Mother India !

[Guest guest]

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalaam's speech:- A must read for every Indian.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalaam's speech in Hyderabad...

 

A must read for every Indian.

 

"I have three visions for India.

 

In 3000 years of our history, people from all over the world have come

and invaded us, captured our lands, conquered our minds. From

Alexander onwards.

 

The Greeks, the Turks, the Moguls, the Portuguese, the British, the

French, the Dutch, all of them came and looted us, took over what was

ours. Yet we have not done this to any other nation. We have not

conquered anyone.

 

We have not grabbed their land, their culture, their history and tried

to enforce our way of life on them. Why? Because we respect the

freedom of others.That is why my first vision is that of FREEDOM. I

believe that India got its first vision of this in 1857, when we

started the war of independence. It is this freedom that we must

protect and nurture and build on. If we are not free, no one will

respect us.

 

My second vision for India is DEVELOPMENT. For fifty years we have

been a developing nation. It is time we see ourselves as a developed

nation.

 

We are among top 5 nations of the world in terms of GDP. We have 10

percent growth rate in most areas. Our poverty levels are falling. Our

achievements are being globally recognized today. Yet we lack the

self-confidence to see ourselves as a developed nation, self- reliant

and self-assured. Isn't this incorrect?

 

I have a THIRD vision.

 

India must stand up to the world. Because I believe that, unless India

stands up to the world, no one will respect us. Only strength respects

strength. We must be strong not only as a military power but also as

an economic power. Both must go hand-in-hand. My good fortune was to

have worked with three great minds. Dr. Vikram Sarabhai of the Dept.

of space,Professor Satish Dhawan, who succeeded him and Dr.Brahm

Prakash, father of nuclear material. I was lucky to have worked with

all three of them closely and consider this the great opportunity of

my life.

 

I see four milestones in my career:

 

Twenty years I spent in ISRO. I was given the opportunity to be the

project director for India's first satellite launch vehicle, SLV3. The

one that launched Rohini. These years played a very important role in

my life of Scientist.

 

After my ISRO years, I joined DRDO and got a chance to be the part of

India's guided missile program. It was my second bliss when Agni met

its mission requirements in 1994.

 

The Dept. of Atomic Energy and DRDO had this tremendous partnership in

the recent nuclear tests, on May 11 and 13. This was the third bliss.

The joy of participating with my team in these nuclear tests and

proving to the world that India can make it, that we are no longer a

developing nation but one of them.

 

It made me feel very proud as an Indian. The fact that we have now

developed for Agni a re-entry structure, for which we have developed

this new material. A Very light material called carbon-carbon.

 

One day an orthopedic surgeon from Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences

visited my laboratory. He lifted the material and found it so light

that he took me to his hospital and showed me his patients. There

were these little girls and boys with heavy metallic calipers

weighing over three Kg. each, dragging their feet around.

 

He said to me: Please remove the pain of my patients.

In three weeks, we made these Floor reaction Orthosis 300-gram

calipers and took them to the orthopedic center. The children didn't

believe their eyes.From dragging around a three kg. load on their

legs, they could now move around!

 

Their parents had tears in their eyes. That was my fourth bliss!

Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed

to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great

nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to

acknowledge them. Why?

 

We are the first in milk production.

We are number one in Remote sensing satellites.

We are the second largest producer of wheat.

We are the second largest producer of rice.

 

Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a

self-sustaining, self driving unit. There are millions of such

achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and

failures and disasters.

 

I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was

the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken

place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had

the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed

his desert land into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring

picture that everyone woke up to.

 

 

The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the

newspaper, buried among other news. In India we only read about death,

sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE?

 

Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign

things?

 

We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign

technology.

Why this obsession with everything imported.

 

Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance?

 

I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture, when a 14 year old girl asked

me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is.

 

She replied: I want to live in a developed India.

 

For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must

proclaim.

 

 

India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed

nation.

 

Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance.

Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice

is yours.

 

YOU say that our government is inefficient.

YOU say that our laws are too old.

YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage.

YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, The

airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their

destination.

YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the

absolute pits.

YOU say, say and say.

 

What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give

him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - YOURS. YOU walk out of the

airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you

don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU

are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5

(approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim

Causeway or Pedder Road) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU comeback to the

parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a

restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity.

In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat

in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out

without your head covered in Jeddah.

 

YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in

London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and

ISD calls are billed to someone else." YOU would not dare to speed

beyond 55 mph(88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic

cop, "Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and

so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost."

