What Reality?

What is Our Reality? What is it that indeed defines this World We live in, this Life that we see so many moments of? What is the meaning of all this pain and suffering and happiness and misery and a sad, beautiful sense of relief that We have lived this life?

I Quote from The Matrix, a movie with so many hidden meanings that every line is a coded message!

Agent Smith:

“Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. Entire crops were lost. Some believed we lacked the programming language to describe your perfect world. But I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from. Which is why the Matrix was redesigned to this: the peak of your civilization.”

Today, I was watching the Movie “Shortcut to Happiness” and I was reminding of The Matrix in the closing sequence of the movie because the Devil claims in the movie that God had the option of creating any world He wanted to but He created this one with all the pain and suffering and most importantly, all the failures We face during our lives. At this point I thought about the aforesaid quote and thought, why would God NOT create a perfect world? Probably because the way Human Nature is defined, We would suspect nothing to be true in a world like that.

Further, I am reminded of the concept of Yugas according to Hindu Mythology. There is, out of 4 Ages or Eras, One Epoch of particular interest, the SatYug, where Man is the perfect form of Purity, characterised by all the good deeds ever possible, without Want or Lust or Need for Earthly desires. In such an age, we can only say that Humans would be living a perfect life. That’s where the conflict grew in my Mind, that if we can never have a perfect world then how does One explain the occurrence of the SatYug?

The Answer was quick to present itself… In the SatYug, the Devil disappears, not so much as the incarnation of the Devil disappearing, but the concept of Need and that of Greed disappear as everyone is content with what they have. It was interesting to compare the concepts of the Matrix, an embodiment of Western Thought based loosely on Eastern Philosophy with the concepts presented by Hindu Mythology, but in the end I realised, heck, lets just finish watching the movie and go to sleep!

🙂

p.s. I would Love to have comments from my readers about this idea I have discussed above… Thanks Lalit!

Time to Break Up

Ever wondered whether small is beautiful or If Size truly does matter? Although it may seem it, I am not talking about the complex dynamics of an interpersonal relationship here, although such a thing would be the perfect example…

I am talking about Organizations and Corporations and the Question whether we learn something from the facts and acts that define the new Millennium. Here’s my Case, presented in three parts:

Case I.

The corporation known as General Motors (GM) is the acknowledged second-largest of the world behind Toyota and owners of some really popular brands such as Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Pontiac and the now sold brands Hummer, Saab and Opel. One would consider GM to be truly a leader with amazing profits and a huge market-share, considering that it and Toyota leave all the competition behind or if they can’t, they buy it! However, GM filed for Bankruptcy on June 1st, 2009. What this says about the Health of their companies bank-books is quite obvious, they were facing a huge recession and just couldn’t keep themselves above water, so they had to let go of certain brands and certain assumptions about their market-value. GM has promised that when the company emerges from bankruptcy, it will be

“a leaner, quicker more customer and completely product-focused company, one that’s more cost competitive and has a competitive balance sheet.”

I at one time wondered what that meant and what implications would it have? Would it mean that there will be dropping of people from various levels of management in order to bring more speed into the Equation? Will it mean that GM will sell most of it’s brands which have low profit but are popular and iconic in nature such as Hummer and Opel? Oh wait, they’re already done that! So what will GM do? GM plans to emerge as a leaner company with a smaller work force, fewer plants and a trimmed dealership network. This means that they will keep fewer jobs in their overall structure till the time they can stand up on their feet and buy back the 60% ownership stake of the US government and 12.5% stake of the Canadian government. In other words, GM will become smaller than its previous avtar in order to beat the vicious fangs of recession.

Case II.

Now I wish to tread on more dangerous ground. This, by taking up three examples of Religions which have become too big for their own good and have lost more than just followers, they have lost Faith…

The first is the Roman Catholic Church,representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world’s population. Now, the Church has it’s biggest population in Europe, the lands of it’s origins and it’s long history. But Christianity is present even beyond those borders, all over the world, spreading to the farthest corners with missionaries taking long voyages to bring the light of Christianity to the uneducated and unblessed. It is this huge enterprise which now stands at the brink of loosing all faith by it’s followers. It is obvious the more popular a movement, more will be the people who tend to attack it. But this religion, with it’s long history and large following has now started to creak from the inside with the tendency to follow practices very often condemned by the same Church.

Similar is the story for two major Religions- Hinduism and Islam. They have a long history, both bloody and divine, but what neither of these Religions have realized is that the need for any faith to be successful is a strong leader who personally knows the thoughts and prejudices of his parish, not scriptures or complex rituals which may be interpreted differently by everyone and thus confused as faith. Indeed, it is probable that a preist in a one room church in Mongolia may infuse better faith amongst his fellow Christians than a reading of the Bible in even the most Grand Churches of Denmark. Similarly, no Pandit or Imam may claim that he is above the religion and yet hope to win the faith of people completely.

