- 95% NEET -qualified students have been trained at coaching centres. What happens to those students from vernacular medium schools aspiring to follow their dreams in medicine. Oh. Yes. English is must, Right?
- Who dominates? English medium students and CBSE students. If a student studied under state board need not aspire for greater things. Fend for yourself. Coaching centres thrive on high coaching fees. Coaching centres are byproduct of NEET.
- I have seen doctors from poor rural backgrounds who moved ahead against all odds. They are better at treating their patients. There is humanity in them. I also have seen who have minimal contact with patients bent only on taking commission for the tests or medicines they prescribe.
- There is hope. There needs to be much change. However, there are powerful players behind the NEET. Make it accessible and affordable without risking proper learning of medical students.
A thirst for Meaning
Thursday, October 21, 2021
Neatness of NEET
Thursday, March 25, 2021
Yes or No
A 'no' can instantly put away an internal inconvenience. But a 'yes' will definitely cause you much trouble as you will weigh the possible consequences in human terms. But a soul attuned to the will of God will be confirmed of His mighty actions - the influence of God in the soul ("the power of the Most High will overshadow you), 'do not be afraid', you have won God's favor not man's'. "Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum".
The above lines were my WhatsApp status (March 25,2021) post on the solemnity of the Annunciation. I received the following responses to my post:
A friend of mine agreed, "yes it's TRUE. But as human beings, we fail to draw the line as to where we should say No and where we should say YES and then the troubles begin.
My response: Where we should say yes and where we need to say no is an important distinction to be made and is definitely a human dilemma.... imagine you are accompanied by a friend or a travel guide to a place not familiar to you but known to your friend. You trust your friend wherever he or she takes you without ever questioning. I suppose on the way, you ask for directions from someone, it is a direct insult to the friend who is taking you around. You just trust and move on with the firm faith that your friend is trustworthy. You do not have unjust doubts about your friend's possible connection with human trafficking. Say "yes" to all that builds up a person and "no" to all that would bring destruction and unhappiness. Remember, saying "yes" to God is equal to a life of happy inconvenience. For example, saying yes to a man in marriage is a happy inconvenience as you have to live with him for your whole life. It is the exclusion of all other possible men in your life.
Another friend of mine was intrigued by my example of 'doubting the friend with a possible connection with human trafficking.' I explained - if a friend involved in selling human beings for whatever purpose, such a person can cajole you and sell you (your "unquestioned yes" and possible destruction). So a friend is not so much questioned about his intentions. Saying "yes" has consequences. He sought clarity and asked - Are you telling me to say "yes" without unnecessary thinking of the possible mishaps and believe blindly.
Blind belief does not enter the picture. Because "yes" is always an informed consent - will you be my wife? Are you willing to join the Salesians of Don Bosco? Those will involve probing questions like those Mary did ask - How can it be? or like the seminarians who would join you - will I be sent for studies if I join the Salesians? Will I be a saint?
He explained his stand. Mary, having said her yes did not only asked probing questions but did not believe blindly. He went on further If Mary went with haste to the hill country of Judea to meet Elizabeth, in a way it is not blind faith. If she visited Elizabeth, is it not out of her innocence rather than getting upset with the consequences of an action?
I replied- Mary said "yes" to God and His will. This means that there is no wrong in doing God's will without trying to understand His will. Because God is a guarantee. "The power of the Most High will overshadow you," "you will conceive.." If you are still in doubt, a confirmed sign is given to you - a woman (Elizabeth) who was called barren is now in her 6-month pregnancy. Sanctity consists not in understanding God's will but in doing God's will. So there is no importance to blind faith here because "faith is the assurance of the things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen." (Heb 11:1).
If you happen to read this, do you think that it is a play of words as my friend noted? No worry! The problem existed from time immemorial. God was Word. Word was with God. So if we are not in God we will not be able to interpret the original meanings of the Author (God). We will have many towers like Babel. People are getting lost in data and not in relationships. Relationships either with God or with humans bring some or full degree of conflicts. Think about it.
