My New Year Resolutions

Resolution no. 1
 
I am going to be good, behave good, act good, speak good, listen good. Everything I am going to do in the coming year will be noble. I swear.


Resolution no. 2

I am going to forget the resolution no. 1 as soon as possible.

Happy New Year ! Hoorah ! Yahoo !

 

It Was A Nightmare Being Saddam

I am sitting on a long table with at least 10-12 people on my both sides. All of them are dressed up neatly. But the outfit that I am wearing is somewhat faded as if I have been forced to wear it from many days. I am in black outfit. The table that I am sharing with others is on a platform & is facing a huge crowd in hall. It’s quite high rush & some of them are even standing since there is no more place to sit. Below the platform, on my both sides are sitting two gentlemen, neatly dressed, looking like university professors & I feel that both of them are trying to avoid looking at me. Why ? I don’t know.

The man on the middle of the table stands up. The crowd’s murmur converts into silence. He is adjusting the microphone. He starts clearing his throat in lieu of saying something. Now after a brief pause he is saying something, looking at the audience. “Ladies & Gentlemen, Its my honour to preside over the debate which is going to start shortly on the question of Mr. Saddam Hussein’s death sentence. The Gentlemen sitting at the both ends of platform will debate over the mentioned matter, one of them will be for the topic & other obviously will be against it. Without taking any more of your precious time I announce the commence of this debate over the question of Mr. Hussein’s death sentence.” He looks at me while sitting down. Is he smiling? What’s this? Why is everyone looking at me? Oh god! What’s this going on? Am I Saddam Hussein? Yes I am.

I wipe my forehead’s sweat while the man on the right end stood up & walks towards the podium. He starts adjusting the microphone & now before speaking he is giving me a very nasty glance. With his glance filled with hatred, I can easily make out that he is going to support the death sentence of mine.

He is speaking now. “Ladies & Gentlemen, a warm welcome to you all. I will jump directly to the point without making any more waste of our precious time”. He points his finger at me & resumes again. “The man that we can all see sitting in the middle of table is Saddam Hussein. Mr Hussein over the decades became the example of violation of human rights. He never ever himself cared about the human life & now he sits between us keeping a little faith in his heart, which I must say that it’s of devil, that we all we pardon him for all the crimes against humanity which he committed & will take his words that they all were done for the sake of our nation. Let me give you a short list of his ruthless acts:-

1. Reprisal Against Dujail

On July 8, 1982, Saddam Hussein was visiting the town of Dujail (50 miles north of Baghdad) when a group of Dawa militants shot at his motorcade. In reprisal for this assassination attempt, the entire town was punished. More than 140 fighting-age men were apprehended and never heard from again. Approximately 1,500 other townspeople, including children, were rounded up and taken to prison, where many were tortured.

2. Anfal Campaign

Officially from February 23 to September 6, 1988 (but often thought to extend from March 1987 to May 1989), Saddam Hussein's regime carried out the Anfal (Arabic for "spoils") campaign against the large Kurdish population in northern Iraq. The purpose of the campaign was ostensibly to reassert Iraqi control over the area; however, the real goal was to permanently eliminate the Kurdish problem. The campaign consisted of eight stages of assault, where up to 200,000 Iraqi troops attacked the area, rounded up civilians, and razed villages. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled the area, yet it is estimated that up to 182,000 were killed during the Anfal campaign. Many people consider the Anfal campaign an attempt at genocide.

3. Chemical Weapons Against Kurds

As early as April 1987, the Iraqis used chemical weapons to remove Kurds from their villages in northern Iraq during the Anfal campaign. It is estimated that chemical weapons were used on approximately 40 Kurdish villages, with the largest of these attacks occurring on March 16, 1988 against the Kurdish town of Halabja. Approximately 5,000 women, men, and children died within days of the attacks. Long-term effects included permanent blindness, cancer, and birth defects. An estimated 10,000 lived, but live daily with the disfigurement and sicknesses from the chemical weapons.

4. Invasion of Kuwait

On August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops invaded the country of Kuwait. The invasion was induced by oil and a large war debt that Iraq owed Kuwait. The six-week, Persian Gulf War pushed Iraqi troops out of Kuwait in 1991. As the Iraqi troops retreated, they were ordered to light oil wells on fire. Over 700 oil wells were lit, burning over one billion barrels of oil and releasing dangerous pollutants into the air. Oil pipelines were also opened, releasing 10 million barrels of oil into the Gulf and tainting many water sources. The fires and the oil spill created a huge environmental disaster.

5. Shiite Uprising & the Marsh Arabs

At the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991, southern Shiites and northern Kurds rebelled against Hussein's regime. In retaliation, Iraq brutally suppressed the uprising, killing thousands of Shiites in southern Iraq. As supposed punishment for supporting the Shiite rebellion in 1991, Saddam Hussein's regime killed thousands of Marsh Arabs, bulldozed their villages, and systematically ruined their way of life.

He again looks at me, his eyes filled with hatred after reading out all this from a piece of paper. I avoided his looks & looked towards the crowd & found nearly all of them with same emotion in their eyes too.

He continues, “Therefore, ladies & gentlemen, I advocate the death sentence following Mr. Hussein’s policy of an eye for any eye, a tooth for a tooth.

I will conclude hereby myself.

As soon as he sat down the man on the other side stood up & took the empty podium.

His voice is very frail. He will defend me.

“Ladies & gentlemen, my friend here presented you some of the facts & figures which showed Mr. Hussein’s inhumanity. I agree of him being inhuman & subside by the fact that he did all these atrocities but instead of sentencing him to death I would like to see him in Jail for the rest of his life. His death will make him a martyr & that’s what we should stop history to term him. We have already seen that since his arrest his supporters protested in a very violent way. I must thank my American friends here that at least they captured him though everyone in the worlds thought that they are after Mr. Laaden. But someone was needed for the sacrifice of the holy ritual in the war against terror. So, Mr Hussein is going to pay not only for himself but also for what Mr. Laaden did to world trade centre. By the way someone was telling me that the architect should be held for making such a weak structure. Anyway the building is down now & Mr Hussein is equally responslible for that. But still I am against sentencing him to death. The greatest war lord of the twenty-first century Mr George Bush is a dedicated son. He avenged his father. Mr Hussein’s greatest crime was that he never showed any respect to George Bush Sr. & hence it became the duty of the junior to avenge. This he did along with his best friend Mr Tony Blair. But it will create havoc if we hang Mr Hussein. The muslim community will take this verdict against them. The propaganda which will follow after the sentence will divide the rest of world into two poles. Therefore, I request the presiding gentleman to grant Mr Hussein pardon from the death sentence & let him rot for the rest of his life in Jail.

Suddenly, I found myself saying, “Iraq is nothing without me. For all your gentlemen’s kind informatiom I have been hanged yesterday. I tongue is already hanging”.

