Across the universe

Again first things first. The post is my personal opinion. I do not intent to change any body's view on anything , religion, faith or preferences.

Imagine a scene some thousands (or may be hundreds) of years from now. Imagine an alien kid talking to his mom. Oops sorry imagine there are aliens and imagine they have parents and that they talk.

Kid: Mom!!!! Our teacher told that the homo sapiens specie on planet earth had the most paradoxical end. And that we don't yet know what happened. Please tell me more.

Mom: Ok kid. listen. There is a planet many million light years from here. It is called earth. Earth had lots of natural resources. Much greater than present on any of the planets known to us. It had several thousand species, all very different from each other, bound by a common thread that they needed the planet for their survival. For many years they lived in harmony. There was one specie that eventually became more intelligent than the rest. It was called Homo Sapiens or humans. It understood how it can use the resources to a more effective use. And he began using it. But, it was a mean, selfish, cruel specie. He began exploiting the planet and resources more than he should have. Several species of earth became extinct because he killed them.

Kid: Killed them ALL???? There are several thousand organisms of every specie. He killed them all?????

Mom: yeah kid. Thats what he did. He killed them all. But the story does not end there. He was not just cruel to other specie. He had a strange wiring in his system. Humans fought with themselves too. Humans were divided into many groups. He split himself over land on earth, he called that countries. He split himself into belief systems, he called it religion. He also split based on color of skin, based on race and based on sexual preferences. And he was intolerant to all who had a difference of opinion. Inspite of having everything on the planet, humans were never at peace within themselves. After being the supreme specie on earth for several thousand years, humans had created a hole in their protective air layer, called ozone. He was responsible for extinction of several species. He was responsible for some irrevocable changes to his environment, like the temperature of planet getting raised by several degrees. And he had developed some very powerful weapons, to be used on other humans. He was always insecure though he was the most powerful being on earth.

Kid: But mom how did such a strong and intelligent specie come to an end. Did some other specie kill them all, as they had killed others????

Mom: Oh no kid... No specie rose against them. Scientists have put several theories and they are studying to know what killed them.

May be he died because the planet's environment had changed drastically and he could not live there. And no near by planet was fit to be his habitat.

May be he just killed himself. They had a big war and all died. The losers during the war and the winners immediately after that. This war could have any reason. Humans were never short of reasons to fight. It could have been over natural resources or boundaries or religion or any other equally irrational reason.

But, there is another theory. It required one male and one female to ensure continuation of specie. May be they started by not wanting the pain and effort it takes to raise a kid. Females and males in the beginning wanted their life too much and wanted to enjoy it fully to spend it raising a kid. And also, males start liking males more and females started liking females more. So, they could not have a next generation. And finally they lost the ability to reproduce.

Kid: But mom!!!!

Mom: yeah kid... all species know what they need to ensure that they live. They know that they have to eat, drink, save themselves from predators and reproduce. Scientists still don't know what killed humans, they say they can find HOW human specie ended but they can never find WHY it did? They say that humans themselves did not understand themselves. If humans would have understood why they are doing what they did, it would have never become extinct in the first place.

Kid: Mom... Its so sad.

Mom: yeah kid. This is the greatest paradox. This was the most hilariously sad end of the most intelligent fool known.

Like humans do

Vande mataram- I think we should change it to "TwoDay Mataram"( Vande- One day... Got the joke????) Well.. after all our river of patriotism shows its holy presence twice a year, republic day and independence day, unless some "Abhinav Bindra" upsets the precarious balance. So, saying OneDay mataram is like halving our feelings. Not fair at all.

