Category Archives: Myths Busted

Racism and casteism are RAMPANT in India

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Two important issues Aamir Khan must feature in his show Satyamev Jayate are (1) racism and (2) casteism. I believe these issues are very underrated by our people despite the fact that they are deeply entrenched in the Indian psyche — so much so that many victims don’t recognize the atrocity when they are being subjected to it.

What’s worse is that even supposedly “good” people become active perpetrators of this crime (albeit unwittingly) when exclusively searching for a fair-skinned boy or a girl for marriage. Or for a person only from their own caste. Are dark-skinned people not beautiful or handsome anymore? Or are people from a different caste dishonest and evil? The point is India is fractured, fragmented, and fallen into pieces through casteism and racism practiced by its own people.

At the outset, please note that the evil of birth-based caste-system has crept into our system only since a few thousand years. And one could be forgiven for falsely believing that Hinduism engendered it.

The fact is when the task of translation from Sanskrit to English is assigned to an ignorant, impure Western indologist or the authority to read them is seized by the power-hungry brahmins, the result is complete manipulation and misinterpretation of one of the world’s greatest wisdom books, Vedas.

I call them wisdom books and not scriptures because they are essentially guide books containing topics such as science, martial arts, ethics, maths, metaphysics and much more. Unlike most of the world’s scriptures, you are given complete freedom to reject them without being threatened with eternal hell. These books promote social hierarchy based on merits, rather than on birth as claimed by many brahmins today. But that’s a whole different topic. For those interested in digging deeper into it, I highly suggest reading Agniveer’s exposition here.

Talking about racism, the societal pressure to look fair is so high in India that it has created a thriving culture of fairness creams — not just for face but also for private parts (Watch this ridiculous commercial). The result is young Indian men and women with totally destroyed self-esteem and dignity.

Compare this to Western nations, for instance in America, where dark-skinned people are perfectly comfortable in their own skin. African Americans don’t wish to be white. They don’t believe fair-skinned actors are necessarily better-looking. On a comical note, imagine Will Smith using fairness creams to become fairer so he gets a raise on his self-esteem! The point is we have become mental slaves, minions of colonialism owing to being subjected to centuries of bondage. And the onus is on us to undo this influence through actively rejecting every negative thought that comes to our mind. “No one saves us but ourselves!” noted Vivekananda.

If people think you are less attractive than your peers only because you are darker, they are being racist and it’s their problem. Such social parasites exist in every society and only need to be ignored!

Having said that, please note that I’m a strong proponent of contemporary fashion. I admire people who (a) want to look good, and (b) consciously act on improving their appearance. I don’t quite admire people who shy away from even making an effort to appear decent. Looks (which are a CRUCIAL factor in our overall personality) are very important — just not at the cost of our self-esteem.

By all means, please wear nice clothes, jewelry and cosmetics. But know where to draw a clear line between fashion that expresses your self-confidence versus that which reflects the lack of it. Don’t believe the ridiculous notion that darker skin will make you look unattractive. If you try to become someone else through changing your essential being, you will only end up living life in continued embarrassment and guilt.

There’s no dearth of totally nonsense pictures circulating around FB. Earlier, I talked about how private corporations are unfairly targeted by ignorant propagandists on FB.  Here’s one more:

What is wrong with this picture?

The owner of a private corporation is shown earning a fortune while the lowest level employee receives almost nothing. People who haven’t been sufficiently informed about government failures could be forgiven for failing to comprehend the false propaganda spread through this picture.

Agreed, the CEO of a private company earns at least ten times more than an entry-level employee. But that does not mean the entry-level employee is left poor. Almost 80% of the time, an entry-level employee in a private enterprise earns considerably more than a similar employee working in the public (government) sector. This is a known, indisputable truth — just compare a clerk in HDFC bank with a clerk in SBI. Who earns more?

Obviously an HDFC employee, because HDFC has an obligation to provide superior customer service to its clients. In comparison, an employee of a public bank has no incentive to deliver great customer service because he’s not paid for that. He’s only paid to finish regular formalities and leave as soon as it is 5 pm. If you, the client, are late by even five minutes they will stare at you as if you have committed a crime!

Also compare the level of corruption in HDFC bank (which would be almost negligible) with that in any government bank!

Yes, individual scams may occur every now and then. But are such scams exclusive to private corporations alone? Con artists are as much found in the public sector. And such criminals MUST be punished. The difference today is that for a particular crime, an executive in a private company is implicated and jailed for 30 years while a similar executive in a government company roams free.

The correct version of the above picture is thus as follows:

The central government sets aside literally BILLIONS of funds for the poor. And how much of that actually reaches poor? Negligible! India’s poor have been suffering from hunger and poverty since more than SIXTY years of independence, and India still remains one of the poorest countries in the world. So blame the government, not the private corporations who in reality create employment and raise the standard of living of the people.

But most importantly, please DON’T BLINDLY BELIEVE! Question every picture and article you come across on FB. In fact, question everything in life. Only then can you hope to know the truth!   

