Feb 25
Hope
After giving some inspirational talks in Bombay about our clean up project and our other initiatives there, i traveled by a local train and was in need of inspiration myself by seeing the appalling amount of filth that we were fighting to clean up and worse the kind of apathy of people towards it… It was almost as if, only i saw all that dirt and wanted to actually do something about it…
Others simply passively accepted it as a fact of life, like its hot in summer in Chennai… I don’t know what felt worse, the filth or the utter lack of outrage and the “not wanting to take any sort of action” attitude of almost everyone around me…
In the past few months i have seen many instances that make me question if there was really any point to any of the initiatives that we are doing… and then some thing happened 
Something called Chandigarh!
I had gone to Chandigarh quite a few years ago and i remembered it as a very beautiful place… and then after a long time dinesh and me were there again to teach a DSN and a YES!+ (which were of course fantastic )
But after moving about a lot in the city, what struck me was it was really, really clean and very, very green…
The citizens take great pride in their city and don’t litter and don’t spit (on the roads). People don’t honk and plastic bags are banned! So is smoking in public places… Traffic rules are followed. The lake is huge, fringed by forest on one side, clean and a home to many migratory birds…
Also housing rules are meticulously maintained in all sectors. You cannot find ANY house or commercial building higher than 3 floors! You simply cannot find them… Only a few government buildings, that too in designated sectors are allowed greater than 3 floors.
There are lakhs of people who live here and each household has at least 2 cars… yet there is hardly any pollution coz almost every road is lined with beautiful old trees and there are acres upon acres of recreational areas in the form of beautifully landscaped gardens… It was hard to believe that we were in India…
And yet, Chandigarh IS very much India, its not some country in western Europe. And the people living here ARE Indians! And if Chandigarh can be clean, green and (relatively) corruption free… why not Delhi?! and why not Bombay?!! and if we can clean up Bombay and Delhi, the rest of India will hardly be a challenge!
Whats a city really?
A collection of roads. Each road flanked by buildings on both sides. If the residents of one building can simply decide that we will clean up and maintain the footpath and the road adjoining our building, we get one patch of clean well maintained road… and then when all the buildings on that road do it, miraculously, we get one clean road… and if more and more roads join in, quite suddenly we have a clean city!
It IS quite simple really!
BUT, that’s the job of the government, the municipality!… i hear you cry, i pay my taxes, they are supposed to do it!…
If you have a guest who comes to your home and finds it filthy… he will blame you, not your servant right?!
Just as we ourselves would take responsibility for our home and clean it up… We need to take responsibility and support the municipality to help clean up our city and our country…
We really need to start to feel this “Ourness”… And by the way, when i say clean up, i mean that in all possible senses
And when this wonderful feeling of “Ourness” is felt by a billion people, dirt of any kind stands no chance!
And so there is Hope…
Jai Gurudeva!
love
bawa
ps the last 3 photos on this post have been taekn by ankur from Chandigarh who is a professional photographer… you can see more of his photos here
(9 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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Yes Bawa, it is WE – each of us as an individual – who as Guruji says is a wave in the ocean of the Universe (People) who need to work towards the Chandigarh of our own city.
If we collectively think of ourselves as one ocean instead of “I am an individual wave” we can do anything
Jai Gurudeva
Jai Gurudeva!!
I use to wonder a lot about keeping our country clean and green. The citizen have to take pride in their community and country and clear the mess. you are right the apathy is unbelievable..oh my God!!.
Have you noticed Bawa? there are no wastebins in trains..even long distance trains..(excepting the first class)..this is iconic..this one feature, or the lack of it, tell us the world view of the govt and citizens..shameful really!!
meanwhile, it is great you are doing something about it..
Jai Gurudeva!!
ankurs photos are not visible ? the link doesnt take me to the other photos
Wow, Lovely!!!
Bau is Back with a bang!!! Really delighted to learn about our own Chandigarh..I take your message Bau with the very feeling of ourness.. Photographs are lovely and both of you blossom just like the 4th photo.. Love you loads..
Jai Gurudev!!!
Bawa, both of yours photo (head to toe) is too cool.
