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Religion is not a haven for
escapists from life. Osho advocates renunciation of hope,
desire, the urge to achieve goals, ego and imaginations.
Renunciation calls for living in the present moment, giving up
past and future, as both are deceivers – one is dead and gone,
the other is not yet born. Past and present exist in ego and
give us illusions. Therefore, those who are ambitious are bound
to be disillusioned and disgusted eventually. Osho points out
that the truly religious approach is to leave aside all
ambition, and to have no wants and desires. This enables one to
lead a contented life that is now a series of happy events. One’s
outlook transforms into a festive and merry one that celebrates
life. Was Osho offering instant redemption without tears as if
it were instant coffee or fast food?
Lao Tzu said no
one can defeat me for I have no desire to win. The Buddha too
urged to give up desires as no matter how hard you try, their
nature is such that they cannot be satiated. Real renunciation
involves discarding of egocentric inner distortions and not the
God-gifted outer world that is beautiful. Gandhi considered
running away from worldly life – with attendant
responsibilities and attractions – a cowardly act.
One may not
agree with Osho’s suggestion that one must sing and dance even
while experiencing tragedies, however the underlying message is
sound – one must be detached from the life’s sorrows. This
is inspired by the Gita that goes further and advocates
detachment from joys and sorrows without shirking one’s
temporal obligations.
One is impelled
to pause and reflect here. What is so novel about Osho’s
preaching? Most of his messages are a rehash of ancient
scriptures. The only thing new is his personal lifestyle. Osho
became the darling of our elite only because he was such a
roaring success in the West – the Oregon controversy
notwithstanding. What if he was a saint of the Blacks or the
Indian poor? Would our glitteratti have still adopted Osho as
their exclusive spiritual mascot?
If we are
looking for spiritual solace the Bible, the Koran, the Guru
Granth Sahib, the Gita and holy books from other religions offer
plenty of food for thought. Does one really need designer cults
founded by self-designed gurus with "Made in USA"
labels? Christ, the Buddha, the ten Sikh Gurus and countless
others of their ilk genuinely wanted to reform humanity. For
this they underwent untold sufferings. They didn’t look for
social affirmation for their deeds, nor did they seek to be
extolled in books. They have left behind enduring legacies for
which the humanity shall remain ever grateful.
Osho is of, for
and by the rich – a passing fad that will disappear as have
his limousines and sexy sanyasins. As for our upper classes,
they will latch on to a new le dernier cri sooner than later.
* * *
Chamba
Himalaya
by K.R. Bharti. Indus
Publishing Co., New Delhi. Pages 256. Rs
500.
Chamba, where
beauty flourishes in its pristine form. Snowcapped peaks,
crystal-clear rivers, spunky rivulets and graceful waterfalls.
Exotic flora and fauna. Valleys resound with susurration of
winds. In such idyllic conditions one might well come across a
solitary reaper singing melodies that pull at a listener’s
heartstrings. Though Bharti has given several examples of these
melodies the one I like is: Gori da chit laga Chambe dia dharan
/ Chambe dia dharan paun fuharan / Mandi ni basna, Suketa ni
basna / Basna Chambe de paharan. (The fair one is enchanted by
the mountains of Chamba bathed in showers. Neither in Mandi, nor
Suketa but in Chamba shall I make my home). There are other
songs that narrate the legend, mythology and history of Chamba
and the Himalayas.
This oblong
shaped district in Himachal Pradesh shares its borders with J
& K in the northwest and west, Ladakh, Lahaul and Bara
Bagahal on the northeast and east; Kangra in the southeast and
Punjab’s Gurdaspur in the south. It has two tribal areas —-
Pangi and Bharmaur and two major nomadic communities – Gujjars
and Gaddis. Gujjars live mainly in Churah and Chamba
subdivisions while Gaddis are concentrated in Bharmaur and upper
parts of Bhattiyat.
Different cults
prevail in the district. The cult of Shiva is most prominent as
evidenced by a number of Shiva temples in the district. The most
famous among these are the Manimahesh Kailash and Ganesh temples
in Bharmaur, the Chandergupt, Trimukha and Gauri Shankar temples
in Chamba town and the Chandershekhar temple at Saho. Other
cults like those of Vishnu, the Devi, Naga, etc. too exist along
with nature worship. Christians, Buddhists and Muslims also have
a presence in the district.
