small satori at work

For almost 20+ years now I have always said that  Deepavali need not be about bursting crackers, the mindless spending of money on wasteful expenditure to burst loud crackers to create toxic fumes that hang on the city for couple of days choking every breathing lung, is not a way to celebrate any festival. But, this year i am afraid talking about air or noise pollution on Deepavali day will make me look like an anti-national. -- rhetoric is the lazy first step ('ask the christians to stop bursting crackers during christmas', 'why do you remember pollution only during hindu festival'...), these will be seen  in the coming days in online posts and responses by the lazy gang -- then comes the obscurantist smarty-pants view that can cite from unknown and unheard of scriptures, preferably in sanskrit,  to justify polluting (as far as i know lighting of lamps are the only ones prescribed and none of the chemical ways of lamps or crackers were in vogue when the last time ...

When Democratically elected governments abuse the powers to scuttle people's voice, how do people support such a move? What motivates them to support such excesses by the government? Recent dialogues among several circles has given me some insights. One common feature i see in people who support, is that all of them at some level are abusers of power, whether it be in their families, communities, professions or public offices. Once you are used to abusing power at a small level, you are awestruck when it is done at a bigger level, the act of abuse, both validates and strengthens your weakness.

With age memories distort Changes to facts of past to suit our views of present Self preservation causes distortion No one preserves a self from past, So, all our memories are always distorted We age with these distortions All memory is distorted so that we create a new reality. Truth is only Now.

In its carefully selected reasoning, In its need to build its identity, it creates a world to live in. In its failure, it remains mortal, In trying to achieve peace within its failing, it immortalizes the human limitation of thanklessness.