A Poem called 'desiderata' ( Latin: "desired things"), but lets just say it defines life

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,


and remember what peace there may be in silence.



As far as possible without surrender

be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even the dull and the ignorant;

they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

they are vexatious to the spirit.



If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain and bitter;

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.



Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

many persons strive for high ideals;

and everywhere life is full of heroism.



Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

it is as perennial as the grass.



Take kindly the counsel of the years,

gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.



Beyond a wholesome discipline,

be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,

no less than the trees and the stars;

you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you,

no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.



Therefore be at peace with God,

whatever you conceive Him to be,

and whatever your labors and aspirations,

in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.



With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.



PS:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderata

FRIENDS FOR LIFE

Friendship is a feeling

like no other

a friend is a friend

a friend is a brother

you,my friend, are special to me

you are the one i like

nothing shall do us apart

we are friends for life

when the going gets tough,and nothing goes right

when everything is dark,and there is no light

I will find you

I will hold you

we are friends forlife

you give me courage,you give me power

whenever i was scared,you became my cover

you smiled when i laughed

but never let me shed a tear

how shall i ever forget these times

we are friends for life.

For me no gold , no silver ever shined bright

my friends are my most cherished treasure

with my friends I feel alright

laughs , kicks , jokes and tears

make this journey a memorable affair

Our friendship is for ever

it is not for a day or a night

give me a tight friends' hug ,buddy

we are friends for life.

I always wondered why,God gave us just two eyes

With them I can see only one side

I feel so scared of the dangers that are out of my sight

So I asked God , can you give me eyes ,  four more

two for the back , one on each side , and then I will be sure

He laughed and said, no Son I cannot give you eyes anymore

But look around I have given you so many friends , what do you think are friends for?

They are more than just your sight

They are your strength, for you they will fight

Go on , go make some friends ,

And dont forget to tell them

We are friends for life.

Unlike Family where relation is a rule

Friends are the people whom you choose

A friend is God's Gift to Man , i feel

So take good care of him , he's not the one to loose

But as you move along , with passage of time

You make new relations , you have duties of new kind

Parents ,Wife and kids  take the front seat

Hardly a surprise, If for a decade friends dont meet

Meeting or not, I know , it wont make our friendship small

but dont u dare forget my birthday ,d**k, give me a call

And I'll put your pictures in my Family album

and I'll wait for the time till  we meet again

when I see your kids , will tell them , hey! you've got your dad's chin

And watch out , I'll also flirt with your beautiful wife

and I know you'll return the compliment , that is a friend's right

God!Cant wait for these moments to come to life

we are friends for life

the time we spent together, was the time to be

true it is that  the best things in life are for free

but To be with you I'll pay any price

our friendship remains etched in my heart

it doesnt really matter , if the ways we part

just think of me ,and you'll find me by your side

we are friends for life

For now it is a bye , but before I go

I will break rules of friendship, a few,

No sorry , No thank you they say , I know

Still  i fold my hands and I thank you

and ask you to excuse me for any ugly things I do

and I wish you get all the success in life , I wish all your dreams come true

My hands are shaking now,I have nothing more to write

we are friends for life

Random Thoughts on a rainy sunday morning

Looking at the silver grey cloudy sky
early in the morning in the first blink of the eye
I think of no other sight anygood anymore
Its nature at its best , right at my window

And in the next sequence of events ,the Power goes off
and There is no light in the room now
So I open the window doors
to let in some light, to let in some air some more

Then I say to myself
This is not a usual sunday morning
This is nature's special
and I shall call it Random thoughts on a Rainy sunday morning

Motley sounds riding on the air waves
make way into the vacuum of my room space
trees fluttering , clouds thundering ,rain drops splashing
All are making of Random thoughts on a Rainy sunday morning

I feel energised , I am in a higher state
I need no morning tea , it is a visual-feast and I have so much in my plate
I am overwhelmed ,I am lost in this aesthetic setting
I dont want to return from this Random thoughts on a Rainy sunday morning

Then slowly and slowly , the rain dwindles
And it puts out the fire in me, it some time back kindled
Like they say ,all good things must come to an end , and I come to my bearing
But what will stay with me forever are Random thoughts on a Rainy sunday morning

“SEX AND SPIRITUALITY” AND INDIANS !

I got out of bed expecting a rather lousy weekend morning , as it is always. I knew it would be ‘leisure as usual’ throughout the day .Starting with TV then surfing , then some more TV , ahh! And then some penning down of my thoughts , and later in the day if my body permits then some painting the town red (but more often than not the case with me and my room-mates is that of ‘Spirit is willing but flesh is weak’). As scheduled I switched on the TV set , and while riffling through the channels I tuned into ‘India Today Conclave’ being telecasted on a news channel. What got my attention was the topic around which the conclave was centered. Let me just give you a hint if you really want to guess.


