Lent Day 15: Making room for compassion and love

Crowds are so difficult to handle. There are crowds because of lack of space and crowds which are created because of lack of patience. The crowds which were near Jesus were not impatient crowds or created crowds but huge realistic crowds. It is surprising that Jesus and his disciples were not crushed by these crowds.

Jesus saw people at grounds, at the shore and sometimes he was on a boat and the crowd was on land. The few times he was in a house, the people thronged to see him. So much that there came a point when one could declare that there was no space anymore. St. Mark 2: 1-12 talks of such a scenario. Verse 2 says, “And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door…”

In South Asian countries and among the poor, lower middle class and even middle class in India, houses are filled with people. The family members and then other family, cousins and even friends who come to cities and towns for education and jobs. Even when the house is already full, the family opens its door and makes space for the person who seeks refuge. There is nothing practical about this and no clear space which is available and thought about. Space is created out of thin air.

Many Indians and Keralites who work abroad in the Middle East, also stay in bachelor rooms, where there are bunker beds and no privacy. The camps are even worse. Lots of hardships are undergone to make money for the family back home. In Kerala, migrant workers stay in small rooms, with little facilities and adjust so that they can save money to send to their homes in several parts of North India. Small rooms, spaces and facilities are created to accommodate people.

More people are cramped into a room which is already full. The sad reality of misuse of space is seen during illegal migration, when children and whole families are smuggled in trucks, boats and ships to Europe and America with promises of a bright future. Spaces, mostly illegal, are created and people are accommodated. Many don’t make it, while others squeeze through.

This is a sweaty, full and packed space into which the paralytic is brought by four men. The lack of space means that he is brought in through the roof. Creating space is a skill that the poor have. They have the gift of adapting to the situation and to the needs. This is seen in the case of the paralytic. There is always space for compassion, love and healing. The people there accept that and Jesus puts his seal on this with the healing.

Coming to think of it, the poor never say no, never say close and never say enough. The church should also follow this mentality and should embrace people instead of limiting crowds and making spaces exclusive. The high-rise buildings are possible because of workers living in cramped spaces, branded clothes and even toys are available at competitive prices because of sweatshops or spaces with poor working conditions. Jesus accepts the paralytic instead of asking his friends to take him out. He himself ministers to people in difficult scenarios and conditions. Amen.

Independence day prayer

Thank you God for giving us the spirit of independence and for helping us come out of the yoke of slavery. We are thankful for the lives of those who sacrificed everything they had for the freedom of our country. We are fortunate to wake up and sleep every day in a free world and country. The Bible says "Now the Lord is the spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." We seek the Holy Spirit Lord so that we will live in freedom and so that whatever anyone does to take away our freedom will end in failure. We pray that the spirit of freedom that is offered to us by God will set every citizen of this country free to live with dignity, being free to make their own choices, eat what they want, pray where they want and speak what and when they want without infringing on the rights and freedom of others. In the name of the one who has set us free, Jesus Christ our freedom. Amen.








Picture courtesy www.abc.net.au

A republic of ideas

The concept of a republic should be seen as the start of a coming together of people in one place, region and a mix of several regions which have been brought together for whatever purpose. India celebrating Republic day should also be seen from the perspective of several people coming together to celebrate the coming together of India as a republic. Several women and men belonging to several regions, caste and class have toiled in many forms and occupations, each and not a few contributing to the growth of this nation.

This Republic day we should look back and look now and applaud all for sacrificing several of the luxuries they could have had, all in the name of keeping the nation going and together. The concept of a republic has two very important characteristics for me. One, it should bring all people in the country together and should not make anyone feel alienated because of their gender, caste, class or occupation. Rather, each one should be respected for being our brother and sister and in the essence of a republic, our family. To call ourselves Indian and wave the Indian flag should be a privilege which should be earned by considering everyone who is living in this country as equal and coming together to offer a space to the under privileged and depressed classes. Disrespecting the flag is not by the way we wave it, where we wave it and raise it or whether we are allowed to hoist it above our house. Rather the privilege of the flag should be a feeling of coming under the comforting presence of an assurance that India and its constitution grants the right to all to have a good life. Anyone who does not follow this spirit is disrespecting the national flag because the flag stands for equality, justice and peace as only that can keep a nation together.

Two, the concept of a republic should not be limited to those who hold a card or an identity proof to prove that they are Indian. Rather it should be extended to all who make India their home. Their attitude and choice hold a higher authority than their identity proof. In this regard the republic we stay in should offer itself as a place for many to come and live and thereby we increase the scope and size of the republic. This is not to entertain political and geographical ambitions which exist way beyond our borders but to open our borders to show that we have grown and progressed as a republic. If we have to increase our security for Republic day and be on the guard always, the celebration which the Republic day has to be becomes a day of perceived threats, violence and a bundle of nerves hoping that all the official functions go well. This then defeats the very purpose of a republic and we become a republic that needs force and military might to remain so instead of using our democratic process and reaching out to many so that others and not we will say that we have become a great nation.

The Republic day also offers us a chance to conduct a social audit whereby we look at what the people of this nation have got and are getting. Are they treated properly, do they know their rights, are they getting justice, can they meet their elected representatives, do people by themselves look out for each other transcending religion, caste and gender or do they come in line to the beats of the drum and the expectations of the anthem?

The writers of the constitution and the erstwhile members of parliament meant us to have a life which would be self-respecting and offer protection to children, women, the poor and the powerless. The constitution is a book of justice whereby preferential rights are given to the have nots. No wonder that there are people who call the constitution holy. Can we come to that understanding on Republic day where we can say no one in this republic will go hungry because it is a sin and against the constitution, no woman or child will be disrespected because it will lead to the state filing a case against the aggressor, and no one will be called outsider or insider because according to our republic all who live here are Indians? The Republic day does involve several speeches and talks on the nation. We should not wait for that but should have our own speech ready for Republic day. This is our speech which says that we will treat anyone on the road or whoever we come across as our own brother and sister, no one will suffer because of lack of facilities, everyone will have access to quality education, and we will fight for the sustenance and continuity of such a republic.

Claim your Republic day, make it your own and tell yourself how you can make a difference in this country by celebrating the Republic day properly and living it every day. This 67th Republic day should not just be to follow traditions but at the same time one need not belittle the good ones as well. Even as various contingents walk past on the Republic day parade it is imperative that we have the same freedom to walk on the streets of this great nation, not being stopped for what we look like or which gender we belong to or what choices we make. Everyone has a right to walk their freedom and in their country this Republic day. Have you exercised yours?



(Picture courtesy www.fullyindia.com)

Marriage as a sacrament of love, care and consensus instead of a religious seal for rape

A statement has come from a section of the legislature in India explaining that rape within marriage cannot come under the preview of rape because marriage in India is different from other parts of the world. Due to this any United Nations observation and recommendation in this regard cannot be implemented in India it is being argued. The second argument being put out is that marriage is a holy sacrament and therefore what happens in such a relationship cannot be rape.

