There has been a lot of debate recently over the social responsibilities of the Millionaires, Industrialists, Rich Sportsmen (ok apart from the Cricketers very few cricketers are rich! LOL! ) and so on. The media portrays them in poor light showing clips of their flamboyant parties, weddings and asking if they would ever contribute much to society in terms of charity, uplifting of the poor, their participation in social causes and stuff. thanks to this media portrayal, the issue of reservations to be allowed (in fact to be enforced by the Govt) in Private Enterprises is also seen as an appeasement of the poor and a way of giving back to the society by ruthlessly money minded capitalists.
Vijay Mallya, the liquor baron was interviewed once (i guess it was in Devil's Advocate in CNN IBN by Karan Thapar) and asked if he never thought about the millions of poor dying of hunger on the streets, of all the unemployed on the streets and stuff. He was like asked what he had done for all of them. To this, the man replied saying that he was a businessman first and that he works hard day and night to make money and that he has the right to spend it the way he wants to. The fact that his company provides job opportunities to many, suffices for his responsibility towards the unemployed. Because, he, as a single man has created jobs apart from making money himself is fair enough. As for his social responsibilities he need not go about beating the drums that he does charity. And moreover he pays huge amounts in tax to the Government which should be reason enough for him to perform his social duties. He said that because there are so many poor masses of people in this country, it doesn't require of him to change his lifestyle and live hypocritically.
The same holds true for IT professionals who are accused of spending lavishly on parties and pubs. Amitabh Bachchan is accused of not spending much on Maharashtra and Maharashtrians . Again the point remains that in all these cases, the people under scrutiny earn of their own hard work. They spend money that is rightfully theirs and are in no way a burden on the society. The whole purpose of earning money, making a living is to enjoy the small pleasures of life apart from sustaining the basic requirements of a livelihood. Who doesn't want to spend that extra to gain that fine moment of pleasure?
If there are poor despite millions of 'Yojnas' by the Govt, is the prosperous middle class to blame? Not everyone can inspired by Rang De Basanti and try to change things in the system (of course non violently). People need to satisfy themselves firstly. If i start making millions tomorrow, i would at first make sure that i satisfy my requirements of a nice posh home, of a strong financial security, of assuring the better future of my family and my parents. Only in the event of making surplus money would i venture into charity with full fledged intention. My taxes need to be used properly and that responsibility lies with the Govt. I am honest to the Organization where i work for, I am deemed a good employee. I don't cause nuisance to the public i am deemed a good citizen.
I don't think anyone needs to pass judgments on the way i live and dictate terms on where i should spend and how i should spend. The same holds true for all the IT professionals, Film Stars, Industrialists etc., The people who should be really judged should be politicians. They are the ones accountable to the public. Every function organized to felicitate Old warhorses in politics costs the exchequer a huge sum of money. Money that should be spent on public welfare funds is 'eaten up' by corrupt bureaucrats .Well we all know at lengths about the corrupt system. No point belaboring about it.To sum up, i would say that, its My money, i blow it up and thats my wish!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Of stars, stones, cards and lines
This is a superstitious country. Yes, I don’t really care if some ‘patriots’ accuse me of spoiling the country’s image! Hell! This is really a crazy nation that is fast forgetting the basic tenets of spirituality taught so deeply by our ancestors and instead is following Godmen, Astrologers, ‘Vastu’ experts, Tarot card readers and all those people who are actually making the working strata of society utterly jobless, and rendering them low on their self confidence! People now fail to believe in themselves and instead believe in some stones worn around their hands, on the throws of a pack of cards that have crazy looking pictures drawn on them.
My belief from all kinds of superstitions faded when I saw conflicting versions of my Horoscope. I mean there is this horoscope where I was told that I am a womanizer, a drunkard and an utterly worthless guy! Boy it took me 18 years to draw courage to talk to a gal! Believe me 18 years! Even now when I am surrounded by females I get freaked out. And there is this sheet of paper that’s supposedly my past, present and future based on the movements of a few stars! Nothing can be more degrading for Human spirit than this! Another horoscope said that I would live up to the age of 91, have a house by the age of 25 and have a peaceful life. How contradictory! And the astrologers are very quick in giving crappy reasons for these stupid papers.
I ask all people out there, should we, as worthy men let a few stars decide our destiny? What happens to the law of karma that has been told as the supreme tool of judgment in all our sacred texts? What happens to the concept of Bhakti? Are we knowingly following a set of people who are ‘Proxy-Gods’? Does the Western Society have anything like Horoscope? Aren’t they prosperous? Where has all this superstition got us to? We have been labeled as a nation of snake charmers, of mysticism, of chaos and of the occult! Do we really need such branding? What are we trying to do here by getting such labels? Attracting tourists?
High time people realize that all that matters is work and human spirit. We have been given a pair of eyes, ears, hands and legs. People do wonders without a pair of hands. History is witness to men who have boldly defined the course of civilization by sheer belief in their self and in their abilities. They aren’t the ones who sat at home waiting for the right time or rather ‘good’ time. Holy crap, the world will come to a standstill if the Wall Street follows ‘nalla neram’ and stuff!
The most atrocious of recent beliefs is the tarot card! Here are a pack of cards that hardly ever make sense. They have the pictures of strange looking beasts, objects and angel like things. The tarot card readers ask the client to throw them with their left hand (unbelievable considering what we generally do with the left hand ;)) and ask them to throw a few on the floor. And lo! Magic! Our future is right up in front! I tell them the same thing that Einstein exclaimed once, that God doesn’t play dice! Tarot cards invariably lead us to believe that God plays dice with our destiny!! God isn’t that cruel! He hasn’t given us the most superior brain among all species to play chances with our destiny!
I am also told that my first wife will die and that I will marry twice. Now does that mean I check up on the medical condition of my love that I want to marry and if it turns out to be negative I ditch her?? For the sake of money there is this fast growing group of people out there ready to cheat us till we are broke. And once we are really broke after constantly paying them, they would attribute it to bad luck! Stones that are a natural formation of rocks formed in river beds are worn on the fingers to bring good luck. And we call ourselves educated! And this is supposed to be the Technological age! I really pity all those who out there who really believe a magic would occur out of those stones. And those who don’t have hands don’t have future eh? Are they zombies?
