I was born into a distinguished and aristocratic, socially well connected family in North Malabar. I grew up in a highly stimulating and intellectual environment, where open discussions of ideas and concepts were encouraged and endorsed. We have always been cosmopolitan and secular in our outlook and liberal and broad minded in our views. Tolerance and secularism were not words in a dictionary but something that we practiced in life.
My Grand uncle ( father’s uncle) MP Narayana Menon was the Kerala Pradesh Capital Committee who sided with the Muslims during a police clamp down is my hero and Archetype who opened the doors of wisdom to us. He was the main force behind the Hindu-Muslim solidarity witnessed in Malabar during the early phase of the Khilafat and non cooperation movements
He and his Moplah friends Kattilasseri Mohammed Musaliyar and Thaliyil Mohammed Kutty Musaliyar (K.M. Moulavi Saheb) who were responsible for awakening the Moplah peasants which led to the famous Malabar rebellion of 1921-1922. He was also the initiator of the agrarian reforms which give absolute rights over the land to the tillers and kudiyans of Kerala and put an end to the exploitation by the landlords. . He was a friend and colleague of Anne Besant, C. Rajagopalachari and Pattambhi Seetharamaiah. M. P. Narayana Menon never stood for an election in free India although he was offered the parliamentary seat from Malabar and would have got elected unopposed. He refused the other crumbs thrown by the congress government like ministerial posts, land, money, free travel etc. His life was a saga of courage, coolness, integrity and commitment amply deserving the honor of the title “The Abu Tualib of Malabar” bestowed on him by the Moplah Muslims of Kerala.
During the communal riots in India in the early fifties, both Muslims and Hindus were killed in the mayhem. He was in the midst of all these conflicts and spear headed the congress movement. He refused to bow down to the might of the British Empire. He was sentenced to ‘Transportation for Life’ and spent 17 years in British jails. He was the only non Muslim who was charge-sheeted under the ‘Moplah’ outrageous act.
He was crystal clear on his take; He told us the "individuals and vested interests" are responsible for the bloodshed and not the religions; he would emphasize that you cannot blame the intangible religion and expect justice, we must blame the individuals who caused it and punish them accordingly for disturbing the peace and thus bring a resolution to the conflict by serving justice. He said you cannot annihilate, kill, hang or beat the religion, then why bark at it like dogs? Barring some fundamentalists on both sides I think Muslims in India are happy and are leading a life of dignity in India. I wish we had leaders like him at our helm now. As his biography reads he is a forgotten pioneer. – K. Vinay Kumar
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The veil of ignorance!
We see the Burkha as a very symbol of Islam, but women interact with this piece of clothing in myriad ways, mostly to shield, often to mask and sometimes to camouflage. Whatever the motivations in deciding to wear the hijab, a woman makes a statement about herself as much as about society she lives in.
Rahul Irani has a story to tell about photo ops he undertook, and here are some of the excerpts Arshi Khan a student at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi says she wears the Burkha to please Allah, but manages to keep her fashion quotient high with a shocking pink contrast bag. Sebha Jafri a former convent school teacher in Bhopal says she is as modern as any other 28 year old girl and wears expensive lingerie and shorts to entice her spouse within the four walls of her room, but wears the burkha when she steps out of the house like a typical Muslim housewife. Gul feels her burkha makes her feel more secure during her early morning jogs, though it is not comfortable while running. Even women in Burkha feel targeted all the time, but get used to it, Gul feels her security blanket, ironically makes her stand out in a crowd and spends a lot of time in a gym to battle this sense of vulnerability. For Nidhi, the burkha is not a religious diktat, it is the perfect foil. It assures her anonymity, it is an equalizer, and she is a commercial sex worker at Kabri Bazaar in Meerut. She manages quite a few respectable glances as she walks down the sheets to shop in a hijab. It is another matter that she actually seeks out the leering advances of prospective clients once she gets down to work. Burkha tailors tend to be men; women cover themselves in loose clothing while getting their measurements taken. In India women who refused to reveal their identity cards were not issued identity cards.
The veil issue is part of a heated debate about multiculturalism in Europe. The issues involved are religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. In Italy a draft bill banning the burkha/hijab in public places is in place. France in April banned women from hiding their face behind a veil; Spain has imposed a ban on full face veils in public places, similar to the ban existing in Belgium. There are three distinct types of veils worn by Muslim women, Burqa is a loose cloak covering the whole body from the top of the head to the toes and includes head covering and face veil. Chador is an open cloak full body length of fabric split open down the front, with a head hole in the top. Hijab- refers to both the head covering and modest style of dressing. It means covering everything except face and hands in public. Niqab- covers the face unlike a burqa which covers the whole body. Excerpts of Photo ops-Op
Rahul Irani has a story to tell about photo ops he undertook, and here are some of the excerpts Arshi Khan a student at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi says she wears the Burkha to please Allah, but manages to keep her fashion quotient high with a shocking pink contrast bag. Sebha Jafri a former convent school teacher in Bhopal says she is as modern as any other 28 year old girl and wears expensive lingerie and shorts to entice her spouse within the four walls of her room, but wears the burkha when she steps out of the house like a typical Muslim housewife. Gul feels her burkha makes her feel more secure during her early morning jogs, though it is not comfortable while running. Even women in Burkha feel targeted all the time, but get used to it, Gul feels her security blanket, ironically makes her stand out in a crowd and spends a lot of time in a gym to battle this sense of vulnerability. For Nidhi, the burkha is not a religious diktat, it is the perfect foil. It assures her anonymity, it is an equalizer, and she is a commercial sex worker at Kabri Bazaar in Meerut. She manages quite a few respectable glances as she walks down the sheets to shop in a hijab. It is another matter that she actually seeks out the leering advances of prospective clients once she gets down to work. Burkha tailors tend to be men; women cover themselves in loose clothing while getting their measurements taken. In India women who refused to reveal their identity cards were not issued identity cards.
The veil issue is part of a heated debate about multiculturalism in Europe. The issues involved are religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. In Italy a draft bill banning the burkha/hijab in public places is in place. France in April banned women from hiding their face behind a veil; Spain has imposed a ban on full face veils in public places, similar to the ban existing in Belgium. There are three distinct types of veils worn by Muslim women, Burqa is a loose cloak covering the whole body from the top of the head to the toes and includes head covering and face veil. Chador is an open cloak full body length of fabric split open down the front, with a head hole in the top. Hijab- refers to both the head covering and modest style of dressing. It means covering everything except face and hands in public. Niqab- covers the face unlike a burqa which covers the whole body. Excerpts of Photo ops-Op
Red Market
The term black market, or grey market is familiar to all of us but I am sure the red market is fairly unknown to many, but may be lurking somewhere since we have some idea of organ transplants. It is difficult to accept that the human body is a commodity and can be traded like meat or vegetables. The cultural and social fears have covertly hidden humans from being perceived as an anthropological object, but the brutal story of the organ markets is an eye opener. It is a morbid world inhabited by organ traders, brokers, doctors and the victims. India is a leading supplier of kidneys, blood, hair, bones for gelatin other organs and even children for adoption. It is difficult to imagine human bodies and lives as something quantifiable or consider the social transactions in economic terms but that is the bitter medicine we have to swallow.
Red markets are the products of contradictions that arise when social taboos surrounding the human body collide with the individual urge to live a long life. Whether we like it or not organ buyers of flesh create a lifelong debt to the person who supplied it. How can we prevent willful donation from commercial exploitation? The organ market is a literal flesh trade, where everything from wombs, hair, blood, kidneys, heart and entire human beings are treated as commodities. From the grave diggers of Calcutta’s (bone factories), wig market in Chennai & Tirupati, blood banks of Mumbai (where the blood of the poor slum dweller is drained for a few rupees), to the fertility clinics in Cyprus and Organ harvesting camps in China, is a morbid trail of blood and gore where medical ethics is viewed with a Nelsons eye by corrupt authorities.
Even the less dangerous trade of extracting Ova or surrogate conception now takes on sinister connotations
Inputs from Scott Carney’s book
Red markets are the products of contradictions that arise when social taboos surrounding the human body collide with the individual urge to live a long life. Whether we like it or not organ buyers of flesh create a lifelong debt to the person who supplied it. How can we prevent willful donation from commercial exploitation? The organ market is a literal flesh trade, where everything from wombs, hair, blood, kidneys, heart and entire human beings are treated as commodities. From the grave diggers of Calcutta’s (bone factories), wig market in Chennai & Tirupati, blood banks of Mumbai (where the blood of the poor slum dweller is drained for a few rupees), to the fertility clinics in Cyprus and Organ harvesting camps in China, is a morbid trail of blood and gore where medical ethics is viewed with a Nelsons eye by corrupt authorities.
Even the less dangerous trade of extracting Ova or surrogate conception now takes on sinister connotations
Inputs from Scott Carney’s book
Spirituality is not about faith.
It is a mistaken notion to think that spirituality is in any way connected to religion, it is just an inner compass followed by human beings to discover themselves. It is a sort of reflection on the interiors of oneself to discover the consciousness that merges with the universe. In the Veda’s there is no creator for the Universe, the logic is that it evolved or the basis is that it “became” and the invisible aspect is the spirit.
A spiritual life has nothing to do with religion or leading an ascetic life; in fact one can wine, dine, womanize, smoke, be an atheist and yet be spiritual. A person who attains a broad outlook, tolerance, patience, compassion, and is an aesthete, is able to find peace within and reach the equipoise to accept life in its myriad hues.
Spirituality is not the preserve of a select few and it also does not mean one should give up worldly activity. There is no separate compartment for worldly and spiritual life, desires and ambitions are also part of the reality in life. People also think spirituality is for old and retired people who have no other work. This is a paradox because it is during our active working life that we need spirituality to complement our hectic social life, and thereby increase our confidence & self esteem that acts as a support system.
Reality as constructed by our senses is sometimes referred to as an illusion because it excludes the invisible. The world may be a temporal reality, but while it evolves it is not unreal. It comprises of layers of matter and spirit and as such illusion is a process through the senses with a beginning and an end in constant flux. Illusion and reality are part of the whole. Spirituality embodies pain, pleasure, sickness, and convalescence, all ages, all the youth of our tumultuous and tortured lives. There is no shortcut for a tranquil life the footpath has to encompass desires, ambition & life affirming view of spirituality, to evolve into the next step of collaborating with the Universe.
You may conquer the world around you but if you are not aware of the world within you, you will shrink I drown in your own hubris. Spirituality helps you to cope with joy, sorrow, hard ship and stimulate our brains to get total satisfaction in life
A spiritual life has nothing to do with religion or leading an ascetic life; in fact one can wine, dine, womanize, smoke, be an atheist and yet be spiritual. A person who attains a broad outlook, tolerance, patience, compassion, and is an aesthete, is able to find peace within and reach the equipoise to accept life in its myriad hues.
Spirituality is not the preserve of a select few and it also does not mean one should give up worldly activity. There is no separate compartment for worldly and spiritual life, desires and ambitions are also part of the reality in life. People also think spirituality is for old and retired people who have no other work. This is a paradox because it is during our active working life that we need spirituality to complement our hectic social life, and thereby increase our confidence & self esteem that acts as a support system.
Reality as constructed by our senses is sometimes referred to as an illusion because it excludes the invisible. The world may be a temporal reality, but while it evolves it is not unreal. It comprises of layers of matter and spirit and as such illusion is a process through the senses with a beginning and an end in constant flux. Illusion and reality are part of the whole. Spirituality embodies pain, pleasure, sickness, and convalescence, all ages, all the youth of our tumultuous and tortured lives. There is no shortcut for a tranquil life the footpath has to encompass desires, ambition & life affirming view of spirituality, to evolve into the next step of collaborating with the Universe.
You may conquer the world around you but if you are not aware of the world within you, you will shrink I drown in your own hubris. Spirituality helps you to cope with joy, sorrow, hard ship and stimulate our brains to get total satisfaction in life
KYC Norms
A few days ago I received a letter in the mail from IDBI bank, who had issued me a loan 5 years ago for the house. Now out of the blue they wanted me to fill up KYC norms which in plain speak means “know your customer”
I was surprised because just a year ago we had patted the Indian Banking System for being so careful and assiduous that they escaped the “toxic assets” meltdown that had ravaged the world. Therefore it seemed rather strange that a bank who had loaned me Rs. 50,00,000/- should wake up after 5 long years of slumber and realize that I was a stranger and that it did not know its customer.
I fully understand that the collapse of Lehman brothers, Bear Stearns and the mounting losses of Goldman Sachs. Morgan Stanley and Citibank must have scared the pants off our conservative bank managers. Yet this discursive revisit through time and space of the personal details of its customers is surely confusing, arbitrary and idiosyncratic to say the least.
If the loan has already been disbursed after the due process of approval, how does it matter if they re -investigate? Will the client overnight turn into a vagabond? How can a customer’s name, age PAN No. fathers name / mothers name / spouses name or sons name change over time? Is it germane to the whole issue after 5 years?
I still remember vividly when the eager loan sales agents approached me add blurted “your loan will be approved in 5 working days” then the horror unfolded when they asked me to submit two attested copies of all the under mentioned documents.
Copy of birth certificate / school certificate, father’s name, grandfather’s name / mother’s maiden name, salary certificate, proof of residence, telephone bill / electricity bill / passport / drivers license / ration card / PAN card / Voter card. NOC from society, bank statement for 3 years, IT returns for 5 years, marriage certificate.
Insurance policies, mediclaim policies, verification of employment from employer, the appraisal report on the flat / property / drawings / valuation report, agreement of sale from builder, title deeds to the property, BMC sanctions, permissions and plan approvals / No lien certificate from the builders, bankers declaration of assets held with market value. After all this we have to sign an agreement with the banker, a small booklet running into 45 pages with the print so small you have to utilize a Hubble microscope to read the fine print and only the late Palkhiwala could have interpreted the legal meaning of these rules.
Notwithstanding all this I still had to undergo a medical examination, where they scanned every orifice from rectum to retina to ensure, that unless lighting stuck me I would be in good health to repay the loan. The X-ray revealed torn and soiled underwear, I had a tough / anxious time explaining to the mortgage and loan disbursal officer, that it was due to the hefty EMI payments of my car, that I had deferred purchasing new undergarments till the loan was paid off or my vests elasticity wore off, whichever was earlier. Now I am left with a scratchy pe
I was surprised because just a year ago we had patted the Indian Banking System for being so careful and assiduous that they escaped the “toxic assets” meltdown that had ravaged the world. Therefore it seemed rather strange that a bank who had loaned me Rs. 50,00,000/- should wake up after 5 long years of slumber and realize that I was a stranger and that it did not know its customer.
I fully understand that the collapse of Lehman brothers, Bear Stearns and the mounting losses of Goldman Sachs. Morgan Stanley and Citibank must have scared the pants off our conservative bank managers. Yet this discursive revisit through time and space of the personal details of its customers is surely confusing, arbitrary and idiosyncratic to say the least.
If the loan has already been disbursed after the due process of approval, how does it matter if they re -investigate? Will the client overnight turn into a vagabond? How can a customer’s name, age PAN No. fathers name / mothers name / spouses name or sons name change over time? Is it germane to the whole issue after 5 years?
I still remember vividly when the eager loan sales agents approached me add blurted “your loan will be approved in 5 working days” then the horror unfolded when they asked me to submit two attested copies of all the under mentioned documents.
Copy of birth certificate / school certificate, father’s name, grandfather’s name / mother’s maiden name, salary certificate, proof of residence, telephone bill / electricity bill / passport / drivers license / ration card / PAN card / Voter card. NOC from society, bank statement for 3 years, IT returns for 5 years, marriage certificate.
Insurance policies, mediclaim policies, verification of employment from employer, the appraisal report on the flat / property / drawings / valuation report, agreement of sale from builder, title deeds to the property, BMC sanctions, permissions and plan approvals / No lien certificate from the builders, bankers declaration of assets held with market value. After all this we have to sign an agreement with the banker, a small booklet running into 45 pages with the print so small you have to utilize a Hubble microscope to read the fine print and only the late Palkhiwala could have interpreted the legal meaning of these rules.
Notwithstanding all this I still had to undergo a medical examination, where they scanned every orifice from rectum to retina to ensure, that unless lighting stuck me I would be in good health to repay the loan. The X-ray revealed torn and soiled underwear, I had a tough / anxious time explaining to the mortgage and loan disbursal officer, that it was due to the hefty EMI payments of my car, that I had deferred purchasing new undergarments till the loan was paid off or my vests elasticity wore off, whichever was earlier. Now I am left with a scratchy pe
Chaotic flavors of life.
Most of us long for happiness, without sorrow or the chaos, however the Universe can not exist without both order and chaos, out of which creation comes.
Therefore our dreams must also cohere with our nightmares to merge into a meaningful existence; it is like spirituality merging into mysticism. The basic tenets of Hinduism and the Upanishads convey this metaphorically. The Universe just like individuals is highly fragmented and chaotic just like each persons lives therefore to make meaning of our existence we have to interconnect these two opposite forces and their myriad manifestations in a delicate balance. It is like the different foods we eat which our mixed in our digestive system, like the churning ocean where the waves rise and fall and yet there is equilibrium.
This explains why crossovers and collisions between order and chaos come in these repeated cycles in our lives. Even the big bang came out of chaos and the creation now looks for order which must triumph. There is no sin or goodness we have to learn by making mistakes and correcting our course in our objectively in life and existential dilemmas have to be tackled with knowledge to drive away the darkness. It is always a difficult juggling act throughout life, order out of chaos, hope out of despair, trust out of betrayal and courage in the face of formidable odds. Hence each person is different and strikes out on a different version of his truth and has his own opportunity. Like a football we have to get kicked around the field of life before the truth dawns on us and we can focus on how to successfully lead our lives. Wisdom comes from chaos as we evolve and think originally, we have the ability to find the path and need not blindly follow a group like sheep, or be manipulated like ill informed persons.
