Meditation Notes

It was not an entirely new path, but one that was being walked after years. Everything was uncertain. And largely unknown - because, well, paths change. Even ruins don't remain the same year after year. And foot trails among jungles have a way of vanishing. 

A week had passed, 10 days perhaps. 

The message was clear - one just needs to go through this. Why? No answer. 

*********** 

A book appeared. The author had sent a personal copy. 

Small-ish book. Just 60 pages. Short form prose and haiku poetry. 

I opened it and started reading. And stared in disbelief. 

The Universe had just sent me the Illustrated Guide to the Path. 

************** 

I am still speechless at the miracle of it. 

Ishq Leasing Services

Ishq Leasing Services 

हर तरह के प्रेम की 

किफायती, पुरानी, और 

भरोसेमंद दुकान! 

Short-Term, Long -term 

गहरा, casual 

सब मिलता है एक जगह 

फिर क्यूँ ढूंढें यहाँ वहाँ? 

हमारे पास आइए, 

मन की मुराद पाइए! 

हर हफ्ते नई गर्लफ्रेंड 

का पैकेज डील है 

न टिन्डर, bumble, हिन्ज 

न फोन न texting 

बस शुक्रवार की रात को 

नई गर्लफ्रेंड पाइए, 

और डिस्को में ले जाइए! 

  

"सुबह गुड मॉर्निंग कहे, और

रात को आधा घंटा बातें कर ले" 

- हमारा bestselling पैकेज है 

सस्ता, बढ़िया, और टिकाऊ! 

दोपहर को भेजे प्रेम संदेश 

और आपकी कामयाबी की कहानियाँ सुने 

हफ्ते में 3-4 रात 

ऐसा product भी available है 

चिंता ना कीजिए, 

पैकेज कभी भी change कर सकते हैं 

आज serious हो कर 

कल emotions की range कर सकते हैं! 

सबसे बड़ा फायदा 

बसा रहे परिवार! 

Have your cake and eat it too, 

यही हमारा सार! 

तो देर भला किस बात की?

आज ही नाम लिखाइए! 

अपनी पसंदीदा girlfriend  

अपने साथ ले जाइए! 

नाम रखिए सदा याद 

हम हैं इश्क का इमदाद! 

Ishq Leasing Services! 

Ishq Leasing Services! 

 

तुम

तुम मेरे हाथों में 

रेत की तरह मत आना 

प्रसाद की तरह आना 

धूप की तरह आना 

न्याय की तरह आना 

On Euthanasia and a holistic perspective on it

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/avivahwittenbergcox/2022/10/22/a-designed-death--where--when-the-world-allows-it/?sh=4dc76aa77b3d

On relationships

हम किसी की आमद से पहले, उसकी रुखसती की तैयारी करते हैं। 

तुम्हारी आदत पड़ गई तो? 

हमारी लड़ाई हो गई तो? 

तुमने शहर छोड़ दिया तो? 

क्या फायदा? 

दुख की तैयारी करने से, दुख हल्का नहीं होता। तब भी उतना ही दुखी करता है। दुख की तैयारी करने से, आज का सुख कम होता है। 

याद आ रही है? जा कर मिल आओ। 

लतीफा सुनाना है? सुना दो। 

Quotes for M

 A pleasure and the privilege - was just an expression, until I met you. 

इतना - ii

इतना सच बोलना 

कि ऐतबार रहे 

इतना झूठ बोलना 

कि प्यार रहे 

Balmohan Pandeya shers

 एक ये ज़ख़्म ही काफ़ी है मिरे जीने को 

चारागर ठीक न होने की दवा दे मुझ को 

**************

चारागर ख़त्म भी कर कार-ए-नफ़स अबके बरस

तू तो कह देता है बस अबके बरस अबके बरस

*********

- ~ बालमोहन पांडेय

jlt

For some weeks now, I have been going over the old diaries.. typing out what needs to be preserved and throwing out the rest. 

