Life is an illusion

 OK, I am happy with the way this translation of Kathopanishat is coming out. The verses are simple to understand enough. The concepts are simple so far. Not at all like Ishopanishat . I have translated first valli - section. So far Yama (the lord of death) has tried to entice Nachiketa with all kinds of earthly pleasures, instead of imparting the  knowledge of death and thereafter. But in vain. I would have given up such knowledge - for what use is the knowledge which may depress you, may even terrify you or at the most may pacify you for a while.  More over why should one know what happens after death? When one finds it difficult to understand what is happening when one is alive. Isn't this knowledge more essential for us mortals? Yama, teach me how to lead a life where I can be peaceful and help others in whatever little ways I can. In exchange for that I am willing to come to your loka whenever you are willing to take me. Utha le, Yama, whenever, wherever. That's wha...

 Couldn't help posting this picture. I don't remember the source but love it.  Looking at same background in both, I must have created them using canva. But don't you love the quotes and the background? Thousands of beautiful designs created by unknown wonderful people, thousands of meaningful quotes by people, and what do we remember? Nothing! We never learn. 

 A bad photographer, and a non-traveller, but would like to create wonderful photos. Then apps are here to help me.  I used one such app called - Becasso. Don't you love the name? I used the app and converted my dull, bad photo into artwork.    Don't you love it?

 I am glad that I went out yesterday. That is not how I start my posts. But the location was so beautiful, so very breath taking, that  ಬಣ್ಣಿಸಲಸದಳವು. I can't describe the feeling with words. (Also because my vocabulary is not very exhaustive - even with the help of google). If you thought that I visited some exotic location - some lake, or an ocean or some such thing, you couldn't be any more wrong. I just went to the good old ugly, suffocating, difficult to travel road of namma Bangalore.  But the  trees there were overflowing with pink bliss. Each atom in the trees was in bloom and was happily singing. And each atom was saying ' I love you and I love everyone'. That must have been my feeling and my thought in the  march heat in middle the busy street of Bangalore.  I do love Bangalore - a little bit - some times.  This tree is just a sample - a pampered little tree, hence not so breath taking as street urchins. I wonder how these little wonders of na...

Clueless. I don't know where I am going. Literally and figuratively.  The other day, I ventured out. Just to have my passbook printed. Because though the bank is supposed to send sms whenever a transaction takes place, I don't receive many of these sms. May be a certain Israeli software? Wow, look at the self importance illusion! So I was going to the bank with the help of google maps. Which is proving to be more and more unreliable. I took 2-3 rounds near the bank until I finally reached it.  But while coming back, I started going in the reverse direction. In a  the road, I might have traveled many times.   So along with all the other short comings, I am also directionally challenged. If someone were to ask me in an interview 'what are your weaknesses', I could have easily told them 'I have an inclination and a tendency to get lost'.  Not only do I get lost on the road, I often will be lost in the ocean of mindless browsing too. If you count the number of ...

I could have been a Guru, you know? Not guru as in teacher, that I was for some time. But Guru as in sadhu baba aka charlatan. I am uniquely qualified for this vocation.  As I know little bit of science, not too much, a little bit. I know a little bit of Sanskrit too. Not too much. Most importantly,  I know how to dig up information from internet.  To support any argument - no matter how ludicrous it is. Equipped with these tools, I can teach people about our great religion( People need not   know that I poke fun of God and religions quite often.) I can talk about Vedas, Upanishads. I can tell them with authority, what has been said in chapter x, verse y in Bhagavatgita or some other work. And I am certain nobody will have the patience to verify it. If caught with my lie, I can say I will deviate to some other topic. I could have been. I could have taught people  to pray, to meditate, to breathe and to find their God. I could have built enormous 'Ashramas' ...

