandi.
What struck me as I watched the tragedy unfold was how we handled it...sometimes (maybe more) mishandled it and how we reacted to it. Though the reaction part may be premature as this isn't a reaction that's momentary. Its a wound you want to remember...that you hope will help you learn and help you evolve.
The most striking thing. As someone outside India...not constrained to domestic news channels...the frenetic, panting, often unashamed, unrepentant hunt for the newsbyte far overshadowed the significance of the tragedy and its impact on a human level. Newscasters across most channels realized that the nation, as well as the world was watching them. And their attempt to rise up to the occassion came off for the most parts as amateur attempts peppered with shallow questions...in some cases where it may have been more humane to just leave the victims alone to savour freedom. To add to this was the hyperbole and the sometimes garish visual effects. One channel had a blood splattered band running across the top of the screen as tv backdrop for their news ticker. Nowhere nearly close to good taste. But of course, there's method to the madness. The more the sense of panic, the greater the thirst for information. And for most people...that choice is reduced to one of several news channels.
Then there's twitter. I've read about it before but this was the very first time I saw its power and potential at work. Imagine the TV before you, beaming loops of old footage by breathless youngsters more conscious of their being in the center of a moment in history...and paying only lip service to the reason they're there in the first place. And then compare that to seeing twitter from real people. On the ground. Providing real time updates on what they're seeing, hearing and feeling in the place you're wanting to know painfully more about.
Its a no contest. Even if the medium is open to rumor...the raw power of the moment and the frontline real person feel the medium generates overrides the occasional rumor element. And in the end...the balancing power of information helps rub out the rumours. The experience was an eye opener. The next time there's an event I want to BE in...I may not be reaching for the remote quite as fast. Maybe also because this is a medium that seems to give voice to real people who are just as smart...and mostly just as objective...as the TRP focused newscasters.
Of course, you also have to acknowledge the fact that we feed those newscasters. Our thirst for information aligns itself with their own (eventual) profit motive that forms a self reinforcing loop of degrading journalistic quality. Its not an easy problem to extricate oneself from. Unless we have another alternative medium that can serve as an information source.
Now I mentioned that I wasn't constrained by having access to only domestic news channels. Which also allows me the ability to comment on the international channels covering the situation. At first pass...what struck me was the calmer, much more analytical presentation of the information. With fairly unbiased opinions. Of course, that's easier when you don't have a particular national tie. But then again, in my own opinion...what we sorely lack...is an entirely objective media. Its easy to drink the national kool aid but it doesn't always serve the best interest. Not from the journalistic tenet I would think.
While there are the voices in the not too barren wilderness of the Indian media that do refuse to follow the populist path in favour of speaking with an untainted opinion...they're usually drowned out. And when we talk of television...even more so.
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