Contentmixi - revolutionizing the digital marketplace

Contentmixi (http://www.contentmixi.com/ ) has emerged as a new force to reckon with in the world of online selling of Website Templates. In a marketplace having no dearth of players providing web-content on the fly, success of such firms largely depends on product packaging, relevance of the product and ease with which it can be used by users. Relevance is a key issue and most web content providers in my humble opinion seem to ironically favor clutter over clarity - what with their websites virtually becoming unassailable with the enormous battery of products and services they cater to. Contentmixi - as the name quite appropriately suggests - provides a MIX of Digital Content be it Web Templates, Logos, Animations and yes, even E-Books and so on, and is designed to cater to Customers who are looking for Cool Website features to add to their websites or create their websites with.Even a cursory look at the website's Tag Cloud reveals more than amply what it is all about. If you or your company is tasked with designing a website and are wondering where to find attractive templates for it - look no further. Log in to http://www.contentmixi.com/ and feel welcome to choose from about anything and everything under the sun; the range of options to choose from varies over more than 50 product categories with each category having further subdivisions based on the specific template types. Wondering what would be a cool Logo for your endeavor? Click the LOGOS tab on the Contentmixi website and select from 452 options! Animations to go with your website? No Problem - it's right there on top! . Customer support too is a click away as is the option to provide feedback. Should you feel something is lacking - something you couldn't find, or something that you did find but still found it to be lacking in some way - help is only a click away! Could you ask for more?What distinguishes Contentmixi from the rest of the pack is its focussed approach at selling - not just about everything a-la other market portals such as e-bay etc., but about everything within the ambit of the digital products space - more specifically in the Web-Site Design Arena. As such, buyers who do not wish to waste their precious time browsing through a morass of products they are not interested in can directly zoom in to what they desire. This is a precious time saver and in this racy era of convenience shopping, Contentmixi could well be the very epitome of it!. The website creators have taken the pains to provide every conceivable Convenience feature a potential buyer would aspire to have and more! With alphabetically designed Product Categories and Advanced Search Features with a range of meaningful options such as Search by Price Range, Product Category, Id-Keywords, Product Types - zooming in on the right product is a breeze. The categories too are exhaustive enough to cater to every conceivable nook and cranny of the virtually inexhaustible product variety that exists today and that could possibly be marketed through a web-channel. The range of options is simply explosive and I can bet you cannot but find exactly what it is you are looking for. From Agriculture to Computers, from Beauty to Industrial, Dating, Entertainment, Electronics, Education, Interior Designing the list is endless. If you've got a product or service to sell from your website, Contentmixi has got just the Digital Content Template for it.The look and feel of the website too is pretty chic and contemporary...attractively colored rectangular buttons with smooth rounded edges lend loads of elegance to the page-design. Navigation from one page to the other is extremely intuitive and one doesn't have to wonder for example, where to find the Home page button should one quickly want to revert to it from anywhere within the site.Contentmixi is still newly-developed and the categories and listings are sure to swell with the passage of time. I like contentmixi for its vision of providing targeted solutions to its customers quickly and cheaply. One doesn't have to go from pillar to post when one is in dire need of getting the work done quickly. You can find handy options conveniently and not have to pay through your nose to get it. That's the most impressive USP about this site. To be sure there are competitors in this arena and Contentmixi is by no means an exclusive provider of this kind of Content. There is a sizeable market for Website Design and other related aspects such as SEO, Full Website Services, Web Marketing, Email Marketing, Domain Hosting with a host of companies offering tools and services in these areas. Contentmixi focuses more on providing Web Templates. Whether Contentmixi would diversify into related areas of Website design and Web Marketing in general is anybody's guess at the moment.One flip side I can think of as I round up this update is about page-loading speed which I found on some occasions to be slower than accepted standards. Although this could well be due to bandwidth issues at the Client machine; nevertheless, I think the website designers would do well to check on that. Other than that - as the website emerges over the next couple of years, I am sure it will get a solid footing in the realm of Selling Digital Web Template solutions.Visit http://www.contentmixi.com/contest for details about an exciting contest for bloggers!

Business Models, Strategy and Tactics

I recently came across this wonderfully written paper by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell Associate Professor at the Harvard Business School and Joan Enric Ricart who have kindly consented to my cross linking their paper on this blog.

Ramon and Joan dwell upon an exceedingly important concept pertaining to Business Models, Strategy and Tactics and in the process lay threadbare these ubiquitously used but rarely completely understood concepts. I found it exceedingly useful and thought it would be good for the benefit of the readers of my blog. Feel free to post your thoughts which I am sure would benefit the authors too.

We often use these terms almost casually without understanding their real meaning. I have read quite a few books on the subject but most of them deal with Strategy and Tactics per se while leaving Business Model - a term again used quite frequently - out of the discussion. Ramon and Joan fill the gap by elucidating the real significance of this term. They draw upon several other studies in the process and show a working definition. They present examples to develop the concept more fully to show how these terms can be employed in better understanding and creating a framework for your business. I hope it will be found beneficial by the readers.

http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/10-036.pdf

ऐसे ही

टूटता है दिल तो क्या हुआ - टूट जाने दो
मरता है इंसान तो क्या हुआ - मर जाने दो
शीशो के टुकडो में खुद को तलाशता क्या है
बिखरती है दुनिया तो क्या हुआ - बिखर जाने दो
मै भी हूँ इक आसमान का मोहताज
मुझे भी बेगैरतों पे तरस खाने दो

Remembering the unsung martyrs of the battlefield of Life...

I read with significant interest about the recent felicitation of Shri Sachin Tendulkar at the Ambani residence, on completing 20 glorious years donning the Indian cap and bringing boundless laurels to the nation. The man has scaled peaks that only a few - indeed none perhaps - can match. That he gets the due recognition is only fair and who better than Sh Mukesh Ambani to do the honors.

Of course Times Of India did its bit by felicitating Sh Tendulkar by running pages after pages singing paens to the legend. All this is pretty heart warming - no doubt about it.

Reading and reflecting on the story however I could not help but think about the countless unsung heroes whom no one cares to think about much less felicitate. Bread winners of small families who go about slogging the daily grind - fighting the crowds, facing the jeers, wading through difficulties only to ensure that fodder for the fire ever brewing in the stomach is provided for. Do they deserve recognition? People living on the sidelines. A few days back, on one of the traffic signals in Mumbai - I saw an old beggar - who seemed to be mentally ill with hair tied in multitudes of dried knots - reflecting as it were the staid reality of his wretched existence - his eyes were dim as he carelessly looked about; suddenly cars behind me started honking and I realized that the signal had turned green making the fellows behind me restless - perhaps I had pondered a second too long --- who cares?

The other day, as I was brushing my teeth - I had in a fit of absent-mindedness left the tap open - only seconds later came the blinding realization of the water crisis looming around us. I immediately closed the tap. I realized that there are countless fellow human beings for whom water is a luxury only to be rivaled by Sachin's Ferrari or the 800 Cr Boeing Jet which Mukesh Ambani presented Mrs Ambani on the latter's birthday. My heart pounds at these inequalities - I do not know its genesis. I fail to understand.

Mirza Ghalib's lines come to my mind - Sab kahan kucch laala-o-gul mein numaya ho gayeen
khaak mein kya soorate hongi jo pinha ho gayeen

True to his wit - he must have been appalled too at the gross inequalities around him. Not everyone gets the fame or recognition. Indeed many lose their will to fight at all. But one thing is for sure. Everyone needs recognition. A little word of praise can work wonders on the human pysche. But what we all are subjected to is nothing short of daily humiliation. Sadly we get humiliated and humiliate others in turn. What is Dharma afterall? Do unto others as you would expect others to do unto you. Simple. But this simple concept fails our understanding every moment. Given as we are to facing injustices and grinding realities of life - who has the time to ponder over such high-falutin useless postulates.

I write this article for those who fight it out every moment of their waking lives and go unheard and unsung. To the mother who teaches her child to read and write. To the father who wakes up daily at 5 Am to go to work. To the sister who prays for the well-being of her brother. To the wife who stands by her husband come hail come storm. They may not get the recognition they deserve - perhaps only a few ever will. This is not to cast innuendos on those lucky few who do get it. They are perhaps more equal in the eyes of the Lord - more equal than all other equals; as Ghalib puts it - not all become famous - many more such people who could have are languishing in dust!

Such is life and such are its laws and rules. Let's raise a toast to the survivors and remember those who couldn't survive the ordeal. Perhaps they will in their next lives.

Should Immigration Policies Be More Welcoming to Low-Skilled Workers?

In this edition of Harvard Business School's working knowledge discussions - the topic posted above was reviewed. My comments along with other posters' comments can be read here at
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6326.html

Mine is comment number 15 in the list.

HBS WK is a platform for discussion on different views and ideas posted every month by Prof James Heskett - HBS professor. This platform has been in existence for several years now and whenever I get a chance I do participate in the forum discussions. I encourage you all to visit it regularly to see the latest contents posted there and benefit from the wide ranging ideas and dialogues - most of which are quite intellectually stimulating as well as socially relevant.

Late Dr. Shiva Kumar Dubey - My father

Here's the link to a book written by my father Late. Dr. S.K. Dubey. I encourage you all to take a look. http://www.indiaclub.com/Shop/SearchResults.asp?prodstock=11503

take me away
I've got nothing to say
the world and its glory
are all fading away
looking here and beyond, i find
everything in a disarray
this way that way
tread, untread, here, and away
Give way, Give way, Give way
It's all ok...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
barren lands, lush vegetation
desert and ocean
earth and sky
manifestations of oneness
visions of duality
facades of existence
denouement of cruelty
signs of weakeness
belief of impermanence
inability to change things
visions of being in control
things slipping out of control
pause, think, reflect
cast away the shallow intellect
take refuge, beg for mercy
He who's got it all wrong
cannot be so wrong
You who wants to set it right
cannot be so right
try you may though
with all your might!

