Theory of Relativity in Politics

Though the theory of relativity is known as a theory in science it can be applied to politics. When I say relativity, it implies that in politics there is a tendency to consider certain ways absolute, but they are not so. What is the rationale behind this argument? 

Politics is broadly defined, to use David Easton’s words, allocation of resources in society in an authoritative way as people have different expectations from the state and it is not possible for the state to meet all the needs of all the people. Relativity in politics implies that people disagree, or rather they agree to disagree, and representatives of people, the political leaders, must keep this relativity principle in mind while making policies. In mathematics when you add two and two it makes four. It is certain and it does not matter where you are making that addition. To give another example if you add hydrogen and oxygen it gives you water. But that certainty principle is not there in social science because social science is a science about society, about human beings. Politics is not about insentient objects or numbers, but about social beings who shape and are shaped by divergent ideas and values. It is about the people who are conditioned by events and who live, to use the words of Auguste Comte, dead men’s lives. 

Relativity as a social principle can be traced to the ancient period. Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti (Truth is one but the wise express it in many voices) or Anekantavada (many sided truth) affirm this relativity principle in life and society. The story is that some blind people went to describe an elephant. One of them touched the elephant’s tail and described that the elephant is like a rope. Another touched the elephant’s leg and described that the elephant is like a pole. The point is that all of them described the elephant, but not the whole elephant, the absolute truth. 

We in society are like these blind men and like these men argue that our truth is the absolute truth and the truth of the other side is not the truth. This blindness extends further with horrifying consequences. Once I claim my truth is the only truth and your truth is not truth, I try to give my truth a life, a concrete shape and deny your truth and do everything to deny it life. In sum, you are morally excluded from my world. That is the extreme manifestation of absolutism. There are ample examples of such moral exclusions in history, and we can see this happening in our society today. 

Political labeling – either you are a nationalist or anti-nationalist, a patriot or a traitor – is the trend nowadays worldwide. This has led to the shrinking of the middle ground, or the loss of sensitivity to diverse voices. The point is that one individual can be a nationalist at one point of time by supporting one state policy and he can be the same nationalist by criticizing another policy. To give an example, I support India’s policy of abrogation of Article 370, which was a temporary and transitional provision of the constitution. The Article, contrary to its objectives, distanced Jammu and Kashmir from India. But at the same time, I was skeptical of the policy of demonetization. I doubt whether it realized its intended objectives. Does supporting one policy and critiquing another make one nationalist or anti-nationalist? One can apply this logic not only to Indian politics but to politics elsewhere. Rigid political labeling has apparently become the norm. The middle space has shrunk. Appreciation of differences and diverse views is a rare commodity now. Decency has almost become pariah in political debates. Even one’s family tragedy is ascribed to his or her disagreement with dominant political views.

While I understand that idealism is not appreciated in politics and a politician, howsoever well-intentioned, has to tread through the minefields of crude realism, that does not imply a shirking of moral responsibility. After all, Aristotle, the father of political science, called political science master science and politics a noble profession. Plato too is relevant here. He recommended rigorous education and training for political leaders. Perhaps the time has come for politicians to go through rigorous training and education in moral character and statesmanship. It is not that we do not have examples. Abraham Lincoln comes to mind and also Mahatma Gandhi. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” King talked about color, but one can also think of religion, nationality, race, caste, language and other such distinct markers. 

I doubt whether politicians of today would be enamored by Gandhi’s talisman: “Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, try the following expedient: Recall the face of the poorest and the most helpless man whom you may have seen and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him. Will he be able to gain anything by it? Will it restore him to a control over his own life and destiny?”

In the new year I wish genuine attempts are made towards understanding and appreciation of divergent views. Politics should not be that ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish’ in which fellow human beings are used as objects, morally excluded and humiliated.

(This article was published in Times of India blogs: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/periscope/theory-of-relativity-in-politics/)

On the New Year

It may seem odd to write something on the New Year when the year is shedding one of its twelve legs. I understand that this perspective applies to the English new year, as there are many other new years which are yet to come – the Chinese celebrate it on 5th of February, the Hindus some time in March, etc. In that sense all these celebrations, if I may say, fall into a cycle – the cycle of new years or what I call the cycle of life. 

When I am talking about life, my mind goes to the saying of one of India’s celebrated philosopher, social servant and freedom fighter – Gopabandhu Dash. Dash (1877-1928) was fiercely independent in mind and spirit and despite having university degrees in those days and having opportunities to enjoy the life of high class preferred to be a dhoti-clad social reformer going from door to door to serve the poor. When the devastating flood affected the coastal Orissa Dash came out of his house to distribute relief to the victims. At that time his only son was bedridden with serious illness (those days medical facilities were horrible). His wife requested Dash not to leave their sick son on the verge of death, to which he replied (and I paraphrase), ‘thousands of my sons are afflicted by flood – whom should I serve: to this son or those thousands of sons suffering outside home?’ Gopabandhu left for serving the victims, and his son died. 

