Via Media

A wonderful word!

Almost like our ancient 'sutra's... a thread... any flower can be used with it, to weave it into a garment!

“philosophical maxim for life which advocates moderation in all thoughts and actions.” is what the “ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_media “ says...

There was a kid, whom I used to tease, asking him, 'whom do you like more?' and the choice was between his dad and me.. That kid would point his forefinger at me, keeping his arm just beside his body-side, away from his dad's view, .... while using his eyes and eyebrows to keep pointing at his dad, knowing well ... that his own dad's 'inadequate focus' .. is going to look at only-his-face! (For his age, and at his level of self-awareness, that kid was well acquainted with 'via-media'...! And I would 'honor' that kid's 'via media diplomacy, and allow his dad the luxury of assuming that the dad was kid's only choice!.. the kid knew that I could 'see' both, his forefinger and his eyes! And he also knew, I would never forsake him! It was 1972, now he must be at his tricks with his own kids even! He was my English professor's son.)

We use it only when in doubt, suspicion, etc.. or ..... when any other diplomacy seems inadequate!

When we 'agree' with something ... (especially when an 'Yes' is out of convenience of avoiding the trouble to understand, and then agree... however trustworthy the source is, we foreclose the need to examine, and deepen our perception about it!)..

We 'refuse to agree' is perhaps a slightly lesser disadvantage, when the other person retains some interest in us, to make us understand and review our stand..

Via Media, is perhaps, an ideal situation, where, we find our own energies being optimized, strengthened, focused, and enhanced while experiencing life .. but then, we need to look at it as a 'philosophical maxim'... and not 'just-a' strategic tool, or a diplomatic escapism!

This via-media, if it creeps into our emotional stability... spiritual progress chooses a different track... mathematicians might view it as a shift from 'arithmetic progression to geometric progression!'

Now, the very same 'via media' nudges me to keep this brief...... ' brief'

Via yours,

psn (27th February, 2014)

The Mirror Boy.

“Seedha pakad!” Grunts the voice, biting the teeth and the brief gesticulations of taut lips managing the right kind of noises to convey this command!

Opening the mouth too wide, is inviting trouble... strands of hair are going to stick like glue to the tongue! So, the grunt, and clenching of teeth...

The boy who holds that mirror gives a slight twist, to feign having 'properly-understood' what that 'seedha' ever meant! “Hold it straight” was the command... Straight with relation to what? That kid knows, 'what not to ask'... His career is 'fixed'... instead of the mirror, someday, hopefully, he would make that mice like noise with squeaking pairs of steel blades which fight each other constantly, to be known as scissors!

There was a time (I hope a few elders might remember, and then agree!), when there was a boy to hold a mirror to the person who likes to assess-on-line, the progress of the 'diminishing number of dead cells',... the hair, being cut-to-size! The boss, the hair dresser is fully aware of his own social status, and does not interfere if that boy is going to be the 'punching bag' of that restless occupant of the chair, where the uncrowning takes place!

And somewhere in between, a few youngsters barge in, snatch the comb, and get a feel of that 'clean' and fine tooth of the comb, and then as an after-thought, let loose a casual half-smile at the poorly weaponised scissor-wielding hapless fellow! They too, feel it a ritual to scold this mirror boy, “abay, idhar ki taraf pakad”.. (hold it this toward this side)and that sandwiched lad gets nervous, and swings that mirror both the ways, not to infuriate the either! Both, the youngsters and the hair-dresser, know that these youngsters are not going to further the income of that humble shop, and are only going to leave soon after a while, when other genuine customers peep in, see a crowd, and turn away, thinking that there is a long-waiting-period in the offing!

It is perhaps the most rewardless of jobs! That, the pay is not good hardly matters, when the needless humiliation that this lad suffers apart from the aching arms, of holding that glass mirror for long hours, incessantly just to provide a 'feel-good-factor' to the viewers!

That 'regular' shop owner was curious, and did ask me once, why don't you 'use' the comb, when I offer you? (It is the custom, to offer the comb to the owner of that depleted head, to re-shape the remnants according to their taste... and most of the people bring in all the mannerisms that they could gather out of their memory, to reassure themselves that they are really 'very particular about it')..

Somehow, I was never tempted to even touch that comb... and now there is a question: 'why?'... (I was almost well-prepared for such a question, since elders around seldom fail to notice any oddity, in those days!)... I most humbly said, “You handle it most of the working hours, and so I do not hope to better your skill, be it on my own head even”! And he did find that, to be a little uncommon kind of acknowledgement, and in his own style, rewarded me with a few 'heavy-thrust-massages' as a gift during the next few visits... My early lessons with “neurology-for-dummies” was at the hands of this Guru (literally and figuratively)...

