Tuesday 20 March 2018

Why am I an atheist?


Why Am I An Atheist?
I thought for a long time to write about this topic. It took many years to realise that I am an atheist and it took another few years to make peace with the contradictory thoughts about this trait. I never wanted to openly declare what I believed but I realised in the last couple of months that there are many people who are in a confused state about their beliefs. I can feel their dilemma because once I was in the same condition fighting with my own old rigid beliefs. Then there are many blind believers. There are many more who are just following a creed without bothering about whether there is any superhuman entity. Then there are many true believers. I do not intend to shake or uproot anyone's faith nor do I intend to convince them of my convictions. My purpose is to represent an idea of rationality. My intention is to see a country full of people who dwell over any idea, notion, creed, belief, superstition etc before accepting it.
My pain is my attitude of seeing the wrong and then accepting it because the same wrong somehow lessen the pain of the masses. Objectivity can be categorised as a vice if it is seen in this short term perspective. But in the long term, the same pain lowering wrong turns out to be an addiction. An addiction which eats not only their body but also their soul. I can not bear the sight of these drugged people. I would rather see them crying in pain than throwing them into a living hell.
Bhagat singh was right when he said that to be an atheist meant to face the truth. Our inability or rather reluctance to face the truth makes many of us move towards the supernaturals. 
He was right when he said that reasoning and dogmas cannot come together. One has to choose between them. I would suggest reasoning. Atheism is not only about rejection of presence of God but also the need of presence of rationality. An atheist can be anything but not a blind believer. However, I would not argue more on the controversy of God. I am not a superhuman who can present data about the absence of God. I woule elaborate this statement with the help of a dialogue between Buddha and a seeker. The seeker asked Buddha whether there was any God. Buddha answered in negative. But he also said that our knowledge was incomplete  about our surroundings so whatever there was which we did not know must not be called supernatural. He further said that it meant we needed to expand our  knowledge.
I agree with what Buddha said. It is true that we see  several incomprehensible  events, facts, happenings in our surrounding which are beyond our understanding as of now. But that does not mean we should name it God and start worshipping it without reaching the depth or the origin of the event. The exercise become more painful when hypocrisy,  fanaticism and orthodoxy extend their opiating support in favour of blind faith. And furthermore, the allegation of blasphemy is another factor which keeps rationale away. I do not mind being called blasphemous or apostate or in any other negative term. If my negative nomenclature sets in motion a process of reasoning and questioning then I would be happier. As far as our knowlege of truth is concerned, we are still seekers. So it would be good if we try to see the truth behind everything.
My atheism is not always welcomed. And my conviction is not a momentary valour of youth which will fade away with time. I do not know anything about future. All I know about me belong to this moment only.
The need of rationality has always been felt. But I feel its need are greater these days. The cocktail of politics and religion, professions and religion, interpersonal relations and religion etc has become more apparent now. Although the rift between science and religion is shrinking yet the pace is not good. I am aware that changes take time but to make change happen, you need to set in motion the changes you want to see. That need changes within our own systems, both personal as well as collective one. 
The need of change, the search for truth, the rationality and the questioning of old beliefs turned me into an atheist. My life does not revolve around the miracles performed by a superhuman. It revolves around the miracles which are performed by me and the efforts which I have put to make the miracles happen. I see both the pain and the happiness in life. Both are present here. There is heart wrecking pain and there is boundless joy. I have both the experiences and I am now assured that to live a meaningful life, I do not need any God. All I need is a balance between certain facets of this life and an unfathomable spirit to seek the truth.
I was not born an atheist. Rather I made myself into  such after years of restless search, reverence, worship, questioning and reasoning. I had been an obedient Hindu devotee. I spent many years of my childhood worshipping many Hindu Pantheons. I offered prayers, climbed uncountable stairs, lit many earthen candles, recited hymns, read Geeta and other sacred books, visited many temples, talked to many pundits etc but I could not find any answer. Everywhere the answer was the same, boring and monotonous, that is, God will take care of everything. Then came the series of news headlines citing the statistics of brutal rapes, murder, fraud, lynching, fanaticism and what not. I do not deny that there has been no happy news. There are also the happy incidents around us which make us believe that the world is still a beautiful place to live in. But I confronted an indigestible fact then. The fact was that all the good and the bad things are done by humans only. There is no explicit evidence of acts of God.
From then on, the harsh realities and beautiful views both become an easy guess. It became clear that it is only us. We are the doers and we are the gainers. 
Although there came a few times, when my morale was low and conviction was not firm. In those days, I switched from one belief to another. In those days there were  pain and realities which made my nights sleepless. There were many a times when my atheistic beliefs were shaken and I turned into a theist. Then there was a time when I was an agnostic. I did not turn into an atheist in one night. I took toll on me. The search cost me my precious time and peace of mind. My restless state could not let me focus on anything. Although, many a times I accepted things blindly out of frustration but the fire within me could not let me accept things as such. It kept knocking and knocking untill I gave a sound thought to a belief.