 

YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the

garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.

Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo?

Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in

Boston??? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU who can respect

and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your

own.

 

You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you

touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative

citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India?

 

Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of

Bombay,Mr.Tinaikar, had a point to make. "Rich people's dogs are

walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the

place," he said."And then the same people turn around to criticize

and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What

do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time

their dog feels the pressure in his bowels?

 

In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the

job.Same in Japan. Will the Indian citizen do that here?" He's right.

 

We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all

responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the

government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally

negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to

stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to

pick a up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect

the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn

the proper use of bathrooms.

 

We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and

toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least

opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass

on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues

like those related to women, dowry, girl child and others, we make

loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at

home. Our excuse? "It's the whole system which has to change, how

will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry." So

who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Very

conveniently for us it

 

consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other

communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it

comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we

lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look

into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to

come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand

or we leave the country and run away.

 

Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in

their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we

run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the

next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand

to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is

out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the

system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money.

 

 

Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a

great

deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too....I am echoing

J.F.Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians.....

"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA

WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY"

 

Lets do what India needs from us.

 

 

Thank you,

Dr. Abdul Kalaam

(PRESIDENT OF INDIA)

[Guest guest]

Wonderful speech, from a President I do admire and respect.

 

I just returned from India two days ago, after a wonderful visit

home. Home is home, with its good and bad. But when we get defensive

about recognizing the changes needed to clean out our home, we end up

only hurt our own selves.

 

So I say to our dear Prez, that stop blaming those who live abroad.

Don't attempt to excuse the behavior saying other countries are no

better off. It doesn't matter what we haven't done, what is important

is what we are doing now!

 

There is only one problem in India today - lack of taking

responsibility and lack of holding people accountable, lack of self

discipline. Its like a bull in the loose. Top gvt officials, all the

way down the ladder, police officials, tax officials, water board

officials, public or private, bribe taking in any name - bakshish,

seva, chai pani, service fee, - is a bribe, reprehensible, destroying

confidence, and selfrespect. Taking pride in one's work is a thing of

the past. Buying out of crime, a very common practice isn't a sign of

strength. Any effort to tighten the laws, simply tightens the noose

around middle class salaried employees, while those with the real

black money, buy their way out. Religious leaders are abound these

days, parroting texts, doing rituals, fooling the already stressed

middle class. Everyone blames everyone else, few talk about the

urgent need for taking responsibility. When I arrive in a Benz, they

touch my feet, when I walk from the bus stand they don't bother to

say hello! TV reflects the depths to which moral values have fallen,

having sucked in the worst of western filth. While there are millions

of honest people struggling away, their efforts are washed away by

the actions of the louder majority.

 

It is frustrating to see a country with the potential of being a real

leader, not only in brains, technology and GDP, but also in ideology,

philosophy, self destruct itself. Like an adolescent, it is currently

basking in new found money, earned from the outsourced biz of

the "devil" western world; like an upstart, struting its new

feathers, while internally it is ridden with the disease of sick

corruption and dilapidated morality.

 

Solution? Walk the talk of the spiritual/moral values we as a society

take pride in. Spirituality has been distanced from the material

world, simply to avoid taking this responsibility. Individually,

collectively, we have to LIVE the true spirit of Sanatan Dharm,

instead of parroting it incessantly. Every individual has to begin in

thier own daily lives, in any way possible, little baby steps every

day. Spiritual leaders have to discuss, demonstrate and display the

application of the principles, instead of allowing people to use

philosophy to escape responsibility.

 

The potential of Mother India is amazing unlike no other in the

world. The sky is the limit. It has all the resources it needs. Its

people are the only thing standing in its way.

 

_/\_ Tat Twam Asi

 

Uma

 

 

 

, tantra_rag <no_reply> wrote:

> Dr. APJ Abdul Kalaam's speech:- A must read for every

Indian.

> Dr. APJ Abdul Kalaam's speech in Hyderabad...

>

> A must read for every Indian.

>

> "I have three visions for India.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Vamadeva's (Dr. Frawley's) Trip to India

Feb. 15 – April 13

 

Vamadeva conducted a series of talks, meetings and interviews in

various parts of India including Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai

(Madras) and Pondicherry over a period of two months. He continues to

be widely acknowledged throughout India as probably the foremost

western Vedic scholar along with his vast scope of work with the

Vedas, Hinduism, Vedanta, Yoga, Ayurveda, Jyotish and Tantra.

