Brawn or brain

Are people solutions or are ideas solutions? Our lives in a democracy must be led by ideas and ideals. Gone are the days when strong men led human beings as just strong men by brawn rather than by brain. Such situations were characterized by power and privilege where the leaders led by charisma, character or cruelty. In the tables turned in times of democracy where we the people are in the lead, brawn cannot be the fuel that propels a society. It must be philosophy and ideals that must be the vehicle of our propulsion. But we the people who hold the reigns must be aware that we indeed hold the reigns. It’s not an opportunity to sell that power to the brawn again for people to be corralled like cattle. If that enlightened thought is beyond us, hope of a better tomorrow is surely out of our reach.

Being aware

In this world of form we are constantly buffeted by the attractions of materialism -- things. This is the outside world that we are immersed in during this short sojourn in this world. We have to pass on some day and that is as sure as the sunrise tomorrow. But as we live our life of form from day to day we tend to forget that we have a spiritual entity also embedded within ourselves. Life is always a balance between these two aspects of our being. 

Now about awareness! We all know that to live meaningfully requires that sense of awareness. However the awareness that we are mostly concerned with is that of the world of form - the outside world. We seek to know and be informed about what is happening on the other side of the world, in far off galaxies of the universe, or down in the depths of our oceans, and of the terrestrial effects of global warming that will wreak havoc on this earth if we don't watch out in our avaricious actions, and so on. All this is fine for daily living and for us to project ourselves as informed individuals. They say information is power and that is what we do to gain control of our Dhuniya.  But what we forget often is that the true power of our being comes from an awareness of knowing our inner selves. Of this unfortunately, most of us are unaware. This is the other end of the continuum where we must see ourselves as spiritual beings rather than human beings. We are better spiritual beings when we are better aware of our strengths and weaknesses on the inside - the insecurities we harbor in the depth of our subconscious and their origins, what fears make us retract into ourselves and make us antisocial, what jealousies and anger rise to the surface when our ego cannot have its way. All this relates to understanding ourselves. But this understanding can only happen when we can find the time to reflect in silence because the busy mind that is concerned with the world of form can never grasp the supernatural - that universal mind or super-awareness that we call God. We can only touch that warmth of His love when we seek to spend time in silence, away from the busy traffic of our mind. That is perhaps the wisdom behind prayer - for us Muslims - to reflect five times a day in silence and in proximity - shoulder to shoulder -- with those of our same sensibilities, imbibing the totality of the positive aura generated by all these spirits that are similar to ours within this physical yet spiritual space of the mosque. Those moments make us feel as one - for this is the spirit stirring to be felt by the otherwise insensitive minds that quickly revert to the Dhuniya as soon as we are out and about in our homes and workplaces. 

So can we actively begin to become more aware on the inside? That way we become a more tolerant society? For when we begin to notice and confront the imps and monsters inside of us we will attempt to subdue them and in the process discover that all of humanity is truly one – and the awareness that hurting another person is tantamount to hurting oneself.

Can we clean up Male City?

Today Friday, all Friday mornings are good for walking as it takes a while for Male city to wake up and the streets are quite walkable -- at least devoid of the zipping cycles that might just take away my elbow to the doctor. But believe me I think I have to call up the Mayor to say they have to buck up on keeping our city clean. The littering seems to be getting ever worse. Not a spot without trash! and the drains where the cover is broken -- and that, in so many places -- one can mistake these for trash bins -- packed with pet bottles, wrappers and plastic bags filled with God knows what! and of course the ubiquitous red spit. I tell you it's pathetic our state of this physical environment. -- perhaps those of us old enough can see the difference! Where do we begin to clean up. Some may say at the top. But I say it's the elected council. Guys, don't do this to us when we give you so much of our tax money. Its just not fair is it?  This is our city, and you are not setting an example to the youth and children observing all this as their heroes (grown-ups) litter the street with impunity. And they learn fast from us. Mind you cigarette wielding pedestrians too crush their filter butts on to these same pavements -- as if the new tobacco legislation was a thing to be laughed at. What a pity in our land of democracy! 

Those officials of the government who ply about in their cars may not observe with the pedestrian's eye perhaps! So why would our youth care? And this was right there evident in action during my walk. I saw a young lady with a nice buruqa and colorful well fitting rest of attire tear open a supari packet and after lazily dumping the content into her painted mouth then looked around a couple of times to drop that empty sachet on to the street -- of course to be lost in a myriad such sachets also strewn about her. That's just it. When I asked her politely how she can consider doing this inconsiderate deed to her own environment, I only received a blank look and then before I could move on to supply her with some environmental advice, she stepped into a taxi that stopped by and quickly disappeared from the scene - glad perhaps of getting rid of this nosy old guy!! So what should we do my friends to save our city -- to make it a healthy Male? 

This should not be happening!

