Arvind Kejriwal the 'Sweeper' and Jesus The Servant

Here is a picture of Arvind Kejriwal symbolically using the Aam Aadmi Party symbol, the broom.

This picture is from an article that appeared in The Hindu newspaper, when the symbol was launched. Arvind Kejriwal has got nothing to do with sweeping a road, yet for the sake of publicity, here in this picture he is wielding a broom, symbolizing the cleansing of politics.

Looking at this image I am reminded of an event described in The Bible, where Jesus washed his disciples feet. This account can be found in John 13:3-17.

3-6 Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, “Master, youwash my feet?”

7 Jesus answered, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.”

8 Peter persisted, “You’re not going to wash my feet—ever!”

Jesus said, “If I don’t wash you, you can’t be part of what I’m doing.”

9 “Master!” said Peter. “Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!”

10-12 Jesus said, “If you’ve had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you’re clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you’re clean. But not every one of you.” (He knew who was betraying him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you.”) After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table.

12-17 Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.

There is something that is basically contrasting between the two events. Arvind Kejriwal was launching the party symbol in the early days of the party. In the case of Jesus, when his earthly mission was complete, he taught his disciples to carry on from him. Just like what we see in all organizations, including political parties, there is always a struggle to gain more benefits. This was true in Jesus' disciples described in Matthew 20:20-28.

20 It was about that time that the mother of the Zebedee brothers came with her two sons and knelt before Jesus with a request.

21 “What do you want?” Jesus asked.

She said, “Give your word that these two sons of mine will be awarded the highest places of honor in your kingdom, one at your right hand, one at your left hand.”

22 Jesus responded, “You have no idea what you’re asking.” And he said to James and John, “Are you capable of drinking the cup that I’m about to drink?”

They said, “Sure, why not?”

23 Jesus said, “Come to think of it, you are going to drink my cup. But as to awarding places of honor, that’s not my business. My Father is taking care of that.”

24-28 When the ten others heard about this, they lost their tempers, thoroughly disgusted with the two brothers. So Jesus got them together to settle things down. He said, “You’ve observed how godless rulers throw their weight around, how quickly a little power goes to their heads. It’s not going to be that way with you. Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.”

The basic message of Jesus here is that of serving one another and not of lording over one another. It was this message of Jesus that made Aam Aadmi Party appealing to me, as Arvind Kejriwal claimed himself to be an ordinary person aspiring to serve the aam aadmi by eliminating corruption.

After seeing many events of the Aam Aadmi Party, I don't think that they are about serving one another any more. It has become lording over one another. Some popular examples are Arvind Kejriwal verses Home Minister Shinde and the Delhi Law Minister verses Delhi Police. Now the message is, I am the khas aadmi (Minister) not the aam aadmi any more, and others are there to serve me.

Mother Theresa is one of the well known persons in India who followed the teachings of Jesus and took upon her the task of serving one another. There are many others throughout the world who have been inspired by the teachings of Jesus and serve those around them, more often unknown to the world, except to the few that are around them. They are not leaders, but true servants.

That reminds me of what The Bible says about lesson from the ant in Proverbs 6:6-11.

6-11 You lazy fool, look at an ant.
    Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
Nobody has to tell it what to do.
    All summer it stores up food;
    at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?
    How long before you get out of bed?
A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
    sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
    poverty your permanent houseguest!

Update on 3rd February, 2014

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Arvind Kejrival the 'Anarchist' and The Bible prescription of 'Authority'

Recently, on 20th and 21st of January, Delhi experienced an unusual event. This event was, that the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, instead of governing from the Delhi Secretariat, went on a street protest against the Central Government.

The media termed this action as anarchy and called Arvind Kejriwal an Anarchist. What was even more surprising to me was that Kejriwal instead of refuting it, went on to the extent of branding himself an 'Anarchist'. He said something like "If people call me an anarchist, then I am an anarchist". You are who you are, and you don't become what people call you to be. 

One of the definition of 'Anarchist' from thefreedictionary is "a person who seeks to overturn by violence all constituted forms and institutions of society and government, with no purpose of establishing any other system of order".

Wikipedia  says "Anarchism is a political philosophy that advocated stateless societies often defined as self-governed voluntary institutions, but that several authors have defined as more specific institutions based on non-hierarchical free association. Anarchism holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, or harmful."

