Going back to roots

"Understanding the root philosophy" is one of the main objectives which prevails among many people in this great nation of India.

Let us think about the "Root Philosophy" part first.....What could be the root philosopy for the hindus ?

When the whole of India was riding high on the Buddhist wave during the time of Buddha, a young unassuming saint from the Kerala, Adi Shankaracharya, reminded people about the Upanishads , Brahmasutras and the Gita, the most thought provoking part of the vedas. This was the core essence of Hindu philosophy. The Gita could also be adapted for a so called  "Hindu way of life".

Chronologically, the Upanishads and the Brahmasutras are older than any other philosophical thought as far as our country is concerned. They are so old, that they were written (or passed on) when religion had no political intention of expansion and conversion as well and thought was alone the supreme thing.

But the catch is, this kind of philosophical works are open to multiple interpretations.And these interpretations might also contain some original research as well - So finally what is root - When was more detail added ? What were the references - All these kinds of information is lost forever!

About the interpretations themselves, let me give you an example :

Now, I was really clueless about one more guru among the madhwas called Jayatheertha. He is extremely respected for his proficiency and almost a "champion scholar" and literally worshipped in the madhwa community - But what was the reason he is so popular even today, after almost 800 years ?..Ask any average guy from our community, he will not know it, most likely.....I came to know he had written some kind of synopsis: called Nyayasudha: Which was some kind of interpretation of Madhwacharya's work which was again an interpretation of Upanishads..... I tried to read the english translation of this book, it is extremely difficult to understand - WHY and HOW did he think about so much about these kind of things ?

Nonetheless, these things are really interesting - I wish I had the time and energy to continue looking into these kind of works....

I love this wandering kind of life.

Something which I have never done EVER.....Just get up in the morning, pack your bags and start travelling....

Does it require lots of money --- NO! At least, that's what this guy says 

Read this and hopefully enjoy 

www.wanderingearl.com/how-i-can-afford-my-life-of-constant-travel/

About things that matter

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” 


― Martin Luther King Jr., I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World

What a quote ! A profound thought only a great leader can think about.
A very good one to begin a day with. I just begin to wonder : "What are the things that matter to me ?"

I can get on my mind a few things which matter to me. But what it means is: Worry about the right things and start acting on them.

That's too heavy a topic.....Let me change the topic ....

A few days ago, I saw the movie (in parts) "Apocalypto". I did not see the whole movie, but i saw it during the end. I heard from a friend, that some parts of the movie are deeply disturbing, but I missed those parts , but the ending was really  nice.

The hero smears poison on the dart and shoots the villain by blowing the dart. Something which reminded me of "Tintin and the Broken Ear".  I kind of did more R&D on these poisoned darts and I found that the poison is present on the skin of the Golden Yellow Frog found in Central America and Amazon basin parts.

The poison is the most venomous substance known to man and a few micrograms of the posion can kill an adult human being. And the best part is , the frog does not secrete the poison. It gets the poison from its diet, some kind of beetles. 

These days I have a strange feeling....A feeling that alienates me from the world. I am not feeling ambitious , angry, aggressive, interested or materialistic - There is a sense of resignation in any work I take up. There is a listless feeling. Wish that I go through this phase soon.

Objective right now is to live a happy life...Don't worry be happy seems to be the mantra these days. I very well know what I am NOT and especially these days I really envy those kind of guys. Guys who are care-free, lazy and basically man-about-town kind of guys. I am really tired of

Everyone in this world should get happiness and peace when they need it the most. Happiness could be anything. Even throwing a stone on a pond and hearing the gentle splash could be happiness.

This is for the bookmark:-

http://www.highexistence.com/life-secrets-and-tips/

Hmm ... A new look , a new beginning to this inactive log. I have grown older as I browse through the blog. 

These days taking an interview to find the right candidate is not an easy job. Initially when I was the interviewer, I used to concentrate only on the problem solving ability and domain knowledge. But now I have realized that it is also very important to know how much inspired he is to work and also how much eager and enthusiastic he is. This is really difficult to actually get from a single meeting....but I am getting closer to get the intention of the applicant.

