Mervyn Lobo writes: >>Sandeep, you have great mentors! >>There is nothing creative about Rajans coarse language. I can send you two >>different emails of what followed from Rajan. >>It may be beautiful language to you, I find it disgusting. You can also ask >>Miguel how he interpreted Rajan's 'literal' language.
Mervyn, I quoted "Osho" not because I consider him as my spiritual Guru but simply to illustrate that words that may sound vulgar in one context may not really be vulgar when used in a different context. Nothing more and nothing less! Let me now take the extreme position and come on your side. I'll now grant it to you that his post may be crude and vulgar, but even then the fuss over it is needless. The story of Buddha's response to the angry young man who tried to insult him by spitting venom and abuse at his face comes to my mind. The Buddha simply asked the man if people ever visited him in his home. Surprised at the change of topic, the man answered yes. The Buddha then asked if his visitors ever brought gifts. When the man replied yes again, the Buddha asked what would happen if he refused to accept the gifts? Who would the gifts belong to then? The man said that, of course, they would still belong to those who brought them. The Buddha then calmly said, "In the same way, since I do not accept your insults, they remain with you." Rajan's post, however crude and vulgar it may have been, should have been ignored likewise. He probably used that kind of language to get on someone's nerves and by being upset; you all gave him what he actually wanted. If you would have ignored him, he would have ended up looking like a fool himself. On a related note, I overheard two kids fighting on the street the other day, probably over a similar silly thing. One kid kept on abusing while the other stayed cool and calm, absolutely unaffected by the barrage of insults. After some time, the unaffected kid simply replied: "I'm made of rubber; you're made of glue, and everything you say bounces off me and sticks to you." Maybe this little kid can teach us important lessons in life. Let's simply ignore all the insults that are hurled our way and they will no longer be ours. They will simply stick to haunt those who choose to throw them. However good Rajan may be as Pravin has repeatedly tried to illustrate, it is equally true that some of his thoughts are not compatible in a vibrant progressive democracy. Let's choose wise ways to respond to him. We will ignore the obscene vulgar stuff! Cheers Sandeep