Express News Service
Discussing hot potatoes with hotheads in hot summers can leave one sapped. But some of us, the argumentative Indians, love the heat and dust, don’t we?
The subject of contention was ‘The Kerala Story’, which is set for release today. I got pummelled for the view that the film should be allowed to be screened sans any ruckus. Well, the brouhaha over it has helped only boost the film’s publicity. It has been a free mega-marketing drive for the film. The filmmakers must be chuckling.
In fact, Dictionary.com recently added a new term — ‘rage farming’ — for gaining “high engagement or widespread exposure” through the “tactic of intentionally provoking political opponents”, especially on social media. Apparently, it works well.
Debates over the film have opened a can of worms — “to create a complicated situation in which doing something to correct a problem leads to many more problems”.
The CPM, for instance, found itself in a spot as keyboard warriors dug up a 2010 news conference in Delhi, former chief minister of Kerala V S Achuthanandan stated that groups such as Popular Front of India sought to “turn Kerala into a Muslim-majority state in 20 years”.
“They are using money and other inducements to convert people to Islam. They even marry women from outside their community,” VS added. Notably, amid allegations of fuelling Islamophobia, the veteran comrade stuck to his guns in the state assembly.
The Kerala Story’s director, Sudipto Sen, has cited the statement to bolster his film and its alleged reference to the idea of ‘love jihad’. “I think it’s [VS’s statement] one of the most important documents on radicalisation of Kerala,” he told the media.
‘Love jihad’ is Kerala’s controversial contribution to global socio-political lingo. Certainly not something to be proud of. The Urban Dictionary describes it as: “When a Muslim marries a non-Muslim fraudulently… and forces the partner to convert…. The term was coined by a judge in Kerala court….”
Contrary to the theory that ‘love jihad’ was a propaganda propped by rightwingers, the term was, in fact, first used — or brought to the public domain — by Justice K T Sankaran of the Kerala High Court in 2009.
He observed there were concerns over a “movement or project which is called ‘Romeo jihad’ or ‘love jihad’” while hearing “a case pertaining to the luring of two female MBA students at a college in Pathanamthitta and later forcing them to convert to Islam”. He directed the police to conduct a statewide inquiry as well.And the nasty burble continues.
More toxic discussions are likely once the film is out today. Now, what’s a good way to cut off from the noise? Going Buddha mode helps in my case.What better timing than Buddha Purnima (May 5). So I decide to go zen, and my editor in charge at home offers a lovely little book Zen Poems, compiled by Manu Bazzano and wonderfully illustrated by Andre Sollier.
As the description says, Zen Poems is a collection of short verses by traditional and contemporary poets that “offers moments of peace and reflection”.Here are some samples, like potent shots that offer spirituality of the heady kind:
To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
— Emily Dickinson
Meditate Outdoors. The dark trees at night are really dark trees at night,
It’s only the golden eternity
— Jack Kerouac
Spring water floweth, both to clear and in mud,
My days are but built up calamity; how call this good?
— Siao Min, translated by Ezra Pound
Butterfly in my hand –
As if it were a spirit
Unearthly, insubstantial.
— Yosa Buson, translated by Yuzuru Miura
Night. Moon. Black leaves.
I open the French window wide:
Between us other barriers,
Invisible, infinite.
On my threshold
When my window is open upon the night,
Moths, black leaves, moonlight.
— Kathleen Raine
Okay, time for me to go seek nirvana. Wish you guys a zesty-yet-zen weekend ahead. Leaving you with some Buddhism-inspired words in global English dictionaries:
Buddha: “title given to the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Siddhartha, who attained enlightenment and taught the path to liberation from suffering”
Dharma: “teachings and principles of Buddhism that guide individuals towards liberation from suffering”; “roots in Hinduism”
Sangha: “the Buddhist community of ordained monks, nuns, and lay practitioners”
Karma: “the law of cause and effect, where the actions of an individual determine their future circumstances”
Samsara: “the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth that an individual undergoes due to their karma”
Bodhisattva: ”an enlightened being who chooses to remain in samsara to help others attain liberation”
Zen: “a school of Buddhism that emphasises the practice of meditation and intuition”
Metta: “a Pali word meaning loving-kindness, a quality that is cultivated through Buddhist practice”
Vipassana: “a meditation technique that emphasises the cultivation of mindfulness and insight into the nature of reality”
Anatta: “the Buddhist doctrine that there is no permanent, unchanging self or soul within an individual”
Anicca: “the Buddhist doctrine that all phenomena are impermanent and constantly changing”
Four Noble Truths: “the foundational teachings of Buddhism that outline the nature of suffering, its causes, its cessation, and the path to liberation”
Eightfold Path: “the path of practice outlined by the Buddha that leads to the cessation of suffering and the attainment of enlightenment”
Sutra: “a sacred text containing the teachings of the Buddha and his disciples”
Bodhi: “a Sanskrit word meaning enlightenment or awakening”
Jhana:”a state of deep concentration attained through meditation practice”
Mara: “a demon in Buddhist mythology who represents the obstacles and temptations that distract individuals from the path to enlightenment”
Ahimsa: “the principle of non-violence towards all living beings, a concept central to Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism”
Bhikkhu/Bhikkhuni: “a Buddhist monk or nun who has taken full ordination”
Chakra: “a term from Indian and Tibetan Buddhism referring to the energy centers in the body that are associated with different aspects of consciousness and physical health”
Tantra: “a type of Buddhist scripture or practice that emphasises the use of rituals and meditation to achieve spiritual goals”
Koan: “a paradoxical riddle or statement used in Zen Buddhism to provoke insight and encourage the practitioner to transcend dualistic thinking”
Buddha-nature: “the innate potential for enlightenment that is said to exist within all beings, according to Mahayana Buddhism”.
Mandala: “a circular diagram used in Hinduism and Buddhism as a visual representation of the universe, or as a focus for meditation and spiritual practice”
Zazen: “a form of meditation practiced in Zen Buddhism, characterized by sitting in a cross-legged position and focusing on the breath”
Nirvana: “A transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma. It represents the final goal of Buddhism”
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