Why media needs to exercise some self discipline to get rid of its insecurity.

Why media needs to exercise some self discipline to get rid of its insecurity.

“The information we consume matters just as much as the food we put in our body. It affects our thinking, our behavior, how we understand our place in the world. And how we understand others.” ~Evan Williams

I would further add:- how we interact, interpret, react and believe too.

The purpose of this write up is to drive home the point that modern media in the name of unbridled freedom,

unfortunately, gives out selectively more negative news - there are some probable explanations for this which I shall briefly explain while concluding.

Documented information by virtue of easy accessibility has greater impact among the major means of knowledge acquisition.

There are three ways of acquiring and assimilating knowledge:-         

1,Pratyaksha pramana=Direct experience

2,Anumana=inference or logic

3.Shabda pramana=Verbal testimony or verbal account or verbalizing a fact or imagination or lie or concept or idea or thought or opinion and so on .

Major portion of the knowledge of majority of us are inevitably through Shabda pramana [Verbal testimony].

Most of our belief systems , frames of references to grasp and understand are, therefore, based on Shabda pramana [Verbal testimony] starting from belief in heaven and hell.

It is inevitably so , as everyone cannot have experience of performing a brain surgery or everyone cannot visit moon.

So, we must believe in the versions of those who have done them with ample empirical proof and other evidences and probability of existence of such things or events or personalities etc.

This has its own inherent importance as Isaac Newton has said, “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”-

Therefore, it would be better in the interest of all life on this planet that those who have the privilege of being in the media feed in positive news and report negative and nauseating facts too with lesser visibility.

Media is born with a sense of insecurity and suffers from  survival dilemma which causes all negativity.

Modern media nudged its way through very a very fast evolutionary growth in many domains pushing to the background even many myths and religious edicts , and more so, it had to wade through dominant human mind influencing and thought provoking classical literature, great philosophical concepts and ideas, emerging immense advancements in science, innumerable intellectual analyses  and the churning in social systems migrating from empires and dictators to democracies, economic studies going beyond mere marine trade, intellect surging with rationalizing free from many restrictive religious doctrines etc.

In this competitive milieu where most of the activities enumerated above where vying with one another to occupy the mind space of human beings, media made its humble roots as a mere tool for imparting information and reporting facts and developments.

Besides all these, politics, politicians and certain institutions started dominating the discourse, deciding what must be chosen and prioritized for and on behalf of all.

Media for its own survival started acting as a opinionated narrative generator for these types of political ideology peddling and ideology extrapolating agents as that would ensure not only its survival but may also enable it to get extra favors.

At the same time, it also tried to sound and adopt a sort of  holier than thou attitude by masquerading as a know all and judge all universal umpires appropriating some terminologies with lofty connotations like liberal, rational, intellectual freedom of expression bal bla [in the process rendering those terminologies sound banal now] while selectively targeting certain victims who lacked political power.

So, while political leaders wielded power media empowered itself by all these superficial posturing,

Now that the social media through technological advancement has transferred that crucial opinion molding factory and ideology extrapolating activity to many groups and numerous individuals the status of insecurity continues to haunt the media.

So, MEDIA as an acronym , now may be defined as:-

Mask as master of

Everything;

Desultory deception of

Involvement to inform

All about everything.

The greatest irony as well as tragedy is that media today has made a majority of the past few generations and the present generation into collective obsessive consumers of opinion templates which is an easy option over analyzing issues and incidents from multitude of perspectives incorporating various possible ways of original thinking, allowing various interpretations , providing valuable understanding with contextual relevance ,evaluations based on intrinsic attributes of any issue or individual.

Media is the only platform which can allow extrapolation of social justice while evaluating an aesthetic classical art form or evaluate sports performance with political affiliation and a host of such nonsense and romantic drivel which will put to shame the druids of the Middle age.

Marya Mannea has prescribed to media a great message long back ,  " It is not enough to show people how to live better; there is a mandate for any group with enormous powers of communication to show people how to be better ".

Of course, even this can be done only where the people want to become and be better.

Culture What it is ? and how do you define it?

Culture

What it is ? and how do you define it?

It is both wrong and narrow perception to  portray such sweeping generalizations.

Every region and every society has its own culture and traditions which you may like or may not like.

https://www.terraincognitamedia.com/features/white-people-have-no-culture2018

Etymologically from the Latin ‘Cultura’ or French‘Culture’ primarily meaning “a cultivating, tilling agricultural activity” or probably from Latin ‘cultus’, which means 'care’ from thereon from late 18th  century it expanded in connotation with varying degrees of impact figuratively mostly to refer positively to tending ,guarding; and psychologically and socially creating a common social coherent identity based on certain activities, attitudes.

For information:-The term 'cult' which suggests some kind of a religious organization is also from the word culture, indicating a group identity.

Culture, in its multiple avatars definitely affects us but it need not necessarily determine every act we do or define or confine anyone of us, especially if we are grown up adults who can make our own choice. We need not reject any culture but we also need not become susceptible guinea pigs for deculturization.

A typical anthropological definition of culture by Henry Pratt Fairchild in his Dictionary of Sociology:- “A collective name for all behavior patterns socially acquired and transmitted by means of symbols; hence a name for all the distinctive achievements of human groups, including not only such items as language, tool-making, industry, art, science, law, government, morals and religion, but also the material instruments or artifacts in which cultural achievements are embodied and by which intellectual cultural features are given practical effect, such as buildings, tools, machines, communication devices, art objects, etc”.

William Butler Yeats, “For without culture or holiness, which are always the gift of the very few, a man may renounce wealth or any other external thing, but he cannot renounce hatred, envy, jealousy, revenge. Culture is the sanctity of the intellect”.

https://contentwriteups.blogspot.com/2016/04/culture-its-various-dimensions.html

From a speech of  Prof S.A.R.P.V Chaturvedi 

"CulturePerfect system of action and reaction is the soul of culture. It deals with personal behaviour, about his instincts and reflexes, spherical behaviour in the environments of learning, family and occupation, and public behaviour, which is action and response in various social circumstances.

Any wider impact is a reflection of collections of inner-space transitions. Culture shapes individual and paves the way for spreading of the same luminosity in a mass. As per Culturalism theory, all perfect systems emerge from a resourceful cultural pool.

Human mind is prone to anger, avarice, aversion, anxiety and apprehension. The ethical dimension of culture produces virtuous antibodies for the suppression of the same, and replaces the space by estimable attributes. Onerous exercises for self control and determination are prescribed by ethical guides.

In social angle, ethical section of culture denotes

Respect and Obedience to nature, elders, learned, leaders, masters, faiths, nation, law and parents.
Love and Dignity in marital relations, friendship, customers and clientele.
Mercy and Service to downtrodden, inefficient, abandoned, aberrant and the animals.
Decency and Discipline in the forms of non-intrusion, non-violence, perseverance, magnanimity; truth, honesty, and transparency.

Education and elite association are few among the methods for gaining culture.

Culture directs the intelligence to configure different explicit forms of arts through its aesthetic dimension. These cultural derivatives offer innumerable options to celebrate and boost joy, exhaust and eliminate fear and misery, and relish tranquility and valuable opportunities to expose and absorb others to share and unite.

Music, dance, drama, painting, natural appreciation and humour are few of the aesthetic models of culture.

Culture is one among the hottest topics of debate today. Cultural nihilism says that culture is a self organised product for self and external conveniences. It prevents the society from understanding the values of life and makes existence and achievements lifeless.

Cultural Extremism is at the rigid end which never admits tolerance and change. It never minds about the reason and adaptability factors. Cultural extremism is accused by liberals as a cordon for social affinity, scientific and national progress.

Cultural Liberalism is the liberty to fashion ones own culture without any standard base. It represents adaptation and fusion from all sides without assessing its suitability. It is an abode for recurrent modifications on fascination grounds.

Personality is defined by appearance along with attire and etiquette. Tradition blames the modern way of dressing and cosmetic bounty that they naturally lead to precarious exhibitionism.
Co-learning and Co-working of genders have become a necessary part of the society. Lack of parental guardianship and modernity license have patronised new art forms of dating, valentine bondage, premarital and extramarital relations, addiction and various levels of ethical calamity.
Opportunities which have promoted the excellence of a minor society cannot be justified for the moral insecurity and depreciation of the mass.

