I blame the terrorists.

Hi Shekhar- It is sad to hear about bomb blasts in India again and again. J. Krishnamurti once said, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is so true of all politicians, especially our Indian politicians -corrupt to the core. Their greed for power, their passing the blame and not taking responsibility for their position and enormous laziness except to fill their personal coffers, well, the buck starts from the top. Grab, grab and grab, wherever possible and whenever possible, has been their mantra. And, it is the grassroot level who are courted in order for politicians to get their seats only to be forgotten thereafter. Well, soon, the fat ministers will visit the tragic locations, take their pictures and dust their hands off. Despite having the intelligence, ability, resources and manpower, our country is suffering because imaan, dharam are mere words relegated to the books. I wonder what would make the politicians to act with honesty -loss of their loved ones in such tragedies?

Disclaimer: At the deepest level, there is no one to blame. Each gets a piece of the pie. Having said that, on a more elementary level..

As far as India is concerned, the passive nature of Indians especially that of the pseudo-secularists has added to the paralysis of the national security and infrastructure, while the UPA has proven itself to be the equivalent of a proactive ally of these terrorists by disabling the anti-terrorist laws passed by the NDA and publicly displaying their corrupted souls which are secular in a way that they can be bought by any body without religious discrimination. Such a weak, corrupted, fragmented administration in India is a terrorist's boon.

India is a country with a considerable Hindu majority. The problem before when the Mughals, etc. attacked was that there wasn't a united India that could tackle them. But now it is a single country which is developing rapidly, though in its infancy with the majority of the leaders still being Hindus, and as such, these foolish acts are only going to polarise the situation to undesirable extents for the minority especially when these acts start affecting the livelihood of the secularists and pseudo-secularists.
So in the larger picture, a strong nationalist party has to come in and secure the country for stability else the short-sighted secularism is surely going to destabilize India.

Shekar,

We the people have the power to vote and no matter how responsibly you use this power, 90% of the time you end up with irresponsible politicians. Now, if this is the fate of power used responsibly. What can you expect from the politicians who have Power but have no clue what the word "Responsibility" means.

Rajesh.

It is our system I guess the democratic system ,and it is not working for one good reason that mankind is evolving towards more greed, more power seeking ,humanity seems to have taken a back step in this materially evolving world .
Ancient monarchy seems to be a better option where the chances of going wrong depends solely to one and if by chance found diseased can be operated on! But here in present scenario the whole body is infected any treatment looks to be Herculean and a clueless task. What a bull shit trade of ministers we witnessed recently can we think those pimps (one of my friend call them so, and I call them bin painde ke lote )can be trusted for loyalty and commitment whence it expected the most looking into seat or place they occupy ?
‘Coalition government’ my foot! Don’t know how when and to whom the idea strike
we aren’t mature enough to be of a democratic ruled nation.

politicians are to blame of course. had it not been for them, India wouldn't be facing such problems for so many decades! The problem has always existed. It's just 'exploding' into our daily lives now. They make a mockery of the political system and then ask you to vote.How do you pick the better of two thieves when you know you're going to be stripped off everything anyway?! It's all so ridiculous. Death has become so easy and random even civilians get desensitized becoz it's on every news channel. Human life has no regard. It's a game where every life is nothing more than a pawn that has no say. It's a game of numbers. Bigger the number of people killed, greater the unrest, more the controversy, better a chance to point fingers and topple the government. Oh and yes they all "strongly condemn these cowardly acts". Duh! It's strange to hear such feeble words when almost over 500 people have died in different blasts over the past 6 years (this i heard on one of the news channels yesterday). But the numbers definitely go beyond 500. Because with each life that has been extingushed there are ten each among loved ones that have perished.

Sir,

Indian Mindset is to be blamed. The biases and the communal and the reservation policies are to be blamed. The politics is to be blamed. The population explosion is to be blamed. The poor people are to be blamed. The media is to be blamed for their reach.

The idea of being better than your immediate neighbour or kith and kin is to be blamed.

The idea of coming out and thinking big is to be blamed.

The idea of being a Global Player is to be blamed.

The Blasts make noises and caused deaths, injuries and media attention.

The silent deaths of farmers, the road accidents, victims of wrong medical advices, murders of revenge in love and greed, infanticides, death by negligences all acounted will be far greater than the deaths caused by the Blasts.

Blasts are scary because they warn you of the changing mindset of people. Their frustrations and wants unfulfilled.

Blaming 543 people only in a population of more than 1200 crores will be giving too much importance to their intelligence.

Where are our Nation keepers the system generators the IAS? The Secretaries of all departments and association. They are in lakhs and they have trained intelligence too. They have contacts with the system they run the country.

Nexus between the newly elected politician whose tenure can be days to ride on the heads of these learned qualified people is to be blamed.

If Mr.Karat can sack Mr. Somnath from the party for not fulfilling his party's aspirations who is to blame. We need good people in politics all the time but what about the good ones who are already there. How do we keep them above party politics and work for the nation?

Cash on Tv was a joke? There are thousand ways to trade horses much unknown to media and common man.

Fisrt time small town parliamentarian may be lured for small temptation to look after his immediate family.

Most of the politicians are rich and well supported by regional Business houses.

When corporates's use the nations judiciary and time and attention of the system to settle their differences and gain from contracts who is to blame?

The (ill)legitimate right to bring down the WTC and the Iraq war is to be blamed?

Vinod Agarwal - Jab Jab Maine Sar Uthaya, Sar chaukhat se Takraya..!!

Blame is such a debilitating act. What does it matter who is to blame.What is important is what do we do about what has happened. I am sitting in the comfort of my home on a sunday morning, just reading the news and shrugging it off like just another day. Whether it is Jaipur, Bangalore or Ahmedabad - I just don't seem concerned. All that is important to me is that immediate question - hope all those i know are fine. When I am like this, who am i to blame the politicians of our country. You can say perhaps its their job and they didn't do their job right and hence they are to blame. But am i doing my job right - fine, i am just a small individual ekeing out my living, in my little area. what is my responsibility in all this? where is my humanness? Where is the care and compassion that i need to show to my fellow humans and my society? If any one is to blame Shekhar it is me. For my selfishness, for my total lack of concern of what happens around me as long as it doesn't personally affect me, my lack of civic consciousness and even perhaps for my electing a government that cannot deliver. And the next question is am i just a microcosm of what ails our whole society or am I alone in this?

Hi Sekhar,...pretty apparent that some cheap political game's on here what with blasts in Bangalore as well as Ahmedabad...sometimes me thinks there's no terror group that's behind these but have been named/made the scapegoat of such allegations to cover up for some dirty games by politicians

I put the blame squarely on the WEAK Indian government led by WEAK leaders. I have been repeatedly saying that the cheapest commodity in India is a human life. And it will remain so as long as our leaders keep counting their horse-trading crores sitting in their plush state-funded bungalows. Do they care if blood is spilling on the streets of India? No, they don't! As long it is someone else's family member who dies, they are ok with it. They don't care because they have their Z category protection with a dozen AK-47 totting commandos to protect their worthless lives. These skilled commandos who are guarding so called VIPs like the Amar Singhs, Mayawatis and the ABs of India should be guarding the 'common' citizens. This complete misuse of state-powers and funds is going to put this country into a state of anarchy and chaos sooner than later, unless it is checked right now.

Cheers!

Naturally to those who got punished...

If it is the weak leadership THEY elected it;

If it is the terrorists THEIR lack of awareness allowed them to plant bombs or allowed the bombs to remain undetected;

If it is the evolutionary scheme of things of the universe it is for THEM for it is only through suffering that they can be pushed to higher awareness/stage of evolution;

And so on....

In the ultimate analysis it is always the sufferer who is to blame if at all. God or The Perfect Evolutionary Scheme of Things of the Universe is not foolish to make the blame of one become a cause of suffering of an other.

you wanna play blame game...........? come, lets play.........

but, whose side are you on.......?

coz, all that are like us........are WE
while the rest of them........are THEY.........

isnt that where the whole trouble starts ??

When 9/11 occured, Mr. Bush presented a strong outlook, and told the American citizens how he'd trace the criminals and how he's with the public.