What is the one thing Indians are most hypocritical about ?


Ya ! Though I cannot hear you ,but I think if you are an Indian(or if you have watched the aforementioned conclave before coming down to this “assimilation of ‘neural sensation transformed into visually legible format’ aka BLOG”)  you must have got it right.

The topic of the discussion was that of “SEX and SPIRITUALITY”.

And yes , Just for the record ,Indians , at least I feel so ,are the biggest ‘sex’ hypocrits. Indians who are so particular about abstaining from ‘carnal carousal’ and are a society where terms like ‘ Casual sex’ and ‘free sex’ are a taboo, still are the second largest reproducers (I could have used the “Four letter word” here ) but I guess I am just sparing the Indians their blushes.

Lets face it , Indians are shy about sex but even in their shyness they do it most profoundly. Just to elaborate the point “ If the world was to be survived by one Indian man and one Indian woman , they would still go into a hiding and have ‘secret sex’ rather than having more of a ‘free sex’. And to top it all , they would do it to the exponential extent of creating a new civilization in no time.”

OK ! enough of Indian – Bashing. Going back to the conclave , I was all eyes and ears and more to see how does a forum of Indian men and women go about discussing it.

With ‘Birds and the Bees’ and ‘ Moksha and salvation’ being talked about in the same breath , through a medium that would reach out to practically the entire Indian populace, the panel of presenters had to be dead right spot –on. It had to be someone who has ‘been there done that’, somebody who understands the intricacies of ’sex’ and ‘spirituality’ far better than an Average Joe or should I say ‘Average Adam’.

And So it was , On the one end ,Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev representing the ‘Old Oriental school’ and giving a Traditional take on ‘Sex’. And, on the other end, delineating a more contemporary and occidental overview of the whole matter was , Swami Satya Vedant , a philosopher and author and a arduous disciple of OSHO.(To know more about him, check out here http://www.oshonewyork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=8)



The latter was the first to address the attendance, and the gist of all that he said was

“ Sex is more an individual’s choice , in terms of ‘How’ they do it or ‘where’ they do it or ‘with whom’ they do it or ‘How much ‘ they do it. So we should not straitjacket the individuals in a rigid framework laid down by the society that leaves them struggling for movement.

He also cited with an example that , ‘Sprituality’ can be achieved through sex only if you feel it as an inner body experience rather than just doing it mechanically like it is just another mere physical phenomenon. He illustrated this point by narrating one of his real experience of how in a Book fair ,a man in his late 30’s walks up to Swami Vedant’s book stall and asks him for his latest book on the shelf. And starts riffling through its pages in search of pornographic pictures. Seeing this, swami Vedant tells him that he should go home first and look at his wife in the same context as he was looking at the book, and then probably he may not even feel the need of what he came looking at the first place.

Huh! How insightful , I thought to myself. There is obviously many more dimensions to physical intimation other than the physicality aspect. We need to be aware of them in order to make the ‘Sexperience’ as an all-encompassing, self – fulfilling one.

And then Swami Ramdev took to stage and came across as a proponent of balanced , formulaic and socially acceptable style of understanding and practicing sex. He was very vocal in his disdain towards ‘Homosexuality’ and termed it unnatural and a sign of sickness. He also expressed disgust over the concept of ‘open marriages’ and ‘free sex’ in particular. According to him that would shred the social fabric , and would give rise to a degenerated society where DNA tests are required to know the Biological father of an offspring and teenage girls still in their adolescence getting pregnant. This would do no good to nobody and sex within a socially acceptable framework is the key to prevent the disintegration of our moral values and social living.

At this point in time , I was completely blank. I mean both the speakers made complete sense to me , but sadly they were standing on opposite ends. I could not decide for myself who is right , or in this case who is more right?

As it turned out , it boiled down to the classic ‘East V/S West’ debate. And while in the past we may have made our peace with that ,saying “East is east and west is west and the Twain shall never meet”.

But in more recent times the boundaries defining east and west are getting dimmer and dimmer by the day, thanks to the Net and jet age phenomenon. East is opening its arms to western lifestyle like it has never done before.

Now , at this juncture we have to make a conscious choice for ourselves and a well –informed one. And that is exactly what this discussion aimed at , helping you make that choice by understanding the implications and effects of both the options.

While no clear consensus could emerge amongst the moderator and the speakers, I in my mind had understood one thing after witnessing this hour and a half long spectacle.

And it goes like this “ Just be yourself , suit yourself. Dont deprive yourself of any desire of yours , simply because it goes against the ‘social’ grain. Being true to oneself and being contented with one’s life is what I think is the foremost step towards attaining “Spiritual ecstasy” or transcending to another level , whatever you may call it.

