Patriotism, Not Politics, Not Religion

Recently, some Muslim leaders in India refused and protested the Government's decision to make the recital of “Vande Mataram” (Hail Motherland), our National Song in schools for one day in a year. Let’s not make this a political issue, no this is beyond petty politics. This is a question of patriotism and allegiance. I fail to understand how singing the National Song of India in Indian Schools could be deemed objectionable by the Muslims who are protesting this issue. Why not? Where does their allegiance lie? In Pakistan perhaps? We're not asking them to sing Hindu Vedic Chants. A protest against the National Song is in itself objectionable and tantamounts to an insult to the nation. They want to live and work in India, they want to enjoy special privileges and sops in India, privileges which even Muslim countries wouldn't offer them, but when it comes to showing their allegiance by singing the National Song for just one day in a year, they cringe, they protest and they rebel. They fly Pakistani flags on top of their houses and mosques, they refuse government's policies, every religious occasion of theirs has to be a national holiday, they are free to use loudspeakers in their mosques, even though temples and churches are not, they are free to block main roads every Friday, even though Hindu pandals which encroach the roads are banned. They are a pampered lot in India, and unduly so. Some of them even have the nerve to ask Hindus to leave and go to Nepal; a classic example of give them a hand and they'll cut off your arm.

I am not saying this is true of every Muslim living in India. However, people who are protesting this decision do not belong in India; they should move or should be moved to the countries they owe their allegiance to.

Luck

Luck is a concept, which is becoming increasingly alien to us in the 21st century. It is a much cherished, much loved but often much loathed word. If we apply Freudian analysis to this word we may be able to understand why and how it affects us. “A little far-fetched, but that's Psychology." These are the words of John R.Hayes, a Cognitive Theory Professor. We must however, understand that there are two sides to the coin that we are about to toss on a Freudian altar. Luck is said to be ‘bad’ as well as ‘good’ i.e. to say that it may affect us positively as well as negatively.

So what is good luck? I would like to believe that good luck is nothing but the ultimate, nevertheless, unexpected fulfillment of man’s wants. I use the word ‘wants intentionally to indicate a certain characteristic of ‘good luck’. What we want is not always what we get; what we do get in the normal course of life is usually what we ‘need’. ‘Wants’ so as to say are our desires but not our necessities. Wants do not have limitations i.e. to say they often do not have their feet planted upon the ground of practicality. So when such a desire is fulfilled without much ado on the part of person, we usually accredit it to ‘good luck’. I have heard people like Elizabeth Taylor consider themselves ‘lucky’ on hindsight at the twilight of their lives. What we observe here is that good luck is invariably connected with fulfillment. One feels lucky in life if he achieves all he wants to or if he attains the love he or she has pined for or to add a whole new dimension to it, one feels lucky if his religious ambits are satisfied

Luck is like water. It takes up the shape of the vessel it lands up in. What I mean to say is that the definition of luck or ‘good luck’ varies with the point of view of those who experience it. Sir Winston Churchill was so moved by what he considered his ‘good luck’ that he exclaimed, “There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at by a failed gun.

Endurance

Bob Dylan once wrote in a song:
" How many roads must a man walk down,
Before you call him a man?
How many seas must the white dove fly,
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they are forever banned?"

Let us look at the past few months, we have been afected by wars in the Middle East, devastated by floods, bombarded by terrorists, taken on a see-saw ride by the stock markets, threatened by political indecisions and mis-decisions, enchanted by sea-water turning sweet and Gods drinking milk (again), and we've endured them all. The indomitable spirit of man has endured and triumphed. Yes we've even redressed a bit of it's injustice to the Universe by kicking out poor Pluto (the erstwhile planet, not the cartoon character) from our solar system. Cosmic justice? Maybe.
But how long till the situation eases for us? If you go by Nostradamus, the Holy Bible (Book of Revelations), Kalki Avtaar (Srimad Bhagvata), it won't. Infact it will get a bit worse everyday. That is unless we pull ourselves back together or in Nat King Cole's words "Straighten Up and fly right". Especially the politicians who seem to guide the destinies of nations, should be made to realise what they're there for, not to enrich their lives or net worths, but to serve the nations for a change. not to stay in power for the sake of it, but to do what is right for the country. Not to think about what others would say or do, and defend our country.
Is that really possible, or is it just utopia?

"The answer my friend is blowing in the wind,
The answer is blowing in the wind."