I am what i was, and so I will be..

What is it that makes man want to label everything? Like that oft repeated cliche says, would a rose not smell as sweet were it called by a different name? Why then must we first stick a label on everything we find around us, and then go on to defend that label as if it preceded the thing it represents? Did the name come before the object it stands for? Did the belief come before the person believing it? The best argument against this wholly man made concept of beliefs and culture is that there are so many different cultures. What works for one man may not for another, and so came about all these varied ways of looking at the same world around us. As soon as we are out of the womb, the people around us we so fondly call our family starts labelling us, with the label changing according to the prevailing beliefs. So an infant sucking on his thumb, and living on his mother's breast milk has already his name, his religion, his eating habits, his sensitivities and right down to the style of underwear he wears chosen for him before he has uttered his first comprehensible sentence in that prechosen mother tongue of his. In some cultures, if this infant turns out to be a 'she' rather than a 'he', then she faces discrimination for no fault of hers. She is labelled a 'burden', and her burdened caretakers are already hatching plots to get rid of her.

Even man's defense of his culture, his pride in its veracity and supremacy over that of his neighbours fails to stand upto scrutiny. Some people tout their culture as being supreme or marvellous because it is so old or is so steepled in history. Considering the fact that every culture, language, tradition, belief, custom etc etc were all brand spanking new at one time or the other, that every iota of history that we have proof of today was at one time non-existent, when people decry modern influences for corrupting their cultures, one feels compelled to ask these protesters: Were these cultures also not evolved from the ones preceding them? Then why does nooone bemoan the loss of those ancient belief systems that preceded the ones we have today? This makes for a very interesting observation, that culture is not and cannot be defined by those who came before us, but one may see where our culture is headed by looking at those who lead us into tomorrow.

All this stems from that eternal search for one's soul, one's identity. I personally find this to be quite the wild goose chase, because i truly believe that there is no such thing as a blueprint for humanity. Each of us sets out from a different lane of the race track, each endowed with different abilities, dreams, fears and so on. The fact lies unstated that though we all seem to be running towards the same destination, the journeys we all take to reach there are so different that trying to find parallels is an exercise in vain. Hence the point of a common identity, and thereby a reason to bond with our neighbour is quite fruitless. In this journey though each of us goes through so many of the same experiences, each is influenced so uniquely that we all end up as different as snowflakes; they look the same from a distance, but when you look closer, each one a marvel in itself. We must stop looking at ourselves as fixed entities, like mud pots, that have been cast in a certain way and are to remain so for eternity, and see ourselves more like wet clay, that can and is continously moulded according to the prevailing forces in the world around us. Those people who lament the loss of byzantine, magnificient cultures must wake up to this reality, that the only thing constant in life is change, and that embracing this simple but revealing truth could help us achieve mental peace.

Why am I here? What am I here to do?

If there is one question that has plagued man ever since he developed a consciousness, it is this
one: Why am I here? Entire lives have been spent in either the search for the answer to this
dilemma or even worse, trying to push one's answer onto others as the right one. Some people even say that we are all here for a divine purpose, that every person's life is an arrow with a head that points in some direction, and only by accepting fate, destiny and a higher power, we can truly discover the purpose of our existence. To every one of these people I say, "Shut Up!!"

George Carlin, a great comedian and an even better thinker in my opinion, once said that we are all here because the earth needed plastic! Earth didn't have the time to make it herself, wanted to delegate it to someone, and so she created us humans. Thus the purpose of our existence is to make plastic for earth! Laughable though it may sound, it is a revealing insight into the stupidity and enormous lack of humility on our part that we think that all the billions of galaxies filled with gazillions of stars in our universe and all the fantastic and unbelievably diverse variety of creatures on planet earth were created just to give us a beautiful starry sky and a nice place to live in! That's exactly what most religions make out our world to be, a place created by Mr God so that we could appreciate his supreme benevolence for such a wonderful gift and remain ever thankful to him, spending our lives in eternal gratitude.