When I got a reward of 'Oh! Don't take it too seriously' as a reply-response to some stray remark, that I tried to show the 'mirror' to the owner of that remark, I was reminded of that 'mirror boy' in myself... and it befriended me as a source of inspiration to humble myself yet again, at that youthful surge, unbridled, in a great haste to assert itself, brushing aside anything that comes its way, whether a friend or a foe! But, I do find it a self-rewarding-task, when I try to hold the mirror, and the other person can see the reflections of their own mind-patterns... and leaving it to them to postpone the trimming of few strands that seem out-of-shape... Obviously, I do get chided with that vague 'hold it straight' command, and all I can do is to shrug a bit vigorously each time, as a timely response! On spiritual path, there are a few long-distance-admirers of this mirror-boy.. they do not even trim their hair (Even I keep wondering, Buddha sports long hairs, but insists his disciples to remain-clean-shaven!... So also, the other evolved beings, maintain their hair and therefore a safe-distance from the hair-dressers too!..). It is perhaps the admiration and shine from the long-distance admirers that keeps my mirror shining!

Psn( 26th February, 2014)

Designation according to Design

“Mai aur acting nahi kar sakthee!” Said Madam Waheeda ji, in Khamoshi...

And that was where she excelled at her acting's best!

But the story had to depict a different theme... When the designation thrust upon her, exceeded her own design... she ended up as a 'number' in the same place—mental health home!

“Basanthi, do not dance in front of these villains” said the hero... but there was a voice from the balcony, in the auditorium... “How can that happen, when we bought a balcony-ticket for that!”

So, the story itself is a design, and not a 'designating authority' to fix an actor!

What is our intrinsic design? (Well, the body's design, when we look at its gross-level/form, it initially coughs at a nicotine, makes a face at that nervous stimulants, but later on learns to get addicted, till, it says, 'mai aur acting nahi karoonga!').

At our work place, 'acting Managers usually come from elsewhere on 'deputation' and are too careful to preserve their basic design intact... to hell with 'perfect acting' is what they say, it is only TA/DA (the allowances on deputation) that is at stake, not their 'designation' or the salary that matches it!)... And our emotional design?

Ancient nomenclatures were so amazingly cohesive to the basic design!... Their grasp about design almost decided the possibilities/potentials, right from birth, right into forging compatible-alliances/relationships, even maintaining 'connectivity'! (the traces of what we get to see, often defies logic!).... The knowledge of astrology too, in its own humility, sought to supplement the designers, ..... and perhaps, had sought to complement the seekers into delving a bit deeper into their own subtle designs, and then to come closest to fulfilling their purpose-of-being-so-designed! (We look at only a robot, its design etc, thus... when it comes to ourselves, either we are a 'rights-oriented-freedom-rooted ones' or 'revolutionary ones, revolting against anything that is sought to be reminded of us as 'ancient', even the reverence-included!.. and so, we don't 'mind' designations as long as 'pay is good'!)

psn(24th February, 2014)

Elaboration

Elaboration

“No 'Bhaashan' please...!” (Now, don't start a lecture please!)

This dialogue takes the shape of even... “just-a-look” between spouses and the other says, “Okay... Okay...”.

This kind of compromise doesn't stay inert... Somewhere it does expand the gap! 'We understand each other' tends to become 'not so well now'!

'Attention span' is what is 'guessed' as the most common reason..

The 'nature of inquisitiveness' of the mind, when the wonder-element of childhood dwindles, .. takes a turn ...

Some people turn into just 'Headlines-news-viewers'... They just like to know what is happening around them, nothing beyond it (not the why and how etc...). A few more look at why, some at how, and if they can relate it something within, they like to know a little more! Still it is knowing only... know-ledge... (the 'know'-ing hangs by a ledge... ).

Lengthy blogs deter readers for sure, those who just like to 'read' nothing more.. A few try to find some 'key words, phrases etc' that might ring a bell within, and now they like to read it again/more...

At work places, 'doubts' and clarifications get routed through 'dumb-terminals' (please just ask him this, and tell me 'whatever he says')... otherwise, the original asker is in for a 'lecture-session'...

Zen Masters were experts at perception!

They do not spare even those who have a short-attention-span, but the 'quality of that brief span' is good enough to drive a wedge in and it stays! (The zen master chopped the finger, and the boy just gaped, and walked off... the master beckoned him, the lad turned to look, and the master now pointed his own finger up... the lad got enlightened!... Zen stories abound, to show that this is possible!)

Some kids do not slog much, but score well! Indicative of that quality attention!

What enhances the quality of attention, the span of attention, the depth of perception, is all a thing to be taken up by a master, for those who already have some investible funds at hand (intensity to know.... 'how to know'!)...

