Is it possible to be neutral and political at the same time?

The topic of this post also originated from one of my Facebook discussions. One of my Facebook friends wondered if one can be neutral and support any political party or ideology? According to me, definitely one can. It's really a tough balance to strike, no doubt about it, but it's possible. Being neutral doesn't necessarily mean being politically inactive, one can choose to remain politically inactive, and nothing wrong with it, however, being neutral about one's opinions does not make someone by default politically inactive. Voting is one of the fundamental rights of citizens of any democratic country. While voting, one has to choose from the given options, this is how it works. Nowadays, in many places, there is an option for a write-in candidate (you can write the name of the candidate which you think is more suitable but not on the ballot), or NOTA (none of the above), but realistically, these options rarely make any difference. A neutral person can support a political party or vote for a particular candidate irrespective of her or his party. The only difference is that just because she voted for them such a person does not stop questioning or opposing whenever she feels there is a deviation from the agenda based on which she offered her support. Rather, such people are the first ones to ask for accountability and transparency, raise concerns, offer constructive criticism, and keep up the pressure. This is healthy for democracy. When a voter of any political party or a leader asks for accountability or raises difficult questions that party or a leader has to listen to those voices. The risk of losing an election is one of the biggest motivators for a political entity to take action. 

It is common to ignore criticism coming from opponents as the perception is they will criticize no matter what, that is why it is important to have a pressure group within the party that keeps an eye on what's going on. This means neutral voters or independent voters have a bigger role to play in politics than supporters of any political party or leader. There has to be a substantial number of independent voters to create this pressure otherwise populist politics is going to overtake. This is what's going on in many parts of the world where a certain political leader, party, or ideology has a massive fan following resulting in unilateral political discourse. In this situation, neither opposition nor independent voices matter much as they do not have any influence on the electoral outcome. That is why if you have an independent voice, and protect your independence, occasionally, you might feel isolated or out of place, but cherish that independence as it's neither a common thing nor easy to achieve. Be politically active without being bothered by the political undercurrents, and make sure to connect with right-minded people so that your voice is loud enough to register its presence. In any real democracy dissent or neutral voices are encouraged, if not, it's not a real democracy yet.

Thanks for reading and please share your opinion about this topic.

Can constructive criticism be considered as an insult?

Can raising a question about some traditions be called an insult? Can constructive criticism be considered an insult? Can objecting to the views or opinions of some famous persons be considered an insult? Is constructive criticism really an insult? I am asking this because some people who claim to be ardent fans, devotees, or followers of some famous personalities like Chanakya or ISKON founder Prabhupad or followers of any particular religion or cult movement, objected to my questioning of some of these people's views and my criticism of traditions or rituals. They all believe that just criticizing someone's views or objecting to their statements can be counted as an insult, they don't seem to believe in constructive criticism. I am also an admirer of Chanakya for his views related to topics like governance and economics but I do not agree with his views about women, that's why I wrote a blog post about it. I also clearly expressed my opinion about Prabhupada and his sectarian views, especially about his misleading book, Gita as it is, in which he claims to explain the Bhagavad Gita as it is. These two posts along with some other posts related to women suppression and gender equality attracted a lot of such criticism.

Freedom to ask questions is a very important characteristic of any liberal and progressive society. Most of the ancient books or scriptures that people think are divine and even worship were written because there was freedom to express new things contrary to established beliefs. Constructive criticism is also very necessary for the progress of any society or culture but if it's not taken in the right spirit it can be misunderstood as an insult and can create problems. There is a huge difference between criticism and insult. Criticism, especially constructive criticism, is offered to improve things and insult is used to demean things for no reason. Some people are just not comfortable with the idea of old traditions being questioned, or views of some big names being criticized, they just reject these things. Instead of thinking about the objections or questions which are raised they just try to attack the questioner. They try their best to silence the voice of a person raising the question rather than trying to answer it. They do this because they find it easy to silence the person rather than trying to answer difficult or uncomfortable questions. Every religion has a dark spot in their history, rather than accepting these things and acknowledging their mistake they all just try to downplay it, justify it, or even deny it. This is what leads to confrontation and more questioning. Because of this attitude, I am labeled as anti-Hindu, anti-religion, or anti-Indian and what not, it seems if you raise an objection about anything (let's call it X) you are X hater or you are anti-X, there is no middle path for these people.

