“I could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh” (1Co. 3:1).

We read in 1Co. 1:5,7 that the Corinthian Christians excelled in three areas – knowledge of the Scriptures, preaching and the gifts of the Spirit. Yet in spite of having all these, they were not spiritual. It is rare indeed to find believers who have the discernment to recognise that a gifted, eloquent preacher whose knowledge of the Bible is extensive and who in addition, has miraculous gifts of the Spirit as well, need not be a spiritual man at all. He could be thoroughly carnal.

Unfortunately, we live in a day when most believers think that a man is spiritual if he is a good `Master of Ceremonies’ who can conduct meetings in a lively way, put people at ease with his many jokes and preach eloquently as well.

Preachers today are respected, unfortunately, for their gifts and not for the fruit of Christlikeness in their lives – in spite of the fact that Jesus clearly taught that false prophets would be identified by the lack of Divine fruit in their character (Mt. 7:15-20).

Jesus also said that in the day of judgment many would come before Him and say that they had prophesied and done miracles in His Name. But He would reply that He never knew them (Mt 7:22,23). They called Jesus “Lord” and had supernatural powers. But there was sin in their lives. This shows us clearly that much “Christian” activity and even supernatural gifts do not make a man spiritual. In fact, they are not even an indication that a man is born again, for the Lord told these people that He NEVER knew them at any time!!

To understand what makes a man spiritual, we could first of all make a list of all the abilities that Satan possesses. That would show us clearly the things that are NOT the marks of true spirituality.

Consider activity, for example: Satan is a full-time worker who is active day and night (Re. 12:9,10). He never takes a holiday. He is always seeking for people whom he can accuse – and he has many helpers too!! He also has plenty of Bible- knowledge, for he quoted the Scriptures even to Jesus. He has supernatural gifts, zeal, many co-workers, a great following and authority over many people. But he is not spiritual!!

What makes a man truly spiritual could be summed up in three statements: An upward look, an inward look and an outward look.

A spiritual man looks in these three directions constantly:

1. Upward – in worship and devotion to God and Christ.
2. Inward – in acknowledging and repenting of his unChristlikeness.
3. Outward – in seeking to help and bless other people.

A Spiritual Man Looks Upward

God has called us first of all to be His worshippers – to hunger and thirst after Him. A spiritual man worships God. His one desire is God. He does not desire anything or anyone other than God in earth or in heaven (Ps. 73:25). Money does not mean more to him than God. As the deer pants after the waterbrooks, so the spiritual man longs after God. He longs for God more than a thirsty man longs for water.

A spiritual man longs for fellowship with God more than he does for ease or comfort. He longs to hear God speak to him daily.

Those who worship money, ease and their own convenience, will always find something or the other to complain about. But the spiritual man never has any complaints, because he desires only God and he always has Him. He is never disappointed with the circumstances of his life, because he sees the mighty hand of God in all those circumstances and he humbles himself underneath that hand joyfully at all times. Because a spiritual man is in touch with God he does not need any laws or rules to regulate his life. He has found the tree of life (God Himself) and so he has no interest in the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Because he is taken up with simple and pure devotion to Christ, he is not sidetracked by secondary issues. Looking at Jesus, the spiritual man becomes increasingly like his Lord year by year.

A spiritual man humbles himself constantly. And so God exalts him constantly. He is exalted higher and higher – into a closer and closer relationship with God. Such a man having seen the realities of the heavenly life will always seek to do his good deeds hidden from man’s eyes.

A Spiritual Man Looks Inward

The upward look leads on to an inward look. As soon as Isaiah saw the glory of the Lord, he immediately became aware of his own sinfulness (Is. 6:1-5) . It was the same with Job, Peter and John (Job 42:5,6; Lk. 5:8;Re. 1:17). When we live in God’s presence, we become aware of many areas of unChristlikeness in our lives. The spiritual man is thus constantly getting light over the hidden sins in his life.

We are commanded to worship the Lord “in holy array (dress)” (Ps. 29:2) . Without the clothing of holiness, we are naked before the Lord. So the spiritual man “does his best” at all times to keep his conscience clear before God and before men (Acts 24:16). Just as the businessman does his best to make more money, and the research scientist does his best to make new discoveries, even so the spiritual man does his best to keep his conscience clear at all times.