I woke up. What the fuck? I was dreaming & that too me being Saddam Hussein. What the nightmare it was to put myself in Saddam’s shoes. A very good friend of mine (who is more than a friend to me) once said that ten out of ten people are going to die in the end, then why be serious. Absolutely correct.

Aftermath: - Saddam Husein was hanged on the

dawn of 3oth Dec.The sentence was followed by bloody
demonstrations in which nearly 70 people were killed in
four different car bomb explosions in Baghdad & Najaf.

Happy New Year By the Way.
The figures of 5  top crimes commited by saddam comes from http://history1900s.about.com/od/saddamhussein/a/husseincrimes.htm

Tushar Wagela's Art : A Reportage On A Magnificent Artist

Everyone tries to find a way of expressing that which yearns within us to come out. Something that gets collected within us in wait to get exploded though the ironical part is that one cannot possibly express all & everything. Putting myself scientifically I would simply explain my above said statement in the words of law of equilibrium thermodynamics that no machine can be ideal, one cannot get input & output equally. Humans are same in this regard. Expression of the whole is not possible. Still we find different mediums to do whatever that can be expressed. Few choose words in form of prose or poetry, few of us go for music & few of us use silence to say the unspeakable.

Tushar Wagela, an artist from Durg Chhattisgrah, also possesses a medium to express himself. His medium is canvas, brush & colours. He is a artist who paints what that cannot be summed up in words. I had an opportunity to see few of his works in the meantime. I was left speechless at the first sight of them. He paints like as if he has seen something beyond the world in which we live, a place where only reality dwells & majority of us avoid visiting there since none of us can deceive ourselves there. That very place is within us.

He is an artist with a piercing set of eyes capable enough to bring out the truth naked. Some of his work may put one in dilemma but I think that’s the best dimension of an art. One has to make out their own meaning & I trust all of them will be different. This forces me sometime to compare some of his work with a Zen story where the reader is left clueless.

Apart from three prime desires of human mind (sex, power & wealth) there is one more desire in each of us. Some of us do know about it & some of us don’t. In fact all of the desires points towards that one. It’s the desire to reach the point where we can inundate ourselves into infinite. Some of Tushar’s work namely, Daydreamer, Atheist Prophet, Freelance Dreamer, Conspiracy Of Red & Apple are of such kind. In his other work he paints nude figures namely Patangbaaz, Pussycat Catcher, Genome & Fury which resembles as if Diogenes himself came out of nowhere, singing that the whole world is my home, the whole world is my cloth.

All in all he has a gift to paint something that is captivating enough to hold one’s breath, even for a single second. The magic that he creates with his hands are phantasmagorical though in this case we aren’t bound to our mind. In reality he makes such an images which forces me to take a quantum leap from mind to no-mind.

Plaudits! Tushar Wagela.

Keep running your brush on the canvas.

To take a look at his work kindly log on to his web-page http://tusharwaghela.blogspot.com/

Pedro Almodóvar : A Filmaker With A Female Insight

Pedro Almodóvar an artist whose every shot is like writing a poetry or running brush on the canvas, strikes back this year with his latest celluloid “Volver”. I saw the film last night & was again bound to fall in love with his work

Spain is a country where bull fighting is considered to be a mark of man-hood, Picasso’s art depicts the reality of life, Goya’s paintings showed people as they looked after a life of hard work. In such a country Pedro Almodóvar shows the power of woman in his film.

Almodóvar for me has always been a filmmaker who has a male body with a female insight. Most of the great filmmakers in history reflected the power & determination of man in their work, whether it is Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, Fellini’s 8 ½, Coppola’s Godfather or Scorsese’s Taxi Driver. Pedro Almodóvar stands aloof bringing in his films the courage of woman to deal with the life.

There is always a perfect balance of Yin & Yang in humans; an androgen tic quality. In Indian mythology we have depicted god as “Ardhnarishwar” (a god which is half female). Almodóvar is such a human being who knows this better half of his & tries to bring it very clearly in his work.

I saw his “Talk To Her”, “All About My Mother”, “Tie Me Up Tie Me Down”, “Live Flesh”, “Women On the Verge Of Nervous Breakdown” & now “Volver”. All of which a work of art, entirely based on female qualities (one may disagree including even Almodóvar).

He is like a wine, the older the better. I raise my hand in appreciation of “Volver” & wish him luck to stand again on the lauded podium with a statue of nude man with a sword.

 

I Gibber....

I lost myself,
In a lauded path,
With an unchosen spree,
I lost ' I ',
Filled dust in my own eye,
But did I really lost myself,
I see I am sly,
I cannot comply,
No,
I really never lost myself,
How can I loose me ?
It was a caper so it choose me,
Just a bombast of mine,
With few lines in my hand,
Unchosen I stand,
boarded on a lem,
I may call this a poem.

 

Kota Bye-Election: The battle between David & Goliath

The battle for Kota began with filing of Renu auntie’s nomination as an official congress candidate on 17th November in Bilaspur. This day was followed by hopeless & agonizing night of 16th when the situation was very unclear about the confirmation of auntie’s name as an official candidate.

As the news started pouring in from Delhi that night we were bound to be put under the impression that auntie’s name has been turned down. The reason been given was strange : since Kota traditionally was leaded by Brahmins so Congress's top think tanks thought it would send a wrong message to the voters of Uttar Pradesh (Election of U.P. are due next year). This news made the night of 16th very blur for all of us. Amit bhaiya's (Amit Jogi) reaction was obvious; he was feeling very uneasy about all this. I for the whole time (until I returned home at 3 A.M.) was furious about the stupid excuse for turning down auntie’s name. He nearly whispered, “It happens".

The next morning brought all the lost smiles with Amit bhaiya's call. How can I ever forget his words on phone ? He was nearly shouting, "You are still sleeping. Mummy's ticket has been confirmed. Start quickly for Bilaspur. I am already on way". These words changed the world for me. I fetched up the rest of the gang & rushed for Bilaspur. The two hour journey was filled with laughter & planning for the coming days. We all (Bunty bhaiya, Anuj Sharma & Sameer bhaiya) knew that the fight is going to very tough. The battle field Kota will be surrounded by BJP led govt's cannons. The fight was clear : Ajit Jogi vs State govt of Chattisgarh. On reaching Bilaspur we met Amit bhaiya in Congress Bhavan where he, along with aunty, was surrounded by huge crowd, showered with flowers & slogans. Akhil bhaiya welcomed us all at his place (his home, I must mention, is as charming as him). We all returned to Raipur that evening.

