Some times I feel modern intelligence is such a burden on our brain! Ignorance is bliss, rightfully said by our ancestors. There are days when I want to get rid of this facade of synthetic, acquired intelligence of mine.
Sink myself deep into Spirituality. I feel realization or intelligence which makes it way into our heart through spirituality, is like Ayurveda. Life giving. Natural. Natures nectar to main kind. No lethal side effects.
This so called intelligence acquired after some 20+ years of killing education process is like the Drugs/Modern medicine. Synthetic and harmful with lots of side effects. Totally western.
Some times it feels good to shed this mask of intelligence and look at life innocently. So please bear with me, for this completely unintelligent mindless posting.
My favorite pass time (which I find very soothing) is to aimlessly gaze out of my office window during the day. I do so while I am working on my Laptop. To keep looking at the bright blue sky and think. What's so great about that for it to get a honorary mention on my blog? Everyone does it. So???
Yes everyone does it, but how many of them write about! For me it is important to write about it. Gazing out of the window at the blue sky, my thoughts free me from the confines of the office walls and its school like atmosphere. I am a free bird in my thoughts.
Actually, it is self pity which makes me think about the bright blue sky. Fact is, I envy those people out there in the sun, on the roads moving about. Enjoying and going about something so mundane as sipping tea at a road side stall or just strolling about aimlessly. Simple yes, mundane yes....but I can't do any of that during my week days. Because I am working. As in, I am in the office. Confined to my workstation, meetings and presentations. Modern offices are so restrictive. There are CCTV camera's, IN/OUT swipe machines and god knows what all. All possible devices and gizmos to track your movement. Extremely claustrophobic. They kill an employee's creativity.
I wont be surprised if a day comes when an employer would want to know the whereabouts of each person 24X7. So they will fit a GPS device in the employees body at the time of joining (my understanding is that one large Indian Corporate is already working on a micro chip which can be fitted into human body). They will be able to trace each and every employee by just entering a code in a system and wow!!!! Just like FedEx traces its parcels.
The problem is that we all spend so many hours of each day at work, trying to do something great. But it just does not seem to be taking the organizations anywhere. See what hard working employees like us have done to the world economy. Those working with Lehman too were working hard. But look what its done to their life. And to the rest of the world also.
In my view, modern day organizations are monsters we have created and we fail to understand them. Many of them have no sense of where they are heading, I mean the organizations. Truly! They make over ambitious business plans, hire wrong kind of people to drive the business, to meet these loud business plans they design incorrect processes.......and then everything goes kaput. Give them some years and they have dug their own grave, ready to shut shop. So many of them working in the top positions truly make me sick. They have an IQ no higher than that of a 5th grader. May be that the qualification to make it to the top. The dumber you are, higher you rise. just like a balloon filled with helium!!!!!(Yahhh I am in a foul mood. It was just a bad day at work!)
Anyways coming back to my thoughts...sitting in my office, I often wonder what's happening to the world out.
People are going about routine chores.
Mothers dragging kids to the school, house wives bargaining with the vegetable vendors, teenagers/youth sitting in their college or generally hanging about in the canteen. Men rushing past in their vehicles to work, crowded buses. People leisurely shopping in malls.
So many people, so many lives and so many ways of living and spending the day.
Actually I am slightly more troubled today because it is a holiday for most people. And I am working. Wrong! My office is open.
So what am I cribbing about???Why not just walk out of the office into the bright blue sunshine and freedom.....
Well.....jobs are difficult to come through. Recession time.
"Having a Job is more important than job satisfcation" a colleagues wife (actually a housewife) pointed out to him!
Commonsense observation.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Terrorist attack at The Taj Hotel, Oberoi, VT Station, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital & Nariman House-What am I feeling and thinking as a Mumbaikar?
There is enough being said and enough being printed and discussed about the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai city.
I take pride in the fact that I am born and brought up in Mumbai. Have lived most of my life in Mumbai. I claim to my friends, relatives and Husband (who hails from Kolkatta) how well I know Mumbai- like the back of my hand.
True Blue Blood Mumbaikar is what my blog says.
But today I am sad and lost. My mind, thoughts and feelings are completely jumbled and empty. Like the needle of a compass, which has lost its magnetic north. Swinging in all directions. Aimlessly.
There is a numbness. There is no intensity left. Blasts, Riots, Bandhs and now the open firing......
Terrible sadness for lives lost, families disrupted, government and private property damaged, international criticism, loss of business, impact on economy....nothing seems to provoke a discussion. No public debates and tea table rounds of discussions.
Yes, a sense of gratitude for the known and unknown brave hearts. For saving lives and giving away their own.
Long talks by ministers, international support, rewards and awards......everything feels very false.
May god give strength to the family of those, who have lost their lives/ are wounded and hurt physically or emotionally.
Me Mumbaikar is down and under today. It seems like an herculean task to get the spirit of Mumbai back this time.
But fight back we will. Nothing or nobody can beak the spirit of Mumbai.
I take pride in the fact that I am born and brought up in Mumbai. Have lived most of my life in Mumbai. I claim to my friends, relatives and Husband (who hails from Kolkatta) how well I know Mumbai- like the back of my hand.
True Blue Blood Mumbaikar is what my blog says.
But today I am sad and lost. My mind, thoughts and feelings are completely jumbled and empty. Like the needle of a compass, which has lost its magnetic north. Swinging in all directions. Aimlessly.
There is a numbness. There is no intensity left. Blasts, Riots, Bandhs and now the open firing......
Terrible sadness for lives lost, families disrupted, government and private property damaged, international criticism, loss of business, impact on economy....nothing seems to provoke a discussion. No public debates and tea table rounds of discussions.
Yes, a sense of gratitude for the known and unknown brave hearts. For saving lives and giving away their own.
Long talks by ministers, international support, rewards and awards......everything feels very false.
May god give strength to the family of those, who have lost their lives/ are wounded and hurt physically or emotionally.
Me Mumbaikar is down and under today. It seems like an herculean task to get the spirit of Mumbai back this time.
But fight back we will. Nothing or nobody can beak the spirit of Mumbai.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
My realisation
When you walk the path of truth, it does not matter whether there are others walking with you. Because on this journey of truth, god is walking by your side, with you. You feel his presence. His presence gives you courage. It does not matter you are alone. Your strength comes from God.
But when you walk the path of lies, even if the entire world is with you; god is not with you. You miss his presence.
People who commit crimes, lie, kill or do wrong know this in their heart, that I am in it alone. God is not with me on this journey. It is a very lonely journey.
The only difference between choosing the path of truth or or the path of lies, is god's company.
But when you walk the path of lies, even if the entire world is with you; god is not with you. You miss his presence.
People who commit crimes, lie, kill or do wrong know this in their heart, that I am in it alone. God is not with me on this journey. It is a very lonely journey.
The only difference between choosing the path of truth or or the path of lies, is god's company.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Is Delhi Safe For Women?
The recent gruesome murder of a female journalist in Delhi in the wee hours of early morning is shocking. Once again Delhi is under the scanner.
"Is Delhi safe for women?". No it is not. But then it never was. I have lived all my life in Mumbai. The image of Delhi was always that of a city extremely unsafe for women. I grew up hearing that. And so as a Mumbaikar, I always had this bias against Delhi and particularly the men in Delhi. Could not bring myself to take up a job in Delhi or get married to a guy from Delhi. Simply because of its negative reputation as far as safety is concerned.
Delhi's bad track record goes much before Mrs Sheila Dixit started her tenure as the CM. Eve teasing, harassing women, killing for dowry, the Tandoor case, Jessica Lal Murder, Arushi murder and now this...all of it has happened in Delhi.
As a working women, as a resident of another sprawling Metropolitan (Mumbai), I am in agreement with Mrs. Sheila Dixit to a great extent. It is indeed being a bit too confident and adventurous; to be out alone in a car at 3.00 am in the morning. Be it Delhi, Be it Mumbai, Be it Kolkatta or Chennai. A female (more so alone) is always vulnerable. Any where in the world. And lets accept this. It is a fact. One is only safe till such a time that an incidence like does not happen.
It is not what Mrs Dixit chooses to say that decides the culture of a city. It is the people that make the culture of a city. Over the years I have visited Delhi for work and had an opportunity to stay for extended periods such a month or longer too. I found men in and around Delhi to be extremely rude to women, chauvinists, unruly, crude and vulgar. Being educated or well dressed has very little to do with this. Men in Delhi (again I am reiterating some class/sect) live in primitive ages as far as their treatment of women is concerned. Abusive language towards women, road rage and other such aggressive behaviors are largely displayed in public against women.