Science has progressed so much. Many of the things we dreamt of decades earlier, have become reality. In communications - we can talk face to face (we see the face, don't we?)with people who are thousands of kilometers away. We can get any information, get any answer instantly. We can even ask robots to solve complicated problems for us. But one thing we have not accomplished so far is playing God - that is to create life. We are still not able to create humans or other living organisms. May be we might have created a virus or ten. But not larger organisms.  What if we can create humans, make them like us and let them loose on the ground. Will they have emotions like us? Will they be conscious? Will they have moral values like us? Most important of all, will they feel remorse, guilt and self-doubt like us? That is the story line of  the Sci-fi series Westworld. In that Dolores - a pretty young girl - robotic girl, keeps asking 'Did I do anything wrong?'. 'Did I say anyt...

 I finally completed first book of the year. Shame, right? Considering I have 18 hours free.  Anyways, the book was 'The moonstone', by Wilkie Collins. A kind of detective work - which explains why I could finish it at all.  And the funny reason for selecting this book - I started hearing it in Audible. Being detective work and all, I couldn't understand half of it. So had to search for 'readable' book and read it.  This audible - the app where you can listen to books, I have almost stopped using it. I use FM radio or some news podcast while walking. But still, feel disinclined to stop the subscription.  Like a typical Indian, I have been adding many of the free books - which are 'included' in my subscription. And like a typical Indian, I am just saving my credits, for something worthwhile to buy. And I can buy the books, after I finish listening to the books (free books) in my library.  On the whole, if it is directing me towards books, it is worth the mon...

You guys remember the TV comedy of yester years - Khichadi? The serial was filled with silly little cute people, who were dumb and innocently funny. You couldn't help loving them. I remember one particular quote -" Acha hua, aaj mangalvar hai. Kyonki mangalvar Babuji kisika hatya nahi karte". Of course poor babuji will not kill, even a fly - on any day. It was funny like that.  Now I am seeing a similar silly show called - "Happy family - conditions apply" in Prime video. It has all stars from yesteryear - Ratna Pathak Shah, Raj Babar, Ayesha Jhulka etc. And the dialogues are slightly funny.  But it is as superficial as a news prime time debate. Of course without all the shouting and screaming and killer instincts.  When Tisca - the daughter in law of the house tells her sister in law that she has a big secret - I assumed she and her husband are separating. Turns out they are separating from this huge noisy joint family. By the way what type of name is Tisca - w...

 ನಿಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಮಂದಿ 'ಬೇಗ ಶ್ರೀಮಂತರಾಗುವ' ಸ್ಕೀಮ್ಗಳನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿದ್ದೀರಾ.  ಅಲ್ಪ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪವಾದರೂ ಅವಕ್ಕೆ ದುಡ್ಡು ಸುರಿದಿದ್ದೀರಾ. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಹತ್ತಿರದ ಸಂಬಂಧಿ ಕಮಲತ್ತೆ ಬಂದು ಅಷ್ಟು ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ 'ನೀನು ಇನ್ನೇನು ಮಾಡುವದೂ ಬೇಡ. ಇನ್ನು ಐದು ಜನರನ್ನು ಮೆಂಬರ್ ಮಾಡಿಬಿಟ್ಟರೆ ಸಾಕು. ಅವರು ಐದು ಜನರನ್ನು ಮೆಂಬರ್ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಹೀಗೆ ಮುಂದುವರಿಯುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ನಿನ್ನ ನಂತರ ಪ್ರತಿ ಒಬ್ಬ ಮೆಂಬರಾದಾಗಲೂ ನಿನಗೆ ಕುಳಿತಲ್ಲೇ ದುಡ್ಡು ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಮೇಲೆ ಈ ಪ್ಲಾಸ್ಟಿಕ್ ಡಬ್ಬಿ/ ಫೇಸ್ ಕ್ರೀಮ್ /ಇನ್ಯಾವುದೋ ಒಂದು  ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲೇ ಕುಳಿತು ನಿನ್ನ ಪರಿಚಯದವರಿಗೆ ಮಾರಾಟ ಮಾಡು.'  ಆಹಾ, ಕುಳಿತಲ್ಲೇ ದುಡ್ಡು ಯಾರಿಗೆ ಬೇಡ. ಅದೂ ಪಾಪದ ಕಮಲತ್ತೆ ಕಷ್ಟ ಪಟ್ಟು ಮನೆ ಮನೆಗೆ ತಿರುಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರಿಗೆ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ಸಹಾಯವಾದರೂ ಮಾಡೋಣ. ನೀವು ಕೊಟ್ಟಿರಿ, ಒಂದು ಐನೂರೋ ಸಾವಿರವೋ. ಮೆಂಬರ್ ಮಾಡುವದು ನಿಮ್ಮಿಂದಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆಮೇಲೆ ಕಮಲತ್ತೆಯಾಗಲಿ ಇನ್ಯಾರೇ ಆಗಲಿ ಒಂದು ನಯಾ  ಪೈಸೆ  ನಿಮಗೆ ಕೊಡಲಿಲ್ಲ.  ಇಂತಹ ಸ್ಕೀಮ್ ಗಳಿಗೆ ಪಿರಮಿಡ್, MLM (ಮಲ್ಟಿ ಲೆವೆಲ್ ಮಾರ್ಕೆಟಿಂಗ್ ), ಪಾಂಜಿ ಸ್ಕೀಮ್ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಜಗತ್ತಿನಾದ್ಯಂತ ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಇಂತಹ ಮಾತುಗಳಿಗೆ ಮರುಳಾಗಿ ತಮ್ಮ ದುಡ್ಡು ಕಳೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ.  ನನ್ನ ನೆನಪಿನಂತೆ ಒಂದು ಕಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಟಪ್ಪರ್ ವೇರ್ ಮತ್ತು ಅಮವೇ ಈಗ ಮುವತ್ತು ವರ್ಷದ ಹಿಂದೆ ...