People fail to understand that we need a developed, intellectual and an understanding society that needs to nurture men of caliber and potential to sustain humanity in the right direction. Not men who take each step on the basis of the motion of stars and on the color of the stones they ought to wear. The gypsies are a backward lot of people precisely for the same reason. It makes no difference between them and us if we stoop to such medieval beliefs.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Adventures of Pappu - Who moved my CAR?
The adventures of Pappu is a new series of amusing events from my life – a la Tintin (ok am not some bigshot here! Nevertheless am giving myself the opportunity to be on the same plane as Tintin although Tintin’s adventures are much more interesting and mind boggling ;)
Eleventh standard was the worst period of my schooling. Hardly able to study for no good reason and barely managing to pass, I was finding respite in playing gully cricket! Often I would go to Jayram’s place and play with a few of the neighboring guys. Interruptions to our world class game of cricket. Vehicles would pass often and disrupt me from getting a duck quickly! LOL!
It so happened one day that a car belonging to one of the occupants of a flat in a near by building was parked directly above our stumps. Irritated at this we were contemplating calling the owner. With no idea of who the owner was, Pappu the great showed his adventurism. Dismissing others as scaredy cats and defying the pleas of our team mates I pushed the car away grunting as if I was Hulk!
Play began, and about half an hour later the owner of the car came up to us and asked who had moved the car. What fooled me was the half smile in his face. I felt maybe I had done him a great service by moving the car and avoiding the trouble he would have in starting the car and then moving it away. I proudly came up front and said with a big grin, “I did!” I was expecting applause, maybe a pat on the shoulder for my bravery although it was too far fetched! But no! this was one of those days were the saying ‘Neki kar, dariya me daal’ comes true! To mine and everyone’s surprise, that man turned red! He, realizing he can’t chumma blast a stranger like me, vented his anger at the watchman! “What do you think of yourself? How could you allow anyone to touch my car? Some bloke comes and moves my car and you sit there watching? I swear, I ll fire you if it happens the next time!” said that man and gave me the nastiest look I would ever get from anyone! Obviously the anger was ‘in’directed at me! He then said that moving the car with its gear in neutral will damage it! (Tsk tsk!) And that it was the most stupid thing to do to move it I neutral!
Holy crap! That car was just a Maruti 800! Hell! What’s the big deal? I should have asked that, but LOL! I gave a stupid grin and walked away…Boy and then I was the subject of ridicule all throughout the evening.
Sometimes even the great fall! So what? ;)
Adventures of Pappu - Miss Sharma
The adventures of Pappu is a new series of amusing events from my life – a la Tintin (ok am not some bigshot here! Nevertheless am giving myself the opportunity to be on the same plane as Tintin although Tintin’s adventures are much more interesting and mind boggling ;)
I hardly studied during my Eleventh standard (ok no big deal here! Noone does ;)) and I the reason was not that I was hooked on to some gal or something. I simply wasn’t able to concentrate!! My close friend Jaydev had left the school and others had been shifted to different classes thanks to different group of study. Thankfully there was Jayram with me and we shared a lot of great moments together in the last two years of our schooling. Now Jayram was this amazingly tall, lanky, down to earth guy with tremendous amount of ‘WORKING’ gray cells! Mine had ceased to work. LOL! This guy was attending IIT coaching classes at a time when I didn’t know what IIT was. I was that carefree and careless. And the humiliation I had to face every time Jayram would discuss doubts in physics seems damn funny now! Ha ha ha…I would simply shake my head pretending to understand. Gosh I was just not getting it right and was barely managing to pass.
Now there was this senior of mine by the surname of ‘Sharma’ (I wouldn’t name her) who was like a bombshell dropped on us. Too good to resist she would transport me (and of course Jayram) to the heavens every time she passed by us. Every Thursday 3rd period was her biology class and she would pass by. Smiling at times probably at some wit cracked by her friends, she would pass by only to have us arguing that she has apparently smiled at us! Boy! Jayram the brilliant guy he was would very smartly try to say that she was smiling at me (to encourage me, now that I was screwing up my academics). Now that thought was the only silver lining in the dark cloudy days of my eleventh standard.
Everything was fine until one day, Miss Sharma’s classmate, the head volunteer of the school (wouldn’t want to name him) came to my class and asked for a vivek. I was in a way glad because I felt important. Screw my stupid imaginations. He immediately, along with another guy took me to the toilet. Now this was scary. Did I surpass the normal standards of manhood? Was I giving him a complex? Even if I did, how did he know? All such of stupid thoughts came up in my asinine head. He dropped the bomb when he asked me, do I know Miss Sharma? And that why was I making a pass at her! Whoa! I was shocked! How did this guy knew I liked that gal? And hell I was not even considering making a pass at her! Had I been that smart I wouldn’t be sighing to myself every time she passed by.
He was menacing and intimidating. Before even I answered he began threatening of dire consequences! Earlier I was contemplating telling him proudly that I like that gal (he he he a la Romeo!). But all guts were quashed after hearing him threaten. Acting like the proper Padips I said I haven’t even heard that name. Thanks to the typical shamattu look in my face, he considered my plea. After coming to know that there had been a misunderstanding and that another vivek of another class was the culprit, he left me. But not before he asked me not to tell about it to anyone. I was more than glad to be left alone. LOL! I was happy the way I was. Uneventful, non descript.
I hardly studied during my Eleventh standard (ok no big deal here! Noone does ;)) and I the reason was not that I was hooked on to some gal or something. I simply wasn’t able to concentrate!! My close friend Jaydev had left the school and others had been shifted to different classes thanks to different group of study. Thankfully there was Jayram with me and we shared a lot of great moments together in the last two years of our schooling. Now Jayram was this amazingly tall, lanky, down to earth guy with tremendous amount of ‘WORKING’ gray cells! Mine had ceased to work. LOL! This guy was attending IIT coaching classes at a time when I didn’t know what IIT was. I was that carefree and careless. And the humiliation I had to face every time Jayram would discuss doubts in physics seems damn funny now! Ha ha ha…I would simply shake my head pretending to understand. Gosh I was just not getting it right and was barely managing to pass.