Other news is that I am on a facebook exile. I really do not want to get into a social network : It is addictive and is a waste of time. I have changed my password to some random alphabet soup and my exiled myself. These days I want to check all the rare piano chords. It is a fun thing to do.

Suppose you have nothing to lose, suppose you have complete freedom, dear reader - what would you do ?

How would you picture yourself ?

Visualize.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sC9b-15cL0

The beatles sang to use happiness as a defense (a gun) to all the sorrows in the world: I do not subscribe to the idea completely, but one way of looking at things.

"Happiness is a warm gun

When I hold you in my arms
When I feel my finger on your trigger
I know nobody can do me no harm"

My personal opinion is, that,  happiness and sorrow complement each other. Bevu + Bella.

Life is such a complex journey. 

hangzhou bye

it has been one helluva roller coaster ride.....i go back to dear bangalore sunday....phew!

Opposites

make x break
secure x insecure
gain x loss
love x hate
innocent x guilt
great x miserable

Hmmm....Good lord....

How does pi sound like

Pi is 3.1415blah blah

So, assigning 1 = Sa, 2= Re, 3  = Ga , 4 = Ma, just check out how 3.1415 sounds like

http://www.collegehumor.com/video/6446891/what-pi-sounds-like

Oniondaga

Today morning I was cutting some onions and they were those organically farmed onions. I remembered this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsp_8Lm1eSk

After watching the video, (which maybe 6 or 7 years) , I was wondering why I remembered only the onion scene.

Good old song and good old memory....

Four principles of spirituality 


The First Principle states:

"Whomsoever you encounter is the right one"

This means that no one comes into our life by chance. Everyone who is around us, anyone with whom we interact, represents something, whether to teach us something or to help us improve a current situation.


The Second Principle states:

"Whatever happened is the only thing that could have happened"

Nothing, absolutely nothing of that which we experienced could have been any other way. Not even in the least important detail. There is no "If only I had done that differently…, then it would have been different…". No. What happened is the only thing that could have taken place and must have taken place for us to learn our lesson in order to move forward. Every single situation in life which we encounter is absolutely perfect, even when it defies our understanding and our ego.


The Third Principle states:

"Each moment in which something begins is the right moment"

Everything begins at exactly the right moment, neither earlier nor later. When we are ready for it, for that something new in our life, it is there, ready to begin.


The Fourth Principle states:

"What is over, is over"

It is that simple. When something in our life ends, it helps our evolution. That is why, enriched by the recent experience, it is better to let go and move on.


Think it is no coincidence that you're here reading this.

If these words strike a chord, it's because you meet the requirements and understand that not one single snowflake falls accidentally in the wrong place!

Be good to yourself.

Love with your whole being.

Always be happy.

I happened to watch the movie "Ed Wood", yesterday afternoon. Ed Wood was a director in Hollywood who was voted as the Worst Director of All Time : The movie potrays him as an ...I dunno how to say...." incredibly complex personality" and totally unaffected by failure or the lack of success.

Cannot stop thinking about the movie...Sometimes I felt very sympathetic about that man : How can someone be so optimistic ? This is perhaps the exact opposite of a man who is allergic to risk. He has been ridiculed enough by all the people around him.:There are some aspects of the character which I can relate to : Ed Wood is a hasty person who is more interested in completing something which he has started - Most of the time he is very careless about the outcome.There are many guys who I know and I can relate to a "do first and think later" nature. But there are some aspects which I cannot ever relate to: For example his advice to aspiring writers is : Just keep on writing - Even if your story gets worse, you'll get better. Perhaps he did not have the desire to learn from his mistakes...He was more interested in completing a thing on hand with the limited budget.

I cannot have any conclude anything on this guy, except sympathy for the optimism he has exhibited.

Also the bonding between Bela Lugosi , a man who was towards the end of his life and was acting for bread and butter and Ed Wood is shown very well.

Definitely worth a watch.

Check out this 1 min scene from the ace director Ed Wood : listen to the dialog

  Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future.....!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nuz7fcgSbRs

When someone uses the phrase "The Road Ahead" , Just think about the word:

 Road

Close your eyes.

