The varied personalities of a regular Homosapien

How I became part of "His" Story - Part IV

2017-08-18T11:10:00.000+05:30

Continued from Part I...
Continued from Part II...
Continued from Part III...

Swami had reached ahead of us and was waiting for us fresh as ever. He ensured that all of us were inside and then lovingly informed us where the mattresses were kept and where we were to sleep. He told us all to take rest and that He will interact with us the next day. It took some time for it to actually sink in that we are in Swami's home. We are going to be staying there and Swami was already playing the role of the host to perfection. We actually were Swami's guests!

I had armed myself with "Anyatha Saranam Nasthi" (Other than You, I have no refuge) - a book a friend had suggested as a sure shot faith injector. So every day I would read the book, and look up at Swami as He came out and mentally ooze out devotion but my heart was stone cold and telling me "run, run, run". How do I know which is which. Because, I was physically feeling my heart grow heavy during this time.

The only way to describe the Kodai days would be with the crutch of the opening lines of Charles Dickens - A Tale of Two Cities.

It was the best of times - Swami was practically interacting with me at least once an hour when he was with us.

It was the worst of times - I would react to Him superficially without any emotion from within.

It was the age of wisdom - Swami was meticulously dissecting high philosophies and simplifying things incredibly for us.

It was the age of foolishness - I was constantly thinking what does He want from me? Why is He trying to impress me? Funnily, the utter insignificance of me in front of His life and His mission was blinded to me.

It was the epoch of belief - Swami was having an unreasonable belief that even this nincompoop deserved His love.

It was the epoch of incredulity - He was also working on the ignorance of my ignorance and I was ignorant of it.

It was the season of light, It was the season of darkness. It was the spring of hope. It was the winter of despair. Yada yada yada...You get the picture. [ :D ]

What the Divine Doctor has to deal with... (Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1987/07/29)

It was one of the lunch sessions. We were eating in the same dining room as Swami. I had serving duty that day and was standing near Swami. After lunch, Swami indicated everyone to go and sit in the hall and all boys filed one after another. Owing to my position, I could not move till the last as otherwise, I would have come in the way of Swami and the boys. As I was about to leave, Swami indicated me to stay. He then said a simple sentence, surprisingly, in Hindi - "Tuje itna diya. Tu nahi samja" (I gave you so much. You did not understand.). Some how that statement felt like a tight pinch in my heart and by His divine grace, I responded, "Swami, you should only make me understand.". Swami was very silent in the post lunch session and retired to His room soon after.

Subsequent to Swami going upstairs, I walked towards the garden of Sai Shruti. I had read some self help book which said that the universal consciousness exists in every atom and speaking to a flower is equivalent to speaking to God. Armed with that tool, I sat in the garden and started communicating with one particular flower. Why is this happening to me? What should I do? Sai is the only God I know. Without him I will not have any support. But I dont have any faith in him now. blah blah blah blah blah. The flower almost shrivelled in absolute boredom. Suddenly, without warning, the stone cold dam in my heart broke open and all the water rushed to my eyes and poured out and the words came out, "I want to be with you Swami. I want to serve you. I want to be at your lotus feet.".

Phew! That was the conclusion of the surgery. I told Swami that moment in my heart. What happened now is 100% real for me now. But it might seem like a joke to me after 5 minutes. So this is what I demand of you (how He tolerates our presumptuousness is yet another evidence of His divinity) , if what I experienced now is genuine, then you will not ask me when I am going home till the end of the Kodai trip. I have already answered you.

True to the word, He did not ask me that question, till the very last day of the trip and that too in jest.

Now most people will ask me, did you get full faith on Swami from that date. The real answer is, it stopped mattering. Conceptually, that seemed the point of this whole exercise. He wanted me to accept Him unconditionally. Not because He is omnipotent,omniscient, omnipresent God. But to love Him because He is. That is the only reason He removed faith from my heart in the first place. He replaced it with Love and that is not as easily shaken as faith. Love is the language of God.

And that, brothers and sisters, is how I became part of "His" Story and that is how everyone of us becomes part of "His" story. By allowing Swami to install His Love in our hearts. He is knocking on the door every minute and we will open the door, if not today, tomorrow and He will install Himself in our heart. There is no failure for Swami and His victory is the victory for all.

Jai Sai Ram!

How I became part of "His" Story - Part III

2017-03-30T17:49:00.000+05:30

Continued from Part I...
Continued from Part II...

Apr 1 2005 Evening Session:

I was excited. I was nervous. I was happy. I was sad. I was ready. I was a wreck. I was grateful. I was sorry. I was new. I was old. I was here. I was not.

Bhagawan was coming for Darshan.

He was moving too slow. Come fast Swami. I want to give you this letter and see you eye on eye for maybe the last time. Will I ever get this chance again.

He was moving too fast. Slow down Swami. Let me relish every aspect of your personality. Your smile. Your frown. Your conscious indifference. Your chuckle. Your mock anger. The way you take the letter. The way you lift up the curls which mischievously descend onto your face. The way you lift the kerchief. The way you keep it back. The way you shower your love, oh the love, the love, the love. Is it really the last day? Can I not be your student any more? Will I be relegated to be seated among the old students, when I return. I love you Swami. I love you Swami. I love you Swami.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/08/17

Bhagawan's golf cart came in front of the student's block. I was seated erect with my letter held high. I saw Swami see me when he was little ahead but ignore me when he was near me. Hence the letter could not be given. It did not matter, I was not disappointed. I felt this Darshan was amazing. When you enjoy something knowing that this could be the last time you might get it, you get the full value of it. I was satisfied but wait what is happening? Swami is not going inside His room. He is coming on to the dais. All hearts beat faster. Dhak Dhak Dhak...

Bhagawan sits on the sofa and after a while he signals to me to come with my letter. Mission Accomplished! I victoriously walk with my letter to Him ready to thank Him for these wonderful two years and to bid adieu. He takes the letter, nonchalantly drops it on His lap and asks me, "where is your warden?".

You remember the motivational messages you keep getting on social media - "God will not ask you a question for which he has not given you the answer!". This was an actual example of that. Incidentally, a week prior, I had gone to our beloved warden sir's room (I wonder how many hostelites would have the fortune of sincerely stating these words - often considered an oxymoron - beloved warden). He is on the phone telling someone that as per UGC rules he has to visit some universities for cross training and he tells the person on the other side all the details of which university he is visiting on what dates and so on, with me being the unintended recipient of this information.

So armed with the answer to His question, I rattle on, on our warden's travel plans as if I were his travel agent. As I am giving this answer, there is this bright bulb glowing in my head, blinking with the words, 'form,form,form'. Form is an interesting Parthi student terminology. When a cricket batsman is able to see the ball in the size of a football, and score runs at will, he/she is said to be in form. When a performer is in the peak of his/her confidence, he/she is said to be in form. When a student gets above-average attention from Swami, it is equivalent to all above examples and more. Form is actually an understatement.

Armed (or should I say 'form'ed) with this new confidence, I told Swami, parents are here. He gave an expression of delight, 'oh they are here. I will speak to you tomorrow. '

With a beaming face, I come back down and sat. Swami after spending some more time with us, proceeds to the interview room. I quickly zip to the devotees block, and locate my father. Tell him that I get to sit in Student's block only for the next two months and after that I will be an old student. Let me be in Parthi for the period when Swami is here and once he is off to Kodai, I will start looking for a job and almost as an after-thought - Be ready tomorrow. Swami might call for you. Post Arathi, I called the HR person and apologised for not being able to attend the interview.

Next day, I was holding a letter again informing Swami that parents are here and He should bless them with an interview. It felt preposterous to even ask (what have I done to deserve anything) but this might be the only chance I have to repay them for all that they have done for me. I shyly held the letter to Swami. Swami looked at me during the Darshan rounds and said "put your letter inside a cover" with a smile and proceeded straight to His room. I remember writing on my diary that night. "Swami your sense of humour is horrible. You said you will talk to me and you kept your promise just technically." My parents left that evening for Chennai and I unexpectedly reentered hostel which I had bid adieu just 2 days back.

It had been a week since then. I was thoroughly enjoying this experience of staying in Prasanthi Nilayam with the sole purpose of Darshan of Bhagawan. On the 10th of April, I was sitting on the second line with a letter in hand (most of these letters were blank. Just an excuse for Him to give attention). Swami saw me and stretched His hand towards my letter but by the time in my supreme laziness, I could stretch my letter to Him, the car moved forward. I felt miserable for not being able to keep pace with Him. However, an incredible thing happened. Swami tapped on the shoulder of the blessed soul driving his cart and told him to reverse it. Once again the quality of silence changed in the hall. There was a collective gasp and craning of necks to see what is happening. Swami stretched again and took my letter. In an instant, from a boring book worm, I became an object of interest to many. I learnt later that this event was the reason, my unqualified card (not a singer, not in vedam, not a top rated speaker, not a research scholar, not an over achiever in any field) was taken under 'special' category to Swami for Kodai selection.

God does not call the qualified. He qualifies the called.

Unexpectedly, I was told that Swami has included my name to accompany Him to Kodai. The warden of the Brindavan Campus talked to us one evening and told us that anything is available from the Kodai session if properly utilised. Even Self Realisation. A quote of Ramakrishna Paramahansa crossed my mind at that time, the mother confers boon on her devotees without hesitation. She even confers self realisation without a second thought. But 'Love for Her' - she guards that very closely and provides only to a select few. That I thought should be my aspiration. Little did I realise that this prayer of mine was going to lead to some severe tests.

With the name of the students ready, the date was still a mystery. There would always be a mystery around everything in Parthi. Everyone said that we have to wait for one Mr. C who would give us all the details. Finally that day came and we were all seated in Bhajan hall. A chair was kept for Swami and we were all waiting for Him. He walked in that day through the door. 'That is all that happened' - outside. What happened inside was as simple as that - 'My faith in Him walked outside my heart'.

Daaaaah....dish!!! Life Twist...

Suddenly I saw a human being walk inside. 'This is not a God. He is just a man. Where did I get caught?' - these were the thoughts in my head.

It was not something He said. It was not something He did. It was not something that was said about Him. It was not something said about someone who had said something about some other person's guru having said about Him. All that happened was that He walked into the hall that day. Intellectually, I could understand that it is His doing. But, I could not even surmise the reason why He would do something like that and I had absolutely no guts to ask Him directly for the reason. I just kept the smile intact, looking good to everyone. Another exciting day before Kodai. No one knew what was going through inside me. I was devastated. I did not have a God. Swami, as if nothing happened, just looked at me and asked "What is your name?". I too, as if nothing happened, replied "Harish, Swami". At that moment it actually seemed inauthentic to say 'Swami'. That is how badly I was affected.

The next day, Swami called all the boys to the interview room - yes, interview room. Another 'tick-mark' in a Sai student aspiration. Swami told us with lots of love to pack winter clothing and cold cream for the trip. It was all goody goody on the outside. Inside - the earth quake is going on in full swing. I have had a blessed childhood with love from one and all. I had never felt any emptiness in me.

During my 2 years in Prasanthi Nilayam, slowly and surely he had pushed away most 'connections' from the sofa of my heart and was sitting pretty Royally in the centre as the top priority. When He walked out (apparently), I realised I have nothing to fill that space with. It was a vacuum which was destroying my being.

