Social Action as Yogic Sadhana
Recommended companion reading
Diary of a Social Activist
http://diaryofasocialactivist-shrikantsoman.blogspot.com/
Preamble to the Diary of a Social Activist
http://diaryofasocialactivist-shrikantsoman.blogspot.com/2009/08/preamble-to-diary-of-social-activist.html
The Mission and the Path
http://diaryofasocialactivist-shrikantsoman.blogspot.com/2009/09/mission-and-pathshrikant-soman.html
Sri Anand Yoga – Fountain of Youth
http://srianandyoga.blogspot.com
When we consider the object of Social Action, one way to look at it is to work towards the mission of ushering in a golden age. Another way is to act as ‘soldiers of the divine’. Still another is to fulfill our duties and obligations towards our community, state, nation, humanity etc. These all are very much NOBLE pursuits and are sufficient reasons in themselves to get engaged in the social action. However, it still would not be SADHANA as I envisage it in Sri Anand Yoga – which is a foundation to the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo.
We all tend to get into our comfort zones. This is an intrinsic and subconscious tendency. Our relations with our family, neighbours, community, boss, colleagues, friends etc get ‘SET’ over a period of time and we learn over a period of time ‘NOT TO CROSS THE LINE’ so that the relations remain at cordial level as a minimum requirement for our survival.
When we do our Sadhana, we get into our PEACE ZONE. We turn INWARDS. We attain a sort of STABLE and PEACEFUL state of mind. At least this is our objective. When we are in our comfort zone as explained above, the PEACE ZONE which we attain through Yoga, is SUPERFLUOUS. It is not based on FIRM FOUNDATION. We still harbor in us SEEDS OF NEGATIVE FEELINGS like jealousy, ego, hurt feelings, hatred, anger etc. We do not realise about this aspect because the WATER IS CALM at the surface as the WINDS HAVE FALLEN. Our aim in INTEGRAL YOGA is to achieve the DIVINITY INTEGRALLY – leaving no part of our being remaining to be transformed. With the practice of yoga and meditation we make some progress towards this direction. However it is still very much partial progress. Further advance on the Path is not possible unless we dive into ourselves and discover these seeds and transform them into divine attributes of love and compassion and joy. Here is the catch. It is NOT POSSIBLE, in ordinary manner, just with the aid of yoga and meditation to do this job. This is possible with the GRACE of the GURU. However, even this has limitations because of the NON RECEPTIVITY and BLOCKAGE in our part to receive the grace.
Here comes the DYNAMIC aspect of Sri Anand Yoga. It is the SECRET PURPOSE behind the Social Action which is other than those explained above. When we are engaged in the social action, we are trying to change our governing system and our environment for the better. Any change meets resistance – mild or strong, manageable or indomitable. It also involves INTERACTION with people without having any SET RELATIONS as happens with our family and friends. This necessarily STIRS UP various emotions in us – originating from these seeds which I explained above. We get angry, frustrated, vulnerable, aggressive, depressed, agitated over the state of things and the attitude of people. This is precisely the OPPORTUNITY to take a grip with these seeds and use it as an opportunity for transforming them (NOT eliminating) into positive feelings of hope, patience, love, compassion, calm, joy.
The first step is to apply the technique of SRIKENSHO. It helps us to get these emotions as our ‘handles’ so that we can work with them. Next comes the Art of Positive Dieing and Rebirth. During the process of our social activism, we sometimes hit a wall. We pursue with relentless zeal to break this wall. This is a good attribute. Unfortunately, we get so much involved in the game that we overlook the Global Vision. This is also a dangerous situation in that we may emotionally harm ourselves caused by the setback due to a serious of failures. During such a time, we can apply this Art of Positive Dieing and Rebirth.
Next come the meditative technique of the Meditation on Death. This technique teaches us the ultimate RELEVANCE OF THINGS in our life. It is a sequel to the Art of Positive Dieing and Rebirth.
I am coming now to the TOP SECRET of this exercise. All the above are only the techniques. One may get EXPERT in handling the situation with these techniques. This is good. Yoga means EXPERTISE IN WHATEVER WE DO.
However, in order to get on our PATH with SUPER TURBO mode we need to change our WHOLE ATTITUDE and the PROCESS. We need to OFFER our EMOTIONS to the DIVINE WITHIN US for TRANSFORMATION and DIVINISING our whole being. Instead of doing passive meditation, we are now offering something more concrete – OUR EMOTIONS. This can be done in a silent meditation after we retreat to the safe haven of our home. We can contemplate about the events of the day, LIVE these EVENTS, let the emotions be STIRRED and then offer ourselves with these emotions to the divine for transformations. We also OPEN UP ourselves for the GRACE TO PERCOLATE through us. This is more dynamic and effective way to ABOSORB GRACE. In passive meditation, we tend to operate at our intellectual and mental level. This is NOT the effective way to call for GRACE and BE RECEPTIVE. On the other hand, when our emotional state is being stirred, and when we sincerely and with full faith offer ourselves to the divine, our CALL REACHES THE HIGH LEVELS of the divine.
I am now coming to the still next and more effective method. We do this process of offering ourselves alongwith our emotions to the divine, when we are in the MIDST OF ACTION. This is a duel process. Outwardly we are engaged in the process of social activism, doing our best with all the techniques explained above and also with all the other conventional techniques of success. At the same time, inwardly we are doing SRIKENSHO, observing ourselves for the emotions that are getting stirred up and then offering the same to the divine and calling for the divine help and guidance, opening ourselves to the divine grace and power. This may appear difficult at first sight, however, this is the SADHANA. With constant practice, we can very successfully apply it and progress on our path very rapidly.
Our engagement in the field of social activism has this secret purpose as a part of our Sadhana.
As one progresses on the PATH, one gets the POWER to CAUSE CHANGE.
There is another secret. Behind our action in this world, there are COSMIC POWERS working out the COSMIC PLANs in this world. When we engage in the field of social activism, these COSMIC powers get a very good chance to EFFECTUATE THE PLAN through us. If we align ourselves with this cosmic plan, then miraculous things happen and our progress becomes very exceptionally sure and super fast.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Types and Characters in the Drama
Types and Characters in the Drama................Shrikant Soman
I am a keen observer. While doing social activism, I have sampled different ‘types’.
1 ‘I want it but it does not matter for me’ type
When this type wants his name to be ‘announced’, to get mentioned in media reporting, to be felicited, to be appreciated, he manages to get it suggested and supported through his cronies. Then he goes on the stage and announce that he is not really after this honour. It somehow comes on his way and he has to accept it reluctantly. If you protest his wrong felicitation, he will advice you to focus on work and not be bothered about name. He will advice you to keep his example in front… he has actually denied the felicitation, but it was forced on him. He will even go to the extent of belittling you in front of others for running after name and fame instead of real good work.
2 Silent Cowards
These people do not speak up at the meeting. Even if they feel that something is wrong, they will keep quiet for the fear of getting on the wrong side of somebody. They have fearful respect for the ‘bully’ and will never oppose him. Upto this point it is within the tolerance threshold. Unfortunately, these silent cowards will take your mild and polite manner for weakness and will take every opportunity to oppose you. They sub-consciously ‘balance’ their personality complexes in this way. They will earn praises for their act by the ‘bully’ people. This will make them feel elated and of having some self worth.
The sad point is that these people are generally NOT part of the active politics. They are also god fearing. They will follow rightful religious path as per their own interpretation. For me, any person who is coward, if NOT RELIGIOUS. Anyway, it is a different topic of discussion. These people, by their behaviour, become part of the gang ‘by default’, meaning by being their silent spectator to the whole game, not speaking up, opposing the soft people and indirectly aiding the bully.
Due to my personality make up, I land up HATING these people MORE THATN THE BULLY himself. I can atleast catch the bully by his horns and get into a duel with him. He is out in front in a challenging mood. I can handle this situation. But I can not handle these silent cowards. In the process, I sometimes hurt them. There is no fun in fighting with these silent cowards. This makes me sad. I am having a difficult time to manage these people. I am learning.
