tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44137473250784504842024-03-07T04:48:40.240+00:00The Chinese Box - Divergent. Minimalist. Alternative. Quirky. Humorous. Deep.Please visit my new blog on http://minimalistdiaries.com/
I will be deactivating this blog soon.
Thanks!Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-4050707646696348732013-05-09T21:39:00.000+00:002013-05-09T21:39:51.206+00:00My New Blog<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hi All,<br />
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Please visit my new blog at:<br />
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<a href="http://minimalistdiaries.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">http://minimalistdiaries.com/</span></a></h2>
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I will be deactivating this blog soon.<br />
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Thanks!<br />
<br />
Rohit</div>
Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-73551114592878590392012-10-20T13:45:00.001+00:002013-04-21T21:44:41.601+00:00Loose Blogger's Consortium (LBC): Secrets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There is a thing or two I've learnt about secrets over the past couple of years. It has been in a fully sound state of mind that I have vetted and verified this little "secret" about secrets in general. Now I can't generalise and say whether this is true with everyone but based on preliminary observations, this phenomenon does appear to be universal. Before it begins to sound like an article from a science journal, let me get to the point.</div>
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On several occassions I have noticed that if you are in a process of planning or actually doing something, especially when it is very important, keeping it a secret until its done and you're on the other side, will most certainly ensure an obstacle-free course to your object of interest. I have experienced it several times that its best not to disclose your plans to anyone before they are done. What seems to happen if you do tell it before hand is that the number of trials and setbacks you receive tends to increase. At times it has even sabotaged the mission entirely. At best, the task is completed but with significant losses or unforeseen problems which prick you like a thorn along the way. Now of course this is and perhaps can never be verified scientifically, however, I would definitely recommend trying this out for yourself. There is no harm in trying, if it works you're golden. If it doesn't, well you've got nothing to loose.</div>
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I am not sure how this happens but the amount of times this has happened has confirmed my belief that there is more to it than mere coincidences or synchronicity. There must be an underlying force working here. Quite spooky.</div>
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On another note though, this appears to happens only with things you desperately want. It would usually not affect you if you tell people that you wish to become the next president of your country or become richer than Bill Gates. Perhaps because nobody would believe this can happen. Now you may well end up becoming one of those or even both. But the trend seems to be that people's or at least your audience's amount of faith in your ability to accomplish the thing you just told them will be inversely proportional to your level of mental and physical comfort along the way to accomplish the task. So keep it quite, work at it, get it done, and then throw a party. Else it will just be a party for an achievement that never was.</div>
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Think about it, is all I would say. The results of keeping such things a secret are too big to not want.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>* <u>Note to self</u>: Writing scientific documents as a part of my job is clearly ruining my ability to write creatively and informally. Should've got back to blogging sooner.</i></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><i>I hope you enjoyed reading this post for the weekly Friday Loose Bloggers Consortium, where</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><i> <a href="http://myrealmofimagination.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Anu</a>, </i></span></span></span></span><i><a href="http://iamdumberthaneinstein.com/" target="_blank">Ashok</a>, <span style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://instantfossil.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Conrad</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.com/">Delirious</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://gaelikaasdiary.blogspot.com/">gaelikaa</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.grannymar.com/blog/">Grannymar</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/">Maria the Silver Fox</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/">Padmum</a></span></span>, <a href="http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/">Paul</a>, <a href="http://rummuser.com/">Ramana</a>, </span></span></span><a href="http://shackman-speaks.blogspot.in/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #743399; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shackman</a>, <span style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://willknott.ie/">Will Knott</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">and I write on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs to get eleven different takes on today's topic, chosen by Will Knott. Do visit their blogs to see different takes on the same topic.</span></span></span></i></div>
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Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-47187969172918926852012-10-17T19:48:00.001+00:002012-10-20T13:46:19.272+00:00The Crisis of Moral Authority<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C5mrDH95XCU/UH8JfG5P5GI/AAAAAAAAAyo/t84OYKlTIqk/s1600/calvin.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-C5mrDH95XCU/UH8JfG5P5GI/AAAAAAAAAyo/t84OYKlTIqk/s320/calvin.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Calvin is worthy to be one of the Gods of today's world.<br />
Now here's a chance to start your own cult from the comfort<br />
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<i style="color: #202020; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.66666603088379px;">"...our current society is moving toward a trend of accepting any moral behavior on the grounds of freedom of choice. It has become "politically incorrect" to speak up and call any social behavior immoral. In this way, I think we as a large society have truly lost our moral compass. If truth exists in this world, then it must be that some things are right, and some things are wrong, no matter how much society would like to accept them..."</i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.66666603088379px;"><span style="color: #202020;">The above comment was left on my previous post by a fellow LBC blogger </span><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Delirious</span></a><span style="color: #202020;"> and is the inspiration for this post. It made me think, one thing then led to another and here we have a post about the crisis of moral authority. What's that got to do with morality? Read on it may just click.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18.66666603088379px;">When we are young, everything we are taught and made to do is essentially to cultivate a very peculiar method of conforming to the authority. Authority in all its forms can be seen all around us, but the one I am interested in here for the purpose of this post is that of our role models. Most of us have role models, be they some highly successful people in our society or simply our parents or older siblings or neighbours. They are the ones we look up to, in times of crisis, we tend to think about what they would do in such a situation and because we inherently believe them to be right, we automatically believe that doing what they do will mean we've done the right thing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #202020; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.66666603088379px;">My question is this, what standard should we use to judge our role models? If we were to follow in their footsteps and actually "be" right rather than just feel that we have done the right thing, then surely there must be a certain set of criteria they must fulfil to live up to this faith we place in them? Now what if our role models were wrong? We're in big trouble aren't we? Going back to the above comment, in this light it becomes clear that moral integrity is perhaps the most important attribute role models and those in the roles of authority must posses. How true is this in reality though? For someone from my generation, it would be quite obvious to feel our elders, those we looked up to, those with authority cannot be trusted. Why? Well, it was mainly the last 2-3 generations (those born after say 1940 in the West for the sake of argument) who created a lot of problems we face today. World War II, global warming, environmental disasters, selfish consumeristic behaviour, several economic depressions, these many things are scary enough to add any more to this list. How many of these were a result of a wrong choice made by those who could have prevented, averted or otherwise limited the extent of these problems? What made them choose, what hey chose?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.66666603088379px;"><span style="color: #202020;">I completely agree with </span><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Delirious</span></a><span style="color: #202020;">, we as a society, have lost our moral compass. It is frowned upon to say freedom of choice must come with an awareness, acceptance, respect and practice of responsible and moral behaviour. Then there are those who feel morality is arbitrary. To them I say, if this is the case then there is no morality. However, we see several people behave morally too. This only proves that morality exists on the common foundations of truth, honesty and respect for everything and everyone around us. The way we perceive and practice it may differ. Just like the Sun's existence is an irrefutable truth. I from my garden see it up there and yellow, someone living on the top floor of a skyscraper sees it differently, a bird sees it differently still and for an astronaut in space it appears differently yet again. These different perceptions do not affect Sun's existence in anyway.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #202020; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.66666603088379px;">The point I am trying to make is simply this, the post above may appear as a rant against the others or blaming someone else. But if people from today's generation do not recognise this and change their behaviour, our children and grand-children will perhaps be harsher on us than we can be on our forefathers. They did what they did in the spur of the moment, and those of them who were wise didn't have the means to stop the problems from being created. We on the other hand not only recognise the problem, but also have powerful weapons such as the media and internet to make a bigger difference. If we don't walk the walk, then we would become what some say morally bankrupt.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #202020; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.66666603088379px;">Everything rests on truth, and its not the truth itself that changes, its only the way we perceive it. So the sooner we acknowledge this, the sooner we can start getting out of the mess. Or be prepared to be pushed into crap by some believer of "end justifies the means".</span></span></div>
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Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-49417107150000279382012-10-14T18:00:00.001+00:002012-10-20T13:47:37.102+00:00Loose Blogger's Consortium (LBC): Acceptance/Accepting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We have become overly comfortable with acceptance. It seems to me that in this day and age, most of us (or certainly a majority of us in the urban/westernised/industrialised regions of the world) accept anything and everything that's thrown at us. By accepting here I am referring to a behaviour which is more akin to unquestioning conformity. <span style="text-align: justify;">Social psychologists have been pulling their hair apart for decades if not centuries to understand the whole concept of how groups behave, conformity and so on. The problem, however, is that things we have been accepting in this manner may not necessarily be good for us and most of them are not, if only were pause for a moment to question their validity and just think about them objectively. This is hardly the case though. Good time to give some examples in defence of this observation.</span></div>
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Everyone likes watching TV and it is generally accepted social norm to do so. Indeed several conversations people have everyday are in some sort of way related to something they watched on the TV. While there is nothing inherently wrong with watching TV, the problem starts with the content we watch. Like most things, TV can be a good and a bad thing, but taking a long term perspective, it may well have done more harm than good to those who prefer watching anything that results in lower utilisation of their ability to think. Advertisement is probably the biggest devil, followed closely by sensationalist media, programmes about celebrities, soap-operas of course and a whole other load of rubbish.</div>
