Monday, October 08, 2007

Thoughts and sights from the weekend

Thoughts:

The whole Sethu Samuthiram project sparked off a discussion on development and the impact it has on the environment. (Yes. There is also the environment side to the Sethu Samuthiram argument. Not just faith.) The argument went like this:


If we need development, it will impact the environment. For that matter any action will have an environmental implication. But my question was is this the only way or model for development? The development as we see it today is merely aping that which is happening in the 'developed' countries. Who wrote that down as the protocol for development? Is consumer driven economy the only way to prosperity? Isn't that something that is driven by greed and want and not really by need?


Well, I have no answers. Only questions. And these questions and statements are not made after having learnt development and economics. These are questions that came out the mind of a by-stander.


There may be many methods, strategies, modus operandi, yada yada yada. But all this mean nothing if the thing is not done. This thought specifically occurred to me about my bakthi. If all I am thinking about is how I study the Holy Scriptures, dream of how I relate to my Guru and keep talking about it, and even write about it in my blog but do not have the bakthi, my bakthi is nothing.


There is an inherent fear of the wild in man's heart. A few conquer it. Nonetheless, it is there. One either wants to subdue it or run away from it or shut it out. But it is in the wild man is really at home.


It is weird how we destroy all the wild around us to make 'civilization' and run to the wild during weekends to escape from civilization. In doing this we invade another person's habitat and slowly begin to take over that as well. one would not have needed to do that if they had retained at least part of the wild where they were. (Ah well, this is hypocrisy. It is coming from the mouth of a migrant.)


What am I leaving behind for the future generation?


Sights:


13 comments:

Vadapoche said...

"It is weird how we destroy all the wild around us to make 'civilization' and run to the wild during weekends to escape from civilization. "

Wow! Bungi that wa really profound! Great post.

I have wondered on similar lines often.

Zak said...

Proof Reading : There are many spelling mistakes in the write up. It is Sethu Samudram and not Sethu Samuthiram. It is a sequence of incoherent supporting facts . is it about sethu samudram or clearing up forests or faith... very confusing ...

Zak said...

but yes ..lifes goes on...

Zak said...

Actually, this whole project does not make any sense for purely scientific reasons, as this route will not be used even by sea gulls, because of the nature of this particular area in the sea. There is danger of ships getting stuck in sand if continous dredging doesnt take place!

Bungz said...

Jollyroger - Thank you. :)

Saj - Since Sethu Samuthiram is written directly from Tamil, it doesn't matter how it is spelt in English as it is all the same in Tamil.

And i did not claim anywhere in this post that the thoughts are going to have coherent order.

Yes. This whole project doesn't make sense from any point of view. The two points that you mentioned also came about in the weekend discussion.

And yes, life goes on... :P

Zak said...

u need to learn

Jude said...

hmm i'm sure it would have been possible to come up with dire proclamations before the suez canal was built - or the bhakra nangal or whatever. Not that they turned out to be great things, but thats not the point.

Anonymous said...

Nice post Bhu.. That was thought provoking!

SandyCarlson said...

This is interesting. I think it's true humanity fears the wild. We conquer it before we're conquered. (Isn't that true of so many situations--people act out what they least wish to experience. The struggle is to break out of that cycle.)

A New Green Earth has a post up about a competition to build ecologically sound homes. There are ways to accomplish things in a healthy way if we believe our minds can find them and we allow ourselves to do it.

The greed machines just don't care, though, and that is the real problem, as I see it. How do they begin to care?

Sirpy said...

Amazing post.. A minor correction.. Greed and want, are in fact fueled by needs.. Needs of the mind..They need not necessarily stem from physical needs only..

Bungz said...

Saj - I hope to never stop learning. :P

Jude - Well, that is the whole point..

Sandy - It's a sad world we live in... :-( But i guess there is still hope...

Maddie - Thanks, man...

Sirpy - That could be debated... The needs and wants thing... Thanks for dropping by...

PurpleHeart said...

It's better to constructively destroy something made by an idol who lives in books alone rather than forgo on developmental activities and continue idolising holy books. Down Down BJP !!

Bungz said...

Ummm... I didn't want to touch up on the faith and the political aspect of the project, but i guess i will.

All said and done i think we should respect people's faith. It may or may not be fictional. But it is something that a large portion of the people believe in.

BJP and DMK fighting over it has made it political. And i don't think DMK should have pulled in the faith aspect of it. While they may not believe in it, they have put down those who believe in it. And this is disrespecting the whole 'secular nation' bit of our constitution...

And what Mahathma said is true too. If we go ahead with this there is going to be a lot of oil spilling, need for dredging continuously and to top it, really huge ships still cannot go through it.

And why is DMK refusing to look at the other options that are being proposed?