Now there was this senior of mine by the surname of ‘Sharma’ (I wouldn’t name her) who was like a bombshell dropped on us. Too good to resist she would transport me (and of course Jayram) to the heavens every time she passed by us. Every Thursday 3rd period was her biology class and she would pass by. Smiling at times probably at some wit cracked by her friends, she would pass by only to have us arguing that she has apparently smiled at us! Boy! Jayram the brilliant guy he was would very smartly try to say that she was smiling at me (to encourage me, now that I was screwing up my academics). Now that thought was the only silver lining in the dark cloudy days of my eleventh standard.
Everything was fine until one day, Miss Sharma’s classmate, the head volunteer of the school (wouldn’t want to name him) came to my class and asked for a vivek. I was in a way glad because I felt important. Screw my stupid imaginations. He immediately, along with another guy took me to the toilet. Now this was scary. Did I surpass the normal standards of manhood? Was I giving him a complex? Even if I did, how did he know? All such of stupid thoughts came up in my asinine head. He dropped the bomb when he asked me, do I know Miss Sharma? And that why was I making a pass at her! Whoa! I was shocked! How did this guy knew I liked that gal? And hell I was not even considering making a pass at her! Had I been that smart I wouldn’t be sighing to myself every time she passed by.
He was menacing and intimidating. Before even I answered he began threatening of dire consequences! Earlier I was contemplating telling him proudly that I like that gal (he he he a la Romeo!). But all guts were quashed after hearing him threaten. Acting like the proper Padips I said I haven’t even heard that name. Thanks to the typical shamattu look in my face, he considered my plea. After coming to know that there had been a misunderstanding and that another vivek of another class was the culprit, he left me. But not before he asked me not to tell about it to anyone. I was more than glad to be left alone. LOL! I was happy the way I was. Uneventful, non descript.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Adventures of Pappu - When pappu had 11 siblings!
The adventures of Pappu is a new series of amusing events from my life – a la Tintin (ok am not some bigshot here! Nevertheless am giving myself the opportunity to be on the same plane as Tintin although Tintin’s adventures are much more interesting and mind boggling ;)
EAST POINT SCHOOL, RANCHI: STANDARD 1
I was a boy who had just been transferred from De Nobli, Dhanbad and had come to this school to attend I standard at half term entry. My teacher, obviously curious to know about me (i was that sweet, an instant attraction ;) ) called me to her side and began asking my name and stuff. Now here comes the best part of the interview ;). She asked me, "tumhare kitne bhai behna hain?". And here comes the talent of Pappu! I instantly, and very proudly answered, "gyarah! "(11). Teacher was stunned, bamboozled, shocked, petrified, perplexed, panic stricken and what not! She immediately asked me, "sach me beta? tumhare 11 bhai behan hain??" obviously worried at the horrible family planning by my folks! Bihar is notoriously known for its poor family planning with people having 5-6 children at an average. Now Pappu had done the impossible by shocking the Mass reproductive Bihari!
Taught from my childhood that all my cousins are my brothers and sisters, i had this firmly etched in my brains that my brothers and sisters are the ones being born to all my relatives across this country. Poor pappu is a lone kid and so was happy to have so many added instantly :). I guess my folks taught me this thing so as to avoid any adolescent adventure with my female cousins when i grow up ;) LOL!
Continuing the story, i strongly replied "Haan Miss!" to my teacher's confirmation question. but this teacher wasn't going to give up. She tried a smarter question now, "Unka naam batao (give me their names)" and Pappu the great replies "Prashanth, Kishore, Bharat, Arti, Swati, Vibhushita...blah blah blah.."! All hell broke lose now! Teacher asked me what their ages were, and fortunately or unfortunately all of them were younger to me except kishore. And the younger ones were young enough to imagine proper births with proper age gap! :)This was like thunderbolt to the lady!
Dear Parents
Please meet me tomorrow before ten in the morning
This was written in the notes section of my school diary! She strictly asked me to call my parents the next day. Pappu the great finding it strange that his parents were being called for no fault of his!
NEXT DAY
In come my parents with worried looks on their faces expecting some rather unexpected complain about me. Pleasantries exchanges, the lady got to the matter. The first question asked was "Kya aapne family planning nahi kiya?" (Haven't you done family planning?) This was like a nuclear bomb dropped on my parents. Poor they, they had stopped with one kid and here is a lady asking weird questions! Maybe more than one kid is family planning...maybe the rules have changed! Only after narrating the conversation that she had had with me, did my folks understand what was happening. Giving amused looks at me, my folks finally cleared the air of doubt! Phew! the teacher took a breath of relief and so did my folks!
Adventures of Pappu - When pappu wanted a new mom!
The adventures of Pappu is a new series of amusing events from my life – a la Tintin (ok am not some bigshot here! Nevertheless am giving myself the opportunity to be on the same plane as Tintin although Tintin’s adventures are much more interesting and mind boggling ;)
Ok here is an incident that took place when I was 5 years old! Often there used to be advertisements on TV showing nice, soft, sweet moms caring for their kids, feeding them some stuff which was apparently nice for their growth! LOL! Ok and here was my mum who was very sweet, lovable but would feed me things that I detested those days (brinjal, bitterguard). And I used to get blasted for that! One day I couldn’t
Funny lines for showing ATTITUDE!
I was browsing through a community in Orkut named ‘Funny One liners’ where there were these damn crazy lines to show attitude! LOL! Hats off to all those guys churning out this stuff in their gray cells! Makes a good read!
- I DON'T WALK AS IF I RULE THE WORLD......I WALK AS IF I DON'T CARE WHO RULES IT!!
- I don’t care or think about the people in my past....there’s some reason why they didn’t make it to my future!!!
- I don't have an attitude problem, you have a perception problem!!!
- You have the right to remain silent because whatever you say will probably be stupid anyway
- Those of you who think you know it all are damn annoying to those of us who do!
- You pull me down to your level, and then you beat me by experience!!
- Mess With The Best..........
Die Like The Rest!!! - Me & Ocean.....two deep dreams of god ...
- Secret to success is to know who to blame for your failures
- Give some people an inch, and they think they are rulers
- Maybe I don't have a superiority complex. maybe I am superior
- God created man...rest all courtesy us...WE ENGINEERS...
