BELIEVERS AND BELIEVERS
I have written a lot about belief in God and what
change it brought to my life. I will go one step further and attempt to write
my thoughts about believers. I will refrain from writing about the
non-believers or atheists as they call themselves, because I never understood
why someone should make so much noise about something, which they believe
doesn’t even exist. It is about believers that I would dare to put down my
thoughts. I seek your pardon if any of you find my writing to be arrogant or
impertinent.
Believers, as we are called in general, don’t
necessarily fall under one group. On the one end of the spectrum are believers
who are fanatic enough to cause hurt and destruction in the name of their
beliefs. On the other end there are those who would keep their beliefs to
themselves, almost ashamed of admitting their belief in someone whom they
haven’t seen heard or felt. But still they believe too, or it helps them in
many ways to believe in a power that can do things which they can’t. I would
leave the violent kind of believer out of this essay as I am of strong opinion
that they shouldn’t even be called believers in God, because God would never
want hurt to be caused to any one of His creations. I will only attempt to talk
about the other believers, who would cause no hurt to others as part of their
beliefs.
All believers basically aim at some form of
communication with God. For many it is for seeking something from Him, mostly
some kind of material benefit. For still others it is just to keep Him pleased
so that their misdeeds are pardoned and they are not made to suffer for their
actions. Then there are a few who will not seek anything from Him, but just
thank Him for keeping them as they are. Whatever the purpose of seeking Him, we
all feel the need to perform some sort of action to show this out. Not that He
won’t understand our thinking and need without any action. But it is our need
to perform some kind of action, for we feel the need to express our intentions
through actions. These actions or activities are generally termed, sometimes
wrongly, as religious practices or forms of worship. These practices are what
generally come under criticism from various people or groups, if they are
different from what they practice.
These practices vary with place, caste, family
background and the Guru being followed. There are those who believe in the
simple act of standing with palms together in front of God’s idol or picture in
their homes, offering a flower or Tulsi leaves. Some believe in Shayana
Pradakshinam or Anga Pradakshinam or in plain English rolling around a temple.
Some believe in piercing metal objects through their tongue or their cheeks.
Some may seek the help of God-men to lead them to God. There are many forms of
offerings made to God including alcoholic drinks. All these form various
practices to achieve the ultimate aim of communicating with Him for whatever
purpose.
The main aim of writing this is to ask whether anyone
has the right to criticize any form of religious activity, as long as it
doesn’t hurt others in any way. We have seen one or the other form of religious
activity being severely criticized in the media or social forums. Ironically,
the most severe criticisms come from believers who themselves may be following
one or the other kind of religious activity or worship. The most severe
criticisms come from those who call themselves the “intellectual” or “evolved”
believers. They form a group of persons who have read or claim to have read the
scriptures. They take pains to point out that most of the practices are not
mentioned in the scriptures and that this is not the right path to God. As we
all know the original scriptures, at least as far as Hinduism is concerned,
have been interpreted by various scholars and teachers and that these
interpretations are not the same always. Nor are they understood in the way
they were supposed to be. This being the case what right does one have to
criticize the practices of another person? Forms of worship have changed over
the centuries to suit the particular period and place. As long as the form of
worship doesn’t hurt others, everyone should be allowed the freedom their way
of reaching out to God.
Hoping that everyone would be tolerant to others’
practices, I dedicate this at the feet of my Guru, Shree Andaal and Shriman
Narayanan.
THIRUPPAVAI - AN INTRO
Let me start this blog with an apology. The heading is
in itself a misnomer. I am not knowledgeable enough to give an introduction to
Thiruppavai. I am just penning down what I understood from the introduction
given by my Guru Shree Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy. I have been attracted to
Thiruppavai and its interpretations from when I started listened to the
discourse by my Guru. The more number of times I listen to it, the more the joy
in talking about it or writing about it. This is the reason for one more blog
on Thiruppavai. Of course, how much ever it is being discussed, interpreted or
talked about there will be no dearth for meanings and interpretations. It is an
inexhaustible well of knowledge about Him and His ways, penned so succinctly by
Aandal in just 30 stanzas.
