I was born a Christian. Now I am told by an eminent voice - you are a Hindu! Not only am I a Hindu but so is every two-legged creature in our country - Christian, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain. Everyone. I was under the false impression I'm Indian. Everyone assumes Hindu refers to a way of life, a culture, a land. Or so I thought. How wrong I was. And, you too, all wrong!
Another eminent voice claims the world envies us as we are viewed as spiritual. Really? News to me. We have yoga no doubt but has it made us less corrupt and violent? Is our country the least corrupt in the world or are we way down in the staircase to heaven? And while Mahavira emphasized ahimsa and non-violence our greatest epics, the Mahabaratha and Ramayana, are war stories. If the Aryan invasion has been demolished as a myth who exactly were we fighting? The British? Portuguese? I have no idea. Maybe we were fighting among ourselves? What do you think? The latest eminent voice informs us how important it is for us to be grateful to our freedom fighters. They fought the Portuguese who finally had their tails between their legs as they escaped homeward. And, since then, we have lived happily ever after, right? Not really because we are constantly fighting among ourselves and, our politicians are worse. They jump ship whenever it is a good move, from one party to another having fun and getting much richer - no principles - only due respect for the god Money. No friends or enemies in politics, right? When will this never-ending war of stabbing one another in the back for personal gain come to an end - and the country can go to hell? We are, no doubt, all staunch nationalists but will the betrayal of our country and lack of respect for an individual's freedom ever end? We have all witnessed a decrease in the personal freedom of you and you. Is yoga helping us become better people, more aware? The whole world is envious of us! Really? Our country was peaceful for millennia prior to the coming of the barbarians from beyond our borders. Some eminent voices say it was because the caste system was strong and we need to strengthen it once again otherwise our country will become evil like the Western countries. Maybe we could keep the peace because it was clear who was the dog and who was the dog's master. The dog, as we know, was the one who had done evil in his previous life and deserved to suffer in this one. Simple, isn't it? What crime did the first generation commit, a few people would like to know! The real problem, some say, is being told what you can eat, how you should dress or not dress. Women should know their proper place it goes without saying. The ultimate eminent voice declared our culture is becoming decadent because of British bad influence in India, Portuguese evil influence in Goa, and wicked French influence in Puducherry. We are a spiritual country and have always been this way, says the loudest voice which drowns all other voices. What's going on? Am I under mind control or is my mind out of control, and you and you? I'll allow a human being to sit at the top of the table and utter one phrase: "I warned you! " he says. Who? George Orwell. Okay, let's allow one more human being, Bertrand Russell, to have the last word on the subject. When asked, what is mind, he replied, not matter. And, when asked, what is matter, he murmured, never mind. Don't worry, our minds are gone, and so are we.