A spiritual man judges himself constantly, because he discovers many things in his life that need to be cleansed away – things that other believers may not be disturbed by, in their own lives.

A spiritual man realises that he has to die inwardly every day, to many things that hinder him from being effective for God. So his lifestyle becomes one of taking up the cross and “always bearing about in his body the dying of Jesus” (2Co. 4:10).

The spiritual man has no problem in humbling himself before anyone or in asking for forgiveness from anyone – whether that person be older than him or younger than him. He realises that his prayers and his service will never be accepted by God, if he has hurt even one other person – whether wife, brother or neighbour – in any way. And so, as soon as he realises that he has hurt someone, he “leaves his gift at the altar and goes and settles matters with that person first, and then returns to offer his gifts to God” (Mt. 5:23,24).

A Spiritual Man Looks Outward

The upward and inward look lead on to the outward look.

A spiritual man is one who realises that God has blessed him only in order that he might be a blessing to others. Since God has forgiven him so much, he gladly and readily forgives all who have harmed him. Since God has been so good to him, he is good to others too. He has received freely from God and he gives freely to others.

A spiritual man is genuinely concerned for the welfare of others. He is filled with compassion for lost and suffering humanity and can never ignore a brother whom he sees in any need – like the Levite and the priest did, in the parable of the good Samaritan (Lk. 10:30-37).

God is concerned for fallen man – to help him, to bless him, to lift him up and deliver him from Satan’s bondage. The spiritual man’s concern is the same. Like his Master, the spiritual man seeks to serve others and not to be served. Jesus went around doing good and delivering people who were bound by Satan (Acts 10:38). The spiritual man does the same.

A spiritual man does not seek to gain anything from others through his service for them – neither money nor honour. Like God, he only seeks to bless others through his life and his labours. He will NEVER expect any gifts from anyone – for he trusts in God alone for his every need. A little booklet that has come down to us from the second century titled “The Teaching of The Twelve Apostles” tells us that the early apostles taught all believers in their time to beware of any preacher who asked them for money, for such a person was a false prophet. If only we understood this, we would be saved from many false prophets today!!

A spiritual man looks upward, inward and outward. If he looked only upward, he would be unrealistic – “so heavenly-minded as to be of no earthly use”. If he looked only inward, he would be depressed and discouraged most of the time. If he looked only outward, his work would be shallow. But a spiritual man looks in all three directions constantly. May God help us to be balanced – and spiritual.

If you are Indian, or of Indian descent, I must preface this post with a clear warning: you are not going to like what I have to say. My criticisms may be very hard to stomach. But consider them as the hard words and loving advice of a good friend. Someone who’s being honest with you and wants nothing from you.

These criticisms apply to all of India except Kerala and the places I didn’t visit, except that I have a feeling it applies to all of India, except as I mentioned before, Kerala.

Lastly, before anyone accuses me of Western Cultural Imperialism, let me say this: if this is what India and Indians want, then hey, who am I to tell them differently. Take what you like and leave the rest. In the end it doesn’t really matter, as I get the sense that Indians, at least many upper class Indians, don’t seem to care and the lower classes just don’t know any better, what with Indian culture being so intense and pervasive on the sub-continent. But here goes, nonetheless.

India is a mess. It’s that simple, but it’s also quite complicated. I’ll start with what I think are India’s four major problems–the four most preventing India from becoming a developing nation–and then move to some of the ancillary ones.

First, pollution. In my opinion the filth, squalor and all around pollution indicates a marked lack of respect for India by Indians. I don’t know how cultural the filth is, but it’s really beyond anything I have ever encountered.  At times the smells, trash, refuse and excrement are like a garbage dump.

Right next door to the Taj Mahal was a pile of trash that smelled so bad, was so foul as to almost ruin the entire Taj experience. Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai to a lesser degree were so very polluted as to make me physically ill. Sinus infections, ear infection, bowels churning was an all to common experience in India. Dung, be it goat, cow or human fecal matter was common on the streets. In major tourist areas filth was everywhere, littering the sidewalks, the roadways, you name it. Toilets in the middle of the road, men urinating and defecating anywhere, in broad daylight.

