Philosophy

People dread at the very mention of this topic. We are not comfortable discussing topics which deal with the realm of the mind and are sceptic of treading into murky waters. We have to stop awhile, take a step back and analyse our thought process.

I am also a victim of this but today as I was discussing with my project mates the Behavioural Sciences project which involves the analysis of a novel (Siddhartha about which I have talked in the previous post), my friend and myself started talking about soul, body and the external environment.

Every human being has some basic physiological needs. He strives to fulfil those and in the process has to deal with the society. Why a person has to strive to get something is something fundamental. Resources are scarce and we have to optimally use it. If the world had infinite quantities of everything, we needn't have to squabble. The first question we encountered is "What is Soul?" It is difficult to exactly say what it is. Brain is a physical part while mind is a psychological entity. Any desire or emotion other than the physiological needs of a human being constitutes the Soul. According to Freud, the father of psychoanalysis (without whom we students needn't have to undergo this torture!), soul or mind can be classified into Id, Ego and SuperEgo.

Man, and for that matter woman, is always in the conquest of seeking knowledge. He is never satisfied with something and always wants to achieve more and more. The protaganist in the novel passes through various stages in his life and in all of them, he is unhappy with the way things proceed. He starts out on a quest to attain Nirvana, the supreme state of being where one has attained enlightenment.

I would say that a person is unhappy when there are conflicts between id, ego and superego. Each tries to dominate and establish its control over others. When Id is superior, we tend to be more impulsive and when Ego is, we try creating our own ways of doing things and satisfying our needs represented by Id. SuperEgo constricts the Ego from doing anything that is forbidden in our society. A person is restless and unsatisfied when there are conflicts between these.

Nirvana is a state of peace. It is when these three parts of the soul are in sync with the external environment that one can identify himself with the reality. There is no elixir which if one takes achieves the supreme knowledge. It is this union of the self with the reality around us which gives us peace. Nirvana is a state of perfection. Our body and soul are in complete harmony with the surroundings.

So to attain Nirvana, does one have to renounce everything and go to Himalayas? Not necessarily. One can attain it by living in our society itself the rider being that the society does not exert any kind of pressure on the seeker. But since my assumption is that society is inherently imperfect, its not possible to seek nirvana by being a part of the wordly life.

So whats the way out? Forget all crap about attaining enlightenment, supreme knowledge and Nirvana. Just enjoy life! Just chill chill just chill.....

Siddhartha

I was feeling sleepy and was about to go into deep meditation for the night when I opened my eyes realising that I had unfinished work in this mundane world of studies! So had to request my visual organs to cooperate with me for the time being. What better way to get back to my full consciousness than writing a blog.

I recently finished reading the book that I have mentioned in the title. It has been authored by Herman Hesse, a german, who was inspired by Indian philosophy. The character in this novel goes by the same name as the title of the book. Its the story of an individual who sets out on a journey to realise himself and to understand who he is. He sets out to the forest against the wishes of his father and comes across ascetics with whom he lives for few years and Gautam Buddha whose teachings he does not accept. He sets out to find nirvana on his own and comes across a beautiful woman in some town and gets engrossed in her "moha" (affection) and gets stuck in the cobweb of "sansara" (family life).

Years later, when his hair turns grey and wrinkles wrought on the face, he suddenly realises the unworthiness of the life he has lived and then resumes his journey of knowledge. He comes across a ferryman in whose company he learns a lot about life from the river.

Well, for further story, u gotto read the novel. The gist of the novel is that its difficult for one to escape the web of life and one has to live in the present not brooding about the past and not worrying about the future. This very moment becomes past in a second and so make full use of the time available. Concentrate on what you are doing at the moment. Be it sports, studies, writing, reading, enjoying nature, watching a movie, listening to a song and what not.

Enjoy the sweetness of the present because u never know what future has in store for u. You cannot get back the past and the future is not reliable. Only the present is true. Just rejoice the moment.

Yajur Upakarma

This is a thread changing ceremony performed by the Hindu brahmins. It falls on the Raksha Bandhan day which usually is celebrated in the August 2nd week.