Why did Aandal write Thiruppavai? How could a little
girl of hardly 10 years put so much, in such language in so short a poetry? Her
life on earth was only for a short period of around 12-14 years, before she
achieved her union with the Lord. How did a little girl get so much knowledge?
The answers lie in knowing who Aandal was.
Aandal appeared on earth as a little child in the
garden of Shri Vishnu Chittar, or more commonly known as Periyaazhvar.
Periyaazhvar was of Brahmin birth and did the service of growing flowers and
making garlands out of them for the Lord. He lived in Sreevalliputhur in Tamizh
Nadu. He is one among the ten aazhvaars who are in fact the human incarnation
of the ten adornments and accompaniments of Lord Narayana. Periyaazhvar is the
avatar of Shree Garudaththaazvar, the vehicle of Sriman Narayanan. Periyaazhvar
has a special place among the Aazhvars in that he is the only one blessing Lord
Narayana and praying for His well being, while all other Aazhvars have written
in praise of the Lord.
Aandal appeared in the garden of Periyaazhvar on the
day of Pooram Nakshatram in the month of Aadi. She was the incarnation of Shree
Bhoo Devi or Mother Earth herself, who is one of the three consorts of Shriman
Narayanan. The sole purpose of her appearance on earth during the Kali Yuga was
to reassure us that the Lord is ever merciful and that once we totally
surrender ourselves to Him, He will certainly lead us to salvation,
notwithstanding the sins we may have committed. This is what Lord Krishna had
promised to Arjuna in The Gita – that, He shall pardon our sins and lead us to
salvation.
From a very young age Aandal was filled with love for
the Lord, the knowledge in her soul that she is the consort of Lord Narayana
Himself, expressing itself as love for the Lord.
It was Periyaazhvaar’s daily chore to pluck fresh
flowers from his garden, make them into a garland and dedicate to Lord Shree
Rangamannar. One particular day he saw that the garland he had made for the
Lord was worn by Aandal. He admonished Aandal, made a fresh garland for the
Lord. The same day Lord appeared in Aazhvaar’s dream and advised that he should
not to get angry with Aandal and that he shall be adorned with the garland
after being worn by Aandal. The Lord continued to tell Aazhvaar that Aandal was
born to be united with Him and that He shall accept her at the right time.
Every day, from then on, the Lord was dedicated the garland that was worn by
Aandal. She came to be known as “Soodi Kodutha Nachiyar”.
Meanwhile the love of Aandal for Shriman Narayana was
so intense that it struggled to find a way of expression. It was at that time she
heard from a religious preacher that during the time of Krishna the women of
the cow-herd clan had observed a period of fast and asceticism praying for
union with Krishna. Aandal decided that following the same rituals would
somewhat give vent to the intense feeling of love that she felt. In her mind
and in her actions and behavior Aandal had become a woman of the cow-herd clan.
Her imagination manifested itself as the divine poetry Thiruppavai. Through
Thiruppavai Aandal not only tells us the procedure of the fasting period but
also on how to worship the Lord and what we shall seek of Him. She goes on to
conclude that the only aim in our life should be that of serving Him at all
times and seeking salvation. By portraying herself as a woman born in the
cow-herd clan, without any knowledge of religious procedures, she aims to tell
us that the Lord does not expect us to be of high spiritual knowledge to grant
us His blessings. All one needs to do is to surrender to Him unconditionally,
and to Him alone.
Thiruppavai consists of 30 stanzas, which can first be
divided into two parts – one of 29 stanzas and another of the last one. In the
29 stanzas Aandal portrays herself as a woman of the cow-herd clan. In the last
stanza Aandal reveals her true identity as the daughter of Periyaazhvar and
tells us that reading the Thiruppavai daily can in itself get us His blessings.