I have a very simple answer for the quest for the purpose of our existence: There is no such purpose! Our lives are what we make them to be, our destiny lies in our own hands. Why is this such a difficult thing for people to accept? Then are we like boats with sails but no compass you ask me? Yes, its true that our lives by themselves have no purpose, but it is in our hands to give our lives a purpose. YOU, yes you, are the rudder of your ship! You decide what you want to do with your life. Since every action we take affects people around us in a myriad of ways, some of which we know about and comprehend and some of which we don't, it is truly upto YOU what you want to do with your life.

If you decide that you want to help people through your life, and take part in social service, then that could be the purpose of your life. If just being a good human being and a good son or daughter, a good wife/husband or a good employee is what you are willing to do, then that could also be the purpose of your life. One doesn't have to make a huge difference to the world around them. If you could touch even one person's life, give him/her one better day of their lives through your actions (or lack of them, in some cases), then yours was definitely a life worth living. Life isnt worse for the lack of a purpose, its actually better because then we all are truly our own masters, the captains of ships that only we know the destinations of. Like Mother Teresa once said, "I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.".

Rules to live by!

Saw this on a website and just had to post it! Dogs are not just man's best friends but also great guides on how to live one's life! Enjoy :)

Dog Philosophy:

1. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
2. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
3. When loved ones come home, always run and greet them.
4. When it's in your best interest, always practice obedience.
5. Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
6.Take naps and always stretch before rising.
7. Run, romp and play daily.
8. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
9. Be loyal.
10. Never pretend to be something you're not.
11. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
12. When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
13. Delight in the simple joys of a long walk.
14. Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
15. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
16. On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
17. When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
18. No matter how often you are criticized, don't buy into the guilt thing and pout. Run right back and make friends.

A good read indeed!

Whats your favourite kind of book? Does it have to be one of those gripping, edge of the seat, un-put-downable-unless-your-in-a-life-and-death-situation kind of book for you to get interested, or are you one of those read-when-i'm-free-run-along-at-a-casual-pace type of book reader? I mean that if you had to choose between the Da Vinci Code and the Great Expectations (supposing you haven't read either), which would it be? Personally I'd go for the former because slow paced books bore me very quickly.

Of course there are those books that are on everyone's must read list and whose reputation precedes them by a mile, Lord of the Rings being a very good example of such a book. Though when I read it myself, I found it too lengthy, tiring and making me wish that the whole bunch of good doers would get a move on for god's sake! At this point all the LOTR fans would rise up in protest saying that I had no real appreciation of the beauty and majesty of this extremely famous series of books. I would like to counter by saying that I have read other mythologies like Fire and Ice and Sword of Truth, that are big reads by themselves and though they may not stand shoulder to shoulder to LOTR for intricate detail, they hold their own when compared by standards of not boring the reader to death before anything significant happens.

So what does make for a good read then? There are other genres of course like sci-fi, thrillers, mystery, biographies, autobiographies, drama, comedy etc etc. But to keep the reader in me interested, the plot has to thicken quickly or else I'm liable to start looking elsewhere. Now there are some exceptions to this rule (aren't there always?), Gone with the Wind being the best example I could think of and such books, though not exactly a thrill-a-minute, still never fail to keep the reader hooked. A book I read recently, Anything for you, ma'am by Tushar Raheja, was a perfect example of the kind of story that doesn't give u a minute's time to think, forcing you to quickly grasp the events happening with and around the protagonist, at a pace some readers could find exhausting. But frankly I thought it was a great read and a great first effort by the author, for the same exact reason.

So why do I feel such a need to be kept on tenterhooks whenever I read a book? I completely blame our new age media, that has crippled me with a monster-sized Attention Deficit Disorder by feeding me more than I could handle since the minute I was delivered into this world of ours. Our food has to be fast, our news must be latest, our sports live and our lives itself a rat race. Honestly, does anyone realize how fast paced everything now is, how that poem Leisure by William Henry Davies is more relevant now than ever? Sometimes I wish I could take a moment to stand and stare, but everyone says I must run like a hare (not trying to be poetic). Now what was that old fable about the tortoise and the hare all about once again??