In this state of mind, we boarded the flight on 19th April 2005. Flight with the Lord. I was seated on a aisle seat some where in the middle of the plane. We saw Swami entering from the front and taking His seat. Unexpectedly, immediately after take off, He got up and walked through the length of the plane. He came near me and asked, first time? I said no Swami I have been on a plane before.

Source: http://sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in/2014/05/sri-sathya-sai-in-kodaikanal-2003-photo.html

(Representative Pic from 2003 trip)

How did you get that scar on your forehead. 'Swami, it was due to a motor accident during my childhood.' 'You only saved me Swami.' This was genuine. He had. But why am I not having faith in Him. He smiled and continued. We landed in Madurai and after being well fed, we took a chartered bus to Kodai. Swami proceeded ahead in His car. 'Seniors', were recounting different experiences on the way to Kodai. The upsurge of emotions also lead to some upsurge of bile, a typical reaction to ghat roads. We stopped in a couple of places to help relieve some of our brothers who let go of some of the delicious food had earlier. Not to worry, there was plenty more to come. The advantage of these stops was that it was an excellent photo opportunity. We clicked some nice pics carefully avoiding the vomit on the side.

With the altitude, my mood too was raising. My student life started in Kodai in 2003. It was to culminate in Kodai in 2005. Sai Shruthi, is a magical place where anything is possible. I knew a spiritual surgery without anaesthesia was coming but I also knew, I could not have chosen a better scenery for it. With a huge surge of emotion, we entered Sai Shruti shouting, Jai Bolo Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba ji ki - "Jai".

Link to concluding Part

How I became part of "His" Story - Part II

2016-12-14T18:48:00.000+05:30

Continued from Part I... (Since the gap between Part I and Part II is 3.5 years, I suggest you please read Part I before continuing below)

April 1 2005

The Bhajans reached its crescendo with the pace getting faster and faster, moving my thoughts along in similar speed. Suddenly, without warning, the sound of "Aum Jai Jagadesha Hare..." started, much to the disappointment of the assembly. We had all been made April Fools. Immediately, I rushed to my father and said, the tie is not all that important. I will share it with some classmate of mine. A scene of some Kamal Hassan film, in which he does that was playing in my mind. So, it seemed a cool thing to do. We would stay back for the evening session and leave for Bangalore in the night.

During the afternoon session, I was seated on the third row but directly in front of Swami's Chair. IF, Bhagawan decides to sit on stage, I would have a wonderful view but THAT was not very regular. Swami used to usually take a round of Darshan and move to interview room and subsequently the Bhajan Hall before taking Arati and leaving. My only hope was if He takes my letter during His rounds in the car.

Like the fly which alternates its flight between the food grains and the dustbin, my mind too wandered from the future to the past. Present was an unknown entity to it.

I entered the portals of the Sri Sathya Sai Senior Boys Hostel on the morning of May 31st. Predictably enough, the very last date for joining. Bhagawan was in Brindavan and therefore the pace in Prasanthi Nilayam was slightly more leisurely. A senior of MBA, whom I later found to be one of the most melodious Bhajan singers of his batch, came forward to assist me to my room and offered to carry my luggage. I laughed in my head, imagining my engineering ragging days (which itself was extremely subdued compared to the horror stories we hear).

Home away from home - Sri Sathya Sai Senior Boys Hostel

There was one major fear running in my head the moment I entered my room. I was half expecting to see everyone with their eyes half closed and levitating in mid-air. I was wondering how I would fit in. Fortunately for me, that was far from the case. My room, 'A16', was a different room from my other MBA batch mates because this was the room full of Science students and the science students of SSSIHL, are an exceedingly studious lot. No wonder then, that our University is in the list of top rankers in GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering), year after year. One of my room mates of A16, went on to score the All India First Rank in Physics. I always enjoyed intellectual companionship and got more than a good measure of it in this room.

I quickly got an understanding of the students and teachers of SSSIHL. It contained the entire spectrum of personalities. When Bhagawan said that Prasanthi Nilayam is a mini world. He meant it in the truest sense. Not just that people from all geographies were here but that people from all characteristics were here too. How ever there was ONE unifying factor - Love for Him.

I experienced my first miracle, on my first walk from Hostel to Institute. My fear of stray dogs and monkeys had just got lifted. I can't explain how it happened. It just did. Also, this lack of fear did not stop at Prasanthi Nilayam but also extended where ever I went. Despite, this awesome experience and the many desirable aspects of life in Prasanthi, I found myself wondering, if I had made the right decision. If I should start preparing for CAT again and apply for IIMs once more. The Hero for whom I had come, was still in Brindavan and my mind was shifting back to Chennai. Another reason for my home sickness, was my most notorious sense organ, the slithering serpent of taste, the tongue. Having got used to Mother's food all through its life, hostel food was not satisfying the pallet sufficiently. (Now, the memory of hostel food is a refreshing one. Venkatachalam Groundnut Chutney would be the only reason my tongue would be willing to take another birth for.)

Normally, the students don't get to go home during the semester for any reason other than something major like a wedding of a sibling etc. I spent almost the major part of my first semester in Chennai enjoying home food thanks to some evaluator who found our "Speech Processing" answer sheets, a good place to play Tic Tac Toe. O and X were his favourite grades for all answers. This subject was an elective offered by very few institutes in the University and the person who corrected had given me the fearsome number of 13/100. I had failed in one subject along with most of my classmates who took that elective and therefore my admission to MBA was not valid till I get my answer sheet reviewed and got my marks corrected.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1987/03/02

Nothing can make you love an object like the fear of it getting snatched away from you. This incident made me suddenly understand how lucky I was to have got this MBA seat and how much I wanted to spend these two years here. After my first unsuccessful trip to Chennai, Bhagawan arrived from Brindavan on 9th July, 4 days before Guru Purnima. The festival discourse was an awe inspiring one. He spoke about permanence of the spirit, the power of prayer and faith. The highlight though, was when Bhagawan Himself turned a hero worshipper. Hearing him speak about Sri Indulal Shah, Smt Sarala Shah and brothers Satyajit and Dilip, was fascinating. The fact that one of us could be spoken about in such high terms by the Divine was flattering. I took as much pride in Satyajit's accomplishment as if it was my own. After all he too was a student. We had at least that in common.

Few days later, it was time for me to go back to Chennai to sort out this problem. This time I wrote a letter to HIM saying, that He should either solve this problem as the University Chancellor or the Universal Chancellor. Bhagawan walked in a different route that day and before the line leaders (student versions of Darshan Sevadal) could stop me. I moved forward close to swami. He stretched his hands and I deposited the prayer. That was the first letter of mine that He took and also the first time that I saw Him from such close quarters. He took my letter, looked into my eyes and said, "Sit Down". Lost in the thrill of proximity, I could not hear the words. Went closer to him and asked, "Swami?". He said again more loudly but smilingly, "Sit Down" and I sat. My body was however floating in the air. Buoyed by the assurance that only He can give, I bought a small photo of Bhagawan holding letters in one hand and blessing with the other and putting it in my wallet, headed to Chennai with lot more confidence.

The Photograph I bought before boarding the bus to Chennai

To cut a long story short, I returned with my Engineering results cleared, my MBA admission validated and his assurance vindicated. My first year of MBA was a very enjoyable experience in the company of new and very different friends, jogs and walks in fresh air, group song practices, Table Tennis sessions, a rediscovery of the joy of reading (please don't mistake me. I am not referring to academics here), sports meet (wherein I got to play violin in a Musical Symphony of Instruments and Dance) and most of all watching - 'Love in Action'.

The second year and final year of student life came rushing at top speed. An year had gone away in a wink. The year to come was going to be special in many ways. Bhagawan suddenly started asking Warden to arrange for programme from students. He wanted to give lot of chances to students to perform in the Sai Kulwant Hall. Programme started in the form of Student Talks. Here, I need to recollect something. The one hitch I was having during my first year MBA was my Tamil Ego, which was troubling me constantly. I did not like the fact that the Telugu students would speak disparagingly of the Tamil Populace. It made me furious. I wanted to prove the greatness of Tamil and borrowing a book of Thiru Kural, I by-hearted many of the couplets. Tamil was a language that I had never studied and actually never cared about till I thought I was finding it disrespected.

I prepared a speech around these couplets and approached warden. He asked me to check with Dr. Sainath, a physics lecturer and an excellent speaker himself. Had a nice session with him and got many important tips.

The big day arrived. Three of us were to speak on that day and my speech was scheduled to be second. Bhagawan asked Warden as soon as he came as to who are the speakers and Warden beckoned to us. I ran upto him, kneeling down on the top step, I stretched up towards him and he leaned down to me with many strands of his hair falling in front of his head. This was the closest I had ever seen Him and I was captivated by that beauty. The strands of hair formed a thin veil over his face prompting the below verse in my head

Thiraiyin pin nirkinraay kannaa

Unnai marai Odhum Nyaaniyar mattume kaanpaar

endraalum kurai onrum enakkillai kannaa

(Hear full song here.)

After this talk, I found out a very important lesson on public speaking. The best, the enjoyable and the most engaging talks are by the speakers who do not take themselves seriously. When you take yourselves seriously, it usually leads to people laughing at you and not with you. The August assembly in front of Bhagawan was of course no rowdy gang and hence heard me fully with utmost patience. Bhagawan in his infinite mercy looked at me with a sparkle in his eyes at the end of my talk and said "chaala shortu" (Very short speech). The verdict among my good meaning friends that day was that only two people enjoyed my talk - Bhagawan, the universal mother and our Vice Chancellor Mr.S.V. Giri which lead to me being recommended for a second talk in front of Swami - this would finally materialise in my final semester.

If God is watching us, the least we can do is be entertaining!

The third semester also allowed me to try my hand at dramatics. I viewed dramatics as a caricature - an exaggerated view of everything where as the Parthi way of doing things (and also the modern way) was to underplay especially in the body language.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/11/15

We had a variety performance in front of Swami starting with dumb charades. We would enact various quotations of Swami with other students guessing what it was. The quote given to me was "Start Early, Drive Slowly, Reach safely". It had me looking at the watch, getting into the car, slowly driving it and reaching the destination and gesturing a safe arrival. During the rehearsals the size of the imaginary steering wheel I was holding in my hand was a matter of much amusement. However, the performance went well and had the full attention of Swami. Even the final group photo has me looking into the camera and Swami looking at me the way someone would look at an exhibition piece.

Our batch established itself as one with extreme talent with the drama "From Independence to Swarajya" ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrVfX2Bwxnw ). Of course it helped a lot that I had a very small part to play in it. I was a freedom fighter who gets shot but mysteriously turns up again at the jail.

Next opportunity was the MBA Drama. I did the role of a trade Union Leader in the play and am probably the only person in the history of Prasanthi Nilayam to have looked Swami in the eye and shouted "STRIKE". More interesting than the drama itself though was the opportunity to interact with Swami before the drama in the Bhajan Hall. Swami had come inside the Bhajan hall to see the decorations etc and quite surprisingly, the situation changed into one of a group interview. Many lives were shaped that day by Swami in a very palpable way. Swami then opened the hall for questioning. Anyone can ask Him any doubts. I took courage and asked him a question:
H: "Swami, how to become free of bondage from moods. When I am in a good mood, I am able to accomplish so much, when I am in a bad mood, I can do nothing. How do I control this?"
Swami: "Who are you?"
H:
Swami: "You are not the body. You are not the mind. What is that?"
H: Neenga than Swami (you only Swami)
Swami: Apidiyelam Solla Kudathu (translation of apparent intent rather than words: Don't act oversmart. Listen to what I am saying)
H:
Swami: That is Atma. Understand that first and you will be free from the clutches of the mind.

I did not understand this at that time. I felt Swami escaped off giving some bouncer. (sorry for the student vocabulary here). It was much later I understood that we are already perfect and divine and the only change we need to do is a change of perspective. Again it is only a theoretical understanding. I bow to those who have actually experienced this.

The third opportunity in dramatics, was when I co-wrote and acted in a programme for Eid Al Fitr. We had invited the Maulvi of the mosque in Puttaparthi to our hostel and learened from him stories from the Quran that we can depict as a drama and found a beautiful one about a devout Muslim offering Iftar (breaking of the fast during Ramadan month) without discrimination. A friend informs him that he has sinned since the beneficiaries of the feast included a thief, a miser and other 'undeserving' people. He is then assured by an inner voice that his duty was only to offer the Iftar and not judge the beneficiaries and is further assured that many of them had a transformation due to this act of love.

I played the role of the thief and post transformation, I say the following dialogue, "Allah! I promise you today that from now on I shall lead an honest life and rely on You for my daily bread". I do still rely on Him but unfortunately I am not conscious of it all the time. However, I was grateful for the opportunity to say that dialogue in front of Bhagawan. After that came the first of its kind interaction with devotees in a student programme( Watch full video here: https://vimeo.com/136456501 )

The mind fly which was flying from past to future and back suddenly got caught in the honey of the present. A shift in the quality of silence (which might go un-deducted by ultraedge) alerted us to the arrival of Bhagawan. The rustling of the sitting mats and closing of the books and pens indicated that the Poornachandra door had opened. It was Darshan time. Probably my last Darshan of Swami as a student. With the letter seeking permission to leave ready in my hand, I awaited the arrival of the Lord.

Link to Part III

How I became part of "His" Story - Part I

2013-03-02T11:27:00.000+05:30

"I know that it is easy for us to think that He does not care about any of us leaving. After all, there are new students coming in every year. That however is far from the truth. He feels the pain of separation many times more than we do. So kindly at least give a letter and take leave off Him before you go for your job." These words of a classmate of mine had touched me deeply. I have no idea to this day why he said this to me but that is what stopped me from leaving Parthi on the night of March 31st.

It was the All Fools Day of 2005. It was the first day after I completed my Masters of Business Administration in Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, 2 years after I had set foot in Prasanthi Nilayam for the very first time. Two very memorable years as a Sai Student.

Bhagawan arrived in my life as a photograph when I was about 7 years old through the medium of my newly-wed aunt and uncle. My mother, more out of a need to not offend the new member of the family than any real conviction, explained to me that this is the photograph of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He teaches that all religions are one and that there is only one God. He is the incarnation of the age. It was pure theory that she had read in some book.

The Top Centre Photograph was the one which had endeared me from my Childhood

Inspired by that statement at that easily mouldable age, I became very close to This Name and Form. No matter which temple I visited, I always addressed the deity as 'Sai Ram'. This most pleasing phase however had to come to an end because a most dastardly thing happened: I grew up. The faith of the innocent child cannot face up to the half baked intellectualism of the teenager. Why does He do miracles? Somebody told me that the aunt of a guy who is the neighbour of another girl who is the distant cousin of the close friend of the aforementioned somebody mentioned that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was against miracles. Now that settles it. I am not his devotee any more. However there was a problem. I was (and am) addicted to that name. I know no other name for God. Fortunately I have an alternative who shares the name. I can be devoted to Shirdi Baba. He is now not in this plane and therefore is beyond question. Convenient Rationalisation of Devotion. Boy, the teenage mind is muddily.

It was the final exams of the 12th standard board exams, the time when the devotion to the Lord peaks for all students of all and no faith. That is when I armed myself with the Sri Shirdi Sai Satcharitra. Completing the study of that awesome book, I could not pray for marks but could only yearn and pine and mourn over the fact that I was not able to serve Him. I then looked at the photo of Swami and thought to myself, 'Yeah! Yeah! You are there. I know. You say you are the same Shirdi Baba but...'

All these thoughts were fluttering through my mind as the Bhajans started on that Apr 1st morning. Bhagawan had not yet arrived for Darshan. Morning Darshan was taken for granted on those days. Was it possible that He will not come this morning? I was to leave for Bangalore immediately after Arati. I had an interview scheduled the next day and I had to buy a good tie for the same.

Ever the restless mind, it moved from this thought to the final year of my Engineering - an year without any focus. The year I wrote GRE, TOEFL, GATE, CAT, MAT, BAT, FAT, HAT and any other exam anyone with an institute and a printer was ready to conduct. There was one more exam to write. I had a call letter from the college in Puttaparthi whose very existence I was not aware of till my mother, who was now a big time devotee, forced me to apply. I did not want to go. It is a college without girls. 'What self control are they going to teach us if they don't provide any distraction?', I questioned my mother. 'Let us find out. Just for my sake, write the exam. We will take a call later.', was the silencing reply from her.

Reluctantly, I had set foot in Puttaparthi in the sweltering heat. Clearing the written exam, we were assigned teams for the group discussion. The topic was interlinking of rivers and I quoted Rajini Kanth. Do I need say more? The interview went well and I was confident of making through but not of joining.

Two days later, from our home in Chennai, I called up the Institute with hopes that I had not made it through. That way, I need not make the decision. It would be made for me. "Unfortunately", the voice on the other side was extremely Cheery. "saaaiRAAAM! Congratulations. You are selected". After the high that the words, "you are selected" gives, I was down in dumps with my dilemma again. This was free education. If after getting selected, I dont join, I will be wasting some one else's seat.

Sai Shruthi Balcony Darshan

After much deliberation, I summoned my parents (that is how spoilt I was) and said, let Swami make the decision. Pack your bags. We are going to Kodaikanal. Standing in the serpentine lines for Darshan, I held a letter with a huge multiple choice question in my hand asking him if I should accept the admission in University of Texas Dallas, if I should attempt CAT another year, etc etc and finally if I should join MBA in SSSIHL. My mom came excitedly towards us and said that she has got token number 1 and will be sitting in first row and asked me for the letter. I was reluctant but logically I thought it made sense and gave it to her. Once we went in, we also got to sit in the first line. So my imagination went like this: Swami will come down for darshan gliding away in his impeccable style. Accept the letter from my Mother and on reaching near me throw it at my lap with the correct option ticked Miraculously. I had decided the Miracle for Him. Now that I had given the story, He just had to act His part. How simple I had made it for Him...

There were sounds of hushes everywhere interrupting the silence that had naturally existed in Sai Shruti (Kodaikanal Ashram) that day. Bhagawan came out and stood in the balcony. I sat transfixed at that self lit countenance. He did not come down. He did not take any letters. From the balcony he showed his finger and called someone. Some one else ran towards Him. With a loving but stern smile. He indicated to the disappointed devotee to go back to his seat just with His one finger much to the amusement of all. In the land of Rajini Kanth and Kamal Hassan, here was a person who could captivate you way beyond the Kollywood stars. My naturally hero worshipping heart had fallen for this personality. I no longer felt that I am going to a religious institute for studying MBA. I realised that I am going to spend 2 years in proximity with this Personality. That was a reason more than enough. Packing my bags again. Puttaparthi here I come.

Link to Part II
Link to Part III

A Matter of Confidence

2012-03-24T00:06:00.000+05:30

Now that you have read the worst story I ever wrote, It is time I introduced you to some of my better work, lest I lose all the respect of my readers. This story was written by me during my MBA days when I was fascinated by P.G.Wodehouse and Douglas Adams. There were many a night when I stayed up to read but not the texts. It was the brilliance of Jeeves and the eccentricities of Zaphod Beeblebrox that kept me up at night.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1989/10/18

Ever since I read that Adams himself was inspired by Wodehouse and since he applied it in the genre of Science Fiction, it was almost unrecognisable, I thought... let me try it with Spirituality. Presumptuous? I suppose so but nevertheless, a short story competition in Asian Age spurred me into this ridiculous experiment and the result of it is down here for you to judge. Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado I present, "A matter of confidence..."

"Kreeng, Kreeng", was the sound coming out of the doll in Suresh's hand. Another doll nearby was ceaselessly repeating his name. He knew that namasmarana was the sole refuge in Kali- Yuga but why his name? He suddenly became aware of a slight drizzle in the room. What is this? Was he dreaming? There comes a time in life when every man reckons with the truth and this was Suresh’s moment of truth. He opened his eyes and realized that he do had in fact been dreaming. But hardly had he opened his eyes when a pair of hands clasped round his eyes.

Though his eyes did like to get back to the darkness, it some how preferred the eyelids which did not squeeze it so hard. Suresh' s mother - for it was her clasps, I mean, hands -asked him to get up slowly from the bed. Newton's first law of motion states that a body in rest tends to remain in rest and a body in motion tends to remain in the state of uniform motion unless disturbed by an external opposing force. I don't know about the latter but the former is definitely true with Suresh's body, especially at the unearthly hour of 4:30 in the morning.

But then the external force -in this case his mothers voice -was too strong here that he let himself to obey it without any question. His mother slowly led him to the adjoining room and asked him to sit. He meekly submitted. "Now open your eyes, dear", she said loosening her clasp. This was the most difficult part to obey because his eyes were reluctant to see light. It was not his mistake but that of inertia. Finally however he conceded and opened his eyes to see a vast array of blissfully smiling faces of various Gods giving their benedictions to him. He found himself sitting in the puja room.

"Happy Birthday, dear. You are twenty now", came his mother's voice into Suresh' s ear. Suresh immediately became wide-awake feeling like a grown up adult, ashamed that he was still dreaming of dolls while most of his friends describe hi-fi motorcars they see in theirs. He turned to his mother, gave her a sheepish smile and said, "Thank you mom, but couldn't you atleast wait for the good old sun to come and wish me first."

"At least on his birthday, I thought that the king will get up during the brahma-muhurtam and offer his salutations to the Lord", steamed his mother but just as drastically as she had lost her temper she smiled again. After all this was Suresh's day. She was going to make it as perfect as possible for him.

The fact remained that she had so much to be proud of in her son. Though he was not hardworking, he was born with an elephant's memory and an intellect as fast as a cheetah. He always prepared in the last minute but ended up topping the class. He may be a fish out of the water in the playground but put him in front of a mike and give him any topic he will give a discourse at length.

She slowly urged the sloth, err ..., Suresh to get up and have his bath. What ever you might have thought about Suresh’s mother, you cannot call her inconsiderate for she had kept a large quantity of hot water in the bathroom along with oil and shikakai. After his morning bath, Suresh came out feeling like a peasant who has suddenly been turned into a king. He briskly put on his new clothes, groomed himself and got ready to visit the temple.

