Loksatta Font Freedom Personal Software Download
Ingelore Clason
Though the original source of the mantra is unknown, it is said to be part of a traditional Sanskrit sloka or song of praise. Credit is often given to Jivamukti Yoga co-founders Shannon Gannon and David Life for bringing it into contemporary yoga. In their book Jivamukti Yoga (2002), they write that the mantra was given to them by one of their gurus, Swami Nirmalananda, who they first visited in India in 1986.
We should each do what we can to move the dial toward more ethical purchasing habits, making sure that the animal products we do buy and consume are from the most humane sources available, both for the sake of the planet and out of respect for the lives of the animals we do choose to eat. Opting out of factory farmed and mass produced animal products is better for your health, the planet, and, of course, the animals directly involved. Supporting work that prevents cruelty to domestic animals and livestock is a good place to start.
What can you personally do to advance the message of the mantra and help bring happiness and freedom to all beings? It may look like a daunting order, but there are actually so many things that you can do in your own live that have a positive effect. Here are a few ideas to get you inspired.
4. Donate sincerely.
Small donations are the bread and butter (apologies, vegans!) of grassroots organisations. If you find one doing work that touches your heart, give what you can. It does add up. Support ethical businesses with charitable aims. And if you happen to have deep pockets, give deeply.
Lokah Samastah Sukinho Bhavantu resonates with so many yogis because it represents what yoga means to us. How this practice that is so personal can also be so universal. How something that is for the individual good is also for the greater good. How you can do something for yourself that it also completely unselfish. How we all want to be happy and free and share that joy with all other living beings.
The DMK has registered strong opposition against any proposal to implement a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), voicing concerns over constitutional validity and potential disruption of religious harmony.
DMK general secretary Duraimurugan, who sent the submission, urged the Law Commission to heed the views expressed by the 21st Law Commission in a consultation paper in August 2018, advising against the implementation of a UCC. He also reminded the current Law Commission of the diversity in religious practices across India, arguing that not only would a one-size-fits-all approach to personal law undermine religious freedom, but also potentially threaten peace and communal harmony.
It pointed out the diversity within Hinduism itself, noting that Scheduled Tribes professing Hinduism have distinct customs, and are excluded from the ambit of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956. Given this diversity within Hinduism, the DMK questioned the possibility of enforcing a UCC across all religions. The party also warned about the eradication of the concept of the Hindu Undivided Family (HUF), which is unique to Hinduism and provides certain benefits. The party asked whether the Union government will obliterate all HUFs, which have contributed significantly to the tax revenue.
The letter also points to the special protections accorded to tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, regarding marriage, divorce and social customs, which cannot be invalidated by a UCC. Highlighting the harmonious coexistence of all religions in Tamil Nadu, the DMK leader cautioned that a UCC could disrupt peace and harmony among religious groups, causing conflicts that can lead to terrible violence.
The submission urged the Law Commission and the Union government to refrain from implementing a UCC, instead advocating for potential amendments within personal laws to address social evils like polygamy, or the exploration of non-religious personal laws for atheists or interfaith couples.
Two years from now, in 2022, India will celebrate its 75 years of Independence and in another three years thereafter the nation will celebrate 75 years of its life as a democratic republic. For a nation ravaged by centuries of caste-based inequalities, religious divisions, feudal privileges and colonial rule, it has been an arduous journey in making democracy work. In these years, the people wrestled with multiple goals and challenging tasks, including the task of nation building, ensuring social justice, and working for economic development and achieving them all through democratic political framework. In the western democracies these tasks were carried out sequentially and over centuries. India is called upon to manage this transition quickly without the material foundations that the western nations possessed.
One such major issue is the flood of money and the heavy presence of the members of the moneyed classes in the legislatures. There is nothing objectionable if wealthy people choose to enter politics and work for the public good. It should be welcome. Also, parties need money to carry regular organisational and political activity and to contest and campaign in elections. But what we see in recent decades is the enormous increase of funds involved in political activity amounting to horrendous sums of hundreds of crores of rupees. If dynastic control of power is one dimension of the party politics of our time, possession of wealth and willingness to spend to gain or retain political power has become the mo33st crucial determinant in the selection of candidates. Business people such as realtors, land mafia, owners of educational institutions, and big contractors make direct entry to gain access to government, bureaucrats and police officials in order to safeguard and promote their private interests. Politicians use their hold on levers of power to make and tweak public policies in order to amass wealth for themselves, their families and cronies. They are ready to invest huge amounts of money in offering gifts to voters in the form of material goods, cash and liquor in order to win elections as they see the returns on investments are high. Well-meaning political parties and individuals who otherwise are public-spirited and want to enter politics face insurmountable entry barriers. There is a widespread recognition that this problem in recent decades is assuming alarming proportions in such a way that it may shake the very foundations of the Indian republic, undermines the capacity of the legislatures to collectively deliberate and legislate on matters of national importance and erodes citizen confidence in the democratic political institutions. The situation warrants urgent corrective measures. Several commissions, such as the Law Commission, Indrajit Gupta Commission, and the Constitutional Review Commission, have addressed this issue in the past and have recommended different remedial measures, although with little effect either on policy or political practice.
It is high time that all of us come together to curb this menace of illegal and illegitimate use of money in politics for partisan and personal gain. The situation calls upon us to work towards political reforms in a graduated manner. As the problem is multi-dimensional, it requires effort on multiple fronts:
1. A rise in citizen awareness about the dangerous consequences of money flooding into politics and how the politicians who offer money, gifts and allurements to vote in their favour later resort to foul ways to amass wealth would go a long way to curb the money power in politics. For this we need a concerted campaign by the concerned citizens, civil society groups and the Election Commission.
2. We need a robust legal framework to ensure democratic functioning of parties and regulate the flow of money into the political sphere. We also need to strengthen our ability to enforce the law. The legislation should make parties to choose their office-bearers through periodical organisational election, and to select candidates for public office through transparent, democratic process. We also should make sure that parties correctly declare in time their annual income and expenditure and to disclose sources of funding, etc. There should be policy measures to enable political parties to raise / receive the necessary funding in a transparent manner, so that all parties have minimum financial support to carry out party activity and compete in elections.
c. To empower local governments with accountability so that voters clearly perceive the link between their vote and the tangible consequences impacting their lives, and ordinary citizens can hold the elected government to account and cheque abuse of power.
We note that the 73rd and 74th Amendments of the Constitution, though well-intentioned, have not resulted in empowered and accountable local governments. They created unwieldly, over-structured, under-powered local bodies. The Union and State governments, and all political parties should urgently empower the local governments. New and flexible forms of local government organisation should be encouraged, and both rural and urban local governments should become the main point of contact for all service delivery. The principle of subsidiarity should be the defining principle for this organisation of local governments. Then the people will gradually appreciate the value of the vote, and dynamic leadership will emerge everywhere.
Therefore it is time we review our experience with the FPTP system. The need to secure simple plurality of votes in territorial electoral districts makes election highly candidate-centric. For political parties and leaders, winning each seat becomes so critical that they resort to populist promises, offer material inducements to voters to vote in their favour and resort to poll management strategies that are inimical to democratic fabric. Also the parliamentary executive system gives enormous incentive to candidates to spend extraordinary sums to have access to, and influence over, the executive on a daily basis.
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