Respect doesn't mean keeping silent even if you see something wrong is going on. Just because something was practiced for centuries (traditions or rituals) doesn't mean it was right. We should not accept anything blindly just to show respect to some tradition or because it was said by someone great person. Such behavior to show respect is a very narrow and timid definition of respect. Seniority should be respected as much as it needs to be, following age-old ways of showing respect are really superficial (like standing every time someone senior enters the room or tolerating their improper behavior just because they are senior, etc.). Such things need to go. Everyone should understand that questioning is not an insult, it should be done properly and it is a sign of a healthy society. Everyone should have the right to raise objections to anything that they believe is not right. In true democracy, every voice counts so it should be heard. Forbidding questioning is like forbidding progress and I don't think any culture or society can evolve by discouraging people who want to object or think differently. Let's keep our gates open for new questions, new doubts, and new challenges, this will take us to new heights and will bring a lot of new ideas and new solutions. Please remember that knowledge is not stagnant it's a continuous and endless process and questioning is an integral part of it. Nothing is sacred in the process of generating knowledge, everything is open for discussion and debate. Once we understand this then people will realize the potential and power of questioning and constructive criticism, until then let's try our best to keep on asking questions.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]

Links:
1. Chanakya and his views about women 
2. Bhagadvad Gita-As it is or As it is NOT..Part-I
3. Bhagadvad Gita-As it is or As it is NOT- Part-II

New Beginning

This is a new beginning for me; I used to write my diary on regular diaries. I have so many of them stacked here and also in Pune my hometown in India. I started writing a diary when I was in school and have most of my diaries with me telling some stories at different stages of my life and its always very interesting to go back and read a few chapters from your own life. My life has been a very incredible journey so far full of very interesting encounters and experiences.

Since the last few months, I have been reading a lot in the field of mythology. My aim is to understand the deeper meaning of life. What is religion? What is God? Why do people believe or don’t believe in God? What is Moksha? Why do different people or sects advise different ways to achieve Moksha? What are the incarnations of Vishnu? Why they were necessary? And many, many questions like this, I can’t list all of them, but I have many more questions and they keep on popping up in my mind so many times whenever I read a particular text or listen to some seminar on mythology, or attend any religious gathering. I see people around me and always think why do most people follow certain rituals without understanding the logic behind them? Most of these rituals when introduced did have some sort of reasoning or logic behind them, but rarely people try to understand it and analyze if it’s still a valid or reasonable thing to do. Why do they believe in scriptures blindly without even trying to understand their meaning? Why?? I also wonder why these doubts or questions, don’t come up in other people’s minds?…either they know the answer or they are ignorant or they don’t care or they are incapable of thinking like I can…but I am also a normal person like most people around me, born and brought up in a very humble atmosphere so why do these questions keep on coming to me? My parents didn’t force me to follow any particular belief, they were busy setting up their life as immigrants in Pune they tried to provide us (me and my two brothers) a decent life to the best of their ability and I am really grateful to them for that. They gave us a lot of freedom to choose our careers and also the way we want to live. I read many Marathi books during my college and school days maybe these books had a profound effect on my thinking and behavior, so I consider myself lucky in this aspect.

I am reading and thinking a lot these days and trying to find answers to these questions myself and I think I am heading somewhere, I am sure I will reach my destination and I am determined to walk until I reach there. This is not a road map or guide or mantra to achieve self-realization instantly, these are my thoughts and you have all the right to agree or totally disagree with them, debate about them, raise questions or concerns about them to me, and be sure that I will try to answer them to best of my ability.

I don't promise to answer everything. I am here merely to help you seek the right questions along with me. The answers lie within us. Wherever I interpret the scriptures or any writing whether I understand their real meaning or not is not my concern, if they help me and you uncover our minds and discover our reality then this effort has served its purpose….Let the discovery begin...let's enjoy this journey together.

(Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing)