I am not corrupt if I ask for medicine instead of money

Is that so?  Suppose, I am in a position of authority wherein I can decide on allocation of money, recruitment, projects, favours and what not (which I am not - I am too junior).  And instead of asking for money, gold, property or such gratification, suppose I ask that the medicines for my family instead, does that make me any less corrupt?

It is an Elmer Fudd versus Bugs Bunny all over again!  Just because it is Bugs, does it make it right that he pinches Elmer’s carrots?

If your answer is *not*, then I hope you’ll see me the actions of Anna Hazare in the new light.

• First he undertakes a vow of silence.
• Then he starts to write out on a slate what he wants or wishes to his supporters.
• Then he goes around and blogs on his political views by threatening to campaign against a political party (does not matter whichever), if that party does not support his views.

Now from what I understand from a ‘vow of silence’ as I do know some people do undertake it as a penance or a vow for a day, every month.  I admire them, not because they can completely stop speaking for a whole day (and night), but because they do it so unobtrusively - without resorting to writing on slates, tweeting or blogging.

I believe that is what the Mahatma - that is M.K. Gandhi, not Anna Hazare mind you, - used to do.  Completely go silent and use the time so earned to contemplate.

Actually, it makes a lot of sense and does appeal to me.  Just imagine if every one of the developed/developing world’s human is to engage in such a sort of *contemplation*, say, once a month!

A day on which to withdraw from everyone, even while interacting with everyone if that is what you cannot avoid, and contemplate for a full 8/12/18 hours on

• what has been happening around you,
• what you have been doing,
• what others are doing,
• what you are doing to others,
• what everyone is doing to you, and most important
• what everyone is doing to everyone else

If everyone adopts such a day, as convenient to themselves, once every month, the world would be a better place.  If such a day can also be a day of ‘mild’ fasting - mild in the sense of not starving oneself, but just having some simple food, like:

• 2 toasts of bread and a glass of milk in the morning around 7 or 8
• a handful (or two) serving of dal and rice or dal and 4 rotis for lunch at around noon
• and a handful (only) of curd rice or a glass of milk for supper/dinner.\?

But if you do all of that and then start expressing yourself by tweeting, writing on a slate or notepad or blogging, in my personal opinion, you’re worse than a shirker - you are pathetic.
To summarize, let us just compare 2 guys, one young and one old.

• Whatever the provocation, the young guy does not react in public, instead tries to do something.
• However small the provocation, the old guy reacts immediately to he media, and if he, himself vows a period of silence, chooses to blog about it.

Now who is better?  I leave it to you.

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