While population rises, buy a villa than a flat

Wisdom and common sense are often not well spread. And so till date wealth and virtue not widely distributed.

In a country where population continues to rise but the livable area hasn't, why do you buy a matchbox cube in a building for home.

Put your life savings on an undisputed land and see what it does instead. For future value and children memories of their own land and home.

There are many pros and cons to buying land and building a home. One is that we ourselves have to run after the bureaucratic mess. Well, it isn't as if as owner of an apartment I don't have to do most things myself.
Moreover, in India, you get agents to do almost everything for you at - I say- reasonable price than having to catch on to current laws and running pillar to post.

The next is that for the area you can afford, you have to build multiple floors for comfortable living. Moreover your children don't have the park the society plans.
I say buy remote though you continue to optimise between commute time, school and safety. And then, get used to climbing floors!

Gated community perhaps is a good balance. The paperwork and park requirements are handled. And even if some have common elevation or not, either ways it's worth it.

Hatchbacks for Indian roads

It does not make sense but I see it a lot. Huge SUVs, gasoline guzzlers on indigenous Bharatiya roads. Roads where even on most highways the speed limit is 80kmph. And everywhere else, the roads are typically congested.
Why, and where, does it make sense to have it for your daily routine.

Such a car perhaps can fit, if at all, if you travel weekly on out-of-station sojourns. Even when I'd rather hire a vehicle so I can doze off when I want to than stress myself driving.

Equally for same reasons sedans are not really needed. The trunk space is mostly unused. You may for an airport trip, but an Ola cab or airport taxi makes more sense for these.

The room inside does not justify. Firstly for the average Indian's body size the hatchback is spacious enough, you don't need the SUV. The sedan does not have too much extra room inside compared to the hatchback. At least nothing that justifies it being bought and used as the daily-use car for commute.

Plus the petrol cost in an oil importing country as ours. Why then this obvious waste.

Get a hatchback. And get all the conveniences you want within. You can make all sorts of upgrades to make it comfy. Seats, stereo, rear view, GPS whatever you need...get the fuel efficiency, well at least until battery operated cars get the cost-benefit ratio right!

Your nature is bliss

A marvellous recounting of Sage Bhrigu's sadhana, on the true import of "Tat Tvam Asi":
- First he asks his guru is the body the Brahman. Then realizes it's bound by change and age and death, while the Self does no have this
- Next he asks if the Mind is Brahman. But the thoughts are vacillating
- Third he delves further and asks if the Prana is Brahman. But that too, though potent, is ever-changing force
- Even consciousness comes close, but keeps going away in sleep. So nature still has control over it.
- It is then he realizes that "Bliss" is his true nature. That which cannot change. But has to be realized.

And that is a key learning for all of us. No matter what the situation around us. That the feeling of "Bliss" we feel within, is our true nature. No matter how much the bodily pain when you sit in Vajrasan, or the stress of work, connect back to your feeling of "Bliss". That is you, not the Maya (nature) that seems to influence you. The true nature of your is "Bliss", and when you realize that, Nature has no control over you to erase it.

And the key import of this was, he himself realized this. His Guru just kept encouraging him, asking him to keep searching. The doctor can only prescribe medicines, or tie the bandage; the body has to heal itself. Likewise, the teacher can only guide, the student has to do the learning. 

Test tube babies do have souls

This was a confusion that is being debated and had been a confusion in my mind. Though the scientific, moral and philosophical debate can continue, I for one am clear on the question in my mind: will babies born without a mother's womb have souls. This question has been ever since sheep were cloned in my mind. I have my closure to this now: Yes, they will.

There are loads of texts on why souls try to find the right body for them to fulfill karmic debts, and achieve liberation. One method which Swami Vivekananda recounted in Jnana Yoga says they come via the rain and get in through the food, and form the life in the sperm and fertilize the egg (like the seed on the soil). Even if that is not the means and the soul comes to "possess" a life body already in the womb for them (to put it simply). Or even if you say the sperm is "artificially" created. Either ways you are not beyond the purview of Maya (nature in simplistic terms).

