...practicing Yogi and a stork...

गुरु ब्रम्हा गुरु विष्णू
गुरुः देवो महेश्वरा |
गुरु शाक्षात परब्रम्हा
तस्मै श्री गुरुवे नमः ||

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Today is Vinayaka Chathurthi. 14 years ago on this Vinayaka Chathurthi day, my Guru H.H. Vijaya Saraswathi Swamigal had initiated me. On this day He unequivocally kickstarted my spiritual pursuits. I remember that moment as though it was happening right now! Following is one of the many many lessons that I have received from Swamiji over the years...this story has been ringing in my ears for a few days now and hence this entry on my blog

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An aspiring/practicing Yogi/Sadhu was meditating as usual. That particular day a stork was in the vicinity and it was making some noise that caused his mind to waver a bit. Upset by that distraction, he simply looked at that stork and it burnt down into ashes. This while initially worrying him a bit, soon gave him a sense of "accomplishment" and pride.

Soon it was time for his meal so as usual, he walked down to one of the closest homes near by and sought alms. He had to ask a few times and the lady of the home was busy serving her husband his meal. So took a little while to come out with her offering...this made the Yogi/Sadhu a little angry. The lady came out with her offering for the Sadhu and said "Did you think I was that stork?!" and smiled. She asked him to go the butcher at the other side of town and meet him.

Understandably, surprised, shocked, bemused, this Yogi/Sadhu reached the butcher's place who was extremely busy. After a while, the butcher said to him "ahhh I see...you are here as instructed by that lady...." 

This Yogi/Sadhu by now had indeed received his lesson for the day that his stork incident was nothing to be proud of or have a sense of accomplishment about... 

an inquiry into when opposites meet and where and how

When "doing" something as natural and as intuitive as being yourself is some what of a "hindrance" to the discovery of your true Self - Atma - Brahman, there is a pressing need to explore what is the search, what is the object of the search and what are the tools employed for the search and ultimately why the search is unsuccessful.

There is an underlying presumption that there is an "object" to be seen, touched, understood, there is a "subject" who is the doer of this so called "action" and there is the "event" or verb or action itself. 

Every "understanding" seems to occur only with the help of  a "pointing" by the subject toward the object. Mathematically speaking, every counting starts with the numeric 1. 

I am starting to fear that this so called "pointing" and understanding (whose numeric equivalent is 1  and whose abstract "name" equivalent is "X" for the purpose of this blog) is fundamentally flawed. 

And here's why I think it is flawed -  Just like how 1+1 becomes 2 and 2+1 becomes 3 or 3+1 becomes 4 and so on. And in abstract terms, "X" that is being pointed at is different from another "Y" which is different from yet another "Z" and so on. This pointing has no end. This understanding has no end. And what is infinitely worse seems futile.

So, the question is when do I realize there is no difference between a "1" and a "2" - when I realize the need/desire/urge to count is unnecessary and simply stop counting. 

And similarly, in abstract terms. when does the difference between a "X" and a "Y" stop to exist - when the "pointing" stops.

The quote from Dr. Paul Brunton "We have yet to learn to be for we have already learnt to do" suddenly shows up in my mind presenting a whole other picture about when, how and where opposites are likely to meet!!

In dedication to the Selfless Karna!!

I recently heard the following two amazing anecdotes about Karna (#1) - if not for anything else, for my own future reference, I wanted to pen them down here.

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Lord Krishna (#2) while Karna was bathing cast His eye on a small beautiful cup which contained bathing oil and asked Karna for the cup. Without second thoughts, Karna simply handed the cup over to Krishna using his left hand**. Krishna immediately asked Karna how he could hand over something using his left hand. The answer from Karna prompted me to write this blog. He said "Oh Krishna, as you saw, the hand closest to the cup was my left hand, by the time, I brought my right hand over to the cup, who knows, may be, my mind might have changed. I couldn't risk that - that's why I gave the cup immediately to you using my left hand"

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Arjuna's rivalry with Karna is as center to the Mahabharata as the main epic itself. Krishna always praised Karna openly. This had always bothered Arjuna (#3)... 

Once an old Brahmin who had just lost his wife came to Arjuna to seek something. He wanted to cremate his beloved dead wife using sandalwood. But, he couldn't find dry sandalwood as it had been raining heavily. He asked Arjuna to help him out. Arjuna promptly called out to his helpers and sent them out to look out and bring back dry sandalwood immediately. They went away in search but after a while returned empty handed. Arjuna turned to the old brahmin and apologetically said to him that he was unable to help him.