One needs to think whether marriage in India is indeed different from other countries? To consider one’s tradition higher than others is very parochial and high ended. Which culture can we refer to in India? Is it a male dominated culture and tradition or is it a marriage of equals which also exists within the Indian tradition? Indians across the board migrate to different parts of the world. When they live in other parts of the world they have to adhere to rules which give importance to equal partnership in a marriage. Will their marriage become less sacred by being in a different culture and adhering to rules which are now being labeled as anti-Indian? Will their economic clout and foreign exchange be less acceptable to the government which thrives on such NRI support?

In many churches the understanding and basis of marriage is played out as the relationship between Christ and the church. Husbands are therefore supposed to sacrifice their lives for their wives just as Christ did for his church. This understanding in some form or the other is prevalent in all religions. What is being proposed by the U.N. is not anything new but what all religions are supposed to do anyway. This is not a foreign imposition of any new law or understanding but what hasn’t been done because of continued male leadership and females adhering to patriarchal leadership norms.

Marriage is an important step in the life of a couple. The religious rite or sacrament is an institutional step which welcomes the couple into a community and makes them take a public decision and commitment in front of elders, women, men, youngsters and children. The main step of the couple is not just a sacrament but the commitment they make to one another.

This mutual commitment goes beyond everything else and despite or in the absence of any other thing, the couple will try and be committed to each other and stay with each other. Such human to human contact and commitment is not forced but is voluntary, mutual and even equal to an extent. Our relationship with God should also be natural and not forced. By saying that what happens in a marriage cannot be brought under the purview of rape, people are questioning the sacredness of mutual love of a couple, their commitment to one another and the love in their marriage. Marriage is not a slave of the state. The state ensures that those who enter a marriage have their rights safeguarded. Religion makes sure that this coming together is blessed with the presence of God in the witness of the particular community of family, friends and well wishers.

Fr. George Morelli puts it such “St. Paul explains this beautifully (the essence of marriage) when he compares the love a man should have towards his wife in terms of the love that Christ has for the Church. "Husbands, love you wife," St. Paul writes, "as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her ... " (Ephesians 5:25). Therefore any type of sexuality, which is self-centered, manipulative and degrading, is impure because it is not based on self-emptying, self-giving, committed, and creating love. Love always has as its center the good and welfare of the individual. It is for our good and welfare that we were created by God, our Father, redeemed by Christ in His act of "Extreme Humility" of embracing the cross, and sanctified by the Spirit whom He sent. As Christ took on our flesh, a man and woman in marriage " ... shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh" (Matthew 19:5-6). Thus the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians have so much meaning: "The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." As God's love is not casual, crude, rude and self-centered, so too, sexual love should not be this way. As God's love is giving, emptying and creative, so too sexual love should be this way.” This does suggest clearly to us that love and sexual relations cannot be seen from the perspective of how it has been explained recently in India.
Both religion and the state ensure that the people are given their rights and grow up in an environment of trust, love and equality by using religious texts, tradition, theology and the constitution as guiding principles. Religious texts, traditions and the constitution give enough and more pointers on how a marriage should be and how the relationship between a wife and husband should be. Despite this there are attempts within the legislature and the church to oppress certain groups for some benefits.

In the paper “Marital rape: A Legalized Sin”, Anjali Shrivastava, Devanshu Jain and Ayan Hazra identify the short comings of an archaic law which has limited scope for women who are married. The law says that punishment for the spouse can only come about if the wife is under 15 years of age or if the couple are separated at the time of the non consensual sex. The Justice Verma committee constituted after the gruesome rape in Delhi in 2012 proposed that this should be changed and domestic rape has to be brought under the purview of rape. Recommendations made by the Verma Committee include
“i.The exception for marital rape be removed.
ii. The law ought to specify that:
a. A marital or other relationship between the perpetrator or victim is not a valid defence against the crimes of rape or sexual violation;
b. The relationship between the accused and the complainant is not relevant to the inquiry into whether the complainant consented to the sexual activity;
c. The fact that the accused and victim are married or in another intimate relationship may not be regarded as a mitigating factor justifying lower sentences for rape.”
‘Though the committee had recommended the removal of the exception for marital rape, no steps have been taken by the legislation regarding it.’

The query whether India is not on par with other countries brought up the reply on the specific culture and sacredness of marriage in India. Sana Shakil writes that “Marital rape is illegal in countries such as New Zealand, Canada, Israel, France, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Russia and Poland. It is also an offense in 18 states in the US and three in Australia. A survivor of marital rape in the country (India) can get some relief by filing a case against her husband under 498A IPC (husband subjecting his wife to cruelty). However, the section doesn't clearly define the term cruelty and carries a maximum punishment of three years and fine.” India in this sense does need a clear definition of law and amendment of the law.

The statement on rape within marriage should be seen as a statement against married women and a lack of interest in bringing out real development in the country. Marriage is not a license to rape. Marriage is a commitment to live together in love, mutual respect, sharing and harmony. The only option for a woman who is raped within the perceived sacredness of marriage should not be limited to separation and divorce but also to file a case against the injustice meted out to her. This is what religion and the state should stand for. Anything else will be a blot on our fragile religious harmony and democracy.




Picture courtesy http://www.oneonta.edu/faculty/farberas/arth/arth200/Heroic_Rape.html
Poussin's Rape of the Sabines, painted in the 1630s and today in the New York Metropolitan Museum, may well be the rape image most familiar to American art historians. It illustrates an episode from the early history of ancient Rome. The Romans, unable to obtain wives peacefully, staged a festival, invited the neighboring Sabines, and, at a signal from Romulus, each violently seized a Sabine woman.

Making the church rape free

After a long struggle the symbol of hope for women has died down. We are told that India’s daughter wanted to live and continued to struggle, wanting to come back. Her brutal rape is a reminder of how brutal men in India are. However much we justify our institutions, frameworks, our legislators and our law enforcers, we have fallen short by many a mile. Many people in India sincerely prayed for the recovery of our daughter and sister. But nothing could stop the brutality of the rape, not even the best medical care. Where do we go from now?

I am a theological teacher (facilitator) and a church worker. My area of influence is theological seminaries, students, churches, church women, church men, girls, boys and children. I can’t help but wonder what my response to this highly despicable incident should be? After the strain and work of an academic term, after the joyful work of preaching and announcing Christ’s arrival to church members and the world, I am left drained. Not because of both the things I mentioned above, but because I haven’t been able to stop violence against women in the church and in society. I have been a failure amidst all the success I have enjoyed. And it is because of my silence, lack of pro-active involvement and status quo in the church and in seminaries that I feel this way. Every reluctance of standing for women has meant that I have been an accomplice in every rape.

What am I supposed to do? I am supposed to facilitate a thinking process in the minds of students from various parts of the country and various denominations. I am supposed to teach and practise a thinking process that women are not lesser than men, women have to be respected, women have feelings and the body of women belong to them. I am also supposed to preach and practise the same in church. But I am falling short time and again. Time and again women are not getting justice in church and I go along with the status quo. In all trueness I am not doing my job.