Laughin' all the way

The most uncommon sense in the world, contrary to public opinion, is not common sense, but rather a sense of humor. Common sense is what is actually keeping a semblance of order in our world, but we would all be a lot happier, and a lot less peeved, were more people to have a simple sense of humor. I always prided myself on being able to see the lighter side of life, and though this does not necessarily mean I can crack a good joke, I know a rib-tickler when I see one. Being able to distinguish a good joke and then to laugh whole heartedly not only at jokes on others but also at oneself, constitutes what I consider to be a fully developed sense of humor.

Now some people might disagree with that opinion. I remember reading the following quote or a similar one at the bottom of a page in one of those diaries that has quotes at the bottom of every page (my favourite kind when I was a kid) : " A man who can laugh at himself is the best man in the room.". So throughout my life I always took jokes directed at me rather sportingly, and so made for a rather poor butt of jokes, since I would often join in in the laughter! Many people thought this to be a lack of self-esteem on my part, and that might have been true to a certain extent, but of all the delightful people I have met in my life, the ones who impressed me the most were those who could take a rib at themselves in the right spirit. Although I do think cracking jokes at one's own expense is a step too far and is better avoided.

How would the world be a happier place if people learnt to laugh more? Well, its an undisputed fact that misunderstandings cause such distress and break up so many relations that a pinch of humor always helps lighten the situation. People take themselves way too seriously, and the inability to see the lighter side of life and just take it easy ends up making us all frustrated and discontent. Also, the whole of business of jokes is made such that every joke is always at some stereotype or other. Americans are all fat and eat just burgers, Indians are all brainiacs stealing everyone else's jobs, Muslims in the middle east are all bomb strapped AK-47 wielding terrorists, Sardars, blondes etc are all really dumb, the list goes on ad nauseam. The minute one makes a joke, someone has taken offense and launched a tirade against the purported abusers who should all be hanged for their insulting comments. Take it easy mate!! Or as one would say in Indian lingo, Light le baap! Its true to a certain extent that such stereotypical humor encourages the wrong kind of ignorance and false rumor about people, but since when has man ever failed to take note of one person's behaviour and stick it to all his so called neighbours? The point is to take such humor lightly and disregard it, or if possible pay back in kind! But taking offense at it seems a tad out of line, and the root cause of unnecessary tensions.

To put a point to it, life is too short to spend it hating or insulting anyone. There are always going to be a few weird people in the world, and there are going to be even more who make it a point to make fun of these so called weirdos. But were one to take this ribbing for what it is, just man trying to amuse himself, we would have a lot less frowns in our ever-suffering world. Spread love and laughter, and Utopia though it may not be, there would at the least be a lot more smiles in the world than there are currently.

Short term Mammories!

When God sends us down to earth, naked and completely helpless, he gives us all some RAM and a lot of ROM. (the computer terms.... if u don't know what they mean... Google them!) To put it simply, this means that we can remember things that happened to us in the near past and also things from our far gone past that left an impression on us. Well thats where my problem begins... mine are faulty!! Its no shame for me to declare that I have poor memory of stuff I should remember (or at the least the stuff most people do). It surprises me when people tell me some things from my past, like their first impressions of me, or stuff i said, things that I have poor or no recollection of. There's this saying that one should remember the good things someone does for us and forget the hurts and insults. But darn it I cant remember either! I cant even hold a decent grudge against someone who's wronged me. I know, not that anyone would be scared of me holding one against them, but still I'd like to once in a while, to know what it feels like.


Well to be honest, not remembering how exactly one embarrassed oneself long long ago seems like a good thing, doesn't it? Its a lot easier to move on from painful experiences when one doesn't retain them in memory. Sadly not so. The problem is, these experiences actually live on in our subconscious long after we think we have wiped them from our memory. These experiences shape our behavior through our subconscious, influencing the choices we make and the decisions we take. They even alter our dreams, thus accounting for people having recurring nightmares long after the source of those nightmares occurred (also accounts for all my teenage crushes showing up in my dreams). So basically, my poor memory probably means all that information is getting stored in my subconscious which scares the shit out of me. God only knows how that affects me. Gulp.

A further twist to the tale is added when out of the blue, I begin to feel a sense of Deja vu in certain situations. There is this eerie feeling at the back of my mind that I have been here before and that something doesn't quite add up, even though my brain denies ever having had such an experience. Some people in such a situation would have some recollection of where and when they had a similar experience, thus quickly explaining the 'Deja vu'. Me, I just go on feeling weirder and weirder, unable to figure out why the hairs at the back of my neck are standing.

