Take me to your leader

Political gaffe

A 'gaffe' is a remark or action that is considered a social mistake and usually not polite. Everyone makes gaffes, but it can be extremely embarrassing when it is done on a national or even global stage.

Last week we saw some gaffes by several very powerful politicians and leaders. 

                                  

The usually taciturn British Queen Elizabeth II commented on she knew generally how horribly rude the members of the Chinese delegation were to everyone including the British Ambassador when they accompanied Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Britain in  October 2015. 

                                   

Another gaffe came from Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron along with speaker of the British House of Commons John Bercow being caught on camera telling the Queen that their guests Nigeria and Afghanistan are “fantastically corrupt” ahead of a major international anti-corruption summit. 

During the same time Indian Prime Minister reportedly commented that, “The based on information received by Mr. Modi, the situation regarding child death ratio among certain Adivasi Tribes in Kerala is scarier than even Somalia." 

The statements made by all these people were true, but in the world of politics, people are not permitted to speak the truth plain and honestly. What a world we live in? How can we change anything for the better unless  we accept that there is a problem.

A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth.

- Michael Kinsley

Hello, I am P.K. Chakraborthy

Russi Modi the erstwhile Managing Director of the famous Tata Steel company was a legend. 

He was an inspiring, effective and high performing leader. In his people he saw not resources, but people with minds, hearts and aspirations whose quality of life he tried to enrich. Like most Zoroastrians he was a humanitarian, but like the Tata family a great one. Parsees also possess a great sense of humour and Russi  Modi too relished a good prank. It mattered little if the joke was at someone else's expense or his own.

One day in the early 1980s he had his secretary go through the Kolkata telephone directory and invite as many of the Mr. P.K. Chakraborthys as was possible to attend a lavish dinner party to be hosted by Mr. Modi.

Chakraborthy is a very common Bengali name and PK is also the most common initials. Each of the P.K. Chakraborthy's invited felt it a great honour to be the personal guest of the charismatic, powerful and immensely wealthy Mr. Rusi Modi. 

It was a hilarious and confusing affair as people kept introducing themselves and heard the echo, "Hello, I am P.K. Chakraborthy". It had to be because all the 530  guests were named Mr. P.K. Chakraborthy

One of the signs of a strong and genuine personality is their sense of humour. They are confident with themselves and others and therefore usually full of fun and positive energy, which simply bubbles out of them. Mr. Russi Modi was one such great personality. 

Today is the anniversary of his passing on from this world, but people like Mr. Russi Modi can never be forgotten.

If you act too wise

If you act too wise,

you might land up otherwise.

Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity

Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

Albert Einstein often remarked, "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

Stupidity the word comes from the Latin verb, stupere, meaning to feel numb or astonished, and related to the word stupor.

Looking around what does one observe?  

Driven by economic exploitation and facilitated by political and religious strife, people are increasingly being drawn into a vortex of stress and fear, experiencing loss of sustenance, dignity and freedom.

It is plain to see that instead of becoming an impediment, stupidity has increasingly become a formula for success, particularly in the high visibility professions of entertainment, religion and politics. Who is at fault for this ridiculous situation? 

Of course the public. People  like us, we back and follow such leaders, priests, and vote for these politicians. Look at the election campaigns in India and America, politicians make great  promises and provide so much entertainment. Is it any surprise that so many businessmen, entertainers and 'religious' persons become social and political leaders and even heads of State?

Human intelligence lies within the brain, addressing memory, logic and thought processes. Scientists are continuously working on a sort of substitute for the brain called artificial intelligence, which has provided marvellous gadgets and systems, even robots to improve the quality of human life. 

However our emotional well  being, happiness and contentment comes not from intelligence but from human consciousness, which scientists cannot address by artificial intelligence. 

Artificial intelligence which uses mind processes, cannot address the abundantly found human quality of natural stupidity, which is born from a lack of consciousness.

We may be denied material prosperity or freedom, but no one can take from us our birthright to possess and awaken our own spirit. The world needs more spiritual healers who can help awaken the divine within lies dormant within each one of us.

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity." - Albert Einstein.

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men." - Martin Luther King Jr.