I woke up today morning and was checking my email. A friend had sent a message "What is happening in Mumbai?". I did not fully understand it and replied in jest to him....
... Then I opened rediff.com and all hell broke loose inside me...
... I had thought that the days of gunmen roaming streets are over and bomb blasts were the norm -- my mind had always argued that making a bomb is easy and detecting is hard ... this time it was guns... scores of people with them ... and loads of ammunition ... roaming about on the streets ... those streets where so many like me roam around ... streets which were among my favourite places in Mumbai ... several policemen died... several insignificant people like me also perished ...
Bombs are scary enough ... but Guns? And 30-40 people carrying them? In the heart of the city? Is the Government sleeping? Are we going back in time? The ATS chief dead. Two senior cops dead. More than 100 officially dead.
Is the situation really so hopeless? The government may have no reason/incentive to act. But what about me? I need to save myself. But I do not know if I can do anything. I do not know what to do. Whom to approach. Where to start... Maybe this will be another time when I will just shed some tears which will dry up with time...
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Shubh Deepawali :: Spreading Knowledge
[Image Source :: http://karachi.metblogs.com/archives/images/2005/11/Diwali%20Lamp1.jpg]Shubh Deepawali :: Spreading Knowledge
A Lamp is not just a source of light, it not only illuminates the world around but, in fact, has the ability to enlighten more Lamps...
There is only one Fire in the world... and only a Lamp can kindle it...
A Lamp is not just a source of light, it not only illuminates the world around but, in fact, has the ability to enlighten more Lamps...
There is only one Fire in the world... and only a Lamp can kindle it...
Leaders are like Lamps...
they enlighten and create more Leaders around themselves...
There is only one Knowledge in the world... and only a Leader (or Guru) can kindle it...
This Deepawali, let us pray that we enlighten ourselves to Lead the world towards Knowledge...
they enlighten and create more Leaders around themselves...
There is only one Knowledge in the world... and only a Leader (or Guru) can kindle it...
This Deepawali, let us pray that we enlighten ourselves to Lead the world towards Knowledge...
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Q & A
[Image Source: http://oygirl.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/question.jpg]In life there are several questions which are unanswered... there are several answers which are unquestioned...
Is answering the questions and questioning the answers more important that living itself?
Monday, June 30, 2008
Decisions and Destinies...
What is Destiny? Do you believe in it? ...
Do you believe in Luck? How are the two different? Or are they the same?...
What is Fate?...
...
...
...
These and similar questions have intrigued me for a long time... I have also had some discussions with people on these. It is really hard to argue out these things... at different points in life, we all have different opinions and views on these questions. My beliefs too have changed over time. I do not know if the have evolved or devolved but they have surely been moderated and directed by my personal experiences and perhaps, to some extent of those around me.
The only thing that we can control (if at all, that is) in all of this universe is ourselves. And nothing but we can control ourselves. And that is where it begins and ends. There is nothing less or more than this that we can control. The most we can do (and that is what a leader does) is to influence our surroundings. That is it. There is nothing more we can do... there is nothing less that we should strive to do...
Now once we realise this, it is clear that even though we do not have any control on the external factors around us, they do influence and affect us. And this destiny...
We may decide to do X but Y may happen due to factors beyond our control. We may have done a good job in controlling ourselves, but because X involves the external world to move in a certain way -- which does not materialise -- it leads to Y. Movement of external factors constitute our destiny...
We decide that A is what we want to do... and we are powerful enough (at that point in time) to impose it on others... and this becomes their destiny... So our decisions become others' destinies...
There are times in life when decisions and destinies do not seem to be going hand in hand... in fact, they may be conflicting... and if the decisions are big enough, it is here that the course of life gets altered...
It is the interaction of decisions and destinies that modulates our life...
However, it is our reactions to these that governs our life... It should be life that must go on... whatever goes on should not be called life...
Do you believe in Luck? How are the two different? Or are they the same?...
What is Fate?...
...
...
...
These and similar questions have intrigued me for a long time... I have also had some discussions with people on these. It is really hard to argue out these things... at different points in life, we all have different opinions and views on these questions. My beliefs too have changed over time. I do not know if the have evolved or devolved but they have surely been moderated and directed by my personal experiences and perhaps, to some extent of those around me.
The only thing that we can control (if at all, that is) in all of this universe is ourselves. And nothing but we can control ourselves. And that is where it begins and ends. There is nothing less or more than this that we can control. The most we can do (and that is what a leader does) is to influence our surroundings. That is it. There is nothing more we can do... there is nothing less that we should strive to do...
Now once we realise this, it is clear that even though we do not have any control on the external factors around us, they do influence and affect us. And this destiny...
We may decide to do X but Y may happen due to factors beyond our control. We may have done a good job in controlling ourselves, but because X involves the external world to move in a certain way -- which does not materialise -- it leads to Y. Movement of external factors constitute our destiny...
We decide that A is what we want to do... and we are powerful enough (at that point in time) to impose it on others... and this becomes their destiny... So our decisions become others' destinies...
There are times in life when decisions and destinies do not seem to be going hand in hand... in fact, they may be conflicting... and if the decisions are big enough, it is here that the course of life gets altered...
It is the interaction of decisions and destinies that modulates our life...
However, it is our reactions to these that governs our life... It should be life that must go on... whatever goes on should not be called life...
Monday, November 19, 2007
Poorest Person in the World?
Since the past few weeks the Indian media is abuzz with the list of the financially "richest" people in the world. The booming stock markets have a role to play in this as well... Details and breakup of their wealth has been published and a lot of space has been devoted to articles covering the news.
We all know who these people are (nothing against them, they have given a lot to the world), some of us may also remember the entire list and personal wealth of the top 100 "richest". Thousands (if not millions) of dollars are spent each year in counting and tracking their wealth.
Reading these again and again made me feel hollow inside. How many of us know the name of the poorest person in the world? Or for that matter how many of us even remember the number of poor people we have seen in our lifetime? I do not...
Why do poor people never occupy the news? Some say it is "disturbing"... some tend to ignore them... many others take advantage of them... and I just sit and feel bad about it all...
It reminds me of Gandhiji's Talisman which occupied the inside covers of all NCERT books in my school days. Maybe, some day I will be able to use it:
We all know who these people are (nothing against them, they have given a lot to the world), some of us may also remember the entire list and personal wealth of the top 100 "richest". Thousands (if not millions) of dollars are spent each year in counting and tracking their wealth.
Reading these again and again made me feel hollow inside. How many of us know the name of the poorest person in the world? Or for that matter how many of us even remember the number of poor people we have seen in our lifetime? I do not...
Why do poor people never occupy the news? Some say it is "disturbing"... some tend to ignore them... many others take advantage of them... and I just sit and feel bad about it all...
It reminds me of Gandhiji's Talisman which occupied the inside covers of all NCERT books in my school days. Maybe, some day I will be able to use it:
"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj [freedom] for the hungry and spiritually starving millions? Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."
- Mahatma Gandhi
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