Hinduism An Invitation to disappear: II

When Scrutiny Becomes SacrilegiousLet us be clear: judicial independence is non-negotiable. But a dangerous myth has made its way into the discourse and debates but not on the judiciary's functions but as an echo chamber. The Vice-president's recent remarks criticising the Supreme Court for directing the President to pass bills passed by state legislatures have stirred a hornet's nest. What followed was an orchestrated moral outrage. Sadly, not over the constitutional issue raised but the audacity of questioning the judiciary itself. A judiciary that has recently been plagued with corruption and has just transferred the judge. Nobody is above the law including judges. India is a parliamentary democracy with parliamentary sovereignty. This is not just about one verdict or one voice of one disciplinary. The moment the judiciary is questioned even potentially, the response is framed as an attack on judicial independence. Why has this branch of democracy become such a taboo for criticism? When did honest scrutiny become equivalent to heresy? It is perhaps time we moved beyond binaries of judicial independence vs. executive overreach and instead examined the real issue in front of us: are we ready for institutional accountability across all branches of the state?

- By Prarthna Saran

Just hold the attention in your heart and minus the traffic around it. Don't allow the attention to identify with the traffic lights, horns or noise (thoughts, feelings or objects), e.g., just as Arjun in the Mahabharat, who saw only the eye of the bird that he was aiming at and not the whole bird.

It is not a task that one has to struggle with, it will well up gently and naturally and then stay with you in comfort as peace in the soul.