Few days back, a TV news carried the story of a pregnant women being beaten by her in-laws for dowry. Again in Delhi. Cruelty to women is a way of life in Delhi. Be it towards a strange women, a daughter, a wife or a mother. More so if you are a foreigner.
It is not Mrs Dixit who needs to apologise to media or any one else; it is the men of Delhi who must apologise to WOMEN. It is the men in Delhi who must come out in the open and protest against those of their gender. It is the men of Delhi who have to restore their credibility.
The channel where she was employed too shares the blame. For their careless attitude towards the safety of a female employee. They made her work late in the night; but shied away from the responsibility of providing safety and security. Knowing very well how unsafe it was to venture out in the night on the roads of Delhi. The news channel is cunningly diverting peoples attention from their own mistake and piling on to Mrs Sheila Dixit.
No city in the world is safe in the night. Be it London, New York or Manhattan. There are enough night crime in New York or London or any other large city in world. Not only against women, but men too get targeted and killed.
Unfortunately all the apologies in the world will not get their daughters back. Jessica or Arushi or Soumya. They are gone for ever. What happened was most unfortunate. It could have been very easily circumvented through proper safety and security measures.
May god give strength to the bereaved family.
Let us learn a lesson and move on. Let every event and incidence in the society not become a blame game.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Bigg Boss- How different is it from any corporate office?
This is the season 2 of the popular Indian version of the program Bigg Boss. The original program is called 'Big Brother'.
It is a fantastic experiment in human behaviour. We can keep changing the set of people, try new permutations and combinations of profiles (the famous, the not so famous, the beautiful, the not so beautiful, rich, not so rich, educated and not so educated). But the reactions are all the same.
There are many similarities between the Bigg Bosses House and a Corporate Office. We have jokingly started referring to our own office as the Bigg Bosses house.
When people are put in together in to the house, Bigg Bosses House, they are good with each other. They go out of their way to help each other. There are cameras capturing every minutes.
Just like people are good to a new joinee in an organisation. They go out of their way to be nice to a new joinee. Same is the case with Bigg Boss. You are always being watched!
With time, groupism starts. People start hanging together in groups. People start bitching about each others.
So much of it happens in a Corporate office too. There are groups and ever one wants to be with a group. You have no place if you don’t belong to a group.
Then it is time to start nominations. Initially the unsuspecting one's are asked nominated. Most of the time they don’t even know why they have been nominated.
The same thing happens in a corporate office. Completely unsuspecting people are picked up as scape goats.
It just gets murkier inside the house. People start abusing each other, plans are made to oust people from the other group. It is a war of sorts.
Well well well.....nothing different in a corporate office....
As the competition heads towards the final lap, it is a question of ones own survival. The starts parasitic behaviour. Inmates from the same group start nominating people from within the group. Friends on face, but in the confession room they nominate each other. The realisation then dawns on the participants and the viewers too, that; there are no friends out there in the house. They are only competitors. It is a competition and any form of competition has to be eliminated.
Well...well...well...Not at all different in a corporate at all....It is a question of survival and no one is a friend. And so even in the so called civil, professional and task driven environment of the fortune 500 companies of the world, we demonstrate the same behaviour as the inmates of Bigg Boss.
A fantastic, unfailing experiment in human behaviour.
It is a fantastic experiment in human behaviour. We can keep changing the set of people, try new permutations and combinations of profiles (the famous, the not so famous, the beautiful, the not so beautiful, rich, not so rich, educated and not so educated). But the reactions are all the same.
There are many similarities between the Bigg Bosses House and a Corporate Office. We have jokingly started referring to our own office as the Bigg Bosses house.
When people are put in together in to the house, Bigg Bosses House, they are good with each other. They go out of their way to help each other. There are cameras capturing every minutes.
Just like people are good to a new joinee in an organisation. They go out of their way to be nice to a new joinee. Same is the case with Bigg Boss. You are always being watched!
With time, groupism starts. People start hanging together in groups. People start bitching about each others.
So much of it happens in a Corporate office too. There are groups and ever one wants to be with a group. You have no place if you don’t belong to a group.
Then it is time to start nominations. Initially the unsuspecting one's are asked nominated. Most of the time they don’t even know why they have been nominated.
The same thing happens in a corporate office. Completely unsuspecting people are picked up as scape goats.
It just gets murkier inside the house. People start abusing each other, plans are made to oust people from the other group. It is a war of sorts.
Well well well.....nothing different in a corporate office....
As the competition heads towards the final lap, it is a question of ones own survival. The starts parasitic behaviour. Inmates from the same group start nominating people from within the group. Friends on face, but in the confession room they nominate each other. The realisation then dawns on the participants and the viewers too, that; there are no friends out there in the house. They are only competitors. It is a competition and any form of competition has to be eliminated.
Well...well...well...Not at all different in a corporate at all....It is a question of survival and no one is a friend. And so even in the so called civil, professional and task driven environment of the fortune 500 companies of the world, we demonstrate the same behaviour as the inmates of Bigg Boss.
A fantastic, unfailing experiment in human behaviour.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Living in the present.
It is sad to see that our approach towards life is becoming so tactical. We live from one day to another day. Forget thinking about doing good work, earning good karma for the betterment of next birth/life. We don't want to spend time thinking about this life! It's all right here, right now approach.
Life is about living in the present moment. Because there is nothing else to life other than the present. The spiritual context of living life in the present means, drop all your karma at this minute and move on. I had attended a corporate workshop conducted by the Isha Yoga Foundation (Coimbatore, India) few years back. Our spiritual teacher taught us that the only way to happiness is to live in the present moment and drop all your karma at this moment and move on.
But what do we do instead? We carry this baggage of karma with us all our life. And like the bag that Santa Claus carries with him, we keep filling the bag with life's experiences!!! The good and the bad. Happy moments and sad moments. Love, hatred, likes, dislikes, attachments, anger, and many more mixed bag of thoughts, memories and feelings. With passing age, the bag only but becomes heavy. And we carry this weight with us. Remember, had we dropped all the little and big karma on the way and moved on, life would have been so light. So carefree. So happy. Living in the present means moving on without the karma.
Coming back to where I started from, the definition of living in the present has taken a dangerous meaning today. For most, living in the present means shrugging off their responsibility towards a better future. "Why should I worry about the future? I am not going to be here when the glaciers melt. I am living in the present. Let those who come in the future worry about their present."
It is right here, right now. This attitude is creating a recklessness in all of us. We have become careless about our actions and their consequences. Because, we may not live to see the consequences of our reckless actions. The future feels somewhere far away and distant. It is not the next second which has to come after the present moment has gone in the past. The glaciers will take a long time to melt, the last tiger will take a long time to disappear from the earth, it will be long time before humanity is wiped off from the surface of this earth. That is what everyone is thinking. There is 3 kinds of visible life on the earth and we have started a war against all of them, to DESTROY THEM!
Why else are we destroying nature by cutting forests and trees?
Why else are we destroying rare species of birds and animals?
Why else are we destroying humanity by planting bombs and killing each other so mercilessly?
Because we are all living in the present. Right here, right now. We know that the future of our planet is very bleak and scary. But who cares. We will not be here to see our planet gradually die away. Whose planet is it anyways?
Life is about living in the present moment. Because there is nothing else to life other than the present. The spiritual context of living life in the present means, drop all your karma at this minute and move on. I had attended a corporate workshop conducted by the Isha Yoga Foundation (Coimbatore, India) few years back. Our spiritual teacher taught us that the only way to happiness is to live in the present moment and drop all your karma at this moment and move on.
But what do we do instead? We carry this baggage of karma with us all our life. And like the bag that Santa Claus carries with him, we keep filling the bag with life's experiences!!! The good and the bad. Happy moments and sad moments. Love, hatred, likes, dislikes, attachments, anger, and many more mixed bag of thoughts, memories and feelings. With passing age, the bag only but becomes heavy. And we carry this weight with us. Remember, had we dropped all the little and big karma on the way and moved on, life would have been so light. So carefree. So happy. Living in the present means moving on without the karma.
Coming back to where I started from, the definition of living in the present has taken a dangerous meaning today. For most, living in the present means shrugging off their responsibility towards a better future. "Why should I worry about the future? I am not going to be here when the glaciers melt. I am living in the present. Let those who come in the future worry about their present."
