अहिल्या

इस धरा की बात है खास
खुद भगवान उतरे यहां सबके साथ।
जब कभी अंधकार घिर आता है,
मानव नीचे गिरता जाता है,
भूमि से हरि को ही पुकारता है,
अधर्म से मुक्ति को अकुलाता है।

त्रेता में जब यह नाद हुआ,
पाप से सत्कर्म जब बर्बाद हुआ
भीक्षण आंधी उड़ती आती थी,
सात्विकता नष्ट कर ले जाती थी।

ऋषियों का जीना दूभर हुआ जाता था,
पापियों का अठ्ठाहस गूंजता जाता था,
कोई महात्मा कहीं आसरा न पाता था,
रावण से सम्पूर्ण त्रिलोक थर्राता था।

यह देख हरि मुस्काये थे,
धरती पर मनुष्य रूप में आये थे,
ऋषिगण फूले न समाये थे,
स्वयं ब्रह्मा जिनको शीश नवाये थे।
वो जो कण-कण में बसते हैं,
जिनका नाम स्वयं महादेव जपते हैं।

किन्तु फिर भी कई मानव अज्ञानता वश,
इस पुण्य कथा का फैलाते अपयश,
असत्य, अधर्म के जो अनुयायी हैं,
स्वयं नीचता और कलियुग की परछाईं हैं।

परंतु ज्ञानी कभी अधीर न होता है,
राम नाम से जागता है और
राम नाम से सोता है।
यह ऐसा महाकाव्य है एक,
अनेक धर्ममार्ग का निश्चल भाव है एक।

जो सुनता उनकी कथा को है,
भूल जाता अपनी व्यथा को है,
भावविभोर उनके चरित्र का गुणगान करता है,
अहम का त्याग निःसंकोच कर उठता है।

मगर फिर भी कई असमंजस में आते हैं,
मूलतः कथाओं से अनभिज्ञ हो,
गलत समझते और समझाते हैं।

आज देखेंगे अहिल्या की कथा की जो सच्चाई थी,
विश्वामित्र ने मिथिला की राह में श्रीराम को सुनाई थी।
तो आगे की बात को समझियेगा,
फिर भी कोई प्रश्न रहे तो कहियेगा।

माया से जो कुछ मनुष्य पाता है,
उसका दोहरा चरित्र भूलता जाता है।
प्रेम, सुख, सुंदरता, ज्ञान, बल आदि सदाचार, से
जन्मते हैं कामना, भय, लोभ, निर्लज्जता, अहंकार।

तो आगमन करें कथा का जैसे सब करते थे,
मिथिला नगरी के पास ही ऋषि गौतम रहते थे।
बड़े सदाचारी, ज्ञानी, प्रभु के ध्यान में मग्न रहते थे,
सप्तऋषियों में एक, धर्म मार्ग पर अड़े थे।
सत्कर्म, ज्ञान, गुण, भक्ति हर तरह,
आम लोगों से वे बहुत बड़े थे।
एक आश्रम था -
अहिल्या से प्रणय सूत्र में बंधे थे।

लो ध्यान से अब आगे सुनो,
आज पूरी कथा समझाता हूँ,
श्रीराम के चरित्र पर लांछन लगाते
कुछ नासमझों की शंका मिटाता हूँ।

अहिल्या जब एक कुमारी थी,
ब्रह्मा जी की पुत्री थी,
वरदान से आजीवन परम् सुंदर नारी थी।
देव, असुर, ऋषिगण आदि -
सब विवाह के अभिलाषी थे,
अधिकांश सिर्फ बाहरी सौंदर्य पर मोहित हो
नष्ट बुद्धि से केवल काम-इच्छा के प्रार्थी थे।

तब ब्रह्मा जी ने ये बात रखी,
उत्तम वर खोजने की चाल चली,
बोले, "जो समस्त ब्रह्मांड का चक्कर सर्वप्रथम लगा आएगा,
वही श्रेष्ठ हो अहिल्या से विवाह कर पायेगा"।