- Even if you win the rat race, you are still a rat
- Do Or Die OR do something to die!!!
- My common sense....Your philosophy!!!!
- It's not enough to succeed; others must fail
- The more I meet people like you, the more I like myself
- I am not environmental friendly but definitely want a friendly environment]
- You have ONE advantage over me.....you can kiss my ass and I can't!!
- I can multi-task (talk and piss you off at the same time)
- Don’t blame gravity, If you fall for me....!!!
- You don't have to be a nut to ask for a screw!
- Me, a cool guy;
You, a hot chick;
how about thermal equilibrium ! - I did not discover curves... I only uncovered them..!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Rational or Dogmatic?
The recent "Ram" issue has brought homes burning, heated exchange of words between the so called Rationalists (karunanidhi (DMK)) and the so called Dogmatic (BJP,RSS and the likes). The Rationalists denying the existence of any God called Ram and the Dogmatics vouching for centuries of faith and belief on the "Ideal" man called Ram. It is to be understood that there is a clash among people who defend faith and belief and those who rubbish the very purpose and validity of such faith. The rationalists here, seem to take the side of Science and profanely defy the existence of God. They call the believers Dogmatic, Superstitious thereby shaking the very pillars of Indian faith, tradition and culture.
Man, since time immemorial has been taking the support of faith, of the belief in the existence of God as a means of solace, as a means of inspiration, as source of optimism and hope in times of adversity. Researchers have proved that during prayer or in a place of worship the brain seems to be more relaxed and stable. Hence, the so called Rationalists need to understand that since the day man started to realize his potentials as an intelligent creature and started to be adventurous, he has sought the help of a supernatural being. Rubbishing the belief and faith of man is like rubbishing the foundations of human endeavor.
The most intriguing fact here is that these so called Rationalists are no less than the so called Dogmatics. They stick to only viewpoint and ironically don't think Rational! When Karunanidhi asks what Engineering college Lord Rama graduated from, he should himself and his Tamil Culture protagonists of which college did Raja Raja Chola II graduate to build the magnificent Tanjavur temples! Which college did Shah Jahan and his architects graduate from? In Tamil Nadu there are numerous Temples displaying breathtaking architecture. One should also ask which Anna Univ Graduate build the Madurai Meenakshi Temple! This clearly shows the Dogmatic views of the so called Rationalists!
They shamelessly display their Rational views only for Hindu Beliefs and faith. Would they dare to doubt the existence of Jesus Christ? Already many a theories have been proposed about the actual origins and life of Jesus. The rationalists brazenly advocate Selective Rationalism. Its a fad for the Pseudo secularists to take up Hindu bashing to get the tag of being Rational and a Secularist. To them, this tag holds more value than pursuing a moral code of equal treatment. The Hindus, who are known for their tolerance are slowly losing out their tolerance to this mindless Hindu bashing. Orthodox Hindus are now taking up the path of irrationality and haste.
If there is no proof on the existence of Lord Ram, then similarly there is no proof on the existence of Muhammad and Jesus! There cannot be 2 yardsticks! An important thing we need to realize is that if no one can prove the existence of Lord Ram, then no one can prove that Ram didn't exist! We need to understand that Science can prove either the existence of the absence of matter. If there are no proofs for either of them then that is faith! Faith is where Science begins! and truly Science is not the answer for all our woes! If scientists can prove the existence of the Big Bang, then they cannot prove the existence of the cause of the Big Bang! Science cannot provide answers for everything and the Rationalists need to understand that they need to prove the absence to ethically satisfy the norms of Scientific thinking
Can one ask Mr. Karunanidhi which college did he graduate from to comment on archeology and History? If the Rationalists would care to apply the same rational thinking to the existence of Muslim and Christian Gods, it would do a world of good to India because it would really put the stand of the Rationalists in true perspective. We are not dealing with Dogma Vs Rationalism, we are dealing with Rationalism vs Selective Rationalism.
Man, since time immemorial has been taking the support of faith, of the belief in the existence of God as a means of solace, as a means of inspiration, as source of optimism and hope in times of adversity. Researchers have proved that during prayer or in a place of worship the brain seems to be more relaxed and stable. Hence, the so called Rationalists need to understand that since the day man started to realize his potentials as an intelligent creature and started to be adventurous, he has sought the help of a supernatural being. Rubbishing the belief and faith of man is like rubbishing the foundations of human endeavor.
The most intriguing fact here is that these so called Rationalists are no less than the so called Dogmatics. They stick to only viewpoint and ironically don't think Rational! When Karunanidhi asks what Engineering college Lord Rama graduated from, he should himself and his Tamil Culture protagonists of which college did Raja Raja Chola II graduate to build the magnificent Tanjavur temples! Which college did Shah Jahan and his architects graduate from? In Tamil Nadu there are numerous Temples displaying breathtaking architecture. One should also ask which Anna Univ Graduate build the Madurai Meenakshi Temple! This clearly shows the Dogmatic views of the so called Rationalists!
They shamelessly display their Rational views only for Hindu Beliefs and faith. Would they dare to doubt the existence of Jesus Christ? Already many a theories have been proposed about the actual origins and life of Jesus. The rationalists brazenly advocate Selective Rationalism. Its a fad for the Pseudo secularists to take up Hindu bashing to get the tag of being Rational and a Secularist. To them, this tag holds more value than pursuing a moral code of equal treatment. The Hindus, who are known for their tolerance are slowly losing out their tolerance to this mindless Hindu bashing. Orthodox Hindus are now taking up the path of irrationality and haste.
If there is no proof on the existence of Lord Ram, then similarly there is no proof on the existence of Muhammad and Jesus! There cannot be 2 yardsticks! An important thing we need to realize is that if no one can prove the existence of Lord Ram, then no one can prove that Ram didn't exist! We need to understand that Science can prove either the existence of the absence of matter. If there are no proofs for either of them then that is faith! Faith is where Science begins! and truly Science is not the answer for all our woes! If scientists can prove the existence of the Big Bang, then they cannot prove the existence of the cause of the Big Bang! Science cannot provide answers for everything and the Rationalists need to understand that they need to prove the absence to ethically satisfy the norms of Scientific thinking
Can one ask Mr. Karunanidhi which college did he graduate from to comment on archeology and History? If the Rationalists would care to apply the same rational thinking to the existence of Muslim and Christian Gods, it would do a world of good to India because it would really put the stand of the Rationalists in true perspective. We are not dealing with Dogma Vs Rationalism, we are dealing with Rationalism vs Selective Rationalism.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
WHY ARE THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE??