5 EXCUSES we use to justify our unethical behavior

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Don Soderquist, the former COO of Walmart, visited Marriott School of Management (Brigham Young University) approximately three years ago when I was an undergrad studying business management. I had jotted down key takeaways from his speech, which was essentially focused around various ethical challenges faced by business leaders in real-life situations. Following are the five most common excuses people give themselves to justify an unethical behavior:

Excuse #1:   “There are situations when it’s okay to lie, cheat or steal.”

Although it may be appropriate to lie in dire circumstances, it is often not easy to determine the direness involved. One may give all kinds of excuses to label the situation as dire so as to justify their unethical behavior. Is it okay to lie in order to save a life? Is it okay to speak untruth to save your mom from grief? And what if your mom expected you to speak truth to her? While these are bad examples, the point is the answers to these questions are subjective and depend on individual situations. Whatever be the situation, beware of becoming too liberal with justifications you give to yourself. It’s very easy to fall into the excuse-trap, especially when no one is watching over you!

Excuse #2:   “The world has changed its values, so I must change mine too.”

We hate being labeled as traditional and boring. We dread being stigmatized as Harishchandra. Fearing various social stigmas attached with being “too truthful,” we often justify our unethical behavior citing the above statement. Watch out for such pitfalls!

Excuse #3:   “Everyone else is doing it, so I must do it in order to compete.”

This myth is very common in business environment. Western companies who bribe foreign officials in order to close on expansion contracts often use this statement as a defense to justify their act. “If I don’t bribe them, my competitor will. I cannot afford such loss of profits,” says the anxious executive to himself. But in saying so, he fails to comprehend the deeper truth.

Agreed, you may incur short-term losses through losing deals to your rivals, but your shareholders (and the larger society) will hold you in respect for your commitment to social good and ethical behavior. Over the longer term, you’ll win their trust, which will in turn earn you significant profits. Even if not for profit, one must adhere to truth for its own sake.

Excuse #4:    ”It’s legal. So it’s ethical.”

Not every legal act is ethical. And nor is every illegal act unethical. As a general rule, you must follow the law of the land. If the law says you must not drink alcohol (for instance in Gujarat), one must follow this law at all costs. If you don’t agree with the law, you have the option to lobby for a better law or vote for a better candidate in the next election. Even better, you can stand in elections yourself, win, and then bring the change through better policies. I understand that given the corrupt political environment, it may not be pragmatic for honest people to contest elections, but that should not be used as a ground for violating the existing law.

Excuse #5:   “A leader cannot be ethical and successful at the same time.”

I come across this statement every time I express to someone my intention of participating in politics in future: “You are too honest. Your kind can never win elections.” While there may be some grain of truth in such excuses given the real-life, corrupt political scenario, I’d not be willing to compromise on ethics to succeed in politics. That would only set a wrong precedent for future generations. It’s better to NOT contest elections than to win through a bunch of criminal records.

Finally, it may help to remember that we are not perfect. In fact, we are replete with faults. The point is it’s far better to fail a hundred times on the path of truth than to succeed in the path of falsehood.

You DON’T need to consume meat to build muscles!

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One of the most common excuses given to justify meat-eating is that animals are a crucial, indispensable source of proteins — Vegetarian diet simply cannot provide proteins necessary to build six-packs. As you’ll see below, such conclusion is absurd and can only come from a severe lack of critical thinking!

When it comes to dietary choices, most people falsely assume causal relationships having no scientific backing. For instance, they may think, “Arnold Schwarzenegger consumes tons of boneless chicken breasts and egg whites daily. He is also a world-class body builder. Therefore, eating meat builds muscles.” This may be true. But to extrapolate, based on this argument, that some other person is weak and skeletal because he is a vegetarian only displays sheer ignorance.

The fact that proteins exist abundantly in a vegetarian diet is incontrovertible. A recent article in Times of India is worth sharing widely. I searched the link online but couldn’t find it. Seems like TOI hasn’t uploaded it yet. I shall provide a link as soon as it is made available. Till then, here are some excerpts (my comments in square brackets).

Talking about Varinder Singh Ghuman, the article notes:

“The Jalandar-based father of two, who plays the captain of a national kabaddi team in the film [Kabaddi Once Again] is, in fact, the captain of the Indian bodybuilding team. An IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness) pro champ and former Mr India, Ghuman was spotted by director Sukhminder Dhanjal at a bodybuilding championship in Punjab in 2010. Here, as he does on various local and international platforms, Ghuman stood in a silky underwear, his long brown hair punished into a tight pony tail and oil-laden muscles flexing so that his web-like network of arteries and veins surface. His body is now a road-map. 

Varinder Singh Ghuman, vegetarian

Many find it hard to believe that Ghuman, who has also participated in Arnold Classic, a body-building tournament held by Arnold Schwarzenegger in Ohio, is a vegetarian. Or that his biceps owe nothing to animal protein or egg white. After all bodybuilding is perceived to be the prerogative of vein popping men thriving off meat and artificial enhancements. “Everyone has asked me to eat eggs and meat in order to gain muscle mass, but as I am a vegetarian for religious reasons, I decided to stick to my diet and rely on hard work instead.” recalls Ghuman, a Gurusikh whose staple diet consists of yellow dal, chapattis, green salad, curd and lassi. 

