Friday, April 27, 2012

Let Love Live Long Life


In the month of February, it was nearly a dawn. I could still see some sparkling stars in the sky. I could feel fresh breeze and smell fragrance of flowers. I could hear singing sounds of sparrows. I was on my morning walk in the best park of this millennium city – Choudhary Devi Lal Park. While walking I was undergoing my gratitude routine for lord. I just said ‘God, thanks for giving me a loving & caring heart’. Now please give me more wisdom & courage to spread love in your world.  I was still single and my eyes naturally used to spot couples wherever I went. I noticed a handsome boy and a gorgeous girl with sad faces. Probably they were chatting all the night and could not sleep well, I thought. We were walking in opposite directions. As I crossed them, I said, ‘Good morning’ with a smile on my face. The lady reciprocated the same but the boy asked angrily, what is so good in this morning? I went blank and then said, ‘the quotation on your t-shirt is good’. The boy smiled and said, ‘but hum ladke maante kahan hain’ (but we boys do not learn). Perhaps they had a fight with each other. The quotation on the t-shirt read, ‘Love is a sweet suicide’.  
We all read similar messages on trucks, autos and t-shirts. But my perspective on love was, is and will remain entirely different because it is one of my top three values.
For me, love is the purpose of life. For me love is the reason of existence. For me love is the way to live.
Sacred soul of Swami Vivekananda spoke a spontaneous & sincere sermon in response to a question on love. Swami said, ‘Love is a triangle. The first angle of love is- it does not ask for anything in return. It only gives and expects nothing. It’s a give & give relationship. Second angle is lack of fear. Perhaps that is why the song is, ‘Pyar karne waale kabhi darrte nahi, haan darrte nahi, jo darrte hain wo pyar karte nahi’ (people who love do not fear and who fear do not love). I am sure everyone must have heart about Heer Ranzha, Laila Maznoo, Romeo Juliet and many other who sacrificed their lives for love. You may hang me on cross and cut me to pieces and I still love you. Jesus Christ loved his people. The third angle is – love is not a means to anything, it is its own end.’ I love you because you are beautiful and earn handsome income – here physical beauty and income are the ends. Love is just a means to reach those ends. And hence, it is not a true love.
If I speak in the language of angels and have no love in heart, I am only making noise. If I possess all the knowledge and preach all truths – if I have the faith that moves mountains, but have no real love for my fellow men- I am nothing. Even if I give away everything I own, even if I sacrifice my life and become a martyr, if I am not sincere and do these things in pride and not in love – they are meaningless and profit nothing.  Love, kindness, charity and doing good to others are my priorities in life. Love never fails. Other things fade and pass away, but love endures. I must not slip into selfish & unkind ways. I must learn, live and lecture faith & hope; charity & kindness, patience & humility – and most of all love for all fellow beings.
I love myself most. Sound sleep; Fresh fruits; Walk on woods; Sincere smiles; Loud laughter; and other healthy, happy habits are my tools to express this love for myself.  I love my father, the Almighty lord. Of course, I love my family & the world.
Mother Teresa said it the best, when walked on the stage to receive Nobel Prize for spreading love in the world. She was given the mike and asked to deliver a speech ‘what can we contribute for world peace’? She held the mike in her hands, came on the center of the stage, smiled and said, ‘Go home & love your family.’  I can see shyness and sparkle in your eyes. I can see silent, still, speaking lips. I can see sweet smiles on your faces. You are free to pour your heart. You are free to express your feelings; I would say the same words, ‘Go home & love your family.’ Let Love Live Long Life.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Gold is not good for Indian Economy

Gold not Good
You must have heard & read messages like: Save earth. Save nature. Save water. Save trees. Save electricity. Save tigers. Save girls.  Did you ever hear something like- ‘Save economy’. Yes, that is what I am going to ask for today.
I was analyzing impact of this year’s Union Budget on common man. Increase of import duty on gold from 1.5% to 3% caught my attention. They just made it double, 1.5% to 3%, which after taking the bullwhip effect into count will mean that per 10 grams of gold, we pay approximately Rs 1500 extra.  I wondered why the government would raise prices of gold to that hefty level in a country which was known as ‘sone ki chidiya’. Being an argumentative Indian, I could not stamp the step as a good or bad. I went deeper and understood the reasoning. Let me explain the logic behind.
Indians are crazy on gold jewellery and hence they do not buy gold in kilograms and quintals. They buy gold in tonnes. Besides in-country production, India’s annual import of this yellow sparkling metal is 1000 tonnes. India accounts for one third of total world demand of gold. India’s GDP is no where closer to that of China & USA still the demand for gold in India is 140% of China and 480% of USA. This demand converts into an outflow of 60 billion USD which is second largest after our spending on crude oil.
What do we get in return? - A Non-Performing Asset. Bartering of 60 billion USD for non performing asset is not a wise decision for our economy. I personally, am not even ready to call it an asset. My mother does not want to keep it as she is afraid of thieves after a robbery in my neighborhood. My wife does not want to take the extra stress of keeping it with her, as through newspapers, she stays updated on mishappenings in Gurgaon. I don’t even want to touch it after I lost a costly diamond ring. Girls and ladies wear artificial jewellery in parties and marriages now a day. So it becomes a hard core liability and we need to pay recurring charges to bank for keeping these in locker. Every gram of imported gold also means that the country’s savings flow out to other countries and create jobs there.
India has around 30 gold mines. But quality of country's gold bearing ore is extremely poor and as a result, it becomes uncompetitive to produce this precious metal. Each tonne of Indian gold bearing ore yields only 22 gms of gold. Experts speak that the exercise is uncompetitive if the output is less than 47 gms of gold per tonne. So government might declare a full stop on production of gold in India. This further will increase the import quantity, rates and taxes on gold which in turn will lead to even bigger outflow of money.  These all will weaken the Indian currency and hence a blow to the economy. The government is thinking to undertake extensive education campaigns because if not controlled the import of gold would touch 100 billion USD in 2015.

Therefore, just like - Save earth. Save nature. Save water. Save trees. Save electricity. Save tigers. Save girls. There will be no wonder if government comes with a bill that all the jewelers need to write a message in their show rooms ‘Please minimize your gold shopping and save economy’.
You can become responsible citizens and avoid hurting our economy by not buying or at least minimizing the purchase of gold.