Suprestitions and Science

In general, educated people hold science and superstition as contradistinct. In reality, they belong to the same genre of human endeavours, i.e. to apply the mind to negotiate existential or inner (psychological) conditions. In earlier times as people had little protection against the elements of nature or ani-social human elements, anxious minds sought mechanisms to ward off any evil falling on them and they categorised beings, things, and occurrences as auspicious and inauspicious.  Once a superstition got currency, the human mind selectively amassed pieces of evidence or imagined them to buttress the beliefs. Superstition speaks of the times when life was 'brutish, nasty, short' and the laity had little access to science. 

Presently, the point is whether the institutions are able to provide their patrons, the citizens, the physical and psychological assurance. I do not wonder at the prevalence of superstitions in the present times, the times of brainy technologies. What surprises me is how systems or public institutions work in present times.

Niraj Kumar Jha 

Cerebral Decolonisation

We often concede that our minds are colonised but care little to know how it is so and how we can free ourselves from it. Those who try decolonisation of minds end up celebrating traditional ideas and praxes without identifying those strands of traditional life which proved to be our weak points against invading hordes or our adversaries and which may act against us even now. Earlier too, we thought of ourselves to be stand-alone people and paid the price. Things are not much different now. Not only this, the decolonisation efforts lack substance; their approach is mostly ritualistic. 

Niraj Kumar Jha 

तुम रामबोला को क्या जानो

छल-बल का दुष्चक्र निष्फल रहा
भारत भारत ही रहा
रुग्णमति
तुम रामबोला को क्या जानो

 

नीरज कुमार झा

स्वतंत्रताओं का सम्मान

मैंने यहाँ स्वतंत्रता को एक अमूर्त धारणा के रूप में नहीं, वरन उन उपलब्ध  प्राप्तियों और विकल्पों के लिए किया है जो हमारी भिन्न क्रिया-कलापों को संभव बनाते  हैं। सामान्य जन के लिए स्वतंत्रता स्थिति भी है, और अभीष्ट भी। आज जो हमें प्राप्त हैं, वे  मानवोचित वांछित  की अपेक्षा न्यून ही हैं। इस संदर्भ में मैं यह रेखांकित करना चाहता हूँ कि एक-एक स्वतंत्रता के लिए विश्व की  विभिन्न समाजों की पीढ़ियों ने संघर्ष किया है, और बलिदान दिया है। जो भी उपलब्ध है, वह विरासत है दुनिया के उन सभी  जनहितैषी सुधीजनोंं के प्रयासों का  जिन्होंने न्याय के लिए  अपना सर्वस्व निछावर कर दिया। जब हम उन स्वतंत्रताओं का दुरुपयोग करते हैं, तो हम उन तमाम ज्ञात और अज्ञात महान लोगों का ही निरादर नहीं करते बल्कि स्वयं की मानवता की भी अवमानना  करते हैं। वास्तव में, स्वतंत्रताओं के प्रति सम्मान का अभाव उन लोगों में होता है, जिन्हें स्वतंत्रताएँ उपहार में मिली है और वे अशिक्षित और संवेदनशून्य होने के उनका महत्व नहीं समझते हैं। यह तथ्य कभी विस्मरणीय नहीं होना चाहिए कि स्वतंत्रता सबसे ऊपर उत्तरदायित्व है। उदाहरण के लिए, यदि हम कुछ बोलते हैं तो हमें उसकी प्रामाणिकता, तार्किकता, तथा प्रभावों के प्रति सजग होना चाहिए। यदि हम अपने उत्तरदायित्व की अवहेलना करते हैं तो हम मात्र स्वयं की  स्वतंत्रताओं को ही नष्ट नहीं करते हैं, बल्कि अपने स्वजनों का भी अपकार करते हैं। 

नीरज कुमार झा 

आधुनिकता का उपनिवेशी कुचक्र

 बढ़ती मानवता की आधुनिकता का चरण यूरोप में पड़ा। इस चरण-धूलि का दुरुपयोग  दुष्टों ने दुनिया को गुलाम बनाने के लिए किया। खुद भी अछूते नहीं रहे। युद्धों के द्वारा अपने महाद्वीप को तहस-नहस करते रहे। अपने कब्जे वाले इलाकों में वे आधुनिक तंत्र का उपयोग तो करते रहे लेकिन आधुनिकता के मंत्र को छुपाए रखा। तर्क को रहस्यों  और मानव को  समूहिकता से ढके रहे।  उन्होंने भारतीयता का  भी अपने हित के अनुसार विरूपण  किया। उनके कुचक्र को तोड़ना शेष है। 