On 20th I again left for Bilaspur in the morning with all luggages which were enough to last me for two weeks. At Akhil bhaiya's place I met Amit bhaiya. He instructed me while walking to & fro in the room. I was to be stationed at Ratanpur, 20 kms from Bilaspur. Ratanpur, where the holy temple of Mahamaya devi is situated, from last few elections created a huge fall down for Congress. Last time BJP leaded by nearly 550 votes from Ratanpur. The message was clear: Win Ratanpur & Kota can be won easily. The responsibility on my shoulders was huge. It was quite obvious that Amit bhaiya wanted to place someone very trusted to that place. He chose me. I looked in his eyes. They were saying "Don’t let me down". I left him for my battle ground: Ratanpur. I was to meet Gudda Tiwari who was looking after our election campaign. The short journey of 20 kms was occupied by various thoughts. I started getting home-sick. But I had no time for it. The only thing that I wanted to think about was 4th December (polling day). My short journey came to an end as I reached Ratanpur & met Gudda Tiwari. He instantly started briefing me about the campaign in accordance to which he also took me to a near-by village Navagaon where the place for election campaign office was to be decided. The locals there were welcoming & I got the first impression of the voters i.e. friendly. It was getting dark so we left again for Ratanpur as soon as we told them all the important things. Gudda bhai kept on briefing me about the whole while we were on the way back. I told him, "Anyhow, we have to win Ratanpur."

The one thing that was disturbing me was the fact that youth of Ratanpur wasn't working for us. The youth in anyplace are alike & are far more energetic than any other. Next day I got the solution of it. Out of nowhere a young man Krishnakant Sharma appeared. This pundit-cum-journalist-cum-NSUI worker came to meet me while I was sipping tea sitting with Damodar (an old congress worker). He started telling about the problems of young guns in Ratanpur which led them to being inactive in the election campaign. He also introduced me to Sital Jaiswal, NSUI head for Ratanpur & Vimal Soni. The talk began. For most of the time I was on a listening bench. This trick I always use. Let the people talk so that whatever inside them can be released easily. I figured this from the memoirs of last viceroy of India in which he used to listen all the time & let the Indian leaders talk. The only thing that I could make out was that they also wanted preference. This is one of the most common known disease in humans: preference. I assured them that my presence will make sure of it. After an hour long chat I was able to make them agree (although I was only a listener). In evening I accompanied Shiv Deheriya Ji ( MLA) to inaugurate election campaign office In near-by village Ranigaon. It was only the 2nd office. More were to come.

Night time I kept for briefing Amit bhaiya. He instructed me to open election campaign office in every ward ( Ratanpur had 15 wards). I assured him that this will be done in next two days.

I am reminded of a Spanish proverb which says “Always surround your self with friends instead of fence”. The previous day’s talks brought fruitful result. Sital was ready with his friends to jump into the campaign. He initiated this with an idea of a motorcycle rally. Out of my surprise he gathered nearly 20 bikers, all of them shouting slogans & waving congress flags. He even invited me to be a part of it & so I rode with him triplets (three riders on a single bike). We roamed all across the streets of Ratanpur. It made me glad when the Sital’s entire friend came to meet, shaking my hand vigorously. This, definitely, was a start of new friendship.

The day went on with the openings of campaign offices; Things began to get hot in Ratanpur. It was for the first time that we were punching back our opponents & that too with force. We kept the evening time for opening of election campaign offices. That day, as per my promise made to Amit bhaiya, 5 offices were inaugurated by Shiv Deheriya Ji. I tried to keep myself behind the scene to make sure that local people & our workers can be in lime-light. That evening Pradeep Choubey Ji also joined us in Ratanpur. Pradeep uncle is a marvelous orator indeed. He spoke with such a force that even I maintained pin-drop silence.

On 19th with the opening of first election campaign office my father Shri Rajendra Tiwari Ji mesmerized the crowd with his oration. Apart from being my hero he is one of the best orator of hindi I have ever seen. In fact, I place him next to Osho. I love the way he plays with the words.

I saw huge gathering in our Head-Office as soon as I reached there the next morning. Shiv Deheriya ji along with Balram Thakur Ji (MLA) was busy instructing party workers.

I requested him to start our door to door campaign which he cordially accepted. We began it with the near by market Badi Bazaar. The direct conversation with the voters is the base of democracy. In India it is most important. One has to be skilled in the art of face reading while doing so. The door to door campaign lasted for nearly two hours. It was to be continued but the news came that Renu auntie is going to arrive shortly.

I saw Renu auntie after a long time. I still remember her face, filled with motherly charm, her voice filled with politeness. Sometime she reminded me of my own mother. But today her face was filled courage & determination. She was sun burnt. Her voice was very blur. The constant exertion clearly overtook her. When she saw me touching her feet she said, ‘Arey ! Beta tu bhi aa gaya ?’ (You also came?). I just nodded my head in affirmation. I wanted to tell her that it’s going to be week now since I am here. She left for election campaign.

The day ended with the openings of election campaign offices.
By the end of day, total of 16 such offices were inaugurated.

With the opening up of numerous campaign offices the election machinery was working at its fullest. Ratanpur, I must mention, is famous for the holy temple of Mahamaya Devi. Apart from this it is surrounded by many other temples. Karl Jaspers’s term Axial Age is still to come here where everything is subjected to be questioned instead of believing. I went to Shri Tiwari Ji’s home during my door to door campaign. He is an old man & a staunch RSS man. He, firstly, got surprised to me. It was beyond his expectation that I am going to visit him. The first words he told me were, “But I am going to vote for BJP”. I tried to relieve him by saying that I have’nt come here for vote but I have come for your blessing. I introduced my self. He replied grimly that he knows me & he has also heard that Amit Jogi has sent me to Ratanpur. I smiled on this.

I was trying hard to cover all the 15 wards by foot so that atleast I can reach to the majority of voters. Following my target I went to Anuragi Ji’s village (Former MP). I met there her daughter Tanya Anuragi Ji. I requested her on behalf on Amit Bhaiya to start campaign. She very modestly told me that she is going to start it next day.

With the instruction from the control room I stationed myself at a single ward. I chose ward no. 3 for this. Last time congress was defeated heavily from this ward. Ankit Bagbahra joined me too & we set off for door to door to campaign.

Although I was stationed at a particular ward but I took the liberty of campaigning door to door to door in every ward.

By the end of 3rd December I almost covered 13 wards.

The day of polling arrived. Bunty bhaiya along with Dr. Saibel Farishta, Deep Mishra & Ankit Bagbahara joined me in Ratanpur. We went to every polling booth.

I had returned to Raipur on the evening of 4th but again came back to join Amit bhaiya on the evening of 6th. We talked for half an hour & then I took his leave. The night was literally sleep-less. Next day the result was to come.

As soon as I switched on the TV to hear the news about the vote counting I got thrilled with excitement as I saw that we are leading by 2000 votes in the first round of counting. I ran to the room of Vijay Nijhavan Ji who was wiping himself with a towel. I told him the news & we all literally started dancing.

After an hour he came to my room to tell me the inside information.

We were leading by nearly 17000 votes by the end of 7th round of counting.

We all rushed to Amit bhaiya.

We won the Kota battle by 23470 votes. It was land-slide victory.

Ratanpur was won over by 3400 votes & ward no. 3 by 470 votes.

This was made possible by Ajit Uncle’s popularity & people’s love for him, Renu auntie’s simplicity & motherly charm, Amit bhaiya’s intelligence & management & last but not the least the hard work of each & every congressmen who fought against the ruthless system for all the time.

