FORGET ABOUT DETACHMENT-ATTACH.

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Forget about detachment, attach.

We have been told to detach ourselves from everything we have-wealth, relationships possessions- because the real cause of our unhappiness is attachment. This is my house, she is my wife, they are my children, these are my belongings, they are my friends, those are my enemies – the list is endless. I will do this, I can do that, I will have what I want, I don’t care –lot of ego centric ideas.

Centuries have gone by but we are still attached whatever we have. It only proves that it is not working.

How about trying to attach ourselves with everything? Not only with our wealth, relationships and belongings but also with everything including everything-the rivers, oceans,  trees,  mountains,  flowers,  animals- in short the whole universe. This way our attachment will be distributed all over the universe. Above all we are a part of the Universe only. How can we detach ourselves from the Universe?. Everyone and everything will belong to us and thus dear to us.

‘Love thy neighbor’ will turn into ‘love thy surroundings’. It will solve many of our problems of religion and environment. There will be no room for discrimination on the ground of cast, creed, color and class. There will be no room for doing any harm to nature and all living beings.

Start attaching yourself- it is for the living beings. Forget about detachment-it is for the dead.

'MAKE IN INDIA' MAY TURN INTO 'MAKE UP INDIA'

‘MAKING IN INDIA’ MAY TURN  INTO ‘MAKE UP INDIA’?

Narendra Modi Government came into power with ‘Make in India’ campaign. What he in effect meant was that in times to come India will be a manufacturing hub for variety of products and services that will generate employment for millions of youth. This was going to be possible by making India a country where business will be done with ease. Indian and Overseas capital will flow into setting up of such facilities in infrastructure, power, communication and manufacturing. It meant that there will be no bureaucratic hassles, land will be available at reasonable price within specific time frame and there will be least Government interference.

It was not to be. The very first requirement for ‘Make in India’ is availability of land at reasonable price within specific time frame. The Land Bill is in limbo. The monsoon session was a washed out thanks to the tit for tat attitude of the Congress and ‘couldn’t care less’ arrogance. PM Modi the architecture of ‘Make in India’ not only kept silence but distanced himself from the parliament itself. He was possibly watching the proceedings in the Parliament sitting in his room in the Parliament house. What a pity? He was playing on his flute while the Parliament was in utter chaos.

 5 years of second term of previous Government have seen termed as years of corruption and policy paralysis. No major decision could be taken for fear of public scrutiny. 15 months of this Government can be termed as months of self imposed paralysis. They know where to go but do not know why and when. 75 months are a big time for a journey of development. This will never be retrieved.

By the time Government is in a position to resolve the issues, other countries would have marched ahead, leaving us far behind as happened in the previous decades when China and some smaller countries turned themselves into thriving economies, we would have lost our brilliant youths to growing economies and our own private capital would have been parked outside the country.

And then we would be saying we could have done this, we should not have done this, we could have done that and we should not have done that.

Instead of ‘Make in India’ the next election will be fought on ‘Make up India’ campaign.  

LIVING SEPARATELY BUT HAPPILY TOGETHER

LIVING SEPARATELY BUT HAPPY TOGETHER

 One recent report has suggested that average family size is shrinking. As compared to average size of a family of seven members some decades ago, the current size is below four. This has given a new term to family –nuclear family consisting of husband, wife and one or two children. Joint families are giving  way in favor of nuclear families willingly or otherwise.

There have been many reasons for this, migration being the principal one. This understandable because people have been migrating for better opportunities for centuries and as such this is not a recent phenomenon. While daughters went to other families after marriage, sons migrated to other towns and countries. There was always the feeling of family. There was always ‘our family’ and not ‘my family’. The parental home was the home of all irrespective of where the sons/daughters lived. Now there is my home, my parents’ home, my brother’s home and so on.

Another reason is need for personal space. Not only children, parents also need a little bit of independence. They no more like to be security guards or baby sitters at home. They willingly agree to allow, encourage and assist their children to live separately.

