DO WE MISS WHAT WE NEVER HAD ?

DO WE MISS WHAT WE NEVER HAD?

On the face of it the question looks superfluous. Yes, of course we always miss what we never had. But why?  Barring, perhaps for food, we do not really need anything, else not clothing, not even shelter. Early humans lived liked that. Animals still do. A new born child also does.

These days  Chitrgupta Park, my walking abode, is getting face lift.  Daily wagers have  parked there in the vacant land, living with their families in make shift plastic huts they have built for themselves. While they are busy in working in the park or other daily chorus, their kids move around in tattered clothes laughing or crying unmindful of the fact that there exists a world totally different from theirs where there is everything that a human can aspire for comforts. They do not miss any of these comforts because they have not had it so far, that is.

These kids have never experienced those comforts and may never will. Like their parents they will also grow up, toil as laborers, have families and their kids too will also be moving in tattered clothes unmindful of modern day comforts. It will be only during those growing up years that they will envy those who enjoy a life that they will never have and sooner than later they will, like their parents will accept it as their fate. They will then never miss those comforts because they never had it and will never have it.

It therefore appears that we miss only what we had. The more we had, the more we miss. The less we had, the less we miss. The more we miss, the more envious we are of those we who have. The less we miss the less miserable we are. Outwardly it may look that those we have less are more miserable but the opposite is more true. On closure look the ‘haves not’ seem to be laughing their way all the time and the ‘haves’ grumbling most of the time.

The true happiness lies in cutting down on our needs and sticking to the bare minimum.

At contrast to the daily wagers above,  I know such a couple who lived in all comforts till their fifties and have now settled in a village cut off from the hurly burly of town and city life, with a thatched hut with bare minimum possessions, growing their own food in the farm they have purchased, no electricity, no fridge, no gas connection and only a BSNL mobile connection to keep in touch with the outside world.  They seem to be quite happy.  

      

CLEANLINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS

CLEANILINESS IS NEXT TO GODLINESS

This has been said long, long ago but in different context. Presently it is interpreted as physical cleanliness –personal hygiene including the cleanliness around us. Since we live in a material world, we think, talk and act materialistically. By cleanliness we mean there should be no dirt or garbage around. It is another issue we ourselves are responsible for the dirt and garbage sitting around us. But then there are always people available to remove our dirt and garbage, we need not much worry about the creation part of it. What is important is the removal and disposal part of it. And since money can do anything all we have to do is to collect from those who can pay and distribute it among those who can remove and dispose this garbage. Those who can pay and are also the chief creator of this garbage, will not pay it voluntarily, we take it from them by way of taxing them. This is Government Job.

But there is another type of cleanliness, which was in vogue long, long back when it was said cleanliness is next to Godliness. Then, they meant it by inner cleanliness –cleanliness in our thinking, speech and action-MANSA, BACHANA, KARMANA. Then they were not much worried about physical cleanliness as there was not any garbage or dirt created and the surroundings, rivers, wells, tanks, lakes, air-all were clean.  It was the emphasis on this type of cleanliness that ensured physical cleanliness. If we are clean in our thoughts, speech and actions, we will not create any dirt or garbage around us. We will ensure that we do everything in our control to create minimum garbage and pollution and remove/dispose it without anyone telling us or taxing us to do it.

But that is not going to happen because there is no  authority in the world that can force you be clean in thoughts, speech and actions unless you directly cause some serious damage to others. You will keep on polluting the atmosphere with your dirty thoughts, foul mouth and reprehensive actions and no one will be in a position to touch your hair.   

I am in no way representing the cleanliness drive of Modi Government although by itself it is a laudable effort. This type of cleanliness drives was driven in the past by similar sounding names and therefore I see no reason why the past efforts failed and why this one will succeed unless we ourselves clean our thoughts, speech and actions.

SWACHCH BHARAT !!!!!!! MY FOOT

SWACHCH BHARAT, MY FOOT

Today on return from evening walk saw a well heeled lady driving a SUV, a teenage girl, may be her daughter, sitting next to her, throwing an empty wafer packet with banana  peels  out of the window of the running car. She seemed to be saying “I am all powerful.  I can throw my dirt anywhere I want. I do not care as long as my own surrounding is clean”.