All’s well that ends well.

I have returned from Ratanpur but I know that the people & the place will always remain in my heart.

8 1/2 : Magic By Federico Fellini

After a month long search I found 8 1/2 neatly placed in Amit Bhaiya's DVD closet( which I must add that it's the best collection I have seen yet, & all of them are going to be stolen by me ). He was the person responsible for arousing curiousity within me for the Film by placing it third in his top twenty list. Ta to him.

8 1/2 was a sheer delight to watch. A magic created by Fellini. Although he never wanted the film to be made as we all see it today. Originally, the script was based upon a writer but Fellini ended up making the film on a movie director. This was nothing other than his autobiographical account in which the director gets confused about the events revolving around him, leading him to fantasies, the problems of his married life, getting the movie underway proves challenging indeed,. Guido (lead character playing the director) is left clueless.The irony is this that there wasnt any film script for 8 1/2. The actors were given their lines each day morning, often verbally. Even Fellini wasnt sure about what he was going to make. This, he also admitted to his producer.All in all, the film started a trend which was to followed & copied by many.

A must watch film. Magical, indeed, none other by Federico Fellini.

Bhopalpatnam : Preparation Of Another Errabor

The dust of Errabor is now settled in our memories. The bloody dawn of 17th july is long back forgotten. The blood stains are invisible from that unfortunate ground now. But still, the question still stands within all of us. What is being done to prevent another genocidal act like Errabor ?

The answer came in the most shocking way, when a group of nearly 20 elected people from Bhopalpatnam ( Dantewada) reached Raipur on 7th November in search of refuge & letting their voice reach the unaware ears of the capital. The truth that came out of them, which was quite impossible without courageous Jogi's help who stood alone yet with many against SJ, was enough to send shivers who were in the mindset of neglecting the happenings that are taking place in the southern most corners of this infant state. The talked freely about their abduction by the SPOs (special protection officers, locally they are better known as the guards of Salwa Judum) while they were on their to meet the C.O. in Dantewada regarding their pending Janpad work. They were then taken to SJ base camp where the humiliation & attrocities continued. All this was done just becuase of a simple reason that these elected representatives did'nt wanted SJ in their Bhopalpatnam block. The mention of the third degree torture on them by SJ was enough to remind me of some scenes from the film Schindeler's list. They were then released the next day with a clear warning of not telling all this to anyone or .....

This answer, I think, is enough.

We learn only this much from past that we dont learn anything from past. The continuance of SJ is making a clear path for another Errabor. Even if naxalites dont kill, SJ surely will. The natives are left there with only two choices : either be a naxalite or a SJ. But ironically SJ is licensed to kill if you are a naxalite ( that is understood ) or even if you are'nt a naxalite but not also SJ. Its quite understood that why these elected repesentatives from Bhopalpatnam took atleast 12 days to reach Raipur, not more than a day long journey. Nietzsche's princple " what does not kills me, make me stronger", seems to be applied on these representatives, who reached Raipur in hope of justice.

Are we all waiting for another Errabor?

Are we prepared to see a genocide, this time by SJ?

Are we making sure that ace human right, that is, Right To Exist, does exist in accordance with SJ?

Some Words Lost Within Me : A Prayer

It is so cold,
It has always been,
Uncovered yet unseen.
In the of realm of eternity,
Through the self with undying pity,
I ploy to attain,
With a touch of pain
To reach you
O’ my lord, my master, my unseen shadow.
Take me unto that fold,
Where it’s not so cold.

This poem is inspired by the vedic verses "Mrityorma Amritam Gamay" ( Take me from death to deathlessness) where cold in the poem means death.

Terrorism !!!

Just a few days back a very big & eye-catching news flashed everywhere round the globe.
A Fidayeen couple along with a baby were caught in Heathrow (London) when they were about to board the plane. After this, nearly 19 people were caught on this account & then a frightening information came out ; they were planning to explode nearly 10 planes on air ; another example of terrorism.

These terrorists were Islamic & now-a-days esp. after 9/11 extremist Islam & terrorism are going side by side.But, giving a glance to the world history or the current events, it is not so.
I R A is not Islamic.
LTTE is a hindu extremist organization.
Maoist in Nepal were not concerned to any religion.
My point is simply to point out those who are using the shoulders of Islam in order to carry out their fanaticism don’t belong to any religion.

Where the rest of world stands in the emergence of terrorism ?
Especially, the developed countries. Are they equally responsible in this violent act ?
What would one call the time-phase which is historically called as ‘cold-war.’ ?
If terrorism simply means an act of terrifying some one then I don’t think so that people were’nt terrified when both USA & Russia(FORMER USSR) were aiming at each other with missiles loaded with nukes.
If the time-phase of Cuba Missile Crisis is looked closely then I don’t imagine that people around the world were living merrily at that time.

Development of nuclear bombs led the rich nations to divert their attention from the conventional war-fare methods. Although, these nuclear bombs are worth millions but still they are not useful. This world cannot afford any more Hiroshima-Nagasaki.
It simply means that now nuclear bombs are meant only for threatening.
But since with the development of nukes these nations had also to carry burdens of the conventional war-fares methods, it started on a world scale sale of these old war-fare methods.
Now, the interesting part is this that all the countries are fighting the terrorists with the same guns that were previously made by these countries only & the terrorists are also using the same factory’s product.

Friedrich Nietzsche once said, ‘Insanity in individual is rare ; But in groups, parties & nations it is a rule .’

Just Few Words

Today, was a very awkward day for me. Being the day on which Rakhi festival is celebrated nation wide I got unfortunate news of sad demise of one of my friends in a car crash. It took place last mid-night when he was enroute to Jagdalpur.

The whole day my mind was busy in gathering whatever scattered memories of his in the past few days.
What a strange life we live ? No one among is quite sure about his farewell from this world. By the evening my mind eased down a little bit with the help of some distractions.
I wonder how much time everyone is going to take to forget me after my demise. The nearer ones, the longer time.

I came back to my home in night & saw a poor man sitting at my doorsteps. After a little enquiry I came to know that the man has not eaten from two days. I gave him a note of 100 Rs & as I was about to leave my eyes got glued to his face. He was looking at that note as if he has got some kind of treasure.
That note meant food for him. Food, for which he was craving from two days.
This is, what I see, an urge to live. A thirst for life.

One sad demise followed by one’s longing to live.
Today was the day of end of one life in form of a very good man & the birth of new life in the eyes of that poor man.
This day is going to be remembered for a long time.

Is'nt It So ?

Wow! The only word I could manage to say right now. Being a bit crazy. Yes I am.

I used to think myself falling into pieces untill I knew the blah-blah about myself. Right now the moment should have been very grim but alas ! it is not. Why not ? Never mind.

But I enjoyed the whole scene. Being a faithfull aprentice of the life; I concocted it all.

One may want to know what I am talking about. That's irrelevant. What I am right now is of value ( obviously, to me only ).

It's a beautiful life.