Jai Guru Dev.
very true bawa…your posts always answer my questions .. ill surely keep my surroundings clean from now on…:)
It will be really greatful if we can start this job with model streets (Clean Green Streets (CGS)). I really feel that AOL can only do this job.
exactly bawa.. for the same damn reason we students of NIT-hamirpur coordinated with the local chapter here to clean up hamirpur market..and it was a success.I really agree that YES! there is still hope, its just a matter of taking an initiative.
joy gurudeva!!
the clean up campaign seems to be a brilliant idea altogether.. yes bau i do agree with most of the points in your post and yes everytime i go home( to punjab) and come back to bangalore , its like a culture shock for me there is too much dust and dirt in bangalore vis a vis clean nd green chandigarh or jallundhar and amritsar and btw plastics are banned in all the major cities of punjab and autos are also banned they run on green fuel or electric in punjab… maybe bangalore could have a similar thing.. JGD.. awesome post and awesome pics…
dear sir
first n foremost lovely photos
yep bawa sir i am with u i will clean up my country in all possible means
Woowwwww!! So true Bau!!
And the pic with you and dinesh bhaiya is just soooooooooooooo cool!!!!
Jai gurudev!
Finally bawa,
and ohh my gosh
you guys really look cool,
definetely we will do this,
one street at a time:)
love
jaigurudeva
Even I was in Mumbai a few days back and even I had a similar thought running circles in my head..And the shocking part is that people of Mumbai are NOT lazy..in fact they are the most hard working..but i guess thats the problem..they are too busy to notice that their beloved city is turning into a dump..Littering is a major problem and me and few of my friends are working hard to keep our surrounding areas clean
..love the post..cant wait for your next one.. 
JGD!!!
I know it’s too lengthy… but this is a time I have to speak up…
really very nice to see and hear that city in India is so clean n green.. but at the same time i feel very guilty for not dng nything for my Mumbai… i cant take broom in my hand n go n sweep the roads everyday…but i do tk care not making my city/place untidy and dirty… i dont throw any wrappers or any waste on roads…also, if possible i gather all non-liquid waste (choc wrappers, papers, or any stuff thrown by others) and put it in nearest bin. only m helpless to restrain people from doing this…
Bau plss help me and tell me what can i do personally… i hate people spitting in the middle of the road…. taxiwalas are sooo filthy and dirty, everytime they have to spit when they stop at signals …uske bina vo agey ja hi nahi sakte….. why?? I mean how come they hold so much ‘stuff’ (cudnt find any other bad word) in their mouth…eeuuuu…. And I don’t knw wat the prob is but every time it happens before my eyes… If god ask me “what you want”?? I wud really ask for a power where I can just slap this taxiwalas and riskshawala or whoever spitting (just like Mr. India)… plsss help me…. U have posted this article at such a rite time… previously I had a habit of spitting back if I see someone spitting … but I realized I am dng the same mistake like them… so whats the use cursing thm….my friends helped me to get out of this.. but now I cant bear this nymore…plss tell me some trick whr I can scare them (no..i don’t want to warn them and leave… I am aware of one BMC card which gives you right to stop or warn the person..but wats the use..?? i can’t keep track on him every time and every day..he mite repeat this next day or say next moment as soon as I go away) plsss help me… and bau plss I can’t get down and give them lecture of cleanliness and blah blah..so plss don’t tell me to speak to them… ican’t… coz I had planned this several times and all was in vain…
If you have few mint you can go thru my ideas (till not implemented) For ex: 1) I will put whole bucket of water (obviously not a clean water) in their cab or put Greece all over their seats…
2) I ll spit in their cab and ll act like mad person if they starts shouting on me… and ll say “ tumne thuka isliye maine bhi thuka” he he he…
3) ll explain them “ bhaishaab aap apne ghar mein aise hi karte ho kya…but it sounds too commercial nad filmy
4) ll ask give supari to my area’s goonda to take them in corner and beat them until n unless they promise not to spew out anywhr except washbasin
5) this is impossible one…but there shld be some supernatural spirit (invisible) slapping them as n whn they spits…
Hey, Savita. I liked the fifth idea.
Frm Mumbai……U inspired me to take care of my city with the Chandigarh example Bau…..I have been doing my little bit by using very minimal amt of AC and Geyser..Ur and dinesh bhiya’s pic is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen…Just couldnt avoid gazing at it…Bau can I get that Pic??..LOVE U LOADS!!!!!!
Wish every city was like that.
I often find myself telling the educated (mostly my friends) & sometimes the not so educated ones like auto drivers to not litter. Sometimes these days it annoys me to see how callous some of them are.
Maybe laws would help and more so would awareness amongst every one of us.
Wonderful analogy Bau on the government-house-servant thing.
Had an awesome time in Kollam on Mahashivrathri. Jai guru dev.
hi Bawa! JGD!
Well i was wonder about the same thing! i recently travelled from chennai to Varanasi all i could see on the sides of the rails is the LAYS cover lying around, other eatable covers, tea cups etc! I couldnt believe! i remember one thing u said! think of how it will be 20 years hence!? i cant but imagine that the litter is overfollowing and probably create a traffic troubles to rails!!
