Its after quite a few days that I am back to jotting down something here. I guess I didnt come across anything meaningful or anything worth finding the meaning in anything! Sometimes, we just need a break from everything that we do I guess !
Today I came across this video which has a story to tell ...which is as below -
The scene is in the backyard of an old house. In the middle of the yard is a simple bench. Two men, a father and his son, are sitting together on a bench. They are silent. The son is reading a newspaper, turned slightly away from his dad. His father is sitting in the middle of the bench, looking ahead, hands in lap. The silence continues.
A bird lands in a nearby bush. Dad looks at the bird; his son continues reading the paper.
"What is that?" asks dad.
The son looks up. "A sparrow," he replies, and continues reading the paper.
A little later, the bird lands on the lawn in front of dad. Dad sits up, looking at the bird.
"What is that?" asks dad.
"I just told you, father, a sparrow," replies the son, with a little annoyance.
They sit in silence. The dad sees the bird again, and asks, "What is that?"
His son becomes very angry, drops his paper and yells, "A SPARROW, A SPARROW, S - P - A - R - R - O - W!! (spelling it). WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? I TOLD YOU SO MANY TIMES, IT’S A SPARROW!!!
His dad stand up and turns away. "Where are you going?" asks the son. His dad does not speak, but motions with his hand for his son to stay there. Dad goes into the house.
The son remains sitting on the bench, somewhat slumped over, looking glum. Dad returns, sits in the middle of the bench right beside his son. He has a book. He opens the book, flips through a few pages, and hands the book to his son. He does not say anything, but pulls his son’s hand up, indicating his son should hold the book. Dad taps a place in the book, and says, "Loud."
The son reads:
"Today, my youngest son, who a few days ago, turned 3, was sitting with me at the park, when a sparrow sat in front of me. My son asked me 21 times what it was and I answered 21 times that it was a sparrow. I hugged him every single time he asked me the same question, again and again, without getting mad, feeling affection for my innocent little boy."
Dad nods. He remembers what happened many years before. There is a pause. Then the son extends his arm around dad, holds him and kisses him on the side of his head, many times. He continues to hold his dad. The words he read have re-awakened the admiration, the appreciation and the love he feels for his dad.
Up in the tree above them, the sparrow looks down at the men below and then happily flutters away.
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The takeaway from the story...well...is that we often forget the love and patience our parents showed towards us during the times we were growing up! And as life cycle treats us, we grow up from a child to an adult and go back to being a child!
But again, come to think of ....we treat our children with so much patience and love because we know they are innocent and they are inquisitive! They are seeing things in this world for the first time! But that is not the case with our parents! Its not that they are naive or they are inquisitive....they just want to test our love and patience! I mean ...in this video...one can clearly see that the old man is not suffering from any physical or mental disability, so why does he keep repeating the same question again and again? Wouldn't we get irritated if any sane adult asked us the same thing repeatedly, in spite of having answered the question??
So what is expected of us? Was that just to test if we treat them the same way they treated us when we were kids? Or was it to test if we are good human being enough to have answer to anything that anybody asks...
I really am lost.....
Friday, October 23, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Quest in Time
The last 2 months, I saw myself overflowing with thoughts...questions...conflicts....
And its with time I realized that with every passing day, the thoughts and questions are becoming lesser and lesser....
I am left to wonder now, do we get so thoughtful and questioning only when things are not going great for us? What makes us come to a point when we start seeking "bliss", as defined by Osho?
With all the time at my disposal, I spent some time on reading couple of books, hoping that it would give me an insight into peace and understanding of life.
Of course there were few things that I totally agree with what they have to say....but I also realized that nothing and no one can give you what you are looking for! It has to be YOU who can answer YOURSELF! It is a quest for self, and that quest will not yield results in a day ! It could actually take a lifetime to understand what life is, and what YOU want and what is the way YOU would like to choose to attain the self realization!
And also that, that journey is not going to be an easy one! We will have to fight circumstances, family, our loved ones if we want to go on our path! No one knows what the path is....it could be just about anything that you can connect to! It just could be in music, in service, in an everyday job or in our daily routine in family! But the path is not same for all! What it is for me does not necessarily have to be the same for you!
