The way I see it

I came across an intersting book during my recent trip to Santa Barbara. It was about the history of world's different board games. While I was browsing through the book, I came across my favorite game as a kid....Snakes and Ladders! I found its history intersting and hence presenting it here for you all. The game was originated in India. The original name of the game was "Moksha Patum". The game is about the concepts of Hinduism like karma and reincarnation. The snakes represent our sins and the ladders represent our good deeds. The number "100" on the board represents moksha or salvation. All of us have to achieve salvation(square 100) and our good and unselfish deeds (ladders) help us in it while our sins(snakes) drag us down and we have to reincarnate to reach that final goal. Initially the game was played on a circular board but the Britishers most probably changed it into a square board and gave it the name snakes and ladders! It would have been intersting...

This blog is dedicated to my dear grandmother, whom we used to call "Mai". I have been thinking of her off late...what I really learnt from her. The three things that first pop up in my mind which summarize her character are: cleanliness, truthfulness and independence. She always taught me to speak the truth, come what may. And I never understood the importance of it until recently. How important this "truth" is in our lives. One obvious plus is peace of mind...you don't have to maintain two sides of the same story! But when a 22 year old talks about truth and a 80 year old talks about truth, the source of their knoweldge is different. When a 22 year old talks about truth he usually has gained that knowledge either from his elders or his books or may be his few experiences. But when a 80 year old woman speaks so passionately about her ideal: truth, that knowledge has come from her entire life experiences. Why would she talk about these high values if they have n...

This is an extract from "The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda-Volume 2". I really liked it and was inspired hence presenting it here for everyone's benefit. It is taken from a chapter where he explains 'Practical Vedanta'. To be able to use what we call Viveka(discrimination) to learn how in every moment of our lives, in every one of our actions, to discriminate between what is right and wrong, true and false, we shall have to know the test of truth, which is purity, oneness. Everything that makes for oneness is truth. Love is truth, and hatred is false, because hatred makes for multiplicity. It is hatred that separates man from man; therefore it is wrong and false. It is a disintegrating power; it separates and destroys. Love binds, love makes for that oneness. You become one, the mother with the child, families with their city, the whole world becomes one with the animals. For love is Existence, God Himself; and all this is the manifestation of that One Love,...

There are 2 schools of thought or 2 philosophies which as I understand are: a. Everyone has a dream job that they have to figure out and once they do, difference between work and play vanishes. You are so satisfied with your work that you literally become one with it, work for work's sake, for the pleasure and there is no worrying about how much time you spend, what benefits or money you get or any such material benefits. Its the purpose of your life and you get immense satisfaction and happiness doing it no matter what. b. Then there is a contradictory philosophy. Here you take up any work, any profession and do it as your duty, as a worship to God. You live in it, breathe it and become one with your work for the moment. There are no expectations here too....you just do it without any attachments. (Yes, I am talking about Bhagwad Gita's philosophy of work). The pleasure derived from both these approaches to work will probably be the same. Only in the first place, its easier to...

Get up when your sleep is over, Go for a nice run in the middle of the ocean, Suck up all the fresh air in your lungs, Get ready to eat a healthy and a hearty breakfast, Ready made mind you! Gaze at the ocean and the skies so blue Get drowned in nature's beauty, A heart-to-heart chat with the love of your life....just you, him and nature. Get ready for a delicious lunch...sitting by the ocean, Relax in the sun, with your favorite book and the beautiful sea breeze, Have hot chocolate while watching sunset....the ocean you love swallows the sun. Get dressed up for live music, dancing, singing, good beer and a formal dinner (all that jazz) a sharp contrast to a day spent so close to nature, Unwind in your cozy room....the soothing sound of the ocean waves putting you to a deep sleep. That's life on a cruise ship !!

Lets assume that religion was initially formed for the betterment of humans. But the word "religion" reminds me of conflicts, violence, intolerance and egoism. Most of the conflicts in the world are based on religion...be it the Israel-Palestian, India-Pakistan upto the recent terrorism has been erupted from religious beliefs. A "set of rules" which were supposedly meant for our upliftment are taking us down...are making beasts out of us. This has naturally made me think if we really need religion to live peacefully? Is religion necessary?? This has surprised me since I consider myself a religious person. I take great pleasure in certain Hindu rituals, the colorful festivals and many other things we do under the name of religion. So I was very restless with these contradictory thoughts in my mind. The answer I realized is not black or white. Religion is not good or bad, necessary or unimportant. If we believe that the final aim of all humans is to become one with Go...

I found this article on Gregory Roberts website: http://www.shantaram.com/ It was posted on December 1 2008. Here it goes..... Bombay still suffers, as I write this, even though the security situation in the Island City has improved, and a sense of order has been restored. Fortunately, and happily, none of the hundreds among my own friends and loved ones has been injured, but the death toll has risen to more than 170 people, and the injured number more than 300. And while my friends at Leopold’s, Colaba Market, The Taj, and The Oberoi are all safe and well, many of their colleagues have been killed or injured, and their businesses have been seriously damaged. I’ll talk about what’s happening in Bombay in the next few lines, but first, before you read any further, I want to ask you, I want to plead with you, to keep the faith with India and the city I love, Bombay. If we continue to visit the country and meet the people, if we spend our time in the beautiful chaos and chaotic beauty, if...