It is right here, right now. This attitude is creating a recklessness in all of us. We have become careless about our actions and their consequences. Because, we may not live to see the consequences of our reckless actions. The future feels somewhere far away and distant. It is not the next second which has to come after the present moment has gone in the past. The glaciers will take a long time to melt, the last tiger will take a long time to disappear from the earth, it will be long time before humanity is wiped off from the surface of this earth. That is what everyone is thinking. There is 3 kinds of visible life on the earth and we have started a war against all of them, to DESTROY THEM!
Why else are we destroying nature by cutting forests and trees?
Why else are we destroying rare species of birds and animals?
Why else are we destroying humanity by planting bombs and killing each other so mercilessly?
Because we are all living in the present. Right here, right now. We know that the future of our planet is very bleak and scary. But who cares. We will not be here to see our planet gradually die away. Whose planet is it anyways?
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Media has become a carrier of bad news for the nation.
Sometimes I ponder about whats happening around us. Economic growth, science and research, technology, life style and social changes, education, longer life span....so much of positivity.
On the other hand there is increased crime rate, terrorism, dangerous life threatening illness and viruses never heard before, degenerating moral fabric, breaking family and societal systems, fanaticism.....so much negativity.
Are things really so bad? Or are we being misled? By whom?
Media is to blame. Irresponsible, insensitive and sub standard journalism. The 24 hour news channels have become a nuisance. No censorship, No cultural sensitivity and off all no humanity.
Anything is the name of the game to get TRPs and then ad revenue. The same clipping (of barely a few seconds or a minute or two duration) is played and replayed through out the day to increase the TRPs. And not only is it shown many times over on one channel it is shown many times over and many channels. Let me illustrate this point. When the Jaipur bomb explosions happened; the video footage was repeated nothing short of 20 times during the day for about 3-4 days. Which makes it 60-70 times in a span of 3-4 days. Now if there are about 10 news channels and all of them replayed it with the same frequency, the same event was telecast about 600-700 times on the television all over the country. No doubt people absolutely panic when ever even a small explosion happens.
And this applies to types of news. Recently a Karnataka MLAs wife went missing and her body was found hanging in a room in Delhi. The video footage of her body hanging was all over the media being replayed and replayed. No censorship that there are small children sitting in front of the television watching.
A small child is found dead in Asaramjis Ashram with his head inside a bucket. There goes the media replaying the same footage all over the television.
The murder images of Arushi and her servant Hemraj still haunt me in the night.
26th July images of flooded Mumbai are being replayed, year after year news channels. As a result even if there is no flooding people in Mumbai prefer staying home. Causing huge financial losses to the city.
Media has become the bad news carrier. Media is bringing depression, stress and hopelessness in our lives.
Media is to blame for making things look so grim. By exaggerating them beyond reality.
I come back to where I started from. Economic growth, science and research, technology, life style and social changes, education, longer life span....so much of positivity. Why isn't media talking about this. Why doesn't media carry good news into our homes and over drawing rooms?
On the other hand there is increased crime rate, terrorism, dangerous life threatening illness and viruses never heard before, degenerating moral fabric, breaking family and societal systems, fanaticism.....so much negativity.
Are things really so bad? Or are we being misled? By whom?
Media is to blame. Irresponsible, insensitive and sub standard journalism. The 24 hour news channels have become a nuisance. No censorship, No cultural sensitivity and off all no humanity.
Anything is the name of the game to get TRPs and then ad revenue. The same clipping (of barely a few seconds or a minute or two duration) is played and replayed through out the day to increase the TRPs. And not only is it shown many times over on one channel it is shown many times over and many channels. Let me illustrate this point. When the Jaipur bomb explosions happened; the video footage was repeated nothing short of 20 times during the day for about 3-4 days. Which makes it 60-70 times in a span of 3-4 days. Now if there are about 10 news channels and all of them replayed it with the same frequency, the same event was telecast about 600-700 times on the television all over the country. No doubt people absolutely panic when ever even a small explosion happens.
And this applies to types of news. Recently a Karnataka MLAs wife went missing and her body was found hanging in a room in Delhi. The video footage of her body hanging was all over the media being replayed and replayed. No censorship that there are small children sitting in front of the television watching.
A small child is found dead in Asaramjis Ashram with his head inside a bucket. There goes the media replaying the same footage all over the television.
The murder images of Arushi and her servant Hemraj still haunt me in the night.
26th July images of flooded Mumbai are being replayed, year after year news channels. As a result even if there is no flooding people in Mumbai prefer staying home. Causing huge financial losses to the city.
Media has become the bad news carrier. Media is bringing depression, stress and hopelessness in our lives.
Media is to blame for making things look so grim. By exaggerating them beyond reality.
I come back to where I started from. Economic growth, science and research, technology, life style and social changes, education, longer life span....so much of positivity. Why isn't media talking about this. Why doesn't media carry good news into our homes and over drawing rooms?
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Finishing School For Politicians
The political drama which unfolded in the Lok Sabha yesterday has once again left the nation ashamed. Some MPs were seen flaunting bundles of currency notes, live on all Television channels. Claiming that it was bribe given to them by some other political party.
As a honest and law abiding citizen of India, I am ashamed of our politicians. The Parliament looked like Chambal Valley and the MPs dacoits - uncouth and unruly. The speaker went hoarse trying to bring some sense.
Can someone please teach our politicians some finesse? There are young children watching them live on the Television, future citizens of India. Tender, impressionable minds. And what legacy are these politicians leaving behind for the generation next.
Is it too much to ask? That they behave in a dignified and responsible manner. Forget being role models. At least act with some basic dignity.
Can someone please start a finishing school for our honorary, elected members of our parliament!!!!
As a honest and law abiding citizen of India, I am ashamed of our politicians. The Parliament looked like Chambal Valley and the MPs dacoits - uncouth and unruly. The speaker went hoarse trying to bring some sense.
Can someone please teach our politicians some finesse? There are young children watching them live on the Television, future citizens of India. Tender, impressionable minds. And what legacy are these politicians leaving behind for the generation next.
Is it too much to ask? That they behave in a dignified and responsible manner. Forget being role models. At least act with some basic dignity.
Can someone please start a finishing school for our honorary, elected members of our parliament!!!!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Population explosion
"As of July 8, 2008, the world's population is believed to be approximately 6,708,700,100. In line with population projections, this figure continues to grow at rates that were unprecedented before the 20th century, although the rate of increase has almost halved since its peak of 2.2 percent per year, which was reached in 1963. The world's population, on its current growth trajectory, is expected to reach nearly 9 billion by the year 2042. China and India, are the only two countries to have a population greater than one billion, together possess more than a third of the world's population." (source, Wikipedia)
There have never been as many human beings walking this earth as there are now. We have almost overtaken the rats and cats and the birds and the fish too I think. There seems to be no consensus on population control in the world. So many point of views co-exists.
There have never been as many human beings walking this earth as there are now. We have almost overtaken the rats and cats and the birds and the fish too I think. There seems to be no consensus on population control in the world. So many point of views co-exists.
- Keep giving birth to children as long as nature permits. Seven, eight, nine or ten. Sometimes even more. Religion says so.
- Follow the contemporary social norm of a small family. Have just one or two children.
- Be progressive and decide not to have children at all. Zero. The world can certainly do without one more human being. There are enough around. Getting under each others feet. Fighting, killing and still giving birth to 10 more!
- Be selective about parentage. Be gender specific. If it is a girl child kill it. If it is a male child, give birth (I am not at all advocating it. This is a cruel and harsh practice in many communities in North India)
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Arushi Murder Case - Will there be justice?
Let me clarify. I didn't know Arushi. Nor did I know Hemraj. But now I do. Because of the exhaustive coverage of the double murder case by Media.
Almost a month and a half past the double murder in Nodia. It still remains a mystery. I have been following this case very closely. Was very hopeful when CBI took charge of this case. But now gradually the hope is fading away. There hasn't been any significant breakthrough for the CBI too in this case. At least that is what the media is presenting. I am not blaming CBI or the Noida police too. It is such a complex case!!!!And the media attention is not helping at all. Media is more spoiling the case than making it.
This case has brought out the sleuth in the common people. Everyone started thinking like a detective. This could be the case, that is how it must have happened, so and so must be the culprit....Speculations and more speculations.
But it is certainly a baffling case. Or is it that the facts/evidences have been distorted by the criminals to such an extent that the CBI too is confused and lost? There isn't any trail or evidence which can lead to the culprits. Everything has been planned and cleaned so well. If such is the case, then it is the work of some very intelligent and smart person/s. Which is not possible for a common servant. It has a higher and sharper brain behind it.
