Hypocritically Secular

India boasts of being a secular country. From a religious point of view, it is indeed secular. We accept and accommodate so many religions and cultures in our country. Straight to the point, let me bring your attention to another fact. Women in various sections and parts of India don't have the freedom to marry a person of their own choice. They are intimidated and scared away from the thought of love marriage, and sometimes love marriage is virtually considered as a sin. The proponents of this line of thought will have justifications ranging from "statistics of failed love marriages" to "respecting parents wishes". Firstly, the bulk of failed love marriages are caused when parents, relatives and some people who claim to be "the society" don't cooperate and even harass the married couple unlike what they would have done had it been a purely arranged marriage. Secondly, the decision is not regarding the life of the parents. The decision is on with whom, their daughter is going to spend the rest of her life with. Why is it better that she spends her life with a person formerly unknown to her, rather than a person she knows and who already loves her knowing who she is? Parents can guide her and help her differentiate true love from fake. That is how you become a great parent. Not by forcing her or intimidating her from choosing her love. We have girls who are scared to even speak out for themselves because by the time they reach the relevant age, they are already completely brainwashed since they are taught the wrong things from an early age.

Now let me come back to the keyword, secular. What is the underlining principle behind being secular? Tolerance. It is to tolerate ideas and views that one doesn't have to agree with. It is to agree to disagree with each other. It is to coexist, respecting the fact that you don't need to fear, hate or harm something that doesn't go along with your thoughts. This nonsense tradition of considering love as a sin is so widespread, that it is impossible to turn a blind eye or keep quiet. Senseless, wrong concepts are blindly followed and upheld like a tradition, while voices that question are suppressed. It is high time our society needs to come to its senses and question every tradition we have. The same way we tolerate different religions, we need to tolerate different outlooks on love. Boasting of being secular and not having tolerance in the matter of love is sheer hypocrisy.

Rays of Hope

We held on to silence,
When we should have communicated.
We assumed things about people,
When we couldn't even hear them.
We started to dislike them,
And we didn't even convey it.
We stored it in our hearts,
And overtime it turned to hate.
We travelled far the wrong way,
And we didn't even know it.

Now we realize things,
And it's still not too late.
The wounds may still remain,
But time shall heal them.
Let's forget the wrongs,
As we retire for the night.
Let's erase the melancholy,
And dream big and sweet.
For the sun shall rise again,
With new rays of hope.

Some quick thoughts

If you are a good person and have a good mind, you don't need to hate those who hate you. Instead, pity them and understand that the hate is because they don't realize your worth. They are travelling in the wrong path without realizing it. Forgive them, and pray that they will get back on the right track soon. Good morning. 

Our Society in Retrospect

Our society needs a lot of rethinking. We are full of prejudice and complicate life unnecessarily. We manage to find selfish motives and negativity even in true love. Good things are twisted and turned, displayed as bad. Love is returned with hate, and hate is returned with love. And besides, we are expected to fit in, not to stand out. Remember we had our days of innocence, just like a newborn baby, devoid of all the artificiality. Our state is no different from how innocence is lost during a person's transformation from a kid to an adult. As a society we have been injected with all the wrong values and ethics just like a person who has been taught the wrong things. Only that its over a period of centuries as opposed to years of a person's life. When a person commits wrongs, we don't accept it in the name of tradition and heritage. Then why should we, when it's the society that commits the wrongs?

What you have so less of, you value it that much more

We live in a wicked, cruel world. People change their colours the same way they change their clothes. Someone who cares a lot for you today, may barely give you any attention tomorrow. This is why people who accept you and appreciate you- not because of the circumstance you both are in, but for the kind of person you are- are so important in your life. Those who stop caring for you without a good reason don't realize your true value. Perhaps the only time they will realize your worth is when they NEED you. "What you have so less of, you value it that much more." So maybe they will realize their folly when they don't have a substitute for you. The question here is, do YOU need them?

The Social Irony

Welcome one and all,
To the esteemed society. 
When it's about us it's a reason,
But when it's about you it's an excuse. 
When we give it's a gift, 
But when you give it's a bribe.
If you won, it was a bold decision,
But if you lost, it was a needless risk.
It's stupid to love a person,
Whom you've known just a few days.
It's perfectly fine,
To marry a stranger ofcourse.
The right thing to do,
Is what everyone does right now.
Honesty is the best policy,
But if you confess you're guilty.

True Education - A Reminder

Happy Vijayadashami/Dussehra to all. This is a day which is celebrated to start off formal education and I want to share my thoughts on true education. Unfortunately, the education system we have is painfully flawed from the core. We are encouraged to study books like a robot and reproduce them during exams. True education has two main components- developing moral values and helping the person choose his/her career path. I'll go into the details on both these essential aspects.

Firstly, about moral values.

Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education, said Martin Luther King. Study as much mathematics/language/science as one wants, that won't make him/her a good person. People who behave rudely in general, look to exploit others in whatever ways they can, hurt people who love them - are good examples of products of a bad educational system that we have. These people exist in very significant numbers out there in the society. Love, kindness and true moral values are forgotten by our educational system, which is a very sad yet true fact. Kindly teach kids these true values as a priority over technical skills.

Secondly, about career paths.

People are lead to believe from a young age that the only viable career options they have are engineering and medicine. When people choose their main stream after 10th standard they have often no clue what they really want to become in their lives, nor are aware of the possibility of viable paths other than engineering and medicine. A great deal of ideas should be instilled into the minds of kids from as young an age as possible. Identify the aptitude and interest kids have and then help them choose their best career option based on their talents. This is the only way you can help people become what they truly want.