Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don't.
Never tell your problems to any one except the one who loves you , because 20% people don’t care and other 80% people are glad that you have problems!
Mistakes are embarrassing when they happen , But years later you have collection of mistakes called EXPERIENCE , which leads you SUCCESS.
Faith by David Whyth
I want to write about faith about the way the moon rises over cold snow,
night after night faithful even as it fades from fullness
slowly becoming that last curving
and impossible silver of light before the final darkness
but I have no faith myself
I refuse to give in the smallest entry
Let this then, my small poem, like a new moon, slender and barely open,
be the first prayer that opens me to faith
Meaning of Life by John Gardner:
Meaning is not something you stumble across like an answer to a riddle or the prize in a treasure hunt. Meaning is something that you build into your life. You build it out of your own past, out of your affections and loyalties, out of the experience of humankind as it is passed on to you, out of your own talent and understanding, out of things you believe in, out of the things and people you love, out of the values for which you are willing to sacrifice something. The ingredients are there. You are the only one who can put them together into that pattern that will be your life. Let it be a life that has dignity and meaning for you. If it does, then the particular balance of success and failure is of less account
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Religion vs. Faith
Religion is so keen to help educate the children of this world, they know that between the ages of five and fifteen, people develop the beliefs and philosophies that will accompany them all through life. And these influences that we come across under at this age will invariably shape our faith to "some extent". So in a way religion and faith go hand in hand. I have learnt to stop for a minute and remember the Almighty before anything that is painted orange or red under a tree, I may continue doing that till my last breath. I am in a habit of tying a sacred thread around my wrists, to ward off all evil spirits, I earnestly look to change that thread, whenever it is worn out. And I never question - why am I doing this? what is the essence of this? what will I gain from it? Is it religion or is it faith?
In one of my evening outings to know my infamous neighbourhood a little better, I walked into the lanes and bylanes of Jakasandra...it was largely dilapidated, there were small makeshift huts on both sides of the roads, half naked children playing at glee, the speeding two wheelers stopping diligently for the flock of hen to cross the lane, a herd of cows looked at me as if they had seen something strange, one of them was so displeased by my sight that it came running after me (thankfully it was tied-up)...it seemed to me that I was walking in some place which was a little better than a village, in no way could I make myself believe that I was in Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. After 15 to 20 mins of my aimless but interesting stroll, I came across a big playground and I observed that there was a temple at one corner..my curiosity got the better of me, in addition my quest to know the Dravidian Gods, i decided to cross over.
I entered the temple from the backside, the courtyard was kind of neat and freshly painted, I glanced through the various shapes of deities carved on the temple wall. Soon I was at the entrance of the temple, which was quite crowded with people concentrating hard to make their prayers heard. I noticed a stone bench at some distance where I could pull out my sneakers. I approached the area, a pungent smell welcomed me. There was a concrete pedestal at the middle and there were some 4 -5 odd shapped rock slabs placed vertically above the pedestal. Each stone was garlanded and smeared with vermillion. People were offering a mixture of curd and rice to each of the rocks and bathing them with lemon juice & curd, the whole pedestal had become a slippery mess, people falling over it and a combination of that rice, curd & lemon juice emitted a foul smell that I could not even stand there for few minutes. I also noticed some dirty cows and oxen standing nearby. I pulled my sneakers and hurried into the temple..my escape from that stink.
Honestly, I could not make much sense of what was happening around, neither could I precisely understand, which God was this temple dedicated to (perhaps some form of Parvati), all the customs & rituals seemed completely alien to me. Each person folded his hands offering his reverence, then all of a sudden started vigourously slapping himself, and after this was done, he would rapidly circle around standing at that position. I must admit, I could not offer a word of prayer, I was so involved observing the people and the Gods...not happy with myself, I stepped out of the temple.
I had to walk towards that stinking place...but what I saw left me dumbfounded, I could not believe my eyes..the pedestal did not have a single two legged human being, it was occupied by four -legged creatures - cows, oxen, goats and stray dogs who merrily licked the stone slabs and the pedestal. And there were some roadside pigs also competing their way to the pedestal. "What on the earth was this?" I tried asking some people, who hardly understood what i said. All I could gather that this is what they believe in! I felt disgusted and seriously felt sorry for the Gods.
God or any scripture or any religion may not be able to explain what was happening there..as I briskly walked away, my mind was full of questions. Does religion preach us to do all this? Why is it that our blind faith gets the better of us and God becomes obscure? I am an ardent follower of the Vedanta way of life, Ramakrishna in his preachings has always mentioned, if you are not in alignment, never question about anything related to faith, but I could not stop myself..is this blind faith or is this religion..Isn't the place where you worship, a place of cleanliness? Did those people actually know what God stood for? Is God really pleased and happy in such a manner? Or is it blind faith that is imbibed in us as a child..do this and God will be happy?