Suresh's father was very unobtrusive. He never wanted to give the sun the shock of seeing him when it is just rising over the horizon. He gives it a lead-time of at least some three hours before it had to be intimated of his existence and his son's birthday was no reason to give the sun a heart attack. So Suresh and his mother left their Chennai flat and headed towards the Madhya Kailas temple, which was just a few blocks away from their house.

"Happy Birthday, Suresh", said the temple priest and gave a gurgling laugh. He blessed him and taking the archana plate from his mother, calmly left to offer it to the lord after confirming his astrological details. But after breaking the coconut, he came out rushing in an excited mood and informed that there was a flower in the coconut. This being considered an auspicious occurrence, Suresh’s mother got all jubilant. "I knew that this was going to be a special year for my son and now Ganesha has attested it." She cried.

Thanking God for his benign blessing and without disturbing his mother who had her eyes firmly shut, he started his pradakshana. As he went round the temple he saw a person sitting in an inconspicuous corner of the temple in a meditating posture. His eyes were half-open and his countenance was benign with a smile of a man who does not have a worry in his life. He had long hair, his face was clean-shaven and he was wearing ochre robes.

Sanyasis and yogis are mysterious people and when confronted with a mystery, some people go head on towards solving it with the sole aim of getting the hero status, but most people would like to pretend that it did not exist and totally ignore it. Suresh belonged to the latter category .He had gone round the temple eight times now and though he was chanting the lords name all the time, his mind was always engaged in the strange "Man In Ochre". "The MIO", he thought to himself. As he was just passing him, Suresh’s mother called out to him. After informing him that she had some work at home, she was about to leave him to complete his 108 pradakshanas, when she noticed the MIO for the first time. She prostrated in front of him and seeing that he was still deep in meditation, left him silently. Suresh continued on this broodings and decided that he will meet him if the MIO shows any signs of being aware of his attention on him.

Just as this thought came to his mind, the MIO opened his eyes fully and called out, "Suresh", in a sweet and soft voice. Suresh got startled and fell at the holy man's feet and asked, "Swami, how do you know my name?" "I heard your mother call you" He replied with a mischievous smile. You know how man's best friend feels when after enthusiastically digging up a bone, remembers that it was he who had buried it in the first place. Well, if you do, then you know how Suresh felt at that moment. He had been imagining all sorts of replies starting from “I read you mind" to "I got it by merging my sub- conscience with the super-conscience"

The holy man enquired with his sweet voice what he was brooding over. "Nothing", replied Suresh in a hurry. "Wow", exclaimed the holy man, “All types of renunciates try to contemplate on nothing everyday but end up thinking of something or the other. Mind keeps drifting either to the past or the future. It is highly difficult to keep it still and yet here you are, such a young man and you brood over nothing." Suresh was inclined to get angry but looking at his innocent smile and gleaming eyes, he was filled with some strange kind of love. Somehow, he felt he could never be angry with this person. It was so joyful in his presence that he craved to have more conversation with him. Therefore just to continue the conversation he asked, "If you were aware of my mother when she prostrated before you, why did you not respond to her". The holy man replied, “Though she prostrated before me, her mind was at the work she was to do at your home. I did not want to disturb her from doing her duty. On the other hand, though you went round and round the temple, you kept thinking of me. Therefore to still your mind, I had to call you”. “I see”, said Suresh, with wonder in his eyes.

"So how do you reach God?" he asked thinking that it is the most obvious question to ask him. “By dying" replied MIO spontaneously. "What?" exclaimed Suresh; "You mean that Ramakrishna, Yogananda, Ramana Maharishi and the rest did not reach God before they died". "No", replied the holy man, "but they realized him before they left their body. Birth and death are nothing but the installation and dissolution of one's ego. The moment he realizes that he is not the doer but a mere instrument, he has killed the ego and therefore reached God". "Oh", said Suresh and not "Ah". The latter being incomprehensible, it is fortunate that he used the former as it means that he thought he understood. "So", asked Suresh, "If I run away to some silent place and ceaselessly meditate on the lord, I will forget myself and therefore I shall reach God. Right?"

"Why", asked the holy man with a slight anger in his voice, "do you want to run away? If you sit in some quiet place do you think your mind will become quiet? Spirituality is not running away from life but leading it the right way. Ego can be killed with only a knife whose handle is made of love and blade with sacrifice. Serve all your fellow men without any feeling of doer-ship. Do it not out of pity or sympathy but purely by love and empathy. Do this without expecting any return. Dedicate all your actions to Him and let Him worry about its fruits. When you do this you don't have to reach God, God will come and reach you". He then blessed Suresh -who was too dumbstruck to speak anything -and gave him his leave. An association started like this cannot fizzle out like a wet firecracker. It hence blossomed into a beautiful variety of some exotic flora which Suresh will learn about the day before his botany exam or probably on the morning of that day.

Suresh visited his new master everyday to quench his new found spiritual thirst. When his friends learnt about this they became afraid that he might become a sadhu himself. But then he never talked to them on the spiritual jingo of Atman or Brahman or anything that you expect a prospective sadhu to speak. He was still their good old Suresh and yet there was something more pleasant about him. He became their confidant and advisor. All his advices were very practical and straightforward. He gradually became the most popular boy in college. Everyone loved him. Even the bullies spoke softly to him. When asked the reason, he replied that his master had said that if one is completely transparent and straightforward, no other force except love could affect him.

It was the 6th of December, three months after Suresh's birthday. His friend Pavan came running to him filled with excitement. If you thought that he looked like a pressure cooker, which is just going to sound its whistle, then you would be far from the truth, but if you imagined him to be an atom bomb just about to explode, you would be closer. He opened his mouth but alas his tongue couldn't keep pace with the speed of his mind. All that which came out his mouth was so incomprehensible that for some time Suresh thought that Pavan had learnt a new language and was showing off to him but then he realized that no language could have so many "oohs" and "aahs", "Stop", he said and Pavan stopped. He thrust a bottle into Pavan's hand and asked him to drink and he drank. "Relax", said Suresh and he relaxed. "Now, speak", cried Suresh and Pavan sprang up dramatically,

"We read in the paper some months ago about that confidence trickster, Jagadeesh who put on various disguises and cheated people out of their money. Remember?" he asked. Suresh nodded. "Well, they just arrested him. Do you know who he is?" He challenged with the air of the Oscar host who looks at the winning name in the envelope and then glances over pitifully at the ignorant audience. Suresh looked up at him with a slight sign of squalor. "I know", he said "Master".

"But, how did you know?", gasped Pavan at the bursting of his knowledge bubble. "Master told me", replied Suresh. "He played one drama after another in his life till he realized that life itself is a drama. He has now been arrested by his own will. He has gone there so as to help all those people who need his help most".

"I hope you wouldn't miss him too much", said Pavan. Suresh smiled with a strange faraway look in his eyes and said, "May be I wouldn't need to".

...and the sun rose

2012-03-20T22:30:00.000+05:30

The writer's block hits the best of us. While the many who expressed their anguish at my silence moved my heart, it is the few who expressed gratitude for not insulting their sanity which drove me to action.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/03/03

This below is a short story for children, I wrote during my student days on the theme, "and the sun rose". If this does not give you your dose of madness, I don't know what will,

I was sitting in my favourite couch at home watching Sachin and Sehwag making mince meat out of Glen McGrath, when the Mysore bonda which I was about to put in my mouth suddenly started screaming in a little girl’s voice, "Aaaa…"

I got up with a start only to realise that though the bonda had been a dream, the scream was real enough. The voice seemed to be that of Shania Lee, the youngest among the inter-continental group of nine students on a world tour organised by the United Nations for spreading unity and peace. Tonight was a full moon night and we were spending it in a camp on the woods of Arizona.

The whole camp had been awakened by the terrifying sound. After a quick consultation, we were informed by our local guide that though the woods were generally harmless, it was occasionally visited by jackals. We immediately formed a team of three:

· Richard Goodwin: Experienced in handling tranquiliser guns in the South African safaris, where his father is a ranger.

· Jim Crowe: A medical student from Australia

· Swaminathan Krishnan(me): Head of the group. Management student from India.

We proceeded in the direction of the sound, Richard with his tranquiliser and Jim with his first aid kit and a whip which he was an expert handling. I had a dagger with me to be used in case of a close encounter and a siren for distress signalling.

Since we were on a peace mission, we had taken a resolve not to voluntarily hurt or kill any creature unless absolutely necessary. We had in fact even taken a oath of vegetarianism, however, not without much protest. That was why Jim was surprised to see Richard armed with what he thought was a rifle. “Ooo...” Jim exclaimed, “whazzat?” “Thiz iz a bazzzooka”, kidded Richard.

“Oooooooooooooooo……..” came the sound again but his time not from Jim but by “it”. It was it. I do not know how else I could describe it. It had a canine face with a lot of hair in its head but with a body totally devoid of fur. It had no tail and one of its forelegs had a red band on it.

As Richard was about to tranquilize it, Jim came running in the way, pointing frantically all the time at some thing. Unfortunately Richards dart pierced Jim on his arm and he fell down in deep slumber. As I was staring at this spectacle with starry eyes, “it” jumped on top of my head knocking me down and went along to attack poor Richard. “It” was just about to bite his neck when I pressed the siren. The siren scared “it” away. We together carried the unconscious Jim with us and were met midway by the rest of our group sans Shania whose whereabouts where still unknown.

At the break of dawn, Shania arrived at the camp with tattered clothes and dishevelled hair. Our psychology student, Mary Elizabeth immediately ran to her and embraced her. I was stunned when I noticed Shania’s finger nails slowly becoming smaller and the red band in her right arm. I silently moved away from there.

Jim just then came back to consciousness and told me, “You understood why I tried to stop him right, the werewolf was…”. I pressed his hands and nodded my head in understanding. I just put my finger on his lips and said, “Shhh…”.

…and the sun rose.


Who am I kidding? We all know the "inspiration" to this right? R.I.P M.J., even on full moon nights!

The Thought Merchants

2011-11-30T21:49:00.000+05:30

On the third day, we had a coastal ride and an ayurvedic massage scheduled. I was in the second batch of the ride and the last one for the massage. That meant a lazy morning with nothing to do. For me that means only one thing: A long walk and what is more, a walk along the shore letting the sea caress my feet with its temptingly chill and silky fingers.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/06/27

Now an idiosyncrasy I share with many Tamils born during the 80s and the 70s is to walk with my hands in my pockets (why do we do that? It is never cold in Chennai. One answer: Style) and the boombox in my head playing "Kadalin Deepam Ondru". Despite being a Kamal Fan, this Rajini number is my default walk song. Ilaiyaraaja's music is extra-ordinary and Rajini's cool, casual and yet thoroughly love-stricken stroll in the woods is a visual thoroughly imprinted in our minds.

Though Shankar and ARR tried to replace the above song with Kadhal Anukkal, it is the TR variant that captured my mind and those visuals are unshakeable.Shudder!

Utopia!