ऋषि गौतम इस कार्य में विजयी हुए,
एक गाय, नवजात बछड़े और शिवलिंग की
परिक्रमा कर अग्रणी हुए।
वह गाय, बछड़ा समेत पूरी पृथ्वी को दर्शाती थी,
जो हर जीव को जन्म देकर,
पालन-पोषण करती जाती थी।
शिवलिंग समेत वे संसार के जीवन चक्र को दर्शाते हैं,
जीव जन्म, कर्म और मृत्यु से परम धाम को जाते हैं।

इस तरह अहिल्या का विवाह संपन्न हुआ,
इस तरह देव और असुरों का घमंड भंग हुआ।

अहिल्या भी अत्यंत ज्ञानी थी,
ब्रह्मपुत्री तो थी,
मगर अपने सौंदर्य की अभिमानी थी।
मनुष्य जब किसी ऊंचे पद को पाता है,
अभिमान की गहरी खाई में,
उतना ही गिरता जाता है।

इधर इंद्र के मन में सनक थी,
ऋषि गौतम के दिनचर्या की भनक थी।
आश्रम जब उनकी उपस्थिति-विहीन हो जाता है,
इंद्र ऋषि का वेश धरकर आता है,
उदविघ्न हो अहिल्या को पुकारता है,
वासना के वशीभूत धर्म-अधर्म भूल जाता है।
मन मे तीव्र कामना से वेश का खयाल भी उतर जाता है,
और फिर अधीर हो वह मिलन की इच्छा को दर्शाता है।

अहिल्या जब समक्ष आती है,
इंद्र को ऋषि गौतम के रूप में पाती है,
उसके असली स्वरूप को पहचान जाती है,
पर मन ही मन मुस्कुराती है।
वो अपने सौंदर्य के मद में चूर हुई,
धर्म-पथ से उस क्षण वह दूर हुई।
सोचती, "परिस्थिति मेरी सुंदरता की साक्षी है,
आज स्वयं सुरपति मेरा अभिलाषी है,
कहाँ एक साधारण मुनि दरिद्र अभागा है,
और कहां एक इंद्रलोक का राजा है"।

मगर नियति की यह बात हुई,
ऋषि गौतम की ढोंगी से मुलाकात हुई।
काम-इच्छा पूर्ण कर इंद्र बाहर जब आता है,
ऋषि को अपने समक्ष वह पाता है।
ऋषि को हाय! परिस्थिति का ज्ञान हो जाता है,
मन क्रोध, घृणा और पीड़ा से भर जाता है।

(अब वे दोनों को श्राप देते हैं और अहिल्या को बताते हैं के त्रेता में श्रीराम ही उद्धार करेंगे।)

जिह्वा से जब पीड़ादायी वाक्य निकल जाते हैं,
व्यक्ति के सत्कर्मो को नष्ट करते जाते हैं,
ऋषि गौतम अतः आश्रम को छोड़ चले,
प्रायश्चित को हिमालय की ओर चले।

त्रेता में श्रीराम तब आये थे,
अहिल्या का उद्धार कर नैतिकता का पाठ पढ़ाये थे।

इस कथा में हर एक कार्य के कारण हैं,
ये तो बस धर्म-अधर्म का एक उदाहरण है।
जिनके चरणों की छाप से कई किरदारों के पाप धुले,
उनकी अनुकंपा से, हमको भी बैकुंठ धाम मिले।

Immortal Talks - A Book Review

“Are you aware that you are not a body? You have a body.” chorused the elder Mahtangs.

Introduction:
GENRE: Spirituality
AUTHOR: Shunya
PAGES:160
YEAR OF PUBLISH: 2017

Mahtangs (better known as Mathangs) are the tribal people residing in the forests of Mount Piduru in Sri Lanka. This tribe, similar to the sentinelese, choose to be cut off from modern civilisation but save for this they cannot be more different from the sentinelese. Mathangs are the followers of Lord Hanuman and descendants of Vibhishana, the brother of Ravana from The Ramayana. Apart from this, the Mathangs are said to be very spiritual and with good reason. It is said that the Mathangs are visited by Lord Hanuman in every 41 years. Quite interesting isn’t it?