Mary was in a relationship with God, so she got into trouble - became pregnant with God. St. Joseph was in trouble - he is now considered at least by some as the patron saint of holy abstinence.
Just think: What would be the consequences if you say "Yes" to God.
Jordan Peterson. one of the prominent intellectuals in the western world, in one of his interviews, said - when I am asked the question of belief in God, he had different answers - 'Maybe", perhaps yes, etc. He considers the plausibility of belief in Christ. He says, "Christ is a terrifying reality. I do not know what would happen to me if I fully believed." Yes has a consequence. So is acting in the world as though God existed.
Friday, January 1, 2021
What is new in 2021?
ഇന്ന് ജനുവരി 1, 2021, പുതുവർഷത്തിലെ ആദ്യത്തെ ദിവസം. ഞാൻ ജനിച്ച നാളു മുതൽ ഇന്ന് വരെ ഞാൻ 37 നവ വർഷം കണ്ടതാണ്. എന്തു തനിമ ആണ് ഈ വർഷത്തിനുള്ളത്? സംഗീർത്തകൻ പറയുന്നത് പോലെ,
Thursday, December 24, 2020
When God Comes....
When God comes, what happens to you?
- When God came to Mother Mary, she became a Carrier of God. She became pregnant. When she said "yes" to God, it changed her personal life, family life (she was betrothed to Joseph), and the course of the history of the world. Let us say an unconditional yes to God. It will change everything. But the change will always be discomforting (your comfort zone will be affected).
- When God came to Joseph, he was no less affected. He had to discern to first of all to accept or reject the mother of God. He gives the charge of his life to God and allowed God to lead him. Then what happened? He became the protector of the humanity and divinity of Christ. When God comes you will go to any extend, wade through difficult waters of all sorts of inconveniences.
- However, when God comes to a ruler (Herod), it really unsettled him (in fact the entire Judea was shaken). He never allowed his impulsivity to be transformed, it led to violence and destruction. Herod is like some of us who pushes our plans and fail to know the ways of God.
Saturday, November 21, 2020
A Mandala Drawing Reveals So much!!
Explanation of Mandala
In the outer circle, I used the
symbol signifying a ‘down-up’ or ‘up-down’. This representation is an answer to
the question- how does the concept of self evolve in the life span of an
individual? I am part of a dual ‘up-down’ or ‘down-up’ movement. In the process
of an ‘up-down’ movement, everything is a given – the gift of life, the
situation I am born into, my upbringing, historical circumstances, health,
parents, name, friends, etc. This is the revelatory aspect of life itself.
Everything points to something. Special emphasis is given to the downward
movement in the sense of the ultimate Self (God) coming down as a man. This
means that I understand myself in the larger story of God becoming a man (Jesus).
Everything stands revealed in Jesus. This has a theological underpinning in the
context of revealed religion, especially Christianity. God becomes human to
make me into the image of himself. As opposed to the concept of
self-realization propounded by Carl Jung, I realize myself in God. It is
divinization. What is involved here is the ‘making sense of the given’. This
making sense of what is given is the process of ‘down-up’. Moving upward is
taking into consideration all that is revealed, the beliefs that I share
with the community or tradition I belong to, and the personalization of it
comes through a personal search. When nature is sustained by grace, there
is a fulfillment and a constant drive towards ‘that which fully satisfies’ (God).
The second circle is the ‘eye’
representing the senses. The senses are the windows to the knowledge of the self.
The physical senses help the ‘inner eye’ to perceive the depth of realities.
The world around us can affect us either positively or negatively. I cannot
really realize myself as I am exposed to numerous obstacles – addictions,
violence, corruption, ignorance, betrayals, greed, power struggles, and
numerous other growth stunting influences. The heroes move ahead with a new
narrative to the crippling experiences of life although they cannot change or undo
what happened. What brings to my mind is the story of Joseph in the Old
Testament. He was sold into Egypt by his own brothers (betrayal of trust), in
Egypt, the wife of Potiphar tried to seduce him (sexual temptations), the
goodness and the good sense in him raised him to a high position. He narrated
his life from a divine perspective. Understanding life experiences from a
divine perspective helps one not to become bitter but helps him/her live
his/her life better.
