Forgiveness

Should man be judged for his past or should he be judged according to his present circumstances. Upon the appointment of Pope Francis I, many controversies regarding his past from a “love affair” to “political tryst” has surfaced. I wonder if this is the fate of all public figures. Interestingly Cardinal Bergoglio was already holding a supreme position in Argentina but during his tenure there, even gossips of his past were not heard. But today ironically the loudest resentment is from the Argentinians themselves. Is this a curse that follows such elevation?

King Ashoka (273-232BC) the Mauryan Prince who became King after the mysterious death of his 100 brothers, and who had equal rights to the throne, will be a good analogy to explain this phenomenon. Historians had speculated that Ashoka had a hand in the conspiracy. His reign began with much bloodshed and mayhem. He was known to be a violent King who led the Kalinga war in 260BC. But today Ashoka is a revered figure both spiritually and for his governance. Spiritually, Ashoka was instrumental in propagating Buddhism, and governance, because of his excellent practice of good governance in his kingdom. After pursuing a violent path, Ashoka turned over a new leaf via self-realization. Today the Kalinga war is a mere mention in history but his good deeds had surpassed and overwhelmed the torment that he had inflicted.

Similarly there are many characters in history that personify this pathway. Hence it gives rise to a dilemma of perception. Should men/women thus be judged for their present or past? Both the institutions of divinity as well as secular thinking prescribe to the concept of forgiveness. If so why such anger and aggression towards the beholder? Sometimes it raises questions on the motives of such actions. Why not then, why now?

Even in an organizational context in managing performance, a tardy performer is given an opportunity to improve, and he/she is not denied of future undertakings in the event he/she excels later.

"Forgiveness is the fragrance that the Violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it" - Mark Twain once wrote. I have faith in humanity, and so do many. The sustainability of the future depends on how we construct the present with the wisdom of the past.

Life and Stupidity

Somebody wrote an email describing a predicament faced by his own society, “Life is tough, but tougher when you are stupid.” 

But I am going a little further, “Life is tough, tougher when you are stupid but even tougher when you are stupid and you don’t know you are.”

This is a malaise faced by various societies in the world. For political reasons, a particular strata of the population are kept ignorant of their own weaknesses. Instead an imagined utopian ideal is descended upon their minds, making them believe they are superior. Sadly, with years of indoctrination, this particular strata loses sight of reality, living in a comfort zone void of externalities. Slowly but surely realities do catch up, and when that happens it may implode, crumbling their very existence.

An education system plays a very important role in nation building. But when the education philosophy is tampered for political gains it loses its virtue.  “Thinking” suffers. But for powers that be “a thinking society is deemed to be a dangerous society.”

Ever since divinity was institutionalized,  programmed behavior was deemed to be superior because it conforms to a prescribed behavior adhering to its own code of conduct. Any stragglers are ostracized as witches and devil worshippers. Da Vinci and Galileo to name a few were people who suffered during their times because their thoughts and actions did not conform to the expected conduct of their times. Interestingly, Galileo, for his orientation towards heliocentricism, was banished for heresy and upon his death, was buried in an unmarked grave. Three hundred and fifty years after his death, Pope John II acknowledged in 1992, that there was an error of judgment but stopped short of any admission of guilt by the institution of wrongful conviction of Galileo.

Thus we can see what an institution, political or otherwise can do in stifling human thinking. The progress of a society hinges on the “knowledge of knowing what one does not know.”  When one does not know what they do not know, their life would be somewhat like a dream. And once the society wakes up from this state they would be staring at the naked reality. At that juncture that society would realize that they are ill equipped to handle the said realities which eventually could lead to social revolution. 

So if one is stupid and does not know that he is one, the harm is not only to him but life would become tougher to everyone around him as well.

An intellectual society is also a cultured society.  But how do you create an intellectually endowed society? There must be an inner realization to constantly hunger for excellence in knowledge. Ironically there is a race but the quest seems directed at material excellence. That is fine but not at the expense of negating the virtues of humanity. With the creation of a more open networked society across the globe, it is inevitable any social conditioning currently in place or any future attempts would be futile. However if the society itself refuses to step out of this comfort zone it only prolongs its eventual misery at the cost of others as well.      

Poetic Justice

Delhi gang-rape main accused Ram Singh found hanging - The Hindu 

By now everyone would be familiar with the recent Delhi rape incident. Very swiftly the perpetrators were caught and their trial is on-going. Two days ago the alleged mastermind was found hanged in the prison cell. His lawyer has alleged foul play and further asserts that his client was beaten and raped whilst in detention. Foul play or not there would be many who would have rejoiced upon hearing of his death and many more would have smiled sheepishly for the alleged treatment descended upon the “victim”. Victim? Many may ask and many more would silently wish that the same fate befalls the remaining accused. The tables have turned.  The predator now has become the prey.