After a few days, Arjuna and Krishna, met the same brahmin and Krishna inquired if he was able to find dry sandalwood later. The brahmin responded "Oh yes, I found it later. After meeting with Arjuna, I went to Karna and requested him for dry sandalwood. Without second thought, he tore down a pillar in his palace on his own, quickly chopped it into pieces and asked me if that much was enough to cremate his wife. There is no one more charitable than Karna." 

Hearing the old Brahmin sing the praise of Karna embarrassed Arjuna and along with it brought the understanding for why Karna was always praised by Krishna.

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==> I have been recently inspired and have embarked on a journey of reading the great Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata (in EN of course, sadly) - I hope to write more anecdotes here soon.

Some references:

#1 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karna

#2 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna

#3 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arjuna

**  It is considered grossly disrespectful to give something using your left hand especially to someone worthy of respect

....of responsibilities and relationships....

I think its about time that I accepted my responsibility and calling to write about relationships and responsibilities having procastinated this for about nine months (for those of you who don't get the frame of reference here, I got married in November 2014)

...you don't buy every car you like, you certainly don't buy every car you see, you MOST CERTAINLY cannot afford to buy every car that you may prefer to drive...

Yes, I'm keeping this blog really as simple as possible because I fear the topic on hand is extremely important and hence the need to be lucid... ...

Continuing from earlier...you must weigh and value each relationship that you are in and its associated inseparable responsibility...how much can you afford really?? and how much of it do you really want??

I have reached the conclusion without any doubt that the most dangerous and un-necessary relationship/responsbility combination is the one you have with your mind. An object, a sound that in reality must simply be ignored like you every time hear a car honk on any Madras road.

Seriously, it possesses not even a smidgen of sense of reason, there is TOTAL absence of any sense of logic whatsoever. Please note, mind and brain are separate in my view. Physically, they may be neighbors or twins but they do or not-do completely different functions.

How can a relationship that ONLY keeps taking and NEVER gives anything in return be worth having?? Relationship with a mind that NEVER accepts any responsibility, NEVER decides anything, CONSTANTLY confuses, CONSTANTLY orders you do stuff is just like a over-worked, under-paid job with a horrible unreasonable manager - that is waiting for you to simply QUIT!!

PLEASE think about this relationship with your minds and decide how much of it can actually be endured and IGNORE the rest like those endless, needless car honks on Indian roads.....! ;-)

....l HATE HOME-MADE PARATAS!!

....OK!! This is a rant...! If you don't wanna hear brown boy moan, you may as well just close this window and go back to whatever it is you were doing...which if you are anything like me regretting that ULTRA-HEAVY meal you just ate on a Sunday evening and washed it down with a HUGE bowl of yoghurt! 

Earlier this year, I had lost 6 kilos and for whatever messed up reason, that worried me and I started cooking at home and started eating again for taste (not hunger)....look, let me explain what eating for taste means, I'll explain it using simple numbers....

Scenario #1 

Hunger = 4 slices of bread + Nutella 

Taste = 6 Aloo Paratas + Mango pickle + Yoghurt bowl (+ one large glass of pudin hara)

Scenario #2 

Hunger = 1 bowl of break fast cereal (for dinner)

Taste = 6 Plain Paratas + Soupy dal + Yoghurt bowl (+ one large glass of pudin hara)

Scenario #3

Hunger = 2 bananas + handful of nuts + 1 slice of cheese (#true story) 

Taste = 8 Phulkas + Chana masala + Mix veggies + Yoghurt bowl (+ two large glasses of pudin hara)

 ....so yes you get the picture...what am I supposed to do now?! And I don't even dare weigh myself.....this is just ridiculous...!!!

On an important side note, if you are ever in Belgium and want a delicious home made parata meal, just show up....Don't worry, I have enough stock of pudin hara for you as well...!! :)

**Pudin Hara = Ayurvedic all natural digestive liquid, its a life saver truly!!

...the enormous distance between near and here...

As usual, this blog has been coming for a while now...

Every life, especially human, has an objective, the sooner that objective reveals itself to the subject, the easier it is to get your act together in pursuit of the objective....! This is a rather strange phenomenon really when you think about it...How does the objective choose to reveal itself? And when does it do so?

The shortest distance between two planes/points is a straight line and even a micro millimeter deviation from the shortest path has the potential to lead you a completely undesired end goal....! This is common sense, this being said, doesn't the ALL knowing objective know this?!

Quoting Jabala Upanishad and as usual analyzing it perhaps more than necessary!

तवं वा अहम अस्मि भगवतो देवते।
अहम वा तवं अस्मि भगवतो देवते||

To realize "that art thou" is "near"
To realize "thou art that" is "here"

...the distance between near and here seems like an exhausting one to cover!! :-(

...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!! 

:)