For those who are dazed as to what the significance of upnayanam is
http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/rituals/upakarma/significance.html

I had to change my sacred thread today and had to google for the shlokas ie., the verses to be told while discarding the old one. Did a lot of (improper) googling and luckily found a site where instructions were given.

After the changing, I found a much better site giving directions:
http://www.ahobilam.com/upakarma/index.htm
This one is too good a site which gives in detail whats to be done.

The links which I used were:
http://www.ramanuja.org/sv/bhakti/archives/aug99/0175.html
http://www.panchangam.com/default.htm

Depression

Ok, this is something which has become all pervasive in people's life today. There might be many causes of this vis-a-vis family problems, poor job prospects, some past events and our inability to cope with stress. Whatever be the reason, it can be quite detrimental to the mental and physical well-being of a person if not kept under check.

What are the ways out of this? Its quite difficult to find out a fit all solution for this and one can himself devise methods to keep a tab on it. One should take life as it comes. Accept life as it is. Neither can we change the past nor we have control over future. Our present becomes past
every moment and if we keep brooding over the past and thinking about the future, our present goes in vain. Instead of getting worried, try finding out solution for the problem. If one cannot seem to be finding a solution, then just let go of it. Since you realise that you cant do anything about it, just face it but with grit and determination.

In the coming days to come, people will have to face many more adverse and competitive situations. One has to learn to live with it.

I quote the words of my prof: "Life is unfair. I wanted to play basketball but I was short." Accept life as it is...

Indian Independence

Today we are celebrating the 59th year of freedom from the Britishers. I become very nostalgic on this day in the sense that I feel very attached to this country of mine. My country has given me a lot in terms of my culture, ideology, career and identity. I can hear old patriotic songs being played by my friends and feel some kind of contentment listening them.



There was flag hoisting in our institute today morning and the speech given by a few of our faculty was thought provoking. We have achieved a lot in these 58 years but still have loads to do. People here complain about the lack of facilities. True, but let everyone of us strive to do something. In our short span of life, everyone of us should contribute something to the society which has given us this life. Irrespective of who and where we belong to, lets add some value and make the life around us better in any possible way.

We might think that we are miniscule to bring about any change in the society. Lets reform that attitude. It might be a small glass of water in a big ocean but its enough to save the life of a small fish. A molecule is made up of atoms and each atom contibutes to the traits of the molecule. Every atom has its own important place. So we all are responsible in making our community a better living place.

An article on how one young Indian changed the face of the 1947 war.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1200682.cms
What did he get in return? Crucification and a gory end
Why did he do it? His love for the motherland

Irrespective of what country we belong to, lets strive to make it a better place not by complaining and doing harm to another country but improving ourself.

~Jai~Hind.
~Mera~Bharat~Mahaan

Where are we heading to?

In the past few days, when I get up and pick up the paper from my hostel room door, the headlines I see is "Three youngsters held for molesting a girl", "Five school children arrested for stalking an actress", "A girl raped in the wee hours in a private bus in Delhi" so on and so forth.

Is this the way one starts his day? Is it the newspapers who have been reporting such sensational news which hitherto went unnoticed or is it me whose eye is catching such news or is it that these incidents are on an exponential rise? I safely assume it to be the last one!

Ok, let me move on on a more serious note. What has happened to us? Are we forgetting our age old culture in which women are respected and revered and not looked as objects? Are we moving towards a more open society where there are no barriers or are we becoming globalised in our character too?

Sometime back, I read a news article which mentioned molestation of a child girl and on further reading was schocked to read that the girl or infact I should say the kid was an year old!!
I dont have words to say something about this. Have we forgotten that kids are God's most careful and beautiful creation?

Is this the effect of today's modern hi-tech television and internet?

I have raised many a question but I am not here to give answers. Its for each one of us to ponder and think as to where we are headed to. Its time to just stop for a moment and look back at the mess we have left behind.