When an incident occurs, our impotent politicians try to blame each other, and say we're trying to do something unknown and might be able to catch a few innocent people in an unknown period of time.

While we can't blame the politicians or the public for these blasts, we can certainly blame our institutions and politicians for not being concerted, and having a lack-a-disal approach towards a disaster for the country.

We can also blame many of our politicians for not even trying to cull panic and instill confidance among the indian public, but instead, simply bickering about party policies as an answer to a terroristic attack on our country.

i don't think this is the time to indulge in blame games - the 'leaders' have started doing it. let's not jump on to the bandwagon

Mr.Shekar ,
why should somebody be blamed.the bombings are collecively faced by Indians ,no matter if they are P.M ,President or Opposition.Its a wound to the whole nation and its citizens,and we are moving forward bravely facing every bomb and attack and making the world realise the way we cope up and live with tragedies every day.Its shameful to see you writing like careless Indian.Why didnt you be in Intelligence Department or Police or Politics to avoid these things,or why didnt you stop your work and do the prevention of the attacks.There are(Highly Superior ,Intelligence & Police Department) people to work on such things and are well trained and much more potent than you, to protect country,they too are indians ,sweating,hurdling 24x7 to protect Every centiimeter of India at any situation .If you are far superior to Intelligence and Police department then you can blame,you are not even eligible to take their name,when you job is so much dislocated from such kind of activited ,where you are selfish about your proffesion.Never Have you ever looked or scanned every inch of the street you live on 24x7.Then if something bad happens then you are responsible.But how can you predict that some X will place bombs here and there.How can you prevent somebody doing these things,you dont know what is in everybodys mind,Its highly impossible if thats the case every inch of india should be searched ,scanned, spyed(we indians havent fallen so much to spy on our own fellow citizens[its U.S.A,which spies on its citizen] as we dont create terrorists),do you have a solution for that Mr.Shekar ?You may be having security to yourself but why should you have,why cant you secure yourself,while doing your job or sleeping.its damaging how irresponsibly you are talking about blaming,ok if that is the case you are the one to be blamed,why didnt you stop this from happening,you are also an indian you should answer? why didnt you raise the voice to people or address the nation that 'Everybody should be carefull about surroundings and inform the police if anything looks suscicious' ,when blasts and attacks happened in Banglore , Hyderabad and Jaipur.You cant motivate people, to prevent anti-social incidents to take place ,but you want somebody to be blamed?Stupidity and irresponsible attitude and carelessness towards your fellow indians and nation has subjected you to ask such demeaning and disgusting questions,why dont you help everybody and lend a hand to the government and police, in finding what has happenned and what will happen,and how to prevent? will you? i know you will answer being dumb. Please dont ever be a leader to any part of india except your personal owned home and assets.

I sure hope the celebrities of Bollywood and other influential people take upon themselves the responsiblity of spreading awareness of this virus of islamic fundamentalism that is plaguing India which is exponentially worse than the AIDS virus.
We have to just keep hoping that Modi will take over the reigns or another Bal Thackeray will rise to protect the Hindus..however, the moderate indian muslims also belong there but they should be made to remove all separatist fanatic crap from their religious teachings..religions have to be heavily monitored in india and forced conversions have to be dealt with in the most strict manner and anyone who preaches violence against another for not believing their crap needs to be put behind bars.
It is disheartening to see such a defunct country as India which has failed to protect its majority..it really is in God's hands (through some vessels) to put this blessed land back in its glory.

i really don't know whome to blame in ahmedabad i know its all old ahmedabad mixed population. my family is in ahmedabad and they blame muslims for that and i argue from u.s.a its politicians to be blamed and the currupt and non functional police and justice system. i was there for 2003 riots and worked with effected families and they blamed each other and naraind modi. i blame nariand modi the most currupt and shrud politician.
citizen can't keep vigilance on where bombs are placed and who is plotting attact its a job of government and justice system. i blmae narendra modu for gujarat

Well, I blame ISLAM
I Blame Reservations
I Blame Muslims
I Blame Nehru
I Blame MK Gandhi

shekhar, this blog somehow did not seem like coming from your consciousness......or atleast my perception of you ( cannot say any more coz i do not know you beyond your blog,do i ? )

nothing deeper than " who do you blame ? " pat on the next day of the tragedy ??

meditate my dear man..........do not stray from your core so much !

Hi Shekhar ,

The person to be blamed is "me" ... each of us ....who call ourselves Indians and are interested in associating ourselves with the country and love our country.Bcoz, we are simply not doing our own duty towards choosing the right people to power, we do not allow ourselves to feel more towards our own neighbours.We nourish the feeling that -- oh OK, call up our own relatives and friends and check if they are fine ... then are stoik enough to relax and say .. oh it was someone else who got bombed, not our family !. This is why we are where we are today ... the thought behind religious tolerance was never what India has turned out to be today.

After knowing that we ourselves are to be blamed

... the question comes how to improve things around us ?

How to take more responsibility about things around us

...how to NOT ignore things that dont feel right and ensure we are involved to make the necessary changes

Our independence came with a lot of mass awareness, many tried many kinds of resistance, their styles differed .... now if we want to make a difference again to stop such acts of terrorism .. we have to again rise as a mass ... be responsible as a mass, ensure we rise to the occassion and start NOT by expecting "others" to do anything.. but doing it ourselves in whichever small way we can .

If we want to see our country stop rolling into the pits ... if we want to see a different future for India than what Afghanistan is today . Then we need all of us to take more upon ourselves on an individual level and take things in our hands. We avoid taking reponsibility hence we shrug it off on electing weak politians and incompetant leaders who we know even before we elect have no backbone to resist, confront or ignore terrorist groups.

Its time to a revolution.. its time to put a stop to India's doom.

of course no body can be blamed. india doesnt have the resources to fight terror. after the bombings all major cities were put on high alert. I m a hyderabad right now and i dont see any increased vigil anywhre. but i dont blame anyone. what all places are u going to guard. that is almost impossible in india.

but that doesnt mean the politicians can shirk responsibility. the least the politicians can do is to accept responsibility and give some condolence to those who have lost their near ones. now everybody is getting a feeling that nobody cares. even the vote of confidence drama suggets that either the politicinas think we indians are stupid or may b they dont care what we think.

It is such a shame that we are witnessing such inhuman random killings done by a bunch of frustrated, disoriented and probably fanatic bunch of hooligans. And if you ask me, who should be blamed -- it has to be the politicians topping the list. Followed by the state machinery, the terrorists themselves and us.
Yesterday I was discussing about the blast with a friend in UK, and during the talk, I actually said that there is no surety that the blasts were not supported or funded or masterminded by the state themselves. I for once cant completely trust my leaders -- most of our leaders are people with horrific histories -- with enormous unaccounted wealth, with numerous criminal records and no education. How can we be sure that Indian Mujahideen is not a brain child of a political plan? Maybe this time it is not (I totally believe Godhra was, for that matter even Babri Masjid Mess was to an extent..), but who can vouch that our government is for working for us? With a population like ours -- which has diverse belief systems, how can we be fair democratic nation?? When we pay heed to 51% vote (considering that to be a majority) and ignore the views of the rest 49%? We are pseudo democratic and also pseudo secular. You and I may not be discriminating on the basis of religion – but look at the majority and you will sadly see that you are wrong. Sometimes I feel, maybe India would have done better if it was under dictatorship of a learned and authoritative person. Anyway, looking at the trend, the blasts are being targeted in BJP states -- Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahmedabad .. So the next in line is MP. I hope it doesn’t happen .. But I would like everyone to be careful .. The least we can do is spread the message of love and peace -- of genuine love -- that can be the only savior.

I am surprised to see that people don't have an opinion. Saying something like 'I blame NO ONE' shows that one cares less -- is unaware -- thinks that he/she is living in the Utopian world.. If one has to be a responsible citizen, he or she should first be aware and develop an opinion -- a sound opinion. A majority of the comments here say 'I blame none'.. How is that possible?? If you hold no one accountable/responsible, how will you take steps to ensure it doesn't repeat? If the people of this nation say, 'I blame no one', then the future of the country is also as ambiguous as the the 'no-ones'. Truly sad -- especially in this era of information.. Like I think quite often, availability of information is doing no good..

