The dawn of a new era :: 50 Years After Nehru

May 26th, 2014 would go as a watershed day not just in the history of India but also of the entire world. It would mark the departure of India's First Prime Minister and his ideological undercurrents which continued to influence India's statecraft 50 long years ago even after his demise and the ascendance of India's 15th Prime Minister who has a mind and worldview of his own.

While the late J L Nehru ascended on the India's political scene courtesy his Anand Bhawan legacy as well as the blessings of the national leader of the time Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Narendra Damodardas Modi had to confront one and all to make his way upto the top. The very patriarch who could have anointed him as his political successor simply found himself in a competing slot. 

While Nehru was the blue eyed boy of the retreating imperialists as his beliefs and vision were quite in sync with theirs, Modi is seen with tremendous suspicion and caution by the powers of the day in a yet another epoch of global change.

While Nehru was unapologetic for his English taste and convictions, Modi has not let any doubt about his conviction for Hindu Nationalism and to put it into practice. This would certainly mark the political advent of a third worldview of Pagan ethos led by the Commonwealth of Hinduism apart from the Christian and  Islamic ones.

Even after being the protege of the Mahatma, Nehru was known for his vociferous indulgences of all extremes, Modi coming from his RSS training is a mere tea totaller who displayed his frugal vegan life by ordering a pure vegetarian banquet right on his swearing day.

While Nehru was oblivious and anachronistic to the Indian ethos & traditions and systematically sidelined the leadership of the day to a dry, materialistic, indulgence ridden ideological cocktail which later came to be recognised as Nehruvianism; Modi on the other hand is extremely vigilant about the cultural diversity of India and has the mettle to not only understand it but also the uncanny capacity to synthesize it in prevalent systems and institutions.

Nehru's 18 year rule and romanticism was somewhere involved in brewing an unnecessary impractical cocktail which led to the eventual invasion of India by China. Modi on the other hand has demonstrated in his 12 year stint in the State of Gujarat a unique originality on almost all fronts quite in sync with the realities and realizations of the Indian ethos. He displayed his statesmanship right on his swearing in day by engaging the immediate neighbours load stock barrel.

While Nehru created a blind trust and belef into the capabilities of the western educated mandarins, Modi is more biased towards sons of the soil for critical advise and action.

Nehru was enamoured by power and pelf and most importantly the personal cult to such an extent that even after being preferred over Sardar Patel to take on the reigns of the nation, he dumped his very benefactor and his entire vision for the nation at large. Modi, though might have passed through a gruelling succession heat, has not sidelined any of the ideals and vision which his political mentors in Vajpayee, Advani and Joshi had crafted all through their political life. He lives and seems to continue the same principals. The operations might see his characteristic originality.

While Nehru left a battered, bruised and breathless nation which had to beg for even food grains, Modi by all means is expected to leave a legacy of self-reliance, self-confidence and self-sustainability.

They say it's all in the man at the top. This 26th May after 50 years of Nehru's demise would go down as a transformational day for the nation as a whole.

Dawn of Modi Era :: Dispelling the twin spells of Vanity and Complacency of the Indian Masses

They say that the only constant in human life is change. For good or for bad, any change brings in a sense of relief and releases some of the reserved optimism. 

The euphemism of the dawn of a new era of good days has probably got Mr. Modi and his party a majestic mandate from the Indian masses. But the judgement of the masses is largely impulsive than investigative. Masses at large are always glued to their immediate gloom or glee. They tend to be led and driven by any Pied Piper who can play to their tunes.

The whopping enablement and empowerment granted by the voters of a democratic polity can be seen as a symbol of success, but probably only for a short-while. This needs to be translated into transcending possibilities which out of everything else empowers and enables the society at large.

The Indian society for whatever and various reasons has largely been glued to a non-materialistic world view. There is an innate resistance to work and responsibility. The number of public holidays in the name of culture and religious sentiments is one glaring example of the same. On the drop of a handkerchief the Indian mind is ready to take respite in gluttony.

To worsen it all, the philosophical frameworks developed and practised in this land of Gods tend to justify it all. Justification for all faulty and self serving reasons though.

The biggest challenge in front of Mr Modi would thereby be to shake up this grand tamas of the Indian people breeding beautifully in the garb of sattvic virtues.

Electioneering gets more into a mode of entertainment than public education which has to be perpetual and propelling.

In what ways and means would Mr Modi arise the latent giant energies of the Indian masses to meaningful effort would be an area of key interest.

How would the Modi magic dispel the twin spells of vanity and complacency of the Indian people would certainly determine the level of his eventual success.

There seems to be some relief considering his Vedantic upbringing and his own example of relentless work.

Unlearn to reckon

It's sometimes very easy and comfortable to lead a life of ignorance. Ignorance they say is bliss. When you don't reason you are somewhere in a state of perpetual rest. Reason taxes the mind and creates a perpetual suffering, the pain and agony of which only the one who suffers can sense.

When you tend to reason out the creation around you, you do need a modus operandi to let the unfurling of this grandiose exploration as well as a framework to record your findings so as to use them out in your further reasoning process.

The propensity to reason out the existence and to create a personalized framework based on the same varies from individual to individual.

From time immemorial this innate human propensity has been catered to by a large number of philosophical systems which suggest their very own modus operandi and framework. 

The unraveling of the existence has probably been the innate intrinsic inspiration of all educational systems as well,

Somewhere down the progression of human civilization the philosophical systems got divorced from the educational systems and vice-versa. 

The other human propensity to exercise dominion over others probably let to the rigidity of educational systems and religiosity of philosophical systems. 

While systems are important guidelines for neophytes to acquire a quick understanding of the existence from a particular modus operandi and in a peculiar framework, they need to be dismantled or taken away once an initial level of understanding is struck at. 

The reckoning starts when you start unlearning the framework which you have developed through any modus operandi. 

This is probably what we are missing. This very process of unlearning is probably the solution to all what ails today's educational as well as philosophical systems.