नीरज कुमार झा 

चतुराई

जिन्हें  तुम समझते मूर्ख 

वे तुम्हें मानते मूढ़ 

तुम बांटते ज्ञान

समझते स्वयं को ज्ञानी 

तुम्हें नहीं पता 

नहीं कोई कृपण

तुम ऐसा समझते हो 

लोग तुम्हें सुनते हैं

सच यह है कि वे मात्र  स्वयं को सुनते हैं 

तुम मात्र उनके भोंपू हो 

तुम भी उन्हें नहीं सुनते 

असल यह है 

तुम भी चतुर 

वे भी चतुर 

दरअसल जरूरी है 

सभी का आपस में बातें करना 

नीरज कुमार झा 

 

Assigning Meaning

Assigning meaning to any phenomenon or noumenon is a societal privilege, but it begins with and remains an individual's discretion.

 
Niraj Kuman Jha

Capitalism and its Self-corrective Mechanisms

The secularisation or rationalisation of thinking and doing caused capitalism in the Western world. Capitalism was the high point of civilization advance in the West, prior to which they held buccaneering as business and witch-hunting as a game.

Capitalism involves the economy, i.e. the human endeavour for sustaining life, and it is the method which optimises all component processes of economic activities in efficiency and cost-effectiveness. 

Capitalism as such calibrates the whole way of life to rationalised order.  As an appropriate process of doing things, it leads to the build-up of self-corrective mechanisms in the order. These mechanisms are periodic and systematic in nature. Capitalism causes the economy to flow and ebb and in times of ebbing it eliminates the irrelevant and inefficient ventures and restores the whole economy and thus society to vitality. 

And, there are systemic corrective mechanisms. It is capitalism which led to the evolution of formal and substantial democracy in the world. It was about ensuring a social order in which everyone is safe and there is no unhealthy concentration of power and wealth. Ultimately, too much concentration of power and wealth obstructs the capitalist way. 

Simultaneously, it allows the counter-views and world views to germinate and flourish. It is no wonder that Marx and all the propounders of anti-capitalism live and articulate their thoughts in the Western world. It also allows religions to prevail. This makes them ever conscious of the different dimensions of life, whether rational or emotional. This is meant to check the mechanism or the order from overwhelming life itself. Again, if that happens, that would deprive capitalism of its purpose, i.e dignified and comfortable life for the people. 

Less-evolved civilizations and societies lapped up for what the West had as corrective mechanisms. They adopted the means of handling the distress caused by the economic ebb as the permanent economic policy and corrective thoughts and activism as the order. They mistook medication as a way of living. 

Capitalism needs a proper appreciation. 

Niraj Kumar Jha 

Civility

The role of socialization agencies, viz., family, school, media, neighbourhood, politico-administrative setup, workplace and others must be viewed and reviewed for how they make people behave. We must see that the dignity of an individual, sanctity of homes, functionality of schools, sense of responsibility in media, civility in social gatherings, fairness in public life, and humanity at the workplace are never compromised.

The fact to be underscored here is that the role of schooling is fundamental in this context. Schools mould the human mind largely, and more pertinently, society has a choice here to fashion social order to purpose. For instance, a child does not have a choice in terms of parents. Among others, we must have only persons of learning, character and social standing in schools as teachers to ensure civility in social life. Good public schools must invite persons of proven ability and integrity to school the children in place of recruiting people on only scholastic criteria. Schooling is too serious a business to leave it even to only professionals; we need literally the men and women of substance in schools.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Liberation of Imagination

The crucial component of what makes people advanced or laggard is the quality of their imagination. The Western rise to mastery of the world is about the growth of their imaginative power. The history of the modern age or modernism is the history of the evolution of the Western mind. Through the Reformation, Renaissance, Enlightenment, and finally the USA, they improved and calibrated their thinking prowess. Yes, the USA, the Western country planted and flourishing on a conquered landmass, epitomises the power of Western thinking.  

The point is the liberation of imagination. It needs a liberated imagination to think from one's position in time and space. Time is itself a crucial piece of imagination. Time is a mental construct chiefly for the assessment of the potential and prospects of existing realities. 

Liberation and thus progress begins from our minds. Mind it, every limitation which makes our lives less livable gets its sustenance from our own constricted imagination. 

Niraj Kumar Jha