The life of Ants: A visual story

"All the best work is done the way that ants do things --
by tiny but untiring and regular additions."
-Lafcadio Hearn-

My new Ant Visual-story at: http://flickr.com/photos/bencap

Reading Is Believing, or Not

"How to read Bible" by James L. Kugel
'nytimes' review of this book here.

Read also:

"The Bible and History"

"The Documentary Hypothesis"

The Secret: Law of attraction and Magical thinking

Pls steal some time to check these links below. I do not claim it to be absolutely true at all times, but this is not 100% nonsense either...

The Law of attraction

Magical thinking

The Movie "The Secret"

MENDING WALL: Robert Frost

"Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence." (MENDING WALL, Robert Frost )

Chak De! India claim thrilling Twenty20 win

India claim thrilling Twenty20 win
India claim thrilling Twenty20 win
India claim thrilling Twenty20 win'
India claim thrilling Twenty20 win
India claim thrilling Twenty20 win

"Sometimes winning is everything"

we were waitng for this moment!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank You for making this so memorable........

Intimate Experiences:

Creation would have been such an intimate experience to God.
For even today men and women share it with no less reduced intimacy.

In intimacy the breath becomes life,
Just as god breathed life into the nostrils of Man.
That Man is the face of Humanity,
Humanity altogether is the face of God,

What would that breath of God would smell like?
In ‘Song of Songs’ the lovers find it as the fragrance of apple.
Breath of God in the fragrance of an apple
“thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one bead of thy necklace”

Struggling to make history

(A certain old Cretan Captain, now a shepherd received a citation inscribed on a parchment in the red and black letters, congratulating him on his acts of bravery and declaring him a hero)

“What is the Paper?” He asked the messenger with irritation.
“Did my sheep get into somebody’s Wheatfield again? Do I have to pay damages?”

The messenger unrolled the citation joyfully and read it aloud.
“ put it in ordinary language so I can understand. What does it mean?”

“ It means you are a hero. Your nation sends you this citation so you can frame it for your children”
The captain extended his huge paw.
“give it here”
Seizing the parchment, he ripped it in shreds and threw it into the fire beneath a caldron of boiling milk.

“Go and tell them I didn’t fight to receive a piece of paper. I fought to make history”

(Liberty: Report to Greco, Nikos Kazantzakis)

Sometimes we forget that we all struggle to make history,
for the convenience of piece of paper though it may be in the form of a currency, of a certificate!!!!

Enter through the Proper door

It is essential to enter the right place through the right way.

Sometimes we fail to enter the Old Testament , through the right door.
That door is Christ Jesus, it is only through him we grasp the unfolding of the divine mystery of the Old Testament.

If we fail to enter through that ‘Christ – Door’, The old testament will be a fairy tale, full of beautiful gardens, dreams, the devil, angels, and lot of other fascinations….everything except salvation.
The New Testament will then become a place where nothing new really exists, just an uninteresting travelogue.

Do not fail the scriptures…. Enter through the right door (Christ),
read in the correct light (Holy Sprit).

Quietness: Rumi ( Sufi poetry)

Inside this new love, die.
Your way begins on the other side.

Become the sky,
Take an axe to the prison wall.
Escape.

Walk out like someone suddenly born into color.
Do it now.

You're covered with thick cloud.

Slide out the side. Die,
and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign
that you've died.

Your old life was a frantic running
from silence.

The speechless full moon
comes out now.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2nYZSoIMY8

let us hear the bird

“Be quiet, sir, Be quiet let us hear the bird”

cries little Nikolas to his master Periander krasakis

“A little madness is the grain of salt which keeps good sense from rotting”

(Report to Grecco- Nikos Kazantzakis)

theo jansen: the new creator

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theo_Jansen
http://www.strandbeest.com/
http://www.strandbeestmovie.com/

I know these links will speak more and better about this wonderful atrist: Theo Jansen.
seeing is believing
http://www.seeingisbelieving.ca/

The Road to Emmaus: Christ Experience

They had a personal knowledge about Jesus, and were curious about the things that happened in Jerusalem those days.
( we all have personal interest in Jesus)

Through out their journey they had the presence of the Word of God, which they later explained as a heart burning experience.
( we have read the scripture and experienced the divine touch of it at least in the minimum)

But they could experience Jesus only at the table when he broke the bread.

( But all these individual interest and knowledge of the scripture is not enough..., one should dare to be incorporated to the body of Mystical Christ, The church.
Experience him in the Eucharist. )


Christ experience = Personal search + Holy Scripture + Holy Eucharist
( if you miss anyone, dare to incorporate it quick……no shortcuts to grace.)

The Hush of heaven

How to listen to the hush of heaven?

I know Hugh Prather has a saying on it.
I have read it in his book “Spiritual Notes to myself”.
I searched the pages again…for almost three days!!!
No way ..i cant find it.
It seems like a fairy tale…
You read it at one time and miss to find it another time…
I am waiting for the ‘hush of heaven’

:::The Hush of Heaven:::

nirvana...Kahlil Gibran

“Yes,
there is Nirvana;
it is in leading your sheep to a green pasture,
and in putting your child to sleep,
and in writing the last line of your poem”

:::Kahlil Gibran:::

This is how Mat experienced ‘Life of Pi’

"Dear Mat,
I know, you will be surprised by this post, if not shocked.
You may even shout at your mom…
Please don’t be the either….
You have a great sense of words and expression.

And when you make it big in the home of words,
Remember that it is me ,who published (stealing!!!) you first.

Love,
Ben."

(Please read this brilliant essay by Mat, on Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.)

