“The Four Seasons”

Buy, Grab, or Steal this album….

Vivaldi “The Four Seasons”
Concerto in E major, Concerto in G minor, Concerto No. 4 in F minor,

Really inspiring…and wonderful. Now i have it on my Fav.list.....

blogger's block

hahhhahaaa

just a term to name my lazyness.....

Kirlian photography: The sights invisible

I feel intrigued by the very concept of ‘Kirlian photography’ , leave it out to the professionals to prove the fake from the real ( these days the fake seems to be more real than the real).

All that engages my mind is the ‘concept of presence’.
may it is true, we feel the (tangible) presence of people, things, sounds,… even when we are quite far away from them.
It is in the sense of security, when stranded on a lonely street at such an ungodly hour, only because the mobile phone in our pocket still works…

It is there when we feel the presence of someone so strong that we never let others use their chairs, or cups…

It is there when one feels the very presence of his /her amputated limbs….

There are quite a lot of such instances…..
To be far away, and yet feel so intimate….

I think, we should leave some things to the realm of mystery to explain themselves…
___________________________________________________________________

Mysticism and exaggeration go together. A mystic must not fear ridicule if he is to push all the way to the limits of humility or the limits of delight.
-Milan Kundera-

The apple seed and the art of Zen

I sit near the window, biting an apple.
I see the clouds, ready for the shower.
I throw the seeds out…through the window,
But they hit the grill and fall back in…
I try again, bit it repeats…

Surprised, I now look at the garden outside
And throw the seeds out,
Wonder! now they are out scattered in the garden!!!!

It never teaches you anything about your ‘aiming’ faculty,
It all reminds us of a little scientific fact;
“No one can aim at nothingness/ infinity”
When I looked at the sky, it was infinity…. so hard to focus
But the garden outside, was a reality.
So I had a realistic place to focus…

It is the same with penalty kicks in the football stadiums…
The lonely striker sees only the goal post,
And that’s why he meticulously kicks,… onto the post bars.
It is the same in basketball…player sees the ring alone…
So it bounces back hitting the rim.
Without the flag post, golf would be an impossible game…

Yes,
it is the art of Zen to learn to see the vacant places between….
dream and reality, you and me.

Notes to Myself

The more I consult my feelings during the day, tune into myself, to see if what I am doing is what I want to be doing, the less I feel at the end of the day that I’ve been wasting time. -- Hugh Prather From Notes to Myself

Kahlil Gibran "talking"

And then a scholar said, "Speak of Talking."
And he answered, saying:
You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts

The Prophet-  Kahlil Gibran

"I don't let Education interfere with my Learning - Mark Twain".

The “wonderful” child within You: a mnemonic formula

Wonder
Optimism
Naïveté
Dependence
Emotions
Resilience
Free play
Uniqueness
Love

It all matters to what extend you let your inner child to grow and explore these at appropriate levels.

Footprints: Nikos Kazantzakis

When Francis saw Fr.Silvester,
he asked: ‘How did you come?’
‘The wind has taken me and I followed your footprints’

( from “Saint Francis” by Nikos Kazantzakis ( Νίκος Καζαντζάκης)
I know my Greek professor will read this Gk in all surprise, as it comes from me…

Some people come into our lives and quickly go,
Some stay for a while,
And leave footprints on our hearts
And we are never ever the same.

I am sure most of you have read it on the cover. You may wonder, why I write this?
Yeh buddy, it was mine!

Sacred Heart and a story

Today, i take the liberty to publish an email i received from a friend. I am sure it will benfit you...

"On this Solemnity and Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus may you realize His Heart beating within yours, His Love pouring forth from your heart, His generosity moving you to greatness.

I had mentioned St. Fr. Jose Maria Escriva and how he awoke, leaping out of bed, prostrating himself, kissing the ground and saying, "I will serve". So I'll share with you how this Priest has encouraged me, and in sharing I hope it encourages you.