If the murders were done on the spot or spur of the moment and not planned, then how come the evidences have been destroyed so easily? Questions, questions and more questions. I want to sympathize with the parents of the young girl, but unfortunately, her parents have been presented in such poor light by the police and the media; that I am no longer sure if they are deserving of my sympathy. What if they are party to the crime?
With ever passing day the chances of a breakthrough get dim. Will Arushi and Hemraj ever get justice? Now the chances are less. May be some day natural justice will take over.
A young, innocent life lost. For no apparent reason. Very sad.
Almost a month and a half past the double murder in Nodia. It still remains a mystery. I have been following this case very closely. Was very hopeful when CBI took charge of this case. But now gradually the hope is fading away. There hasn't been any significant breakthrough for the CBI too in this case. At least that is what the media is presenting. I am not blaming CBI or the Noida police too. It is such a complex case!!!!And the media attention is not helping at all. Media is more spoiling the case than making it.
This case has brought out the sleuth in the common people. Everyone started thinking like a detective. This could be the case, that is how it must have happened, so and so must be the culprit....Speculations and more speculations.
But it is certainly a baffling case. Or is it that the facts/evidences have been distorted by the criminals to such an extent that the CBI too is confused and lost? There isn't any trail or evidence which can lead to the culprits. Everything has been planned and cleaned so well. If such is the case, then it is the work of some very intelligent and smart person/s. Which is not possible for a common servant. It has a higher and sharper brain behind it.
If the murders were done on the spot or spur of the moment and not planned, then how come the evidences have been destroyed so easily? Questions, questions and more questions. I want to sympathize with the parents of the young girl, but unfortunately, her parents have been presented in such poor light by the police and the media; that I am no longer sure if they are deserving of my sympathy. What if they are party to the crime?
With ever passing day the chances of a breakthrough get dim. Will Arushi and Hemraj ever get justice? Now the chances are less. May be some day natural justice will take over.
A young, innocent life lost. For no apparent reason. Very sad.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Aha! It is raining in Mumbai
Rains.....it brings back lovely memories from childhood. Rains also meant a new semester at the school. Rains in Mumbai are called the Monsoon. It lasts for about 3 months. A new semester meant a new raincoat, a new uniform and a new school bag. It also meant new friends, new teachers.....and great fun ahead. Childhood memories of rains are very sweet. Hot milk to drink, warm blankets and moist smell in the clothes.
And then I grew up. Started working. The sweet rains from childhood gradually became a torture. The magic disappeared. To get up in the morning while it was still raining and leave for work was hateful. It still is.
My beautiful Mumbai collapses under the rains now. Monsoon means disruptions, tension, muck all over the city....harassed auto rickshaw drivers, honking, pollution...the saga goes on for 3 months.
Despite all this, the optimist in me finds rains an amazing miracle! How else can you explain this tons of water falling from heavens, defying gravity....breaking into tiny droplets. Have you ever tried pouring a few metric tons of water from a height of about 40-50 thousand feet? Everything under it will get crushed by the shear weight of water. But check out the rain drops...they feel so light on our body. Isn't it a miracle? It falls so effortlessly, so gently, so chill and pure. No harm, no damage to human beings, animals or trees. My husband tells me there is a scientific explanation to it all....well there it..but it still does not answer my question....
Have you ever thought about the thousands of liters of water which evaporates into thin air and becomes rain clouds. How do these clouds hold the water? why doesn't the water leak from the clouds and spill over. Imagine a shapeless, container less cloud holding tons of water!! Try holding a few liters without a container! You can't.
Imagine life without water. Imagine life without rains. And we say where is god? God is in this miracle called rains. Year after year; season after seasons; centuries after centuries....it has been raining.
So I tell myself....forget the muck, forget the traffic jam, forget the over flowing drains....forget everything and enjoy this miracle called ....."the rains".
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Degenerating moral fabric - Arushi Murder Case and Neeraj Grover Murder Case
Two gruesome murders in two of the biggest Metros of this country have left the nation shocked this week. What is further shocking is the association of educated and highly placed people with both the murders.
case-1 : In a suburban township near Delhi, an educated father slits his 14 year old daughters throat and leaves her to bleed in the very house where she was born and grew up. Everything is done very calmly and with meticulous planning. Police claim the mother could also be an accomplice in the crime.
Case -2 : In suburban Mumbai, two people (a man and a woman) conspire against and innocent young man, murder him brutally, chop is body into tiny pieces and then burn it to hide evidence. Everything is done very calmly and with meticulous planning.
Police is struggling to nail the culprits in both the cases. Reason there is not enough evidence, no eye witnesses, most important and shameful for the society is that the neighbors claim they did not hear anything nor did they see anything suspicious in both the cases. The motive in the both the cases is not clear. It may be more an impulse than a plan. Which only goes to prove that people are loosing calm and control at the slightest provocation. Alarming.
What is happening to our society? What for? Where are we heading as a nation? In this mad race for economic progress we have heavily compromised on our human values. We have sunk below the societal values, reached the pits as far as human values are concerned.
It is like a slow poison which is working on our nervous system. Desensitizing us from our surroundings. Immunized, reaction less to our society. Professionally highly productive; personally completely defunct.
Through my blog I want to express my disgust with whats happening around. I remember in one of my earlier posts, I had quoted something about the praise and accolades which the movie Tare Zameen Par has received from all. The subject is good, but there are many more important matters which require attention.
"Every child is a special child"....the promos of the movie say. What is so special about children in India? Dyslexia is the least of the problems....There is nothing wrong with the children, it is the adults who need a spanking! To value the child and give each child a morally sound upbringing, health, happiness and education. Every child is a special child in the Kingdom of God. They are his tiny messengers....."
I am particularly sad because it is Arushi's birthday today. Dear child, may god rest your soul in peace. From wherever you are forgive those who have done this. Else they will never find peace.
I urge you to condem this act of crime. Please leave you comments.
case-1 : In a suburban township near Delhi, an educated father slits his 14 year old daughters throat and leaves her to bleed in the very house where she was born and grew up. Everything is done very calmly and with meticulous planning. Police claim the mother could also be an accomplice in the crime.
Case -2 : In suburban Mumbai, two people (a man and a woman) conspire against and innocent young man, murder him brutally, chop is body into tiny pieces and then burn it to hide evidence. Everything is done very calmly and with meticulous planning.
Police is struggling to nail the culprits in both the cases. Reason there is not enough evidence, no eye witnesses, most important and shameful for the society is that the neighbors claim they did not hear anything nor did they see anything suspicious in both the cases. The motive in the both the cases is not clear. It may be more an impulse than a plan. Which only goes to prove that people are loosing calm and control at the slightest provocation. Alarming.
What is happening to our society? What for? Where are we heading as a nation? In this mad race for economic progress we have heavily compromised on our human values. We have sunk below the societal values, reached the pits as far as human values are concerned.
It is like a slow poison which is working on our nervous system. Desensitizing us from our surroundings. Immunized, reaction less to our society. Professionally highly productive; personally completely defunct.
Through my blog I want to express my disgust with whats happening around. I remember in one of my earlier posts, I had quoted something about the praise and accolades which the movie Tare Zameen Par has received from all. The subject is good, but there are many more important matters which require attention.
"Every child is a special child"....the promos of the movie say. What is so special about children in India? Dyslexia is the least of the problems....There is nothing wrong with the children, it is the adults who need a spanking! To value the child and give each child a morally sound upbringing, health, happiness and education. Every child is a special child in the Kingdom of God. They are his tiny messengers....."
I am particularly sad because it is Arushi's birthday today. Dear child, may god rest your soul in peace. From wherever you are forgive those who have done this. Else they will never find peace.
I urge you to condem this act of crime. Please leave you comments.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Women, a tree and a bird.
I am happy to be blogging regularly these days. My husband is traveling and that gives me extra few hours to spend on my blog. In moments of loneliness when I miss him, I am left wondering. How is that in the past 6 years of our marriage, he has always found time to travel for himself. Be it visiting his family in Kolkatta or an overseas travel or a semi-holiday which he is currently enjoying.
A contemporary metaphor - Men are like mobile phones with roaming facility and women are the fixed wire line phone, always at home. Anyways that wasn't the thought that I actually sat down to capture. While pondering on this thought as to why my husband always finds time to travel to a place of his liking and why I am not able to do so....this metaphor came to my mind.
Women are like the trees. Their roots go deep into the soil where they grow. They remain rooted. They like the deep roots. They roots bring a sense of safety and security. They are also as selfless as a tree. The tree misses out on the fun of going out and seeing the world. It gives a lot...but from its fixed place where it is rooted.
