...the kind Indians!

I'm in India!! I'm in India for work!!! Its been a few years since that happened. I love being here. There is something fundamentally agreeable and compatible with India as is expected to be being my motherland....!

We (Indians) are by nature simple people! Politeness and kindness are deep rooted in our culture and nature. We are friendly people and often shy!! Too shy and polite to even refuse an unreasonable, impossible and often arrogant demand....

This blog has been coming for a week now. Thanks to my relentless travel and work schedule, it had to wait for a whole week!

The flight from Brussels to Bombay was 'bumpy' and I was more sleep deprived than usual this time around. As a consequence, I had a headache so severe, that it felt as though the back of my left eyeball was being pierced through with a large nail all the way from the left temple!! I wasn't a pretty sight!! :D :D :D

As soon as I boarded the flight to Madras, I requested the hostess to see if she could give me something that'll make the misery stop. That kind lady came down to my seat with a magic pill, some biscuits and some water!! After 15 minutes, when I was fast asleep, woke me up so gently like an affectionate mother would wake her sleep child and enquired about my pain while handing me my special veggie meal. I'd like to believe India is largely represented by kind human-beings like her as opposed to what today's main stream media in India would like us all to believe....

...India's problems with Pyjama Patriots!!

Dr. Swamy (a personal hero of mine) coined the term PTs (Patriotic Tweeples) - I think I qualify to be a PT....

Today, I realized, I was something more (or less actually) - I am a Pyjama Patriot!!

Yes....thats right!! PYJAMA PATRIOT! That guy who wakes up late on Sunday, spends a whole hour or two in bed lazing around while checking his facebook, twitter feeds, gets offended at anything anti-India, anti-hindu on the internet and launches a cerebral cyber counterattack with my heart-felt sincere opinions!

While, this is certainly an improvement from watching cartoons and stand-up comedy, is this really enough?? If it is, then why do I not feel good about myself?? Why is there un-treated guilt in my system??

I'll confess why - I DID NOT VOTE LAST TIME AROUND!!!!

Here is a promise to myself - I WILL VOTE IN 2014 and stop being a Pyjama Patriot!

...silent lucidity...

…often…

….the wisest word spoken is that unspoken one…

…the kindest consolation is that unheard one…

…the sanest action is that action not done….

अहं निर्विकल्पो निराकार रूपो, विभुत्वाच सर्वत्र सर्वेन्द्रियाणाम् । 

न चासङत नैव मुक्तिर्न मेयः, चिदानन्दरूपः शिवोऽहम् शिवोऽहम् ।।

ahaṃ nirvikalpo nirākāra rūpo

vibhutvāca sarvatra sarveṃdriyāṇaṃ

na cāsangata naiva muktir na meyaḥ

cidānandarūpaḥ śivo'ham śivo'ham

I am all pervasive. I am without any attributes, and without any form. I have neither attachment to the world, nor to liberation (mukti). I have no wishes for anything because I am everything, everywhere, every time, always in equilibrium. I am indeed, That eternal knowing and bliss, the auspicious (Shivam), love and pure consciousness.

Q & A - What is the need to exercise restraint?

KJA to Swamiji: A lot of restrictive customs and practices are there in our culture. Why should we follow them? What is their real benefit? Why were they put in place?

Swamiji's reply: First and foremost, we must remember the sole and only meaningful purpose and pursuit of this human birth is to understand our true nature. Your true nature will reveal itself when you do Sadhana. What is Sadhana? Anything that aids you in your spiritual path is Sadhana. Today, all our actions are controlled by the mind. We dance to its tunes. We are bound by our mind. Our mind prevents us from realizing our true self. Imagine, a rope is tied around a bunch of twigs. What is the easiest way to remove that rope and free those twigs? And imagine you do not know how to untie that knot on the rope. The easiest way to free those twigs without cutting the rope or...struggling to find ways to untie the knot...or forcibly pulling out each twig with the risk of breaking them....is simply by tying another rope around those twigs tighter than the original rope....! This second rope is yours...you know what knot you tied....and...once the twigs are free from the first rope...you can untie the knot on the second very easily...! This way there is no damage to the rope or the twigs...! Like wise, each and every seemingly restrictive custom or practice....in our traditions....provide immense aid to our spiritual progress. Every custom has some significant deeper spiritual purpose or the other!!

....Un-believable Karma!!!

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction - even an atheist who denies the existence of a Supernatural has to accept this. Only that atheist can perhaps explain his own hypocrisy or lack of acumen and hide behind his childish "but physics is real" :-)

Any event personal or worldly when examined in isolation more often than not does not make much sense...! Often seems "unjust" "incomprehensible" and "unfair"...

