Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Media: A Boon or Doom
Never in the history of Andhra did the death of a political personality bring so much upheaval, which is now being witnessed at the death of Dr. YSR. A pall of gloom descended on everyone when the helicopter carrying Chief Minister and four others went missing on September 2 about 9; 30am. For some time, there were rumors in the media that he was safe and was lost in the thick forest. Most of the political personalities expressed their hopes of his safe arrival in different news channels. There was lot of confusion as some news channels reported that the CM's helicopter had an emergence landing and that he was coming by walk through the jungle. While others reported saying the CM is kept in a safe place for safety reasons. Finally it was declared officially that the CM was missing. The mystery seemed to have been unraveled after 23 hours, after all the Telugu News channels reported that the helicopter was found but still there was suspense of his safety. As soon as the reports of finding the helicopter came everybody was relieved and some already started to celebrate his second coming. However, just after one hour it was official declared that the Chief Minister died in a helicopter crash. Shock and grief engulfed the people of Andhra and the global world over the death of a charismatic leader. DR. YSR was a great personality who was farmer-friendly and pro-poor. He was called "Apara Baghirath [Today's Baghirath] for the number of irrigation projects he proposed. He worked for the up-liftment of women and other weaker sections of the society, especially the Minorities. His contribution to the UPA government in the centre by winning 33 Lok Sabha seats and to the state of Andhra Pradesh is praise worthy. However, the enormous number of deaths being reported every day due to the death of Dr. YSR brings to light the darker side of media. Media is certainly a very influential medium which should be used to influence the people in a positive and fruitful manner. But why are the people going so mad because of this death. Some of them died of heart attack while watching news of YSR's death. Many of the youngsters and the beneficiaries of the various welfare schemes launched by him committed suicide. Should the hype created by electronic media be blamed for these deaths? As if this is not enough there are recent reports saying some people want to build a temple on his name, place his idol and worship him. I think this is ridiculous. Media was certainly very helpful and useful at a time when everyone was anxious to know the welfare of the Chief Minister. However, if at all the deaths reported by media were truly due to the death of DR. YSR then the media should be blamed for it.
Media: A Boon or A Doom?
Never in the history of Andhra did the death of a political personality bring so much upheaval, which is now being witnessed at the death of Dr. YSR. A pall of gloom descended on everyone when the helicopter carrying Chief Minister and four others went missing on September 2 about 9; 30am. For some time, there were rumors in the media that he was safe and was lost in the thick forest. Most of the political personalities expressed their hopes of his safe arrival in different news channels. There was lot of confusion as some news channels reported that the CM's helicopter had an emergence landing and that he was coming by walk through the jungle. While others reported saying the CM is kept in a safe place for safety reasons. Finally it was declared officially that the CM was missing. The mystery seemed to have been unraveled after 23 hours, after all the Telugu News channels reported that the helicopter was found but still there was suspense of his safety. As soon as the reports of finding the helicopter came everybody was relieved and some already started to celebrate his second coming. However, just after one hour it was official declared that the Chief Minister died in a helicopter crash. Shock and grief engulfed the people of Andhra and the global world over the death of a charismatic leader. DR. YSR was a great personality who was farmer-friendly and pro-poor. He was called "Apara Baghirath [Today's Baghirath] for the number of irrigation projects he proposed. He worked for the up-liftment of women and other weaker sections of the society, especially the Minorities. His contribution to the UPA government in the centre by winning 33 Lok Sabha seats and to the state of Andhra Pradesh is praise worthy. However, the enormous number of deaths being reported every day due to the death of Dr. YSR brings to light the darker side of media. Media is certainly a very influential medium which should be used to influence the people in a positive and fruitful manner. But why are the people going so mad because of this death. Some of them died of heart attack while watching news of YSR's death. Many of the youngsters and the beneficiaries of the various welfare schemes launched by him committed suicide. Should the hype created by electronic media be blamed for these deaths? As if this is not enough there are recent reports saying some people want to build a temple on his name, place his idol and worship him. I think this is ridiculous. Media was certainly very helpful and useful at a time when everyone was anxious to know the welfare of the Chief Minister. However, if at all the deaths reported by media were truly due to the death of DR. YSR then the media should be blamed for it.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Learning from our Neighbors
Every day is a journey, every journey we make gives us experience, every experience teaches us new lesson/s. Lessons are not always learned in classrooms but also in unexpected places. So also, learning a lesson from a neighbor on a journey was one such experience which I would like to share here.