Most religions have an orderly or structured approach to life i.e. like a 3 or 5 course meals that are aimed at satisfying our yearning and quest in life. The soup or baptism, the initiation or starters, the indoctrination which is the main course, and the desserts which are what most believers expect salvation or deliverance. Real life is not so orderly it is like a plate of rice with all sorts of accompaniments and side dishes, where each one mixes and matches the food according to their choice and problems. People flock to religion in the hope that life can be like the miracle fruit Synsepalam dulcificum a west African bush cherry that has a weird effect of making anything sour taste really sweet.
Life, death and possibly rebirth comes out of churning in our consciousness, the dialogue is mostly between mans intellect, compassion and wisdom which is the ultimate combination of the soul. To live in an exceptionally exciting time, you have to follow the instinct in which sex-sin-salvation, combined with powerful mysticism is the silken thread that tenuously binds us to our heart and mind. This will open out a powerful new vista of splendor which has a heady mix of romance, sex chaotic flavors and ends up connecting with the Universe. -Vinay
Therefore our dreams must also cohere with our nightmares to merge into a meaningful existence; it is like spirituality merging into mysticism. The basic tenets of Hinduism and the Upanishads convey this metaphorically. The Universe just like individuals is highly fragmented and chaotic just like each persons lives therefore to make meaning of our existence we have to interconnect these two opposite forces and their myriad manifestations in a delicate balance. It is like the different foods we eat which our mixed in our digestive system, like the churning ocean where the waves rise and fall and yet there is equilibrium.
This explains why crossovers and collisions between order and chaos come in these repeated cycles in our lives. Even the big bang came out of chaos and the creation now looks for order which must triumph. There is no sin or goodness we have to learn by making mistakes and correcting our course in our objectively in life and existential dilemmas have to be tackled with knowledge to drive away the darkness. It is always a difficult juggling act throughout life, order out of chaos, hope out of despair, trust out of betrayal and courage in the face of formidable odds. Hence each person is different and strikes out on a different version of his truth and has his own opportunity. Like a football we have to get kicked around the field of life before the truth dawns on us and we can focus on how to successfully lead our lives. Wisdom comes from chaos as we evolve and think originally, we have the ability to find the path and need not blindly follow a group like sheep, or be manipulated like ill informed persons.
Most religions have an orderly or structured approach to life i.e. like a 3 or 5 course meals that are aimed at satisfying our yearning and quest in life. The soup or baptism, the initiation or starters, the indoctrination which is the main course, and the desserts which are what most believers expect salvation or deliverance. Real life is not so orderly it is like a plate of rice with all sorts of accompaniments and side dishes, where each one mixes and matches the food according to their choice and problems. People flock to religion in the hope that life can be like the miracle fruit Synsepalam dulcificum a west African bush cherry that has a weird effect of making anything sour taste really sweet.
Life, death and possibly rebirth comes out of churning in our consciousness, the dialogue is mostly between mans intellect, compassion and wisdom which is the ultimate combination of the soul. To live in an exceptionally exciting time, you have to follow the instinct in which sex-sin-salvation, combined with powerful mysticism is the silken thread that tenuously binds us to our heart and mind. This will open out a powerful new vista of splendor which has a heady mix of romance, sex chaotic flavors and ends up connecting with the Universe. -Vinay
Subliminal Sex sells.
Advertisers have all along known the powerful attraction of sex to convert consumers from brands and in making that purchase decision in favor of their brand of choice. subliminal sex they mislead consumers from soap to automobiles. Soap whose basic function is to remove dirt is portrayed as an item that will transform you into a beautiful film star, Tag Heur watches, Louis Vuitton bags and Swarovski crystals are supposed to make you rich, all accompanied by the feminine form clinging in alluring skimpy clothes. Cigarette advertisements till they were banned made you macho by imbibing smoke in to your lungs.
Much of what we do as consumers is ultimately related to sex. Men are programmed to hunt for young attractive and fertile women. And women tend to seek out a lone socially powerful man. The consuming instinct is strong so women invest in looks and men on status.
High heels hoist the derriere and even though senescence sets in, the fleshy buttocks are shoehorned into a teenager’s jeans to hide the cellulite sagging form. While cosmetics mimic cues of sexual arousal with anti-ageing creams, discreet dyes and little green pills. So now even the old sirens can compete with the teen sensations that sashay into the world of music, modeling and other areas of celebrity swing.
The men and aging Lotharios not to be outdone wear high status clothing like Abercrombie, Armani and acquire fancy cars and yachts. Older men driving Porsches experience rising testosterone levels. Life is still a meditative journey searching for love, happiness and peace in a deserted world.
It is like an intense romantic thriller set against the background of the characters like a misery memoir of life. Even though two people meet fall in love, date get married, care for each other deeply, have a child out of wedlock, but still in the end they cannot make it together. There is no voluntary way out of this ultimate misery. Neither cosmetics nor advertising can alleviate mankind from his own despondency; no miracle cure has yet been created.-Vinay
Much of what we do as consumers is ultimately related to sex. Men are programmed to hunt for young attractive and fertile women. And women tend to seek out a lone socially powerful man. The consuming instinct is strong so women invest in looks and men on status.
High heels hoist the derriere and even though senescence sets in, the fleshy buttocks are shoehorned into a teenager’s jeans to hide the cellulite sagging form. While cosmetics mimic cues of sexual arousal with anti-ageing creams, discreet dyes and little green pills. So now even the old sirens can compete with the teen sensations that sashay into the world of music, modeling and other areas of celebrity swing.
The men and aging Lotharios not to be outdone wear high status clothing like Abercrombie, Armani and acquire fancy cars and yachts. Older men driving Porsches experience rising testosterone levels. Life is still a meditative journey searching for love, happiness and peace in a deserted world.
It is like an intense romantic thriller set against the background of the characters like a misery memoir of life. Even though two people meet fall in love, date get married, care for each other deeply, have a child out of wedlock, but still in the end they cannot make it together. There is no voluntary way out of this ultimate misery. Neither cosmetics nor advertising can alleviate mankind from his own despondency; no miracle cure has yet been created.-Vinay
A genetic choice!
What difference does it make to a person if he had the freedom to choose a religion from the multiple brands available in this world? However most of us follow the religion of our parents, even in the case of inter-faith marriages, the option is between one of the two religions of the parents. The choice for a third or others is never an option. It is a genetically inherited error, because one does not choose religion on the basis of the totality of their lives, but in a set pattern determined by parentage. It would therefore seem that religion is an inherited belief an un-inspected faith that is controlling our lives. The mass hypnosis of religion makes you feel happy good and comfortable but you cannot denounce it.
We are scared of retribution that will follow our death, because your religion has promised a great life in heaven for you, so light a lamp or candle say prayer worship a deity; but never question the religion there is a pattern and we are allowed to hear only one side of the story. The searching out and thorough investigation of the truth is frowned upon, knowledge without application is useless in this case too, since we have embraced blind faith.
We are scared of retribution that will follow our death, because your religion has promised a great life in heaven for you, so light a lamp or candle say prayer worship a deity; but never question the religion there is a pattern and we are allowed to hear only one side of the story. The searching out and thorough investigation of the truth is frowned upon, knowledge without application is useless in this case too, since we have embraced blind faith.
Divine Wealth.
From time immemorial the state and church have connived to amass wealth from the masses. Irenaecus the Greek orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem was involved in shady property deals. Divine kings and divine priests are often linked to material concerns like these shady property deals which are prevalent all over. Sometimes kings too take umbrage under divine rights to rule and assume spiritual authority to protect them from temporal challenges. Charles the I, King of Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Sultans &, become custodians of their land and mosques in their oil rich countries.
Preventing this kind of dynastic divinity amassing wealth is presumably one reason why so many religions require their leaders to be celibate, yet this alone cannot address this problem especially in Islamic states where poly gamy flourishes and other religions where marriage is permitted.
The Catholic Church, Islam and many religions as the self defined owner of the true spirit, denounces Marxism as materialistic They view the desire of the poor to eat, feed, clothe their children, and better their lives as materialistic. The dualistic system separates flesh from the spirit and then sermonizes that the lifelong degradation of one leads to eternal liberation of the other.
One has to just look at the Vatican, Bishops, wealthy churches, mosques and temples and these divine people who have spent most of their lives in a heady atmosphere of gold, velvet, good wine and food; who have never spent time sweating starving or shaking with cold, but are liberally endowed with accumulated material wealth.
Isn’t it strange that when the world’s richest industrialists, capitalists, and business magnates like Bill gates, Warren Buffet, and many others; are tripping over each other along with N.G.O.’s to share and disperse their wealth into altruistic and philanthropically meaningful pursuits to help the underprivileged, religions are silent.
The Church, Sultans, sheikhs, and despotic rulers and religious heads of wealthy mosques, temples are using their wealth to profligate their own religion.
It is not the poor, who need “redemption” but these fabulously rich Sultans, Sheikhs, and princes of religion.
Preventing this kind of dynastic divinity amassing wealth is presumably one reason why so many religions require their leaders to be celibate, yet this alone cannot address this problem especially in Islamic states where poly gamy flourishes and other religions where marriage is permitted.
The Catholic Church, Islam and many religions as the self defined owner of the true spirit, denounces Marxism as materialistic They view the desire of the poor to eat, feed, clothe their children, and better their lives as materialistic. The dualistic system separates flesh from the spirit and then sermonizes that the lifelong degradation of one leads to eternal liberation of the other.
One has to just look at the Vatican, Bishops, wealthy churches, mosques and temples and these divine people who have spent most of their lives in a heady atmosphere of gold, velvet, good wine and food; who have never spent time sweating starving or shaking with cold, but are liberally endowed with accumulated material wealth.
Isn’t it strange that when the world’s richest industrialists, capitalists, and business magnates like Bill gates, Warren Buffet, and many others; are tripping over each other along with N.G.O.’s to share and disperse their wealth into altruistic and philanthropically meaningful pursuits to help the underprivileged, religions are silent.
The Church, Sultans, sheikhs, and despotic rulers and religious heads of wealthy mosques, temples are using their wealth to profligate their own religion.
It is not the poor, who need “redemption” but these fabulously rich Sultans, Sheikhs, and princes of religion.
Banking on religion.
Money is the root of all evil is the universal adage; a wealthy man who was discontented plagued by illness approached a sage, who advised him to give all his money and wealth to the sage for eternal happiness, soon the man ended up in a soup kitchen. This reminds me of a similar anecdote that happened many years ago; a wealthy merchant approached a doctor with many ailments, he was advised to go on an austere diet of rice gruel and water, the same the doctor was approached by a poor skinny rickshaw puller with health issues, the doctor advised him to indulge in rich foods like, meat, cakes, wine and venison.
As Mark Twain stated “the lack of money is the root of all evil” the East and West may never meet but will agree on this truth. Monasteries, Seminaries and Madrasah’s are the theological schools that churn out erudite ministers, priests, rabbi’s and mullahs who are supposed to be enlightened after they complete their theological education. However even through scores of men flock to these schools we hardly find any true leader emerging from these schools. By contrast many students who attend academics and institutions to pursue, engineering, science and management find their place in the world and many become leaders in their own vocations or spheres.
There must be a something fundamentally wrong with theological schools as their products become more inclusive and dig deeper into then own superstition and beliefs. None of them have emerged as leaders or innovators to show the”. People then tend to worship deities, Feng shuie, in the hope of acquiring wealth and happiness. Greece the ancient citadel of learning and religion is knocking on the doors of Plautus and Zeus (gods of wealth) to ensure indiscriminate allocation of resources. Now they are reduced to a bunch of beggars begging for Euros.
The Middle East with its vast oil resources is witnessing internecine revolts and violence. India with its multitude of divine gods is still floundering; the Japanese with Shinto and Feng shuie are devastated by natural calamities. The Chinese meanwhile who are communists are laughing all the way to the bank, like the Taoist laughing Buddha. Knowing one’s truth is a state of mind and an intuitive capacity to be right and correct. People must be free to choose by overcoming myths towards understanding capitalism.
Mullah Nasuruddin illustrates this verily. He was walking with his followers in the Bazaar, jumping up & down shouting “hu hu” his followers copied him & he was asked by a shopkeeper, how he would impart spiritual wisdom by these silly antics and how these students would become erudite? Mullah Nasurudeen replied “those who are enlightened will leave my school”. As Confucius said “remember, no matter where you go, for enlightenment there you are”
As Mark Twain stated “the lack of money is the root of all evil” the East and West may never meet but will agree on this truth. Monasteries, Seminaries and Madrasah’s are the theological schools that churn out erudite ministers, priests, rabbi’s and mullahs who are supposed to be enlightened after they complete their theological education. However even through scores of men flock to these schools we hardly find any true leader emerging from these schools. By contrast many students who attend academics and institutions to pursue, engineering, science and management find their place in the world and many become leaders in their own vocations or spheres.
There must be a something fundamentally wrong with theological schools as their products become more inclusive and dig deeper into then own superstition and beliefs. None of them have emerged as leaders or innovators to show the”. People then tend to worship deities, Feng shuie, in the hope of acquiring wealth and happiness. Greece the ancient citadel of learning and religion is knocking on the doors of Plautus and Zeus (gods of wealth) to ensure indiscriminate allocation of resources. Now they are reduced to a bunch of beggars begging for Euros.
The Middle East with its vast oil resources is witnessing internecine revolts and violence. India with its multitude of divine gods is still floundering; the Japanese with Shinto and Feng shuie are devastated by natural calamities. The Chinese meanwhile who are communists are laughing all the way to the bank, like the Taoist laughing Buddha. Knowing one’s truth is a state of mind and an intuitive capacity to be right and correct. People must be free to choose by overcoming myths towards understanding capitalism.
Mullah Nasuruddin illustrates this verily. He was walking with his followers in the Bazaar, jumping up & down shouting “hu hu” his followers copied him & he was asked by a shopkeeper, how he would impart spiritual wisdom by these silly antics and how these students would become erudite? Mullah Nasurudeen replied “those who are enlightened will leave my school”. As Confucius said “remember, no matter where you go, for enlightenment there you are”
Spirituality is not about faith.
It is a mistaken notion to think that spirituality is in any way connected to religion, it is just an inner compass followed by human beings to discover themselves. It is a sort of reflection on the interiors of oneself to discover the consciousness that merges with the universe. In the Veda’s there is no creator for the Universe, the logic is that it evolved or the basis is that it “became” and the invisible aspect is the spirit.
A spiritual life has nothing to do with religion or leading an ascetic life; in fact one can wine, dine, womanize, smoke, be an atheist and yet be spiritual. A person who attains a broad outlook, tolerance, patience, compassion, and is an aesthete, is able to find peace within and reach the equipoise to accept life in its myriad hues.
Spirituality is not the preserve of a select few and it also does not mean one should give up worldly activity. There is no separate compartment for worldly and spiritual life, desires and ambitions are also part of the reality in life. People also think spirituality is for old and retired people who have no other work. This is a paradox because it is during our active working life that we need spirituality to complement our hectic social life, and thereby increase our confidence & self esteem that acts as a support system.
Reality as constructed by our senses is sometimes referred to as an illusion because it excludes the invisible. The world may be a temporal reality, but while it evolves it is not unreal. It comprises of layers of matter and spirit and as such illusion is a process through the senses with a beginning and an end in constant flux. Illusion and reality are part of the whole. Spirituality embodies pain, pleasure, sickness, and convalescence, all ages, all the youth of our tumultuous and tortured lives. There is no shortcut for a tranquil life the footpath has to encompass desires, ambition & life affirming view of spirituality, to evolve into the next step of collaborating with the Universe.
You may conquer the world around you but if you are not aware of the world within you, you will shrink I drown in your own hubris. Spirituality helps you to cope with joy, sorrow, hard ship and stimulate our brains to get total satisfaction in life
A spiritual life has nothing to do with religion or leading an ascetic life; in fact one can wine, dine, womanize, smoke, be an atheist and yet be spiritual. A person who attains a broad outlook, tolerance, patience, compassion, and is an aesthete, is able to find peace within and reach the equipoise to accept life in its myriad hues.
Spirituality is not the preserve of a select few and it also does not mean one should give up worldly activity. There is no separate compartment for worldly and spiritual life, desires and ambitions are also part of the reality in life. People also think spirituality is for old and retired people who have no other work. This is a paradox because it is during our active working life that we need spirituality to complement our hectic social life, and thereby increase our confidence & self esteem that acts as a support system.
Reality as constructed by our senses is sometimes referred to as an illusion because it excludes the invisible. The world may be a temporal reality, but while it evolves it is not unreal. It comprises of layers of matter and spirit and as such illusion is a process through the senses with a beginning and an end in constant flux. Illusion and reality are part of the whole. Spirituality embodies pain, pleasure, sickness, and convalescence, all ages, all the youth of our tumultuous and tortured lives. There is no shortcut for a tranquil life the footpath has to encompass desires, ambition & life affirming view of spirituality, to evolve into the next step of collaborating with the Universe.
You may conquer the world around you but if you are not aware of the world within you, you will shrink I drown in your own hubris. Spirituality helps you to cope with joy, sorrow, hard ship and stimulate our brains to get total satisfaction in life
The wages of worship is death.
“It is the duty of all Muslims to kill infidels, especially Americans” thus spake Osama Bin Laden; who had the soft demeanor of a sage and not a killer, though one could detect a predatory quality extolling terrorism and conquest “prophetically”. He was expelled from Saudi Arabia then helped the Mujaheddin fight the Soviet invaders in Afghanistan, then built al Qaeda as the base, from which he outsourced it to the world. Though he has no political ideology nor was considered a visionary yet in American culture and urban legend he is the sinister guru of the violent and the deranged. His hatred of Americans and the Bible belt was a valuable moral stimulant that would energize zealous Muslims to violence and martyrdom.
His obsession was to drive out infidels establish Palestine and destroy Israel and eject the “heretics” who ruled Saudi Arabia. Wahhabist fundamentalists used Osama’s elitism and scorn of the west as a weapon to fight against the Americans. He argues that we must purify Islam with a violent form of Jihad; the holy duty of all Muslims is to continue to fight to make Allah’s word victorious by using the eye for an eye justice system. He was a leader who rallied against the pretensions of despotic rulers and their orthodoxies in an age that was clamoring for revolt against inherited and dynastic authority. He was the king of terrorism who sat in his parlor and ate yoghurt and honey which he loved, and took his children to the beach to sleep under the stars, according to his 5 wives.