We have moved many times. In the first 11 years of our marriage, we have been in eight (!!!) different apartments or homes. And always we put a crucifix over the door we enter. It is an old crucifix, it has suffered much damage in moving so many times. About a year ago it fell to the ground and the cross crumbled into so many pieces, it was beyond repair. At the time, I was reading a lot of the writings of Fr. Escriva. And I looked at the Body of Christ laying in the pile of pieces that had been the cross. The cross is our life, but Jesus had victory over the cross and sin and death. I had so many different thoughts, all thanks to Fr. Escriva. But I didn't know what to do with Jesus. I decided to put him in a stone chalice that I had received as a gift. That night, I was awoken. What immediately came to mind was Jesus. And that He wanted to be with me. In the dark I went downstairs and retrieved him. Each night alongside Jim I hold Jesus in my hand as I pray, I kiss Him, I thank Him, and I tell Him all sorts of things. And then he rests on my heart through the night. If I awaken, He is always there. His Body is a constant reminder during my sleep that He is EVER-PRESENT, always and forever. From here to eternity. Having him with me so tangibly during my rest and sleep has given me a tremendous realization and boost in His Real Presence within me ALWAYS.

May you grow in knowing the reality of the Real Presence of Jesus in yourself and in others. Onward, forward . . ."

The imaginary child and the real one….

This Chesterton line I found interesting….

“ The celebration of the birth of Lewis Carroll is really the celebration of Alice in the wonderland; the imaginary child being much more imaginable than the real one….”

Chesterton and the art of language

I feel proud for my love of Chesterton. Here is what I read recently…

“A man who loves all men enough to use them rightly is a democrat. A man who loves all words enough to use them rightly is a stylist. Style comes out, as the fraternal human sentiment comes out, pre eminently and most definitely in dealing with coarse or everyday things.
……….
……….
……….
Good style treats verbs and particles as good manners treats chairs and tables, easily but in the proper way. There is no such thing as being a gentle man at the important moments; it is at unimportant moments that a man is a gentleman. At important moments he ought to be something better.”

(G.K Chesterton on ‘The style of Newman’ from “A handful of Authors”)

universal language and a shepherd

What I still remember from the Alchemist….

“There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten. I am in search of the universal language, among other things, that’s why I am here. I have to find a man who knows that universal language - an alchemist.”

“They wanted me to be a priest, but I decided to be a shepherd”

Mysticism and Existence

Colin Wilson ( in ‘Poetry and Mysticism’) observes, to the embarrassment of many, that

“mystical experience is a normal potentiality of everyday consciousness and not something that has to be snatched by inducing states over which we have no control”

It indeed is a call to the sacredness of day to day existence. We should never seek any support system outside ourselves, to believe that our very existence is sacred, a gift from Divine.

where the mechanisms end, the mystery unfolds….

Save the Sign-Posts:

Sometimes we resemble the picture of a solitary lighthouse keeper, who with his arms raised, lantern swinging from his hands, wishing a storm on sea go placid.
But slowly the Storm enters the shore, grows around him, encircles, envelops and even entangles him. Praying for the calm he enters the eye of the storm, totally unaware.
Total destruction…

This is how; it seems to me, the world has lost many of its light-keepers. Are you listening?

The apparent serenity: King David, Gitanjali, and Shelvy

A.
"I will turn my mind to a parable,
With the harp I will solve my problem"[Ps 48 (49)]

When king David (supposedly) wrote these lines in Psalms,
I wonder how bold he had been….
Is it what masters say, ‘taking life as a song’…., I wonder!


B.
“The world is all of us,
If we do not collapse,
It will not.”(Untitled)

“Come in!
walk into my cemented sanctuary.
The door is open,
But do be careful,
Not to open my wounds”(Stay With Me)

From ‘The Gitanjali Album’ . Gitanjali Ghei, died of cancer at the age of sixteen on 11th August 1977, in Bombay. Book Prefaced by Paramananda Divarkar, a Jesuit priest (sadly I find no further publication data in the book.)