 

Several major Indian institutions were addressed including the Indian

Council of Philosophical Research and the Dalai Lama's Foundation for

Universal Responsibility, as well as major conferences like the World

Sanskrit Conference. A number of interviews occurred for both radio

and television. Interviews and articles on his work and conferences

appeared in major newspapers like the Hindu, the Week, the Pioneer,

and the Deccan Herald.

 

Vamadeva met with various spiritual teachers including Sivananda

Murti, Swami Dayananda, and K.Natesan, astrologers like Dr. K.S.

Charak, Gayatri Vasudev and Niranjan Babu of the Astrological

Magazine, scholars like Lokesh Chandra, N.S. Rajaram and Devendra

Swarup, political figures like D.P. Sinha and Jana Krishnamurti of

the BJP, journalists like Francios Gautier and Sandhya and Meenakshi

Jain, publishers like Sitaram Goel of Voice of India and Shekhar

Malhotra of Full Circle Books, industrialists like J.C. Kapur and

B.M. Thapar, and colleagues like Swami Satyananda and J. Jayaraman of

the Ramanashram.

 

He summarized his trip as follows: "There continues to be an

awakening to the value of Vedic knowledge and Hindu Dharma in India,

paralleling the almost opposite movement to uncritically embrace

Western consumer culture. The recent Kumbha Mela, the largest

gathering in the history of the world, with over thirty million

people shows the resilience of this great tradition. This awakening

is not a mere conservative backlash, as the media often likes to

portray it, but shows modern and globally relevant forms of Vedic

spirituality and Vedic science through Yoga, Vedanta, Ayurveda,

Jyotish and Indian music and dance. It is not limited to any part of

the country or the society but is occurring on all levels, from the

very poor to the very wealthy. It can be found in all religious

groups Shaivite, Vaishnava, Shakta, Vedantic and Buddhist. It is not

limited to religion only but includes all aspects of the culture

going back to the Vedas. It is also allied to and aided by interest

in these subjects from people in the West who are coming to India to

study in ever greater numbers."

 

"At the same time, Indian society and Hindu culture remains under

siege by powerful forces. Christian missionary activity is at an all

time high, including both evangelical Protestant groups like the

American Southern Baptists and Catholics, targeting the poorer parts

of the country, particularly the aboriginal peoples, seeking to raise

their number of converts by means that are not always above board.

Islamic militance and terrorism continues strong not only in Kashmir

but with tentacles throughout the entire country. Though Hindu,

Buddhist and Jain groups in India have sought to dialogue with these

other religious groups, their call for discussion and an end to

religious exclusivism has largely been ignored."

 

"Anti-spiritual Marxist influences remain strong in the English

language media and the academia and still rule the states of Kerala

and Bengal. India is now the only country in the world that has an

active dominant Marxist intelligentsia. Though Russia and China have

moved away from a Marxist ideology, it still has a strong fascination

for the modern Indian mind that continues to embrace it, though the

rest of the world has cast it off. Thousands of multinational

corporations are also now operating in India with little

understanding or respect for the traditional spirituality of the

country, trying to make quick money without any real consideration

for the uplift of the people or preserving their richer culture.

However, India is developing economically at a rapid rate, largely

through the software industry and is beginning to assimilate this

external economic influence. Many wealthier Indians are returning to

their own spiritual culture, even after having been exposed to

western affluence."

 

"Therefore, in spite of all these apparent difficulties, there

appears to be a deeper current of spiritual and cultural awakening in

India that should be able to overcome them in time, but it will take

effort and dedication to bring such a change about. Hopefully it can

occur in the next decade or two. The negative forces attacking Indian

culture from the outside will not go away unless challenged, exposed

and countered, and unless the people in India regenerate their own

society. Whatever problems exist in India today, including poverty,

overpopulation, family, regional, class and caste divisions, can be

solved in a way that is true to the greater dharma of the

civilization. They do not require a change of religion or an

adaptation of Marxist models but a bringing forth into daily life of

the spiritual ethos of the culture. For this to occur an

understanding and implementation of that dharma is essential. Not

only the spiritual side of the Indian (Bharatiya) Dharma needs to be

applied but also its practical side through right social, economic,

and environmental action. The real challenge for India today is to

create a intelligentsia that understands the current crisis, along

with a responsible social activism to complement the deeper

spirituality of the culture, to make that spirituality relevant and

universal for the world situation today."

 

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