This is happening more frequently not only in service class families but in business class families. There can be any number of reasons for it but the most important is the financial freedom. Salaries have gone up. Families have double incomes-both husband and wife working. This freedom has given rise to the desire for personal freedom called space. In business also there are n numbers of business opportunities and there is no need to stick to traditional family business. Members of a traditional clothing house have shifted to fast food, electronics or any other profitable business. There no need to stay in the parental house also.

It has given rise to a new family system. The parents live in parental homes, if any or in some old age homes. The children live in their own homes sometimes in the same city. They meet occasionally mostly on festivals. They keep in touch with phones or internet. The arrangements suits to all. They live separately, yet they come together on occasions and are happy. Poor parents survive on Government old age pensions, the middle class parents on their retirement funds and the rich have many options.

In a way this is good except when the parents grow too old to look after themselves or cannot afford to hire help. But the question is not is it good or bad. This is the only option. Take it or leave it. Parents of the world do not grumble. You did the same when you were young, may be a little differently.

INTERNETLESSNESS RUMBLINGS

INTERNETLESSNESS RUMBLINGS

What is life devoid of Internet, No Face Book No whatsapp,

No LinkedIn, S/sites, No Tweeter Chit Chat and no Gup-sup.

The whole world seems to have changed. The vast continents that were so close only a few days back have drifted away again. I am marooned in a tiny deserted Island at the remote corner of the limitless Universe. But let me first tell you how it happened. Normally the Cable thieves take away the underground telephone cables, while the Police and other security guys look away and the landlines telephone lines go dead for weeks. This time it is the handiwork of family members.  

The multiple Government agencies are the hands of the same establishment and therefore are supposed to live as a family. But as with humans, it does not happen in practice. The Electricity department does not see eye to eye to Telephone Department.  The Water Supply Department has age old enmity with the Telephone Department. They pretend to co-exist with each other underground by laying their cables and drainage system side by side but deep in their hearts they hate each other like MIL/ DIL/SIL. The PWD and CPWD also disturb the network in the name of improvement. They spare no opportunity to downgrade and humiliate the weakest member- the telephone department. The golden opportunity comes when either of them has to dig the ground for any of their repair or improvement work. This is the once in months time to take revenge for Water Supply Department by cutting the cables of Telephone or Electricity Department. The Telephone and Electricity Department in turn do so by choking the drains with mud and leaving the debris on the sideways after their work is finished. This time PWD has disrupted the telephone service by damaging the cable network of the Telephone Department. Tit for Tat.

My friends on Face Book, Whatsapp, LinkedIn. Tweeter and various other social sites have also forgotten me. They seem to have concluded that I am gone forever. How come, no one has missed me? Some of them had my mobile number with them. They could have at least tried to get in touch with me and enquire about my welfare. All these years they have been swearing in the name of their Gods that our friendship was forever, come what may. I have also decided to keep aloof. If they do not care, why should I.

My body denies stirring. Lethargy has set in.  Life has come to a perfect circle. I am back in the days of boredom. The spice of life is missing. Cannot advertise my ‘status’ anymore. Cannot post my ‘original’ write ups, obligatory likes/ comments on friends’ postings or photos anymore. Food does not taste the same, ‘pegs’ do not uplift the mood. There is so much to boast of, so much to holler about, so much to bitch on, so much to share with friends but damn this internetlessness.   

The only pass time is to read and re-read the daily news paper or surf the TV channels. It is a great revelation. Most of the news and contents are repetitive. This is bound to happen in 24x7 nonstop journeys. Some of the news channels invent news to fill in the promise of ‘100 breaking news in ten minute’.  Reading e-books stored in my laptop legally or otherwise, do not interest me anymore. In fact, the laptop that was once my pampered brat has lost its luster. What use is a laptop if it cannot connect me with my friends?