Men on the other hand are like birds. The bird is free to see the world at its leisure.The bird needs the tree to make its nest. The bird needs the tree to eat the fruit. The bird needs the tree for shelter. Yet, the bird is a bird. it is free to fly. At the end of the flight when the bird gets tired, it knows that the tree will be there where it is.... The tree needs the bird too. The bird carries the pollen grains from the tree far and wide. So that the tree population grows. The bird needs the tree for its survival, without shelter there is no life.
As a modern women, I think we are in a dilemma - The tree or the bird? I want the roots, yet I want to fly and see the world. It is an internal struggle......sometimes the tree wins and sometimes the bird......Right now when my husband is away on his semi-holiday (he is actually accompanying my aged in-laws to for a pilgrimage), ....here I am sitting at home and writing this blog!!! Mostly the tree wins......no regrets
A contemporary metaphor - Men are like mobile phones with roaming facility and women are the fixed wire line phone, always at home. Anyways that wasn't the thought that I actually sat down to capture. While pondering on this thought as to why my husband always finds time to travel to a place of his liking and why I am not able to do so....this metaphor came to my mind.
Women are like the trees. Their roots go deep into the soil where they grow. They remain rooted. They like the deep roots. They roots bring a sense of safety and security. They are also as selfless as a tree. The tree misses out on the fun of going out and seeing the world. It gives a lot...but from its fixed place where it is rooted.
Men on the other hand are like birds. The bird is free to see the world at its leisure.The bird needs the tree to make its nest. The bird needs the tree to eat the fruit. The bird needs the tree for shelter. Yet, the bird is a bird. it is free to fly. At the end of the flight when the bird gets tired, it knows that the tree will be there where it is.... The tree needs the bird too. The bird carries the pollen grains from the tree far and wide. So that the tree population grows. The bird needs the tree for its survival, without shelter there is no life.
As a modern women, I think we are in a dilemma - The tree or the bird? I want the roots, yet I want to fly and see the world. It is an internal struggle......sometimes the tree wins and sometimes the bird......Right now when my husband is away on his semi-holiday (he is actually accompanying my aged in-laws to for a pilgrimage), ....here I am sitting at home and writing this blog!!! Mostly the tree wins......no regrets
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Why it is important to develop an attitude of gratitude
My personal experience is that how much ever we do for others, they will always find something amiss. People find reasons and shortcomings in whatever others do. I sitting at my computer; there are sounds falling on my ears. A close relative is cribbing and finding fault in something around. I am surprised and slightly hurt, because I always thought this person is not capable of cribbing. We all keep hearing such things around us all the time...at home...at work...in the train...in the bus.....
Parents get upset with children
Children find excuses to crib about their parents
Husbands find reasons to wish they had married someone else
And wives are always working to mend their husbands ways!!!
Bosses are unhappy with subordinates and
Subordinates keep changing jobs to find better bosses!
Houses are not good
Cities are bad and polluted
The government is bad and so are ministers....it is a non ending vicious cycle of cribbing!!!!
Human nature has undergone such a drastic transformation. We have become constant cribbers. While the fact remains that form morning to night, day after day, year after year....we are all working for our families! Families make the society and all the good or the bad we do is going back to the society. The what are we cribbing about...
Parents have no time for children
Children miss out on parental love
Husbands are busy increasing bank balances
Wives are busy blowing away the money
Bosses want quick results
Subordinates want quick growth
There is no time to spend at home
We litter our cities and spread pollution
Educated people do not vote and bad governments are brought to power by the illiterate....so whom are we blaming?
We are all 'giving' and we are all 'receiving' from morning to night.....day after day...week after week...year after year of our lives.....why cribbing? Why not express our gratitude to everyone who is working to sustain our life in his world?
If only ......
Parents praise their children more often and encourage them
Children are more grateful to their parents for giving them life and living
Husbands thank their wives for feeding them and taking care of their overall well being and loving
Wives start praising their husbands more often and thanking them for all that they do for the family
Bosses praise their subordinates and encourage and motivate them to do better
Subordinates respect their bosses and try to learn from them
Houses are treated as homes where the heart is
Cities are treated as our own home and kept clean and green.
The government is appreciated because it is trying to do its best....
Well the corrupt minister's must be however be sacked!!!
If only we all develop and attitude of gratitude...life will be so much lighter and brighter
Parents get upset with children
Children find excuses to crib about their parents
Husbands find reasons to wish they had married someone else
And wives are always working to mend their husbands ways!!!
Bosses are unhappy with subordinates and
Subordinates keep changing jobs to find better bosses!
Houses are not good
Cities are bad and polluted
The government is bad and so are ministers....it is a non ending vicious cycle of cribbing!!!!
Human nature has undergone such a drastic transformation. We have become constant cribbers. While the fact remains that form morning to night, day after day, year after year....we are all working for our families! Families make the society and all the good or the bad we do is going back to the society. The what are we cribbing about...
Parents have no time for children
Children miss out on parental love
Husbands are busy increasing bank balances
Wives are busy blowing away the money
Bosses want quick results
Subordinates want quick growth
There is no time to spend at home
We litter our cities and spread pollution
Educated people do not vote and bad governments are brought to power by the illiterate....so whom are we blaming?
We are all 'giving' and we are all 'receiving' from morning to night.....day after day...week after week...year after year of our lives.....why cribbing? Why not express our gratitude to everyone who is working to sustain our life in his world?
If only ......
Parents praise their children more often and encourage them
Children are more grateful to their parents for giving them life and living
Husbands thank their wives for feeding them and taking care of their overall well being and loving
Wives start praising their husbands more often and thanking them for all that they do for the family
Bosses praise their subordinates and encourage and motivate them to do better
Subordinates respect their bosses and try to learn from them
Houses are treated as homes where the heart is
Cities are treated as our own home and kept clean and green.
The government is appreciated because it is trying to do its best....
Well the corrupt minister's must be however be sacked!!!
If only we all develop and attitude of gratitude...life will be so much lighter and brighter
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Is India a soft target for terrorism? Why only India?
They say behind every action of a human being, there has to be a motive. Good or bad; there is always a desire for something in return. Understanding the motive explains the action. It is the motive that labels the action as good or bad.
Recently there were a series of Blasts in the Pink city, Jaipur. A lovely, serene and colorful evening was turned into hapless mass of flesh and blood. So meaningless. A shame onto religions and so called civilized societies. Every Indian today has many questions. To which there are no answers:
I believe terrorism without a dialog is so meaningless. Killing innocent people without establishing a cause for it is nothing but fanaticism. Why don't these people who call themselves the freedom fighters come out in the open and emphatically establish their demands? In the first place who are they to make any demand of this nation?
While it may sound clichéd, no religion preaches killing innocent people. I strongly condemn this act of terrorism in India and across the World. Let us come out in the open and strongly stand against this act of cowardice.
My message to these nameless, faceless people who call themselves the freedom fighters .....Brave people fight hard and they fight fair. Using religion as a smoke screen to kill innocent people is not brave. Let not your actions bringing shame and criticism to you religion and community. Please, let not the World hate Islam and the Muslims because of your actions. It is not glory...but gory!!!!!
Recently there were a series of Blasts in the Pink city, Jaipur. A lovely, serene and colorful evening was turned into hapless mass of flesh and blood. So meaningless. A shame onto religions and so called civilized societies. Every Indian today has many questions. To which there are no answers:
- Who are the people behind this act of terrorism?
- What is their motive?
- Why are they targeting the Indian cities?
- Is India emerging as the the new terrorism brain-center in the world?
- Are they so strong that all Intelligence agencies have failed to nail them down?
- Why has terrorism become so easy in India in the past decade? When our own defense spend has only gone up?
- My ultimate question is why India??????
I believe terrorism without a dialog is so meaningless. Killing innocent people without establishing a cause for it is nothing but fanaticism. Why don't these people who call themselves the freedom fighters come out in the open and emphatically establish their demands? In the first place who are they to make any demand of this nation?
While it may sound clichéd, no religion preaches killing innocent people. I strongly condemn this act of terrorism in India and across the World. Let us come out in the open and strongly stand against this act of cowardice.
My message to these nameless, faceless people who call themselves the freedom fighters .....Brave people fight hard and they fight fair. Using religion as a smoke screen to kill innocent people is not brave. Let not your actions bringing shame and criticism to you religion and community. Please, let not the World hate Islam and the Muslims because of your actions. It is not glory...but gory!!!!!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Whose thought is it anyways?
Thoughts are like colorful Kites flying in the clear blue skies.