The third circle is the ‘yin and
Yang’ symbol. This represents the most common experience of human reality – the
good and the evil, light, and darkness, optimism and pessimism, order and chaos.
Our personality too has this dual nature
characterized by the tendency to do good and to do evil. The evil always lurks
behind us. I believe that everyone has an Achilles heel or what the
Greek literature calls, ‘hubris.’ I call it as a limitation in every man/
woman. Carl Jung would call it shadow. Man cannot contain the evil in
himself. The mass genocide, the final solution of the Nazis, the violence
perpetrated by the fanatical groups or the untold wreckages left by wrong
ideologies are historical manifestations of the power of the evil in man. Man,
by nature is not accustomed to chaos and prefers order to chaos. A human being
by nature is good, but his orientation to the good can get corrupted through
negative experiences and events. Hence, containing the evil within or the
corrupting tendencies is an important function of every human being. Everything
cannot be understood with mathematical precision. And so there needs to be
leaning on to what gives ultimate meaning to human existence. I cannot save
myself. I need divine assistance. A final resignation to what is divinely
willed and reconciliation with self, God, the world form part of the inner core
of the self-fulfillment.
The innermost circle is
represented by a ‘directional cross’ surrounded by signs of ‘love’ and ‘drop of
blood’. The directional cross implies
that our suffering has a meaning. It can be understood only from the vantage
point of love. Every human being is loved into existence. However, freedom
in us can choose against divine love. What is necessitated is a shedding of
blood in love. Sacrifice is an essential element of human striving or
divinization. This is also represented in proverbial wisdom – “No pain, no
gain.” The center of the directional cross is the symbol ‘IHS’ for the name
Jesus. For me, the realization of self is possible only through the revealed
name of Jesus. He is not an archetypical figure but a real person in history.
He has won the victory over evil through his suffering. He is victorious and he
rules everything. Surrender to the divine will is a way to attain salvation.
Imageries or interpretative categories are only determinants to arrive at a
concrete person, i.e., Jesus. ‘IHS’ is also a eucharistic symbol, which tells
us of the necessity of ‘remembrance.’ Memory of life events, the processing of
the same play a major role in integration and healing. Healing of negative
emotions and memories, acceptance of what cannot be changed are processes
involved in wholeness.
Monday, September 28, 2020
Facing the Unknown Helps you Reorient
My brother had a fall from the front
parapet of the first floor of the building. He was at work as usual and never
expected to fall. But it did happen. The unknown happened. He felt that the
fall could have either incapacitated him to work again or caused his death. The
people around him instantly gave the care he needed. It helped him. After a
day, his blood pressure increased and thinking of the fall, a feeling of fear
came over him. He said that there was a God-fearing man at that time around him
who said that there was an invisible hand holding him. That man also spoke of the
power of the Holy Eucharist to him. My brother did believe that due to the
prayers of my Mother, and the good people around him strengthened him. He was
happy to get a priestly blessing from me. Speaking to him over the phone, I realized
that the event reawakened him and reordered/reoriented his living principles:
-
“I know that it is not money that matters, but
the help you do with the money you get and bring relief to the people most in
need.” He spoke of contributing a little amount to a sick man in the
neighborhood and keeping apart a day’s wage to help people. He made a resolve
to bring this decision into practice. He is not a government employ or does he
have a guaranteed job. He relies on the work he gets.
What I am (the present) – How I Act? – what should be? (the ideal). We normally
fear the unknown. But if the unknown happens, we redirect our attention and
bring changes to the cognitive dimensions of the already known. We then adjust
our behaviors. In fact, we are biologically prepared to adjust. As Jordan
Peterson says, “we act to transform where we are into what we should be.”