I for one, had to struggle to learn to shift from one-mode-of attentiveness to another (along with its accessories), all along and that was quite a task!

Very Briefly yours,

psn 23rd February, 2014

Our Selective-ness!

“Sab kuch gadbad ho gaya .... mera peace of mind bhi gaya!”.... said my victim! He was my colleague.. And I knew, I had inadvertently victimized him with himself!

It all started with a very casual talk... We talked about our likes, dislikes, and then about kids, their demands, based on their likes... (somewhere, this 'selectivity criteria' based on likes/dislikes, more than what a situation needs, got into a snowballing effect, and I became a victim of my own thought process... it usually gets into this kind of concepts, and then the fellow next to me is the obvious scapegoat... That day, it was this colleague)..

He had quite a lot of people in his joint family... So the kids looked at him as an 'elder', to seek something from... this person was 'single' and hence he was under the impression that he was looking alike at all the kids of the household...

I asked him specific questions, when it came to taking 'responsibility' about those kids, and he gave details...

Then I asked him: “Hey, are you looking at these kids as if they were some 'difficulty-levels' of a game, designed for you to pick and choose?... Or do you also 'think' that,.... the way they are as kids, they are quite innocent as yet, and therefore, you have to look at their needs, and reach out to them that way... irrespective of what level of difficulty you need to undertake to make available their needs?”

He just felt himself hanging-in-mid-air, at that .. what I said...

I further added (I wished later, I hadn't ...).. and said “What if a doctor at a mental health home decides to take care of the patients according to 'difficulty-level' that suits his-own-comfort zone, and administers sedatives to the rest of them?... Or even that 'electric-shock' we see in movies?”

This one had hit him hard, perhaps! But having blurted, there was no going back... I did try the 'seemingly—antithesis'... “See, a mom loves all her kids, but gives that extra care to weaker ones” (He was by now so lost into his own introspection that he did not listen to the mom-story)..

Explaining that 'gadbad' he narrated his own 'reflections' about our office, when he used to haggle about a particular 'seat' during the 'rotation-of-duties' mandated periodically... I used to say, “so that, we do not grow roots on a particular chair” (but then there were 'specimens', who carried their chair to the new-table!)...

With automation, the criteria of selection is outsourced to a large extent! The 'tick-marks' on series of question-answer choice-boxes decides our IQ even!...

Does a Guru select or pick a disciple according to his 'difficulty-level'? (dunno...!..). Somebody/something... seems to have pushed me into that turbulent river of spirituality, and I had to learn to remain afloat first, to be alive, and only then to think about learning to swim! So, I am no good judge!

Selectively yours,

psn (21st February, 2014)

Familiar thoughts!

Shhhhhh!

And the dog became silent, curled up its tail, and moved away!

The Master could now move freely... He was in a disguise... the crowd , too preoccupied, to even notice this 'beggar-like-aam-aadmi'...!!!

That is how 'familiar thoughts' just flash, unnoticed, ... all the more... when our attention span gets reduced, and we even gloat about it “apun ke paas itna tame kahan hai?” (true, even that 'time' becomes 'tame' when we seem to time-things, with phrases like 'dead' lines, for our 'live-tasks'!...

Over a period of time, these 'familiar thoughts' use the garb of a 'non-verbal' thought form... and it is only very occasionally, that our mind sings... “woh kya hai....” at the sight of an unfamiliar object around us!

To 'formally' complete the story now...

It was Ulysses.. who was in exile, and his wife, hopeful that he would return to her.. In the meanwhile his villain trying to exploit that loyal lady... She 'feigned' agreement to concede to the villains wishes, but with a proviso, to handle that bow-arrow, like a hero...

That was when the disguised “Ulysses” made an entry, and only his dog, not caught up into 'familiar thoughts' happened to spot his Master despite the disguise!

(It was an English Movie I saw, when a kid... don't even know the name... dialogues were in 'phoren-English'... way beyond me!)

Familiarly yours,

psn (21st February, 2014)

post-script:

Yes, it is the very same 'diminishing attention span' that compels me into brief blogs....

But, it doesn't worry me... I am that street boy, who politely and humbly beckons the pedestrians along that shop, with 'Madam/Sir, please step in.. good designs, good fashion, in this shop... please take a look... no purchase to chase even!'..

And the rest is a Master's job... I am already over-paid for this humble task, which is all I can do! 

The Asker's Mind!

We do get questions, and we even try to answer...

We are not too sure, if we did 'reach' the asker's mind, each time, when we answered...

Sometimes, even a blind shot hits the target...

It was the comment, that exhilarated me!

Quote:

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060922210144AABj1oW

I forgot what i was going to ask, can you tell me what it was?