Right people know it rarely take action!
Thanks for inspiring!!
Love
Apu
Dear Bawa and Dinesh,
It was very exciting to see a new post from you after a long long delay!
I wish I could visit Chandigarh right away!
Thanks for the excellent photos too, Bawa. Special thanks to Ankur.
However the link that you provided did not work. Is this the correct link… http://www.fotothing.com/pushp
Thanks again, Bawa and Dinesh!
Jai Guru Dev.
Pothi.
Jai Gurudev Pothi
Ya Link is working: http://www.fotothing.com/Pushp
i miss you sooooooooooooooo much
JGD
love
-pooja
So the key is the feeling of “Ourness”!!! How does one get it? Through the practice of techniques taught in the Art of Living Part 1 and YES!+ courses –
The idea (for me) I think is to do my bit – get people to the courses; keep the “ourness” (“mine-ness”) alive in me and continue to work towards cleaning up the dirt. When there are a billion people like me, then dirt will not have a chance.
What say?
Cheers!!!
Sriram
I guess it has to do with the pride people take in “Chandigarh- The City Beautiful”. Remember how we cleaned up Sukhana Lake.
We don’t drop mind readily but drop (litter) peanut shells where ever and when ever.
We don’t share our wealth / happiness but we share our garbage with the neighbor /town/city and the entire country.
Just a few observations ( No offence intended.)
1) I lived ‘n’ worked in UAE for some time. Where ever there was huge populations of Asians (Pakistanis, Indians, Lankans).That area will be filthiest area of the town.(Travel down to Sharjah. You will know what I am saying)
2) Some time later I moved From Virginia to New Jersey(Edison).It has a huge population of Asians. And it’s among the filthiest town in New Jersey(some say US).
3) A friend of mine bought a house in Mumbai for INR 2 crores. But just outside the complex they have huge pile of garbage. (Wonder what did he pay for…house or garbage)
4) Civic sense & Community service is ingrained in the school curriculum here in US.
5) My AOL teacher used to tell in the courses…if there is clutter around you, your mind will reflect that & vice-versa. Forget Kriya /Meditation. First clean the space around you, it cleans up your mind.
Woooow ! Such lovely pictures
:)
Jai Gurudev Bau
Finally i opened the blog and found a new post….cool….
This is really something that makes your blood boil everytime you see someone spit or litter…..and this is gonna take a massive movement to stop in Mumbai…
We still do not have our marshall cards Bau….
Its amazing how indifferent people are to this though….it just doesnt bother them…
I am the official trash can in my group atleast…my bag is always full of choclate wrappers and stray papers…all to be emptied at the end of the day…
Guess more people need to start doing that…
Nice Post bau
Love
ANupam.
P.S. the pic of u and dinesh da is like ANGELIC!!!!!!i took about 5 mins to stare at it properly…LOL!!!
Wow! that’s lovely!
and that photo of yours is fantastic!:)
Hi BAWA AND DINESH BHAIYA,
I totally agree with your point of view.We as a society are responsible for our surroundings.Unless and untill we change ,we cannot move forward.You are perfectly right.
Also btw….its MUMBAI…not BOMBAY…as you have written.We have done away with the colonial name a long time back..So its MUMBAI.
Love You,
Kedar Karmarkar
if i want to call mumbai, bombay i will
i call it that interchangeably … sometimes i like to call Bombay Bombay … and sometimes i call it Mumbai
so chill about it please
Thank you for the post. The picture of you and Dinesh here is beautiful …
If Bombay were cleaner, there would be less to attribute Slumdog’s success too!
While that was an attempt at a (sarcastic) joke, cleaning up Bombay and greater still, keeping it clean, is a tremendously daunting task. Each one of us can begin by doing small things like, say, refusing to take plastic bags when you go shopping and carrying your own bag made of some degradable material. Better still, the retail industry should be forced to NOT offer their stuff in plastic bags. Say, we begin by getting places like Big Bazaar to agree to do that as CSR. That way, waste generated from households at least (if not industries) can be conveniently used in one or more commercial ways. Do not be surprised; some people have indeed ventured into such solutions. Read about the company ‘Daily Dump’ at http://www.dailydump.org/. Plastic must be removed at all costs. It may turn out to be the greatest poison for the planet with loads of it nowhere to be disposed.
There are people who are least bothered and there are people who are obsessive about cleanliness..
So, every one has their own limmit of tolerance..
