Left in Poverty

Leftism thrives on poverty and wretchedness. It is the impoverishment of imagination, arising from deprivation and suffering, that makes people vulnerable to leftist ideas. Once these ideas permeate the imagination of a people, reclaiming their intellectual independence becomes exceedingly difficult.

In countries that have experienced prolonged tyrannical rule, sustained poverty or prolonged decline, people become particularly susceptible to such ideas. Once entrenched, they tend to persist across generations. In such countries, even the Right often turns out to be the Left, albeit wrapped in an exotic cloak.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Empire Out of Foolery

 

The European kingdoms and their companies could colonise much of the world because they had developed superior imaginative and cognitive capabilities, which they translated into technological, financial, military and organisational power. They had developed the skills to train their minds and overwhelm others' imaginations. It is hardly surprising that they could extend their control over lands far removed from their homelands, using the manpower and resources of the colonised territories to sustain and expand their own domination. The reality is not very different even today.

Companies from developed countries can run highly profitable businesses abroad by using the manpower and resources available there. This can go to the extent that they sell their products and services back to the very countries in which they are produced. Ironically, the countries hosting these foreign ventures often find it difficult to do better without them.

Nations vie with one another to attract capital. But what is capital? It is, fundamentally, a product of imagination and cognition. Capital is intellect translated into productive activity through operations and management. Intelligent people engage in what may be called capital farming: they mobilise and organise the resources and energy of others to generate wealth, while the rest serve within the systems they create.

The lesson of the modern world is that the foolish merely cry and complain, while those who dominate derive even sadistic pleasure from their subordination.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Distracted

For a large part of the world, the world is becoming not only hazardous but also increasingly difficult to navigate. The existing superpower and the emerging one are aggressively expanding their leverage, making other countries increasingly vulnerable to their pressure. India has little choice but to become a superpower itself, as it too faces these predatory pressures.

India has immense potential, but the challenges involved in realising it are equally formidable. What we witness on a daily basis is that people generally fail to focus on matters of critical importance.

Ease of doing business is one such obvious priority. India, being the most populous country in the world, must have the highest ease of doing business. Greater ease of doing business simply means more people being able to realise their potential.

The global competitiveness of Indian companies is another critical necessity. Indian corporations must be able to operate across the world, and India must have a greater share of Fortune 500 companies.

Thirdly, India must become a global educational hub, attracting students and experts from across the world to learn and enhance their skills.

Fourthly, we must have hospitals offering the best and most advanced medical services, attracting people from all over the world for treatment. We must also have clean cities, unpolluted rivers, and green mountains. India has immense tourism potential, yet its realisation remains meagre.

Fifthly, our universities must be elevated to a level that justifies their very existence as universities. They must be centres of world-class research, pioneers in cutting-edge technologies, and custodians of morality and aesthetics.

There are so many things that need to be done, and so much untapped potential waiting to be realised.

And what are we discussing? What are we actually doing?

Niraj Kumar Jha

Empire Out of Foolery

The European kingdoms and their companies could colonise much of the world because they had developed superior imaginative and cognitive capabilities, which they translated into technological, financial, military and organisational power. They had developed the skills to train their minds and overwhelm others' imaginations. It is hardly surprising that they could extend their control over lands far removed from their homelands, using the manpower and resources of the colonised territories to sustain and expand their own domination. The reality is not very different even today.

Companies from developed countries can run highly profitable businesses abroad by using the manpower and resources available there. This can go to the extent that they sell their products and services back to the very countries in which they are produced. Ironically, the countries hosting these foreign ventures often find it difficult to do better without them.

Nations vie with one another to attract capital. But what is capital? It is, fundamentally, a product of imagination and cognition. Capital is intellect translated into productive activity through operations and management. Intelligent people engage in what may be called capital farming: they mobilise and organise the resources and energy of others to generate wealth, while the rest serve within the systems they create.

The lesson of the modern world is that the foolish merely cry and complain, while those who dominate derive even sadistic pleasure from their subordination.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Ṛta and Dharma

Dharma is about knowing and calibrating one's conduct according to the ṛta, the universal law sustaining all and making existence possible. As human beings are not passive constituents of what exists, their actions must discern what sustains and what does not. It is about seeing reality as a whole, to the extent that its interconnections are decipherable, but from the vantage point of the immediate and the now. Keep in mind that the microcosm and the whole are interconnected and cannot be understood in isolation. Dharma is about moving back and forth between the big and the small. It may happen that all are doing their jobs right, but the ship sinks. Various permutations and combinations can cause a ship to sail or sink. The ṛta of human affairs informs us that all are responsible and, therefore, all must try to see things both as a bird and as a worm, and find synchrony between one's immediate dharma and the larger dharma. Beyond one's contingent dharma, one must fulfil one's human dharma by making an effort to know the larger truth and give space to the larger truth to unfold. In human affairs, ṛta does not enforce itself; its realisation depends on human dharma.

Niraj Kumar Jha

Intelligence: Super or Artificial?

It is not “super,” but a comprehensive and autonomous knowledge-processing system, and basically remains a human extension. The very word “artificial” indicates that it is a human creation, something that does not exist naturally but is brought into existence through human knowledge, ingenuity, and action. Artificial intelligence is therefore an exclusively human phenomenon: it arises from the uniquely human capacity to transcend the biological through knowledge, tools, and technology. Calling it “super” is like surrendering to an extension of ourselves and mistaking its power for superiority. Human extensions are meant to serve human safety, flourishing, and each member's autonomy. Yet poor common intelligence has produced a history in which extensions have come to dominate their creators. We must therefore be wary of this possibility.

Niraj Kumar Jha

सत्सभ्यता हेतु तन-धर्म

कहते हैं गांधीजी,
धर्म अर्जन का है,
धन परहित का हेतु हो।
धर्म मन का है,
आचार संवेदना का हो।

कर्म-धर्म से भी ऊपर
कहा और जीया उन्होंने।
वह तन का धर्म है,
रोटी के लिए कम से कम
स्वयं करे मानव श्रम।

वस्त्र-आभूषण और सौष्ठव,
अपनी जगह हैं,
इनसे सब के इतर
शरीर की भी अपनी
प्रतिष्ठा है।

उसका धर्म है,
साफ-सफाई रखना 

और मेहनत करना।

कहते हैं गांधीजी,
साफ-सफाई स्वयं रखो,
सेवा और उत्पादन हेतु
शरीर से उतना श्रम अवश्य करो
जितना मूल्य तुम्हारे
भोजन का हो।

बता गए हैं गांधीजी,
तन-धर्म का पालन भी
बहुत जरूरी है
सत्सभ्यता के पोषण हेतु।

नीरज कुमार झा