THE IMPACT OF WRITTEN AND SPOKEN WORDS

THE IMPACT OF WRITTEN AND SPOKEN WORDS

It is said that written words are buried in books but spoken words have wings. Written words have little or no value for those who cannot read or do not like to read and therefore they remain buried in books only. From the time humans invented and started writing, trillions of books and magazines have been published and stored in the libraries. Trillions of copies of these were printed and sold and possibly read too. Possibly because there is no way to find out how many of these books were actually read and how many were bought to adore the libraries of the so called ‘book lovers’. There are people out there who would buy a book or painting just because it is fashionable to have it in your library or on your walls.

On the contrary spoken words have much greater reach. Who can forget the spoken words of Tilak’s- ‘Freedom is my birth right’, Netaji’s- ‘you give me your blood I will give you freedom’, - Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’, Vivekanand’s -‘brothers and sisters of America’ or Nehru’s -‘tryst with destiny’. Spoken words have wings to fly and reach all over the universe. Spoken words are few in numbers and easy to understand.  Spoken words leave an ever lasting impact in our life. Illiterate people and people with disabilities like dumbness or blindness can listen to these words or ask someone close by the meaning of those words even if the language is not familiar.

It is not that written words leave no impact. In fact there are thousands of quotable quotes taken from books of fiction poetry, plays and learning that impact our daily life. But this became possible because some people took the trouble of spreading that knowledge amongst the masses in one form or the other. Otherwise these words would have remained buried in the confines of the pages on which they were written or printed. Shakespeare’s plays became popular because they were enacted on stage. This holds good for all play writers whose plays became popular because they were enacted on stage by competent actors. Same is the case with religious books like Gita, Ramayana, Bible and Quran.

It therefore looks that spoken words have more impact than written words.

MOTHER NATURE AS SERIAL KILLER

MOTHER NATURE AS SERIAL KILLER

A mother never kills her own children, but Mother Nature does and does so regularly as a serial killer. She has many ways of inflicting murderous attacks. In extreme it is sun stroke, in winter it is freezing cold or avalanche and in rainy reason it is floods, landslides, cloud burst, lightening, tsunamis. More people have died in natural calamities than in wars or epidemics.

Why then Mother Nature is so unkind and unforgiving to her children? Normally a mother’s upbringing makes or mars the future of a child. She is responsible for making a man or woman out of a baby boy or girl. Even if despite her cautious upbringing, the child turns into a monster, she is still kind to him/her because she will always be a mother to her children.

But constant pushing her to the edge by her children may turn her into a unforgiving Mother. This is the reason why Mother Nature has turned a serial killer. Her children have left her with no choice. She has no option but to teach them a lesson.       

ON ACHIEVING NIRVANA-THE GITA WAY

ON ACHIEVING NIRVANA- THE GITA WAY?

This is what Gita has to say about achieving Nirvana.

Chapter 18

“Ya imam paramam guhyam madbhakteshvabhidhaasyati;

Bhaktim mayi paraam kritwaa maamevaishyatyasamshayah.

68. He who with supreme devotion to Me will teach this supreme secret to My devotees shall doubtless come to Me.

Na cha tasmaanmanushyeshu kashchinme priyakrittamah;

Bhavitaa na cha me tasmaadanyah priyataro bhuvi.

69. Nor is there any among men who does dearer service to Me, nor shall there be another on earth dearer to Me than he.  

Adhyeshyate cha ya imam dharmyam samvaadamaavayoh;

Jnaanayajnena tenaaham ishtah syaamiti me matih.

70. And he who will study this sacred dialogue of ours, by him I shall have been worshipped by the sacrifice of wisdom; such is My conviction.

Shraddhaavaan anasooyashcha shrinuyaadapi yo narah;

So’pi muktah shubhaamllokaan praapnuyaat punyakarmanaam.

71. The man also who hears this, full of faith and free from malice, he, too, liberated, shall attain to the happy worlds of those of righteous deeds”

Not only Gita, even Ramayana and Bhagwat have similar messages- those who read, those who teach and those who listen with devotion and faith shall be liberated and reach the Kingdom of the Creator.

