Makes me wonder...

Second Law of Thermodynamics: Entropy of the universe always increases.

Entropy, a measure of chaos or disorder of a system will always increase, no matter what the process is.

I sometimes feel that the laws of physics are universal laws , laws which are applicable to society as well. That the disorder or chaos in the society will always increase.That the world is and will always go downhill no matter what you do.

In order to say that we have progressed, we need to define the parameters. Yes, per capita income has increased, so has the average life expectancy. Yes, we can communicate and move anywhere on the planet and claim to be living a more comfortable life. But does it also mean a more fulfilling life? Isn't it so that more people commit suicide then earlier.Inspite of having a great "connectivity" isn't it so that people know much less about people who were once close to them? There are more drug addicts than before. Is there some void in our lives that we try to fill with momentary pleasures?

Supposedly, with the growth in technology, moral growth should have also taken place. If the size of brain increased and so did his capabilty to think logically, why hasn't man realised a few basic facts for so long? Why is it so that still people do not take responsibilty of their actions. People give bribe to every person possible from policeman to passport agent and still wonder why is India amongst the most corrupt countries of the world. You litter on streets and blame the Govt. or the classic statement "Sab aisa hi karte hai" and still say "Cleanliness is next to Godliness".

Some people bear children without knowing whether they can nurture and take care of them, whether they have the time, energy and money to raise a kid. Some others pass on their values (or lack of them) to their children and others around them, who further add their own mess. Everybody takes away more from the society than what one can ever pay... And that is how the entropy increases!!!

Give me a reason

Its one of those days... well...those means those when I can't avoid thinking.

I have been wondering for some time now, what differentiates one person from another. Certainly, their intelligence, hard work, capabilities, attitude does. And being a great Ayn Rand fan, I do want to believe that you get to make your destiny... that you are not bound by circumstances... that except for what is within you, nothing else matters. But now I am forced to think if it is actually so?

I watched "Slumdog Millionaire" recently and saw the ground reality. Not that I was unaware totally, but somehow I could close my eyes... everytime. It hurt initially when I saw Mumbai slums, but two years of stay at M'bai and I could deal with it. I went to a poor area in Delhi (call it slum) recently and the cocoon that I had built around myself was shattered. There were kids running around, laughing, giggling, playing in mud.. unaware and careless. There were parents also laughing and giggling... unaware and careless, that they have kids somewhere. That there are humans struggling for scarce resources of planet.. food and compassion, humans who are here because they brought them to life, humans they should be accountable for... their kids. And yet no body cares.

I am sure that among these kids there would be hundreds who are far more intelligent and sharp than me and all of them are certainly much more hard working. Yet, I work in an air conditioned office while they beg on streets. Why? I don't think it can be solely due to attitude. Is it possible for someone who has 5 siblings, a drunkard father and hapless mother to see life as we see it? If you have always seen violence and cruelty as a way to resolve things, does there remain a way for you to see things otherwise? If you have never been told importance of education, can you just pick this up one fine day and get degrees? If you have to wonder whether you are getting the next meal or not, can you worry about books and pen? I guess not. Its just luck by chance. Where you are born decides quite a lot of things on earth.

We crib that the meal was not good, missed a movie, shoe of my size is not available. While there are kids there, who do not know if they are eating tonight or not. Or if they would be beaten again. Doesn't our cause of worry seem really trivial. But this is how life on earth is designed. Not fair. Not fair at all!!!

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!!!