Food For Thought On Land, Communal And Politics!
- Part 1 -

Gitchandra S Oinam *

"Chakliba lanmei athapa chingda, mutchakhini mathan-nata; ahing tanglou thenglaklaga, taraklaga nongdon likla ……." (Burning at the distance hills will cool down gradually when the late night comes and morning dew falls……)

Their world is innocent, their freedom is priceless; their dreams are fragile--protect them; encourage them; and nurture them!!! Provide them education and skills development—it empowers an individual to realize their dreams and creative genius. It shows a path out of poverty and want, enabling the disadvantaged and marginalized to be a part of the mainstream and be productive members of the society—opportunity to discover, explore and to conquer. These are the morning dews…......!!

For God, so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not parish, but have everlasting life (John3:16). And this is life eternal, that they might know thee (you in singular) the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (John 17:3). As the father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye (you in plural) in my love (John 15:9). And, this is the condemnation, that lights is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light; because their deeds were evil (John3; 19).

I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins, for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins (John8; 24). He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God (John3:18). I am the way, the truth, and the life no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6).

He that believeth on the son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him ( John 3:36). He that hearer my word and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but it passed from death unto life (John 5; 24). Hitherto, have ye asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full (John 16; 24). Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you (John15:14)

I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing (John15; 5). And whatever ye ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:13).

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believeth on him" if ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:31.32). Peace unto you; as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you' (John 20:21). Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29)

Heavenly Father, I know that we have sinned and need your forgiveness. I believe that your Son the Lord Jesus Christ died for ours on the cross and we are willing to repent and turn from our sins. We, now, by faith invite the Lord to come into our heart and life as our personal savior and we are willing, by your grace, to follow and obey him in our lives to bring us peace, harmony, happiness and prosperous. Amen!

In the beginning was the word, and the word was God. In him was light, and the life was light of men; and the light shine in the darkness. That was the true light, which lighten every man that comes into the world. And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.

There are two basic rules of life-1) change is inevitable and 2) everyone resists change. Remember this when you are through constant changing. We looks mirror everyday to make us good looking and beautiful; however, we can't resist the changes knowingly and unknowingly and older year by years. Some people change their way when they see the light, others when they feel the heat.

Question arises, define the moment or let the moment define you? You can't be anything if you want to be everything. Choose your love, love your choice. Say what you do; do what you say. You can't prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over head, but you can prevent them from building nest in your hairs. But, we have a choice; to plough new ground or let the weeds grow? Do not choose to be wrong for the sake of being different.

There are too many people praying for mountains of difficulty to be removed, when what they really need is courage to climb them. The past belongs to us but we do not belong to the past. We belong to the present. We are makers of future. And, future lies to preparedness. Man shapes himself through decisions that shape his environment.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you; then you won! The great pleasure in life is doing what people say you can't do. Remember-progress always involves risk.

Anything that can be changed will be changed until there is no time left to change anything. The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who can't read and write, but those who can't learn, unlearn and relearn. This is the age of knowledge facilitated by information flows where the supremacy of ideas prevails. It is a bad plan that admits no modification. The people who get into trouble in our company are those who carry around the anchor of past. The Kaizen philosophy assumes that our way of life, be it our working life, our social life, or our home life deserves to be constantly improved.

So problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem. It is wise to direct your anger towards problems not people; to focus your energies on answers not excuses. Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflicts. Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.

When obstacle arises change your direction to reach your goal, not the decision to get there. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down; if you're falling off a cliff, you might as well try to fly; you've got nothing to lose. Falling down doesn't matter nearly as much as getting up and trying again. The best thing about failure is that it comes only one day at a time.

We struggle with complexities and avoid the simplicities. But our attitudes control our lives. Attitude determines how well you do it. Seek not to change the world, but chose to change your mind about the world. No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.

Never hesitate to steal a good idea. A good idea will keep you awake during the morning, but a great idea will keep you awake during the night. The great ideas are not adopted automatically; they must be driven into practice with courageous patience. And to stay ahead, you must have your next idea waiting in the wings.

If your heart is pure, your dealing will be beautiful. If your behaviour is gentle and sweet, there shall be peace in your home. The domestic atmosphere of peace will result in good law and order in the nation. If there is orderliness in a nation, there will be peace and happiness in the whole world.

Why the world is smell so bad? The philosophy you sing, language you speak and the attitude you posses; here live and death have no different! The power of mind is unlimited. But an uncontrolled mind is like a camel without nose halter. It throws a person in the hell of sensual pleasure, desires, sorrows, wickedness, bad habits etc. However, the sense of worthy, precipitation of cloud and changes will take place ahead of time like a wind blows in your hairs from the everlasting sky.

From ego comes determination, the ability to make decisions. And without determination we can accomplish little. Conversely, a negative point of ego is that it can lead one to act with arrogance. This prevents us from thinking objectively and eventually we could become victims of our failing. Such a fate can be avoided by effectively managing the ego.

We should not only learn the art of ego management, but must also refrain from hurting the egos of others. More often than not, one's ego is dormant. It is better to leave it in the state, for provocation of the ego can result in a breakdown. Egoism implies that we think we are more important than others, and that what we believe, is the truth.

The Laws of Duality is present in our lives, too. Because our emotions are tied to the past of ego consciousness, every joy that we experience emotionally must be balanced in our own emotions by an equal and opposite sorrow. The minute what we expected to achieve does not happen, it makes us feel disturbed.

And if the same situation turns in our favour, it excites our senses. However, joy and sorrow are never permanent. They have tendencies to change in accordance to the situation. So, whatever is bound to change is not real and what is not real can't be true.

Then, what is truth? Changing situation is always the reason for our happiness or unhappiness. But neither the changing situations are real nor joys and sorrows. They are just relative terms. When the mind becomes disinterested and free and sinks into a secret serenity, when its consciousness becomes illuminate, it gladly accept whatever happens, knowing full well that these contacts come and go. But don't be hopeless in any situation.

After every dry season, there is a good harvest. After every spell of helplessness, there is new hope, and after every failure, there is a great success. After every dark night, there is a bright morning.

No protest no complains no demand, no street activism or stage activism; simply trust your own natural abilities and work silently. Try to reshape your destiny. And very soon you will be glad to discover that you have regained your life.

When people lack faith in the Devine or in their own abilities or in the goodness of society they suffer from deep sense of insecurity. As a result all that appears to provide security is money. They rely on something that is not certain, and end up getting upset. Uncertainty causes craving for stability. When we see everything as a dream, then we abide in our true nature—love, joy and peace. We then understand that money is not all important. Values, sense of belonging, love and care are more important.

You won't be able to love yourself until you first love your neighbour. Whether we like it or not, a major part of our life will always centre on that of our neighbours. Ask yourself some questions and you will see from the answers how important your neighbour is for your own peace and happiness.

And you can't just stop at loving your immediate neighbours; you've got to love your neighbour's neighbour, too. Treat others as you would like to treat for yourself. That nature is only good when it shall not do unto another whatever is not good for its own self is a precept of the Zoroastrian faith.

To be continued...