Whole villages are plastic bag wastelands. Roadsides are choked by it. Air quality that can hardly be called quality. Far too much coal and far to few unleaded vehicles on the road. The measure should be how dangerous the air is for one’s health, not how good it is. People casually throw trash in the streets, on the roads.

The only two cities that could be considered sanitary in my journey were Trivandrum–the capital of Kerala–and Calicut. I don’t know why this is. But I can assure you that at some point this pollution will cut into India’s productivity, if it already hasn’t. The pollution will hobble India’s growth path, if that indeed is what the country wants. (Which I personally doubt, as India is far too conservative a country, in the small ‘c’ sense.)

More after the jump..

The second issue, infrastructure, can be divided into four subcategories: roads, rails and ports and the electrical grid. The electrical grid is a joke. Load shedding is all too common, everywhere in India. Wide swaths of the country spend much of the day without the electricity they actually pay for. Without regular electricity, productivity, again, falls.

The ports are a joke. Antiquated, out of date, hardly even appropriate for the mechanized world of container ports, more in line with the days of longshoremen and the like. Roads are an equal disaster. I only saw one elevated highway that would be considered decent in Thailand, much less Western Europe or America. And I covered fully two thirds of the country during my visit.

There are so few dual carriage way roads as to be laughable. There are no traffic laws to speak of, and if there are, they are rarely obeyed, much less enforced. A drive that should take an hour takes three. A drive that should take three takes nine. The buses are at least thirty years old, if not older.

Everyone in India, or who travels in India raves about the railway system. Rubbish. It’s awful. Now, when I was there in 2003 and then late 2004 it was decent. But in the last five years the traffic on the rails has grown so quickly that once again, it is threatening productivity. Waiting in line just to ask a question now takes thirty minutes. Routes are routinely sold out three and four days in advance now, leaving travelers stranded with little option except to take the decrepit and dangerous buses.

At least fifty million people use the trains a day in India. 50 million people! Not surprising that waitlists of 500 or more people are common now.

The rails are affordable and comprehensive but they are overcrowded and what with budget airlines popping up in India like Sadhus in an ashram the middle and lowers classes are left to deal with the over utilized rails and quality suffers. No one seems to give a shit.

Seriously, I just never have the impression that the Indian government really cares. Too interested in buying weapons from Russia, Israel and the US I guess.

The last major problem in India is an old problem and can be divided into two parts that’ve been two sides of the same coin since government was invented: bureaucracy and corruption.

It take triplicates to register into a hotel. To get a SIM card for one’s phone is like wading into a jungle of red-tape and photocopies one is not likely to emerge from in a good mood, much less satisfied with customer service.

Getting train tickets is a terrible ordeal, first you have to find the train number, which takes 30 minutes, then you have to fill in the form, which is far from easy, then you have to wait in line to try and make a reservation, which takes 30 minutes at least and if you made a single mistake on the form back you go to the end of the queue, or what passes for a queue in India.

The government is notoriously uninterested in the problems of the commoners, too busy fleecing the rich, or trying to get rich themselves in some way shape or form. Take the trash for example, civil rubbish collection authorities are too busy taking kickbacks from the wealthy to keep their areas clean that they don’t have the time, manpower, money or interest in doing their job.

Rural hospitals are perennially understaffed as doctors pocket the fees the government pays them, never show up at the rural hospitals and practice in the cities instead.

I could go on for quite some time about my perception of India and its problems, but in all seriousness, I don’t think anyone in India really cares. And that, to me, is the biggest problem. India is too conservative a society to want to change in any way.

Mumbai, India’s financial capital is about as filthy, polluted and poor as the worst city imaginable in Vietnam, or Indonesia–and being more polluted than Medan, in Sumatra is no easy task. The biggest rats I have ever seen were in Medan!

One would expect a certain amount of, yes, I am going to use this word, backwardness, in a country that hasn’t produced so many Nobel Laureates, nuclear physicists, imminent economists and entrepreneurs. But India has all these things and what have they brought back to India with them? Nothing.