Is'nt it so ?

Errabor Massacre : Ugly Face Of Salwa Judum

Yesterday will always be remembered as a black day in the history ofthis infant state. Last night the salwa judum relief camp was attackedby hundreds of armed naxalites killing almost 40 campers. Thedisturbing part is this that naxalites were literally dancing on theblood of those innocent tribals and there was'nt any security aroundto stop them.For me, Chief Minister Dr. Raman Singh is equally responsible for thismassacre. Without arranging any solid security for the campers thisattack was made easier and expected. The whole security of them is theresponsibility of the state govt and being the head of the govt DrSingh should immediately resign on the moral grounds.Salwa Judum which is translated as the path to peace has fallen apartwith this ruthless act. There is no relief in the relief camps itself.Errabore massacre has exposed the flaws in so called self-initiatedmovement of Salwa Judum.Solid measure has to be taken now to stop all this. If necessary,salwa judum should also be called off as this movement is now runningat the expense of innocent lives.

AT MY COST.....

Life is like a school. I heard it many times but recently started living it.
Last evening also came like a lesson being taught to me. A lesson that was much awaited.
Last evening I learned that it is unfair always to be one of a caring nature. Unfair not with others but unfair with ourselves.
For me there is no line between a truth and a lie. In the words of G. E. Moore who is going to judge what is a truth and what is a lie. But in my own words whatever necessary to hear is a truth and what not is a lie. It's quite rational but for me it is true.
For me, any statement coming out of love is a truth and any statement coming out of hideousness is a lie.
If I put it in the words of Herbert Agar," The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear".
I would simply say that which is not prefered to be heard is a lie.
Or in the words of Oscar Wilde," Truth is rarely pure & never simple"
I always lived what I thought about truth and a lie.
But last evening taught me that it's not always good to live what you think. Simple but difficult to digest .
But this teaching has showed me a new way.
A way, to live on my own. Without concerning others but only to concern about myself.
And every time I witnessed such a concern I simultaneously saw a conversion of my own. Obviously in a good sense.
I am reminded Nietzsche once wrote," when one has much to put into them, a day has hundred of pockets".
Mr Nietzsche I have a lot to put so my day do have millions of pockets.
Every day is like a new phenomenon. That is waiting to teach me something and as an obedient and some what unethical student I am always prepared to learn.
Again I am reminded of my dear old and crazy Friedrich Nietzsche. He wrote," Out of life's school of war: what does not destroys me makes me stronger."
I would go a step further. What destroys me also, makes me stronger.

THE FULL MOON....

Tonight is a different night. Tonight it's a full moon night. I saw the moon for a long time. But what I saw filled with an awkward feeling. I saw clouds started covering the moon. After a while it became impossible to see the moon. But I could still see the moonlight.
Is'nt our life the same. Whenever the moon within us is full , the clouds tend to cover it. Last night I was having an interesting conversation with one of my dear ones. For that person ecstasy and blissfulness are mere psychology of mind. I asked that person it would be good if u call sorrows, frustration and regression also psychology. It would be a fair game then.
But for most us sorrow is reality and happiness is a psychology. One may get surprised to know this but it's true.
We live in such a world where if a man who is crossing the road with a smile on face without any reason will be considered crazy by most of the passer bys but on the other hand if the same man is crying hard with loads of tears in his eyes; everyone will think that that guy is in sorrow and everyone will start showing their sympathy.
What a mad world this is, where smile is considered craziness and tears are shown sympathy and respect. Try it if you don't believe.
But I know one day the moon within us will come out of the cloud.
In the mean while the moon over my head has also come out of the clouds. And it's looking beautiful.
Is it good sign ? Let's see.

A THOUGHT ON ANNIVERSARY...

Anniversaries. We celebrate our anniversaries. Birth anniversaries, marriage anniversaries and many of them. We make it an event of happiness. Happiness for one more year completed.
But should we really be happy?
Should'nt we be sorrowful that one more year of our life is passed and we did'nt achieved anything?
This may seem to be a pessimistic idea but this is true.
Looking back into our past one year may fill us with vainty but is'nt this vanity just a kind of consolation.
I don't know of other but I can only speak of myself.
One more year of my life has passed and still I can feel the same emptiness.
Every passing of year comes into the form of anniversary. This anniversy should remind us that our life is too short. We are one more step closer to our death now. So, the time is less. This less time can be made useful. Useful, in the sense that we can be more humane.
Yes, this little time we can devote to fill ourselves with love. To fill ourselves with compassion.
Gurdjieff used to say that it is not necessary that every human being has soul, but every human being has potentiality.
This potentiality can be used and used in good sense.
Every one of us are intelligent but I call those intelligents idiots who use is to make things like nuclear bombs and I call those intelligents wise who use it for the service of soul which eventually results in the service of humanity.
I never find reason for my happiness. Anniversary is a kind of reason for those who find themselves falling short when the question of happiness arises. For some eccentric like me, every day is an anniversary.
So, my dear the clock is ticking. It is in our hand what to be. Think and think deeply.

MY REBIRTH.....

It was difficult. very difficult to die. But I had to if I wanted to be born again. Not physically but spiritually. Still the process is not over. But atleast something within me, which I used to despise has died. Still a long way to go.
G. I . Gurdjieff used to quote an old Russian saying that a hunchback can get straight only in his grave. One has to die to change.
And the process of my birth is going on. I sometime feel that this may be life long process. Let's see. And who cares?

CONFESSION OF A CONFUSEFD PERSON

I know a person. That person is confused. confused b'coz he knows everything about life but does not lives. He simply cannot fit what he knows into what he lives. Shocking it may seem but it's true. From Socratese to Nietzsche , he knows everything. Almost used to read 4-5 books in a week. He loves Zen. He adores Jesus. He practised meditation. And above all, he loves Osho. But today that person is confused. He finds nothing practical in books. Life for him, is beyond philosophies and beautiful quotes. He still gets depressed when is being ignored although he knows about the Diogenesian art of being ignored. He still gets jealous although he knows it's wrong. He still becomes sorrowful although he knows about the zen teachings. I know why ? B'coz that person is living being. He is alive and the teachings are dead.
I know that person. That person is me.
Once again the spider has started weaving a new web. Once again I am trying to pave my own path.
Once again the light is fading and the lamp in my hand is about to loose it's light as the winds are blowing fiercely.
Once again the dance of the fate has begun.
I remember wittgenstein- that which cannot be said , must be passed over in silence.
The silence is already there.
He also said that that which can be shown cannot be said.
I go a step further. THAT WHICH CAN BE SEEN,CANNOT BE SAID.

I HAVE HEARD.....

Nan-in a Zen master(1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full & then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow untill he no longer restrain himself. He said , " It is overfull. No more will go in. "
"Like this cup " Nan-in said," you are full of your own opinions & speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup ? "

THREE GOLDEN SUTRAS OF HAPPINESS

1). Never give any reason to happiness. Happiness should be reasonless. Once we start to search the reason to be happy we make sure the vanishing of happiness when the reason is gone.

