Snippets

We start with Bush: "There is some who say that perhaps freedom is not universal. Maybe it's only Western people that can self-govern. Maybe it's only, you know, white-guy Methodists who are capable of self-government. I reject that notion." -- George W. Bush, London.

Out from Pakistan comes the confirmation of what we alleged, and the Pakistan Government denied: "I don’t sell my sons" -Amir Kasab, father of Ajmal the captured Mumbai terrorist.This was his reply to a question whether he had received the 1.5 lakh rupees compensation promised to Ajmal by his handlers. Amir sells pakoras on a handcart, and seems to have more spunk than the intelligensia in Pakistan. He has also said, "I was in denial for the first couple of days, saying to myself it could not have been my son. Now, I hve accepted it"- this realisation has eluded the creators of public opinion and the Government of Pakistan so far.

But there would seem to be a glimmer of hope. "'In other words, our actions are making us look like criminals,' - Ayaz Amir, noted Pakistani political commentator, in The News. But too faint for comfort. He is doleful and plaintive, "There is nothing in Pakistan, not even the jihadi organisations like the Lashkar dedicated to vague causes, to compare with the courage and organisation of Hizbollah. And there is no leader in Pakistan, or indeed across the embattled world of Islam - a religion which we disgrace by our incompetence and cowardice - to match (Hizbollah chief) Hasan Nasrullah," He grieves not because he understands the futility of violence, but the compulsions of 'poor circumstances', empty coffers. So he is ready "to bid a final farewell to the diplomacy of jihad". We never knew that the Jihadis who attacked Mumbai were diplomats- the peace they seek to establish would be the silence of the graveyard.

Nearer home, we have more pressing matters. "Men are suffering in silence. It’s the only country where the father is not considered important for the child’’ Kamal Vikram, member, GHRS (Gender Human Rights Society). Making a case that men are suffering legal terrorism at the hands of women, GHRS cite the sad statistics that 57,593 married men have committed suicide compared to a mere 30,064 married women, and lament that all the deaths of women are ascribed to marriage problems, while the suicides of men are put down to financial problems.

And finally, a wonderful description of freedom as a state of being. It might be impossible for us to come by, but the words paint a brilliant picture of the natural state of independent self: "I awaken between three and five, meditate for one or two hours, go straight to my desk and work till one or two P.M. The type of meditation I do varies, but the basic form is "the practice of the morning." or "ultimate guru yoga," where the true nature of one's own mind is the ultimate guru. The practice is: Upon waking, or upon passing from dream state to the waking state, look directly into the mind, inquire directly into the source of consciousness itself--inquire "Who am I?" if you like, or practice looking directly into the looker. Upon inquiring into the self, the self disappears, dissolving back into radiant Emptiness, and consciousness rests as absolute Freedom and Fullness, unbounded and unlimited, unborn and undying, unseen and unknown." - Ken Wilber