Our current physical, mental, socio-economic state today is a consequence of what we did yesterday and tomorrow is a consequence of what we did today!! And some extrapolation of this: my current life is a consequence of my deeds done in my past life...and my next life will be a consequence of my deeds done in this life...!

Most every materially "developed" country (read - good roads, needlessly tall buildings etc etc) today faces the problem of immigration, jobs being transported to "developing" countries. I think this "situation" when looked at in isolation and perhaps when seen from a normal everyday "I don't buy into Karma" eye may seem unfair and unjust...!!! Lets rewind clocks a little bit...none of these "developing" countries went around the world and indulged in forcible "wealth" accumulation and conquest!!! Et voila....Grand opening of Karmic Pandora's Box!!!

If only Mr. Christopher Columbus and Mr. Vasco Da Gama stayed put in their respective homes...been "content" with what there already was.....and perhaps closed their eyes and sat for an hour or two of meditation, contemplation everyday! ;-)

That being said now, Karma on a personal level:

If reaction life "X" = Combined Result of actions in "X-1"...and "X-1" being results of actions in "X-2" and "X-2" being results of actions in "X-3" and so on...

What about that FIRST life "X"....??! The Vedas, discard this question as "illogical" And obviously, how can such a "smart", "intelligent" & "scientific" question be discarded as  "illogical"?!

It makes as much sense as trying to ascertain the starting point of a complete circle and therefore "illogical" :-)

There seem to be two simultaneously "smart" "scientific" answers that my rather "non-scientific" mind can imagine:

- There is no starting point!!

- There are infinite starting points. It can be any and every point in the circle you lay your pen down on. They all have EQUAL claim of right to be its starting point!! 

And whats even more "scientifically" shocking is in a full circle, every start point is also an end point!!!  

And therefore, perhaps why the question itself was wisely discarded as "illogical"!! :-) 

…the one job that never got outsourced!!

stolen from the facebook profile of an employee in a call center handling MI6 hotline….

"…this is 007!! Get me Q…!!! this sonar belt is faulty…!! Get me Q now!!"

"…Sirrrr, before I can able to assist you, please could you kindly respond to a few questions please, please, could you able to provide your full name?"

"you idiot!!! who is this? what the hell is this?"

"…I can able to understand you are frustrated that I took 28 minutes and 43 seconds to answer call…kindly please note that we are presently facing high volumes as it is India-Pakistan cricket match on TV…and I am the wonly here to speak you…"

"name is Bond, James Bond…"

"…really sir? is it you James sir??"

"Yes"

"Mr. Bond sir, your call may be recorded for quality purpose and may be used to enhance my facebook profile…"

"whatever!"

"kindly, please state your present occupation, date of birth, postal address and mother's maiden name for verification purpose…"

"..@#%#^%#.." 

एकम् सत् | विप्राः बहुधा वदन्ति ||

Phonetically in English..."ekam sat | viprah bahutha vadanti ||"...

Few years ago, there was an elaborate discussion on a Sunday, Sundays used to be a weekly holy-day in Madras :) 

...and the topic was an in-depth analysis of this Maha Vakya! I went about exploring it recently...

The first part is atleast theoretically straight forward "the truth is singular"...the word singular or one doesn't do justice to the sanskrit word "ekam"...

...wait a minute...I believe it actually means "only Oneness is the Truth"...yeah, this 'feels' closer to what I believe I experienced recently....! 

or...."the only Truth is Oneness"....hmmmm 

:) :)

Actually, all of what I typed above feel like "ekam sat"...(atleast how I see it!) 

If me (only just a beginner) can contemplate and provide a few interpretations to this Maha Vakya. I can only imagine how many wonderful and meaningful interpretations "Viprah" - realized Saints provide about Oneness/Truth!!

and hence एकम् सत् | विप्राः बहुधा वदन्ति || 

...the fear of a blank planet!!

Yet another spark of pure inspiration whilst interacting with this youngster, I recently befriended. Youth!! What an amazing phase in life. Inspiration that sells at a premium around mid-30s is available in abundance and free "then"...! ;-)

Paul Brunton wrote "...we have yet to learn to be, for we have already learnt to do..."  This statement talks to me at a number of different levels. There's this obvious reference to the Indian Vedic "Tat Tvam Asi" (crudely translated to "Thou Art That") but along with that was he conveying something else I wonder?

