Prime Minister of India (virtual) makes a pitch for Right Thoughts, Right Decisions and Right Action

Dear Countrymen!

It gives me great pleasure to address you from this virtual platform because it will help me to reach directly to your souls and souls are indeed the ones which I want to reach in these extraordinary times.

Bodies could be different - could belong to different regions, religions and stratas of socity, minds could be different - could be full of different regional, religious and intellectual prides and prejudices, but souls of a collective entity cannot be different. The soul is always one.

The Soul of India is one.

I want to address the Soul of India.

Why I say these are the extraordinary times? I need not have to go far to explain.

Even as I am writing this, the TV Channel Aaj Tak is airing its 10 pm special programme titled "Sawdhan Hindustan." In it the Channel is warning India that it is being surrounded by instable and almost disintegrating neighbours from all sides and it should remain extraordinarily alert if it wants to save the same fate for itself.

Pakistan, Afganistan and even Bangla Desh are being taken over inch by inch by Taliban. This frightening prospect is being further confounded by more and more dangerous developments by the day, what with Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaj Sharif being disqualified to fight future elections just today thus throwing its political climate into further chaos, Bangla Desh's infamous Bangladesh Rifles openly rebelling against its Army to put stability of newly formed government of Sheikh Hasina into jeopardy, while Afganistan is already in a perpetual state of receiving such doses of destabilisation daily.

Seeing the above in the light of the fact that Pakistan has nuclear bomb which could go into Taliban and eventually Al Queda hands any time, a most dreadful prospect for America, it would not be an exaggeration to fear full-scale armed intervention by America in the near future if not full scale third world war on our borders. And, God forbid, if this later eventuality happenes, it may lead to the use of even nuclear bombs once again in the history of the world.

And I have yet not said a word about the picture inside India, about increasing possibility of Mumbai-like terrorist attacks because of the above, about the economic recession engulfing the whole world and its consequences for our ecountry which had just begun to develop wings in this respect etc.

Nor I have said a word yet about the equally worrying political climate inside the country. Where, to say the least, statesmen have become politicians, politicians have become petty politicians, petty politicians have become outright muscle men and goondas of whosoever is in power, or whosoever can buy them. The elders are faltering, the middle agers have no political legs of their own, the youth are lacking confidence to take their place, with the result that criminals and people with money and muscle power are increasingly calling the shots in the body politic of our country.

Amen. But...

Such one-sided happenings do not make a times extraordinary. These could represent bad times but not extraordinary times. Extraordinary times are the ones when alongside the bad happenings there happen good ones of equal importance and intensity so that a little more pressure on either side could make an individual, a people, a nation tilt either way. It will either make a paradigm shift to a new, higher order or fall to the ground in total chaos.

Deep diviners of things know it which is why right before the extraordinary times of the happening of French Revolution great French writer Charles Dickens began his world-famous novel " A Tale of Two Cities" with the lines: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." It was the best of times because he could see in it the coming of French Revolution, it was the worst of times because in it the common people of France were under the most brutal oppression of French Aristocracy in their history. And this is not the only example.

So...

Yes, you have guessed it right, my fellow countrymen!

I also see alongside the present bad happenings in and around India a number of good happenings of equal importance and intensity as well which could well lead our country into its own Revolution of sorts - Indian Revolution.

We have for the first time won so many Oscars for our people, we have for the first time won gold and so many other medals in the Olympics, we have for the first time reached the moon with our own rocket, we have for the first time reached almost double digit growth in our economy, our businessmen have steadily spread their wings throughout the world, we have set an example by making world's cheapest car, we have shown the world once again that as ever when things go to deeper levels as from hard ware to soft ware we are the masters. We had already proved it when one of our geniuses had invented zero, when our spirituality had reached to the very home of the One/God through its philosophy of Advaita Vedanta.

Do you think, my dear countrymen, these extraordinary things are happening now just by chance?

No my countrymen! I see in them the hand of destiny, India's destiny. I see in them destiny calling us for action towards a greater future for India, for an Indian Revolution. I see in them the spirit of India racing ahead even as its body is caught for a while in chaotic conditions without and within. In see in them the emerging new order out of the prevailing chaos. I see in them a call for a new type of thinking, decisions and actions.

Now, let me call these new type of thinking, decisions and actions as Right Thinking, Right Decisions and Right Actions at this crucial juncture and try to enumerate them for you with my limited understanding.

A. Right thoughts:

1. I am an Indian first and Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian etc later. No doubt I cannot forget my religion which is really the core of my being but for this very reason I will keep it strictly to myself. I will take it as my most secret pact with God. So that I will not take part in any of those religious affairs/activities in the open which will have the potential to harm my country in any way.

