Art of living or art of living it
up
A few days ago I was seriously
considering doing a basic course of art of living because some of my friends
who are very dear to me and in whose judgment I have great faith in are really
devoted to this mission. I am all for yoga, meditation and breathing techniques
but somehow could not get myself to do a course with the art of living people. There
was something that didn’t agree with me. I have never liked anything that
claims to be spiritual but run like an MNC. I don’t like the idea of
spirituality or religion or anything dealing with my higher needs hawked to me.
I don’t like people telling me that they have the best solution for my
spiritual advancement as if I am in the market to get the best quality all
weather paint for my house and will settle for whoever gives me the best
technology at the cheapest rate. Anyway after giving my consent for
the basic course I withdrew it the same night as I was not feeling good about it
at all. Today I am glad I didn’t do that otherwise I would have also held
myself responsible for the environmental travesty that’s taking place right
under the nose of the highest executive, judiciary and the environmental court
in the country.
I have a few points to make,
rather a few questions in mind, that I can’t seem to find answers for. Why does
an organization which claims to be an educational and humanitarian movement
engaged in stress-management and service initiatives need to indulge in an
extravaganza bordering almost on a show of strength in terms of
its equity with the ruling disposition. The art of living states on their
official website that they have spread peace across communities through
diverse humanitarian projects, including conflict resolution, disaster
relief, sustainable
rural development, empowerment
of women, prisoner rehabilitation, education for all, and environmental sustainability. I wonder what they understand by
environmental sustainability if they did not know what a river flood plain is,
or what a wetland is or what ecological services are provided by the same. I am
appalled by the stand taken by the representatives of Art of living, that they
chose this site as they wanted to attract world attention to the plight of
dying Yamuna It is absolutely beyond me that how can attention be drawn to
someone’s plight by inflicting an irreparable damage on the same resource that
you want to allegedly protect.
Art of
Living representatives and even the BJP spokespeople were defending the
involvement of the army in making the pontoon bridges on the grounds that it is
an international cultural event and that the army had also been called upon to
help during commonwealth games, Kumbh mela, Asian games etc. Either it was a deliberate attempt to fool
people or these people themselves were fools, otherwise how can anyone compare
national events or events that the government organizes with events that are
organized by a private person or organization.
Actually, if you watch TV debates
seriously the glaring moral and intellectual bankruptcy across the spectrum
hits you like a tsunami on your face. Everybody almost everybody, barring a few
exceptions (that one gets to see rarely), whether it is the interviewer or the
interviewee, speaks with a political slant. Five minutes in front of the idiot
box and one wonders maybe that’s why it’s called an idiot box after all, most
of its inhabitants resemble unthinking people who seem to be handpicked from
all walks of life with a special expertise to lie to defend whatever they are
called upon to, with impunity, without blinking an eyelid and with such self-righteousness
that even poor Arnab Goswami looks tolerable.
None of the debates seriously
discussed the issue of eco sensitive zones, ecological services, irreparable
damage to fragile ecosystems and the economic value of ecological services that we all will be deprived of.
