Yesterday I had an interesting discussion about Gandhiji's idea of Satyagraha- Soul Force- ( “The Satyagrahi’s object is to convert, not to coerce, the wrong-doer.”). Apparently the force of truth, and the justice of your cause will act on your opponent and change his mind if your means are just. I questioned whether it is possible in view of what is happening in China, Burma and now Iran.
Here is a heartening news at The Daily Dish stating, "Yes, the president of Iran's own election monitoring commission has declared the result invalid and called for a do-over. That is huge news: when a regime's own electoral monitors beak ranks, what chance does the regime have of persuading anyone in the world or Iran that it has democratic legitimacy?". I didn't find this news anywhere else. It also states that Rafsanjani has resigned as head of the Expediency Council. If true, this would vindicate Gandhiji's faith in Soul Force. Let us hope and pray that this is true.
I got this from niacINsight. The video lasts less than one minute, but it is moving- it was taken before the elections- "On the rooftops in Tehran, people sounding out into the night “God is Great,” the same chant that was used during the revolution in 1979, only now with a decidedly different subtext."
Let's see who's great.
I know only two languages, and if I had the chance I think I would have learned more. Now I find I am not young enough for the task, and if possible I would learn Hindi and Sanskrit first, and then follow them with Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada.
I found this interesting article at The Edge, where Lera Boroditsky writes,
"Suppose you want to say, "Bush read Chomsky's latest book." Let's focus on just the verb, "read." To say this sentence in English, we have to mark the verb for tense; in this case, we have to pronounce it like "red" and not like "reed." In Indonesian you need not (in fact, you can't) alter the verb to mark tense. In Russian you would have to alter the verb to indicate tense and gender. So if it was Laura Bush who did the reading, you'd use a different form of the verb than if it was George. In Russian you'd also have to include in the verb information about completion. If George read only part of the book, you'd use a different form of the verb than if he'd diligently plowed through the whole thing. In Turkish you'd have to include in the verb how you acquired this information: if you had witnessed this unlikely event with your own two eyes, you'd use one verb form, but if you had simply read or heard about it, or inferred it from something Bush said, you'd use a different verb form."
Fascinating.
Do you think the language we speak influences how we see and understand the world? Lara Borodistsky seems to suggest that learning a new language is to prepare ourselves to enter a new world, and I am inclined to agree with this.
"I have described how languages shape the way we think about space, time, colors, and objects. Other studies have found effects of language on how people construe events, reason about causality, keep track of number, understand material substance, perceive and experience emotion, reason about other people's minds, choose to take risks, and even in the way they choose professions and spouses.8 Taken together, these results show that linguistic processes are pervasive in most fundamental domains of thought, unconsciously shaping us from the nuts and bolts of cognition and perception to our loftiest abstract notions and major life decisions."
And moving on elsewhere, at Psychology Today is this article on organising a cult- a how to. There are just seven steps, and the first of them is, "Begin by creating your own reality. You do this by keeping your members away from outsiders. An isolated farm in the middle of Idaho is good but if such a retreat isn't available, impose a form of self-censorship."
This is not about cults, it applies for business, politics, and even in keeping a harmonious home where the father or mother is held in awe. So, if you are a control freak, this article will help you.
Surely Satyagraha will work. If you pick up stick to beat your oppressor he will pick a stronger one. If you pick a dagger then he will pick up his revolver. It will go on and beyond a point the oppressor will wield more powerful weapons than you could. But when you drop everything or don't pick up anything your oppressor will have to stay with that stick in hand. Over time his grip will loosen and the stick will eventually fall.
ReplyDeleteDepending on the nature of the oppressor Satyagraha will take time to work. If China is talking about moving to democratic systems then surely it has its roots in 1989 students protests followed by Tiannaman square massacre.
It's interesting to know about your post on languages. Information that factors that go into determining what word to use to a given situation, varies from language to language is indeed interesting.
ReplyDeleteThat is very hopeful. Let's see how this one falls out.
ReplyDeleteAnd languages is a great subject- it is beautiful, actually- the things we do.