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Similarly, we tend to accept processed food without judging its actual merit. Corporations and governments alike are hardly ever keen to talk about this subject. Most people would never realise but over 80% of processed food contains corn and soya in some form or another. It would take us forever to go over why this is a problem. I think it would be fair to suggest that we begin with an assumption that processed food is bad for us. We can debate the truth behind this while we are not eating it, as chances are it would do us more good than harm anyway. Plus it has been proved beyond doubt that this is true. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Pollan" target="_blank">Michael Pollan</a>, an American author and New York Times columnist has gone as far as calling the whole processed food deal as "...Corn's evolutionary strategy to overtake the world while humans pretend to be the smartest species..." For those interested, I would recommend watching his documentary <a href="http://www.takepart.com/foodinc" target="_blank">Food Inc.</a> If that doesn't change the way you think about food, nothing will. It may be funny and diffuse the tension for a bit but it doesn't change the obvious fact that nothing beats eating healthy, organic and un-processed food as much as possible. As for the arguments about organic food being too fancy and unaffordable, I will be trying to dispel this myth in subsequent posts on this topic.</div>
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The list of such acceptable and indeed expected things to do also include being in debt, which is now considered normal and a lot of times we inevitably get into it whether we like it or not. Also consumerism has become a lot more acceptable. Do we really need that new mobile phone every 18 months? Do we really need to upgrade our cars, computers, home appliances, gadgets every so often and buy every new item that's out there? I doubt it. I admit of being guilty to some of these myself but that makes my questioning all the more appealing. It feels good now to be on the other end of the tunnel and knowing for sure that the light you saw really exists. The list is endless.</div>
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So here's what we can try doing to make our lives better and in turn make a difference to everyone including the environment.</div>
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<li>Avoid processed/fast food as much as possible. Buy local and in season products. Look out for that green, recycled or <a href="http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/" target="_blank">Fair Trade</a> logos where available. It won't kill us to not have Mangoes, Strawberries or Watermelons all year round.</li>
<li>Stop watching and more importantly believing everything they show on the TV. It is perfectly fine to watch some of the stuff they show on TV but we only need to think before wasting hours in front of the idiot box. One would realise, as I did, that most of what we watch is rubbish and we can easily live without it if not have a better life without it. No harm giving it a try. The feeling of liberation and saving time is amazing.</li>
<li>Try not getting into debt as much as possible. We can live perfectly happily without credit cards, store cards, jumping at "buy now pay later" deals and falling for personal loans our banks try to sell us. Having said this though, credit is a good way to leverage when used sensibly and responsibly. Recklessness is what causes all the trouble.</li>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">These may be small things but if enough people do them, we will be living in a happier world within no time. We just need to take a stand and refuse to accept things at face value. More ranting will continue in future posts.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><i>I hope you enjoyed reading this post for the weekly Friday Loose Bloggers Consortium, where</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><i> </i></span></span></span></span><i><a href="http://myrealmofimagination.wordpress.com/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #743399; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Anu</a>, <span style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.levintel.com/">Conrad</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.com/">Delirious</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://gaelikaasdiary.blogspot.com/">gaelikaa</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.grannymar.com/blog/">Grannymar</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://magpie11.wordpress.com/">Magpie11</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/">Maria the Silver Fox</a></span></span>, <a href="http://umazazing-wateva-ido.blogspot.com/">Noor</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/">Padmum</a></span></span>, <a href="http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/">Paul</a>, <a href="http://rummuser.com/">Ramana</a>, </span></span></span><a href="http://shackman-speaks.blogspot.in/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #743399; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shackman</a>, <a href="http://instantfossil.blogspot.in/" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #743399; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Old Fossil</a>, <span style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://willknott.ie/">Will Knott</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">and I write on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs to get eleven different takes on today's topic, chosen by Shackman. Do visit their blogs to see different takes on the same topic.</span></span></span></i></div>
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Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-21264294495100954852012-10-10T21:39:00.002+00:002012-10-10T21:39:48.837+00:00Back to blogging once again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It has been about 11 months since my last post. I am hoping this would be my official comeback to more consistent blogging rather than just another semicolons...well only time will tell that. But as I type this I am re-feeling (freshly baked word!) the amazing feeling I used to get when blogging. If only work was less hectic and life was more predictable. Anyhow, here we go then.</div>
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So the first post back is simply outlining how this blog would be going forward. This has to start with what in God's sweet name was I up to for all these months and where I am hoping to take this blog is very much connected to this. First of all, it was work. New job, less spare time, laziness, procrastination, the usual demons. On another note however, I tried to utilise the few spare moments of nothing to do in this time to think about what I should be doing with my life. Now I still haven't found the answer, which is why you can see "finding the purpose of my life" as one of my wishes in the bucket list on the right. As long as I figure it out before I die, that should be fine. In any case, what I did realise was that whatever I think, speak and do largely revolves around a few key areas of thought that it now appears I find myself attracted to.</div>
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- Attempt to become self sufficient</div>
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- Hoping for every thought, word and deed to have an impact beyond my vested selfish interests, no matter how small</div>
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- As much as possible, not be a cause of someone else's misery</div>
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- Making money (something non-altruistic for a change!!)</div>
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- Obsessive need to question anything and everything for no apparent reason (mostly not aloud)</div>
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- Rage against the system</div>
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- Photography (a hobby I picked up and upgraded in these past months)</div>
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- Drooling over motorbikes (especially Royal Enfield)</div>
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- Trying to figure out the purpose of my life</div>
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- Addiction to TED Ex videos</div>
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- Anything else interesting that I come across</div>
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Finally, I have also been experimenting on myself for a while. Trying to do rather unusual things and seeing whether it made any difference. Without giving away much, as subsequent posts will talk a lot about this anyway, it was to do with stuff my friends preferred to describe as insanity.</div>
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So this is broadly what I've been thinking about most of the time. From this perspective then, I hope to start a series of posts based around these themes. Its probably very much clear now that I am someone who is obsessed with organising and giving a structure to everything. Keeping this in mind then, I hope, and "hope" is a very important word here, so I hope to be able to post with at least some consistency on the following themes:</div>
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- Sustainable/Self-Sufficient Living or as some call Green Living</div>
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- Alternatives/out of the box ideas to live life differently</div>
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- Sharing the insights from self-experimentation</div>
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- Share an intriguing TED Ex video every week</div>
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Last but not the least, if I am allowed back in, I would very much like to resume writing with the Loose Bloggers Consortium (LBC) crew. Sincere apologies for vanishing without notice, but if you would be so kind as to let me back in, it would be a pleasure to post with you all every Friday. That should give me something to look forward to every weekend, apart from working the unofficial hours.</div>
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Pleasure to be back again, now just pray that I manage to become more consistent this time around. Now more than ever before, this would most certainly require a degree of divine intervention!</div>
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Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-68852380177827214532011-11-12T20:53:00.001+00:002011-11-12T23:57:20.881+00:00Loose Blogger's Consortium (LBC): Firsts in My Life...not really<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a really hard topic for me so instead of writing something stupid, I'll share a funny video :)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pp5ArLNVDT8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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________________________________________________________________________<br />
<i style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">Welcome to the Loose Bloggers Consortium where<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.levintel.com/">Conrad</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.com/">Delirious</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://gaelikaasdiary.blogspot.com/">gaelikaa</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.grannymar.com/blog/">Grannymar</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://magpie11.wordpress.com/">Magpie11</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/">Maria the Silver Fox</a></span></span>, <a href="http://umazazing-wateva-ido.blogspot.com/">Noor</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/">Padmum</a></span></span>, <a href="http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/">Paul</a>, <a href="http://rummuser.com/">Ramana Sir</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://willknott.ie/">Will knot</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">and I write on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs to get eleven different takes on today's topic, chosen by Anu.</span></span></i></div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-7979822553317839082011-11-08T23:08:00.003+00:002011-11-09T00:00:26.455+00:00Loose Bloggers' Consortium (LBC): My Wildest Fantasy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I have to choose one thing from a bunch of other things I equally like, I tend to be terribly indecisive. The solution therefore, at least for the purpose of this topic is to list 'em all! So here we go, my wildest fantasies...<br />
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<b>1. Climb the peaks below:</b></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kDnf081Nz_c/TrmxottM4RI/AAAAAAAAAoI/B9py24HnhHo/s1600/mt+everest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kDnf081Nz_c/TrmxottM4RI/AAAAAAAAAoI/B9py24HnhHo/s200/mt+everest.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Everest, Nepal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.tripadvisor.in/LocationPhotos-g304557-Darjeeling_West_Bengal.html" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Darjeeling Photos" height="132" src="http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/06/4e/8f/kanchenjunga-from-sandakphu.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goecha-La (K2 Base Camp), Sikkim/Bhutan<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photo courtesy: TripAdvisor.com</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VW18ZlHiWo0/TrmyRIM7hDI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/-UVvdd-0sII/s1600/mount-kilimanjaro-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VW18ZlHiWo0/TrmyRIM7hDI/AAAAAAAAAoQ/-UVvdd-0sII/s200/mount-kilimanjaro-2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mt. Kilimanjaro, Kenya/Tanzania</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4OMCuyaQ0qc/TrmygDH3ALI/AAAAAAAAAoY/N-YccKJvxaY/s1600/machu-picchu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="145" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4OMCuyaQ0qc/TrmygDH3ALI/AAAAAAAAAoY/N-YccKJvxaY/s200/machu-picchu.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macchu Picchu, Peru</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This list is really quite long and I've had a hard time cutting it down to these four...which are reasonably achievable except Mt. Everest perhaps.</div>