So there I was walking along the fuzzy line between the blue sea and the brown sands ,with my mind, inspired by the coconut trees growing a few meters from the shore, swaying in a fuzzier line of reality and fantasy, when I observed a very unique game of cat and mouse between the sea and a group of small black and white birds which were running at the edge of the sea eating the molluscs and other small animals that the sea was feeding them with. At the same time they were wary of the waves dragging them off into the undercurrent and hence they would hop back when the wave receded only to run back in when a fresh wave arrived. Any ornithologists reading this, kindly leave a comment of your best guess for what this bird could be.

I had reached the edge of the resort and was crossing into the village. As if to mark the location, a black dog was standing there snarling at Bozo who was keeping me company till now. The mild mannered saint who cared not for any more fights in his life, quietly turned and walked back to give company to the other more clear headed members of our group.

Coral deposits uncovered by the magic waves!

As I continued my walk, I found large coral deposits with the waves covering and uncovering it like a magician waving his cloth. I moved on and reached the coconut grove only to find that one of the trees was actually uprooted by the storm. As I was taking a snap of the uprooted tree a couple of dogs which were standing near the tree walked towards me and gave me a nudge before walking away. I normally dont read the minds of Dogs but somehow this time I felt him saying, "Dude! That tree was standing long before you were even an idea. How dare you saunter here and go about taking pictures? Have some respect, mate!"

The return walk!

Admonished by those sage thoughts which I projected into their heads, I started my return walk towards the resort with my over-active mind relishing self righteous musings about the nobility of appreciating without the need to possess and how even photography is a burden to the renunciant. Even as I was shallowly admiring my own apparently deep thoughts, the still sane part of my mind stormed out with Advaitic exasperation the most important question of all, "Who Cares?" (link leads to an awesome story) and with that my mind could finally be at peace. Thank God for that. Else, I would have had to join TA.( Do go through the TA link. Gives one a lot to not think about![;)])

Time for the coastal ride. The concept of this is to take us to deep sea where we may be able to see dolphins in the early morning and also we could do some deep sea swimming. However the recent storm meant that we could not get to the sea till the sun was pretty much up in the sky. However, the mid-sea swim was still on. Though I could not swim and the other two in my group could, I too insisted on getting down to the water and wading through it while frantically flapping my hands and legs, scaring away any dolphin which might have still been hanging around.

On the return ride to the shore, they stopped the boat about 200m away from the shore and said that we may swim back if we like. My swimmer friends jumped out and were on the way back when I insisted that I will also join them. A unique feature of my swimming is no matter how much I flap my hands and legs, the motions somehow manage to cancel out each other keeping me at the exact same spot I started and if trying to be too smart I decide to move only my hands or legs, I actually move backwards. I know. A masterpiece of God!

The final goodbyes.

So after exhausting all my energy, I just lay back with my face to the sun as the most considerate Sai Vishram life guards pulled me along to the shore. That is when I realised that I did get to meet the dolphins. Aren't they the creatures who help men stay afloat in the sea. That is exactly what these guards were doing. They were my very own dolphins. [:D]

With a heavy heart and a tongue reluctant to leave, we finished our lunch in the resort and headed to Mangalore to catch our bus to Bangalore. On the way we went to the famous Udupi temple for the Darshan of Lord Krishna in his childhood form holding a churning rod in one hand and a rope in an another and churn our hearts He did with His breathtaking beauty. I don't remember seeing any other idol of Krishna which captivated me as much as this Udupi Avatar. Due to the devotional yearing of Sri Kanakadasa, who due to his caste could not enter the temple from the front, Krishna has turned 180 deg to give him Darshan through the window. The window has 9 holes indicating the 9 forms of devotion through which we can please God.

The Udupi Temple Tank

After feeding the soul, it was now time for the stomach. We were looking forward to the much hyped Outlook-Dosa in Mitra Samaja Restaurant, a popular mid level restaurant near the temple. Unfortunately Wednesday being their weekly holiday, the tiffin centre was closed. Satiated with food for the eye, we proceeded on our journey towards Mangalore. Grabbing a quick dinner,we headed to the bus stand and crashed into a deep slumber even before the bus started on its journey back to Bangalore. The vacation had come to its end.

A special note of appreciation and gratitude to all the staff of Sai Vishram Beach Resort who made us feel right at home while letting us float onto heaven.

The Vagrants and The Pilgrims

2011-11-29T23:30:00.000+05:30

"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them." - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling)

Our previous night's trekking had a similar effect on us and we were now a closely bound group. We woke up the next morning, fully refreshed and ready for our tryst with sea. The bad news was that the sea was still rough and we could not do most of the sea activities and the Jet ski scheduled for the morning would be manned by a professional with us as the pillion. The resort usually allows us to ride the jet ski ourselves. Kayaking and Banana Boat Ride also had to be cancelled.

I wanna play rough!

The Good News was that the SEA WAS STILL ROUGH. The Wet and Foamy Blue mistress is a lot more fun when she is angry. We spent the morning flirting with the waves, jumping and dipping to take the crests up or down based on her whim and our fancy . One of us celebrated our birthday the previous day. Too tired after the trek, we had to let the birthday bums pass. Having passed our chance, we gave the sea her's. With a lot of enthusiasm, she gave him a good whack on the prescribed region as we held the B'day boy in place.

Even as we were fooling around, the Jet Ski like an idol of its own right was brought in a chariot of rubber tyres. We took our turns and one by one understood the mathematics behind the sinusoidal motion and at one particular location the negative exponential function. [;)]

Our metamorphosis from beach loitering vagrants to devout pilgrims was phenomenal. Within a span of half an hour we had all had our baths and were dressed for our trip to the famous Kollur Mookambika Temple. The Panchaloha (an alloy of 5 metals) idol of the Goddess on Shree Chakra is believed to have been consecrated by Sri Adi Shankaracharya during his pilgrimage to Kollur.

Before entering the Sanctum Sanctorum, we were fortunate to witness the procession of the golden idol around the temple and into the palanquin. The deity in the main altar is in the form of Jyotir Linga, in the Shiva Shakthi fashion. After the darshan for some reason we got split up and where circumambulating the temples on our own when I came across a enclosure for Partheshwara, Surprised to find a lingam named after our Bhagawan's abode, I stood there transfixed when the priest called me frantically and stuffed some prasadam into my hand. Immediately after he started interacting with a child asking him what his name was and where he came from. In a state of grateful bemusement I thanked Bhagawan for showing his presence everywhere and left the temple to meet the rest of the group. We had some refreshing Lemon Soda which is a specialty of the place. (Strange! I know.)

God, the show-off!

On the way back we took our time and enjoyed the scenery of this most beautiful western coast. We came across a place of such breathtaking beauty that we had to stop our vehicle and take photographs. Pale yellow grass flowed in a silken motion in front of hills covered in exquisite shades of green stretching into a velvety blue sky interspersed with fluffy white clouds. God! You exhibitionist.

We came back to Sai Vishram where some lip smacking stuff awaited our eager palates. After our lunch while some of us took a nap, three of us headed towards the carrom board in the enclosure next to the dining hall. Amateurs all, we probably introduced the concept of a carrom game lasting longer than a timeless test. Only the match between England and South Africa at Durban in 1939 could come close. However the game did feature some unbelivable shots where the coin stunned by the concept of actually falling into a hole leaped up and flew all the way across to find itself falling into another. This happened not once, not twice but three times earning the player the sobriquet Killer Mookambika. [:P]

Playing Ball with the Sea even as the Ball of Fire sets!

The evening was spent once again with a massage session with our Arabian Masseuse, The Sea. Our guides there assured us that getting hit by the waves is the most natural and holistic form of massage. Guess even the anger of the sea is therapeutic! We sat there after playing around to watch the sun set while sitting on the sea. It was breath-takingly beautiful. The Orange Hue showered an unique blessing.

The resort had arranged a bonfire session for us after dinner. I insisted that we should share ghost stories during the session for that is the traditional way of sharing a bonfire, apart from the obvious part when we get killed one by one by a guy in a mask when we decide to take a break alone to either drink or release water. The latter part either did not happen or it did and our ghosts recaptured our bodies. Either way, the latter does not matter.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/04/05

We did share Ghost Stories - True Ones [Boo!]. The geek that I am, I shared my experience with amuku pisasu (demons which sit on the chests of sleepers) and its scientific explanation. The discussion became more grave after stories of Ghost Possessions and Black Magic started making the rounds. However, such was the kind of our gathering that it was impossible to speak of evil without speaking of our most unique protection. We just ended up sharing experiences with Bhagawan. Even as warm tears started flowing down our cheeks, a cold drizzle showered down bringing to an end our unique Bond-Fire.

Rushing back to our tent, we played some Ligretto and UNO [with many interesting house rule variations] making enough noise to scare away any ghosts which might have got attracted by our stories.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1994/01/01

Our last night in the resort (we were starting the next afternoon) was so peaceful that it formed a wonderful precursor to the Day of Relaxation and Contemplation that was to follow.

The Adventure Seekers

2011-11-28T22:45:00.000+05:30

It was a calling twice delayed but not any more denied. I finally got to visit the much talked about Vegetarian, Non-Alchoholic Beach Resort, Sai Vishram with five amazing people. We were welcomed into the resort by two adorable Labradors, Fudge and Bozo. Fudge the younger and more enthusiastic host followed our jeep to our tents allowing us to pet him before making way for us to unpack. Bozo the wiser and mature host was in attendance as the grand father of the house: Happy at the arrival of the guests, approving of them but with the knowledge of the easy perishability of the relationship. "This too shall pass" seemed to be etched on the scars on his face, an indication of adventures of a bygone era.

Canine hosts apart, a cherubic young man with elliptic spectacles and a ready smile, already amused by our enthusiasm, gave us our keys and informed us that the sea was uncharacteristically rough and that we can forget going there on the first day. Not sure if we were to concentrate on his smiling countenance or the grave words, we walked into our tents with a slightly unfocused enthusiasm.

The tent was a proper cottage but only instead of concrete walls, we had a tent. Over the tent was a roof of wood to give the impression of building a tent below the trees but more probably to provide a shade from the sun and the rain. The colour scheme through out was a heady mixture of shades of wood and red earth. Two small huts behind the tent housed the shower and the flush respectively. In a poetically rustic effect, each of our shower rooms with mirrors in wooden frames housed on it a small tree frog and a wooden coloured Lizard. However such was the setting that one felt he is the intruder in their domain and not the other way round.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1991/03/05

After getting quickly refreshed, we headed to a tastefully done dining area which was doubly delightful since it was then that we had a rendezvous with all the unbelievably soft-spoken, refined and overtly helpful staff of the resort while our taste buds finally understanding the reason for their existence, reached a state of epiphany. Sri Adarsh Shetty, the manager of the resort, joined us for the session and gave us the itinerary of the day. We were scheduled for some back water boating in the morning and a trekking expedition in the afternoon.

Garuda: Awaiting the Call!

Garuda, the Brahmin Kite, along with the members of his FFE (Friends and Family) team was at the backwaters to welcome us. Armored with Life Jackets (the resort rules prohibited us to even touch the sea water with our small toes in the absence of a life jacket), we waded around in the water and posed for the shutters while the first group went for its ride. This was when I discovered how easy it is to do the dead man's float with a life jacket. (Yeah! I appreciate the irony). Being a hydrophile, who cannot swim, I floated on my back for most of the time in water. Heading back to the resort we had some delicious lunch before preparing for our event of the day: The Trek.

