Booming Bamboo Feeding the West

Booming Bamboo Feeding the West

Key Words: West, here, refers to regions where bamboo doesn't grow or isn't cultivated. Bamboo, a wild grass, cannot be subjected to mass farming like wheat / rice. Feeding, in Indic cultures, is a verb for 'serving food' means, 'increase', which is by giving food it increases; it does not reduce. After eating, the guest says, 'God bless you', not 'thank you' as in English custom. Even the converted Konkani Catholics say, 'God bless you' keeping with the cultural tradition.

When I saw BBC news, ''Booming bamboo: The next super-material?', I was delighted.  I thought 'where does the sun rise today'! But after reading I wouldn't know to cry or laugh. Only my remaining disillusion vanished.

Bamboo artisans in Mumbai: Living with Dignity

Today, may it be democracy or dictatorship; both are under obligation of the visible-invisible capitalist powers. Unless these powers get a jolt like 'Arabian Spring', they may not learn the lesson.

Till now bamboo has been called, "Poor man’s persons' timber". The capitalist, they having enjoyed the taste for power and profit, overnight christened bamboo as, "timber of the 21st Century".

Under this sugar-coated name, the neo-colonialism is revealed in every word of this article. Is 21st century a magic wand?

See through the language of this story! It measures the bamboo production in 'dollar', and not 'tonne', not 'land', not 'life' of 'peasant-the-producer'! You never know when 'dollar' will slide down, and the bamboo producing peasants may face starvation! Such hypocrisy!

In the ad-world a lie repeated umpteen times may be sold as a truth by Goebbels’ propaganda, but it may not work forever is also true. The down-trodden notice it at once.
You never know when 'dollar' will slide down, and the bamboo producing peasants face starvation! Such hypocrisy!

Let us take example of our democratic nation.
From Nehru-era until now, who – any person/s, expert/s or pundit/s – spared a thought to the peasants in the country's six lakhs villages, then about 40 crores, now 100 crores, when and how, would they be able to build, manage and maintain the roads, bridges, schools, colleges, banks, industries etc. facilities in their villages by themselves?

Corporate Aesthetics of Hedonism

Or do they, submit to fate and continue live, ages after ages, as subjects or second class or the ‘Underclass’ of respective contemporary governments, forever?

Association of bamboo and villagers & aborigines is ancient. In the BBC story if there is anything new, it is the introduction to capitalize bamboo for mass production by the Industrial Society, where bamboo does not grow. That's all!
Mass production means 'centralization of power', whether by the state or the corporate. The corporate are known for their skill to capitalize anything — air, water, plants, animals, birds; blood... even poverty of the 'Other' — for profit and power.
Colonization obviously is followed by monopoly, market manipulation, intellectual property rights, scarcity... What happens to low-cost Housing, after Food scarcity, in the Third World, the Fourth World (of aborigines) and the Fifth World (of the displaced and marginalized due to development projects) worldwide?

The west is famous for making tool of economy to create great wealth and great waste.
There may be a number of products of lifespan, which is not even that of a rice plant. In no time there come new models in market. Old products go in scrap.

A paddy plant gives back fifty grains, but not even its speck goes waste, it turns into organic manure. And after daily meals, the crumbs or leftover is sent to birds, animals, ants-insects. These are our rural unwritten 'Standards'. Our government, however, always goes after Global Standards.

THE ATTRIBUTE TO DESIGN IN NATURE

“In whole organisms, randomness structure is uncommon. Everything seems finely tuned by brutal rigours of natural selection. There are no spare limbs to be found and hardly any dispensable organs. This forced economy of organism design has always limited the use of bodily form as evolutionary timepiece" (Martin Jones, The Molecular Hunt, Penguin 2002).

There is a saying, 'money goes to money'. How does it happen?
Capitalism has singular objective, money: Money is the 'means' and the 'goal'. When means and goal are one, a project is fulfilled.

Bamboo artisans belong to low-caste in India: Living with Dignity

For any democratic government, if its 'means' and 'goals' are 'People' for any project or objective, then only true progress is possible. Science, technology, currency... are merely tools without tangible value.