If anarchism is what Arvind Kejriwal and Aam Aadmi Party wants then to my mind it is undesirable. From my understanding of The Bible, I do not see The Bible prescribing disorder, but always prescribing order.

Here is what The Message Version of the Bible says in the Book of Romans Chapter 13 Verses 1-7 on being a responsible citizen.

1-3 Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it’s God’s order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you’re irresponsible to the state, then you’re irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you’re trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.

3-5 Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you’ll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you’re breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren’t there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That’s why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it’s the right way to live.

6-7 That’s also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.

A person may or may not believe in God. A person's belief does not create God. It is the creator God who makes it possible for a person to think and believe and act. It was the delegated authority from God to man that established a system of authority in society, and gave authority to its leaders to administer the society by the laws that they have established for themselves.

When we make laws for ourselves we can make all types of laws that will help us as a society to lead a good life. Corruption can never be eliminated until people change from the inside. So, what is desirable is the internal change in people and not external change in the laws and the system of administration. A person who is corrupt will always find a way to beat the system no matter how strong the law is. Similarly a person who has changed from the inside will try to follow the laws of  the conscience irrespective of a weak or strong law.

There is something rebellious in human nature that wants to break a rule. Telling a child not to do a thing is a sure invitation to make the child wanting to do the prohibited thing. Unless we are changed from the inside we will continue to exhibit the same behavior, as long as we know that we will not get caught.

This internal struggle of an inwardly changed person is given in the Book of Romans Chapter 7 Verses 17-24

17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

21-23 It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

24 I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?.

What the above passage refers to sin is not a act, but it is the human nature, inherited in our genes, that is responsible for all corruption.The law can suppress it to a degree due fear of punishment but cannot overcome it. Can one overcome the sin nature? That is what the Bible is about.

Update on 3rd February, 2014.

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'Janata Darbar' of Arvind Kejriwal and Moses of the Bible

On this Saturday (11th January, 2014), the Delhi Chief Minister from the Aam Aadmi Party, Arvind Kejriwal, and his ministers sat outside the Delhi Secretariat to personally hear the public grievances and to redress them.

The Delhi Public had such a large number of grievances and according to news reports, more than 7,000 people turned up for the event. Kejriwal, in spite of all kinds of refusal for security, had to run for cover to his office surrounded by a protection cordon to avoid a stampede.

This reminded me of the mistakes of Moses, the popular leader in the Old Testament of the Bible, and the wise counsel of his father-in-law Jethro. Here is that event as described in the Message Version of the Bible in the Book of Exodus Chapter 18 Verses 13-27.

13-14 The next day Moses took his place to judge the people. People were standing before him all day long, from morning to night. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What’s going on here? Why are you doing all this, and all by yourself, letting everybody line up before you from morning to night?”

15-16 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me with questions about God. When something comes up, they come to me. I judge between a man and his neighbor and teach them God’s laws and instructions.”

17-23 Moses’ father-in-law said, “This is no way to go about it. You’ll burn out, and the people right along with you. This is way too much for you—you can’t do this alone. Now listen to me. Let me tell you how to do this so that God will be in this with you. Be there for the people before God, but let the matters of concern be presented to God. Your job is to teach them the rules and instructions, to show them how to live, what to do. And then you need to keep a sharp eye out for competent men—men who fear God, men of integrity, men who are incorruptible—and appoint them as leaders over groups organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They’ll be responsible for the everyday work of judging among the people. They’ll bring the hard cases to you, but in the routine cases they’ll be the judges. They will share your load and that will make it easier for you. If you handle the work this way, you’ll have the strength to carry out whatever God commands you, and the people in their settings will flourish also.”

24-27 Moses listened to the counsel of his father-in-law and did everything he said. Moses picked competent men from all Israel and set them as leaders over the people who were organized by the thousand, by the hundred, by fifty, and by ten. They took over the everyday work of judging among the people. They brought the hard cases to Moses, but in the routine cases they were the judges. Then Moses said good-bye to his father-in-law who went home to his own country.

This is possibly the first time in history where a decentralized organization was setup. According to Wikipedia  Moses lived in the time period of 1391-1271 BC. Aam Aadmi Party is talking about decentralizing decision making process. But when it came to grievance redresses it was trying to do it in a centralized way and failed on the first day somewhat like what Moses did initially.

