Compare

My wife hated my red shoulder bag that I used to carry to office. I always agreed with her that it does not look so great, but sheer laziness prevented me from buying a new bag even after it tore partially, because of the heavy library books that I carried in it(which I usually don't manage to read).

Finally on a spending-spree-evening, we set out to buy a new bag. I found a decent one. My wife was happy mainly because it was not red.

The next morning to office was interesting in the sense that I discovered some new things about my own mind. My eyes started scanning the shoulder bags of my colleagues and other people in my office campus ! My mind started comparing the colors, looks, features. A faint whiff of discontent passed me.

I always believed comparison is bad. Especially for trivial things. How easy is it for the mind to take roads that the intellect does not like ! Talking about comparison, I think a major part of the stress that we swallow in modern times is because of comparisons that we unknowingly make with people and their possessions around us.

Comparison coupled with greed is evil.

Earth Easy

"Ideas for environmentally sustainable living"
"With every activity of our daily lives, we connect with the interdependent web of life on Earth. The health of our environment is a reflection of the choices we make."

What a beautiful thought. It comes from the creators of the website called eartheasy.com. I am very impressed with the ideas that I read in this website.

From the "About Us" page of the website:
Eartheasy strives to:
...~ help us reduce our impact on the earth's resources
...~ help reduce our contribution to global warming
...~ bring more simplicity to our lives
...~ bring us closer to nature

May mankind evolve beautifully.

aparigraha

Can the ancient concept of 'aparigraha' help an overpopulated developing country like India ?

'aparigraha' (अपरिग्रह) means non-possessiveness. The term usually means to limit possessions to what is necessary or important. The Yogic and Jain traditions have this concept.

A country of 1 billion can never become prosperous by managing to provide a luxury car to every family. We need algorithms totally different from a country like USA to attain prosperity. Karthick ponders on similar lines.

Optimal use of resources is the need of the hour.
But, the first step is to stop imitating the west like a monkey.

Happiness is often wrongly tied to the possession of things.

Time and Tide

Why do hours seem like minutes while I spend time with family and friends ?
Why do 10 minutes seem like eternity while I download software from the internet ?

What is time ? Does it matter ?

Do watches turn us into robots ?
What if nobody had watches ?

The pondering continues...

Burning Money

Burning money is a popular hobby.

Go to an average restaurant in Bangalore. There, money cannot buy happiness. Not even good food or a decent service. The only guarantee is that you can burn money at a pretty decent rate.

There are faster, more stylish ways of burning money. PVR Gold Class. Pizza Hut. Amoeba Game parlour. I found a slower, elegant way to burn money. Use match sticks.

Luxury cannot be avoided in a society. But of late, people who spend in such ways come from the large middle class segment of the society.

Just think about it. For a good dinner with friends, do you spend 2 days of your monthly salary ? How often do you go for such a dinner ? Are you burning money ?

Money has become the most preferred medium to express one's friendship, love, respect and all kinds of emotions to other human beings. Gifts and treats are all about money. Reason - No time to spend, only money.

Skewed evolution of human society.

If you have no better hobby, start one soon. And see the difference.

Thanking Sanskrit

Sanskrit is one of the most important things that binds us as a nation. After millenia, Sanskrit continues to inspire us in many big and small ways.

For example, when you think of naming your child, you almost certainly look for Sanskrit names - beautiful ones. There is no other language in the world which has so many meaningful, yet beautiful names.

Another example - Most literary works in Indian languages are generously soaked with beautiful Sanskrit vocabulary. Even movie song lyrics are routinely enriched by words of Sanskrit origin.

Another example - A majority of Indian contribution to Science, Mathematics, Philosophy etc. has been in Sanskrit.

Another example - International impact. Words like yoga and karma are now in English dictionary. These are ideas that people all over the world are embracing in today's increasingly money-driven world. Unfortunately, we are unable to read and understand the original Sanskrit texts that explore these ideas.

One can think of more such examples... Sanskrit lives on. In the background of our lives. In subtle ways. It is not our Lingua Franca any more, but it is still very much alive in the fabric of our life and culture.