Having said that....I am now burdened with more questions!
And its with time I realized that with every passing day, the thoughts and questions are becoming lesser and lesser....
I am left to wonder now, do we get so thoughtful and questioning only when things are not going great for us? What makes us come to a point when we start seeking "bliss", as defined by Osho?
With all the time at my disposal, I spent some time on reading couple of books, hoping that it would give me an insight into peace and understanding of life.
Of course there were few things that I totally agree with what they have to say....but I also realized that nothing and no one can give you what you are looking for! It has to be YOU who can answer YOURSELF! It is a quest for self, and that quest will not yield results in a day ! It could actually take a lifetime to understand what life is, and what YOU want and what is the way YOU would like to choose to attain the self realization!
And also that, that journey is not going to be an easy one! We will have to fight circumstances, family, our loved ones if we want to go on our path! No one knows what the path is....it could be just about anything that you can connect to! It just could be in music, in service, in an everyday job or in our daily routine in family! But the path is not same for all! What it is for me does not necessarily have to be the same for you!
Having said that....I am now burdened with more questions!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Re-take on Happiness
Having listened to what my sister had to say on Happiness and wanting to be happy...and agreeing to what she said...I knew there was something missing to it!
It is true that we need to find happiness in whatever we have rather than seek more and more...and that there is no end to seeking....but....
I was watching this movie called Before Sunset (which is a sequel to Before Sunrise) and the things that they had to say throughout the movie was very interesting, and I guess very close to what I feel.
So coming back to wants and desires...is it bad to want more and to desire more?
In Hinduism and in Buddhism, our saints say that liberation from the worldly desires is the first step to Moksha. But what if I dont want Moksha? If I was not the kinds looking for a soulful life? Wouldn't life be dull and boring with nothing to drive you becasue you want nothing? If we had no goals and ambitions in life, wouldn't we be stagnant? The technical revolution that we have witnessed at this age...would it be there if the scientists and researchers did not feel the need to explore more ?
Desires is the fuel of life.... (an excerpt from the movie)
So, What is happiness ?
I would have said it is the feeling of contentment that you get after you have achieved what you set out for yourself or after getting what you wanted! But in the movie I came across a better way to say it... it said Happiness is not in the result or achievement, but in the doing !
Which, come to think of it, is exactly what it is! It doesnt matter whether you win or lose, what matters is the fact that you tried! That is contentment...and that is Happiness !!
(written on Sunday, September 27, 2009)
It is true that we need to find happiness in whatever we have rather than seek more and more...and that there is no end to seeking....but....
I was watching this movie called Before Sunset (which is a sequel to Before Sunrise) and the things that they had to say throughout the movie was very interesting, and I guess very close to what I feel.
So coming back to wants and desires...is it bad to want more and to desire more?
In Hinduism and in Buddhism, our saints say that liberation from the worldly desires is the first step to Moksha. But what if I dont want Moksha? If I was not the kinds looking for a soulful life? Wouldn't life be dull and boring with nothing to drive you becasue you want nothing? If we had no goals and ambitions in life, wouldn't we be stagnant? The technical revolution that we have witnessed at this age...would it be there if the scientists and researchers did not feel the need to explore more ?
Desires is the fuel of life.... (an excerpt from the movie)
So, What is happiness ?
I would have said it is the feeling of contentment that you get after you have achieved what you set out for yourself or after getting what you wanted! But in the movie I came across a better way to say it... it said Happiness is not in the result or achievement, but in the doing !
Which, come to think of it, is exactly what it is! It doesnt matter whether you win or lose, what matters is the fact that you tried! That is contentment...and that is Happiness !!
(written on Sunday, September 27, 2009)
Mirage....
I got an interesting insight while talking to my sister, during one of our our "philosophical" discussions!
I had asked her if it is wrong to be want to be happy and go after whatever makes you happy! And here is what she had to say.....
"I firmly believe..and that belief convinced me to the core, that the conclusion of can some one find true happiness is NO. Its as simple as that! No one can truly ever be happy. We need to choose to be happy..and out of all the quotes, this one, I undoubtedly think is by far the most truthful!
