Vishy_mulay wrote:
Taking into account these two points, should we be afraid of changes in SD? Do we really have idea about what changes are good and what changes are bad? Do we as SDF really understand our heritage? Is it worth preserving or should it be allowed to evolved?
Do you think if world becomes one faith one book one prophet (IJs and EJs wet dream), will independent thought process survive? Will type A person (as characterised by you) will be allowed to thrive? Corollary even though SD don't have monopoly for reaching group A level, can it provides buffer for all others who believe that there are alternate pathways irrespective of what RELIGION says.
All difficult questions, but I believe I thrive in an environment in which things are happening and I don't know what is happening and am not sure if something that is happening is good or bad.
In such a situation it pays to indulge in a bit of reductionism
a)What is it that people are alleging is being lost? Define that if possible. If you can define it - target what you have defined as valuable for preservation fisrt. Preseervation will have to be memes - humanmemory, books, electronic media
2) If we are unable to say what exactly is being lost, preserve and document anything and everything - like pieces from an archeological site - for future classification into usefulor useless.
3) Define threats accurately. Unless threats are defined with some accuracy, remedies may go waste targeting non threats. or minor threats are targeted while major ones are ignored.
Of these three routes, I see plenty of bandwidth, fire, brimstone and agni being expended on point number 3 - "Evanjihadis", "islamists" "Leftists", "secularsts", "Sonia Gandhi", 'The UPA govenrment", The Vatican, US churches, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indian education
I also see a great deal of lamentation saying that things are lost, or things are preserved by hidden people, or that no one is bothered.
Very little attention is being paid to the obvious surge of Hindu presence and clout on the ground in India. I believe there are things that are notable about the Hindu surge because the "surge" may achieve some goals and prevent the loss of some things, but there may be other things that are being lost. Those losses may have little to do with any of the threats that I have named above.
For example TV is killing off traditional village dance and dramam grousp that kept tradition alive in rural India. The TV programming is very Indian- all sari clad women doing "Saas bhi kabhi bahu thi", so you can't blame Sonia or evanjihadis, and the many of the private TV channels are Indian channels paid by Indian ads. We love that and we hate the government and doordarshan. But nobody seems to mention the fact that the fast disappearing village dance and drama groups are aired only on the hated Doordarshan, largely controlled by the pseudosecular UPA, Ironic isn't it.?
This is what I mean by defining threats more accurately, and even before that is done - see what stes can be taken to preserve.
If you are an Indian NRI - get a video camera - go to a puppet show in a village dramatizing the Ramayana, record it and distribute it freely. Do not get worried by US concerns of intellectual property. It is yours.
Do not be embarrassed by booboos, dirt, gaudiness or shoddiness. That the the dhimmi in you that makes you feel those things.
Just a few thoughts.