Whilst I bow down in front of the picture of my God with alarming regularity each morning and have unquestionable belief in the existence of an invisible hand that writes our destinies, the recent devastation in Japan has left me with many unanswered questions.

And I believe that most of the theories about laws of karma, and existence of God are at best specious.

An island nation that rose from the depths of despair after the nuclear holocaust in 1945, that worked tirelessly in unison and rose to become the second largest economy in the world thru sheer discipline and hard work, that is meek and has achieved so much in science and technology, that something ‘Japanese’ touches our life every second, had to suffer the vagary of nature – and boy what a vagary.

How could God decide to annihilate over 25000 people suddenly and change the life of millions forever?
Could the law of karma define the destinies of so many people with such queasy perfection..

NO!!

What also surprised me was the pride and solidarity with which the nation stood in its darkest hour. In sharp contrast to the behaviour of citizens in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina and the quake in Haiti, there was no price gouging or looting in Japan. Lessons must be learnt from the Yamato-Damashii or inherent Japanese spirit that allowed the country to rebuild itself after the second world war and definitely will allow now as well.

The course of Japanese history during which it has endured the cycle of catastrophe and renewal over and over again by imbibing the concept of discipline, endurance and perseverance in the face of suffering is a lesson for the rest of the world.

God bless Japan.