Its just the bitter bitter truth that we need to be happy within the imperfections...If you have been unhappy for too long... its not because your life isnt treating you right at the moment..its cause you let your self be unhappy...its cause you gave up somewhere...lifes gonna treat you that way all the time...
temporarily changes will brings u happiness but very soon you ll find flaws in them too...its just human nature!
When man has no real afflictions he invents some!..we are the most fucked up species! every good thing comes with a price... insanity is the price we pay for intelligence! I believe we should accept what we cant change..and change what we cant accept but beleive me some changes are just aint worth it!
again only because...u make the change seeking bliss...which doesnt last! DOESNT!
One wonders they are where they are because their past decisions might have been wrong...10 yrs from now..the decision he makes today will make him wonder the same.
Where ever you will stand in 5 yrs from now... u ll still keep looking for what u searching now. We are trapped that is true...but not by the social norms or ethics...we are just prisoner or our own thoughts....and we will be! You just got to control your mind..dont let it control you!"
She goes on to say that life is like a mirage...you always see things you want to see out there, standing here; but the moment you walk up to it to get it, you realise that, that never existed and just isn't there! So you start searching for something new and again you might see it, not realising that it could have the same consequence !
(written on Friday, September 25, 2009)
I had asked her if it is wrong to be want to be happy and go after whatever makes you happy! And here is what she had to say.....
"I firmly believe..and that belief convinced me to the core, that the conclusion of can some one find true happiness is NO. Its as simple as that! No one can truly ever be happy. We need to choose to be happy..and out of all the quotes, this one, I undoubtedly think is by far the most truthful!
Its just the bitter bitter truth that we need to be happy within the imperfections...If you have been unhappy for too long... its not because your life isnt treating you right at the moment..its cause you let your self be unhappy...its cause you gave up somewhere...lifes gonna treat you that way all the time...
temporarily changes will brings u happiness but very soon you ll find flaws in them too...its just human nature!
When man has no real afflictions he invents some!..we are the most fucked up species! every good thing comes with a price... insanity is the price we pay for intelligence! I believe we should accept what we cant change..and change what we cant accept but beleive me some changes are just aint worth it!
again only because...u make the change seeking bliss...which doesnt last! DOESNT!
One wonders they are where they are because their past decisions might have been wrong...10 yrs from now..the decision he makes today will make him wonder the same.
Where ever you will stand in 5 yrs from now... u ll still keep looking for what u searching now. We are trapped that is true...but not by the social norms or ethics...we are just prisoner or our own thoughts....and we will be! You just got to control your mind..dont let it control you!"
She goes on to say that life is like a mirage...you always see things you want to see out there, standing here; but the moment you walk up to it to get it, you realise that, that never existed and just isn't there! So you start searching for something new and again you might see it, not realising that it could have the same consequence !
(written on Friday, September 25, 2009)
Is there something called .... PERFECT ?
All of us since our childhood days, dream of a perfect life when you grow up! A perfect education, a perfect set of parents, a perfect love story, a perfect job, a perfect family with kids...and the list goes on!
But does life really turn out to be as perfect as we imagine? Or IS life as perfect as we think it is?
So, what is perfect? I would say things are perfect when it is just the way we want it to be, irrespective of whether it is the right way or wrong way!
One perspective of life being perfect is....that you believe everything is perfect, because you think everything is the way you want it to be...too blind to notice that its isn't fitting in anywhere in your life! And the other perspective being....living with the imperfect life, but living it perfectly because that's what you want !
Personally, I would choose to live the latter perfect life and be happy with my imperfections!
But what happens to the person who just cant accept that things aren't always perfect and are not always what you wanted it to be?
Someone said... "The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”
(written on Saturday, September 5, 2009)
But does life really turn out to be as perfect as we imagine? Or IS life as perfect as we think it is?
So, what is perfect? I would say things are perfect when it is just the way we want it to be, irrespective of whether it is the right way or wrong way!
One perspective of life being perfect is....that you believe everything is perfect, because you think everything is the way you want it to be...too blind to notice that its isn't fitting in anywhere in your life! And the other perspective being....living with the imperfect life, but living it perfectly because that's what you want !
Personally, I would choose to live the latter perfect life and be happy with my imperfections!