In one of my evening outings to know my infamous neighbourhood a little better, I walked into the lanes and bylanes of Jakasandra...it was largely dilapidated, there were small makeshift huts on both sides of the roads, half naked children playing at glee, the speeding two wheelers stopping diligently for the flock of hen to cross the lane, a herd of cows looked at me as if they had seen something strange, one of them was so displeased by my sight that it came running after me (thankfully it was tied-up)...it seemed to me that I was walking in some place which was a little better than a village, in no way could I make myself believe that I was in Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. After 15 to 20 mins of my aimless but interesting stroll, I came across a big playground and I observed that there was a temple at one corner..my curiosity got the better of me, in addition my quest to know the Dravidian Gods, i decided to cross over.
I entered the temple from the backside, the courtyard was kind of neat and freshly painted, I glanced through the various shapes of deities carved on the temple wall. Soon I was at the entrance of the temple, which was quite crowded with people concentrating hard to make their prayers heard. I noticed a stone bench at some distance where I could pull out my sneakers. I approached the area, a pungent smell welcomed me. There was a concrete pedestal at the middle and there were some 4 -5 odd shapped rock slabs placed vertically above the pedestal. Each stone was garlanded and smeared with vermillion. People were offering a mixture of curd and rice to each of the rocks and bathing them with lemon juice & curd, the whole pedestal had become a slippery mess, people falling over it and a combination of that rice, curd & lemon juice emitted a foul smell that I could not even stand there for few minutes. I also noticed some dirty cows and oxen standing nearby. I pulled my sneakers and hurried into the temple..my escape from that stink.
Honestly, I could not make much sense of what was happening around, neither could I precisely understand, which God was this temple dedicated to (perhaps some form of Parvati), all the customs & rituals seemed completely alien to me. Each person folded his hands offering his reverence, then all of a sudden started vigourously slapping himself, and after this was done, he would rapidly circle around standing at that position. I must admit, I could not offer a word of prayer, I was so involved observing the people and the Gods...not happy with myself, I stepped out of the temple.
I had to walk towards that stinking place...but what I saw left me dumbfounded, I could not believe my eyes..the pedestal did not have a single two legged human being, it was occupied by four -legged creatures - cows, oxen, goats and stray dogs who merrily licked the stone slabs and the pedestal. And there were some roadside pigs also competing their way to the pedestal. "What on the earth was this?" I tried asking some people, who hardly understood what i said. All I could gather that this is what they believe in! I felt disgusted and seriously felt sorry for the Gods.
God or any scripture or any religion may not be able to explain what was happening there..as I briskly walked away, my mind was full of questions. Does religion preach us to do all this? Why is it that our blind faith gets the better of us and God becomes obscure? I am an ardent follower of the Vedanta way of life, Ramakrishna in his preachings has always mentioned, if you are not in alignment, never question about anything related to faith, but I could not stop myself..is this blind faith or is this religion..Isn't the place where you worship, a place of cleanliness? Did those people actually know what God stood for? Is God really pleased and happy in such a manner? Or is it blind faith that is imbibed in us as a child..do this and God will be happy?
Friday, May 23, 2008
Fresh Egoist Soul?
HAH!!...how true is Dilbert most of the time, esp. his sardonic humour on consultants, people from management, and this time the IITias...innumberable times at work, I have heard this from fresh passouts "I am an young IITian and hence better than you"... infinite number of times I hear from recruiters, "oh, an IITian - an intelligent and matured soul"...I did have the "honour" of working with some "intelligent, matured souls of India" who took immense pride to be alma-mater of one of the IITs in India, even if they are a master's in Geology, and now sitting in IT industry and "pretending" to understand the different facets of business.It is definitely a matter of pride to be a part of India's cream engineering institute, it does take a lot of pain to get there, esp. given the amount of reservations that our government has introduced into the Indian education system. Also as years pass-by, people appearing for this entrance exams are innumerable but the number of seats never increased proportionately. This year 3.2 lakh aspirant candidates competed for six thousand graduate engg. seats for 7 IITs...the competition is tough and if you crack it, the joy is unbound.
But why this superiority complex, why this audacity to prove that nothing can ever be better than them, why this intense pleasure in scorning down at everybody around, it is a puzzle for me. Seems some type of a self delusion! Does India's cream institute teach students to nurture this? Perhaps not, never! Education brings humbleness, the least education teaches you is tolerance!