26/11 - An year on...

An year later - a lot of things must presumbly have happened since the dastardly incident took place. Widows must have learnt to live with the harsh realities - the kids must have grown up perhaps a tad more insecure, perhaps way more frustrated at the inablity and ineptitude of the people responsible for ensuring that the perpetrators of the crime are brought to book. What we have done so far is spend 31 crores on keeping a man alive who should have been dispatched from this world by now.

What have I to say or write other than express my grave sadness and perhaps my own helpnessness in being able to do nothing to contribute to redressing the situation. Criminal Justice procedures are bound to take time, but in a water-tight case such as this one, I fail to understand what is taking them so much time to book Mr. Kasab.

I was reading an article in TOI that talks about Mrs Kamte's account of the incidents leading up to the death of Mr. Kamte along with the other brave soldiers. Rakesh Maria's role has been directly questioned by her. Apart from adding a sinister twist to an already intriguingly bizarre incident, this has revved up a huge sensation worthy of being investigated to the minutest details so that those culpable are immediately brought to justice. Of course, the Government always has its agendas which are far more inscrutable than one may think; Government afterall is run by people who are not entirely beyond their personal whims and fancies. What had possessed Maria during those dire moments could be anybody's guess but an apparent lapse in duty that has the added implication of complicity with the enemies of the nation is a far more serious allegation than the whole tragedy itself. Could it be true that a certain section of the Police may have been just wee-bit more discomforted with Mr. Karakare's deep resolve to get to the heart of the matter in the case relating to Samjhauta Express? Was he made a scapegoat - an easy target in the face of one of the biggest tragedies that India has seen in the recent times?

While the Babri Masjid inquiry took seventeen years to conclude what was painfully obvious from day one - I hope this does not take as long. Babri incident was the demolition of a physical structure - but 26/11 was the demolition of Humanity. If the case is not dealt with swiftly and justly, it will amount to a justice no smaller than the Crime it seeks to address.

As we move on - our dear country faces insurmountable challenges on virutually every possible front - Kashmir, Assam, Naxals, Arunachal Pradesh and China, the roller coaster relationship with the US and India's emergence as an economic superpower with the macabre realities of infrastructure problems and of course Corruption and Division of society on flimsy ideologies and hollow principles of Caste and Region.

The list goes on...but it's also true that the very same people who are responsible for the problems have the solutions too. The need is to wake up to them and build a robust plan to start tackling them one by one.

मैं भी हूँ इक आसमान का मोहताज

तू क्या जाने तेरा क्या जाता है
गया जो जहाँ से एक बार फिर वापिस नहीं आता है

क्या फायदा ऐसी मुरीदगी का
मुसीबत के वक़्त कोई काम नहीं आता है

मैं भी हूँ एक आसमान का मोहताज़
मुझे भी गर्दन उठाना आता है

तुम भी चलो सब चले गए अब तो
आखिर तेरा मेरा नाता क्या है?

कही जाग न जाऊं नींद से मैं
उम्मीदों के सपने चकनाचूर करता क्या है

चलो खून के प्यासों को दो बूँद पिला दें
शरीर के इस चीथड़े में अब बचा क्या है

On This and That

Settled firmly in non-duality
Life goes on unmindful of the reality

That which you treat as scum of the environment
Is but the making of a sham called Civility

All the infighting has made you weaker
The facade has taken a toll on humility

Now you must fight to cover up the crass
And be doomed forever to protect the shallow nobility

For whom the vicarious sufferings
For whom the talk of all cruelty

Where lies the seeker Where lies the sought
Aren't they but objects of a whimsical mind's felicity

Oh India!

I happen to be living in Maharashtra these days. In fact, I have lived here on and off over the past 10 years. I was born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh. Until a few years back when Raj Thackeray was sucking candy in his pram, I used to think that Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were part of a single democratic republic - India. Events unfolding over the past few years - especially in Maharashtra but not exclusively so - have led me to question this premise. Is it unfounded? Are outsiders the root of most evils plaguing Maharashtra? And 'outsiders' with respect to what? Just because the Freedom of Speech and Ideas is enshrined in the Constitution vested interests can go about on a free mayhem-spreading spree? What kind of Politics are these people indulging in to garner petty votes?

And mind you, this is not just Maharashtra. In Uttar Pradesh, which has been the Hiranyagarbha of all kinds of politics, a similar game is being played out albeit with a different undertone. But the underlying idea of polarising the masses on ideological grounds by exploiting the underlying faultlines of age-old vulnerabilities is the same. It is when things such as these happen that we are forced to realize what kind of society and world are we living in?

I briefly want to touch upon the incident that took place in the Maharashtra assembly. The goons took a person to task because he chose the national language over the local one. People have gone to the extent of questioning whether Hindi is the national language or not. If truth be told, even I know it from what I have been told. Commonsense and practical realities alike tell me that except in a few states, Hindi is not spoken in the other states leave alone the question of it being recognized as a National Language. Does the Government or anyone feel obliged to clear the air around it once and for all?

Leaving the question of language aside, it is the fundamental right - and this I hope is not in question - of every individual to choose the language of his liking - no matter what the constraints. Is Maharashtra a Private Property of the Sena where they can do as they please? They can go and break people's necks, break offices, smother public opinion, criticize and chide national icons with impunity? And the Government comes back with a sordid "We will punish them"? Why can't they simply book them and lock them in Jail?


Emotional diatribe aside, this is a grave matter. The foregoing may appear unduly sentimental, but the fact of the matter is that the situation in Maharashtra is going from bad to worse. If this continues, we will not need a British to polarize us and break ur pristine national fabric into a rotten piece of yarn. This rat infested mentality spreading hatred and violence and inciting the animal instincts of a people who have for years lived in a culture of peace and harmony will spread like wild fire and engulf other states in its wake before China or Pakistan can even dream of attacking us. Oh India! what need have you of external enemies when your own sons aren't chary of splitting your soil in the name of being "sons of soil"? What kind of polarized love for motherland is this?

We are surrounded by scheming enemies. We are splintered from within. People commit crimes with impunity and far from feeling sorry justify their actions in the name of short-sighted, narrow and bogus agendas. And those responsible for bringing them to justice look on.

I wish the courts took suo-moto cognizance of the happenings in the recent past and took some action to restore sanity in the minds of people who are getting more and more insecure with every passing minute.

Religion and Spirituality

Recently during a conversation with a friend, a matter of deep interest to me came up. I was mentioning to him about a site that offers an elaborate explanation of the Gayatri Mantra when an amazing brain wave struck his mind. He was reminded of a dialogue in the very famous movie Matrix where Neo is told that even though Agent Smith, the adversary of Neo, the hero, may be smarter and more powerful, yet Neo could defeat him because the former was bound by rules ... a kind of a program, while the latter was free from any such rules. This, my friend mentioned seemed similar to what he considers a major point of departure between Spirituality and Religion. He said Religion is a codified set of rules that help in realizing God where as Spirituality - though seemingly unfettered by rules and thus appearing more ad-hoc and esoteric - is a more powerful way of reaching God.

This discussion triggered a chain of thoughts in my mind. I do not consider myself a scholar or a subject matter expert on either subject - Spirituality or Religion. Yet, I felt compelled to give an expression to the countless thoughts that immediately took possession of me when this subject was broached. I personally find it a daunting task to understand these subjects even at a very elementary level. And the most fundamental reason is the seemingly infinite number of theories that have already been advanced by scholars and nincompoops alike.

So what is Religion and what is Spirituality and is one superior than the other in the quest of realizing God? Religion is like a school, which teaches us the basics of life and survival, equipping us with tools that will help us lead a life filled with happiness and purity. It has a codified set of rules that offer a way to see beyond the mundane of life and question its nature so that we may find its true essence. To that extent, Religion is like the Primary School where we must go to study, if we ever hope to make it to College and Beyond. However, somewhere down the line, Religion seems to have gotten polluted with vested interests to sustain not the legacy of God per se, but the legacy of those propounding it. This may sound extremely vain of me to make a point-blank remark like this. Yet, even though the religious leaders wanted to perpetuate and spread their own version of God (each one does it anyway just as I am doing right now) – anything, and I reiterate, anything that talks about God is better than everything else that does not. In the Bhagwad Geeta the Lord says that even if you take my name accidentally, you will still be benefited. Spirituality on the other hand is a more personal way of communicating with the Highest Being or God. Spirituality is more internal than external and can sometimes cause a situation similar to being exposed to a naked wire connected to a million volts circuit.

Religion has its merits in that it offers a structured approach to finding God. If one is astute enough to ignore the riff raff and concentrate on the essence - Religion is a surefire way to get to God. Spirituality however is not meant for everybody. It is a stage of development. I personally feel one becomes Religious first due to the effects of positive Karma whether in this life or in one of the previous ones. Spirituality becomes the nature of that man who has already advanced beyond the stage of religion. Religion is like that little 'Walker' that children who are too young to walk by themselves are given to learn walking from. Once they know how to walk however, there is no need for it. The child can walk all by himself. So, to get to the stage of spirituality one needs to be mentored. Religion is prescriptive - it tells you to do X, Y, Z to understand God. Spirituality is practice - one is constantly engaged in and tied to the object of devotion and does not feel the need for an external aid to get him in the zone as it were.

So as far as Spirituality and Religion are concerned, on account of their respective characteristics, they cannot logically be compared because they are not at the same level; they are more chronologically linked such that one precedes the other on the path leading to the Supreme Being – the ultimate Truth – the object of the seeker and the goal of both Spirituality and Religion.

