Greed or Selfishness is a disease from which the modern age suffers. It is in fact the basis of the capitalistic system, which is based on acquisitiveness. According to this system, if a person works for selfish ends he will works the most and that will benefit the whole country and the whole world. That is their fundamental principle. And while working for himself he may push one man to this side and another to that and jump over the third; otherwise his work may lose tempo. That is the principle of capitalism. The world was a different world  and there were social levels according to which the people used to live. They were content to live on their level and did not any have strong desire to rise higher. But now the doors have opened. That is good. But at times, this progress requires cutting each other's throat whether on an individual level or a national level. What was the second thing asked? What has decreased?

That in the matter of sexual desire and anger present-day society is more advanced than ancient society was. That is my thought. Do you agree?

I think you have not thought about this from this point of view and can not say anything. But we can say that proportionately there are more educated , thinking people today. In olden times there were only a handful of such people. For instance, I read somewhere that Erasmus, who was considered one of the wisest men in Europe had fifty books in his library. In those days books were written by hand. He was well known for his wisdom. Today we read thousands of books, but most of them are useless. Instead of improving our knowledge they only add a dead weight to our minds. It is true that today there were more people who think, and think in a scientific manner. They want the good of the world. Without doubt every country has more such people now; but if you ask  me if the world had become better or worse in comparison with the past it is a difficult question. What measure can we apply? For if good things have now increased, bad things have also become more powerful. Both have increased.

If you too agree that there were more selfish and greedy people, what remedy have you thought of, especially for our country?

But I do not agree that selfishness or greed has increased. I only say it is there. I do not know whether it has increased or decreased. For both good and bad things have increased in the world. To seek out a solution of this problem is to decide what the basic organization of the society should be. The least it should include is education, basic education, not merely pious advice, so that the young people may develop. It is this way that such things can be removed.

Conclusion:

Mahatma Gandhi said "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed". I would agree with his. Modern society is filled by greed and selfishness. Greed and selfishness are very dominant features in the modern society that leave many negative effects on the people and the world at large. We have to remove this selfishness or greed from our society for our progress as well as development of our country.

Phobia- you are not alone

It sounds weird but a fact that one out seven people all over the world suffer from some or the other kind of phobias. So if you are one of them who has something to fear about, you can rest easy, nothing much to worry. A phobia is nothing but an anxiety disorder or at most an irrational fear by which a person does live under a situation of fear from a particular incident, a creature, a particular place, a building or whatever that haunts him constantly. The person suffering from a phobia has certain signs as he may experience shortness of breath, nausea, constriction of chest when he feels tightness in his chest, shivering, his eyes become wide due to fear, jaw drops, all symptoms that of a heart patient etc but the case may differ from person to person. Some persons become unable to move due to excess of fear or simply forget doing what they were doing when the triggers begin to take them in their grip.  

Phobias – Hundreds of different phobias  

There are different phobias as medical science has already listed over 500 types of phobias so far and still counting, and as I said that one out of seven people is suffering from one or the other phobia. Sufferers from these phobias try their best to avoid the triggers at the symptom stage but once they fell under its grip, they break out in cold sweat and other symptoms. There are well over 500 types of documented phobias known so far but some of them are more dreaded compared to most others. While some phobias generally considered fairly common, like fear of closed or confined spaces known as claustrophobia, one of the most common of phobias, acrophobia the reason of fear of heights and the one that cause of fear of spiders known as, the arachnophobia. There are hundreds such paranoiac psychotic disorder caused by delusions of persecution merely with or without any apparent logic, reason, and some of these are extremely irrational. I have tried to wade through some of the weirdest phobias and found these top-ten for you, her they are-

1- Phobophobia- As the name suggests, Phobophobia is the root-cause of all phobias or you can even call it the grandmother of all the other phobias. The people suffering from any other phobia generally suffer because they experience a panic or anxiety makes them a victim of Phobophobia. Any fear or attacks of fears due to phobias lead them to start fearing the very symptoms brought to them hence surfacing in form of Phobophobia that is basically the fear of developing a fear for Phobias.  