So, it was independence day recently and like all patriotic citizens, I slept till afternoon, sent "Happy Independence Day" messages , wished my friends, read the tricolored newspaper, cheered the Olympic Gold winner Indian, said "Proud to be an Indian" a zillion times, shopped and slept. I pay my taxes on time, I do not break any rules (assuming giving bribes to a few people here and there is not a rule), I buy Indian stuff(and also the cheaper Chinese things) and I also stand when the national anthem is being played, if I happen to be there by any chance. And yeah, like all ideal Indians I blame the Govt.s, past, present and future for our present state of sports, education, crime and corruption. Also, I do not vote, so , the govt. does not reflect my opinions, this way I am free to blame others who vote. All in all I am a proud ideal Indian citizen, may be spineless, but ideal.

Of all human emotions, gratitude has shortest life. So, true. I am a citizen of an independent country, I can do anything that I want to, choose any vocation, settle at any place, raise my voice against the Govt. There were people who laid their lives so that we can breath in a free nation. And we thank them by singing songs once in a while. I can not recognize more than 5 of top freedom fighters and nation builders and I say I am thankful to them. I do not remember what exactly they did, but I know they must have done something, thats why we had a chapter in history book.

We all say, things are not going right. Nobody is doing anything. Its all going downhill. People are starving, people are killing each other, people are fighting... bad politics..bad people... bad society. But do we ever attempt to change anything? Have we ever thought of repaying back, of working for those who might not be as privileged as us, of doing anything constructive? I guess, that should have been the way of thanking those who gave us what we have today. Of saying "Happy Independence day".

Praying for time

I am Time: And I have destroyed countless beings, even the Gods who preside over this universe. I am the consumer and you are our food. This relationship is not based on mutual likes or dislikes.

-Yoga Vashishta

I have always considered this statement as the most arrogant, self-righteous, and an epitome of naked truth. Yes, time is totally relentless, unforgiving and impartial. It won't stop while you were sleeping... for years, it won't care whether you are a king or a pauper, we are all given a fixed amount, neither a micro second more nor less than anyone else. Time doesn't mind you’re whiling it away, squandering it off, but it just won't repay anything back to you. It’s your money, spend it the way you want to.

No matter how great the powers of any conqueror were, they could never win against their greatest enemy… time. All are now rulers of History, gone by days, prey of time.

Sometimes I wonder why some people become what they become? How do people reach the heights they reach? Why is it so, that two people born on same dates, often in same conditions turn out so different from each other? Yes agreed they had different attitudes, vision and thought, but also, they use their time differently. Whether you invest time on your own growth or on gossips, it’s your decision. Soon, it becomes a habit and ultimately decides where you reach when your time here is over. Guess, time management classes are not that bad.

Involuntarily, I also started thinking about affect of time on relations. "Those were the best days of my life"... Apparently best days are always "WERE"... a thing of past.

No matter how great anything be, it gets swept by tides of time. All those "Best pals" of schools, college, become past. Great evenings together stay only in snaps, lovely feelings just become scribbling in diaries... to be remembered, never to be relived. You leave college, switch jobs, change cities, get married, start a family.... in short you get busy and trapped in your own world. And with every change in your situation and surroundings, you change relations. Past close friends becoming just an entry in the phone book with time.

Well that’s time; it will heal your heart breaks. It will take you out of the sorrow of failure. It will take you to the heights you worked for. It will change things, it will make impossible possible; but it will not wait. Yes, you can make up for lost time, and no you can NOT always do it. Yes, it gives you a second chance and no it does NOT always give that. Yes we can make up for all the mess we have done, but no we can not bring the extinct species back on earth. Do what ever… don’t take time for granted.

Nobody knows

First things first:
Disclaimer: The ideas, opinions and views mentioned are totally of the author(thats me!!!) and have no relation with whosoever is publishing it. The author(thats again me) has no intentions to defame/ disgrace any one. Any damage caused is deeply regretted :)

I was watching TV tonight( nothing unusual there) and watching MTV Splitsvilla( again nothing unusual), and it made me think( now...there is a catch) where are we headed? As i was analysing various popular serials, MTV Splitsvilla, Roadies, Yo mama, it made me think what exactly are we doing? What message are we passing to the society?(if any) and if the sole motive of the channels is to make money( which according to me is justified), what we as thinking and rational beings are interested in?

