An era of Mass hypnosis

Adolf Hitler once said "By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a person see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise. Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it. "Public ignorance is certainly bliss for politicians and businessmen. Media adds fire to this fuel. From highly publicized unnecessary products to hyped frivolous political issues, propaganda is the flu that spares only a few.

Where on one hand media has been a catalyst to development and awareness, on the other it has given birth to a mad race; a race that leads to nowhere. People run because others are running. More is less here. Consumers are becoming less and less consumers and more and more buyers. Necessity is no more the mother of invention but, promotion and consumer manipulation have become the pastors of need.



An ignorant consumer wouldn't even realize the effect of repetitive threatening statements made by the advertisers of life insurance policy.LIC cash on people's fear. It is one of the most successful business models because it exploits the biggest inherent fear in an individual: The fear of death or of physical in capabilities. Many other advertisers manipulate consumers by displaying certain products as status symbol. Because the followed icon on tv uses a particular commodity, having that commodity gives consumer an inferential link to that celebrity. All that glitters is essentially gold in the new definition.



Human Subconscious brain keeps collecting both necessary and unnecessary information for future, irrespective of their utility. When a person comes across a brand ten times in a day it settles in his subconscious mind. Brain works like a thesaurus, automatically suggesting all related events and names in need. So, the next time this person goes to grocery store that brand will automatically pop out.



A collective rut planned to trap common man's pocket. The other day I read an article that says "imagine the plight of a man who has to drop his son to school every day in the same car" and "imagine the plight of a mother who does not earn much to give for her son to attend a disco party". These plights are really hard to imagine. Are we so well settled that our plights have become limited to extended luxuries?



Housewives and children being the softest target are easily caught. Maximum commodities are planned to influence women. Recently I saw a research report on the differing behavioral learning capacities of men and monkeys. The results shown were astonishing. Similar set of tasks were given to a group of 10 to 13 year old children and 1-2 year old monkeys. In the first stage a painted box filled with chocolates was given to each of them. To open it, a front seal had to be torn off and then chocolates could be pulled out by using a small scale. This process was shown to monkeys and children and, each one of them were asked to take the chocolates from that box. All repeated the tasks as shown. In the next stage the box was kept open from one side and chocolates could be taken out without taking the seal and using the scale. But this was not shown to any of them. Each child repeated all three steps shown to him earlier whereas none of the monkeys used those unnecessary steps. They simply took those chocolates out. One year old monkey exceeds in reasoning to a 13 year old child.



Following a mob simply gives most people a sense of surety of purpose. A feeling of belonging to the right aim; because so many people are running in one direction, the destination must be correct. Each person is unique here. And each has separate aspirations, visions and need. In such a case only the ones who know their goal while running will achieve it. Following peers without reasoning can certainly leave others astray.

As a child, I had always hated getting up early in the morning and going to school.....Now that I have grown up, I see for a school that enhances  and not subdues smiles, imparts knowledge through being and not books and treats children like promising individuals not inferior assemblage....Most importantly, a school that is run by psychologically fit competent teachers who are happy with themselves and take teaching as a preferred carrier and not as a handy choice...

Ahh!Those Bones

Genie is a good dog. My canine loves me more than any other living creature on this planet. Besides constant pursuing, she flings herself to lick faces, loves walking, pulling, fetching ball and racing around finally curling around the nearest lap at nights. But, here is A NOTE OF CAUTION: Genie is not the same with her tiny little bone. In a flick of moment she turns into the scariest creature I have ever known. A dog that runs around the house in the open confines herself to the corner of that closed flimsy store room where she carefully guards her bone. And here is her base where she furiously barks and growls at the intruder unless she turns them away.

I do not usually go to bed unless I cuddle my little dog for a while and just in case I forget to do so,in the falling tensed shadows of the day, she invariably remembers to droop by my side. Surprisingly, last night when I walked up to her reaching my hands out, she snarled bumping forth in bitterness. I stepped back in awe locating the bone by her side. It sounds strange how animals change their sides with food in their vicinity. To my relief, she was back to normal this morning. Her eaten bone did magic to her as she sat peacefully by my bedside wagging her tiny tail. Relieved, I prepared coffee and settled myself in the balcony chair and watched my neighbor wash the array of cars he had collected for himself. Ever since we shifted to this bungalow, I have loved noticing him around. Every morning he gets up at five to check and tend his cars for a while.  And while he does so, he watches every passerby in incertitude. His eyes squeeze as he walks around his loved cars a couple of times to check a sign of tinker. And when he is done with them, he would relax and smile back on strollers. 