3 Good Samaritans
These people are religiously (in good sense) motivated. They go on helping people in honest and dedicated way. They are not ambitious or egoistic. They do not play politics. They are genuine helpers. I am also sometimes at odd with these people. This may make you conclude that there must be something wrong with me as I am not able to get along with these good people. Let me explain.
When there is a fight between two groups / persons, these Good Samaritans will try to pacify both the groups. They will teach gospels. They will preach. They will honestly try to restore peace. This does not go well with me. I want the Good Samaritans to study and understand the issue over which the two groups are fighting and then take an informed decision for themselves about who is right and then support the group / person who is right. They will not care to do this. They will in effect equate both the sides and ask both the sides to stop fighting. I feel that this does not resolve issue. It goes underground. I am having difficulty tackling these Good Samaritans. As these are really good people, I can not hurt them. I also can not agree with them. I hate somebody ‘preaching’. In the long run, these Good Samaritans earn a good name in the society. I feel that they are good in the works of charity and religion. If they want to enter the field of Social Activism, then they have to put off the garb of being ‘Good Samaritan’ and get into the water.
4 Clever Diplomats
These people are adept in diplomacy and tact. They are always soft spoken and excellent in networking with people. They are not politicians or manipulators. They are also not corrupt. They are also not exactly dishonest – though I won’t call them honest. They are basically good people. They are having a very strong and high personal ambition – which they cleverly hide from others. I have problem with these types also. You will never know whether to count on them or not. At the same time, you cannot afford to be on their wrong side. They will extend their private support to both the warring parties – with the promise from each of them to keep it secret ! If you spend considerable amount of time convincing these Clever Diplomats about your position, they will intently listen to you, they will appreciate your views, they will give their moral support to you. This will make you feel elated and confident. Then you start realizing the hard way that when it matters most, these Clever Diplomats are either absent from the scene or they appear to be ambivalent. All you ‘investment’ of time with these Clever Diplomats gets ‘junked’. On the other hand, when it is a simple issue of just helping you with some contacts or influence, these Clever Diplomats will be really useful and you can count on them as your assets. These Clever Diplomats also establish their own high position in the Society over a period of time. Unfortunately, they contribute little to the cause of Social Activism, though being in this field for a long time.
5 Strong Supporters with Bad Moral
These people, for some reason, will support you. You can count on them. Unfortunately, they are with bad moral and corrupt. They expect you to support them during their difficult times. This becomes a real tricky situation. You need support. When these people support you, it is usually without any strings attached. They act like a true friend. On the other hand, by taking their support, you enter into a tacit ‘pact’ with them to help them out – indirectly forcing you to be on the wrong side of your own moral values. Sometimes I am moved by their unequivocal support for me. They boldly proclaim the righteousness of your cause – against all adversities. And when it comes your turn to return the favour, you think of your moral values and develop cold feet. What is right and what is wrong ? What is moral and what is immoral ?
6 Goody Good Nothings
These GGN really really get on my nerves. These are the people who don the garb of ‘Good People’. They will always ‘preach’. On personal level, they will never take sides openly. In many respects, they are like Good Samaritans as explained above – with the only and major difference that these GGN do not do anything REAL to help people. They are only ‘lip service’ type of people – being eloquent with words – empty words. If you happen to meet them, they will avoid the discussion on controversial topic. They will focus on harmless topics. However, behind your back, you will not be sure if they will subtly express doubts about your character. They will never loudly oppose you – even behind your back. They are experts in playing with words. Their job is just to raise suspicion. In the meeting, they will never take sides. I hate these ‘GGN’. They are good for nothing. It is tempting to take comfort that these GGN will at least not oppose you openly. I feel that in the long run, GGN are harmful because they put WRONG MODEL before society. This is because the GGN usually earn very high respect in the social circuit. They make up ideal chief guests / guests of honour at small local community functions.