Self control and avoidance of unfavourable circumstances, both are eyes of cultural vigilance.

Tradition includes dress-code, demeanours and flexibility or by its popular name, social freedom, as diagnostic devices for nature, impression and depiction of inner discipline. It describes about the subtle impact of every inch of thought, exposure and action in character, which may not be digestible to the fashion world.

Modernism thinks that this in and out has no connectivity at all and discipline can be maintained with self determination, irrespective of any external frame.

Unfortunately, this is branded as a western culture, whereas it is a degraded form of global cultural stamina, which has infected the western community. Due to continuous engagement in scientific and economic pursuits, west has lost its immunity in self and social control, which has made it the first and the worst vulnerable region for ethical degradation.
Failures in parental, matrimonial and generation bondage have created a new trend of untouchability where there is nobody to touch and care. Juvenile prisoners, addicts and suicidal warriors throng in competition. Social refineries of the west are now in serious rumination about regaining ethical awareness and consensus by investing all the time and resources that they have minted by its dereliction.

Without cultural framework, any self styled discipline, audacity and insecure freedom will certainly dismantle any orderly society or even an organised one.

In the present context of Interfaith, cultural exchange, in its level-headed way, can tremendously lubricate collective survival mechanism. Festivals and art forms of every faith and system are to be demonstrated with their essential messages, so that it can kindle involvement in their own people and others. This get together shatters the cloud of selfishness and egoism, thereby binding everybody with inborn love."

Ideology based identity homogenization

Ideology based identity homogenization - its foundation and fallibility.

Social Media is just one more new tool in this operation.

Social Media's active right wing or left wing groups follow every event like investigative agencies and pass them on.

But then my fear is they tend to wallow in confirmation bias and mutual admiration with a simmering competitive jealousy too which sometimes becomes obvious through criticisms.

This process has many positive outcomes but susceptible and very often vulnerable to one failure which may be lurking round the corner.

This is the failure to take into account all other sorts of activities that are happening outside the radar of these groups with well orchestrated diplomatic and appealing execution of hidden agenda.

For example some erudite interpretation of certain ideologies or scriptures etc..

It is actually worth admiring such interpretation and erudition, rightly so.

But then the problem arises when there is hardly any similar reciprocatory gestures from other dispensations.

The socio-political enemies are always visible but then the social engineering cultural crusaders are deceptive.

We need an army of decent, non vociferous, diplomatic, clandestine operators to counter this.

Some groups have done it more effectively than others in countering such cultural invasions.

There is subtle art of invading the mind space ; then the emotional appeal to heart simultaneously assuaging the needs of material comforts and assuring that one is capable of giving the recipients some sense of social security and cultural continuity.

This is where the elements of appropriating and assimilating mainstream cultures and traditions take place on one side while provoking the elites of that very culture leading to let the irritation boil over so that such justifiable irritations can subsequently be portrayed as intolerance.

Simple observation is that anyone or any group which wants to consolidate and to increase the number of followers with certain ideas-based or ideologies-based identity, then, there are certain processes that must be followed; chief among them being institutionalizing the ideologies followed by incentives to venerate and propagate those ideologies.

The main ingredients of the propaganda or brainwashing material must be ensconced between normal emotional and humane feelings ( with all concomitant factors of entertainment and activities that evoke spontaneous interest) on one side and posturing of great humanitarian and social concerns on another side with a facade of fine tuned fortification of frequencies synchronizing with all the average human fallibility ( this requires fabrication of concepts, hypothetical situations that generate phobias and logical fallacies, at all times ensuring that no in depth intellectual analyses interferes in the process of this high voltage, vibrant and hysterical herdish homogenization process).

Once ensconced on the sides and the facade fortified the hidden agenda works behind.

This is a over simplified and generic version template of many successful religious and political movements and outfits with nuanced variations according to contexts and regions.

Most important aspect being there must be at least a dozen souls that must operate with involvement and conviction in the ideologies.

Ultimately, there would be many who may internalize those ideologies to such an extent that those indoctrinated ideologies become almost a second nature and start obsessively extrapolating those ideologies almost on all domains of life.

