Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Truth Vindicated Series - Social Conditioning

Truth Vindicated -
(Most of the portion of this post comes from one of my dearest friend Sameer, so kudos to him for the same)

Social Conditioning

Ready steady Go! HimK in 2nd position, Knight rider in 1st position and Foxy P in last position.
HimK has taken the lead is in 1st position and Knight rider is now at 2nd position. This is the final furlong and its looks like a close race. Oh no! it’s getting too excitingggggg....dunno who is going to win? It’s a photo finish, and only one winner!

That’s how I was born.

It wasn’t three horses-- it was a race with almost 3 million sperms that I had to defeat in a race lasting 30 seconds. It was the scariest moments in my life. You cannot imagine the relief I went through as I entered the egg and as I looked back into the distance, I shed a tear for the millions of my brothers or sisters that did not make it and perished along the way.

31 years later, and I am awaiting birth of my 2nd kid. Yeah, again a winner will be born.

Many of us are still in the race. We actually never realized that we have already won. We still fight for our place in society, trains, buses, office. We all are still a sperm. I know most of the you will revolt when you read it. But ask a person who has just lost his job, I bet he will agree that he is fighting for his place. So let’s look at the sperms we have around us. CEO in his nice cabin looking to keep his position, Sperm!, Foot ball player running after the ball, Sperm!, Politician, Looking to keep his seat, Sperm!. (While many of us may not realize that we are still fighting for our space simply because things may come easy to us that do not mean we are not part of it). The social conditioning has gone beyond limits so that we are in constant race in our life.

But I have revolted to this social conditioning. I was born a winner and the race is over. I have won the biggest race of life, and that is to be born. So do not tell me that I still have to struggle for everything.

I think this fear of loss of egg (in our first ever race) is so intrinsic that it immediately manifests when we see something which is scarce and may people are trying to obtain it. It is one of the most difficult things to let go in life. It’s funny however, when I see wealthy people in India and abroad showing the sperm mentality. Nothing is ever enough. The first step I think would be to realise that it exists. Every time you are struggling for that promotion (SPERM!), every time you are fighting over a girl/guy (SPERM!), every time you rush into a train (SPERM!), every time you have to explain to your manager for coming late (SPERM!).

So in someway or the other you will see that 95% of you is because of social conditioning. For e.g. We are made to believe that only doctor’s can treat our illness, Only pain killers can cure headaches, Only English medium schools are good for our kids, Information in the news papers is the ultimate truth, so on and so forth. There is a huge difference between reality (truth) and perception (social conditioning).
The scarcity which exists today cannot be explained in material terms. As I said before nothing is enough when it comes to material world. In spiritual world, I am sure there is plenty for everyone. Just imagine that you have won biggest race in semi-formed state, in a fully formed state, unimaginable power holds.

We are born to enjoy every moment of life; that is the only truth. Now how this would be believed by a child who has just lost his parents in the bomb blast. Again, in material terms, I have no explanation. In spiritual world, the child has learned the biggest lesson of his life that he is here to love himself and that death is the only other reality then life. More often then not we miss the lessons we are meant to learn due to an event. This is purely due to social conditioning.
Yes, I am going too far to blame social conditioning because it is the culprit. Believe me in spite of knowing the culprit; it is difficult to get out of it. But as said before if I won the biggest race of life, I know I can do it and I will do it.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Lucky to be born in Bharat!


This has been circling in my mind since quite sometime.
I Love India.
Most youngster think that India is the worst place to do a post grad and work etc.
There is too much politics so everything is difficult and most of them go abroad for further studies and then work outside India only. That may help India reduce the population :)
I had been in US for 2+ years and I agree that life is easy and comfortable in the US.
Now lets look at it from a different perspective.
We are born and bought up in India. What do we have here which cannot exist anywhere else?
Describe your childhood to anybody outside india, I am sure he would agree that you are lucky to have such a childhood.
The games we played, the festivals we celebtrated, the enthusiasm we carried is simply non-existent in other parts of the world.

Everything is difficult in India, right from riding a motor cycle to getting your passport.
Does this mean - it is bad? The answer is "NO".
This actually means that if you can ride in India, you can ride anywhere in the world but vice-versa is not true.
Ask a US citizen to drive in India, he will give up. Ask Indian citizen drive in US, he will fly :)
So Ironical that I could not teach my wife to drive in US (even when it was so easy). But I could teach her in India. This is because of the small lanes where there are no cars, you can use the same to learn driving ;)
Do you find the same in US? If you find one, you will find a police man patrolling it and you will be screwed.
Talk about the variety food that you get in India, I can bet there is no better place then India for good food.

US home loan market crashed to no limits. We also have huge home loans, but did the same happen to the same sector in India? It did not happen because we are conservative and that saved us. We still fear taking loan and we want to pay it back as soon as possible and that is the "honesty" we carry in ourselves.

I can go on to tell things which makes us what we are today? The best and miles ahead of other countries in some way or the other. So lets be proved of it.