WHY ARE THINGS THE WAY THEY ARE?
One of the most irksome things about life, (My life or any one’s life) is that why is there a life at all? What if there wasn’t called life in the first place. Will we live in a fourth dimension? Is life the only medium to reason things? Or is there any other mode of existence (If there is, will it be existence?) Is death the only opposite of Life? Or is death an entrance to ‘Life’ in another sphere? Well, I am not in a suicidal mode or it is not that I am vexed with my existence. I am fighting for life the way others are and I am not complaining, as it is the Survival of the Fittest. I believe any one who using his gray matter will realize that there is much more to life than just breathing in the concoction of 21% of oxygen, 78% nitrogen and 1% other gases. Okay, lets move from the confusing questions regarding Life as such. Looking into our own lives, one finds that we all grow up (at least physically), slog like asses and study, again slog to find a proper ‘Safe’ job, keep our parents happy and settle in our life with a nice family. The ordeal doesn’t end there, the process of graying of the hair begins with our juniors growing up. Now, see to it that they are properly settled in life. In the meanwhile there is all this complains about the way things run. The neighbor lacks manners, the boss doesn’t give you your due respects, kids flunk in their exams, there is a growth in the list of visits to the doctors, the inflation goes up, there is another war coming up, blah, blah. Why this kind of ‘Living’ where one doesn’t get satisfied in any way and is in one way or the other in a catch-22 situation on his next approach? If such kind of living guarantees no ‘Total satisfaction’ then why is 95% of humanity living the way it does now? (Don’t ask about the remaining 5%, nerds like me form them) To this people will say, that no solution is a perfect one and that everything has its loopholes. I then ask, if you guys out there knew that this is not a satisfactory kind of living then why live a wretched life? Or if there is another mode of living then why not adopt it? The answer probably lies in our not trying to think individualistically. I have always believed that in Individualism lie all the answers to many if not all our problems. The common notion of ‘Follow the Herd’ is the most dangerous and yet the easiest method of self-destruction. It is very much necessary that we all do things that we believe will benefit us. After all, the very struggle for existence is based on the foundations of taking things that benefit us and eradicating things that hurt us. But, the process of surviving cannot be generalized onto a population of 6 billion. It is different for different persons. Time and again children are taught to follow the examples of the bright kid in class thereby killing the poor kid’s ability to think and act on his own. It is been this way since eternity. Probably it began when man was struggling to survive as an early man among wild creatures. And suddenly one man kills animals and provides food for his tribe. The people then revere him and now everybody wants to be like him. So, ultimately everybody is ready to be guided by another or that the tendency to be a slave to anyone regardless of the authenticity of the man. Consider the example of Russia and China. Both were in dire straits before the revolutions changed them. The tsarist regime had made the peasants a deprived lot and when Lenin came to the picture, he was readily accepted because the majority had no other option available for a better living. They blindly followed his policies in the hope for a bright future and are today a hopeless lot of people. China was staring down the barrel in 1949 and then came Mao Tse Tung promising them a strong People’s China. The result, millions of intellectuals, liberals, and individualists were killed in the state’s policy of compulsory socialism. Hitler came to power for the same reason. The humiliated Germans needed a messiah and when somebody as stern as Hitler comes and promises a bright future it is understandable that the downtrodden look unto Hitler as the messiah. The rest of the history, we very well know. The primary mistake we all make is we fail to recognize what is right and what is wrong for us. We in a way refuse to apply rationality in our actions. When we say, “I can’t do that”, the hidden statement over here is “I am not willing to do that”. This leads to a situation where we stop following our conscience and follow the easiest way out of the trouble. Well, the conclusion is that we all lead a miserable ‘Life’ out here because we don’t do by natural tendencies and a blanket of falsehood shuts the eyes of our brain. It is not necessary for us to follow the steps of a person whom the society considers as Successful. Success or a failure is determined by our own rational judgment, which is again guided by our sense of what is beneficial to us and what is not. The tag of being a successful person need not come from the mouth of a loser. To a loser the mediocre is always a superior. The standards of our actions are to be set by ourselves and we don’t need a stranger to come and tell us what is good and what is not. Even if we experience what may be a failure to us let us learn Life the hard way, at least we will have only ourselves to blame. It is imperative for us to realize that our success or failure and our present status in life are the result of our own actions. So, people out there do something about the hollow ‘Life’ that you are currently living. Let there be no regrets later.