A man who as no other embodies in himself all the hatred, pain, sickness and violence, all the age, galvanizing the youth of our tortured times; Osama Bin Laden the patron saint of religious violence and terrorism. A man whose mind has been inoculated with the worst symptoms of the violent disease of violence and wanton destruction. Cushioned and contained by the sanctity of religion, his challenge to peace and humanitarianism is in sharp contrast to truth and goodness which for him are essentially meaningless terms. The abject decadence of religion and animalisization of the human being were all part of his essence before the bullets of the Special Forces cut him down and at the same time exalted his station. The polite, pious boy under the tutelage of Abdullah Azzam became the coldest of the cold monsters. Americans love life, Muslims love death he stated after 9/11. Mounted like the prophet on a white horse, he claimed that he had destroyed the myth of the superpowers. Though he is stone dead, his dream lives on through al-Qaeda.
His obsession was to drive out infidels establish Palestine and destroy Israel and eject the “heretics” who ruled Saudi Arabia. Wahhabist fundamentalists used Osama’s elitism and scorn of the west as a weapon to fight against the Americans. He argues that we must purify Islam with a violent form of Jihad; the holy duty of all Muslims is to continue to fight to make Allah’s word victorious by using the eye for an eye justice system. He was a leader who rallied against the pretensions of despotic rulers and their orthodoxies in an age that was clamoring for revolt against inherited and dynastic authority. He was the king of terrorism who sat in his parlor and ate yoghurt and honey which he loved, and took his children to the beach to sleep under the stars, according to his 5 wives.
A man who as no other embodies in himself all the hatred, pain, sickness and violence, all the age, galvanizing the youth of our tortured times; Osama Bin Laden the patron saint of religious violence and terrorism. A man whose mind has been inoculated with the worst symptoms of the violent disease of violence and wanton destruction. Cushioned and contained by the sanctity of religion, his challenge to peace and humanitarianism is in sharp contrast to truth and goodness which for him are essentially meaningless terms. The abject decadence of religion and animalisization of the human being were all part of his essence before the bullets of the Special Forces cut him down and at the same time exalted his station. The polite, pious boy under the tutelage of Abdullah Azzam became the coldest of the cold monsters. Americans love life, Muslims love death he stated after 9/11. Mounted like the prophet on a white horse, he claimed that he had destroyed the myth of the superpowers. Though he is stone dead, his dream lives on through al-Qaeda.
Biologizing Ethics
The time has come for ethics to be removed from the hands of preachers, mystics, philosophers and biologized. Animals have brains to survive in uncertain, threatening environment. Conscious sentience is required when dealing with situations that require a non stereotyped response. The development of brain power / intelligence was the decisive force in the evolutionary process, because it confers adaptive advantages.
However there is a general theory of deceit and self deception based on evolutionary logic and is broadly applied to all species. The kind of ethics religions glorify as values can be despised as slave morality and this lie creeps from the mouths of politicians and preachers. I am the truth, or I am the state, the people.
Self deception sits squarely on the lap of psychology, but our daily life is also colored by ignorance and self deceit, especially in politics. This topic Hs negative connotations because it is about falsehood lies and deception. We project onto others traits that belong to us also. When you attend a buffet banquet, at one end you see juicy bacon or meat sizzling on a grill and at the other end healthy salads. After a little hesitation you choose the bacon, ham and meat fully aware of the artery clogging implications and there is no rationale.
Social scientists have to learn from these if they want to understand a realistic model of human behavior. Triver’s in his seminal work “Deceit and self deception” attempts to construct a theory for deception. He argues that we paint a distorted picture of the world so that we might easily get our way with others. We play down our failings, inflate our achievements and rationalize our mistakes.
The struggle against stupidity is a continuous one within each of us, the struggle for clear logic and honest introspection and discussion is the tragic story of our lives. In such a case truth or goodness is an essentially meaningless term. It is like an intellectual astringent that would enable us to do some long overdue spiritual, ethical and liturgical cleansing.
However there is a general theory of deceit and self deception based on evolutionary logic and is broadly applied to all species. The kind of ethics religions glorify as values can be despised as slave morality and this lie creeps from the mouths of politicians and preachers. I am the truth, or I am the state, the people.
Self deception sits squarely on the lap of psychology, but our daily life is also colored by ignorance and self deceit, especially in politics. This topic Hs negative connotations because it is about falsehood lies and deception. We project onto others traits that belong to us also. When you attend a buffet banquet, at one end you see juicy bacon or meat sizzling on a grill and at the other end healthy salads. After a little hesitation you choose the bacon, ham and meat fully aware of the artery clogging implications and there is no rationale.
Social scientists have to learn from these if they want to understand a realistic model of human behavior. Triver’s in his seminal work “Deceit and self deception” attempts to construct a theory for deception. He argues that we paint a distorted picture of the world so that we might easily get our way with others. We play down our failings, inflate our achievements and rationalize our mistakes.
The struggle against stupidity is a continuous one within each of us, the struggle for clear logic and honest introspection and discussion is the tragic story of our lives. In such a case truth or goodness is an essentially meaningless term. It is like an intellectual astringent that would enable us to do some long overdue spiritual, ethical and liturgical cleansing.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
wall posts
The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites families. Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the man. Man did not weave the web of life he is just a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself. Chief Seattle 1852.
I don't pray because god would be shocked at my requests, nor can he grant me the 3 boons like the genie, of love , peace on earth and happiness.
Sometimes the road ends, and there is nowhere to go, .....so eat, drink, love and be merry, let light assault the darkness and your senses to show the path.-Vinay
Mammon is the most powerful and sought out religion. Everyone prays ardently and worships it.
The ancient Greeks believed that without worshipers even gods would die.
Blasphemy is a victimless crime, that’s why I am not convicted
Most of the time God does not answer our prayers, then why do we need God?
A writer doesn’t mind criticism at all. All the writers and philosophers
in the past have been criticized including Shakespeare. A writer should
not get into ego clashes about beliefs. At most, knowing that criticism
is out of ignorance, he can have a good laugh about it. We need a god who can laugh, jest is also a by product of the truth.
I knew drinking made me unmarriageable, but I simply put drinking ahead of marriage for as long as I could.
Men who believe in religion are ignorant and sadists. Women who believe in religion are ignorant and masochists. - Taslima Nasreen Author on religions.
A writer doesn’t mind criticism at all. All the writers and philosophers in the past have been criticized including Shakespeare. A writer should not get into ego clashes about beliefs. At most, knowing that criticism is out of ignorance, he can have a good laugh about it.
The only way we can pay tribute to Steve Jobs, who gave the world so much by his constant innovation, is to use his products and prove by using that one has caught the creative torch that he tried passing on the world.
The best things I like about animals is they don’t have any religion.-Vinay
A wise man recognizes that the world is an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering!
Atheism has no Church/Temple or Mosque; no prayers, no holy books, no scriptures, no dogmas and no preachers. You have to make your own path and way of life. It has no prophet and does not make profit by deluding anyone.-Vinay-
No legal or moral statute can be used to pass judgment on the right or wrong of what happened. It falls more in the realm of unwritten ethical code that derives its strength, more from within, than without. It ought to be appreciated for what it is, without us having to be judgmental about who was wrong and why.
I could not access my wall to update my status, as the computer kept stating, that I need to upgrade my brain, to be compatible with the new software I downloaded for my Mozilla Firefox browser. So I went to my bar had two drinks and now it is working beautifully. -Vinay-
Mistakes should be made a part of the curriculum of life, as the most important lessons are learnt from it.-Vinay- "Experience is the name wise men give to mistakes''.
The “Original Sin” it seems is the sin of being born poor -- or, if not, why don’t the rich, the owners, the exploiters, the bosses, the ruling political, religious, and military elites have to suffer in this way.
Listening to soulful music like Bach/ Beethoven/Mozart or birds chirping is like embracing spirituality. In total silence the mind is stilled, like a beautiful opiate, where you don’t get addicted yet, you attain a deep sensitivity and receptivity to nature. As ego dissolves it penetrates to the core of your being, this is the essence.-Vinay-
Dictatorship is a dying art!
I don't pray because god would be shocked at my requests, nor can he grant me the 3 boons like the genie, of love , peace on earth and happiness.
Sometimes the road ends, and there is nowhere to go, .....so eat, drink, love and be merry, let light assault the darkness and your senses to show the path.-Vinay
Mammon is the most powerful and sought out religion. Everyone prays ardently and worships it.
The ancient Greeks believed that without worshipers even gods would die.
Blasphemy is a victimless crime, that’s why I am not convicted
Most of the time God does not answer our prayers, then why do we need God?
A writer doesn’t mind criticism at all. All the writers and philosophers
in the past have been criticized including Shakespeare. A writer should
not get into ego clashes about beliefs. At most, knowing that criticism
is out of ignorance, he can have a good laugh about it. We need a god who can laugh, jest is also a by product of the truth.
I knew drinking made me unmarriageable, but I simply put drinking ahead of marriage for as long as I could.
Men who believe in religion are ignorant and sadists. Women who believe in religion are ignorant and masochists. - Taslima Nasreen Author on religions.
A writer doesn’t mind criticism at all. All the writers and philosophers in the past have been criticized including Shakespeare. A writer should not get into ego clashes about beliefs. At most, knowing that criticism is out of ignorance, he can have a good laugh about it.
The only way we can pay tribute to Steve Jobs, who gave the world so much by his constant innovation, is to use his products and prove by using that one has caught the creative torch that he tried passing on the world.
The best things I like about animals is they don’t have any religion.-Vinay
A wise man recognizes that the world is an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering!
Atheism has no Church/Temple or Mosque; no prayers, no holy books, no scriptures, no dogmas and no preachers. You have to make your own path and way of life. It has no prophet and does not make profit by deluding anyone.-Vinay-
No legal or moral statute can be used to pass judgment on the right or wrong of what happened. It falls more in the realm of unwritten ethical code that derives its strength, more from within, than without. It ought to be appreciated for what it is, without us having to be judgmental about who was wrong and why.
I could not access my wall to update my status, as the computer kept stating, that I need to upgrade my brain, to be compatible with the new software I downloaded for my Mozilla Firefox browser. So I went to my bar had two drinks and now it is working beautifully. -Vinay-
Mistakes should be made a part of the curriculum of life, as the most important lessons are learnt from it.-Vinay- "Experience is the name wise men give to mistakes''.
The “Original Sin” it seems is the sin of being born poor -- or, if not, why don’t the rich, the owners, the exploiters, the bosses, the ruling political, religious, and military elites have to suffer in this way.
Listening to soulful music like Bach/ Beethoven/Mozart or birds chirping is like embracing spirituality. In total silence the mind is stilled, like a beautiful opiate, where you don’t get addicted yet, you attain a deep sensitivity and receptivity to nature. As ego dissolves it penetrates to the core of your being, this is the essence.-Vinay-
Dictatorship is a dying art!
recycled wall posts
Here is a riddle from cosmic link!
What is greater than God; more evil than the devil. The poor have it and the rich need it and if one eats it continuously, one is likely to die.
Nothing is the answer! For nothing is greater than God, nothing is more evil than Satan. The poor have nothing and the rich need nothing. And if you eat nothing you will surely die.
In spiritual terms it says that nothing you really want is outside. Or is the Vedic view that fullness that aligns grace with emptiness.
Quantum physics also says that a vacuum is a veritable atomic cauldron seething with real and virtual particles spontaneously popping in and out of existence. Vital .C.N.
A great person is someone who turns adversity into a creative endeavor that shatters the mundane limitations and grasps the spontaneity of opportunity to deliver the marvelous. Vinay-
The Universe has everything in abundance, so we need not strive to amass, possess or acquire it, just embrace nature.-Vinay-
The Islamist clergy "misguides" its zealous followers and uses them as "guided missiles" and weapons of mass destruction to wreck terror, violence and devastation across the world.
Harold Camping the evangelist preacher from USA after mis-predicting May 21st as doomsday has used his left over evangelical fervor to pronounce October 21st as the end of the world. After proselytizing his religion for 89 years his end will surely come soon. And god will ask on “Judgment Day” what happened to the prophecy you made that day.
For Camping “thy doomsday Kingdom will come down soon, when his will do him in” as a final curtain call, while the heathens will inherit the earth. _Amen_ Vinay-
I am dying with of too many physicians attending on me. Because of a “vortex of specialists” swirling through the ward; they ran a battery of tests blood/urine stool, X-Ray, CT scan Sonography, Pornography (removed my clothes), ECG etc. Since
everything was positive they admitted me as an inpatient and then I had to have “an urologist for my urine, a lymphologist for my lymph, a cardiologist for my heart, an endocrinologist for my endocrines, a psychologist for my psyche, a dermatologist for my dermatitis … finally when I saw the (bill) [I burst a blood vessel] and I went searching for a pathologist for my pathos.
This much is certain, that all the Doctors have been infected with the “money epidemic: and that too thoroughly. They are working hard at increasing my life span, so that they can extract more blood money.
The career of a suicide bomber lasts only an instant he presses a button and a flash of light turns a nobody into a somebody. An incompetent somebody, is transformed into a martyr/saint overnight and becomes immortal. It took Mother Teresa 50 years of hard spiritual work before she was declared a saint and beatified. Want instant sainthood like Maggie noodles in two minutes anyone?? -Vinay-
I am adventurous like hanging out, drinking, smoking and sex and possess a mischievous sense of humor; but my peers are jealous and family unhappy.
They want me to act my age, and according to them I should be to be grumpy, old fashioned, spiritual and good for nothing.
Steve Jobs and Richard Gere both came to India to seek spiritual enlightenment and embrace the principles of Buddhism. The monastery skills have helped them in their different vocations, where both of them worked tirelessly for hours without any facial expression and a stoic resolution.
The “Indian rope trick” is nothing but a metaphor of how to deal with life. The rope is our ascending mind (kundalini), which is our love knotted by fear, envy, hate, and negativity. When we unknot these our life will spiral/rise up to the top with bliss, peace and love.- Vinay Tweets-
One should arrive at death comfortably after he has truly lived life fully, like a man returning to sleep from a grand Banquet!
When I am plagued by anxiety, fear, and negative emotions, I let myself be quietly drawn by the pull of the women who love me.
I am a free bird, I fly to the highest point of happiness, even if Iam alone in the sky, I am not lonely, I aim to brush the stars, and touch the angels who have no color, and sing my song softly as I fly past the cruel world below. Vinay
Every cultured and aristocratic family has one insane member, and in my family I am the chosen one!
The Universe will always exist, it is eternal, it is within your" nature" to accept it,you dont have to unravel it.The world is my abode, I dont try to understand it; I just accept and enjoy it.-Vinay-
When I put my wife on a pedestal, she began to give me orders from her lofty perch.
We don’t piss in your ashtrays, so don't throw cigarette stubs in our urinals!
Pakistan's latest Bombshell that caused a national stir in India, while exploding against the Indian media, has been defused by USA.( Foreign minister Hira Rabbani Khar called back to Islamabad and ISI stockade.)
What is greater than God; more evil than the devil. The poor have it and the rich need it and if one eats it continuously, one is likely to die.
Nothing is the answer! For nothing is greater than God, nothing is more evil than Satan. The poor have nothing and the rich need nothing. And if you eat nothing you will surely die.
In spiritual terms it says that nothing you really want is outside. Or is the Vedic view that fullness that aligns grace with emptiness.
Quantum physics also says that a vacuum is a veritable atomic cauldron seething with real and virtual particles spontaneously popping in and out of existence. Vital .C.N.
A great person is someone who turns adversity into a creative endeavor that shatters the mundane limitations and grasps the spontaneity of opportunity to deliver the marvelous. Vinay-
The Universe has everything in abundance, so we need not strive to amass, possess or acquire it, just embrace nature.-Vinay-
The Islamist clergy "misguides" its zealous followers and uses them as "guided missiles" and weapons of mass destruction to wreck terror, violence and devastation across the world.
Harold Camping the evangelist preacher from USA after mis-predicting May 21st as doomsday has used his left over evangelical fervor to pronounce October 21st as the end of the world. After proselytizing his religion for 89 years his end will surely come soon. And god will ask on “Judgment Day” what happened to the prophecy you made that day.
For Camping “thy doomsday Kingdom will come down soon, when his will do him in” as a final curtain call, while the heathens will inherit the earth. _Amen_ Vinay-
I am dying with of too many physicians attending on me. Because of a “vortex of specialists” swirling through the ward; they ran a battery of tests blood/urine stool, X-Ray, CT scan Sonography, Pornography (removed my clothes), ECG etc. Since
everything was positive they admitted me as an inpatient and then I had to have “an urologist for my urine, a lymphologist for my lymph, a cardiologist for my heart, an endocrinologist for my endocrines, a psychologist for my psyche, a dermatologist for my dermatitis … finally when I saw the (bill) [I burst a blood vessel] and I went searching for a pathologist for my pathos.
This much is certain, that all the Doctors have been infected with the “money epidemic: and that too thoroughly. They are working hard at increasing my life span, so that they can extract more blood money.
The career of a suicide bomber lasts only an instant he presses a button and a flash of light turns a nobody into a somebody. An incompetent somebody, is transformed into a martyr/saint overnight and becomes immortal. It took Mother Teresa 50 years of hard spiritual work before she was declared a saint and beatified. Want instant sainthood like Maggie noodles in two minutes anyone?? -Vinay-
I am adventurous like hanging out, drinking, smoking and sex and possess a mischievous sense of humor; but my peers are jealous and family unhappy.
They want me to act my age, and according to them I should be to be grumpy, old fashioned, spiritual and good for nothing.
Steve Jobs and Richard Gere both came to India to seek spiritual enlightenment and embrace the principles of Buddhism. The monastery skills have helped them in their different vocations, where both of them worked tirelessly for hours without any facial expression and a stoic resolution.
The “Indian rope trick” is nothing but a metaphor of how to deal with life. The rope is our ascending mind (kundalini), which is our love knotted by fear, envy, hate, and negativity. When we unknot these our life will spiral/rise up to the top with bliss, peace and love.- Vinay Tweets-
One should arrive at death comfortably after he has truly lived life fully, like a man returning to sleep from a grand Banquet!