So yes, as long as the conditions are correct, and a life form is formed, a soul will occupy it to fulfill its karmic debt. There is no relation to the parent's body to fulfill the debt. Although I've read that the soul might come to possess some relative, well-wisher, again to settle karmic debts. The reason why we attract or repel to certain people beyond logic in this life.

The next question in my mind is if souls possess every life, even an Amoeba say.

Also if reincarnation is true: Somehow in my mind it isn't..

Is purchasing online like robbing poor small retailers

It is understandable when some items are not conveniently available like it is in the USA, to buy online. In USA, you have to go to a mall for everything because retail shops cannot keep everything. And anything less is not viable in a country that large with a population that less.

But India is not such a case. There are people and retail stores all around. Right now it only feels foolish to buy Mamy Poko diapers at ₹690 retail price when I could buy it at  ₹550 on  Amazon. Let's see who suffers when I do this.

I think the manufacturer does not.  Even at  ₹550 the wholesaler got it to me for,  he the wholesaler,  the manufacturer and  Amazon all have made money.

The guys who lost money in between is the small time retailer,  the only guy who earns less than me in this whole chain.

The mall that doles less discount to me,  the ones who cry crocodile tears and try to win sympathy against the online business in USA, are at the end of the day some corporate.  A business that first mercilessly killed the small time retailer there.  And later lay the coup-de-etat on his entrepreneurial spirit by employing him as a helper in this mall.

But all this should not divert the Bhartiya mindset. That is a different market from this.

You learn about charity being the means to salvation. Then first thing is to not rob those weaker than you of their dignity regarding running something of their own

So here should be your choice sequence when buying an item:
- Is it readily available at the small single retail store
- Is it available with the small retail chain
- Is it available online
- Is it available at the mall

Go ahead, take the walk, speak to people while you make the purchase. It's worth the little extra.

First rebuild the mosque, then build the temple

There is lot of history, but dates back centuries.
The country has disturbed today, chose to open those wounds

Hurt has been caused, it has pained a lot
Repercussions galore, people still pay to date
There was once a temple, but rebuild a mosque there first

Together we can walk, we are one countrymen
And condemn together, the happening at Babri
Both the building of the mosque, and the razing thereof too

The ones who brought the temple, not the innocents of today
But we are the ones, who stole the mosque that stood there now
The devout, the simple, their place of worship stands razed

What has happened, has happened
And build the temple, go ahead
But don't forget to, rebuild the mosque there first

The day recycles

The morning sun energizes us,
The post noon sun saps it up
The evening sun helps us rest
And the moonlight resets it

If every day is cyclic path
Why won't life, and what's so strange

This is where we have come to be
Why not live, this life full steam

Desires frivolous and changing

The candy you fought with sibling for
The same you minded against parents then
That and many such candies mean nothing
The sibling, the parents still mean the world

Desires are such, they distract they deviate
From where our priorities, our goodness lies
Put to test whatever the mind wants
None would forego their child for an angel next door

To Some more driving lessons in Bharat

Driving is stressful, it's well recorded a statistic even among drivers on the best of roads in US. Needless to say, it's worse off in Bharat (India).

Some more of my learning from recent past:

- The imported cars are of low height. And Bengaluru (Bangalore) speed-breakers, badly designed. So the base is bound to hit the speed breakers, especially if people are seated on the back seat, or the trunk has luggage. The way to avoid is to approach speed breakers at an angle, and opt for a bumpy tyre-by-tyre ascent on them.

- Street lights are a rarity even on the US freeways. But on Indian highways, there could also be speed breakers and potholes. So high-beam is a must if you are not following another vehicle at night. And that too, you need to keep safe distance with the vehicle ahead.

- The car will accelerate, don't hurry. This is something I still lose sense of, and press the accelerator to just get ahead fast. I forget that the street light is a great leveler, so why the hurry. And people and animals, aplenty. So why invite the tragedy. So if your feet is on the accelerator, let the engine choose the speed rise per its convenience. That's also best for the car itself!

