tks Ji,
Kindly apologize for all that has happened in this thread.
I take the responsibility for everything that has happened in this thread.
Somehow or other, against my will and principles, the thread got hijacked.
And now it is taking totally a different twist.
I have decided not to contribute further atleast from now on and thus keep up my commitment
And thanks for all the members who responded to my postings.
I feel extremely sorry if I offended anyone which was not definitely intended, but in the interest of establishing my stand.
Thank you all
Bye bye
Sri VB,
Since the thread is in the General Section, it is good to air your views openly.
My intent was to help foster a discussion about how human beings yearn to be 'listened to' and have a sense of belonging. The Japanese whose culture has become highly westernized and driven to function like automatons are now paying to be listened to.
In India by and large, some old people do want to have a sense of belonging. This is because the concept of joint families known in TB household has been disappearing fast.
The great thing is that there seem to be groups being formed like the one you belong to. Activities such as Bhajans, discussions, mutual enquiries, watching for each others, etc. can be extremely helpful as people enter their Vanaprastha stage.
Every culture has found its own unique ways to address this sense of belonging and the need to be understood.
Therefore it is immature to propose any method adopted by one culture as a prescription to another culture. Certainly older people who are widows and widowers can marry if they chose to. But many TB people find more joy in belonging to a Goshti that is into Bhajans etc.
Dale Carnegie says (and I am paraphrasing) that it is not productive to argue with people. Debates are useful and wonderful but it is possible only with people who have the integrity to want to know the truth. Here mostly it is exchange of ego which may be pleasurable for some but waste of time overall.
In General Section, apparent hijacking of threads is common by a few. The discussion in this thread did not get hijacked very much in my view because the discussion by and large centered on how (older) people find a sense of belonging.
For those that profess to strive for the values of Brahmana regardless of their birth based caste my recommendation is for them to begin the practice of Nithya Karmas if that is not part of their life. I would say if people made commitment to search for the truth, learn to laugh at their own ego driven positions and actions and live by the moment enjoying the company of anyone they come in contact with they would find joy.
Bottom line: No need to apologize
I know you are well intentioned and I respect you for that.
eace:
