The Supernatural- A Few Thoughts. * 72

The supernatural is something that happens out of the ordinary and some event or occurrence takes place that does not follow the normal laws of nature. The supernatural may manifest itself in a number of ways. It could be through a man or child or through every day normal events. These events do not have any rational explanation.

Modern scientists do not accept that there is any thing that can be termed supernatural. They prefer to refer to such incidents as a trick of the eye or a fantasy. But sometimes these explanations do not suffice as some sane people have experienced things that can have no rational experience. An example is an event in Sept 1995 that has still not found any rational justification. At that time devotees visiting and praying at the feet of the deity of Lord Ganesh observed to their amazement that the deity would partake of milk held up in a plate to the its lips. The milk would slowly disappear from the plate and to all who were witness to the scene swore that the milk was drunk by the deity. This was a world wide phenomenon and was widely reported by the important news channels like CNN and BBC. An explanation was put out by the scientific community that these phenomena could be because of surface tension and evaporation. But a lot may who witness the ‘miracle’ were not convinced.

Similarly while on a visit to the Metropolis town of Bombay there were reports of a Moslem Pir who had the uncanny power of divining what was in your mind and then telling you about it. For this purpose he would require the visitor to put his thumb on a plate and the Pir would then tell him why he had come and what his problem was. This ability of reading the mind is ESP and science does accept it, but the Pir developed his power through prayer and there is no rational explanation for that.
In the mountain state of Himachal Pradesh a form of evil spirit called the ‘Chaleda’ is very much seen and believed in. Numerous people have claimed to been accosted by the chaleda who sometimes took the form of a dog or cat and even a small child. The Chaleda is supposed to be the spirit of a dead man who has not achieved salvation.

The field is vast and a deeper study is called for. So far scientists have not really attended to these phenomena. The supernatural is not something in the movies but can be real. It would be naïve to deny tits existence. The Bible and most religious thought accept this aspect of our world. Maybe another 100 years down the line this frontier will also be breached.

Of Ghosts and Demons

Some time back my father narrated me an interesting tale. It appears when he was a student of Government College, Hoshiarpur he decided to go home to his village about 15 miles away during the week end. As it was 9 pm the last bus had left, therefore he and a friend of his named Harbans decided to walk down to the village.

The duo started walking to the village. It was a dark night and a cold icy wind blew as it was November and winter was setting in. Mid way to the village there is a small rivulet called a "CHO" in the local language. As the two approached the rivulet my father says he heard horse's hooves on the earth. After some time it appeared that the rider had fallen from the horse. Three times more they heard the horse's hooves and at each time it appeared the horse and rider was nearing them. When ever they looked back the saw nothing. They now waded into the rivulet to cross it and at the same time they decided not to look back. They also started reciting the 'Jap' the holy prayer of Guru Nanak.When they were mid way down the river which had a little less than waist deep water, they heard the rider come close behind them and then fall into the water. They did not look back and continued reciting the prayer. As they emerged out of the river my father says he heard a voice that said 'You have escaped now....but not next time"

This incident looks unbelievable but as my own father narrated this tale to me I am apt to believe it. All religions agree that there is a dark world that includes the undead. The existence of ghosts, demons, and angels is an age old question. Many people are skeptic but many are believers. There is a small percentage that are in between who cannot decide.
The question that everyone asks spontaneously is "do Ghosts and Demons exist?" There is no simple answer to this question. But generally a ghost is a spirit that is on earth for what ever reason. There is a good chance that this spirit is earthbound for a variety of reasons like some unfinished work or having committed some abhorrent crime like child rape and murder and for this crime is denied entry into the after life. Thus he moves in this earth till he can atone for his sins. Such spirits can also cause harm and are manifested in a number of ways like eerie goings on in an empty house. Doors being slammed, windows breaking, bricks falling all cannot be explained by scientific logic.