A few distance later, saw a Rickshaw puller throwing an empty tobacco sachet on the road. He seemed to be telling “I live in unhealthy squalor anyway. Why should I care if your surrounding is clean or not’?

I am just wondering who is responsible for all the dirt around us- the lady and her ilk or the Rickshaw puller and his folks.  

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that I am responsible for it.  I could not have run after the car and catch the lady and give a bit of my mind but I could have certainly admonished the rickshaw puller. But then I think why the rickshaw puller? Just because he is poor, lives in a filthy atmosphere and hence has no sense of cleanliness?

Again the more I think about it the more I am convinced that I am responsible for it. I could have the audacity to pull up the poor but have no guts to say a world to the powerful even if an opportunity falls in place.

The more I think about it the more I am convinced that I am responsible for it. It was only till yesterday (literally) that I used to do the same. Me the educated middle class preserver of moral values!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But somehow my middleclass values put me on the right path. But my middleclass values forces me to think about these abrasions in our society where the upper class and the downtrodden think similarly on certain vital issues. The yoke of reforms remains on the shoulders of the middleclass.

   

ON BEING A GIFT AND A GIFT WRAPPER

ON BEING A GIFT AND A GIFT WRAPPER

Most of us give or get occasional gifts on birthdays, weddings, anniversaries or festivals. The gifts are wrapped in bright sparkling wrappers. No matter how bright and sparkling the wrapper may be, it does not form part of the gift. In fact the receiver, mostly children, anxious to know what lies inside the packet, tears away the wrapper mercilessly and dumps it in the waste paper basket.  As we should not judge a book by its cover we should not judge a gift by its wrapper. Its job is to wrap the gift. It cannot add value to the gift itself. The value of the gift is judged by the receiver.    

There are many types of wrappers. Have you ever seen the heavily made up actors and celebrities without make up?  This make up wrapper not only hides the wrinkles or the hardened skin but also hides their emotions too. This also makes them fearful to present themselves in public without make up. It can be very depressing but it is not created by the wrapper. It is self created.   

In our day to day life we come across people wrapped in various shades of wrappers. There was this song from a Hindi movie ‘ek chehare pe kai chehare laga lete hain log’ (people wear many faces over a face). They wear masks to hide their true faces. The smile on their faces hides their true feelings. The words they utter may mean exactly the opposite. It is only after the false wrapper is removed that the truth comes out. The only problem is that unlike what we do with wrappers on the gift packets, we cannot tear their wrappers of falsehood apart. It is in the interest of both, the giver and the receiver, that decency is maintained. In fact it is a norm than exception to let the deception flourish. Calling a spade a spade is not considered civic.

And then who can forget the only wrapper, the creator preserved us with for full nine months. All of us were presented to this world in a beautiful wrapper. The wrapper was carefully removed and the gift inside opened in the presence of all concerned. Everyone danced with divine joy. The gift passed from hands to hands.

IT WAS NOW FOR THE GIFT TO PROVE ITS WORTH. WILL IT? THE WRAPPER COULD DO THIS MUCH ONLY.

Life can be as green as a Christmas tree.

Life can be as green as a Christmas tree.

Neither snow nor storm can whither the leaves of a Charismas tree. Does not it sound familiar?

“Nainam cchindanti shastraani nainam dahati paavakah;

Na chainam kledayantyaapo na shoshayati maarutah.

(Weapons cut It not, fire burns It not, water wets It not, wind dries It not.”)

 (Geeta -Chapter 2, Verse 23.)

Christmas tree is brought home on Christmas and decorated with full glory. This possibly is the only tree that can survive the onslaught of winter winds and snow in the Western world. Christmas is God’s reassurance that He is with us all the time. The tradition of decorating it during Christmas is age old. Will it be fair to compare Christmas tree with the eternal Soul? Christianity does not talk of the cycle of birth and rebirth and eternity of life. I am rather inclined to believe that He created Christmas tree to remind humanity of the joy of living, the brightness of life and the eternity of life.