Had we "learnt to do" the right thing, perhaps it wont have to be undone as he is suggesting. In fact, when I re-examine this statement from an 'outwardly' view...every man-made creation...seems to have the following characteristics:
1. Incomplete and evolving.
2. Is in pursuit of compliance with the ever-shifting socio-economic standard that requires some serious examination.
3. Hardly ever accounts for the unjustifiable damage to the environment that this dreamy experiment of an invention is carried out on.
4. Often an exaggerated solution to a really simple requirement.
5. Aimed at providing entertainment to the always-bored-pleasure-seeking-mind.

Obviously, technology, gadgets, hi-speed trains, aeroplanes are all things at the top of my mind when I write this. I mean, really, what is so horribly wrong with moving slower...??

Every single 'thing' used after its lifetime ends in some corner of the universe rendering that spot it occupies absolutely un-survivable for any specie of life.

Humans are the undisputed rulers of the planet and as spider-man says "with great power comes great responsibility" :)

There is this looming fear of a blank planet...for we have yet learn to be...for what have already learnt to do...

...that frustrating divide

That divide between your un-natural un-happy state and your happy-home state is a concocted total sum of frustrations between "what should be" "what could be"  and "what is"...

It is imperative to critically examine each individual contributing element to that concoction and identify: 

==> how much of each "should be" is simply a misplaced trust on an inane mercenary goal that is incapable of delivering what you truly seek

==> how much of each "could be" is really just a futile subscription to a socio-economic "ego-boost" standard that was never critically assessed as pertinent

==> how much of each "should be" and "could be" when honestly probed is only a pile of entertaining quick fix cement hastily thrown over that larger, deeper void in life that you are just too lazy to permanently repair

From experience, I humbly submit that this sum concocted frustrating divide is like an onion, waiting to be peeled away into absolute nothing, when examined critically and analytically. 

I got frossimmed!! and you??

yes, you heard me, there's no typo there...! Frossimmed! And I want to make it known to the world that I, Haritha Karthik Jagannathan Iyer, from Madras, invented this verb today!!
if someday, this gets added on to the official English, French, Flemish, German...dictionaries (yes, its truly global) I hope google will bring you to this very blog post as its origin! ;-)

Everybody gets frossimmed every single day of their lives. As in the past, I'm going to explain this using very simple analogies!

Remember that day in your life, You wanted two BIG scoops of ice-cream after dinner, your mom gave you a glass of milk! You got frossimmed...!!

You tell your dear friend who just attempted to change your schedule to fit his that its not OK, He says he understands and that its a fair observation and then you play squash, have a drink, some dinner..
And then two days later, he attempts to change your schedule again and successfully does!! You got frossimmed!!

You know what I mean? I know you think its similar to flim-flammed or low-jacked...and there is absolutely no need to INVENT a new verb...you know it actually is very different...!
When you get frossimmed, there is absolutely no negative intent, everything is very real and genuine and often kind and actually necessary for your own good. YOU JUST DON'T KNOW IT YET...!!
...so since you don't know it yet, frossimmed, can never be used in the present perfect or present continuous tense. It is always to be used in the past restrictive tense!! ;-)

So, you see, I dont think ANY word available today comes close to meaning frossimmed. (Wow, I just used frossimmed in present continous tense!!)

...profitable business proposition!

...expectations, everyone loves them, has them, can't do without them...! And not just humans when you think of it...! Its a thing of marvel really...how animals (pets) have them too...but theirs come from a more unconditional, selfless place and its genuine affection...

...when you have expectations, you unquestionably AGREE to that risk of them not being fulfilled...!
Don't like taking that risk called disappointment, STOP expecting...! Yes, it is that simple! Think long and hard before you next time....."I expect this..." "I want this..." "Can you do this..." "Will you...." "You disappointed....."

ING, Prudential, Aviva - here's a amazingly huge business oppurtunity!! Sell "Expectations Insurance" to help those who cant help themselves or know better than to keep on expecting...! :D :D

S.O.L.I.T.U.D.E

...Supremely Over-joyous Life-changing Illuminating Time Understanding (this) Delectable Existence!! 

It is definitely no surprise why India's most enlightened Swamis often confined themselves to SOLITUDE....! :) 

...this quest toward...

This quest toward this un-diminishable "eternally-happy" zone is inescapable, once realization, of this seemingly endless loops that becomes of life, dawns!!

Anything tangible that you strive to gain, possess, and eventually in the end, successfully achieve, is always subject to the economic law of marginal returns. Therefore, at the end, you realize the pursuit was often more pleasurable than the actual "find" or "gain" or "result" and that also perhaps explains why this search or pursuit almost immediately restarts as soon as there is a perceived marginal diminish in derived pleasure. At that point, the enormity of the pursuit itself seems so insignificant and the eventual ultimate dis-satisfaction is almost magically forgotten, ignored....