We all have a loyal loving dog inside us that changes sides at the sight of that tiny little bone we see for ourselves. There is a continuous internal struggle within that makes us display and simultaneously guard the treasures we collect.  We hold that bone in our mouth and move cautiously in our own homes and friends. We sit by its side priding and guarding an intruder. And while we do so, our gestures become more apparent. We think we hide our bones underneath the cushion we sit upon but, it moves up and reflects in the distrusting look we give to our guests. It dramatically changes our vision and turns friends into intruders. 

Shakespeare-Jaques Act

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lin'd,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;
His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion;
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything

Quotes from Ayn Rand

Individual rights are not subject to a public vote; a majority has no right to vote away the rights of a minority; the political function of rights is precisely to protect minorities from oppression by majorities (and the smallest minority on earth is the individual).


I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.

Man’s unique reward, however, is that while animals survive by adjusting themselves to their background, man survives by adjusting his background to himself.

Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone.

Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter.

The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren’t enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws.

The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.

There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.

When I die, I hope to go to Heaven, whatever the Hell that is.

The most depraved type of human being is the man without a purpose.

Learn to value yourself, which means: to fight for your happiness.

         

When the world doesn't seem to understand

Jerry’s mother resented her daughter’s loneliness. Jerry was a quiet and shy child always wanting to make friends but, never knowing how. When the all the other girls were busy playing, chatting and gossiping, she watched butterflies and fed school pool ducks. At times, she tried to join them but somehow neither they nor she understood one another and ,the talks more or less ended up at confused ends: more compassionate ones understood and smiled and, the wicked ones ridiculed. And, Jerry knew she didn’t matter even slightest to them. Her mother seemed to be the only one who she can count on.


One day her mother gave Jerry a bright yellow stone and asked her to present it to the grocer nearby. She walked across the street and forwarded the stone to the Grocer. Without much notice grocer took it from her and, pushed it aside. Following evening Jerry’s mother asked again to go back to the grocer and check if he wanted to keep that stone.

“I could keep it Jerry, but it is not of much use and it is occupying space. You know I am always short of space” said the grocer.

So Jerry brought it back

After a few days her mother asked Jerry to try and sell the stone to the local bead artisan for 10$.

“It looks nice and shiny but, I cannot pay more than 1$ for this” said the artisan.

she bought the stone back with her.

Weeks passed.

One evening on their way back to the market her mother and Jerry stopped by a local Jeweller. Her mother took out the stone from purse and passed it to the Jeweler.

“May I know its price?” She said.

The Jeweler looked through his magnifiers, rotating the gem slowly to the side.

After few minutes of careful study the Jeweller said“It is a fine gem. I have never seen one recently.”
“Well, how much can you pay me for this?” Jerry’s mother asked again.

“Can you sell it for 10,000$?” said the Jeweller looking in Jerry’s mother’s eyes through his lowered glasses.

She kept quiet

“Ok. What about 12,000$?” He said again

Jerry’s mother smiled.”That’s ok. I just needed to know its price."

And, they walked back home.

Her mother held Jerry’s hand gently and said” sometimes the world doesn’t treasure you, because it fails to judge your worth. It can throw a gem considering it a stone. But, that doesn’t make the gem become a stone”

So when the world doesn’t seem to know you, know it lacks the understanding of who you are. Each person is a fine Gem crafted by the greatest artist and only He knows every person’s worth.

ps:Inspired by Osho's parable

I have read somewhere- how important in life it is,not necessarily to be strong but, to feel strong-Into the wild(Eddie vedder)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpkeJWXY4ZA&feature=related

A friend is

A sweet pain in your ass

A kick making you fall and laugh

A hug never too tight

An idiot who annoys your girl friends and angers your parents

A grungy singer asking applaud.

A moron who teaches you to be stupid seriously

A shade in the rain and in the sun

A shadow that follows you even in the absence of light

The one you love despite the way he smells without two days of bath

A disaster

A thief who steals your razor blade and spoils your white shirt

A sigh of relief and joy

Roaming shelter away from home.

