What is right ?

Right and wrong are questions of morality and social relevance, that play a pivotal role in our lives. Being a social entity, there is a tremendous amount of shaping that happens, our thoughts and behaviours (external atleast) are to a very large extent governed by the do's and dont's that we have internalised over the period of our life span. However, there comes a time in our life when we find ourselves in a situation where there is a clear conflict between our commonly accepted notion of right and what the mind finds and thinks should be right. This is the exact contradiction that I have been facing for a very very long time. This strife is not just related to one particular incident but has expanding its tentacles to so many parts of my life that it has now become almost second nature for me to have parallel thoughts running in my head. There is no resolution to this that I have been able to find.

As usual I turned to Osho, looking for his nuggets of spiritually incorrect wisdom. Here is what he says about this -

Osho says -

What is my definition of right?

That which is harmonious with existence is right, and that which is
disharmonious with existence is wrong. You will have to be very alert each
moment, because it has to be decided each moment afresh. You cannot depend on
readymade answers for what is right and what is wrong.

Disappointingly, this time around I could not find solace is his words. At a macro level this might hold true, but them looking at it from my perspective, it still falls short of being deemed as a solution.

My passage through life has been one of disharmony. Infact, thats the only way I have progressed. Everytime when there has been a disharmony (real or perceived) in my life, it has motivated me towards progress. My entire existence is an exercise in resistance. There where is the question of finding the balance and equilibrium. When entire life has been nothing more than an unstable equilibrium where does the question of harmony arise. Its like talking about balancing a deck of cards on a pencil which itself is standing on its tip.

No Brainer...

The oft repeated cliché in the blogsphere is inability to write a post due to mental block. People (including me) go to vast streches to emphasize that the reason behind the same is a writer’s block, busy schedule or whatever else that can be thought of as a external detriment beyond our control.

However, I came across a strange realization last night. Yesterday, I had all the time to waste (read muse and ponder) and yet despite a urge to write was unable to do so. 

Infact, have been unable to come up with a decent post in quite a while now. Indicating utter lack of original thinking and a sudden drop in the ability to introspect.

As I approached from the symptom towards the cause, I was amused with the realizations, to say the least.

The reason why I was unable to write a post last night was my inability to think in a clear and precise manner. It was a simple inability of my brain to use its cognitive faculty. However, on digging slightly deeper I realized that this wasn't something that I could have control over. It was mind over matter. A very conscious action on the part of the mind to refuse to think.

I could feel the vast undercurrents of thoughts (rather no-thoughts) kept floating around.

I think therefore I am, is an assertion which was my cornerstone for a long time.

Now the counter-point seems to have set in. 

Is it for better or for worse ? As always, I dont know.

Idea of a perfect weekend

Attending a college batchmate's marriage on saturday-

Sleeping like a log thru the sunday morning, followed by a mug full of ginger tea, finishing the sunday newspaper back-to-back :)

Movies watched-

Syriana - A geo-political thriller based on the oil cartel politics and the massive power play involved. 

Magicians - A light hearted drama-comedy movie, with loads of sub-dued british style humour. 

Pulp fiction

After so much wishful thinking, finally attending the Kala Ghoda Art Festival which is organised by the Kala Ghoda Association. This has become a annual feature which attracts artists and audience from far and wide. 

I registered myself for a workshop on pulp-fiction. I have always been fasinated by this form literature. Pulp-fiction is created for purely for commercial consumption. This is a form of writing which has been created for the masses. Its a complete anti-thesis of convetional literarture which is exists to fulfill much higher and nobler causes. Art for the masses sake, thats what it can be called. 

This form of writing has been hugely pouplar in the vernacular medium. There was a big wave of pulp fiction in the 1970s and 80s. Noted columnist Mrinal Pande has written an interesting article on - The life and death of Hindi puld fiction

Really looking forward to some enjoyable time this weekend :)

And yet again, one more idea for a perfect sunday (and saturday as well)

dreams and life...

the a/c keeps me cold

the brights lights keep me numb

the breathing goes on and i keep living

the bright surreal dream

In the name of religion...

For the last two days there is a constant menice going on in full swing behind our office. In the posh residential housing complex (rental for 2BHK starting at Rs. 50k per month) situated just behind our office building there is some sadhu who is in full action, catering to the religious idiosyncracies of the rich and the wannabes. 

I rarely use such harsh words, and mostly pefer to be in a state of happy indifference, but the status-quo was broken by a headache and irritation resulting from the loudspeakers blaring so called bhajans, which by the way have been composed on the latest hindi movie music (read Himesh et. al.).

Two things struck me -

• The business acumen of these so called "religious preachers". Really admire the way they have sliced and diced the market and done the market segmentation of religious disclosures (or similar sounding). And within it, identified a niche for themselves in the form of the affluent upper middle class people. 
• The cacophony to which people are ready to sumbit themselves in the name of religion. 

At times I think, expecting a basic level of maturity from people when they act as a member of a group (submitting themselves to herd mentality) is probably too much to ask for.

Free advice...

We all are surrounded by so many well-wishers who want to fix a thousand things in us. But little does anyone realise, that beyond a certain point, which is, after the age of 12; we tend to develop a fair understanding of what is right. 

And by the time we mature into adulthood, we absolutely know how things ought to be in our life. And in complete awareness of the fact, we behave the way that we behave. Yet have to keep going through the motions of listening to so much of gyan from others on how should our lives be.

How useful it would have been if anyone pointed out how exactly to reach where ever they want us to, things would be so much better. But again that would start yet another round of circular conversation :p

Relationship...

There have been a zillion interpretation of this word, its meaning and implication. Just to add to this chaos, here is my take on the same-

Relationship is something that is build piece by piece, one experience at a time. Let it flourish on its own and take its own natural course. There is a lot that can be learned in this journey. And lot to un-learn. There is so much that it un-burdens and so much that its ingrains. 

Just enjoy the journey and breathtaking pathway that forms.

PS: Thanks Aradhna

After thoughts: Only after writing it I realised that the term relationship and its definition (offcourse the one thats my brainwave ;) ) has such a deeper implication. Relationship isn't just confined to two people involved romantically. A relationship has to developed with oneself, with ones surrounding and the people for whom we care. It has to be nurtured, pruned and maintained with utmost love, care and affection. 

So many times we find ourselves so engrossed in looking out for external relationships that we often forget to seek inner harmony and hence loose out on much more than what can be ever gained externally.

Idea of a perfect sunday...

Visiting a friends place on saturday afternoon... 

random raoming through the evening, late into the night... 

make a perfect plan for the sunday morning... 

waking up late ;)

feeling dejected and walking out for tea...

sudden urge to head towards the seaface...

picking up two newspapers on the way... 

finding a perfect bench in the shade...

idea of reading the newspaper vanishes in ten mins flat... 

stretch on the bench and have a luxury nap...

feeling the breeze...

sunlight filtering thru the leaves....

gazing at the open blue sky...

head towards the sea....

sit on the rocks...

soak my feet...

hear the waves...

see a lone seagull soaring... 

into the vast expanse...

Template goof up...

Seems that in one more valent effort to move from two-column to three-cloumn blog template I have somehow managed to screw all the widgets :(

Have backed up the previous version of the same, but feeling completely lost...