Although the novel was required reading for my tenth grade Language Arts class, I find the theme of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi to be a solid guide to living one’s life. (I don’t discount the importance of this book because I did not discover it myself; instead, I value its message even more highly, considering the serendipitous encounter.) The novel stresses the idea of embracing numerous philosophies and of respecting all points of view to come to a better understanding of one’s self and one’s world. In a broader sense, this message can be applied to all corners of life: the main character’s desire to understand different visions of his world can be interpreted as a feeling of discontent with limiting himself to any singular lifestyle. Between these two ideals of well-rounded open-mindedness and uninhibited ambition lies all that I aspire to be. Before reading this novel, I was a strictly academic student. Afterwards, I found a calling in various other activities, from volunteer work to athletics. And although engaging in new experiences can prove a daunting task that can stretch a person thin, I approach each task with great resolve and commitment, while ignoring the fear of putting myself in a position where I may always struggle to succeed in the wake of others’ triumphs.

Fully applying myself on a difficult project of any kind creates a sense of satisfaction that fuels my desire for success in every activity. The feeling of having done something impressive is almost an addiction for me, and I am consistently fascinated with the amount of success attainable through the proper use of hard work.

Regardless, I cannot assume full credit for my accomplishments. Although I take pride my undertakings, and I believe strongly in a stringent work ethic, I realize that I am fortunate enough to be in a position where I can succeed. I find that accrediting oneself alone for accomplishments derived from natural talents is hopelessly arrogant; I am not personally responsible for my intelligence, I merely utilize the resources I was born with to the best of my ability. And so many people have had a hand in my development: a supporting family, inspiring teachers, close friends. In considering these factors, I have concluded that I am in debt to these people and others, and that squandering any opportunities I have to benefit others by engaging in selfish endeavors would be truly disappointing, even morally objectionable. So ultimately, I hope that years of hard work will result in a career where I can do just this, to repay the world for all the good fortune it has given me, because anything else would be a massive waste of potential

The magic of Bible : The story and the storyteller

We never let any story to remain uncompleted.
and that is the magic of the Bible.
He told it al in the forms of parables and stories.
Now, even after many millennia, we feel the fascination
A fascination to narrate and to listen to stories…

Stories are ‘Repeated Grace’.
We have listened to the gospel stories quite a lot of time.
But hey have a magic within them;
Each time they transport to the realm so different.
Sometimes surreal, sometimes so tangible
It varies… and it is in that variety the magic lies…

Often we talk about the storyteller fashioning the story
But, at times is the other way around.
The storyteller is moulded by the story he tells.

The Bible is all about the stories and the storytellers…
Moulding and creating us all anew…
Let the stories make better the storytellers…

Nikos Kazantzakis: Three prayers

1. I am a bow in your hands, lord. Draw me. Lest I rot.
2. Do not overdraw me, Lord. I shall break
3. Overdraw me, Lord and who cares if I break!

When Grace Never Delays:

It takes a pristine sense of time to obtain graces.
Having been forced to delay for the nuptial ceremony for a couple of hours, by traffic congestion
the bride and the bridegroom reached the chapel, very tense and their glued to the Gothic clock on the wall.
But, they were greeted with a graceful welcome, assuring them of Graces that will never go delay.
It was from the timely thoughtfulness of a patient minister.

This indeed is one of the greatest blessings in life to have such an assurance of timely graces.
Whenever and wherever you are in need of a divine intervention,
Believe it, the angels of heaven will reach you in time.
Angels never delay…

Tail end:
We should have two clocks in the churches.
One for the pastor to be aware of,
and the another for the congregation to be beware of.

From the Reading Desk: Nikos Kazantzakis and the Divinely Despair

God is the most resplendent face of despair. ,
the most resplendent face of hope.
You are pushing me beyond hope and despair,
Grandfather, beyond all age-old frontiers.

Where?
I gaze around me,
I gaze inside me.
Virtue has gone mad, geometry and matter have gone mad.
The law-giving mind must come again to establish a new order, new laws.
The world must become a richer harmony

( Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco)

Why the butterflies refuse to fly away?

Nature at its uninterrupted best knows no fear. Chasing a group of butterflies, the other day, was a fresh experience. It was not a typical wild area, but really a calm, serene, and secluded area in this vast rubber plantation near to my stay. I could sit close, point my macro lens so close, as if almost touching them…but they refused to fly away… They never bothered about my presence. My friend Joyson too shares a similar “ butterfly effect” that occurred to him while filming at the Alpine ranges in Venice. Nature at its undiluted and unpetrified best , knows no fear. Mel Gibson’s latest film “Apocalypto” too reels on this subtle aspect of fear. Fear is death.

All scriptures ask men to be bold.
The Bible asks us not to be afraid
Krishna asks Arjuna the same,
Buddha asks his disciples the same,
Prophet Mohammed exhorts his followers the same.)
Scientists also asks us the same
(http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040117/bob9.asp).
Okay fear not…..do dare, for nature at its best is fearless

Stealing the sun and moon

today we shall reach an agreement
that we will never steal each other
of our sun and moon,
of grace and wisdom.

Also we promise each other,
even if everything else fails
we will not fail each other.

And if we see, everything is lost,
we promise each other
to evolve ourselves...
into a new sun, moon, wisdom and grace.

Yes! we will evolve...
lest we all will be lost,
groping in the endless darkness...

The children of heaven”

“ The children of heaven” an Iranian Movie directed by Majid Majidi, tells the story of two kids who struggle to grow up in the limited situations. The boy participates in a footrace in order to win the ‘third’ place. It was his haunting need of the moment to have a decent pair of shoes, and the third prize was a pair of shoes!!!

We should strive for only those successes that matter us the most. We shall not force ourselves, out of sheer instinctual compulsion of the “survival of the fittest’’. All our success should really benefit us.