Every religion is supposed to be a protest, a movement asking for change. And yet we are far from it today. Can women wear what they want to in church without hearing a lewd comment in the back ground and being marked twisted? Can women speak in church without being labelled ‘forward’? Can women file a complaint against a church leader/s for harassment, misrepresentation, misuse of authority, humiliation, staring, sexual overtures, and misquoting of scripture? Can women expect the church to support them in the case of domestic violence, marriage related violence, violence at work, violence during public transport, violence at public spaces and violence from the law and authorities? If the answer is no, isn’t the church an accomplice to violence against women?

What am I going to accomplish by lighting a candle in church against the violence and brutal rape and murder of the 23 year old woman? Nothing much I suppose. There are several women in my own church who in all probability are exposed to violence in different places and the church remains silent to this. “Potte mole” (It is okay daughter, let it go daughter) is a constant reminder given to women to forgive and forget. Today has reminded us that we face a grim reality. Part of India has risen up against this. There are many others who have not got support and have been violated again and again. This is the time to fight for all women. No more potte mole. “Unaruvin and poruthuveen” (rise and fight) would be a better slogan for women and for those men and leaders including me who have some sense of guilt left in them.

Protest hard but protest real

It would be wrong to say that India is seeing unprecedented protests following the brutal violence and pain inflicted upon a 23 year old woman in Delhi. My negative statement is due to the protests that we have seen in the past few years in India. India has by and large protested over fuel hikes and hikes in the prices of essential commodities. Over the past couple of years we have seen protests over the Mumbai terror attack, corruption and now the protest to amend the laws with regard to rape.

What has come about from these protests? People have gone back to work and to their lives, waiting for another incident and another day to protest. To the credit of the Indian public, the propensity to come out on the street and offer solidarity for however short a period is commendable. But is it enough and will it bring about any change?

What is the real issue in the present brutal case before us? It is a clear violation of a girl's person hood, freedom, body and spirit. A group of men got together and thought they could do what they wanted in the darkness of the night. The cruelty and the subsequent consequence of the cruelty has brought people out into the streets. It is also a lack of awareness among law enforcement agencies about what constitutes the freedom of a woman and how far they should go to protect this freedom. The issue is also about clarity in laws, punishment based on these laws and additional laws to deter anyone from violating the freedom and body of another person. But the issue has turned into capital punishment and castration of culprits!

The problem with both of these solutions is that one, we are struggling with whether we should do away with capital punishment all together even in the rarest of rare cases and two, these solutions are patriarchal and male solutions.

Capital punishment once upon a time was seen as a deterrent just like nuclear weapons are still seen. But there is over whelming public opinion that this is the most inhuman thing one could do to another person. From a Christian point of view and a non-violent Indian point of view this goes against our very notion as a collective and as a nation. Capital punishment may also result in innocent people going to the gallows simply because the rich will get away with rape and violence and the poor will get raped twice over. If fear in itself would have instilled goodness in people, we would have all been saints. Fear will only instill a sense of deep hatred and criminal tendency which will lead to more fool proof crimes which will become more difficult to detect.

Such solutions go against the violated and the victim. Women through such revenge will be sucked in to the world of male dominated violence which in actuality women detest and oppose. What rather needs to be done is to bring women to the main stream. How many women represent us in parliament? How many women are in church committees? How many women are leaders who make legislations that will take our country forward? The answer would be negligible. In this context what capital punishment would do is to strenghthen the male dominated framework of decision making and violent mode of functioning. This will not deter rape but will keep the basic precents leading to rape intact.

Churches and other religious institutions have to claim their women. The framework of marrying off daughters, teaching them to cook, keeping them inside homes and having them as receptors of religious services has led to the detaching of women from homes and churches. This makes them second class citizens in their own back yard. What security can they expect when they are out in the night? The talk of women reclaiming their public spaces cannot be actualized unless we include home, work and religious spaces in the gamut of public space/sphere.

The street protest now is essential. People have to protest as without protesting they are not human beings. But protesting for capital punishment goes against everything woman. Equal representation for women in all aspects of life would be a better protest to die for. Equal representation in the household, in religious institutions, in property, in security, in articulation and implementation would bring about equal space for women in India. Once this comes into force women will make laws for themselves. All that we are doing now is strengthening the status quo.

Cricket fever and national loyalties

The India-Australia cricket series was expected to be the end of an era of Australian cricket at the end of which former Australian captain Ricky Ponting would retire and present captain Michael Clarke would be faced with rising competition for his post. Instead in three test matches a host of Indian cricketers may well be facing the axe and the challenges to their places on the team. The Indian captain has already hinted at an early retirement from the game to concentrate on the shorter version of the game. The Indian press is at the throat of the IPL for the dismal performance of the Indian team.

Is it fair to go beyond the likes of the so called greatest player in the world, Sachin, the great wall, Dravid and the very, very special Laxman? Are we over reacting? I can’t help but think what it would be like for people similar to them in other fields. In the church the trio would be granted halos and venerated as saints, with the church excommunicating anyone who would dare to raise their voice against them. Then why are we reacting in such a way to the thus far 3-0 verdict?

The BCCI is a profit making body with no attachment to the government of India and no binding to contribute to the field of sport in India. Why are we expecting good things from this body then? They are in the entertainment and money making business and they are being true to their calling. Has the BCCI marketed cricket as a national game which should be seen as a part of one’s national commitments and loyalties? Are we non-Indian if we don’t follow cricket and are interested in what cricketers do? If the BCCI has enticed us into this path they are at fault and should be held accountable for misleading an entire nation.

Sport has been misused for creating national loyalties. But will those who do not have any interest in contributing to the coffers of the BCCI be accused as being un-loyal to the republic? As others sportspersons clean stadium seats, carry bags and do manual labour to chase their dreams, the BCCI chooses where to dine! Can such things be allowed in a country like India? This indeed calls for doing something un-loyal in the interests of the country.

Fuelling dissent

The past year has seen several fuel hikes in India because of the deregulation of fuel prices, especially of petrol. This has brought about unprecedented fuel prices in the country. As people try to cope with food inflation and burgeoning expenses, the recent hike should obviously make us think as to where we are headed.

Fuel prices have traditionally been subsidized in India and diesel and LPG continue to be subsidized by the government. The reasoning behind this is that diesel is used to transport food and other essential products and LPG is the common persons cooking option. So any increase in this would bring about mass protest and unrest in the country. By increasing petrol prices, the government hopes it will not be faced by violent protest.

UPA II has been disappointing by all standards. A silent Prime Minister, quarrelling ministers, lack of a defined leadership, corruption charges, Lokpal agitation, and a haphazard running of affairs has brought down public confidence to an all time low.

The oil companies have been hasty to increase prices whenever there has been a slight change in international crude prices but have not shown the same eagerness to reduce prices when prices have fallen in the international market. In the name of subsidy, rich SUV owners and profit oriented businesses have grown and bled the very meaning of subsidy. Car companies have joined the trend by manufacturing diesel cars to fit the price schedules prevalent. Every car company worth their name now manufactures diesel car units, many of them made specifically for the Indian market.