Recently, I was on a journey along with a few pastors to attend a funeral service of a senior pastor who died of heart attack. Though we were informed about the funeral in the morning yet it took nearly three hours to decide and make necessary arrangements for the journey. Meanwhile, we were also waiting for few other pastors to join the troop. Finally, we hired a vehicle which was driven by a young Muslim driver. The journey went on smoothly for almost three hours but we were bit late yet we made it to the funeral service. After conducting the funeral service we consoled the bereaved family and were back on our journey. While we were on our way back some of our pastors had heated argument about the new Bishop's election process. While some pastors were giving fuel to the argument others tried to quench it. Finally, one of the pastors concluded that we are not going to get any benefit out of it so we diverted the topic. The driver asked us about our dinner plans because most of them either only ate breakfast and some like me, not even drank enough water. We decided to have our dinner at Medak wherein we would reach by 7:00 pm. However, the driver requested that he would like to break his fast (it was during Ramadan) so therefore wanted to stop at a nearby Mosque, on the way. Unfortunately, there were no mosques on the way and some of the villagers on the way suggested to break his fast at Medak. It was already past 6pm and if he had to reach Medak then he would have to speed up things. The vehicle was on the top speed and we were able to reach just before the time for him to break his fast. On reaching Medak, the driver was very anxious to find a mosque so he inquired some Muslim friends who were about to break their fast. They asked him to come over to their place so that they would break together and later on attend the service in the Mosque. The driver requested us to wait for some time and immediately ran to the nearby shop where those Muslim friends invited him. He shared some fruits which were offered to him by the strangers and later on he was taken to the Mosque in an auto to offer prayers. After finishing their prayers they took him to a nearby hotel and offered him something to eat. Though our driver was a stranger to them yet his friends did all that they could and finally bid farewell. Truly, Good Samaritan story re-enacted. We could see the eagerness in the young boy to offer prayers at the right time and also the bond of fellowship existing between our neighbors. We as pastors had wonderful lessons to learn from that journey. I felt the journey was fruitful not just because we were able to console the bereaved family but also because of the lessons we learned from our neighbors.
Recently, I was on a journey along with a few pastors to attend a funeral service of a senior pastor who died of heart attack. Though we were informed about the funeral in the morning yet it took nearly three hours to decide and make necessary arrangements for the journey. Meanwhile, we were also waiting for few other pastors to join the troop. Finally, we hired a vehicle which was driven by a young Muslim driver. The journey went on smoothly for almost three hours but we were bit late yet we made it to the funeral service. After conducting the funeral service we consoled the bereaved family and were back on our journey. While we were on our way back some of our pastors had heated argument about the new Bishop's election process. While some pastors were giving fuel to the argument others tried to quench it. Finally, one of the pastors concluded that we are not going to get any benefit out of it so we diverted the topic. The driver asked us about our dinner plans because most of them either only ate breakfast and some like me, not even drank enough water. We decided to have our dinner at Medak wherein we would reach by 7:00 pm. However, the driver requested that he would like to break his fast (it was during Ramadan) so therefore wanted to stop at a nearby Mosque, on the way. Unfortunately, there were no mosques on the way and some of the villagers on the way suggested to break his fast at Medak. It was already past 6pm and if he had to reach Medak then he would have to speed up things. The vehicle was on the top speed and we were able to reach just before the time for him to break his fast. On reaching Medak, the driver was very anxious to find a mosque so he inquired some Muslim friends who were about to break their fast. They asked him to come over to their place so that they would break together and later on attend the service in the Mosque. The driver requested us to wait for some time and immediately ran to the nearby shop where those Muslim friends invited him. He shared some fruits which were offered to him by the strangers and later on he was taken to the Mosque in an auto to offer prayers. After finishing their prayers they took him to a nearby hotel and offered him something to eat. Though our driver was a stranger to them yet his friends did all that they could and finally bid farewell. Truly, Good Samaritan story re-enacted. We could see the eagerness in the young boy to offer prayers at the right time and also the bond of fellowship existing between our neighbors. We as pastors had wonderful lessons to learn from that journey. I felt the journey was fruitful not just because we were able to console the bereaved family but also because of the lessons we learned from our neighbors.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Random Ruminations
I guess I have created this blog to share some of my random ruminations from my pastoral experiences. I like randomness so most of it would be random personal reflections. A couple of friends encouraged me to start blogging though I am not capable of writing good stuff. Anyways, practice makes one perfect so I decided to follow the advice and started to blog.
As a pastor there are umpteen number of experiences and lot of time to introspect so I would like to share some of them in this blog. I don't mean to say that pastors are not busy people but since I am working in a small village named Mupkal, I have lot of free time which I can use to write and reflect on countless number of things.