In the 29 stanzas Aandal tells us of the Lord’s greatness, His mercy, His love
for us and His mastery over all things. She also tells us how we can seek His
favour and what we should ask of Him. She assures us that once we have admitted
our inability to perform without His guidance and help, and once we have
surrendered ourselves to Him, He will take it as a duty to protect and guide
us.
The above, totally inadequate, introduction to such a
divine creation was not in any way to show my knowledge. It was just a
manifestation of my love for the Lord and my respect for Shree Aandal. I seek
pardon at the feet of my Guru and Shree Aandal for all the deficiencies in my
writing.
Let me conclude by paying obeisance at the feet of my
Guru, Shree Aandal and Shriman Narayana.
MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY - ATHEIST TO BELIEVER
I was neither born to atheist parents nor was I
brought up that way. My parents were strong believers and regular visitors to
temples. I can still remember the daily prayer sessions at home and my parents’
daily visits to the nearby temple. At some point my father had stopped his
daily visits, though I won’t say he had turned non-believer. He quoted our
scriptures which said God was present everywhere, as an excuse to his change in
routine. However our annual visits to Sabarimala didn’t stop. I had been
visiting temples regularly till sometime during my first year at college. My
father gave enough freedom to us children to decide on our practices in this
regard.
I don’t know when or what changed me from believer to
non-believer. It certainly wasn’t any major incident that made me not believe
in the Supreme Power. There certainly wasn’t any ideology that turned me away
from God. Over time the feeling came to me that there couldn’t be one Supreme
Power who could control everything in the universe. Certainly not one who could
be pleased to do things in our favour, nor angered enough to create misfortune
for us. It was not that I believed it was all in my power to carve a path to my
future. I believed there were too many things that were more powerful than the
individual, including one more educated, more affluent or more physically
powerful individual. I strongly believed that anything that happened in this
world was a result of a combination of forces, that of human beings and / or
that of nature. As this idea took root in my mind I also started analyzing
incidences in a rational way. I argued that I didn’t have to believe or accept
anything that either I have seen or has been recorded with proof. I remember
vividly one discussion with a friendly doctor who put forth the argument that
the only proof to who my father was, is the world of my mother and so how could
I be sure that the person whom I call father is really my father. I retorted
saying that I was least bothered who begot me, but would accept the person as
father, whom my mother said, was my father. I said I would believe what I see
rather than something I can’t see or hear or know with proof. People called me
an atheist.
Even during my period of non-belief I had visited
temples occasionally. One such annual visit was with my dear friend who
insisted on visiting the temple on his birthdays and took me along. I went
along because the visit was followed by a good dinner in celebration of his
birthday, of course paid by him. My other visits to temples were during annual
temple festivals. I loved the festive atmosphere, the beat of drums and more
importantly the gathering of young females. Another religious activity, if you
could call it that, was the annual discourse on Bhagavat Gita by the great
teacher and philosopher Shri Chinmayananda Swamy. The philosophy of life, as
explained in The Gita greatly attracted me and influenced me. The one thing
from The Gita, which got etched in mind, was that our want or love for something
was the basic reason for most kind of miseries in our life. It only helped
reiterate my feeling that any Supreme Power could not help us when the cause
itself lies in us and in factors that affect our life. Even during those
periods of non-belief there was one thing that I always noticed and remembered
– the peace of mind and calm that I experienced when I was inside a temple. The
rational part of my mind attributed this to the general feel-good atmosphere of
any temple, especially Kerala temples - the silence, the pleasant smells and a
sense of purity.
