Only Slaves are bereft of Ego.

Identification with our self and ego is very important for our individuality to grow. The universe is full of bio-diversity but each has its own inimitable DNA stamped on it. Ego is the spirit that nourishes our growth and gives you the identity of who you are and what you think you are. We need to grow in consciousness to reach our full potential, to be perfect and complete. True humanity is the distinctive characteristic of an evolved ego, a spiritually awakened person who has no fear, but believes in himself and his cause like Gandhi or Martin Luther King. If you limit your self image you can never be creative and the world will be bereft of icons like, Van Gogh, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Pop Stars, Hollywood Celebrities, Scientists, Sportsman, Artists and authors. However there is need for balance, preventing one from a self inflated ego and pride. One must be flexible and not fixated or don the role of god. Killing your true self is not possible because the tiny shred of DNA differentiates you, from the larger superficial layer of homo- sapiens, as one robotic, religious army. The ego allows us to experience our true nature, and accomplish things as a separate entity. Sometimes the individual can become a victim of his own success. One must emulate the Universe which though having unlimited power and infinite resources, allows separate beings, persons to co-exist and dissolves all boundaries, yet sets everyone apart from one another to reach our own individual potential. Destroying someone’s ego is akin to slavery, whereby one person falls under the property rights of another, institution or cult and is contrary to the laws of nature.-Vinay-

- Adventures among Birds.-

Lonely creatures on this lonely Planet . So intolerable is loneliness that even animals attach themselves to any creature they can scrape an acquaintance with. There is a case of a pony confined by itself to a field, and a solitary partridge, the only one of its species in that place; they were always seen together in close companionship. Then again there was this lonely Swan, driven away from its group, who eventually made friends with a trout. The fish had its place by the side of the bird, just below the surface and together they would rest and together they would travel like one being…. Those who saw it could not believe their own eyes or senses.

Spirituality is beyond Religion.

There is a general feeling that being spiritual is being attached to some sort of belief, and you seek it when you reach the point of no return, This is the paradox because all religions have been missing the fundamental quality of spirituality- it does not have answers. It is not a break away from the predecessor called religion. Even if you are successful, rich and have achieved your goal in life, you are still lonely because of the high pressure and complexity of success. You still have questions and may need a course correction in your life. In this age of doubt and strife, it consummates our need for a friend, philosopher and guide. Spirituality creates awareness of the changes that could lead to a break through and develops your own potential. Change can be anything kicking an addiction, changing your fast paced lifestyle, or unfolding unconditional inner space for further growth. It could be a guide on the ups and downs, holding you accountable & responsible for all your actions. Even if everything is perfect, we get bored with life, we are always on the lookout for new dreams to come true, or feel the certain emptiness in all our lives, spirituality helps you get into the flow without being judgmental. It can reveal the designs, both the big pattern/ picture and the smaller focused details, leading to a refreshing change. Spirituality opens up a fascinating and sophisticated world of emotional intelligence by asking powerful questions to increase the awareness or total recall of your self directed journey. It is not about who you were, but who you are, and instills the wisdom to live in the moment. So have no illusions, its is not re-packaged religion, there is no heavenly landscape, no fairy tales, no Martians, gods, devils or angels , yet its like a new me

The Vedic Tree of Life.

Terence Mallick tries to capture the essence of spirituality on celluloid and almost succeeds. The film chronicles the origins and meaning of life, by way of a middle-aged man's childhood memories, of his family living in 1950s Texas, interspersed with imagery of the origins of the universe and the inception of life on Earth. Jack (Sean Penn) finds himself a lost soul in the mo dern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life, while questioning the existence of faith. It is impossible to distil philosophy in a film, but it takes you back to your childhood days, re-igniting all those long lost first moments/feelings/discoveres and guilt’s. The first time you fought with parents and friends, the remorse you felt later, the film blends all the above with imaginary scenes from the creation of the cosmos, how all is connected, how did we get here? Why? purpose of our lives? Mrs. O'Brien (Jessica Chastain) recalls a lesson taught to her that people must choose to either follow the path of grace or the path of nature. In Vedanta the tree is a visual metaphor of the essence of our continuous evolution, growth and continuity. The tree symbolizes our roots with nature, yet reaching out for change, innovation and resilience. Change and growth is constant like the branches, taking us to newer heights. Our roots give us identity and strength, to face adversity, the branches give shelter and succor to others in this universe. Whenever there is change, our roots and what we stand for will remain the same - but what we must aim for will rise to the higher realms. – Vinay- The Book of Job:"Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation ... while the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (38:4, 7).

