Is Ram really for real?
Jug Suraiya Tuesday July 14, 2009
Is the Ram of the Ramayan for real? Years after the Ramjanambhoomi controversy reached eruption point with the demolition of the Babri masjid, the 'reality ' of Ram is once again the cause of impassioned debate and mass agitations which disrupt public order. The source of contention is the Sethusamundram project which proposes to dredge an 83-km-long canal through the sea channel separating India and Sri Lanka, thereby facilitating shipping. However, the sangh parivar has contented that the dredging operations would destroy the 'Ram Setu', built by Ram to cross over into Lanka, which would deeply offend the sensibilities of millions of devotees. The Indian government has cited the Archeological Survey to plead in court that while the Ram legend is an integral part of Indic civilisation and literature, it is not based on 'historical records'. In short, Ram isn't for real.
But of course he isn't, Ram's devotees might well respond. Ram isn't real, he is much more; he's hyper-real. Hyper-reality could be described as that intangible supporting structure that adds significance to our everyday reality which can be weighed and measured and tallied on a balance sheet of profit and loss. Art is an example of hyper-reality (Hamlet never existed, but he's more 'real' than any person we will ever meet). The love of a mother willing to sacrifice her life for a child is another example of the power of hyper-reality. As is spiritual belief, in Ram, or Jesus, or Allah. Hyper-reality transforms existence into life.
Rubbish, realists would say. Life is about progress, not superstition and mumbo-jumbo. Trouble is, how 'real', or progressive, is progress? Environmentalists have joined forces
Rahul, Maya ratchet up political pitch over Joshi slur
TNN 18 July 2009, 01:31am IST
Print Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: |
LUCKNOW/AMETHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi ratcheted up hostilities between the BSP and Congress on Friday,
Related Articles
Rahul Gandhi calls Joshi's comments 'unfortunate'
UP has place for only statues and elephants: Rahul
Maya's statue 'fetish' ignores UP's development: Rahul
Expand [+]
launching hard-hitting broadsides at one another.
The CM said Sonia Gandhi's "sorry" over the Rita Bahuguna Joshi episode was not enough while Rahul attacked Mayawati by saying he could well appreciate the sentiments of the jailed Congress state chief that law and order in UP had collapsed.
While Rahul and Mayawati joined the battle, Joshi's bail application -- deferred on Friday after striking lawyers created a ruckus in the Moradabad court -- will be taken up on Saturday.
But Mayawati had more bad news for the beleaguered Joshi. "Rita Bahuguna's comment is unpardonable and she will continue to face legal action irrespective of the fact that she might get some short-term reprieve from the court like BJP MP Varun Gandhi got for his hate speech," Mayawati told reporters. "She will have to pay for her words," she said, adding that action against her was fully justified under the law.
Addressing reporters in Amethi, Rahul countered: "While the words used by Bahuguna were unfortunate, I can understand her sentiments and the anger of the people given the situation in UP. While the Centre is sending funds under NREGA to the districts, none of the money is reaching the poor."
Rahul, when asked whether discipinary action would be taken against Joshi, said, "As a party general secretary, I can't talk about any disciplinary action against the UPCC chief, but I would like to say that while the UP government's priority is to build statues and memorials, the Congress's priority is to work for the poor of UP. In doing this, we might have to deal with the police which may create problems. But our job is to fight for the rights of the poor."
Mayawati said Congress must take stern action against Joshi if it truly regretted her remark, saying Sonia's disapproval of her comment was more out of political compulsion "in the wake of Congress's decline in UP and particularly among Dalits".
Responding to Congress's threat to launch an agitation to protest against the BSP government's action against Joshi, Mayawati said nobody was above the law. "I warn Congressmen against any unlawful activity. Otherwise, they would face the harshest action," she said.
In a clever repartee, she said: "Congressmen, I am sure, would not torch the house of Rita Bahuguna just for political mileage." In other words, she held Congressmen responsible for burning down Joshi's house and gave a clean chit to the police, which is being criticized for mutely watching while masked men rampaged around the UPCC chief's house.
"Congress must not take BSP workers for granted. Agitated and upset by Bahuguna's remark, they were keen to take to the streets. But this would have plunged the country into chaos. I was opposed to this and that's why I stopped them. Otherwise, President's rule would have become inevitable not just in UP but the whole country," Mayawati said.
with the parivar in opposing the Sethusamudram project which the greens fear will wreak ecological havoc.
Is environmentalism, often contrasted with progress, also mumbo-jumbo, along with religious belief? Is global warming as much a myth as Ram? Many proponents of progress might say so. Critics, on the other hand, would say it's becoming increasingly difficult to weigh the benefits of progress as against its costs. Not least because the standard kilogram, devised 118 years ago and hermetically sealed in Paris, is mysteriously losing weight. Not much, just 50 microns (which is about as much as the weight of a fingerprint) over the years. But still, the kg, a foundation stone of reality as distinct from fiction, myth or hyper-reality, is different from what it was, is changeable, whether it's because of proton decay or some other 'real' reason no one knows. So, does today's reality weigh (50 microns) less than yesterday's? A perplexing thought. As much so as thinking what would happen if Ram (or Hamlet) went on a diet. Can a myth shed weight like a real kilo can? Presumably not. In which case is the myth, or hyper-reality, more real, in the sense of being more constant, than reality?
Perhaps the real and the hyper-real are inextricable components of the same merry-go-round. As a modern scientist put it: "Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our percepts. What we perceive depends on what we look for. What we look for depends on what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality."
Sethusamudram or Ram Setu? Progress or belief? Take your pick. Only don't do so on the streets, inconveniencing your neighbour. Be it Ram, or anyone else.