My blind shot answer:

Perhaps it was....
"How to remember, what we have to ask ? "

The asker picked my answer,

but not without hitting me back!

He said, “damn the torpedos, full speed ahead?”

Unquote:

......

I did ask a few youngsters, 'what that comment had meant?'..

But, yet to find a 'bold' taker, who would try a guess, at that veiled comment!

Psn (20th February, 2014)

“Same side goal” ...

is perhaps what made me hesitant to share an answer, which did appeal to the asker.

(Quite a few opine, that what I write does confuse... But then if I myself did happen to clarify about the need to be 'un-confusing'... why not share it? Maybe others might succeed where I failed!)

quote:

http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071207002933AAhCOJY

The value of an opinion?

Details:

"I was pondering whether one opinon could ever be superior than another, or if many of the same opinons were superior over one single different opinion. I have concluded that it's all a matter of opinion." A quote of mine, agree, disagree, humorous, stupid? Give me your opinion, lol.

My reply:

“Well, it amounts to going back to core of basics... the purpose of communication , as it evolved primitively! Sharing the 'experience' to afford the avoidance of same kind of pitfalls for others!
Now we have made the process of passing 'opinion' so complex , complicated & confusing, that even answering a 'valued' question as this one, becomes a speculative opinion!”

unquote:

Opiniatedly yours,

psn (20th Feb, 2014)

Cynicism!

“Bah! These cynics are never going to trust God!”....

Our own cynicism 'at work'... perhaps, when we say thus!

We all carry a 'bit' of it, when we come into a close proximity with a politician, a Policeman, that goldsmith, ... why even a harmless snake... (I do not wish to embarrass further, mentioning cocroaches... By the way, 'they say', cocroaches are the ones who underwent least changes over centuries biologically!)...

Incorrigible, is yet another word, which seems to 'fuel' this cynic-attitude, very much like the share brokers who help each other's profit, 'playing' as villains, or the crafty vakils(advocates) who play 'sincerity' to clients by mutual consent with their counterparts!(and it is 'hope' that acts as non-conductor of cynicism touching the innocent victims!)... That reminds us of an 'opposite' of cynicism, but that is not the issue here..

While trying to even write about cynicism,  am I a little too cynical about cynicism itself? That was what I tried to ask myself... (the reply from within 'seemed' mystic, and hence evades expression through words!)

Please try and see if it works this way, “I want to become cynical about 'x'' (now this 'x' is something which is already within our deep experience, not just a 'theory' of convenience!)... But as we read it, we do look at the 'convenient lot of things we trust totally'. It looks a bit risky to become cynical about our shaky trust in God, spirituality, etc... No?... Then, it is time to try to become cynical about our “faith in our own dear fear within” ... Now,... it is not just that 'simple confusion' (a rare occasion, when even confusion seems 'so-simple'... when it is fear that is going to be axed by our blunt sword of cynicism! (now, the 'confusion' is strong enough!)

Even tried to look at non-cynical people or the 'negligibly-cynical' people as a 'class'? A bit difficult perhaps, because, 'my own cynicism' tells me, they are not likely to flock together into proximity! (Bah! These fake God-men, and the truly enlightened ones, both evade mutual proximity, though for entirely different sets of reasons!)...

Several negative traits in us, team up together, and form an entity, 'cynicism', .. while we try to chase it in isolation, while fighting our own lethargy within, in what we look at as....  our own inadequate attention towards spirituality!... At its deepest levels, 'the' mind which is yet untamed, may turn out to be our-worst-cynic... and that's when we are likely to have the heartiest laugh, that discovery's reward of joyousness!

Cynically yours,

psn (20th February, 2014)

Post Script: 

(The narrative here-in-below was to be a comment at speakingtree.in )

Our dear readers are a bit allergic to 'any' lengthy blog, though I 'concede' (for strategic reasons) that they are 'non-cynical' at long ones....

And so, my own cynicism about 'earliest-comments', provokes me to keep this bit typed and ready, to be 'just-pasted' soon after posting the blog!...

I was curious... to see if that cynicism in others, who 'normally' try-to-trust a 'generally trusted' lot.... can be provoked...

I took out a note out of a packet of 100 pieces received from a customer who tendered cash to be credited into his account, and then 're-counted' it that 'second' time, keeping that single note aside...

He was watching...