The author has
also enumerated superstitions of Chamba like Sundays, Tuesdays
and Saturdays are supposed to be inauspicious for solemnizing
marriages. If a child’s upper front teeth appear first, it is
considered an ill omen. To ward off its evil effects the child’s
maternal grandparents should present a silver tooth to the
child.
Bharti has
detailed the various social customs in the district. One can
also know about the dwelling and eating habits of the people
here. Then there are some very interesting legends recorded in
the book. He has also provided some beautiful photographs that
make the tome all the more readable.
How one wishes
the author had also focused on the economic progress of the
district. After all preservation of Chamba’s pristine beauty
might not do much good to the local people who tend to migrate
to the urban areas for better life. Perhaps, some day one might
read about how the region could be economically developed
without endangering its natural beauty and wealth.
* * *
Environmental
Controversies
by S.K. Agarwal and P.S.
Dubey. APH, New
Delhi. Pages x + 331. Rs 800.
Environment is
a hot topic. Cozy drawing room chats, highbrow seminars,
scholarly tomes, angst-driven editorials, heated debates and
international meets not to mention casual street-corner
discussions have dealt with environmental issues. Water, air and
earth are getting polluted thanks to what Agarwal and Dubey call
"unsustainable development. Claim the authors,
"Economy and ecology do not go well together, where economy
rises, ecology declines."
Both surface
and deep mining cause land degradation. Large excavations lead
to dumping of unwanted deposits on unused land including forest
areas. This eventually leads to deforestation. Similarly,
construction of dams leads to large-scale deforestation. It also
leads to several other ecological problems like weathering and
leaching of rocks containing sulphide minerals; highly acidic
rainwater pollutes public water supply.
The authors
observe that population pressure and wrong developmental
priorities have given rise to several environment-related
disputes and controversies both at the national and
international levels. Jordan blames Israel for taking too much
water from the Jordan and Yarmuk rivers. Though Israel justifies
the occupation of the West Bank by advancing religious and
Biblical reasons, the ecological-economic factors cannot be
ignored. Nearly half of Israel’s water requirements are met
from the West Bank’s aquifers. Similarly there are
longstanding disputes among Turkey, Syria and Iraq over the
Euphrates-Tigris waters. Turkey’s Grand Anatolian project
along with other schemes for power and irrigation are adversely
affecting the water quality downstream. Iraq is worst affected
because the water that reaches its farms is already salinated by
use in Turkish fields.
India too has
water disputes with her neighboring countries. Though these are
serious enough, but more worrying are the inter-state river
water controversies within the Indian Union. The spectre of
widespread famines due to water shortage is never far enough
off. Water scarcity in some states has already caused water
riots. This is more starkly manifest in the Ganga basin where
population pressure is reaching unsustainable proportions. The
Cauvery water dispute involving Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala
and Pondicherry is another hot spot, according to the authors.
In chapter
three the book concentrates on the demographic and ecological
changes triggered off by the Indira Gandhi Nahar Project in
Rajasthan. "The Thar with its vast, thinly populated areas
was considered a land bank which could be brought to some use
(at a future date). An ambitious project was prepared to bring
water through canals…the arrival of water in the Thar has
opened up land for colonisation, alteration in cultivation
patterns, changes in vegetation, displacement of grazing land,
etc…When a change upsets the delicate balance in the
ecosystem, it is usually not possible to tell when and where the
chain reaction will end". These observations remind one of
the damage caused to Egypt’s agricultural land by salinity
that was a direct result of Aswan Dam-based canal network.
The authors
have also examined the big dam versus small dam controversy.
There are strong arguments for and against mega projects. Costs
in terms of deforestation, displacement of people and other
socio-economic and ecological factors need to be taken into
account before building a multipurpose project like the Narmada
Sagar Dams. The price of displacement is going to rise with the
passage of time. Presently about 2.5 million people live on
every one million hectares of land. The density will rise to
three million in about a hundred years. Just imagine the misery
caused to those uprooted – their rights to livelihood, housing
and a dignified way of life stand compromised. This is bound to
trigger social unrest. Moreover, big dams have not proved to be
all that beneficial or cost effective to the country. Then there
are proposals to build dams in high-risk seismic zones like the
Himalayas like the Tehri-Garhwal project. An earthquake will not
only bring economic ruin but also untold misery to the affected
populace.
This volume deals with several
other environmental calamities like the Bhopal gas tragedy, the
Chernobyl disaster, etc. It also sharply focuses on the Dhabol
power project, the Chilka Lake controversy and the Ganga Action
Plan. A thought provoking effort.
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