J is for Johnny-on-the-spot

The tweet from an Honorable Chairperson of the National Council Dasho (Dr) Sonam Kinga regarding the recent pay hike appears as a financial Johnny-on-the-spot to the life of a common citizenry.

“NC decided to abide by their recommendation on pay revision and defer our pay revision until expenditure rationalization measures identified by the government are implemented and realized”, tweeted Dr Kinga at 6:41 AM on 20 June 2014.  

While the majority have gestured with an open arm to embrace the tweet with a pregnant satisfaction, a few have even reacted to him asking whether it was a unilateral decision. To this, he has replied otherwise. Yet, some comments have also interrogated him whether his tweet would mean National Council members refusing the share of pay hike or simply upholding the principle?

Whatever it may be, to see whether his stand holds water is to wait till July. But what impacted from his words is that it clothed like an official dressing to the wounds of thousands that are already rubbed with the salts of inflation. It still gives a sea of hope that the words from the very peak seat of another legislative body might help to level the uneven ground of the endorsed pay hike. There would be certainly 2 integers of interpretation for his tweets.

1. Should it appear as a success, it will certainly boost the existence and importance of the National Council in the minds of electorally-rural voters and therefore can possibly churn out large voter turnout or at least more than the previous report, realizing the importance of National Council. 

2.  The hazardous impact is that, if the words from another law-making body which is already leaked out and flooded in the social media are not respected, to many, it might literally telecast as a homemade video of power tussle between the people elected law-making bodies.  

Since I am neither an economist nor a financial expert, I am handicapped to critic about the pay hike with the reasons that have an economic taste. But this is not a complicated story. We do not need any subtitles to understand it. 

But, the flames of our hopes are still burning that this simple story is understood by our lawmakers through the lens of our eyes and not with theirs. More specifically, we hope that the words from the National Council come as financial Johnny-on-the-spot in reality.   

“I have come to a conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians”- Charles De Gaulle

I is for Indian Modi Effect

The Bhutanese should share a common meal of pride exclusively at this time when the Prime Minister of the World’s biggest democratic nation and Bhutan’s oldest ally handpicked our Kingdom as his first foreign destination. This moment is so special because it is the 15th prime minister of India who will visit on the 15th of this month.      

His Honourable Excellency Narendra Damodardas Modi popularly revered as Namo by the natives is the 15th Prime Minister of India. After his decisive victory of BPJ led NDA in the recent Indian elections, Modi was unanimously assigned as the prime minister of India.

The first footstep of this robust Hindustani leader into the Bhutanese soil soon after warming the seat of the PM’s chair, according to the sources submit that the key bilateral and regional issues of the Himalayan nation will be the chief menu on the table of dialogue between his Bhutanese counterpart. Yahoo News has even quoted the BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh said that the UPA’s weird and untimely cancellation of subsidy on cooking gas and paraffin to Bhutan was a wrong move. 

The withdrawal news appeared like a bolt from the blue to many Bhutanese who at that time were caught up with the occasional election fever. It has dropped a bombshell because, in a jiffy, it transformed into a political campaign song and a bible of the reason for a few political parties to gain the political mileage by accusing the previous government that has done nothing in actuality. 

If it is to be believed, here’s the fact that the BJP leader Nath Singh said that Mr Modi’s visit will send the right message that it was dressed with an intention of a wrong move. He expects that the Prime Minister’s visit will iron the wrinkle of doubts and suspicions in the minds of Bhutanese people that the subsidy withdrawal was completely the UPA government’s selfish move and the ruling government, Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) has no dirt of guilt as accused in the political forums.

Now everything has been over, so let bygones be bygones. But sometimes, this is so painful because such abrupt betrayal causes an endemic of madness and paralyze the bond of harmony inside the nation. I found that act so childish because still now, we are unable to discover the reason. Elsewhere I read: “I know everything happens for a reason, but I wish I knew what that reason was”.