I finished the second counting, and just 'nodded' ... keeping that 'nod' a bit suspicion ridden... And 'wonder'!... I was rewarded. He very politely wanted to 'oblige-me' by counting it yet again, this time, for 'my sake'! (That is why I look at it as a 'reward'...! While giving-in to his own surge of cynicism, he is too conscious about inadvertently provoking my-cynicism towards him, and hence the 'gesture' of politeness etc!)... I didn't even need to repeat any more of such experiments... I 'inwardly' apologised to the 'being' within him, while also thanking his spirit for affording to become a 'teacher' , to reflect so clearly my own 'shy-cynic' waiting to show its true colors only at advanced levels of spiritual progress! That was the only way, that I knew..... then... to consciously avoid any untoward residue with such a foolhardy experiment of mine!

psn 

Mind on Auto-Pilot Mode!

I found myself tempted to respond to a blog about “Thoughtless state key to Bliss” ...

( http://www.speakingtree.in/public/spiritual-slideshow/seekers/self-improvement/thoughtless-state-key-to-bliss/102744 )

The flight of knowledge is 'said to be'.. from “known-to-unknown”...

Fortunately something handy, is very much also at hand!

We know about flight... We even boast, “ I fly often” (even ignoring the fact that it is an out-sourced effort...! And even that out-sourcing is now sought to be 'automated-outsourcing' that we know as 'auto-pilot')...

I was wondering....

if only this knowledge about 'flight' will perhaps... help us to fly-differently! (we become 'differently-abled'.. a unique and conscious dis-ability-at-will..!!!.. I guess, that is what it amounts to... when we try to stop-thinking, a bit consciously, and at will!)

Hey, too much of 'blabbering' already...!

So, here we go!

Quote:

Thought tends to work in an 'auto-pilot' mode ...
The problem is to find the 'switch' to turn it into 'manual-mode'...
The manner in which the energy powers 'this auto pilot mode of thought' is similar but the enormity or magnitude is stupendous!
Even to realise and accept this, we have to 'somehow' get this auto pilot mode of thought to be switched off for at least a while!
We do it during some days, of deep sleep state, for a while, but that was unawares!
The 'how' takes a whole process of .... what the very first sutra of Sage Patanjali says, "And now, Yogah..."
Whether to accept this or not is a matter of choice, but even that 'choosing' happens on the auto-pilot-mode... that's the joke!
Psn

Unquote:

Blankly yours,

psn (17th February,2014)

Give dignity to every incident, every action and every thought

Amazing observation.... by a wonderful seeker amid us!

(And I seek to dedicate this write up to that noble thought of that person!)

When we say 'Shraddha', the ancient word which symbolised the very life-energy of our cultural heritage, which evolved to become the very 'way of our being'... which almost ensured a 'common minimum program' for the spiritual upliftment of our society itself, as an integrated whole, while affording situation based flexibility and freedom to adapt ourselves accordingly, this one attribute which seems to represent the cambric of our ancient culture, today looks a bit elusive, even for the proper grasp of the word...!

In that backdrop, we seem to need a small interface, even if... as a makeshift arrangement only, but well within our reach... As the perception deepens, and it accelerates on-its-own... 'shraddha' presents itself, in us in all its resplendent glory, as ever before!

This 'way of looking at things', seems to offer an inspiring possibility! Dignity!

Giving dignity is something very exclusively personal, individualistic, and yet the incidental benefits reaching everyone and everything around! It doesn't just stop with that! It affords the 'seeding' of a precious attribute 'trust'.

A person who decides upon adding dignity to every incident, every action, every thought, .... at once sets upon one's own inner refinement, and what is needed towards this task, finds its own way (just as the Guru finds a worthy disciple!).

I trust this 'potential' in every human around me, to be able to collect one's own unique ways of reaching towards higher levels of dignifying one's own experience of life, “the way it happens” to each one!

This write up is yet another effort to dignify in my own way, something said in all innocence, and yet quite intensely! Obviously, there is something sacred about it, which makes it obligatory to pass on the privilege of “owning it up”, to the person who gifted me with this 'tool' ( Dignifying... life-experience-itself)..

Dignifying(ly) yours,

psn (11th February, 2014)

Expectation about other's expectations!

We do not spare even God.. We expect Him to expect something out of us, and then proceed to fulfill Him!

Did we have to complicate ourselves so much! Were not our own inherent implications enough to explore into ourselves?

Usually, I do not give in to the temptation of making a blog out of my comments on other's blog, and the few times that I indulged into, I only ended up inviting 'more trouble' ...

This time, let me confine and try, if I keep out of trouble (at least not the 'similar ones' like of past)!

The blog was about “What God expects from me”... one of our seekers (I look at that person with a great reverence and respect), did justice to the title, and came quite close, but somehow, did not add those 'finishing-touches'...

I had a true incident of mine, to quote... Now if I say, “I am right now happy”, it is my personal experience.. not much scope for any contradiction... You cannot even agree with me! At best, you may 'concur' with “Yes, you do appear-to-be-happy”..!

