Tuesday, July 3, 2007

Agriculture

Here is a succinct article by M S Swaminathan, written towards the end of 2005, where he outlines an integrated plan for revival of agriculture in India.

Quotes

Prof. Huxley on Education:
"That man I think has had a liberal education who has been so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will and does with ease and pleasure all the work that as a mechanism it is capable of ; whose intellect is a clear, cold, logic engine with all its parts of equal strength and in smooth working order. . .whose mind is stored with a knowledge of the fundamental truths of nature. . Whose passions are trained to come to heel by a vigorous will, the servant of a tender conscience. . .who has learnt to have all vileness and to respect others as himself. Such a one and no other, I conceive, has had a liberal education, for he is in harmony with Nature. He will make the best of her and she of him."

Gandhi on Gita:
"How was one to divest oneself of all possessions ? Was not the body itself possession enough ? Were not wife and children possessions ? Was I to destroy all the cupboards of books I had ?
I understood the Gita teaching of non-possession to mean that those who desired salvation should act like the trustee who, though having control over great possessions, regards not an iota of them as his own."