2). Never take anything in life seriously. Seriousness makes the life dull. Nothing in this existence is actually serious.

3). Never expect anything. Expectation alone brings reasons and seriousness. Life should be expectationless.

THE POWER OF YOUTH

I am reminded of an anecdote of Swami Ramtirth. Once he was travelling in a ship to America. On boarding the ship he saw a very old man trying to learn japanese. Out of his surprise he asked that old man that what he's going to do by learning Japanese language at such an old age. The old man smiled back and replied that there is no age for learning anything. Swami Ramtirth wrote in his diary that night that,' I've met a young man today who was at least eighty years old'
I agree with Ramtirth. But I'll go a little further. For me, youth is not related to age but it is related to one's mind set.
Youth does not follows any one but he/she makes his/her own path. Youth understands the power of individual. Old age simply signifies blind following of any dogma. In India specially the youth has been crushed badly. Being an ancient country, India always looks for the solution of present in it's past. We try to solve all questions of life by simply looking into some ancient documents( shastras, purans). But we forget that life's reality does lies in past.
Youth, for me does not looks into past. It simply says let us solve this problem without any following of dogma.
The necessary quality of a youth's mind is quality of questioning. Youth always questions. I call Newton as youth who questioned one day that why apple falled down the tree. Why it did not went up ? His question lead him to answer and we all know that the answer was correct. And this quality of questioning is not relevant in the field of science only. Science simply means knowing. Science of outer thing can be called objective and science of inner things can be called subjective. So, questioning becomes necessary in science whether it is objective or subjective.
Old age never questions. One who is following anything blindly never cares to questions.
So, I'll say ask your self. Are you really a youth ?

FEELING SLEEPY....?

Sleep. One of the most relieving act. We sleep to vanish our tiredness. We sleep to vanish our anxiety and tension. But do we really sleep ? A very dear person to me sleeps all the time. yes , all the time. For that person sleeping is a kind of entertainment. Another very dear person to me does not sleeps not even in the night time. For me, both of them are suffering from sleep disorder. If one is sleeping all the time, obviously the normal sleep time for that person is not enough. Is'nt it a sleep disorder then ?
Why are most of us suffering from sleep disorder ( yes, psychoanalysts says 90% of us ) ?. The reason is simple. We sleep while we are awake. Yes, we do all the things unconsciously. For an instance, we drive from home to office and we keep on thinking other things and we reach our office. We don't even concentrate what we are doing in present. Our mind is working in past and future thinking only. This kind of working of mind makes us unconscious. And unconscious working means sleep. And one who sleeps while being awake cannot sleep in night. Most of us function in this way.
So, my advice to those who are suffering from sleep disorder should try to improve their consciousness instead of trying tranquilizers.

ARE YOU JEALOUS ?

Nobody in this world is an exception when it comes to jealousy. It is an universal problem. But it cannot be solved. One can only overcome it by understanding it thoroughly. So, let us try to understand it.
Why do we get jealous? Jealousy comes from comparision. We are taught to compare. We try to compare ourself with the whole world. Somebody has a beautiful house, somebody has a new model car, a good looking face. This comparision brings jealousy into us. Comparision is sheer stupidity. Existense makes everyone as a rare and unique entity. Nobody is inferior and nobody is superior. Every one is different so we can't compare. I wish Marx would've known it.
Jealousy in relationship is quite more complicated thing. We become jealous to those who we love. Actually, jealousy is a kind of measurement. Where the love is deeper there can be no jealousy and vice-versa. In relationship, jealousy and possesiveness comes togather. But what is the reason of jealousy ? It is fear. We fear that what is going to happen tommorow. We fear that tommorow this person is going to love us in the same way. We fear tommorow. But where there is tommorow there can be no love. Love is today or I should say love is right now. But this fear brings us jealousy and possesiveness. And these are poison for love.
So, Instead of fighting with jealousy one should try to light a candle of love. The light of this candle is capable enough to vanish all the darkness. Jealousy, possesiveness and fear are mere names of symptoms of disease. This disease is absense of love. We try to cure the symptoms and the actual disease is left uncured.
Once love starts flowing, it takes away all the dirty things. So, let the love flow and see the miracle.

LIVING THE LIFE

What is life? Most of us will not be able to answer this question. I too cannot answer this question. Life can only be lived and the way one lives it becomes the answer to this question. So, let me talk about the living of life instead. Another question here arises; do we actually live ? Most of the people realise about living when they are in death bed. For example we never know that there is a left or right hand of our's untill we get hurt on them.
Whenever I am in deep conversation with anyone, they start talking about their sorrows. They try to convince that they are in deep sorrow. They try to decorate sorrows also by making them look bigger. Is it not for gain of sympathy? This sympathy becomes food of their ego. This sympathy becomes their worst enemy. It will never let go their sorrows. Once I was sitting with my friends in a restaurant and after a while everyone started talking about their sorrows. Later on a fight broke out between them on the question of whose sorrow was bigger. Everyone was saying everyone that u dont know anything that how worse is my condition.
I was also asked . I simply appologized by saying that my sorrow is very small infront of yours. What else could have I said ? I still wonder.
Life, is like a white canvas. One can paint anything on it. But one should always remember that whatever life one is living it's the way that one has chosen it to be. Nobody else is responsible. And once one accepts the whole responsibility, the conversion begins.
And I am not saying that one should run away from sorrow. This we all do and it never ends. We hug the happiness and try to run away from sorrow. This is not possible. Where there is a day there is bound to be night also. Instead of running one should try to welcome and accept our sorrows without decorating them as a showpiece for the gain of sympathy.
This very life can become a wonderful journey.

PSYCHOANALYSIS OF THE EAST

It is a very interesting fact that east has never developed the science of psychoanalysis. One may wonder why. The answer is very simple. I came across several famous names in psychoanalysis Freud, Jung, Adler, Skinner, Pavlov, Victor Frankl, Assagioli. There theories are very different from each other for example Freud's electra and oedipus complex, Jung's collective unconsious and extrovert-introvert theory, Adler's superiority and inferiority complex, Skinner's behaviour theory, Assagioli's concept of higher self. But there was one thing in common. They were all working on level of mind only. The term psyche simply means soul. So, the psychoanalysis should have been the analysis of soul. But instead of that it became analysis of mind only. Therefore I dont consider any of these big names as psychoanalytic.
Instead of developing analysis, east has developed catharsis. Catharsis simply means purification. In India, this catharsis is known as dhyan. Buddha used to call it jhan. This jhan in Japan is called zen. And it is very different from analysis. One has not to analyse but one has to catharte or purify.
So, for me all the things which west has developed in the name of psychoanalysis is rubbish. They all are working on the crest level only. They know nothing about the core. And that's why the number of crazy people in psychiatrists is far greater then any other. They themselve become the same thing in the process of analysis. Freud used to consider himself as his first patient of oedipus complex.
Conclusively, I must say that east has also developed psychoanalysis but in a better way.