Some of them are interesting, colorful, vibrant, soaring. They challenge me, fill me with an energy. I want to fly them higher and higher. Take them to a level where no one has reached before. These thoughts elevate me as a human being. They take me to greater and new dimensions of existence.
Others are dull and boring. They fail to take off. I am not excited about them. Don't feel like putting an effort to catch them. Leave them alone....gradually they disappear in the far away horizon, never to be found again.
Some of them are interesting, colorful, vibrant, soaring. They challenge me, fill me with an energy. I want to fly them higher and higher. Take them to a level where no one has reached before. These thoughts elevate me as a human being. They take me to greater and new dimensions of existence.
Others are dull and boring. They fail to take off. I am not excited about them. Don't feel like putting an effort to catch them. Leave them alone....gradually they disappear in the far away horizon, never to be found again.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Letting out a little secret about myself.
This is one secret about me which not many people know off. May be my parents and to some extend my husband.
Nothing serious. Now in retrospect somewhat humorous.
My childhood (the early 70's) was the time of hippies and bell-bottoms. As a child I saw these images in movies, there was very little television in those days. Indian actress Zeenat Aman was iconic in her flower printed maxi's (gowns), with layers of beads around her neck and a bandana on her forehead. Smoking a cheerot in the movie "Hare Krishna Hare Ram", she carried an almost Nirvana like expressions on her face in the movie.
As I grew up, painting caught my interest. More like a hobby. I would play with colors, spend my summer holidays and wet rainy days painting what ever caught my fancy. I simply loved painting in those days. Not sound rude, but I was indeed very good at it. Very original and creative in the use of textures and colors. My parents would proudly display my paintings to relatives and friends, praising my talent. But they wanted me to become a Doctor!
At school, my teachers too recognized my talent. They encouraged me to participate in contests and entered my name on behalf of my school. I did win some of them.
So while my parents wanted me to become a doctor and my teachers too thought that I will do well in academic (which I did) what was it that I wanted????
Ah! thats the secret which I have mentioned in the first para of this write-up. I was very impressed with the hippies and the freedom they enjoyed in life. Let me be upfront. It had nothing to do with the so called concept of free sex. Because I was too young to know and understand this concept of free sex. But yes, my dream was to live like a hippy. Wearing clothes such as what Zeenat Aman wore in the movie "Hare Krishna Hare Ram" and generally roaming from one place to another with a gang of hippies. So how would I support myself? where would the money come from? that where my hobby came into the picture. I planned to paint. Become a world famous painter and live in the cities of famous painters such as Michelangelo and Picasso. No house..just live in cheap digs and attics.Paint ...paint and paint...I am unable to recollect if I wanted to do the drugs. Maybe not. Just live a free life, learning to paint from some great masters in Rome and Venice. I just wanted to paint, paint and paint.
People who know me as the mis-in-control at all times, will find it very funny and difficult to imagine that I wanted to become a hippy!!!
My parents has a dream that I become a Doctor. Living like a hippy and aspiring to become a Doctor is like the Sun and the moon on the earth's horizon at the same time in the noon heat!!!Impossible.
Somewhere with the passing years, I took up the academic path. Went for my studies. Doctor I did not become. But ok. I am doing fairly well in my career today.
When I am too bogged down with work pressures and life problems, this innocent childhood dream of living life like a hippy and doing what I loved doing the most i.e painting re-surfaces.
I have not given up my childhood dream of holding a solo Art exhibition of my work. With changed life style; work pressure and managing a home the dream I have slightly modified.
It is a promise to myself. I will certainly hold a solo exhibition of my work. But not paintings'. It will be photography. And about living like a hippy. Not impossible. Except that now my husband will have to agree too. To live like a hippy!!! May be when we are old....60-70 years of age. We will become hippies. With flowered clothes and banadana's, smoking cheerot and playing th guitar. Very amusing thought.
However, I am intelligent enough to modify my dream and make it more practical.
Nothing serious. Now in retrospect somewhat humorous.
My childhood (the early 70's) was the time of hippies and bell-bottoms. As a child I saw these images in movies, there was very little television in those days. Indian actress Zeenat Aman was iconic in her flower printed maxi's (gowns), with layers of beads around her neck and a bandana on her forehead. Smoking a cheerot in the movie "Hare Krishna Hare Ram", she carried an almost Nirvana like expressions on her face in the movie.
As I grew up, painting caught my interest. More like a hobby. I would play with colors, spend my summer holidays and wet rainy days painting what ever caught my fancy. I simply loved painting in those days. Not sound rude, but I was indeed very good at it. Very original and creative in the use of textures and colors. My parents would proudly display my paintings to relatives and friends, praising my talent. But they wanted me to become a Doctor!
At school, my teachers too recognized my talent. They encouraged me to participate in contests and entered my name on behalf of my school. I did win some of them.
So while my parents wanted me to become a doctor and my teachers too thought that I will do well in academic (which I did) what was it that I wanted????
Ah! thats the secret which I have mentioned in the first para of this write-up. I was very impressed with the hippies and the freedom they enjoyed in life. Let me be upfront. It had nothing to do with the so called concept of free sex. Because I was too young to know and understand this concept of free sex. But yes, my dream was to live like a hippy. Wearing clothes such as what Zeenat Aman wore in the movie "Hare Krishna Hare Ram" and generally roaming from one place to another with a gang of hippies. So how would I support myself? where would the money come from? that where my hobby came into the picture. I planned to paint. Become a world famous painter and live in the cities of famous painters such as Michelangelo and Picasso. No house..just live in cheap digs and attics.Paint ...paint and paint...I am unable to recollect if I wanted to do the drugs. Maybe not. Just live a free life, learning to paint from some great masters in Rome and Venice. I just wanted to paint, paint and paint.
People who know me as the mis-in-control at all times, will find it very funny and difficult to imagine that I wanted to become a hippy!!!
My parents has a dream that I become a Doctor. Living like a hippy and aspiring to become a Doctor is like the Sun and the moon on the earth's horizon at the same time in the noon heat!!!Impossible.
Somewhere with the passing years, I took up the academic path. Went for my studies. Doctor I did not become. But ok. I am doing fairly well in my career today.
When I am too bogged down with work pressures and life problems, this innocent childhood dream of living life like a hippy and doing what I loved doing the most i.e painting re-surfaces.
I have not given up my childhood dream of holding a solo Art exhibition of my work. With changed life style; work pressure and managing a home the dream I have slightly modified.
It is a promise to myself. I will certainly hold a solo exhibition of my work. But not paintings'. It will be photography. And about living like a hippy. Not impossible. Except that now my husband will have to agree too. To live like a hippy!!! May be when we are old....60-70 years of age. We will become hippies. With flowered clothes and banadana's, smoking cheerot and playing th guitar. Very amusing thought.
However, I am intelligent enough to modify my dream and make it more practical.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Be kind to yourself, take life easy
I see so much reaction all around me. Loud and violent. People are getting louder and louder. They speak loudly, they fight more, laugh loudly, hug and kiss publically or scream loudly. I wonder why are we being so unkind to ourselves? Loudness leads to stress, blood pressure shots up, heart beats increase and toxic chemicals flow into the blood stream. So many and such loud reactions.....Why? What for?
Have you ever noticed the child like smile of His Holy Highness "The Dalai Lama"...so sweet...so tender...he speaks like an innocent child...every sentence ends in a genuine crackling soft laughter!!!Always at peace within himself. Nothing is exaggerated about him.Even the killings of beloved Tibetans did not draw a harsh criticism from him. Nothing can shatter his peace of mind....so I think.
Shri SaiBaba (Shirdi) once said "Samadhi is not about yoga or retreating from the world on a mountain. Samadhi is about remaining in the world and attaining a state of mind where one is neither happy nor unhappy. It is that state where the mind is still like a pendulum....right in the middle."
But what do we do? Our mind keeps swinging like a pendulum. Between happiness and unhappiness...continuously ...every second...every minute...we get extremely happy and then extremely unhappy...there goes the pendulum.
It is all about restraint and controlling our reactions. Remember a pendulum next time you become too happy or to unhappy...And think of the center of the pendulum. Calm your self. Remember the pendulum as still..right in the middle. Tell your self....."..there goes my pendulum...I must stop it..."
"People keep throwing hot balls at us. They expect us to catch one of them and burn our hands. Surprise them by dropping these hot balls." - is my mantra to peace and happiness.
One does not have to react to everything that happens around us. Learn to let go reacting. Remember every time you react/over react; you are doing maximum harm to yourself. Be kind to yourself. Take it easy.