How and Why

"The person who knows ‘how’ will always have a job. The person who knows 'why' will always be his boss". - Diane Ravitch

The one who knows the 'why' can live his life any'how'.....

'why' should the person who knows 'how' to live bother anyway about life.

Jokes and debates apart.

Without why? What? And how? Our lives would be unimaginative, dull and passive like inanimate objects.

It is not only in questioning but exploring to seek the answers for these why? What? And how? Whatever source they emanate from and in all possible ways, is what educates and emancipates mankind.

In this process of enquiry, we must steer clear of impenetrable jargons, lukewarm sea of half-baked theories, the illusion that life and its meanings and problems can be reduced to some specific straight-jacket dogma, and delusions of fettering axiomatic certitudes like something is said to be so and therefore, it is so; and a whole lot of other such aspects of the culture of escapism, and indifference and lies.

Of these ubiquitous trinity of why? What? and how?

Let me take up only why here. Why is a magical word. Small children use it to keep their parents talking on and on without end. Unfortunately, it is not only to keep their parents talking but also out of inquisitiveness. Inquisitiveness is what produces a wide range of characters starting from an eavesdropper, a scandal monger or a clandestine voyeur or a gossip giant or a spiritual mediator or a social inventor, etc. So the type of reply a parent gives to a child’s enquiry of a why? (out of inquisitiveness) will produce such a “deep” impression that, the child’s mind would sta

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rt using the question why to get a particular expected answer and also produce any of the above referred characters depending upon the parent’s reply.

Very often parents tend to give clever replies like a tourist guide who, when once, a lady asked him “How a row of fine rock formation were piled up”, said “they have been piled up here by the glaciers”. When she anxiously asked him “Where are the glaciers?” he replied “Madam, they have gone back to get some more rocks”. Such replies are often the result of ignorance, half-knowledge or impatience or all of these.

I, for one, would rather like to go to the maximum extent possible to find the answer for all the whys that arise in me.

Reforms and social engineering

Most reforms evolve with schemes devised by the actual stake holders to effect a change.

But, ideologically perpetrated schemes to effect a specific model of social engineering and promoted by media sponsored narratives and extrapolations could become divisive and change and affect most of the actual stake holders.

outrage epidemic

                                      Outrage epidemic


1. We all, especially those in media business and those who are news hungry must reconcile to the fact that news, information, data etc are mostly aggregated and so  no one can be either held responsible nor claim ownership nor can anyone exercise absolute control over them 

2. With technological advancement and a relatively better informed society opinion molding or opinion generating is also no more a patented and exclusive service.

3. Once upon a time, perhaps even a generation ago, knowledge was the preserve of a few who had accessibility to it.

4. Now it is all changed. Anyone and everyone with accessibility to technology ( which means almost at least 60% of adult population ) can have acccessibility to knowledge and information ( not to be confused with either better understanding or application) and are at liberty to express and exchange their views.

5. The larder has a collection which is too vast, uncategorized and thrive despite all sorts of entropy, trends, tastes and so on.

6. This outrage epidemic is the  manifestation of individual disagreements and disenchantment that have always existed but has become easily collective and inflated and exaggerated due to technological tools that are available now..

Seek meanings and enable better understanding

Seek meanings and enable better understanding 

1. Too many issues are involved and all of them are claims and counter claims.

2. Modern, and I would say rational approach requires documented evidence to authenticate claims.

3. In a sense certain very ancient cultures like India, China, Iran which are much admired and looked upon with awe by the whole world do not have well documented and recorded proofs for certain aspects.

4. However, every now and then there pops up evidences in the form of archaeological findings and new interpretation of ancients scriptures, references in some ancient literature etc.

5. But then the world is entrenched in a certain specific versions of facts and history which have been offered as templates of reality and accepted tradition. It becomes hard to reverse this  trend  even with hard  facts with proofs.

6. These versions have been further reinforced with the concomitant perspectives and frames of reference well tuned to selectively enhance them.

7. Besides, in a way every one knows that everything that is known or knowable existed or exists somewhere.

8. However, they get discovered or revealed or made known to the whole world through some medium at certain times in a form and structure that is understandable to many and start getting noticed by many.