Vivek
One of the most irksome things about life, (My life or any one’s life) is that why is there a life at all? What if there wasn’t called life in the first place. Will we live in a fourth dimension? Is life the only medium to reason things? Or is there any other mode of existence (If there is, will it be existence?) Is death the only opposite of Life? Or is death an entrance to ‘Life’ in another sphere? Well, I am not in a suicidal mode or it is not that I am vexed with my existence. I am fighting for life the way others are and I am not complaining, as it is the Survival of the Fittest. I believe any one who using his gray matter will realize that there is much more to life than just breathing in the concoction of 21% of oxygen, 78% nitrogen and 1% other gases. Okay, lets move from the confusing questions regarding Life as such. Looking into our own lives, one finds that we all grow up (at least physically), slog like asses and study, again slog to find a proper ‘Safe’ job, keep our parents happy and settle in our life with a nice family. The ordeal doesn’t end there, the process of graying of the hair begins with our juniors growing up. Now, see to it that they are properly settled in life. In the meanwhile there is all this complains about the way things run. The neighbor lacks manners, the boss doesn’t give you your due respects, kids flunk in their exams, there is a growth in the list of visits to the doctors, the inflation goes up, there is another war coming up, blah, blah. Why this kind of ‘Living’ where one doesn’t get satisfied in any way and is in one way or the other in a catch-22 situation on his next approach? If such kind of living guarantees no ‘Total satisfaction’ then why is 95% of humanity living the way it does now? (Don’t ask about the remaining 5%, nerds like me form them) To this people will say, that no solution is a perfect one and that everything has its loopholes. I then ask, if you guys out there knew that this is not a satisfactory kind of living then why live a wretched life? Or if there is another mode of living then why not adopt it? The answer probably lies in our not trying to think individualistically. I have always believed that in Individualism lie all the answers to many if not all our problems. The common notion of ‘Follow the Herd’ is the most dangerous and yet the easiest method of self-destruction. It is very much necessary that we all do things that we believe will benefit us. After all, the very struggle for existence is based on the foundations of taking things that benefit us and eradicating things that hurt us. But, the process of surviving cannot be generalized onto a population of 6 billion. It is different for different persons. Time and again children are taught to follow the examples of the bright kid in class thereby killing the poor kid’s ability to think and act on his own. It is been this way since eternity. Probably it began when man was struggling to survive as an early man among wild creatures. And suddenly one man kills animals and provides food for his tribe. The people then revere him and now everybody wants to be like him. So, ultimately everybody is ready to be guided by another or that the tendency to be a slave to anyone regardless of the authenticity of the man. Consider the example of Russia and China. Both were in dire straits before the revolutions changed them. The tsarist regime had made the peasants a deprived lot and when Lenin came to the picture, he was readily accepted because the majority had no other option available for a better living. They blindly followed his policies in the hope for a bright future and are today a hopeless lot of people. China was staring down the barrel in 1949 and then came Mao Tse Tung promising them a strong People’s China. The result, millions of intellectuals, liberals, and individualists were killed in the state’s policy of compulsory socialism. Hitler came to power for the same reason. The humiliated Germans needed a messiah and when somebody as stern as Hitler comes and promises a bright future it is understandable that the downtrodden look unto Hitler as the messiah. The rest of the history, we very well know. The primary mistake we all make is we fail to recognize what is right and what is wrong for us. We in a way refuse to apply rationality in our actions. When we say, “I can’t do that”, the hidden statement over here is “I am not willing to do that”. This leads to a situation where we stop following our conscience and follow the easiest way out of the trouble. Well, the conclusion is that we all lead a miserable ‘Life’ out here because we don’t do by natural tendencies and a blanket of falsehood shuts the eyes of our brain. It is not necessary for us to follow the steps of a person whom the society considers as Successful. Success or a failure is determined by our own rational judgment, which is again guided by our sense of what is beneficial to us and what is not. The tag of being a successful person need not come from the mouth of a loser. To a loser the mediocre is always a superior. The standards of our actions are to be set by ourselves and we don’t need a stranger to come and tell us what is good and what is not. Even if we experience what may be a failure to us let us learn Life the hard way, at least we will have only ourselves to blame. It is imperative for us to realize that our success or failure and our present status in life are the result of our own actions. So, people out there do something about the hollow ‘Life’ that you are currently living. Let there be no regrets later.
Vivek
JEALOUSY FOR PROGRESS??
JEALOUSY FOR PROGRESS?
Jealousy – A state of mind where a sense of frustration occurs when one feels he or she feels that he is missing something that others have. Well, probably jealousy starts when admiration reaches a saturation point or may be jealousy is the peak stage that admiration can reach. One cannot actually say if jealousy always has a negative effect. It depends on the sturdiness of the person’s mind. There are people to whom jealousy drives them towards optimum performance and there is a majority, to whom jealousy takes them to a point of self-despair, a point of no return. Lets take the optimistic look of life, let jealousy inspire us to better our standards, to increase the limits of our endurance. But, here comes a twist, are we not supposed to set our own goals? I had always believed that one should not be driven the emotions of others. This is a different plane. Nobody is forcing you to change your plans, nobody is driving you, yet jealousy only reviews your already set plans. It need not kindle you to follow the way of the person you are jealous of. That defeats the purpose of individuality that ought to be safeguarded by jealousy. When you merely follow the person you are jealous of, it is nothing but the complete enslavement of the mind, of intelligence, of self-propagation of thoughts. X may be jealous of the way Y dances, but this should not drive X to follow the steps of Y. X may only be good at singing. But if he is sturdy at heart he may better his standards at singing. Then jealousy brings out the best out of the jealous. However it is to be known that the end result of jealousy is to be a feeling of satisfaction that comes from within. One should remember that the people around you tell you not to be jealous of others. But if you are and you successfully overcome pressures from within your conscience by achieving better standards, then the same people pass expert comments on you. That’s no way fair! The purpose of nurturing jealousy is not the verbal awards given by society. It should be a sense of satisfaction from within. Of passing your own judgment on your performance with the help of nothing but your conscience i.e., your brain, of the victory of individuality over mind slavery! Effectively jealousy is a path to progress as long as it gratifies your needs. But, one thing to be remembered is that it should in no way cause harm to the person you are jealous. Nobody ought to be accountable to your thoughts but you yourself. Just like the credit for a man’s success is taken by his intelligence, similarly the bearer of his failures or his negative thoughts should be he himself! No man should be the scapegoat for another’s whims or emotions! On the contrary imagine if one is in no way affected by others’ high standards, he or she will give way to mediocrity! It is the survival of the fittest in the struggle for existence, and it is unlike man’s nature to give up in the race for survival. Therefore, jealousy is a need for existence, for the functioning of the thought process. So, do not succumb to ‘Never be jealous of anybody’ and lead your life for your survival.