As I am nearing the finishing line of my Viveka chudamani, I was little bit happier about it. Why? Because these verses were simpler to understand and hence easier to type. Nobody wants the feeling of helplessness or nobody wants to feel ignorant, stupid.  You know what they say about all these left wing intellectuals - how they look down upon you, how they act as if we are all simpletons. That's the reason people prefer right wing.  Right wing people come to our level and tell us things - loud and clear and we feel happy and included.  To hell with equality, secularism, and all those b**t words.  But if a person tells us thing is a simple, understandable way, does that imply that he/she is telling the truth? He/She must be telling the truth, look at the conviction, look at the decibel level!  

 I had such nice idea early morning. In verse!! But one forgets - those which are unclear.  I just remember it was about religion and how we have it all wrong. By we, I mean y'all. I am a saint, I have everything 'right'. :) Anyways, this had to be written so as not to lose touch with language and what little flair I have in this. Because day and night I am drowned in this serial Jessica Jones. Which is about a super woman - look at the irony here. I who preach the whole world about short coming of religious thoughts, am watching a OTT serial about super woman - look at my rationality! Now finally we are back to self flagellation - my ultimate destination.  Anyway, I think now the rule about 'Practice what you preach' is changed to 'Preach, as you can't practice'. As can be seen evidently everywhere. In other news, the spring is here. I am waiting for jasmines to bloom. And give me atleast one little bud, justifying its existence in this 'space'....

 I am not writing anything here. Not because I don't have anything to say. But because, I don't have anything coherent to say. Or of importance. As I am drowning in a stream of streaming platforms. And struggling to complete one book I have been reading for the past two months.  The Moonstone - it is a detective story alright. But the narration and the style is more of proper literature. Let me stress again, I have nothing against detective stories - those were my stepping stones into English literature. But I wish to believe that I have grown beyond them.  This book by Wilkie Collins is whodunnit story. But no, not murder. (so far at least). Who stole the moonstone - the huge, dazzling egg sized diamond from India, which is supposed to value around 20,000 pounds? On the day, our heroine Rachel got it as an inheritance on her 18th birthday? The Sergent who was called in to investigate the case, couldn't solve it. Nor did the his higher officer.  Where di...