But such a skewed system of pricing will only lead to a skewed diesel based economy. What the government could think of could be de-regulating diesel prices for domestic consumers and profit oriented organizations. There is a plan in the pipeline to introducing a new tax for new diesel vehicle purchase. But this will not solve the problem. When other countries have a much more equal pricing with regard to fuel we have these anomalies which divide fuel and play fuel politics.

Who does the lower price in diesel benefit? The actual benefit sadly is not for the ordinary in the country but for those who thrive out of the ordinary. One would expect the government to bring about cleaner energy options and subsidize such options so that they benefit the ordinary people by giving them a cleaner, cheaper fuel and also a cleaner environment to stay in.

Such fuel politics will eventually lead to fuel protests. The Kerala High Court passed an interesting observation by saying that people should protest fuel hikes by the government. The lack of transparency by the government when it comes to openly discussing the fuel policy will bring about an anti-government, transparent drive for making natural resources more affordable for the common person in the country.

The politicizing of protest

Protest has always been associated with those in the margins, those who have no one to speak for them and those who have no one who cares. So much that the word itself has been an anathema for those in power. The simple usage of the word brings about a feeling of enmity and dissociation with what is constructed to be true and right. The word protest has not been in the media dictionary for a number of years simply because it would bring about uneasy and uncomfortable questions for those associated with power, including the various media. The revolution in the Arab world changed all that. The protest there was seen as beneficial to all involved in the quelling of protest till then. From then on the Indian media has also been fascinated with the word protest.

India’s revolution came in the form of Anna Hazare and his media savvy team. Protest in India is clubbed with fasting and non-violence. Both though have attained new meanings. What does fasting mean? No food, no liquids, no non-veg? What does non-violence mean? No manhandling, no physical touch, no destruction to public property? Even as fasting and non-violent protest has gained new meaning, there also has been a change in those who are associated with it. While till yesterday, the powerless protested and where beaten into submission, today the powerful protest and are treated as state guests and fed with public money. Protest has been taken over by the rich and the powerful and Narendra Modi’s fast is another example of that. He maintains that he fasted for the bright future of Gujarat and the good of India. There is no doubt that Modi is a good orator and his speech yesterday would even put seasoned orators and film actors to shame. But does that absolve him of the significant acts of omission and commission that happened during his tenure as chief minister of the state where communal violence led to the killing of many people and brought about a culture of fear in the minds of people?

Will protest and fasting wash away the sins of the powerful? Can these token protests change the skewed system and society that we are a part of? The Jesus of the gospels appears to be a simple man with a simple band of followers, who travelled and traversed, met people, offered them respect, dialogued with them, gave them hope and remained a simple man till his death on the cross. But hasn’t the church and the so called band of followers now hijacked Jesus and put on his clothes of protest and fasting? But does this make us Jesus? The grounding for Jesus to lead mass protest during his time was not that he was a powerful man but that he associated himself with the ordinary people and that gave him the mandate to protest. Protest is not for the powerful. Protest is for the ordinary people. It is their right. A few protests here and there which are held by those who have immense power at their disposal, cannot and will not be considered as true protest because it lacks the main ingredient of protest and that is the helplessness of the people who see protest as their only cross of hope. But we will have to identify true and false protest and make out the sheep in wolves skin. Till then this new found mass (media) hysteria for powerful instead of powerless protest will continue.

What is the programme Anna?

The national capital is brimming with large crowds and police personel. Lots of people from several parts of the country are congregating to Delhi to be part of the anti-corruption movement. A Jan Lokpal bill is still being sought even though the government has promised that this will be discussed in parliament. The crowd post April is still there but there are also voices of cynicism about what is happening.

What on earth is attracting people, even if it is only a cross section of people in India? Is it only the anti-corruption drive and the call asking for people to spill on to the streets that is bringing out people or is it that this has become an event and a programme which needs to be attended for several reasons? Why do people attend television talk shows and debates? Some will genuinely be interested to talk on the issues on offer, others will be there for the media exposure (part of the 15 minutes of fame) and a big number will be there for the event or the programme! Is the anti-corruption protest also something like this with thousands of people actually there to be a part of the programme?

Those who are there for the programme need not know the entire sequence of events and what are the deep rooted things which surround it. They are there for the atmosphere, the feeling and the identification with people who have something in common with them. The middle class and upper middle class will definitely be comfortable to be together and corruption is such a common affecting factor that it will in all regards bring in the numbers. This could be the reason why India has seen several protests over the years but they never had the numbers. Every state has had tribal protests, dalit protests, and women’s group’s protests which would hardly even get a passing glance from passers by. Does this mean that their concerns were not concerns and did not warrant even a glance? It rather means that the people did not identify with their problems because they did not see it as a problem. In many cases these passers by would have been the perpetrators of the problem. But corruption is different. The same people who did not bother to look when genuine protests were held have suddenly become very active protestors.

This is a programme which has the likelihood to succeed not because it is a ‘just’ protest but because it is a well staged protest. In countries like India it is strange that true protests are never taken seriously, whereas well directed, managed and staged protests will mostly succeed. In this way, this is not a protest but this is a celebration of how people can be mobilized using the media, social networking sites and other traditional media forms.

A well directed programme is like a well produced movie. One has to follow the crowd. No one will have the courage to say that the movie is not well made when those others we are in contact with will say it is excellent. The anti-corruption movement I fear is also such. We can either say that it is a super duper hit or we can risk being made out into un-patriotic, submissive, stupid and slavish people. Now who would want that? I always like off beat movies and in this case too I feel this is too mainline Bollywood style and therefore likely to be lapped up by the affordable masses.

India in the grip of 3G: What an idea?!!

The Idea 3G advertisement sums up the way technology has gripped the Indian middle class. People to people contact is a thing of the past and the coming together of phone, mobile, internet and wireless technology is seen as the power of the finger. So much that technology is seen as the answer to problems that plague society in India. But 2G or 3G, can this be true?

Many people in India know 2G because of the Raja spectrum scam and the 1.76 lakh crore apparently being lost in the haphazard sale of the spectrum space during the 2G spectrum space allotment to companies. On the other hand the 3G sale brought in huge amounts of money to the government. As 4G waits to come in, companies are trying their best to sell 3G in big volumes to make up the amount they have invested in this technology. As part of this, 3G is being made into the common human’s core accessory without which nothing is possible. The integration of internet into our lives is fast and furious.

Idea mobile has become famous for its advertisements which are seen to evoke serious thoughts of nature conservation and public good. The latest in a series of advertisements is the “Ab biwi se 3G” (Now, from wife to 3G) advertisement doing the rounds in a variety of TV channels. The plot involves Abhishek Bachchan (a Bollywood actor and son of Amitabh Bachchan) and a friend, watching city life and wondering why we have such a large population in India. Their conclusion is that when electricity fails, couples get into the act of child making! As a solution to this, the actor offers Idea 3G. Now whenever electricity fails, the wife and husband in each house can still watch TV through the 3G enabled mobile which gives strong video streaming for uninterrupted watching of cricket matches and serials, chatting with parents and playing games. This in his opinion will solve the problem of population explosion in India. It is shown with the image of a dusty closed down vasectomy clinic.