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<div>
<b>2. Have my own observatory in the back garden</b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMtpMctt1mQ/Trm0D0jwc3I/AAAAAAAAAog/97_eUc2y-No/s1600/observatory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AMtpMctt1mQ/Trm0D0jwc3I/AAAAAAAAAog/97_eUc2y-No/s320/observatory.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Live in an entirely self-sufficient "hobbit house" for the rest of my life once I earn enough to stop working</b></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-INXdq_za6iU/Trm0K3PZdlI/AAAAAAAAAoo/DaGhxX0xzm4/s1600/hobbit+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-INXdq_za6iU/Trm0K3PZdlI/AAAAAAAAAoo/DaGhxX0xzm4/s320/hobbit+house.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>4. Have a pet Elephant</b></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DebgxnjaaxE/Trm03M7f3tI/AAAAAAAAAow/2OhTjwVLvhs/s1600/baby+elephant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DebgxnjaaxE/Trm03M7f3tI/AAAAAAAAAow/2OhTjwVLvhs/s320/baby+elephant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>5. If and when I build my own house (hobbit or not), make my room in a small lighthouse with spiral staircase</b><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29ESE-8Tfek/Trm1b6IlV7I/AAAAAAAAAo4/avoCjfG6Jlo/s1600/lighthouse.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29ESE-8Tfek/Trm1b6IlV7I/AAAAAAAAAo4/avoCjfG6Jlo/s320/lighthouse.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Hope you enjoyed the ride through my wildest fantasies...but now that this week's title has made me think so much about these, I fee like giving it my best to try and make these a reality! :)<br />
<br />
P.S: Apologies for not having commented on other blogs and replied to comments on my blog. I was hoping to do it today but couldn't due to a huge back log! I will be doing it tomorrow for sure.<br />
________________________________________________________________________<br />
<i style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">Welcome to the Loose Bloggers Consortium where<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.levintel.com/">Conrad</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.com/">Delirious</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://gaelikaasdiary.blogspot.com/">gaelikaa</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.grannymar.com/blog/">Grannymar</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://magpie11.wordpress.com/">Magpie11</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/">Maria the Silver Fox</a></span></span>, <a href="http://umazazing-wateva-ido.blogspot.com/">Noor</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/">Padmum</a></span></span>, <a href="http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/">Paul</a>, <a href="http://rummuser.com/">Ramana Sir</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://willknott.ie/">Will knot</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">and I write on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs to get eleven different takes on today's topic, chosen by Gaelikaa.</span></span></i></div>
</div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-45724998598253504542011-10-24T20:40:00.002+00:002011-10-30T22:47:42.023+00:00Short poems...yet another filler<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Some random short poems, still couldn't get in the mood to write themed posts but will get there soon! :)</div>
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The lighthouse keeper would count the ships</div>
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...that sparkled in the light of moon</div>
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Waves devoured the stars</div>
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...and the foghorn played with the winds</div>
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***</div>
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Sunday morning sunshine, the smell of coffee brew</div>
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and burnt toast with marmalade on the side;</div>
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The lazy eyes notice how meaning loses itself after a while</div>
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***</div>
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Oil asks the wick, I burn you or you I?</div>
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The light just smiles..and the flame sighs</div>
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</div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-25919206387018311512011-10-23T22:25:00.002+00:002011-10-23T22:25:31.039+00:00Almost back..!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hello everyone (esp. the LBC), despite promising to be back by today on LBC, I've not really found the "peace of mind" and indeed a silent hour to be able to write as of yet. I positively hope to officially return by tomorrow or latest by Tuesday night GMT when I will begin blogging and replying to all those comments. Until then, here's one of my favourite song to fill this page and make some of the older followers of this blog a little nostalgic - Here comes the sun by George Harrison :-)</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/n6j4TGqVl5g?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br /></div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-75670271079539252592011-09-24T00:12:00.000+00:002013-11-17T12:41:49.039+00:00Marriage: An Oriental Perspective - Loose Bloggers' Consortium (LBC)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">Welcome to the Loose Bloggers Consortium, where </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://studentsdiary-anki.blogspot.com/">Akanksha</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://myrealmofimagination.wordpress.com/">Anu</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://iamdumberthaneinstein.blogspot.com/">Ashok</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.levintel.com/">Conrad</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.com/">Delirious</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://gaelikaasdiary.blogspot.com/">gaelikaa</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.grannymar.com/blog/">Grannymar</a></span></span>, <a href="http://joethinkspeak.blogspot.com/">Ordinary Joe</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://magpie11.wordpress.com/">Magpie11</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/">Maria the Silver Fox</a></span></span>, <a href="http://haiku--life.blogspot.com/">Nema</a>, <a href="http://umazazing-wateva-ido.blogspot.com/">Noor</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/">Padmum</a></span></span>, <a href="http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/">Paul</a>, <a href="http://rummuser.com/">Ramana Sir</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://willknott.ie/">Will knot</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">and I write on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs to get seventeen different takes on today's topic, chosen by Conrad.</span></span></i></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></i></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ImydJ0SW-Fo/Tn0eKM_d4HI/AAAAAAAAAn0/6hDNkjIop0A/s1600/Vedas2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ImydJ0SW-Fo/Tn0eKM_d4HI/AAAAAAAAAn0/6hDNkjIop0A/s320/Vedas2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The concept of marriage in Indian culture is rooted in the philosophy expounded by the Vedas which practically touch every aspect of human life and the sphere of activities. Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing religious about them, at least as far as the traditional western conception of religion goes. You may just be surprised to see the similarities with what it means in other cultures. Moreover, some of the things they talk about are so generic, they really can be applied right across the board no matter what one's faith is. Marriage is considered to be the fundamental unit of society. To use an analogy, married couple and their family is like the cell in our body, several such cells make tissue (several married couples/families = local community). A group of such tissues forms our organs (several local communities = society). Several organs with certain similarities form organ systems, e.g. nose, wind pipe, lungs form the respiratory system (many societies with similar belief systems, customs and traditions = region). Several organ systems ultimately form our body (several diverse regions = nation). In our body, mutation in a single cell may give rise to a tumour which if unchecked, can spread across the body with systemic manifestations and this cancer ultimately leads to destruction. Dysfunctional marriages break down families, broken families lead to displaced individuals who having lost their way in life are vulnerable to follow wrong paths. This is the beginning of cancer. If it spreads, the society is driven on a course of self-destruction. Destroyed societies lead to downfall of nations or civilisations. Therefore, the bottom line is that saying whether or not one should marry is a personal choice and nobody else has the right to interfere with it is not good enough. When individual liberties encroach upon the social welfare, the forces that bind such societies together have every right to check these freedoms in question. A common approach in treating cancer is killing all tumour cells. Similarly, the only effective approach to prevent, avoid and avert societal disintegration can only be nipping the tumour of dysfunctional marriages in the bud, by eradicating ideologies which give rise to such tendencies. Unfortunately the case in India today is quite the opposite.</div>
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In Indian culture, even marriage is based on the concept of "detachment in attachment". One of the treatises that deal with structure and functioning of an ideal society ("<i>Manusmiriti" </i>or The Code of Manu) describe it thus: Human life (assuming a life span of a 100 years) is divided in 4 quarters, each lasting roughly 25 years. The first quarter is all about following complete chastity, purity of thought, word and deed, gaining knowledge and skills necessary for one's chosen profession and so forth. In ancient times, when a child was between seven to eight years old, he would be sent to the teacher's house for a period of 18 years to gain knowledge and learn the importance of service and surrender. The child was not allowed to ever see his parents for this 18 years period and was expected to treat the teacher and his or her family as his own. At 25, the child would return home to his parents, get married and start his own family. Bear in mind that by the time a child turns 25, the parents are about 50 years old. Between 25-50, a person would be expected to enjoy all aspects of marital life and engage in productive work. By doing so, one should earn wealth with an aim to distribute it for the needy once the family needs are taken care of. Such a householder is the foundation of society where every act one performs is supposed to be selfless. If one earns money, it should be with a desire to use it for right purposes; if one begets offspring, it should be with an intention that these children are a debt I owe to the society - my duty is to raise them such that they continue the tradition of self-less service to their society, nation and the whole world. At 50, one would be expected to leave family, possessions and society and depart for pilgrimage, following which they must dedicate the next 20-25 years in self-less service to the society in any capacity feasible. When they eventually become old and unable to work, at about 75 years old or so, they should retire to a secluded place, and spend their remaining days in spiritual pursuit. This could then involve following whichever means of praying one feels strongly about. Some would choose meditation and silence, others would choose another form of praying, yet others who are still able bodied may decide to continue with selfless service.</div>
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I must highlight a few things here. The above mentioned things were only and only expected of a male child. Patriarchal society to blame? Not quite. All spiritual traditions in the spectrum of Indian philosophy have one thing in common, a belief in complete surrender and respect to women. This is because above all, Mother is considered to be the supreme most object of respect because she is the one who brings life to this plane and sustains it. Women are not required to undergo such austerities and it is said in the scriptures that for women, the easiest way to reach the "kingdom of God" is to simply engage in what comes to them naturally, things such as being true to their caring and affectionate nature regardless of the activities they are involved in. For this reason alone, if one observes carefully, in the 4 divisions of life, women only leave their parents to live with their husbands at the age of 25. Until then they enjoy all the happiness and luxuries of being with their families. However, in those times, as parents would leave the house at 50, it only made sense that the woman moves in with her husband. As the husbands parents would leave their house soon after anyway, the net effect is that the husband and wife stay together by themselves with their children.</div>
