Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Spiritual Awakening?

I am bit skeptical of religious places and visiting them to do poojas or ibadats or pray etc.....However, today i found my feet following my sister into one of such place, and it felt awesome, everything about it was just awesome, unimaginable!

It is rightly said, "To experience God, is a divine experience, reserved for elite few." And I am glad to be one of them. So, I follow my sister, who is leading the way, even though I am driving my bike and she is riding pillion. It is a crowded street, too many people, coming in and out of shops, shops on pavements, foot paths, feet walking on road, bargaining with foot path vendors, autos, cycles, two-wheelers, cars parked on both sides of the road, and this is two way road, where in now no overtaking is allowed, for there is no space left after two vehicles take up the road, and still miraculously I am overtaking a bus!

While overtaking a bus, a vendor gets out of way, without complaining, just in nick of time, else it would have been curtains for my license for time being! He does not see me coming, but gets out of the way straight away! As if destiny was calling and being on right path people sensing my destiny were moving out of the way!

It is time for me to apply the brakes, stop the bike, let sister get down and park the vehicle, and there is no parking available any where, not a single slot, except one below the tree, only slot where shade is available, of all the slots in area, reserved specially for me, and I take it. Have never had such a easy time for looking for parking, not even in my own premises!

And as I make way to the deity's holy abode, I realize that his Holy abode resides in the middle of this territory! In middle of the road! And as, it is his holiness's rue, Indian law has little say over here. Hence the road forks into two, and both being two ways, cause lot of traffic jams, so even the rarest of rare staunch atheist gets to take a bow at his holiness's doors, though the prayer this atheist utters is hardly any prayer to a common ear! His prayers are answered immediately, and he can move on as traffic clears for him momentarily. For those who do not, god calls them up close to question them, this includes a visit to nearest hospital and explains the presence of Ambulance placed here on stand by!

As I start stepping on the 1st stone step, I realize, that all the things are rushing towards me, the blaring sound of horns, those beeping indicators, and beep beep mouth shouts, and glaring headlights and what not, and rushing past me, numbing feeling is setting in! I am at center of Universe! No the deity is, and I am very close to it!

Suddenly! As I take next step, all the sounds, all the visions, all start going away! It is like I am the player, standing on field, facing the bowler and all the noise from spectators just goes away, reaching a state of oneness with me! The state of full concentration! It is bliss! It is peace! For the old, thick, windowless walls, of the abode surround you and block out all the waves of sound and light. The only opening in walls is a small doorway, through which I have entered and I have used all four limbs of my body to crawl in, in front of the deity. I Have submitted all my belongings: "Tann, Mann, Dhann" (Body, Soul, and Material), I have bowed to him!

As I look up to him, as there is no other way to look at him, architect has made sure that you would do so! All you can see is two eyes and a reverse of a smile. The two eyes look angry at first, then when you also add that reverse of a smile, the angry eyes transform into prodding eyes, and then grim eyes! Then you realize, like a sudden realization, it strikes fear at your heart! He is looking down on you! He knows of the impending doom! The catastrophe that your life is heading towards and this case mine! Oh! shits! This deity knows too much, even more than me. *Sigh!* I need to do something to please him! So I follow every step that my sister does! I am now a staunch believer! I have done all the rituals, only one time! So what! I have done, unlike most of the species living in this world!

I take Prasad "Offering to Deity as his blessing" along with Panchamrut, that includes cows urine, it is authentic says the poojari(priest)! And like a good disciple, I consume it without a frown, and with a smile of content!

Now it is time to make way for other devotees, and this devotee to take leave, and so I crawl out of the hole, and world starts coming back to me, as if I am returning from Moksh! I don't want to, but I have too! First to come is smell, weird but outer world does not smell of scented smoke, but only of plain old exhaust smoke. Then comes the sound, the noise, and various lights!