As in many previous Idea ads this one is also naïve in its presentation of facts in a different way. The other day I heard two groups debating whether technology could do away with physical classrooms and buildings and make online learning stronger. The same argument of how technology would save resources came up. But the resources needed to keep technology up and going is relegated to the background. The same takes place in the Idea ad which seems to suggest that when electricity fails, technology will save the day. But 3G obviously does not run on solar or wind power. This means that more electricity is drained to keep the show running!

The Idea ad can be debated in the church while we rue the fact of lesser people to people contact, lesser numbers in church, lack of interest in public programmes and such. It also leads us to think how technology is changing and will change us further in the future. The culture of fun and frolic will replace serious discussions which should take place in church and society. TV viewing which was a family ritual in itself will be replaced by individual bed viewing which will challenge our ability to think and act in a responsible and sane manner. We will place technology between relationships and facebook each other instead of sitting and talking over the table. Technology and companies that make use of it will be seen as the new saviour in our lives and in the future of our country. Guess this is where the church can help by formulating a policy on technology and the church and how people should use technology in their lives.

Willful blindness: The lies of the empire

Empires are built on the lives of an unsuspecting public. People are spied on, privacy is intruded upon and reputations are battered. Every once in a while, however rare that may be, the empire gets to taste its own concoction. It will taste so bitter that the very empire that manufactured it will wonder at the ruthless content of the mixture. Rupert Murdoch and his media empire are facing the heat. The hacking of phones and the subsequent investigations has led to the closing down of one of U.K.’s oldest newspapers, the News of the World. On July 19 in a rigorous exercise by the Parliamentary Committee in the House of Commons in the U.K., the father and son duo were made to answer some hard questions. One interesting thing which came out of the much publicized affair was the term “willful blindness.” As through the entire questioning, the media baron sought to hide behind the term itself.

Margaret Heffernan in her upcoming book “Why we ignore the obvious at our peril” tries to explore this term. She explains “examining examples of willful blindness in the Catholic Church, the SEC, Nazi Germany, Bernard Madoff's investors, BP's safety record, the military in Afghanistan and the dog-eat-dog world of subprime mortgage lenders” how we fail to see and admit certain things. In an article on Rupert Murdoch himself she identifies some characteristics of willful blindness which come out of the News of the World episode. They include “ideology, obedience, conformity, money, power and affirmation”.

Rupert Murdoch’s net worth is $7.6 billion. Yet with all this money he still had to undergo the unsettling questions of the parliamentary committee in the U.K. For the first time the media baron was made to answer questions which he looked like evading most of the time. The event, broadcast live even in India brought out his importance and the fact that other media houses for once could get back at the person who threatened to take away readers and viewers from them. In India it also brought forward a debate on whether it would be possible to bring powerful media owners to task in this country and have a parliamentary committee asking them uncomfortable questions. The predominant argument that came out was that this would not be possible as Indian politicians are themselves so corrupt that they cannot question the corrupt practices of the media here.

What this debate has done is to bring out the importance of the usage willful blindness. This is an important point of discussion for the church as the church may also fall into the same wrong of willful blindness saying that ‘ we did not know.’ But the question of ‘did we not seek to know or want to know’ is also pertinent. Whenever the church is faced with allegations of wrong doing it could be that the church leaders may feign ignorance and say we were blind to the happenings. Wrong doing could include not only the now popular topic of corruption but also the centuries old wrong doing of gender and caste related atrocities and wrongs. Discussing this more openly could bring more responsibility, accountability and the addressing of wrong doing in the church and society at large.

Religion and mobile number portability (MNP)

India introduced the mobile number portability (MNP) option for mobile phone consumers in January, 2011. Ever since, 8.54 million customers have made use of this service till April, 2011. The convenience of changing one's network provider with an SMS and continuing with one's existing number is the attraction of MNP.

Till now many people have opted out of changing their network provider because they didn't want to change their numbers as that would mean informing their numerous contacts of the change and maybe even losing friends and associates in the process. Faced with a highly competitive environment, the government has still managed to bring about this landmark change in policy with the recommendations of TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).

Even as several service providers are sulking against the move, it has led to better services and an effort to please the consumer and prevent her/him from shifting loyalties.

One has to wonder whether religions can do the same? Many don't shift loyalties because they fear they could lose what they have and this includes family and friends. But if they could indeed shift, it could lead to a change in the percentage divisions of religions in India. This would maybe also bring about more sincerity, service and transperancy in the administration of various religions leading to satisfied followers.

A drastic change in society has seen technology leading to more egalitarian perspectives, whereas religion is leading to more authoritarian perspectives. It would thus help for us to think and practise that a religious conviction is based on the strong foundation of freedom and the freedom to choose.

My vote is losing its sting

The beauty of a democracy is the power of the finger and ability of the mind to cast a vote in favour of what is deemed good. Protest movements in several Arab states have come about as a result of the absence of democratic practices and governance. The protests which have been helped by online mobilization have spread from one country to the other bringing fear to the minds of autocratic leaders from relative unknowns carrying their laptops through the country. The protests hit India in April in a different way with the Anna Hazare led movement against corruption in the country. Now Baba Ramdev is using the same mechanism in the name of bringing back illegally stashed away (black) money back to India. The difference in the protest movements is that India prides itself as a country which has a working democratic set up and a way for its citizens to show their displeasure with the political party in power. Are these two incidents stray happenings and do they mean nothing in the larger picture, has the media given undue importance to two individuals and the groups that support them, or has the citizen of India lost her/his most significant power of casting the all important vote in this jamboree of anti-corruption stake outs?

The various news channels are discussing whether a spiritual guru should indulge in politics, whether political parties are all corrupt and therefore not trust worthy, and whether Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev are representatives of the people of India? But this can be left to the channels and the panellists. What worries me rather is that the ordinary citizen of India has been robbed of her/his importance in the scheme of things in this country. The ordinary citizens of this country have been given the all important power to vote every five years and determine the course that the country and the various states have to take. Every election shows that the voter is knowledgeable, determined and will vote out anyone who takes them and this country for granted.

But what do we see now? Our voted representatives are hurrying to the airport to see spiritual gurus and political parties are pledging their support to anyone who comes forward with an anti-corruption formula. What on earth is their job then? With fatter pay cheques (courtesy themselves), wide ranging facilities, interns researching facts and a parliament building to debate the best course of action, all they can do is run from airport to airport. One should not be swayed by my argument here. I am not saying that the government should not listen to its people. But what is obvious is that the government is now listening to a few people who may not represent the diversity of this country, and the democratic process which is supposed to be running like a well oiled machine is now in limbo.

Why do I then need my state assembly representative and my member of parliament to talk for me if Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev are the ones who are calling the shots? Why did I have to go through the enormous exercise of voting and having my finger inked when those I voted for won’t represent me (us)? If we don’t trust our elected representatives, why are we wasting crores of rupees on this farce of an election? I do not wish to go deep into the intentions of Hazare and Ramdev but they are playing with the simple faith of the people of India just like other religious leaders. My vote is definitely losing its sting and I wonder what I can do about it.