Bamboo or its grove is most virtuous icon of healthy community among plant world. It is friendly to all the living beings. Its equanimity is impeccable. Humans domesticated many grasses, such rice, wheat etc. in the ancient times, but bamboo did not need it. Bamboo – the eternal plant – belongs to sainthood.

For the advanced arrogant human societies, and their puppets (among many countries), there is never enough to learn from – Srishti – Mother Nature.
A note accompanies the BBC article:

‘There are as yet no international laws governing sustainability of bamboo plantations.’
The First World loves Laws, as if unaware of Natural Justice. Do the First World societies recognize that ‘Justice is above the Law’?

Bamboo: Image by BBC New

BBC story calls bamboo a 'green gold'. Siddhartha Jataka compare bamboo or bamboo-forest as "Cat's eye". Jataka stories, which date back to 300 B.C., are 550 in numbers and has mentioned bamboo and bamboo-forest more than hundred times. 

Read›› Booming bamboo: The next super-material?

Comment: They will buy carbon credits by planting bamboo by proxy in the Third World Countries at cheaper rates.
 — Remigius de Souza


~ ~ ~ ~ ~
©Remigius de Souza, all rights reserved.

Spring Times in Plants/Humans

Spring Times in Plants/Humans
by Remigius de Souza

An Old Tree in Spring Bloom

Spring Times in Plants/Humans

by Remigius de Souza

In the life of a tree
Springtime comes free

a hundred several times;
in a human life but once,

you may have seen
many a monsoon

but spring time once
that you might live

knowing it is there
or missed forever.

Hold it in your soul
And let it radiate forever.

* * *
New Year begins with spring time in lunar calenders in India and other countries.

Remigius de Souza (Mumbai)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
©Remigius de Souza, all rights reserved.

LIVING IN FOOL’S PARADISE

LIVING IN FOOL’S PARADISE

Once conditioned by the system
Subjected to a quarter century
Of rigors of the mass schooling
It is not easy going, easy keeping
Aflame awareness
In the cyclonic waves turbulent
By the anarchist housekeeper
One tends to buy time
In the memory (of events, images)
In future (projecting hopes, images).
Transient is but Time;
Remi is racing with Time.

Mumbai
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
©Remigius de Souza, all rights reserved.

WAYS TO WEALTH (POEM)

Ways to Wealth (Indian Budget - Year 2006)

1 
Once a god-adored adorned
many a head of door to an abode.
Now the gods take to the road,
beg for patronage. And the rich
beggars go globetrotting for
finance, know-how and trade.

2 
Once the children of communities
cohesive received learning free
in the life-supporting skills in
branches of wholesome life-tree.

Now in the forward societies
they buy it at the trading malls
turning their clocks fast forward
until late to their adulthood
to earn their dough of uncertain
value to buy the living and life-
supporting services from expertise
at the thriving market place.

3
Now the bureaucrats – the masters
from the branches of expertise,
at their highest level of incompetence
in Peter Principle – take chairs;
replace colours faded of feudal-powers,
at the helm of the people’s affairs.

Now no wonder the prostitution goes
rampant and the pimps thrive on
as they make it quick with smile on
the by-ways and highways to wealth.

4 
Now no wonder all the world children
– you and I, yours and mine –
are the cursed ‘unwanted generation’,
as much said, the ‘growing population’
by the stakeholder – the rational animal – man
as much done: the rape of Mother Earth.

Remigius de Souza | Mumbai | 04-03-2006
(Revised and updated)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
©Remigius de Souza, all rights reserved.

MEDITATION DEMYSTIFIED

THE WORD MEDITATION assumes mystical aura promoted by religions in civilized societies. Many methods are prescribed. It is also said one needs initiation, of course, by a guru.

Generally, I have heard, they prescribe mantras, postures, auspicious timings and places etc. for meditation.

Let us come straight to a question: Can we meditate by our-self, without any guru or an authority? It is as if I am the first person to indulge into an act of meditation!

Meditation, simply put, is thinking that takes place in mind. And that we all do all the time, almost.

I say, 'almost', because I may at times act or talk impulsively, mechanically or rarely spontaneously. This may show that my mind is conditioned and thought is absent.

We have most wonderful and powerful tools, Body and Mind. They are also synchronized with each other.

BODY is so powerful that it works round the clock, without our noticing it. Perhaps we are too busy to notice it except for its outer looks. Of course, we take medications even for minor ailments.