Before you realize, your way of looking at life has changed, you want to be out of this cacophony as quickly as possible! So I look for my bike, and by the time I start moving out, all the holiness blanket that had engulfed me has gone, I am shouting at fellow riders for not letting me out before they barged in to park! After all where could they park before my bike is out of there!










Sunday, June 13, 2010

This is stupidity!

It was one of those days when you wake up and just want to get away from all of what is there on your plate, aaahhh, on second thought one does have those thoughts on every working day! But this was different! It was already a holiday!

So I wake up, not so early, actually not at all early and certainly not on wrong side of the bed, you see my bed has only one side, I have blocked the wrong side by a wall, walk around lazily, going through morning chores and its lunch time.

And a brainwave occurs on lunch table, I say it out loud:"I am going to Kolhapur!" and my parents only question is "Why Kolhapur?" I have no idea, so I say:"I am going to meet a friend over there." In totally unconvincing voice of all.

So I am on bus, going to Kolhapur when passenger next to me starts chatting, at first I am annoyed, after all I was reading Sidin's Dork, but then his story became interesting. Here it is, as told by him.

"I am an engineer in LG Mobile on floor, and I earn about 15k per month, as such I am married but I am unable to keep my wife with me because she can not get a job in Pune, but she has one in Kolhapur. You being a finance person, can you advise what should I do to quickly overcome my poor state?"

I was taken aback at this question, no one would discuss ones financial status with a complete stranger, and that was my first advise, but he persisted. So I asked him whats his Investment status.

"I have an investment of Rs.2 lacs in various large cap companies in share market, my parents had taken care of insurance so I have enough of it. Thats all!"

Me: "Thats pretty good, so where is the problem?"

"I have a loan!"

Me:"How much?"

"The loan is 4 lacs Rupees, as personal loan."

Me:"Why did you take out personal loan? It has highest interest rates, about 20% interest in any bank."

"To invest in share market! Unfortunately market fell after that and now its value is half the original investment!"

Unfortunately, I could not utter a single word, knowing that average returns from market over the years had been 20%, this way of investing did not make sense in any way I looked at it.
My advise to him was, to take a loan on his insurance policy and pay off most of the sum that was remaining of loan from bank, first of all this will reduce his EMI burden as interest rate on life insurance policy is 10 to 11%, thats nearly half the interest on bank loan, next plus point is that, it gives an increase in tenure, as he was facing deadline and did not have money to pay up.

And that was the most meaningful thing that happened on that trip, think that was the only purpose of whole journey.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Life : 4th Quarter


Your son knows
for you are
at end
of the
Third Quarter
And he is in his second
he knows
&
stays put
you know
why he is there
besides you
&
your wife
He is there
for he knows
you have to
get hands dirty
to be in your position
your wife
for she still loves you
she knows
why you did it all
Then you realize
the real realization happens
you dint need to get dirty
you dint need to earn that much
you dint need to succeed
you were always loved
by people whom you love
of whom you cared
&
then
guilt sets in
then starts philanthropy
then you understand
why one should give
give more
than take
its in the last Quarter
the last bits of your
life
&
for the first time
in your life
you are not
Lost
you dont feel
betrayal
but trusted
but finally
arrived
fulfilled
you retire
play with your
Grandchildren
Get back to life
the way
it should have been
the way you were born
having fun
all the way
the last January
your childhood,
but its December
you are old
&
sooner
than
latter
your year is going
to end
it will be time to go
you know i
you thank god
for it
the life you have had
what one need's
is
what one already has
in your own backyard
&
the forth Quarter
is over
One life has been
Lived
&
One life has
Ended
But Life in itself
has continued
people around
that life
still live on their's
giving rise to new
&
the great saga
continues
As we pass
the Quarters
we see things happening
as they used to
with us
the way we lived them
to our neighbors
to our teachers
to our parents
we see
our children do
so the saying goes
"The more things
change,
the more they
remain same"
Still we let them
happen
for its not in our hands
we are helpless
blinded by success
for its their life
&
it's them
who have to make it
the journey
is of their choice
as it continues.............