People with antisocial ideologies hijack unemployed youth of our country.
Why were they unemployed? May be because education was not a priority in their families. May be these individuals were the most ignored children out of many of their parents. May be their parents didn't have the financial power to make them well behaved and educated men.
Shekhar, I feel, that's where the governments come into the picture. It's their responsibility to provide quality education to those who can't afford it. They should have programs that would attract the downtrodden and underprivileged towards education and its benefits.
Securing our country from naxalites / terrorists and other antisocial elements, is the responsibility of our intelligence / police and our government. They can't do that with sticks and mikes in hand. They have to go beyond that.
Yes, I blame all those three.

Well Shekar, you have media power unlike me now, why not use a bit of it for an anti-terrorism campaign, I'll be glad to tell my ideas if there are eyes to read or ears to listen.

Hello Sir,
I am disappointed by YOU and I second kochuthresiamma P J's thought. Its not right to start a blame game. Especially when its a personality like you. It is even dangerous cause its a very fickle minded question that you are posting forward to the readers of your blog.
I don't know how this is "Sharing creativity Sharing Vision"!! Seriously be serious Mr Kapur. Cause its innocent lives that has gone. And by your blame game vision, it is not going to bring those back. So prudent before judging others, especially when its someone as intelligent as you.
Cheers
Jojo from France

I seriously think that people who got enough time to rant about nothing useful are to be blamed. Do you have any idea how long your so called blog entry would be read? At times like these it is "Wat is to be done?" question asked rather than "Let's have people think and come up with something which would be amusing to read and forget!". I guess everyone has their own word abt everything happening around us. So, there is no point in citing individual thoughts and reading them over and over. Please write something which can inject thoughts about collective action into everyone's mind. Last but not least, don't misuse an effective medium like internet to send out ripples of your anxiety to know "what people think".

A very pertinent question to be asked..but at a very pertinent time? I don't know about that..What I mean by that is - if mankind had asked this question to itself, day in day out, at every crisis that it dealt with, along every point in time and made a very serious attempt to answer it, had not gone so lazy in thinking, had not taken the shorter version of life (that of blaming others), had not cherished what the heart celebrated as emotions but had the courage to look beyond and deal with its own mind - the world would have been a better place - may be.

Some smart (and i do not mean this in a sarcastic way at all) human beings at varying points in their lifes, wrote varying codes of conduct, for the society to follow and when found that the stuff that they made up is not seriously taken..added magic, Gods with multiple limbs, crucification, formlessness and such ridiculuos ideas to their code - and the ones that stood the stand of time became RELIGIONS. All in good intention and all went well until people started knowing people from other religions...Matters of heart like Jealousy, Hatred, Ego played their part in the killings that made their beginning centuries ago...And mankind just forgot one thing..Love is a matter of heart too..the highest and the most purest of them all..and the only non-destructive one so to speak..This is what happens when Heart takes over mind because Jealousy, Hatred, Ego takes over Love (love is noting but mind informed - dont you think)

So who is to be blamed - everybody who has ever existed on the face of this planet - their belief system (which time and again proves to be wrong) no one thing mankind has thought up is perfect, has become perfect or will ever become perfect..

All it takes for peaceful existence (peaceful with ourselves and with others) is Awareness and Acceptance i guess..Be aware and accept..how do we get Six Billion people to do this...

Hey, guys chill out. There is enough bashings happening already, must we bash each other on the blog? When somebody expresses an opinion and invites participation –you have a choice, either to do or not to do. From the emails, it is apparent that all of us do feel genuinely for the victims and expressed anger and frustration. It is a forum. I am sure every one wrote spontaneously, outpouring their grief and, of course, pointing fingers. MIA CULPA. We are all responsible. Yes, change has to happen and right now –with all of us, both for ourselves and for others we live with. Those of us, who have the ability, and resources to make positive changes in the society, please do so and let us know. It does not have to be Shekhar because he posed the question. Please, don’t shoot the messenger. There is already an obscure militant organization that has taken the responsibility. Things are happening, albeit slowly, but they are. I love you guys. Through your replies, it was energizing to read and experience your collective feeling for our people, our country.-Vanmala

Why, Shekharji, why on earth did you want to trigger one more round of name-calling and venom-spitting on this blog? From all those posts so far, you should have noticed that not all your readers are mature enough to deal with sensitive topics like this.

After all, why do we want to indulge in blame games when so many people in this country are grieving the loss of their near and dear ones in bastardly acts by some blockheads? Why did you want the people to hazard guesses, ill-informed and uninformed most of the times, and further add to the yawning chasm between different communities? Whoever did it, for whatever little we know, all that they wanted was to further divide this society. And, here you are giving the fanatics a forum to further their agenda.

Common sense should have told those perpetrators of terror that it is a lose-lose situation. Nobody gains. Nobody wins.

Nobody has taken up responsibility for the blasts in Bangalore; responsibility for Ahamedabad blasts are reportedly claimed by a Muslim outfit. Within minutes of the Bangalore blast, the official response came, in the familiar lines, putting the needle of suspicion on Muslim terrorist organizations. Ad nauseam, we have been hearing this SIMI, LeT story. And, what have our intelligence agencies and Government done to stop them, or to preempt these strikes except for blanket warnings like terrorists are targeting this city and that?

If it was indeed done by an Islamist organization, someone someday should tell them that their acts are further alienating their community from the mainstream. People are too happy to generalize; to create the Others. All muslims are terrorists, pakistan agents, traitors, our people generalize, shamelessly and insensitively; they discuss on the streets, trains, buses, in the cafes, office canteens, everywhere. And we know how the act of a handful of goons spoil the image of one community, already on the verge of being ostracized, and push them further out of the mainstream and into the ghettos.

And, then was it indeed done by Muslim outfits? Well, who knows. will we ever get to know the truth? I doubt. We have heard the story behind 13th December; we have heard other stories of encounter killings; we have seen enough to be skeptical. No, this is no attempt to whitewash any terrorist. But just letting you know how frustrated I'm to see what's happening around us, how someone is digging his own grave, and how the others are waiting with their share of dirt to fill in the grave. Sad.

Mr.Shekar,
this is my comment on the remark "Vigilant groups that left one million dead during partition of india" which you have made.Its good to bring this point for a clear view .
Fundamental Muslims demaded British Empire for a seperate province between 1920-30s and British Government were irritated with the new problem ,they took steps to embed communal coflicts, which catalysed the Muslim community to be united against Other communities ,and strongly demand a secular state;British Government wanted to divert and weaken the "Indian Independence" struggle,as it was coping up with World War I&II and it was in great need of resources which India is capable so they dont want to loose India and dont want any headaches from India while fighting the world wars so continued the communal conflicts to prosper and multiply,they were succesful.These Communal Riots didnt stop Independence Struggle.But British Empire gave Independence with Partition.Which Brought Migration of People from two geographies and Communal riots engulfed till the pratition period ended.Majority and Minorites were formed in both India and Pakistaan.Even before the Partition of India (and Independence) there were communal riots and conflicts but not Terrorist activites; this is the clear picture and vivid vision of what is what. Now after Partition(& Independence) the Islamic extremists came from Pakistan and attacked the Indian soil.Now these Islamic Extremists are the subsets of same people who participated in Communal riots of Undivided India(i.e, before Independence)but are Aliens of Divided India.If you can get the Point that they were "citizens of India" before 1947 august 14 and "Islamic Extermists" from Pakistan after 1947 August 14.so your remark "it seems to me that you are suggesting vigilante groups that are ordinary citizens ! It was such vigilante groups that left a million dead during the partition of India."is not valid as ,but here the Vigilant groups which you were refering are mainly from two communal groups (not just one);the one million dead were mainly muslims & hindus from both Parts of undivided India;
But things that are happening presently (and also after Independence),are due to Palistan's Islamic extremists (which are supported by their Governments and Governing bodies of Pakistan)who are Enemies to India and its Citizens .
Vigilant Groups (of 1947)that you are saying are set of Citizens of India and Pakistan.yes you are refering people of two nations and two communities who participated in Partition of India .They are different ,these Islamic Extremists are different,thats what i conclude.