What kind of Road do you visualize ?

a) Do you see a vast empty road with no civilization with just shrubs with you on a convertible ?

b) Or do you imagine yourself with a "?" look wearing seat belt on Goods Shed Road waiting for the signal with the goods-auto behind you honking coaxing you to jump the signal ?

Being a dreamer, I visualize a).
You may say I am a dreamer - But I am not the only one. I hope someday you will join us. - Lennon

Roads by Portishead

hello again hz

Back to Hangzhou. Rainy days and cold days in Hangzhou ahead....The best part is , someone told me it is summer and I have brought summer clothes and had a military cut.... the winter is pretty chilly here....and the apartment is quite far.

Life goes on.

blank space

The weekend was spent on the white elephant flying to the sea shore and attending a marriage: Picked up a copy of the book "The witch from Portobello" : The book is good in parts but not good as a whole.

But one thing which really caught my eye in the book was about calligraphy. The book talks about calligraphy in detail and calligraphy emphasizes blank spaces between the words and the lines so that the words look more beautiful. And the author relates it to life in general : The blank spaces are the times when nothing eventful happens - But these blank spaces are really essential to make things in life look good.

A blank space could be a good sleep or it could be looking and pondering about something really not tangible/sensible at the moment. Tangible at the moment for me : traffic, bank, television, cubicle, laptops and gadgets. Intangible at the moment : hmm the list is endless.

Bheeshma had the gift of choosing the day of his death. When would a person consider that his life has been meaningful ? What would be the ultimate satisfaction for a person to say he has led a fulfilling life ? Everyone would have their own version of the definition of leading a good life. What is yours ?

As Steven Covey had said: Imagine yourself (or rather your soul) hearing the eulogy from your friends and relatives. What would you like them to remember you as ? What would they talk about you ? They would talk about you as a person .. What legacy would you want to leave ? That's where your vision should be - To begin with the end in mind

Sometimes, I feel that the desire to live and the willingness to adapt to new things , the zest to live makes you more ALIVE. It seems that the desire to do something increases longevity.

Video that made me write this : Moby - Natural Blues

Discovering ....Manu Chao

I like airplanes, I like you.
I like traveling, I like you.
I like the morning, I like you.
I like the wind, I like you.
I like to dream, I like you.
I like the sea, I like you.
I will do,
What times these are, my heart
I like the bike, I like you.
I like to run, I like you.
I like the rain, I like you.
I like to go back, I like you.
I like marijuana I like you.
I like Colombian, I like you.
I like the mountains, I like you.
I like the night, I like you.
What times these are, my heart
I like the dinner, I like you.
I like the neighbor, I like you.
I like the kitchen, I like you.
I like to cajole, I like you.
I like the guitar, I like you.
Regaee I like, I like you.
What times these are, my heart
I like cinnamon, I like you.
I like fire, I like you.
I like to move, I like you.
I like Corunna, I like you.
I like Malasaña, I like you.
I like the brown, I like you.
I like Guatemala, I like you.


Current Music : Manu Chao - Me Gustas Tu

The sound of rain

I stumbled upon a website which experiments with the sound of rain as a background to any melodious song.

Trust me, it creates a mood to a particular song and for a moment I thought I was sitting in a restaurant with a lot of woodwork and listening to the Bongo Bong song.

Try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqD4lC6VX90 with some rain background http://www.rainymood.com/

An image

An image appears in my dream sometimes.

The image of Adi Shankara going towards the Kedarnath-Badrinath region amidst the lower Himalayas at the tender age of 32. Searching for .... I do not know what was the degree of involvement (if I may use the word involvement) with the supreme being  to brave the chilling cold.

Would love to paint such an image someday

I have not yet seen Don-2 yet. But one song from Don-2 is so , so old Bollywoodish, that I really started to like it.

The male voice is the highlight of the song. They have done some voice processing and the voice  sounds a lot like a  Kishore Kumar and Vinod Rathore.

Take a bite of Dushman Mera and concentrate on the baritone.