July 02, 2009 | 04:20 PM
Harmony and disharmony
For those that define Harmony as the natural state of existence, or a state that we should aspire to, I have a question. :
Does the Universe not exist in constant battle between contradictory forces of Harmony and Disharmony ? Like the sunspots of the Sun, the Universe too tends to explode out of itself and then is pulled back by a contradictory force ?
Would the Universe and everything that existed in it not be completely dead and non creative if there was a continuous stable non moving state of Harmony ? And the same would go for us, in any form you may decide to see ourselves. Our consciousness, our soul, or our 'five senses self'. The one law of creativity, of existence, of consciousness, of life itself, all that exists, or potentially exists, does so between extreme contradictions.
After all, Good can only be described in the context of Evil and vice versa. So what is that state that is one of complete acceptance (oops - here we go again in that word) which is neither good nor evil, nor moral or immoral, nor active or inactive, that is neither violent nor non- violent ? That has form but no recognizable form ? A state that defies all adjectives, nouns or verbs we can think of , a state that exists without context with anything else, that is complete within it self yet completely infinite and incomplete ?
For those that claim to have found that state which is often described as 'nirvana (Hinduism) , or 'shunyata' (Buddhism) , or the eternal life (Islam and Christianity), I assume have encompassed the forces of contradiction and disharmony within themselves, battling neither, so experience themselves as the Universe and Eternity themselves. They are neither one nor the other, but part of a stillness that allows the battle to rage within. Knowing it to be an eternal battle, but able to smile upon it.
For me, I am still part of the battle, but learning that being buffeted by contradiction and giving into the contradictory forces is just the first step - the step that gives into the unknown without resistance. Or atleast active resistance, for the mind and the ego still rebels. The first step is to accept Chaos as the natural order of things, before reaching and yearning for that which is called 'enlightenment' or inner stillness, or whatever word and religion or philosophy chooses to use.
So forgive me if I question those that seem to emphatically KNOW. I don't. I yearn to experience, and wonder at people that say they know. Is it mere knowledge ? Or is it experience ? Is it intellectual or is it emotional ? The only people I meet that seem to be completely comfortable with contradiction (or duality as it is commonly called) are children , who have not yet been taught to separate completely that which is imagined and that which sensed.
I see everything I write here as huge question mark. A search and questioning, and sharing that yearning with others.
July 01, 2009 | 06:23 PM
James Baldwin on Michael Jackson
James Baldwin, writing in an essay in 1985 in his essay Here Be Dragons, where he says :
“The Michael Jackson cacophony is fascinating in that it is not about Jackson at all. I hope he has the good sense to know it and the good fortune to snatch his life out of the jaws of a carnivorous success. He will not swiftly be forgiven for having turned so many tables, for he damn sure grabbed the brass ring, and the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo has nothing on Michael.”And he goes on to say, “Freaks are called freaks and are treated as they are treated—in the main, abominably—because they are human beings who cause to echo, deep within us, our most profound terrors and desires.”
June 27, 2009 | 02:00 PM
Micheal Jackson's Angelic Spirit
Did Micheal jackson live in his human self or his spirit self ?
Without the energy of his spirit, it could not be possible that every human being on this planet knew his music, his dance. It did not matter that you were in innner Mangolia, or a potential suicide bomber in the Gaza Strip, or an Israeli soldier, or an kid from the most remote rural India. Everyone knew MJ, every one knew his song, and everyone knew his dance.
In judging the show "India's Got Talent" I was amazed at the amount of young people from small town and rural India that did Micheal Jackson impersonations and called him their Guru. In fact the most brilliant one was an 11 year old adivasi boy, who claimed that Micheal Jackson's spirit entered him when he danced.
The few times I met MJ through my friend Deepak Chopra (they were good friends), I met an extremely humble man. One who made me feel like he was my fan rather than the other way round. He reminded me of a few others that I met, who's spirits were obviously uncomfortable with the limitations of their bodies, the spirits were dying to soar and to be Universal. Heath Ledger and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan were like that. Spirits not wanting to be limited by the body. All died young. Like Angels.
And what is it about us that we cannot handle strong spirits. Do we have to crucify them ? I saw the agony the Micheal Jackson had to endure in last years accused of crimes against children based not on proof but on flawed accusations.
When Angels appear amongst us, we are compelled to crucify them.