The icing on the cake is that other trait I have probably inherited, absent-mindedness. This has gotten me into so much trouble that if I ever came across a genie and he granted me a wish, I wouldn't hesitate one second in asking for the ability to freaking remember where I kept that pen I was just writing with. Presence of mind is a quality I value highly, and when people sometimes have to call my name at least two or three times, before i respond, it frankly makes me feel really shorthanded. God, in all his wisdom, for some reason thought that this would be a quality I would appreciate. Thats a laugh.

This absent mindedness also means I am not very observant of my surroundings, and miss out details that otherwise would have benefited me a lot. So the only positive I can possibly see in this irritating facet of my personality that some people seem to find it endearing. To these people I say, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Absent-mindedness as a quality is like elephants in the zoo. Everyone likes them, but no one wants to bring one home.

All in all, anyone reading probably thinks I am cribbing about silly things when I should frankly be worried about other things, like getting a life for example. Good point, and I guess I should thank God for the other awesome facets of my personality that I like (my rugged good looks, my charm... well you know me). To wrap it up, I guess we are all like unfinished works of art. Some of us go on to become masterpieces the artist can be proud of and others, well lets just say that not every grain of sand goes on to become a pearl does it?

UFOs!! (Unidentified Female Objects)

Why is it so freaking difficult to understand women? To put it very strongly, Women are the Bermuda Triangles of the human world. Nobody has a clue as to whats going on over there, but go anywhere near them to find out more and you get sucked in like a little bug caught in a basin whirlpool never to surface again. Even if you do make it out in a single piece, a shipwreck on the rocky cliffs on the coast of Womenland, could you honestly say that the experience did not change you in so many ways that you barely recognize yourself later? Great authors, philosophers, and poets have expressed their frustration in a million different ways about how utterly incomprehensible women are, about how women are the epitome of delicacy yet when angered hell runs a distant second to their fury! What was God really thinking when he made women such enigmas to men? Wait no, change that, sometimes even women dont understand why they are the way they are!

Some wise man once said that one should just love women, not try to understand them. But since curiosity is sort of man's defining characteristic, separating him from the million other creatures on this planet, asking him not to find out more about anything he does not understand is utterly futile. So many lives spent in this fruitless pursuit (this blog included) and what do we have to show for it? Our mothers, our wives, our girlfriends, our friends, our lovers, our daughters... they are everywhere in our life yet the closest we have come to understanding women is to say they definitely deserve to be treated as equals. Bull-freaking-shit! Women are not our equals. Hell, that is giving us men a lot more credit than we deserve. Now I am making this blog completely personal by saying something that I have been pondering for a long time but havent ever had the guts to say... Women are definitely and without argument, our superiors!

At this point, if you are a man reading this, you are probably thinking that I am trying to curry up some favor with women with such a statement. But the fact is, strangely there are probably going to be a lot of women who will actually take offense at my opinion, for the same exact reason. Then there are going to be others trying to figure out why I am suddenly writing such a blog in the first place by looking in my personal life. To round it off, there are going to be others secretly reveling in the truth behind my statement. But frankly, it doesnt take much to reach this conclusion.

Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult. ~Charlotte Whitton
The above quote pretty much confirms what I have been trying to say all along... We think women have it tough in this world, and that they have achieved a lot already, but honey, you aint seen nothing yet! Its only now that women are finally breaking free of all the ridiculous boundaries we drew around them, and to their own pleasant surprise, beginning to realise that they are just as good if not better at everything men do. Must women truly begin to shout from the rooftops and from mountain tops before us sexist men begin to see the truth in the matter that women do make our world a better place to live in? Just yesterday I found out that it is widely believed that in the countries where the number of women is greater than the men, the crime rates are lower. I am ready to bet my life on the fact that if all the presidents of all the countries in the world were women, the world would be a lot more peaceful place. Ok there may be an occasional bickering or two, but hey, i'd rather have a bit of that than the Third World War anyday!

P.S. A lot more women would also be a lot more pleasant on the eye now wouldnt it! ;)