Saturday, February 15, 2014

LOVE IS IN THE AIR ....                                   

The entire world is out to celebrate 14th Feb, i.e., The Valentine’s Day, a day to cherish love & affection towards their better halves. Gift shops are overflowing with love-y dove-y stuff. Guys & girls are throwing their money around to impress their partners. The whole globe is being painted red (pun intended). Oh yes, the season of love....
But as I sit in my room, I realise that love is eternal, it is everlasting, it knows no boundaries, & it is definitely not restricted to a single day or month in a year.
For me, true love is what my parents had, one soul shared by two bodies. Today, even after 4 years of her death, my father is still very much in love with his beloved wife. She is always in his mind, being sorely missed, with each tick of time.
"There flowed a love, that couldn't be seen, but only felt."

Ah..... My mother radiated love. She was the source of love in this family. The never-ending supply we could all draw from. She balanced us all out evenly. I usually wonder, how did she do it? Never complaining, doing all the household chores, paying enough attention to dad so he doesn't feel neglected, taking care of us & also doing her job. All of these things made her perfect in my book. She did all of it & yet lived her life to fullest. But when she went, that never ending supply depleted all of a sudden & I realised that it had a huge impact on my dad too. 
 “Leaving Earth. No Weight. Heavy Heart."
He became a walking dead, no, not in that zombie-like way, his body is present here, but his soul, the life in that body was lost at the very same moment, when she took her last breath. I see him today, his shoulders have sagged, the shine in his eyes is replaced by dark circles, I see the face of a man who has been robbed off everything by the cruel fate.

And at this moment, I actually understand the meaning of - Your life can be wonderful even in a trash can if you have the right person to share it with or you can live in a huge bungalow with every possible luxury at the tip of your fingers, but if you don't have your soul with you, you'll be in ruins.

That's how I see, that he has given up on life. He isn't living, he is just existing... counting his days.

"The woods are lovely, dark & deep,
But I've promises to keep,
& mile to go before I sleep,
& miles to go before I sleep... "
                              - Robert Frost
I think that's what he is doing, keeping his promises before he goes to the eternal sleep, his promises to his children. And the funny part is, no one is to blame except for the unexpected circumstances. But at-least, I know that true love exists in real life too, no matter how much it hurts him now, at-least it gave him fond memories to carry with himself, at-least he got to experience what actual love is, which many people get deprived of.




"I'm nothing special, of this I'm sure. I'm a common man with common thoughts & I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me & my name will be soon forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart & soul, To me, this has always been enough...."
                                                                             - Nicholas Sparks

Their love wasn't for a single day in a year, He never showered her with romantic gifts yet she was impressed by him because what they had is beyond the comprehension of our generation. Their love was reflected on how she doted on him when he came back from work, how they went for little strolls after dinner, how they quietly talked late at nights, how he always managed to bring a smile on her face by just doing a small gesture. 

They were normal. They were no Romeo-Juliet. But what they shared, an all en-compassing love.... was extraordinary, it was exceptional & I personally think that it can give competition to love stories like Romeo & Juliet.

P.S – A very happy Valentine’s Day & I hope you all find your soul mate & get your happily ever after.





Wednesday, February 05, 2014

FALL OF THE DEMIGODS – DEGRADATION OF SPIRITUALISM IN INDIA

This is an ancient land where wisdom made its home before it went to any other country. Here is the same India whose soil has been trodden by the feet of the greatest sages that ever lived. Look back, therefore, as far as you can, drink deep of the eternal fountain that are behind & after that, look forward, march forward & make India brighter, greater & much higher than she ever was.”
-       Swami Vivekanada

India, the cradle of learning of human civilization, a land that has been home to the greatest sages that ever lived, has been a home for spiritual gurus & demi-gods for a very long time. We, Indians have always been spiritual in the outlook to the extent of even being a little superstitious. So, the rise of demi-gods in India was obvious and we saw many great demigods like Swami Vivekananda, Lord Buddha, Swami Dayanand & many others. Swami Vivekananda took his status of demi-god to a new height & played a major role in the spiritual enlightenment of Indian masses. Founder of the Arya Samaj, Swami Dayanand was one of the few great personalities who sacrificed everything for the emancipation of mankind. In greatness, like the highest peak of the Himalayas, Buddha is second to none. His life & work show to what sublime heights human compassion, thoughts & feelings can rise. What the “enlightened one” practiced & preached is a proud possession of our ancient heritage. These great and inspiring personalities really deserved the title of demi-gods.

         " The price of greatness is responsibility."
                                                        - Winston Churchill
All of us should remember the famous words of Winston Churchill which these demigods forgot in their lust for greed. Today, unlike the glorious past; the standards of demi-gods are degrading steadily. And the credit for this degradation is taken by these so called demi-gods who hide behind the mask of holiness, but in reality they are no better than those criminals who rot behind the bars. Spiritual charlatans like Asaram Bapu, Swami Agnivesh, Chandra swami, Sathya Sai Baba & many others like them are the primary reason that the spiritual face of India is being dirtied.
Asaram Bapu, one of the most popular leaders of our developing nation is said to be courting controversies – sexually abusing a 16year old girl, land grabbing cases, etc. An Arya Samaj scholar & social activist, Swami Agnivesh, came under attack over a controversial video posted on Youtube, not only this, he has hurt the Hindu sentiments time & time again by his offensive remarks. “The Controversial Tantrik”, Chandra swami, has been accused of several financial irregularities & he was also arrested on defrauding a London-based businessman. The list will remain incomplete without a mention of Sathya Sai Baba. There have been allegations that Sai Baba used to indulge in sexual abuses and pedophilia. The biggest ever controversy to have haunted Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram was when four persons were shot dead by the police after they had allegedly stabbed four devotees in Baba's bedroom. Moreover, even after the Baba’s demise, trustees found cash of Rs 11.5 crore, 98 kg of gold and silver articles weighing 307 kilograms from his private room, which again raised eyebrows.

The question that stares us in the face here is – why are these so called demi-gods successful? One reason will be that these demi-gods emerge because Hinduism is not a structured faith with a central authority or a chain of command. So there is always room for spiritual freelancers. Another main reason would be the superstitious uneducated population of our nation. But today even the educated are presenting them with a ready market for their business because the insecure stressful life we lead makes us want to listen to someone who will say what we desire to hear.

It’s high time that we be the modern & educated Indians that we claim ourselves to be, prove ourselves worthy successors to our glorious and wise heritage. The nation’s people should no longer allow anyone to treat them like dumb driven cattle that can be led by nose by any charlatan posing as demigod. If all of us come together & join our hands to stop this degradation of spiritualism, only then Indian spiritualism standards will rise. Also, one should always remember that everything that shines is not gold and be discerning enough to separate chaff from wheat to identify the fake and corrupt persons who tarnish the image of all real holy saints and demigods. I would like to conclude with the motivating lines by Swami Vivekananda, “All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark”.