For the uninitiated... I found that there are various Reality shows, where to succeed you have to be bitchy, play dirty politics and screw whoever you can. In short, if you have any morals, any bit of conscience, stay home. Stay home, stay away... and if you come, be prepared to get to the lowest level that you can think of( if you still have some sense of high and low present).

And then we have some great news channel, feeding the public, what exactly it deserves... junk..crap..story..gossip. If I am so interested in the love life of Paris Hilton or Tom Cruise... that is news. If I want gossip as to who said what to whom, who is sleeping with whom and how some unknown kid from some unreachable land is said to possess some unvanquishable powers... I will get exactly that. Served as breaking news..prime time...

I donot blame Government, afterall.. we chose our leaders and we have a democracy. I cannot blame channels, they have all rights to say what they think. And this is a game of demand and supply. They'll show what earns money. They never said they are doing charity. So, they are playing a perfectly fair game. Well, then who do I have problem with?

I have a problem with myself, with us as viewers... as promoters of crap. Since, we want gossips on front page of newspaper, news that needs attention gets lost... somewhere on the left corner of page 17. Since, we want to see pretty girls bitching, young kids screaming obscenities at the top of their voices, this is what we get. Exactly that. Someday... may be US will wage a war against or just annex Iran and we'll miss the news... happy at Angelina Jolie delivering babies.

I guess there is some sort of hidden desires or subdued criminal instincts present in us, that makes certain choices for us. May be Mr. Jekyll can't come out wide in open, but nevertheless has its time vicariously. Or may be, we have just sense of direction left, not the sight of goal. We know, that we have to grow in life... make money.. and we forget that the final aim might be something like, to be at peace with oneself. A state of knowing, accepting and being proud of who we are. A sense of pride in the morals and values that we stand by or should stand by.

I once thought what I would like to do, if complete human race gets embodied as one person, so that you can make sense of and talk to the whole world in one go. I guess I would like to hold him by his collar and shake him widely. Asking him to awaken... he is sleep walking. He is moving for sure, but Where he is going, what he is doing, he doesn't know. He needs one violent jerk.

Knocking on heaven's doors

She was begging on your name... supposedly carrying things that should remind people of your existence, asking for one meal on your name... He was talking to your picture that he carried in his hand. He was talking as if you were standing right there, listening, talking and caring. As if your presence there, was undoubted, beyond questions and more real than all others standing there. And it was a busy railway station. No matter what he called you, Bhagwan, Allah or Christ, he would not trust anybody who told him that you might not care, might not even exist. I don't know what they have faced in life or are going to face in future. But I know, that they and lot of others depend on you.

When you created humans, you would have considered us as the wisest specie on earth. Capable of intelligent thought, capable of right actions, capable of growth and advancement. You would have thought that we would take care of each other, our planet and other organisms. That we would device and accept a morally correct and unanimously acceptable system of living. That we would know that no system based on hurting others can be successful or give satisfaction to anyone.That we would grow together, understand and appreciate the gift that you have given us.

Do you now think that you overestimated us? That we have failed miserably? Were you so disappointed by us that you gave upon this planet and never thought about giving any specie intelligence ? Do you still care for humans?

I have no reason to discard the thought that you still care, yet I have no logic as to why you should still. May my logic fail. Amen!!!

I want to thank you

I believe God has reasons for everything. He did not put anything without reason, without purpose. Atleast this is what I like to believe. And this is true for all the situations you lend in, all the blunders you do and all the people you meet.

May be we don't realize immediately, why we are in soup or sometimes we feel like shouting out in open "Why Me". But, there is some purpose and that has to be trusted, even if we ain't fully convinced about its reason. And I have realized that there is some reason behind all jerks put in our lives. A reason, that might not be self evident, but is nonetheless there.