And realised that i have not written a journal of thoughts in forever.. and how much it helps to just write.. even if one does not ever read them again.. 

Much water has flown under every bridge, of course, but each of those posts are as fresh as if it was yesterday. I remember each of these events vividly while reading about them. 

So, maybe, it is time to journal again, not just on the bad days, but also on the good ones? 

Today's meditation thoughts

एक पथिक था। चलते-चलते उसे प्यास लगी। उसने एक कुँआ ढूंढा। किनारे पर पनिहारिनें  पानी भर रही थीं। उसने एक से कुछ पानी मांगा। प्यास बुझाई, और आगे चला।

थोड़ा आगे जा कर दोबारा प्यास लगी, दोबारा कुंआ ढूंढा, पनिहारिन से पानी मांगा, पिया। 

पथिक ने किसी पनिहारिन से नहीं कहा, "लाओ, अपना मटका मुझे दे दो, मैं उठा लेता हूँ।" 

प्रेम का भी ऐसा ही है। जब हमें प्रेम की व्याकुलता होती है, तब हम पास के कुंए पर किसी भी पनिहारिन से थोड़ा सा पानी  पी कर उस समय की प्यास बुझा लेते हैं। फिर अगला गाँव, अगला कुंआ। 

******************************

सदा ही संभव है, कि एक मटकी सर पर उठा कर चला जाए। रेगिस्तान में लोग करते भी हैं - मशकें उठा कर चलते हैं। पर ज़रखेज़  जगहों पर मटकी उठाने की ज़रूरत नहीं। 

जब हम आध्यात्मिक मार्ग पर चलते हैं, तब भी, आज ये सत्संग, आज वहाँ गुरुजी, आज ये पूजा, कल वो। सब जल प्यास बुझाते हैं, पर अगर मटकी अपने साथ ही हो, तो किसी और पर कोई निर्भरता नहीं रहती। उस से ये रहता है कि थोड़ा संयम से चलना पड़ता है। अपने आप स्थिरता आ जाती है, सौम्यता भी। किसी और की प्यास बुझाने का मन भी। 

और अगर कुंआ ही मन में खुद जाए तो? अगर अपने भीतर की हर प्यास को बुझाने का सोता मन में ही हो तो? 

ऐसा कभी नहीं होता। निरंकारियों के लिए भी नहीं। कुंआ सदा से सब का है। उस में निजता नहीं है। हो ही नहीं सकती। 

क्या अपनी मटकी उठा लेना पनिहारिनों से मांगने से बेहतर है? 

अपने अपने चरित्र पर है। किसी को स्थिरता नहीं चाहिए, नित नूतनता ही चाहिए। ऐसे लोग सर पर मटका नहीं उठा सकते। उठाना भी नहीं चाहिए। वे सदा ही जल के भिक्षु रहेंगे, पर उनकी प्रकृति ही ऐसी है। 

जब मांग मांग कर थक जाएँ, तब अपना मटका उठा लेना चाहिए। 

Ikk kudi Jida Naa Mohabbat

I hate to admit it.. but Shiv Kumar Batalvi's beautiful poem - Ik kudi jida naa Mohabbat, has been translated into music by many singers, but none that touched my heart.. until this one... 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZh7my_RASk

कहानी

आओ माँ 

मैं बतलाता हूँ 

तुमको एक कहानी 

दूर कहीं पर एक नदी थी 

और नदी में पानी। 

नदी का पानी झर झर झर झर 

नदी के पत्थर गोल 

नदी किनारे बच्चे खेलें 

पिट्ठू, किरकट, और बॉल 

एक दिन, जाने किधर से 

नदी में पहुंचा एक मगर 

पहले उसने मछलियाँ खाईं 

फिर तीर पर की नज़र 

छोटे छोटे पशु 

पहले उसकी पकड़ में आए 

पर इतने पर भी उसका 

पेट न भर पाए 

कैसे कहूँ माँ, उसने वहाँ 

क्या त्रासदी बनाई 

रात तो छोड़ो, दिन में भी 

कोई नदी ना जाए भाई! 