Before we actually get to the trek, a note on our group dynamics. There were three of us from Prasanthi Nilayam, all men and another three from Bangalore, one man and two women. One of us was a cousin of one of them. With that our knowledge of each other takes a deep nose dive sans parachute. One of us, henceforth referred to as Hero had an ankle sprain and he did not have a pair of shoes. When asked, the guide said that the trekking was jujubi and that a woman had carried her new born child for the trek. Having got our egos pricked, there was no stopping us now.

The Path Less Trodden

We reached there around 3:30 PM and our guide said that we need to hurry up since we need to return before nightfall. The first 20 odd minutes was in fact a walk on the park, well atleast an inclined park with a few un-kept trees who being away from the cities were not schooled that they should grow their roots below the ground. Reaching a dead end we asked the guide if that was it, patting ourselves on the back for a quick trek. Smiling like the enchanting dark hued flutist, he disappeared in front of our eyes.

Just as we were about to celebrate this Divine experience, we realised that he has gone into a small opening on our right, downhill. An hour and a half of proper forest climb followed often bending down with utmost humility to the forest thanks to low hanging thorny creepers, we reached the waterfall. Just as we were about to rejoice while plucking out leeches from our legs, our nimble footed Krishna had climbed up to the next level of the fall beckoning us to jump across some smooth slippery rocks followed by a vertical climb of some 20 feet. He said that we have now completed the half point of the trek. Our exhausted bodies conveniently ignored the two words which implied that we have to go on and got ready to turn back.

All this while the men led the expedition offering a hand to the weaker gender to cross the tougher terrains with the Hero forming the tail. However just as we were about to give up, it was the woman, henceforth referred to as the Leader, who pushed us to go the extra kilometer (we don't measure in miles here).

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/04/08

The trek got precariously more dangerous here on with narrow passages and huge cliffs sliding down to oblivion. The trees which till now where our bastion of support turned even more thorny than the creepers. Our hero in his quovadis sandals was getting more and more uncomfortable till the guide miraculously turned a cricket physio and brought out a magic spray which made him as nimble as Navjot Singh Sidhu in his last season [when he was codenamed Jonty Singh]. When we finally made it, the destination was totally worth it. A lake made by a water fall with ice cool water was awaiting us. We spent about half an hour there and got thoroughly refreshed before making the way back. It was verily the Fountain of Youth!

The Fountain of Youth!

Now with the exhilaration of making it to the top and having had that extra cool dip, we were kind of walking on air, with all the old obstacles seeming like old friends and we navigated the last phase of the upward journey and reached the first waterfall with the ease of mountain goats. That is when just to make things interesting, someone turned off the lights. The sunset was fairly sudden here and also most of our journey back included walking through the forest which filters out even the little light still coming out of the sinking sun. The mischievous one that he is, our Kanhiah stated almost in passing that it would be good if we made it fast since some wild beasts come out at night to hunt for prey. Our Jaikars to our Beloved Lord got more frequent and thunderous. As Bhagawan often jokingly quips, "Sankata Harane Venkata Ramana".

Armed with a single mini flash light (packed by the Leader) and a few mobile phone displays (Did I miss my good old Nokia 1100 torch or what), we made our way downward. The spouse of the Leader who was heading the pack got hit by low hanging thorn and started bleeding in the scalp. Instead of panicking as we thought the so called weaker sex would do, they turned out to be the most resourceful. Taking out a piece of cotton which she had somehow found the sense to pack, the Leader tied her injured husband's head with a piece of cloth to stem the blood flow and to help it clot. Our Hero was now no longer the only injured player, the Warrior joined him in the list. Finally by 7 PM we reached our jeep patiently waiting for us and made the triumphant return to the resort.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/02/06

I removed a fully grown leech from just above my sock and after having my bath and dinner noticed another small leech sucking blood from the same spot. I would swear that the leech had laid an egg in my body which then grew into another leech feeding on me but dont have any scientific evidence to back it. Some Bio Student can help me out here. All our injuries where checked and found to be minor. We were fully fit the next morning.

The euphoria of this trip had been fairly monumental. The depression across the coast of Mangalore could not beat our mood and took flight further north. This meant that the next day we would finally have our tryst with the Great Arabian Sea.

PS: Small tip for new trekkers. Wear a good pair of shoes, track pants NOT shorts and carry a backpack for your water, refreshments, torch etc. We carried plastic bags which gave us one less hand to hold for support.

The Exhibitionists

2011-09-07T13:19:00.001+05:30

Why do we wish to impress? Why do we publicise our blogs and status messages. Why do we crave recognition? Is not satisfaction to be gained only from within? I beg to differ. The root of that desire, I claim, has been inherited directly from God. Sivoham! Sivoham! (I am God)

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/10/26

Let us investigate this further. What was the purpose of creation? Initially there was only existence. Then with a single sound, Aum or the Big Bang based on one's personal inclination, the concept of space and time came into being. Earth was formed with all its beautiful flora and fauna. However God was still not satisfied. Yes there was beauty but there was no intelligence. He wanted someone to be able to appreciate the beauty and to appreciate the creator. He needed an audience. Hence man was created, evolved or imported from other planets, based on whether you get your knowledge from the holy books, Darwin or the X-files resp. [:P]

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/10/27

Therefore the very first exhibitionist was God Himself. Look at the colours he puts on the sky, the birds and even the bugs for His sake [;)]. Ridiculous beauty. Is He needy or what?

The Krishna Yajur Veda says,

kAmonakArshin namo namaH | kamonakarishit kamaH karoti nAham karomi
kamaH karta naaham karta kaamaH kaarayita naaham kaarayita eshha te
kaama kaamaaya svaaha ||

It essentially means that " Desire performed the act. Desire did the act. Desire is doing the act, not I. Desire is the agent, not I. Desire causes the doer to act, not I. O Desire, fascinating in form, let this oblation be offered to thee. Hail !" Now Paramacharya explains what this Desire is. He says that the doer is not the petty desire of ours but the primordial desire of the Creator. It is that desire which keeps life going on with one action leading to another in an endless loop. What we call the garland of Karma.

Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/04/09

Hence the need to be appreciated is an inherited trait (For the tech guys reading this, think cascaded style sheets.) So next time you feel that you need to show-off, jushtu do it. (modified to avoid copyright issues. [:P]). After all you are following the example of God.

The Wedding Revelers

2011-07-06T21:50:00.006+05:30

The Event: Prashanthi Karthik Kalyanam

The Day: 3^rd of July, 2011

The Bride: An innocent, beautiful and guile-less young woman who knows to speak only with affection. (Yeah! Yeah! I know. She is my sis. Yeah! Yeah! Despite that.) An enlightened confidence holds her head high. Not one formed out of the arrogance of achievements but one which comes with the conviction of being God’s favoured child.

The Groom: A soft spoken, courteous and accomplished young man with a bearing of great dignity. He miraculously manages to side step haughtiness, the inescapable companion of Technical Excellence. An uncompromisable respect for elders keeps his feet firmly planted on the ground.

The Families: The two loving couples stood together with the perfect understanding that only comes with the clarity of their absolute compatibility. Both parents of a son and a daughter, they coordinated the whole event with such enviable organisational skills that even experienced event organisers were seen gaping in awe.

Andru Vanthathum Athe Nilla! Cha Cha Cha...
[Click on image to Enlarge it]

Photography: Aishwarya Background Image: Shameless copy from google image search Collaging (kalaipaali): Author

The Relatives: Passionate individuals who made an occasion of the event. They threw themselves into every task with a zeal to do something for the child of their family who meant so much to them. Every music and dance session saw the kind of participation which we would never imagine possible. Even the normally reticent were drawn into the dance floor by the sheer energy generated. The bride and bridegroom broke into a jig to the classical number, “Andru vanthathum athe Nilla. Cha cha cha...” Even the parents of the featured couple succumbed to coaxing and joined them for a three way Indian Salsa.

A spontaneous jig to the music of nadaswaram!
Videography: Author Tool: Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro

No, these were not deeply talented people who sang in perfect melody or danced with silken moves. These were ordinary people who knew 2 steps and improvised a couple more but ones determined to have a good time. This is what made it all the more beautiful as it showed the involvement of everyone.

The Take-away: At the end of it all, one could sense that this was indeed a blessed couple making a grand start to what can only be a model life together. Everyone who played even a small role felt the gratitude of being able to contribute something to this monumental event. A memory which will be rekindled frequently, especially the coincidences(?). They were so perfect that had a novelist written them, he or she would be slammed in the reviews. The authour of this however cannot be questioned! [;)]

Life Lessons Learnt in the Year of the Tiger and other animals

2011-01-01T12:33:00.018+05:30

Some the hard way. Mostly the fun way - Witnessing!

1) Thou shalt not thrust your happiness on the miserable. Empathise if you can. Else stay silent. Saying how you successfully dealt with a similar problem is not inspiring. It is annoying. To quote an "annoyed", it is like walking out of a 5 star hotel after a heavy meal and advising the beggar outside to be contented with what ever they have and the worst part: ending with - "look at me!"

2) The worst vice is advice. Seriously! No one wants to listen to your opinion. They want you to reassure them on theirs. Order if you can. Appeal if you must but advice is ineffective. (So what is this post doing? Hopefully entertaining.[;)])

[Click here to Enlarge it]

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

3) Thou shalt not carry two phones. Trust me. Its not cool! Gives a taste of double marriage to Brahmacharis. (There you go. THAT word again. Sorry Namaji [:P] )

4) Facebook is for recreation. Thou shalt not delude Thyself that it is anything more.

5) In absolutely any situation, amusement is a better response than righteous indignation. Even better is a self contained amusement not even shared with others.

6) If Thou art not happy with what Thou art, Change. Attempting to put down others to make yourself feel better is falsity of the highest kind.

[Click here to Enlarge it]

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

7) No matter how close you are with everyone, having some alone time helps.

8) Thou shalt not follow a single theme for Thy blog and let it stay idle due to lack of ideas. Illusions of Grandeur do not stick to a single theme.

[Click here to Enlarge it]

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

9) If Thou are to write life lessons of 2011, publish it atleast by the end of Jan 2012. Else pretend that it is a chinese newyear post like yours truly. Happy Year of the Rabbit to you all. Hop Hop and Hop in Joy. [:D]

The Hope Full

2009-10-10T08:53:00.010+05:30

I promise to unite India and Pakistan with the power of Love and Peace and strengthen the bond between various religions by the force of Advaita. I will persuade China to give up its claim on Tibet and place the peace-loving Dalai Lama in the seat of her power. I will send bouquets to the military leaders of Myanmar and pray to them to voluntarily make Aung San Suu Kyi their leader and reinstate Human Rights. I will abolish AIDS from this world and suck all the harmful bacteria, protozoans, fungi and viruses from the earth and stick it into the moon along with NASA's probe. I will send diplomatic peace missions across the universe and ensure that the Star Wars remain a silver screen phenomenon. Phew, that was tiring. I will now collect my Nobel Peace Price. Thank you.