All of this came to light in the year 2014 when a researcher was studying the behavior of the tribe and completely oblivious at the time as to what he was going to find! Fascinating!

Lord Hanuman is said to be among the 7 people who are said to be immortal. It is believed that every 41 years Lord Hanuman visits the tribe to teach and imbue divine knowledge to them. The Mathangs record the teaching of Lord Hanuman every 41 years in a Log book. Fortunately, the log book is now with an organization called ‘Setu Asia’which is trying to translate the book. Okay this was a short introduction to who the Mahtangs (or Mathangs) really are. Now let’s jump on to the book.

Summary:

The book begins with Hanudas, a devotee of Lord Hanuman, who along with 2 other devotees is following some tribal people in order to observe and try to establish communication with them. Hanudas used to live an elite lifestyle with his family in Toronto and was neither religious nor spiritual. His wife dies in a car accident and later he loses his only son to drugs and paranoid schizophrenia. This leaves him to be completely hollow – ‘like a hoop which lets things pass through it. No sorrow. No pain. No regret.’ It was then that he encounters an unusual scene. He leaves for India and comes in contact with a Guru who gives him the name ‘Hanudas’ and explains to him that it was not a hallucination indeed. Gurudev explains it was because only pure souls can experience that. He explains that Hanudas encountered such a scene because after his son’s funeral his mind was absolutely blank, completely free and detached from everything the external world has to offer –

‘Your soul, like the majority of humans of this era, is asleep. Your soul awoke for a brief period of time on the day you buried your son’

After that moment he experiences a divine epiphany and leaves to wander – in search of nothing – in a pursuit to awaken his soul. He eventually feels that he has reached his destination when he comes across this tribe known as ‘Mahtangs’. He along with 2 more sages tries to approach the tribe but are rebuked by the leader and hence finds himself following and observing the tribe. Very soon he deciphers the meaning of the set of seven symbols he had collected from the Mahtangs. It translated as follows: ‘The immortal Lord Hanuman comes every 41 years to impart supreme knowledge to his disciples, the Mahtangs’. Over the course of next several months, he collected thousands of such symbols, or the puzzles wherin lay enshrined the entire knowledge Lord Hanuman imparted to his disciples.
He, with the help of other sages, deciphers these puzzles and documents them. These finding are henceforth explained in the form of different chapters in this book.

My Review:

The religion – Hinduism (it actually is Sanatan Dharma) – is the oldest religion that exists today. It is the only religion in which even if you are an atheist, you are still a Hindu. It is the choice of the seeker whichever and whatever form of god he/she wants to embrace. Even the belief that he/she does not believe in god is a form of belief and hence that person is still a Hindu. It is a religion which is based on the practice of looking for the absolute truth which involves science more than anything. I will not be exaggerating when I confidently claim that all the things that modern science is discovering now has already been mentioned in the Vedas and Upanishads many thousands of years ago. It is more about Spirituality than being a ‘Religion’ in the strictest sense of the meaning of the word, and is FAR different from what is perceived by the masses. It is a way of Life, which is clearly evident by the contents of this book.

The book is written in a very simplistic manner which enables the reader to understand even the most complex workings of the truth of what the soul is, what is life, the movement of the soul from one body to another, the life and death cycle, the Karma-Desire, etc. If I have to describe my experience of reading this book in one word, I will choose – enlightening. The way in which everything was explained is very simple and effective. The reader is able to imagine every scene as if it is happening right before their eyes. The way in which everything is explained is extraordinarily simple, effective and quite enjoyable at the same time. The prologue of the book describes how Hanudas comes to find all the symbols and puzzles and the rest of the book in chapters and in the form of stories of the same tribe explains the subtleties of the extraordinary way in which the universe works, who we are and how to get out of this endless cycle of birth and death in Maya.

