Vipaasana

     United Nations Organization(UNO) is an international organisation which was created after the Second World War to compensate for the failure of the League of Nations. The main objective of UNO is to maintain global peace and security and a rules based global order. The present structure of UNO represents a power distribution which was present during the 1950's and seldom represents the present geo-political circumstances.      UNO has many organisations out of which the United Nations security council is the most powerful one. There is an option of veto power for the permanent 5 nations in UNSC. This power has been time and again used by the permanent nations to secure their vested geo-political interests rather than to secure and maintain global peace. The veto power was given during that time so that it may be used sparingly to secure global peace and order. Many Asian and African nations had gained independence during the 1950's and it was assumed t...

     The human body has evolved through millions of years with each organ differentiating itself and becoming specialised in function. Throughout the process of this evolution, the body has been successfully able to adopt and develop immunity against various intruders like the virus, bacteria and fungi. But yet even with such adaptations, we are not perfect and a new single strand of RNA can disrupt the whole human ecosystem!      The mind is a very complex and most evolved part of a human. Complete understanding of how the mind works is still a mysterious question in todays world. The intimate connection between the physiological and psychological is indeed intriguing. The saying "What we think is what we become" is absolutely true. When the mind goes into a negative mode, everything we perceive will become negative. Even the closest of the people are seen with mistrust. An idle mind goes on forming thoughts one after the other trying to establish links wi...

     The pandemic has created a unique situation for us to re-create ourselves in this world providing us opportunities to correct the historic wrongs and adopt a path of sustainability. This opportunity must be utilised in a wise manner so that the posterity thanks us for what we do today.      The pandemic has exposed the weakness of our social and economic systems rendering the most vulnerable in disarray. It has made us reflect at least to some extent how materialised we were before the pandemic. It brought to the forefront that food is a basic amenity and we are ready to spend an extra rupee for a qualitative meal. Everything else became secondary ! This brings us to the point where the importance of a farmer cannot be overlooked anymore. Food security is the basic security. Then comes nutritional security.      The new bill introduced by the Parliament to amend various acts including APMC act and give an opportunity for the farmers to p...

       Today's youth are tomorrow's wealth for any country. It is this young generation that will build up a nation by deciding the political, social and economic factors and will be ultimately responsible to the growth of a country. What will happen if this youth of the country are mired with addictions and problems? How will it affect the country?      Today's generation is very different. They are growing up in an era of information and technology explosion. The view of the whole world is in their hands. Everything is so easily available without any effort. This easiness comes at a cost of their cognitive and emotional health. The huge amount of data available online confuses the youth. The ones that are adolescent fall into this trap of virtuality and start looking from that unrealistic perspective.      Film culture has penetrated into almost every corner of the world. By showing a certain trend in dressing, makeup, behaviour, attit...

     All the great scientists, sages and leaders are teachers or Guru in one way or the other. They are the ones who live by example. Guiding humanity towards the light in all aspects, whether it is material, mental, psychological or spiritual has been the mandate of these people.      First let's analyse what and who is a Guru. Guru means: The one who vanquishes the darkness. He/she is the one who leads by example which requires a great amount of sacrifice, discipline, will power, tenacity, determination and sacredness. He/she has to maintain a mental balance and integrity in the gravest of circumstances. He/she has to be capable of self reflection and should have an attitude to learn, unlearn, relearn and teach continuously. He/she should be aware of his/her own strengths and weaknesses and should be able to acknowledge and correct keeping aside his/her personal ego aside. His/her destiny should be a path of wisdom and he/she should strive continuously to...

     Accountability forms the basic pillar of any democracy. The main factor that separates other forms of governance with democracy is its accountability. It is implicit and forms the basic foundation on which democracy is built.      During the era of kings and kingdoms, lack of accountability was widespread and the king was an authoritative head and his decision would be final. He need not necessarily explain his actions to anyone thus giving him absolute power to do whatever he wants. Very frequently, the treasury was used for his vested interests and there were effectively no one that could question his spending. Because of this power, some elites became closer to the king and gained benefits. The others were left out and marginalised and there was no inclusion in development. Thus the rich became the law makers and the poor became the law followers. All these can be traced back to accountability.      The organs of democracy like the Pa...

     Democracy in todays world is a widely accepted and cherished form of politico-socio-economic system. The values that it entails and the range of its inclusion is wide and has given space for individual freedom and liberty while simultaneously maintaining the order in the society.      Even though democracy is inclusive, the inclusivity it entails is highly unequal for those who own resources and those who own their labour. There is a growing tendency of an entrepreneurship and a business culture in the society mainly focussing on gaining monetary benefits in a short span of time. But again here, there is a visible advantage to the ones who already own some resources. Democracy has ensured to a certain extent an equality of opportunity for its stake holders but still there is a need to create a level playing field to truly follow the democracy in its letter and spirit.      Even inclusivity has its own limitations. Any country has strict ...