Deepshikha,

You mind has been screwed up by over-indulgence in intellectualism. Get a sense of balance please. State sponsored? We have a clear enemy in the ISI and their stray islamic militant dogs whom they have learnt to fatally control through madrasas and such.
This across-the-border filth only wants to turn the Indian muslims into a ready-made army against Hindus and India as a whole. Godhra, hindu-sikh divisions, all these blasts, even instances of anti-indian sentiment in nepal is being spread by these ISI dogs.
Wake up and see it for what it is instead of indulging in brain-dead conspiracy theories at such a time.

I for one, respect Shekharji's honest expression in an atmosphere of utter cowardice shown by celebrities and media disguised as tolerance. Indians cannot afford to water this down and sweep it under the mat like they have done for ages. Islamic militants will not stop at anything. Besides, this has also become a growing means of livelihood for them which makes this even more dangerous.
We can go on indluging in philosophy and crap as to how we are all to blame and stuff, but the bottom line is..this virus is not going to stop and join you in self-analysis. If no stern actions are taken, this pattern will get worse as it has in the past few years. It is a sad but true fact that Indians will have to fight back to ensure a good future for their children.

Let us not play the blame game. We all are a part of the system. Spare a thought for those who lost their near and dear once and there will be many injured people who will live their lives with handicaps.

Xactly shekhar....the system is to be blamed. that is bcos just as u so rightly said this system thrives on divisive politics. gud politics cannot be sustained by this system. we will have to look at major changes in the system. many political research organisations have concluded the same but the problem is that the system has to be changed from being within the system and that is the paradox.

Dear Shekhar,
After redaing the comments above the only think I really want to think about is how to avert them in the future. I think it can only be done by a far stronger intelligence infrastructure and much stronger and visible police force - even army if required for a short while. This article "India: The Terrorists Within" appeared in TIME day before yesterday and I am posting two relevant paragraphs. The whole article is available at:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1826950,00.html?imw=Y

"While the credibility of the e-mail has yet to be established, the recent bombings have forced the Indian authorities to face some very uncomfortable facts. First, terrorist groups now have the wherewithal to strike at will and inflict significant damage. The targeting of Bangalore, one of the pivots of India's nascent economy, shows an ability to strategize. Second, recent efforts to spruce up intelligence-gathering and policing have been entirely inadequate. Despite the security threats festering across the country — there have been 11 major Islamist bombings in the past three years and over a dozen in the insurgency-ridden northeast this year alone — India's police stand at just 126 officers per 100,000 people. The United Nations norm is 222. The Intelligence Bureau, responsible for internal intelligence-gathering, has a sum total of 3,500 field operatives — for a country of 1.1 billion. Finally, the security establishment cannot go on blaming a "foreign hand" for these attacks. The profusion of such attacks within a short time frame cannot have been possible without local recruits. India must now face up to a brood of homegrown Islamist terrorists feeding off popular and growing Muslim resentment toward the purported injustices and atrocities of the Hindu majority. Indeed, the past three terror attacks have been in states ruled by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party — the Hindu right-wing party.

But parties across the political spectrum have contributed to the situation. Some play on the insecurities of the minority Muslim community to maintain an electoral base; others fan anti-Muslim sentiment for similar reasons. At the receiving end of decades of such politicking and social bias, the Muslim community — which forms 13.4% of India's population — remains impoverished and is increasingly alienated. A commission instituted by the ruling Congress Party–led government found Muslims underrepresented in government jobs and faring badly in social indicators like household income and literacy. "When you have a community that has been brutalized, it is inevitable that there will be a pool of ready recruits," says political commentator Manoj Joshi, noting the anti-Muslim riots in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) in 1993 and similar ones in Gujarat in 2002. "It is a very serious situation, which has arisen because our government has failed to accept the ground reality," says security analyst B. Raman, former head of the counterterrorism division of the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency. "A growing percentage of India's Muslim population is getting alienated. They are increasingly acquiring their own expertise, and they continue to get funding and equipment from across the borders."

I think besides better intelligence and stronger policing the real issue is to address the problem at the national level where the main task should be to unite the country - to create more jobs for everyone and continue our 10% growth. It is indeed the task of the govt. to cultivate communal harmony and opportunities for all. Although it may seem hollow in the face of such attacks I feel there is no other permanent solution.

Best Regards,
Himanshu

I have been reading all the comments, word by word, alphabets after alphabets.
So we have noone to blame is it? i was watching Krantiveer day before yesterday and one dialog from Nana struck me - "We are used to being ruled, first by mughals, then by the English and now by the dirty politicians" I actually want to add one more bit to this dialog - "We are used to being ruled, first by mughals, then by the English and now by the dirty politicians... AND NOW BY THESE INHUMANE ISLAMIC MILITANTS"

that is all...

Chethan

No, I didn't say your blog was anti-Islamic. I said there are people who are immature enough to use this forum for dialogue to spread communal hatred. probably, that's a reflection of our times when being proud to be a Hindu or Muslim is more fashionable than just being proud to be an Indian.

Yes, much of the terrorism across the globe comes from discontent. People when they are unhappy with something, look for means to change that situation. In a democracy like ours, the majority bank on democratic means to try and change the situation; we elect and oust governments; we write letters to editors, join protests and agitations. It's all democratic as long as we respect the right of others to have different views and still coexist and participate in democracy and dialogues.

In an ideal situation, this blog and the comments should form part of a healthy democratic dialogue. But unfortunately our blogosphere is controlled by a middle class that is kind of disconnected from the Indian realities, and this medium is used for propoganda against minorities, backward classes, and all those things that the middle class does not like. Our media, including the blogs, do not have proper participation of people from different sections of the socierty. It's an exclusive group of people with access to the Net and knowledge of English.

And the problem with most of these people are that they are over-obsessed with development. They think all that they want is development, at whatever cost it takes. And now, we have this safety and securty thing. People will sure become paranoid about terrorist strikes. Like you mentioned, people would start wondering whether we want to allow India turn into a country where you are uncertain that your child will return safe from school. And our communal elements will make the most out of this fear psychosis. I do not know where to place the blame. The terrorists, the governent, external factors, media, people...I know not everything is in black and white. But I know some of my concerns will get addressed when the awareness of people grow, when they realise about the politics of terror.

Our democracy and any discussion on development will become meaningful only when a sizeable number of people are able to participate in it. Our opinion leaders and agenda setters have their agendas that are not in line with the aspirations and requirements of a majority of people in the country. People think development will bring in the trickle down effect, and help everybody else grow. Unfortunately in a country like us, the trickle down will remain trickle forever. And, there will always be discontented people. Instead of wishing them away or blaming them for their misfortune (i'm sure you would have seen the ant and grasshopper story doing the rounds everytime there is a discussion on reservations), we need a society that is understanding and accommodating. If that does not happen, those discontented people will fall out with the democratic process and turn to other means to make their voices heard. I'm sure we do not want to get into that situation. We do not want to live in feel-good bubbles when we know all that it takes to burst the bubble is a pin prick by someone who is forever kept outside the bubbles to suffer in silence.

Man with his limited knowledge tries to punish the blamee. How come God with his unlimited knowledge will not do so?

All those who will be directly or indirectly punished/suffer were to be blamed.

Aloha shekhar

John Cusack did a movie War Inc., I haven't seen the movie as yet. But I did see Magic Child. If you haven't seen it, you might check it out. Movies have the gift to take you to other places, and this one does. I am sure War Inc. is about the issues you and everyone are sharing about, but Magic Child puts it in a different perspective. It is to be like a child and be open minded and teachable for we all matter in a holographic universe of colors/emotions that we have never even thought were possible. love patty

Dear Shekhar,

Somehow what got my attention is the vision of a little girl's claim “Daddy we all Gods dream” …

who to blame???

ah…

the ignorance of men… trapped in the polarities of human nature … blaming that we fail to see in ourselves …

the beauty and the beast …

as I ponder …

How can we ever experience unity and peace unless we are willing to claim the core of darkness in ourselves???

ah…

the power of the innocence of a child’s eyes … “Daddy we are all Gods dream” ...

a powerful message and yet how can we embody it ???

this universal yearning .. looking for itself …

as I recall my trip to India – a defining experience calling me home …

watching a bomb exploding in front of me, bodies being shattered … hero’s standing up and moving forward …in resignation … looking lost ... to the awareness of Gods dream running in their veins …

how many bombs need to explode, how much brutality do we need to witness for the power of Gods dream in all of us is resurrected... not as a concept ... but in the alignment of our thoughts, deeds and actions???