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Another very interesting thing is the words in Sanskrit for a married man and woman. A married man is known as <i>"grihastha"</i> literally meaning "the one who lives in the house". A married woman, however, is called <i>"grihini"</i> literally meaning "the one who possesses (owns) the house". What's more, it is considered a sin for a married man to be at home between the hours of sunrise and sunset, a bigger sin yet to rest while at work unless for genuine reasons and an even bigger sin if he doesn't treat his wife as an equal. Whoever says women are powerless in Indian society due to cultural reasons, here is the answer. It is a lack of awareness and understanding of the culture by the people which causes the problems we see today. It is a complete disregard for scriptural injunctions and a know-it-all attitude with a tendency to follow one's own whims and fancies more than what is morally and culturally appropriate that is to blame. The divisions of society and of human life are balanced. Any deviation from this is perversion at best and sacrilege at worse!</div>
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Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-44885358205075295682011-09-18T22:58:00.000+00:002011-09-18T22:59:00.350+00:00Breath - Loose Bloggers Consortium (LBC)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">Welcome to the Loose Bloggers Consortium, where </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://studentsdiary-anki.blogspot.com/">Akanksha</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://myrealmofimagination.wordpress.com/">Anu</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://iamdumberthaneinstein.blogspot.com/">Ashok</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.levintel.com/">Conrad</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.com/">Delirious</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://gaelikaasdiary.blogspot.com/">gaelikaa</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.grannymar.com/blog/">Grannymar</a></span></span>, <a href="http://joethinkspeak.blogspot.com/">Ordinary Joe</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://magpie11.wordpress.com/">Magpie11</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/">Maria the Silver Fox</a></span></span>, <a href="http://haiku--life.blogspot.com/">Nema</a>, <a href="http://umazazing-wateva-ido.blogspot.com/">Noor</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/">Padmum</a></span></span>, <a href="http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/">Paul</a>, <a href="http://rummuser.com/">Ramana Sir</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://willknott.ie/">Will knot</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">and I write on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs to get seventeen different flavours of the same topic. Today’s topic has been chosen by Padmini.</span></span></i></div>
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Breathe free while you can, they may start taxing Oxygen sooner than we'd like to imagine!<br />
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Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-56703635050190484862011-09-15T19:06:00.002+00:002011-09-15T19:06:53.107+00:00Love, Revenge and Justice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EPH7RHWs0SA/TnJKoeGcsZI/AAAAAAAAAnM/SuC9pPRT1nY/s1600/smoke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EPH7RHWs0SA/TnJKoeGcsZI/AAAAAAAAAnM/SuC9pPRT1nY/s320/smoke.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Over the past few days I have been thinking. This itself should suffice as a breaking news bulletin. However, this time the thinking managed to yield a little something useful, at least for myself. It all began with a rather lengthy conversation with a very good friend. It was an exercise in "freeing up" some space in mind's hard disk so to speak. Cutting the chase, it was about a certain issue both of us have been facing since a few months now. Although the particulars differ, the bottom line is same, its about experiences of riding emotional roller coasters. A common theme soon appeared, and that was mainly around three things - love, revenge, memory. Following is simply a screen dump of the toxic waste this created in my cerebral cavity, just free flowing thoughts resulting from that conversation. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This friend I mentioned suffered from a major heart break that is stopping her from moving on in life. This followed what she prefers calling as injustice by a certain selfish individual who struck her life like a lightening, only to have left a few years later leaving behind significant damage. This led her to believe that love is fake, revenge is justified and memory (and a good memory at that) is not always a gift. </span>This is what I have been thinking about.</div>
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Firstly, I am still not entirely sure what this thing love is all about. Of course I understand the classification, definitions, implications and consequences. Nonetheless, the thing I don't quite grasp is its relevance. Is every human being capable of love, at least in the sense this emotion is understood by the masses? Is it ever possible to love but not love at the same time? Is love possible without attachment? If there is no attachment, can it be called love? Is love minus attachment just as credible? I don't mean commitment, faithfulness, loyalty, etc as is the case in a romantic relationship...those things are paramount. The only problem I have is with attachment. Maybe this is total nonsense. But something inside me makes me feel it may just work if done the right way.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Second point on agenda was revenge. This friend of mine now seeks revenge, but her idea of revenge is pretty unusual from what I have been exposed to so far. She has a very elaborate plan of wreaking havoc in this person's life, systematically, steadily, one step at a time, in a way that the memory of this wrong doing never fades from his mind. I feel somewhat ashamed that the primary advice she wanted from me was whether the plan would work and if I could suggest any improvements to cause even more damage. Regardless, having taken an indifferent stance in this matter, I feel better about myself now. This made me think about the nature of revenge. I remember reading many years ago a quote by Sir Francis Bacon - <i>"</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><i><span style="color: black;">Revenge is a kind of wild justice</span>; which the more man's nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out"</i>. It has only started to make sense now. However, is revenge always by definition wrong? Or are there acceptable forms of revenge? I have come to understand over time that its not really what we do but our intentions behind doing</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"> it that matter. Looking at it from this perspective, could revenge taken only with an intention to establish justice and bring someone who has a habit to do injustice to account be considered acceptable? Well one argument may well be that this is not revenge any more then because there is no personal satisfaction involved. However, is it worth all the time and energy spent to achieve it?</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">As for the third point, well I've written enough to continue with that. It was quite insignificant compared to these two heavy weights so I'll just leave it for now.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px;">*In case anyone is wondering what's that picture doing up there...it is meant to be suggestive. It is a photograph of different patterns created by smoke. Just a subtle innuendo that maybe smoke isn't always bad, perhaps it too has beauty of its own :)</span></span></div>
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Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-19465851677163075952011-09-03T16:58:00.000+00:002011-09-03T16:58:42.021+00:00Culture Shock - Loose Bloggers Consortium (LBC)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">Welcome to the Loose Bloggers Consortium, where </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://studentsdiary-anki.blogspot.com/">Akanksha</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://myrealmofimagination.wordpress.com/">Anu</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://iamdumberthaneinstein.blogspot.com/">Ashok</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.levintel.com/">Conrad</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.com/">Delirious</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://gaelikaasdiary.blogspot.com/">gaelikaa</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.grannymar.com/blog/">Grannymar</a></span></span>, <a href="http://joethinkspeak.blogspot.com/">Ordinary Joe</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://magpie11.wordpress.com/">Magpie11</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/">Maria the Silver Fox</a></span></span>, <a href="http://haiku--life.blogspot.com/">Nema</a>, <a href="http://umazazing-wateva-ido.blogspot.com/">Noor</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/">Padmum</a></span></span>, <a href="http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/">Paul</a>, <a href="http://rummuser.com/">Ramana Sir</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial;"><a href="http://willknott.ie/">Will knot</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px;">and I write on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs to get seventeen different flavours of the same topic. Today’s topic has been chosen by gaelika.</span></span></i></div>
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First of all apologies for not being able to write for the past two weeks. Things were quite busy over the working week and weekends spent enjoying the natural beauty of Wales and Cornwall.</div>
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So let me begin this post by my first ever experience of culture shock. I had been in England for a few months, it was only my second month at school here and for some reason the classmates wouldn't believe I had come from abroad. One fine day the "class clown" came in all excited and pleased. The reason was that his mum was getting married. She had been on holiday with her friends in Tuscany where she met the man of her dreams at the age of 45, called her "civil partner" to announce the end of their companionship and her decision to settle with this new man in Italy. For reasons I still don't understand, her (then) partner was overjoyed, decided to go ahead to help with the wedding preparations and their two sons (one 16 and the other 13) would follow a little later before the wedding day. Bearing in mind I had never seen a divorced couple until then, this came as a huge culture shock. I didn't know whether to congratulate him or express condolences. Perhaps this is quite uncommon by the usual standards here, but nonetheless, more of a shock for me than it was for the others.</div>
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Having moved around so much though, I'd rather be on the receiving end of culture shock and continue with this almost nomadic lifestyle than be stuck in one place all my life. Even imagining living in the same house, forget the same town, is a nightmare for me. Now this would be one culture shock I wouldn't want to experience!</div>
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Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-28689000811863889082011-08-12T20:03:00.028+00:002011-08-13T23:47:30.171+00:00My Childhood - Loose Bloggers Consortium (LBC)<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_M_L5AczmYs/Tkb9nAMtC8I/AAAAAAAAARg/YblSNlrhMkM/s1600/seasons.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 270px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_M_L5AczmYs/Tkb9nAMtC8I/AAAAAAAAARg/YblSNlrhMkM/s320/seasons.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640474429838134210" /></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; ">Welcome to the Loose Bloggers Consortium, where </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://studentsdiary-anki.blogspot.com/">Akanksha</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://myrealmofimagination.wordpress.com/">Anu</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://iamdumberthaneinstein.blogspot.com/">Ashok</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://www.levintel.com/">Conrad</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.com/">Delirious</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://gaelikaasdiary.blogspot.com/">gaelikaa</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://www.grannymar.com/blog/">Grannymar</a></span></span>, <a href="http://joethinkspeak.blogspot.com/">Ordinary Joe</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://magpie11.wordpress.com/">Magpie11</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/">Maria the Silver Fox</a></span></span>, <a href="http://haiku--life.blogspot.com/">Nema</a>, <a href="http://umazazing-wateva-ido.blogspot.com/">Noor</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/">Padmum</a></span></span>, <a href="http://blackwatertown.wordpress.com/">Paul</a>, <a href="http://rummuser.com/">Ramana Sir</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; "><a href="http://willknott.ie/">Will knot</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; ">, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; ">and I write on the same topic. Please visit the other blogs to get seventeen different flavours of the same topic. Today’s topic has been chosen by Anu. </span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Whenever I am reminded of my childhood, a sweet nostalgia sets in until my cheekbones are sore with pain from smiling. I was born in a small village in Western India (somewhere in that valley: picture below). At the time my Father was doing fairly well as a property developer and my Mother was a research scientist. A very odd combination for a couple indeed!