Let us fast and protest against corruption this lent

There is just above two weeks remaining for the great lent to end. We have fasted, prayed, helped and grown spiritually. But have we really grown spiritually? Or are we fooling ourselves that we have? What really should lent and fasting lead to? Should it only lead to personal benefit or should it lead to a much larger social justice and equality in society? Anna Hazare has been fasting now for four days in Jantar Mantar in Delhi for more active involvement of civil society in the Jan Lokpal bill against corruption. Other people are joining the fast in many other parts of the country and they include people from all religions and walks of life in India.

The people who are joining the fast and more importantly joining Anna Hazare are children, women, people from the oppressed communities, and the middle class. In effect they are all people in India affected most by corruption. The UPA government in essence is not against such a bill but may be going safe on how much it should give to the people especially after the experience of the RTI bill which has been a big success and a weapon in the hands of the otherwise powerless Indian to hold the government accountable.

Anna Hazare is not asking for too much. How can a very important group for the bill which has to tackle corruption be constituted without any active participation of civil society? When the politicians themselves are under the scanner for scams and bribes how can they make this bill meaningful and who knows whether they won’t stall this bill for ever?

Different churches are also behind and are offering support for this movement as well. The media have been largely covering the unrest in various Arab countries including Yemen, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya. Huge protests by the people of these countries have led to great change. Egypt has been rid of its dictator Hosni Mubarak while Libya is fighting for change from Gadaffi. Little did we know that this unrest could reach India as well. Kashmir has always been a place where people protested against the government along with the North East but other states have been quiet. This fast by Anna Hazare has activated and brought alive the people of India in Jantar Mantar, different states in the North, South, East and West and even in the internet.

It would be appropriate at this point to take this fast very seriously. We are all thinking about the outcome of elections in different states and also preparing for passion week in various churches. This lent we could raise the bar a bit. We could make our fasting and make lent count for the millions in this country. As we congregate in different churches and places of worship we could bring about the feeling that we are fighting for something. This is not against one political party or a few individuals but against the very evil which resides in each and every one of us. This evil of corruption and nepotism should be rooted out of the country and also the church. But for that it should also be rooted out of each one of us.

This thus is a time when the whole country is observing lent. A great fast for a great thing. We are here going beyond religion, caste and social status. We are thus enacting the fast of Jesus to prepare him against the evil in society. If we have observed fasting and lent soberly till now, we have to observe fasting and lent with excitement and with the strength to protest. Thus it is indeed the time for being one with our brothers and sisters in India for the fight against corruption. If ever our lent needed to be counted, it is now.

Why the church is far from winning a cricket world cup?!

India has won the cricket world cup 2011. The euphoria has not settled down and state governments are competing with one another in offering rewards to its cricketers. We are all now part of a great cycle of celebration which no one can really neglect. The Indian cricketers have out done themselves. They have tamed the ghosts who have prevented major tournament victories. The Indian media on its part is leaving no stone unturned to bring the lives of the cricketers to the living rooms of the Indian public.

The church in India has never been very sport friendly. Seminarians will be fortunate if they find a piece of land to play a sport that they are familiar with. Churches will have elaborate parking spaces but no open spaces for sports. What little land was available as part of schools and colleges under the management of the church is also coming down and being replaced with buildings. Sports will be the last thing on the minds of Christian managements which are overly money minded these days.

What the church is usually used to is to play games on a totally different level. These don’t involve physical exertion but rather have to do with the mind. What could come close to a cricket match is the sledging that happens between teams during matches. This intimidation between denominations is done regularly. But cricket matches are not about intimidation and sledging and hurting each other anymore.

A great highlight of this world cup was that India basically played matches that were in a cordial atmosphere. If one analyses the quarterfinal, semi final and final with Australia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka respectively one will observe this atmosphere of deep respect and cordiality. Usually cricket matches don’t have this atmosphere. But the Indian team may have shown us a way of winning and making dreams come true without attacking and hurting anyone in the traditional sense. Even though the media loves to compare cricket matches with war, this cricket world cup did not necessarily bring out that adage.

Churches in India for some reason also imagine that they live in a war zone and are in constant tension with each other. This is given credence by the foot soldiers of denominations led by blood hungry generals. We are asked to give our best, to fight as if our lives depended on it and accept nothing short of victory. Sledging, cheating, and doing whatever it takes is the name of the game.

More interaction between cricketers these days mean that they know each other better and this has led to better respect. Even though a game is meant to be won it is not done at the expense of the friendship of one’s opponent. One would question this quoting the case of Sreesanth. But even Sreesanth in reality may only be using aggression as a way of marketing himself. It does not mean that he is not on good terms with other players.

One may challenge whether the church needs to compete in and win a world cup. Obviously there is no need for that. The analogy of a cricket world cup is rather one which gives insights to the church on how things have changed in this world. Aggression has given way to respect, non acceptance to understanding, and suspicion to trust. The world cup winning team should be seen in this perspective. The church need not accept cricket but the church can accept the new strategy of the Indian team. Till then a world cup win for the church will remain in all respects, a dream.

Cricket is not about being perfect

A majority of people in India are counting minutes and seconds as they continue to hope that their cricket team will win the final of the cricket world cup between India and Sri Lanka. The media have whipped up a frenzy in India with all English news channels having full length pre and post analysis of the match that is yet to be played. Prayers are being said in different languages and in different ways, all seeking divine intervention for the team. Will India win another world cup after its maiden and only triumph 28 years ago? That is the question on everyone’s lips. The expectation is so big and one wonders what the fuss is all about.

In a cricket mad nation there are other voices too. Those who say that after all cricket is but a sport like any other, that spending a whole day in front of the television is a waste of time, what is special in cricket when the national game in India is hockey and other sports and games are neglected by the government?, what has the cash rich Indian cricket board done for other cash strapped associations and the poor in this country?, and aren’t cricketers pampered brats who by and large enjoy life and play with the emotions of a billion people?

On the other hand cricket has become close to what is a religion in India which brings people together, gives hope for a people who otherwise don’t have much to hope for, gives a sense of purpose and confidence seeing India beat top teams in at least one game, and is very lucrative and attractive as youngsters see it as a way to become successful even if you are from a small time town.

The very supporters who are completely behind their famous players are the same ones who have attacked the houses of cricketers when they made early exists from earlier world cups and lost to Pakistan. The over the top belief in the players brings about extreme reactions on winning and losing. From promising to go nude to not eating food during the entire match, people have different ways of parting with something to make their team win. More than the players, it is the supporters who are trying almost everything to ensure a win.