After quite an introspection, after observing people, parents, peers, I feel it is the society to blame at large, the aura that we create in the mind of a small child, the expectation that we rise in an innocent heart to excel and reach the best..and after he qualifies, the adulation that is given to him by his family and friends by the mere mention "mera beta/beti IIT mei par raha hain", all of a sudden the child is treated with much more admiration, respect, and seated at a pedestal much above the rest. And if you are from a small town from Bihar or UP, the very mention can qualify you for a magnanimous sum of dowry....and perhaps the birth to this feeling of "supreme"!
It is not that I shun IITians, some of my closest friends are from IITs, people from my immediate and distant family members constitute a part of this alma-mater, my professional and personal mentors belong of this group. I have met many, who are oblivious of this supreme feeling, but here I write to bring out the general feeling among the pupils who are fresh products of IITs.
It pains me when I see them, such an im-matured pudding headed behaviour from a young turks of one of the cream institutes of India! IITians have succeeded, conquered the world, have reached to different heights, by really working hard, proving their merits and by the sweat of their brow. Hard work and right education can make a man successful! Rise, see beyond, life is self realization, a few certificates, donot make you a man! The society adulations are time being, there is much more to learn beyond the text books...be humane! AMEN!!!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Hilarious / objectionable?!
Some quotes make you laugh to your heart's content..they go with a statutory warnings as on cigar cases...readers should be in a mood NOT to take them seriously! It largely depends on your mood, how you take them, but to some extent they are realities?!
Lovely female shapes are terrible complicators of the difficulties and dangers of this earthly life, especially for their owners ~ George du Maurier
If you think your boss is stupid, remember: you wouldn't have a job if he was any smarter ~ John Gotti
Wedding rings: the world’s smallest handcuffs. ~Unknown
Love at first sight that happenned to me, was Life's most delicious revenge on a self-opinionated fool.~Charles Boyer
Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. ~Unknown
In Order to get the handsome prince, you have to kiss a lot of toads. ~Unknown
The last quote reminds me of one of the most hilarious poems that I have read till now titled " A Stupid Village Girl" written by someone I do not know, it was a fwded to me in an email by a friend some years back and I preserved it:
The Stupid Village Girl
I sat on the rocks drying my body, When out of the secluded watery retreat, Came a creation of heavenly rhapsody Floating towards me on her soft lotus feet.
I had not known when she came Or where her garments should be;
All I knew was that a beauteous dame Had sprung a surprise on me.
I could not route an escape For I could find no path to flee.
So I sat there stoned in ugly, As naked as God made me.
Her beauty indeed was immense! This adorable coveted prize, Now, unaware of my presence Offered herself to my eyes.
But oh! Her glance fell on me And I could hear her skip a beat.
But then she waited thoughtfully, When I expected a hasty retreat.
God knows what spell was cast that night
Which could explain her tomfoolery
For she sprang at me as a wolf might
And kissed my mouth in a hurry.
Before I could fathom What had happened to me, I jumped in to the bosom Of the lake, most hastily.
I had left her in a swirl, I had left her looking agog, For she was a stupid village girl...
And I, an ugly croaking frog.
Lovely female shapes are terrible complicators of the difficulties and dangers of this earthly life, especially for their owners ~ George du Maurier
If you think your boss is stupid, remember: you wouldn't have a job if he was any smarter ~ John Gotti
Wedding rings: the world’s smallest handcuffs. ~Unknown
Love at first sight that happenned to me, was Life's most delicious revenge on a self-opinionated fool.~Charles Boyer
Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. ~Unknown
In Order to get the handsome prince, you have to kiss a lot of toads. ~Unknown
The last quote reminds me of one of the most hilarious poems that I have read till now titled " A Stupid Village Girl" written by someone I do not know, it was a fwded to me in an email by a friend some years back and I preserved it:
The Stupid Village Girl
I sat on the rocks drying my body, When out of the secluded watery retreat, Came a creation of heavenly rhapsody Floating towards me on her soft lotus feet.
I had not known when she came Or where her garments should be;
All I knew was that a beauteous dame Had sprung a surprise on me.
I could not route an escape For I could find no path to flee.
So I sat there stoned in ugly, As naked as God made me.
Her beauty indeed was immense! This adorable coveted prize, Now, unaware of my presence Offered herself to my eyes.
But oh! Her glance fell on me And I could hear her skip a beat.
But then she waited thoughtfully, When I expected a hasty retreat.
God knows what spell was cast that night
Which could explain her tomfoolery
For she sprang at me as a wolf might
And kissed my mouth in a hurry.
Before I could fathom What had happened to me, I jumped in to the bosom Of the lake, most hastily.
I had left her in a swirl, I had left her looking agog, For she was a stupid village girl...
And I, an ugly croaking frog.