Jug Suraiya Tuesday July 14, 2009
Is the Ram of the Ramayan for real? Years after the Ramjanambhoomi controversy reached eruption point with the demolition of the Babri masjid, the 'reality ' of Ram is once again the cause of impassioned debate and mass agitations which disrupt public order. The source of contention is the Sethusamundram project which proposes to dredge an 83-km-long canal through the sea channel separating India and Sri Lanka, thereby facilitating shipping. However, the sangh parivar has contented that the dredging operations would destroy the 'Ram Setu', built by Ram to cross over into Lanka, which would deeply offend the sensibilities of millions of devotees. The Indian government has cited the Archeological Survey to plead in court that while the Ram legend is an integral part of Indic civilisation and literature, it is not based on 'historical records'. In short, Ram isn't for real.
But of course he isn't, Ram's devotees might well respond. Ram isn't real, he is much more; he's hyper-real. Hyper-reality could be described as that intangible supporting structure that adds significance to our everyday reality which can be weighed and measured and tallied on a balance sheet of profit and loss. Art is an example of hyper-reality (Hamlet never existed, but he's more 'real' than any person we will ever meet). The love of a mother willing to sacrifice her life for a child is another example of the power of hyper-reality. As is spiritual belief, in Ram, or Jesus, or Allah. Hyper-reality transforms existence into life.
Rubbish, realists would say. Life is about progress, not superstition and mumbo-jumbo. Trouble is, how 'real', or progressive, is progress? Environmentalists have joined forces
Rahul, Maya ratchet up political pitch over Joshi slur
TNN 18 July 2009, 01:31am IST
Print Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: |
LUCKNOW/AMETHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati and Amethi MP Rahul Gandhi ratcheted up hostilities between the BSP and Congress on Friday,
Related Articles
Rahul Gandhi calls Joshi's comments 'unfortunate'
UP has place for only statues and elephants: Rahul
Maya's statue 'fetish' ignores UP's development: Rahul
Expand [+]
launching hard-hitting broadsides at one another.
The CM said Sonia Gandhi's "sorry" over the Rita Bahuguna Joshi episode was not enough while Rahul attacked Mayawati by saying he could well appreciate the sentiments of the jailed Congress state chief that law and order in UP had collapsed.
While Rahul and Mayawati joined the battle, Joshi's bail application -- deferred on Friday after striking lawyers created a ruckus in the Moradabad court -- will be taken up on Saturday.
But Mayawati had more bad news for the beleaguered Joshi. "Rita Bahuguna's comment is unpardonable and she will continue to face legal action irrespective of the fact that she might get some short-term reprieve from the court like BJP MP Varun Gandhi got for his hate speech," Mayawati told reporters. "She will have to pay for her words," she said, adding that action against her was fully justified under the law.
Addressing reporters in Amethi, Rahul countered: "While the words used by Bahuguna were unfortunate, I can understand her sentiments and the anger of the people given the situation in UP. While the Centre is sending funds under NREGA to the districts, none of the money is reaching the poor."
Rahul, when asked whether discipinary action would be taken against Joshi, said, "As a party general secretary, I can't talk about any disciplinary action against the UPCC chief, but I would like to say that while the UP government's priority is to build statues and memorials, the Congress's priority is to work for the poor of UP. In doing this, we might have to deal with the police which may create problems. But our job is to fight for the rights of the poor."
Mayawati said Congress must take stern action against Joshi if it truly regretted her remark, saying Sonia's disapproval of her comment was more out of political compulsion "in the wake of Congress's decline in UP and particularly among Dalits".
Responding to Congress's threat to launch an agitation to protest against the BSP government's action against Joshi, Mayawati said nobody was above the law. "I warn Congressmen against any unlawful activity. Otherwise, they would face the harshest action," she said.
In a clever repartee, she said: "Congressmen, I am sure, would not torch the house of Rita Bahuguna just for political mileage." In other words, she held Congressmen responsible for burning down Joshi's house and gave a clean chit to the police, which is being criticized for mutely watching while masked men rampaged around the UPCC chief's house.
"Congress must not take BSP workers for granted. Agitated and upset by Bahuguna's remark, they were keen to take to the streets. But this would have plunged the country into chaos. I was opposed to this and that's why I stopped them. Otherwise, President's rule would have become inevitable not just in UP but the whole country," Mayawati said.
with the parivar in opposing the Sethusamudram project which the greens fear will wreak ecological havoc.
Is environmentalism, often contrasted with progress, also mumbo-jumbo, along with religious belief? Is global warming as much a myth as Ram? Many proponents of progress might say so. Critics, on the other hand, would say it's becoming increasingly difficult to weigh the benefits of progress as against its costs. Not least because the standard kilogram, devised 118 years ago and hermetically sealed in Paris, is mysteriously losing weight. Not much, just 50 microns (which is about as much as the weight of a fingerprint) over the years. But still, the kg, a foundation stone of reality as distinct from fiction, myth or hyper-reality, is different from what it was, is changeable, whether it's because of proton decay or some other 'real' reason no one knows. So, does today's reality weigh (50 microns) less than yesterday's? A perplexing thought. As much so as thinking what would happen if Ram (or Hamlet) went on a diet. Can a myth shed weight like a real kilo can? Presumably not. In which case is the myth, or hyper-reality, more real, in the sense of being more constant, than reality?
Perhaps the real and the hyper-real are inextricable components of the same merry-go-round. As a modern scientist put it: "Reality is what we take to be true. What we take to be true is what we believe. What we believe is based upon our percepts. What we perceive depends on what we look for. What we look for depends on what we perceive. What we perceive determines what we believe. What we believe determines what we take to be true. What we take to be true is our reality."
Sethusamudram or Ram Setu? Progress or belief? Take your pick. Only don't do so on the streets, inconveniencing your neighbour. Be it Ram, or anyone else.
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