When I am plagued by anxiety, fear, and negative emotions, I let myself be quietly drawn by the pull of the women who love me.
I am a free bird, I fly to the highest point of happiness, even if Iam alone in the sky, I am not lonely, I aim to brush the stars, and touch the angels who have no color, and sing my song softly as I fly past the cruel world below. Vinay
Every cultured and aristocratic family has one insane member, and in my family I am the chosen one!
The Universe will always exist, it is eternal, it is within your" nature" to accept it,you dont have to unravel it.The world is my abode, I dont try to understand it; I just accept and enjoy it.-Vinay-
When I put my wife on a pedestal, she began to give me orders from her lofty perch.
We don’t piss in your ashtrays, so don't throw cigarette stubs in our urinals!
Pakistan's latest Bombshell that caused a national stir in India, while exploding against the Indian media, has been defused by USA.( Foreign minister Hira Rabbani Khar called back to Islamabad and ISI stockade.)
Replayed wall posts
You practice forgiveness for two reasons: to let others know that you no longer wish to be in a state of hostility with them and to free yourself from the self-defeating energy of resentment. Send love in some form to those you feel have wronged you and notice how much better you feel.”
Impermanence and freedom are the essential components for an exciting and blissful life.
I will pass away sooner than most people who read this, but that doesn't shake my sense of wonder and joy at this world I live. I am grateful for the gifts of intelligence, love, friendship, fun, family, adventure and laughter. I do not fear death but I am afraid of people’s ignorance and stupidity. Blog posts recreated.
As a fragile hatchling precariously placed on an edge, you need to get to safety. The way down would be the best, so you have to hop from ledge to ledge and slide down walls to safe ground, and hopefully to find out where you came from. Just be careful and don’t take too much damage or you’ll be nothing more than a broken shell.
I respect kindness in human beings first of all, and kindness to animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer and alcohol stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer.
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. Unknown
. Prayer.
An unpleasurable state of mind, combining an intense need for activity with a lack of purpose; In prayer, excitation is experienced but its aim has been forgotten. The environment may be shunned in an effort to relieve the excitation through fantasy. More likely, however, the religious environment is sought in the hope that relief will come through some chance encounter with a purpose similar to the one forgotten. Religious persons pass from situation to situation like someone who has misplaced a valuable possession and inquires incessantly for its whereabouts, but the discovery of purpose has the disadvantage of responsibility. Hence, the religious environment is enlisted for gratification-unknown aims cannot be gratified-but for continued diversion and distraction of the realities of life; one can close ones eyes and pray. -Unmuzzled –Vinay-
I have shed many avatars, student/lover/ writer/pseudo-philosopher/husband/ father, discarding one body after another as all of them were misfits for me in my life.
I am amongst the last generation of sensitive, distinguished Aristocrats for whom, culture and chivalry are not words one searches in 'Webster', but something one practices in everyday life because of the deep humility ingrained inside!- The last of the Kappana's-
The secret to a rich and extraordinary life is to have more experiences than money!
The secret to a rich and extraordinary life is to have more experiences than money! he past now exists only in memories; the present reality is too grim to survive. I attempt to throw off the pain accumulated over the years, the virus of our disillusionment. Recalling memories make us somber, shedding silent tears; sharing the pain & pleasure of the past glory. My mind is crowded with the ghosts of yesteryear and my ears echo with the sound of voices of the people long lost in time.
My dreams burst into flames of passion, why did we keep our love trapped in our hearts, like a prisoner without expressing our love which was confined to a solitary cell. Now when my hair has turned grey, my memories turn to ashes and I impose upon myself a wanton amnesia!-Vinay-
Though shunned by the learned and middle class, the politicians woo the gullible public ignominiously for their vote banks and when elected however unsuited for their tasks they are ready and eager to assume responsibility for affairs of the state and world...Vinay-
The tree of life cannot be nourished by your watering it with tears of self pity, but it must be kept alive, by the knowledge that freedom is real and everlasting. Plexus.
There is more truth and beauty in life and in nature than in all the holy books
Everyone occasionally feels dissatisfied with reality, but some people are born with a vicious criminal streak to break free from it.
If I were to start confessing to all my sins, then I will be kneeling in confession till the end of my life!
Church/Synagogue/Mosque
An assemblage of believers, for the purpose of hearing the readings of holy book and the expounding of the law. God’s deliberate flatness in his scrolls, with touches of megalomania and prayer.
Here is my final statement, about drugs, about alcohol, about pornography and smoking and everything else. What business is it of yours what I do, read, buy, see, say, think, who I take to bed, what I take into my body - as long as I do not harm another human being on this planet? Always know your rights!
Impermanence and freedom are the essential components for an exciting and blissful life.
I will pass away sooner than most people who read this, but that doesn't shake my sense of wonder and joy at this world I live. I am grateful for the gifts of intelligence, love, friendship, fun, family, adventure and laughter. I do not fear death but I am afraid of people’s ignorance and stupidity. Blog posts recreated.
As a fragile hatchling precariously placed on an edge, you need to get to safety. The way down would be the best, so you have to hop from ledge to ledge and slide down walls to safe ground, and hopefully to find out where you came from. Just be careful and don’t take too much damage or you’ll be nothing more than a broken shell.
I respect kindness in human beings first of all, and kindness to animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer and alcohol stronger, the food cheaper and the old men and old women warmer in the winter and happier in the summer.
I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. Unknown
. Prayer.
An unpleasurable state of mind, combining an intense need for activity with a lack of purpose; In prayer, excitation is experienced but its aim has been forgotten. The environment may be shunned in an effort to relieve the excitation through fantasy. More likely, however, the religious environment is sought in the hope that relief will come through some chance encounter with a purpose similar to the one forgotten. Religious persons pass from situation to situation like someone who has misplaced a valuable possession and inquires incessantly for its whereabouts, but the discovery of purpose has the disadvantage of responsibility. Hence, the religious environment is enlisted for gratification-unknown aims cannot be gratified-but for continued diversion and distraction of the realities of life; one can close ones eyes and pray. -Unmuzzled –Vinay-
I have shed many avatars, student/lover/ writer/pseudo-philosopher/husband/ father, discarding one body after another as all of them were misfits for me in my life.
I am amongst the last generation of sensitive, distinguished Aristocrats for whom, culture and chivalry are not words one searches in 'Webster', but something one practices in everyday life because of the deep humility ingrained inside!- The last of the Kappana's-
The secret to a rich and extraordinary life is to have more experiences than money!
The secret to a rich and extraordinary life is to have more experiences than money! he past now exists only in memories; the present reality is too grim to survive. I attempt to throw off the pain accumulated over the years, the virus of our disillusionment. Recalling memories make us somber, shedding silent tears; sharing the pain & pleasure of the past glory. My mind is crowded with the ghosts of yesteryear and my ears echo with the sound of voices of the people long lost in time.
My dreams burst into flames of passion, why did we keep our love trapped in our hearts, like a prisoner without expressing our love which was confined to a solitary cell. Now when my hair has turned grey, my memories turn to ashes and I impose upon myself a wanton amnesia!-Vinay-
Though shunned by the learned and middle class, the politicians woo the gullible public ignominiously for their vote banks and when elected however unsuited for their tasks they are ready and eager to assume responsibility for affairs of the state and world...Vinay-
The tree of life cannot be nourished by your watering it with tears of self pity, but it must be kept alive, by the knowledge that freedom is real and everlasting. Plexus.
There is more truth and beauty in life and in nature than in all the holy books
Everyone occasionally feels dissatisfied with reality, but some people are born with a vicious criminal streak to break free from it.
If I were to start confessing to all my sins, then I will be kneeling in confession till the end of my life!
Church/Synagogue/Mosque
An assemblage of believers, for the purpose of hearing the readings of holy book and the expounding of the law. God’s deliberate flatness in his scrolls, with touches of megalomania and prayer.
Here is my final statement, about drugs, about alcohol, about pornography and smoking and everything else. What business is it of yours what I do, read, buy, see, say, think, who I take to bed, what I take into my body - as long as I do not harm another human being on this planet? Always know your rights!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Marijuana Mystics
India has always been the land where mystics, saints, mendicants, gurus, philosophers and other spiritual men have roamed. They come in all sorts and forms from the cannabis smoking, chillum puffing gurus whose sermons, high on spirituality rendered an esoteric aura to these transcendental mystics. The beefy alcoholics of the west were inspired by the words of wisdom that spewed forth in a haze of marijuana smoke.
The thoughts of philosophers and writers translated into words are like the deep ocean currents, they have to float to the minds surface on its own impulse and cannot be forced from without; it is often viewed as mystical and many writers or philosophers have spiritual overtones. It does not necessarily mean that philosophers or writers should be viewed as mystics.
Narrative comes up as sharp visual thoughts since consistent emotions cannot be held in the mind for too long. The word transfers the energy of reality and pulls the reader into his world. The writer finds description of the spiritual reality is a limitation of humans; a sort of projection of fears, desires and expectations, rather than a true assertion about the personality of the Universe. The figuration or attribute is transformed to truth free of the quality of attributes.
The world of the writer is an alternative society governed by deep thought and not any tenet or scripture. Hectoring, proselytizing vows and oaths or fierce confrontation, is not to make enemies but to draw the slothful or reluctant fundamentalist into a relationship with the writer’s alternative society.
Sexuality can be channeled through words, a key element in raising it to a state of arousal or heightened sensitivity. Sex becomes a controller of the technique of ecstasy and language is used to develop insight or vision. It transfers the reader into another state, affecting their mind scape, time and space which become sacred. This is like entering into realism by lifting the oral and physical into a written script.
The thoughts of philosophers and writers translated into words are like the deep ocean currents, they have to float to the minds surface on its own impulse and cannot be forced from without; it is often viewed as mystical and many writers or philosophers have spiritual overtones. It does not necessarily mean that philosophers or writers should be viewed as mystics.
Narrative comes up as sharp visual thoughts since consistent emotions cannot be held in the mind for too long. The word transfers the energy of reality and pulls the reader into his world. The writer finds description of the spiritual reality is a limitation of humans; a sort of projection of fears, desires and expectations, rather than a true assertion about the personality of the Universe. The figuration or attribute is transformed to truth free of the quality of attributes.
The world of the writer is an alternative society governed by deep thought and not any tenet or scripture. Hectoring, proselytizing vows and oaths or fierce confrontation, is not to make enemies but to draw the slothful or reluctant fundamentalist into a relationship with the writer’s alternative society.
Sexuality can be channeled through words, a key element in raising it to a state of arousal or heightened sensitivity. Sex becomes a controller of the technique of ecstasy and language is used to develop insight or vision. It transfers the reader into another state, affecting their mind scape, time and space which become sacred. This is like entering into realism by lifting the oral and physical into a written script.
The shroud of mysticism
We see the Burkha as a very symbol of Islam, but women interact with this piece of clothing in myriad ways, mostly to shield, often to mask and sometimes to camouflage. Whatever the motivations in deciding to wear the hijab, a woman makes a statement about herself as much as about society she lives in.
Rahul Irani has a story to tell about photo ops he undertook, and here are some of the excerpts Arshi Khan a student at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi says she wears the Burkha to please Allah, but manages to keep her fashion quotient high with a shocking pink contrast bag. Sebha Jafri a former convent school teacher in Bhopal says she is as modern as any other 28 year old girl and wears expensive lingerie and shorts to entice her spouse within the four walls of her room, but wears the burkha when she steps out of the house like a typical Muslim housewife. Gul feels her burkha makes her feel more secure during her early morning jogs, though it is not comfortable while running. Even women in Burkha feel targeted all the time, but get used to it, Gul feels her security blanket, ironically makes her stand out in a crowd and spends a lot of time in a gym to battle this sense of vulnerability. For Nidhi, the burkha is not a religious diktat, it is the perfect foil. It assures her anonymity, it is an equalizer, and she is a commercial sex worker at Kabri Bazaar in Meerut. She manages quite a few respectable glances as she walks down the sheets to shop in a hijab. It is another matter that she actually seeks out the leering advances of prospective clients once she gets down to work. Burkha tailors tend to be men; women cover themselves in loose clothing while getting their measurements taken. In India women who refused to reveal their identity cards were not issued identity cards.
The veil issue is part of a heated debate about multiculturalism in Europe. The issues involved are religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. In Italy a draft bill banning the burkha/hijab in public places is in place. France in April banned women from hiding their face behind a veil; Spain has imposed a ban on full face veils in public places, similar to the ban existing in Belgium. There are three distinct types of veils worn by Muslim women, Burqa is a loose cloak covering the whole body from the top of the head to the toes and includes head covering and face veil. Chador is an open cloak full body length of fabric split open down the front, with a head hole in the top. Hijab- refers to both the head covering and modest style of dressing. It means covering everything except face and hands in public. Niqab- covers the face unlike a burqa which covers the whole body. Excerpts of Photo ops-Open.
Rahul Irani has a story to tell about photo ops he undertook, and here are some of the excerpts Arshi Khan a student at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi says she wears the Burkha to please Allah, but manages to keep her fashion quotient high with a shocking pink contrast bag. Sebha Jafri a former convent school teacher in Bhopal says she is as modern as any other 28 year old girl and wears expensive lingerie and shorts to entice her spouse within the four walls of her room, but wears the burkha when she steps out of the house like a typical Muslim housewife. Gul feels her burkha makes her feel more secure during her early morning jogs, though it is not comfortable while running. Even women in Burkha feel targeted all the time, but get used to it, Gul feels her security blanket, ironically makes her stand out in a crowd and spends a lot of time in a gym to battle this sense of vulnerability. For Nidhi, the burkha is not a religious diktat, it is the perfect foil. It assures her anonymity, it is an equalizer, and she is a commercial sex worker at Kabri Bazaar in Meerut. She manages quite a few respectable glances as she walks down the sheets to shop in a hijab. It is another matter that she actually seeks out the leering advances of prospective clients once she gets down to work. Burkha tailors tend to be men; women cover themselves in loose clothing while getting their measurements taken. In India women who refused to reveal their identity cards were not issued identity cards.
The veil issue is part of a heated debate about multiculturalism in Europe. The issues involved are religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. In Italy a draft bill banning the burkha/hijab in public places is in place. France in April banned women from hiding their face behind a veil; Spain has imposed a ban on full face veils in public places, similar to the ban existing in Belgium. There are three distinct types of veils worn by Muslim women, Burqa is a loose cloak covering the whole body from the top of the head to the toes and includes head covering and face veil. Chador is an open cloak full body length of fabric split open down the front, with a head hole in the top. Hijab- refers to both the head covering and modest style of dressing. It means covering everything except face and hands in public. Niqab- covers the face unlike a burqa which covers the whole body. Excerpts of Photo ops-Open.
The Carpet Beggars.
Astonishment even disgust often greet us when we see the multitude beggars with mutilated limbs, infected sores ,or leprosy inflicted gorged flesh, trail us, as they seemed intent on displaying the worlds ugliness under our noses. These were many types, men, women and children dressed in old rags, tangled hair some with fur of monkeys, all begging for alms. You will find them outside every temple, mosque, church and place of worship, entreating and begging earnestly.
In traditional religions it is considered that a person who gives alms to beggars scores religious brownie points. Most affluent people give to save taxes, to deal with the guilt of having wealth, which they have amassed at the expense of the rest of the society. Religions encourage this form of charity as people feel benevolent by feeding beggars. It is a salve for the guilty conscience of the rich as it allows them to atone for the sin of being more privileged and they feel that God is also entitled to a part of their largesse. In many cities, begging is an organized business with a structured hierarchal system, similar to pimping and prostitution.
In some Hindu and Buddhist, traditions spiritual seekers called Sadhus or Monks keep going from place begging as any fruitive activity is considered as a materialistic quest. The Abrahamic religion does it under the guise of charitable donations from rich patrons and governments to spread their faith. In some Hindu traditions old men after a full life give up their material possessions and relations to wonder as ascetic mendicants.
The paradox of the situation is that those who come out of these places of worship and dole out alms have a superior air around them and look down condescendingly on the beggars as lesser mortals.
These beggars are under no illusion and are aware that they can sustain themselves by begging for food and money which will take care of their physical needs and in some cases the beggars have made a sizable wealth. They have territories and often disputes and physical violence erupts when there is encroachment.
All religions and their teachings direct their believers to a creator, god, or deity who is all powerful and will grant the wishes and requests of their believers. This is where every believer, including the high and mighty are directed by their faith to beg from the Almighty to grant their requests and fulfill their desires. . Buying equity with God is the wrong path to salvation and they themselves will always remain beggars with their prayer mats or carpets in tow.
Here religion or faith converts them into “spiritual beggars” as they rush to these places of worship to entreat earnestly, implore, or supplicate. It is mostly for a selfish purpose of securing a material benefit or relieve illness, pain or suffering for a family member. They are encouraged to bribe god by way of gifts, donations or even money.
These religious beggars have a divine look and derive a great sense of satisfaction from their acts. One begs in front of mortals the other in front of immortals. Who is under the illusion and what is the stark reality? It is only those who are “wealthy in their hearts” who really give away more than those who are rich with material. Time, energy, skills and compassion for the less privileged are more important than money. The simple wisdom that lies in the tenets of true altruism is this reality which brings happiness and warmth to the giver and taker, the rest of the spiritual beggars will always be in a vacuum. –Vinay-
In traditional religions it is considered that a person who gives alms to beggars scores religious brownie points. Most affluent people give to save taxes, to deal with the guilt of having wealth, which they have amassed at the expense of the rest of the society. Religions encourage this form of charity as people feel benevolent by feeding beggars. It is a salve for the guilty conscience of the rich as it allows them to atone for the sin of being more privileged and they feel that God is also entitled to a part of their largesse. In many cities, begging is an organized business with a structured hierarchal system, similar to pimping and prostitution.
In some Hindu and Buddhist, traditions spiritual seekers called Sadhus or Monks keep going from place begging as any fruitive activity is considered as a materialistic quest. The Abrahamic religion does it under the guise of charitable donations from rich patrons and governments to spread their faith. In some Hindu traditions old men after a full life give up their material possessions and relations to wonder as ascetic mendicants.
