On tolerating intolerance

The last few days and weeks have been a sad commentary on seeing a nation getting divided.

Like it or not, want it or not, only two words have dominated all the headlines of late:
असहिष्णुता and Intolerance

You know there is something seriously amiss if, despite what's going on with our (and the global) economy, the Paris attacks, and umpteen other far more important things, we seem to be hellbent on fighting about where there is tolerance or not, in our country.

The only thing we seem to be doing, is to make intolerant attacks against each other - making it an us vs, them ugly spat fest, where we simply can't tolerate any remark against our side!
If we can leave aside and forget our respective political affiliations or camps for a moment, what does that do or say about us as a nation?

Irrespective of whether one likes it or not, we are today at a state where we, as citizens of a nation that prides on its inclusiveness, are taking positions on which side of the fence they are.
I mean, what are we achieving by doing so?

I understand politicians jumping over each other to make a killing and score points for themselves.
Unfortunately, practically speaking, why should one expect any different or any better from them?

However, what bemoans us?
We, the people of India?!
What stops us from being impartial and objective, at least when it comes to national interest?
Are we doing a good job of uniting the country in our own little way by doing (or not doing) whatever we can or are our actions or inactions creating fissures, negativity and divisiveness within people, within the nation?

I am sorry.
I am sorry I cannot relate to either of the two positions:

Not the Hindustan Hindus ka hi hai nor the India ab (hi) intolerant ho gaya hai!

I don't agree that those who think India has become intolerant need to be thrown out to Pakistan, nor do I believe that intolerance has come to be only now.

Doesn't the fact that people are talking about intolerance, debating it, protesting against the perceived lack of it, convey something in itself?!

Also, if India is truly as tolerant as it always has been, why are we getting so touchy about each other's camps?
Are you pro-Kejriwal or pro-Modi?
Are you "sickular" or "communal"?

We might have a preference or bias towards any of them, but how better are we than those who are milking people like us, to talk and fight amongst ourselves?
Look at your social media feed today.
Look at any lunch/coffee table discussion.
Look at any news channel's coverage.

Aren't we running each other down too much for too little?
Isn't it time that we stopped such divisive talk and talked meaningful stuff?

Today is 26/11.
If there is anything I would like all Indians to not tolerate, it is our unfortunate experience(s) of terrorism.
If there is anything we should not tolerate, it is inaction against those who are still unaccounted for, even 7 years after that horrific day.
If there is anything we should not tolerate, it rather be something we all stand for, it rather be something that units us, and not divides us.

For everything else, there must be tolerance and mutual respect for every opinion and for every point of view, if it already isn't there, that is.
If we have to consider, then let's consider objectively and dispassionately.

Let us choose to not tolerate anything other than:
No appeasement of ANY religion, no pandering to the vote bank of core/extremist Hindu or core/extremist Muslims, not making selective references to intolerance, keeping the same benchmarks, remembering the reactions and sense of outrage from the media, the intellectuals, and the public at large, during all time periods and not just after May 2014.

And once we consider all the opinions and still find some people at a divergent opinion, on the diametrically opposite side of whatever our stand/view/conviction may be, let us learn to co-exist peacefully, happily, and lovingly.
Without any hatred or ill-will while also ensuring its merits are made known, instead of it being misinterpreted as appeasement or weakness.

It seems like a funny irony (almost like an oxymoron) to say so in the same breath, but the only thing we should not tolerate, is intolerance itself.

God and the Devil

To my family (my parents, my in-laws, brother's family, in-laws' family), and of course, to Priyanka and Pranav Dhaundiyal :

The entire credit for this post goes to my son, Pranav - who wants me to write about God and The Devil.

I have often wondered, what defines a good human being.
We keep listening, reading, learning about becoming good, doing good, etc.
But what exactly does all this mean?

What constitutes the definition of a good person when we have both God and Devil, all within us?


There have been so many occasions when I have been rude to my family members. There have been so many occasions when I have hurt others.

There have been times when I have felt, appreciated, and given love. There have also been times when I have been happy about my conduct my heart, and my belief system.

Yes, quite simply, a good person is someone who, while conquering his inner demons, devils and weaknesses, also champions every effort channelizing on his positive, selfless, love-filled side.

True, life is full of challenges and temptations presented by the devils.
However, opportunities to be selfless and loving, abound aplenty too.