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BdhaTIAQpVI/Tkb4Y8RvPiI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/CFZd1V-L-0A/s320/karad%2B1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640468690709200418" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyhow, eventually they settled in Mumbai, where I spent the first 15 years of my life. My childhood during this period was shared between the city of dreams as some like to call Mumbai, and the small village of my birth. I could not understand this then, but reflecting on it now, I feel glad this happened as it kept my connection with the soul of my country and culture alive. It may not seem like a big thing but it is not at all difficult to experience a severe identity crisis for those who grow up entirely in urban areas. Whereas the time in the city was spent going to school of which I loved everyday, enjoying "urban" activities with friends and being groomed and conditioned by the society to believe the purpose of life to be tangible material achievements; the time spent in the village of my birth would provide me the much needed recluse and solitude. Life in this village was very calm and serene. It was almost like a gateway to the wonderland for me. I could do everything my big city friends couldn't even dream of!</div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The day there would begin being woken up by the chirping of a million birds and calls of peacocks. The early morning air would be filled with a fragrance which is very typical of Indian villages. It is a melange of dew soaked earth, scent of flowers, spicy aromas from the kitchens and the burning charcoal in clay ovens. The rest of the day would be spent wandering freely without a care in the world with my buddies there, and their activities usually happened to be of a more innocent nature than of those in the big city. Running along the river bank taking the occasional dip in the freezing waters of the early morning, racing to see who climbs trees fastest and fetches that tasty fruit, playing with stray dogs, riding on the horses at every opportunity we could get, chasing monkeys...the list goes on. It was a place where almost fifty odd families lived as a one big family in an incredibly cohesive atmosphere. The children were everyone's children. Whatever little they all had, would be shared with an open heart. I don't remember any of the houses ever having their doors closed, literally as well as metaphorically. It is here that I learnt the most important lesson of my life, that everyone in this world should be treated as our family...humans, animals and plants alike. These people from my childhood gave me just as much love as my parents if not more, although I only saw them only once or twice every year for a couple of months! Their gift of compassion is something I treasure more than my life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4whxz0Vfm-M/Tkb5cBGlVmI/AAAAAAAAARQ/UKEtQ_wE64Y/s320/old%2Bpic%2B1_edit.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640469843055826530" style="float: right; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 293px; height: 135px; " /><div style="text-align: justify;">Back in the city of dreams, well, the scene was completely different. Life there could be explained by a simple phrase, rat race. I have always been excessively curious and had an insatiable thirst for knowing things. (That's me with the tongue out in the middle with two of my oldest "city" friends). I used to keep saying to my Mother that I wish I grew up faster, and every time I would get the same reply, "one day you will say you wished you never grew up". I, however, have not felt a reason to say this as of yet. Perhaps I still haven't grown up, as is the opinion of my friends and parents, but if I am, this moment is yet to come. If I know myself well enough though, I am pretty certain it wouldn't.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If my childhood dragged any longer than it did, it wouldn't have been so memorable and joyful. Just as each season has its beauty, each stage of life has its own. There would have been no joy in spring if it weren't for winter; winter wouldn't have been a relief unless it came after the scorching summer. After all, it is us who have given names to these stages in life. The march of change and time is unstoppable. I live with a condition known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia">Synaesthesia</a>. Essentially what it means is that my brain processes events and experiences in a slightly different way. For instance, it automatically associates quantities with colours, places with taste, and makes me experience time in spacial term and so on. This makes me view any period of time as a vivid multi-dimensional event wherever these events have developed strong associations that have then been embedded deep in my mind. I think it just enriches my experience of reliving my childhood in my memories now. Would I like to relive it in reality though? No. I wish, however, that I am able to pass on this experience to other children, whoever's they are.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The truth is whole, but at the same time multi-faceted. Each side we see is complete in its own right. It is only now when I look back, am I able to appreciate the entire picture in a much more holistic manner. Time is far from linear, and it only takes a slight change in perspective to see this continuity through the different themes of our life as the common thread connecting each experience with the other. The child in us never really dies. We are all curious creatures at heart, ever desiring more experiences, avenues to more fully express our creativity, opportunities to spread love and happiness. That is what children do all the time. They make everyone smile. Time and social conditionings simply add layers upon layers of thick dust on our personalities which make us more and more hesitant to let that child come out and play freely in this wonderful world. All it takes to let this child out is re-emergence of that innocence which we have lost somewhere along down the alleyways of time. Young or old, we are really just children of different age, each group having their own fancy games. Younger ones call it toys and crayons, older ones call it money, work and responsibilities. Most are born without a clue, and most die without a clue. Everything in between usually fades away.</div></div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-92178540931632125752011-08-09T19:13:00.010+00:002011-08-09T21:41:38.709+00:00London Riots, Educational Reforms and Cuboid Watermelons<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Initially I wanted to blog about the ongoing riots in London and other cities around England. However, after much contemplation I concluded that as far as I can see it at least and in my humble opinion, this issue doesn't deserve so much attention. Too much attention is what has added fuel to the fire. Solution is simple, just remember that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child! These rioters were only looking for an excuse to steal on a massive scale. The protesting was just a veil behind which they wanted to hide.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another reason I changed my mind about the topic for today's post is because I came across this video on the blog of Nema (one of our new members in the LBC). You can either watch this video here or follow this link to her blog: <a href="http://haiku--life.blogspot.com/2011/07/changing-education-paradigms-rsa-videos.html">LINK</a></div><div>
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<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zDZFcDGpL4U" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;">
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<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the things I am extremely passionate about is Education. This is in part due to the fact that I have personally been rather unfortunate when it came to the quality of "formal education" I received, at least thus far. I believe the current western education system is inadequate at best, and helplessly redundant at worse. This video reinforced my views and gave me yet another new perspective of looking at things. Divergent thinking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is a simple thing that our social conditionings make us believe to be insanity. In fact this divergent thinking is precisely what has got us to the heights of technological advances we are enjoying today. Ok we all know that. The point I wish to make goes a little further. Our current education system builds instant walls at every attempt of the child to think in a way which is not accepted as the social norm. It is a different matter altogether that social norms themselves would struggle to justify their existence in face of rational enquiry. Nevertheless, the problem is systemic. As the segregation in schools is based on "physical age", every child regardless of her or his unique capabilities and grasping capacity, gets herded and segregated into the same group and is forced to fit in. Why does our society have this obsession with "fitting in"? I read somewhere the other day, can't remember where, that there was a child who was told from a young age that the purpose of life is to find happiness. When he was old enough to write "essays" at school, he was asked to write about what he wanted to become when he was older. He simply wrote happy. The teacher pointed out that his answer was incorrect, perhaps unsurprisingly, and he should work on his ability to understand questions correctly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I could carry on rambling forever. To be concise, however, I will cut the chase and come to the point. As I come near to closing this post, I am realising that perhaps there is that link after all between the rioters in London and our redundant rusty education system. This production line manufactures half baked pots which can neither be used to hold water nor to decorate. Their offspring naturally end up confused and messed up than them. Its a sad story. Their empty mind ends up becoming the devil's workshop indeed. This, together with a total lack of positive role models in their community with whom they can relate ends up creating a dung bomb! The inevitable explosion only awaits the right time and circumstances.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I will write more on education later but for now I will end this post with what I feel as a very simple example that illustrates the point of divergent thinking this video makes.</div><div>
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<br /></div><div><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zmC-gSA23bI/TkGOAWi5OvI/AAAAAAAAAQY/IobbnfPKDgU/s320/Square_watermelon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5638944345147652850" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Japanese genius at work! Who would have ever dreamt that watermelons could be produced in a cuboid shape so they could fit in the refrigerator more conveniently and save packaging and transport costs??</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moral of the story: If it takes cubical watermelons to shake the social and academic elite out of their slumber, so be it!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Greetings! :)</div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-7486144544247389162011-08-05T18:59:00.007+00:002011-08-05T20:41:55.203+00:00Unforeseen Circumstances - Loose Bloggers Consortium<div><br /></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BAXNaiexG_0/TjxVNbJZERI/AAAAAAAAAK8/kgKsWbIs7w8/s1600/leaf-otus.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BAXNaiexG_0/TjxVNbJZERI/AAAAAAAAAK8/kgKsWbIs7w8/s320/leaf-otus.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637474522674827538" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; " >Welcome to the Friday Loose Bloggers Consortium where </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; "> <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://studentsdiary-anki.blogspot.com/">Akanksha</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://myrealmofimagination.wordpress.com/">Anu</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://iamdumberthaneinstein.blogspot.com/">Ashok</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://www.levintel.com/">Conrad</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://lifeonalimb.blogspot.com/">Delirious</a></span></span>, <a href="http://gaelikaa.blogspot.com/" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">gaelikaa</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://www.grannymar.com/blog/">Grannymar</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://magpie11.wordpress.com/">Magpie11</a></span></span>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://www.silverfox-whispers.com/">Maria the Silver Fox</a></span></span>, <a href="http://umazazing-wateva-ido.blogspot.com/">Noor</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/">Padmum</a></span></span><a href="http://padmum.wordpress.com/" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "> </a>, <a href="http://rummuser.com/">Ramana Sir</a>, <span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-style: initial; border-color: initial;"><a href="http://willknott.ie/">Will knot</a></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; "> , </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 24px; " >and I write on the same topic. Please do visit the linked blogs to get fourteen different flavours of the same topic. Today’s topic has been chosen by gaelikaa.</span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px; ">Today's topic is very dear to my heart; not least because over the past 22 years of my existence I've become so accustomed to these buggers we are glorifying as "unforeseen circumstances" today, but also because of their incredible consistency, persistence and determination to keep recurring and eventually making me so fond of them and attached to them in a sense, that I start missing them when they stop occurring with their usual frequency. Also, I can't discount their entertainment value and the opportunities they give me to laugh at myself. Despite all this, I still have no idea what will follow in this post. I have no pre-decided plan or plot. What you shall read is freshly picked, but not necessarily ripened enough to suite everybody's tastes.