Nonetheless, the visit of the Indian Prime Minister on 15^th June 2014, is expected to define the real equation of the mutual help and understanding between the two governments. 

I expect that his goodwill visit will further consolidate the Indo-Bhutanese relations and dissolve the myths of confusion created by the crazy media. I also expect Mr Sachin Parashar, The Times of India, who wrote, “Bhutan’s road to democracy leads to China”?  to attend as a part of the delegation and redo his homework in clearing the messiness created in the minds of Bhutanese people due to his bogus report. 

Since the senses of the media across the globe are vehemently kept alive on Mr Modi’s visit, he has a crucial role in defining the status of India as a development partner of Bhutan, and Bhutan as a separate sovereign and independent nation. What the media will write and report is directly proportional to Mr Modi’s effect.

“Nations are born in the hearts of poets, they prosper and die in the hands of politicians” – Muhammad Iqbal

H is for His Holiness Factor

I have heard of this holiest dharma king of the Nyingma (the oldest of the 4 major schools in Tibetan Buddhism) lineage since my childhood but never had a chance to offer my prayers to his audience. Those moments when my friends shared their impressions of seeing him, I used to sit idly and shed the sweat of feeling LESS fortunate.

But surprisingly, today, I had the privilege to have an audience with the living Guru Rinpoche (The precious master).

His Holiness Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche Thubten Trinle Pal Zangpo, the head of the Longchen Nyingthig tradition is believed to be the incarnation of Guru Rinpoche, a Buddhist saint who was born from the lotus blossom floating in Lake Dhanakosha in present-day Swat Valley of Pakistan. 

His Holiness Dodrupchen Rinpoche

His birth as prophesied by the 5^th Dzogchen Rinpoche Thubten Chokyi Dorje, His Holiness Dodrupchen Rinpoche IV was born in the Golok province of Dokham in Eastern Tibet in 1927. At the very young age of 4, His Holiness was enthroned at the Dodrupchen monastery. He is a religious master who has received the full empowerment and transmission of the Nyingtik Yabshyi and Longchen Nyingtik by Khenpo Kunpal and has received teachings from many other religious personalities. His Holiness has fled to Sikkim in India after incessant political unrest in Tibet in the year 1957.

His Holiness has visited Bhutan on an invitation of His Majesty the 4^th King in the early 1980s. Since then, His Holiness has restored and revived so many Nyingma monasteries in eastern parts of Bhutan. 

Youngla Goenpa (his main seat) and Tsebar Thonphu Goenpa which is located in my district Pema Gatshel, are considered enormously sacred because it was where His Holiness spent most of his time. The people of Chongshing (my village) are so blessed that His Holiness has personally visited to establish and consecrate the cremation ground for the funeral rites to be held thereafter. In Buddhism, it is esteemed with the highest value and believe that somebody cremated in such places is always blessed and will have less samsaric sufferings. I feel blessed because I belong to that village. 

Me, Tshering Tshomo, and Jigme Dorji

However, today, the feeling of being blessed is beyond measure. There would not be any legitimate device to gauge the fathomless sea of happiness in which I swam today. At this time, when I was into deep psychological debt due to the horrific academic and social pressure, granting an audience with His Holiness has healed all those pains and further gave me a spiritual boost to move forward. The bone marrows of feeling alone and quarantined were completely gunned down with a new spiritual medication and made me realize that I was walking on cloud 9.

After I arrived home, I sat idly and shed the sweat of feeling MORE fortunate. The whole equation of my happiness has augmented. Thanks to His Holiness Factor.

Thank you Jigme Dorji, Tshewang Namgyel, and Tshering Tshomo for passing me the baton of information immediately. The sacred and timely toss has enabled me to race and meet the rarest holy figure living on this earth. The kindness you have shown is sincerely noted. 

“The task of religion is not to turn us into proper believers; it is to deepen the personal within us, to embrace the power of life, to expand our consciousness, in order that we might see things that eyes do not normally see” -– John Shelby Spong