I recollect the famous quote I once observed while walking in a park:
"Our life is so full of cares. No time to stand and stare"

WW culminates

Am back in the room after a hectic weekend. Our exams finished on Friday and till today, I have hardly had some 4-5hrs of sleep. Whoa! The weekend flew in no time and I hardly had any inkling of the time. Infact, today morning, after one of the events, I came back to my room and looked at the clock. It showed 9am and I was like "Oh shit, this clock has stopped working". Then I take bath and then see my watch which shows 9.30am and I was like "Man, what has happened to all clocks today" and thats when I realise that nothing had happened but I had lost track of time. Haven't had proper food for the last few days but the enthusiasm in me never stopped somehow. My vocal chords will go on the sleep mode for a week from today. But I have developed some muscles after lifting around 40-50 litres of buckets in 3hrs, hitting the crowbar on the ground to dig the soil, removing the clay, brick and mortar stuck in the ground, catching hold of the tarpaulin on which buckets and buckets of water were being poured for hours together. I have developed cuts and bruises on all parts of my hands and legs but its ok. At the end of the day, I had fun and this is all that matters.

World War!

Dont panic, this is not the war that you are thinking right now.
Well, I wrote a big blog on this and by mistake closed it. Now I dont have patience of writing the whole damn thing once again!

So check out the site of an international exchange student who wrote about it a couple of years back.

http://www.sambith.com/india/iimc/IIMC_world_war.php

Chill out...

Now that exams are over, can chill out for about a week or so before hitting the books. As for how the exams went, as they say its better not to bring out the dead from the grave! I am planning to forget this as a nightmare (strong words eh); actually I consider this as a reminder for me to study hard and the importance of studying well before the exam. This aint an undergraduate college where one can study the night before the exam. Not that there are people who dont do it. But those who do, there levels of intelligence is way beyond mine. So they are not the right persons to emulate.

Anyways, I seem to have digressed from the topic of chilling out! What a great relief of the exams being over! But that does not mean that I can catch on loads of sleep.

"World War" is starting!! Dont panic. Its a term given to inter-hostel rivalry competitions and culturals here. It starts today. Ok, someone calling me...so gotta go...More on it in another post after all the nightouts for the next 3-4 days !!!

Spirituality?

After so many months, I am listening to Hanuman Chalisa and am flowing away in the emotions of the song! I used to recite this every saturday when I was back in college. When I started working and was at home, I stopped this and here I recite the gayatri mantra that too only 3-4 times in a week when I take bath early in the morning.

As I am listening to this recital, I question myself as to where has my spiritual side gone? Why have I changed? Does everyone have to go through this phase or is it just me whose turned this way. I dont know; as I am writing this, I am quite anguished as to what has changed in me. Why have I lost that spiritual touch which I used to have? Its not that having it is something great but any person must spend some time with HIM. I used to go to temple every saturday when I was in my college and would listen to the songs being played in the temple. It gave me some solace from the daily hustle bustle of the hostel life. I watch movies, listen to film songs. I listen to "Bunty aur Babli", "Parineeta", "Veer Zaara", "Britney", "Linkin Park" and "Guns and Roses" songs daily but its been months since I have heard a devotional song. Why? I haven't found a reason for this but I have made a kind of resolve now to listen to one devotional song atleast daily. Not because I feel I will become an athiest if I dont, but it makes me feel happy and dance to the tunes just like they dance at the tune of "Hare Rama, Hare Krishna" in ISKCON temples!!
Ok, now the devotional songs are over and old hindi songs are running in my winamp. So let me get back to the normal world....

Yipee...

Am happy coz two of the most "conceptual" subjects Indian Economic & Political History (IEPH) and Behavioural Sciences (BS) are done now.

IEPH involved studying of about 5-6hrs and you can answer the questions. When I was studying, I actually developed some interest in history. It aint Babar, Akbar kind of history but pre-independence british colonialism and how it led to our freedom struggle. It was good to know about "Laissez-Faire", Capitalism and Industrialism.

As for BS, hee hee huu haa haa....Still cant control laughing. 70 MCQ's and I knew around 20 of them...Phew! looking back I feel thats quite a huge number :) The toppers in this course must be emperors of guessing!

Waiting for the 3 more exams to be over and then can chill out...