This discussion however also brought me to think more deeply about the nature of God as described in the numerous Holy Books and also about my personal understanding derived from my study of these Books. One of the key things that strikes my mind is the apparent contradiction that evinces itself quite clearly when studying the nature and characteristics of God as described in these texts. In the Bhagwad Geeta, God has unequivocally stated that He is not interested in men's good or bad karma. And, even though He is the Creator, the Provider and the Sustainer of all that does and does not exist, He holds no passion towards His work. As is mentioned in the text - He is udaseen (disinterested) towards all that He manages and controls. He further says that every human being is bound by the seeds of his karma and is bound to suffer or to reap enjoyment in accordance with the nature of the seeds he himself has sown. In technical parlance, these dualities of Pleasure and Pain are an integral part of our coming and going on Earth, and form the basis for what is known as the Samsarik Chakra. Samsara has been discussed elaborately in the Bhagwad Geeta and elsewhere. It is one of the fundamental Truths which is rivaled only by the other fundamental Truth about the existence of Atma and its non-connection with the physical body it is 'seemingly' housed in. Armed with the battery of senses, this body is destined to experience the fruits of Good and Bad Karma and act according to its own nature. In that sense, controlled by the mind and the senses, we seem eternally doomed. Desires make us run from pillar to post keeping us constantly engaged in meeting our pursuits – good or bad not just in one cycle of birth and death, but in countless,...8.4 million to be precise, as the Vedas put it.

So is there a way out of this? God is benevolent enough to offer a prescription. This is where this whole thing becomes mysterious though. I fail to understand this very simple thing - God says he has no “Asakti (attachment)” in anyone and in anything. He is impartial and treats everyone at the same level. Yet, as some scholars have expounded, He seems to become partial (or at least slightly more partial) towards those human beings who fondly take His name with all due Shraddha and Bhakti. I find this odd. How can He change his stance all of a sudden? And then people ascribe numerous other esoteric qualities to God to help Him continue with His partiality. God clearly says that while everything exists in Him alone, He exists in nothing. This is understandable; just as our physical bodies have various divisions from Head to Toe, we ourselves are none of those - neither the Head nor the Toe or anything in between. God says that He has nothing to do with anyone's karma. In one shot, God has absolved Himself of the Good or the Bad of the entire cosmos. He seems to be entirely dispassionate, unconnected and unconcerned with what goes on in the very scheme of things He has created. What then may I ask is His role or what then is our incentive for reaching such a God, whether through Religion or through Spirituality?

As the Upanishads say - there is only one reality, nothing else. Everything else is a mere appearance. Now this comes in for a lot of criticism from the critics of Advaita Vedanta. But this seems to be the only logical justification, because every other picture or description of God seems self-contradictory. He is unattached, yet caring. He shows no interest in the affairs of the cosmos and yet is partial towards His Bhaktas (devotees). He does not propagate Right or Wrong because He is free from both. Indeed the scholars have even gone to the extent of saying that this contradiction too has been deliberately created by God so that only those who persist in finding Him with the utmost faith and sincerity alone can find Him. No wonder the texts instead of giving a holistic picture of God tend to confuse people and create a phantom out of God. There are very few sources of authentic information. And they too are in a language which no one understands in the modern times. So we have to rely on commentary – again created by Humans howsoever exalted they may be. Yet these commentaries and sub-texts are our only source of understanding the Vedas and the Upanishads. And finally one has to rely on one’s own commonsense and intellect to make sense from them.

The Upanishads mention that if freedom were something to be acquired - it would not be desirable for then either it would take an infinite effort to acquire it or it would be reached by some amount of effort and thus become like any other object that can be reached through time and effort. What we desire is primordial bliss, absolute and boundless Freedom and Happiness. It can't be anything but. In a nutshell, the nature of this kind of freedom would be infinite. And to reach infinity an infinite amount of effort would be required – something which none of us mortals is capable of exerting. That being the case, Freedom or Moksha would become unattainable. And yet we do get a glimpse of that freedom even if fleetingly in deep sleep, when we leave behind all worries and troubles and sleep as though we have cast our body away. That freedom, which we obtain routinely in deep sleep, cannot therefore be unreachable. That then means that we must already have it. This is the knowledge we need to ascertain. This is the God we need to find. Yes people may call it preposterous accustomed as they are to a God with name and form; indeed people may call it a denial of the existence of God as understood by humanity. This is where the learning comes. I cannot force anyone to follow what I am saying. All this is a matter of direct experience. Efforts are directed to achieve things ... what we don't understand is that there are two kinds of achievements - achievement of that which is “not already achieved” - which is how achievement is understood generally, and the achievement of that “which is already achieved”. Now what is this second kind of effort? If something is already achieved why would one waste his time to achieve it at all? Yet this seemingly incongruous quest is what we are all engaged in when trying to achieve freedom, true happiness, moksha or God. To give an example, you may have forgotten that you are wearing your watch and in that mistaken notion you may go from one corner of the house to the other finding the 'misplaced' watch only to be reminded by your mother that you are already wearing it. Now the 'finding of the watch' is akin to an “achievement of the already achieved”. Till such time as the knowledge was not yours, you were struggling to “find” the watch. Similar is the state of all of us. We don't know that what we are looking for is verily what we are. We just need to get rid of the cobweb of Agyaan. That's all. This seemingly simple principle is I daresay at the very core of this entire drama that we see around us. This has spawned countless generation of universes and countless lives and countless sages and countless scriptures and cults ... not to mention Spirituality and Religion. It is impossible however to get to this direct fact but by winding through the maze of all that this universe has to offer. To get to this stage one has to take “Ishwara's Sharan – take refuge in His might”. Yes, I had said earlier that He is impartial. I still hold by it. Yet to the seeker He does show the way ... not because He has any special incentive for doing so but because that's the way His rules are set. He just lets the Srishti run itself by the rules He has laid down. Everything works with clockwork precision.

The foregoing discussion is now ready to snowball into a full-fledged enquiry into the nature of Existence and of God. I have shown the inherent contradictions and yet shown that these contradictions have a basis. God has set rules by which He adheres. No matter what happens, His rules are uncircumventable. The special interest He seems to evince in creatures who come to Him is not because He fancies them - but because NO CREATURE will be inspired to take refuge in Him unless he has learnt the folly of pursuing materialistic desires and in that way has cleared himself of the cobwebs of Maya.

But this would have to be a separate discussion which I intend to take some other time. For now suffice it to say that the God we so earnestly desire to find is not to be found outside of ourselves. He resides in us. Indeed there is nothing save Him. But this knowledge does not happen accidentally or by fluke. It's a culmination of years of Sadhana(contemplating on God). One needs all the tools prescribed in the texts - and to that extent confusing as they may be - one has to wade through the rigmarole and the contradictions to get to the essence. One must not get confounded. Using the same battery of senses which are normally outwardly aligned one has to turn the attention inwards and use them to cross the bridge of Samsara. Yes, the same very senses that are the cause for pain will catapult us to the path of supreme bliss. Just as the knife can be used to kill someone, it is also used by the surgeon to give life to a suffering patient. The knife in and of of itself has no intent or desire. The use to which it is put depends solely on the entity operating it. So it is with our senses. So it is with everything else. So it is with God. Blame Him or love Him - He remains unmoved and unfettered.

Hari Om!

दुविधा

अब मेरे सब्र का और इन्तेहाँ न लो
परेशानियों की ज़मीन भले ले लो उम्मीदों का आसमान न लो

मन्दिर मस्जिद पीर पंडित सभी से हार चुका हूँ मैं
अब इन्हें मेरे तुम्हारे दरमिया न लो

पैगम्बरों के बोझ तले दबी जाती है दुनिया सारी
इन्हें पालने का अब गरीबो से दाम न लो

रस्मों रिवाजों में फसी इस कायनात में
चैन पाना है नामुमकिन इसका नाम न लो

सुना है ये जाल तुम्हारी माया की कारस्तानी है
एक पागल कह रहा था कल "करुना के सागर" का नाम न लो

भूख

भूख लगी थी उसको खाना नही मिला
खाना था जिसके पास उसे वक्त नही मिला

चंद कुत्ते भी थे उसी जूठन की आस में
इंसान के पेट में जिसे ठिकाना नही मिला

कितनी ही बस्तियों में न जाने चूल्हा नही जला
खाना फेंकते वक्त तुम्हारा ईमान नही हिला

भूख की जलन को वो क्या समझे
खाली पेट सोने का जिसे अनुभव नही मिला

दो दाने को तरसते है न जाने कितने लोग
और किसी को मनपसंद खाना नही मिला!

जूठन फेंकना जब भी तो याद कर लेना
उन बदनसीबों को जिन्हें खाना नही मिला

ज़ख्म

सुना है वक्त हर ज़ख्म का मरहम होता है
कोई ये क्यों नही बताता ज़ख्म क्यों मगर होता है

सितमगर तो हर ज़ख्म मुसलसल करते जाता है
क्या बात है जो सितम मगर हमसे नही होता है

सफर आग के अंगारों पर बेपरवाह
ये कौन सिरफिरा करता फिरता है

आज ज़िक्र छिड़ा फ़िर उस रोज़ की वेह्शत का
सिलसिला हैवानियत का चला तो फ़िर कहा थमता है

क्या से क्या हो गया!

इज्ज़त बक्षी तमाम उसको
ख़ुद बेईज्ज़त हो गया

लज्जा का सबक पढ़ना चाहा
ख़ुद ही लज्जित हो गया

बात करी जब ईमान की
अपना सा मुँह लेकर रह गया

दिल पे बोझ लिए फिरता हूँ
समझ सके जो उसे ढूंढता ही रह गया

बड़ी उम्मीदे थी ख़ुद से
ता उम्र उन्हें ढोता ही रह गया

अजीब कशमकश में काटी है ज़िन्दगी
रब से यही गिला रह गया

चलते चलते थक सा गया हूँ
एक ठंडी छाव को तरसता रह गया

सोचता था मौत धो देगी गुनाह ज़िन्दगी के
मौत के मरहम से भी महरूम रह गया

क्या क्या संगे खिश्त खा कर भी
लहू के एक कतरे को तरस गया

के धो लूँ गुनाह तमाम अपने
ये आरजू लिए लिए ही निकल गया

अजीब पहेली है ज़िन्दगी भी यारब
इक शब्द के लिए ये सुखनवर भी तरस गया

कल का पाठ

कल के जो बच्चे होंगे
वो किनके जैसे होंगे ?