It would have served as good reading for my readers if
there had been one major incident or even better, a calamity, in my life that
turned me from non-believer to believer. There just wasn’t, or at least I can’t
remember of anything of such nature. Life was good to me even during those
years of non-belief, barring a few unpleasant incidents that occur in anyone’s
life. I had seen in many movies telling the story of God, showing how a strong
non-believer (usually a drunkard with all bad habits and behavior) is saved
miraculously from a major accident or death by God, then turns to be a staunch
believer. I didn’t believe in those stories then. I didn’t believe all atheists
were “bad” characters – at least I was not one. And I believed that such
persons don’t deserve to be saved either.
There were no dramatic incidences that turned me from
a non-believer to a believer in God. There were a few favourable happenings in
life that I could not explain using my logical mind. I also cannot deny the big
influence my partner in life had, in starting this change. Hearing about Him,
visiting temples with my wife, watching Mahabharatha and discussing about it,
all had an influence in me. I had become curious about Him and allowed a small
space for Him in my mind.
It would seem hugely funny to believers that I thought
I had allowed Him a small space in my mind, when He is omnipresent and
omnipotent. But then listening to my Guru Shri Velukkudi Krishnan’s discourse
on Thiruppavai, I realize what I had done. I had stopped denying His access to
me. Like my Guru says, the most-merciful and kind Lord just needs us to stop
denying Him from helping us. Once we do this He takes it as His responsibility
to guide us, help us and lead us to salvation. It may sound absurd, but most of
us do it without even realizing it. As Krishna himself says, even his close
friend and disciple Yudhishtira in his mind had wished that Krishna would not
be there to see him play the game of dice and place his own brothers and
country and wealth as stake. There are many times in all of our lives that we
wish foolishly, knowing very well that it is not possible, that God won’t
witness our wrong-doings, thus preventing Him from helping us. Not that His kindness
would let Him let go of us like that, but then He will wait till we realize and
seek His help.
As always I turn to Thiruppavai and my Guru’s
explanations on it. In the 28th Paasuram Aandal refers to going
after the cattle (கறவைகள் பின் சென்று கானம் சேர்ந்து உண்போம்). As to
why Aandal refers to going after cattle is because Krishna Himself when
questioned about his love for the four-legged gentle creatures, explained that
they never prevented Him from going behind them. The meaning being that as long
as we don’t deny Him from guiding and helping us, He will take care of our
well-being.
Many
might ask me what I have gained by turning into a believer. I have not gained
riches, nor have I gained fame and status. But the change has taught me to
realize that He is there to help me and guide me when He sees the need. It has
taught me not to gloat over success or despair in times of failures. The change
has brought about peace and happiness which otherwise I have never experienced.
I
cannot end this without thanking my Guru Shri Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy for the
little knowledge that I have gained, Aandal for giving us the Thiruppavai and
the Lord Himself for giving me the chance to associate myself with both the
above.
MY SPIRITUAL JOURNEY – WHY THIRUPPAVAI?
My spiritual journey may have started a few years ago, with regular
chanting of prayers, visiting temples and observing fasts and other things
associated with spirituality. I had realized that God is the supreme power and
He was he only one who could bring about any change in our lives. And that He
was responsible for any incident in my life. However the ‘He’ took many forms
in my mind, including that of Goddesses, but always convincing myself that
there cannot be many Gods, and that these were all various forms of the one
Supreme Lord. From very early in my life I could never agree to the existence
of many Gods. However my whole perspective about God and prayers changed
drastically when I started listening to understanding Thiruppavai as explained
by my guru Shri Velukkudi Krishnan.
Somewhere I had read that God cannot be limited to any one form or name,
because that will mean limiting his powers to that extent. This was what
convinced me that the various forms are just how He appeared to us under
various circumstances to undertake various duties to save the world. This is
one thing that got a confirmation from my guru Shri Velukkudi Krishnan’s
discourse on Thiruppavai. That He appeared in the form of Narayana as we know
only so that we can fit Him into our imagination and thought. The thinking of
One God also crystallized into one name and its various alternates. Listening
to my guru’s discourses cleared the confusion in my mind as to which form of
God to worship for what reason. He clarified that praying Narayana in any form
will give the same result.