The paradox of the situation is that those who come out of these places of worship and dole out alms have a superior air around them and look down condescendingly on the beggars as lesser mortals.
These beggars are under no illusion and are aware that they can sustain themselves by begging for food and money which will take care of their physical needs and in some cases the beggars have made a sizable wealth. They have territories and often disputes and physical violence erupts when there is encroachment.
All religions and their teachings direct their believers to a creator, god, or deity who is all powerful and will grant the wishes and requests of their believers. This is where every believer, including the high and mighty are directed by their faith to beg from the Almighty to grant their requests and fulfill their desires. . Buying equity with God is the wrong path to salvation and they themselves will always remain beggars with their prayer mats or carpets in tow.
Here religion or faith converts them into “spiritual beggars” as they rush to these places of worship to entreat earnestly, implore, or supplicate. It is mostly for a selfish purpose of securing a material benefit or relieve illness, pain or suffering for a family member. They are encouraged to bribe god by way of gifts, donations or even money.
These religious beggars have a divine look and derive a great sense of satisfaction from their acts. One begs in front of mortals the other in front of immortals. Who is under the illusion and what is the stark reality? It is only those who are “wealthy in their hearts” who really give away more than those who are rich with material. Time, energy, skills and compassion for the less privileged are more important than money. The simple wisdom that lies in the tenets of true altruism is this reality which brings happiness and warmth to the giver and taker, the rest of the spiritual beggars will always be in a vacuum. –Vinay-
Sometimes the tracks end …... and there is nowhere to go!
The total lack of safety and security for our women in cities is appalling, rape is a heinous primal act of monstrosity and is far more prevalent than ever before. It is a searing shame on modern society and just by denouncing the crime on grounds of morality, the culpability cannot be explained away, nor can the oft stated term that culprit had a diseased mind excuse the larger issues on hand. For the victims the physical abuse and violence constitute their very being and is not just an abstract matter of transgression of societal morals for which they seek justice.
The victims of rape never get over the trauma and their life becomes a maelstrom with no solace or peace. There are endless debates, discussions with wide TV and press coverage because anything remotely related to sexuality ensures a good story even if it offends sensibilities, people like to skim on the news and move on to more bloodthirsty stories.
Among the thousands of victims of rape the narratives may be long forgotten but the scars on the psyche long remain to haunt them forever. Therapeutic anodyne counseling or talking about it can never heal or help them to” get over “it. Such crimes defy our context of progress and victims remain forever mute and some silently metamorphose into inner strength while some remain tainted for life. We can only try to transpose from the realms of our minds, the corporeality, as our thoughts bleed copiously like tears into our societal injustice that is meted out to them, from the fascist, violent, aesthetic system that elides the actual suffering in their desperate search for validation and reason.
The charade will continue, appeal against the death sentence, the objective investigations of the crime,the lack of eyewitnesses, the relentless media, the endless debates.
Meanwhile Soumya (may her soul RIP) is a silenced body that has become an altar, dead and unspeakable, where justice is being played out. We can hear the echoes of her screams, our nightmares flame with horror, but slowly we will impose upon ourselves a deep amnesia, from which we can sip deeply till the next rape is perpetuated.Vinay-
( A Kerala court awarded the death sentence to a man who pushed a girl out of a train raped and murdered her.His lawyer will appeal against the sentence in High Court)
The victims of rape never get over the trauma and their life becomes a maelstrom with no solace or peace. There are endless debates, discussions with wide TV and press coverage because anything remotely related to sexuality ensures a good story even if it offends sensibilities, people like to skim on the news and move on to more bloodthirsty stories.
Among the thousands of victims of rape the narratives may be long forgotten but the scars on the psyche long remain to haunt them forever. Therapeutic anodyne counseling or talking about it can never heal or help them to” get over “it. Such crimes defy our context of progress and victims remain forever mute and some silently metamorphose into inner strength while some remain tainted for life. We can only try to transpose from the realms of our minds, the corporeality, as our thoughts bleed copiously like tears into our societal injustice that is meted out to them, from the fascist, violent, aesthetic system that elides the actual suffering in their desperate search for validation and reason.
The charade will continue, appeal against the death sentence, the objective investigations of the crime,the lack of eyewitnesses, the relentless media, the endless debates.
Meanwhile Soumya (may her soul RIP) is a silenced body that has become an altar, dead and unspeakable, where justice is being played out. We can hear the echoes of her screams, our nightmares flame with horror, but slowly we will impose upon ourselves a deep amnesia, from which we can sip deeply till the next rape is perpetuated.Vinay-
( A Kerala court awarded the death sentence to a man who pushed a girl out of a train raped and murdered her.His lawyer will appeal against the sentence in High Court)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
THE HYPOCRATIC OATH!
Medical breakthrough!, Laparoscopic surgery for hernia, new hormone suppressing drug, cellular pathway to trigger, immune responses. Advances in Science and Technology are they mere semantics? Recently, a baby had swellings, was rushed to a clinic. Doctors treated her for 3 days and when the ailment did not subside gave her a huge bill that eroded her parents’ 6 months salary and then asked them to admit her in a fancy City hospital. More tests, reports, heavy hospital charges, poor parents’ one-year salary and earnings down the drain. Finally the child dies; health care has become prohibitive in big cities.
In my youth when I had rashes and puffed up eyes, our family Doctor an L.M.P. would say it was allergy due to eating raw mango and suggest rubbing calamine lotion and Waterbury’s tonic. Today for the same symptom you will have to consult, a child specialist, who will ask for a blood test, urine and stool test, consult a second opinion, one more blood picture, then finally prescribe antibiotics that will ensure that patient is weak for two weeks and then slap a bill of Rs.15, 000/- so that you have a nervous breakdown.
Last week I read that a lady had delivered a baby in the crowded suburban train, with all commuters helping her. My mother delivered five healthy babies with only the mid-wife in attendance. However, every one out of two deliveries, in any standard nursing home is a Cesarean with a hefty bill of Rs1.50,000/- plus hospital charges, charges for medicine, an expensive way to bring in a new offspring, not forgetting all the monthly visits, blood tests, CAT scans MRI’s et alii! Now we know why those Doctors and Surgeons wear masks.
Recently one of my technicians was involved in a motorcycle accident, multiple fracture, an operation, fancy inserts (Titanium) a bill of Rs.1,67, 000/- with no medical insurance his one year income will go in settling the bill. I too had mo-bike accidents, to be specific seven in two years, but was usually in plaster or cast for two weeks and was as fit as a fiddle.
A friend of mine, who made his nest egg in the Gulf, took VRS and was happily sitting at home for the past seven years. Suddenly last week he complained of a slight chest pain, and was rushed to a clinic. They slammed him into an I.C.U. for ten days, ran all sorts of tests ECG, Treadmill, Holter and then diagnosed that it was a mild stroke, then they presented him with a bill of Rs.1,88,000/- poor fellow almost choked and had a real stroke!
Even Dentists have learned the ropes, it is no longer filling a decayed tooth, caries or extraction, it is now called a “Root Canal Extraction” and cosmetic orthodontists thrown in, will cost you as much as it would to build a small canal.
Today even the mildest of fever is treated like a 9/11 terrorist attack, all sorts of tests, screening, reports, to ensure that you will worry and finally, when you ask him for the diagnosis of the ailment? You get a profound statement. “Virus or viral fever. Isn’t that the same disease that affects computers? All specialists in leading hospitals are set billing targets for every month which are between 10 to 20 Crores and also instructed to ensure that patients are forced to other departments for lab investigations or cross referencing which is the medical jargon used to fool patients. PET-CT is recommended as it is three times more expensive than the normal CT scan. These tests often benefit the hospital rather than the patient. Recently some software professional who is the new target profile groups went to a corporate hospital complaining of severe throat pain. After a battery of tests to rule out cancer, tuberculosis, cervical spondylitis, and laryngitis it was diagnosed as tonsillitis and the bill only Rs. 35000.00. Patients are first asked whether they are insured before they are asked about the ailment or affliction.
For anyone: over 35 years, consult a Doctor at your own peril! A visit to any clinic will ensure that they run a battery of tests ranging from HbAIC, CAT scan, MRI’s, Holters to Biopsy costing between 25,000 to 40,000/- depending on which part of Bombay you hail from. The final diagnosis, “stress” which can affect your heart, liver, kidneys and other critical organs. A lot of antibiotics will be prescribed with weekly visits for the Doctor’s consulting fee to be collected. In the good old days the family physician would give you a bottle of pink colored liquid, and some white powder in a sachet, he would also be embarrassed if you tried to slip a fiver down his hand. Today the same symptom is a sign of stress, for which no satisfactory treatment has been found for under Rs.25, 000/- and it is called a life style disease. Only the affluent get this designer label.
Other esoteric diseases that Doctors love are Osteoporosis, Arthritis, and for senior citizens special ones like Hernia, enlarged prostrate glands etc. No Doctor is clear as to the function of the prostate gland; it seems to have been designed to fatten the Doctor’s wallet bye pass surgeries are as common as the cold.
The new flavor or trend is to have Hospitals vying with 5 Star Hotels for ambience, and the idea is to attract a new breed called the Medical Tourist. What happens to genuine healthcare and the terminally ill? Who cares! The idea is to have a Menu of tests with exotic names, hire nurses and Para-medicals who cannot differentiate an artery from a vein, and round it up with a bloated bill, so that client feels assured that since he’s paid through his nose the cure has saved his life. When politicians are busy changing names of streets and cities, I think we should consider renaming the I.C.M. R. (Indian Council of Medical Research) to the Indian Council of Mayhem and Rogues. Meanwhile, more power to the “Men in White” who discharge you after repairing your functional organs but ensure that you are neck deep in debt for the rest of your limited life. Now I know why my grandfather and other rural who had no access to super speciality hospitals or medical testing facilities lived a very healthy life till a ripe old age.
In my youth when I had rashes and puffed up eyes, our family Doctor an L.M.P. would say it was allergy due to eating raw mango and suggest rubbing calamine lotion and Waterbury’s tonic. Today for the same symptom you will have to consult, a child specialist, who will ask for a blood test, urine and stool test, consult a second opinion, one more blood picture, then finally prescribe antibiotics that will ensure that patient is weak for two weeks and then slap a bill of Rs.15, 000/- so that you have a nervous breakdown.
Last week I read that a lady had delivered a baby in the crowded suburban train, with all commuters helping her. My mother delivered five healthy babies with only the mid-wife in attendance. However, every one out of two deliveries, in any standard nursing home is a Cesarean with a hefty bill of Rs1.50,000/- plus hospital charges, charges for medicine, an expensive way to bring in a new offspring, not forgetting all the monthly visits, blood tests, CAT scans MRI’s et alii! Now we know why those Doctors and Surgeons wear masks.
Recently one of my technicians was involved in a motorcycle accident, multiple fracture, an operation, fancy inserts (Titanium) a bill of Rs.1,67, 000/- with no medical insurance his one year income will go in settling the bill. I too had mo-bike accidents, to be specific seven in two years, but was usually in plaster or cast for two weeks and was as fit as a fiddle.
A friend of mine, who made his nest egg in the Gulf, took VRS and was happily sitting at home for the past seven years. Suddenly last week he complained of a slight chest pain, and was rushed to a clinic. They slammed him into an I.C.U. for ten days, ran all sorts of tests ECG, Treadmill, Holter and then diagnosed that it was a mild stroke, then they presented him with a bill of Rs.1,88,000/- poor fellow almost choked and had a real stroke!
Even Dentists have learned the ropes, it is no longer filling a decayed tooth, caries or extraction, it is now called a “Root Canal Extraction” and cosmetic orthodontists thrown in, will cost you as much as it would to build a small canal.
Today even the mildest of fever is treated like a 9/11 terrorist attack, all sorts of tests, screening, reports, to ensure that you will worry and finally, when you ask him for the diagnosis of the ailment? You get a profound statement. “Virus or viral fever. Isn’t that the same disease that affects computers? All specialists in leading hospitals are set billing targets for every month which are between 10 to 20 Crores and also instructed to ensure that patients are forced to other departments for lab investigations or cross referencing which is the medical jargon used to fool patients. PET-CT is recommended as it is three times more expensive than the normal CT scan. These tests often benefit the hospital rather than the patient. Recently some software professional who is the new target profile groups went to a corporate hospital complaining of severe throat pain. After a battery of tests to rule out cancer, tuberculosis, cervical spondylitis, and laryngitis it was diagnosed as tonsillitis and the bill only Rs. 35000.00. Patients are first asked whether they are insured before they are asked about the ailment or affliction.
For anyone: over 35 years, consult a Doctor at your own peril! A visit to any clinic will ensure that they run a battery of tests ranging from HbAIC, CAT scan, MRI’s, Holters to Biopsy costing between 25,000 to 40,000/- depending on which part of Bombay you hail from. The final diagnosis, “stress” which can affect your heart, liver, kidneys and other critical organs. A lot of antibiotics will be prescribed with weekly visits for the Doctor’s consulting fee to be collected. In the good old days the family physician would give you a bottle of pink colored liquid, and some white powder in a sachet, he would also be embarrassed if you tried to slip a fiver down his hand. Today the same symptom is a sign of stress, for which no satisfactory treatment has been found for under Rs.25, 000/- and it is called a life style disease. Only the affluent get this designer label.
Other esoteric diseases that Doctors love are Osteoporosis, Arthritis, and for senior citizens special ones like Hernia, enlarged prostrate glands etc. No Doctor is clear as to the function of the prostate gland; it seems to have been designed to fatten the Doctor’s wallet bye pass surgeries are as common as the cold.
The new flavor or trend is to have Hospitals vying with 5 Star Hotels for ambience, and the idea is to attract a new breed called the Medical Tourist. What happens to genuine healthcare and the terminally ill? Who cares! The idea is to have a Menu of tests with exotic names, hire nurses and Para-medicals who cannot differentiate an artery from a vein, and round it up with a bloated bill, so that client feels assured that since he’s paid through his nose the cure has saved his life. When politicians are busy changing names of streets and cities, I think we should consider renaming the I.C.M. R. (Indian Council of Medical Research) to the Indian Council of Mayhem and Rogues. Meanwhile, more power to the “Men in White” who discharge you after repairing your functional organs but ensure that you are neck deep in debt for the rest of your limited life. Now I know why my grandfather and other rural who had no access to super speciality hospitals or medical testing facilities lived a very healthy life till a ripe old age.
THE INDIAN AMBASSADOR
Most of this breed, do not last their term, but the one I am writing about could perhaps creep into the Guinness book of records. It has a Royal lineage from Cowley to Oxford, no relation to the hallowed portals of education. Right from 1947 this sturdy lad has been able to defy technological changes, wind tunnels, automation, and aerodynamic styling; yes at once it is a survivor and an anachronism. Even the world beating Japanese, grudgingly admire the loyalty the Indian consumer had for it, it has also beaten the VolkswagonBeetles record as the only model that went on for 67 years without change. Yes, you have guessed it, it is Hindustan Motors revered car of the country, or is it country car the “Ambassador”.
The interiors still remind us nostalgically of the British club-room styles of the 40’s and are free of electrical and electronic gadgets. Arnold Schwarzenegger has one of those cars in his gym, to develop his biceps and trapezoidal muscles, which requires lowering and raising all 4 windows, beats a bull worker any day.
Considering the sweeping changes taking place globally amongst car makers, it is a miracle that this half a century old Ambassador is still the bench mark for most Indian cars. Attempts to put a Vauxhall sixty five model body on this big and thirsty engine, call it a Contessa, bombed in the market place, as Auto’s and cycle rickshaws used to overtake it on the slightest incline.
Efforts to cosmetically alter it, by a change of grill, dashboard, call it Mark III and Mark IV that gave it looks of the Shark in ‘Jaws’ also did not help the bottom-line. The latest incarnation the Nova with full page ads announcing it has 4 doors that open with difficulty and you can peep at the stars when closed (thanks to a 50 year old die), also more comfortable seats and rack and pinion steering being replaced by ball bearings have had no distinct bearing, on the tough crude looks of the car; It still looked like a villager in a City Suit.
There is no denying the versatility of this vehicle, it is at once a Company car, a Taxi, a Jeep, a Sedan, an Estate and during polls, Minivan for the electorate, and in some rare cases, has transported pre-fab houses, if one can put up with the discomforts, (courtesy suspension bushes) erratic behavior, (fuel pump in summer) poor performance and chunky box like looks, then one could endear oneself to it.
Once seated inside you get a commanding view, like from and armored Tank, and you can peer down with disdain, at those sleek Maruti’s that overtake you, which resemble Dinky toys being remote controlled by kids.
There are no individual or bucket seats in the front, which means with a little bit of yoga, you can provide enough room to seat 4 adults, in front and six in the rear which is good for the average Indian family, which has reduced/dwindled due to the vigorous family planning programme of the Govt. The driver’s seat is the best, due to the peculiar kink of the steering column which is mounted 20% off from the regular straight ones, the driver also has to sit at an angle veering to the right, thus giving him a rakish look to leer at the girls, and also get a good view of all the occupants in the rear through the mirror. The manufacturer also recommends this as a safety feature in case of a head on collision, the steering column misses your heart by 20% off and only dislocates your right chest sternum, and shoulder, no airbags, no E.C.G or Cardiologists required. However anyone who’s driven an Ambassador for more than 4 years is guaranteed of cervical spondylitis.
The sales shot up during the Auto boom years in 1980-89 with lease finance and when Maruti crossed the magic figure of Rs. 1.00 lac plus. The slogan was more for less, but then the excise, taxes and steel prices got their acts together and now it is priced in the rarefied atmosphere, somewhere in the upper reaches of the middle class. Ambassadors like ‘Chaat’ and ‘Bhelpuri’ are a cultivated taste, those who own them, love them and excuse their foibles as inbuilt into it..