Those of you do not know, Maya is everything you experience. It is everything that you sense i.e., see, feel, hear, taste, touch. Maya is said to be an illusion. It is the physical world which follows the rules of space-time and the human soul which is stuck in this Maya thinking that it is the only reality experiences endless cycle of birth and death. The purpose of the human soul is to break this cycle and attain Moksha viz., unification with the absolute – the Bramh.

The book along with this also explains what the soul really is. How it goes from one body to another and what it experiences when it is out of a body. Not only this, the book also explains the type of souls there are, what are the characteristics of the soul which resides in birds, animals and humans. The struggle between the soul to be free from the shackles of birth and death and the limitations posed by the human body which understands this world to be the only reality and the Karma-Desire scale of balance is beautifully explained in one of the chapters titled ‘The Mermaid’ in the form of a story.

I definitely enjoyed reading this book. I’d say that it must be read at least once in a lifetime irrespective of which religion, caste or sex you belong to, or what belief system you have. Read this with an open mind because as the Vedas says, there is only one absolute truth rest everything is different realities varying from person to person.

The Mango Tree

There I was, sitting under the Mango tree planted in the front yard of my home. My track pant was smudged with earth along with my T-shirt as if I had been rolling around in the mud but I couldn’t care less. I used to live in one of those big government quarters provided by the Indian Railways to its employees. Mine had a few trees in the front yard, enclosed inside the boundary made by the thick Iron wire fence. It was the time of summer holidays, a time when I could ignore the massive amount of homework that had been given to us by our sadistic teachers (Pun intended) and quite simply spent my day loitering around in my front yard or if it was too hot outside, playing video games or watching movies on repeat from the collection of movies I collected over time in the form of CDs. DVD players were still new in the market at that time and used to cost a lot, we had a CD player which we never upgraded.

I sat there and I noticed a mango hanging from a branch. There were many mangos on the tree, it being the start of summer, but this one was ripe and yellow as opposed to all the other green ones and was somehow unscathed from the taste buds of parrots and other birds. I kept gazing at it for a few seconds. It was quite high and I was never a good climber. I gave sweeping look to the branches that were closest to the ground but there were no ripe mangos there. The rarity of this one mango fathered the desire to possess and eat it. The knowledge that fruits, especially from this tree, being delicious intensified the desire even more. I had to eat it!

Therefore, to achieve this I started formulating ways with which I can get it. I picked up a stone and threw it at the mango. It narrowly missed. However, after one throw I immediately abandoned this method. What will happen the stone successfully hit the mango? The mango being ripe with undoubtedly be scarred and there are chances it will not break away from the branch. The sight of the fruit was so mouth-watering and elating that I did not want even a small dent on its surface. I wanted to pluck it, admire it, delicately peel and slice it, piece by piece and eat it, not wasting even a drop of its juice. I had to find some other method to get it before any bird does.

I picked up a stick that I found lying near the tree and tried to swing it in such a way that it strikes the stalk but not the mango. No luck! There were too many branches in the middle to maneuver the stick with the requisite angle and force. I threw the stick on the ground and stood there gazing at the fruit for a few moments trying to conjure up any other idea for getting that fruit out of that branch and into my hands. Nothing came to my mind except a big blank. The only thing my brain kept getting back to was trying to climb the tree. Now the people who know how to climb a tree know that climbing up is not the hard part, it is climbing down that is difficult. Devoid of any other option, I tried climbing the tree. It was hopeless; I kept skidding down.

Defeated, I thought of giving it one last try, gathered my energy and tried again. This time I went farther than any time I tried before. But SMACK! The fall was equally hard. Although it was not as high as to have done any serious damage, I landed directly on my left foot. A pain shot through from my leg. I had sprained my ankle! Dreading the cussing and scolding that was to come I slowly limped on one leg towards the door to the Drawing room of my home. With a thumping heart, I opened the door. My mother was sitting there watching some dumb Indian Soap opera with an hour episode consisting of at least 20 minutes of moving close up shots of the actors and 15 minutes of advertisements. She did not notice me limping through the door. I saw that she was engrossed in watching T.V. and so I decided to limp silently to the bedroom before she notices. To muffle the sound of my limping I stepped onto the carpet. Whenever any background music came onto the soap opera, which was plenty of times actually, I used it to limp towards the bedroom door.