9. Was gravity non existent before someone explained? Were musical structures non existent before someone composed a sweet melody? 

10. But, it does not mean those who explain it in a way that it becomes useful in application of many technological utilities for the welfare of the world or impacts and effects some change in the course of civilization must not be given the credit or recognition for that.

11. Everything happens in the process of evolution.

12. They happen and get their prominence or preference which do not depend on any specific later day evaluation, certification or approval.

13. Some teams, themes, thoughts, trends, topics, traditions etc get to win or get prominence in the scheme of or scheming of narratives.

14. In this process of victory there emerge some heroes.

15. So, if we reconcile to these types of philosophical perspectives and accept that everything happens as per some known or unknown; definable or undefinable designs of evolutionary trends and cycles, we may desist from our temptation to pat ourselves on our past glory, though everyone has a right to be proud about his/her ancestry, tradition, culture etc.

16. However, this ethnocentric pride must not become a restrictive ideology or identity.

17. http://contentwriteups.blogspot.com/2016/10/reason-and-science-let-us-respect.html?m=0

18. Our interpretations and perspectives must enable us to go beyond mere knowledge and seek meanings and enable better understanding beneath information loaded with stereotypical responses and interpretations.

19 They must enhance our understanding, and if, we are conscious enough they must lead us towards enlightened understanding.

20. Some recently published books seem to initiate such process.

21. These books either wade through multiple events that shaped modern history; describe in brief a gamut of happenings and inventions; deal with a wide range of ideas etc and try to extract the essence of the whole and present a very comprehensive interpretation based purely on the impact of those events and ideas.

22. Almost all works of John Brockman, some works of Steven Pinker, some of Neale Donald Walsch and some others.

No one can be a master at everything

Can anyone ever claim comprehensive comprehension with clarity on any issue considering that there are multiple possible factors to be considered with many frames of references, all of which in turn get churned up in the cauldrons of concomitant contextual relevance and the interactions of inherent attributes of the issues, events or things evaluated along with the kirn-staff or churning stick of individual's interpretation based on his or her attitude and perspective.

I sometimes wonder on what basis  mortal human beings use such terms like always ( probably a convenient synonym for in 'most circumstances presumably'); how come a temporary life span and limitations of knowledge talk of ' absolute' ( probably indicating most likely according to the narrator); everything ( probably the range of things one construes to be complete) and so on.

Here I am sharing just some parts of the preface and introduction to a wonderful book which I read after reading a very scathing review of it by another scholar.

Human intellect can churn, scrutinize, evaluate, criticize and keep on drilling deeper or mentally go on scratching like it does to an itching sensation physically.

Silence of the mind

Silence of the mind is the most difficult thing!

Silence could also be an indication of passive acceptance or arrogant or ignorant indifference.

Let's take life easy. Why try too many difficult things? 

Mind is meant to listen, learn and express and meant to be silent only at intervals not forced to be silent. 

Sometimes, too much of silence may be viewed as being subdued or passive.

A whole nation was forced into excessive and sometimes forced mental silence as meditation in the name of religion and now they are almost losing their very identity as a nation, I mean Tibet.

Too much of noise or aggression are also bad.

Coming back to misconceptions like level of difficult, self inflicted suffering or torture as an offering of sacrifice etc are at best unwarranted remnants of very ancient belief systems and do not necessarily bestow any goodness or greatness to the practitioners.

It obvious that merely because many follow them, those practices by themselves do not carry any intrinsic value either to the individual or to the society.

Just because being awake 24 hrs is difficult it does not mean it is good for health. Similar is fasting 24 hrs or eating 24 hrs or controlling urination 24 hrs. 

Mind and mouth are tools of  creations by nature meant to express and not to be silent.

Silence of the mind may be difficult for normal mortals but not for meditating saints or patients in coma or those fully drunk or drugged.

Human life  predominantly revolves around repetitions, recreations and reactions.

All the three Rs indicate active participation rather than passive reception (which is a virtue of the innocent and sometimes that of the ignorant).

But a silent mind is a necessity for listening and learning.

Silent mind can also be an irritating symptom of indifference as over noisy reaction is an irresistible manifestation of intolerance.

However, normal reactions and criticisms, go on to improve or at least effect a change in the outcome

Allopathy

Allopathy need not be afraid of competitors.