Letter


ALL INDIA KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION
(Reg. No. 10296)
DEJURE RECOGNISED BY
KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA SANGATHAN, MINISTRY OF HRD, GOVT.OF INDIA



Shri Santosh Kumar Mall, IAS
Commissioner,
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sngathan (HQ)
NEW DELHI

Esteemed Sir,
We, all the office bearers of AIKVTA (ALL INDIA KENDRIYA VIDYALAYA
TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION), extend our cordial welcome to you as our Commissioner,
KVS. We assure and affirm you our sincerest, loyal and dedicated cooperation to you for the
interest and welfare of KVS. May your tenure in KVS be most prosperous & joyful in all
aspects.

With humble regards!


Yours faithfully
GENERAL SECRETAY
&
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
A I K V T A

Monday 19 March 2018

Standard of Indian Education


As per Census of India 2011, the Literacy rate of India has gone up to 74.04% in 2011 from 65.38% in
2001. with male literacy rate 82.14% and female literacy rate is 65.46%. Kerala with 93.9% literacy
rate is the top state in India,Lakshadweep and Mizoram are at second and third position with 92.3%
and 91.06% literacy rate respectively. Bihar with 63.08% literacy rate is the last in terms of literacy
rate in India. Majority of states in India have shown majors signs of improvement in their overall
literary rate thus contributing towards a literate nation. But, India is said to be passing through a great
dichotomy. The country has got some excellent education institutions. But, the quality across the
country is uneven.
Primary and secondary education has their own challenges,Govt.run schools are not performing well
and the private run schools take huge sum for providing a better education.So in this era of economic
disparity quality education is serious issue.According to a report, 57% of students in the country are
educated but are not adequately prepared for employment. The country’s education assessment
framework lacks specific action points for teachers and parents to enable holistic education.
If we talk about higher education While there has been remarkable growth in the number of
institutions providing higher education in India, but even then none of the Indian universities finds
any place in the list of top universities in the world.Quality of many universities and colleges are far
from satisfactory.On one hand there are some institutions like the IITs, IIMs having a well established
a reputation, there are a large number of institutions which are mediocre, and some are no better
than ‘teaching shops’. Most of higher education institutions fall in between these two
extremes.Private universities are operating in an inappropriate manner, without much concern for
students and quality education,many of them operate under political patronage and take advantage
of the prevailing lax or corrupt regulatory environment.
Political interference in university and college affairs is of common knowledge.In some states, in
government colleges, teachers are transferable like government staff. The process of transfer is
opaque and often driven by political influence. Because of frequent transfers, teachers in government
colleges rarely develop an institutional attachment, which is essential for improving the quality of
education.
140 or more universities got themselves accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation
Council (NAAC) but only about 32 percent were rated as ‘A’ grade or above.
But the happier part is that education sector in India is poised to witness major growth in the years to
come as India will have world’s largest tertiary-age population and second largest graduate talent
pipeline globally by the end of 2020. With online modes of education being used by several
educational organizations, the higher education sector in India is set for some major changes and
developments in the years to come. 
Looking forward:With human resource increasingly gaining significance in the overall development of
the country, development of education infrastructure is expected to remain the key focus in the
current decade. To ensure that the skills of Indian students are aligned with what the market
demands will require that courses and teachers are in tune with the same.
To ensure the quality education and education at affordable price,the online education is going to
play a key role.

The glimpse of the life of an educated Indian girl


Nitya was a girl of average performance, narrowed personal circle and practical outlook. Although she had her own dreams yet she never forgot to live out her day fully. It did not mean she had not worked hard for her dreams. It meant that her outlook towards life was skewed in favour of the day where she was alive. She felt events more clearly and emotionally than that of relying on facts and statistics. Her objectivity was her microscopic as well as telescopic lens where in any event would be seen according to its relevance,  available time and interest. She was dedicated and passionate in her work which made her professional skills solid and trustworthy. On the other hand, the same exellence had its own defects...she could not complete herself. Her personal life was not a disaster but she could not convince herself that living life around her lifestyle was not a crime. Her lifestyle was plain but beautifully organised. She could manage any number of tasks in a day. But as she was told, there are only a few people of one's genre. She wanted an accommodation in someone's personal life with equal reciprocation. But that was not easy. The search needed patience and time. Although she was ready to compromise but at that stage of her life, it was not a child's play to change one's outlook,opinion and lifestyle. She knew it so the only option she was left with was to leave it upto the time. She was optimistic and a believer in the miracles of nature. She believed the things she wanted to see in her personal space could not be bought. They are the fragrances of nature which come slowly and automatically, with the flow of time and space.

Sunday 19 April 2015

WE WILL TREAT EVERYONE EQUALLY AND UNBIASED!!!


Dear Friends,
Thanks to all of our well wishers, friends & especially all members of AIKVTA. The new elected body is not made by any individual but is the joint efforts made by all of us. Our identity is AIKVTA, without it we have no existence. We will try our best to strengthening the AIKVTA.  After the results of Election, we will not compare Positions & Oppositions. Now all the members of AIKVTA & all teachers of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan are our family members. I have no ill will regarding anyone…
WE WILL TREAT EVERYONE EQUALLY AND UNBIASED!!!
Once again thanks to all of you for your kind support…
You can feel free to contact us anytime…