Today, I just want to thank all the jerks that came my way, whom I could never say anything. Thank You, Thanks for teaching me patience. Thanks for teaching me that in long run you don't matter and in short run you don't deserve my time. For letting me know, that there are people far more worthy and important in my life who deserve my time and attention. That I should not be wasting any of those on you. That I should just ignore you in my life. Thanks for teaching me priortizing. I understand that you have been spreading around all those negative energies, so that I can learn to counter them on my own. I realize the sacrifice you have made just so that I become more mature. You have taught me to live with or without the support of others. You planned to take all the people around, so that I live without assistance. And lo... I guess I have fulfilled your motive. You have helped me become much stronger than the person who met you in the beginning and I can never thank you enough. So, heres one.....

Thanks for sacrificing your good karma, by planning evil for me. Just so, that I can cope up much better with situations and people in future.

I have begun to trust God's plan.

What I have done...

"These are interesting times. We don't trust the government, we don't trust the legal system, we don't trust the media, and we don't trust each other! We've undermined all authority, and with it, the basis for replacing it! It's like a six-year-old's dream come true!"- Bill Watterson

“The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment.” - Robert M. Hutchins quote

And this is not just for democracy, this is true for all good things possible. Honesty, truth, virtue, reason, morals, all can die, not because of antipathy but because of apathy. Not because we want to be evil, but because we don't care. We simply ain't bothered. We are too preoccupied to walk fast and fast ahead of each other that we ain't seeing where we are headed to. The civilization that started its development millions of years ago, when man first thought of living in groups, and has taken slow and steady steps towards growth will not lose to a powerful enemy, but to a weak one. An enemy nobody thought capable of harming anyone.

As I look around, I see how selfish we have become. How we don't think about anyone but ourselves. What does not directly harm me, doesn't bother me. I am blissfully ignorant that there are places where people don't have basic necessities. I casually ignore all the rape, murder, injustice stories. We have almost 50% reservation now, but how does it bother my sleep? I have my educational degree. We can't say for sure who the president is, but ask the cricket score... and boy, you have an answer. Ask about views on policies of government ,long and short term needs of country.. and peace prevails, ask about the reviews of latest movie and you can have a debate. Whether the world in general progresses or not that is for someone else to see, I should get what I want. "Deserve" the word belonged to past. Hook Or Crook is the new mantra.

I don't like the general trend of society now. I have seen degradation in the world and apathy in me. People actually think that cutting corners can take you for long; that moving on someone's back can take you anywhere, that dirty politics and bitching can substitute hard work, dedication and capability. Do they actually think that whether you work or not, you can reap benefits if you just make people believe so. Everybody seems to be playing the great game of pretense. Short term goals are all that one sees. Money, fame, power is the game.

What we lack in quality we try and compensate by quantity. Since, people live a shallow life, they try to feed their vanity. As if showing off all the money and matter bought by unscrupulous means can give you peace, if that is what you seek. As if flaunting a new girlfriend/ boyfriend every week can raise your level in some way. If you cannot look straight into the eyes of person in the mirror, it doesn't make much sense anyway.

What we do in our personal lives, same gets reflected in the international politics. Iraq , Palestine, Tibet are not to be talked by anyone except the respective countries. If there is a bully, so be it. How does it matter to me? People are dying from hunger in Africa and by war in Afghanistan. Does it affect me? No it doesn't.

And who is to blame for this? None but us. I believe that we have failed in many ways. We have been unable to pass right values. In our haste to pass the "Money-making" lesson, we skipped the moral classes. We have believed that end justifies the means. No It doesn't. It can't.

The universe is completely balanced and in perfect order.You will always be compensated in full for everything you do.

You will get what you deserve in long run. Nothing more, none less. And as someone said "Sometimes your ahead, sometimes you're behind...the race is long, and in the end it is only with yourself."

There are things that can be taken casually, and there are things that can't be. And integrity is one thing that can't be. No matter how high you rise, if you are not at peace with yourself, it is all futile.