[Click on image to Enlarge it]

Source: http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/000000/00000/0000/500/526/526.strip.gif

If promises are all that are needed to win a Nobel, our Indian Politicians should have got it long ago. It cannot be because Obama is black. our politicians are blacker (in which ever sense you perceive first). Well then let us see what all the reasons could be,

a) Nobel committee's unique way of giving an Ignoble award of war to George.W.Bush. After all Obama defeated Bush's party. Despite Lord Rama's many sterling accomplishments as a king, is he not remembered most for vanquishing Ravana before taking up the throne.

b) An obligation to perform. By giving him the Nobel Prize in Advance, the committee has obligated Obama to deliver on his promises. "May the Norwegian Force be with you." is their blessing. As Bachi Karkaria quips in her column in the Times of India, Obama has been given an anticipatory hail.

c) The anti-posthumous policy: This the controversial reason. (Gentlemen of the US Secret Service, please bear with me on this one. Just a reasoning not a provocation). The Nobel prize is not conferred on anyone posthumously. Before 1974, a person may still receive it, if he/she was alive when they were nominated. But since then, the person has to be alive on the date of announcement. Since there is always the fear of assassination of any dynamic agent of change, the committee probably just wants to make sure they don't do the same mistake as they did for Mahatma Gandhi.

What is more significant than the award itself were the results of the various polls conducted by news sites asking if Obama deserved the peace prize and on most sites around 40% said that he did. Just goes on to prove that the dispenser of hope is as always indispensable.

Before I sign off, let me join hands with the Peace Noble Laurate to wish a Happy Deepawali to all of you. Unless of course, you are a Narakasura worshiper. In which case, My heartfelt condolences.[;)]

The Hero Worshippers

2009-03-31T08:30:00.006+05:30

[Click on image to Enlarge it]

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

"We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by." Will Rogers

How often have we felt a sense of great satisfaction, a moment of grandeur when we read a column on our favourite hero. Be it a Mahatma Gandhi or an Albert Einstein or a Sachin Tendulkar or for that matter (in the more literal sense) Kamal Hassan. For some reason it makes us feel good about ourselves. This hero of ours is not necessarily confined to being a member of our community, our nation or our race. Ha, how the world celebrated the victory of Barack Obama. This is in essence the celebration of the Human Spirit. Every man rejoices his Hero because he knows that he too is capable of being that person. (He merely chooses not be.[;)]) Man always takes more pride in his potential than in his work.

Tell a child that he is not hardworking. He will probably shrug it off. Tell him that he is not intelligent. In the fascination of watching his nose turn crimson, you may miss the hardest , sharpest, meanest object around being hurled at you. DUCK.

Potential is extremely important because it is only this that gives rise to hope and what are we...,
without hope.

This is probably the reason the wise sages of India gave us heroes we can always look up to. RAMA, what a character. An Avatar unlike any other. An Avatar without any magical powers. An Avatar so very entirely human that we can completely relate to. A reference point for every action of ours. He is the touchstone of our purity. I once heard a wise scholar once while commenting on the Srimad Ramayana, saying that there is no Chapter so suffuse with Rama in the sacred book than the Sundara Kanda (A chapter which is entirely based on the exploits of Hanuman and that in which the character Rama hardly makes an appearance) because the chapter is full of the obstacles faced by Hanuman and how he overcomes it by thinking what his Lord Rama would have done.

You are now probably thinking, "Yeah, so in summary what seems to be said till now is that we should all have a hero and emulate him. Right, now where is the catch?"

The catch is this:

Our heroes are people and people are flawed. Don't let that taint the thing you love.
Randy K. Milholland, Midnight Macabre, 09-27-07

Very often we place our heroes on a very high pedestal for the simple reason that it gives us an inflated, you guessed it, illusion of grandeur. The hero being on that pedestal is so important for our own identity (say, a Krishna Devotee, a Beckham Fan) that we could go to any extent to protect him (or should I say 'it' for by this time the person has become the idea).

[It may disturb some of you that I am using the name of Gods in the same breath with that of Men but that is because I believe that the Avatars of God are to be seen as men, so as to be able to inspire and teach by example. Else we always have the excuse that He could do it because He is God. ]

Since our hero has now become an Idea, protecting him suddenly becomes a noble task and we plunge forward with gusto. Sage Ramana Maharishi used to joke thus,

"Lord Rama and Lord Shiva had a minor disagreement which they resolved soon after. However the Monkeys of Rama and the Ghosts of Shiva are found fighting to this day."

Some Monkeys - like this blogger, for instance - start worshiping heroes just for the thrill of this fight. (No, I am not implying that those who fight with me finally end as ghosts. Really, NO. I did not mean that at all.[;)]) I became a fan of Kamal Hassan because I had a bus mate (the wonderful hour long bus drives from our home to Engg. College) who was a fanatic of Rajini Kanth. I am becoming a fan of Sachin now because of another acquaintance who happens to be a Sachin-basher.

Let us make our Gods into our heros and not the other way, so that we can be inspired by them and yet be able to accept their limitations. We can always add disclaimers to our identity like, "I am a fan of Kamal, The Artist and not Kamal, The Person." Disclaimers have won more arguments than references. [;)]

Fine. What else?

The point I want to make is this. Let us not assume that we cannot be heroes. Let us not have such a strong faith in our frailty unless maybe if one can put it so beautifully in words like Ford Prefect (a character in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series),

"My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre," Ford muttered to himself, "and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."

For we often do not know what we are capable of till the time that we are in a crisis which forces us to see for ourselves what we are capable of. In the moments where in adrenaline kicks in and the working mind takes precedence over the thinking mind, anything is possible. As Umberto Eco, summarised in the collection of essays, "Travels in Hyperreality"

"The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else."

[Click on image to Enlarge it]

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

The Terrorist within

2008-12-19T08:42:00.008+05:30

What makes a terrorist? Are they a different species of human beings created by some mutation in the gene pool.

[Click on image to Enlarge it]

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

Many explanations have been given to try and understand it. Quite a few voices (most prominent being that of William Tucker) have raised stating that Polygamy in Islam is one of the leading causes for suicide attacks. The argument goes something like this. In a monogamous society, every man is more or less guaranteed a woman and he goes on to build a family and have dependents. This makes him value his life. However in a polygamous society, most of the women are concentrated with the rich and successful and hence there is a whole lot of men who not having any possibility of finding a mate, don't value their life anymore (Darwinian thinking at best, stating that reproduction is one of the primary purposes of any creature). Also there is the promise of 72 virgins in heaven if one where do die for the cause of Islam. Commenting on this some one cheekily stated that the only way to stop suicide attacks where to catch an Imam who has had a near death experience and make him say that all the virgins in heaven are fat and ugly. I however do not subscribe to this view completely because though this may be one factor, I don't believe it can be the clinching one.

Another major problem is the absence of a single authority for Islam, like say the Pope of Christianity (the other major Political Religion), since the abolition of the Caliphate. The Holy Qur'an much like any sacred text is open to multiple interpretation. The word Jihad, for example, is being given a plethora of meanings from various organisations. It is therefore very easy for any Imam to influence the people under him for what ever his intentions, to any phrase in the Holy Qur'an. It is therefore very refreshing and pleasing to read an independent and impressive interpretation of Islam by the Heart2Heart team through the teachings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The links to their two part series is given below,

The Enigma of Islam: Enlightened by Sai

Salah: The Flag of Islam

However the main reason I feel is something independent of Islam, something which can influence anyone and that is "The Peril of Obedience". This was a study done by Stanley Milgram to understand if what happened to Nazis can happen to anyone? During the dark days of the Nazi regime, doctors, nurses, tailors and even teachers, people whom you would be most comfortable to share a lonely train ride with (at least for the amusement), turned genocidal maniacs. When questioned about it, many denied it, a few broke down but some admitted and said they where not guilty as they where only obeying instructions. So what was the result of the experiment(please click on the link and read. Very interesting)? 65% of the participants where likely to take obedience to the very extreme irrespective of pangs of the conscience if they are assured that they are absolved of the responsibility. The results where similar across societal backgrounds.

The greatest peril of obedience therefore is that it gives one the illusion of absolvement from responsibility. Just take this many notches further up. The Nazis were after all obeying the Fuhrer. What happens when you feel you are obeying God. If you can be convinced that the dastardly act which you are commanded to do did not come from a man but is verily the Order of God. Scary.

The last reason is that of elitism. This is of course a lot more fundamental and is probably the source of all divisions all over the world. Any faction which feels that it is more elite than any other faction is basically trouble. They feel it is their birth right to suppress other factions. Genocides and ethnic wars all over the world is because of this repeated refusal of man to believe that he is equal to every one else. Indians and Sri Lankans so easily fell victim to the 'Divide and Rule' policy of the British Colonists leading to the formation of Pakistan in 1947 and the demand for a Tamil Eelam from 1973.

So what then is the solution? Abolishment of Religion? Rise of Communism?

At the individual level, I feel it is the development of a sense of humour in its truest sense. The ability to laugh at oneself. The ability to not take oneself seriously. As the famous Mr.Anonymous a.k.a Mr. Unattributed (He/She seems to have given the best quotes) once said, "Don't take Life too seriously. No one gets out of it alive[;)]." Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda), a direct disciple of Paramahansa Yogananda wrote in his book (The Path: Autobiography of a Western Yogi) in reference to one of his German classmates the following lines,

"... I've never known a bully to possess a sense of humour. I don't mean they can't laugh at people; that they do readily enough. It's that they can't laugh with others. Humour certainly was conspicuous by its absence among those who succumbed to the disease of Nazism."

Let us all develop this ability to laugh at oneself. No one can mock a person who does not take himself seriously. Just imagine this conversation. "You walk like a baboon"; "Yeah, but don't say it too loud. The baboon is a sensitive guy. He may take offense." The conversation ends there. No more bullying is possible.

This is not only an Idea whose Time has come but also one which extremely critical.

What about at the level of the society? What is the one unifying force which can bring everyone together. I would say it is Advaita (Non-Dualism) for even Rationalism cant help but fall under its broad umbrella. However I shall not elaborate further on this and merely let you contemplate on the same. Cheerio [:D]

The Comfortably Unabashed

2008-11-07T08:30:00.001+05:30

Trillian: "Can we drop your ego for a moment. This is important."

Zaphod: "If there is anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now."

Immortal lines from "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy", by Douglas Adams

What makes people like Zaphod and Calvin so lovable by the neutral distant observer (with a stress on distant[:D]) is the fact that they speak their mind. They are not corrupted by the social definition of correctness. They are self centered to the helm and care a paisa for what the world thinks of them. In the words of Bill Watterson, "Calvin is pretty easy to do because he is outgoing and rambunctious and there's not much of a filter between his brain and his mouth."

[Click on image to Enlarge it]

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

So why is the average humble person so, well, humble? Does he really feel that all men are equal in the eye of the divine and hence it makes no sense to feel superior to any one. Is it a humility which has arisen out of greatness, out of suffering or is it merely a social function which he feels obligated to do so as to stay away from the lime light or as is more frequently the case the unshielded light of attention and criticism. A genuinely humble person is almost as rare a find as an intelligent and unemotional investor [;)] and therefore we will leave him out of this discussion.