It is basically, a mechanical car with conventional suspension that gives a loose sogginess after 2 months of driving; it is a cross country mechanical workhorse that can generate speed of 60 K.M..P.H over a long stretch which on Indian roads is pretty fast. As for road holding well it’s prone to turn turtle, if you corner at more than 40 Kmph, but then any driver with a modicum of skill would be able to sense, the inherent instability of the car, and lift his leg, from the accelerator, while cornering. And Birla, bless his soul, must have a warm feeling that this car is the hub of the transport system in India. Without the Ambassador, transport would come to a grinding halt, people would be Geostationary, corpses would rot in the houses and morgues, unemployment, would swell, as mechanic’s & taxi drivers joined the ranks. Not for the Ambassador, frills, like anti-lock brakes, power steering, McPherson struts, or central locking. The horn ring, is the most sophisticated part of the car, it is pressure sensitive, and blares out the moment you hit a pot-hole and on bumpy/bouncy roads keeps on in canting its own Sa Re Ga Ma. Pity for all those home grown vintage car collectors even after 67 years the Ambassador is the latest model. Even though the Govt, has recently liberalized its Industrial policy, and we may have car phones and GPS in about a year, the manufacturers, are not worried, and are not scouting for state of-the-art car technology, as they have a social obligation, the emission standards from the car’s exhausts are guaranteed to reduce the country’s population by the turn of the next century. This also meets the urgent objectives of the government’s population control, so we can’t ask for more, or can we?-Vinay-
The interiors still remind us nostalgically of the British club-room styles of the 40’s and are free of electrical and electronic gadgets. Arnold Schwarzenegger has one of those cars in his gym, to develop his biceps and trapezoidal muscles, which requires lowering and raising all 4 windows, beats a bull worker any day.
Considering the sweeping changes taking place globally amongst car makers, it is a miracle that this half a century old Ambassador is still the bench mark for most Indian cars. Attempts to put a Vauxhall sixty five model body on this big and thirsty engine, call it a Contessa, bombed in the market place, as Auto’s and cycle rickshaws used to overtake it on the slightest incline.
Efforts to cosmetically alter it, by a change of grill, dashboard, call it Mark III and Mark IV that gave it looks of the Shark in ‘Jaws’ also did not help the bottom-line. The latest incarnation the Nova with full page ads announcing it has 4 doors that open with difficulty and you can peep at the stars when closed (thanks to a 50 year old die), also more comfortable seats and rack and pinion steering being replaced by ball bearings have had no distinct bearing, on the tough crude looks of the car; It still looked like a villager in a City Suit.
There is no denying the versatility of this vehicle, it is at once a Company car, a Taxi, a Jeep, a Sedan, an Estate and during polls, Minivan for the electorate, and in some rare cases, has transported pre-fab houses, if one can put up with the discomforts, (courtesy suspension bushes) erratic behavior, (fuel pump in summer) poor performance and chunky box like looks, then one could endear oneself to it.
Once seated inside you get a commanding view, like from and armored Tank, and you can peer down with disdain, at those sleek Maruti’s that overtake you, which resemble Dinky toys being remote controlled by kids.
There are no individual or bucket seats in the front, which means with a little bit of yoga, you can provide enough room to seat 4 adults, in front and six in the rear which is good for the average Indian family, which has reduced/dwindled due to the vigorous family planning programme of the Govt. The driver’s seat is the best, due to the peculiar kink of the steering column which is mounted 20% off from the regular straight ones, the driver also has to sit at an angle veering to the right, thus giving him a rakish look to leer at the girls, and also get a good view of all the occupants in the rear through the mirror. The manufacturer also recommends this as a safety feature in case of a head on collision, the steering column misses your heart by 20% off and only dislocates your right chest sternum, and shoulder, no airbags, no E.C.G or Cardiologists required. However anyone who’s driven an Ambassador for more than 4 years is guaranteed of cervical spondylitis.
The sales shot up during the Auto boom years in 1980-89 with lease finance and when Maruti crossed the magic figure of Rs. 1.00 lac plus. The slogan was more for less, but then the excise, taxes and steel prices got their acts together and now it is priced in the rarefied atmosphere, somewhere in the upper reaches of the middle class. Ambassadors like ‘Chaat’ and ‘Bhelpuri’ are a cultivated taste, those who own them, love them and excuse their foibles as inbuilt into it..
It is basically, a mechanical car with conventional suspension that gives a loose sogginess after 2 months of driving; it is a cross country mechanical workhorse that can generate speed of 60 K.M..P.H over a long stretch which on Indian roads is pretty fast. As for road holding well it’s prone to turn turtle, if you corner at more than 40 Kmph, but then any driver with a modicum of skill would be able to sense, the inherent instability of the car, and lift his leg, from the accelerator, while cornering. And Birla, bless his soul, must have a warm feeling that this car is the hub of the transport system in India. Without the Ambassador, transport would come to a grinding halt, people would be Geostationary, corpses would rot in the houses and morgues, unemployment, would swell, as mechanic’s & taxi drivers joined the ranks. Not for the Ambassador, frills, like anti-lock brakes, power steering, McPherson struts, or central locking. The horn ring, is the most sophisticated part of the car, it is pressure sensitive, and blares out the moment you hit a pot-hole and on bumpy/bouncy roads keeps on in canting its own Sa Re Ga Ma. Pity for all those home grown vintage car collectors even after 67 years the Ambassador is the latest model. Even though the Govt, has recently liberalized its Industrial policy, and we may have car phones and GPS in about a year, the manufacturers, are not worried, and are not scouting for state of-the-art car technology, as they have a social obligation, the emission standards from the car’s exhausts are guaranteed to reduce the country’s population by the turn of the next century. This also meets the urgent objectives of the government’s population control, so we can’t ask for more, or can we?-Vinay-
Taare Zameen Par.
It is a cruel sort of poetic justice, that when the film with the above mentioned name was getting rave reviews and accolades from the press were heaped on the child star Darsheel Safary, who won an award, another forlorn film star Ravi Menon’s passing on 24/04/2008 received little mention.
In these times when even 30 seconds of fame is a long time, it is not a surprise that Ravi’s 3 decades of work in Malayalam cinema was eclipsed even as he bit the dust in a tiny hamlet of Kerala. Just like Tare Zameen Par. Ravi Menon also had the distinction of his debut film in Malayalam “Nirmalayam” bagging the state award in the 1970’s.
Ravi and I were colleges mates in Sultan’s Battery, Wynad, three decades ago. Here In that old rustic mountain town, with small tailor shops, small shops with slatted doors a restaurant called “Delicious” and rays of the setting sun, chased by the light of a petromax lantern, we shared our dreams and forged a deep friendship.
We spent two glorious years basking in the student life, of the larger crushes, alcohol laced cocktails, brawls and misadventures. It was here that the provincial pieces of the larger jigsaw picture began to fall into place. On a rocky mountain slope by a campfire I saw the glint in his eyes and the restlessness which stoked the flames of desire to act on a bigger stage.
MGR the Tamil superstar of the 60’s was his role model and inspiration that rescued him from the humdrum harsh realities of studies and a formal education.
His dream of being some kind of swash buckling hero, led him to the gates of the Poona Film & Television institute, where he graduated with the likes of Anil Dhawan, Romesh Sharma, Rehana Sultana, Asrani, Danny Denzgopa, Jaya Bhaduri & a host of other wannabe aspirants. Expect for Danny and Jaya Bhaduri who managed to get a foot hold and rise to the top of the marquee rating in Bollywood, the rest sank and disappeared in the cauldron of oblivion and obscurity
Even though Ravi managed to land a minor role in Jungle me Mangal a Hindi film, destiny took him on a torturous and twisted road into main stream Malayam cinema, which he then considered as the beginning of a grand journey. Here for 33 years he matched histrionics with a galaxy of actors / stars in his quest for the holy grail of stardom, in what was a more fluid work culture than Bombay but he never realized the saying, that no man is an island.
Despite a stunning repertoire of many roles and a mosaic of different films, his road to fame was miles away and slowly began to crumble, notwithstanding the strong foundation and large body of work, comprising of 100 odd films and 33 serials. Fame and fortune remained disturbingly elusive and even survival in this celluloid jungle was a struggle. As his dreams began to degrade, he found refuge in C2HO5 (Alcohol) and drowned himself in the spirit that dulled his senses, and made life easier to bear, in his attempt to shake off the shackles of Tollywood, conventions of reality.
In 1989 I landed in Chennai and with great difficulty managed to trace him to a sleazy bar, where by imbibing copious amounts of liquor he was trying to escape the prison of loneliness of an out of work actor. He lamented his woes to me, holding forth a glass full of angst in a symbolic toast to our friendship. Yet he hung on to the last vestigial remnants of his boyhood dream, and kept on hoping for that 1 movie (Ore Padam) that would catapult him to fame and stardom. Hungry and loveless, he fought a determined battle hang on to this illusion, as I bid farewell. The sands of time were running out on him and had already buried many more accomplished colleagues like Soman, Jayant etc.
The sudden demise of his mother, who was constantly by his side, shattered the last remnants of his dream from further meaning and in an emotional explosion of catharsis, restlessness together with homesickness, drove him lack to idyllic Karimpuzha and the comfort of the Nallukettu tharravad, with its gaunt trees and the river Bharathapuzha flowing so quietly by the side that no one even notices its unobtrusive course, life is a funny tapestry.
This was where I met him for the last time 3 years ago, by then he had come to terms with himself and knew that is this line to turn a dream into reality you need a godfather, so he stoically accepted the situation as neither a triumph or failure, there aren’t many happy things or joys in life and it is wonderful to meet old friends and sail through the collage of past recollections. By now Ravi was a spent force; the gleams in his eyes were replaced by a blood shot look. He had changed tack into the new age TV serials to resurrect his life through more memorable recalls, amongst a wider spectrum of urban rural viewers a community in transition for a paltry sum of money. He was thrilled to see me and we spent a long time wallowing in borrowed nostalgia and went down “better” memory lanes, to try and reconstruct the halcyon days and the haunting visions of our college adventures, which were stark and vivid in our memories. He spent the night with me in the temple town of Guruvayur, where we both attended a colleague’s wedding. As the priests chanted their sloka’s to solemnize the ceremony, I could not help thinking, that if fate had decreed otherwise, Ravi too would have married a buxom lass from Kerala, who would have long since him a son / daughter to carry on the legacy of a life less ordinary. I shared a deep bond of kinship with him and this reality was the only perception that mattered at that point of time.
As his image grew smaller in the “rear view mirror” like a falling star, it burst into a colorful kaleidoscope of memories and my mind was haunted by visions, like a mist descending, enclosing the blue mountains of Wynad and in a haze my heart started reverberating with the rushing images of a flowing stream where we used to spend time, bathing, playing frolicking & laughing many years ago. I felt anger swell in my veins at the millions of viewers and large cross section of struggling artistes who trampled on his dreams and did not pay homage to even his bouquet of ashes that lay scattered at Ivor Madom. As the lights camera fade and action stilled by death is suddenness, the anguish comes gushing out, scripted like a tortured “Saga & Visual” that no cinematographer can conquer on celluloid.
Fare well my friend, we will meet again in the “neither land” where time and space transcend to bind our souls and review our friendship.
In these times when even 30 seconds of fame is a long time, it is not a surprise that Ravi’s 3 decades of work in Malayalam cinema was eclipsed even as he bit the dust in a tiny hamlet of Kerala. Just like Tare Zameen Par. Ravi Menon also had the distinction of his debut film in Malayalam “Nirmalayam” bagging the state award in the 1970’s.
Ravi and I were colleges mates in Sultan’s Battery, Wynad, three decades ago. Here In that old rustic mountain town, with small tailor shops, small shops with slatted doors a restaurant called “Delicious” and rays of the setting sun, chased by the light of a petromax lantern, we shared our dreams and forged a deep friendship.
We spent two glorious years basking in the student life, of the larger crushes, alcohol laced cocktails, brawls and misadventures. It was here that the provincial pieces of the larger jigsaw picture began to fall into place. On a rocky mountain slope by a campfire I saw the glint in his eyes and the restlessness which stoked the flames of desire to act on a bigger stage.
MGR the Tamil superstar of the 60’s was his role model and inspiration that rescued him from the humdrum harsh realities of studies and a formal education.
His dream of being some kind of swash buckling hero, led him to the gates of the Poona Film & Television institute, where he graduated with the likes of Anil Dhawan, Romesh Sharma, Rehana Sultana, Asrani, Danny Denzgopa, Jaya Bhaduri & a host of other wannabe aspirants. Expect for Danny and Jaya Bhaduri who managed to get a foot hold and rise to the top of the marquee rating in Bollywood, the rest sank and disappeared in the cauldron of oblivion and obscurity
Even though Ravi managed to land a minor role in Jungle me Mangal a Hindi film, destiny took him on a torturous and twisted road into main stream Malayam cinema, which he then considered as the beginning of a grand journey. Here for 33 years he matched histrionics with a galaxy of actors / stars in his quest for the holy grail of stardom, in what was a more fluid work culture than Bombay but he never realized the saying, that no man is an island.
Despite a stunning repertoire of many roles and a mosaic of different films, his road to fame was miles away and slowly began to crumble, notwithstanding the strong foundation and large body of work, comprising of 100 odd films and 33 serials. Fame and fortune remained disturbingly elusive and even survival in this celluloid jungle was a struggle. As his dreams began to degrade, he found refuge in C2HO5 (Alcohol) and drowned himself in the spirit that dulled his senses, and made life easier to bear, in his attempt to shake off the shackles of Tollywood, conventions of reality.
In 1989 I landed in Chennai and with great difficulty managed to trace him to a sleazy bar, where by imbibing copious amounts of liquor he was trying to escape the prison of loneliness of an out of work actor. He lamented his woes to me, holding forth a glass full of angst in a symbolic toast to our friendship. Yet he hung on to the last vestigial remnants of his boyhood dream, and kept on hoping for that 1 movie (Ore Padam) that would catapult him to fame and stardom. Hungry and loveless, he fought a determined battle hang on to this illusion, as I bid farewell. The sands of time were running out on him and had already buried many more accomplished colleagues like Soman, Jayant etc.
The sudden demise of his mother, who was constantly by his side, shattered the last remnants of his dream from further meaning and in an emotional explosion of catharsis, restlessness together with homesickness, drove him lack to idyllic Karimpuzha and the comfort of the Nallukettu tharravad, with its gaunt trees and the river Bharathapuzha flowing so quietly by the side that no one even notices its unobtrusive course, life is a funny tapestry.
This was where I met him for the last time 3 years ago, by then he had come to terms with himself and knew that is this line to turn a dream into reality you need a godfather, so he stoically accepted the situation as neither a triumph or failure, there aren’t many happy things or joys in life and it is wonderful to meet old friends and sail through the collage of past recollections. By now Ravi was a spent force; the gleams in his eyes were replaced by a blood shot look. He had changed tack into the new age TV serials to resurrect his life through more memorable recalls, amongst a wider spectrum of urban rural viewers a community in transition for a paltry sum of money. He was thrilled to see me and we spent a long time wallowing in borrowed nostalgia and went down “better” memory lanes, to try and reconstruct the halcyon days and the haunting visions of our college adventures, which were stark and vivid in our memories. He spent the night with me in the temple town of Guruvayur, where we both attended a colleague’s wedding. As the priests chanted their sloka’s to solemnize the ceremony, I could not help thinking, that if fate had decreed otherwise, Ravi too would have married a buxom lass from Kerala, who would have long since him a son / daughter to carry on the legacy of a life less ordinary. I shared a deep bond of kinship with him and this reality was the only perception that mattered at that point of time.
As his image grew smaller in the “rear view mirror” like a falling star, it burst into a colorful kaleidoscope of memories and my mind was haunted by visions, like a mist descending, enclosing the blue mountains of Wynad and in a haze my heart started reverberating with the rushing images of a flowing stream where we used to spend time, bathing, playing frolicking & laughing many years ago. I felt anger swell in my veins at the millions of viewers and large cross section of struggling artistes who trampled on his dreams and did not pay homage to even his bouquet of ashes that lay scattered at Ivor Madom. As the lights camera fade and action stilled by death is suddenness, the anguish comes gushing out, scripted like a tortured “Saga & Visual” that no cinematographer can conquer on celluloid.
Fare well my friend, we will meet again in the “neither land” where time and space transcend to bind our souls and review our friendship.
Catatonic Catastrophe!
The Tsunami that flattened Japan, the torrential floods in Bangkok, hurricane Irene that missed New York only to be trapped by the worst snowstorm. Throughout history, earthquakes, floods and droughts have been associated with powerful religious and moral tales about human error and divine retribution. Indeed, since Biblical times, disasters have been experienced as key defining moments in human history. Events such as the fall of Adam or Noah’s Flood were interpreted in a similar fashion and Martin Luther represented the Biblical deluge as a catalyst for speeding up the world’s decay. Historically, communities have sought to resolve the crisis of meaning that confronts them through elaborating an ideology of evil. Such an ideology helps to give some meaning to a catastrophe, seeking to explain its causes and promoting the idea that someone or something is to blame.
This is where the gods are supposed to play games with the lives of men and women on a board which is a playing area encompassing the whole world and fate always wins. Most of the Gods throw dice, but fate plays chess, and you don’t find out until it’s too late that fate has been using two queens all along. We often notice the existence of more or less fixed ideologies in other people’s minds. These fixed ideas which they think are often planted without them being aware of doing so. We call them prejudices or blind beliefs, which are logically quite correct, because they have seeped into the mind; and are in no way the result of thought or judgment.
This dialogic prejudice traditionally handed over by the clergy and unthinking preachers is the bane of diversity and pluralism, whose proponents of freedom of thought and morality have always been blocked by the defenders of religion who rush to defend its tenets. The word belief or prejudice is applied to ideas that are patently erroneous and recognizable as such by anyone except the “prejudiced man”. As Wayne stated, trouble with beliefs is that only 33% believe that absolute moral truth exists. Theology, Spirituality or Philosophy cannot resolve problems and in ethics absolute moral truth is a nightmare!
The greatest irony is that any right thinking person can understand the abiding and strong pull of love for other humanity which can be wonderfully nuanced if one take a pluralistic approach. These tacit assumptions or pre-suppositions have been dulled into our mind by religion and has not been evaluated independently by us. As long as society remains hostage to religion these dilemmas will always be inherent. It is an uncomfortable feeling because the preachers never tire of telling us that their religion and scriptures are neutral; whether they enrich humanity or destroy it depends on how they are used. The dead man’s smile is the shadow that will eventually take over in death.