C.
Beloved, how do you survive these soaked evenings,
When the wine of forgetfulness swells up,
In this chalice, which God left back on the earth.
No, I do not exist…
Rain wipes everything out …
( “when the rains do forget me” (31/7/1995),

‘Water is a memorial,
Just as wine in the Holy Chalice’
(The Reddish, 1994)


All stories are of memories,
All stars are of Memories,
All books…..
(Memory, 1995)

Poems by Shelvy (" Alowkikam" Mulberry Publications, calicut, Kerala). Yes, I had a debt to you. So this adventure of free-translation of your poems, for all the non-Malayalam world to feel the way you were…)

Music matches the mind

Plato asked it quite long ago and said ‘a variation in music means a variation in the culture and living.’ Modern Psychologists (American School) says it should match the speed of the mind. What you enjoy reflects as well as reconstructs your thought and life.
So music is also a cultural tool….

Okay, okay why al this blahblah now? Actually yesterday I thought of writing about music. But rains look me away to sleep early. so now back after the class at ‘LIFE’, I write this. There was a topic on Music. I sat silent, because I know; I should make it more musical with letters than with sounds. So that you will hear me talk…

P.S. special thanks to Sebbie who showed me how to pull down the heavens with a well calculated movement of Pernambuco wood ( or read ‘bow’). But still I believe that, drizzle was not a miracle, there were clouds already….

( thanks to Sebbi, and LIFE)

Paulo Coelho: Remembrance and Search for God

Coelho writes in Maria’s Diary:

“In all the languages of the world, there is the same proverb: “what eyes don’t see, the heart doesn’t grieve over.” Well, I say that there isn’t an ounce of truth init. The further off they are, the closer to the heart are all those feelings that we try to repress and forget.If we’re in exile, we want to store away every tiny memory of our roots. If we’re far from the person we love, everyone we pass in the street reminds us of them.

The gospels and all the sacred texts of all religions were written in exile, in search of God’s understanding, of the faith that moves whole peoples, of the pilgrimage of souls wandering the face of the earth. Our ancestors did not know, as we do not know, what Divinity expects from our lives – and it is out of that doubt that books are written, pictures painted, because we don’t want to forget who we are – nor can we”

(eleven minutes)

Osho at his best: Old age

"Unless you accept everything that life brings to you with gratefulness,
You are missing the point. Childhood was beautiful; Youth has its own flowers;
Old age has its own peaks of consciousness. But the trouble is that childhood comes its own; for old age, you have to be very creative.

Old age is your own creation. It can be a misery, it can be a celebration; it can simply be despair and it can also be a dance. It all depends how deeply ready you are to accept existence, whatsoever it brings. One day it will bring death too – accept it with gratitude."

Thanks to B who forced and inspired to read Osho’s ‘The Book of Woman’. Today after almost an year I open this book.
(a compilation by Ma Deva Sarito, published by Penguine Books India,2002, ISBN 10987654)

AR Rahaman on Taj

Radha Krishna Ki Mohabbat
Aadam Haua Ki Mohabbat
Heer Aur Ranjha Ki Mohabbat ..Ek Hai

Shaah Jahaan Mumtaaz Ki Mohabbat
Laila Majnu ki Mohabbat
Teri Aur Meri Mohabbat Ek Hai
Teri Aur Meri Mohabbat Ek Hai

Great lyrics….. I think it will grab universal attention. Someone please translate it and spread…( I strictly do not want Geo and Niz to do this service…okay, u get what I mean!!!)


( Anthem & lyrics download at : http://taj.indiainfo.com/download/ )

PS. Special thanks to HPK for letting me experience the inside stories and wonders right form the studio. As with everything of AR, this structure too struck my mind so fast…thx buddy!!!

The way God see us

"Not a problem, I don't read the errors, just the message!!! Isn't that how God sees us???"

Today while online i made a lot of typos.when i apologised, my friend wrote this line….
Yes that’s enough to grasp a lot more about life….
Do You agree?

SMART is the Key word…

Today I spoke basing on the age-old concept of SMART.