Body has its own intelligence or wisdom known as Homeostasis and power to heal itself, unless our indulgences with it go berserk.

Body, of course, sends us timely signals about health, but we keep our mind preoccupied with many, too many, other matters. Or, perhaps, we fail to read the signals.

A little friendly relationship and non-speak dialogue with our body, time to time, could help us. It could, also, help us to read Body-Mind connection.

For example, a badly wounded person, when reaches in safe hands, loses consciousness, which shows body-mind connection. Body has tremendous power to go through extortion. Jesus’ last walk to Calvary Mountain is known example; In recent times: T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia).

MIND is equipped with seven senses — Touch, Hearing, Vision, Taste, Smell, Sex, and Intuition, also called Sixth Sense — which build and grow our perception, besides intelligence and intellect. These faculties open us up to inner and outer worlds, and to think, learn, work etc.

Mind is a powerful tool. It has invented magical or spiritual or yogic powers in the past and present times. 'Maya' is another popular word. Maya is not illusion alone, it is also Virtual Reality. Many scientific inventions to create 'wealth' fall into this category, so also, idea of 'currency' as a means to wealth.

MEANING OF MEDITATION: While reading the above lines, many responses – good or bad – take place in mind. They may differ and change at every statement. They may even create emotions.

As a matter fact, events that take place around us that we notice create responses in our mind.
To watch, observe, and be aware of these responses – happy or sad – is the First Step in the Act of Meditation, and also of Learning. Meditation does need attention, not concentration as popularly believed. Concentration subjugates mind, while attention is inclusive to everything that happens around.

Mind, like body, is active all the time, even when we sleep. We, however, may or may not remember the dreams when awake.

We can test it when we are awake, and not particularly busy. Just close the eyes and watch. Many images, thoughts, memories, ideas continuously flow in the infinite Space of Mind. They may or may not be in sequence. Indeed this space identical to Cosmic Space!

Also sometimes a thought/event endlessly repeats in the mind, such as, "S/he offended me..." with the event. We also repeat it to others too. But do we watch the ‘act of repetition’ itself?

Mind becomes a great chatter-box, particularly in the info-age. There is no occasion for a state of 'no-mind' or ‘rest to mind’ any time. And we treat body like a slave, Shudra! Our concern for body is skin-deep!

NO REST FOR MIND! So are there any calls for mental problems? In any case we could try a mind game mentioned before. Either (1) take an event and watch our reactions, or (2) simply watch whatever thoughts, images, memories, ideas etc. as they come and go in mind, or (3) watch a most familiar object – food grain – at our kitchen! Just watch! No opinions. No judgments. No bias. And see results!
Who knows, we might find a 'falling apple' of Newton or swinging 'chandelier' of Galileo! Or perhaps shout, 'Eureka'!

It is just a game, with no investment, no fossil energy spent. By and by, look at any of the issues from all sides; its roots etc. without bias. Artists invariably play this kind of game, with an issue on their hands.

OF REAL LIFE: There are millions of people living Bellow Poverty Line (BPL). Imagine for a while, how do they 'survive'? What does help them 'survive'? ('Survival means to live sanely.' — J. Krishnamurti). They are face to face with real life, not fiction. It is Meditation and Creative Thinking and Creative Action that help them to survive. It is Constructive Creativity that helps them to sustain. No gods! No gurus! No governments!

Meditation is a key to creative thought and creative action. Would they belong to ‘Constructive Creativity’ for welfare, or 'Destructive Creativity' which splurge (in entertainment) / waste energy (in wars) – from emotions to fossil fuel / nuclear energy?

QUOTE

“The full potential of human creativity has not yet been tapped. Along with the ever-increasing miracle of love, this fact is one of the brightest hopes for human race.”

— Ben Okri, (A way of Being Free, 1999, P.28)

This is just a beginning of meditation.
• We define meditation by action, and also continue to refine it by practice.
• As we get more and more involved, new avenues of meditation open up.
• One can meditate on any or all mental and physical actions that we daily undergo.
• Any mundane work then becomes a challenge.
• This also helps us to get rid of perpetual boredom in mechanical life.

Meditation then is an attitude of mind and body, not a habit.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
©Remigius de Souza, all rights reserved.