Have you ever noticed the child like smile of His Holy Highness "The Dalai Lama"...so sweet...so tender...he speaks like an innocent child...every sentence ends in a genuine crackling soft laughter!!!Always at peace within himself. Nothing is exaggerated about him.Even the killings of beloved Tibetans did not draw a harsh criticism from him. Nothing can shatter his peace of mind....so I think.
Shri SaiBaba (Shirdi) once said "Samadhi is not about yoga or retreating from the world on a mountain. Samadhi is about remaining in the world and attaining a state of mind where one is neither happy nor unhappy. It is that state where the mind is still like a pendulum....right in the middle."
But what do we do? Our mind keeps swinging like a pendulum. Between happiness and unhappiness...continuously ...every second...every minute...we get extremely happy and then extremely unhappy...there goes the pendulum.
It is all about restraint and controlling our reactions. Remember a pendulum next time you become too happy or to unhappy...And think of the center of the pendulum. Calm your self. Remember the pendulum as still..right in the middle. Tell your self....."..there goes my pendulum...I must stop it..."
"People keep throwing hot balls at us. They expect us to catch one of them and burn our hands. Surprise them by dropping these hot balls." - is my mantra to peace and happiness.
One does not have to react to everything that happens around us. Learn to let go reacting. Remember every time you react/over react; you are doing maximum harm to yourself. Be kind to yourself. Take it easy.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Living an unconventional life
Thanks to God, each one of us is born with unlimited opportunity. He brings us into the world as cute little babies and then like a proud mother waits for us to grow up and succeed in life. To prevent boredom and to make the earth and interesting place, he made each of us different. Unlike the Brinjals (Aubergines) and the Potatoes!!! God was of the view that in creating us the way he did (different from each other) he was gifting mankind with an immense potential for greatness. Each life is a unique life with infinite possibilities. How exciting!
But it is a very disappointing job being God! Because no body wants to lead a different life. There are no takers for his potential.Generations after generations, we want to live life the same. Spend precious minutes of god gifted life on meaningless chores - playing, studying, eating , sleeping, fighting, falling in love, falling out of love, making money, loosing money, being happy, being unhappy, marrying, divorcing, having children, not having children and then death.
Not that there weren't those who dared to differ. They too were children of God. Of whom he is immensely proud. Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, Mother Teresa...... a life of compassion........yes, they choose a different path. The unconventional path.....so they were shunned and hurt and insulted...but they continued...because it was the path of God. It was the path of his glory.
Do not condemn and ridicule those who want to live an unconventional life. They are only fulfilling god's wish. Using some of his gift- the potential to be unique.
But it is a very disappointing job being God! Because no body wants to lead a different life. There are no takers for his potential.Generations after generations, we want to live life the same. Spend precious minutes of god gifted life on meaningless chores - playing, studying, eating , sleeping, fighting, falling in love, falling out of love, making money, loosing money, being happy, being unhappy, marrying, divorcing, having children, not having children and then death.
Not that there weren't those who dared to differ. They too were children of God. Of whom he is immensely proud. Jesus Christ, Lord Buddha, Mother Teresa...... a life of compassion........yes, they choose a different path. The unconventional path.....so they were shunned and hurt and insulted...but they continued...because it was the path of God. It was the path of his glory.
Do not condemn and ridicule those who want to live an unconventional life. They are only fulfilling god's wish. Using some of his gift- the potential to be unique.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
"Transient" an inspirational Zen Story
A famous spiritual teacher came to the front door of the King's palace. None of the guards tried to stop him as he entered and made his way to where the King himself was sitting on his throne.
"What do you want?" asked the King, immediately recognizing the visitor.
"I would like a place to sleep in this inn,"replied the teacher.
"But this is not an inn," said the King,"It is my palace."
"May I ask who owned this palace before you?"
"My father. He is dead."
"And who owned it before him?"
"My grandfather. He too is dead."
"And this place where people live for a short time and then move on - did I hear you say that it is NOT an inn?"
"What do you want?" asked the King, immediately recognizing the visitor.
"I would like a place to sleep in this inn,"replied the teacher.
"But this is not an inn," said the King,"It is my palace."
"May I ask who owned this palace before you?"
"My father. He is dead."
"And who owned it before him?"
"My grandfather. He too is dead."
"And this place where people live for a short time and then move on - did I hear you say that it is NOT an inn?"
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Home & alone. What a bounty!
I bet there are many like me living in this perpetual dilemma - how to get a work & personal life balance. My moronic corporate existence hits every now & then. On rare occasions when I am alone at home during the day time (usually I am night owl, a working women with 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, six days a week job), I sit on my favorite sofa cum chair and ponder about life. It is during those blank, empty hours that thoughts for this blog pour out of my tired mind. Rest of the time, for about 10 hours a day life simply passes by. Me is caught in a time machine called "Office". Start of the day to end of the day, start of the week to end of the week, cut off from the outside world by sound proof glass panes, the weather changes!!! But everything right from the decor to the temperature, to the light remains unchanged in my sophisticated air-conditioned prison.
Sitting in the favorite corner of my house, the silence and solitude has a soothing effect on me. Is it all really worth it? Outside the shadows are changing shape, the Sun goes up ans then down, the Stars appear and disappear......My body has forgotten the warmth of the summer Sun. Alone at home, I sit silent and still for hours. Coming to terms with what I am loosing. Day after day. Reflecting. Nostalgia takes over. Childhood memories of seasons, associations surface. Sounds and smells of summer spent with cousins and friends. Winter chill waiting for Diwali sweets and the wet rains or monsoons in Mumbai - time for a fresh new semester at the School.
Coming back to where I started from, the merits of a simple, uncomplicated life, non corporate life. On rare days when I am alone at home, I listen to the crow outside my window, children laughing and playing, honking of autorickshaws, a loud thuk thuk(bang bang) of hammer (somewhere close there is a carpenter working) It is all music to my ears.
No cribs. It is not as bad. I like my work. And my office is a good place. People are kind to each other. May be being away from home makes me appreciate the otherwise mundane sounds of the crow and the carpenter!!!
Sitting in the favorite corner of my house, the silence and solitude has a soothing effect on me. Is it all really worth it? Outside the shadows are changing shape, the Sun goes up ans then down, the Stars appear and disappear......My body has forgotten the warmth of the summer Sun. Alone at home, I sit silent and still for hours. Coming to terms with what I am loosing. Day after day. Reflecting. Nostalgia takes over. Childhood memories of seasons, associations surface. Sounds and smells of summer spent with cousins and friends. Winter chill waiting for Diwali sweets and the wet rains or monsoons in Mumbai - time for a fresh new semester at the School.
Coming back to where I started from, the merits of a simple, uncomplicated life, non corporate life. On rare days when I am alone at home, I listen to the crow outside my window, children laughing and playing, honking of autorickshaws, a loud thuk thuk(bang bang) of hammer (somewhere close there is a carpenter working) It is all music to my ears.
No cribs. It is not as bad. I like my work. And my office is a good place. People are kind to each other. May be being away from home makes me appreciate the otherwise mundane sounds of the crow and the carpenter!!!
Friday, March 14, 2008
Nature's Symphony
"At the moment my life is a symphony composed of three distinct movements: ' a lot of people', 'a few people', and 'almost no one'. Each of them lasts about four moths of the year; and although there is often a little of each during the month, they never get confused".
-Like the flowing river (A collection of short stories and notes by Paulo Coelho).
Hang around. Be there, enjoy. What's the hurry? Life is anyways rushing past. So much change all around, giving us with very little time to cope. Definition of self is no longer relevant, it keeps changing, like many other things. Personal boundaries are blurred. Inherent values and culture seems like a giant Collage-there are no defined shapes and colours, one has to try and make sense of it. Frame of reference keeps changing. So what? Ever body is as lost. It is one blind man leading another.
-Like the flowing river (A collection of short stories and notes by Paulo Coelho).
Hang around. Be there, enjoy. What's the hurry? Life is anyways rushing past. So much change all around, giving us with very little time to cope. Definition of self is no longer relevant, it keeps changing, like many other things. Personal boundaries are blurred. Inherent values and culture seems like a giant Collage-there are no defined shapes and colours, one has to try and make sense of it. Frame of reference keeps changing. So what? Ever body is as lost. It is one blind man leading another.