June 25, 2009 | 09:30 PM
making life simple
'P' asked "Shekhar, why do make life so complex. Why don't you just "be". Acceptance is beautiful once you truly understand it...keep living in the moment...."
Your statement " Acceptance is truly beautiful if you understand it" is so beautifully stated. It is what I am trying to do. Understand what acceptance means and strive towards it. Acceptance cannot just mean cowardice or inaction. Acceptance must lead to purity of action. Where action is separated from the result of that action. And how do I separate myself from the result of my action ?
That was what I was trying to come to terms with in my last post. That what we call 'result' of our actions is often independent of our action. It has an individuality of it's own. It has it's own life and often the relationship is the other way round. We are caught up in the Karma of the event (the result s we call it), and assume ourselves as one of the cause.
In fact the Universe in it's true nature has no place for words like 'cause' and "result'. The result and the cause are intertwined in an eternal bond, which is part of a universal matrix of the play of the universe.
So what does "Acceptance is beautiful when you truly understand it" mean unless you experience the the idea that time has a linear value only if you desire it. Or your Ego does, for it needs to see a distance between cause and result. The Ego needs to contextualize it's actions by the result (or imagined result) of it's action to know that it exists..
Yet this duality was what Buddha meditated over - trying to come to vision of Shunyata, of a vast emptying of the mind off our Ego and experiencing ourselves as in Unity with existence, where time and space have only imagined existences.
Yes, you are right 'P', 'Acceptance is beautiful when you truly understand it' ..... but I have a long way to go before I can truly get there. The journey began as a little boy reaching out to the idea of forever, and still goes on. You sound like you are much further ahead than I am, so I would love for you to share your experiences with our community,
shekhar
June 21, 2009 | 04:54 AM
Does the event create the cause ?
Does an event create a disharmony, a ripple that provokes us into action so that we become part of the creation of it ? Mistakingly assuming we created the event ? Are we slaves to the event while we think of ourselves as creators of the 'it' ?
Nor are we separate from the event. The event and us, inseparable part of the same play being imagined by the Universe in all eternity. The event itself part of a ripple caused by another. And so on, but circling right back, the ripples being the eternal cause and effect of each other. Enclosed in nothing but timelessness.
Part of discussions that came up as I opened my installation at the Swarovski museum in Austria
June 09, 2009 | 12:50 PM
Were Einstiens' equations in his brain or outside ?
"The most beautiful and most profound experience is the sensation of the mystical. It is the sower of all true science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead. To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty which our dull faculties can comprehend only in their primitive forms - this knowledge, this feeling is at the center of true religiousness. ( Albert Einstein - The Merging of Spirit and Science) -- "
Thank you manav, for sharing this. It's beautifully put by a person who's brain is under constant study by scientists all over the world. But maybe Einstein accessed his equations from a source much higher then his own individuality, his own brain ? Is creativity the ability to access a source of universal consciousness ?
To see or to sense ?
Do we sense things beyond the world we construct from our 'five senses' ? I am sure we do, and there is enough scientific data to prove that. But does our reliance on our 'five senses' hinder our ability to truly sense things. Are the yogi's right when they say that we should shut out the world to truly 'see' the world.
All of us have had such experiences, and most of us deny ourselves those experiences. By calling it a play of imagination. But in my experience, these moments have been of extreme simplicity and clarity. The sensing is of the unity of all things beyond analysis and understanding, in the realm of experiencing. These are meditative moments that force you into the clarity of 'now'. Not always in meditation - but events that can lead to that which meditation is hoping to achieve.
In one such moment I actually decide to write at random, without imposing my intellect upon the writing, even without imposing my imagination. Just write. And I wrote something I have shared before :
I search for that which I see
and when the searching stops
the seeing begins
June 07, 2009 | 11:53 PM
Goodbye Rajeev Motwani, Google Mentor and friend...
No one that met Rajeev Motwani could leave without being touched by this man's humility, his gentleness and warmth. For someone that was instrumental in the creation of Google, and who was one of the most brilliant and respected minds in the silicon valley, Rajeev was the most simple person you would meet. Always smiling and always ready to help, Rajeev and I would spend hours discussing the next great developments in computers, in physics, even spirituality. Rajeev was a prolific investor and nurtured many great movements and companies. We would always dream up ideas for new companies to create or invest in. From his army background and relatively humble beginings in Delhi, Rajeev became one of the most respected persons in the Silicon Valley,
The last time he and his wonderful wife Asha met me, Rajeev insisted that I come to the Silicon Valley and stay with them for a few months, to discuss new ventures we could do together. He even wanted me to come and teach for a few months at Stanford.