But this was not the main change that occurred in me. My whole perspective
about God changed with my understanding of Thiruppavai. From a powerful master
who stood at a distance, whom we waited to hear our voice and prayers, He
turned to be the most benevolent. He became the one who waited to fulfill our
wishes, to give reprieve to our sorrows, to guide us in times of crisis and to
somehow attract us to Him so that our souls get liberated. Through Thiruppavai
Aandal convinces us that as long as we don’t deny Him the opportunity to help
us, He will always be there, taking care of us.
In the 28th Paasuram of Thiruppavai, Aandal, portraying herself
as a woman from the cow-herd clan, is seen telling Krishna that she is ignorant
of any religious procedures and her only virtue is her being born in the same
clan as Krishna himself. Aandal, as the incarnation of Shree Bhoodevi and
brought up in this birth as the daughter of the pious Brahmin Periyaazhvar,
cannot be ignorant of prayers or religious procedures. But in Thiruppavai she
has assumed the role of a cow-herd woman and feigns ignorance only to show us
that the Lord doesn’t expect anything else from us except a total surrender to
Him. Aandal goes on to tell Krishna that here she is, surrendering herself at
His feet and requests that He grant His blessing for her service.
Aandal has penned Thiruppavai with the only aim of telling us that even for
the uninitiated one, the Lord is accessible and showers His kindness. He offers
salvation even if we don’t have any virtues, but surrender ourselves to Him.
His appearance in this world in various forms is in itself a kindness shown to
us earthlings. That He, the most powerful, the most sacred and the most pure,
should decide to appear on earth and live among us mortals, is proof enough of
His love for us. All his appearances have been to show us by example of how we
should lead our lives.
He gifted us the Vedas and knowing very well that we humans, due to our
karma and life on earth, will not lead the life that the Vedas prescribe,
decided to appear on earth. Not seeing the desired changes, He gifted us such
Gurus and Acharyas like Sankara, Madhva, Ramanuja and the various teachers who
followed their path. He gave us the Aazhvars who penned the Divya Prabhandams
for us to read and understand and learn to love Him. At the height of his
kindness Lord Narayana declared that the mere chanting of His names is enough
to liberate our souls. The thirty stanzas of Thiruppavai gifted so kindly to us
by our Mother Earth Shree Bhoodevi, in the form of Aandal all point to this one
fact. Love Him and Chant His Name – and you shall be liberated. Ask Him for
nothing but the opportunity to be of service to Him. Thiruppavai is written in
a style that is simple and easy to understand, and hearing it explained by my
Guru Shree Velukkudi Krishnan, cannot but bring us closer to the Lord and make
our hearts melt knowing His kindness and love for us.
Pranaams at the feet of my Guru Shree Velukkudi Krishnan, ever-so-kind
Aandal and at the feet of ever-merciful Lord Narayana.
My Spiritual Journey - Aandal and Thiruppavai
For many years, or should I say till two years ago, the
month of Margazhi meant nothing more than pleasant weather in the otherwise
throughout the year hot Chennai. The month also meant celebrating the dawning
of a New Year. It was only from the second half of year 2012 that the month of
Margazhi started signifying something more than just the above. Something
relating to spirituality. Something to do with God and way to reach out to Him.
Something that taught me that there was path open to me, which I had not seen
for so many years, that I should take to understand and love my creator and
master the Lord Narayana Himself.
As with most people I had my own stint of being an atheist,
that too having been born in a fairly religious and God fearing family. But then
I turned to God again after the brief period of non-belief, partly due to a
life partner who was spiritually inclined. I looked at God (or should I say
Gods as we have many) as a power that could control us, that would give us what
we wanted if asked in the right way. But one thing I never believed was that he
could bribed by a few coins in the donation box in temples or a few offerings
made in return for favours curried. But I did believe in various fasts, prayers
and regular visits to temples. I prayed daily and realized that it did give me
a mental strength to weather any adversity. But even then God was someone who I
placed on a high pedestal and looked up at someone who was there, but always
out of reach for me and more as someone who operated at an impersonal level,
handing us favours or punishments based on our actions and prayers. Never did I
consider Him as someone who was guiding us on a day to day basis, with an
immense amount of love and kindness. Though I prayed daily, He was always
someone to be kept faith on and obeyed. All this and my object of prayer
changed with a suddenness that surprised me.