7 Intellectual Debaters
These people are intelligent. They like to debate and argue. They are usually against the authority – whatever that might be. They usually come out with micro level deficiencies of the opposite party. They are hard to beat. They make their presence felt at any event. They also carry ‘fearful respect’ from other mortals with less intellectual levels. These people do have ambition but usually they do not go far. They remain in their close circuit. They do not contribute anything substantial for the social cause. This is because they fail to see the larger and whole picture. They always focus on smaller and petty issues. This diverts the attention and discussion at the meeting as other people do not understand the drift that is being caused by these people. This results in the main issue getting neglected. I have witnessed this being cleverly manipulated by the crooked leaders to their advantage. In this sense, these Intellectual Debaters indirectly aid the crooked leaders in their game. As I am able to counter the arguments of these people, I had a fatal flaw in getting engaged in debate with these people and wasting my time and energy over petty matters. I am learning.
8 Busy Bee Smarties
These people always appear to be on the run. You may never get them to talk to you in peace. Generally they prefer to talk to you on phone. This makes them easy to pretend about their situation as per their convenience. They will generally tell you that they are busy right now, in the meeting, on the bike, travelling etc and then communicate to you what THEY want to communcate and before you respond for any queries or any discussion points, they will excuse themselves and promise to call back and discuss when they are more free - which never happens. Actually this is a clever tactics by these BBS to avoid the CLARITY on important matter. These BBS thrive on ambuigities as it facilitates them to twist and turn the menaing as per their convenience and suitability. Before you protest, they are gone. They promise you to take care next time. However, when there is any issue which these BBS want to discuss and which is important to them, they manage to meet you and discuss at length. Generally these BBS are good network people. They have wide contacts. However, they are not able to make any progress beyond their circle, which is usually very wide, and get stuck within a closed circle for long time. They are not able to contribute any constructive for the society.
9 Eagle Eyed
These people have an eye of Eagle. They always hunt for an opportunity to promote themselves. Whenever there is any opening ceremony or any bigwig leader is coming, these EE somehow get a smell of it and arrive at the spot in the nick of time and try to steal the limelight by hook or by crook. Even if you do not invite these EE, they have their own sources at various vantage points who feed them about these vital information. They are the first to break the coconut on behalf of the citizens, even though they are not invited for the function in the first place. They try to impress the bigwig leaders, VIPs about their 'clout' and 'popularity' in the area - thereby trying to steal some mileage with these VIPs. They are always hated by other social activists. However, nobody seems to be able to control these EE.
11 Doomsayers
The doomsayers are utterly negative thinking people. They will always blame the authorities and the politicians and are absolutely convinced that nothing can be done to improve the situation. These doomsayers fill the atmosphere with gloom and negativity. It is difficult to handle these people. The other people who are initially neutral get subsequently converted to negativity with the contact of these doomsayers. It is a big challenge to tide over this atmoshphere as it is very dangerous. This philosophy of doomsayers is diametrically opposite of mine. I always belive that nothing is lost forever. We can always retrive the situaiton. We need to work with firm conviction and positive attitude. When I am confronted with these doomsayers, I give my personal 'guarantee' to the audience about the positive outcome of our endeavour provided they follow the path for a given period of time. This is the only way to convince the audience who are infected with these doomsayers. No amount of arguments and presentations is effective in convincing the audience in such a negative atmosphere. Generally I manage to get the audience follow me with this personal guarantee. Unfortunately, after a time when the things really start improving, everybody including the doomsayer conveniently forgets about their negative prediction at the beginning.
12 Neta in the Making
Neta = Political Leader
These NITM have all the combinations of all the above types which they use as per the time and circumstances. They are like lizards who change their colors as per the situaiton. These are the number one opportunits and cunning people. They try to grab the limelight at every opportunity in a subtle way - making it sure that nobody notices their maneouvers. If they spot some potential threats, they try every means to either win over the opposition or get it sidelined. They will generally never take open confrontaions with the opposition. They will alwasy fire from the shoulders of others. If they come across any clever guy who may possibly see through their plans and expose their tactics, they manage the opposition by their group of cronies and do the 'ambush' tactic through the group attack - themselves remaining behind some camaflouge. It is impossible to handle these Netas unless you yourself adopt their tactics. It is best handle them with 'frontal' means. These Netas always avoid frontal attack. This makes them vulnerable. They stab you cunningly from behind.
