infinite ignorance

media playing the role
of blue films?

By Kulamarva Balakrishna

Vienna,Saturday,January 5,2008:Prof.Dr.Narendra Nayak,
of Mangalore,is the President of the Federation of Rationalist
Associations of India.He works all twenty four hours a day
trying to inculcate a rational attitude among young and old
in all parts of the over populated India,numbering more than
1.2 billion even though the rich middle class there continue
to abort illegally female pregnancies.He has been sending
me reports on how he has been trying to amend individuals.
The latest instance involves a lady,the wife of a Professor
of philosophy,who is suffering from hypertension.Instead
of strictly observing the competent medical treatment
made available to her,she went to a well publicized yogi,
I do not like to identify by name since the identification
only helps to promote such sham shamans,since as a
media monitor I am aware of the implications that only
invite more suffering.After her bad experience,she went
back to her competent medical doctor.This only shows
ignorance has infinite faces.

Since it is all about yoga,let me quote the great soul
who developed the yoga system more than two thousand
odd years ago, known as Maharshi Patanjali.He has
written one hundred ninety six cryptic sentences called
=sutras=on yoga.He has in his second sentence given
the definition for =yoga= as regulating and channelizing
the movements of the mind, just as harnessing the free
flowing river water for irrigation and power generation.
If I get a good lay out for my blogsite, I can give every
day the correct commentary of a single sutra a day
for 196 days.That apart, the same intellectual of the past
has written a monumental work on Sanskrit grammar
known as Mahabhashya.Among the classic Sanskrit
scholars,there is a saying that the reading of this
work is like ruling a country.It is the apt description of
the quality of the work of the sage.

In the introductory part of that work,which is in the
form of question and answer between the teacher and
the taught,the student asks his guru, the teacher,why
he only teaches the right forms of use of the language.
Why can´t he describe the wrong methods so we
can avoid them.The teacher answers the wrong
ways are =infinite= they can not be described.Only
the right paths can be shown.So it is. Ignorance
has infinite faces.Unfortunately, it is the case in
in India. Even if a single individual makes five
mistakes 1.2 X 5 make six billion errors.Imagine
each Indian making some 25 errors a day
how on earth a teacher can go on correcting them?
It is next to impossible to correct. But it is easy to
give the right guide lines.That involves India´s
educational system.If the teachers are taught the
correct system,we can cleanse Indian younger minds
so they can follow the proper way of thinking.It is
indeed a thousand pities that Indian education
system is contaminated by superstitions.
We need to cleanse the system as we clean our
spectacles almost daily to avoid impurities
being shown to our eyesights. If a professor´s
wife can go to a sham shaman for cure,imagine
the fate fo the rest of the mortals.It is impossible
to guide every erring individual.The systems
are developed by the learned sages of thousands
of years before us.We should then heed them
to follow their ways.

If the mass media of India printed and electronic
remain faithful to the facts of life, avoid promoting
shamans,they would work updating information
provided by the education system.Instead, they
tend to play the role of entertainers and thereby
promoting superstitions.My younger sister died
of cow urine therapy promoted by the media.When
I pointed this out to Prof.Nayak,he said a nurse
known to him was also a victim.I took up the matter
with Press Council of India,who eat up their resources
by harassing the complainants.The tabloidation of
the media made it worse than blue film obscenities.
The informative role of the media remains neglected.

The rapid expansion of communication technology
is being misused for relentless advertising by
business on one side and the self seeking shamans
promoting superstitions on the other.This makes the
work of rationalists like Prof.Nayak formidable.When
would media amend itself? Instead of leading, the
media today is led by greed,is following its ignorant
audience catering to the uncultivated raw tastes.No
wonder democracies world wide are racing
down hill (end)