So, ascribing motives to Allopathic docs as a whole is presumptive defence.

Allopathic medicines, like all medicines definitely have adverse side effects and after effects which are known to everyone.

Allopathy mentions all ingredients.

This forward does not mean that other streams of medicines are either wrong or ineffective.

I too know of 1000s of cases where only Ayurveda and Homeopathy have cured the patients where Allopathy has given up.

Similarly, all  operations are available only in Allopathy .

Every system has its strengths and weaknesses.

Every system need not suit everyone.

But when any medical issue is brought to knowledge people with domain knowledge or expertise  must counter it or refute it medically.

Others can only forward the message, if necessary.

It is like someone causing an accident death due to rash driving and then resorting tovdefending by  blaming bad roads in general, more deaths due to dengues, poor signal, manufacturing defect of the vehicle etc.

Blind defence or blind blaming must be replaced by relevant reasoning.

I can go on on with multitude of examples of skewed and hasty justifications by Indians in many spheres without ever accepting their short comings or doing anything to rectify them

Global perspective over xenophobic exclusion

Global perspective over xenophobic exclusion

We are all living and sharing a single planet called Earth ( this name itself is wrong because of human centric view when more than 70% of this planet is water and not earth).

Besides, the world is becoming more beautiful and enjoyable because of it is becoming more and more easily interconnected.

This interconnectivity enables cross cultural awareness and the inherent quality and beauty of various cultures.

There are certain or perhaps many inevitable positives like interrelationships, interdependence and interconnectivity.

This being the case any group or nation or instituttion or individual who refuses to be part of this great evolutionary opportunity and instead chooses to remain in isolation and exclusion in the cocoon of either ethno centric or egocentric or ecocentric pride will be defenitely a great loser.

While everyone has a right to venerate and value one's traditions and heritage it does not mean one has to resort to any sort of phobic protectionism and block and protest against every emerging trend.

After all evolutionary trends in every domain and the trajectory of nature's course do not care for anybody's opinions or reactions or ideas.

So, let all of us stop over zealous xenophobic reactions and aversions.

Instead let us accept the existence of differences and adopt and assimilate whatever suits us.

Let us all remember that we are living in 21st Century and not 11th century.

We use and live in the luxury of all evolved scientific, logical and technological utilities which do not belong to any single nation or region or religion or culture but to the whole of humanity.

It would be utter hypocrisy and immaturity to object to anything based on any extraneous identity.

http://contentwriteups.blogspot.com/2017/01/synergy-to-become-global-citizen-and.html?m=0

Homogenization, Identity veneration and stereotyped profiling -The three great dangers

Homogenization, Identity veneration and stereotyped profiling -The three great dangers

https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

There is a heady cocktail and sure recipe for polluting perceptions and perspectives.

What is that poisonous cocktail.

It is a mixture of homogenization trying to make everything uniform and worse still developing a publicity and propaganda narrative which is enhanced as an identity.

This is followed by seeing everyone and everything only through the prism of such prefixed identity germinated out of homogenization.

Then  assigning of labels and appropriation of credits are carried on along these lines.

Final dressing of this recipe is spiced with stereotyped profiling.

These emerge in various or perhaps, we must say in all domains of human activity.

I have always felt that while classification and categorization are inevitable necessities for easy identification and administration in certain realms of human activities the other side of these classifications is that they also contribute to exaggerate differences and ignite divisions.

Link number one along with its many sublinks may offer a slightly deeper observation of this recipe.

Some great souls have suggested the antidote to this inevitable malady and that is ability to see and create 'synergy' and 'synthesis'. Link two spells the importance of this.

"The spirit of Advaita is not to keep away from anything, but to keep in tune with everything." -  Swami Chinmayananda

“In the end nothing less than the whole of everything can be the truth of anything at all”- William James

1.http://contentwriteups.blogspot.com/2016/10/uniformity-homogenization-and-panacea.html?m=0

2.http://contentwriteups.blogspot.com/2018/03/life-is-all-about-synergy-and-synthesis.html?m=0

Recently one day during a long travel I thought of a title ' Illunination of inumerable ideas fades fixed frames of reference.