A bully you love

The one who always keep asking things

The one who cries hopelessly with a loose nose

© All rights reserved.

The Genius curse

“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received--hatred. The great creators--the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors--stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The first airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won.”(Ayn Rand)

A genius is born ahead of his lifetime. It is hard or sometimes impossible for contemporaries to understand and relate with him. And incomprehensible has always been a threat to mankind: we are comfortable and secure with conventional consistent and certain. Those who try to cross certainty and predictability lines with conviction become a threat to the established, bringing forth a long and tedious conflict of beliefs and survival.

Galileo Galilei was condemned and punished for proposing the heliocentric view of galaxy: a view contradicting established beliefs of geocentric earth being the centre of universe. It challenged Church and, established astronomers and philosophers. Man has always placed himself highest and this theory questioned his superiority that sun is not moving for us, contrarily we are moving around the sun. Galileo faced a number of trials during his lifetime and was placed under house arrest Pope refused to bury him near his ancestors for vehement suspect of heresy. He was buried in a small room next to novices (Wikipedia)

Vincent Van Gogh was dismissed for “undermining the dignity of priesthood” in his early years. His paintings were rejected for displays because they did not fit in contemporary French impressionist style. Van Gogh could not even sell one painting of his during his lifetime and barely managed to feed himself three days in a week. He committed suicide at the age of 37.

Shakespeare was never revered in his lifetime (Wikipedia). Michelangelo lived in recluse and Newton could not gather to publish his calculus works in early years for the fear of criticism. Aristotle was accused of blasphemy and Einstein was detained from school.

Extraordinary intelligence fosters unparallel understanding, curiosity and conviction to create and nurture life around. But “a vision or a dream is very personal”(Osho) and unique. It shapes the bearer in its own form carving him out slowly from collective rock, making him distinct and separate from the background. And, seeing him distant, the separate background condemns him for his rigidity and aloneness. Vision is a curse for its bearer. It will not let him sleep or settle for less and it will not let him mingle with the crowd: a vision makes visionary insoluble contrasting alone and vulnerable. Almost every thinker, artist, scientist and inventor is condemned and denounced during his lifetime. Seclusion is the price they have to pay for the wealth they embrace inside.

Ugly is beautiful!!!!

My granny used to have a mango tree in her lawn. One evening strolling around her garden, I saw a chameleon sitting on the mango tree. The chameleon had just jumped from the creeper and, its color was slowly changing from green to brown. Suddenly a thought pumped in my mind “It is a chameleon”, my lips curled downwards.

Granma was watching me .She walked slowly to me and asked “Isn’t it amazing how it changes its color?” I looked at her and said” But, it’s ugly. It is a chameleon Granma.”Granma smiled.

Few days later we walked to the market and Granma hit into a lorry accidently. Lorry bashed into a scooter that was driven by a young guy. He fell over a bucket of tomatoes. A bunch of young boys cracked up. Looking around he yelled “You ugly old women, look what you have done?”

Those words pinched my heart. Later that night I asked mom “Ma is grandma ugly?”


“Who told you that?” Ma asked

“The guy at the market said she was old and ugly.”

“But, she is the most beautiful women I have ever met. That means you have not noticed her properly?”Ma replied


I went to the Granma’s room. She was sleeping. I looked at her face. That was the most beautiful face I had ever seen: a face filled with compassion, love and grace.


It was beautiful because I was ready to see it. I could feel it because I wanted to feel her. Since then I have never seen an ugly thing and. even today I can tell you that old is beautiful and chameleons are fascinating.

See without judgment, hear without prejudice and feel without inhibitions: heaven is here, here is heaven. All is beautiful.

Goodbye Bobby- a tribute to my friend

I had been trying Bobby’s number and, looking repeatedly for him in social networking sites, to my surprise he was not of the kinds to disappear in the crowd. But time is mightier than people and it shapes them to adequacy, so I slowly accepted that Bobby has changed. He was no more the crazy, rambling, ready to blast friend of mine. Or perhaps he accepted my timidity and walked out of hope.





