From the Chief Editor’s Desk

Who will save this society
from all-pervasive malnourishment?

There are many problems plaguing the society, but the cause of all of them is just one – moral malnourishment. Problems are discussed by everybody, be it – violence, murder, suicide, molestation, corruption or any other issue of varying magnitude and the ensuing problems. Whenever a problem arises in the society, it is discussed everywhere from the street to the Parliament. The issue is blown up to such an extent that one does not get to hear of anything other than the current issue. But when the chaos settles down and efforts are directed towards arriving at a solution, everyone takes refuge in bringing out a new law to tackle the issue. Whenever there is a new problem, a new law is proposed, as though each problem is a compulsory question in the examination which definitely finds its right answer in framing a new law. Ever since the country has gained independence, this question and answer session has been in vogue. Neither do the questions stop cropping up, nor are successful solutions found.

Several decades after achieving independence, this issue has to be tackled from an entirely new standpoint. We respect the law but what about its limitations? There was a recent incident in which a family of eight people in Rajasthan ate poisoned laddoos when they did not get the darshan of the Deity. Among them, five met with instant death while three of them had to dangle between life and death in the hospital. They resorted to this extreme step because they did not get the darshan of Lord Shiva. The lord did not appear in front of them and so they decided to go to the Lord by killing themselves. If this is not enough, they even recorded a video of this entire incident. Such a thing as this happened because our society is suffering from all-pervasive malnutrition. The thought process that keeps a society healthy is sorely missing. The thought process of the masses is neither based on logic nor wisdom. What is left is nothing but evil traditions, blind faiths and deadly superstitions.

What can be described as the condition of a society in which a so-called god-man preaches to people that if they eat chutney with samosa, they will get the grace of God? Or something like, ‘You have not eaten Jalebi today and hence God is angry with you and his grace is not flowing towards you.’ The truths of spiritual life have been in scientific subjective experiences ever since the ancient times of Indian culture. Forgetting scientific spirituality, isn’t it ridiculous if people resort to searching for God in chutney, samosa or jalebi? What kind of a society is this, which is clinging to these blind faiths? What can be said of a society which throws stones at a mentally ill woman instead of providing her medical help, thinking that she is a witch?

Yes, this will be termed as moral malnutrition, where issues are created out of temples and mosques; caste becomes a basis for casting a vote; culprits get elected to parliamentary positions. A society that is plagued with the tradition of Sati, child marriages, harassment of women, child labor, bonded labor, adherence to blind faith, can never be called healthy or civilized. What is the reason for this? The bottom line is that we have probably tried finding solutions to our problems either from the judiciary or the economy. We have completely ignored the degenerate social system. Be it a problem related to an individual or the family, we tend to knock at the doors of judiciary. We look for happiness in the financial system that bestows prosperity and wealth, in spite of the truth that we have tasted failure in looking up to both these systems for solutions for the past several decades.

We will succeed in getting social harmony and happiness only when we all strive towards making our society healthy and well-nourished. What nourishes a society? The society is nourished adequately when there is - healthy thought process, empathetic and logical dialogue, healthy traditions, and customs that lead towards a prudent life style. A healthy society is one which comprises of families that are brimming with caring cooperation and mutual understanding. A society which incorporates empathy and creativity is truly healthy. If the situation is in contrast with what has been described above, then the society will definitely succumb to malnutrition. It is very clear in today’s context that there is definite absence of mutual cooperation. Nobody wants to live with anybody else. God only knows, what fear is driving them away from one another!

We are not discussing of any one particular village or city, the entire society is like this. A weak and ill society is injecting a tendency to end one’s life in the face of problems. There are some who are ending their lives, while there are others who are trying to kill others. If this situation is not handled while there is time, it will lead to absolute despair and hopelessness. Our society has been taking a really strange turn, where children have no freedom to conduct experiments. Their paths and goals are already fixed. It is as though there is no place left for freedom of choice and creativity. Day and night, we are living among people whose thought processes are such that – someone is planning to kill an unborn child, while there is another who is contemplating of suicide, while there is someone who is waiting for early death of his parents. There are people who can stoop to any level of turpitude to earn money.

Who are these people and what kind of a society is this? Such people or society can definitely not be termed as healthy. Just like we are seeing advertisements in TV channels focusing on preventing malnutrition, similarly we have to awaken the consciousness of the public to fight against societal moral malnutrition. If we can achieve a healthy society, we can create the stepping stone for a healthy body, clean mind and a civilized society. Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya gave the slogan of ‘21st Century – Glorious Future’ ever since he fought for the Independence of the country. He opined that we have to establish a society in which nobody commits suicide, nobody kills another person, neither should anyone burn himself to death nor should they be killed in the womb. Can such a society be created? Yes! It can definitely be done. But to achieve this, we have to collectively work towards it. When an individual transforms himself, he will change his family and as a result, the society will get transformed. A healthy and nourished society will become the basis of glorious future in the 21st century.

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(Pranav Pandya)

that is a separator

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Several years later that woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it; then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:

“Paid in full with one glass of milk”

Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart.
- Elizabeth Foley

A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future.
- Sydney J. Harris

I like dreams of the future
better than the history of the past.
- Thomas Jefferson