The rich still have their servants, the lower castes are still there to do the dirty work and so the country remains in status. It’s a shame. Indians and India have many wonderful things to offer the world, but I’m far from sanguine that India will amount to much in my lifetime.

Now, have at it, call me a cultural imperialist, a spoiled child of the West and all that.  But remember, I’ve been there. I’ve done it. And I’ve seen 50 other countries on this planet and none, not even Ethiopia, have as long and gargantuan a laundry list of problems as India does.

And the bottom line is, I don’t think India really cares. Too complacent and too conservative.

Sean Paul Kelley is a travel writer, former radio host, and before that an asset manager for a Wall Street investment bank that is still (barely) alive. He recently left a fantastic job in Singapore working for Solar Winds, a software company based out of Austin to travel around the world for a year (or two). He founded The Agonist, in 2002, which is still considered the top international affairs, culture and news destination for progressives. He is also the Global Correspondent for The Young Turks, on satellite radio and Air America.

A shot from the train

It was one of a backbreaking trip of mine. Covered half of India, let’s say till Kanyakumari by train. Apart from Modern Europe, vigorously indulged in my favourite pastime, PHOTOGRAPHY. Took some stunning pictures from train, of train, waters, trees, etc as I travelled till Trivandrum. It was Onam, one of Kerala’s biggest festival, and I am happy that I could have traveled and witnessed this great ‘harvest celebration’ that features dancing and feasting. Onam Sadhya, food on the leaf with dozens of curries was the best of all. Well, although the train journeys have been tiring, thanks to my Camera, it kept me engaged. Now that I am back, I have loads of work, and my favourite season WINTER is just of to start. Here for the first time, I am giving my link to my photographs uploaded on FLICKR. Enjoy! Your comments welcome! Mail me if you want to download for personal use Left side is one of many taken from the train.

ADIOS ~

Its absoultely sad I could not write my blog on the Independence Day. Have been travelling since then. These train journeys are sometime very tiring. Lots have been pending since I arrived Bangalore, the silicon valley of India. Well its not that I dont get time, but am forcing myself to believe Iam lazy when am here. I have time only for meeting and eating. Indeed am very happy I studied and positively wrote my paper on modern Europe…however everything depends on the university. Just pray they dont read my n as m and v as w, if so i will surely flunk this.

I have lots to write but dont know how long I can keep writing from my mobile. Currently, sitting inside a train to Kerala aka God’s own country. It’s Onam here and I have lots of beautiful snaps to take. Dont miss my next post. I have to now enjoy the beautiful scenary outside, the train passes through the best spots of Kerala. C u from Trivandrum..

Adios ~

I hate fictions and this is not one. Part of my Independence series

THE highway and the cramped streets was no predicament for their enthusiastic and brisk biking. Rustling through the morning kids and funny jaywalkers, two bikers were on a mission to emerge as THE undisputed leader of the Delhi roads.

It was an unusual morning for Sammy who acted deviant on his usual daily drive to office. Sharp 8am and the roads were yet to get busy. As he kick starts his Unicorn 150 CC and reaches the main road, a sudden swiftness of a co-driver prompts him to take on a challenge breaking through his mundane 40-min morning drive. When was it last he indulged in vigorous biking with friends and rivals…seemed long…but being an avid biker, he sure missed that fun.

The young chap for Sammy’s out-of-the-ordinary challenge ‘Slimy’ owned an altered bike that was almost close to the Suzuki Hayabuysa. Nope it wont give a speed of 240 miles per hour, but people in India love the ‘feel’ of a Ducati or Hayabusa although the ride is not the same. Slimy might have never ridden one, but Sammy has, and he knows the feeling is purely heaven!!!

The vehement race began. And with pretty much experience, and a bike of 150 CC, Sammy was speeding to the unknown final destination where they would disperse with that feeling of someone being the best and fast. Sammy knew for sure he would win. The morning winds only made him fast…aha but that dint make him oblivious of a erratic young passionate lad tailing him. Sammy continuously kept staring at his right mirror to ensure the frenzied youth was safe. Finally, like expected, Slimy lost his cool and let anger erupt out of him. Indeed anger is just one letter short of danger. Slimy almost hit a veggie vendor. Now that is totally unacceptable in biking but both are vying for victory.