 I for one do believe in ghosts. Now coming to Demons.These are closely linked with angels. They complement each other. Angels are good, demons are bad. Angels work for God, demons work for the devil.
All religions accept angels and demons as they are supposed to balance each other. The church also accepts demons and exorcism of evil spirits is part of Christian philosophy. The field is vast and it will be some time when even science will unravel this last mystery of the world. Belief in such supernatural events and powers for centuries is not without any foundation

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Cricket and the Services

The recent cancellation of the cricket match between the services and J &K at Srinagar due to the refusal of the Services team to go to Kashmir for the match is a matter of intense sorrow. What message are we sending to the world at large if the services team refuses to play at Srinagar ?
The services are the face of India and their refusel to go to Srinagar is to say the least very sad.Why did they not want to play there? did they fear a attack or hostility from the populace at large? If this is so then India can say good bye to kashmir, for even after 60 years if a services team cant play at Srinagar then what is the use of all the propaganda of the central Government and the Army itself, that normalacy is restored in the valley.
Farukh Abdullah has rightly condemmed this stupidity.But the central government must take the services to task for this act, as it has lowered Indian prestige all over the world.

Indian Policy and Pakistan * 77

Some time back Rahul  Gandhi made a statement that India was giving undue importance to Pakistan. He needs to be complimented for this statement.Even after this statement the running do of the Nehru-Gandhi family Sardar ManMohan Singh  did  have a Pakistan centric foreign policy .Why are we obsessed with Pakistan.Here is a country which is 1/5th size of India and with an Industrial base far behind.It nowhere features as world power or a country that inspires admiration.Its a country racked by fundamentalism and has created a monster in the form of support for terrorrism( against India) and is now reaping what it has sowed.

One expected things to change with the advent of Narendra Modi. He started on a track of toughness by cancelling the secretary level talks with Pakistan on the issue of the Pak ambassador talking to the Hurriet. But with a few months Modi has buckled down at the knees and now the Indian Foreign Minister is in Pakistan exploring how the dialogue can resume. Mind you Pakistan has hardly taken any step and one fails to understand as to how there can even be talks and what result can be  expected. The reason is that Pakistan has mae it clear, that Kashmir issue is central to normalcy and their  view is that Kashmir should have self determination and a plebicite.

It's about time that the Indian political leadership realised this and treated Pakistan for what it is - a rogue state that foments terror and supports proliferation of nuclear weapons. If Pakistan persists in this policy a surgical military strike may do the trick.There is no need to fear.World opinion supports the strong.A weak nation never won any sympathy.

India must reorient its policy and put Pakistan in its place for what it is- a second rate nation that aspires to greatness. Remember the frog who blew himself up while imitating a lion.

Nobel Prize for Obama ** 82

To be frank, when I arose one morning a few days back I was surprised to read the news that Obama has been honoured with the Nobel peace prize.I tried to rack my brain as to what has Obama done to merit this award. I couldnt think of anything substantial.

So whats the back ground to the prize? The peace prize has been denied to a lot of persons like Gandhi, Ghoofar Khan etc. Yet Obama wins the race straight away.I think a lot of introspection is called for by all concerned as the Nobel prize should not be cheapened. Obama has been thrust with a prize that may not be all that good for him.Maybe Obama himself was surprised ! But then the western democracies have always two yardsticks -one for themselves and one for 'others'.

But for the long run this award has a ominous ring. It shows to many in the third world that it is another example of the western concept " we rule the world and make the rules". Yes, this is a fact and now at the fag end of his term one can see that Obama did nothing to merit a Nobel prize. Yes with him as President , Islamic terrorism got ensconed further. Certainly not an act  to merit a Nobel prize!

The Naxalite Menace and the Hindu Response

To understand the intricacy of the present imbrogilo where a Mao/Naxal force of some 150 heavily armed troops attacked a police post at Gadchiroli and massacred 17 policemen, one must hark back to History.
In the first battle of Tarain the Hindus met Mohd Ghouri in battle.Ghouri was defeated, but the Hindus just celebrated their victory and allowed Ghouri to escape.Ghouri returned and in the second battle of tarain annhilated the Hindu Army. He was ruthless and thousand of hindus were put to the sword . The point I am making is that in a life and death struggle tolerance has no place. Yet this is exactly how the present government is treating the insurrection of the Naxals.There is talk of their being 'misguided' ,'our own people' etc.The result- hundreds of police men have been killed and the police force demoralised. The naxal writ runs in vast tracts of India.
The attack went on for a couple of hours.The government could have called for a helicopter strike.This would have put fear in the hearts of the naxals and saved precious lives.The bane of the Hindus is tolerance which made them lose their own land for 1600 years
When will the government realise that the naxals are mere brigands and bandits in the guise of revolutionaries.They need to be eliminated.Only superior fire power will do it. Its time the people woke up to this option.