Vivek
Jealousy – A state of mind where a sense of frustration occurs when one feels he or she feels that he is missing something that others have. Well, probably jealousy starts when admiration reaches a saturation point or may be jealousy is the peak stage that admiration can reach. One cannot actually say if jealousy always has a negative effect. It depends on the sturdiness of the person’s mind. There are people to whom jealousy drives them towards optimum performance and there is a majority, to whom jealousy takes them to a point of self-despair, a point of no return. Lets take the optimistic look of life, let jealousy inspire us to better our standards, to increase the limits of our endurance. But, here comes a twist, are we not supposed to set our own goals? I had always believed that one should not be driven the emotions of others. This is a different plane. Nobody is forcing you to change your plans, nobody is driving you, yet jealousy only reviews your already set plans. It need not kindle you to follow the way of the person you are jealous of. That defeats the purpose of individuality that ought to be safeguarded by jealousy. When you merely follow the person you are jealous of, it is nothing but the complete enslavement of the mind, of intelligence, of self-propagation of thoughts. X may be jealous of the way Y dances, but this should not drive X to follow the steps of Y. X may only be good at singing. But if he is sturdy at heart he may better his standards at singing. Then jealousy brings out the best out of the jealous. However it is to be known that the end result of jealousy is to be a feeling of satisfaction that comes from within. One should remember that the people around you tell you not to be jealous of others. But if you are and you successfully overcome pressures from within your conscience by achieving better standards, then the same people pass expert comments on you. That’s no way fair! The purpose of nurturing jealousy is not the verbal awards given by society. It should be a sense of satisfaction from within. Of passing your own judgment on your performance with the help of nothing but your conscience i.e., your brain, of the victory of individuality over mind slavery! Effectively jealousy is a path to progress as long as it gratifies your needs. But, one thing to be remembered is that it should in no way cause harm to the person you are jealous. Nobody ought to be accountable to your thoughts but you yourself. Just like the credit for a man’s success is taken by his intelligence, similarly the bearer of his failures or his negative thoughts should be he himself! No man should be the scapegoat for another’s whims or emotions! On the contrary imagine if one is in no way affected by others’ high standards, he or she will give way to mediocrity! It is the survival of the fittest in the struggle for existence, and it is unlike man’s nature to give up in the race for survival. Therefore, jealousy is a need for existence, for the functioning of the thought process. So, do not succumb to ‘Never be jealous of anybody’ and lead your life for your survival.
Vivek
Be Humble... At your own peril!!
BE HUMBLE… AT YOUR OWN PERIL!
Humility, the dictionary says it means ‘to be humble’. And, what does humble mean? It means to be less proud of oneself, to perceive oneself as less important! What further fuel does one need to hate the common ideology that we all follow as a yardstick to measure one’s potential. The present form of ideology called ‘Altruism’ that we all sadly follow today is the most potential weapon of man’ quest for self-destruction! Does it make sense to anyone when some body comes and says that you have to demean yourself, lose your self-esteem and in the process be HUMBLE? The Altruist ideology believes in sacrifice of our own self-interests, interests that are chosen values that determine our happiness, our success, and above all our way of life. The society asks us to measure your success by giving to others and be penniless in turn. It doesn’t value our morals, our likings and our self-interests. To explain more, take the case of an interview where two candidates appear for a single post. One of them is poor while the other is reasonably well off. Both have their vested interests in achieving the job. Fortunately or unfortunately the better of the two receives the job. Well, the idealists of Altruism will argue that the richer of the two should ‘sacrifice’ his job for the betterment of the poorer candidate! And what, subject himself to self-humiliation? The term ‘sacrifice’ is defined in a distorted way in order that it refers to an act of losing one’s object of higher hierarchical value to an object of lower value to one’s own interests. That’s unfair means of doing things! To the society not trying to gain something for one’s own happiness at one’s own hard work is ‘Selfish’ while giving away one’s emotional well-being in some other’s interests is nobility! If one were to apply the conventional definition of ‘Selfishness’ to every action of man then the very fact that a man thinks for his own good is selfishness! For a man to reason a situation in order to achieve the best of productivity is Selfishness! For a man to analyze and modify the forces of nature to his suitability is selfishness! Where does our integrity go? By Integrity I mean a man’s potential to respect his values that in turn help a man maintain a moral code of conduct that again in turn leads him to achieve his goals which again in turn help him satisfy the needs of his life that he feels is best for his existence! To surrender to some moron’s needs is to surrender one’s integrity to the moron. It is in man’s best interests as a species entitled to fight the odds for survival to respect his values and more importantly recognize his potentials in achieving his goals. It deals with his self-esteem. When a man loses his self-esteem it means he simply stops reasoning or thinking and surrenders his conscience to the code of values set by someone else’s whims and emotions. And when one stops reasoning he loses the race of survival and will eventually lead to his living as a recluse and finally to self-destruction! Does all this mean that we all stop caring a damn about others and be mean? Not until caring of other’s interests doesn’t hamper our own morals and ethics for survival. If a man is bankrupt, one can only help him stand up own his feet till he finds his own way to betterment. It doesn’t mean we spoon feed him all his life and lose our survival tactics. However it is to be noted that every person in a man’s life is valued in a hierarchical order that suits his interests best. If a man’s brother who has the same notion of seeing things and has similar values as that of the person concerned and he falls into deep debt, then it is in the best of the man to help his brother as his life depends a lot on his brothers existence in happiness. But if some outsider undergoes the same problems then it is nobody’s problem to help him out. Consider yourself in the position, will you expect someone outside to come and help you out? It is all for one and one for all. It is a responsibility of every human to lead his life his way and subject oneself to the cheap appreciation of the Altruist society that only demeans the powers of man to live his life. In all, I will conclude saying that it is very much important for a man to realize his potentials, responsibilities, and his dignity in order to face the adversities of life. There is therefore no necessity for someone to demean himself to get admiration from a group of non-thinkers! Be proud of our existence, of your achievements, and be prepared to get the maximum of your hard work to yourself and not to sacrifice your results of your hard work for the benefit of a thankless society.
