Bad Egg...

I came across this video Bad Egg on YouTube and it got me thinking...

The quote at the end which says 'Mother Earth has enough to satisfy every man's need but not every man's greed' - How True...I don't know when will all human beings realize this truth.

Today most of us are just involved in plundering Mother Earth and her precious resources. Why can't we learn to live like our ancestors who lead a much simpler life? In the name of progress and civilization we have eroded Mother Earth of everything and we are testing her patience to the limit. I am not sure how much more nonsense she is capable of handling but one thing is for sure, we will end up paying the price one way or the other.

Man thinks himself to be very smart and in his ego he may find another distant planet which would sustain human life, no doubt. But is it fair? Is it fair to use up Mother Earths' resources and leave her once our needs are no longer satiable by her? The Movie Wall-E also depicted how Mother Earth is depleted to the level until she was just a 'wasteland'. The message of this movie is something which we can't just ignore since this may be a sad reality within the next few decades. Also the truth is that we may not be in a position to face Mother Nature's fury when this happens.

Recently I read an article that sending an email actually takes up more power and is actually not 'eco-friendly' as was projected earlier. The other day one of my friend had indicated on her blog that she wished that iPhones existed maybe 20 years back when we were little kids so that she could capture the little beauties of nature like the sparrow, crows and beautiful flowers which were very much part of city life then. But the fact is that if cell phones existed then we wouldn't have had all the beautiful little things of nature that we enjoyed back then. Why? Just look around yourself today, do you see any small squirrels, sparrows, mynas, cuckoos, small shrubs, flowering plants? I read an article which stated that cell phone towers are responsible for creating radiations which are destroying the natural flora and fauna in their surrounding areas. So it is all a question of trade-offs...today we have traded nature to have the most advanced technology in our hands and we are not stopping at that. But how long will this trend continue...how much time we have left??? How long will we be the bad egg???

My tryst with music...

This post is about my experience with Carnatic vocal music which I have been learning for the past 3 months. Music and me were always poles apart. I loved to dance but music what something I wasn't too familiar with. So the desire to learn Carnatic music formally was a big one, given that I had no inkling of what Raagam, Taalam or Shruthi is all about. Anyways this craving in me got kindled thanks to the devotional bhajans we sing during our meditation sessions. I started getting quite good at it (ahem!) and thought I could do better justice to the devotional songs if I had some formal training. I signed up for an online Carnatic music course where my teacher is remotely located and we can schedule classes based on our convenience. Thus began my Carnatic vocal music sojourn.

I must say that after starting the classes, I realized that it is something which I have terribly missed all these years without even realizing it. I just wish I could have started learning music some 25 years back. But better late than never I hope. My life after music has changed a great extent and hence this post is dedicated to my experience post-music.

First of all, music really opens up avenues in our brain which you didn't even know existed. Generally after one hour of music class I feel so refreshed and energetic and my brain is usually at its peak performance! Also my cognitive faculties and those pertaining to paying detailed attention have also improved quite a bit. I think people who are into music know this already but I guess it is one of the best exercises that our brain can have!

But my joy with music doesn't end at a mental level only. I have come to realize and experience the fact that music is the direct step to ascend in our spiritual connection with the divine. It is so easy to connect to the Divine with music. Our ancestors knew very well that each musical note (Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma...) corresponds to one of our energy centres (chakras). This means that a true musical person will also be spiritually elevated. I guess it is one of the reasons why all the saints of ancient India were known for their musical compositions in praise of the Divine.

I personally like different kinds of music but after my spiritual aftermath I feel that music should be of the elevating kind. There are lots of genres of music and people do feel uplifted in varying degrees spiritually or otherwise but the real question I guess is, is the music is helping us ascend spiritually? Is the music in tandem with our spiritual system? This will help us filter out through a lot of clutter that is being marketed as music today. I personally feel that it is not just the technique of music but how connected we become when we sing / listen to a piece.

I would also like to thank my music Guru Mrs. Chamundeeswari P for sustaining my interest in music. The things I have mentioned in this post may not be new to the person who already is familiar with the alphabet of music but for the ignorant, I hope this blog would inspire them in some way to start pursuing the musical journey right away. Ideally, music should be made mandatory for all junior classes in all schools because I do not want children to miss out on this divine nectar. Also there is no room for doubt that it is also one of the best ways to relate to our culture. I have just started on this journey...I still have a long way to go...like they say, the journey of a thousand raagas begins with the Sapthaswaras...Sa, Ri, Ga, Ma... :-)

Children of Heaven...