Even before the changes started the indications were there,
but I realized it much later, thanks to my ignorance about His ways. I was an
ardent devotee of Devi Parvathi, more specifically Madurai Meenakshmi Amman for
quite some time. She had occupied prime place in my prayers and in my thoughts.
Before my leaving for Tanzania in June 2011, it was my strong wish to visit
Madurai and seek the blessings of Meenakshi Amman for my new job and new
location. However I realize later that things would not go as per my wish but
as per His plans for me. Circumstances prevented me from visiting Madurai. All
my plans changed and I had the fortune of visiting Guruvayoor and taking the
blessings of Shree Krishna. My mind still was plagued with guilt for not having
paid respects to the Goddess that I considered my own mother. But then I
thought maybe that was Her wish and proceeded to Tanzania, where I remained a devotee
of the Mother Goddess, keeping as much faith in Her as before.
I have read and heard said that when we
seek a Guru with all our hearts and if He wishes so, the opportunity will
present itself. It proved very much true in my case. I started listening to the discourses on Thiruppavai by Shri
Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy. Listening to the same discourse couple of times made
me place him in my mind as my Guru, though I doubt whether he would have
accepted me as his disciple, ignorant that I am even about the daily procedures
I am expected to follow as a Brahmin. But he remained in mind as my Guru and
mentally I offered my prayers keeping him in my mind.
It was quite evident at that time the He
was taking me on a path I had not travelled before. Making me listen to
Thiruppavai repeatedly was just one of His ways. At the same time the
opportunity was presented for me to be an active participant in weekly bhajan
sessions by the local ISKCON units, often the same being conducted at my
residence. I had not been one to enjoy bhajans, or for that matter even crowd
at temples. I preferred to pray alone whether at home or at temples. But I
started enjoying the bhajan sessions and I understood why my Guru insisted that
devotees pray together. The positive energy was palpable during the sessions. I
started understanding the meaning of what Aandal says in Thiruppavai – கூடியிருந்து குளிர்ந்தேலோரெம்பாவாய்.
What attracted me most to
Thiruppavai is its sheer simplicity. I had been trying to gain knowledge about
spirituality and God through various sources. But Aandal, the incarnate of Lord
Bhoodevi, herself possessing immense knowledge, chooses to play the role of one
born in the clan of cow-herds, insisting at various places in the poetry about
her ignorance of anything spiritual. It is Aandal who showed me the true
meaning of what Krishna said – to leave everything and surrender to Him
completely. It is Aandal who teaches us that once we have surrendered fully to
Him, He will take us under His wings and give us what we need. It is from
Thiruppavai that we learn that His love for us is much greater than our love
for Him. It is in Aandal’s 28th Paasuram that she tells Krishna that
she is an ignorant woman, the only merit being that she was born in the same
clan as Krishna and have surrendered herself to Him completely. And she says
now it is His turn to show His love for her and grant her the aim of her life –
to be eternally in the presence of the Lord Himself. It is Aandal who taught me
that all I can do is wish, but all actions will be done by Him through me. It
is Aandal who taught me that the only thing that can give salvation is total
surrender to Him.
Thiruppavai and Andaal, through
my Guru, turned me from believing and fearing God to loving Him with all my
heart. I learned, albeit so late in my life, that He, as the owner and master
of my soul, is keener about my well being than me myself. From a believer in
many Gods and demi-Gods, I have turned into one with an unshakable faith in
Lord Narayana and his kindness and love for me.