Case III.

Now I wish to explore the case of a small enterprise started in the Villages of Bangladesh by a now Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus named quite aptly, Grameen Bank. The objective of the bank was to provide small amounts of money in the form of loans to poor farmers and workers (specifically, to the wives of these people) without asking for any Collateral. This scheme is based on the principles of MicroCredit and the concept that even the Credit-unworthy can work wonders when given Credit, that it is best when a task is done at the Grass-Roots level, for that is where all the trust rests.

I sincerely hope that all the topics discussed above be well-researched into by my readers before making any conclusions, my version of which, I present below:-

“It is not possible for any organisation to grow extremely large without bursting at the seams from internal pressure. Any real Work of Faith, Belief, hard work or finance is done best when done at the grass-roots. A single man working hard and getting paid is better than thousands working hard and yet not getting a rupee back.”

And so, it is time for all the BIG organizations, whether of Men or Machines, to realize that if you want to live through these troubled times, it’s time to break up…

Dealing With Dust

I went to the hostel today, just to clear out a few things I had kept over there while having moved out to live separately. What I did not realize was that those weren’t a few things which I had chosen to leave, they were a whole Life of me which I had gotten cut-off from since I moved out. Among the important ones were a whole set of my writings which I have never published simply because I never got the time to do so. Also, all my work related to Politics and Philosophy, topics upon which I had deliberated a lot during the course of the first and second years of college and which I had felt were life changing, lay there like a distant past of which I had no recollection, just the knowledge that a few pages with my handwriting were kept there, protected even from my own self, never to be further thought about. About these Ideas and Ideals to which I had once subscribed, I would like to say today that –

“If Man wants, he can include Philosophy into his Life, thus making it a Never-ending Quagmire of Thought, Self-Doubt and the Reassurance that Man is Superior to Animal”

after Four years of Engineering, it has come as no surprise to me that I now believe in Hard Work more than ever. As I step into the part of my Life where I will be a part of the Corporate World, I have now this notion-

“The Simplest and Most effective way for a Person to live is to Work. Nothing else is as Important as working hard. And working hard is what makes Life easier than ever.”

Deliberations on Philosophy and Politics are indeed habits of those who have the Luxury of wasting their time in making their Lives Complicated. The Simple way of Life does not involve these, just a clear understanding of what a Person’s work is and what the resultant thoughts and beliefs are.

In digressing from the topic of cleaning up my Hostel room, I wanted to ensure that the thoughts that went through my mind when I was arranging my things together were noted down. However, the more important detail is about what all I found there.

The second Important thing I found there were some of my clothes. I got very nostalgic when I saw them, discussing with my roommate Lalit the amazing journey I made from being a size 32 waist to a size 38! I know I am fat right now and I am less than proud of it. But it is an amazing thing for me to see myself as a lean, weak boy with cheeks sunk deep into my cheekbones as opposed to a well rounded man with chubby cheeks and friends who keep reminding me that I must join the gym!

It is not everyday that One gets to look at their past and present in such a glaringly contrasting way, but this insight was amazing and has made me rethink a lot about what were my thoughts and beliefs when I was two years less-experienced than I am today and I now ponder over whether in the fierceness of my devotion to my Ideals, I was believing in the right things or not…

After all, today I am happy to be an Engineer, but at some point, I wanted to be a Politician!

p.s. I promise that those unseen writings of mine will be put up soon, complete with my favorite creative commons license!

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Kung Fu Panda and some real MetaPhysics

Yes!!! I recently saw Kung Fu Panda… And It was good!

And then I saw it again and again… And it was good!!!

hehe… ok ok leave apart from the Bible preachings… The movie is great, its a must watch for all genres of people, from children to adults and from Kung Fu lovers to sad, bored-from-life ppl and although the action was a little steep (jumping from nearly the highest mountain in China and landing safely), thats what I expect from a Cartoon Movie because these things can’t happen in real movies (Oh, except in The Matrix).

What I did not expect was the deep Philosophical meaning underlying the whole movie. The whole concept of each action and event in a person’s life having a deep impact on the future and deeply being influenced by the past is a basic tenet of all Martial Arts and most Religions, so the movie left me slightly amused about its real meaning.