And we seek to tamper with expectations of others! Not sparing God ji even!!!

This was my unsolicited comment :

quote:

Madam,
You came so close, and then, why did you not pursue it?
"I have no idea why God will want me to do any or all of above." was the question...
You asked : "Does god expect any thing at all?"
The next question was a bit too early (my guess), without looking at this question (if he is so keen 'that' we fulfill his-expectations..)., and it further complexes, with "that he gets his will done?" etc..
.....
Somebody tried to even 'insist' a book, "what God expects us to do" (or "from us" etc... don't remember exactly, but for sure, it declares, 'God expects"... this was good enough for me to stay at this declaration for a while... contradictions cannot co-exist, if there is check you premise, says the objectivist-maxim!!!)...
I sought a clarification, "does the title of the book pertain to its contents?"
"Yes, but why ask this?" he said...
"As a kid, we used to read fiction novels, hidden inside 'Chemistry Practicals notebook... Dad thinks, 'this kid is busy with 'school-text-book', and when it is chemistry-practicals, he doesn't dare to come near even to probe further!' (now, the technology is used even while printing a book... it sells!) so I asked.." I clarified...
He declared, "this book is by great people... God's dear ones ... quite safe, and for sure, exact title" he assured.
...
"Then,", I said, "I have a problem with the title itself"
"What is your problem?" he asked...
"Oh!, nothing too personal... just about some contradiction, I happen to notice, if you can please clarify.."
"Sure!", he said, "Nothing pleases me better! That is why we visited you personally, any help"
...
I proceeded, "The known attributes of God, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent... is it still valid Sir?"...
"Yes," he assured...
"Your God, specifically ?" I insisted...
He smiled,, "okay, my God, if you wish... but he is one for all and everything"..
I continued, "I am so glad, I can almost drop my own petty gods, and just merge into yours"!!!
"And now," I asked, "can we look at just one attribute, "omniscient" ?.. It simply means, 'he knows everything!"
I waited...
"Yes," he conceded.. "He knows everything"
"And that everything..." I stressed at that, 'has to include past present and future... even of our way of looking at time"...
"I suppose yes.." he said...
"Why suppose?".. I waited, "is that Omniscient a bit imperfect ?"
"Nah!"... he said, "He knows Everything!" ( a little fatigue seemed to be setting in, with me just staying riveted on this simple non-controversial attribute)..
"Thank you sir" .. I conceded.. " I feel so reassured, I need not have to remind myself, or ever doubt this!"
'And now Sir'.. I continued, "The title contradicts the 'Omniscient' attribute of God!"
"How???!!!" He got alerted!
"Simple sir..." I said, "Expectation belongs only to an uncertain mind" ... "We humans are stuck at sensory levels" I said, "and we simply have to keep our expectations about what would be the results of our thoughts, deeds and actions"... I said, 'And no wonder, we extend our own ways to be belonging to God-ji... we find it easier this way,... 
But, a person who already knows, too well.... everything about future... next 10 thousand years to come, cannot hold any expectations about us, who would not live a hundred years even!".. I concluded!
...
(Very unfortunately, the other person had too much of expectations from me, because of my initial readiness to completely go with him, keeping aside all my personal opinions... and so he persisted to 'somehow' convince me into reading that book.... But I just stayed at this point, "How at all can God ever "expect" anything?"... the question itself is flawed!... I did disappoint that gentleman very much!... But the appoint-ment was sought by him, of me, not the other way... I never deal in appointing others, to walk my way.. I do it all by myself!)..
psn

unquote:

The length of the conversation is reduced heavily, since we talked it out from 9 am to 3 pm, non-stop... and we can imagine, the size of the transcript, if documented!

(I just have toned down the dramatisation even, from the actuals!... When the incident occurred, I found a whole of Sunday evaporated thus!)

Unexpectedly yours,

psn (8th February, 2014)

Handling Criticism

“Please don't stand here in front of me”... says the counter-clerk.... often!

I on the other hand, find it so difficult to insist the 'other way' .. I love to say, “Please do stay on for a while more... I love to have a 'conscious being' so close by, merging with me, through what I am doing.... it empowers me so uniquely... and yet, I have no 'adequate means' to even acknowledge your benevolent presence, so generous to me.. leave alone to think of compensating... for, ... I am already 'paid' to serve you, to my-best...”... When I can't say this to total strangers, I somehow manage, toning down my own 'oppressive-presence' to allow them that subtle room-space, to feel more space to be around!

This is the scene at 'public-places'.. where a customer/client/visitor can walk in and expect some service towards him...