जब खाने में होगी मिलावट
तो कैसी सेहत पाएंगे ?

जब सोच में होगी मिलावट
तो क्या शक्सियत पाएंगे ?

दौडेंगे भागेंगे पछतायेंगे
तबीयत मसोस के रह जाएँगे

माँबाप सिखायेंगे दुनिया का चलन
एक दूसरे की खाल नोचते जाएँगे

मुँह पर कुच्छ और मन में कुच्छ और
भावनाओ से खेलना बखूबी सीख जाएँगे

हाँ कुच्छ अच्छे इंसान भी बनेंगे
मगर इंसानियत की वेह्शत कहा तक झेल पाएंगे ?

सभी कहते है सौरभ इतना बुरा क्यों बोलते हो
ख़ुद बुरा न कर पाए बस औरों को उपदेश पढायेंगे ?

जद्दोजहद

कितनी मुसीबतों को गले लगाया
फिर भी मैंने क्या पाया ?

क्यों लड़ता रहा हालत से मैं
आख़िर कौन मेरे साथ आया ?

जूझो अपने हालात से सिखाती है दुनिया
फरेब करो हर उस शक्स से जो तुम्हारे काम आया

दौड़ रहे है सभी आगे बढ़ने के वास्ते
अपाहिजों पे तरस किसी को भी न आया

क्यूकर करू मैं रहम तुम पर
बड़ी मुशकिल से ऊँट पहाड़ के नीचे आया

नाम न लो देस परदेस का मुझसे
दोनों जगह एक ही सा तमाशा पाया

किस बात का गुरूर किया करते हो
ऐसा क्या है जो तुमने ख़ुद में पाया?

माना तुम भी हालत के हो मारे
फिर वो कौन था जो कल मेरे ज़हन में आया?

हाँ उसे रहम नही आता
उसे तो मैंने अपने से ज़्यादा मजबूर पाया

नाम ले ले के जिसका लड़ते रहे लगातार
वो शक्स बेकार मेरी ज़िन्दगी में आया

बे इन्तेहाँ मोहब्बत की जिससे
उसे मैंने अपनी बाहों में दम तोड़ते पाया

पुछा खुदा से क्या इन्साफ है तेरा
जवाब में ज़माने भर का सन्नाटा पाया

ज़िन्दगी दी है जीने के वास्ते
ज़िन्दगी में फरेब के सिवा कुच्छ भी न पाया

खुदगर्ज़ ज़माना क्या सिखायेगा मुझको
चराग ले कर ढूँढा एक सच्चा इंसान न पाया

कहते है इश्वर के नियम को समझाना है नामुमकिन
क्या है क्यों है ये कोई नही समझ पाया

मुझे माफ़ कर देना चलता हूँ अब
यही समझूंगा मिटटी का क़र्ज़ नही चुका पाया

मै भी सबके जैसा हूँ

कितनी हसरतें पाले बैठा हूँ
आह! क्या मै भी सबके जैसा हूँ?

मोहब्बत है मुझे भी ख़ुद से शायद
बोझ ज़िन्दगी का तभी ढोता हूँ

जानता हूँ जबकी मौत ही है आखरी निजात
फिर क्यों नित नए सूरज तलाशता हूँ?

तुमको देखता हूँ ऐसे
जैसे मैं तुम्हारा आईना हूँ

मेरी तकलीफें क्या समझोगे तुम
बतलाऊ क्या ख़ुद सोच में पड़ जाता हूँ

खौफज़दा हूँ यादों के मंज़र से
कब से न जाने मैं मरता रहा हूँ

सुना है रहनुमा है खुदा अपने बन्दों का
बन्दा कौन, खुदा कौन, बस इसी कशमकश में हूँ

दस्तक दे रहा है आज फिर कोई दिल की गहराइयों से
चलो अन्दर कौन है चल के देखता हूँ

सदियों से बैठा रहा है जो बुत बनकर सदा
कारोबार उसी का है ये सब, क्या मैं नही जानता हूँ?

वो ही मैं है, मैं ही वो हूँ, दरमियाँ भी हैं हमीं दोनों
आलावा इसके और मैं कुच्छ नही जानता हूँ

Kaun Hai Wo Jo...

kaun hai wo jo rehta hai sada dil ki gehraiyo mein
swayam-prakashit hai jo andheron aur ujalon mein

soch ki soch hai jo khayalo ka khayal hai
swapnon ka swapn hai jo vishayon ka aadhar hai

hone bhar se jiske hota hai sabka bharan-poshan
charachar srishti hai jiska anant aangan

jab faasla usse hai tinke bhar ka bhi nahi
ojhal hai kyu phir wo, nazar aata kyu nahi?

khatam hoga silsila in saanso ka jis pal
samajh jau ye paheli mai shayad usi pal

kya kahoon?

aksar sochta hoon ki kuch kahoon
phir sochta hoon, kya kahoon?

sun sun k batein logon ki
thaga sa reh jata hai, kya kahoon?

ehsaas ke bawandaron mein aksar
bikhar ke reh jata hoon, kya kahoon?

chalo rehne do bas bahut hua
kisse kya sunoo, kisse kya kahoon?

Zindagi Bad se bad-tar hoti chali jaegi...

kabhi socha na tha zindagi tamasha ban ke reh jaegi

aas jo adhoori thee kaise bhi pooree na ho paegi

meri taqleefon ka ant meri saanso ke saath hoga

sapne dekhne ki taaqat bhi sapna ban ke reh jaegi

kai baar socha kucch na kahenge khud se ham

kehne sunne ki aadaat to magar jaate jaate hi jaegi

kya zindagi jeene ki majboori hai ae-dil

auron ko humein sataane ki mohlat to di jaegi?

pyaade hai hum mehez kudrat ki bisaat ke

guhaar madad ki hai bekaar...ek na suni jaegi

Keeping it Straight!

When life throws a curve - curve with the cuve to keep everything straight.

Aham Vahami - Very Moving Shloka from The Gita

ananyaschintayanta mam ye janah paryupasate
tesham nityabhiyuktanam yogakshemam vahamyaham

The Lord says that He shall personally BEAR all your Yogas (Things you desire to achieve) and Kshemas (Things you want to protect)

Kya Sochta hai...

Safar lamba hai

Taqleefein tamaam hai

Thakne ka naam na le re man

Aaraam haraam hai

Kya sochta hai

Kyu sochta hai

Hone de jo hota hai

Sab accha hi hota hai

Kiya hi kya hai

Jo aaj karne ki thani hai

Ghatata jo kucch hai

Mehez Niyati ki manmaani hai

Aise mausam mein

le maza chaandni ka, fir zindagani ka kya

Jaha se ubhari hai

Wapas usi mein jani hai

Lay Back and Enjoy!

Trust the Intelligent Design to take care of everything - including your duties and responsibilities. We are simply actors being directed by a supreme command to perform a pre-determined role.

Just lay back and enjoy the show!

Is Creation Real???

Strange! Wonder of wonders … this question sounds so bizarre simply because were it not for the Creation how would one account for the questioner’s existence? How did the person who is asking this question come about? What’s the source of his existence? So is there an argument at all? What’s there to talk? What’s there to discuss? All’s peaceful again. Based simply on the reality that there is somebody who is questioning the Creation, Creation has to be admitted as an abiding reality. However, time and again, perceptions have proven to be false. It had been believed for quite some time that the Earth was stationary and what appeared as day and night to us was caused by sun’s movement around earth. Of course, this was later disproved when the reality of earth’s revolution on its axis and around the sun was discovered. But until it had not been, this seemed to be a perfectly valid explanation of day and night.

Sometimes I imagine the following scenario. I imagine a Clothesline. And then I imagine clothes hanging from the Clothesline. Everything’s normal so far – except that I see that in the places where the clothes are hanging from, I see the clothesline itself having become those clothes – the cloth is not made up of a separate material but is of the same material as the Clothesline. So everywhere you see – you don’t see clothes made up of different kinds of materials hanging over the clothesline but a continuum of clothesline itself with the latter taking the form of clothing in various places. By itself there’s no intrinsic change anywhere in the nature of the Clothesline – it continues to be just what it is – a clothesline – but takes different kinds of shapes along the way to become the different kinds of clothes hanging over it and giving the appearance of a separate entity when in reality it’s one and the same all along. The hanging clothes can only be apparently said to be different from the clothesline on account of their having a different form alone. Essentially however these “special” clothes are not separate from the clothesline at all.