Blood is Red
The moon had risen on the eastern sky, the sun had set for the day, twilight was making its presence felt. I looked up, pre-monsoon clouds were looming over the skyline of Bangalore. I had no intentions of getting drenched, I urgently looked for an auto rick to transport me home, which was hardly 3kms away. Finally after quite a "jatto-jehat", one of them agreed and suprising with no arguements. I thought for a minute, "what a good guy"! But that thought just lasted for a min, not a second more or a second less, the rick meter showed figures of 30 bucks (ideally it should show 14,)...my immediate reaction was to alert the auto rick driver, who cooly retorted, "madam double rate lagega". I was irritated by his coolness and more so he had manipulated the meter, which is not lawful. Within minutes, there was an altercation..and I threatened him to report to the traffic police..nothing affected him and to my shock he taunted back at me "Yeh karnataka hain, North India nahi hain", I was puzzled, how on the earth was Karnataka related to his meter rates. He continued in his usual notorious style, "you guys from North come here, earn loads of money, use of our facilities, our infrastructure, why can't you pay double the rate? This is land of Kannadas not North Indians". This was enough to piss me off beyond control, but I didnot know what to tell him..I was fuming, fretting, and there were fumes blowing out my ears. I am an obstinate soul, and I ensured that I payed only his legitimate, not even a single anna more...only to hear more foul language from him.
A couple of days back I read on IBNLIVE, about Raj Thackery and his men's "creative idea" of getting attention - "Buy mangoes only from Maharashtrian fruit vendors. The bhaiyyas have taken over the mango trade in the city, while our Marathi people are suffering". From taxis to vada pavs and now mangoes, (I think he wants to hold on to Alphonsos, knowing thats its "the Bhaiyas" who produce the largest quantities of mangoes in the world) Thackarey wants to claim himself to be a crusader of Maharastrain people and culture. A self-proclaimed protector, who wants the usurp the throne from his more dangerous fascist uncle...an idealogy that did bring fame to Bal Thackery, good fame or bad, who is bothered! I think his next creative idea would be "Alphonsos for Marathi Manush only, non maharastrians pay more!!!"
Perhaps the uncle and now the nephew desire to create ripples into a largely calm water body, a desire which can have dangerous consequences, and lead to a lot of bloodshed. And it did happen..an innocent worker of HAL in Nashik got killed by Thackery's party hooligans, and unfortunately for them he was a maharastrian...and it is the red blood that flows finally, the colour of blood is always red, whether it flows in a maharastrian or in a bhaiya, or whether it flows in a Hindu or a Muslim, or whether it flows in an Asian or an Anglo Saxon.
But, why blame these two Thackerys? Politicians all over the world have always believed in what the Britishers adopted as a policy, DIVIDE AND RULE! And we the comman man love to dance as puppets to rheoteric's of these so called leaders! And in a democratic set up elect them as our coveted members of Parliament. As it is called DANCE TO THE TUNE OF DEMOCRACY!
Lets stop for a while and think, is it justified? The auto wala was an uneducated man, but these uneducated men, exercise their franchise!
A couple of days back I read on IBNLIVE, about Raj Thackery and his men's "creative idea" of getting attention - "Buy mangoes only from Maharashtrian fruit vendors. The bhaiyyas have taken over the mango trade in the city, while our Marathi people are suffering". From taxis to vada pavs and now mangoes, (I think he wants to hold on to Alphonsos, knowing thats its "the Bhaiyas" who produce the largest quantities of mangoes in the world) Thackarey wants to claim himself to be a crusader of Maharastrain people and culture. A self-proclaimed protector, who wants the usurp the throne from his more dangerous fascist uncle...an idealogy that did bring fame to Bal Thackery, good fame or bad, who is bothered! I think his next creative idea would be "Alphonsos for Marathi Manush only, non maharastrians pay more!!!"
Perhaps the uncle and now the nephew desire to create ripples into a largely calm water body, a desire which can have dangerous consequences, and lead to a lot of bloodshed. And it did happen..an innocent worker of HAL in Nashik got killed by Thackery's party hooligans, and unfortunately for them he was a maharastrian...and it is the red blood that flows finally, the colour of blood is always red, whether it flows in a maharastrian or in a bhaiya, or whether it flows in a Hindu or a Muslim, or whether it flows in an Asian or an Anglo Saxon.
But, why blame these two Thackerys? Politicians all over the world have always believed in what the Britishers adopted as a policy, DIVIDE AND RULE! And we the comman man love to dance as puppets to rheoteric's of these so called leaders! And in a democratic set up elect them as our coveted members of Parliament. As it is called DANCE TO THE TUNE OF DEMOCRACY!
Lets stop for a while and think, is it justified? The auto wala was an uneducated man, but these uneducated men, exercise their franchise!
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