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">I remember an incidence from about 3 years ago. I had a painful molar for a long time before this which I was ignoring. It just so happened that once I was eating a sandwich of whole grain bread when one of the grains managed to dig a hole through the tooth's cap (maybe why they are called w-hole grains!). As a result, in unbelievable agony and excruciating pain, I was running around like a headless chicken trying to find that one kind dentist who wouldn't mind treating a patient on a Sunday afternoon. It doesn't stop there. As a student on a shoestring budget and meagre wage, I only had a third of the money that I would have to pay to get the tooth extracted. It most certainly was the "between devil and the deep sea" situation for me. Credit card saved the day only to be sucking my blood like a parasite to this date. However, it taught me a very important lesson - recognise problems early enough and don't delay in nipping them in the bud before they are big enough to be a problem. I would also go ahead to say that every single such unforeseen circumstance in my life thus far has reinforced this lesson.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">Analysing such unforeseen times in my life as well as lives of my close friends and family, I have come to realise that there is a common pattern underlying them. They serve one great purpose, of keeping us alert and on our toes and tend to strike only at times when we relax. I believe and I feel most would agree that our mind is at its sharpest and most focussed in dire situations where an immediate solution is the only way to peace. Connecting all these things together, I feel that such circumstances in fact serve a much greater purpose, keeping our mind alert at all times. This gives it that edge of the sword which is sharp enough to cut through the darkest and thickest layers of ignorance and foolishness. It opens doors to wisdom and gives us a different perspective of reality which is otherwise hidden from us. They give us the ability to think around the corners and agility to be able to manoeuvre around them safely.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 24px;">I have a strong faith that nothing is useless. Everything happens for a reason and all events in life, no matter how big or how insignificant, have their rightful place of honour in this master play. Everything is interconnected and interdependent. We can't escape fate which is one thing, but even events and incidents in life that we perceive or indeed experience as sad, unwanted, disappointing or similar are all important for our all round organic growth and spiritual development. They all teach us something. It is up to us to appreciate the beauty of these unforeseen circumstances no matter how much havoc they create. A storm may destroy a city, but only to allow creativity to flourish once again and rebuild it just as grand if not grander. At times such circumstances may make us feel like a victim, a prisoner of our fate. However, death makes way for life; indeed life is born in the womb of death. The circle always completes and nobody can trace its beginning or end. I always get a rather obvious and expected reaction whenever I say this to anyone. Most people say it is easier said than done. Most certainly it is. I for one though say this from personal experience. Having had my world literally shaken to the core and having seen all that I hold dear perish in the mighty winds of fate over the last few years changed my life more than ever before. It was in this desolate hour that this sudden realisation brought a smile on my face and it is still there. I simply wish that everyone look at the downs and the sorrows of their life from another perspective. Its dead easy. We simply lack the will due to our conditioning that it is inappropriate to find happiness in sorrow. Life is a paradox after all, not all is what it seems like. Answers are all around, if only we have the courage to ask those difficult questions.</span></span></div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-50480073335630540322011-07-28T18:51:00.005+00:002011-07-28T20:54:38.803+00:00Dreams<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1jQTvinbwmU/TjG8RgkKDUI/AAAAAAAAAKg/PuLBBceTfss/s1600/dreams.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1jQTvinbwmU/TjG8RgkKDUI/AAAAAAAAAKg/PuLBBceTfss/s320/dreams.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634491617802587458" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">I believe in one thing slightly more than others, the power of dreams. Dreams are what separates humans from other life forms. We have this unique ability to weave a wonderful mesh of thoughts and colour it with fantastic imagination which is indeed what makes us special. What I think is more interesting, however, is not the fact that we can dream, but we are the only ones on this planet who can manifest these dreams into reality. Thoughts have a language of its own. We can translate it into reality. This is by far the best thing about being humans I think.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is important to put this in perspective. What is unique to say, for instance, a monkey? Its tail of course! It uses the tail everyday, every minute of its life. What is unique to birds? Wings. They use these everyday to fly. How many of us are confident of putting our unique ability to use? Isn't it true that most of us are afraid of dreaming dreams? We tend to fear dreaming about changes we wish to bring in our lives. Perhaps its more a fear of failure and disappointments than of dreaming. Dreams only hold good if they could cross that boundary between thought and reality and manifest! Life simply cannot become beautiful without dreams. Dreams define the purpose of our existence. Dreams are the path to fulfilling our destinies. No dream is too idyllic or unreachable so long as we recognise the extent of our potential and have the courage and determination to create our own reality every living moment, rather than living in the reality which others have created for us! This is where a very important point must be understood. The journey to making these dreams real is solely what gives our dreams the value they possess. Dreams are only means to the end, not an end in itself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Life is that which we never know it is, and when it starts unfolding, we realise that even we ourselves are not what we thought we were. Slowly and steadily as one begins to comprehend the mysteries of existence and realise the truths of what we refer to as "life", one begins to become isolated from the homogeneous monotony of the mundane realism. This isolation at the deeper and subtler levels of our being is what equips us with an extraordinarily immense potential. This is what can help manifest even what appear to be most unrealistic dreams. Its just a matter of unlocking this potential and putting it to good use. Those who are successful become more and more confident and dream ever bigger and grandiose dreams, for they now know how to transform dreams into reality. They dare to trespass into the realms of pure vivid creativity, of magical transformation of their lives, and those of the deepest desires of their hearts waiting to manifest. They now learn to live their dreams, at times so much so, that a sudden warp of time as if it were, transports them from what were their dreams to what then becomes the very realities of their lives! All it takes is a moment. A moment of self-belief. A moment of confidence. a moment of determination. After that only the sky is the limit!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I would like to end this post with a quote I had come across a while ago, not sure by whom but something that inspired me in a way to alter my perception of life and sowed the seed of that possibility of believing in my dreams. All we need is to live by it...</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Dreams are like the paints of great artists. The world is like their canvas. Believing in those dreams is the brush which transforms those dreams into the masterpiece of reality!"</i></div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-85423863147320534542010-08-01T00:18:00.004+00:002010-08-01T00:47:27.616+00:00Calibrating Life<div style="text-align: justify;">This post is going to be a follow on from the previous post on Love. I mentioned Platonic "ideas" in it, so let's begin by a quick introduction to it. Plato is considered to be one of the greatest philosopher ever, and was a student of an even greater mind we know by the name of Socrates. Plato's theory was that everything we see around is just a reflection of the ideal and perfect original thing in the world of ideas. Basically, he said that all there are, are ideas, which gives the world the meaning. I do not intend to write about the world of ideas and Plato but just some of those ideas which I feel form the core of our humanity, around which everything revolves.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was having this discussion today with a close member of my family (cannot disclose who) about heavy stuff such as morality, ethics, righteousness and principles. I can't quite remember from what this stemmed out of. According to him, the way we live our life must be dictated by circumstantial desires. For instance, if a person feels like having a chocolate, just have one. If he feels like sleeping, sleep. You name it. This, according to him, is freedom. I guess I wrote about freedom earlier so won't go into details here. I am just curious to know what your thoughts are about this and if you agree or disagree. If you disagree, then why and what is your alternative explanation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have come to believe from experiences thus far, that I do not agree with this. I am certain that life is worth a lot more than being treated as a puppet of desires. It is absolutely essential to have regards about concepts of morality, rights and wrongs. It sure is a risky business, where boundaries blur and human intellect may fall short of change. However, just like there is always a standard for measurements and things, there is a standard framework, which if followed, ensures that most certainly, life will be a pleasurable experience. I am not concerned with what people think about life, some may feel there is only one life, others may believe in the concept of a cycle of births and deaths. This, I feel applies to all. It's a standard after all, which by default must be universally adaptable and applicable. So then, I believe this standard comprises of a few important ingredients, namely - Truth, Morality, Righteousness, Discrimination power and Integrity. Truth is the root of all. Without truth, there is no standard model. Whatever is truth is moral and righteous. If one takes to truth, one without any effort starts acting in a moral and righteous fashion. This can only be achieved by the power of discrimination between what is good and what is bad. What one does is never good or bad, only the intentions behind doing it are good or bad. This polar duality is simply an expansion of truth, which can only be non dual. Finally, if one lives life in line with this standard framework, truthfully, morally and rightly, one develops integrity of character. This is a big thing. It makes the person worthy of imitation. What such a man does, others tend to follow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This brings us to a question of who decides what is moral, what is right, what is true? Surely truths can't be multiple. For now, my conclusion is that anything which promotes the well being of self and others around, must be encouraged and done, rest must be rejected. Anything which takes us a step closer to our ultimate goal, liberation must be done. Anything which spreads love, reduce divisions and increases unity must never be given up. All else, which is divisive in nature, is to be loathed. What we seem to ignore is the fact that if we wish to see the change in world, the change must begin with ourself. We should become what we want others to be. Simply put, only those actions which encourage Truth, Love and Compassion must be performed, as they lead to knowledge. </div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-82858317880385311612010-07-31T15:26:00.004+00:002010-08-01T00:47:57.363+00:00Love<div style="text-align: justify;">Today I shall blog about Love. I know I still have to write about my trip to Venice long long ago, Italian food, etc. However, that's the joy about blogging/creative writing I guess. The writer is, or generally should only be motivated by such apparently random motivations, as they are the only things capable of enabling a genuine insight into the workings of his mind and heart. It surely offers a window to the readers about the writer and perhaps even an opportunity to think about the topic if it interests them. I always wanted to write about Love, but never came to manage to do so. Finally now I hope I can, well it shall be seen how the post unfolds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love is probably the most overused, abused, clichéd and misunderstood word ever. Not just in English but most of the languages. Everyone has their own concept of love, and most likely it is created by the environment, to be precise, media in today's world. Usually it can be seen that Love is only associated with a few things and these few things tend to make up the general idea about love that the public holds. I personally don't like to use the word public as to me it gives somewhat negative connotations about the people referred to as the "public". Anyhow, for the purpose of this topic, it is essential to separate the population into this public and the rest. Public are all the people who conform readily to whatever is perceived to be the "standard" or the "norm". Their opinions of course, change with the changing norms and perceptions of what is ok and what is not ok. For them, social recognition and acceptance is the only factor which drives any process of creating opinions. So then, having laid the foundation of the argument, I will now try to put in words what I feel about this idea. It may sound Platonic with the overuse of words like "idea" and all, but being a language with limits, English fails in this matter.