Vivek
Humility, the dictionary says it means ‘to be humble’. And, what does humble mean? It means to be less proud of oneself, to perceive oneself as less important! What further fuel does one need to hate the common ideology that we all follow as a yardstick to measure one’s potential. The present form of ideology called ‘Altruism’ that we all sadly follow today is the most potential weapon of man’ quest for self-destruction! Does it make sense to anyone when some body comes and says that you have to demean yourself, lose your self-esteem and in the process be HUMBLE? The Altruist ideology believes in sacrifice of our own self-interests, interests that are chosen values that determine our happiness, our success, and above all our way of life. The society asks us to measure your success by giving to others and be penniless in turn. It doesn’t value our morals, our likings and our self-interests. To explain more, take the case of an interview where two candidates appear for a single post. One of them is poor while the other is reasonably well off. Both have their vested interests in achieving the job. Fortunately or unfortunately the better of the two receives the job. Well, the idealists of Altruism will argue that the richer of the two should ‘sacrifice’ his job for the betterment of the poorer candidate! And what, subject himself to self-humiliation? The term ‘sacrifice’ is defined in a distorted way in order that it refers to an act of losing one’s object of higher hierarchical value to an object of lower value to one’s own interests. That’s unfair means of doing things! To the society not trying to gain something for one’s own happiness at one’s own hard work is ‘Selfish’ while giving away one’s emotional well-being in some other’s interests is nobility! If one were to apply the conventional definition of ‘Selfishness’ to every action of man then the very fact that a man thinks for his own good is selfishness! For a man to reason a situation in order to achieve the best of productivity is Selfishness! For a man to analyze and modify the forces of nature to his suitability is selfishness! Where does our integrity go? By Integrity I mean a man’s potential to respect his values that in turn help a man maintain a moral code of conduct that again in turn leads him to achieve his goals which again in turn help him satisfy the needs of his life that he feels is best for his existence! To surrender to some moron’s needs is to surrender one’s integrity to the moron. It is in man’s best interests as a species entitled to fight the odds for survival to respect his values and more importantly recognize his potentials in achieving his goals. It deals with his self-esteem. When a man loses his self-esteem it means he simply stops reasoning or thinking and surrenders his conscience to the code of values set by someone else’s whims and emotions. And when one stops reasoning he loses the race of survival and will eventually lead to his living as a recluse and finally to self-destruction! Does all this mean that we all stop caring a damn about others and be mean? Not until caring of other’s interests doesn’t hamper our own morals and ethics for survival. If a man is bankrupt, one can only help him stand up own his feet till he finds his own way to betterment. It doesn’t mean we spoon feed him all his life and lose our survival tactics. However it is to be noted that every person in a man’s life is valued in a hierarchical order that suits his interests best. If a man’s brother who has the same notion of seeing things and has similar values as that of the person concerned and he falls into deep debt, then it is in the best of the man to help his brother as his life depends a lot on his brothers existence in happiness. But if some outsider undergoes the same problems then it is nobody’s problem to help him out. Consider yourself in the position, will you expect someone outside to come and help you out? It is all for one and one for all. It is a responsibility of every human to lead his life his way and subject oneself to the cheap appreciation of the Altruist society that only demeans the powers of man to live his life. In all, I will conclude saying that it is very much important for a man to realize his potentials, responsibilities, and his dignity in order to face the adversities of life. There is therefore no necessity for someone to demean himself to get admiration from a group of non-thinkers! Be proud of our existence, of your achievements, and be prepared to get the maximum of your hard work to yourself and not to sacrifice your results of your hard work for the benefit of a thankless society.
Vivek
Hypocrisy In Our Bloods!!
HYPOCRISY IN OUR BLOODS! – TOWARDS OUTSIDERS AND TO OUR CONSCIENCE Man, supposedly the chosen creature of God! A fact claimed again by himself. Such is the attitude of the CHOSEN ONE that he is self-praising and says that it was said so by God himself. As a young man coping with the shocks of realizing of what Life gives us (some nice, some painful) I have gravely realized how we as humans are the most hypocritical of all beings, in fact no creature shows such pretence as Man. We all lead a false life living under false pride. To start with the most basic of all examples, we get all kinds of silly and criminal ideas yet swear by the Holy books. When we see Ambani earning in Crores we wish we could get hold of such money by hook or by crook, yet we teach our children to be satisfied with what they have!! The basic reason why we do so is because of the element in our live called ‘Moh’ (desire). Every second, everywhere, we put on a mask of hypocrisy. It’s been the case from the time of our existence and will be so till we are extinct. Somebody tell me a person whose intentions are actually the way it appears from outside. We go to a temple in the pretext of practicing ‘Bhakti’ and what do we do there? We are conscious of the way we look, of being one among the so called religious people, of thinking that all problems will now be solved. We of think God in the same terms as a Govt. official, bribe him with a few coconuts; offer him huge amounts of money (a la Amitabh) and lo all your problems simply vanish! Do people take Him to be as materialistic as we are? We advice our children to be obedient, disciplined and what not, knowing the fact that the there is no such thing as the ‘Perfect Man’ (sue the Raymond’s people for spreading disinformation!) Look at our leaders, they speak volumes about poverty and in turn ride BMWs, live in castles guarded like Fortresses! Talk about setting examples and our leaders come first. We as civilized people have no rights to criticize people (if we are civilized that is, the term is again a product of hypocrisy!). Look at yourself (not literally) and ask the question: Do I deserve to pass comments on someone? As an individual I have realized firmly that there ought to be no such term called Selfishness, as I believe that once we have come in to the world as humans we all have this trait. Ever noticed small kids? They tend to keep their things to themselves & never show the slightest intention to be Angels unless noticed and taught them to be so by their elders. We all have it in our blood. Why do we keep friends? To achieve some happiness in his/her company, in turn our friend expects the same from us. In all, both of us crave for something that we don’t have!! And all that talk about some relations being unselfish in itself is Rubbish! Just like we cry when we are emotional, we laugh when we are happy, selfishness is a trait. One cannot remove moonlight from the moon, moonlight can only be hidden by clouds that too only momentarily. We can only be Hypocrites if we say we are not selfish, which we actually are and so there is nothing wrong if somebody pretends to be good (if somebody is a hypocrite). It’s a trait, just like selfishness!! All of you spare a moment thinking when was the time when you did something without any thoughts of keeping yourself happy?! When someone says that he does social service to see the needy happy and that he does not expect anything monetarily, people call him an Unselfish man. Fair enough, materially he may not be selfish but the desire to gain a satisfaction, happiness from others is nothing but selfishness. We all have a craving for happiness also called ‘Anand’’ , but does this Anand last long?? When we say that settling in a life with a Home, a nice Honda, with nice kids is ENOUGH; we are the biggest liars, because no amount of anything is sufficient for us!! Our ultimate aim becomes a Mercedes from a Honda!! That’s how it is for every one of us not realizing that this material happiness will get us nowhere and such happiness is forever declining with time.
VIVEK
VIVEK
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