To Life's Poetry

I write not to Life's Poetry
For Life is Poetry beyond comprehension

I bear not the capacity to sing
For Life's Song is seen best in evening

To Nature's powers is my limitation
For Life is throbbing even beyond the Universe

I step back to realize no good nor bad
For even tiniest creatures only kill to nourish

Forgive..

There was once a bird, who flew over the peacock's head
And little did he know, that poop he did on it
No matter how much he fell, the ego was unforgiving
This body by Mother Bhumi, but so much Ahankar..

'Cos did she ever, complain than give her best
A deep sacrificing power, we take for granted instead

To really know India (Bharat), you have to walk the streets

"India lives in it's villages" Gandhiji once observed. And a profound one at that, after travelling around the country. Indeed, it's not the intelligentsia who represent India (that is Bharat). They might be the ones who keep our country abreast with the rest of the world. But the true representation of Bharat is in its masses, the middle classes.

And while during Gandhiji's time, this representation lay unequivocally in its villages, that proportion has steadily been decreasing, well into 68%, but still the clear majority. A majority of simpletons trying to make ends meet, and first ensure their living conditions are taken care of. Who are easily swayed by a politician's words or the local goon's muscle. And the best reflection of this is seen in the quality of elected representatives.

And for the vastness and diversity that Bharat carries, and of course with due credit to its population size, you cannot take a driving tour and connect or understand this country. The only difference you'll then catch in such tours where you eat out of star hotels, and are taken around by the tourist guides, is the difference in local language and deities at most. Other than that, they just want you to marvel at the leftovers of a glorious heritage. If you want to understand the country, get to a place - a village, town or city - and walk it.

Drink the frequent coconut water, sugarcane juice or the ubiquitious chaaz (buttermilk), keep away from sun strokes, catch the local buses (not autos or taxis). Eat thalis (meals) at clean vegetarian places (which will introduce you to the varieties in local cuisines), and most of all, speak. Communicate the best you can to the locals, give your tourist guide the flavour of what you are looking for, and just see how delighted he'll be to open up!

Four Teachings of Swami Narayana Guru..Satyam, Shuddhi, Sneham, Seva

Had recently seen a movie retracing the life of Swami Narayana Guru, a film from 1986. I'd heard and did read a bit later about him as a social reformer to stood against the casteism that had taken deep root in Kerala in the early half of the century.

The film was amateurish in direction. But the person who eventually played the elder Swamiji performed well. The most striking part for me were the values he teaches as a young Swami, perhaps which formed a foundation of his philosophy: Satyam, Shuddhi, Sneham, Seva.

There were some profound statements in the film too that linger on:

- When someone mentions that Swami Vivekananda is tied down by casteism, Swamiji says those with "vivekam" would say thus only

- Another scene where an upper caste Brahman taunts him if there is anyplace in the Puranas where lower castes are shown to install deities, Swamiji taunts back that weren't these Puranas written and authorized by these very upper castes?

I've made this observation too in my recent (and in progress) reading of The Mahabharata. How at the very opportunity, the value of Brahmanas is extolled to the skies. I recollect Shashi Tharoor mentioning in the Incredible India BBC series that the Mahabharata had seen a lot of contemporary stories getting added to the original through the centuries. Was taken aback also by the mention that Brahmans very much partook in "sanctified" meat. At least that indulgent bit corrected itself in the most part through the centuries.

- I was amazed that while Swamiji preferred isolation, he would grant visits too the maximum extent of his capacity. And moreover, encouraged people to unite and stand for a cause

Truly casteism is something of a blotch in Hinduism. The domination of the Kshatriya class has been wiped out with the onset of Democracy for ruling people - a magnificent import from Greece - and the Corporate Culture and Public companies concept - that, well, has its pros and cons but rewards merit above anything for positions held.

What remains is the domination of the Brahmans in temple and puja culture. I guess spiritual leaders too are implicity vetted by their followers for the caste they were born in. But there will come a time I'm sure where the true meaning of Brahman as "the one who knows Brahman" comes forth, and true merit than the caste they were born into forms the basis of who conducts temple rituals.

You are only the medium..drop the anxiety

One of the primary reasons of not living life to the fullest is inhibitions. And the root cause of inhibition is fear.