Rajeev was died in his home two days ago in a swimming accident. In the pool by which we would sit and dream of new worlds. He left behind two daughters and a very very brave and wonderful wife, Asha. And memories......
June 06, 2009 | 11:34 PM
But when passion is directed positively ...
Meet Wendy Chin, who's great passion is to protect the ancient mangrove forests on the coast of Langkawi in Malaysia. A business graduate with a hugely promising career in finance, Wendy found her true calling in protection of the environment. She moved to the Island of Langkawi and works ceaselessly to protect the incredible amount of species that live in the eco systems of the mangroves - and the mangroves themselves. And we all know that Mangroves provide the protection against erosion of our coast lines and against high tides and Tsumani like waves.
I was attending a Standard Chartered Bank conference at the beautiful Four Seasons Resort in Langkawi where Wendy was taking us out in boats to teach us about her beloved mangroves. From a one inch red crab scurrying into the mud to a poisonous viper that hung unseen a metre away from my head, Wendy brought the wealth of the mangroves alive for all of us, as we listened and watched with such rapt attention, feeling the very pulse of the ecosystem and becoming one with it.
The world needs more Wendy Chin's to help save our ecosystems.
The Humanitarian problem in Sri Lnka and the threat to Tamil Nadu
Thank God it's over, must be the answers to all the prayers for the people trapped in the final moments of the war in Sri Lanka. And while all the world clamors for investigations into terrible human rights abuses on both sides of the war, the question that one must must ask is that in a war that lasted over a quarter of a century, where was the world then ? Civilians were dying all the time.
Does that mean that slow death is much more acceptable than sudden death ? Or do we live in a word that cannot pay attention to anything unless it is high drama and melodramatic ? And is it really over ?
Seeds of resentment and memories of horror over twenty five years do not go away easily. The Sri Lankan government will have to embrace its Tamil people with compassion and resolve. Or the call for a separate Tamil nation will not go away easily.
And the LTTTE is still a force. I have come across fierce support for the LTTE amongst Tamilians in suburbs Paris and in the US, where a lot of the people came as refugees from the conflict. There is also support in Tamil Nadu itself. There is danger of the fight for a separate Tamil Nation now being nurtured in India in Tamil Nadu itself and expect the politics of Tamil Nadu to turn a blind eye to it, or even covertly support it.
With the Talibanization of Pakistan, the conflicts on our eastern borders, India can ill afford another separatist movement on it's southern borders.
June 05, 2009 | 10:12 AM
Dreams come true ?
Beware,
dreams are just dreams,
benign creatures
that give you wonderful feelings of warmth
in times when you need to cradle yourself to sleep
till they become passions and obsessions,
and develop an identity of their own,
no longer in your control
are you willing to watch your dreams
grow into demons that do not belong to you ?
a passion and obsession that takes charge of you ?
wrings out your soul
and leaves you breathless, almost lifeless
when it is done with you ?
beware of your dreams,
those subtle, benign thoughts
that saw you through hours of boredom
and took you through wonderful journeys
when your maths professor droned on
about numbers that made no emotional sense
Magical Clouds
If I had not seen clouds before
would this not have been the most magical sight ever ?
it was,
at the moment that the picture was clicked, randomly
was the first time I ever saw clouds
and was overwhelmed,
June 04, 2009 | 04:32 PM
Mythology, Story Telling and Einstein
In an 'amoral' Universe that is neither moral nor immoral, Mythology or Mythic story telling is the attempt of our imagination to comprehend our existence in moral terms. Or moral contradictions
Our Mythology, our Mythic selves are much more than the idea of the stories that are/were told to us. We are the very stories that we tell ourselves. And always have been. From the time we were born. From the time that Human beings started to imagine.
The first art was the art of story telling.
From the time that Man tried to express lightning and thunder as the anger of the Gods and developed moral stories around it, to the postulations of Einstein's theory's of relativity, the beginings have been in a story told to oneself, and then shared. Stories which comes from a deep seated mythology embedded in our consciousness.