Undoubtedly, the intentions were good. The only way to spread a message is through reading, teaching and listening and God's message needed an audience for their own good. Our saints and sages who were directly delivered the message by the Creator understood it in depth and put it down in writing with explanations and then embarked upon spreading it by teaching and preaching. Centuries passed. The baton was passed from the Gurus to the disciples.  

But the rot started when the teachers and preachers turned materialistic and a sort of competition started among them to amass as much wealth and following as possible. They started calling themselves, of course through their disciples, Gods and Goddesses incarnate. The teachers in present context are so called Religious Preachers (Dharma Gurus) and the listeners are the Devotees (Bhaktas) of these Gurus. In between are the disciples (Chelas) who act as intermediaries. These disciples spread the miraculous powers of their Gurus and the unsuspected, docile and gullible people turn to them for their healing touch. Some are cured naturally but are made to believe that it was Guru’s blessings.  The cured ones are exhibited in public during the Satsangas. Some media channels, for money, broadcast these Satsangas at prime time. Some Gurus have their own TV channels.

And here we are, unable to find a real Dharma Gurus, one whom we can trust. All of them have come under the shadow of doubt, thanks to the misdeeds of most of them. It was foretold by the scriptures that in Kaliyuga devotees will be cheated by false propaganda of the  unscrupulous representatives of  Religion.   

QUEUE FOR ANYTHING 'FREE'

QUEUE FOR ANYTHING ‘FREE’

In our society there are always some good well meaning individuals or group of individuals. There are a few such groups in Chitrgupta Park, where I go for my morning walks almost everyday. One distributes free green tea and fresh watermelon juice. People can be seen queuing up for ‘free’ tea and juice. Another one distributes some fresh ingredients in form of sprouted seeds with green leaves for treatment of sugar and high blood pressure. There is a queue here also because it is ‘free’. One gentleman puts some eye drops for ‘free’. There is a queue here also. This gentleman started ‘free’ sugar check up and there was queue. Once he started charging Rs 20/- there are few takers. Another one started ‘free’ blood pressure check up and there was queue. He also started charging Rs 20/ and there are few takers.

As you might have already guessed most of the morning walkers come from middle or upper middle income groups (the poor have no time for such luxuries and the rich have their own gardens).  They can afford tea or juice or whatever but just because it is ‘free’ they do not mind waiting and standing in a queue. The moment the service becomes ‘chargeable’ they simply stay away. (I am one of them).

It seems we are a country of ‘freebie’ lovers-both rich and poor. Barring a very few, not many have surrendered their quota of subsidized cooking gas cylinders. Till yesterday, many did not install water meters because their consumption was high and the rules said they will be charged the minimum of 20KL. No sooner Government started the scheme of no charges up to 20KL, they have started installing meters.

It reminds me of real story. Someone kept his dead Fridge outside hoping someone will pick it up. No one did. Next day he put a sticker, saying -‘for sale 50$’. Following morning it was gone.

       

RETURN TO THE BLUE LAGOON

RETURN TO THE BLUE LAGOON

As I was boringly surfing the channels, I saw this movie being aired on a channel. I had seen the ‘Blue lagoon’ long back and liked it. Curiosity is the mother all what we see around us. So I watched the movie to the end. The message - the civilized world is full of lies and guns and hence not worth returning to.

I am told there are some 5000 islands in the world we live in and many of them are inhabited. In some of these islands the inhabitants are called primitives or tribes. I believe may be they are there just as the couple and their child in the movie, remnants of a wrecked ship, waiting for some ship to spot them and take back to civilization. And like this couple in the movie, they also decided to stay put.

They have their own ‘civilization’. It starts with simple rules, some basic dos and don’ts. Nothing in is writing, just passed on from one generation to another. The basic rules are –never tell a lie, never steal, never kill your fellow tribal, share your exploits and so on.

How would it feel to be primitive or tribal, thousands of miles away from the modern civilization?