Whats going on? Our country seems ready to implode with anger and vehemence being spewed at each other in the name of democracy when it gives us a golden opportunity to come together rather than divide ourselves. Let's not look to others to solve our problems. Only WE ourselves can. Isn't that what it means to be an independent nation? What has 50 years of "modern" education given us? Mere banked up information or self -awareness? We need more of the latter, and that comes from connecting with our hearts rather than with our heads. It's not a matter of rationality, it's a lack of heart -- caring for each other -- and to ourselves as a nation.

Please promise truth, not sops!

I am quite surprised to hear many of our potential candidates to the presidency of Maldives are promising a lot of presents they would give to the people of Maldives if elected. Among them unfortunately are not such things as truth and commitment, or reliability and inspiration, or a nation where we can stand up on our own feet on the path to independence; rather such that will make us reach out for hand-outs and continue to be dependent.

I can well understand that there must be something that leaders must promise to the masses in order to move them. In an autocracy where the condition is total patronage, the king or an authoritarian leader dispenses handouts to the subjects. But in a democracy, this is antithesis. In the case I cite here, the servants seem to be seeking to throw handouts to the bosses – the people. Such behaviour that is so pervasive in our political system stymies the very essence of the democratic ideal. Yet, we cannot blame the public for being so easily persuaded, for it is very difficult to acquire a new democratic mindset quite so soon, even though this has been legislated for. The mind just doesn’t work as fast as the pen on paper. This dissonance is no doubt so deceptively utilized by selfish politicians. Once the vote is secured and the race won, the process of winning votes for the next round seems to be already on. Prudent national governance is very difficult to move in such situations of selfish pursuit. The sops do nothing more than give a momentary thrill to the recipients, and when the novelty wears off or the money doled out all spent, what we wake up to is the fact that the real promises of building a nation for tomorrow seems hardly off the tracks. Such events give the impression of a total disconnects with the understanding of what democracy is.

Democracy is a tool that liberates us from the yoke of servitude and raises us to the heights of us being the master of ourselves. Our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is the foundation and the goal of this kind of governance. It would be in fact deceptive and even silently intimidating to offer such sops as hospitals, personal nurses, computers and the like to persuade a hapless public to relinquish their votes towards such offers. In a democracy, the vote is the only real legitimate power we have as a community to keep self-serving leaders from causing the social havoc that keep societies mired in their problems term after term.

Good leaders must promise truth, not sops. 

Angry countenance

Why do most of our politicians in Maldives for the bigger part of our viewing time seem angry when they make their political or campaign speeches, declarations and claims? Being servants of the people one tends to think they must show demeanor. Why should they show their anger? It is as if they still believe that their role is leader rather than servant in a new democracy! 

One would think it is humbleness that brings our heart to the work that we do. It is certainly humbleness that transforms our worldly endeavors into prayer.  In fact every action that we do in kindness and compassion and in the manifestation of goodness and warmth is prayer. It all adds to the merit we carry away with us when we go; none of the material wealth we accumulate in this world can we carry away with us. In fact such stuff keep our ego thriving and keep us in the remit of haughtiness and arrogance. Such behavior destroys our social fabric, contrary to what we believe. Our small Maldivian community can rise to great heights of moral goodness in a hurry if only we take time to reflect and understand the folly of our behavior – that life is not about taking, it’s about giving – having the freedom to be.  This reminds me of a poem we were made to learn in grade school.

Through this toilsome world alas
Once and only once I pass
If a good deed I may do 
Or a kindness I may show 
To a suffering fellow man
Let me do it while I can 
For I shall never pass this way again

So where is anger in this scheme of things?

Back home!

Dear Readers, 

The day has finally come for me to move back home to the soil I was born on. This is just to let my dear friends, colleagues, and respected readers know that I am back at home in Maldives. It's great to be back with friends and family that I have always yearned to be with. Our country is now in the throes of yet another interesting year that will see coming to the helm of our nation another group of leadership. May Allah bless our nation!

Back on the ground on our breezy streets, I feel happy, yet see sad sights as I had mentioned in an earlier blog. The sad state of our environmental degradation is but a contradiction of the voice we raise so much about the concerns we have for preserving our physical environment. What we seek for our seas and shores should be in alignment with what we wish for our streets also. But still what we continue to see are sights that are not about development but degradation. Empty pet bottles, chocolate wrappers, empty cigarette packs strewn everywhere, guest workers looking for daily employment lined along the side walks and parapets, sidewalks in dismal disrepair, balcony wash off or air-conditioner condensate draining out on pedestrians' heads, young motor-cyclists bursting out from narrow street corners at breakneck speed, all bring to mind what a chaotic little city we have here, and a lament for what our city corporation could be doing about it. Male streets seem surely not meant for the pedestrian. 

My environmental consciousness perhaps always gets the better of me and so such thought arise in my mind incessantly. But truly, our environment is our home actually. As a community this is a fact. Keeping our homes clean and our streets littered and cluttered is both a mental and physical dissonance. A healthy nation is borne out of our respect for our environment. And through this is the way also to sustainable health. Can we call our Male City Corporation to be more mindful and responsible?  

I would like to wish our readers a health, joyous and prosperous new year!