Similarly, countless examples can be given where a thing is only apparently different from that from which it draws its existence. Take the pot-space for example – how’s the space that’s confined in the pot different from the space outside the pot? Are they different? Does the pot space, bounded by the periphery of the pot, have an existence that’s distinct from that outside the periphery of the pot? Now if the pot-space were to assert “Oh! I am not the same as the one existing outside” – how would you take that assertion? How real does it sound to you? When the pot is broken – does the space inside the pot get broken or merge or become one with the infinite space outside of the pot --- which amongst these options seems true to you? To me all options are true and none of them is true. Nothing really happens to the pot-space when the pot is broken --- only the sense of limitation that the pot-space had owing to it being confined by the periphery of the pot no longer exists. Nothing else changes dramatically about the nature of the pot-space itself. It continues to be what it always had been. Similarly when the Brahman gets confined in the periphery of the body – which actually includes the body-mind-sense complex – nothing really changes from the point of view of the Brahman itself. It stays what it always was. Indeed even the body is nothing but a form of Brahman itself even as the clothes we saw on the Clothesline earlier. The body comes and goes. Its thoughts come and go. Nothing happens to the Brahman, even as nothing happens to the intrinsic nature of gold itself when it becomes a Chain. So, will this apparent appearance of the Brahman moving in and out of the confines of the body as the body goes from one birth to the other keep on repeating ad-nauseum? Is there a connection between the Brahman and the body? What do we make of this body? Reverting to the pot space example – apparently, the pot itself isn’t made of the space it’s surrounding. But then, analyzing the nature of the elements comprising the pot we had seen in a related article that we actually really don’t quite know the exact composition of the pot, except that it is an arrangement of molecules in a certain order. But then again even the composition of the molecule really could not be ascertained for sure and in the end we had realized that we cannot really fathom what exactly makes the pot except to just relate it back to the Brahman itself – the best conceptualization of which would be something similar to Space – because the Brahman is actually devoid of any particular form as such. Thus in some ways the pot –space and the pot are actually one and the same…there’s no difference whatsoever at a fundamental level at least...only on a gross level, the pot does manifest in a shape distinct from the space it contains. Otherwise it’s all one and the same even as the body is not distinct from the Brahman even if the former is perishable, not-constant and so forth. Even if an apparent “duality” exists, it is in name and form only - the essence is the one Brahman and Brahman alone.

In other words, Creation is confusing the reality of Appearances with the Reality itself.

Naam Hari ka le re!!

Saare prayojan kis kaam ke

anek roop hai sab usi ek naam ke

sab tyaag ke pakad le us naam ko

taj ke subah aur sham ko

paar lag jaegi naiya jeevan ki

mit jaegi vyatha anavarat aavagaman ki

kaahe ka chhal kaahe ka dikhava

kaahe ka badappan kaahe ka badbolapan

kaahe ko khushiyo aur gham ke thapede

sudh budh bisaar ke naam Hari ka le re

It...

"It" exists in the space between two thoughts - if you manage to get a space between two thoughts that is...

On the conception of Reality

Why are we used to thinking in terms of finite space and time or in terms of everything having a cause behind its existence? For the Vedas tell us of a Brahman that is “uncaused” and “uncreated” and so forth. This conception is truly hard to believe and hence the struggle to keep searching for the Truth till we understand it fully. We think the Brahman too, like everything known to us, ought necessarily to have a beginning. For, we are used to seeing everything around us caused or created out of something. Anything that’s caused or created must necessarily have a beginning. And everything that exists must necessarily be caused or created otherwise there’s no way for us to fathom how its existence came about. However, if we keep following this logic – viz. that everything is caused by or created from something, then it will lead us to an infinite regress. Because it will lead us to ponder indefinitely over a series of sources each having a source that caused it. Thus, a caused b, which caused c, which caused d, which caused e, and so on till we reach the end of alphabet z caused by y. But, the question would still persist…what caused a? Are we even allowed to ask this question? And why shouldn’t we be allowed? If we can question what caused b and so on till z, why can’t we question what caused A? Pondering on these lines, an interesting situation occurs if we think that A in its own turn was caused by Z itself… thereby repeating the progression cyclically. Thus the whole creation (assuming the whole creation were just a sequence of letters) would turn out to be cyclic in nature – much like a circle – with no beginning or end. It could be true. Because that’s what the universe seems to be – a succession that gets created and destroyed.

It does seem never-ending - without a beginning or an end. It seems crazy. Our minds are not attuned to understand such a thing. How can a thing NOT have a beginning? We are used to seeing things not having an end because our own lives aren’t long enough. But with the aid of logic we know that all things created must definitely have an end. They cannot be without an end. But we are not used to seeing things without a beginning. Even logic doesn’t help us here. How can a thing not have a beginning? Look at a circle. Does it have a beginning or an end? It just appears to be a smooth structure without any edges. But when we drew the circle – we did begin from somewhere, right? We touched the paper with the pencil and started drawing from a point. Perhaps then a Point marked the beginning of the circle. So a circle can be thought of as being composed of a virtually infinite number of points all side by side and touching each other such that one after the other they keep appearing until the last point falls adjacent to the point from where it all began, only however, it’s on the other side. Thus, we come back to the starting point and close the loop. But, now we have seen that a circle is perhaps nothing more than a sequence of infinitesimally small points all arranged in a circular manner. It’s hard to distinguish one point from the other. They are so close to each other as to appear perfectly smooth and continuous. In this arrangement it’s hard to find the beginning or end.

However, it does seem to suggest a more generic principle - when what starts goes back to where it started from – the whole structure seems devoid of a definite beginning or an end. But isn’t it right to say that its creation did involve a certain beginning? The pencil did start from somewhere. So how can we say the circle doesn’t have a beginning? Sounds strange! And yet, when we look at the circle – there’s no way of telling where it starts and where it ends. Thus in a way, it does seem to have had a beginning – but that no longer seems to be true when you look at it AFTER it has been created. Thus in a way it has a beginning or does it? Hmm… sounds familiar! Uncertainty principle? Does it exist or it does not?

Similarly – Brahman does not have a beginning or an end. But the question still remains. What caused the Brahman itself? Did it appear out of nowhere? Then what caused the NOWHERE? What IS NOWHERE? Who created it? Again it goes in an infinite regress. Thus, we see that per-force we need to accept a conception of a Brahman that has no beginning or end. It seems to be an unending progression of cycles – emanating and dissolving in an infinite cycle. No one knows what causes it. No one knows what sustains it. If we now create the conception of a God as separate from this Brahman then the same question will plague us again. How did God come about? Is he uncreated, uncaused etc? Then how is He different from Brahman, which we have seen (from logic of course), is also uncaused and uncreated etc.

There are no definite answers. Perhaps there will be no definite answers. The Brahman is indeed everything and there’s nothing apart from it. It is the only reality there is. Who caused the Brahman itself – no one knows, for it is the cause of everything. We who question the Brahman are nothing but Brahman. We caused everything else. We are everything else. There’s nothing apart from us. So how can we be caused because if we were caused then the question would go into an infinite regress… who caused that which caused us? And then who caused that which caused that which caused us and so on. It will lead to a logical absurdity. Thus in order to prevent that logical absurdity, we are forced to adopt the truth of the statement that Brahman is the uncaused, uncreated truth of everything that we see and do not see, feel and do not feel, hear and do not hear, see and do not see and so on. Brahman is both the intelligent and the material cause of all there is. From Brahman it all comes and into Brahman it all goes. Brahman is the only constant in the variable of the cosmos. And there is no answer to the question of who created the Brahman. I think this eternal restlessness to answer Brahman’s origin belies the limited nature of our consciousness that’s given to perceiving things as being caused or created. An uncreated, uncaused thing is simply beyond all our mortal conceptions. And hence we keep wondering where the source of it all came from.

We take the example of a pot – a pot made of clay. We know perfectly well that a Pot has nothing partaking of anything that might be known with the upadhi of a pot. What is a pot? It is after all made of clay. So, when we touch a pot, we are touching clay. Analyzing one step further – we question what is clay then? Clay as we understand is made up of a bunch of elements – Selenium etc. All these elements are present in a certain proportion and when conditions are appropriate they combine to form what is known as clay. When clay is treated appropriately and molded by an appropriately skilled person – it becomes what we know as a pot. So, continuing the inquiry further – we get to know that clay is formed from certain basic materials. If we analyze those basic materials further we get to know that these materials are actually a mass of Molecules held in a particular orientation. For example when carbon atoms combine in a certain manner – they form the shining diamond. Thus a diamond is nothing but a particular fixed orientation of the carbon atoms forming the diamond molecule. Analyzing atoms further we come to know of the electrons and the nucleus comprising of neutrons and protons. The story goes deeper from here onwards – eventually it can be shown that electrons etc behave both as a particle and as a wave and in fact they don’t appear to be anywhere near what they eventually appear as in the solid, macro form that we are used to looking at them in – viz. they are in reality far away from their appearance as a pot or the diamond we see in our daily lives. In fact, Science has proved that we cannot truly even locate the electrons completely. We can only locate them within the limits set by the uncertainty principle. In fact we also know from quantum physics that even the electrons, protons and neutrons are not the end of the road for us – meaning they are not the ULTIMATE basic particle that comprises matter. The story goes deeper than that and only recently it has been proved that given a sufficiently powered equipment that can produce a wave of a sufficiently small wavelength (which in turn means of a sufficiently large frequency because wavelength is inversely proportional to frequency which is directly proportional to energy) we can keep finding smaller and smaller constituents – almost indefinitely. Thus, we don’t even know what comprises the things that we see in our daily lives at the very basic level. We can only know approximately within the limits set by the uncertainty principle. But that’s about it. So what’s the harm in accepting what the Vedas say – that it’s all unreal? There is no reality to what we see except the reality that we accord to it from our own conception. Our own conception is but a product of ignorance. The ignorance itself arises from the interplay of what we call as Maya. But that could well be any force that misleads us into seeing things that are not real. Just like we can sometimes mistake a rope for a snake and be filled with fear. Till such time as the real nature of the rope is known – the conception of the rope being a snake seems perfectly real to us – as real as feeling the burning sensation upon accidentally touching a hot surface.

So, when we aren’t even sure of what the pot is made up of – how can we define what it is? We just saw we don’t completely know what the pot is – except that its form and appearance both seem real to us – except that it does seem to hold water in it and except that we can pour an equally unknown substance – water for example – into an equally unknown glass by an equally unknown hand employing the faculties of an equally unknown mind etc. This is as complex as it can get. The entire interplay of things can be proved to be but a myth. Behind it all, the only unchanging reality is the reality of THAT which perceives it all as happening. That which perceives it all is the Brahman. Rest all is maya or mithya or unreal. Whatever name you give it, the fact is you don’t know what it really is despite the fact that it appears to you to be the only reality there is. What grief!!!