The chair provided at a little distance is not meant to be used to get rid of his presence from our proximity! (Only when the queue swells, and they know, it is futile to wait on.. with aching legs (“the making of”...varicose veins .. like we hear the 'making of a giant-movie'...!!!)... Tension in the mind “how long will it take”.. translates into that needless tension at calf-muscles, and the veins pay the price squirming, twisting, and getting mangled!

Even the mere stare of 'uncertainty' filled mind, looks like 'enough of negative criticism'!

Those who are destined to work at a back-office ... feel like complaining “meri tou ek bhi matki nahi phodee” (one of the heroines says, “he didn't break even one of my earthen pots”... in the movie, “Mother India” when a few others had lined up to complain about the broken pots to the mother of a naughty son).

Criticism often calls for assessment of the owner of that criticism...

Assessment presupposes ability to assess properly...

Ability presupposes knowledge...

knowledge presupposes wisdom to analyse data (including visualised data, not waiting for experience)...

Wisdom insists on perception, especially when time doesn't afford us the luxury to have it slowly.

Perception says, 'conditions-apply'...!!! (for it to be present-even... only then to deepen, on the way!)...

Perception without self-awareness works well, with animals but is driven by survival instincts, not emotions...!

When emotion is contained, intuitiveness gets intensely focused!

(The rest of it... I love to leave it for the 'critics' to speculate... apni apni soch.. or... whatever!)

Innocently yours,

psn (5th February, 2014)

Discrete Trust

For a child, 'Trust' itself is an elusive concept... and in today's lifestyle, I guess, he learns it in a very fuzzy way, often.. through its absence, or lack of it, .. what we call it...so diplomatically as... 'trust deficit'...

Quite often we contribute to it, so unwittingly too!

To try a magnified example....

Diwali day... A kids excitement is only around the fire crackers, especially the ones which he is prohibited from handling 'all by himself'...

A bath is a must, before touching any of those 'fire-element' gadgets we call as crackers... But he can hardly wait, and hurries faster-than-usual... The buttons of that new dress are a 'deliberate' attempt in slowing down his speed to somehow get inside those stupid 'new' ones, buttoned already!... (He is so familiar with old ones... his fingers do not need reference to his memory, as to how to tuck-in that flap which 'once upon a time' had also worn the crown called a 'button' or a 'hook'... It is the new one that tears him away ....

from his love...

the once-in-a-year ..

his 'affair' with the 'burst-of-fire'!

The mom is holding the agar-bathi (the thick incense stick, without fragrance, to make it cost-effective... smoking with the required bit of burning at its tip, to light the wick of that cracker)... in one hand with its red amber tip, menacingly close to the tip of the wick that would set that cracker bit exploding/bursting ... invariably with that element of surprise, however alert we are...

and when the kid can 'see' the threat at her hands, ...

and yet her words are so deceptive,

she says: 'Do not break those buttons of the new dress, in your needless hurry, I will not light it up till you are ready to watch!'...

He 'looks'...

and his mind races, to decide-indecisively...

which one to trust...

her words,

or

her hands so close to setting-off that fire-cracker?

The gap of trust widens, even before he knows, what that 'trust' is....!!!

She does the same, when she pours out refills of dishes, on to his plate, while asking him to eat-slowly... (His worry is, ... 'what if I ask her to wait till the 'traffic on this plate' thins out... and in the meanwhile the dish manages to land on somebody else's plate?'... and he ends up to 'hurry-up-slowly'!!!)

During that manual churning out of butter, I, barely a kid of 4 then, used to perch on the lap of my grandmother, eager, not-to-miss the excitement of the 'miracle-formation' of that hard-yet-soft tangible butter snowballing out of nowhere, when..... all that is done is.... merely the stirring of the thick curds with that wooden stick with a round head and its vertical ridges in a regular pattern... The noise it makes, does sound 'musical'... and yet,... it seems to divert my attention each time I try to focus on the whirlpool turbulence-like, like some cyclonic storm right within that porcelain and its thick walled container...! Another source of interruption is 'the alternating twin arms of hers' which pulls-taut, the well spun thick rope, wound a 'little-entwined' around that stick ... but that is a trouble I invited on myself, willingly, in a bargain to be right inside the experiment!... What stupefied me was, she invariably complains that it is taking a longer-time, (what ever that means, without the component of a comparison, the reference of which,... is let off to escape out of my imagination and hers!)..... though it is only summer and winter that 'matters' really, about time-factor.... while, I always find it happening all too suddenly,.... and I miss everytime.... the actual 'event' when the butter takes 'birth'...!!! Now when I look back, I am tempted to draw a comparison... that... we all carry that trust as a potential, but like the concepts of 'discrete' maths... we need a formula to bring it all together, and give it a shape and tangible form which... we can now call it as .... 'a trust'!!!

