Saturday, November 27, 2010

difficulty in being good to the bad

a fakir was walking on a narrow muddy lane

while moving from one cluster of villages to the next.

a goat and a dog were following him.

the fakir was famous and respected far and wide

for his radical views.

on the way a group of people was coming from the opposite direction.

they recognised the fakir and bowed to him.

"blessed to meet you, holy soul!" they said in a chorus

the fakir smiled, blessed them and was about to move forward alongwith his dog and goat

when a young man in group uttered in an unsettled hurried voice

"can you help me in my dilemma, o noble soul!"

the fakir stopped and looked back

"tell me, child!"

"in private, o blessed soul!"

the fakir took him aside under the big banyan tree.

but the dog and goat followed their master.

"now tell me, child!"

"i have a lot of difficulty in dealing with people.

everyone around seems so unreasonable

and wrong

and bully

and unjust

and cunning

and stupid

and harsh

and unconcerned....

i get deeply hurt by them.

it is so difficult to deal with them

without either taking on them or swallowing my own pride!

i feel like leaving the place.

i am deeply dejected and feel out of place

please tell me how should i deal with these difficult people?"

the fakir smiled

looked at the goat and the dog standing around in rapt attention

and said

"son! these two creatures are my long time companions.

they accompany me wherever i go

but even after so many years of co-existence

neither the dog became goat or goat became me or me became a goat or dog!

the dog still loves what he does

the goat still does what she loves

and i still live the way i should.

none of us can be what we are not!

still, somehow we know we can't be but together.

same is your situation, my child!

open your eyes and recognise the real souls you are surrounded with

and you will realise their helplessness!

it is not the question of difficulty in being good to the bad

it is the question of difficulty in seeing the God in the bad!"

saying this,

the fakir started to walk.....

....and the dog and the goat followed him!

Friday, November 26, 2010

the lost smile!

once


a king was sad.


his sadness continued for days...


and then months...


the king was a reasonable man


he knew he should pick himself and his spirit up


but somehow he couldn't.


everything and anything he tried


failed.


he grew more sad.


there was no specific reason behind his sadness


but he found no specific reason to be happy as well!


daily routine-laughing and merry-making seemed hollow...


he started slipping into melancholy


and with him


his queens and courtiers and servants went sad...


days started to drag...


till it became unbearable...


one early morning


before the sunrise


the king dressed up like an ordinary man


gave his guards the slip


took his horse


and left his kingdom in search of happiness...


his horse kept running non-stop till the dusk


.....by that time both had come quite far


the sun had gone down the western edge


and night was approaching fast.


king saw a small hut at a distance.


he tied his horse to a tree outside the hut and


called for anybody inside.


a sage came out


he instantly recognised the king despite the disguise


he, at once, understood the entire matter without the king uttering a single word!


the sage fed the kings's horse water and grass


and took the king inside.


he gave king fruit to eat as dinner


for that was the only thing he had...


king had the best dinner of his life!


after the dinner


king became sad again...


and asked the sage for help.


"we will talk about it in the morning, O King!" the sage replied


"lets sleep for now."


the sage went to sleep


but the king's eyes were wide open


looking at the stars outside the hut's window


remembering his queens and children and beloved people!


after some time king slipped into deep sleep


it seemed ages since he had slept like that!


---


when the first earstern wind of the approaching morning caressed his head without the crown


the night was saying goodbye but the morning was yet to whisper in!


the cusp was magical!


the king opened his eyes


it was still dark around


but his inside seemed filled with light...


he kept lying in the bed with his eyes wide open...


it seemed like ages had passed in between.


and then


the king started to smile


big


effortlessly


for no rhyme or reason!


his smile remained intact for several seconds


and then minutes....


he kept on smiling for what seemed like ages


he had no reason to smile


but he kept smiling


without trying to know the reason


without trying to look for logic


without counting his sorrows and difficulties


without thinking anything....


anything...


something inside him wanted to smile


big and selflessly and endlessly


he just smiled and kept enjoying the smile....


gradually, his inside was filled with the radiance


when his inside was full of joy


and was about to brim over


he closed his eyes


but his smile stayed on!


he was feeling so light


and happy!


---


after, what again seemed like ages,


he reopened his eyes


and rested the smile slowly


every pore in his existance was rejouvenated!


---


he sat up


said his prayer


and looked for the sage.


the sage was not there!!!


the king was jolted!!!


---


and this broke his dream!


he found himself still in his royal palace


in his royal bed!


---


he realised that he had been dreaming!


thinking this


he smiled again


big


efforlessly


without trying to know the reason


without trying to look for logic


without counting his sorrows and difficulties


without thinking anything....


anything...!!!


"life is much more..." he whispered! 





Monday, November 22, 2010

availability and affordability of hell

2500 years ago

Buddha pointed towards "desire" as the root cause of "sorrow".

the truth hasn't changed much in these 2500 years

except for one word....