A DAY IN A FUNERAL.....

I atteneded a funeral few days ago. I usually avoid going in the funerals. The reason I will state later. But this was the funeral of one of my dear one's father in law. So, just not to be impolite I had to attend it.
But what I saw there was the same scene created in every funerals. Many peoples had gathered, But as soon as the last pooja started everyone sat down in small groups. Everyone talking about everything . I also sat down in one of the groups and started listening. I got surprised when I saw them talking about business, politics, rumours and beautiful girls. I got surprised. They were on the funeral grounds and they were talking rubbish. I visited every group. The same were the talks everywhere. Nobody was talking about the death.
We try to run away from death. We think as if we are not going to die. Talking about other things make us diverted from this eternal truth.
The person who was lying there dead must have also visited many funerals when he was alive. A thought came into my mind. What did this person used to talk when he visited funerals.
I tried to talk to some people about the phenomenon of death. But I was made to keep quite.
After the cremation, two minutes of silence was kept, for peace of the belated's soul. I started looking everyone. Nobody was silent. Everyone's mind was talking. I could easily make out waht they were thinking. One was eager to go home. One was thinking about the money that was promised to come in evening. One was making plans of trip. One was thinking of calling his girlfriend as soon as he get out of here. Nobody was thinking about the death.
I got out after the funeral. My friend asked me why I am looking sad. I told him what I saw. He kept quite. I told him a story. I should write that story here also:-
Once a very rich man visited a famous saint. His very first question was from the saint was that although i have immense wealth, but still I have no inner peace. How to attain inner peace? The saint stared the man for a moment and said leave the talk of inner peace. I can forecast anyone's future by seeing one's forehead. I have seen your forehead also. You are going to die exactly in seven days from now. The man was stunned. Without saying a word he left for his home. On reaching his home he told his family the forecast of that saint. Everyone started crying and that man lied down on his bed. As the days passed the man thought that now I am going to die. So why not forgive everyone who has done wrong with me and why not go and ask forgiveness from them with whom I have done wrong. He started living each day in totality. He started filling himself with love because he thought what's the use of hatred in last days. When the seventh day came he waited to die. But death did not happened. He got surprised. The very next day he went to that saint and asked him why did he lied to him. The saint smiled and said did you found your inner peace or not by living everyday in totality, by filling yourself with love, by making your enemies your friends. The man touched the saints' feet. He had got his answer.
I don't know yet whether my friend understood the story or not. But, after a while he also started talking about business and politics.
I hate to go to funerals.

LOVE : AN EXPERIEENCE, FEELING OR LIFE ITSELF ?

I allow myself to do a nearly impossible task i.e. to define love. Yes, love cannot be defined. But, for some people answers are necessary. So for them I am trying to solve the riddle of love. Although I know I am going to fail.

What is love ? Is it an experience?. No. Then Is it a feeling?. No. then what it is ? It is actually living ( I am not saying life but living). I see so many people around me who don't understand this simple thing and that's why they tend to fall in love and fall out of love. Love cannot be experienced. B'coz experience is a thing of past. It cannot be a feeling either b'coz feelings are too short. Love is just living. But for many of us love is a barter trade system. Give and take. And that's where mistakes begin. Love can only be gived. It does not cares what it is getting in return. I see women seeking love in men and men seeking love in women. They both are empty handed and that's why they don't get anything from each other. One has to be loveable to be in love. And one who is loveable automatically becomes lovely. Why to ask question whom to love ? Just be in love. And one who is just in love does not needs any person in particular. Then, whoever comes into contact of such person gets love only.
Sometimes I have seen few stupids who ask for gurantee and security in love. One thing is sure, love is the most insecure phenomenon in this world. And this insecurity is the whole beauty of love. What is the beauty in secured and certain things ? 2+2 = 4 is secured and certain thing in mathematics. But do any one see any beauty in this? In love 2+2 is not always going to be 4. Is'nt it amazing ?
Love is like a blowing wind. The more one tries to catch hold of it the more 0ne fails. It can only be felt and enjoyed.
I also see some stupids trying to be possessive in love. And when their love fails they start blaming each other. One thing is certain. In love possession has no place. Love is a freedom. Freedom to dance under moon, to sing, to breathe, to live. I am reminded of one of the Nietzsche's qoute, ' what else is love but understanding and rejoicing in the fact that another person lives ,acts and experiences otherwise we do...? '
Love is free from every expectation also. Expectations means hopes of future. And love does not knows future.
Love is also free from sorrows or hopes or promises. All these are mere names of our past memories. And love does not know past also.
Love only knows present. And present is living.
In love there is no sadness or happiness. These are mere feelings. These are two sides of single coin. And one should remember if one thinks love as smiles and happiness only , then one is bound to experience tears and sadness. I would better call love as blissfulness , an ecstasy.
I am reminded one of the best sentence about love. Freidrich Nietzsche in his major work wrote, ' Anything done in love, occurs beyond good and evil '.
So, try to live in love, and one can easily understand love.

I HAVE HEARD.....

Long long time ago there were two sisters namely Beauty and Ugly. They used to travel together in the whole world. But ugly was jealous with beauty. Once while passing beside a sea they decided to take bath. They left their clothes on the beach and went into the sea. Ugly was the first to come out. When she saw clothes of Beauty jealousy and greed overtook her. She stole the clothes of Beauty and ran away. When beauty came out she found her clothes missing. Misearably she had to wear the clothes of Ugly. From that day on Beauty is in the clothes of Ugly and ugly is in the clothes of Beauty. Even today people get confused to recognize. One has to has very sharp eyes. Even today people get deceived by their clothes.

PHILOSOPHY: NOTHING BUT MERE CONFESSIONS OF SOME CRACKPOTS

A student of philosophy may disagree with this title. But it is true philosophy whether ancient, medieval or modern is nothing but confession of some famous crackpots. Yes, life cannot be understood by some theories; it can be understood only by living. And what else philosophers do their whole life except generating theories about life. Philosophers generally think so much about life that they forget to live it actually. Let me analyse some of the famous philosophers( crackpots ) :

Plato:- He kept on repeating his entire life what Socrates said. And the basis of these repeatitions he was considered highly intelligent in his time. But he forgot Socrates himself said that I know only one thing that I know nothing.
Aristotle:- He wrote in his major work that since women are inferior to men in every sense so in a woman's jaw there are only 18 teeth. Although he had three wives. He could have counted himself.
Francis Bacon:- An utterly corrupt man, Francis Bacon, was sentenced to prison for taking bribes being a lord Chancellor. Later he was pardoned by the queen. Out of his guilt he moved towards philosophy and his major work Novum Organum came out of this guilt. He wanted to prove the world that he is not corrupt but highly intelligent.
Immanuel Kant:- I am reminded of one of kant's anecdote. One has to decide after reading the anecdote what was Kant; intelligent or stupid. Once kant was proposed by a beautiful lady for marriage. But as he used to claim himself, critique of pure reason( one of his major work), he asked the lady for some time. so that, he can find out the reason for getting married or not. He took almost three year, debating with himself for and against marriage. Finally he decided to get married. But, the lady did not waited for three years and she married someone else when kant was busy in debating.
Friedrich Nietzsche:- Through out his life nietzsche kept talking about superman but he himself ended in a mental asylum.
Ludwig Wittgenstein:- Wittgenstein suffered the whole of his life with the idea of suicide but never attempted. He himself accepts that he was not courageous enough.
Arthur Schopenhauer:- He writes in his major work The world as will and idea that philosophy should not be made into business. This feeling came in him when he was thrown out of university and his contemprory Hegel was getting name and fame.
Kahlil Gibran:- I am most sorrowful for this man. Being an author of one of the greatest work of all time The Prophet, he should'nt have missed the fruits and essence of life. He was alcoholic and died of liver failure.
Bertrand Russell:- He himself used to say that consistency is the symbol of stupidity but he remained atheist for whole of his life. Is sticking to atheism for whole life not consistency.