2- Euphobia- I thought this had to be the number one phobia right at the top of the list of weird phobias. Everyone likes to listen to good news but people suffering from Euphobia do not like to listen to good news. They feel irritated instead of being elated any good news. They feel panicky and go right into the negative mood as soon as they hear something good and have a feeling of chaotic atmosphere all around them. Most probably, the people suffering from this phobia become the victim once they expect good news but it does not materialize in most cases.  

3- Cathisophobia- A rare phobic disorder that sends the sufferer in panic at the mere thought of sitting down. In the case of someone suffering from Cathisophobia, mostly the fear of sitting on sharp objects, hemorrhoids and physical abuse are the basic reasons considered for its occurrence. The strangest part is that some of the people suffering form Cathiophobia have the feeling of anxiety in the presence of people they feel shy or it comes to them when celebrities or superiors are around.   

4- Dextrophobia- If you find it amusing, you have right to feel so because Dextrophobia is an obsessive rather compulsive personality related phobia limited to fear of all objects being on the left side of his body. He then wants to maintain all things on the right side of his body in order to keep his necessary items nearby himself especially on the right side of his body. Moreover, if he does not find all his desired things on his right side the situation may turn chaotic for him. It can bring chest pain, tightness in chest, a full-blown panic attack or the patient begins to cry like small kids unable to organize himself properly.   

5- Geumophobia- It is related to taste of a person and the one who is suffering with Geumatophobia also known as Geumophobia feels hyperventilating at the mere sight of the food that makes life hard to live. There is no way one can survive if he develops hate for the food as soon as he looks at it. Actually, Geumophobia is a fear that is not real but an exaggerated hate for taste that can suddenly bring an attack of panic on the mere thought of having to try something out of the usual menu. The person suffering from Geumophobia can go panicky if he is offered to taste new foods or flavors consisting sweet, sour or bitter. Person suffering from Geumophobia could have developed it in their childhood due to forceful tactics adopted by parents for certain food that suffers did not like.   

6- Omphalophobia- It is hard to believe but Omphalophobia is a condition in which the sufferer panics a great deal and fids himself distressed at the mere sight of the navel also known as bellybutton or tummy button. People suffering from Omphalophobia keep a distance from beaches and swimming pools where they can see bellybutton or fear that someone else can touch their own navel. Some people suffering from this phobia go to extent of covering their navel with plaster during their bathing time. 

7- Zemmiphobia- It is not a common phobia but fear of the great mole rat (Chhachhundar) which is probably considered very dangerous because it can fight with snakes successfully although this is not as dangerous as considered but some people fear from it. As the name suggests the Chhachhundar rat has no hair and great source of fear for some. 

8- Geniophobia- This phobia is all about chins. People with abnormal shapes of chins or jaws do not want to mix up with others. People suffering with Geniophobia avoid people they think would consider them ugly. Most people suffering from Geniophobia turn introvert if their case reaches to an extreme point.  

9- Clinophobia-The Clinophobia is a simple fear of going to bed and sleeping with bringing worries of having nightmares or even bed-wetting. In some cases, the Clinophobia can develop into insomnia that certainly affects a person’s health not because of the phobia but on medical grounds.  

10- Epistemophobia- You will be surprised that Epistemophobia is the fear from knowledge itself. Persons suffering from Epistemophobia do not want gain new knowledge but they would want to stay away from it rather. They do not want to read books, newspaper or watch informative channels on television. Most people suffering from Epistemophobia believe they would be better off if they learned as fewer as possible because knowledge can bring problems for them. 

Conclusion

People suffering from phobias are hard to bring back to normalcy due to their long-lived beliefs about their fears they gathered over the period or even from their childhood. Most phobic only experience symptoms of their unpleasant state of inner disorders and the irony is that most of such disorders have no common diagnosis but on case-to-case basis.  

Alcohol the mother of all evil

We often hear about alcohol fueled violence from each and every part of country and whenever the news of young people getting drunk and then attacking other people in a gathering of marriage that too without any provocation at most times our television channels start feeding us with doses about the evil of drinking. 