We can not base our judgement about the value of individual based on the level of his/her cleanliness..
It is nature to have filth and to have nutrition …
It is imp to honour with due respect
honouring them is placing them in their respectable places.
eg: a rabbit is happy in its burrow, swan in water .. like wise
This part opens up another psychological aspect of the individual.. about acceptance of the opposite values.
As there is no bad and good labelled and all are part of nature and honoured.
Just by mere principle of keeping the aquaintences happy or to mix up in the divers group, we need not get into the things tht do not suits us.
It is not dishonouring.. it is honouring the diversity and ones Right of action ..
Nature has set diversities …… it is only by revering the natural way of living … can we have a peacefull and harmonious life !
In india we have a Goddess for filth .. We rever in the Sri Yantra Puja !
Honouring is placing them devotionally in their honourable places …
If we do not honour things rightfully … we get troubles…
eg: the filth on the roads expressess unhappiness as diseases to mankind.
similarly disrespect to ones duties gives problems..
ummm … so what exactly are you trying to imply here?
didn’t quite understand it
The picture of you and dinesh is simply awesome.
Love,
Vinay
The attitude with which we percieve trash plays an imp role.
Trash is very much a part and parcel of Divine nature and is to be treated rightfully !
When filth goddess is happy by being treated rightfully .. Abundance sets in!!!!!!!!
Which mental asylum do you belong to?
i believe, the ONLY way to keep a city clean is to have strict laws about littering, and actually implementing them. Unfortunately, in India, you would find the police spitting on the “DO NOT LITTER” sign itself! While travelling in Switzerland, I was shocked and embarrassed to read a sign saying “yahan pey thukna mana hain”…in HINDI! No points for guessing who the target audience was…
A place like singapore manages to keep itself clean (inspite of a huge south-east asian pop)because littering might land you in jail, with the possibility of whiplashes.That’s the kind of rule one needs in India.
Also,Jamshedpur,is a good case in point when demonstrating how clean a city can be, when the corporates (TISCO and TELCO)get seriously involved. And mind you this is erstwhile BIHAR…Once you are out of the railway station area(owned by the govt), you wouldn’t believe this could be India…it has also been identified by the UN for the “Global Cities Project”. see this. http://www.tata.com/company/Media/inside.aspx?artid=SUI2Ut3iDDk=
On a slightly different note, while I’m happy for A.R. Rehman winning the Oscar, the idea that there should be children rolling in filth and garbage, in order to portray the “real” India to the west, frankly makes me sick…
It is really simple.And now there is hope like you said. How you manage such clarity Bau! Will incorporate it asap here as well.
Very nicely decoded the meaning of city and remedy for its cleanliness. its nice to read the blog after a long time Bau. jgd
@ Nature is Divine:
So much do we appreciate the experience of neat and clean and beautiful surroundings simply because we also know the experience of the opposite – filth. We are to appreciate the duality in everything in the relative world. But ‘opposite values are complimentary’ does not mean that you invite and bring upon yourself the opposites like filth. Joyfulness and sadness are complimentary values, but that does not mean we invite sadness and try our best to feel it or bring it upon ourselves so that we experience happiness! On the face of it, it sounds weird and illogical. Sri Sri has also said that in reality, there is no such thing as sadness. It is only a distortion – our own mental creation. Similarly, ‘goddess of filth’ is simply a creation of your mind; there exists no such goddess like that. There can not!
From what you write above, it seems that you love filthy places, and probably would not mind creating a lot of filth around yourself to appease your ‘goddess of filth’. Or it appears that you are doing timepass here. If the latter is the case, please do not write any posts here. This is not a place to do timepass.
Regarding the use of plastic bags…
Up until a year ago, every time you shopped in a supermarket in France,you were given plastic bags to take home your stuff. Then they (the supermarkets)started encouraging you to buy this eco-friendly re-usable bags, with messages like “Act today to live better tomorrow” etc. There were dedicated “green” counters for customers using these bags. Before long, all the counters became “green”. Plastic bags were no longer issued. Imagine filling your cart with loads of stuff, and then arriving at the counter to realise you forgot your bag at home. You’d have to carry all the stuff in your bare hands…the pack of yogurts or the box of cereal threatening to topple off with every step. Do this a couple of times, and for sure you’ll remember to bring your shopping bag the next time…:)
ha ha ha !!! The last comment is brilliant ! Too good Bau !
and once again the post comes as a reassurance that together we can and we will change the face of India ! Looking forward to the March..