Some more Ramblings...

If it's all but a sham ... why does it feel so repulsive..or may be the sense of repulsion too is but a flicker of a wavering mind's imagination.

Oh...the vagaries of an unsettled mind. Today - I find some solace in reading those good things stated in the Vedanta texts. But, whimsicality of the mind returns at the first available opportunity, swiftly, decisively and like a hurricane that takes everything in its wake. It's not easy.

I feel repulsed by the quantity of sham that's being promoted in the name of religion. When I look at Science and most notably Physics in its efforts to get a sense of this creation (if so it may be called) - that too seems compulsively vague. Einstein - while having contributed so conclusively to the advent of Modern Physics and Quantum Science - never quite liked the idea of God's playing dice for it's so difficult to imagine what we see around us without attributing an all knowing Cause behind it.

Thus the quest continues. Time and Space have been proved to be but a speck of imagination. Our Vedas and Vedanta have said this all too often that the whole creation is but a speck of imagination. That seems to echo the view of Science as well. But like it has been said by Ramana Maharshi - and so beautifully true it all seems to be - that the human mind is given to flights of fancies; it is just not content accepting that there's no rocket science around all this creation business - it's only in our imagination. That it is the Brahman that under the spell of maya has become this world - and that in the process the Brahman itself has not changed - even as the Gold chain does not require a change in the intrinsic nature of Gold itself. The fact that indeed this whole creation is but a creation of our Egos. To attest this fact the instance of deep sleep is cited. When we are in deep sleep, we remember, feel, know, desire, hate, love nothing. We just remain suspended as it were. Words can't describe that state accurately enough. We just lose everything. We lose our individuality. While all is lost, the self is not. Because when we wake up we do remember that we enjoyed a good sleep. So there was someone who was there all the time during which none of the other business of this world was apparent to us. That something was nothing but our True Self - that was there almost as a witness to the phenomenon of sleep. When we wake up, so does our ego and it brings the world back in business. Then we become ourselves - father, child, husband, brother and so forth. We become the many things that we simultaneously are during our tenure on earth. All this had for a moment gone into hinding when we were deeply asleep. The sages say that that's our real nature. All else is ego's creation. The mind which is but ego's creation keeps flitting from one subject to the other and never lets one stay peacefully. They say that whatever moves fast stays young. In an experiment, two clocks which were set to the same time and absolutely identical in every way were used - one was sent in a rocket to space and the other was kept on earth. After the journey in space, the clock that went in the rocket showed a smaller amount of time elapsed than the one on earth. That happened of course due to the Relativistic Effect of travel at speeds bordering the speed of light. But it affirms the theory that the faster a thing moves, the slower it ages. So is it with the mind. It is famed to move even faster than light. Well, it's speed is actually incalculable. No wonder while the body ages, the mind never does and stays as active as it always was even at the very end of our lives (medical objections to mental insanity can be made but that can be shown to be exceptions arising due to uncontrollable external factors - that still does not undermine the argument about the nature of the mind itself).

In the end - after all the debates, discussions, philosophizing, criticizing, scrutinizing - the mind, ephemeral, given to tantrums and flighty as is its wont - comes back to its wayward ways and says - it all doesn't add up.

Hasn't added up for me yet... Like I said in a small post made earlier... I am still lost on the Truth... decisively...

One Truth - Countless Versions

Still lost on the Truth...

I wish someday I would know the Truth as decisively as the sense of loss i feel today...

Reflections...

You seek what you are

Why care about the grind

The chaos outside is but a reflection

of an unsettled mind

The inexplicable lure of heaven and earth

and all the mayhem you find yourself in

Wherefore the quest to achieve them

when everything you want to be is within

Ramblings..

One important characteristic of humans is that they tend to repeat the exact thing they promised NOT to do.

In the end everything's gonna be alright

because the end will have no one left to complain anyway.

The binary logic of Truth and Falsehood

A speck of Truth

cannot make False, True

A speck of Falsehood

ruins all that's True

What's Wrong?

What’s wrong, it’s all a game

Play, don’t complain

How can I, I’m troubled, sick and tired

My thinking is all mired

 

How do I trust you, oh wise man

You seem wiser for my worldly ways

How can I deny that which transmutes

Me in myriad ways

 

Still, what you say appears okay

If only for sometime

Yet I get lost, my mind goes astray

The pain, once again, holds me for prey

 

It sees everything, doesn’t complain

Memories, feelings, actions, permutations

“Self" is but a mute spectator

Of endless cycles of needless frustrations

 

Between Me and I

Who is I, I wonder

The Me that’s Me

Or the I, the Me can’t see

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi...

dwitiyat vai bhayam bhavati - only the existence of a second gives rise to fear... (From Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi).

Source: Talks With Sri Ramaman Maharshi

Why haven’t we been able to find God Yet?

It can be said, though arguably so, that this question is as old as mankind itself. The quest to find God has been serendipitous; nothing conclusive has been found yet. While mankind has progressed by leaps and bounds from the days of our forefathers to date, the one question that has remained as elusive and out-of-bounds as none other is most definitely the question regarding God’s existence. Different faiths have different theories and each one finds varying degree of acceptance amongst mankind in general.

So what’s the scope of this article? Is it an announcement revealing my success in finding God? Or an insight into God’s existence of which there’s no dearth – confusing, confounding or revealing notwithstanding - already? Not quite. I want to reveal a few ‘thoughts’, which have dawned on me as I have continued with my research into the mystery surrounding the quest of God.

The Vedas in the Hindu Dharma each have a section called Vedanta. The subject of Vedanta deals with the knowledge of self and the relation of self with God. I cannot go into the details of Vedanta quite yet. Besides, I am not qualified either to talk much about Vedanta, having started its study only recently. One can only learn what’s there in Vedanta by the grace of God and through the medium of a qualified Guru who himself has understood the nature of self beyond any shadow of doubt. Only such a Guru, propounds Vedanta, can dispel the clouds of ignorance surrounding our understanding of the real nature of self.

But, I want to state the most fundamental understanding that I have derived from Vedanta, directly and rather bluntly so. Vedanta states unequivocally that SELF is Brahman. There’s nothing beyond or other than Brahman, which is unlimited by the conceptions of time and place. You can give Brahman itself any other name: Holy Spirit, Spirit of God, God, Aatman – whatever it is you desire. Why is Brahman limitless? Why is this Brahman the substratum that’s the basis of everything else? That’s a subject precisely beyond the limits of this blog simply because even though I have a vague idea of why is it so, I still do not have the crisp vocabulary that would convey the subject matter without confusing every one. So if you get stuck with the why and wherefore of it then what follows may not make much sense unless you assume its validity for the purposes of moving ahead with this article.

I will only say that just as knowing the nature of clay makes inquiries into the nature of various objects made out of clay redundant, or knowing the nature of water makes the same kind of inquiries into the various physical water body formations such as sea, oceans, rivers, lakes, rain, tap water meaningless, so too knowing Brahman, the source of everything, makes every other knowledge subservient, meaningless and indeed redundant. What newness can you derive about addition once you know what addition does basically. So whether you add one and one or a million and billion – it’s just another number.

The issue however is that while most people can fathom things that can be ‘objectified’ – indeed nothing that can’t be ‘objectified’ by our ‘five senses’ can ‘ever’ be understood – they cannot understand the ‘subject’ (the ‘actor’ that seeks to understand) itself. This is where the true trouble begins.

My own inquiries have revealed a few fascinating aspects of this material life: for example, there’s a reason why we can always see others but not our own selves – except perhaps with the aid of a mirror. Have we ever wondered why it is so? Why do we need a mirror? That’s ‘nature’. That’s the way it is. There’s no use in questioning it. The laws of nature are not made by anyone of us. So we say God has made those laws and they are ‘beyond’ our control. On the other hand we can see everything else around us. With the help of light and our eyes, everything can be seen, appreciated and understood – except our own self. So it is with our own true identities as well. How can the subject see its own self? To me this denotes the fundamental nature of nature itself. That’s why one needs a GURU who with the mirror of knowledge can help us see our own selves. That’s why to appreciate the knowledge of Vedanta – which is essentially a study in one’s own nature – one needs the help of a Guru.

That being the case, reverting to the subject that I started the blog with: Why, despite numerous accomplishments to its credit, has human-kind failed to find God yet? Indeed is there any hope of finding God ever? The short, direct, blunt, fascinating, and indeed some would even label as controversial, answer to this question is that “we ourselves are God!”; God is not different from us and We are not different from God. Thus God being us and we being God, the problem reduces to the problem of being unable to see our own selves directly by our own selves. We need the aid of that Guru who will reveal our own true self to us. 

If God were reducible to just another object - something, which as we have seen earlier is an essential requirement for us to understand and know anything - that would make God much less than the Omnipotent, Omniscient being somebody like God must ought be. God, reduced as an object of discovery, would cease to be God indeed. He would become just like any other thing and that's the reason why we cannot understand (meaning find, discover etc) God like we have 'found', 'discovered', 'unearthed' the other discoveries till date. 

As Swami Dayanandji explains in his lectures - God is both the material cause and efficient cause of this nature.  What is a material cause and what is an efficient cause? Material cause is the materials that are used to create something. Efficient cause is the Creator. The web of a spider serves as an illustration - the spider itself is both the efficient and material cause. Sri Krisna reveals in the Holy Gita that I am the source of all creation and into me indeed does all creation resolve. If all Creation does indeed resolve into Him, that must mean He is the material cause (besides being the efficient cause) behind all creation, for it is the material cause into which all materials must resolve, eventually. The clay pot for example resolves not in the potter but into the clay. Thus, since Krisna states that all nature resolves in Him, He gives away the fact that He himself is nature and nature is Him. Thus Brahman is Him and everthing else is Brahman - hence we are Brahman too and we resolve into our creator because materially there's no difference between us and our creator. That's the underlying argument. 