Fear- kindles the mythical embers of the creator.

Fear of death is the mother of the invention of God - is the sentiment echoed by philosophers for centuries. Sentient humans dream up stories of an ancient supreme creator, to try and avoid death with the superstitions of after life. Creatures of the other hand are self aware, have base instincts like fear, but do not have faith, as a religious emotion, locked inside or fret about death - unlike humans who need such myths to live and thrive and hence invent them. Even poets Sufis, Dervishes have all extolled the virtues of nature where the flora, the fauna, dance together heralding the freedom from the bondage of religion and god. The whole planet, men, women, flora, fauna, creatures and inanimate, all integrate to become one and there is no God left to worship. The universe is the ultimate vessel where the spirit of freedom soars. With this intense relationship with nature comes a conviction, about the uselessness of Gods and priests, a dismissal of clerical authority, organized religion and social convention. Gradually it emerges that God had never existed, it was a literary hoax, a satire, a parody of outlandish possibilities - which no other animal has had to invent, unlike humans with their conscious awareness.

Make Love, Not Law.

This stimulating book examines the ways in which legal systems have attempted to regulate sexual activity over millennia, from the 'slow impalement of unfaithful wives' in Mesopotamia to the 'sterilization of masturbators' in the United States. The catalogue of fun is subject to continual reinterpretation by the baleful forces of law includes incest, masturbation, bestiality, sex during menstruation, boring old adultery, prostitution, transvestism, pornography (which came of age in the Early Modern period), and the cult of virginity. As for homosexuality, the Theban infantry had a gay unit that fought nobly at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BC, and the issue only moved centre stage in the Christian era. Overall, Christians come out of the story badly, 'with their insistence on the conflict between the body (which craves sex) and the spirit (which sex destroys)'. 'From the reign of Emperor Constantine to the present,' 'the Christian notion that sexual love brings spiritual death has been the cornerstone of Western sex law.’ What all this amounts to, in most of the human cultures that have ever existed, is the male fear of and wish to subjugate women. I don't suppose it sounds humorous to contemporary victims of forced marriages sanctioned by law, of condoned rape, of female circumcision - and of God knows what else happens to women in those countries existing in ethical midnight. In Ur Nammu in the third millennium BC the penalty for raping a slave girl 'was as trivial as a speeding ticket today'. Considering the recent case of the monstrous Dominique Strauss-Kahn, one wonders how far we have

Soul Song. (Till death do us part)

Birth and death are the inseparable and opposite poles of the life on earth, senescence is an acceptable for all form of life except for the Jellyfish Turritopsis Nutrecula which is believed to be immortal. Religions wax eloquently of the existence and possibilities of another beautiful world, of other exotic substances which an average person is unable to see. All religions require death- without it concepts of judgment day, cycle of birth, rebirth, or merging become meaningless. If there is no death, them there is no other world called heaven or hell- even ultimate enlightenment becomes meaningless. In real life dying statement are considered sacrosanct, the ultimate truth. People in their dying moments are candid- as their minds are free from all other compulsions. The beginning and end of life are symbolized by the birth and death cycle on earth. Even though the Abhramic religions propagate resurrection and Dharmic religious promote re-incarnation, no human being can ignore death. What happens to the soul as the body slowly dissipates and dies? How does life enter the soul and what becomes of it after death? How does the soul which held the older wisdom of the ancient discarded body adopt to a new outfit? Does the soul float in cyberspace during the interregnum between leaving the old shell and finding a new body?