Here and there, Sammy did give Slimy a chance to speed him. He was however in no mood to loose. He was totally engrossed in speed. They did give a nightmare to those slow drivers and sleepy shop owners. No doubt, Sammy was happy…on the road stretched out wide with no traffic lights for a certain distance…it was thumbs up for him.

After almost no slowing down, finally Sammy had to halt his bike as the red signal showed near the Yamuna River. In racing it is all about speed…no rules exist. But Sammy stopped. There were no traffic police, no vehicles passing, a virtually empty street, still Sammy stopped. That very minute, Slimy passed through him, flaunting his speed and exposing the victory flag (the middle finger). Sammy was dejected…after all his speed exceeded Slimy’s. It was a matter of great pride and losing was humiliating.

The lad won. He really won. Sammy’s once-in-a-blue-moon excitement was shattered. However, reaching his destination, there was a great sense of unprecedented pride within Sammy for being a law-abiding citizen in an exceptionally exceptional week. Not that he never jumped signals, but this week is unlike others. After all, four days later will be the Indian Independence Day.

Adios ~

The pastor quoted many verses, out of them two I remember. One was Mathew 28:19 (Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age) and Mathew 20: 28 (just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many).

Citing the verses, he stressed umpteen times on “doing mission”. Many powerful statements were indeed made…but his congregations were not scholars and theologians to apprehend the meaning. They were common men. Nothing wrong in asking them to go out and “do mission”…but shouldn’t there be some education on “where to do”, “whom to do”, “how to do” and “why to do”. Evangelicals in India otherwise might end up being accused of “forceful conversion” and conversion through allurement. These days Christians involving in conversions are totally lacking knowledge of Scriptures. These recent growing accusations are mainly due to lack of education and direction. We cant ask them to go out to the battle field and fight without giving them a tool to fight. They sure need a sword. The call to evangelise and do mission must be inculcated with more caution and care.

However, I should say it sure is encouraging to see them urging people to do mission. You don’t see that in other churches or denominations where they only think of taking care of their flock. Everybody has a calling…a calling to take the message of God to the ends of the earth. It is so strange how certain Pentecostal churches conduct their service. The pastor points his finger and picks young men/women out of the crowd declaring that he/she has God’s calling in their life. As a young lad, I used to wait with much anticipation on when that finger would point to me. Till it does, I have nothing to do with “serving God”. It is for special people you see. May be I am called for something else. Now, I look back and laugh at all those thoughts and experiences of mine. God sure has called each of us and has a will and purpose in our lives to love and serve Him. But it is how we respond. The prophecy has already arrived. All you go to do is, open your Bible and comb through the Scriptures. The rest is just an incredible experience.

Adios ~ SAM

The Hiroshima bombing left 80,000 to 140,000 people killed and 100,000 were seriously injured. The Nagasaki bombing killed 74,000 people and left 75,000 seriously injured.

The story behind this bombing, starting from Japan’s 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor naval base to Japanese Emperor Hirohito’s surrender, has been one of my greatest interests of history. Movies, documentaries, why even the museums at Washington with details on the Manhattan Project kept me totally immersed.

It just took one bomb to change the course of the Second World War. That incident without question redefined the term ‘super power’. President Truman might have justified his act by saying the atomic bomb saved more lives than what was lost. But what about the causalities? Can we close our eyes to what happened? It is still a subject of great debate.

I just can’t picture myself experiencing it. The second explosion was equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT. The explosion generated heat estimated at 3,900 degrees Celsius and winds that were estimated at 1005 km/h. This blast generated speeds just over 4 times that of a Category 5 hurricane.

Sixty-five years after the destruction of Hiroshima, the United States for the first time sent an envoy to commemorate the bombing. (Wonder, why they took so long to send a rep).

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon also attended, becoming the first UN chief to take part in the annual event at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

As I express my solidarity, I also join hands with Church and human rights organisations in demanding a nuke-free world. But if we are inspired by greed and power, this can never be possible.

