Thread by @docbhooshan

#Rant warning. #India
There is no clear answer at the end of the thread. So read at your own risk.

Start -

1/ quality of everyday life for 99% Indians is quite horrible. Pathetic infra and services, corrupt system, rotting education and healthcare.

You struggle to earn and then pump back almost all of your earnings into Neta-Babu-Contractor nexus just to be able to live.

2/ our democracy, governance and judiciary is a closed loop that protects, serves and perpetuates itself. Occasional person/outsider breaks in but becomes willing perpetrator even before end of their probation.

3/ if you look carefully at how your day is spent, you will realise that - many hours everyday are lost because of a deliberately mismanaged system.
At the end of the day, you find yourself exhausted, irritated and almost incapable of highest human emotion - compassion + love.

4/ this is pretty much the story of your entire life. And that too is shortened due to same system.

In short - you are a cell in this matrix run by Neta-Babu-Contractor who use your entire life to create more resources for themselves.

Yes. It looks as dystopian as Matrix.

5/ I suspect that this is the main reason why Indians are choosing to have less children. It is symptomatic of deep realisation of how stuck and helpless they are. Nothing to do with education and family planning propaganda by govt. In fact long time ago

6/ govt stopped talking about reducing family size. Nobody noticed.

You are drugged into dazed excitement with help of big dreams, constant propaganda, mindless entertainment (sports included) and the ultimate pill of "culture and religion".

7/ now that we are a functioning democracy run by Neta-Babu-Courts , you have 0 chance of making meaningful dent in the system.

Let me give you just 1 example that you have never heard - Mental Healthcare Act was passed in 2017. After decades long effort by people working

8/ in the area. It was seen as a huge victory and transformative force for mental health.

But most states have simply buried the act. No implementation. AT ALL. Yes. That's the truth. And courts are quiet about it.

9/ If an issue that is so (sadly) peripheral is controlled and killed so effectively by our ruling elite Neta-Babu, you can just imagine what you are up against when it comes to issues where money flows like ganga in monsoon.

10/ that is a problem statement. Is there a solution?

If you are looking at a solution that overhauls and restarts the system, you are mistaken.

If you believe that a new Neta/Party will solve this, you are mistaken.

11/ all revolutions fail. They bring about a change at top without any change in the power elite that is unelected but holds real power - Babu-Contractor-Courts.

And newly elected Neta quickly resembles the old one.

12/ so on large scale it looks hopeless.

But I don't feel hopeless. Because I know something about myself that is impervious to power elite.

I value my happiness above all else and I largely control that.

Here is how -

13/ living life on 2 levels. Classic Indian double book keeping.

On external front I go about my day to earn living as ethically as possible. I let money go when there is a conflict.

I earn money honestly and spend it to buy time. Wherever needed I don't mind paying the

14/ middleman to save me time for ethical/legal work.

What I do with this time is most important for me - I use this time in activities that connect me with 1. myself
2. Family
3. Close friends
4. Acquaintances
5. Society that feeds me.

15/ I try to be aware of my emotional state all the time and when I realise that I am agitated because of nastiness of system (Neta-Babu-Contractor-Courts), I try to disengage and do what benefits above 5 without damaging the system.

16/ so you will find me quietly waiting in traffic jam, listening to good music and not being tempted to break line and drive on opposite side or do something stupid for personal gain.

17/ I am determined to generate happiness for myself and my dear ones without getting carried away in hatred and false narratives that only serve the power elite.
This helps me be compassionate at my work and in my interactions with society.

18/ I am a product of old Indian education system where passing was at 35% and first class at 60%. Distinction was once in a lifetime event and pegged at 75%.

I aim to stay on this path atleast 35% everyday. Celebrate every 60% day. And they are getting plentiful with habit.

19/ Consume as less as possible. Spend only on happiness driving activites (they need little money). Because earn-consume/spend cycle empowers the power elite.

20/ summary - refusing to participate in competition, staying on my self determined path of happiness and compassion, choosing money last is my three fold path.

There is no hope for system but there is hope for individual members.

Make happiness, don't feed power elite.

21/ Wish me luck with my aim of 35% everyday.

🙏Rant over. Thanks for reading. Have a happy weekend with your dear ones.