"desire"

the word "desire" in the above statement has been replaced by "consumption"

Today, "consumption" is the root cause of "sorrow".

we consume what we outrightly don't need

we consume what we don't really need

we consume more than we need

we consume costlier and higher than we need

we consume what we already have

we consume what is not good for us

....our lives are littered with criminal wastage!

resulting into unending unjustified misery!

---

Sorrow, which used to be a supply-side despair

has turned into a demand-side curse!

availability and affordability of hell

has become an irresistable invitation

in the absence of a real agenda!

---


Saturday, November 20, 2010

give me a chance!

a man trekked all the way up
to the top of the mountain
and shouted on top of his voice
"if by chance
i get a chance
i'll be successful.....!
i want to be successful
pleeeeeeeeeeeease help me with a chance around!!!"
---
his shriek echoed in the valley below
"if by chance
i SEE a chance
i'll be successful....!
i want to be successful
pleeeeeeeeeeeease help me SEE the chance around!!!" 
---
the man was condused to hear what he heard!
"what's the matter son?"  the lone tree on the mountain top whispered...
"my echo is not exactly what i said! why?" asked the perplexed man
"this is a valley of enlightenment, son!" the tree replied
"it want sto tell u that
the unlucky souls are not short of luck
they just have weak or cursed eyesight!
they are unable to see the chance as a chance!
chances are always around.
it is only that we don't recognise a chance in the chance!
rather, there is nothing called chance....
mind has the ability to convert anything or everything into a chance!"
---
"don't ask for a chance, son
ask for better eyesight
or better still
ask for better mindsight
to recognise the chances 
all around

Me and my 11 friends

i want to do it

i always wanted to do it

i asked my friends for their opinion

my self doubt said

"you can't"

my ego said

"you shouldn't"

my self-control said

"don't"

my self-worth said

"can you?"

my self-conscience said

"you may"

my self-consciousness said

"you haven't ever"

my self-image said

"you just can't"

my self-esteem said

"you should have already"

my self-respect said

"atleast try, now!"

my self-confidence said

"you can"

my character said

"you must"

I thanked them all and said

"come, let's start!"

Sunday, November 7, 2010

the grand picnic called life!

life is like an onion...

seems bitter...

yet so necessary for the curry of joy!

But there is more to it which symbolises life.

Keep it peeling layer after layer in search of the real thing

and you will find nothing!

The layers are the real thing!

This the reason I call my life a grand picnic!

Layer after layer, year after year, achievement after achievement

we keep searching for the real thing

and we find nothing

which completes our search,

quenches our thirst

and pacifies our quest!

Why?

The layers are the real thing....!

The journey is the destination.

We all have already arrived!

There is no more destinations to arrive at! Period.

Only joys to enjoy!

Lots of things to do on this grand picnic!

The following is my list of joys which keep me occupied 25 hours of the day (and night)!

* movies

= if I were to view all the great movies of the world cinema I would be needing a few hundred more lives!

* food

= if god is surely there on this earth, it is definitely there in the food!

* valleys and mountains and nature

= if I were to spend just one night at every Dak Bungalow on this planet I will be requiring a few hundred lives more!

* blogs, netsearch, net surf

= enough food for my mind for a few hundred lives in the virtual world

* radio, internet radio, you-tube, podcasts, television

= who has the time to die!

* books, audiobooks, e-books

= enough for a few hundred lives more! By that time there would be enough new ones for a few hundred lives more!

* twitpic, photography, photopainting

= unquenchable thirst for the thousand eyes of my mind!

* music, songs and ghazals

= enough to keep me intoxicated for a thousand lives!

* stock markets

= the best game I love even to lose!

Who has the time to "die"!

Who has the time to "live"!!

when there is so limited time to picnic!!!

Friday, November 5, 2010

back to the life's shelf

Today

when I was helping my wife in the kitchen,

while washing a hard plastic plate

it slipped from my hand and fell!

My instant flash reaction was

"It's gonna break!!!"

My instant reaction was based on my experience.

I had broken a few in this way in the past!

But this time, surprisingly, it didn't break.

I was relieved as well as amazed!

what could be the reason!

The height from which it had fallen was same.

It was hard plastic and should have got broken the way others before her had!

Perhaps the reason was that it had fallen not perpendicularly to the ground but in a slanting position.

It didn't fall vertically on its edge

but at an angle!

The impact was largely reduced.

the angle surely saved the plate!

I picked up the "lucky" plate, washed it and put it back on the shelf.

Same thing happens to we humans.

we often slip from the hands of good fortune and fall down.

Many of us often get broken!

Rather, all of us get broken once in a while (if not often)!

What breaks us is not the height from which we fall or slip!

What breaks us is the "angle" with which we fall!

Majority of us, majority of the time fall perpendicular to the life's harsh realities

on the edge of our fragile mental strength and sensitivities!

The solution?

whenever we fall (fortunately or unfortunately?)

lets make it a point to fall at an angle, like the plate

lets try to make the fall light!

lets absorb it on our vast resilience reservoir

rather than on our egdes!

For those of us

who have unfortunately got broken in the hard falls

stand up

pick a quick fix

apply it on self

and get back to the life's shelf after a nice wash!