It wont take long to see the endless loop:
pursuit -> result -> dis-satisfaction -> pursuit again -> result -> dis-satisfaction -> pursuit -> 
...and the mystery magic begins to be less and less potent!!

The wise ones are woken up and commence wandering towards this 'zone' with no endless loops. At first, it almost seems imaginary and a make-believe-cynical "too good to be true"!! Soon, it turns into a semi-serious "what if"!! I believe the point at which you sincerely make this your true pursuit, ambition, goal - result wont be far and there wont be any need for another pursuit EVER again!! 

ॐ असतोमा सद्गमय ।
तमसोमा ज्योतिर्गमय ।
मृत्योर्मामृतं गमय ।।
ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्तिः ।। – बृहदारण्यक उपनिषद् 

...brilliantly intrusive sales...!

...from an online discount warehouse sales store:

email 1: random subject, no content, just sender but written in a way you can't miss who the email is from...

email 2: a rather humble apology note from them for first blank email with a discount for 5 bucks if you purchase something within the next 7 days! 

...it certainly put a smile on my face, despite the absolute horror of a week this has been!! 

:)

If by Rudyard Kipling

...I've always believed what you demand your universe ALWAYS supplies...!

...actually, it would be more appropriate to state what you "need" your universe delivers...I am in dire need of inspiration and my universe unequivocally delivered it to me....

Heres a poem from Rudyard Kipling:

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too:

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;

If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same:.

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings,

And never breathe a word about your loss:

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

the spectacle spectacle! :D

....kind lady at the spectacles store --> tries to clean my glasses --> breaks the frame!! 

....

....

....

I can't see now and I don't speak french...partially blind and dumb...I can finally use parking spots reserved for the disabled all over the city! *SWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTT* 

....

....

....

please come with me out front to collect receipt for your repairs...

Me: I am so blind without glasses that I couldn't tell if that person walking into the store now is a lady or a bloke.....

Chap @store: No no...that has nothing to do with you being blind without your glasses...!! B-) B-)

Top 5...last names...!

Top 5 last names that I'm truly glad I dont have...! :)

5. Sidebottom
4. Fellacio
3. Ben Dova
2. Stroker
1. Tutu

you've got to love the 90's!!

...
...
...
K: Where the hell is he?
V: I dont know...call him
K: A**HOLE!! Hes late!!
V: CALL HIM!!!
CALL
K: You B*TCH! You are late...get here right now man!!
H's Dad: I think you are looking for H...hold please
Dad to H: Call for you and your friend just called me a b*tch!
...
...
...

...ce n'est pas crapola!!! :D

I tell you...the french are just plain lucky! And I think hatred toward them from the ROW stems mostly from petty jealousy rather than anything else...


When you say French...I go "fries"...I go "kiss"....and then I go..."the next slide please"!! :D


Fries: They are from Belgium!! The Belgians invented them!! And I shall forever be personally indebted to them for this truly noble invention!! 


Kiss: Well, OK!! I think what really happened there was....two loud people when requested to speak slowly moved towards each other and their mouths accidentally touched...


et voila!! embrasser à la française!!! 


Dont believe me...next time you hear the french language...try and focus on the way their mouths move when they speak.... 


I kid you not...or simply try and saying these things in front of your mirror and watch how your mouth moves....

l'addition s'il vous plaît...
une petite bière s'il vous plaît...
ont un cookie s'il vous plaît...
(...and finally....) Nous allons rectifier cela en débitant votre compte bancaire vers le 18/06/2012. (I swear I dont know how to "pronounce" this sentence...but I PRECISELY know how my mouth should move...though!!)

....testikills!

Ok...I think I can speak on behalf of most brothers here...that we do like to aim, target! Its always fun. I mean in an otherwise boring job like taking a leak...this aiming, shooting at a target, a spot in the urinal often gains significant importance..! :P

Every once in a while, you may find a little spider or a fly (...dead or alive...) and then you try and sorta get the fly to fly away...or give it a questionably honorable salt water burial...!! Whatever!! I mean...make most of the boring job...!! I think it is way more sensible than trying to send that URGENT text message or take that phone call that just can't wait for 30 seconds! See what I mean?

So today, once again, this country amazed me like most everyday with yet another intelligent innovation.  There I was getting the job done. I see a fly! And of course there was I trying to get it to fly away...! And then I realize that it is actually not a real fly but just a little design of a fly on the urinal itself....and on that exact target spot....that you actually sorta mentally try and target ALWAYS!!

How brilliant is that...a permanent target to shoot at...! The target, the intent to save a life, the realization, the adoration of the brilliance...the calmly smile at the end of it all! Bliss isn't it?? :D