एक दिन, कुछ बच्चों ने 

एक तरकीब सुझाई 

गाँव वालों के मन को 

बहुत ये टिड़कम भाई 

 

एक लकड़ी का लंबा डंडा 

सिरे से दिखता मछली जैसा 

बीच में से चिरा हुआ 

स्प्रिंग बटन से ऐसे फैला 

डंडा पानी में बिठाकर 

गाँव वाले बैठे कुछ दूर 

रंग बिरंगी मछली देखे 

मगर, तो खाने को मजबूर! 

जयूं ही मगर ने मछली दबोची 

स्प्रिंग दबा, डंडा खुल गया 

मगर का मुंह खुला का खुला 

दर्द के मारे छट-पट हुआ 

बस, इसी की थी प्रतीक्षा 

टूट पड़ा फिर सारा गाँव 

मगर को सबने मार भगाया 

बेचारे के पड़े कितने घाव! 

गाँव में फिर से वही नदी थी, 

वही जल, वही पत्थर गोल 

लेकिन बच्चे समझ गए थे 

नदी किनारे का अब मोल! 

उन्होंने लड़ कर जीता था 

नदी का वह पाट 

खत्म हुई अब मेरी कहानी 

ताली बजाओ मिला कर हाथ! 

- 02 June 2018 

  

April 2004

 

इस जीवन का सबसे सुखद पहलू ये है, कि एक दिन ये ज़रूर समाप्त होगा। कोई दिन, आखिरी दिन जरूर होगा। 

जैसे वो ब्राह्मण था, जो पूरी रात ठंडी यमुना में उस एक दीपक को देख कर खड़ा रहा... हम भी पूरे जीवन को, उस एक आखिरी दिन की आस में जी सकते हैं। 

एक दिन, ये खत्म होगा। 

Film Review: Charming the Hearts of Men

Charming the Hearts of Men is a 2021 film. 

How this treasure of a film was undiscovered is beyond me. 

Grace Gordon comes back to her hometown after her father's death and starts a journey towards bankruptcy because her father was.. well, not well-off. In fact, buried in debt is closer to the truth than buried in earth. 

As a woman, I had to love the film. Ruth and her daughter, the Congressman, Jubilee, Viola, and Walter.. all the characters are so beautifully drawn! 

When Viola stands in the segregated pub and asks - What About Us? - Time stops for every viewer. 

The cinematography, costumes, and art direction make this film a visual treat. The dialogues, while not as brilliant as one would like, are adequate (actually, less than adequate). 

The film is brilliantly written. The actors carry that rather heavy burden very well. Each character comes alive.  

From the Avon lady to the first cafe to end segregation, Grace Gordon carries the day. Somewhere in between, she also manages to convince a Congressman to include women in the Civil Rights Bill, 1963. 

This film is a delight.  

Image from Imdb 

PES University, Bangalore, leads to the death of Aditya Prabhu

Here is the story, reproduced from Humans of Bombay. It breaks my heart so bad. The helplessness you feel when you realise that your child can go to a private or govt college and be shamed, bullied, killed even. 

TW: Suicide
“Aditya was just 19; our only child. He was the kindest soul we knew. He was great in studies; his teachers always saved his notes. On some days, he wanted to become an athlete & on some, a pilot. But then, he opted for Computer Science in PES University. He was confused if he should get a job or move to the US for Masters. I used to say, ‘Do what your heart says, I’ll always be there.’