It does rest on a few assumptions that the human mind, given to questioning and a spirit of inquiry will indeed question and cast doubts on: For example, why should we believe that what Krisna propounds in the Holy Gita is true: Why should we believe all beings resolve in Him and thus the fact that He is not just the Efficient Cause (like God's supposed to be, at least generally) but also the Material Cause (this is hard to accept for most people). 

Let me, however, present another view of the same argument. Let's assume God is not the Material Cause behind this nature. It then means that there's something other than God, which God used to create the nature with. However, the very fact that something exists other than God reduces God to being just an object and as discussed earlier - God cannot be reduced to an Object... that would create a duality and all duality must destruct one day. That would render the whole conception of an Omnipotent and Omniscient substratum, which is at the core of all existence redundant and meaningless. 

One may still argue: What is the need for such a concept to exist at all? And the simple reason is that without it you cannot explain nature itself. Hindu Dharma states that the concept of time and space exposes the limitations of all objects: Anything that's limited must be born and must die (just like our bodies must). However, this means that there must have been some time when nothing would have existed at all. What is this nothing? There is indeed no nothing because even the nothing is actually something.

This is what I mean when I say Brahman IS the substratum and it IS God. Period. It cannot be limited by space and time for if it is we get the logical absurdity that cannot be resolved.

[To be continued]

PS: This article derives heavily from the present set of books I am reading: the books are all authored by Swami Dayananda Saraswati, who is a great scholar, saint and a Vedanti. 

Shri Shri Bade HanumanJi

Prayag ke Sangam Kshetra ke Bade Hanumanji: Courtesy kamahesh0
From Flickr

My All Time Favorite Bhajans

Diabetes: Death To Diabetes

I'll come to the point linearly: This note is about Diabetes and cross links another website that has significantly impacted my understanding about Diabetes. But first, before I unravel the heart of the matter, I need to offer a little background. Why am I writing this? Because I CARE ABOUT the people who are dying because of Diabetes and I genuinely feel that something can be done about it - quickly enough for most people luckily.

Diabetes is killing people. By 2020 it's predicted to become the world's largest killer. What are we doing about it? Can something be done about it? What causes it in the first place? Is it Genetic? Life-Style disease? Some unpredictable combination of Genetics, Life Style etc? As diverse as these questions are, equally diverse and perplexing are the answers too. So what is a person inflicted with Diabetes to do apart from following what the doctor prescribes?

The author of this blog was diagnosed with Diabetes 2 years ago. It did not immediately impact my life materially but with passage of time it surely started making its impact felt. Initially I checked with the doctors, got the tests done and sought advice. I was told that I should manage my 'life-style' which involved a significant amount of alcohol consumption. I also used to smoke and chew tobacco until about 2 years ago. I realized I had to stop ALL of this if I wanted to give myself a half-decent life; half-decent because the other half was already 'spent' the day I earned the 'diabetic label'.

Diabetes is a disease of the physiological system and impacts EVERYTHING. Mind is connected to matter and as such our mind is connected to our body. The connection is pretty palpable. It is the mind which through a complex array of synapses and neurons controls everything happening inside our bodies. When I say control it means: it 'manages' everything: all sensory perceptions arise from the mind. It is the seat of pleasure and pain. It is the one which FEELS the pain and then TELLS that it's feeling the pain. Whom does it TELL? It tells the body.

One can read a lot of literature on the physiology behind diabetes. Basically, the trigger for diabetes occurs when the so called Beta Cells in the Pancreas start experiencing 'Insulin Burn-Out'. This happens when the cells refuse to accept the insulin the beta cells produce when the blood sugar level rises, such as after consuming food. When we eat food, it gets processed and glucose is released into the blood stream that has the effect of elevating the blood sugar. In response to this increase in blood sugar, the beta cells within the pancreas start secreting insulin into the blood stream.

At the cellular level, the cells need the energy from glucose and they need insulin to 'process' this glucose. They must therefore allow the insulin to enter them. For the insulin to 'enter' the cells, the latter must figuratively speaking 'provide access' to it; the process by which the insulin enters these cells is in many ways like a typical lock and key combination. In a diabetic patient this lock and key combination has been impacted adversely so that now the cells are not absorbing as much insulin as they used to do or should be doing. As a result the insulin just keeps sticking around in the blood stream instead of helping the cells 'convert' the glucose into energy. This causes the blood sugar level to remain elevated and hence the beta cells keep producing more and more of the insulin (thinking obviously that enough is not enough) to bring the sugar levels down. Soon this process becomes akin to flogging a dead horse and leads to what is known as the Insulin Burn-Out. The glucose levels remain elevated because the glucose cannot be processed by the cells; the cells themselves remain starved of energy and this explains why the Diabetics continually experience fatigue - they just aren't getting enough energy from the food they are eating. This gives rise to what is commonly known as Diabetes Mellitus or Type II Diabetes. There is a type 1 diabetes as well which is of a slightly different nature but has a somewhat similar physiology. It's less common though than Type II diabetes.

The kidneys and the liver swing into action and begin working overtime to 'clean' the system. The kidneys now have to filter out blood glucose as well. Understandably this causes a considerable drain on them. The Liver responds by converting glucose into fat and storing it in places where they can be easily stored. This leads to people gaining weight and loss of body shape. Obesity is another name given to this fat build-up.


So what are we to do when insulin processing gets hampered in the system?

Well, one thing is very clear. What the Allopathic medicines do is that they do not cure the root cause but keep attacking the symptoms. They further lead to the build-up of toxic waste within the body as well. As pointed out by the author of the book DeathToDiabetes, the allopathic medicines instead of curing the disease actually make it worse. The pharmaceutical companies around the world make millions of dollars with this disease and hence would consider it an anathema to start educating people about this subject that will lead to wealth erosion for them. Millions are spent in research and drug manufacturing. It's a hell of an expensive disease no questions about it.

This individual who wrote DeathToDiabetes was miraculously able to CURE his diabetes. I don't know the truth of it. But he has proclaimed it to the world and written books and created a website to spread awareness about the issue. So I deduce that there must be 'some' truth behind it. Regardless of the truth, I did employ some of the suggestions on the website especially concerning the food habits with a consistently remarkable recovery in my blood sugar levels. This was exciting enough, which prompted me to use my blog as a means to spread this knowledge and awareness that perhaps diabetes can really be controlled fabulously if not completely reversed by making some changes to our food habits.

For starters: I removed most if not all 'processed' food from my eating routine. This includes all sexy things such as French Fries (Ah..the killers) and Burgers and the list goes on. You all know that. For detailed feedback consult you dietician. But the idea is: They HARM. No questions about it.

Then I started eating a lot of fiber. Flax seed is a wonderful option and quite easily available. Eat brown rice. Don't eat the processed white rice. Eat multigrain wheat. Processed flour is to be chucked aside. I am not an expert in this area. But I am just mentioning what I did myself. Each person's food requirements are unique and a lot of circumstances - socio-cultural, economic and others - drive what a person eats or considers worth while to eat. But Fast Foods have invaded our lifestyles regardless of culture. You'll get a Mcdonalds in Alaska too perhaps. You must also remember one thing - and my 'science' background did aid somewhat in furthering my understanding of this subject - that the human body prefers an ALKALINE to an ACIDIC environment. It's alright to think what am I talking about at this point because without a 'science' background this would appear like a lot of garbage and terminology. Actually, it's not that complicated. We are all too familiar with Acidity and how it makes us 'inconvenienced'. That happens when the body enters an Acidic environment. All acid producing foods must therefore be actively discouraged from entering into our menus (you can without batting an eyelid choose ALL your FAVORITE foods if you are anywhere like me! - Burgers, French Fries, Coke[diet/non-diet]). On the other hand all foods that promote an alkaline environment must be encouraged (Blue Berries, Sweet Potatoes, Flax Seed, Aloe Vera all kinds of Fruits - avocados, apples etc, and the list goes on). Consuming regular milk for example, produces an acidic environment in people with low lactase (or may be lactose) tolerance. They must switch to SOY milk immediately.

On a related note and touching a subject that has a massive influence on me: Meditation, Praying, Exercising all help promote an ALKALINE environment within the body and help clean the toxic build up from Acidic environments.

Why am I talking Acidic/Alkaline here? I am giving you the TOOLS to research further. When you buy food next time, keep this in mind. Ask the right people - indeed FIND the right people who can guide. The idea is - don't just sit back and let the disease - to borrow an expression from DeathToDiabtes website - ROT you from inside; It sure does. I will keep appending to this blog as more information and insights become available to me. But get this straight: You've got to take charge of this.

As an aside, I quit smoking and tobacco consumption 2 years ago and have stayed off it since then. Smoking cessation is a widely discussed subject and many websites again are dedicated to it. I will talk about my experience some other time. I will only hasten to add for now that I truly believe in the maxim: A human being is infinitely capable and infinitely incapable all at once. This perhaps comes from the duality principle in Physics: Matter behaves as waves and particles both. We can invoke the properties of either entity depending on the problem at hand. Similarly, our capabilities are also infinite and limited both. It depends on what we want to make them to be? This unfortunately is what we often don't realize. The POWER is within us. It just needs to be realized. Truly 'realized'. Rest is easy.

Good luck and with affection! And oh by the way here's the link to the DeathToDiabtes website: Death To Diabetes.

Go on...be a winner :)

Dard

kaise kaise dard sehte hai
phir bhi galat hum hi hote hai

duniya bahut samajhdar hai
akal ke bagair sirf hum hi hote hai

haan hum dushman hai apne
khud ko satate rehte hai

tumhari akal, tumhari soch, tumhari samajhdari mubarak ho tumhein
akal se humara kya waasta...hum yunhi theek hai...