And for the post…
WOW ! The pic feauturing our angels is lovely
P.S. Hope you had a not so good time staying away from the blog …We certainly missed coming here now and then…
Welcome back !
yes!!!!!!!!!
dullness in people’s attitude always shakes me like anything!!!
and i used to give them doses of knowledge.
but they simply consider all these things as stupid. now i am not going to talk to them about knowledge.
let them go to hell…..
i myself will take the complete responsibility of whatever absolutely whatever i want to do…….
and just need u , dinu dada and guruji off course.
jgd!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very nicely decoded the meaning of city and remedy for its cleanliness. its nice to read the blog after a long time Bau. jgd
love the pictures they are simply awesome.
Chandigarh is beautiful.. So are you two.. So is photography…
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.
..
(for i=1, i=108, i++)
{“This Blog rules ! JGD ! ” }
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love you Bau.
Bau!!
The pictures simply elevate the reading experience
you are incredible people!!!
Divine alone is honourable
and
All is Divine!
ummm… yaa….
It is all about the serenity to place the things orderly (both in mind and surroundings)
Orderliness of mind and surroundings are linked
Jai Gurudev Bau And Dinesh Bhaiya,
AMAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZing Photos…!! I keep Visiting to Sukhna lake After My Office Hours,Looking Up In the Sky,thinking seeing the beauty of Nature “World is such a wonderful place to live ” It’s a gift of GOD,gift of our GURU to us,and if we cannot clean and maintain that gift remebering each moment that it has been gifted to us by the almighty to whom we pray each day,each moment for our wants and needs to be fulfilled” Why can’t we as HIS seekers or devotees,Fulfill our responsibility of keeping every single thing clean around us.”HE” is the beloved,if we love him and respect him from heart,would definitely follow what OUR GURU says to do….!!!
AAIMINE……!!!
Jai Gurudev! ….Much Love
Could I Request You for a post bau……….Please Do Write In Detail About what Guruji says ” Josh Ke saath Hosh Bhi Zaroori Hai”—i guess,if i’m not wrong its “Along with celebration and in that extreme moment of joy,Awareness is important”………I’m Not Much clear on it..!!! Could you Please help,so that i could spread some more knowledge around,and also impolement it in my life too
Much Love
jai Gurudev!
Gunn (from-Chandigarh)
Wow Bau!
How inspiring and so true!
Thankyou for the post Bau.
Loads of love!
JG:D
hetal
bao,
Was eagerly waiting to read about the march, what happened…..
plz post soon
You know what Bawa, I am in Germany right now and every body takes a broom and sweeps the sidewalk by himself. It goes unsaid. I was so surprised. In fact I find that people are more responsible for their own actions or inactions here. Take for example the local train systems (Bahns), You buy a ticket and you need to punch it in special machines whenever you travel. No body checks generally, but EVERYONE punches their tickets. I asked a German, what if you don’t punch and you know what he said? He said “I don’t understand how that is possible”. This is when I realized my Indian mind. We are always trying to find loopholes or to beat the system. But the Germans, they just follow it. It is stupendous. I don’t know if we Indians can reach this level of public awareness. Should this be taught at school? Is it because we are a populous country? Or is it built in the mindset of Indians. These are some questions which run on my mind.
Thanks Bau……….Amazing grace
Jai Gurudev !!!
Everyday I come here with hope for a new post, but all I see is “Hope”!! ‘Hope’ the next one is not a recipe!!!
ITS THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN ATTITUDE OF PEOPLE THAT MAKES THEM TAKE THE DIRTY ENVIRONMENTS AS PART OF LIFE.ONCE A PERSON CROSSES THE THRESHOLD ,THEN MILLIONS JOIN …SLOWLY AND STEADILY..LIKE WHAT GURUDEV DO:)
SO ITS IMPORTANT TO HELP PEOPL CROSS THE THRESHOLD..AND SAY THAT MY CITY IS MY HOME AND IT CANNOT BE LEFT UNCLEAN!!
ALL THE BEST BAU..MAY GOD SHOWER FLOWERS ON STREES U ROLL OUT:)
LOV arya
somebody said that he is going to write often ! You have gone on a vacation again
Please resume blogging ! 
@ Dinesh Bhaiya
This is your blog too !!
Bau, missing your posts very much now.
Monday bhi gaya, Thursday bhi gaya
Post nahi aaya…
Ask the ppl addicted to your blog just “HOW” it feels.
hahaha !
Beautiful Bau, loads of Love to you !
Very nice post Bawa, I am checking this after quite sometime… And real awesome pics by Ankur… The pic of you both is simply fantastic!
Loved them all!
heard wht u told abt chennai to kk… grrrr..