Gandhi’s famous quote, “India will attain full freedom on the day women can walk safely at night.” If this were to be applied I believe no country in the world has actually attained freedom.

Justice must be seen to be done. But the circumstances must fall within the ambit of sensibility. When justice is executed emotionally it gives rise to a moral dilemma. To the rest of the world such an incident would be a mere tragedy that would soon be forgotten after the initial outpour of sympathy. But for the affected it is life torn apart. They would have to live with the nightmare forever etched.

Abraham Lincoln had once said, “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice,” a paradox statement that bears contrary to the rule of law. This puts us in a further abysmal state. So how do we decide? Should mob mentality be the answer, for its simplicity and convenience, in which case no one takes neither the responsibility nor is held accountable for such actions. It is easier to be a participant in a group action than to act alone. In the latter situation greater thought is given to consequences which is conspicuously absent in the former.

Thus arises the question “Is man a rationale being?”.  If he/she was, than the rape tragedy should never have happened in the first place and the alleged prison brutality leading to a suicide would not be even imagined. So where does this leave us? We claim to be a civil society. But are we? Being sympathetic alone cannot bring change, for compassion needs action. Poetic justice, maybe but I leave it to your own conscience.       

Has the Kraken inadvertently been released?

Malaysia Attacks Filipino Rebels on Borneo Island By FLOYD WHALEY Malaysian forces also led a ground assault on an armed group that has occupied parts of northern Borneo Island for weeks.

Antibiotic basically works in 2 ways. In the form of bactericidal it helps the body immune system to kill becteria, or as bacteriostatic it stops the bacteria from multiplying in the body. However when antibiotic is improperly administered the bacteria becomes resistant to it. Thus not only the antibiotic becomes useless but it can become dangerously harmful to the body.

The current conflict besieging Malaysia has an uncanny resemblance to the analogy above. Whether the problem is a conspiracy as speculated by both sides of political divide or it is real, at this juncture it has become irrelevant. But the fact remains, this incident has unleashed the Kraken. New tentacles are emerging day by day exposing past and present deeds of local and regional socio-political construct that is posing tremendous challenge to status quo. 

For Malaysia and Philippines the impending general elections this year, compounds to the already tumultuous state in the respective countries. A decisive bilateral solution is the only way this predicament can be dealt. Any solution that propagates purely a national agenda may not see an end to this conflict. I believe falling back on ASEAN as a platform to resolve this impasse would be logical. Anyway it is no longer a national problem but a regional one.
         

Education Dilemma

Where is our education system going today? Sometimes I question my purpose and roles as an “educationist”.  Educational institutions today including the Ivy League Universities have become  manufacturing houses, churning out graduates with various degrees. Employers expect industry- ready graduates, so the burden falls on the educational institutions. Thus begins the “vocationalization” of tertiary education. 

Extensive research has been carried out in teaching and learning methodology since, but the focus has been towards breaking down the process to facilitate ease to the learner. Tertiary courses and subjects are broken down comprehensively to be specific in dealing with specific industry tasks. Thus tertiary education is designed to be job specific.  But somewhere along with this approach the concept of “thinking” appears to have got lost. Which boils down to the question of whether the education system promotes “thinking” or promotes “programmed behavior”.

Should proliferation of this approach continue, eventually it would lead to a disparate society with few “chosen thinkers” influencing the rest. 

Wisdom is an important element in humanity. Wisdom would be lost without the element of thinking. The “materialization” of education has created conscience-less undergraduates who do not mind committing academic misconduct in their pursuit for knowledge or better phrased as employable qualification. It clearly shows the callousness of undergraduates undertaking their responsibility as a learner.

Thiruvalluvar (Indian Philosopher-Poet-Saint, 2^nd Century BC) in his famous Thirukural Poem wrote:

“The more the sandy spring is dug up, more water wells up in it. The more men learn, the more of wisdom will there manifest.”

He believed a holistic education encompasses the aspect of Listening, Literacy, Learning, and Possession of Wisdom.  But I admonish the current direction in which education seems to be moving. Even the teacher has negated from the true purpose of the process. As much as we hear about unethical academic misconduct by the learner, there also appears to be a growing concern about similar behavior amongst the teachers themselves. 

The question is whether such behavior existed in the past but was not reported owing to lack of infrastructure unlike today. Or is it that the social restructuring taking place today in the name of development has taken its toll and deteriorated the learning-thinking equation. 

If all academics think themselves as a “Guru” (the imparter of knowledge) I am sure this malaise can be reversed.