I know that from the above Bible passage many lessons can be learnt without actually trying them by trial and error. Here is another passage from the Bible that reflects that thought taken from the First Book of Paul to the Corinthians Chapter 10 Verses 11 and 12.

11-12 These are all warning markers—danger!—in our history books, written down so that we don’t repeat their mistakes. Our positions in the story are parallel—they at the beginning, we at the end—and we are just as capable of messing it up as they were. Don’t be so naive and self-confident. You’re not exempt. You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence.

People, irrespective of time and space, are designed and created by the Almighty God in the same way. So, irrespective of cultures they will behave in similar way in similar situations. The Bible is often described as the Maker's Manual of Human Beings.The Bible Illustrations cover very large number of situations of Human Dynamics and can be used as excellent Case Studies on Human Behavior.

Update on 14th January, 2014.

Aam Aadmi Party has decided to cancel Janata Darbars. Now will only take online complaints.

Update on 22nd January, 2014

Enjoy the following 'Politoon' from India Today Group.

Dishoom- dishoom at AAP's Janata Darbar.

Update on 3rd February, 2014

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Who is the Parampita of Aam Aadmi Arvind Kejriwal?

The day Arvind Kejriwal took oath as the Chief Minister of Delhi at the Ramlila Maidan, I was watching the event in TV.

In Arvind's speech I heard the word Parampita and it stirred something within me. I have watched many Christian programs in the SHUBHSANDESH TV channel and I don't remember any one using the word Parampita in those programs. The only place I am sure that I have heard the word Parampita is in the popular Christian Song "Parampita ki hum stuti gayen". If you have not heard that song you can click on the following video to listen to that song.

Later on when I read about the event I noticed that Arvind thanked God "Parampita Parmeshwar, Parmatma, Ishwar, Allah and Wahe Guru". That got me thinking. Is the Parampita that Arvind mentioned and the Parampita that I am thinking of, are they the same or are they different? After doing some Google search I am now convinced that they are different. Arvind was referring to "Parampita Parmeshwar" and I was thinking of the "Parampita" worshiped in the song that I have mentioned.

I have no way of knowing the mind of Arvind Kejriwal. So I have no way of knowing if Arvind used the word Parampita to refer to the God of the Bible or some other God. In the initial stage I thought that Arvind was referring to the God of the Bible since he covered the Gods of many religions. The results of Google Search on "Parampita Parmeshwar" points to many different sects and none of them point to the God of the Bible.

Since I don't know who is the Parampita of Arvind, I was wondering do I have a definite idea about my Parampita. The first stanza of the above song states:

Parampita ki hum stuti gayen

woh hi jo bachata hamein

saare papo'n ko karta kshama

saare rogo'n ko karta changa

This stanza gives three attributes of Parampita. He saves us (from what?), He forgives us of all our sins and He heals us from all our diseases. Of this, only the second attribute is more important to the primary cause of Arvind Kejriwal, in that of fighting corruption.

What is corruption? When I looked at Wikipedia I found this definition. In philosophical, theological, or moral discussions, corruption is spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal. So corruption originates in the spiritual or moral part of the human being. So if corruption is to be contained then it must be contained in the spiritual or the moral part of the human being.

That is why I believe that corruption cannot be contained unless people change from the inside. No amount of punishment is going to deter corruption if people do not change from the inside.

In the world's scheme of things the corrupt are punished according to the law of the land. Arvind Kejriwal clearly recognizes that unless there is a strong anti-corruption law the corrupt cannot be punished. But will severe punishment eliminate corruption? I don't think so.

The God of the Bible does not recommend punishment for corruption. He knows that the human nature is corrupt from the inside. So He wants the corrupt human nature to be changed so that the corruption in the human nature is removed. He removes this by forgiving the human being bound to corruption. That is what the third line of the above stanza refers to.

Arvind Kejriwal's solution to corruption is severe punishment. The solution of the God of the Bible to corruption is repentance first followed by forgiveness.

I believe that the God of the Bible has forgiven all my past, present and even future sins. That gives within me a great peace that is beyond all understanding knowing that the Creator of this Universe loves me and has His best intentions for me as my heavenly Father, the Parampita. His solution is repentence followed by forgiveness and not punishment for the corrupt nature that I inherited in this world.

Update on 3rd February, 2014

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