THE END OF KALIYUGA IN SIGHT

THE END OF KALIYUGA IN SIGHT

Yadaa yadaa hi dharmasya glaanir bhavati bhaarata;

Abhyutthaanam adharmasya tadaatmaanam srijaamyaham.

7. Whenever there is a decline of righteousness, O Arjuna, and rise of unrighteousness, then

I manifest Myself!

Finally the end of Kaliyuga is in sight. The Lord had kept His promise. Lord Shiva has descended form His heavenly abode on the Mount Kailasha and manifested in the form of a tea vendor in the Western Part of India. The tea vendor has reached the state of –Turiya- freedom from passion, anger and greed – total detachment –leaving his wife, mother and siblings to fend for themselves- to accomplish the greater mission of establishing Ram Rajya in the whole world. He has annihilated the demon of communal violence in his state with iron hand. There is total peace and tranquility everywhere. He has taken the  reigns  of the National Chariot. Hence forth no one will feel like a sinner by taking birth in this country. The glimpses of Ram Rajya in the country are already visible.

On the calling of the Lord  the UNO, with its 177 members have unanimously decided to observe 21^st June as World Yoga Day. This was the first time they heard about Yoga form the Lord’s lips and fell for it. Forget the naysayers who are choking in their throats trying to say that our saints, sages and missionaries of yore travelled to far off places to propagate the idea of Yoga for centuries and that is why the world has given it an official seal. Yoga classes will be conducted world wise on this day and preparations are on to celebrate the first World Yoga Day on Sunday, 21^st, June, 2105. All school children are expected to return from their summer vacations and be present. Organizations of repute like  Brahmakumaries ‘sahaj yoga’ have risen to the clarion call of the Lord and will also be conducted special sessions on this day.

On the calling of the Lord, the demons of cross border terrorism were chased deep into the forests of Myanmar and destroyed them forever. It is also a clear warning to any such attempt from any other bordering country. With this universal peace is just a whip away.

On the calling of the Lord, China has opened a motor able road to Mansarovar. This will make pilgrimage to Mansarovar shorter and comfortable.

On the calling of the Lord, fugitives-(people of questionable motives) – have been allowed to move freely on humanitarian grounds and in future all such persons will be allowed to do so till their personal and family problems are resolved to their satisfaction. Very soon fugitives of the world will be able to move freely and that will the last sign of Ram Rajya where the goat and the lion will drink water side by side at the same pond.

Not on the express calling of the Lord, people have started building temples in his name replacing the idols of established Gods.

SING WITH ME ‘OM NaMo Shivayah”.     

   

WHEN THE MIND IS FULL

 WHEN THE MIND IS FULL

The national science foundation estimated that on an average people have 70000-80000 thoughts per day, with 80% of those being negative and 95% being repeated. This implies that we are not really thinking. Our mind is being governed by the memory of earlier thoughts.

This is a huge embarrassment. It means only 5% of what we think is new and 80% of that is negative. Suppose 75000 thoughts engage my mind every day, 60000 of those are negative and only 3750 are new but sadly of these too 3 It means our mind is full but of garbage. Viewed in the context of scientific theory that humans use only 10% of their brain, I shudder to think what if we used our brain for 100% of its capacity. What a catastrophic situation!

And what could be these negative thoughts? Mostly-I cannot do this, this or that is not possible, people are dishonest, and I have to stay at arm’s length from them and so on.  

And what are the positive thoughts? Let me do this, have my meals and go to sleep- the very basic things for survival and existence.    

The answer seems to be- stay occupied, meditate and think positive. Of these staying occupied is the easiest to do. Working people have no such big problem because they have a lot to keep them occupied. It is the retired seniors who have all the time at their disposal, get little sleep and are forced to be frugal in their eating habits. There can many ways of staying occupied depending on individual situation, health and financials. Traveling, reading, net surfing, TV, group activities in real or virtual world, engaging in some household chores, ‘can do it myself’ instead of hiring help.