Last month, he appeared for his 2nd semester. He was excited for his vacation after; we’d just bought a new TV. He’d made a watchlist of movies. Everyday before his exam, he’d read the Gita & light a diya. But on 17th July, it all changed.
He left the house for his exam. I went to the office & my wife got busy with chores. Around 11:45, she got a call from Aditya saying, ‘Mom, I’d forgotten to put my phone in the bag during the exam. I swear I wasn't copying.' He said they yelled at him that it’s better to die than to copy. He asked her to come as the teachers had summoned her. She was made to wait for an hour. His phone was off. Someone mocked her saying, ‘You’re the malpractice mom? Your malpractice son was cheating.’ She was then shooed off saying, ‘He must be out with his friends!’ After pleading a lot, she was told, ‘A kid has jumped off from the 8th floor, identify him!’

She called me, ‘Aditya is dead.’ An hour later, when I saw Aditya, I broke down.
We filed an FIR. We kept thinking of that time when in school, we used to hear news about kids committing suicide. So we'd often talk to Aditya. He said, ‘Are you mad? I'll never kill myself!’ We didn't know that years later, we’d be sitting in the police station, for him.

We saw the CCTV footage. He was taken into a room that had no CCTV by 4 staff members. We've no idea what happened there. Even after 40 days, no one is arrested.

Channels were running headlines, ‘Boy caught copying, jumped off the building.’ It wasn't true; we had to put out our side of the story. Our state government has appointed a committee to investigate. We need more policies across schools & colleges. What happened wasn’t new, but Aditya needs to be the last 1 to have suffered. And to ensure that, we’ll fight till our last breath."

This was not a suicide. This was a murder. 

The staff at PES University murdered this bright, brilliant child. 

As a parent, whichever college we pick up, a child has died, a child has been bullied, a child has been put in danger. Don't call them suicides. No 17-year-old wants to die. They are made to believe that they have no future. We, the generation that has failed Mother Earth herself, have the audacity to tell a child that he has no future. We, the generation of corrupt citizens who sell their votes for freebies, have the audacity to tell a child that he lacks integrity. 

I have no idea what those 4 sick people said to that child inside that room, but I wish them fair justice. 

This is the PES University: https://pes.edu/about-us/

Tears of the Sun

What is the point of waiting

for the tears of the sun? 

They will not come. 

and the parched soldiers 

of hatred's army 

will go home

deprived 

of the universal healer 

- the nectar of love 

They will return 

to their sunburnt homes 

tired, unquenched, infertile. 

The dry walls of those houses 

will look to them 

As a child 

looks at a bankrupt father. 

- Feb 23, 2004. 

The Legend of the Moon

Long, long ago 

there was the fable of the 

Princess of the Sun. 

And a master. 

The Princess, when conquered, 

opened her hair, 

to let the sun rays 

illuminate her cave. 

And the Master 

Struck by the light 

Called forth 

His most potent essence

to impregnate the sun. 

with unlimited power. 

But the womb conspired 

against this plan 

to scorch the world. 

It changed

the heart of the embryo 

and what emerged 

was their laughing daughter 

- The Moon. 

- Feb 2, 2004 

Best Friend

चाँद और चाय 

सबके बेस्ट फ्रेंड होते हैं। 

 Days 

Need to be labelled. 

Because journeys must be done 

in steps 

- one at a time. 

Measured. Careful. Marked. 

Flights of fancy 

do not fit 

the paradigm. 

So, like telepathy 

they do not exist 

in our world. 

-  Feb 2, 2004 

चुप

चुप। और चुप। 

और भी चुप। 

जैसे कुछ कहना 

अपनी ही आत्मा का 

चीर हरण हो 

और जैसे 

कोई भी सोच 

कंकड़ 

- शांत, सपाट पानी में। 

सृष्टि मौन में 

कितनी पूरी लगती है। 

और सृष्टि मौन में 

कितनी मृत है। 

- Feb 2, 2004 

Cross Fire

 Silences of the sea 

do not mean 

All is unmoving - stationary. 

It only means 

that noises 

cut each other out. 

before they can reach us. 

Holy sermons

do not mean peace. 

They only mean anguishes 

that extinguish 

each other 

before the surface

can be reached. 

Peace 

is just the art of 

Cross Fires. 