Though he does not discount the role of genetics in the sculpting of his broad, movie-screen-wide body, he believes his rippling bodyowes a lot to his intensive research on vegetarian nutritional sources. 

The belief that skinless chicken breasts and egg whites are central ingredients for building mass is widespread in the world of bodybuilding. but this is a myth, argues Ghuman, who has built quite a reputations as the first India vegetarian bodybuilder.

Ghuman says he learnt during his research that colostrum, the milk produced by the mammals in late pregnancy and early lactation, is a good source of protein, growth hormones and anti-bodies. Since Ghuman’s father own a large dairy farm, access to colostrum was easy. That along with whey protein shakes and small meals through the day helped him scuplt his body.

While bodybuilding isn’t known for its herbivores, there are enough examples, both internationally and closer home, who prove the notion wrong. Hiralal Dhillan, head constable in the Punjab police force who won the Mr Universe crown last year in Mumbai, says he owes his 18-inch biceps and a fit 65-kg body weight exclusively to the pious platter of soya beans, dal, lassi, and dahi. “The trick is to eat eight small meals a day instead of three big ones,” says 34 year-old  Dhillan, who interestingly wasn’t always a vegetarian. It was in 1997 that he decided to shun meat for spiritual reasons. “I lost fat and my weight improved. I gained 10 kgs,” recalls Dhillan.

“That you need meat to build body mass is a misconception,” says Dr Randhir Hastir, who is a trainer at the National School of Bodybuilding and Fitness and has coached, besides Ghuman, many greats such as Prem Chand, Hira Lal, Dalip Khali, Jagjit Singh, Manjit Singh, Nawal Kapoor. “Each individual only needs 1.5 grams of protein per kg of body weight and this is easily available in a vegetarian diet,” he says, adding that lassi, nuts, chana, dalia, and khichdi are good sources of proteins for vegetarians. “Most vegetarian animals you will notice are bigger in size.” he says.

Derek Tresize, an international vegan bodybuilder, used a similar argument in his piece for the website One Green Planet: “If plants have no protein and you need protein to grow big and strong, how on earth do animals like elephants, gorillas and oxen get so big and strong only eating plants?”

While these success stories have inspired many budding talents to follow the green route, foreign visits can sometimes turn out to be excruciating. In countries where plant-based food is not always easy to come by, they feel lost. Two years ago, during the Mr Asia championship in Dubai, Dhillan, for instance survived on a uniform platter of rice and potatoes for six days.” Daljit Singh, who is a Commonwealth silver medalist and ranks no 4 in the world, on the other hand, that nobody comprehended vegetarianism in Hong Kong. “As we are used to combining liquid diet with solid meals during the course of the day, it was especially tough. In the end, they had to arrange a special vegetarian meal just for me,” says the 44-year old Singh.

But vegetarianism has paid in other ways too. Ghuman will soon be endorsing a line of food supplements launched by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Besides, he has also landed a host of Bollywood offers.”

Hopefully, this post will clear all myths and misconceptions associated with the role of plant-based diets in bodybuilding. You can not only avoid unnecessary violence, but also build impressive curves through switching to a wholesome and less violent alternative to meat. Please share widely!

Who is the REAL thief?

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This picture has been circulating widely across FB. What is one MAJOR flaw in it?

It is NOT the rich who robs the poor. It is the government!

Remember that when it comes to the total wealth of an economy, the pie is NOT limited. If the pie were limited, then it would have become a zero-sum game. One would have had to steal from another in order to become wealthy.

Let’s say there exist only two persons, Mr. A and Mr. B, in a hypothetical economy. The total wealth (size of the pie) of this economy is Rs. 2000 — both earn Rs. 1000 each. Let’s also assume that this wealth is limited and cannot increase no matter how hard these people work. In this situation, Mr. A has to appropriate wealth from Mr. B in order to become rich i.e. he has NO other option than to “steal,” albeit legally, from Mr. B.

In the real (capitalistic) world, however, the pie of wealth is not limited. Mr. A can work hard to increase the total wealth of the economy. He need not steal from another because it is no longer a zero-sum game. Rather than Rs. 1000, he can make Rs. 2000. Hence the total wealth of the economy becomes Rs. 3000. Mr. B still earns Rs. 1000, which means his wealth didn’t decrease by Mr. A’s getting richer.

GOVERNMENT, THE REAL THIEF!

While the process through which the state steals is far more complex, here’s a rather simple example: Through taxing rich people and businesses, it collects astronomical funds every year and promises to use these funds to alleviate poverty through providing various subsidies (consumer goods at cheaper prices) to the poor. Do subsidies really help? Indian government has been providing subsidies since independence, yet truth is India still remains one of the POOREST countries in the world. Before the crops (at subsidized prices) even reach the poor, they are either consumed by the relatives of authorities or rot unused in government warehouses. Billions of funds are lost (stolen!) by government officials along the distribution chain.

So, with slight modification, here’s how the above picture should be:

In fact, providing significant tax-reliefs to rich businesses and investors is the BEST thing any government can do! It helps attract more investment and reduce national unemployment. There’s no dearth of evidence regarding this fact. Only fools think otherwise!