The arrest of the Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati has come as a huge jolt to the entire nation.
Like they say, everything is open to interpretations.
Shankhara – is supposed to mean one who clears or kills all doubts.
But it could just be a combination of words with no meaning at all. Or you could interpret each word separately and arrive at your own conclusion.
Very simply put, these are the questions millions of people had an answer to just a few days back and may be left stuttering when confronted today. Only time will probably give us the correct answer. For now, we can just hope that this was all a mistake.
Welcome to the dark murky world of religion and politics, where power play has become the order of the day. Religion and politics have become so intertwined that it is becoming extremely difficult to distinguish one from the other.
Millions of people who have believed in certain values and lived by them are left stranded with no ends to grope. At the end of the day one has only one’s conscience to cling on to.
But where it hits hardest is the youth, the new generation, the future. When such a blow can weaken strong foundations of faith built over many years, once can only imagine its impact on the younger generation.
It is the responsibility of the media, the politicians and all other public entities, while attempting to achieve their ambitions, to also keep in mind the impact such sensitive issues can have. The law will take its own course. Meanwhile, it is very important that the media, the politicians, religious leaders et al refrain from unnecessary speculation.
Fact of the case: Somebody murdered a man named Shankaraman.
ReplyDeleteObjective of the cops/judiciary: To nail the murderer irrespective of his colour, caste, creed, gender, social standing, no. of followers....
Suspect: Another man named Shankaracharya (still a suspect and not a declared murderer)
Unnecessary speculation by: media (agreed), politicians(?) and the devotees (oh yes, by assuming that the saint is the victim of dirty politics)
Effect on youth: Give them some credit. They will not allow the garbage thrown by media or politicians (alongwith pieces of facts) to affect their long term faith in religion, humanity and GOD.
Lets hope they find the real culprit.
Hi Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. But, as they say, Common sense is not so common.
Im sure everybody is told to do only good and be good etc by their parents. And everybody has the knowledge to differentiate between right and wrong and has the right to chose whatever they chose to do.
Why is it then that so many go astray?
Nothing in this world, according to me, is absolute. What's right for you
ReplyDeleteand your parents may not be so for your next door neighbor's family.
Worse, what's right for you may be absolutely unacceptable and
illogical according to your parents and vice versa.
Parents are also humans with their own definitions of right and wrong.
The differences can be handled in various ways:
By finding an harmony between the different perceptions. Lot of patience is required in
this approach and this cannot be successful if the parties involved are not flexible enough.
By keeping ones views to oneself to avoid arguments and finding other people
in the form of friends/teachers/relatives/colleagues/bloggers who would
agree with ones' definition of right. This is the approach majority of us follow.
But there are few who like to force their opinion on others by declaring and believing
that theirs is the absolute truth. This is, where the trouble starts.
Nothing in this world, I think, is absolute. What's right for you
ReplyDeleteand your parents may not be so for your next door neighbor's family.
Worse, what's right for you may be absolutely unacceptable and
illogical according to your parents and vice versa.
My theory: The differences can be handled in various ways-
By finding an harmony between the different perceptions. Lot of patience is required in
this approach and it cannot be successful if the parties involved are not flexible enough.
By keeping ones views to oneself to avoid arguments and finding other humans
in the form of friends/teachers/relatives/colleagues/bloggers who would
agree with ones' definition of right. This is the approach majority of us follow.
But there are few who like to force their opinion on others by declaring and believing
that theirs is the absolute truth. This is, where the trouble starts.
I do agree with most of what you have to say.
ReplyDeleteBut what i was trying to say was that there is something good and bad in every person. And its only the external factors that influence and nurture either aspect of a persons personality.
I don't think we are discussing issues like arranged or love marriage where every parent may have his/her own view of right and wrong. We are discussing grave misbehaviours which are not viewed favourably in any community.
That is why i strongly believe that the media plays a very critical role in influencing the thought process of people.
The indian sensor board for example finds it perfectly normal to show gory violence. They have no issues with children being exposed to violence. But introduce a few kissing scenes(i may be exagerating here :) ) and a little skin and the film is certified as A.
I think this issue has to be taken seriously keeping in mind the extent of exposure that kids these days are getting to the media.
Vinod, as u said, each person has a good side and a bad side. Today's youth should take in the good things offered by a person and reject the bad things. To do that, one should be able to differentiate the good and the bad. As someone pointed out, the good for one person maynot be good another.
ReplyDeleteSo how does a person say that ABC is right and XYZ is wrong. It all depends on the surrounding in which he/she has been brought up. The family values, the culture, the friends and neighbours, etc.
Another aspect is what we call common sense. A guy who knows what is right and wrong can still go the wrong way if he does not use his common sense. This fact can be seen in our college life - why does a guy who never touched a cigarette or alcohol till his school days suddenly starts smoking/drinking in college, eventhough he knows it is bad. Is it because of peer pressure? Is it to impress someone? Is it because of a rough life?
I don't have any comments on Shankaracharya - since I don't know what sort of person he is.
Well said SJ. Totally agree with you. I guess Human Psychology is one of the most complex sciences today and its really difficult to assume that there could exist a certain common thought process that everybody agrees with.
ReplyDeleteIts not simply that someone said, Common Sense is not so common.