- Feb 2, 2004 

On Internal Security under the Indian National Congress

 @Vyasa1968 has compiled the following figures on internal security in India: 

I had compiled the below. The UPA regimes were the worst from internal security perspective. Terrorists were literally running amock in the country. Plus Manmohan Singh meeting Yaseen Malik seen in conjunction with these below events, any wonder why Modi rode a Tsunami in 2014 and 2019. 1. 2005 Delhi bombings – 70 dead 2. 2006 Varanasi bombings – 28 dead 3. 2006 Mumbai local train bombings – 209 dead 4. 2006 Malegaon bombing – 40 5. 2007 Samjhauta Express bombing – 70 dead 6. 2007 Hyderabad bombings – 42 dead 7. 2008 Rampur CRPF camp attack – 8 dead 8. 2008 Jaipur bombings – 80 dead 9. 2008 Ahmedabad bombings – 56 dead. 10. 2008 Delhi bombings – 33 dead 11. 2008 Assam bombings – 81 dead 12. 2008 Mumbai terror attacks – 171 dead 13. 2010 Pune bombing – 17 dead

Let the numbers speak.

***********

On Krishna - Meditation Messages

Krishna is the 8th, and if we discount Buddha, the most recent avatar of Vishnu, the sustainer. 

The energy of Krishna is love. Pure, universal love. 

Krishna's life and choices were all conscious. They were all about choices. 

In spite of having the power to subdue Kaliya and kill Kansa, in later life, in spite of being a king, he did not fight, nor lifted a shastra, nor did he contribute to strategy in any way. 

He could have prevented the war, but he allowed it to happen, knowing full well that in spite of not lifting a finger to hurt anyone, his entire kula (tribe) would be ended through a curse. 

That was the message he wanted to leave for all, even at the cost of being called Ran-chhod (one who runs away from war - the worst insult for a warrior / king). 

That love, at the end, conquers all, and left unattended, hatred has only one consequence - destruction. 

Spardha, Irshya, Kaam, Krodh, Lobh, Moh, Ahankar - they are all inherent in the story of Mahabharata, and the story of Mahabharata teaches us that these qualities lead to vansh naash (end of one's bloodline). The Kauravas are just the metaphor. 

He did not go for that one final meeting to just broker peace. He went in to demonstrate that even ONE right step, taken at the very last minute also, can prevent eventual destruction. But, blinded by one's pride and greed, one entirely misreads the path and view hatred as superiority. 

Therefore, Krishna consciousness is the consciousness of the universal power of love, not love of power. 

That love, as a light pink or white or pale yellow energy, flows and in its wake, converts everything that it encounters. 

But whether to encounter the energy of love - that is the decision of each entity. Just as air cannot enter a rock, no matter how forcefully it pushes, likewise, energy of love can only enter a heart if the heart allows it. Whether the entity is a plant, animal, cell, or microbe, it always has the consciousness to make a decision. 

Krishna himself chose the easily understood metaphor of girl - boy love to explain pure, unadulterated, and innocent love. Mortal Humans understand this as the most potent, action-oriented form of love. And therefore, this comprehension is easy for them. 

Only after we understand this do we transcend and ask the question - If not this body, then what? If not this gender, what? And then we understand the love that Krishna is trying to show us. 

In Bhakti Yoga and Gyana Yoga both, Krishna maintains that the bhakt is bigger than the Bhagwan. That the power of love, demonstrated through devotion, is greater than any power that a deity might hold. 

Why Indian queens did Johar (burn their bodies in fire to die)

#DisturbingImageAlert 

Many people ask why women in India perform Johar to avoid rape after their men lose a battle. Raping the women of the losing side is a trait that we first observe in India after the Islamic invasions. 

The women would create a mass funeral pyre and jump in it. 

Many friends asked me why they chose such a painful way to die. Couldn't they choose something kinder like a snakebite or poison? 