It will be a mistake on my part to end this blog without offering my
immense gratitude to my Guru Shri Velukkudi Krishnan, the kind Shree Andaal and
the all-powerful, ever-loving Master of my soul Shreeman Narayana.
KEJRIVAL’S FALL – A LESSON FOR THE
AAM AADMI
There will at least be quite a few voters and would-be
politicians who will be sad at the resignation of Kejriwal and the subsequent
dissolution of the Delhi Assembly. There must have been quite a few voters who,
naive they may have been, thought that here was a man who will remove all that
is bad in the country. There will at least be quite a few aspiring politicians
who thought there was a chance for them also to become a minister or at least
an MP or MLA. This may or may not include corrupt politicians who were chucked
out of their old parties or may have resigned citing reasons of neglect.
Whatever the reasons for the AAP to rise so suddenly, it has been proved that
they cannot govern and even if they are able to govern, being in a fragile
coalition they will never be able to do anything on their own. They had to
depend on the Congress or the BJP for any decision to be taken.
I am not here to write about the AAP’s inefficiency or its leaders’
arrogance or immaturity. I am here to talk about the dangers of electing a
party that has to depend on a coalition to form a government. I am here to
write about the dangers of voting regional parties in the national election.
Regional parties are just that – regional. Most of them don’t have a national
presence nor do they have a national agenda, or their leaders have a national
perspective or view. They come into power due to some regional issues and they
never grow above that. They may good to form a state government and may even be
able to do a good job at that.
Voters generally vote for the regional and communal parties
only because of their selfish interests. Most regional parties are community
based and they promise every form of subsidy or freebie to their community and
get the votes. Later they hold the whole coalition to ransom and get their
demands met. These demands are never in the interest of the whole nation or
even sometimes not in the interest of the whole state where the coalition is in
power. We have seen how communal parties with minority status have been able to
get sanctions for colleges and schools. In many cases these colleges just cater
to that particular community and mostly only to those of the community who can
afford to pay huge sums for the seats. Most of them don’t even have the
necessary facilities. This is just one example.
Even in the national level we have seen how parties like
AIADMK, DMK, TMC, SP, BSP etc have held the national government at ransom and
literally blackmailed the government to give favours to these parties. We have
even seen hard core criminals in these parties escape punishment because of the
party’s influence at the centre. We have seen how some these parties’ leaders themselves
have escaped punishment by threatening to pull out of the coalition. Even the so
called national party CPI (M) have kept the government on tenterhooks
threatening to quit the coalition.
When it comes to the national government, it is important
that decisions affecting the whole population are taken immediately and effectively.
There may be many laws which may have to be brought for the safety of the
nation, which may affect one or two of the regional parties. There government
at the centre will have to consider the countries’ population as a whole when
they take decisions. There may be a few communities who may get affected. There
may be some special benefits to particular regions or communities which will
have to be sacrificed in the interest of the nation. The centre government
cannot look at any state or region in isolation. All these need a party which
can act strongly and swiftly when needed. This requires a party which can have
a national perspective and take care of the nations’ interests at large. They must
be able to take decision without having to depend on the support of a lot of
coalition partners, whose interests may clash with each other. To govern the
nation effectively we need a strong government at the centre who can take
action without having to have all-party meetings or friendly dinners.
In India currently there seem to be only two parties which
can claim national presence. The so-called third or fourth front, which claims
partnership of parties from all over the country, cannot take a collective
decision as many of the partners themselves cannot see eye-to-eye. The only two
parties remaining are the Congress and the BJP. I am not here to discuss the
merits and demerits of either party, though I am a strong supporter of one of
them. The only way ahead for the country is for the people to vote for one of
these two, in a way that they have an absolute majority and can take firm decisions
on their own. It is the time for people to forget their selfish interests and
think nationally. The time has come for people to elect a strong government at
the centre so that India can at least dream of becoming a stable developing
nation.
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