We all know that alcohol related violence is nothing new in our country but it has always been here from ages or since the devil in the bottle was invented. People who find solace from drinking alcohol can be influenced by the hidden demons in it at the same time. People try to act innocent once they commit serious crimes under the influence of alcohol. 

Alcohol is bad

Now the question arises – can one blame a person under the influence of alcohol for his crimes or violent behavior? But how can they survive the blame because it was their decision to drink knowing fully well the after effects of it. The alcohol can seriously affect various glands in the human body mainly liver, known as the largest gland of the human body and the worst that can happen to a human due to over drinking is lack of appetite or the jaundice. And to add to it that harm to human body is not limited to these two problems only.  

Wait – Alcohol is bad but …

Alcohol is undoubtedly bad but human system can tolerate it up to some extent. We need to differentiate between the types of alcohols mainly the ethanol and methanol. We should know that ethanol comes under drinkable category of alcohols that is basically the form of alcohol sold or used for drinking purpose. To be exact ethanol is used for preservation of wine to keep them safe from deteriorating otherwise the alcoholic drinks would soon turn into vinegar. The use of ethanol could be from 4-10% in low alcoholic drinks like beer, which are not that harmful for human consumption.  

The other form of alcohol, the methanol is mainly obtained by distilling various woods and other similar products is considered dangerous for human consumption and it can cause repairable damage if consumed in large quantity. It can send a drinker in state of coma or can make him blind as we often read or hear in news about illicit liquor cases in our country killing hundreds and blinding many in such cases. In our country, such instances take place mostly in villages especially at marriage and festivals occasions when the opportunist try to multiply their income without keeping innocent lives in their minds. 

You will be surprised to read that alcohol has certain properties, which can help reviving in human lives as well. If a person is suffering from intense cold can be treated with small quantity of brandy or even whiskey. Both of these two brands contain almost equal quantity of alcohol. 

The violence caused by alcohol

Assaults caused by alcohol are generally referred as random acts of sudden surge of blood especially in high society of our country, a method to reduce the intensity of the crime that takes place in the parties thrown by bigwigs. However, the recent spate of increasing incidents has once again opened up the serious discussion the role of alcohol and other drugs in our society. Alcohol has become part of lifestyle of high society in our country and there is no ignoring its significant impact that is part of the western world. 

We can see the increasing trend in our so-called high society in last couple of decades, ever since our country achieved higher growth rates and people saw their opportunities to earn better income. Emergence of neo-rich in the society wanted to show the world that they had acquired big money and wanted to display it. Throwing parties at the drop of a hat was only a way to display their wealth and alcohol and drugs were essential parts of such parties. 

Peer pressure and heavy drinking habits played a massive role in made these people forgetting their limits of activities and ways to behave within prescribed ethical limits of Indian society. Although, drinking has always been part of Indian society but the recent upsurge in incidents of men and women prone to act of violence under the influence of drugs or alcohol has sounded an alarm. Whenever the matter is discussed and considered for those who engage in drinking habit in the society they consider that the violence is only a side effect that is associated with drinking habit but the law of our country does not accept it. 

The matter of drinking and resulting violence is considered a mitigating and at the same time, a factor generally raised to dilute the intensity of the crime by the defense on the ground that the person was not in self-control at the time the crime took place. And in most such cases, the defendants have successfully escaped the heavier punishment. There is immediate need to change the law to punish people those who show tendency to commit crime when drunk, after all, it is the man or woman who is responsible for drinking in the first place knowing fully well the after effects of the devil in the bottle.

What is the solution then?

We can always look at the criminal and legislation side of the problem but we shall not find an appropriate solution unless we see at the root of the problem. Unless people will learn to accept the responsibility of their own action and that of their friends as, in most such violent cases were carried out by a group while they all were over drunk. Everyone in that group was encouraging everyone else without caring to stop others or telling to cool down their over reacting friends. No one ever wanted to caution anyone in such cases but they all were enjoying the sufferings of other party.