The answer is that the dead bodies of the ranis were paraded naked by the "winners". To ensure that this does not happen, the women would burn their bodies and tolerate a brutal, painful death. 

Most of them did not believe me. 

This is a dead Israeli female soldier being treated by Hamas: 

https://twitter.com/social_postman/status/1710564650608144623

The woman is DEAD. She has been disrobed and put into a BDSM porn suit and her dead body is being paraded in the streets. 

Please note that Russia and Ukraine have been at war for more than a year. Female soldiers participate in war from the Ukrainian side at least. No dead bodies were insulted in this way. 

Also, just in case you were wondering, this tweet is by the Head of the Indian National Congress in Gujarat: 

The Congress SUPPORTS this terror attack on Israel! 

Dev Anand Quiz

1. The debur film of Dev Anand was: 

A. Baazi 

B. Saat Hindustani 

C. Hum Hain Rahi Pyaar ke 

D. Hum Ek Hain 

 2. Which of these was based on a novel by R K Narayan? 

A. Guide 

B. Mohan 

C. Stage 

D. Munimji 

3. Which of these is the correct set of the heroines who played the Teen Deviyaan in a film by the same name? 

A. Nanda, Kalpana Mohan, Simi Garewal 

B. Nanda, Nimmi, Simi Grewal 

C. Nanda, Asha Parekh, Nutan 

D. Kalpana Mohan, Asha Parekh, Padmini 

4. Who was the leading lady opposite Dev Anand in Solhavaan Saal, a film largely based on an English film called It Happened One Night? 

A. Nimmi 

B. Waheeda Rahman

C. Sitara Devi 

D. Simmi Garewal 

5. The iconic song "Jeevan ke safar mein Rahi" is from which Dev Anand film? 

A. Pocketmaar 

B. Munimji 

C. CID 

D. Baaazi 

6. How many brothers did Dev Anand have? 

A. 2 

B. 3

C. None 

D. 1 

7. Main Zindagi ka Saath Nibhata Chala gaya - the song, is from the film Hum Dono. It is sung by Mohd. Rafi and composed by Jaidev. Who wrote this song? 

A. Sahir Ludhianvi 

B. Vijay Anand

C. Gopaldas Neeraj 

D. Majrooh Sultanpuri 

8. What was Dev Anand's Production House called? 

A. New Cinema 

B. Gemini Movies

C. Navketan 

D. Rajshri 

9. Dev Anand never got the Dada Sahab Phalke Award. 

True 

False 

10. Dev Anand married a co-star. Which one? 

A. Kalpana Mohan (Teen Deviyaan) 

B. Kalpana Kartik (Baazi) 

C. Suraiya (Vidya) 

D. Waheeda Rehman (Guide) 

Answers in the first comment. .Enjoy! 

Original funny quotes

Main kal subah BP ki dawai lena bhool gayi. Par BP ne bhi mujhe shaam ko jaa kar yaad dilaya!

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All these incessant spam calls we get are helping one company very much. That company is ....Trucaller.

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करवाचौथ एक ऐसा पर्व है जिसे मनाने वाले, और न मनाने वाले, दोनों खुश होते हैं। मनाने वाले पति प्रेम से, न मनाने वाले पेट पूजा से।

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Since my child started learning phonics, I have always spelt birthday as burthde. 

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After the launch of web Whatsapp, Bill Gates must be sleeping very soundly.

He no longer makes the buggiest software on the market.

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The magic of tolerance is this - When you become more tolerant, you also become more tolerable.

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One does not respond to deliberate ignorance with knowledge sharing. One responds to deliberate ignorance with deliberate indifference.

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There comes a time when you have to stop being the ball, and start being the player.

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If you are not at the table, you are on the table. (If you are not on the guest list, you are in the menu).

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Funny Witty Quotes - 3

Learn from the mistakes of others - you can't live long enough to make them all yourself. 

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People will believe anything if you whisper it. 

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Tact is the ability to close your mouth before someone else wants to. 

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