I returned to the place where the bomb exploded 2 weeks later...to witness the healing vibration of a puja ceremony next to the hole opened by the bomb … while eagles glided high above ... as companions...

one eagle visited me at 5 in the morning , right next to my shattered window while I broke down on impact … hearing her sounds … as if whispering … what I was not ready to hear…

later next to the Himalayas I again encountered the Eagles flight … as a director filmed a movie of sorts … to hear Gods voice “ Look beyond the visible and find me in the majesty of your dreams .. melted ….by spiritual alchemy ” ..

a choice I decided to live by …

in a society consumed by extreme violence and greediness …

to watch the miracles ..

like golden drops...

of Gods tears …

Whenever I think about Gandhiji and his non-violence, i immediately get the counter-thought of Arjuna in the battlefield being forced by Krishna to perform his ordained duty of annihilating the treachery of the other side.

Lord Krishna was definitely higher up on the realization path than Gandhiji. And every situation cannot be stereotyped with the same reaction. The Pandavas suffered all kinds of humiliation before they woke up..India is in a similiar situation collectively.

These people like Abhi and Deepshikha here are slaves to their self-serving deluded sense of do-goodership and confused minds..it is very easy for them to sit and type away half-baked crap while women and children are being blown to pieces. India needs to crackdown on these terrorists and ISI dogs with fierce force.

Brahmastra, cracking down on terrorists and preempting the strikes are one thing, and labeling an entire community as terrorists is something else. The problem starts when someone says an entire community should pay for the deeds of a handful of people.

Most of the debates on terrorism in India revolve around Islamic terrorism, and tend to overlook the fact that three of the most significant political assassinations in this country were carried out by Hindus (Mahatma Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi) and Sikhs (Indira Gandhi).

We forget that at the peak of insurgency in Punjab, innocents were getting killed almost everyday. Same is happening in the North East even today. And the groups there including ULFA are founded and led by Hindus. What about the Maosists and Naxalites? What about Ranbir Sena and caste killings?

Until 1987, that notoriously rigged election, Kashmiri militants did not have much support from the people in the Valley. Like I said, when all other doors close before them, people tend to go for the violent ways. Most of the time our strategies do not address the root cause; we try and treat the symptoms. If I were to use the analogy of Pandavas from Mahabharatha, I would have used that to say how much these people have suffered before they finally turned to guns.

Crack down on terrorists. Fine, do that. But you cannot target an entire community and hound them out of their motherland, kashmir, manipur, gujarat, or anywhere because some of them used violence as a means to protest. And no sensible person can generalize and attack a group of people forgetting the state-sponsored terrorism happening in many parts of the country, which is in fact adding fuel to the fire. The life and honour of people have the same value irrespective of their faith and place of birth. You cannot let the army and cops shoot at will.

We have heard enough about encounter killings, about missing people in Kashmir, about the Army excesses in the North East (don't you remember those women screaming "Indian Army Rape Us"?). And the simple logic is that the more you try to suppress, the more strength these people gain. Try to understand ther problems, try to address the concerns of the communities, and single out and crack down on those anti-social elements who anyway are not interested in dialogue. But, please do not talk about this crackdown crap when we all know what our men in uniform have been doing in the name of cracking down. Please.

hi shekhar yr interview on ndtv good times with ayesha was awesome.....u sounded tooo drawn to philosophy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

feel the smack of firm government

Linger by the flyposter, for a fight

It's the same story every day & nite

Dear Shekhar jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii,
It was nice again meeting you @ Mumbai....
you never cease to surprise with your smile, and simplicity........

Hope to meet you again in near future.... from
KOIZEN

Sometimes I wonder, are we collectively trying to fight and conceal the obvious?

It is human to be 'violent'.Centuries of indoctrination of goodwill,religion,social conditioning,simply can't take away man's 'need' to express his inner violence.Violence is part of us,our nature,we perpetuate it by fearing it,loathing it,indulging in it.

We condemn it here, but every breath of condemnation on this blog echoes of violence again.

Its human to fear death.This simple posting draws up so much emotion and angst,simply because it deals with loosing life.Everyone senses some threat to their safe cocoons.

Shekhar,In trying to say 'who is to blame', you have either presented your first instinctive reaction,or have chosen to stir up a conscious debate.The answers for this question are irrelevant as the question in my opinion.

Most of us will retire to our safe cocoons once the news looses heat,taking back with us affirmations of ever present danger 'out' there.Knowing some of us have been visited by 'Yama',reminding the others on their eventuality.We'll recede back into those cocoons we've built for ourselves,choosing to ignore for a while,only until another blast,another quake.Only to start questioning,blaming,hopelessly evading what we fear.

In my opinion a pertinent question,answers for which elude me,is - 'why are we violent?'

-Deepak

Its an eternal fight between RAM and RAVAN .And if at all we need to blame anyone.. It has to be RAVAN .. thats how our social setup works. BAD is BAD and GOOD is GOOD ..isnt it? All we can do is, take a side. Might sound escapist , but that’s how it is.

Politicians in our age are the real trouble maker indeed ,whether here( INDIA) or in West (its more institutionalized there)

But deep down its all about morality. A fight between what is right and what is wrong. Its all about being responsible and accountable to what we are doing.Breaking a traffic signal or a decision taken by a government personal or anyone for certain personal interest or planting a bomb by a terrorist. For me all are equally wrong though they might effect normal mass in diferent way.

Everything boils down to one's morality and his/her accountablity towards this society and to himself too.

Dear Abhi,
In reasoning with this Nazi joker called Brahmastra, you are simply wasting your time and energy. Your arguments are very well reasoned & valid and anybody with some sense of fairness and reason will agree with them.
But,in this case, you are banging your head against a wall; You can write thousand credible arguments & argue till eternity, but fanatics like him are never going to see your perspective. They are as blinded by their jingoistic zeal as are those terrorists who planted bombs in Ahmedabad. In fact, people like him are even more dangerous because they can articulate their crap much better than those jihadis and even lead some ignorant people on.
The best you can do, Abhi, is to ignore people like him; Arguing with him gives him more encouragement and space here. Let his barking die a natural death.

Aloha Deepak and Everyone

Barbara Hand Clow shares we will experience peace. She feels as the planet is escalating (2012) we are becoming multi-dimensional in our consciousness and we will know when someone is projecting our past fears of cataclysm catastrophic events. Those events are what I feel feeds the illusion we are violent. Until we go deep, we will continue projecting our fear of cataclysm catastrophes. If you would like to read the interview click my name. Some people actually believe oil comes the dinosaurs remains:) love patty

Ah Dear Deepak …

This ignites me ...

Why are we violent ???

Question is: who taught us not to be???

Ah the power of spiritual alchemy …

It reminds of an incident when I was hijacked at gun point in my healing center at the time …

I had bought a big Buddha statue to put in a sacred place in my garden …

When it was delivered I realized it was too dark… I told the man who made it “This is a shadow Buddha – I don’t like it – I want a golden Buddha …

I decided to take the shadow Buddha to his work place and together we covered it in Gold … I brought it back and put him in the garden…

Strangely, I also had with me laminated pictures of Jesus, Mother Mary, Saibaba, Dala Lama … vibrations I adore …

I put them inside my car before opening the garage door ...

to experience a deep tightness in my chest … thinking “ it is so dark out there”

The next minute I had a gun against my heart and was pulled back inside …

The strange thing was that while this man points a gun to my heart all I could see was a most beautiful black face floating in front of me …

Holding the image I faced another 2 men who wanted to throw me inside the car …

I saw the real possibility of being killed and remember thinking “ God has my time come ??? How strange that this is happening here in a healing centre… ok ...if my time has come then let me die standing up…” …

I felt no fear as I made the decision . . . as if conscious of the need to uphold the energy I wanted to vibrate in the here and now and beyond … including wanting to protect my loved ones from the anguish of looking for me …

Then I heard my words to the man wrestling with me – you can kill me if you want but you will never take me with you …

a mantra I repeated a few times before he realized I was serious – there was no compromise possible …

Suddenly they decided to leave, leaving me behind …

Later there was a shift in me and rage took over … not against the hijackers but against Saibaba as I had been working closely with him and felt betrayed somehow ...

so enraged I showed him my fist …“There is no God .. “

My car was found somewhere in a location and I was asked to pick it up in a depot…

Disconnected and still in shock I asked a friend to go with me …

And there I was … looking at the car I liked so much ... now vandalized .. and yet had no emotion as it felt unimportant...

