The most abominable Indian Characteristic...

A response at last.This discussion of mine has been up for a more than a week now but here is your response that is the first. So much is our reluctance to take a hard look at ourselves! Don't you see one of the reasons for our "slow" pace of development. In my analysis, I would rate our long association with monarchy and not growing up to take responsibility for ourselves is one good reason for our abnormal levels sycophancy. Easy wealth was available to those who praised the self important kings so instead of laboring hard we took the "lazyman's" route, for one thing. The second reason is we had the very long habit placing authority above plain logic in deciding the "correctness" of things. Anyone who came up with something different from an idea coming from our hoary past is somehow more valid! I would like this to be a discussion with points contributed by all thinking minds rather than a monologue. Please go on.

I am always open to such meaningful discussions…I didn’t see this before, hence the delay! Anyways, what about Europe? They have had monarchy for ages yet they have developed into modern democracy so beutifully…industrial revolution and two world wars might have had their impact, but I feel its something more…something to do with the aggressive and free nature of their religion too! I feel that the passiveness enshrined in Hinduism has to play a major role in our acceptance of everything without questioning! The very guideline of ‘do your work, don’t wait for the results’…is self defeating, if not understood properly. If I don’t have an urge for a result, why should I venture out and do more? Why should I take the pain to reform society and my country if I know that at the end of the day, nothing is in my hands? That ultimately, its all ‘maya’! And then there was Mahatma Gandhi…with all due respect to him, our independence movement was a golden opportunity to reassert ourselves and strengthen our spines…instead we resorted to Ahimsa and passive resistance…again PASSIVE…we Indians are so passive in everything, it seems that nothing matters to us…as long as the Ganges flows and the Himalayas, stand…life goes on…’chalta hai’ If I could, the first thing I would do is change the multi-party system in India…while our founding fathers had good intentions no doubt, India as a democracy is too immature and illiterate to handle multi-party system responsibly. The situation has come to such that instead of bonding the nation, multi-party system is foster divisions and promoting criminals in the name of politics.

As you have rightly pointed out Sudipta, the "Do your duty, do not be "limited" by results" of BG has been misunderstood. Well let's get to the root of what it says: {B] karmaNyevaadhikAraste mA phaleShu kadAchana | mA karmaphalaheturbhUH, mA te sa~Ngo.astvakarmaNi || [/B] Your right is only to the actions, not to the fruits thereof ever! Get not bogged down by the results of your actions,neither may inaction be your way! We need to think a little on this.When in the action mode one need to exhaust all possibilities, to see that they may succeed. Once an action is done, if your next action is made to depend on the results of the previous one for their inspirational value, then you are sure to land in a cul de sac. Because as much as your control is in actions there are, you do not have that much on the results. This is not applicable to actions of the day to world.But look at actions,for instance, where you discipline you children or teach them the right way, to go about life! Do you think they will bear fruit as you intended them to? If you invest money intelligently taking all the precautions they must give you the "promised" results. But how many are as simple as that in this complicated world?