There are many in the list:- Bergson, William James, Hegel, Hume, Spinoza and many other but it would be a waste of time if I put a light on them also. What my point is getting an idea of how these missed life by just thinking about it.

But one should keep in mind I dont consider some peoples as philosophers namely:- Jesus, Socrates, Diogenes, Pythagoras, Heraclitus, Gautam Buddha, Mahavira, Al Hillaz Mansoor, Farid, Rabiya, Mohammed, Bayzeed, Lao-tse, Rinzhai, Hakuin, Ikku, Lin-chi, Chuang-tse, Boko-tse, Bodhidharma, Nanak, Kabir, Rahim, Meera, Krishna, Gorakh, Gurdjieff, J. Krishnamurthy, Osho Rajneesh, Maharshi Raman, Ramkrishna Paramhansa and many others.
Instead of calling them philosophers, I like to call them poets. They wrote their own poetry in their own way. They made their life itself into a song, a poetry, a dance. They never thought about life but they actually lived it.

I HAVE HEARD.....

Ikku, a famous zen master, was very intelligent from his childhood. When he was a child his teacher had a very precious and ancient cup. By mistake the cup got broken by Ikku. He got nervous when he heard his teacher's footsteps. He immediately hid the pieces of cup behind him. As soon as the teacher came in , Ikku asked, " sir, why do people die?". Old teacher said," It is natural Ikku, everything dies". Ikku showed him the pieces of the cup and said, " sir it was time for your cup to die".

GOSSIP & JUST GOSSIP

I happened to meet a person recently who was hot topic of gossip a few days ago( let me not name that person). But what I saw in that person was totally different than what people were gossiping. I realized instantly that people know nothing of this person. But why to gossip then ? Is it not that gossips gives us a kind of mental relief to all of us ? Is it not that we don't know anything about that which we are gossiping ? Is it not that we try to cover ourselves by gossiping about others ? I remember a spanish proverb, ' WHO GOSSIPS WITH YOU, WILL GOSSIP OF YOU'. And gossips becomes more intersting when it is based upon ill rumours. Bertrand Russell used to say that no one gossips about other people's secret virtues. We have made gossips also as one of our time passing measures. But do we get something out of it ? Yes, we get an inner satisfaction that at least someone in the world has done more wicked things than us.

Bottom Line : Abraham Lincoln once said that truth is generally the best vindication against slander. I told that person the same thing. So, O' stupid peoples ! Keep gossiping around. Your gossips are making that person stronger from within.

RELIGION : DOGMA OR TRUTH

I met one of my grood friends last night who just got married last month. My first obvious question was about his honeymoon destination. I got surprised when he said VAISHNODEVI. I asked him why and he kept on answering my whys untill he said ' I dont know yaar, everyone goes so I am also going'. One may laugh at his answer but that's what we all do when matter of religion comes. We follow the path blindly without even thinking. We get assured when we see people around us doing the same thing. But is religion a path for mass? No, I don't think so . Religion is personal. Religion is a constant growth of one's personality. Being born and brought up in well cultured Brahmin family may have become a curse for me but I made a point to myself that I am not going to imitate anyone. Whatever will I be , I will remain orignal. And it does not matters whether I was born in any other type of religious family( there are many types of religions also). Religion for me, is the science of soul. Have any one heard that a hindu chemistry or hindu physics is different from christian chemistry or christian physics. And when science of matter is not different then how can science of soul be different? And they talk about seperate hindu and christian and muslim etc. etc. gods. I would better like to call myself what Gautam The Buddha termed MADHYAMARGI ( one who walks on the middle path). So, I am not religious nor atheist. Both are names of two different faiths and following any faith is not my style. The actual religion is entirely based upon personal experiences. I am reminded an influential western mystic G. I. Gurdjieff wrote ," If you want to lose your religious faith make friendship with a priest"

Many times i am reminded or i would say cautioned by many peoples that my views about religion are going to lead me NARAK (hell). I simply say them that there are atleast 200 different religions in this world and everyone of them are already going to roast me in their hells b'coz I dont follow them(one can only follow only one religion at a time; very intelligent) ; so when I dont care about 199 of them why should I care about 1 more ( who cares ?).

SALWA JUDUM : NEO NAXALISM

'Naxalism' The movement which started from a small village of Naxalbari in Darjeeling in West Bengal in mid 60's has now spread its roots widely(nearly half of India). Naxalis call their movement as a social revolution. Government on the other hand place them besides terrorists. Is it a revolution or is it a terrorism? No, it is reaction. A reaction movement started by suppressed peoples but now has taken a form of terrorism. From thousands of years majority of Indians were constantly suppressed by the so called upper caste peoples. The reaction to that suppression has taken the form of naxalism. But it is the worst form of reaction. It does not have ideologies. And the movement without ideology is already dead. It seems that the whole focus of naxalis have shifted towards violence only. Naxalism has become a kind of social disease now. Our state of Chattisgarh is suffering from this disease. And the BJP led govt. in the state has the most absurd kind of remedy in their bag. 'SALWA JUDUM'. This so called salwa judum took lives of many poor and innocent tribals in the name of war against naxalism. Former chief minister of the state Mr. Ajit Jogi was a visionary man. He tried to solve the problem from its roots by initiating many social and economic reform programmes in naxal affected districts. Unfortunately he is not in office anymore. And those who are in office now a days are in the state of complete dilemma regarding naxal problem.

I am reminded of one of the Freidriech Nietzche's famous qoutes ' To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity. I find it very correct. When I see around , I find everyone has forgotten their purpose of living. What is the ultimate purpose of one's life? Is it not happiness? We go on desiring the things that make us happy. Desires are made up of only three things: sex, power and wealth. We try to find our happiness in basically these three desires. But I have seen many peoples in my life who fulfilled all the three desires and still are not happy. Once fulfilled they ask for more. Therefore happiness and desires cannot be the ultimate purpose of one's life. Then what it is ? This question is insatiable and I believe that the answer will be different for everyone.