This is where the gods are supposed to play games with the lives of men and women on a board which is a playing area encompassing the whole world and fate always wins. Most of the Gods throw dice, but fate plays chess, and you don’t find out until it’s too late that fate has been using two queens all along. We often notice the existence of more or less fixed ideologies in other people’s minds. These fixed ideas which they think are often planted without them being aware of doing so. We call them prejudices or blind beliefs, which are logically quite correct, because they have seeped into the mind; and are in no way the result of thought or judgment.
This dialogic prejudice traditionally handed over by the clergy and unthinking preachers is the bane of diversity and pluralism, whose proponents of freedom of thought and morality have always been blocked by the defenders of religion who rush to defend its tenets. The word belief or prejudice is applied to ideas that are patently erroneous and recognizable as such by anyone except the “prejudiced man”. As Wayne stated, trouble with beliefs is that only 33% believe that absolute moral truth exists. Theology, Spirituality or Philosophy cannot resolve problems and in ethics absolute moral truth is a nightmare!
The greatest irony is that any right thinking person can understand the abiding and strong pull of love for other humanity which can be wonderfully nuanced if one take a pluralistic approach. These tacit assumptions or pre-suppositions have been dulled into our mind by religion and has not been evaluated independently by us. As long as society remains hostage to religion these dilemmas will always be inherent. It is an uncomfortable feeling because the preachers never tire of telling us that their religion and scriptures are neutral; whether they enrich humanity or destroy it depends on how they are used. The dead man’s smile is the shadow that will eventually take over in death.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Horrorscope.
The scene unfolds in an old Aristocratic Tharavad in North Malabar. The still of the night, is broken with screams, and frenetic activity is observed. The miracle of God “N” Nature is being unfolded.
*Tharavad (Ancestral House)
Horror Scope
Dateline
18.02.1952 : Kappana House, Tellicherry North Malabar
2.01 A. M. : Slightly Bruised Upon Arrival : Format : Male
Tears : Measuring 1 cm. : Screams : Incessant
Surgical pathology : Negative 2.07 A.M. : Midwife swabs and wraps in warm clothing.
2.15 A.M. : Relations inform father in distant (And serendip) Ceylon refer long distance call from
Tellicherry Post Office (Bill still Unpaid).
2.30 A. M. : Mother is informed that it is a male she can’t hide her disappointment (First
psychological scar appears refer Freud)
2.35 A.M. : Dr. Shenoy thumps, rumpled bottom, screams begin again.
2.40 A.M. : Deadly silence (Mid-wide struts around like a doctor)
3.00 A.M. : Doctor leaves after administering Morphine injection. (Fees still Due) after all family
Physician.
4.50 A.M. : Premature symptoms of M.O.*
5.00 A.M. : First breast feed (Milk in its most attractive container) craving for mammaries will run
all throughout adulthood “n” later life.
6.00 A.M. : Flow of visitors, relatives, rubberers *, well wishers and not so well wishers begin.
6.15 A.M. : Sweets distributed (Major order for neighbourhood shop keeper since 6 Months) old
stocks depleted.
6.30 A.M. : Guessing game begins as to which parent the new Born resembles, lot of comment and
argument which was set right by a W.O.G.* who lifted the napkin examined the genitals, and exclaimed in a rough baritone “Just like his father’s.
Diagnosis & after thoughts;
Reprogramme for insouciance wait for 41 years and if condition unchanged mistake for dead.
The boy had a glorious childhood, chequered adolescence, periods of frustration, when last heard disaster had struck, in the form of marriage to an Air hostess, and he is still crawling on his keens, and trying to get up on his feet again.
(*) W.O.G : Worthy Oriental Gentle man.
(*) M.O. : Moral Outrage.
(*) Rubberers : People who simply come to stare at any event.
*Tharavad (Ancestral House)
Horror Scope
Dateline
18.02.1952 : Kappana House, Tellicherry North Malabar
2.01 A. M. : Slightly Bruised Upon Arrival : Format : Male
Tears : Measuring 1 cm. : Screams : Incessant
Surgical pathology : Negative 2.07 A.M. : Midwife swabs and wraps in warm clothing.
2.15 A.M. : Relations inform father in distant (And serendip) Ceylon refer long distance call from
Tellicherry Post Office (Bill still Unpaid).
2.30 A. M. : Mother is informed that it is a male she can’t hide her disappointment (First
psychological scar appears refer Freud)
2.35 A.M. : Dr. Shenoy thumps, rumpled bottom, screams begin again.
2.40 A.M. : Deadly silence (Mid-wide struts around like a doctor)
3.00 A.M. : Doctor leaves after administering Morphine injection. (Fees still Due) after all family
Physician.
4.50 A.M. : Premature symptoms of M.O.*
5.00 A.M. : First breast feed (Milk in its most attractive container) craving for mammaries will run
all throughout adulthood “n” later life.
6.00 A.M. : Flow of visitors, relatives, rubberers *, well wishers and not so well wishers begin.
6.15 A.M. : Sweets distributed (Major order for neighbourhood shop keeper since 6 Months) old
stocks depleted.
6.30 A.M. : Guessing game begins as to which parent the new Born resembles, lot of comment and
argument which was set right by a W.O.G.* who lifted the napkin examined the genitals, and exclaimed in a rough baritone “Just like his father’s.
Diagnosis & after thoughts;
Reprogramme for insouciance wait for 41 years and if condition unchanged mistake for dead.
The boy had a glorious childhood, chequered adolescence, periods of frustration, when last heard disaster had struck, in the form of marriage to an Air hostess, and he is still crawling on his keens, and trying to get up on his feet again.
(*) W.O.G : Worthy Oriental Gentle man.
(*) M.O. : Moral Outrage.
(*) Rubberers : People who simply come to stare at any event.
Recycled wall posts and tweets.
A writer doesn’t mind criticism at all. All the writers and philosophers in the past have been criticized including Shakespeare. A writer should not get into ego clashes about beliefs. At most, knowing that criticism is out of ignorance, he can have a good laugh about it.
A wise man recognizes that the world is an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering!
Most of the time God does not answer our prayers, then why do we need God? -Vinay-The best things I like about animals is they dont have any religion.-
The “Original Sin” it seems is the sin of being born poor -- or, if not, why don’t the rich, the owners, the exploiters, the bosses, the ruling political, religious, and military elites have to suffer in this way.
The only way we can pay tribute to Steve Jobs, who gave the world so much by his constant innovation, is to use his products and prove by using that one has caught the creative torch that he tried passing on the world.
Atheism has no Church/Temple or Mosque; no prayers, no holy books, no scriptures, no dogmas and no preachers. You have to make your own path and way of life. It has no prophet and does not make profit by deluding anyone.-Vinay-
Men who believe in religion are ignoant and sadists. women who beleieve in religion are ignorant and masochists. - Taslima Nasreen Author on religions.
A wise man recognizes that the world is an illusion, does not act as if it is real, so he escapes the suffering!
Most of the time God does not answer our prayers, then why do we need God? -Vinay-The best things I like about animals is they dont have any religion.-
The “Original Sin” it seems is the sin of being born poor -- or, if not, why don’t the rich, the owners, the exploiters, the bosses, the ruling political, religious, and military elites have to suffer in this way.
The only way we can pay tribute to Steve Jobs, who gave the world so much by his constant innovation, is to use his products and prove by using that one has caught the creative torch that he tried passing on the world.
Atheism has no Church/Temple or Mosque; no prayers, no holy books, no scriptures, no dogmas and no preachers. You have to make your own path and way of life. It has no prophet and does not make profit by deluding anyone.-Vinay-
Men who believe in religion are ignoant and sadists. women who beleieve in religion are ignorant and masochists. - Taslima Nasreen Author on religions.
In search of the master?
Most people search for a master, guru, swami or trainer in their quest for excellence or enlightenment. Who is this master, in school it is our teacher in life it is someone who advertises his virtues as an enlightened soul. Isn’t it a paradox that these masters in school or life remain rooted in the same spot even though they claim that they have attained Nirvana and crossed over to the other side? If they can make it why are they trying to teach us if the actual inner power is within us cant we tap into it with our insight? We have always been told that the quest for truth is never ending, but a grand journey and we keep on learning bits of wisdom en-route. No true seeker can ever stop seeking wisdom because it is infinite and therefore one can not become a master of the universe. So the claim that they can make it happen is like empty rhetoric and we will be watching nothing happening. Life is always a mixture and combination of many things and one can never arrive at an ideal perfection of the truth. We must enjoy the journey and cannot be happy throughout the course of our voyage in life and this experience, helps un unravel little things which surely will add up to the larger experience. No man can be an island by himself or a judge of the ultimate truth or knowledge. At best we are all shipwrecked souls trying to reach the island of joy. The important lesson is that patience, forbearance, tolerance and empathy should be the cargo you carry in the hold of today’s materialistic world.
The Carpet Beggars.
Astonishment even disgust often greet us when we see the multitude beggars with mutilated limbs, infected sores ,or leprosy inflicted gorged flesh, trail us, as they seemed intent on displaying the worlds ugliness under our noses. These were many types, men, women and children dressed in old rags, tangled hair some with fur of monkeys, all begging for alms. You will find them outside every temple, mosque, church and place of worship, entreating and begging earnestly.
In traditional religions it is considered that a person who gives alms to beggars scores religious brownie points. Most affluent people give to save taxes, to deal with the guilt of having wealth, which they have amassed at the expense of the rest of the society. Religions encourage this form of charity as people feel benevolent by feeding beggars. It is a salve for the guilty conscience of the rich as it allows them to atone for the sin of being more privileged and they feel that God is also entitled to a part of their largesse. In many cities, begging is an organized business with a structured hierarchical system, similar to pimping and prostitution.
In some Hindu and Buddhist, traditions spiritual seekers called Sadhus or Monks keep going from place begging as any fruitive activity is considered as a materialistic quest. The Abrahamic religion does it under the guise of charitable donations from rich patrons and governments to spread their faith. In some Hindu traditions old men after a full life give up their material possessions and relations to wonder as ascetic mendicants.
The paradox of the situation is that those who come out of these places of worship and dole out alms have a superior air around them and look down condescendingly on the beggars as lesser mortals.
These beggars are under no illusion and are aware that they can sustain themselves by begging for food and money which will take care of their physical needs and in some cases the beggars have made a sizable wealth. They have territories and often disputes and physical violence erupts when there is encroachment.
All religions and their teachings direct their believers to a creator, god, or deity who is all powerful and will grant the wishes and requests of their believers. This is where every believer, including the high and mighty are directed by their faith to beg from the Almighty to grant their requests and fulfill their desires. . Buying equity with God is the wrong path to salvation and they themselves will always remain beggars with their prayer mats or carpets in tow.
Here religion or faith converts them into “spiritual beggars” as they rush to these places of worship to entreat earnestly, implore, or supplicate. It is mostly for a selfish purpose of securing a material benefit or relieve illness, pain or suffering for a family member. They are encouraged to bribe god by way of gifts, donations or even money.
These religious beggars have a divine look and derive a great sense of satisfaction from their acts. One begs in front of mortals the other in front of immortals. Who is under the illusion and what is the stark reality? It is only those who are “wealthy in their hearts” who really give away more than those who are rich with material. Time, energy, skills and compassion for the less privileged are more important than money. The simple wisdom that lies in the tenets of true altruism is this reality which brings happiness and warmth to the giver and taker, the rest of the spiritual beggars will always be in a vacuum. –Vinay-
In traditional religions it is considered that a person who gives alms to beggars scores religious brownie points. Most affluent people give to save taxes, to deal with the guilt of having wealth, which they have amassed at the expense of the rest of the society. Religions encourage this form of charity as people feel benevolent by feeding beggars. It is a salve for the guilty conscience of the rich as it allows them to atone for the sin of being more privileged and they feel that God is also entitled to a part of their largesse. In many cities, begging is an organized business with a structured hierarchical system, similar to pimping and prostitution.
In some Hindu and Buddhist, traditions spiritual seekers called Sadhus or Monks keep going from place begging as any fruitive activity is considered as a materialistic quest. The Abrahamic religion does it under the guise of charitable donations from rich patrons and governments to spread their faith. In some Hindu traditions old men after a full life give up their material possessions and relations to wonder as ascetic mendicants.
The paradox of the situation is that those who come out of these places of worship and dole out alms have a superior air around them and look down condescendingly on the beggars as lesser mortals.
These beggars are under no illusion and are aware that they can sustain themselves by begging for food and money which will take care of their physical needs and in some cases the beggars have made a sizable wealth. They have territories and often disputes and physical violence erupts when there is encroachment.
All religions and their teachings direct their believers to a creator, god, or deity who is all powerful and will grant the wishes and requests of their believers. This is where every believer, including the high and mighty are directed by their faith to beg from the Almighty to grant their requests and fulfill their desires. . Buying equity with God is the wrong path to salvation and they themselves will always remain beggars with their prayer mats or carpets in tow.
Here religion or faith converts them into “spiritual beggars” as they rush to these places of worship to entreat earnestly, implore, or supplicate. It is mostly for a selfish purpose of securing a material benefit or relieve illness, pain or suffering for a family member. They are encouraged to bribe god by way of gifts, donations or even money.
These religious beggars have a divine look and derive a great sense of satisfaction from their acts. One begs in front of mortals the other in front of immortals. Who is under the illusion and what is the stark reality? It is only those who are “wealthy in their hearts” who really give away more than those who are rich with material. Time, energy, skills and compassion for the less privileged are more important than money. The simple wisdom that lies in the tenets of true altruism is this reality which brings happiness and warmth to the giver and taker, the rest of the spiritual beggars will always be in a vacuum. –Vinay-
Monday, November 7, 2011
Neither poem nor prose posted with remorse!!
S…… is an alphabet that connotes the sacred and the scary like a winding road up the mountain side. To replace sugar with saccharin is like being invited to the cellar and offered apple cider; this can also cause peptic ulcers or even cancer. Spices do much delight to our taste buds and may be the vice of eating, but it also eats out the lower intestine; and salt may replenish dehydration in the summer heat, beware of the swollen tongue.
Smoking also adds to the salty effect of hardening the arteries which can lead to a failing heart! To counter this we have a drink to dilate our blood vessels and sex they say is good for the heart. September lingers in the death of summer, a month of nostalgia and tears.
And Satan the prince of darkness brings the scar upon your soul, the specter of foreboding, and a spirit best ignored as it stinks of death. The first act of war is to topple the temples of the enemy, to seek is to never know and safe in the security of a sanctuary is he? Suffering is pain and speaks for its own sake, to suffer may be noble, but it is still a pain.
He who is confident will arrive at death, after he has truly lived his life. In the glow of December, here I stand kneeling with the cadaver of my youth, dragged away by the obscure events in my life, I turn like a corpse buried in the harsh winter of strain and stress. Jaundiced like the bourgeois whose life has no tears? Ah! to begin from scratch, like death reborn to the unrepressed love that invades me. –Vinay- unmuzzled ox.
Smoking also adds to the salty effect of hardening the arteries which can lead to a failing heart! To counter this we have a drink to dilate our blood vessels and sex they say is good for the heart. September lingers in the death of summer, a month of nostalgia and tears.
And Satan the prince of darkness brings the scar upon your soul, the specter of foreboding, and a spirit best ignored as it stinks of death. The first act of war is to topple the temples of the enemy, to seek is to never know and safe in the security of a sanctuary is he? Suffering is pain and speaks for its own sake, to suffer may be noble, but it is still a pain.
He who is confident will arrive at death, after he has truly lived his life. In the glow of December, here I stand kneeling with the cadaver of my youth, dragged away by the obscure events in my life, I turn like a corpse buried in the harsh winter of strain and stress. Jaundiced like the bourgeois whose life has no tears? Ah! to begin from scratch, like death reborn to the unrepressed love that invades me. –Vinay- unmuzzled ox.
UNTIL DEATH DO US PART!
All Societies irrespective of their culture steadfastly conform to the ideal of marriage (until death do us part). Unfortunately in modern society death is the last reason why couples part. In today’s world, people are supposed to fend for themselves and develop their lives according to their own concepts; this is loosely termed as personal growth. Hence with the internet age the old anachronistic arranged marriages that some found humiliating is a dying trend. Yet most of us are still doomed by the rigid code system of the institution of marriage that tries to glue people together long after the marriage has fallen apart.
Marriage like many other things may not always last forever, it is like staring at the sum for too long, tears well up & one must shut their eyes. If the system is founded on our inalienable right to find happiness, then when it reaches a state of unhappiness, should it not be dissolved in our tears?
This social phenomenon is flawed because it is based on the belief in the perfectibility of marriage! (Marriages are made in heavens). In principle it is less than perfect and once the delirium of passion is over, the consolation of simple companionship may not be strong enough to sustain the marriage.
Sometimes the memory of the happy hours spent in the early stage, seems embedded like the sweet music from a violin. A feeling of warmth and tenderness of the earlier phase but when the sweet music is over should the strings be still attached?
Being in consciousness without the bliss is perceived of, as a possession of something that does not work but is being held onto at any cost to please society. Marriage without love creates a spiritual vacuum and living with the corpse of one’s marriage without desire will exhaust you beyond measure. We must peer into our souls for honest answers and what will emerge may not be re-assuring from a societal view point, but wallowing in melancholy is not the answer. It is similar to the pre-marital days when he / she forgets you completely, with the brutal honesty when the affair was over, to pass on from one person another without remorse. That is a gift which only children possess in common with very wise people.
The gift of forgetting, the gift of detachment is akin to spirituality. When the chronic ecstasy is over it is better to move on in search of another potential partner who may be a source of undiluted joy and happiness. We have to fill in our own inner emptiness try to mould our highly imperfect and lovely lives once again. The individual search for happiness is the philosophical foundation and not the trivial cultural and societal codes of conduct, formed by a society that cannot perceive a grain of truth in the whole world.-Vinay-
Marriage like many other things may not always last forever, it is like staring at the sum for too long, tears well up & one must shut their eyes. If the system is founded on our inalienable right to find happiness, then when it reaches a state of unhappiness, should it not be dissolved in our tears?
