Skip to main content

Posts

I'm not a Maoist

I loved the following video, a link to which was posted as a comment to my last blog.  I felt the urge to bring it forward from the comment box to the mainland.  So I'm posting it here. Gaaon Chhodab Nahin Do watch it, if you can spare 5 minutes.

How much land does a man need?

How much land does a man need?  is a short story by the classical Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy.  The story highlights human greed. Pahom, the protagonist, is a peasant.  He thinks that more land means more happiness for a peasant.  But how much land does a peasant need?  Making the question more general, how much wealth does a person need? This is the question that Tolstoy answers in his story.  Using all his savings as well as selling his colt and a sizeable share of his bees, hiring out his son, taking advance wages and borrowing from his brother-in-law, Pahom collects enough money to buy more land thinking he would be happier.  In fact, he became contented with all the vast acres he possessed.  But human nature is seldom contented.  It always wants what it does not have.  [Leave out exceptions like saints (extinct species) and lunatics.]  Pahom learns about a place where a Commune gives 25 acres of land free to every individual and more if he/she wanted to buy.  He

New Year Meditation

One of the phone calls that greeted me this New Year’s Day drove me to some serious contemplation.  The friend quoted the example of Galileo who retracted his scientific theory before the religious Inquisitors and later explained his action: “Science doesn’t need martyrs.” My meditation led me to the notion of freedom provided by the 17 th century philosopher, Spinoza.  He argued that we were not totally free.  We are controlled by certain inescapable laws of nature as well as our genetic makeup.  Evil is also an essential part of nature.  “The evil which ensues from evil deeds is not therefore less to be feared because it comes of necessity;” said Spinoza, “whether our actions are free or not, our motives still are hope and fear.” Hope for a better future; fear about the present situation.  The martyr is not afraid for himself; his fear is about the future of the society.  Martyrdom need not be a virtue. To be really great is not to be placed above humanity, ruling