We do not expect changes overnight or you cannot deploy police officers at every building, club, bar, hotel and cinema halls. Even the stricter punishment can only help stop such incidents up to a certain extent but self-awareness is the only solution. We should go right from the school education level to teach our children about after effects of excessive drinking habits. Ultimately it is our education system that needs to come into the wider frame of the picture and teach our future adults to behave properly. 

I hope you are not one of them about whom Henny Youngman said - “When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.” We must know that only fools engage in useless acts of violence and our society has plenty of such idiots. I know we cannot get rid of such fools overnight but we must make sure that they don’t get away easily unpunished.   

Kiran Bedi

Kiran Bedi, the first woman police officer of the Indian Police Services was born in 1949 in a Punjabi family of Amritsar. She completed her college education at government degree college Amritsar. In the era when Kiran Bedi completed her college education, most middle class families used their education for their marriage purpose but very few wanted to educate their daughters for a purpose to see them in government jobs or for uplift their mental standard. But Kiran Bedi was a girl having a mental standard par excellence. She was brilliant in her studies and a champion sports person. She attracted the attention of the sports circles when she won the Asian Women’s Tennis competition in 1972. During that period, she came in contact with Brij Bedi, a prominent tennis player himself and a machine tools factory owner who had interest in photography also. They became close friends first and soon they tied the holy knot to convert the friendship into marriage. Kiran Bedi, the only lady officer awarded Ramon Magsaysay award in 1994 for her outstanding services.

Crane Bedi

The aim of young Asian Champion Kiran Bedi was not limited to marriage but she wanted to serve the nation and the society with her unique ideas. And to fulfill her desires to serve the nation she appeared in the Indian administrative services exams. Once she passed the exams successfully, she opted for Police Services and entered in the Police Force in 1972. She was not satisfied with her job for the next ten years as she wanted to do something outstanding for the society but she grabbed her opportunity in 1982 when she was appointed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in the traffic section of Delhi Police. She immediately came into limelight by attracting the public as she made crucial improvement in the traffic of Delhi. She became popular and regularly found her name in newspapers for her work and soon she became poplar as Crane Bedi for use of crane for illegal parked vehicles and that included the car of the then Prime Minister of India.   

Social Work

During the same period, Kiran Bedi worked for rehabilitation of thousands of homeless people living on the Delhi’s footpaths mostly depending on begging as their only source of income. She acted from the set working pattern of police by going all out to help by providing them government aid for homes and beginning small business. She did lot of efforts to see that every deserving candidate received his due and not left fighting with red-tape tactics of government machinery. The year brought some downside for her as after she ordered cane-charge on agitating lawyers she had to face Badhwa-Committee and later transferred into the anti-drugs bureau as Deputy Director. In 1990, she was transferred to Mizoram as Deputy Inspector General of Police where she had to face more problems for the admission of her daughter based on as a resident of Mizoram in M.B.B.S in a prestigious Delhi Medical college. As a result of protests, the admission of her daughter was cancelled but later they won the case in Delhi High Court, her daughter was re-admitted into the medical college and completed her degree course. 

Her Tihar Connection

In 1993, Kiran Bedi took over Central Jail Tihar in Delhi, the biggest jail in the entire South Asia with a capacity of 7,000 inmates. Generally such postings are considered as punishment for highly placed officers but the work Kiran Bedi did for uplifting the condition of the prisoners gave newer heights to her career. She won Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1994, the highest honor for a police officer of Indian Police Force. She transformed the Tihar jail that was considered living hell for the inmates before she started her reforms. The jail filled with smugglers, mafias, rapists, murderers, drug sellers and dacoits besides terrorists and ISI agents were more like terror to staff of the jail those were hard to control. Kiran Bedi changed the life of inmates of the prison with her human approach and willingness to help them.

Education for inmates

She started by focusing her attention at the education for inmates by making it mandatory for all. Every one had to spend two hours in the morning for educating or learning. The educated prisoners were appointed to teach the uneducated ones. The inmates willing to study further were provided with facilities to continue their further studies. Many prisoners benefited by this facility by becoming graduates from Indira Gandhi open University in different subjects. Incidentally, an under-trial prisoner who was there for more than 10 years was provided the library facility to enhance his knowledge in criminal law to help inmates in their legal procedures later. Life of the prisoners, who were kept under special police of Tamilnadu, began to change.