Happy Women's Day

It was womens day, one very good friend of mine was getting married. We were late from her party, waiting for my other friend's parents to pick us up. We were standing in a pretty illuminated area of a pretty decent locality of a rather crime free town, Jaipur. A bunch of 4-5 girls, all decked up, chatting loudly, giggling, enjoying and generally looking inside passing cars to see if they were my friends parents.

We noticed that almost all cars passing by did slow down, and all bikers did turn around once. But too cheerful and too used to these, we continued in our chatter. Well... If you are a female then you are expected to bear the fact that men can look on you as a commodity if and when they please ; that they can stand right in front of you and analyze all aspects of your body ; that they can pass lewd comments once in a while and you ain't supposed to react. We all have been living out of the protected world build by our parents since a long time. So, these things do not usually bother.

We were just waiting for uncle-aunty to come, when a car stopped right in front of us. In there were two elderly Gentle(?)men . Drooling they asked if they can drop us somewhere. I sternly asked them to leave. But they weren't in a mood to let go so easily. They asked us further why we ain't coming along with them. We again asked them to leave. Not shouting on them, but still more strongly. Finally, after some more thoughts and time later, they left, but not before having said all the crap and sick things that they could think of.

We were all silent for a long time after that. All lost in themselves.

Why is it so, that in spite of not doing anything wrong, we had to hear. While they left laughing at us, we lost our peace. And they weren't some college kids whom you can blame for misbehaving, they were two grown up men. They must be having their family somewhere, their kids waiting for daddy to come after a long day at work.. living an ideal life .. or so others believe.

There has often been a hue and cry over women wearing provocative attire, hence they were molested. Why is it so that women are always blamed? Why can't men understand their limits? why do we tolerate so much of indecency? why ain't their stricter rules against eve-teasing.

There is something drastically wrong somewhere. We have failed in teaching the right values to kids. Somehow, men have failed to understand that not all females are available. We have come out of stone age, when there wasn't any concept of marriages and monogamy. It has taken ages for human society to reach the level it is now. There is a definite difference between human society and animal kingdom. I believe that somehow men have begun choosing the animal group they mentally belong to.

Guilty or Not

Paris Hilton--- what comes to ur mind??? A wild crazy socialite.... a hedonist... some one who is living life on the fast lane and enjoying every moment of it..someone who is a bad influence on kids.... true.. mostly.

Anybody who is known for reasons ranging from wild parties to sex tape and pet dog and tantrums cannot be sad . Every moment of her life caught on tape is screaming out... "I don't give a damn.. I don't care..."

She is young, beautiful, rich, famous, independent. She can do anything that she feels like, and has been testing the limits since a long time. What else can one demand? But somehow I feel that she is troubled.

We often think that those who have everything that we lack should be happy, that they have to be happy. But I disagree. We do not realize what they lack. Would success be so coveted if there weren't any failures? Doesn't anything that is in excess loose its worth?

We derive pleasures from simple things in life. From an unexpected hike in salary, to a good buy, to meeting some old friend after a long time ;all give us happiness. What if all relations of your life are replaced by money? And most of the people who come close to you are after your money? What if there is nothing that you are looking forward to? What if you have everything except love?

If the basic judgment of right and wrong are not well in place, if the sense of ethics and limits are not taught from the beginning, it is difficult to accept them later on. If nobody stops you from doing anything, if everything that you do becomes a style statement then how do you decide that you can be wrong at some point?

But then again, if there is nothing that gives you happiness. If you have grown above simple joys of life, then it is natural for you to search for happiness at the next level, ethical or not, legal or not. I get happy, if I find a solution after a lot of thinking; when I go home ; when I hear some old favorite song suddenly. Talking to old friends cheers me up, no matter what my mood be. I can't hurt someone, because I will feel guilty later on. If all of these are taken away from me and replaced by money, I might go on the downward spiral as well. If you lack the sense of guilt and values, you can do anything that you want. If simple available things stop giving you pleasure, won't you seek it somewhere else?

I believe she and many like her are just a victim, a prey of abundance.