Affected humility is almost always easily detectable and as frequently found to be disgusting (and to a few rare and gifted eyes, amusing [;)]) and yet almost all of us are guilty of this trait. Why? Simply because that seems to be the most socially correct thing to do. The main reason for this feeling is to put in one word - Shame. Fear of being seen as not appropriately dressed - in clothing and(/or/rather most frequently) attitude. All of us have something to hide. Something we are not proud of because we do not see that in our own individual definition of a perfect personality which in turn is shaped by societal perceptions.

The Comfortably Unabashed, is he who has accepted his personality completely. He loves himself unconditionally and is most comfortable with the company of his self. Something few among us can relate to.

These people can be extremely annoying and yet such is their charm (which I have come to believe is mostly self-acceptance, self-comfort and self-love[Moment of Epiphany ;)]) that it is impossible to hold your grudge against them. Despite all their not-so-pretty traits one does catch himself hoping that they where more like them.

Also there is no better person to have around when you are hating yourself. Their self love is so infectious, that we often catch it faster than the World catching the American Economic Sneeze[:P]. And of course there is no time when they are more utilised than at parties. Are they Ice-Breakers or what?

Is it now time for us to give up the affected humility which self-talks us into believing that we may not actually be as good as we think we are? Is this an idea whose time has come? As one such Comfortably Unabashed person I know of frequently says, "Think about it." [;)]

About RSS (no not the Saffron Brigade)

2008-10-12T08:50:00.004+05:30

Putt's Law states that "Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand."

Having always posed as the former, I suddenly had the realisation that I am the latter when trying to put a email subscription option for this blog. Yet another instance of nature showing the mirror, I guess. Of course nature here has to be seen in a more expansive context including the virtual world. (Not that the real world is any less virtual. Guess, I am going way beyond scope of this post here)

In the right top corner of this blog, you now find a "Enter Your Email Address" link followed by a subscribe to... drop box. Though once completed it seems to be the easiest thing on the world to actually get it done, it took me over 2 weeks. The major problem I had here was the fact that the side bar links in feedburner (about this shortly) appeared to be Google Ads to the defective ad blocker installed in my eyes.

Anyway since there were few guys who envisaged interest in this whole Feeds stuff. (After all most of us do live in the state of Annamayakosha [;)]), I thought I would just give a few links to where you can learn more about this and also the procedure for how to install the same in your blog.

Well since the busy busy people that we are, we cannot afford to go to our favourite websites every now and then to check for updates, web feeds give the option where in the website pushes its updates into some online reader of the user where in the user can find all the updates of all his favourite websites he has subscribed to.

[Click on image to Enlarge it]

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

Therefore a webfeed needs,

a) a content providing website (like say this blog[Hint;) Hint ;)]) which has the Feed Subscription facility.
b) a data aggregator (like google reader) where the updates from (a) can be pushed into. (For a list of other popular aggregators see the drop down menu in the 'subscribe to' drop boxes on the right side of this blog)
c) Sometimes in addition to these two, there is an involvement of a third party called the Scrappers who syndicate webfeeds for websites which dont provide them.
d) This is the optional part (as is usually the case wherein the human element is involved;)). An user to actually read the content.

Well now there are two popular types of syndincation process, RSS & Atom. A good comparison of the two can be found here. I am not going to elaborate on this as this syndication process is done by the Blog Service Provider. In case of blogspot/blogger for example both RSS and Atom feeds are provided. You can choose which one you are going to burn based on the above link or of course totally by your whim and fancy

Good! Now that the basic understanding is got over with, time for some good old fashioned spoon-feeding. This is how you enable webfeeds and email subscriptions to your page. This is by no means the only way but merely the way I used. If you are aware of better means kindly comment on the same.

Here Goes,

1) Go to the Feedburner Homepage

2) Click on Register and create an account.

3) Follow the instructions in this link to activate the feed for your blogger/wordpress/other accounts.

4) This step is only for blogspot users: Go to your blog homepage and sign in with your blogger/blogspot account if it is not already signed it. Then click on customise. The page should go to "page elements" under "layout". Now click on "Add a Gadget" on the left hand side of the layout page. On the pop up page choose "Subscription Links: Let your readers easily subscribe to your blog with popular feed readers". Behold! Your Webfeed subscription link is ready. There is probably a similar methodology for wordpress and other users as well.

5) Now for the email subscription link. Go back to the Feedburner page. Sign in. Click on My Feeds at the top left corner of the page. Click on the name of your blog as it appears there. There are lot of things you can do here. But let me stick to the agenda and mention only about email subscriptions.

6) This feedburner page as you would have observed is in tabbed format. Click on the 'Publicize' Tab. On the left side of this page you will find the Services. ( No, these links below that are not Ads . In case you too get confused like me [:(]) One of this is Email Subscriptions. Click on this link and follow the instructions. Your email subscriptions link too is ready.

I tested this thing out and it works fine. In the email subscriptions links you can choose your delivery time. It delivers once a day. You can make as many modifications as necessary before that time and only the last modified post is sent as the email and also only if you post anything at all on that day. As for the Google reader or other aggregator used for the webfeed, it automatically gets updated every time you make a change but after a time lag.

I guess providing a subscription facility in your blog is an IDEA whose TIME has come. [;)]

Post Script: As for those who questioned me as to why the blog is not regularly updated, there is only one answer. And I don't have a choice but to quote Rajini Kanth here. "Sneeze, Cough, Hiccup, Yawn, Fame, Wealth, Power, Position and Moments of Grandeur do not come when we demand it. We cannot stop it when they come and we cannot hold them back when they leave."
[:D]

The Eternally Amused

2008-09-20T09:30:00.005+05:30

There was a time when I used to go after Self- Help books like a dog chasing cars. Just as the dog does not know what to do if it caught one , I did not know what to do once I am done reading one. (I did not copy this line from the Joker. It has been in use since way before. Americans may patent the turmeric but they dare not copyright the wise cracks ;) ) But still it made you feel good. As though by the act of having read the book, you have improved your life already. Well may be not. But at least by having endured the book, you have burned away some Karma. Anything that is bitter is medicine. Right?

But when life decides to give you the wealth of wisdom, it does not always wrap it up in a treasure chest or an elegant jewellery case. This one came wrapped in plastic. 'Bheja Fry'. Now that is what I call a life changer. It was a low budget movie hosting no stars and taken almost entirely in a house. The movie is probably the second best gift of France to India after Democracy. (Some might however argue against this I guess ;) )

The concept of the movie is this. A group of rich business men invite some middle class people who have an inflated view of their talents (occasional illusion of grandeur? This blogger probably falls in this category too) and have fun at their expense by merely setting the stage for them to make a fool of themselves. They consider it pure clean fun as everyone involved is happy while their critics say that as long as they are aware that a mockery is taking place, it is wrong. What happens when one of these so called IDIOTS tries to help his host with his personal issues forms the story.

Let us extrapolate this concept a little. What if you are not inviting any one but are dragged into a conversation by a bore, a self-assumed intellectual, a jaunty singer during a long journey. What are your options? Offend him/her by telling them that you need some quiet. Tell them politely that you have some sleep to catch up on and pretend to yourself that you have not offended them. That doesn't always work either. Compulsive bores can bore through any shield. What do you do then? Feel miserable at the stick that fate has poked you with? Contemplate suicide? Contemplate murder? Question your faith? If a God exists, He would not have let this happen to me.

..or how about Enjoy It? Talents who have set the stage themselves to entertain you. Praise their blessed voices. Raise your hats to their philosophical depths. Adore their infinite knowledge. Squeal in delight over their dexterous tricks. Just keep the conversation away from you. Anytime the topic comes to your life, brush it aside as insignificant and how you would like to listen about the extremely interesting life of the other. Make him/her a hero. They are happy and you have had your fun.

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/04/22

One who lives his life with such a philosophy is The Eternally Amused. Do you think that this is a poor IDEA, one whose TIME has not yet come or a new way of life. The call is yours.

PS: The paradox about this post is that any appreciation from your part cannot be taken seriously for the question always lingers, "Am I, the talent?". Well why not. That is an auxiliary objective of this blog too. To entertain and amuse. "Let us put a smile on that face." (This time it is from Joker)

Agents of Chaos

2008-09-09T08:44:00.019+05:30

In the famous words of George Bernard Shaw, “Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress, therefore, depends on unreasonable people.”

The first person who comes to our mind in this regard is the Celestial Saint Narada. Having received the blessing that all chaos he generates will ultimately lead only to good, he embarks with a free conscience to spread disorder around the world. Yet, such is the end result of his actions that people eventually have to end up loving him in return. The fact that this king of trouble makers is in turn bedeviled on more than one occasion by Lord Vishnu goes on to show who is the fundamental agent of chaos. However let me not elaborate on that for that goes far beyond the scope of this post ;)

On the other extreme, is The Joker. His is the kind of chaos which makes the society understand its own shortcomings, inequities and immoralities which it had taken for granted and learned to live with. But chaos changes everything on the head, it suddenly shows what the serpent which one has been tolerating for so many years turns to when it fully grows up. Chaos is usually a short duration of time which like a caricature suddenly highlights to the society its scars in all the crimson glory. This automatically leads to its destruction and in an ideal world, the system which has lead to it. Hence from Chaos emerges a new order, a higher order unless it is strong enough to destroy it in complete.

What about Calvin? What is the order which emerges out of the chaos he generates? I think this was best answered by Taare Zameen Par (which incidentally shamelessly lifted an entire comic strip from Calvin for one of its animation sequences). A student like Calvin who is obviously smart (a walking encyclopaedia of Dinosaurs and the epitome of creativity) and yet technically unintelligent thanks to his grades. He raises serious questions about the system of education. If a smart student cannot get good grades, then isn't there obviously something seriously wrong with the grading technique? I once saw a video on Ted Talks by Ken Robinson (make sure you watch it). He makes a wonderful point. As long as you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with something original.

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

He goes on to say that creativity is at least as important as literacy. As the famous T-shirt quote goes, "I was born Intelligent. Education Ruined me." Despite the presence of many such Calvins, we wonder how come there has not yet been a revolution in the Education system. Is it just an accepted chaos (Like the Stock Market ;)) or is it another IDEA whose TIME has not yet come. I leave you here with that thought and inviting you to share instances of chaos which has lead to an higher order.

Indulgence of a Birthday boy

2008-09-06T09:12:00.003+05:30

Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

One is normally allotted a certain amount of indulgence on his birthday. I thought I will carry it all the way by throwing on all of you, a blog.

Every person no matter how mundane his existence feels occasional spurts of grandeur arise forth in him. He takes on a different personality at those times. Becomes a leader of men (Note: Only one gender specified), a philosopher, a saint and maybe even GOD. This normally dies down after a while when reality after giving the person a nice smile, politely shows the mirror.

The world then goes on and all was well. Unfortunately with the coming of the world of blogging, these moments of grandeur got translated into words and published into eternity on the internet. Though this usually creates only a nuisance, it has surprisingly, some advantages.

It is said that there is nothing more powerful than an IDEA whose TIME has come. (No wonder both terms are registered and copyrighted). Unfortunately the one with the idea is not always the one with the ability or energy to implement the same but then he may still be able to inspire. Providence and sometimes Googleshwara often helps unite the two.

Hence with such noble intention, I have decided to confuse the world with my musings. Watch this space for your regular dose of madness.