This is a brief background of Gopabandhu’s life – I have no intention to go into detail of his life, which is available in internet. I want to quote his message, which is quite apt for the New Year. Dash wrote in his poetic style, manav jeevan nuhain kevala barsha masa dina danda, karme jien nara karma eka tara jeevanara manadanda. To translate: the human life (and its worth) can not be measured by years, months or moments (which he lives), but only by the work (used broadly service to society) because human life can only be measured by the work he has done when alive. Dash not only wrote this but also walked his writing. I had already given one example. There are thousand such examples in his life. In the Gandhian language – his life was his message. He lived his philosophy. 

By bringing Gopabandhu to life on the occasion of the New Year I intend to do one thing – to remind myself and to my friends who read this – to think how far can we think and act in his way? How do we live our life worthy of a vision which we cherish – and which our successors will proudly remember and say that this person lived a worthy life – the life of a Gandhi, or Gopabandhu or Mandela or King Jr, or Newton, Einstein, or Wittgenstein – the examples are numerous. We may not want to be one of these worthy offsprings of the world, but we can be creative, productive, and humble in our own way. To argue in a lighter way, I bring here the famous song acted by Raj Kapoor, ek din bik jayega mati ke mol jag mein rah jayenge pyare teri bol, duje ke hontho ko dekar apne geet koi nisani chhod phir duniya se bol…(roughly translated - one day this fragile body will melt away (meaning death), but your actions will stay. Share others’ joy and pain, and in that do something for the world). Another song, acted by Kapoor, kisi ki muskurahaton pe ho nisar kisika dard mil sake to le udhar, kisiki vaste ho tere dil mein pyar jina isika naam hai bears similar message. Come here Swami Vivekananda who mightily pronounces: as you are born a human – leave an indelible mark on earth. 

I am reminded here the English film Death Has Become Her, which I watched few years ago. In that movie one of the protagonists Ernest denounces a magic potion, a drink of which makes human being immortal. There is a famous dialogue – Ernest to the prodding to drink the potion says I do not want to live artificially; rather I would live my life and die. These are not the exact words but something like which he said to his opponents. This is like Socratic way of saying (when the Greek philosopher Socrates was administered hemlock to die without his fault) – by dying I will remain alive and this jury will die while alive. There are many hilarious moments in the movie. (If I remember correctly) one of the women who had drunk potion met an accident and her body became scattered, she then collected her body into one. A movie full of comedies but with messages.

This is in brief my New Year reflections. I do not recommend that everybody must follow the example of Gopabandhu ditto – that is not the message. It is also not possible. The idea is to follow the spirit that guided Gopabandhu or Gandhi or Newton. If we can follow their examples in our own way and remain active, vigilant with seriousness to our work and surrounding and with compassion towards all, we can reasonably say that we can effect something positive in our life as well as for the world. I strongly reject the spirit of fatalism or a lazy attitude to life and in believing that a superior power will do everything for us – that is something I call negativism. Also, God does not help them who do not know how to help them. 

When I look at India, the place of my birth, I find (using the language of biology) malnutrition of these great spirits and surfeit of evil spirits – in terms of corruption and corrupt leaders, crime, religious orthodoxy, class and caste antagonisms. Field a few of Gandhis, Gopabandhus and Vivekanandas – all these problems and problem makers will vanish. There are attempts in this direction in recent months. We need more vigorous attempts. I am optimistic and positive about India’s future. Did not the great philosopher Sri Aurobindo proclaim during his message on the eve of India’s Independence that India is destined to be the Guru (leader) of the world? That leadership is the spiritual leadership, not a leadership backed by gun.

When I write these things on the New Year I may appear to lecture or give sermons – I actually look at things in a different way. These are messages to me as well. Human beings need guides like Gandhi but Gandhi can not lead human beings unless the human being wills to be led or to be changed. What I mean is: social transformation or change in the world is a collective effort, in which all, including I, have acts to perform.

Welcome 2013

           Year 2013 has arrived.

We the people of the world welcome the New Year with fan fare. We visit our families and friends, greet each other, and then immerse ourselves in routine activities, and the days pass away.

With every New Year we face change in our lives. We grow old and by one year our life becomes short.  We get new opportunities, take new assignments, and make new friends. We have moments of joy and grief, the intensity varies from individual to individual.

Events happen around us. We keep an eye on them and act accordingly. We get ready to embrace events that bring us joy, and shun those which bring us grief.  The life passes by, the New Year becomes old, and we wait for twelve months to welcome another new year.

We reflect on the passing year as we welcome the New Year. Developments, good and bad, took place within and without us, in and around our immediate family and extended neighborhood, and in the world. We find at the end despite ups and downs life is beautiful.