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Love then, I feel is the most complex emotion, and hence, most misunderstood. If anyone has read Paulo Coelho's "The Pilgrimage", they would be aware of the different forms of love he describes. In fact I would like to credit him for being the inspiration of this post, or rather his book. Love is of different types. Each type is great in it's own right. In the broadest sense, there are 3 types. Love between a mother and a child, two lovers and unconditional love for everything in the universe. A mother loves her child without any reservations. Two lovers, truly in love, are like two bodies and one soul. Unconditional love is the love which one MAY feel for the entire existence and whatever it consists of, without being judgemental. I feel this is the highest kind of Love. However, if we look at this as a pyramid, then looking at our lives, lets assume this unconditional love to be the ultimate goal of humankind. Most never reach it and more worryingly, neither feel the need to do so. However, in our life we are touched by love for the first time in the form of the love of our Mother. A child grows up with the Mother's care and attention, devotion and love. This love is the foundation of the pyramid of love in our lives. The next level is when one falls in love with another individual and makes them a part of his/her life. This is when we take the love we experienced to a totally new level. Those who are genuinely in love would experience a deep feeling of oneness. It can never be expressed in any way. It can only be experienced. This love, if deep enough, can make the lovers one with each other. Its building blocks are faith, care, devotion and respect. They are equal. There is no difference of status or no question of an "upper hand". Such love is rare, but still some fortunate souls may just get a chance to feel it. If you notice, Love really is all about devotion and surrender. Love dissolves the boundaries of false ego. When two lovers surrender their self to each other, they unite in mind and thought. Their actions are in sync with each other. Their progeny is happy and at peace. Such love founded on surrender and devotion introduces a thorough grounding in our lives. This feeling of being well grounded ensures that our actions are righteous, as any unrighteous action disturbs this peace and as that peace and oneness is the original nature of our self, we automatically avoid anything which disturbs this peace. In an ideal world, families which are produced by such responsible couples united in love form a society which then stands on truth, justice and love. If enough people understand this, it won't be long before world becomes a happier and peaceful place. Thus, love alone has the potential to heal the malaise suffered by humanity. This leads us to our third type of love. When one is touched by love to such an extent, a feeling of fulfilment and satisfaction is established in that person. This gives birth to compassion. Compassion is the mother of this unconditional love. Ones it takes root, the tree of unconditional love for the entire existence begins to blossom. Full circle. It surely isn't that hard to understand, if only one realises the need to understand it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After all life begins with love, then why not end it with love too?</div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-6080975119632093452010-07-24T23:29:00.006+00:002010-07-25T00:00:50.129+00:00Free Run, Hamsters and Learned Helplessness.<div style="text-align: justify;">It has been a while since I posted, and also been a while since I felt the need to begin a blogpost with this line (as I have to every so often). I don't know whether it is a case of writer's block or what, perhaps not, but I had developed a complete aversion to even thinking about my blog, let alone posting. Albeit temporary, it had kind of left a weird block in my mind, where I would constantly feel the need to blog, but no desire to do it. This entry is essentially going to be a free run. I shall type whatever that comes to the mind, with an aim to empty it so that I can fill it with fresh new trash! Which brings me to the two words mentioned earlier - Need and Desire. How do we determine what is needed and what is simply desired? We face several situations where we feel we need to have something, but it really is nothing more than a desire. It is not just a need or desire for physical objects but also experiences, reply of certain experiences or maybe just new ones. Over a period of past few years, I have developed this rather annoying habit of "mind-watching". Annoying because after a while it happens automatically. This made me realise something. We are no different than a hamster on a treadmill. I think it is safe to assume this is a universal phenomenon and not just limited to myself. When we understand what makes us happy, we inadvertently tend to recreate or seek new opportunities which brings back that feeling of joy. When we understand what makes us sad, we tend to avoid or manoeuvre around things which cause this sorrow. Finally, when from past experience we categorise certain situations as those where we are helpless, we tend to assume our inability to overcome it and thus, stop taking efforts to come out of those situations. I remember from my IB time when I studied Psychology, that there is a phenomenon in behavioural theories called 'Learned Helplessness'. According to this, when we assume we can't help ourself, we can't. This is because we just don't try. This theory was proved by experiments which would be considered abominable today. The behaviourists got some rats into cages. The floor of the cage was connected to a battery pack and every few minutes the current would be passed through the metal floor. The poor rat would get slightly electrocuted and would run around looking for an escape. Being in a cage, there won't be any to be found. After repeated cycles of electrocution over a number of days or even weeks, the rat would then be put in another cage-like box but with an open gate on one side. The floor would be electrocuted again. However, the rat, having "learnt" that there is no escape, assumes there is no escape and suffers by self victimisation. It doesn't even look around to see if there is an escape this time, when there is one right behind it. Humans are similar I feel. We wallow in self pity due to this "learned helplessness" and give up. This is one thing. On close observation, one can see that our lives are really a series of events which repeat in a constant loop. The loop gets us in a soup, which is really imprisonment. People have these concepts of freedom. Some feel they are free when they have a lot of money, some when they can indulge in their senses indiscriminately, some feel freedom when they sleep or eat, others have an anarchist idea of freedom. No matter what our ideas of freedom are, isn't it really just that freedom we all seek? We all seek freedom in one way or another. Regardless of our backgrounds, cultures, upbringing, desires or ambitions, freedom is what we crave. I read a quote the other day, and it left a deep impression on my mind. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>"The only man one needs to conquer is oneself, and the only freedom one should seek is from oneself. The self binds, and the self releases".</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If we somehow just manage to step out of the treadmill, we realise that we can switch off this crazy loop, that is the real freedom. Not being enslaved by our own mind. If we learn to keep our balance in happiness and despair, we reach that state of freedom. Easier said than done, but not too hard with a bit of a "learned helpFULness".</div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-17210226117323614972010-06-25T20:13:00.002+00:002010-06-25T20:21:24.240+00:00A late addition to an old post: Hare and the TortoiseI wrote about a film I watched some time back under a post titled 'Hare and the Tortoise'. I just wanted to add something which is a perfect conclusion for that post and what I was trying to express in it. I read a quotation yesterday, can't remember by whom but it said:<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">'The worst thing about the rat race is that even if you win, you are still a rat!"</div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-91320477694517103942010-02-04T23:14:00.005+00:002010-02-05T00:31:43.899+00:00Birth<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4zfOwDCW-H0/S2tmwrasRmI/AAAAAAAAAIA/6PcDEsZV3ug/s1600-h/da+vinci_embryo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4zfOwDCW-H0/S2tmwrasRmI/AAAAAAAAAIA/6PcDEsZV3ug/s320/da+vinci_embryo.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434550361827067490" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It was a mid-summer morning, British summer so nothing exotic. I had finished over one year of IB and of living in the UK. It felt different. There was a change in me, I could feel it. I might as well call this a transformation, or metamorphosis to be more precise. I was sitting in my window, looking at and talking to the clouds (which is only my second love in life). There was a sense of renewal, freshness and fragrant joy. It may just be that first I was looking at clouds, had just finished my Epistemology essay and a sudden realisation of the change in me...but I was new. This is the first time in my memory, that I actually gave some serious thought to this concept of 'birth'. Is it just the day we were born? If it were then there wouldn't have been so much fuss about it with regards to the essence of this word. We are born every moment. Everything there is, is too. Whether it be the leaves of trees which are born again every spring, the cells of our body, drops of rain or even our very thoughts. Everything.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It really is all about change. Like the day mentioned above when I was feeling all new, challenges, obstacles and moments of truth in life kill and renew us every moment. There are three parts to it - Conception, Birth and Renewal. Conception or the seed of life, once sowed, will leave an impression. If it survives and is actually is born, then it leaves a greater impression. Finally if it survives to mature and realise the mystery of renewal, then it leaves the highest possible imprint. Impression on what, one may ask. It's simply the impression that's left on the mirror of our self. Most of what is conceived is not born. Most of what is born, does not reach renewal. However, once the renewal is achieved one can be sure to have found the right path. It is possible to forget these moments of renewal and the lessons learnt, no harm done there. Slowly though, the sincere one realises the immense power of these renewals. Essentially, I believe that having born is not the ultimate thing in the hierarchy of importance. We all get a chance to renew, to start again, to make a new beginning. Life is kind. The problem is, however, that we are clinging on the that which was lost so much that we find it hard to embrace this renewal. We are not able to celebrate this moment of birth! Every moment when you unravel a deeper layer of yourself, you are born anew. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are two very important things I'd like to mention at this point. These are just the lessons I've learnt so far which made me reach this conclusion. First, the book by Paulo Coelho, 'The Pilgrimage'. In this, the author has related a pilgrim's journey to the journey of life. One of the things he talks about is How to be born again. The elaborate procedure is not of relevance here, but to summarise, it's all about digging deep within, rather than reaching out farther and farther. The farther you stretch, the sooner you'll snap. The deeper you dig, the more easy it becomes to access that immense potential within. So, if one is determined, it's never that hard to be born again. Second thing is what I learn't from a Gypsy's Tarot deck. Cards XXVIII (18) - Conception, XIX (19) - Birth and XX (20) - Renewal of the Major Arcana, contain the secrets to what may be the first lessons of life. She said one thing which I can never forget, <i>"Everyone who is born, dies; but everyone who has born again by renewal, is immortal! For him, there is no death. His body may go back to earth from where it came, but the deeds he does, and seeds he sows are never wasted. They always bear sweet fruit." </i>It was profound. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If we realise these moments of renewal and seize them, then we can enjoy them all and celebrate the birth. Every such moment can then become a flash of enlightenment, and numerous such flashes are bright enough to drive away the thick darkness which dwells in our minds. Darkness has no existence of it's own. It is simply the absence of light. Ignorance has no existence of itself, it is just the absence of knowledge. Death has no existence of it's own, it only comes in the absence of birth; death of the body, a thought, or that of renewal. It's the same state as stagnation at one level. Whatever stagnates, is destroyed...for good!</div><div><br /></div><div><u>P.S.</u>: It's been over a month since some of my blogger friends and I decided to begin group-blogging. We decided the first topic to be this, for obvious reasons, and since then had been making excuses every time the topic of not having posted yet comes up. Having said that, time has now come to really begin. So to introduce this quickly, me and my friends <a href="http://introspectiveblogger.blogspot.com/">Introspective Blogger</a> and<a href="http://groomingflower.blogspot.com/">Mystery of Life</a> will choose a topic for every week, on which we will all post. This will be open to comments and any further debates.