But cricket is not about perfection and neither are cricketers perfect. This obsession we have brings about impractical and unbelievable acts. But the cricket world cup final is after all just a match like any other. The thrill of having India play is of course there but it should not make one crazy. Some points we could consider while watching the game are

1. Cricket is part of an industry. This includes different brands, merchandising, advertisement, and lots of money at stake. An industry always has its own compulsions and wants. Cricket then becomes a part of these and the game goes into the back ground.
2. Cricketers are human beings. The usage cricket God is only a usage. Cricketers are as vulnerable and susceptible to failure as any other human being. Putting someone on a pedestal puts unwarranted pressure on him/her.
3. A sport or game should not have nationalist overtures. The greatness of sport is that it can bring people together and break boundaries. When it is used to further nationalist ambitions, it loses the very purpose for which it exists.
4. Cricket means money and betting. A sport like cricket means a lot of money in a place like the subcontinent. Money brings in the possibility of betting and betting brings in the pressure of fixing matches. There have been a lot of allegations and no team is free from such allegations.
5. Cricket is entertainment. When we are able to detach cricket from nationalism, patriotism, diplomacy and pride, we end up with cricket as entertainment. Cricketers are entertainers. And we see cricket to relax and entertain ourselves. The IPL itself is a concept which has caught on to entertainment as its unique selling proposition (USP). When we see it this way we will be entertained thoroughly.
6. Cricket should give back what it receives. The cricket governing body the BCCI (The Board of Control for cricket in India) is a cash rich body which spends under 10% of its revenues on development of cricket. Then what does it spend its money on? As spectators we should pressurise the BCCI to give back what it receives from the people of this country. The pay back could be in the way of scholarships for youngsters from poor backgrounds, building housing for the poor, adopting whole villages and offering its money for building facilities there, providing health care to poor cricketers and their family and so on.

So, let the match begin. No pressure, no dreams. Only entertainment!!!

An India-Pakistan cricket match: A perfect detour for a corruption ridden country

India is under a mass hysteria. It is not only young teenagers, youngsters and the youthful work force but also the 40-ish and 50-ish voters as well as the above 60 crowd termed as senior citizens. If ever there was a common factor that brought all of the above together, it must be cricket. The match between India and Pakistan has started. The media has been salivating for days at the prospect and then outcome of such a match. Not to be left behind, the prime minister of India has entered the fray with his invitation to the Pakistan prime minister and the match is being termed as being a great chance for cricket diplomacy between the two countries.

Every now and then the people of a country need a detour, a distraction from all the problems they usually face. This could be in the form of many things but sport does play a good role. Cricket in India would win hands down against other sports and therefore would also provide the best detour for us to relax for a while and take our minds off the hundreds of things which otherwise are taking our time. The Congress led UPA government has been attacked from all directions because of one scam after the other. The 2 g Raja scam, the Adarsh building scam, the Lok Sabha cash for votes scam. Parliament has been held up again and again in the name of scam after scam. The main opposition party, the BJP, has attacked the government time after time only to find itself in other scandals and scams in Karnataka and at the centre as well. Using the wiki leaks against the UPA and then questioning it when its own members were found wanting have been the script of things here. In all ways, a detour, a distraction could be good for everyone, especially for the government and the main opposition party.

The India-Pakistan match is being seen as a great opportunity for the two countries to come together. The media doesn’t know what to concentrate on, the match, the two prime ministers or the traditional rivalry between the two teams. It is funny that both countries have many things in common and are culturally same than many other countries. If ever India could consider coming together with another country, Pakistan could be considered one of the front runners. But a horrendous partition encouraged by the British in all probability, divided the countries beyond repair. This also speaks as to why a cricket match between the two countries becomes so charged up.

Now cricket is being talked of as a wonderful way to bring these two countries together. How on earth can this happen when so much competition and build up goes into these matches? The British must be laughing. After doing nothing against the partition, they have managed to keep the two countries going at each others throats by teaching them a game they invented. It is another thing that the two countries have now made the game their own and even play it better than the British. Let us keep the British aside for now. We are by now aware of what they did and now need to concentrate on what we are doing. Or rather what certain sections of both countries are doing by giving too much importance to a cricket match! By doing so they are also putting too much pressure on the players of both countries.

If India and Pakistan are really serious about diplomacy they can give visas to the people of the other country to visit their relatives, give citizenship to those who have been living in one country or the other for several years, treat minorities in both countries better, release war and political prisoners, exchange information on terror suspects, and realise that people in both countries have a shared history. This could be the real match that both countries have to play. Leave the cricketers alone. They can’t carry such a heavy weight on their shoulders. Both countries have to work on their internal issues rather than hoping that a cricket match is going to change things. A cricket match is after all a cricket match. As spectators it just helps us to forget our problems and tensions for a little while. Any thing more is a political detour from the truth. I don’t think we need that and I hope the Indian and Pakistani spectators are smart enough to know that.

The essence of Lent: Learning and struggling to bend our knees, mend our hearts, and lend our hands.

Lent is observed in almost all Christian traditions in various forms whereby some abstain from meat, dairy products and fish, some from meat and dairy products and some by not eating an entire meal or two the whole day. There are others who abstain from something they otherwise do the entire year round. This could include abstaining from drinking alcohol, not watching T.V., and not doing any leisurely activity. Abstinence from something or the other forms the back bone of lent this way. The aim of lent is to make the body starve from something which in some way or the other is perceived as a luxury to the self or which is unavailable to someone else.

Lent is also seen as a way to discipline the self and also as a way to gain something by denying oneself something or the other. Many Christian denominations also see lent as a time when we abstain to help others by providing food and other essentials through what is saved as a result of the abstinence. Lent also has not so visible, but never the less inherent meanings of slowing down the pace of life and using the time to meditate and take stock of one’s life and to define what it means to live.

Lent in the Orthodox Christian tradition
The Orthodox Christian tradition follows a strict regimen of following a fifty day lent which is a commemoration of the forty day fast of Jesus in the desert. The ten extra days are the days which include Sundays and other days when qurbana or worship is not followed up by fasting in the morning. In India many other Christian denominations along with the various Orthodox churches abstain from meat, fish and dairy products during this season of lent.

The Orthodox churches have prayers for at least three times a day and these include prostrating or kneeling and then getting up and continuing this pattern forty times for each prayer. The forty prostrations in the Syriac churches are divided into sets of ten with the worshipper saying ‘kurielaison’ (Lord have mercy) for the first ten, then ‘Moran Esrahemelain’ (Our Lord, show (do) mercy on us), followed by ‘Moran Husrahemelain’ (Our Lord, show compassion, and have mercy on us) and finally ‘Moran Aninurahemelain’ (Our Lord, answer (accept our prayers) and have mercy on us). The continuous kneeling and getting up patterns require mental as well as physical toughness which can be achieved only by a strict diet during lent. The constant repetition of exhortations to God require a proper breathing technique and are a strain to the knees, wind pipe, thigh muscles, arms and the knuckles of the hands. The strain on many parts of the body at the same time brings in the duality of pain along with abstinence while calling onto God to show mercy.

Bending our knees
But this is not the entire essence of lent. The theme of lent as bend, mend and lend rather suggests what lent should really be. The prayers during lent also suggest the same. Bending our knees in itself is not enough as they leave out the very essential mending of our hearts and the lending of our hands! Rather, bending of our knees should go along with the mending of our hearts and the lending of our hands. The reformed Christian tradition in India does ask us to not just express our spirituality through acts but live out this spirituality by reforming ourselves and being of help to others. On the other hand it could also be that in the haste to complete the act we forget the meaning of the act itself!