From a high of 70,000 nuclear weapons in 1986, there are today about 7,500 active warheads and about 23,300 total warheads in the world, according to the Washington-based Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

The US has around 9,400 warheads, with at least 2,600 active, according to the FAS. Russia has about 13,000, of which 4,840 are active.

Let us pray and strive to stop looking at each other with race, color, power and class, but look at each other as people one before God, as His best creation.

She had already been punished with flogging for an “illicit relationship”. Thanks to those rights organisations that campaigned against her stoning. The Iranian Government has withdrawn that punishment but might execute Ashtiani by hanging. Embarassed over the international attention, the government there now has accused Ashtiani of conspiracy to murder her husband, in addition to adultery.

Iran’s Penal Code dictates that the “stones have to be large enough to cause pain but not too large to kill the victim straight away”. Article 102 of the Penal code says that men should be buried up to their waists and women up to their breasts for execution by stoning. This horrific style of execution is usually carried out for acts such as adultery which is a criminal offence in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Well, least is we could hope the laws associated with stoning can be repealed. It sure might take longer time. Why even Great Britain had a law till 1967 that made illegal for women to “cause a nuisance with abusive or argumentative language”. It was a law passed in 1585.

Such cases of Ashtiani are extremely saddening and only inform us the need to campaign and pray for such people. How wonderful it would be to see the seeds of Gospel being planted in these Islamic countries that could see stupendous transformation. Remember the story of an adulteress women being stoned and Jesus was questioned on the action? Jesus challenges those who would stone the woman. He challenged their qualifications for stoning the woman; after all, they are not free of sin. But there is one great admonition that we Christians sometimes forget while reading that story. After the accusers had fled, Jesus tells the woman: “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” As Christians sometimes we take the grace and mercy of God for granted. It is so convenient to sin because our God is a forgiving God. Yes, for sure the adulteress woman was forgiven but Jesus ends his statement with a word of caution. “Sin no more”. It is a great challenge to follow that, but those who obey the Lord only receive “life” and not “death”. I love the word ‘grace’ and often misuse its purpose. That word is of use only if our conscious side acts and “sin no more”. Let me end with this beautiful verse. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Adios ~

I was born in an Orthodox Christian family, converted (influence of mom) to Protestant Pentecostal denomination, wandered among cults and meandered among non-denominations, finally the end of the road was with my current evangelical church. With all my Christian experience I can tell you, quit the Church that gives no emphasis to the Word of God.

I look at the Christian world and I see the war between denominations getting more and more murky. Every one of them claims to be the ‘true’ church. Church A is too much into music, Church B is into only prayer, Church C is into prophesy, Church D is into just liturgies, Church E into reading Hebrew and Greek text, oh please give me the liberty to name Church E, I just cant keep it unexposed…hehe…am talking about the Syrian Orthodox Church where my young days were spent. It was where my spiritual side took a form I used to go every Sunday, to enjoy the smell and sight of incense burning in a censer, and later the priest reading Hebrew texts, which for sure only he understood That’s tradition you see, no scoffing. Hehe, I could get bashed for such satirical statement So let me at least give credit to that Church for their catechism classes that sure sparked an interest for God in my life

Now where was I? Oh! yea the kind of church you should attend. I am not recommending any denomination here. Just goading you to attend a church that preaches the Word of God as it is without distorting. After all “in the beginning was the Word…..and the Word was God”. God speaks through many ways, but of them all paramount is Him manifesting through the Scriptures. There was a time I used to go crazy about getting exhortations from pastors on every thing in life. Have you noticed, how sometimes certain fallen shepherds manipulate truth to fit circumstances. You don’t know when you could be a victim of this. So Remember “Psalms 119:105 – Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” The Word of God “is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing apart of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb 4:12″ This is the most profound and elementary truth that we realize very late in our life. You sure will be lucky, if it dint take any effort unlike me who was on a merry-go- round for a longtime. Thanks to my church for getting me out of darkness and leading me to the truth.

If you are based in Delhi and have been seeking for such a church, dont hesitate to hit the contact button. By the way, DBF is organizing bible classes for your non believer friends. Take them along if you want to introduce Christ in their lives. Good luck!

Adios ~