I belong to the Church of South India, Diocese of Medak and I am an Ordained Minister working in Dudgaon pastorate, village Mupkal. This is a very famous village because it is one of the Hindu pilgrim centers. Few years ago one of the banyan trees which was located on the outskirts of the village fell. Some of the villagers tried to remove it from the roots but failed so they left it and went their way. However, after few months/years (not sure) the tree stood straight, just like before. Therefore, it is believed that the tree has some special powers and is now worshiped. People throng to this place every Monday, along with a coconut, few flowers, a small bell and other puja samagri (items) wrapped up in a fluorescent color cloth, which is tied to the branches. Lovers, leaders, learners, learned, young and old, parents, children and people of all ages come over there to pay their homage to the deity. It is fascinating to see all the well educated and affluent personalities also following the masses. In a place like India wherein so many crores of deities are worshiped this scene might not fascinate some of you. But what fascinates me is the fact that people coming from all walks of life have the courage to believe that they could experience God's works through simple things.
Today, I happened to go to a newly constructed huge church in Hyderabad, which was inaugurated last Sunday. The big campus not only has huge church but also has a parsonage and an orphanage. Adjacent to the orphanage one more new construction is coming up probably it will be used for some other purpose. This church belongs to a well known person who spent 200 crores on this project. When I came to know about the huge amount they spent on this project the first random thought that came to my mind was, why did they waste so much money on this project? They could have utilized the amount to build, if not more, at least 100 rural churches. As a pastor working in rural areas I know many villages in India that still do not have a place to worship. Some conduct worship in their homes, some under the sheds, and some under the trees. The present trend in Christian circles especially, in the cities and towns is that big is beautiful. Therefore, many churches have proposed and some already built mega churches. When the Church in India is facing serious crisis, can we afford to build mega churches, neglecting the common masses? Why can't we believe that God works through simple things! Does God expects us to build mega churches so that God could dwell in it? I guess not.
Jesus, in his life time did many wonders using simple things like water, spittle, and he used his simple words to heal people. He taught profound things using simple stuff like the grass of the fields, the seeds, among the seeds the smallest seed, mustard seed, salt, lamp, bread, etc. Jesus always associated himself with the simple common folk, he was a good shepherd. He never preferred to live in palaces but lived a simple lifestyle. Why can't we believe God can work through simple things? I do believe God can use simple things and simple people like us to do extraordinary things, all that we need to do is be faithful.
As a pastor there are umpteen number of experiences and lot of time to introspect so I would like to share some of them in this blog. I don't mean to say that pastors are not busy people but since I am working in a small village named Mupkal, I have lot of free time which I can use to write and reflect on countless number of things.
I belong to the Church of South India, Diocese of Medak and I am an Ordained Minister working in Dudgaon pastorate, village Mupkal. This is a very famous village because it is one of the Hindu pilgrim centers. Few years ago one of the banyan trees which was located on the outskirts of the village fell. Some of the villagers tried to remove it from the roots but failed so they left it and went their way. However, after few months/years (not sure) the tree stood straight, just like before. Therefore, it is believed that the tree has some special powers and is now worshiped. People throng to this place every Monday, along with a coconut, few flowers, a small bell and other puja samagri (items) wrapped up in a fluorescent color cloth, which is tied to the branches. Lovers, leaders, learners, learned, young and old, parents, children and people of all ages come over there to pay their homage to the deity. It is fascinating to see all the well educated and affluent personalities also following the masses. In a place like India wherein so many crores of deities are worshiped this scene might not fascinate some of you. But what fascinates me is the fact that people coming from all walks of life have the courage to believe that they could experience God's works through simple things.
Today, I happened to go to a newly constructed huge church in Hyderabad, which was inaugurated last Sunday. The big campus not only has huge church but also has a parsonage and an orphanage. Adjacent to the orphanage one more new construction is coming up probably it will be used for some other purpose. This church belongs to a well known person who spent 200 crores on this project. When I came to know about the huge amount they spent on this project the first random thought that came to my mind was, why did they waste so much money on this project? They could have utilized the amount to build, if not more, at least 100 rural churches. As a pastor working in rural areas I know many villages in India that still do not have a place to worship. Some conduct worship in their homes, some under the sheds, and some under the trees. The present trend in Christian circles especially, in the cities and towns is that big is beautiful. Therefore, many churches have proposed and some already built mega churches. When the Church in India is facing serious crisis, can we afford to build mega churches, neglecting the common masses? Why can't we believe that God works through simple things! Does God expects us to build mega churches so that God could dwell in it? I guess not.
Jesus, in his life time did many wonders using simple things like water, spittle, and he used his simple words to heal people. He taught profound things using simple stuff like the grass of the fields, the seeds, among the seeds the smallest seed, mustard seed, salt, lamp, bread, etc. Jesus always associated himself with the simple common folk, he was a good shepherd. He never preferred to live in palaces but lived a simple lifestyle. Why can't we believe God can work through simple things? I do believe God can use simple things and simple people like us to do extraordinary things, all that we need to do is be faithful.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