2. I am an Indian first and Utter Pardeshi, Punjabi, Haryanavi, Himachali, Bihari, Maharashtrian, Gujrati etc later. No doubt I cannot forget my state but I will think of my state only as a part of India and not in isolation. If I am really honest I am sure I will not face any difficulty in serving both equally well at all times.

3. I am an Indian first and my individual-self later. I recall that it was not always so and understand and accept the necessity of it being so now. Because extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures and moreover, I would better try to keep my country alive even at the cost of myself now rather than lose my country and make my life even more miserable alive than dead like Palestinian people later. By so doing I will at least be ensuring a home for my future generations not to forget the future generations of India.

4. I would not blame anybody because of their past/past actions, but only because of their actions from now on. I will keep myself free from any depressing thoughts regarding past if any by constantly reminding myself of Lord Krishana's words in Bhagvad Gita "What happened was for the good". I know paradigm shifts in people's awarenesses cannot be brought about by keeping them bound to their pasts. It is an experience really of the soul and for it to happen people's souls will have to be set free of their pasts.

5. I will envision more and more role for youth in the future because I know that not only are they full of fresh energy but even more importantly, are free from the burdens of the past. Yet I will not allow this at the cost of respect for the elders, because I know that elders did no less in their own times to bring us to the state where we are now and where we can at least breathe, think and act freely.

6. I think it is time to be leaders unto ourselves and improve whatever things we want to improve rather than wait for the leaders from outside. I will have to be the leader at least for my small world around me myself. I am sure this way some day the whole of India will stand up on its own feet to improve things to really usher into a revolution from within.

B. Right Decisions:

1. I will take decisions concerning the coming elections and even later guided by the above-explained right thoughts. As a consequence, I will not caste my vote on the basis of my religion, region, self-interest or under the influence of money and muscle power.

2. I know I cannot decide about the goodness or badness of parties in general, especially the main parties and, moreover, know that there are good and bad people in all the parties. So I will choose the best available candidate from my area to caste my vote irrespective of to which party he/she belongs. I am sure good people in any party will do good wherever they go while bad people will do bad. I am sure going ahead my this decision will discourage parties from giving party tickets to bad people in future.

3. I will not be influenced by anybody's money or muscle power and will caste my vote in favour of the person I have freely decided and not out of any fear.

4. I will neither make any vulgar display of outer wealth and luxuries myself nor appreciate anybody doing so. I will educate people to shun it in favour of inner wealth of knowledge and wisdom. I will not vote for the candidate who does such vulgar displays.

5. I have full faith in the ancient philosophy of India that everybody is wise from the heart so I will always stand by the idea of democracy even if sometimes its results may not look apparently good. I am sure people's inherent wisdom will show itself sooner or later.

C. Right Action:

1. I will act as per the right thoughts and decisions given above.

2. I will acquaint more and more people of my area with the ideas contained in this paper even by publishing and distributing it if need be. However, I will take care not to fall into unnecessary confrontations with anybdoy as I believe that all will come to the side of truth in due time. All I have to do is do my work as above.

3. I will honestly educate people as to the good and bad points of candidates of my area and will urge them to vote for the good and comparatively honest candidate. I know it will be very difficult to find completely honest candidates so long as people have to spend money on elections and so, I will term comparatively honest candidates those candidates who collect money only for elections and not for making personal assets. I will not be easily swayed by the mere outer goodness and honesty of people because I know there are some people who look good and honest only because they are
more clever than others at concealing their bad actions. I will go deeply into this aspect with my friends as time passes.

4. I will shun earning money or other perks by wrong means from now on myself.

5. I will shun giving or receiving favours.

6. I will not approach people in power for any personal gains.

7. I will work to the best of my ability, power and efficiency. I will do my best to remove the notion that "work to rule is like strike" from people's minds. I will put greatest value on performance with honesty rather than on mere honesty.

8. I will set examples for people to follow and will patiently wait for them to follow on their own by overcoming their past prejudices and weaknesses rather than force myself on them and expect immediate results. I know paradigm shifts are led first only by a few people, not by crowds. Crowds will first have to be mentally prepared obviously by persuasion, by helping them understand certain things at their own pace, by motivation rather than by force. Force can be used only later on the exceptional few who prove themselves to be beyond reformation by persuasion or by any other means.

With this my dear dear countrymen, I close my address. I earnestly hope that mother India shows you its inherent 'light' at this critical juncture which enlightens you enough to see the truth in the above words and gives you strength enough to follow them in letter and spirit.

Jai Ho, Jai HInd