At individual level, the changes may appear minuscule or far reaching. The individual toils for survival. But at the level of consciousness we do not know whether we have climbed another stair. All religions preach human values, but as the world events reveal it appears we have not followed our faiths. Discrimination against the powerless continues, we shelter animosity against others, discord persists in relationships, and exploitation of the poor by the rich thrives.

Individual’s inner state reflects outer action. An individual perturbed from within may challenge established rules and create tumult. The race in achieving goals in a competitive world may have compromised some of the fine human virtues. The busy world separates immediate and extended relations. It separates parents from children, and individuals from society. The result has been chaotic. Violence at workplaces or institutions of learning, or at public spaces has grown. The world and its inhabitants suffer from malnutrition of inner peace, which is in urgent need of cultivation– at home, education institutions, in parliaments, in world bodies and above all within human beings.

The higher we climb the mountain, farther goes our gaze. The more we rise in consciousness, the more we see the world as a part of our family. The expansion of the individual consciousness is a certain remedy not only for the individual, but also for the society. When we say the world is our family and think and act in that spirit, most of the problems we confront and call insurmountable will wither away. One does not need to be a genius to understand this simple dictum of life.

The maxim that world is but a family remains so far a chant from noble souls, but has not penetrated the minds and hearts of world leaders as the events of the passing year revealed. At the larger level, at the levels of the nation-state and the world, problems remain far and wide though they do not threaten survival of mankind. Violence in parts of the world reflects that the nation-states have not been guided by the higher collective consciousness as enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Crisis in Iran and Syria persists while we welcome the New Year.

Nothing remains static in life. Things like flowing water move. Whether it is individual, or family, or nation-state, or the world, changes take place. The change is not one-dimensional but multifaceted. How this change takes place depends on the individual and also on the groups consisting of individuals. The global concerns about radicalism, climate change, economic disequilibrium, diseases can not be seen merely as creations of unseen forces, but are shaped by individual, national and international actions. These issues can not be addressed in a frame in which each nation fights for its interests and perceives others as enemy. National ego must give way to national reconciliation. Nations, as a philosopher says, are like stones in a beautiful ornament – the world. The ornament has no significance without the constituent stones, which are in proper order. The world has seen proliferation of power in recent years but that does not guarantee that the world will be better place to live in unless nations come out of narrow calculations and think big. It is a difficult but feasible idea.

As I view from the window a white blanket covers the city of Minneapolis as rain of snow continues. The rain as I feel imparts a message of peace and love. The white flakes cover the earth without any discrimination.  They are not parsimonious in their profundity; their serenity disseminates the message that the saga of life is unremitting. It continues as years pass by with the mantra: life is beautiful, and we must contribute to its beauty.

Year Anew 2011

We welcome a new year. The year 2011, like the year 2010, will come to us, and will have 12 months with same names. It is true that the events will not be same as in the year 2010, but it is true that the events in 2011 will have their links, antecedents or causes or something there will be with the events in 2010. I do not say that the events in 2011 will be all related to the events of 2010, and there will not be new developments or ‘virgin’ moments, but there will also be developments which will be linked to the year 2011, then to 2012, and so on.

In fact the developments in their multiple dimensions take place in every plane of human life both collective and individual. In collective human lives – in the form of family, or villages, or clans, or nations or such larger agglomerations the developments will take place. And these developments as the developments in the relations among the common human entities will be either for good or for bad. It is certain that relations will not be static. In fact the relations, and particularly the human relations abhor any kind of statist tendencies, and so also among the relations between the nation states, or intra-state, or among regional organisations.

On a different scale the Idea will move further towards East, or as in the Hegelian dictum, the march of God on earth will move from west to east. But this movement is so perplexing, it is very difficult to confront it in very physical shape, and it will take many more years – that the West and East will be equals in all senses. When I say equals, I do not mean physical or quantitative equality, the nations are different, the cultures are different, and they will remain different. But it should be, rather it must be a relation in harmony, relation of harmony, not a relation of subordination and superimposition or subservience, or something like that.

Something similar will be happening or is rather happening in the individual plane. In this age of technology, when everybody can claim to the domain of knowledge and known, and in this era of connectivity and globalisation, the individual is at once a decider of destiny and a slave of his fate. The individual with superior knowledge and idea can also be a master of his fate. It all depends, or will depend, the kind of consciousness, knowledge and wisdom he or she has. Every individual obviously will react differently to different situations. Similarly the consciousness of the individual will determine his or her actions. A fundamentalist terrorist brainwashed by dogmas of a religion cares for nothing because he or she has no consciousness or has imposed consciousness which guides him or her for devious goals. Obviously it is a complicated question that why a terrorist becomes a terrorist? Or rather who is a terrorist – individual or any group who kills the innocent by means of gun or who swindles billions and makes millions deprived and dead?