Then I heard the words of my friend – an engineer mind … what is that under your car???

No idea … I said without any movement …

My friend persisted... and without getting any reaction from me decided to pick it up himself…

And to my absolute bewilderment there it was … the picture of Saibaba …coming back to me … without any rational explanation possible...

Tears suddenly coming alive I rejoiced in the words “ Have faith - There is God …”

Oh yes …

What did I learn???

I asked for a Golden Buddha …

God says “if you want a golden Buddha learn to embrace its shadow with compassion”

Reason why I felt deeply touched by the child’s words “ Daddy we are all Gods dream”

I believe that we become violent when we forget Gods dream for each of us …

rather...

who is RESPONSIBLE?

the word blame seems to just point a finger with no room for solution or change...I believe help will arrive to a situation, more meaningfully and swiftly, by finding out who is responsible...meaning the ones who need to RESPOND to provide a solution.

So many of us are responsible, unconsciously, and still remain unaware of our contributions to such events...and yet, point, away from ourselves
...funny thing about that is,

when we point in a particular direction, if you followed that line all the way around the earth, the line of pointing will eventually end up at your own back...must be some wisdom in that some where, not sure

Loving healing prayers to all those who are in need...

In Spirit,
Cinda

Tolerance is what we need in this age.

Abhi,

If you read my posts correctly, you will see that I am suggesting the same thing as you about cracking down on the terrorists and not letting the Indian muslim community fall prey to the strategy of ISI and their mind-controlled terrorist robots. FYI, I have several Pakistani and other muslim friends, people are just people until they become victims of fanatic ideologies..this is not about targeting communities of people, but about targeting such fanatic ideologies.
The main ideology of the ISI is to divide and destabilise India in whichever way possible..and one of their most obvious plan is to turn the Indian muslims against the majority and vice-versa.
And the sad fact is these militants can easily camouflage themselves within the muslim community with or without help, and there is bound to be profiling to weed them out. This is just a necessary evil at this point.

Dev,

People like you are born slaves. You fail to see that you are the one with a completely closed and fanatic mindset. Just by babbling some pretentious do-gooder stuff here won't aid your low esteem. Indians like you are, in fact, the best friends of these terrorists cause you manage to keep paralyzing the system from doing anything..you should be ashamed of yourself for indirectly supporting such terrorist acts. When a person is sick from a strong virus, the cure is equally strong. In Ayurveda, there is a saying "Sometimes, to eliminate a poison, you need a poison"
And please, for your sake, learn to absorb the depths of what i say instead of skimming the surface and painting it with your own shallow "communal colours".

Dear Dev -if Brahmastra is a natzi, he is not alone - a huge volume of 'natzies' covering the globe, both Indian and others. Every white Canadian I spoke did the same -after all there was a terrorist threat and preparation by Islamic young men two years ago who threatened to blow up downtown Toronto. The cases are pending before the court. So did Russians of Toronto who faced sectarian beliefs and views of Uzbek Muslims in Uzbekistan.
Several people on Shekhar's blog expressed the same view as Brahmastra.

Ghettoization -was it forced on minorities of India? People of certain group prefer to live in ghettos both in India and outside. We have such Islamic Ghetto in Canada, hating North American values, avoiding the mainstream, yet partaking the benefits provided by the Canadian Government.

Abhi's views are like 'sneh lep', pragmatic. Unfortunately, Indian blood is boiling and each one wants an eye for eye? Brahmastra, this is what the terrorist want -they want people to react, engage in retaliatory tactics and let loose a trail of bloodshed. It won't end. When Muslims engage in terrorist activities, it is the expression of minority suffering. When Hindus retaliate, it is majority trying to suppress minorities. That having said, much as we all hate, we need to exert patience, very tough to do, but it is essential that we not play into terrorists' hands.

Hindus have been complacent far too long. Only bomb blasts like these can wake us. We need to unite to formulate and learn strategies from other countries even from Israel as someone suggested in TOI. Though, the mere mention of Israel is likely to flame Islamic militants further.

Yet, much as we all want to act, only the government machinery has the power to move. I was hopeful but feel let down again.

Please read TOI, Tarun Vijay The Right View -' This War Involves us' 28 July 2008, where he has expressed that politicians should come together to '“strategize a time-bound 'eliminate terror' programme? For power sharing they come together – sworn enemies of yesterday become born twins on political platforms. To liberate India from the dreaded scourge of jihad and all other kinds of terror we feel shy and instead keep ourselves busy in attacking each other, facilitating the country's enemies.

Indians can fight each other on a hundred issues of political programming or power grab. But on the question of our sovereignty and security we must stand united, as one – and it must be visible too. After all, where would all these leaders take their money and enjoy it if India doesn't survive? Even to enjoy the loot they must have a station to leisure and be free of threats.”

Except one or two, most of 135 people who commented on this much in line of Brahmastra.

Muslims now stand isolated – they are ashamed, they are sad as well, above all scared of retaliation. All fingers point towards them and they're aware of it. The onus is on them squarely, both for everyone's safety as well as theirs, to isolate those involved in terrorist activities.

The politicians of India, the film personalities except Shekhar -all so eager to court the media are suddenly silent -sub ko saap soong gaya. -Vanmala

The problem begins when you start seeing the terrorist attacks as attack on Hindus, and identifying India as a Hindu country. Not all killed in the attacks are Hindus. They were not specifically targeted at the Hindus, either. The bombs were planted at public places. These were attacks on the State, and we have to deal with that. The moment you take away the thing of Hindus from that you will be able to remove the Islam part of it too.

By bringing in Israel in this discussion, I think you are trying to legitimate what Israel is doing in Palestine. Nobody with a sense of history can forgive Israel for what they are doing in Palestine.

And about most of the people on this blog having strong (anti-muslim) views, well, I'd explained that in my previous comment. The homogeneous nature of our readers, their misplaced priorities, and lack of knowledge of history and concern for fellow citizens.

Ah .. dear Shekhar

How can I describe the impact of your little girl’s words in my soul’s quest???

a resonance I know so well ...

a mystical call ...

I believe your child is destined to become ...

I am writing a book about the flight of the eagle - the mystical hero's journey - which I have stuggled to put in writing for a long while ...

resisting it to my core...

as it feels so overwhelming at times ...

with no avail ...

as it keeps pursuing me in ways where I keep going down to my knees ...

as if being trained to look at the world upside down - like a fool ...

the last event took me back to you without understanding why ...

a deep connection I have felt for a while without making any logical sense ...

yet a language I learned to recognise ...

and this the story I am inspired to tell ...

there was a man named Mark whose passion was to fly eagles as a show ...

As eagles have pursued me all my life (I fell in love with Krisnamurti as a young girl) I chose to regularly go to the high mountains - here in Africa and watch the gliding of Marks eagle...

My last trip - in May this year - led met to a sudden twist I have struggled to integrate ...

as I was traveling to Falcon Ridge and to the eagles show (600 kms from where I live) I saw a head on collusion where clearly the driver of one of the cars had no chance ... a young boy on the ground was being assisted by someone ...

I did not want to stop as we were running late and I realized there was not much I could do ...

and yet as I passed the accident spot I felt a powerful hit in my heart and my body jerked forward as if hit by the impact .. I lost my breath and told my friend - please stop - I need to go back ...

I went back and was pulled to the dead body .. as if calling me to stay with him ...

his hands looked like claws and his mouth had taken the shape of a O ...