The spiritual teacher churns the subtle ingredients within us, at physical levels through spiritual practices, like pranayam, asanas, and other practices, .. at subtler levels (call it 'our-mind', our being.. or whatever...) with careful supervision while the prescribed meditative practices does the turbulent churning... and if we only manage a little patience, .. allow that freedom for the churning to happen... the butter bits lying here and there right 'within'... the curds,... as non-entities, would team up together due to hectic and innumerable number of 'hi...how-are-you/s?' between them... and then they suddenly find no point in just greeting themselves mutually, and before they know what is hitting them, the mutual love inherent, binds them into a soft-shining-butter like huge ball of pure trust! Put it on fire to test it... and it only yields to 'clarification'.. we call in English as 'clarified butter'!

In the meanwhile, is it not worth looking at our simple, innocent looking actions, gestures etc.. and redefining the way we 'present' them to those 'others' who are in fact our own dear 'butter-cups in waiting'...? We are not obliging them in any way, when we fine tune our own inner churning, when we seek to consciously polarise those bits of trust in us, a bit cohesively... we are only being into a deep 'refinement-process', and ... just not trying to miss ... even those simple-looking actions of ours in our 'repetitive-routine stuff'... towards our own evolvement.. If nothing else, we engage ourselves into educating our kids into 'trust' all our waking hours... leaving it to them to find an 'appropriate' name for these churning gestures of ours... Now he is confused, initially.. to call it 'trust' or to call it 'love'... Let him flip the coin, heads or tails... it is a win-win-result always!

Discretely yours,

psn (4th february, 2014)

Hello, who is the listener?

'Desh ko aagey le Jaana Hai!'...

Sorry not possible, aagey poora traffic Jam hai! Waisey, peeche khaayi hai... (Now whether it is 'eaten-up' waala khaayi, or an abyss, ... effectively they are the same!

We try saying that Hello to a new born..... It simply doesn't seem to differentiate our 'hello' as something 'thrown' at it, from 'us'.... and maybe, only views it as a 'part-of-us'! ( Lectures by a few teachers/professors, too, are viewed almost similarly—they just lecture, it's their job, after all! I can't be simply expected to remember all that 'crap' that they manage to vomit in our class-room...! What I need to 'pass' out, off-the-exam... is to be 'listened-to' elsewhere!

1991 seems just yesterday, to a few elders around! But when I decided to go in for a humble stand-alone computer, most of the colleagues looked 'shocked'! A computer at home? They sounded as if I am running into the 'risk' of domesticating an alien creature from a far away planet! It simply doesn't 'fit-into' any of the routine of our domestic life! Even at workplace, the room that housed a computer was out-of-bounds for 'other-staff' who were not 'authorised-personnel' and we had a 'perfect-feel' of what it might look like to work near a high-radiation area like some nuclear-power-station!

'Checking' by police, RTO...or ... a raid by 'authorities' ... why even that routine-health-check-up..... and our meager 'wallet-even' can listen too well, that the 'incoming' slimming program for it, is not going to be a healthy one now! (Apun ke liye 'incoming' trouble hai... 'income' tou uske liye hai na?)...

Spirituality/yoga/bhakti... at this age? You haven't seen first half of 'a life' yet!.. (It was meant for retired, aged, invalid people, who are good for nothing else ... Aged people chant the same lament... so why not something 'holy' for a change?.. At least it is the least 'personal' on other's around, and God's don't take anything too personally, anyway!... Absence of a 'Listener' is a blessing-in-disguise, in these cases... (Murmuring, grumbling works too well, when facing just-a-monitor!)...

The blare of horn is sought to be countered with honking of our own vehicle's horn, for we know, none else can listen too well!

Automated replies, to our 'toll-free-numbers' reassures us so well, for we know 'exactly to what' things, it would care to listen! (The company is subtly 'preparing' us, the clients/customers, to learn and get used to looking for 'restricted' listening, when we seek a 'human' responder subsequently!)...

Blogs are looking out for 'positive listeners' only! And we know what that means!

In all these confusions, we are too clear that it is a futile effort to locate that silent, “witnessing-listener” within us, so elusive, so impersonal, so unrestricted, so eternal, so patient... (etc)!... But the problem is, the fatigue of these 'routine' listeners around, the incessant talkative mind within, seems to leave us choiceless, when we try to grope into the nothingness within looking for a 'listener' yet again, when it is about 'silence', the only thing that this 'listener' within, is all interested about! (Frantically, we knock at it, with our 'Hello'... in vain! Or, was it 'our-halo'.. that is blinding it?.. dunno, really!)

(The teachers are on the look out for listeners, and are not looking out to 'listen to callers', when it is about that pathless path they propose to propound...)

All ears,

I am yours,

psn (1st February, 2014)