It is up to us to make the decision.
It is up to us to choose.
Every moment we spend, every decision we take, every action we make: let's ask ourselves:
In doing or not doing anything, are we siding with our inner God or our inner Devil?
If we can decide and act in consonance with this question as our guiding principle, I am sure, eventually, we would be happy with the way we led our lives :)

And no reason to worry about making this a tall order. Let's just climb one step at a time.
One day at a time, one act at a time, one decision at a time.


Hopefully, every such effort will be an exercise in making us a better person, a closer-to-God-than-to-Devil person every single day!

It will be a loooong and tiring journey of questioning ourselves everyday, but surely, this is one query which will be worth all the effort!

It is our life, and therefore, our own responsibility to do all we can, to make our inner God stronger every day, and vanquish any vestiges of anything negative or devilish from within.

Good Karma: It's never too late (and never too much)!

This one is more of an exhibit, than an article.
I write today, to just share an inspiring account of two lives - incidents from the lives of two individuals, to show the power and impact of good karma.

Credit to this Facebook post, for illustrating a wonderful instance of just how wonderful and powerful it is to practice any good 'karma'.

If you go through the post, what it teaches us is that it's never too late!
It's never too late (nor too much) to practice any good 'karma'.

Perhaps this account might inspire more and more people to understand, believe, and implement the ineffable joy and cathartic delight that one could experience through any (number of) good karma!

It's never ever too late, it's never ever too much to do any good deed, any number of times!

Sincerely hope and pray that may all of us always strive for and achieve being able to practice performing any (and every possible) good deed that we can ever perform, at any and every given opportunity, all our lives!

So let's do good, be good, to all, always!
Amen, to that! :)

Happy Raksha Bandhan!!

One of the many amazing things about living in India is the sheer abundance of festivities that celebrate some occasion or the other.

Being a melting pot of a huge chunk of humanity, practicing multiple faiths and belief systems, something or the other is always going on (or, worst case, just round the corner) at any given point of time!

However, even among the multitude of such events, there is a day that always stands out for me: Raksha Bandhan.
There aren't many occasions as pious as a day celebrating the love of a brother for his sister, and vice versa.

Without even any religious copyrights or boundaries, one that is completely understood, liked, practiced across all faiths - appropriately enough, because its idea and concept is not endemic to a religion but to humanity. No wonder, any sane person/family appreciates, understands, and even practices it, irrespective of any religious affiliation.

A day that also recounts and reaffirms a brother's duty and sense of responsibility for his sister.

Quietly.
Piously.
Warmly.
A simple ceremony where the sister ties a rakhi on her brother's hand, does a simple teeka/tilak, followed by a pooja (equating and acknowledging a brother to no less than a divine blessing), and the brother too, as a token of his love, exchanging sweets, gifting his sister, and most importantly, acknowledging, appreciating, and reaffirming his love and responsibility towards her.

Without any shenanigans.
Nothing over the top.
Nothing against any other festival but this is a day, which neither carries the baggage of liquor-induced tamasha of a Holi nor the agonizingly gory display of self-inflicted violence of a Muharram. Heck, not even the ear-deafening blitzkreig on a Diwali.

Nice, plain, and simple.

As part of a sense of the occasion, what is also worth sharing and is something I've always felt could be extremely helpful in today's times of lack of trust and safety for women, is a sense of responsibility towards every woman.

I must also confess that it would be too idealistic or foolhardy to expect that everyone should see every woman (except his wife) as his sister only.
Yes, this ain't Satyug yet.

However, what surely is possible, is that no one should count it as his right to harass anyone.
You might not need to see/call everyone as your sister but please do have a sense of responsibility towards everyone's sister.

This video (courtesy/credit: Varun Pruthi) is perhaps a wonderful example of what it is truly, to celebrate Raksha Bandhan, in the best way not only on just that day, but also on every single day.

A nice, simple, and wonderful way to make our society better.

We have also had cases of women misusing their current status to manipulate/harass men too, but I believe, that just like most men aren't bad, most women aren't either.
Just a case of a few rotten apples on both sides, who unfortunately, tend to dominate our view when it comes to forming opinions about any person/gender.

So if I can ask anything of every guy, it is only this much:
Even if you cannot call everyone your sister, let us all make sure that we protect and care for not only our sister(s), but also everyone else's.
No one (across any gender) has the right to harass any individual.

Perhaps the day when we could see every guy adopting such an attitude as part of his core, conscious belief-system, that day would be the day when we would be making our world such an infinitely safer and better place.
That would be the best way to celebrate Raksha Bandhan!

Here's to a much happier, safer, caring, responsible, and empathetic world: Happy Raksha Bandhan!!