I stood there as if suspended...

praying and guiding him to the light ...

afterwards we went to falcon ridge to find that it was closed ... to find a red heart on the ground with the words LOVE written on it and with wings on each side...

Distressed at some level I decided to look for Marks Black Eagle to find her completely withdrawn (I used to joke with mark that the eagle was his wife) - to feel another hit I chose to discard - could that person be connected to the eagle?

I spent a few hours in the mountains as if gliding with deep streams - I kept finding along the way ...
bewildered to the realization that it felt like I was gliding not only in the open skies but with the depth of the earth ...

as above so below - I kept thinking

I came back home and the next day I woke up highly distressed at 2 in the morning - writing in Deepak's forum - a place of refuge for many years now ...

I went back to bed and later woke up with the command to phone the place I had been ...

but who??? I wondered

got a number of a hotel and there I was " I am Isabel and I need to know the name of the person who died yesterday ..."

oh we don't know the person ..

oh can you give me another number I can ask ...

to eventually being told "it was Mark from Falcon Ridge" ...

to watch my body breaking down into uncontrollable sobs as I knew Mark so well ...

as yet for reasons I cannot explain I was suspended for almost 24 hours ...while gliding with Marks Spirit ...

and here lies the mystery ...

Mark had surprised me in 2006 with the gift of 4 eagle feathers - which I experienced as one of the most exquisite gifts I have received ...

leading me to you - to your movie "The 4 feathers" .. A movie I wanted to watch after falling in love with Elisabeth ...and yet was unable to find it in the stores...

This time I persisted and managed to get it ...with great delight ...

to experience the bewilderment yet again ...

what is this about???

a redemption call???

ah yes .. what did I get from Marks events?

I went to Falcon Ridge to watch the eagle's show...

yet this time Mark called me - not to watch it as a show .. but as a real and timeless experience of gliding with the power of the spirit ... as above - so below ...

oh yes ... my suspension as I faced Marks body crushed to the core ... a body I knew well and yet failed to recognize in that moment ....

Gods message yet again “to glide as an eagle learn to see beyond human tragedies so that in high vibration you answer the call of my dream"

ah .. the depth of the mystical call ...

where I ponder about the message of the 4 feathers ...

wanting to run away in my cowardice ...

to be found over and over ...

by forces seeking us to show up and to play our part ...

away from the cocoons we tend to hide, in ignorance or cowardice into conscious choices of indomitable courage and a spiritual alchemy focus ...

" why are you protecting me? I have no choice ... God put you in my way "

the power of sacred contracts ... we cannot escape from ... as Gods guidance to something bigger ...

oh yes ... the hit

I CAN'T SEE .. I CAN'T SEE ...

the plight of humanity ...as I see it ...

"I am not proud now .. I am on my knees ..."

the surrender call ...

in humbleness

from which everything becomes possible ...

oh yes ... your dear child ...

give her a big hug for me ...

as suddenly the words " Daddy we are all Gods dream" have become my divine mantra ...

inspiring me to move forth ...

purposefully...

with renewed faith...

ALL IS WELL...

THANK YOU ...

When I read the phrase "with power comes responsibility" - I think of the line in Spiderman - vigilanti-ism seems to be a potent theme in films these days, what with Batman - The Dark Knight and so on, and where there seems to be a blurring of the distinction between the masked "hero" and his psychotic adversary - they both seem to be cast from the same mold.

I sometimes think that racists, and the victims of racism have one thing in common, which is that both suffer from a kind of mental illness - one could argue the same about "terrorists" and the State, with the public caught inbetween a war of unbalanced individuals, each with an unshakeable belief in their own moral position.

I blame the terrorists and their sponsors ofcourse.

As for the govt. and politicians, they have not even attempted to rehabilitate the many Kashmiri Pandits to their homeland, which is a much easier task than securing the entire nation.

I read your statement 'terrorism arises out of discontent', but it certainly doesn't justify it. Nothing justifies terrorism. I'm not sure if you denounce terrorism! I watched Paradise Now and I just couldn't accept it's message. Military action always aims to minimise civilian casualties while terrorism aims to maximise it! It's terrifying beyond words.

Why are we emulating our polticians and getting into this blame game and name calling? Everyone knows who is to blame; the terrorists themselves, political bungling, lack of intelligence, the ISI etc. etc.... the list goes on. This is just a good opportunity to have a good old fashioned rant.

We will probably be better off asking ourselves what is to be done now? That would be more constructive.

Dara

Pls plan to attend

VIGIL to pay Respect to the Terror Bomb Blast Victims
Date & Time: Sunday August 3, 2008 4:00pm
Venue: Plaza De Cesar, Chavez Park, Market & Park Ave,San Jose,CA 95113

The gruesome attacks of terror that struck the heart of India on July 25th and 26th left scores of people dead leaving behind a trail of destruction. The serial bomb blasts that were triggered by terrorist groups in more than 25 places within a span of 24 hours in the cities of Bangalore and Ahmedabad were intentionally aimed at breaking the resolve of the Indian people to fight terror in all its forms. The hideous nature of the attackers is evident from the fact that they chose to attack even the hospitals where grievously injured were being treated.
This terrorist act is nothing short of an attack on humanity and the citadels of civilized world. Terrorism knows no boundaries or nationalities. It is a menace that needs to be uprooted. The world needs to unequivocally condemn this dastardly act and not remain mute spectators.
Various Indian organizations, Friends of India and people of Indian origin in the Bay area will be holding a vigil to pay respects to the victims, show solidarity with the Indian people in this hour of grief and pledge support to stringent measures to bring the culprits to justice. This is the moment for us all to show our strongest support and to re-energize our community and the civil society against terrorism. Please participate in this vigil in strength to make our voices heard. The venue and time of the vigil are given below.

Date & Time: Sunday August 3, 2008 4:00pm
Venue: Plaza De Cesar, Chavez Park, Market & Park Avenue
San Jose, CA 95113

Vigil to pay respects to the victims of Bangalore & Gujarat terrorist attacks

The gruesome attacks of terror that struck the heart of India on July 25th and 26th left scores of people dead leaving behind a trail of destruction. The serial bomb blasts that were triggered by terrorist groups in more than 25 places within a span of 24 hours in the cities of Bangalore and Ahmedabad were intentionally aimed at breaking the resolve of the Indian people to fight terror in all its forms. The hideous nature of the attackers is evident from the fact that they chose to attack even the hospitals where grievously injured were being treated.

This terrorist act is nothing short of an attack on humanity and the citadels of civilized world. Terrorism knows no boundaries or nationalities. It is a menace that needs to be uprooted. The world needs to unequivocally condemn this dastardly act and not remain mute spectators.

Various Indian organizations, Friends of India and people of Indian origin in the Bay area will be holding a vigil to pay respects to the victims, show solidarity with the Indian people in this hour of grief and pledge support to stringent measures to bring the culprits to justice. This is the moment for us all to show our strongest support and to re-energize our community and the civil society against terrorism.

Please participate in this vigil in strength to make our voices heard.

Date & Time: August 3, 2008 4:00pm
Venue: Plaza De Cesar, Chavez Park, Market & Park Avenue,

San Jose, CA 95113

Major US newspapers have reported this news. US Lawmakers Congress and Senate etc will listen to these news items!
Send this to your local politicians and make them aware
Also pls attend the Vigil on Sun Aug 3rd in Downtown San Jose 4PM

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080100133.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/world/asia/01pstan.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-fg-isi1-2008aug01,0,2054803.story

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121755998577303583.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news

http://timesnow.tv/frmUAddBlogComments.aspx?Blogid=68

When a person gets sick from a virus, it won't help him much to indulge in wayward philosophy..he has to find some concrete cure.

The ISI and their controlling Pakistani administration are a deadly virus to have afflicted not only India, but the world as a whole. Some of their main strategies are: giving royal refuge to Indian underworld dons and gaining access to their underground framework, providing assistance to separatist groups all around, growing terrorists and bombers, spreading corrupted fanatic versions of Islam through madrasas and such....on the whole, creating divisions and instability in whatever ruthless manner possible. Isn't this already obvious? Indian muslims are just another tool in their hands. If these guys are not stopped right now, it is only going to polarize this to undesirable depths.
It should also be taken into consideration that the Pakistani admin is quite shaky right now, and they could be using these attacks on India as to stay in power by getting the support of the fanatic populace there.