Mai Chahata Bhi Yahi Tha... Wo Bevawafa Nikale...

Aaj Wasim Barelvi sahab ke alfaaz zehen mein aaye:

may chahta bhi yahi tha woh bewafa nikle!
usse samajhne ka koi to silsila nikle!!

kitab-e-mazi ke panne ulat ke dekh zara !
na jaane kaunsa panna muda hua nikle !!

(kitab-e-mazi ke aaurak ulat ke dekh zara !
na jaane kaun sa safha muda hua nikle!!)

Jo dekhne may bohot hi kareeb lagta hai!
usi k ke baare may sochu to faasla nikle!!

may chahta bhi yahi tha woh bewafa nikle!
usse samajhne ka koi to silsila nikle!!

I have picked up the lyrics thanks to Mr. Varun Pauddar from the following link:
http://www.dishant.com/lyrics/song-41662.html

Agar Ghazal sunna chahe to yaha pe hai... Jagjit Singh ki awaaz mein

Mai chahata bhi yahi tha

Thought For Today: Microsoft is a RPIA (Royal Pain in the A**)

I believe the content of the subject is only too familiar to those who have ever tried installing Adventure Works Database on SQL Server 2008 Express edition. Full Text Search is not enabled; solutions suggested on umpteen weblogs and websites do not help. How can they help? MS has acknowledged there is a problem: Thank God for that. And yet, hotfix after hotfix and KB articles after KB articles one still cannot figure out if a solution actually exists. The KB articles proclaim that this problem exists and related searches lead you to
KB958186 - but to your horror after going through the motion of providing your email Id etc MS sends you a hotfix link that actually is meant to fix some other problem and not the full text search problem. Obviously you can't quite figure that out because the cumulative update package which ostensibly has solutions to known issues with MS SQL Server Express 2008 has a host of fixes "packaged in it" and you just don't know which one of those solutions pertains to the "full text search problem". So you just trust MS and download whatever they provide in the hope that some magic would happen. But of course it doesn't work.

You can refer to the following page MS acknowledgment of FULL TEXT SEARCH BUG. It has a fancy bug number too Bug #: 50003661(SQL Hotfix).

I am flabbergasted!!!

I am writing this to tell all those who may be struggling with THE FULL TEXT SEARCH ISSUE WHILE TRYING TO INSTALL ADVENTURE WORKS ON MICROSOFT SQL SERVER 2008 EXPRESS EDITION: To the best of my knowledge a solution does not exist as of now so there is no point sweating about it. Just wait until MS can figure out how to fix it. Meanwhile you can try SQL Server 2005 which I am going to do now; apparently 2005 works fine. What a pain to go through the whole process and then have to revert to the older version. It sucks big time. Either way there is no choice.

Alternatively, if anyone knows of a solution, please do enlighten the strugglers. MS also has the gumption to CHARGE for fixing bugs it creates - refer to the MORE INFORMATION SECTION on this page MORE INFORMATION . No wonder Bill Gates is the richest (or somewhere close) man in the world! They create crap and then charge for cleaning up after. Awesome guys...

My Favorite Songs and Ghazals

I am going to start a compilation of my all time favorite songs...

Here goes...Each of these songs has a very deep connection with my soul...When I hear them, I go in a trance whose bliss words can't describe. Listen to them and you will know what I am saying...

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Mirza Ghalib

Kucch Mirza saab ke astabal se nikaal laya hoon...

Hum hai mushtaaq aur wo bezaar...
Ya Ilahi ye maazra kya hai?

Kaisi masoomiyat se kitni gehri baat kahi hai. Mujhe Mirza saab ki shaayri mein bhagwan nazar aata hai.

Yeh Masail-e-Tasawwuf..Yeh tera bayaan Ghalib,
Tujhe hum wali samajhte, jo na baadakhwaar hota

Ye baat jo Mirza ne kahi hai: k tujhe hum wali samajhte agar tum itni sharaab na peete mere dil ko bahut chooti hai.
Aur ye ke:

Sab kaha kucch lala-o-gul mein numaya ho gayi
khaak mein kya soorate hongi jo pinha ho gayi

Kaise Kaise log is duniya mein khaak-e-supurd ho gaye...numaya sirf chand kismat wale hi ho paye...

Hui Muddat ke Ghalib Mar Gaya
Par Yaad aata hai
Wo har ek baat pe kehna
Ke Yu hota to kya hota...

Bas meri aur tumhari zindagi ki kahani keh dali in 2 lines mein.

Na tha kucch to khuda tha, kucch na hota to khuda hota
Duboya mujhko hone ne, na hota mai to kya hota

Jab mai "THA" ... Jab mera kucch WAJOOD THA..tab mujhe dubo diya...agar mai nahi hota..maslan agar meri koi aukaat nahi hoti tab kya kya karti ye duniya mere saath?? that's the way I read it...and it makes perfect sense to me. Mirza ka sense itna tagda tha ki wo aisi baat sochte the jo jigar ke bilkul aakhri kone se nikal ke aati ho... wo surface pe poetry nahi likhte the. Wo apne mijaaz ko naap taul kar un aisi batein nikaal ke le aate the jo aam aadmi sirf soch sakta hai..usko explain nahi kar sakta. Aisa power dikhta hai mujhe Mirza saab ki poetry mein.
Aur ye ke:

Jala hai jism, jaha dil bhi jal gaya hoga
Kuredte ho jo ab raakh...justuju kya hai?

There are occasions when I find myself comparing Mirza Saab with Gulzar Saab. Though I don't particularly like Gulzar saab - I have HEARD him a lot through RD Burman's rendition of his poetry. I am a great RD fan so cannot help rubbing shoulders with Gulzar saab. I like Gulzar saab's abstractness. But, I don't particularly like the complexity he weaves into his expressions. Some of his early poems were profoundly simply written and yet expressed deep human emotions...

Jane kya soch kar nahi guzra
Ek Pal, raat bhar nahi guzra

Gulzar saab seems to be fixated with the idea of "PAL".

Dafn kar do humein k saans aaye,
nabz "kucch der" se thami si hai

Sometimes, Gulzar saab's poetry becomes a heavy burden on your senses -

kai chaand utth kar jalaye bujhaye
bahut humne chaha zara neend aaye...


What's with the Chaand's jalana and Bujhana?

Here's the song in case you are interested: It is an out-of-the-world composition by RD and rendered in an equally mesmerizing voice of Ashaji. The song is from the film Sitara.

YE SAYE HAI YE DUNIYA HAI

Here's yet another...

Khamosh sa afsana pani se likha hota
Na tumne kaha hota na humne suna hota

I have often thought about this: Khamosh sa afsana...
Sometimes, the creative person in him tries to express the simplest of emotions using an exceedingly complex array of metaphors. But the idea is not spent: if you can wade through the complexity of it - you get to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Mirza however talked about the nuances of bitterness, sadness, loneliness, pain, fear in ways that were immediately recognizable - complexity of Urdu itself notwithstanding. One obviously needs to know Urdu in order to appreciate him. Gulzaar saab on the other hand was able to create a here-to-fore not seen complexity in our language of everyday use - HINDI.
But still: at some level I respect Gulzaar saab. His sense for abstractness is amazing. And his power to weave words really doesn't find a parallel elsewhere.

Masle abhi aur bhi hai...fir likhoonga.

Cool Mathematical Tool

Thank you Debjyoti for posting this. I am taking the liberty to cross link it to my blog.

Fun Way To Do Math ... Check this out

From Swami Dayanand's lectures

Sarvam Brahmamayam re re Sarvam Brahmamayam
Kim Kartavyam Kimakartavyam kim jnatavyam kim ajnatavyam
Sarvam Brahmamayam

Aah!

ek raah teri manzil ki ore badhi
kadam badh na sake lekin
thee pairo mein zakhmo ki bediya padi

kal fir raat ke sannate mein
ik aah ne jhakjhora mujhe
sota kya hai? dekh! aag teri milkiyat mein lagi!!

wo nahi samjhega wo masoom thehra
uthaoonga sitam mai uske
jaan mein hai jaan jab tak meri

ab toot chuki hai hasti meri
khatm na hua tamasha lekin
kya bacha hai jo nichodta hai khoon rago se meri

Kucch bekaar ki batein...

Mai apni taqleef kisse bayaan karu
Kha-ma-kha kyu
kisi aur ki taqleef mein ijaafa karu

Mai shaqs hoon ajeeb khud se kehta hoon
zakhm yaad rakhta hoon sabhi
jinhe na-jane-kab-se bhool chuka hoon

Aaj kucch naya kehne ki tabiyat jagi
Na jane kab se
mai padhta raha hoon tujhe...

Shayad "wohi" tha doondhta raha sadiyo se jise
chita pe leta dekh
mai pehchan na saka use

Fehrist sawaalat ki liye firta hoon aise
jaisa johe hai baat koi
mar-ke phir na aane wale ki...

Jakarta...29th March 09

To Ma Durga

Om Gyaninamapi chetansi devi bhagawati hi sa
Balaadakrishya mohaay maha maya prayacchati

Durge smrita harisi bhitimeshsehjantuh
swaisthai smrita mati mateev shubham dadasi

daridrya dukh bhayhainika twadannya
sarvopakar karnaay sadaardra chitta

Sarva Mangal Maangalye Shive Sarvaarth saadhike
Sharanye trayambike gauri narayani namostute

Sharanagat Deenartha Paritrana Parayane
Sarvasyaar Tihare Devi Narayani Namostute

Sarva Swaroope Sarveshe Sarva Shakta Samanvite
Bhaye Bhayastra hi no Devi Durge Devi Namostute.

.......