I have not covered above the obvious types of ‘crooked’ leaders, ‘honest’ leaders, ‘visionary’ leaders etc. They are always portrayed in our fictions with vivid details. The types which I have portrayed above are of 'pure' types. In real life, we get a mix of these types. A person may be a little bit of one type and some part of other type.
I am able to discern and grasp the ways and tactics of different types as mentioned above and many others not mentioned above. I can read them like open books. However, this does not solve my problem. I have put self imposed limits on my behaviour. I am restraining myself in ‘responding’ to these ‘types’ in a ‘clever’ way – even at the cost of compromising my mission in the short run. I only become ‘cautious’ without ‘responding’. On the other hand, I am also having a ‘golden rule’. Trust people. Even when I meet a crooked person, I honestly and sincerely (not just pretending) trust him. I keep a strong faith in having some ‘good person’ in every crooked person. I am trying to ‘harvest’ this good part. This I can not do if I do not trust such a person. By rejecting this type, I am losing an opportunity to garner resources. If I adopt the rule of ‘elimination’, probably I will be left with very little resources. Again, if I am too much cautious while dealing with people, my progress will be slow and unproductive. I have to take risks in trusting people. I do have excellent track record in building up a strong and dedicated team out of a variety of ‘types’ – with this simple golden rule – Trust people and learn the art and science of extracting the ‘good’ hidden in every human being. However, in the short run, I have sometimes to pay a very heavy price. This is part of the game.
I am a keen observer. While doing social activism, I have sampled different ‘types’.
1 ‘I want it but it does not matter for me’ type
When this type wants his name to be ‘announced’, to get mentioned in media reporting, to be felicited, to be appreciated, he manages to get it suggested and supported through his cronies. Then he goes on the stage and announce that he is not really after this honour. It somehow comes on his way and he has to accept it reluctantly. If you protest his wrong felicitation, he will advice you to focus on work and not be bothered about name. He will advice you to keep his example in front… he has actually denied the felicitation, but it was forced on him. He will even go to the extent of belittling you in front of others for running after name and fame instead of real good work.
2 Silent Cowards
These people do not speak up at the meeting. Even if they feel that something is wrong, they will keep quiet for the fear of getting on the wrong side of somebody. They have fearful respect for the ‘bully’ and will never oppose him. Upto this point it is within the tolerance threshold. Unfortunately, these silent cowards will take your mild and polite manner for weakness and will take every opportunity to oppose you. They sub-consciously ‘balance’ their personality complexes in this way. They will earn praises for their act by the ‘bully’ people. This will make them feel elated and of having some self worth.
The sad point is that these people are generally NOT part of the active politics. They are also god fearing. They will follow rightful religious path as per their own interpretation. For me, any person who is coward, if NOT RELIGIOUS. Anyway, it is a different topic of discussion. These people, by their behaviour, become part of the gang ‘by default’, meaning by being their silent spectator to the whole game, not speaking up, opposing the soft people and indirectly aiding the bully.
Due to my personality make up, I land up HATING these people MORE THATN THE BULLY himself. I can atleast catch the bully by his horns and get into a duel with him. He is out in front in a challenging mood. I can handle this situation. But I can not handle these silent cowards. In the process, I sometimes hurt them. There is no fun in fighting with these silent cowards. This makes me sad. I am having a difficult time to manage these people. I am learning.
3 Good Samaritans
These people are religiously (in good sense) motivated. They go on helping people in honest and dedicated way. They are not ambitious or egoistic. They do not play politics. They are genuine helpers. I am also sometimes at odd with these people. This may make you conclude that there must be something wrong with me as I am not able to get along with these good people. Let me explain.
When there is a fight between two groups / persons, these Good Samaritans will try to pacify both the groups. They will teach gospels. They will preach. They will honestly try to restore peace. This does not go well with me. I want the Good Samaritans to study and understand the issue over which the two groups are fighting and then take an informed decision for themselves about who is right and then support the group / person who is right. They will not care to do this. They will in effect equate both the sides and ask both the sides to stop fighting. I feel that this does not resolve issue. It goes underground. I am having difficulty tackling these Good Samaritans. As these are really good people, I can not hurt them. I also can not agree with them. I hate somebody ‘preaching’. In the long run, these Good Samaritans earn a good name in the society. I feel that they are good in the works of charity and religion. If they want to enter the field of Social Activism, then they have to put off the garb of being ‘Good Samaritan’ and get into the water.