We must make our goals/ dreams SMART

Specific (You know exactly what you are about to do)
Measurable (You know what happens really)
Achievable (You have the confidence that it can be reached)
Realistic (It is not abstract….)
Tangible (we can feel it in reality…)

20% failure is a must…

It seems healthy that one should have 20% of failures. Only then one is properly alerted about those possibilities that are capable of upsetting one’s plans. Otherwise one will have only blind journeys. A little bit of failures will make one more alert and active.
Everything is a must, but strictly in its proper dimensions…..

Exclusively for Nysa mol…..( u r not to read it)

hi ammuji, congratulations on your tear-filled first school day!$%$%$$%%*&*^
I am sure your dad/ mom will read this to u….
( I have nothing else to blog today, so this ‘public’ message to you)

Today all of a sudden I remembered you…
Today after the evening-service, I had veneration of the relic of St. Martin.
People were flocking all around to touch/ kiss it.
All of a sudden a kid jumped at me from her mother’s hand,
and grabbed the relic, and began to handle it as if an ice cream
I could not contain my laughter… then chapel, too, was full of laughter
I remembered the first time I had such an experience,
That was you, and you were just two that time.
you began biting my hand for not giving you Holy communion.
I know, there are many more little Nysa’s……

Battered and torn apart, you end up…

It surprises me never that many of our friendships
Leaves us battered and broken apart.
If you ask me ‘why is it so?’
I have no one answer, but many…
Do not blame me as being insensitive,
Sometimes the stark reality is so insensitive…

I think, we should learn to appreciate and respect the boundaries of the other.
We all should learn to extract out the aspect of possessiveness.
some learn it naturally, others the harder way.

In friendships we should look for ‘gratefulness’ but no ‘claims’
I wonder when you will learn it,
and stop shouting at me for being so hard and harsh.
It's my duty to be so, i can't help it
You may say I never ever understand your ‘problems’…
But never ever say I did not give you my 'time and support'.

You have entered memories...

Dear J, I know you will never read my lines.
Because not even Lazarus was allowed a return . . .
I am surprised what all things that went through your life…
The news about you really shook me.

Today I can write this in all certainty of a witness…
The number of one’s friends tells only about the ‘sociability factor’
It is never a testimony of deep rooted optimism or intimate outlook on life.

The quality is to be understood, not in the numerical sense,
But it depends upon the way you are, and make of yourselves and others around you..

Sitting in the sun...

BE what you wanna be.....
taking things the way they come...
nothing is as nice as finding paradise ...

(bacardi blast advertisement music)

When the rains do us fail…

When the rains do us fail
I get even to the skies.
When the showers hit so torrential
I rave about the flooding streets.
Now I should ask myself…
who fails whom?

Emotions workshop: Dump your garbage, and grow…

We need to dumb the following garbage of emotions, feelings and attitudes.

We need to heal ourselves ( or through your mentor) from the garbage of :
- Abuse (physical, verbal, emotional, sexual)
- Neglect (in childhood, and growing times)
- Invisibility ( Isolation, lack of trust, lack of focus)
- Violation of boundaries ( of our personal freedom by the other)
- Sick family life (dysfunctional families)
- Over-criticism (Negativity)
- Anger ( self-destructive behaviors)
- unhealthy relationships ( not all friends really build us up)
- Low self-esteem

The Balancing Act…

We should have a proper balance between our different intellects (academic, aesthetic, mechanical, kinesthetic….) It should be a conscious effort from our part to hit the optimal equilibrium.

If you are academically engaged more, try doing some mechanical stuff at home, and vice versa. Take a little time to appreciate beauty, nature, concepts and all the hell of things you primarily thought never belongs to your bend of mind. It will balance you.

This blog is my way of balancing act.

I won’t let u go…

When Tagore wrote these lines even Gods remained still, unable to go away.
But when I write it, you may think I am growing crazy….

The ‘You’ stands for the little squirrel I have/ had (now).
Please come back quick, I know you fear darkness…
Come back, together we will steal fruits from the store.
Come back, together we will drink coffee, but not so hot this time.

I will not let you go away…
But I will also never force you stay back.
Whether you come back or not, I know we were friends once.
And that’s enough.