Of all the people who taught me to speak Bobby was the first one. The moonlighted Basket ball court of college was our rehearsal yard. We sat for hours discussing giddy politics, friends and jokes. Often times it ended with “you are so irresponsible” and “you are so dumb” expressions. Two poles of a communal impression, one was fond of crowd and other inclined to retreat.



The girls he chose were crazier than him, none of them was ever sure that she liked him. So they kept coming and going and, surfacing and transferring his melodrama to me and his other friends. Our world gets as confused and messed up as we in ourselves are. Sometimes, I wondered if he ever thought before telling everyone that he had been dumped again.



I remember the day our bike crashed into herbage and, I tried hard to argue but ended up laughing. It was so hard to anger him when needed and when it wasn’t needed he was boiling like a volcano and often people who knew him felt like sitting on one. The last time we spoke, it was unbelievably difficult to stop him from landing in Vadodara, where me and my friend were stuck in riots.



But, despite all that he was and all that he did, he was of the very few people who were actually loved. His irresponsibility started at himself and ended at his friends: He was the first person to be relied upon at crucial times, a friend for whom his friends came before himself. Sporadically, I feel if he really knew his time was short here and so he never wasted it on preparing for future as we all did. May be he knew that when we stop living as ourselves,we start living through our friends.



Mankind is a little hard to understand: we have more words for abuse and few for love. We hesitate most to say that we love people rather than telling them "Fuck you" and "Go to hell". And those who say I love you with their being, we take them as absurd and dizzy.Here flowers sell cheap and guns price high. But, crazier people have something of great sanity in them: crazier one appears on the outside, wiser one is inside. This world has its own reasons to love bonkers; it misses jokers and rebels more than father figures.



Bobby, my friend I miss you and, wherever you are may you make as many friends as you had here.

That baffling human paradox

With great power lies great responsibility. Unlike nature that has very efficient methods of balancing power centers, man’s power centers are haphazard and self-regulated. Man is the only creature who can simultaneously live in two worlds: one on the inside and other on the outside.

And both can be diametrically opposite.

Besides, man can use borrowed powers: the powers developed by peaceful intelligent people can be used by destructive, unintelligent people. Creative growth solutions meant for peace and development can be used for destruction, genocide and terror. This combination of delusion and acquired potency brings forth counterfeit leaders and politicians and a hollow or forced governing system.

Every governing system no matter how beneficently conceived eventually tends to exploit the weaker segments of society. History shows us many examples of the worst implementations of benign ideologies. Communism conceived for equality and sanity has been applied by most insane dictators. Equal powers for all is used as all powers for one. Karl Marx and Lenin could never have imagined communism the way it was applied by Stalin.

Albert Einstein considered the theory of relativity that resulted in atom bomb, as his single greatest mistake in life. On the other hand, Harry Truman celebrated the night Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed.

Money that was invented as an excellent solution for relative worth has become the root of all evil among humans. A solution designed for active easy flow became an excellent method for passive, concealed hoardings.

Any creative idea comes as a coin: with both positive and negative sides. The owner is free to encash any of its sides. He is free to buy bread or poison from it. Ironically nature has no substitutes for wisdom. And it has no shortcuts to acquiring it either. Hard earned knowledge always carries wisdom within itself whereas book-acquired knowledge doesn’t. A life lived honestly and fearlessly produces knowledgeable and wise men: men with empathy, righteousness and intelligence.

Contrarily, pseudo knowledge earned in degrees, skills and techniques results in egotistical, destructive and rigid men. Men who do not know the worth or effect of power never hesitate to use it for wrong reasons.

It is a paradox that the more knowledgeable a person becomes the less he yearns for power. It seems as if in some warped way, power attracts the corruptible. A wise person will always hesitate to lead masses whereas an immature person will always rush towards it. So much so that he wouldn’t object to crushing others to succeed in his ambitions. Men love to reap where they never sowed.

Acquiring power helps a person ignore or hide his inferiorities or complexes.

But the fact remains that the big shots are only little shots that keep on shooting. Contemporary society which confuses power with greatness, has encouraged this mutation to flourish. Our social system has a tendency to respect the wrong attributes in subtle ways. The human power pyramid is working upside down. Rather than respecting individuals we respect possessions. This is one of the greatest tragedies of life as we know it to be.