4 Clever Diplomats
These people are adept in diplomacy and tact. They are always soft spoken and excellent in networking with people. They are not politicians or manipulators. They are also not corrupt. They are also not exactly dishonest – though I won’t call them honest. They are basically good people. They are having a very strong and high personal ambition – which they cleverly hide from others. I have problem with these types also. You will never know whether to count on them or not. At the same time, you cannot afford to be on their wrong side. They will extend their private support to both the warring parties – with the promise from each of them to keep it secret ! If you spend considerable amount of time convincing these Clever Diplomats about your position, they will intently listen to you, they will appreciate your views, they will give their moral support to you. This will make you feel elated and confident. Then you start realizing the hard way that when it matters most, these Clever Diplomats are either absent from the scene or they appear to be ambivalent. All you ‘investment’ of time with these Clever Diplomats gets ‘junked’. On the other hand, when it is a simple issue of just helping you with some contacts or influence, these Clever Diplomats will be really useful and you can count on them as your assets. These Clever Diplomats also establish their own high position in the Society over a period of time. Unfortunately, they contribute little to the cause of Social Activism, though being in this field for a long time.
5 Strong Supporters with Bad Moral
These people, for some reason, will support you. You can count on them. Unfortunately, they are with bad moral and corrupt. They expect you to support them during their difficult times. This becomes a real tricky situation. You need support. When these people support you, it is usually without any strings attached. They act like a true friend. On the other hand, by taking their support, you enter into a tacit ‘pact’ with them to help them out – indirectly forcing you to be on the wrong side of your own moral values. Sometimes I am moved by their unequivocal support for me. They boldly proclaim the righteousness of your cause – against all adversities. And when it comes your turn to return the favour, you think of your moral values and develop cold feet. What is right and what is wrong ? What is moral and what is immoral ?
6 Goody Good Nothings
These GGN really really get on my nerves. These are the people who don the garb of ‘Good People’. They will always ‘preach’. On personal level, they will never take sides openly. In many respects, they are like Good Samaritans as explained above – with the only and major difference that these GGN do not do anything REAL to help people. They are only ‘lip service’ type of people – being eloquent with words – empty words. If you happen to meet them, they will avoid the discussion on controversial topic. They will focus on harmless topics. However, behind your back, you will not be sure if they will subtly express doubts about your character. They will never loudly oppose you – even behind your back. They are experts in playing with words. Their job is just to raise suspicion. In the meeting, they will never take sides. I hate these ‘GGN’. They are good for nothing. It is tempting to take comfort that these GGN will at least not oppose you openly. I feel that in the long run, GGN are harmful because they put WRONG MODEL before society. This is because the GGN usually earn very high respect in the social circuit. They make up ideal chief guests / guests of honour at small local community functions.
7 Intellectual Debaters
These people are intelligent. They like to debate and argue. They are usually against the authority – whatever that might be. They usually come out with micro level deficiencies of the opposite party. They are hard to beat. They make their presence felt at any event. They also carry ‘fearful respect’ from other mortals with less intellectual levels. These people do have ambition but usually they do not go far. They remain in their close circuit. They do not contribute anything substantial for the social cause. This is because they fail to see the larger and whole picture. They always focus on smaller and petty issues. This diverts the attention and discussion at the meeting as other people do not understand the drift that is being caused by these people. This results in the main issue getting neglected. I have witnessed this being cleverly manipulated by the crooked leaders to their advantage. In this sense, these Intellectual Debaters indirectly aid the crooked leaders in their game. As I am able to counter the arguments of these people, I had a fatal flaw in getting engaged in debate with these people and wasting my time and energy over petty matters. I am learning.