The act of bending is an outward expression of the inward piety and humility one should feel. Whenever we bend, we are going back to the roots of where we come from and where we belong, the ground or earth itself. Indian culture reflects this theme when the young bend to touch the feet of elders and teachers. The act of humility cannot be missed and brings us to the essence of lent. We are to humble ourselves just as Jesus humbled himself for us. The death on the cross is a reversal of power and its affiliations. Our life becomes meaningful when we humble ourselves before God and others. An Edessan woman tells St. Ephrem, the 4th century church father that he should look to the earth as it was from the earth that he was created. The wisdom of the woman opens Ephrem’s mind. Bending thus makes us see who we really are and keeps us in touch with reality. It initiates the process of thinking about and understanding ourselves.

Mending our hearts
The prayers during lent remind us that there is no use of observing lent if we do not change inside. No amount of abstinence from food and other things will help us in any way if we do not bring about a renewal inside us. Lent is thus a time to mend our hearts. We thus use this time of lent to mend our hearts and thereby our thoughts, our ways, our relationships and our actions. In this way lent performs the cleaning and changing of what is unjust to the ordinary people of God. Every individual thus comes under the responsibility of mending his/her heart so that God’s just plans are initiated in the world and continued for the benefit of all. ‘One for all and all for one’ sounds very much how lent should be. Each one strives for change just as all strive for the change of status of one. Christian denominations thus should experience the healing qualities of lent and how it works to bring people together instead of dividing people on the basis of different dispensations. The power of lent is beautifully reflected in this concept of one for all and all for one. Just as Jesus stayed hungry for the benefit of all of us, we continue that model and choose to remain hungry for the benefit of others. This single initiative turns into a collective movement whereby the needs of even a single person are collectively thought of, considered and managed by many.

Mending our hearts then calls for a change of what we usually call the fast life. Our lives are built around the irresponsible destruction of our resources, which indeed are a part of our existence. But due to various reasons we have lost the link with our roots literally and change the face of the earth for our profit and our wants. The prayers for lent clearly state that the body and the being or soul have to fast or observe lent equally. When the body abstains from food, the being or soul should abstain from wrongs and sins. A lent which only abstains from food is a waste and one should not just waste oneself like this. In these times many are looking towards Orthodox theology and the system of lent in the church to suggest that this is a way of life which can be followed to receive health benefits. But is lent just about health benefits and regulating our diet? If that was the case Jesus would just be our gym trainer! Whatever Christian denomination we belong to, we should remember that mending our minds means that we should change the way we look at and behave with others. We should change our total way of life. This involves questioning the very life that we are living. Lent becomes a time to slow down and take stock of our lives. Fasting does not mean power fasts and individual glory but fasting means slowing down during the great fast.

Lending our hands
Lending what we have acquired and saved and what we have set apart completes the great lent. Blessed are those who clothe the naked and blessed are those who satisfy the hungry from their own table says another prayer during the great lent. Those who give do not just give alms by opening their hands but lend their luxuries and their life. The sacrifice is finally made to count and this is not just giving a man/woman fish but also does not just involve in teaching them to fish. Rather what happens is that they are given rights to the same river or sea from which everyone else has been fishing for so long. The great lent lends much and much more. Churches try their best to educate people to set apart and share what they have saved with those who do not possess even the ordinary needs in life. This community commitment encourages community goodness apart from individual goodness. Churches even collect rice and other essentials and distribute it to those in need. Others lend their expertise, their learning and their positions to initiate larger projects which help the poor. Thus the lent becomes a time for people to do good and even becomes mandatory and more important than just abstinence from food.

Lent helps the church to remember that it has been fortunate in many ways and that there are others who are not so fortunate. The reasons for this are many and churches try to involve themselves in the various hunger pangs of the people who live in the surroundings of the church. Lent this way truly becomes a time when the church becomes a place where Jesus and his great fast is reflected. The fast that Jesus undergoes does not only help him to overcome the temptation of satan but goes on to help him to realise the actual infirmities that affected the society of his time. His life then helps us to realise that it is not enough to lend certain food items to the poor but to go on to fight the injustices that have led to the starvation and the deprivation that the poor in this country experience. It calls for fighting systemic evils that exist in our society and calls for the rooting out of these evils through our fast and lent.

Lent in this sense strengthens us to garner the energy to fight against corruption, caste disparity, gender disparity and other social evils. This is the temptation that we all have to fight against. By lending our hands we share our favourable destinies with those who have been experiencing skewed destinies because of the luxurious lives that we live. Our sacrifice thus is not a sacrifice but a just sharing of the resources we have all received freely and graciously from God.

Let this lent be a time when we bend, mend and lend for our brothers and sisters to live a life which goes along with the will of God. This is not a forced decision but a decision taken freely to ensure that we correct the wrongs we have done in our lives. May God be with us in this struggle to fulfil a meaningful lenten season. Let this be a lenten engagement which strives for the betterment of humanity, the world and its inhabitants. Let us accordingly bend, mend and lend. Amen.

Sedition as the biggest addiction in a growing democracy

India and China are two countries which are growing the fastest in the world today. The two countries have several things which separate them but also have some similarities. All similarities surprisingly are anti-human and un-democratic. They include cheap labour, corrupt government agencies, anti-people policies and the latest to the list is sedition charges to silence their own people. The bible also has several instances of sedition being used as a weapon to silence those who basically talk for the justice and equality of people.

China did not cheer the Nobel prize for Liu Xiaobo and saw the prize as an infringement upon the internal policies of the country. Similarly India could not prevent a questionable court judgement jailing Dr. Binayak Sen for life on a case which is actually no case at all. Sedition is a big charge and is basically used to quell all discontent in a country. Or so it seems as in both cases there seems to be no better explanation.

Acts 6: 8-15 relives the arrest of St. Stephen on charges that he shook some of the traditional beliefs of the synagogue. Even though he tries to explain his stand he is then stoned to death without a proper trial. His last words “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” shows that his fight was against the wrongs that he saw and not against any individual.

What then does this mean for the church? Does it augur well for the church to remain quiet while those who work for the poor are put in jail? Does it mean that the church leaders also practise the same and removes its perceived enemies in the name of false sedition charges? Do we remember the lives of our saints and forget the inspiring leaders of present who remind us of our saints? Or are we waiting for them to die to then remember them as saints?

A government is of the people, by the people and for the people. How can a government then allege sedition on its own people? India has come to the point of practising a punishing democracy where everyone who is against the official line is punished and brought into line. Why doesn’t the government give medical help to the poor? Why doesn’t the government address the freedom issues of its citizens? Can fear keep people from raising their voices against injustice and wrong doing?

The government in India is trying its best to put a stop to all sorts of addictions but when will it review its own addiction to sedition? The all is well reply will not keep a true democracy in silence. If India is truly a democracy we will over throw this addiction. Till then, Lord, do not hold this sin against them!!!