</div><div><br /></div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-81814553788563722372010-01-08T01:53:00.004+00:002010-01-08T02:02:26.364+00:00Clarification about the previous post, 'Hare and The Tortoise'<div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:monospace;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap;font-size:13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: normal; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Following my previous post, a reader asked a few questions about the validity of my argument. While replying I realised that the explanation is too long for a comment. So here it is as a blogpost. All follow up comments can be posted on here or the previous post. So referring to Nukul's argument, it's all a matter of how you look at the matter. One can either take a reductionist, rationalist, pragmatic or an inclusive view. The only way to try and answer your question would be to go deeper still and start from the beginning.</span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: pre-wrap; font-family:monospace;font-size:13px;"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A reductionist will simply say, there is race, there are good and bad guys and there is a carrot at the end. I want the carrot, rest can do as they please. Rationalist will analyse every aspect of the argument and in the end will say, well, each to his own. Pragmatic people will think of this as an unrealistic thing and would say that as long as you get that carrot, nobody really cares how you managed to get it. The one with an inclusive view, however, would say that ok the fact is that there is a race, there are good and bad people, there is carrot and there is the need to attain that illusive state of detachment. How shall I go about it? Firstly, the fact that I am suffering due to this stress of rat race implies my own deeds in the past which brought me here. Now that I am here, there are two things I must do. Identify how to be detached while being a part of this world and master that thing in a way that once you are successful, you can lead by example. Nobody takes a looser seriously. A winner, on the other hand gets accolades even the court of fools. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So if one is intelligent enough to ponder over these complicated concepts of detachment, eternal happiness, etc. then one must consider himself lucky, become a winner in the material sense and while doing all this, still remaining calm, detached, peaceful and have a humble attitude of surrender.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Simply put, the answer to your question is, you can't escape the need to work in this world, then do it in a way that you don't get entangled at least. So that you are a part of the race, but not stressed out like the rest. You can then even concentrate upon enjoying the race itself and learning along the way. It's like Mario...he has to cross levels and collect gems on his way to the final stage after which he is happy. It's the same with us. We are helpless only so long as we resist the flow of destiny, and make the mistake of thinking that the doer and enjoyer is "I"...the moment one realises what the real "I" is, questions simply dissolve. Pragmatists, reductionists and rationalists should try this approach. There is no harm in trying. If one is still not convinced after experiencing this for thmselves, then so be it. All izz well, regardless of the outcome. We change, truth doesn't. Only that which is stable despite changes can be real.</span></span></div></div></span></span></span></span></div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-77331647788294199732010-01-06T23:44:00.004+00:002010-01-07T00:54:16.779+00:00Hare and the Tortoise<div style="text-align: justify;">I've been thinking for a while about the topic for my next blog post. While a friend was visiting for dinner tonight, he recommended me to watch a 1970's hit bollywood flick called '<i>Katha</i>' (which means 'story'). It was inspired by the popular bed time tale of the Hare and the Tortoise, the one where the tortoise (who is slow and steady) wins the race...!BUT!...adapted to the modern society and how things have changed since then. The moral of this story was bit of a <i>double entendré,</i> so you decide. This post is not going to be a film review, but rather a narration of how another piece of puzzle fell in it's place in my mind after introspection.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Before I begin though, the nature of this post necessitates that I briefly introduce the plot and characters. Usual spoiler warning applies. So then, it begins with a stereotypical "nice" guy living in a big city, possessing the usual typical traits of excessive honesty, altruism, overly principled life, rigid notions of rights and wrongs, unambitious nature and a general inability to understand the machinations of this big bad world! He loves the girl who lives next door but can't gather the courage to tell her. One fine day, along comes one of his smart, forward-thinking, open minded, fast-talking friends who quickly makes himself at home. Mr. Nice Guy obliges and does not resist. Using his quick wit and charm, Mr. Friend manages to land a very good job at Mr. Nice Guy's company, that too as his manager. Effectively, Mr. Friend is a "bluffmaster", a conman who always manages to find his way by fooling vulnerable folks. Eventually he manages to woo the company owner's wife AND daughter at the same time, and while demonstrating his excellent multi-tasking abilities, he ALSO manages to woo the girl next door who Mr. Nice Guy loves like anything. Finally, he fools them all, and fooling an Arab Sheikh, flees to Dubai ready to carry on his business there. The girl next door is deeply saddened, but Mr. Nice Guy marries her. The film ends with a cartoon...the tortoise did win the race after all, but the hare arrived sitting on the tortoise's back and took away all the limelight, making the tortoise look like the hare's slave. Tortoise did get awarded with a bouquet, but of dead flowers, while the hare got fresh ones. Quite suggestive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apparently the script writer wanted to suggest that if one has to win in this competitive world then one has to be cunning, yes that's the word I was looking for. Perhaps honesty, polity, kindness, etc. are better left in the past, like museum specimens where the world could laugh at them. This is open to interpretation. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">However, what difference does winning, indeed even loosing makes if all one is doing, is playing just for the joy of it? After all, the most successful sportsmen are always those who don't play to win but for the sheer love of the sport! Somebody's victory is another's defeat, and vice versa. Who looses now, may gain tomorrow. Change is the very nature of life. Just think for a moment, is it really needed to participate in this race? What we are experiencing right now, is an effect of what we did in the past. For instance, I am still not able to sleep because I drank too much coffee today. Then why create more causes and invite more effects and keep being obliged to participate in these races? What's the point anyway? I am not trying to say that being ambitious is wrong, but I strongly believe that it's not WHAT you do, but WHY you do it that matters. Intentions determine consequences. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">¬¬Time and again I can't help but feel helpless for having to write in English...it's such a dead and superficial language! No offences intended but I feel so fortunate to have a mother tongue in which at most times, a single word is enough to express the deepest feelings of the heart! ¬¬ </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyhow, back to the point, and taking this at a deeper level of understanding, I feel that the excitement of victory or the lamentations of defeat only affect those who are rigidly attached to these concepts. Concepts, that's all they are. Would we ever trust a fickle friend? Then why do we trust our mind, who is not only fickle but only pretends to be a friend? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's funny to be a bystander sometimes and observe life. We tend to complicate it so much! It's always those thoughts which arise from passion or ignorance which complicate things and create suffering. Why not just be a free bird and make the entire existence a part of our being? The infinite joy of that feeling of oneness is beyond words; its brilliance outshines a million suns! Is it really that hard to be innocent? Is it really that hard to be righteous? It's only being cunning that takes more effort. When one experiences detachment even while living in this short transitionary world, which is inherently unfair; then alone one understands, in fact experiences even the futility of this rat race. Then alone, shall the hundred petalled lotus bloom! Lifetimes after lifetimes, we keep running like a guinea pig on a treadmill, never even sighting the perceived finish line, let alone reach it! All it really takes is simply realising that if I want to reach it indeed, then I simply need to get down from the treadmill and just take a real step ahead. The freedom one experiences thus, is truly incomparable. We just feel that these little victories make us happy. In reality, however, they are just pushing us deeper and deeper into the quick sand of suffering. There is only one way out, reaching out to those who have succeeded before you, they are right there beside you...just ask them! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are over 7 billion people in this world, I wonder how many think out of the box, how many understand the need to wake up! People always run after objects of sense gratification...some are mad for more money, some simply want to eat, some are crazy in lust, while others still are haunted by the desire to achieve material success which they guise under the term, ambition; some others are just too lazy to be even bothered to wake up from their slumber! If I had one wish to ask for, then all I would want is to never become a part of that group of people, and for this feeling of detachment to deepen and blossom. Sadly due to recession most types of genie lamps are out of stock, so looks like I'll have to fend for myself. So be it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">P.S: If anybody is interested in watching the movie, then you can <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av9BZFOpaVg&feature=related">click here</a> to go to the link on YouTube. There are 14 parts, but definitely worth it I'd say.</div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413747325078450484.post-31916727480830579392009-12-02T18:51:00.005+00:002009-12-02T20:26:17.855+00:00A smile can change the world<div style="text-align: center;"><b>"When someone has a tendency of causing sorrow, know that they are under an influence. Let your attitude be merciful, so that not only will you be unaffected by it, but also increase the possibility of transformation in them"</b></div><div><br /></div><div>There is a certain someone I happen to know, and he is perhaps the "archetype" of arrogance and rudeness. I always wonder why is that so. Initially I always felt that he is just a crack head and should be ignored. I even felt angry every time he opened his mouth, at times even rage! But I always felt bad for him. Eventually I realised that many people feel the same about him. Some even hate him. As the time passed, however, and I got to know this stranger better, I couldn't help but notice this behaviour as an obvious defence mechanism he had created for himself. It was still a game of speculation but I was sure by then that what he does is only there to cover his weak inside which is so vulnerable to the unfair world. Some people just are quite tender and have a weak heart. Realising this, I decided that I will always be nice to him regardless of what he says or does to me. I was sceptical in the beginning but then I could see this work. He opened up bit by bit. One day he came and sat next to me and said he was sorry if he ever hurt me. I was surprised but then I was happy too. He couldn't control himself and began to cry. Never having seen a guy cry like this before did put me in a bit of a messy position but it was all for good. His own good I suppose. He said he didn't enjoy behaving like this. In fact he never even realised he was being bad until someone reacted differently to his behaviour. It gave him a chance to introspect. The reason he closed himself in this imaginary cocoon is because it made him feel less vulnerable as hardly anybody then approached him. He had been terribly heart broken in the past, for many different reasons and this made him believe everyone is bad. </div><div><br /></div><div>I guess being a part of this race, and being so very social, it's everyone's job to make people feel loved and accepted. It doesn't cost us a penny. Plus you get to make people smile. Now going back to the thought for today above, such an influence can negate any previous conditionings which may exist in people's hearts. We cram too many emotion based conditionings inside...layers upon layers of them, which we can't even remove. One good thought can create a safe haven within the collective consciousness, just like a drop of pure water can make a clear area in a jug full of ink. Imagine innumerable such tiny clearings in our consciousness...how nice would we all feel? I am sure most of us, if not all of us would know such people who are controlled by their conditionings perhaps including ourselves. Just once, if we smile at them or speak kind words to them, it would make so much difference. I refuse to believe we are bad. Inherently, we are all pure and good. This reminds me of the 'hundredth monkey' phenomenon. It's very intriguing. But that, for the next post. Until then, keep smiling. Spread the joy. Life is too short to hate.</div>Rohithttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13773277278075374779noreply@blogger.com2