8 Busy Bee Smarties
These people always appear to be on the run. You may never get them to talk to you in peace. Generally they prefer to talk to you on phone. This makes them easy to pretend about their situation as per their convenience. They will generally tell you that they are busy right now, in the meeting, on the bike, travelling etc and then communicate to you what THEY want to communcate and before you respond for any queries or any discussion points, they will excuse themselves and promise to call back and discuss when they are more free - which never happens. Actually this is a clever tactics by these BBS to avoid the CLARITY on important matter. These BBS thrive on ambuigities as it facilitates them to twist and turn the menaing as per their convenience and suitability. Before you protest, they are gone. They promise you to take care next time. However, when there is any issue which these BBS want to discuss and which is important to them, they manage to meet you and discuss at length. Generally these BBS are good network people. They have wide contacts. However, they are not able to make any progress beyond their circle, which is usually very wide, and get stuck within a closed circle for long time. They are not able to contribute any constructive for the society.
9 Eagle Eyed
These people have an eye of Eagle. They always hunt for an opportunity to promote themselves. Whenever there is any opening ceremony or any bigwig leader is coming, these EE somehow get a smell of it and arrive at the spot in the nick of time and try to steal the limelight by hook or by crook. Even if you do not invite these EE, they have their own sources at various vantage points who feed them about these vital information. They are the first to break the coconut on behalf of the citizens, even though they are not invited for the function in the first place. They try to impress the bigwig leaders, VIPs about their 'clout' and 'popularity' in the area - thereby trying to steal some mileage with these VIPs. They are always hated by other social activists. However, nobody seems to be able to control these EE.
11 Doomsayers
The doomsayers are utterly negative thinking people. They will always blame the authorities and the politicians and are absolutely convinced that nothing can be done to improve the situation. These doomsayers fill the atmosphere with gloom and negativity. It is difficult to handle these people. The other people who are initially neutral get subsequently converted to negativity with the contact of these doomsayers. It is a big challenge to tide over this atmoshphere as it is very dangerous. This philosophy of doomsayers is diametrically opposite of mine. I always belive that nothing is lost forever. We can always retrive the situaiton. We need to work with firm conviction and positive attitude. When I am confronted with these doomsayers, I give my personal 'guarantee' to the audience about the positive outcome of our endeavour provided they follow the path for a given period of time. This is the only way to convince the audience who are infected with these doomsayers. No amount of arguments and presentations is effective in convincing the audience in such a negative atmosphere. Generally I manage to get the audience follow me with this personal guarantee. Unfortunately, after a time when the things really start improving, everybody including the doomsayer conveniently forgets about their negative prediction at the beginning.
12 Neta in the Making
Neta = Political Leader
These NITM have all the combinations of all the above types which they use as per the time and circumstances. They are like lizards who change their colors as per the situaiton. These are the number one opportunits and cunning people. They try to grab the limelight at every opportunity in a subtle way - making it sure that nobody notices their maneouvers. If they spot some potential threats, they try every means to either win over the opposition or get it sidelined. They will generally never take open confrontaions with the opposition. They will alwasy fire from the shoulders of others. If they come across any clever guy who may possibly see through their plans and expose their tactics, they manage the opposition by their group of cronies and do the 'ambush' tactic through the group attack - themselves remaining behind some camaflouge. It is impossible to handle these Netas unless you yourself adopt their tactics. It is best handle them with 'frontal' means. These Netas always avoid frontal attack. This makes them vulnerable. They stab you cunningly from behind.
I have not covered above the obvious types of ‘crooked’ leaders, ‘honest’ leaders, ‘visionary’ leaders etc. They are always portrayed in our fictions with vivid details. The types which I have portrayed above are of 'pure' types. In real life, we get a mix of these types. A person may be a little bit of one type and some part of other type.