Stories are moral contradictions, re interpreted again and again. The Universe itself exists in contradictions, and the contradictions are never ending. When you solve one contradiction, another emerges. And so the Universe goes on. If the contradictions went away - the Universe would cease to exist. As would we, as would all imagination. We would cease to exist, and yes, the ultimate contradiction that we exist and do not exist at the same time is the most tantalizing contradiction of all.
So if you cannot do away with contradictions, how do you come to terms with them ? By finding Harmony in them. By being the contradiction itself. By becoming 'one with the duality' as Buddha and all the great spiritualists say. And so the great poet finds Harmony in the contradiction of words, the mathematician finds harmony in the contradiction of numbers ( with the concept of a non number of nothingness, the zero, being the ultimate contradiction without which modern maths could not exist). The great Musicians find Harmony in the contradiction of notes, the painters in conflicting colours, and spiritualist in the duality of existence. And Einstien searched for Harmony through his equations in the contradictions of Space and Time.
Einstien too was looking for a story to explain mythic concepts like Space and Time. He called them equations but hey ! - he was indulging in his own story telling - his own Mythology.
The above was a part of a discussion I led on 'Mythology and Story telling' at a Screenwriting workshop at the IIT campus in Chennai, which was a lot of fun,
And Einstein.
May 03, 2009 | 11:54 AM
Solitary Confinement
The mind looks to confine
to measure
to contextualize
to give meaning
to itself
for the ego
can exist only
in finite possibilities
needing to enclose itself
in a part of the universe
walled off
from the rest of creation
and from within that prison
to show itself off
yearning to be recognized,
to be individualized
to be admired
and from within that prison
to be loved !
imagining
that everything around itself
has confined itself too
imprisoned itself too
sensing the universe
surrounded by
imagined bits of similar prisons
Imagine
a love you could embrace
the whole universe with
if only you came out of
the solitary confinement
your ego has imprisoned you in
May 02, 2009 | 11:30 AM
What is a Prayer ? from Cinda
what is this prayer? what does the words do when they leave your thoughts and transend to the winds of free flowingness? is it the words? is it the thought that goes with the words? is it the intention that creates the power to move the energy from one form to the next?
do the intentions come naturally or are they already prefixed and they just enter us at moments of aligned frequency?how do we do what we do? where does the prayer get processed...does it need processing?
what is a prayer?
Why was I born ?
I looked for my true calling
I looked for my true purpose
what I am supposed to do on the planet
why was I born ?
and I asked the question deep inside me
beyond logic, beyond thought, deep in the bowels
of the space where I connect to the universe
where I can be thrown into the raging storm of 'not knowing'
and the answer hit me in an immense tidal wave of understanding
"you are your own purpose
nothing more, and nothing less
a bundle of purpose and karma
all existing within itself
and the only thing holding it back
is the separation created by
words like 'I' and 'my' and 'me'"
The end of Democracy in India ?
If only 40% of the eligible voting population in a country bothers to vote, then is the country truly democratic ? Whatever government comes to power, it has a mandate from less than half the people. It's truly a government by default.
First the politicians and media have absolutely no right to blame the electorate. I do not believe in the statement that " it's the apathy of the people that gives them a government they deserve".
Second the arrogant attitude of some of our media stars that expressed 'outrage' at the low voting turn out , after "all they did to pursude them to do so" in Mumbai, should learn that while they can drive people to the cinemas, the people have little faith in their intellectual or political understanding beyond entertainment. Not everyone gets their picture o page 3 when they vote.
Third, how many times do the people of India need to come out and say " WE DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE POLITICIANS OR POLITICS ANYMORE". The Mumbaikers did not vote not because they went away for a long weekend, nor because of the sweltering heat, but because none of the candidates made a substantial stand that aroused their passions, their desire to better the political system. I remember how the people of India came out in droves to vote to end the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, or who came out in droves again to re instate her when they were unhappy. Or when they came out in droves to vote for Rajiv Gandhi after Indira's assassination.
We are a passionate feeling people that respond to our emotion, to our community. We need a leader to arouse those passions in us, someone to believe in, someone that we can trust that has the power, the integrity and the vision to lead us in this new century.