This was an old post on a different blog of mine...reposting it here...

Children of Heaven - hmmm....this is one movie which has moved me like no other movie has until now. Simply superb, Awesome...and I think the dictionary is short on words to describe the pure magic of this movie.

This movie has its heart and the whole in the right place...no doubt about that...

There are so many subtle and beautiful truths about life that have been represented in this movie...like the love and trust between a brother and sister...and the sacrifices which kids make by understanding the problems of their parents.

This movie is at a far far higher plateau than most other no-brainer, techno-babble movies that are churned out today.

The whole movie is just a single pair of shoes...this pair of shoes take the brother and sister duo of Ali and Zahra on a whirlwind adventourous journey...and also takes the viewers along to heights which no theme park fun ride can...!!!

Also I feel that people who are 'well-off' may not be able to relate to the heart of this movie since they have everything aplenty. The value of losing the only pair of shoes you have...is difficult to understand while you have like 10-20 pairs in your shoe closet...!

This movie teaches so many morals...to children and adults alike...

There are several times when the brother Ali gives his sister many of his things...like the new pencil, the pen which he got for scoring good grades...I initially wondered if he is bribing his sister to keep the 'secret' from his Mom and Pop...or does he really like her to have those things...? But eventually...when he runs the race during the finale of the movie...you realize the true love that he has for his sister...

The moment when he asks...with great anticipation...'Am I third Sir..??' ...really is heart wrenching...it shows us that sometimes in life...coming 'first' is not always the optimal end...sometimes we have to lose the winning place to win something... :-)

A must watch for everybody...

Complete Harmony....

This is a post inspired by Axinia's blog 1000 petals which I follow...

The following is one of Gandhiji's sayings mentioned in her blog...it got me writing the below...

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

Today people think one thing, say another thing and end up doing something totally different! Most people today find it hard to remain as one person...they are different people in different places. They wear different masks at depending on the situation and people they have to interact with. They wear a 'nice' mask when they are with their near and dear ones, they wear a 'serious' mask at work and a 'jovial' mask with their friends. They never really expose the person who they really are deep down and maybe that person is unknown even to them. It is very easy to preach 'Happiness is what you choose' and that you just have to make a choice but that is easier said than done...!

People nowadays always find it hard to sync up the person they are at the Mental, Physical, Emotional and Spiritual level. Each level seems to have different needs which don't seem to fall in place harmoniously with the other levels. So people try to satisfy their needs at one or two different levels and ignore the rest. This results in cacophony and discord between the different levels resulting in imbalances that affect not only individual lives but also societies as a whole. That is how things slowly start disintegrating and people start losing faith and start believing in things which are just superficial. If you see this video on how pimples are formed (sorry for not being able to come up with a better analogy...) you can get a better idea of what I am talking about. First say a person is not satisfied at one level say the physical level, then he / she gets blocked at that particular level with all the 'bacteria' of ego, superego and conditionings. Then the person tries to satiate all their desires at that level and goes to the extremes like earning crores of rupees by any means to keep themselves 'happy' at the physical level. But like a drug the high stays for a short duration and the effects wear off gradually. Slowly things start welling up in them and then one day everything explodes - just like a pimple!

According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs the step of Self-Realization is the highest pinnacle among the needs of the homo-sapien species. But I believe it is not something which has to be achieved in steps.

I think human beings today are much more advanced than their ancestors and have come to realize the futility in hankering after material desires and also the emotional drain they experience being in unhappy relationships. So the ideal solution for this problem would be to start at the top end of Maslow's hierarchy. I have experienced in Sahaja Yoga meditation that once our spiritual needs are met then all the other lower level needs fall into place and it all happens very spontaneously. It works just like a pack of Dominoes...one piece falls and the rest of them automatically falls in place and you become completely synchronized and in tune with yourself. So you become just the 'one person' that you really are and lose the maddening duality. So anything you do from then on becomes a beautiful rendition of a song by a master soloist who is none other than the Divine and you just step aside and enjoy the soothing music. :-) so be happy and be yourself - inside and out!