Let me put down some examples before coming to the real point I wish to discuss-

The Father of Po (Our dear, Lovable Kung Fu Panda) has the same dream of running away to learn Kung Fu but chooses to ignore it to follow his father’s dreams. Had Po also ignored His dream, he would be the same as his father, choosing his destiny to be a cook selling soups instead if being famous and a great Master.

Tells You What? Follow Your dreams and Aspirations, for if you work hard enough on them you will have them and since you have been dreaming about them, You are already Ready to achieve them, just take the steps, the doors Will open.

Shifu had created a Fighting machine in the past (Tai Lung had been trained to be very talented but too challenging in Kung Fu, thus not able to achieve the level of understanding about Life that Oogway did). That war machine destroyed the only happiness that Shifu had, showing that You get what you make. Had Shifu trained tai Lung to be patient and understand that Kung Fu is not a way of fighting but a Martial Art then perhaps Tai Lung would be able to become the Dragon Warrior. The darkness Oogway saw in his heart was not Tai Lung’s but Shifu’s craving for more Pride. So he was responsible for it and had to train Po to become the Dragon Warrior. Shifu thought it was his Bad Luck that he got a Panda to train, but it was his Luck that he got Po who was already destined to be the Dragon Warrior and there was a way to train him (watch the movie, this part is really really funny!!!)
The concept of the Dragon Scroll was really very very beautiful. Spoiler Alert. The truth is this- You ARE the best creation of God that there is, there is no one better than you. Remember that. Because what you see when you look in the Mirror is the greatest mind ever, Realize that and there is nothing in the World that can stop you. Just like Po, look at the world from your eyes, don’t TRY to look at it from someone else’s. See your goals and BELIEVE that they are Achievable. And why are they achievable? Because YOU are attempting to achieve them. The sky is not the limit. There is NO LIMIT TO YOUR POTENTIAL.

Now for the real thing I wanted to say about the Movie… Spoiler Alert

In the Movie, Oogway’s vision of Tai Lung returning to claim the Dragon Scroll is so terrifying to Shifu that he sends one of his cronies (Zeng is his name and Oh he’s such a scaredy cat… uh… bird… ) to check on the Prison where Tai Lung is held. His presence there is not required as the prison has intense security and the Commander of the Prison (Commander Vachir) does not accept Shifu’s request to increase Prison Security due to Oogway’s Vision. But Zeng’s presence is very important. As Vachir shoves his as a joke, a single feather from the bird escapes to the place where Tai Lung is held and eventually helps him escape (again, watch the movie, you’ll get it).

What does This tell us???

What ever we do is Karma, even if we are trying to do good, thus it will have consequences in our life, and soon. Karma is a basic in all Oriental religions and Spiritual beliefs, because according to us, God is good at calculations (actually, ALL religions and spiritual beliefs say this, but in different ways, like Dooms Day or Armageddon or Karma or Yin and Yang, our beloved two opposites of Life). So We must remember that What We do, i.e. our Actions, whether out of fear or fun, affect us more deeply than imaginable. The best we can do is to do only the right things ( My belief in the adage “It takes less time to do the right thing than to explain why you did it wrong” is confirmed every time I do something wrong) and to think before we act.

In the end, some Italian will do…

La vita è grande, così essere felici

(Translation for those who won’t copy this and paste in Google Language tools to find out what it means out of sheer laziness— Life is Great, so be happy)

Yin and Yang, bhai bhai

The Panda is here... Prepare for Awesomeness

15 Till I Die

So yesterday I went to the market to get some Ice… The markets in India, as we all know employ a large number of helpers, sometimes upto three in one shop only. The first thing which I saw when I got there was a little boy, probably twelve years of age (probably younger, I’m very bad with identifying age) standing near the counter lifting and arranging packets of chips. I have, as many have, heard about the new law by the Indian goverment increasing the minimum age for a person to work to 15, below which it is considered as Child Labour. It was evident at first glance that this boy was much younger. So I asked him two questions–

Do you have Ice Cubes?
What is your age?

To the First question, I got a prompt affirmitive, but for the second one, the little one wavered and then said he was 15 years of age. Well Lied, I thought. Then I thought that I must do what I can about this situation. So i asked the price of the Ice Cubes and was redirected by the boy to the Shopkeeper who had just returned from inside the shop. I accosted the Shopkeeper and without looking even once in my eyes, he said that it was none of my business. He seemed right at that moment and I bought the ice and walked away.

But the thought that I did not do anything about the boy kept hurting me the whole day and I will probably be ashamed of myself everytime I will think about it.