Unfortunately, many modern Indians identify Sanskrit with just religion This mindset needs to change. What can we do to keep alive such an important aspect of our culture that took millenia to evolve ?

1. Realize that our lives are still enriched by Sanskrit, whether we are conscious of it or not.

2. Sanskrit needs our support to survive. If we ignore our cultural aspects like Sanskrit, our descendants might curse us for having lost our identity for the sake of materialistic pursuits. Like the people of some unfortunate African nations - Western in names and outlook but still poor and backward - the sad price of losing one's identity.

4. We are all busy. As a small step, we can associate ourselves with Samskrita Bharati - an organization that has done wonderful things to spread awareness about Sanskrit. We can support them financially and with our time.
5. We can also take up spoken/written Sanskrit courses from Samskrita Bharati and participate in the events they organize. It would be great if our youngster community can produce Sanskrit teachers.

If you wish to contribute something to Sanskrit for the good things that it has given us, please contact me at coolkrishnan at gmail dot com / 98800 46941. I live in Bangalore.

Plan or Flow ?

At many points in my life, I face the dilemma to choose between the two paths:
1. Go with the plan
2. Go with the flow

Choosing the first one makes me feel in control of my life. It boosts my ego and creates a certain pride inside me.

But sometimes, the second one feels just perfect. Then I listen to my heart instead of my brain. This fills my soul with a feeling of relaxation.

Whether I choose the plan or the flow, the words of Robert Frost never cease to inspire me:
"Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

Dream Divine

I was strolling by the river Life.
Watching little waves arrive.

Full of wonder.
At its every meander.

Enjoying the breeze.
Savouring the peace.

All was soothing.
But, missing was something.

Ah! an angel rose.
She smiled like a rose.

Spoke like a gushing stream.
Swept me away in a dream.

Slow Down

Slow... slow...

Gobbling down breakfast.
Scurrying to the meeting.
Pressing Alt+Tab on your PC keyboard.
Squeezing through the insane crowd at the Shiva Temple on the day of Maha Shivaratri.
Murdering the accelerator of your car/two-wheeler when the traffic light goes from green to yellow.
Incessant channel surfing on your TV.
Chewing up all the news and olds from newspapers and magazines.
Ruthlessly 'planning' your career all the way up to death.
Your stressful thinking.

What are you doing with your life ?

Take a deeeep b r e a t h . . . .
R e l a x !

Idli Divine

5 Idlies


A dash of sesame oil


A shower of Sambar


Toppings of Keerai Koottu


Some fresh curd


Invention of this millennium


One of my crazy experiments....

Please don't take this as a prescription. Just a direction.
Please experiment on your own. Break the routine !

Black Black Eyes

கறு கறு விழிகளால் ஒரு கண்மை என்னை கடத்துதே
ததும்பிட ததும்பிட சி று அமுதம் என்னை குடிக்குதே

இரவினில் உறங்கயில் என் தூக்கம் என்னை எழுப்புதே
எழுந்திட நினைக்கயில் ஒரு மின்னல் வந்து சாய்க்க

நீ ! ஒரு மல்லிச்சரமே
நீ ! இலை சிந்தும் மரமே
என் ! புது வெள்ளிக்குடமே
உன்னைத்தேடும் கண்கள் !
......

Poetry ! How it touches me sometimes ! A few lines from the song 'Karu Karu Vizhigal' from the new movie Pachaikili Muthucharam that really tossed me over is what you read just now if you were lucky to know to read Tamil and the text rendered correctly in your browser. For those who did not, sorry !

தாமரை இலை நீர் நீ தானா ?
கனியொரு அன்றில் நீ தானா ?
புயல் தரும் தென்றல் நீ தானா ?
புதயல் நீ தானா ?
......

The music too has decorated the lyrics beautifully.

I wish I could write Tamil poetry.

Happy Fly

Happiness is a butterfly. If you chase it, it will keep flying away.

But if you sit quietly without thinking about it, you will be pleasantly surprised to find it sitting on your shoulder !