But what happens to the person who just cant accept that things aren't always perfect and are not always what you wanted it to be?
Someone said... "The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.”
(written on Saturday, September 5, 2009)
Intricacies of Relationships......
Till today, I am still confused about relationships and its' nuances in life!
Why do we need relationships? Why are they always so complicated? Even a simple relationship of being a colleague, room mate, car pool buddy has so much of complications! How do we then handle the bigger ones like that with our parents, friends, partner/lover, spouse, children, relatives..?
Do we have problems because we have expectations out of every one in our life? I think that is pretty much the mother of all problems! So if I agree that that is the cause, then can I stop my expectations?
I did try to curb few expectations out of people who matter because I thought they should have the freedom to be and act the way they want without being bound by any sort of expectation! But I realized that at times, even if YOU want to let go of the expectations, people around you don't let it happen! They will coax you to coax your relations to do what you want! confusing.. ? Trust me...it so f*** is !
Is there anyway that I can free myself from all these confusions?
The only way I think one can do that is when you don't have any ties with anyone and don't love anyone in your life!
(written on Friday, August 28, 2009)
Why do we need relationships? Why are they always so complicated? Even a simple relationship of being a colleague, room mate, car pool buddy has so much of complications! How do we then handle the bigger ones like that with our parents, friends, partner/lover, spouse, children, relatives..?
Do we have problems because we have expectations out of every one in our life? I think that is pretty much the mother of all problems! So if I agree that that is the cause, then can I stop my expectations?
I did try to curb few expectations out of people who matter because I thought they should have the freedom to be and act the way they want without being bound by any sort of expectation! But I realized that at times, even if YOU want to let go of the expectations, people around you don't let it happen! They will coax you to coax your relations to do what you want! confusing.. ? Trust me...it so f*** is !
Is there anyway that I can free myself from all these confusions?
The only way I think one can do that is when you don't have any ties with anyone and don't love anyone in your life!
(written on Friday, August 28, 2009)
Can we be Fearless? or BRAVEHEARTS.... ?
Last night, when I was watching the movie Braveheart (by Mel Gibson) again after years, I realized that there was so much to the movie and its dialogues than what I had understood when I had first seen it.
I saw the passion in the men to fight for what was theirs! Killing brutally and mercilessly...and more so with a hatred so fierce... !! Each blow came with every ounce of energy left in the body, the will never withering till the last kill!
In today's time, do any of us have that vicious wildness to go for what we want? To just DO IT? Do we have that passion in our hearts to just WIN it? Or are we tied down too much with our social and moral obligations? Do we ever have the liberty to live as an individual and act as an individual?
An excellent excerpt from the movie -
I saw the passion in the men to fight for what was theirs! Killing brutally and mercilessly...and more so with a hatred so fierce... !! Each blow came with every ounce of energy left in the body, the will never withering till the last kill!
Nothing more mattered to them at that moment than the FREEDOM !
Freedom comes with a price! The warriors paid with the lives of so many men to get it!
Does the King/Leader ever feel the guilt for achieving something at the cost of so many lives, families, children, homes? Or do we say all is fair in war...and Love?
Does the King/Leader ever feel the guilt for achieving something at the cost of so many lives, families, children, homes? Or do we say all is fair in war...and Love?
In today's time, do any of us have that vicious wildness to go for what we want? To just DO IT? Do we have that passion in our hearts to just WIN it? Or are we tied down too much with our social and moral obligations? Do we ever have the liberty to live as an individual and act as an individual?
As a child, we have our parents to act for, then partner/spouse, and then our children!
An excellent excerpt from the movie -
(When William Wallace addresses the army, which was retreating, before the war against the English)
WW - You have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. What would you do without freedom?
Will you fight?
Men - Fight Against that (the English Army)? No, we will run; and we will live.
WW - Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live -- at least a while.
(written on Wednesday, August 19, 2009)
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The beginning
I had first started with a personal blog, which was like a personal diary for me, penning down things whatever came to my mind. With time, I have realized that I am ready to share those thoughts with my friends and family who I think can relate to what I think . So I am starting with the collection of whatever I had written till now and with time I hope to keep adding to it...till I keep thinking!
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