So today, I sat down to think what I could possibly do about the Situation. I came up with very few answers as follows–

Do Nothing, which, trust me, is as bad an idea as punching your father-in-law in the face.
Punch the shopkeeper and then run for it, because if you stick around, the people of the market association will thrash you to glory.
Call the Police and report to them, in which case either the shopkeeper will be fined and then he’ll again employ a young child or he won’t have to worry because the head of the market association has already bribed the police.
This one seems to me the best solution to me and I will follow it every time i see Child Labour around me– Ask the price of a lot of goods, ask the shopkeeper to pack them and then walk off without buying them after commenting casually to the shopkeeper that you don’t support Child labour. This will frustrate him and even if two to three people do this to him, trust me, he get an above age helper.

I don’t suggest that you stick to my plan, although I’m sticking to it already, its your choice.

On the other hand, you could also think about what if that kid was the only one to support his family or that he was aiding his family in finance needed because of the large number of his siblings. If you wish to take this route and support Child Labour, just think about this for a minute– Don’t your Children go to School? So isn’t the right place for a Child a School?

A decision making…

Of all the features offered by the roads of Chandigarh for its weary commuters, the most interesting is also the most common means of travel. Apart from the beautiful fleet of low-floor buses plying across the city, offering a ride from any one end to the other in just rupees five, there is a large assemblage of auto rickshaws offering rides to those who either missed the bus or who prefer to travel in comfort.

On a fine day, traveling along the lines through the heart of the main city, I reached a point where I would have to take a vehicle to reach back to hostel. Not willing to wait for a bus, I asked an auto rickshaw driver squatting by the side of the bus stop how much would he charge to get to Sector 26. Now, the auto rickshaws work with the basis of picking up passengers along the way, so that it would cost less for each single passenger and simply put, this is enough attraction for people to not travel via the bus service. The charges try their best to level with the nominal cost of five rupees charged by the CTU but for longer distances they have to bend around their rules and charge a varying fee between ten to fifty rupees. This gentleman here, if he may allow me to call him that, asked for ten rupees to get to my destination. I tried to immediately disagree, hoping to get a better discount. But it was of no avail and I decided to wait a bit. Within seconds another three wheeler was passing by. I stopped that one and asked the same question. To my disappointment, he too asked for the same amount of ten rupees. Hoping that I would hop on, he put his vehicle on neutral and waited on me. But I had started to walk back towards the first one. I decided that since I had asked the first one first, he had more right to the ten rupees I was about to spend on my travel than the second one. So I decided on the amount with him and climbed on. Now, however, a thought flashed across my mind, and hence we come to the central part of our discussion.
Since I had asked the rickshaw already sitting there first, was he more entitled to the ten rupees than anyone else, specially considering he fact that since he was waiting on the bus stand, he should be entitled to most of the passengers coming there and wishing to board an auto rickshaw. Or was the second auto the rightful owner to my ten rupees? Thinking about the effort he went into, stopping for me and staying there only to watch me get on someone else’s auto, I feel that he was more at loss by my decision.

The central argument by an economics professor would be to say that an expression of interest or a calling of rate list does not bind any firm into any sort of agreement considering the fact that such a procedure is applied to all eligible businesses in the market. But in the real life, even microeconomics changes form dynamically along with the environment and the fact that I asked about the charges of travel would make some people feel that it bound me to a stronger bind to choose this first auto than any of its competition. The inventive would even go on to say that I owe it to both the auto rickshaw drivers as I ha involved them both by my actions. But that would be offensively against my own interests which rest with arriving back to hostel at the least possible cost.

I can but think more into the argument, but a logical answer seems not to be in the offing, thus I ask the people if they have any answers. Do contact me personally or at my email with your suggestions and answers. Until then, I continue to travel with a clear conscious hoping plainly that one day I have my own vehicle so that I may not be faced with questions of such questioning potency

Angst

Anger,

Its always there. Waiting to pop out of the corner, waiting impatiently to attack your brain, to consume each and every part of your creative conscious. Anger is there, like a shadow. But unlike a shadow, it cannot be stood upon. It looms on us, looking out for reasons. Often it just comes, and then you just cannot concentrate. Or enjoy for that matter. Even in the most solemn or beautiful settings it ruins everything.

Anger,

It has a way of eating out all your thoughts and even your appetite. It’ll kill for attention.

Anger,

Its got its ways.

But Anger,

sometimes its good. They say everything is good in small quantities.

But Anger,

Its always got to be big. It doesn’t spare. It attacks and hunts down the last bit of happiness, just to replace it with a sick kind of remorse, which doesn’t want to go away. Sadness can go away by music. But anger. No.

Sometimes i think Anger must be good.Because no matter what you do, it’ll be back. So why run away from the inevitable. After all, Hell ain’t all That Bad.