So you short-sighted pseudo-secularists need to get your act together and support the only cure which is a government that can go after them with the necessary force -> that of BJP/NDA. So what if they support a Hindutva ideology..it is a great added blessing. The way things are in India, it could definitely use some spiritual direction. Many countries have failed miserably to use religion as a tool to unite the masses..that is because they did not have the proper religion. In the case of India, it just might work.

The UPA is the height of one of the most defunt, corrupt, fragmented, short-sighted and self-serving governments in the history of a nation, so electing it as a leader is self-destructive.

this bombing is the beginning of the end of islam.

If Narendra Modi becomes Prime Minister of India,
two things will happen.

1) India & China will become closer.
2) India and China will eradicate Islam.

Modi will nuke Mecca, Medina.
Modi will spread a neo aids virus accross the middle east.
China will quietly exterminate muslims aggression as it does in xianjing today.

I hope normal muslims realize, that their very existence will become an afterthought, if they continue to allow bombings like this.

I cant wait till lok sabha elections.

Modi will become PM.

Islam will vanish from Bharat.

islam was a curse by bakasur, for his bad treatment by indra. the time for curse is ending soon.

JAI SRI RAM

I have one suggestion. Our retired elderly are almost without anything much to do with a lot of daily time spent on tea and Newspaper. Actually with their experience they could be doing a lot of constructive social activities. Perhaps they could be used to form neighbourhood watchdogs who with their social networks in their neighbourhood could inform police/government about anything fishy/unusual in their surroundings.

Blame:
1. Politicians- for taking public support for granted. Of late they have learnt a new trick ie praise the affected people's spirit as a way to console them eg Mumbai's spirit, Ahmedabad's spirit etc.

2. Intelligence agencies- its recruits are not bold enough to penetrate into terror organizations and break info in advance.

3. Muslim moderates- for not informing police/govt about radical elements/instigators in their community and condemning them.

4. Media - Our media has probably the largest civilian informers network after intelligence agencies. Some of them are often accused of spying for foreign governments. They could easily get information about hideouts and wherabouts of terrorists and publish them in advance. It's a pity they run after only sensational news.

Shekhar, you did stir more than a hornet's nest with this one isnt it? btw ,are you considering censoring comments as well now;-)

You seem convinced that the leadership or lack of it is the issue here.There is suggestion of radical action as well.I say,how do you promote 'decisive' leadership through a multi-party consensus powered government? Presidential democracy in the US,is far more decisive,(whether you agree or not with the decisions it makes).
- We are led by self-serving politicians - Yes.But I fail to see how they are different from the average Indian.As a nation we are self-serving.Our biggest commitment and only commitment is to our families.At schools,for every 1 honest student in the examination hall,there are 3 dishonest ones.We breed it.

At a practical level I agree with many of the ideas on this debate(none which talk the language of isolation,annhilation). I'll add another:

* Indian intelligence needs a 'face' and a solid image makover.The average 'terrorist' in India doesn't have to 'worry' about getting caught,its a billion strong nation.Government needs to raise RAW/CBI to epitomous levels within public consciousness.They need to evoke emotions such as fear,idea of speediness,proactiveness.It may mean a well planned and sustained publicity campaign,some more openness.Remember what 'Seshan' did for the Election commision.

Dear Shekhar,
That was a much needed comment from you.
Best Regards
Dev

Yes, this is not about Islam as a whole. It is quite evident that a lot of people across the globe who have been born into Islam have not been victims of its corrupted versions. This human corruption is an inevitable problem with all religions..the kings of yore had learnt the most clever forms of mind-control by instilling the fear of God and religion in their subjects, and this trend continues today with utmost brilliance.

All beings have an inbuilt sense of compassion and brotherhood. But it is upon this that crafty separationist religions are superimposed as a supplement to the existing ego mechanism. It cannot be denied that some of the newer religions are far more separationist than the ancient ones.
The entire middle-east was supposed to have been a Vedic civilization before the advent of Chrisitan crusades which gave birth to fanatic Islam as a counter force. The middle-eastern people still feel a deep connection towards Indian culture, and those who are not afflicted by the fanatic versions of Islam are gems of people.
A lot of Indians, out of their limited intellect and conditioning are prone to stereotyping situations into secular and communal, hindu and muslim, etc. The pseudo-secularists form an equal part of this lot. And in overreacting out of fear of suppression of minorities, they are ignoring the fact that this has increasingly lead to the suppression of the majority..and this is a sure recipe for disaster. This is what is happening in Jammu now, and it will spread across the country if this issue is not addressed soon. The corrupt and complacent Indian governments have underestimated several aspects of these issues for many years.
Babri masjid was a miniscule incident compared to the millenium and centuries of atrocities that the Hindus had been subjected to by the mughals, deservedly or not on a higher scheme, and one only has to read accounts of what the mughal monkey Babur did to Hindus to easily justify the destruction of babri masjid. And this is no ordinary temple..it is the temple at the birth-place of Hinduism's most revered realized soul..that of Lord Rama. It should be viewed as removal of a small veil of ego from the self. It is estimated in some sources that over 5000 temples were destroyed..and it is a fact that even the Taj Mahal (Tejo Mahal) was a temple(And a little known fact is that Shahjahan cut off the hands of
20,000 workers after the completion of the Taj Mahal so that no one would ever be
able to build such a marvelous monument again..and it can be fairly concluded that a vast majority of these were Hindus.)

Regardless of all this, the basic fact is that the consciousness of the people needs to be upgraded for a peaceful functioning of any land. The open and peaceful nature of Indians are a long-lasting by-product of the ancient vedic culture...and is not due to any new ideals or form of government or anything that the nation was founded upon..that was just a formality of the design. So to go back into that peace, the ancient ways need to be revived in India, and people need to get out of their pseudo-secular thinking and recognize that Hinduism is not comparable to other religions and is the most secular and efficient organization of "several ways and beliefs" of life and government.

a cursory glance at the comments to this post gives me a sinking feeling that we indians are playng into the hands of the terror merchants. very sad!

Proxy war is all that crosses my mind. BTW blasts took place in Bangalore, a day before Ahmedabad. I hope you knew that. Hmmmm news channels covered both incidents very well, based on Area Ahmedabad is bigger.

Kill that Yasin Mallik and Afzal Guru..... For God's sake!! Why are we feeding them? For another plane hijack

i agree with kochutheresiamma. no point in playing blame games. i feel for those who died and their near and dear ones. beyond that i have lost all feeling during natural and unnatural calamities.
Being in Baroda, we felt as if we were also somehow responsible ( guilt association would be what a psychologist would say.

Politicians from the Congress are already visiting certain families to offer condolences and express sympathy. This includes the former Chief Minister of UP, Ram Naresh Yadav.

Guess who these families are....

Are they the families of the poor innocent men, women and children who died in the blasts?

No ... no... not at all. The Congress does not have any time for them.

These are the families of the terror masterminds and the people and terrorists who planted the bomb. The Congress leaders are visiting their houses, shedding tears that these perpetuators of terror have been arrested.

Shame on the Congress.

It has forgotten that two of its supreme leaders died because of tedrror attacks.

Shame on the wierd political system in India.

Which has tears for terrorists and none for the terror victims....

All western countries have politicians with corrupt minds but they dare not do any corruption as they are almost always end up in jail. Because investigating agencies like Police are independent, fair and accountable to public not politicians. If you punish one corrupt politicians, you stop 20 from doing corruption. We should all start a national movement to force our govt to start long awaited police reforms and not wait for a great, honest and tough Leader to come to power.Our destiny is in our hands.

Who to Blame ?

I think i blame myself. I am still watching this happen and looking for others to answer this. Just acting the same way like others and hoping it will all be stopped and okay one day.

If i can see that RESPONSIBILITY is of others then its mine too to remind these Men of Dishonor to do their duty and not fill that CASH in their foreign accounts at the cost of my life,maybe tomorrow somewhere.

And if that tomorrow comes i will never know the answer.

What am i doing. I am not doing anything, so i cant even say "STOP Blaming Others".