BEING AND BECOMING

Glorification is required for things of past, but someone, a lively idea, a total sum of humanist University, a way of life, finds its roots amidst uncertain paths. Only a lovely mind can appreciate what it means to be Gandhi. One of the greatest learners of the planet, one of the greatest moral scientists, courageous, truth-seeker, a great soul, who had to fight against his own evils before looking at the imperialists' face; a non-symbolic philosopher, who had courage to criticise self, to work for self-cleansing before making excuse and passing the buck on others. A man, who is not responsible, cannot personify humanity in himself; Gandhi was an opposite face of irresponsible machines, produced by rationalized automations in robotic spirit. He was alive, he is alive, and will remain forever in the spirit of humanism. He taught us without teaching, he transformed us without beating any drum of self-aggrandizement, he loved the spirit of life without accumulating any lust for power...

One of the gifts of European Enlightenment was the visualization of a rational world, which may be discovered by proper way of seeing and listening. Can there be a science without listening the whisper of nature? Can there be any possibility of knowledge in a cahoot, secluded from other views, echoing the voices from narrow window, from where the world is projected as an objective reality? Answer may be probably in negative. In Madhyamika school of Buddhist philosophical tradition, it is generally believed that the differences in opinion are absolutized as an objective truth. In that sense, one as an expert of narrow domain remains in alienated reality, devoid of any understanding of the state of affairs at the macroscopic level. Who is listening, anyway? Listening is an art, a therapy, the best possible method to perceive what is true and real. Only through listening one can heal the narcissistic attitude, which has brooding presence in the age of information and technology. I remembe...

O human, you are more than what you think The identity you're carrying on The finite burden of class, creed, gender And fragmentary logic of choice O human, relieve your burden of history And forget a future to come You are no longer lost in the wilderness Of professional jargons Feel, breath, and touch your inner beauty Be soft and transparent like water Radiate like Moon Burn like Sun Bloom like flowers  Share, care, and surrender your ego And be the world in a moment

Picture's Courtesy: American Tourister There are many ways to meditate but an "analytical meditation" I like the most. This form of meditation doesn't ask me to remain seated in silence, but to observe what's happening around me. A few minutes ago, I have found a picture, consisting of "intellectual property". I imagine if anything is outside from the domain of what I know as property. Starting with my body, feeling, emotion, ego, ambition, home, means of conveyance, food, water, land, plant, domesticated animals, etc. The domain of property is oceanic, never ending journey. This picture signifies the horizon of property, which is significantly related to monetary value. One value or set of values I know is a moral question about good or bad, beautiful or ugly. The monetary value is nothing but a belief in abstract number or for a promissory note, which is used as a negotiable instrument. Being a student of law, I have some idea about what is negotiabili...

At a time, when the society finds itself around misery and suffering, people find attraction in self-glorification and the collective imagination often terrorizes a beautiful-autonomous mind, willing to dance, love, and pray. There is always a danger of collectivism which stifles the independent mind and its creative urge to inquire about truth, happiness, and beauty. Collectivism and individualism, the two extreme terrains, often interact with each-other and play a significant role in making and unmaking of each-other. Freedom is hardly possible in a lonely desert. It is very much conceived and imagined in the terrain of collective imagination. Rousseau differentiated natural liberty and civil liberty; one epitomizes the possibility of unrestrained and unrestricted competition and the other one is all about liberty with fairness and equity, which also symbolizes the liberal commitment of classical political theorists, from Immanuel Kant to John Rawls.  I often think what it means ...

I know a poet  Who is lost often in woods  Without a purpose  And comes back often With little drops of tears in his eyes When I ask him  About his journey He passes into silence He has nothing to share Or to complaint In words  But I know  He feels the joy and sorrow Of life and its movement He feels the sorrow and joy Enchantment and Disenchanment What about me? A modern man! Who knows too much  But feels too little  Who has all the resources But his own soul; To feel what it means to be alive

When success is defined as a quantification of achievement rather a qualitative assessment of the thoughts and conducts, society is at the wrong trajectory to run a blind race to win at any cost. This phenomenon has been  demonstrated by the events unfolded at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), when Steve Smith was awarded as the Man of the Match even if he removed Rishabh Pant's guard marks on crease after drinks break; that conduct does not qualify the standard of fairness. And the irony of the day is that he has been awarded as the best man of the match! This is not an isolated story unfolded at the cricket field, but the moment of reflection if civilization is unconsciously cultivating a culture of mass appropriation of goods and resources without having a compassionate heart for those who are less fortunate in running the blind run of success? When a society is conceived at the formula of one wins at the cost of losing many, there is a serious flaw in the way human's life en...

I have been wanderer of many paths; But the true one was always unknown. I have seen many eyes; Craving for more, and endless more.  And a few smiles;  Like lost in the moments. I have heard many sounds; Often echo like fossils of self-prides; And a few notes of music; From the lap of nature. I have smelt the rawness of humans' emotions; And their stoic calmness before the helpless conditions; I have witnessed many victories; Its glories and falls. I have had equal days and equal nights; I have heard everything is momentary; And also time is a fiction.  Among the many colours of life; I am often lost in beauty of sunrise; And in the contemplation of its disappearance. I wander at unknown paths; Without knowing who was here? And who is waiting when I will be there?

आजकल की बात है लोग दूसरों में ख़ुद की परछाई खोजते हैं। आजकल तो मात्र एक तकियाकलाम है;  ताकने झाँकने का हुनर का पता हमें हमारे इतिहास के लगाव से पता चलता है।  तरक़्क़ी का पैमाना इतिहास के झरोखें में गढ़ा जाता है;  ताकि गवाही में मनगढ़ंत चंद शब्द परोसे जाएँ। इसीलिए किसी ने ख़ूब कहा है;  इतिहास खोजा नहीं जाता गढ़ा जाता है। किसी ने स्याही के नुकीली बून्द से सरहदे बनाई, और बसा-बसाया घर को पराया बना दिया। मुल्क को बनाने में संविधान ही नहीं इतिहास भी काम आता है; वही इतिहास जिसे गढ़ा जाता है।

A beautiful message from Pope Francis: he says, “Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is…Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.” Let us all remember then that every changing colour of a leaf is beautiful and every changing situation of life is meaningful, both need very clear vision. Remember that Pain is a sign that we are alive, Problems are a sign that we are strong and Prayer is a sign we are not alone!! If we can acknowledge these truths and condition our hearts and minds, our lives will be more meaningful, different and worthwhile!!   

As a student of history he was not trained in literature. This itself was a significant characteristic for his discovery as a writer. A Bombay born child who became one of the greatest writers of the English literature. What caused this transformation; reading, observing, and trying to make sense of the world. This approach of openness is the first step of self-discovery; the Buddha moment. Writing for him is a task of self-discovery. You don't know when you start where will it end. If you know about your end, all the masteries and the fun of journey are lost in that predetermination. Michel Foucault once said, "I don’t feel that it is necessary to know exactly what I am. The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning. If you knew when you began a book what you would say at the end, do you think that you would have the courage to write it? What is true for writing and for love relationships is true also for life. The game is wor...