Category Archives: Society

Civilization, Democracy, Dharma, Justice, Society

Democracy as Dharma

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by Ashok Jain

Foreword

Guest author Ashok Jain (brief profile here) has followed up on Jayram’s post by pointing out the crucial association between Democracy and Dharma.

While no system is perfect, democracy is better than the other forms of government which have been tried, such as autocracy, feudalism, communism, fascism, religious fanaticism et cetera. Democracy is ingrained in Indian political and religious thought from times immemorial, quite simply because it is ingrained in the concept of Dharma. Dharma provides a sense of fairness in society – as against blind adherence to rules and laws. Additional societal values infused by Dharma are equality, fraternity and justice for all.

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Democracy, Life, Politics, Power, Society

Whither democracy?

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by Jayram Daya

Editors’ foreword:

Today we see tensions and conflicts in many parts of the world, caused by internal strife and external pressures, which affect the lives of ordinary people. The former colonial order has disintegrated, giving way to countries which – in theory – are sovereign. A sovereign country should aim to improve the lives of her citizens, but the country is also affected by pressures from the outside. Meanwhile, the old colonial powers find their own backyards affected by globalization, leading to backlash against immigrants. Western power is being challenged by emerging nations which have come together to resist hegemony and improve the lives of their citizens.

We all seem to be visited by that famous Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times!

In this context, our friend Jayram Daya shares his insights from his hometown of Standerton in South Africa. Readers are invited to post their views as comments.

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Harmony, Inequality, Law, Life, Society

THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND HARMONY

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by Jayram Daya, R. Srinivasan and Naresh Jotwani

In a few previous posts, we have discussed harmony of mind, body and spirit (here), harmony with nature (here) and — somewhat indirectly — harmony in a society (here). On the last point, harmony in a society, clearly the legal system also plays a big role. The ideal, of course, would be that the legal system adds to societal harmony. But can this ideal ever be attained, given human nature and the working of a modern society?

The legal system is a practical, administrative necessity in a modern society. Without a proper legal system, a modern economy cannot function. Harmony figures nowhere in the stated goals of an economist or a business titan; and only a very simple-minded person would assert that the legal system adds to societal harmony.

Thus we have a seemingly unavoidable tradeoff here between two goals — economic performance and societal harmony — both of which are desirable for a society. Three views are presented here to get you thinking!

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Communities, Economy, Harmony, Life, Society

COOPERATION, COMPETITION – OR BOTH?

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by Jayram Daya, R. Srinivasan and Naresh Jotwani

Cooperation and competition both play a role in our collective life — sometimes more of this, sometimes more of that. However, a self-styled ‘capitalist’ sees red at the mere mention of cooperation, whereas a self-styled ‘communist’ argues for forcefully imposing cooperation on the whole society.

Suppose we put all such western ideologies to one side and ask: What does our lived, empirical reality say?

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Civilization, Economy, Engineering, Society, Technology

ENGINEERING OR TECHNOLOGY?

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It comes as a slight surprise when we first learn that the word ‘technology’ has its root in the Greek word tekhne, which meant ‘art’; after all, today we understand art as being quite distinct from technology. The older Greek word harks back to the era when technology, in Greece and elsewhere, was much simpler; we may assume that practitioners of tekhne in Greece were viewed much as we view ‘artisans’ today.

It is no surprise, however, to learn that the word ‘engineering’ is rooted in the word ‘engine’; presumably, in the early days of engineering, ‘engines’ of one kind or another dominated the scene. But, to dig deeper, we enquire about the origin of the word ‘engine’. It turns out that ‘engine’ is indirectly rooted in the Latin word for ‘intellect’ or ‘inventiveness’. In fact the English word ‘ingenious’ is close in its form and meaning to the Latin near-equivalent ingenium.

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Civilization, Economy, Gautam Buddha, Life, Money, Society

MY REALIZATION WITH MONEY     

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Guest post by Jayram Daya

IIT Bombay Mech Engg batch of 1968 may remember Jayram Daya as being a sensitive, good-natured classmate from Hostel 2, an artist, and a citizen of South Africa. Since those student days, Jayram has successfully established a business in South Africa, handed the business over to his two sons, and is now happily pursuing higher interests in the next stage of life. He is in Sanyaas Ashram, but also, in his own words: I’m an engineer, an entrepreneur, a storyteller, a poet, an author, a painter, a photographer, a blogger, a philosopher, and a visionary.

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Civilization, Karma, Life, Politics, Society

CIVILIZATION – 5

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NOT IN MY NAME!

The previous post (here) touched upon one’s duties, responsibilities and moral accountability. Can the burden of Karma – of accountability for one’s actions – be transferred to another by the ties of marriage, family, clan, friendship, business, money, politics … or whatever else?

The answer is, ‘NO. Karma is strictly an individual matter’. But, as we know, a desperate person will try anything to avoid the inevitable payback for his wrong actions, including attempts to deflect the payback to others.

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Civilization, Conflict, Karma, Life, Society

CIVILIZATION – 4

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BROTHER, HUSBAND, KINSMEN, CONFLICT

Karma operates at the deepest level of our being. Therefore its working cannot be grasped without rigorous introspection and true empathy with another person’s condition. Nonetheless, all of us do pick up hints now and then, from ancient stories and from the life around us.

A famous story in the Bible has Cain asking God, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’

Cain was denying any responsibility for the well-being of his younger bother Abel and – by implication – for the well-being of other human beings. In fact the jealous Cain had killed Abel prior to this exchange with God, and therefore that question was also Cain’s attempt to cover up his horrendous crime. The story goes that, thereafter, Cain lived the life of a restless wanderer.

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Civilization, Life, Questions, Society

Civilization … Really?

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Off and on, we come across ‘expert opinion’ stressing the goals of ‘saving the western civilization’ and ‘deterring Russia and China’. The language used implies clearly that ‘western civilization’ here has undisguised, in-your-face geopolitical motivation.

‘Civilization’ and ‘deterrence’ is in fact a very strange combination of notions, tempting us to dig deeper into the matter.

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Communism, Conflict, Economy, Karl Marx, Society

KARL MARX, THE PROPHET OF GOONS – Part 1

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Popular myth is that Karl Marx, thinking deeply about life from within a library in London, came up with profound economic discoveries.

Dear Reader, does one discover deep truths of the real life from within the confines of a library? Today, would you trust a ‘profound thinker’ whose working day is spent surfing the web and theorising?

REALITY: One learns about real life and the economy by being out in the middle of economic action; by earning a living, talking with an open mind to workers, farmers, factory owners, shopkeepers – learning from them, understanding their lives, understanding what we all seek. The realities of economic life – extremely harsh though they may be – must be experienced before any workable solution is formulated and proffered to the world.

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