I wish we were all as fortunate as Mr Paulo Coelho, to have the liberty; of choosing and spending life between ' a lot of people', 'a few people' and 'almost no people'. Particularly we Mumbaikar's....where there are only people.....a lot of people and many more people.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
International Women's Day
As a women, what am I feeling on this day greeted as the "International Women's Day"? Is it a different feeling from any other day? Is it truly a reminder to me and those around me that I am a women? Is the reminder required? I think I am feeling slightly different today. There is this sudden spurt in the male attention all around me. All the men in my life want to make me feel more important- my brother sent me this beautiful sms in the morning, my husband was kind enough to make breakfast and my Dad too remembered that it is women's day today. Yes, I am feeling more women today.
I think the admiration is genuine. Atleast the cosmopolitan Indian man has reached a stage of advancement where he is publically acknowledging women and giving her the due credit. Well thanks to all the men in my life. I am happy being a women and very proud of my womanhood.
I think the admiration is genuine. Atleast the cosmopolitan Indian man has reached a stage of advancement where he is publically acknowledging women and giving her the due credit. Well thanks to all the men in my life. I am happy being a women and very proud of my womanhood.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
My interpretation of God
Somewhere in a church/Temple/Mosque stood a man praying to god...."God....I hate him....I want to kill him.....forgive me for killing him for he is a sinner...I hate him....I will kill him"
Somwhere in a Church/Temple/Mosque stands a man praying to god...."God....save me...save my life...he wants to kill me...he will kill me....god I don't want to die...save me...."
God is the supreme conscience which grants them both their wish. For.....the killed and the killer are no different. Is God just or is he unjust? I don't know.
God and his true nature is beyond my interpretation.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Taare Zameen Par-Every Child Is A Special Child
I was standing at the door of my flat in Mumbai. Could hear sounds coming from my neighbours house. Their only son, four years of age was crying loudly. The resident maid was shouting loudly at the child and the Televison was on full blast may be to camouflage the childs loud cries. Everyday occurence. Parents are working with a reputed Airline. Mother is an Airhostess and Father a pilot. They fly Internationl-London and USA. Very prestigious job. Their job requires them to work extremely erratic hours. I have heard these loud sad cries of the child even when the parents are around. The maid shouts at the kid because thats what she has seen her employers do to the kid. The poor tiny four year old soul. Surrounded by elders who keep shouting at him all times. His cries go unheard in the grown ups world. I wont be surpised if the maid beats the kid too. But I can understand. They can't sack the maid. Who will look after the child and the house? So they sort of overlook these things and pretend to themselves all is normal. Their career aspirations is taking a toll on a tiny mind. Making him a rebellious monster at the age of four.
What is so special about this child? or many of those tiny souls left on the streets to beg or steal? What is special about the small boy who was chained by his school teacher in a small town of Andhra Pradesh- his only crime being at 7 years of age he is naughty? Or what is so special about the children who were raped and then mercilessly killed in nithari village near Delhi? What is special about children whose adult insensitive parents fight like cats and dogs and then seperate from each other, leaving the childred with only one parent? What is so special about a teenager who commited suicide because his family put an extreme pressure on him to perform well in education?What is so special about the little boys cleaning plates and used tea glasses at the road side tea stall.....shivering in cold and rains....not knowing where their life is leading them?
Mr Amir Khan, what is so special about children in India? Dyslexia is the least of the problems....There is nothing wrong with the children, it is the adults who need a spanking! To value the child and give each child a morally sound upbringing, health, happiness and education. Every child is a special child in the Kingdom of God. They are his tiny messengers.....
What is so special about this child? or many of those tiny souls left on the streets to beg or steal? What is special about the small boy who was chained by his school teacher in a small town of Andhra Pradesh- his only crime being at 7 years of age he is naughty? Or what is so special about the children who were raped and then mercilessly killed in nithari village near Delhi? What is special about children whose adult insensitive parents fight like cats and dogs and then seperate from each other, leaving the childred with only one parent? What is so special about a teenager who commited suicide because his family put an extreme pressure on him to perform well in education?What is so special about the little boys cleaning plates and used tea glasses at the road side tea stall.....shivering in cold and rains....not knowing where their life is leading them?
Mr Amir Khan, what is so special about children in India? Dyslexia is the least of the problems....There is nothing wrong with the children, it is the adults who need a spanking! To value the child and give each child a morally sound upbringing, health, happiness and education. Every child is a special child in the Kingdom of God. They are his tiny messengers.....
Friday, February 8, 2008
Striking a balance
There are times while meditating, I manage to reach strange depths within my self. An unknown zone of existence in my mind and conscience. I am lost somewhere deep within myself cut off from the external world. It is a divine experience. Complete bliss. Those who have experienced deep meditation will understand or appreciate my words. I manage to cut through the noise and clutter of outside world. When I gradually open my eyes after meditation......for the first few seconds my mind is lost. It fails to connect with the outside world. It tries to establish a connect with the outside physical world. Naming things, recognising people, establishing a context. Slowly the pleasant effect of meditation starts fading away. It all comes back. Work, money matters, society and various pressures of our contemporary human existence start taking control like the tentacles of an Octopus. The peace and quite which I had found during meditation vapourises. One thought echoes in my mind "Welcome back to the insanity of human existence!!!!"
I become a mixed bag of human emotions. Angry one second, happy next and again sad the third second. And so the pendulum of emotions keeps oscillating. Coping with life and the demands made upon me by the outside world. No grudge as far as the demands are concerned. The world has a right to make demands on me. I am obliged to meet their requirements. This is my Niyat Karma (Destined Karma I am born with). But yes, the noise and the clutter of the external world irritates me. I crave for the peace and the quite inside me. Sounds of joy, chatter of family members, the birds and breeze, Small children crying or laughing, people chanting prayers, soothing music....all good but still noise.Traffic, people screaming and shouting, making demands, fighting with each other...all bad again noise.
Given my wordly commitments and responsibilities it is not possible to remain in a state of meditation at all times. The dilemma is whether to seek the depths within myself which requires me to cut off from the outside world or to give up the quest for self and focus only on the outside world? I feel like a Pilot who is flying a plane at 30,000 feet above the ground with a few hundred pasengers on board. Even if the poor fellow has a sudden urge to quit his job and leave the plane, he is bound not to do so. He is bound by a sense of responsibility to fly the plan to a safe destination. We are all seeking to fly our planes to the safe destinations. As helpless as the pilot. Forced to give up the self needs and focus on those we feel responsible about, willing or unwilling.
It is all about making the choices. Religious teachers say "strike a balance", corporate trainers say, "work-life balance", saints call it a state of "Samadhi". But how do I attain it? Is it really possible for anyone to attain a state of "Samadhi" in the physical form of exisitence? Remain bonded to the external world and yet strike a balance between the self and the outside world. Is giving up one of the two the only way to attain peace?. As did Mother Teresa; loosing the self completely in serving the outside world or as did Lord Buddha; loosing the outside world completely and retreating deep within oneself?
But then even that is not a balance!!!!
I become a mixed bag of human emotions. Angry one second, happy next and again sad the third second. And so the pendulum of emotions keeps oscillating. Coping with life and the demands made upon me by the outside world. No grudge as far as the demands are concerned. The world has a right to make demands on me. I am obliged to meet their requirements. This is my Niyat Karma (Destined Karma I am born with). But yes, the noise and the clutter of the external world irritates me. I crave for the peace and the quite inside me. Sounds of joy, chatter of family members, the birds and breeze, Small children crying or laughing, people chanting prayers, soothing music....all good but still noise.Traffic, people screaming and shouting, making demands, fighting with each other...all bad again noise.
Given my wordly commitments and responsibilities it is not possible to remain in a state of meditation at all times. The dilemma is whether to seek the depths within myself which requires me to cut off from the outside world or to give up the quest for self and focus only on the outside world? I feel like a Pilot who is flying a plane at 30,000 feet above the ground with a few hundred pasengers on board. Even if the poor fellow has a sudden urge to quit his job and leave the plane, he is bound not to do so. He is bound by a sense of responsibility to fly the plan to a safe destination. We are all seeking to fly our planes to the safe destinations. As helpless as the pilot. Forced to give up the self needs and focus on those we feel responsible about, willing or unwilling.
It is all about making the choices. Religious teachers say "strike a balance", corporate trainers say, "work-life balance", saints call it a state of "Samadhi". But how do I attain it? Is it really possible for anyone to attain a state of "Samadhi" in the physical form of exisitence? Remain bonded to the external world and yet strike a balance between the self and the outside world. Is giving up one of the two the only way to attain peace?. As did Mother Teresa; loosing the self completely in serving the outside world or as did Lord Buddha; loosing the outside world completely and retreating deep within oneself?
But then even that is not a balance!!!!
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