I am Confused

I’m so damn confused…

I try to listen to the ineer voice

But I guess that’s also confused

I know where I am, isn’t where I should be,

But how do I begin to understand

Should I just run, should I flee

Oh, I need to understand.

I made so many mistakes in life

So many years I have wasted

I try to make it all alright,

What if I get more wasted?

Time is valuable I know,

This is why it’s so important,

To make the right decision,

How do I decide what’s important.

I just need to sort all this out,

Before I make the next move,

Right or wrong I want to know,

As I make this next move.

This is Religion

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This article appeared in Hindustan Times on Mar 20'07
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The monk on the train

The other Saturday on the train, I read something by our President, Dr Kalam, in HT: "It is not Allah versus Ishwar. He is not to be looked for in mosque or a temple. He is not to be fought over and sought in martyrdom as protagonists of different religions do in our country."

It sounded most sensible to me. After I finished reading, a Tibetan monk sitting opposite took that page. He liked it too and smilingly nodded to convey that to me. That made me ask his views on religion. These are the insightful and inspiring things he said:

"Well, to me, religion has meaning only if it improves the quality of our acts and makes us better human beings. But sadly, that is not happening.

"Religion is used excessively to impart identity right from when a child is born and our stress on identity is driving one person away from the other; with the result, today humanity is divided into ethnic groups.

"And it is religion that appears to be at the root of global conflict and violence, whereas, the right practice of religion should raise people above these barriers.

"To substantiate it, let me tell you a true story. I went recently to our monastery in Bhutan. An unexpected guest arrived, a monk from Tibet. We wanted to hear about his life under Chinese domination.

"He told us that when he was in a prison, initially his monk's robes made the Chinese jailers inflict excesses on him. But gradually, the Chinese officers actually started loving him and after a few months, he was freed. When asked how he felt to be free now, he replied that he empathised with his Chinese friends who missed him.

"Shocked and baffled we looked at each other and turned to the head monk to see his reaction. The head monk got up and embraced the visitor 'Amazing! Really amazing! We, staying in this monastery for so many years, could not become Buddhist, whereas you became one in prison.' This is religion!"

Indian Tree ... Exceptional piece of art

It is good to see how creative artists can get.. here is an exceptional image of a tree with pictutes of 10 great indian leaders of all time embedded in it.

Life at Twenty Something
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It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now. You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you. You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward. You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!
What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.