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The New Millennium Sir, This has the reference of the news item ''Don't expect miracle at Millennium, says, Dalai Lama'' which was published in DE of Dec 8. Dalai Lama is right when he says that people are expecting too much with the coming up of the new millennium. But what exactly the new millennium means to people at least it is just a land mark like any other new year plus the turn over of a new century and a new millennium. It would be an event of time which comes once in thousand years and as such would be a rare time event. One way of looking at the new millennium is like a person who changes his house. When you move on to a new house, you reset it rectifying the problems that accused at the old house. Similarly the near millennium can bring in some keenness in us to put things in order within and without. Even if the slightest of this idea can come to us at the turning of the new millinnium. We should be more than happy and satisfied with it. Some of us may venture to take a stock of our ourself and also decide to live in the thought of the good for others. That world be still better. The best would be if every one feels that he has something to contribute which would lend meoning and significance to one existance. The slogan for the new millennium should be ''I can do something to uplift the world order''. As a country India has a definite role to play in the world of nations. Our upanishids state that man's personality is the sum total of the work he performs through good work man becomes useful to the society. The new millennium should remind the Indians that a action and not idleness is the touch stone of the Indian thought. With right action we have to elevate first ourselves and then the others. We often state that the society is bad and what can I do. This outdated idea has to be thrown out of our minds. When we update ourselves the society automatically gets corrected. In our own personality we have to bring in transparency that is our qualities and functions to go together. We cannot have one set of rules for our ownself and the other for the others. Only when we are transparent ourselves, we should talk about the transparency in the functioning of the organisations around us. We often talk about globalisation but what does it mean to a common man. It primarily means that when the physical world is shrinking we cannot remain aloof and beig indifferent to what is happening around us. This requires good interaction with other agencies to keep ourselves alert. But most importantly it is to acquire a global outlook which means transcending our physical affiliations with things whch are surrounding us. It is now necessary that we have a constructive outlook and not just remain critical alone. We have to be a traditionalist but at the same time a moderanist. We have to exercise reason to interpret transitions in the modern light and just not follow traditions with a blind faith. Indian cultural traditions and philosophy when correctly understood already provides a global vision which is not only confined to the geographical limbs of our country. There is no doubt that our country is facing a number of problems but the solutions of the problems are also available and not far fetched. We have to sit around to find out how personal contribution of individuals can be best utilized for Indian Renaissance. The new Millennium expects us to reorganise ourselves, reform ourselves to live usefully and purposefully and not just linger on under the heavy weight of outdated customs and thoughts. Yours etc... |