One way that I could see helped me deal with fear is the realization, that we are only the medium. That we are only serving a purpose. And that purpose will be served. Do not get anxious that "this is is" and lose your calm. For you need your poise to give your best.

Loosen up, realize, and just do what you would like to do!

Inner connect

Need the walk, the meditative walk
In an ashram, green and serene

Need no talk, no chatter in mind
When among trees, their breath soothing

I have climbed them, rested on laps
I have scaled peaks, like mountain goats
Know not where I learnt these skills

There is instinct, but really is memory
And there is destiny, which for future I change

Act I must, so the walk I take
And connect inwards, for my true purpose

Watch what you feed kids..Soft Drinks

Again, will try to keep it simple. Yourself, and the kids, just stop drinking any aerated drinks. In addition, when buying fruit juices (if needed), ensure there is no added sugar.

Soft drinks dissolve everything that it passes over to put it simply. I've personally experienced acidity I never had before, but it had at the time only convinced me to keep away from the particular brand. I know better now.

Worst case you want to have something, say in a flight, I believe Gingerale at least does not have any caffeine.

Here are a few links for reference: Ten Reasons to avoid, Harvard Study, Medical Daily

I'm not sure why countries can take notice and spread the word ..instead I see the consumption increase across the world. You cannot entrust companies because this is a high margin business. Gutsy but still not enough is Indra Nooyi's attempt to build a portfolio of health foods/drinks, but I guess investor pressure will never really take Sodas out of focus. .

Enjoy the journey

For the peace that I feel within, am I at fault

That I don't feel the fire, but only the willness to work,
Do I lack drive

That I'm contented, am not restless
Do I lack purpose

That I don't list goals, only pursue what interests
Am I called Lazy

For what can assure, we can only intend
So let's enjoy the walk, be it grassy or stony
And detach from the result, the anxiety or the pleasure

Watch what you feed kids...Trans Fat!

I just want to keep it simple, for our busy lives: When purchasing any packaged food for your kids, just look at the Nutritional facts section, basically the black-and-white table which lists how much a single serving provides Carbohydrates, Protein, Fats. If Fat value is above zero (0), then search below for some asterisk value which provides how much of the Fat is Trans Fat.

Even if there is a wee bit of Trans Fat, just keep the product back.
Realize that consuming Trans Fat means who have consumed something that the body will NEVER be able to digest, and so too has your child (Wikipedia Link).

This will deposit somewhere in the body, most likely near the heart. Indians anyways are prone to heart diseases. The other possible areas are reproductive or other cancer causing areas.

Note that very few companies clearly specify in the Nutritional section about how much Trans Fat is present. They try to hide it in some asterisk. If you are unable to find for any reason, and Fat value is more than zero, then better safe than sorry. Reject the product. Your purchasing choice "vote" will pass the message to the Corporate.

There is no single pattern of what does and does not have Trans Fat. At a broad level, cream biscuits (yet to see an exception), chocolates (Amul brand is an exception), Chips (Maiyas is an exception), ice cream have Trans Fat.

Will end it here: Keep safe.

The value of relationships always after the departure

We all feel this. An inertia to go someplace new, then the adapting to it, and when you leave it, the pang that follows. I've observed it keenly all my life, and with wonder, as must have all of us.

Yet we know we must move on, and so we do. Perhaps the explanation is as simple as the survival instinct. That when arrives at some place, and gets comfortable, we do not want to move on to something else.

But also perhaps this is how human nature gives value to relationships. We realize the value we place on the people, based upon how comfortable we've gotten with them. It prevents us from taking them for granted, this pain of separation.

Mistake it not to be a sign to hold back. Realize and accept it as the need to cherish relationships after we've moved ahead.

Sharadambe..your grace

Sharade, dear Amba maate
You are blessed, and your grace blesses all

I visualize you, and consider
Your grace of that memory

If one trip to your holy place, could cast such spell on me
I wonder how much it elevates, those who reside by your shelter

I pray and delve, the opportune moment
To cast off all, and stay by your side

May sin and weakness, know me not
Salvation through your love, is all I pray for now