So be it if you are Lecherous or Adulterous , Celibate or Impotent , Homosexual or Bisexual . That is how God made you , and that is how he wants you to be in the Grand scheme of things.

Once you understand this fact and accept yourself and your desires the way they are , then there is no void left in your tryst of self- fulfillment.

Now whether you want to reach that higher level of realization via sex or meditation is up to you and your body , and is very much an individualistic thing. Buddha found it through meditation , some other characters from kamasutra found it through kama/sex. What ticks your body may not tick my body in the same way , and vice versa.

So, the fact of the matter is Don’t PUT ON , just PLAY ON the way you want. Let not your INDIVIDUALITY fall prey to IDEOLOGY.

To end the Blog , I would quote myself .

“ It is Individuals who make the society , and not the Society that makes the Individual” - METHINKS.

WHEN I COULD NOT CHICKEN OUT!

They say “ We eat to live and more importantly live to eat”. With this sentiment and given the fact that people are nowadays getting really fuzzy about the food they eat , it is a ‘food for thought’ that ‘Eating’ is much more than just a meager metabolic process. The kind of food that one eats is in fact an expression of one’s personality, after all “ You are what you eat”.

And if you talk about the variety of eating habits and food patterns , I’ll just say the menu has no boundaries. Take a look at the living species and their motley of eating habits , it is a full-wide spectrum , there are herbivore , carnivore ,omnivore amongst animals to vegetarian , eggitarian , non vegetarian amongst the ‘social animals’.

The point here is, to each his own. Everyone has their own tastes and they pamper their taste buds in fine style. Ever tried to show a calorie chart to a ‘Junk Food’ lover , he is most likely to turn a blind eye . Or try telling the benefits of green vegetables to a ‘chicken –maniac’, it will fall on deaf ears. Or still worse offer a veggie a full chicken course , he is sure to chicken out from the table.

I am the latter type , a self proclaimed ‘ pure vegetarian’ ,and have always felt nauseated by even the thought of flesh making way into my mouth. I personally , have a psychological problem with ‘ food of flesh’ , as it paints a picture of blood , slaughter and wails of the ‘poor species’ in my mind. Those who defend it quoting ‘Law of Evolution – Survival of the fittest’ , I feel like telling them it is not a jungle out here but a civil society. And Man being the torchbearer of this society, should play the role of protector not predator of the weaker species.

My eating habit is both a personal choice as well as what I inherited from my family’s eating habit. I was on numerous occasions, lured by friends and relatives who eat non-veg , to ‘try it once’. And My argument used to be a little ‘play on words’. I used to say , you believe in ‘Once’ as in ‘try it once’ , but I believe in ‘Once’ as in “ Once a vegetarian , always a vegetarian” , and we should respect each others beliefs. That used to be pretty much, end of the story.

23 years of my life , I was a proud ‘veggie’ until that ominous day came along . 02/07 (2010) was to me , what 09/11(2001) was to America. Like the case with Americans, even I had least seen it coming and it shook the foundation of my life. Me and My friends were waiting for our order, in our most preferred Chinese restaurant, a plate of Veg wanton for me and a plate of Non- veg Momos for my companions. And as the dishes were served , I did not bother about verifying the order. After all , it was not my first time there ,and to top that I was as hungry as a bear coming out of hibernation. So, I picked up a fork and 'fished' towards the first piece in my plate. The taste was different than usual ,it was rather tasteless and veg- stuffing seemed too little for a Veg Wanton. But in the heat of the hungry moment , my senses were off-duty. So, one after another I gorged 3 more pieces of what to me 'apparently' were veg wanton.

Seconds later, my friend took one piece from my dish , and much like a wine-taster tells of wine he blurted out to me that I was having chicken. And that was it , I felt like my heart has fallen into my shoes. What planes did to Twin towers , those plates did to me. I, in my fit of rage, threatened to bloody sue the restaurant for putting me through this hell, but then I thought the damage has been done and it wont bring back what I had lost. However , my fit of rage did bring back something else , my Veg wanton , this time for real .

I then put this ‘Chickengate’ behind me. I put up a brave face not to spoil the evening for my friends. I even saw the funny side in all this, and thought of doing a ‘Maddy’( R.Madhavan in the movie ‘RHTDM’ finds himself in a similar situation , where he being a Brahmin reluctantly eats chicken on a date , and then pukes it to redeem himself). I decided not to redeem myself rather leave this as a ‘bitter experience’ that would constantly remind me not to rise to the bait next time.
At the end of it , amongst all the things that define this ‘unsavory’ event , like mistake , misfortune , destiny , my personal favorite is ‘ loss of veg-virginity’.