The victims suffer many ways. They suffer everywhere, at every turn, without any recourse. Putting in a different way, the Kautilyan saying ‘big fish eats small fish,’ or might is right is the principle that guides most of the actions of the most of the people and most of the actions of national as well as international entities. But the common concern is that – when an individual in isolation is motivated to harm, it can be controlled, but when a man is motivated by opium of religion, or culture, or whatever having direct bearing with mass human life – that becomes dangerous.

Turning to a different principle, I remember what Sri Aurobindo says, that human life is bound to evolve towards better, if not today, then tomorrow, if not tomorrow then day after. The descent of superconscious and ascent of human being to higher conscious are inevitable, as the evolution of man from primate was inevitable. But one may ask, whether this is pure mysticism, or is there any truth? It is a matter not to be argued, not to be seen from a rational angle, because it is something what Kant says beyond the rational. It is not irrational, but suprarational. It does not negate rationality, but transcends it while according it its due place. It is something to be realised not rationalised. If it is so, then it is possible that human beings can aspire to have a higher consciousness, which can provide strength and wisdom to work harder and wiser so that the killing of the innocent and maiming of the humanity by unnecessary wastage of resources in arms, nuclear weapons, and devious agendas. This is an important and interesting question, which needs to be pondered in the eve of the New Year.

Simply put, can we be good human beings by moderating our lower passions and related actions motivated by greed, anger, hatred, lust, craving for power and many such, and think of the other in a wider framework what in Sanskrit called ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,’ the whole world is one family. If we can think and act that way as individuals and impact our families and neighbours, and the larger communities that will indeed be a great step towards a better society undoubtedly. Or can we pledge – we will not harm others in thought or deed. If controlling thought process is difficult, then at least in deed. By doing so, we can contribute positively towards a better society in 2011.

Why Do You Celebrate New Year?

Why do we celebrate new year? When the year approaches its end we start preparing ourselves for celebrations to bid farewell to passing year and to welcome new year. We do it in our own ways but anyhow we do it. My point is besides the customary repetition of pomp every year in welcoming new year do we celebrate for the celebration itself or is there anything else which we must appreciate and recognize while celebrating the occasion?

The year 2009 is going to be over after a few days. In fact the first decade of the second millennium will be over soon. We remember how the slogans at the onset of this new millennium echoed in various columns and quarters, we talked about 2K, and then 2K+1, in fact we then started adding to this calculations as years passed by. Things changed around us. We grew bit older and wiser (?). And the years surged and passed by. There were changes both internally and externally. We faced old and new challenges.

At a mundane level things almost remained the same. We started our daily chores, went to work, came back home after the work, mingled with family and shared happiness and sorrow like that. Throughout things took such shape, without any transformation in our lives. We enjoyed life through happiness, through sorrow, we made new friends, lost some, and life surged ahead.

When probed deep, there is something amiss in all these pomp and lights, glory and celebrations. What does it mean? I ask to myself. We celebrated few days, and then come back to our normal selves. As if the bacchic rapture surrounding new year celebration just evaporated within a week or so! Then did it mean that we just celebrated, met friends, enjoyed and then forgot? And then wait for another 365 days to celebrate another new year. Was it just a custom, a repetition till we die and till the newer generations take the mantle from us and follow the same.

When I say new year, it means something new in essence, something expansive, something enchanting and enlightening. You can call it enlightenment of the mind and enchantment of the heart. For me there is no contradiction between the outer and the inner. It is the fact and we all know that happiness comes from inside. Wealth, position, status do not give happiness, they can create conditions for happiness, or they can create amber of happiness, not the true, real happiness that comes from within, comes from the real life giving attitude. If I am not happy internally, I can not be happy externally as well. The new year hence points to something nobler, something brighter indicating that happiness comes from within, from noble deeds. And once we realize this, then I am sure sorrow would transform into joy as we will search the meaning of life within not in apparent success or failure. There will be less competition, there will be less deceit, and there will be less evil. And every new year celebration will be like stepping stone to this expanding consciousness which will be reflected in our thoughts and actions.

Extending further, if human beings in collectivity work and realize this principle, nations can prosper and be happy but they have to give up the principle of national ego, and follow the principle of national collaboration. It is difficult but it is possible. Problems generating and generated by violence will vanish soon like day dream then.

Mahatma Gandhi set a beautiful principle. If you have doubt about the right course of action, then imagine the face of the poorest you have ever seen and see whether your act is going to help him, then the doubt will melt away. Can we see the Gandhian talisman in its proper perspective and do something which can bring us closer to a platform to promote human dignity and mitigate humiliation in all its form?

I think this must be message for the new year. And if we resolve to rise above our self, then we can celebrate the new year in its new and true spirit and help create a better family and a better world.