This social phenomenon is flawed because it is based on the belief in the perfectibility of marriage! (Marriages are made in heavens). In principle it is less than perfect and once the delirium of passion is over, the consolation of simple companionship may not be strong enough to sustain the marriage.
Sometimes the memory of the happy hours spent in the early stage, seems embedded like the sweet music from a violin. A feeling of warmth and tenderness of the earlier phase but when the sweet music is over should the strings be still attached?
Being in consciousness without the bliss is perceived of, as a possession of something that does not work but is being held onto at any cost to please society. Marriage without love creates a spiritual vacuum and living with the corpse of one’s marriage without desire will exhaust you beyond measure. We must peer into our souls for honest answers and what will emerge may not be re-assuring from a societal view point, but wallowing in melancholy is not the answer. It is similar to the pre-marital days when he / she forgets you completely, with the brutal honesty when the affair was over, to pass on from one person another without remorse. That is a gift which only children possess in common with very wise people.
The gift of forgetting, the gift of detachment is akin to spirituality. When the chronic ecstasy is over it is better to move on in search of another potential partner who may be a source of undiluted joy and happiness. We have to fill in our own inner emptiness try to mould our highly imperfect and lovely lives once again. The individual search for happiness is the philosophical foundation and not the trivial cultural and societal codes of conduct, formed by a society that cannot perceive a grain of truth in the whole world.-Vinay-
Where are Muslims Happy?
They´re not happy in Gaza.
They're not happy in Egypt.
They're not happy in Libya.
They're not happy in Morocco.
They're not happy in Iran.
They're not happy in Iraq.
They're not happy in Yemen.
They're not happy in Afghanistan.
They're not happy in Pakistan.
They're not happy in Syria.
They're not happy in Lebanon.
They're not happy in Indonesia
So, where are they happy?
They're happy in Australia.
They're happy in England.
They're happy in France.
They're happy in Italy.
They're happy in Germany.
They're happy in Sweden.
They're happy in the USA.
They're happy in Norway.
They're happy in almost every country that is not Islamic!
And whom do they blame?
Not Islam... Not their leadership... Not themselves...
THEY BLAME THE COUNTRIES THEY ARE HAPPY IN! And they want to change the countries they're happy in, to be like the countries they came from, where they were unhappy.
Try to find logic in that
They're not happy in Egypt.
They're not happy in Libya.
They're not happy in Morocco.
They're not happy in Iran.
They're not happy in Iraq.
They're not happy in Yemen.
They're not happy in Afghanistan.
They're not happy in Pakistan.
They're not happy in Syria.
They're not happy in Lebanon.
They're not happy in Indonesia
So, where are they happy?
They're happy in Australia.
They're happy in England.
They're happy in France.
They're happy in Italy.
They're happy in Germany.
They're happy in Sweden.
They're happy in the USA.
They're happy in Norway.
They're happy in almost every country that is not Islamic!
And whom do they blame?
Not Islam... Not their leadership... Not themselves...
THEY BLAME THE COUNTRIES THEY ARE HAPPY IN! And they want to change the countries they're happy in, to be like the countries they came from, where they were unhappy.
Try to find logic in that
Three types of love.
Sex is beautiful it and it makes the world go around. Just like any other need in our life, we should not neglect our physical sexual needs. Physical intimacy and love work in tandem, increased sexual activity helps increase our love. This is a cosmic process embedded in our nature and part of our ongoing evolution. Sex deepens and broadens our minds; it elevates us to the next level of consciousness. Sexual activity like spirituality improves the overall mental and physical health of both partners, to give and to take pleasure for the joy and gratification of our partner as well as ourselves.
It is the vicissitudes of culture, society and the prejudices, of those obsessed with the myths of religion that impede our progress of sexual awareness of our self. We are not truly liberated because our society is not emancipated. If we break free we can realize the celestial potential of the love within us.
We have to question our religious and moral beliefs conditioned over the years, injunctions about the worship of god’s, sacrifice, sin and penance which were laid down by people who were not as evolved.
The vanquished skepticism lives on fully preserved in the body of the established theological texts. When sex is in a normal healthy state, one’s appetite will be infrequent, it must be treated as an act of love & bliss and never of shame, if one has to get out of “the lower” joy into a “higher” bliss. The process starts with falling in love with the physical beauty of your beloved and then it is transformed into intimacy. Physical intimacy can happen with other beauties that will then become your object of attention. Attachment is an illusion and therefore everything physical is less real than the ideal or true form of love, which can be attained only if you are detached. When the cycle repeats many times one finally reaches the ultimate form of mental love which is referred to in different terms, i.e. “platonic love” or “spiritual love”. In this state the physical and sexual intimacy does not happen.
From a dualistic perspective both are possible at the same time. Since physical love is strongly linked to procreation it can take on an ephemeral quality, a sort of eternal love. The real understanding that one must realize is that there are higher joys before which sex is a mere distraction & no longer an emotional or physical necessity. Spiritual or platonic love is the high road to bliss and is much more sublime, but to attain this state one must be satiated and have no more desire for physical sex. This is then the higher realm in the ladder of evolution
It is the vicissitudes of culture, society and the prejudices, of those obsessed with the myths of religion that impede our progress of sexual awareness of our self. We are not truly liberated because our society is not emancipated. If we break free we can realize the celestial potential of the love within us.
We have to question our religious and moral beliefs conditioned over the years, injunctions about the worship of god’s, sacrifice, sin and penance which were laid down by people who were not as evolved.
The vanquished skepticism lives on fully preserved in the body of the established theological texts. When sex is in a normal healthy state, one’s appetite will be infrequent, it must be treated as an act of love & bliss and never of shame, if one has to get out of “the lower” joy into a “higher” bliss. The process starts with falling in love with the physical beauty of your beloved and then it is transformed into intimacy. Physical intimacy can happen with other beauties that will then become your object of attention. Attachment is an illusion and therefore everything physical is less real than the ideal or true form of love, which can be attained only if you are detached. When the cycle repeats many times one finally reaches the ultimate form of mental love which is referred to in different terms, i.e. “platonic love” or “spiritual love”. In this state the physical and sexual intimacy does not happen.
From a dualistic perspective both are possible at the same time. Since physical love is strongly linked to procreation it can take on an ephemeral quality, a sort of eternal love. The real understanding that one must realize is that there are higher joys before which sex is a mere distraction & no longer an emotional or physical necessity. Spiritual or platonic love is the high road to bliss and is much more sublime, but to attain this state one must be satiated and have no more desire for physical sex. This is then the higher realm in the ladder of evolution
Wall Street Journey!
Break down the great Wall Street and occupy their wealthy homes.
“There have been tyrants and murderers and they seem invincible , but in the end they always fall, think of it, always” M.K.Gandhi. Under Gandhi an entire generation dedicated itself to the cause of freedom; ironically another generation has driven the country into the morass of crime and corruption.
Gandhi’s statement succinctly sums of what is happening around the globe. From the Arab spring of dissent against tyranny and dictatorship of the Middle East to Anna Hazare’s revolt against corruption in India and the clarion call to “Occupy Wall street movement. The specter of revolt has ignited the minds and imagination of all the people in the world.
Anarchy all over has sparked and grown these revolts into an amorphous global movement. Justice has always been blind and is a paradigm of people frozen in the past. It is interesting to note that in these movements there is a heady mix of intellectuals, blue collar workers pacifists, Marxists, idealists, pragmatist’s ; men and women cutting across, class, race, religion, countries to form an egalitarian group unified in spite of their differences. Often the truth and the intent lie in our perception, rather than facts. Perpetrators of these evils are divorced from ethics and good governance, dispensing justice is reduced to a mere technicality, just like the fine print in their marketing texts. The Greek tragedy of large chunks of sovereign debt, the tottering Italian government, the lobbyists, dictators unemployment in the USA, the recession and corruption are now in the collective cross hairs of the people who are taking aim to set in the reforms needed.
Along the course of history we all believed that it is morally correct to repay debts, but the debts of large companies and governments which are never repaid are passed on to unwary individuals, whose debts, loans, mortgages and credit card out standings are foreclosed with a vengeance. The influence of money in politics has created the financial crises, leaving the inhabitants of the of world to fend for themselves in the wake of the collapse.
Risk is a pet commodity in Wall Street and an extremely dangerous commodity when it falls into the wrong hands. The villains of corruption are investment bankers, big business, politicians and administrators, recently the lobbyists have also come into the limelight. Like the wicked witches of Halloween, whose insatiable greed has caused the meltdown. The results as seen are foreclosure, unemployment, homelessness and poverty; while most people toiled day and night to make a living and cared about the poor and unemployed, many exploited this naivety and wanted to profit from human weakness and misery. The shenanigans of these evil super villains are now out in the open and even their Armani jackets or Saville Row pin striped suits have been stripped and like the emperor’s new clothes they all are now naked. In times of evil the laws is a mute, deaf and blind spectator and in the shadow of Mammon all business practices are heretical, till the motivated vigilantes take over center stage. There are no easy solutions in the fight against tyranny, corruption and greed. Those fighting ruthless opponents with no moral scruples in chaotic times deserve all the support and luck in this cruel world.
Real prosperity comes only when common welfare for people is built into the system and happiness becomes a by product. Until then like the born again skeptics we all will be misguided at the fate of humanity.- Vinay-
“There have been tyrants and murderers and they seem invincible , but in the end they always fall, think of it, always” M.K.Gandhi. Under Gandhi an entire generation dedicated itself to the cause of freedom; ironically another generation has driven the country into the morass of crime and corruption.
Gandhi’s statement succinctly sums of what is happening around the globe. From the Arab spring of dissent against tyranny and dictatorship of the Middle East to Anna Hazare’s revolt against corruption in India and the clarion call to “Occupy Wall street movement. The specter of revolt has ignited the minds and imagination of all the people in the world.
Anarchy all over has sparked and grown these revolts into an amorphous global movement. Justice has always been blind and is a paradigm of people frozen in the past. It is interesting to note that in these movements there is a heady mix of intellectuals, blue collar workers pacifists, Marxists, idealists, pragmatist’s ; men and women cutting across, class, race, religion, countries to form an egalitarian group unified in spite of their differences. Often the truth and the intent lie in our perception, rather than facts. Perpetrators of these evils are divorced from ethics and good governance, dispensing justice is reduced to a mere technicality, just like the fine print in their marketing texts. The Greek tragedy of large chunks of sovereign debt, the tottering Italian government, the lobbyists, dictators unemployment in the USA, the recession and corruption are now in the collective cross hairs of the people who are taking aim to set in the reforms needed.
Along the course of history we all believed that it is morally correct to repay debts, but the debts of large companies and governments which are never repaid are passed on to unwary individuals, whose debts, loans, mortgages and credit card out standings are foreclosed with a vengeance. The influence of money in politics has created the financial crises, leaving the inhabitants of the of world to fend for themselves in the wake of the collapse.
Risk is a pet commodity in Wall Street and an extremely dangerous commodity when it falls into the wrong hands. The villains of corruption are investment bankers, big business, politicians and administrators, recently the lobbyists have also come into the limelight. Like the wicked witches of Halloween, whose insatiable greed has caused the meltdown. The results as seen are foreclosure, unemployment, homelessness and poverty; while most people toiled day and night to make a living and cared about the poor and unemployed, many exploited this naivety and wanted to profit from human weakness and misery. The shenanigans of these evil super villains are now out in the open and even their Armani jackets or Saville Row pin striped suits have been stripped and like the emperor’s new clothes they all are now naked. In times of evil the laws is a mute, deaf and blind spectator and in the shadow of Mammon all business practices are heretical, till the motivated vigilantes take over center stage. There are no easy solutions in the fight against tyranny, corruption and greed. Those fighting ruthless opponents with no moral scruples in chaotic times deserve all the support and luck in this cruel world.
Real prosperity comes only when common welfare for people is built into the system and happiness becomes a by product. Until then like the born again skeptics we all will be misguided at the fate of humanity.- Vinay-
SEX, LOVE AND MYSTERY.
Everybody wants to understand the secret of handling the sexual impulse. It is one of our profoundest mysteries the wild beast of our evolutionary heritage, a great mystery. Physical intimacy is undeniably one of the strongest instincts of human nature. To make love is to taste delight, to know the beloved by entering and being entered, is to join our desires with compassion.
To give and to take joy, to trust, to make ourselves vulnerable, to be generous, it takes precedence over our finer feelings and perceptions. Misery is because of our inability to control a perfectly normal impulse and when we treat it as something base, instead of a holy force.
And yet this primal function of our nature is the constant butt (pun intended) of jokes and method of debasement……
To screw, (a bastardization of the noun) is to sexually couple by conquest, to undermine the will, or take something away from the partner, if only for a momentary release. A kind of violent masturbation, flung upon another member of the human race, a loveless task, and one who screws to defame is called a seducer, a rapist. Sex is always viewed from a subjective experience; biological, physiological, but never from the spiritual. Love cannot exist by sex alone; we need some higher form of emotion or feeling to sustain it.
When the fireworks of sex are over, the embers still smolder beneath the surface. The complex realities of our emotional and psychological selves have to absorb the multidimensional consequences of sexual intimacy, which can have both positive and negative fall outs. Life comes out of it……. Sex has tremendous beauty; you cannot repress it or defeat sexual energy. It should be respected; life has happened out of it, if one understands it, you can evolve and use this diverse universal energy correctly, then the possibilities are infinite.-vinay-
To give and to take joy, to trust, to make ourselves vulnerable, to be generous, it takes precedence over our finer feelings and perceptions. Misery is because of our inability to control a perfectly normal impulse and when we treat it as something base, instead of a holy force.
And yet this primal function of our nature is the constant butt (pun intended) of jokes and method of debasement……
To screw, (a bastardization of the noun) is to sexually couple by conquest, to undermine the will, or take something away from the partner, if only for a momentary release. A kind of violent masturbation, flung upon another member of the human race, a loveless task, and one who screws to defame is called a seducer, a rapist. Sex is always viewed from a subjective experience; biological, physiological, but never from the spiritual. Love cannot exist by sex alone; we need some higher form of emotion or feeling to sustain it.
When the fireworks of sex are over, the embers still smolder beneath the surface. The complex realities of our emotional and psychological selves have to absorb the multidimensional consequences of sexual intimacy, which can have both positive and negative fall outs. Life comes out of it……. Sex has tremendous beauty; you cannot repress it or defeat sexual energy. It should be respected; life has happened out of it, if one understands it, you can evolve and use this diverse universal energy correctly, then the possibilities are infinite.-vinay-
A Pilgrimage in to the heart of nature!.
Many people as they grow older undertake pilgrimages to holy places or shrines based on their faith. It is a journey in search of moral significance, as religions attach spiritual importance to such places.
It can be a shrine or place of birth/death of a saint or founder of a sect or even a holy land like Jerusalem; which is now the cause of dispute between the abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All these popular shrines are so crowded that whatever divinity that existed must now have been trampled into the ground below.
When people set out on the quest for the meaning of life, they forget the fundamental premise and search for the non existent forms. What is my role in this universe? \
You try to seek the answer by visiting a shrine, but do not explore the earth. I always wonder why when the universe is as beautiful, none of us attempt a slow lingering pilgrimage through nature.
We are missing the greatest opportunity to seek the truth beyond our mundane life. If we do this we would be mesmerized by the beauty, variety of fauna and flora.
In the deep woods the mighty Oak, Banyan & Rosewood trees mysteriously beckon us to listen to the sounds of music, while offering shade from the heat of the sun.
The serene ambience is broken by the monsoons and the frogs croaking in unison while leaping in and out of limpid pools of water, with their melodious mating songs. In the romantic moonlight crickets gather like a choir and chirp a harmonious devotionally orchestrated music.
The lush green paddy fields the willow trees the resplendent flowers, the soothing breeze, the warbled and trilling sounds of the birds, usher in a serene ambience to still our minds. The azure blue sea, the salty sea winds, chasing the rainbow, seeking the elusive blue bird is part of the splendour of nature’s treasure trove.
It is a deeper spiritual odyssey more fulfilling than any pilgrimage can evoke. The lofty mountains, the verdant forest, snow capped hills, waterfalls the dense foliage, the sound of frogs, squirrels, or crickets and birds is the essence and spice of life, where love, music family and nature are seamlessly connect with the universe.
The lazy lakes with its still waters inspire supreme peace without even meditation. Connecting with nature is like blending with mysticism. –Vinay-
It can be a shrine or place of birth/death of a saint or founder of a sect or even a holy land like Jerusalem; which is now the cause of dispute between the abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. All these popular shrines are so crowded that whatever divinity that existed must now have been trampled into the ground below.
When people set out on the quest for the meaning of life, they forget the fundamental premise and search for the non existent forms. What is my role in this universe? \
You try to seek the answer by visiting a shrine, but do not explore the earth. I always wonder why when the universe is as beautiful, none of us attempt a slow lingering pilgrimage through nature.
We are missing the greatest opportunity to seek the truth beyond our mundane life. If we do this we would be mesmerized by the beauty, variety of fauna and flora.
In the deep woods the mighty Oak, Banyan & Rosewood trees mysteriously beckon us to listen to the sounds of music, while offering shade from the heat of the sun.
The serene ambience is broken by the monsoons and the frogs croaking in unison while leaping in and out of limpid pools of water, with their melodious mating songs. In the romantic moonlight crickets gather like a choir and chirp a harmonious devotionally orchestrated music.
The lush green paddy fields the willow trees the resplendent flowers, the soothing breeze, the warbled and trilling sounds of the birds, usher in a serene ambience to still our minds. The azure blue sea, the salty sea winds, chasing the rainbow, seeking the elusive blue bird is part of the splendour of nature’s treasure trove.
It is a deeper spiritual odyssey more fulfilling than any pilgrimage can evoke. The lofty mountains, the verdant forest, snow capped hills, waterfalls the dense foliage, the sound of frogs, squirrels, or crickets and birds is the essence and spice of life, where love, music family and nature are seamlessly connect with the universe.
The lazy lakes with its still waters inspire supreme peace without even meditation. Connecting with nature is like blending with mysticism. –Vinay-
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