Work for Prisoners Welfare 

Kiran Bedi concentrated on working conditions of prisoners to provide them better facilities related to their working opportunities inside the jail. She arranged exports of the cloth produced by prisoners that brought better price. Prisoners were trained in different repairing works and provided with opportunities to get outside jobs that brought enough revenue to be distributed among the prisoners. All these activities brought Kiran Bedi to headlines of national newspapers to be hailed by politicians and public alike. Different ministers and leaders of various parties visited Tihar to inspect and praise the Tihar’s progress. All dignitaries those visited Tihar accepted with all praise for Kiran Bedi the positive changes in the prison. However, she was accused of favoring Charles Shobhraj, the international crook of allotting him with a typewriter, cooler and meat in his diet. Incidentally, the matter became more famous because Charles was writing a book on Kiran Bedi. But, it was later established that all the facilities provided to Chrles Shobhraj were provided as per the order of Supreme Court of India and Kiran Bedi was not responsible personally for providing these to him. 

To improve the situation of Tihar, Kiran Bedi worked regularly and found newer ways and most of these were different from the beaten track and had democratic values. For instance, she started a local level committee for women prisoners who will decide for small finance related disputes or bringing forward their demands before the jail administration thus for not heard or taken any action promptly or never reaching to jail administration. Now, there issues were taken care of on priority and promptly. She appointed a petition officer to bring the demands of the women prisoners on priority basis to Mrs. Bedi for her personal intervention. It was never done before in any Indian jail and it was very much appreciated by everyone. The best part was the violence that was regular feature of Tihar almost stopped.

Kiran Bedi - The reformer

Kiran Bedi changed many bad practices those were going on in Tihar for a very long time with her untying efforts. She once said that the aim of the police and jails is to remove the crime from the society and not the criminal. Mostly the role of police is limited to catch the criminals and get them punished and once the criminal is out of the jail, he repeats his crimes and comes back to jail because he does not know anything else to do. If a criminal is repeating his crimes, it shows that the police failed in its purpose of removing the crime because the crime and criminal was still there. The old method of catching the criminal and jail him is not a solution unless a way was found to stop his further involvement into the crime and providing him a chance to do something worthwhile that will make him useful for the society. 

Kiran Bedi did just the same and succeed to change many criminals those wanted to change them but did not know how to it. Kiran Bedi provided them a basic platform. She provided them opportunity to learn and earn. She believed that jail was a hospital for criminals where they could get rid of their illness of criminal activities and not punished for their illness. Since the prisoners have to follow certain rules so they can learn to live within control and learn lot many things that will convert them into good human being. It is not necessary to abuse them but they can learn through meditation, education, how to earn money while inside the jail and make it a profession when out of the jail. If you will treat them ruthlessly, they will become more violent and feel lesser for the humanity and will head for further crimes. She thought to change them a human approach was necessary and she was doing just the same with absolute dedication and honesty. 

Kiran Bedi was not power hungry

 Kiran Bedi did not consider Police as a force that was created to punish the criminals but for her it was for the sole purpose of reforming the criminals. Jails were not concentration camps as the Nazis or British thought while dealing with their prisoners but more of schools where criminals could be converted into good citizens only if the police behaved with more human methods. This was especially true for our country because most of our citizens have a trust in their religion. Religious methods work wonders on our prisoners. Meditation camps are working magic on most of the inmates and religion does not matter on them while going for meditation. 

Kiran Bedi converted Tihar into an Ashram rather than an ordinary prison where violence was order of the day. Now, most prisoners accept it that Tihar is no more a concentration camp that it used to be before she started her reformations. Kiran Bedi’s heart is full of love for people and she still wants to work for them without having any ambitions for her own. Presently she is associated with Anna Hazare’s movement for a corruption free India. Incidentally, she declined the offer of AAP to join them and if she had decided to join that party, she could be part of the ministry that is ruling over Delhi state but she loves her principles more than a seat in power. I know she is destined for greater services for our country in future.

Photo source- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiran_Bedi