Ignoramus Defends

“Oh Al, we are not that bad. We are really very sensitive and compassionate creatures.”

“Yes, I know you are. But tell me why is it that at one end of your planet millions of dollars are spent on a party while at another people die of malnutrition? Why it is that surplus food rots while people in India, Africa die of starvation? ”

“You know how miserable I feel about this.”

“Ignoramus, essentially you are good. It is the belief systems that you acquire, the insecurities that you garner as you grow, that cause you to value negative chimeras.
The young people in your business schools are taught ‘Business means profit’. So it is profit anyhow, at any cost. It starts with profit, more profit; profit at the cost of other people, environment and even own self”

“Oh Al, tell us what to do?”

“Ignoramus, outsiders can provide inputs to think. Solutions have to come from inside, from Earth people. Even if I tell you about far off planets and their ways, you will call it Utopia. You will not be able to follow their ideas because they are not your own.”

“Please Al, what can we do?”

“Think Ignoramus, think. Why is it that the basic physical, mental, emotional and spiritual human requirements are not available to all the human beings of this planet even though there is an abundance of resources? Why is it that the food and hard work have lower price than mobiles and computers?
Whatever ideas, images, patterns are fed into people, are processed and output. These in turn are processed again. Look dispassionately at your belief systems, your media, and your natural, social, cultural environment. What belief systems are you propagating? Why? What is it that is really valuable?”

Alien and Value

Alien is fascinated by our concept of Value and Money.

“Ignoramus, what according to Earth people has greatest value?”

“Hard work? Knowledge?”

“Whatever has the greatest value has the greatest price?”

“Yes”.

“Whoever has the greatest value has the greatest amount of money?”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

“Who has the greatest amount of money?”

“Well… movie stars, business owners.”

“Not the hard working farmers, laborers and knowledgeable sages, teachers and professors?”

“Well… no.”

“Tell me Ignoramus why is it that in India and Africa, the hard working farmers starve, kill themselves?”

“Oh Al, I wish I could do something to stop that.”

“Don’t you see Ignoramus, what Earth people value most is ‘fantasy’ to escape from the horrible environs of their own creation! Earth people value those who can buy something at a low price and sell it at a high price and keep a huge difference for themselves. They value ‘selfishness, greed and extortion’.”

Alien and Ignoramus

This alien will drive me crazy. Today I found him tearing up currency and folding debit cards to make boats.

“Oh Al, you mustn’t. They are very valuable and important”, I tried to retrieve whatever was left.

“This is just paper and plastic!”

“No Al, this is money. It is a token for exchange. You see everything has some value. Its price in money indicates its value. We use money to buy things. ”

“What price the hummingbird? The air? The oceans? The forests? The earth? People?” Al eager to buy them all.

“No, you can not buy the air, oceans, forests and earth. If someone catches a hummingbird and sells it to you, you may be able to buy it. You can not buy people. You can hire them if you own a company. It is not called buying. We attach a price to the things we make.”

“Who decides the price?”

“Well you see this is market economy. It is demand and supply that determine the price.” I started explaining demand and supply graphs to Al.

“Ignoramus, do you really think that these bits of paper and plastic are very valuable and important?”

“Yes we all know that. We have been told so.”

Al started laughing.

“You all must be really naïve. Bits of paper and plastic, valuable, important???!!! What if I burn all paper and plastic? Will you have nothing valuable left on this planet?”

Now what do I say?

seeing

some people
see with their eyes,
but i,
see with my hands.

i can see
each bump,
each shape.

sometimes i can even
see with my ears.

i can see
each nuance,
each cadence.

i have heard of colours,
of shades and hues.
one day, i am sure,
i will see them too.

for my friends who really see.

Krishna

Playful Companion
Enchanter Supreme
Divine Musician
leaves His Bansuri

to watch the killing fields
for the sake of Dharma.

Jesus

People threw stones,
hurled vile words
and nailed him
to the cross.

While he prayed,
“Forgive them Lord,
for they know not
what they do.”

Some Good News

Dear folks,

The good news is about the young teenager who is fighting against “Poorly differentiated embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma“.

His January tests and scans indicate no growth, no recurrence so far. He has some problems related to long term effects of radiation and chemo therapy, but all that is nothing as compared to this news.

I wanted to share this piece of good news and thank you once again for passing the message about "Poorly differentiated embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma“.

We are hoping and praying for the best. May all the people of this planet be happy and well.

Thanking you,
Nirupma Kapoor

roadside

wrinkled skeleton
on sagging charpoy
prays for death
as children
play around.

she

bowed legs
wise eyes
stunted growth
barely speaks.

swab and scrub
wash and clean
old woman
turns thirteen.

temple

swishing silks
worsted wools
mummified bodies.

tiny hands
tattered clothes
expectant eyes.

have nothing
just prasad
give it all away.