Give us, the people of India such a leader and watch us come out in droves to vote. And if not, then accept that democracy in India will be an excercise in futility and the forces of change will be ultimately thrust upon us by non democratic forces like the fundamentalists, like the the naxalitites that are threatening to invade our cities soon,
April 29, 2009 | 07:35 AM
True lasting love : is it devotion ?
This came in from Cinda and I found it very beautiful :
It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived to have his stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On examining it I saw it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors and got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.
While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while as she suffers with Alzheimer's disease.
As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised and asked him, "And do you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?"
He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me anymore but I still know who she is." I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm and thought,
"That is the kind of love I want in my life. True love is neither physical nor romantic."
True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be......
Continue reading "True lasting love : is it devotion ?"
April 27, 2009 | 06:29 AM
Are these the 'great false elections' in India ?
With a complete lack of real and definite agenda to pull the country out the innumerable problems it faces, the Indian political parties seem to be subverting the Indian democratic process to create a false election. By accepting that there will be a coalition 'government in waiting', that has absolutely no chance of providing a stable and strong government in Delhi,
Why 'Government in waiting' ? Because it is obvious that the Congress is just laying the grounds for Rahul Gandhi to be the next Prime MInister, and the BJP is laying the grounds for Narendra Modi to be the next Prime Minister.
It's sad for the people of India. India's security is threatened by the Talibanization of Pakistan in the West, by the insurrection and separatist movements in our eastern sectors, by the Maoist revolution in Nepal in the North, and we have to keep a watchful eye on a potential Tamil separatist movement s a fall out of the Sri Lankan war in the south. Within India, large parts of our interiors are falling under the armed influence of the Naxal movement.
India's once booming economy is sputtering. Corruption (including in our corportate sector) is at it's worst, terrorism is rampant and unchecked - leading to the loss of innocent lives all over India. Our environment record is one of the worst in the world and our fresh water resources are running out at an alarming rate. Our cities have become unmanageable. And the gap between the rich and poor is widening at an unsustainable rate.
We are a country adrift, lost in sea of selfish, self serving, destructive and corrupt politics. Never before has India needed strong leadership more, and the last thing the people of India need is a 'false election;. A government in waiting.
April 25, 2009 | 11:32 PM
Confusing Indian elections
I find these elections confusing. I completely support all the NGO's that are making great efforts to et everyone to vote, and striving to provide details of the candidates at a click of an sms request on your cell phone.
But what do the parties stand for ? The platform for everyone seems to be why the other party was not the right candidate. The electioneering seems to be completely negative. Putting down the opposing candidate. Why I should not vote for the other Candidate, not why I should vote for you ?
Why should I vote for you ?
The second IPL, a non success because of lively pitches ?
From all accounts the 2nd IPL is not as roaring a success as the first one. The reason is not just that it is not held in India. It also has to do with the pitches in South Africa. In India the pitches are slower and favour the batsmen. Consequently the IPL last year had huge individual scores and a multitude of sixes and 'over the top' stroke play that had the audiences loving the cricket 'Tamasha".
South African pitches are more evenly matched between the batsmen and the bowlers. Consequently, the matches are lower scoring, even though the psychological war between the bat and the ball is more ferocious. But 20/20 is just not long enough to play out this battle. This is a game of street cricket rules : "Hit out or get out". Imran Khan would have loved to bowl in this 20/20. He was one of the most difficult fast bowlers to hit. Gavaskar said that Imran at his best was unplayable. His swing completely unpredictable.
Even though Imran said the 20/20 was not cricket. It was Tamaasha.
Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka
Whatever the outcome of the battle in Sri Lanka, the world cannot stand by and see over 500,000 innocent men women and children be the victims in this war. We in India have a special duty to go in and add to the rescue efforts of the innocent on a much larger scale than we have. Not just as a humanitarian gesture, but as a neighbour we are most suited for the rescue mission. And if we do not, the Tamils of Sri Lanka will never forgive us, nor will our Tamil people forget this.
I am not taking sides in the War. I just do not know enough. Except that we all know that India has meddled in Sri Lankan affairs in the past, has been responsible for the formation of the Tamil Tigers, and then tried to rein them in, leading to Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.
Whatever the past, we cannot just be bystanders. Even the political fallout is extremely dangerous for us. If the battle for a separate Tamil State fails in Sri Lanka, those ambitions could easily be transferred to Tamil Nadu.
