the local train drivers in bombay have to remove the body themselves..and get the train moving ..coz if they leave the body on the tracks..the other trains might slip..also if they dont get the train moving..some 10-20 get blocked behind..

imagine that now …

“…..and the doctrine which stands out luminously in every page of the Gita is intense activity, but in the midst of it, eternal calmness. This is the secret of work, to attain which is the goal of the Vedanta. Inactivity, as we understand it in the sense of passivity, certainly cannot be the goal. Were it so, then the walls around us would be the most intelligent; they are inactive. Clods of earth, stumps of trees, would be the greatest sages in the world; they are inactive. Nor does inactivity become activity when it is combined with passion. Real activity, which is the goal of Vedanta, is combined with eternal calmness, the calmness which cannot be ruffled, the balance of mind which is never disturbed, whatever happens. And we all know from our experience in life that that is the best attitude for work.

I have been asked many times how we can work if we do not have the passion which we generally feel for work. I also thought in that way years ago, but as I am growing older, getting more experience, I find it is not true. The less passion there is, the better we work. The calmer we are, the better for us, and the more the amount of work we can do. When we let loose our feelings, we waste so much energy, shatter our nerves, disturb our minds, and accomplish very little work. The energy which ought to have gone out as work is spent as mere feeling, which counts for nothing. It is only when the mind is very calm and collected that the whole of
its energy is spent in doing good work. And if you read the lives of the great workers which the world has produced, you will find that they were wonderfully calm men. Nothing, as it were, could throw them off their balance. That is why the man who becomes angry never does a great amount of work, and the man whom nothing can make angry accomplishes so much. The man who gives way to anger, or hatred, or any other passion, cannot work; he only breaks himself to pieces, and does nothing practical. It is the calm, forgiving, equable, well-balanced mind that does the greatest amount of work.”

http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_2/practical_vedanta_and_other_lectures/practical_vedanta_part_i.htm

What can I say? I’m bedazzled. I’m touched.
These days, when I’m feeling more dead than alive, your words brought back some of my ideal, some of my life. You have imbibed in your words, the heart of the Buddha, the essence of Buddhism. Here are similar words by Swami Vivekananda:

“If you wish to be a true reformer, three things are necessary. The first is to feel. Do you really feel for your brothers? Do you really feel that there is so much misery in the world, so much ignorance and superstition? Do you really feel that men are your brothers? Does this idea come into your whole being? Does it run with your
blood? Does it tingle in your veins? Does it course through every nerve and filament of your body? Are you full of that idea of sympathy? If you are, that is only the
first step.

You must think next if you have found any remedy. The old ideas may be all superstition, but in and round these masses of superstition are nuggets of gold and truth. Have you discovered means by which to keep that gold alone, without any of the dross? If you have done that, that is only the second step; one more thing is necessary.

What is your motive? Are you sure that you are not actuated by greed of gold, by thirst for fame or power? Are you really sure that you can stand to your ideals and work on, even if the whole world wants to crush you down? Are you sure you know what you want and will perform your duty, and that alone, even if your life is at stake? Are you sure that you will persevere so long as life endures, so long as there is one pulsation left in the heart? Then you are a real reformer, you are a teacher, a Master, a blessing to mankind.”

http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_4/lectures_and_discourses/my_master.htm

mumbai frightens me sometimes with its capacity to absorb injustice.

It is just like you say in your essay : We are fast becoming a Zero Degree Humanity society ! And there seems to be no way to stop the avalanche …

Thank god for small mercies for I had never lived in Mumbai till I came here to work with Rajesh.

Cheers.

Another amazing blog entry. But after spending 20 years in California, you should have walked that 1.5 miles – good for your health and you would have reached your destination faster.

Mr. Bachwani, I assume you live in Mumbai. Sometimes when we live in a city for so many years, we get used to the negative points so much, that we decide to just ignore them – even when those are so ‘in our face’. I know thats how it was when I used to live in Delhi.
According to me, counsuling for one death on the tracks is ridiculous. Thats how you give birth to a generation where public opinion can be swayed on basis of fear. But being insensitive to 4400 deaths is the other extreme and inhuman ofcourse.

I will be posting a link on my blog to your writing.

-Saurabh

Sudhakar
http://sudhakar81.blogspot.com