India is blessed by the nature, it has mountains on one side and sea on another. Nature protects us and we are lucky to be born in "Bharat"

Sunday, February 08, 2009

For my love thy movies - Trilogy

This is a submission for the Reel-life Bloggers contest www.wogma.com and http://reviewgang.com/
An action packed thrill of 3 movies
1) Luck By chance -

I am vary of seeing movies as I am very critical of the same ;)
But thanks to swati (my wife), I sometimes end up seeing a few of them.
I promise you that you will be confused by the end of this review and so you will go and watch the movie ;)

Its always my tendency to take some good things of a movie and learn from it.
The best thing about this movie was that it was relatively a casual movie and thus light.
The shots are taken in normal day to day lanes and homes so that brings some reality.
Everyone would agree that they see a new star in Farhan Akhtar.
But this movie by far was konkana sen's movie (ok, as a guy, I will always be biased ;)).
Her subtle expressions are the highlights of the movie.
The subtle comedy of the movie is awesome.
Like there is something about poems whereby everyone can interpret in its own way, the same applies to the movie too. One can view it from many different view points.
So here is luck by chance from my 4 eyes (2 normal and 2 with a lot of power glass ;)) -
Luck by chance is about creating destiny vs living the destiny. It also shows that you can get lucky by chance but that will most likely not sustain.
I always believe you have to go and knock at the oppurtunity, if you believe is oppurtunity knocking at your door, most likely you will miss it.
So here is a movie in which luck by chance, one gets lucky but other one gets luckier as she learns to live life as it is!
Farhan Akhtar believes in creating destiny (kismet bantee nahee, bananee padti hain). Only wishing means nothing to him.
So the guy creates oppurtunity, walks through it. Leaving behind her girl friend Konkana.
All this happens luck by chance.
It is almost as if Konkana's luck is replaced by Farhan's luck.
Although for a brief period, she is upset but she thanks him for the things she learned from him and then lives in that fashion. Now she is on to creating opportunities but in much more subtle and resilient way.
What is the difference? Now, she continues to enjoy things she is doing. She is no longer waiting for the chance she may get in "future".
So luck by chance a struggling movie actress who lived every moment based on the future role, turns to her present life and starts loving what she is doing everyday. And this she learnt from her lost love.
In turn her lost love Farhan turns lucky by chance but looses all good people in his life.
It poses a very good question. What is more important? Living every moment as it is or longing for something to achieve in future.
Rather both and strike a balance.
Few lines from the poem "IF" summarizes it very well -
If you can dream and not make dreams your master.
If you can think and not make thoughts your aim.
If you can meet with Triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same.
;)

2) ZNMD -


It is saturday morning, been a long time saw any movie so here was my chance. Looked up the theatre and time, off we want for the movie. High expectations from 3 rocking stars and good punch in the name.
Friendship is one relationship which I feel is the most real one since my childhood and I am sure for most of us it is the same. "Dil Chahta hain" was hit for this very reason.
Some friends where ever they may be are friends for ever.
ZNMD was about 3 friends and their promise to have journey of a life time with 3 selected destinations with 3 activities they can choose and all 3 of them must do it.
We all know Hrithik is crowd puller. But the star of this movie was some one else, it was Abhay Deol for me and Farhan Akhtar for my Swati.
The movie showed Hrithik to be a money minter with almost no life, well, eye opener for many of us that forget living life in the crazy world of making money. Farhan is a moldable die, he fits almost any role given to him. By far awesome. The star of the movie was Abhay with his classic looks.
The beautiful Katrina was meaningful too with a very simple message of "live life, Queen size". The little bit of zen about "the moment that matters" comes out very cleanly in Katrina's role as a deep sea diver.
Let's switch to the location, Amazing locations with deep sea diving, lot of greener pastures, unseen empty roads and awesome car. The movie is a visual treat apart from being a passionate story too.
The most exciting thing about the movie was the "fear factor". Each of us have different fears - fear of height, fear of water, fear of animals, fear of death (by far the deadliest ;)).
In Matrix 1 - Neo is told "Let it all go Neo, fear, doubts and disbelief". And here you have it - story of 3 friends on a journey to "letting it all go"
If you miss the movie, you are missing a great lesson for yourself, so go watch it NOW!

Matrix 1 - "You have to let is all go Neo - Fear, Doubts, Disbelief"

I must admit, I did not move beyond matrix 1 as I am still digesting matrix 1.
I had watched it during my college days and let it go as an action movie which by far matrix is NOT.
Matrix is about so many things not some particular thing. There are so many perspectives to this movie that this review will short fall of it so you will have to see the movie to get your own perspective.
If you even blink your eye, you lost a lesson from the movie, that's how quick the movie is made. There are sharp turns all through out the movie.
In short, its a about "Neo" who has the instinct that "something is wrong with the world" and how he is guided by his mentor to become "real him" by the thoughts and the mind.
There are amazing fight sequence with excellent dialogue. The simulated fight between neo and morpheus is the sequence to rewind and watch, rewind and watch.
So if you want to know "how deep the rabit hole goes", if you think "it's the mind which makes it real", if you want to "load anything you like" and if you think "when you are ready, you won't have to" go on unload yourself and watch this movie. I am sure "once is not enough" or rather "first time watch is just the beginning".
Enjoy the movie!

Sunday, February 01, 2009

A song for prayer to God!

There are times when you make me laugh
there are moments when you drive me mad
there are seconds when I see the light
though many times you made me cry

There's something you don't understand
I want to be your man

Chorus:
Nothing to lose
your love to win
hoping so bad that you'll let me in

I'm at your feet
waiting for you
I've got time and nothing to lose

There are times when I believe in you
these moments when I feel close to you
there are times I think that I am yours
though many times I feel unsure

There's something you don't understand
I want to be your man

Chorus:
Nothing to lose
your love to win
hoping so bad that you'll let me in

I'm at your feet
waiting for you
I've got time and nothing to lose

I'll always be around you
keep an eye on you
cos my patience is strong
and I won't let you run
cos you are the only one

Nothing to lose
your love to win
hoping so bad that you'll let me in

I'm at your feet
waiting for you
I've got time and nothing to loose.