Life is living within a physical body and death is the perishing of the body due to accidents, illness or ageing. It is therefore very rational to decorate this body as long as the soul is within this body. We need not decorate this body in the usual terms. By decorating I mean, decorating our overall thinking with noble ideas of honesty, truthfulness and compassion for the less fortunate. We celebrate our festivals with gusto, spend fortunes and forget all our owes during these festivities.

But there are millions who are deprived of basic needs in life. Presently my thoughts are for the people who live on footpaths and have no shelter for the life threatening cold nights. Government provides them night shelter bit no blankets. Some cannot move to the night shelters because of logistics. North India is reeling under a very severe cold spell and colder than even London. News papers are carrying photos of people stranded at the Railway stations because of delayed/cancelled trains. Most of the passengers have woolens on and some have even blankets. Just across the platforms there are urchins in tattered clothes collecting empty water bottles.

Have as much fun as you can but give a thought for these less fortunate people and do weigh your own miseries with that of theirs.    

ALL ABOUT FACEBOOK ADDICTION

ALL ABOUT FACEBOOK ADDICTION

YOU ONLY WANT TO BE LOOKED AT, YOU NEVER LOOK

This is a line from a movie dialogue where the wife blames her husband for neglecting her because he only wants to be looked at, but never looks. This can be said in so many other phrases like:

 You only want to be heard but you do not listen or,

You only want to be followed but you do not follow.

Let me try to apply it on FB posts. Lot of surveys have been made and more will be made. Presently FB is mainly for the younger people. There are few seniors like me. May be many seniors enrolled but found it too fast, like fast food. You order the food, it is warmed in the oven in seconds, handed over to you and you eat it while walking or driving to work or home. It is not like ordering al carte from the menu, waiting at the table for being served at a placid speed and eating it leisurely as if you have nowhere to go. Face book is not the platform for serious discussions.

FB is updating your status on the drop of a hat and wait for the ‘likes’. You do not even expect comments as there nothing to comment. The ‘like’ says everything. For you the ‘like’ is an appreciation and for the person hitting the ‘like’ button is a formality. Yet the measure of popularity is the number of ‘likes’ or comments one gets. Like followers on Tweeter, I was told ‘friends’ and ‘likes’ on FB can also be ‘managed. You know what I mean.

Presently almost everybody who is anybody with a internet supported phone or computer is on FB.The embarrassment arises when you are friend to your children or relatives like chacha-chachi, tau-tai, mama-mami, bhai-behan, beta-bahu, beti-damad, bhai-behan, nana-nani, mata –pita. Some of their or your updates may be revealing. And then it is but natural that there should be mutual race for hitting the ‘like’ button or else what is the use of having ‘friends’ within the family and relatives? Failing to hit the ‘like’ button may end up in severance of relationships by simply ‘unfriend’(ing).

The more you ‘like’ others’ ‘status’ the more you are likely to get ‘likes’ on your own ‘status updates’.  This is directly proportional to your own actions. Some may get more ‘likes’ than what they do in turn but that is because of a formal acknowledgement or respect for your post. There are status updaters who do not ‘like; but expect ‘like’ from one and sundry. It may also be paraphrased as “

You only want to be ‘liked’ but you do not ‘like’

For posting comments one has to read the post but in this time of fast food, not many have the patience to spare time or inclination. Sometimes the first few lines speak what is likely to follow and there is no need to hit the ‘see more’ link in blue.  It may be okay to ‘like’ a photo update but I am at loss to understand what a ‘like’ means when someone’s ‘like’ does not indicate if he/she ‘liked’ if after reading the full post or not.

The moral of the write up is, if you have not already guessed, if you want to be looked at, you have to start looking, if you want to be heard, you have to start listening and if you want to be ‘liked’ you have start ‘liking’.

I know you will hit the ‘like’ button  without reading this post but do it anyway because I am your senior and am in minority. Mind you if you do not do so you will be indirectly telling to back off.

  

"IF WE COULD SEE INSIDE OTHERS' HEARTS": LIFE, in 4 min