Without a doubt….the right power in right hands blended with knowledge, wisdom, love and respect for life is humanity’s most urgent need at this time.

When shadows speak

Shadows don’t speak often but when they do, they can’t be shut. I remember the day my shadow spoke to me.


‘Hey there. Sh sh” it called

I looked around. Finding nothing, I resumed on my book.

“I am here closest to you.”The voice called again

Concurrent concentration and distraction can drive you crazy. Irately, I snapped “Who is it?”

“My dear. You are missing me again like always. Look closely. I am here. I am your shadow.” The voice muttered.

“Are you kidding me? Shadows don’t speak.” I smirked

“But of course they do. “ It paused.” I would rather say people don’t listen. You just don’t know how to listen.”

“Now you talk like my mom. Go ahead. What do you want?” I leaned back on my rocking chair.

“I just wanted to know why you hate me so much.”

“I don’t even know you, how can I hate you?”My brows squeezed.

“That’s what you see. I have been there for you since the inception. I have grown with you, I move with you, eat with you and sleep with you and you, you say you don’t even know me.”

None likes to be defeated in arguments especially by his own shadow. “Can you come straight to the point?” I asked.

“OK. The bottom line is that I am sick of following you. You will have to free me now.” It reddened

“I never stopped you from going anywhere .You are on your own. Free to stay, free to leave.” I turned my head closing my eyes.

“Simply saying it won’t do. Because we belong together I want you to follow me for a few days and I will follow you for the rest of time. Trust me it is a fair deal.”It spoke again.

“Ha ha..What a joke? My shadow wants me to follow it. What a terrible day? Can you please leave me alone?”

“No. Enough is enough. I have to have an identity. We shadows have been following you forever and now it is our turn. We are not going to sit quietly this time.” It nudged

“Oh yeah.” I frowned.” Let’s see. What you can do? Go and do whatever you want. Get the hell outta here.”

It thumped its leg and left.

Sun felt good and relaxing. That evening I noticed my shadow wasn’t following me anymore. But who cares for a shadow?

Collecting groceries was a pain as always especially in summer. Sun sharpened and cut every corner edge to edge.

People gossiped. Children hid behind their mothers. Few laughed.

“Excuse me” A feeble voice echoed from behind.

I turned “Yes”

“Are you a ghost?” A young child, half of my length, asked.

“What makes you think of me as a ghost?” I tried to keep my voice low with pressure collecting in my chest.

“Because you don’t have a shadow following you.” The child replied pointing his finger to the ground.

“I don’t own a shadow and, I am no ghost either.” I continued.

“But only ghosts don’t have shadows.” The child followed.

“Why don’t you go and ask your parents?”

“They told me to keep away from you.” Child accompanied.

“So you better listen to them.” My voice was much louder than preceding conversation.

His face turned red and he left. I walked back home hurriedly.

“Just how stupid could people be? So much importance to a silly shadow.” I thought

Slowly, it was apparent that I was not myself without my shadow. So I decided to get it back one day.

I looked in the market, in the neighborhood and on the streets but, it was gone. I couldn’t believe it really disserted me.

My house turned into a self constrained prison

One afternoon I peeped through my window. A shadow appeared by my rocking chair.

I hate it when people occupy my space. Who the hell was it to rest in my garden on my rocking chair?

Covering myself with a silken shawl, I rushed to the garden and found my own shadow leaning fondly by my chair.

“What are you doing here?”I frowned collecting myself.

“I have been waiting for your answer on the deal.”The shadow replied.

“Which deal?” I said. Although it was all I thought about.

Its voice dimmed” But, I thought of it all the time and, I feel I cannot do without you.”

So we were together again, walking side by side. But unlike other shadows my shadow was a sad one.

Where every other shadow walked hand in hand, mine felt dragged.

Days later I met the same kid and, showed him my shadow with a leaning eye.

He smiled watching us together and raised his thumb but, lowered his lips sullenly at my shadow.

I looked back at my shadow and asked “why don’t you lead this time?”

The shadow brightened and tilted to the front.

We walked to the far neighborhood that evening and, my shadow was as happy as I was.

Little recognition on everybone's part can make the world a happier place. We are all reflections of each other. It doesn’t matter who follows whom. What matters is that together we move ahead and rejoice.