I am able to discern and grasp the ways and tactics of different types as mentioned above and many others not mentioned above. I can read them like open books. However, this does not solve my problem. I have put self imposed limits on my behaviour. I am restraining myself in ‘responding’ to these ‘types’ in a ‘clever’ way – even at the cost of compromising my mission in the short run. I only become ‘cautious’ without ‘responding’. On the other hand, I am also having a ‘golden rule’. Trust people. Even when I meet a crooked person, I honestly and sincerely (not just pretending) trust him. I keep a strong faith in having some ‘good person’ in every crooked person. I am trying to ‘harvest’ this good part. This I can not do if I do not trust such a person. By rejecting this type, I am losing an opportunity to garner resources. If I adopt the rule of ‘elimination’, probably I will be left with very little resources. Again, if I am too much cautious while dealing with people, my progress will be slow and unproductive. I have to take risks in trusting people. I do have excellent track record in building up a strong and dedicated team out of a variety of ‘types’ – with this simple golden rule – Trust people and learn the art and science of extracting the ‘good’ hidden in every human being. However, in the short run, I have sometimes to pay a very heavy price. This is part of the game.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
The Mission and the Path
The Mission and the Path........................Shrikant Soman
This is a personal diary. Here I am noting down my thought and experiences. It is a talk to myself. It is ‘thinking out aloud’. This is not a debate or discussion. It may help some to discover that they can ‘relate’ to this experience. I have myself immensely benefited by reading the autobiography of the great strugglers.
My objective in being in this field of Social Activism is not limited to ‘doing something’ to ‘improve our governing system’. This is only a ‘base level’ activity. My main objective to initiate a ‘root level’ changes in our society so that ideally every member of the society becomes
I personally feel that the issue is NOT so much as to which political system we should have but of ‘taking responsibility’ for the society in which we live in. The problem is not so much of our corrupt and inefficient politicians, bureaucrats and police but more of inactive citizens.
This task is a tall order. It is a Himalayan task. But I am not daunted. I do not look at the peak and get scared. I am just building ‘brick by brick’ taking me to whatever height it will take. I am succeeding in my endeavour – though in much a slower speed than I would like it to happen and with considerable bitter experiences.
If I limit myself to doing something just to change our governing system, it will be a ‘personal’ based effort. It will be wiped out after I have gone. I may become a ‘hero’ if I succeed with flying colours. However, my personal mission will remain unfulfilled. I feel that the tragedy of Mahatma Gandhi is that we are not able to carry on his work. We have not really UNDERSTOOD his mission at all. It is NOT just the ‘principle of Non Violence’ for which he is usually recognized. We are told that he drove out British without any weapon. I feel we miss the point here. I would like Mahatma to be known for his fearless and clever ‘taking on’ the British Empire showing the world that being a great warrior is not in the skill in handling the weapons but in being fearless adventurer daring to take the path less travelled, even single handedly, to start with.
I also feel that to wait for a divine incarnation to save the humanity from this present state is ‘selfish’ on our part – it is a subconscious shrugging off our responsibility on the shoulder of this divine incarnation to bring in the ‘golden age’ on Earth.
I also do not accept the argument put forward by most people that
- Aware Citizen, ready to contribute his bit in the social change,
- is fearless,
- ready to get out of his ‘comfort zone’ for joining a social movement,
- takes a balanced and not biased approach towards resolving the issues of good governance
I also do not accept the argument put forward by most people that
- What a single person can do ?
- Nothing will change these corrupt politicians.
- I want to do something but do not know what and how
- I have a desire to do something but at present I am terribly tied down to my daily chorus and duties and obligations.
- I am too weak / poor / old / young to do anything
- I do not understand as to who is right and therefore can not decide what to do
I am having very much bitter experiences along the way. I have to get involved in a grass root level. There is lot of petty squabbles, politics, manipulations, falsehood, jealousy in this field. There is certainly a lot of good work also going on. I am getting ‘dirty’ in working in this mud. But I have no way to go. If I fight it out, I have scoop down to their level. I have to lower myself. This I will not do. If I flight .. just get out of this, then no substantial and structural work will be done. Either way, it is a ‘NO WIN’ situation.
But there is a way out. Keep the conscience clean. Do what I feel is right. Apply tact without getting into manipulative politics. Keep trying. Hunt for good people. Network with them. Get the BEST of me into the work I am doing…irrespective of the question of getting appreciated or recognized. Keep myself OPEN for DIVINE GUIDANCE. Pray. Have helpful attitude. Be straightforward. Do not bargain for the SURVIVAL by sacrificing the core values. Keep out of politics even at the cost of getting ‘out of the social circuit’. And the most precious of it all… HAVE PATIENCE. Things will happen as per the GRAND PLAN, and not as per my plan with limited vision.
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