I finally reached the door. Taking a huge sigh of relief I leaned on the door without realizing that doorstopper was not in place. CRASH! The door banged on the wall and I was on all fours on the ground. It was seconds before my mother came running inside and looking at me spread-eagled on the ground, her first reaction was narrowing her eyes with malice.

“Oh crap” I thought, as I knew what was about to come.

Before I knew it I was being helped up on my feet with the shrill scolding of how she cannot even sit calmly and idly even for a minute. She did not know that I sprained my ankle. And she can never know that I did that trying to climb the Mango tree outside. Taking a small loss for a short time is better than a big loss for a longer duration. So when she enquiringly looked at my leg while I stood there limping on my right leg, I told her that I put my right leg on the door to fold up my track pant bottoms and I did not realize the door stopper was not in place which crashed the door and I fell and sprained my left ankle.

I know right! What a pitiful excuse and she suspected it for some time but as she did not hear me limping back inside and there was nothing else in the bedroom which might indicate otherwise, she accepted my dumb excuse.

So for a few minutes, I got to hear the usual cussing and fussing while my foot was been treated to a bucketful of hot and salty water. But I was not paying attention. My falling and then my mother helping me up with her hand and me standing on one leg clutching her shoulder gave me an excellent idea!

After a whole day and a whole night’s rest, I started feeling a little better. The pain in my ankle was subsiding. After waking up the next day, I decided to test my idea. So I waited till noontime and then I silently went back outside with a plier, duct tape and thread. I reached the tree whereby I had dropped the stick and praying that no bird had eaten the fruit, I looked in the direction of the mango. It was still there – unscathed and uneaten. Relieved, I picked up the stick and started walking towards the fence.

I found and cut a small part of the thick iron wire jutting out of the fence, the removal of which will not cause any damage to the fence (there were many such places on the boundary). I took out the duct tape and tied the wire to the stick. For double precaution that it should not slip out, I left a small part of the exposed at the tied end and tightly tied that part to the stick using the thread applying three-four knots. I then used the pliers and started bending the free end of the wire attached to the stick in the form of a hook.

I took the stick to the tree. Maneuvering the stick, I placed the hooked end of the wire around the stalk of the mango and pulled. With a plucking sound, the mango dropped and I caught it. I placed the stick near the tree and feeling elated, I went back inside with the mango in my hand.

पाप की परिभाषा

आज के कलियुग में जहाँ
पाप-व्यभिचार सदा-सद पलता है
इस शहर-उस शहर, हर नगर, हर देश से
हंसते-मुस्कराते, हाथ हिलाते, सिर उठा निकलता है।

राह चलते हुए राहगीरों को वह पकड़ता है
हर किसी के मन को वह अंततः जकड़ता है
और गलत राह पर ले जा कर वह अकड़ता है

(जो मन मे एक बार पाप को बसा लेता है तो उसे निकलना मुश्किल हो जाता है। पाप यहां मन में बैठ कर यह बता रहा है कि वह क्या है)

कहता है, "मैं हूं यहां, इस देश और विदेश में,
मैं ही वासना, मैं ही चिंता , मैं ही कुंठा, मैं ही मन के द्वेष में,
घूमता हूँ मैं यहां सब मानवों के वेश में!

और पार नहीं पा सकते हो तुम मुझसे या मेरे किसी भी नाम से,
नहीं निकल सकते फिर मेरे किसी काम के अंजाम से
घर कर लेता हूँ फिर मैं उस पवित्र आत्मा के रूप पे,
नहीं जा सकते हो तुम फिर ऊपर कहीं इस धाम से!

छोड़ूँगा तो नहीं मैं तुमको अपने किसी खयाल से,
और मुक्त नहीं होने दूंगा मैं तुमको माया के इस जाल से!
मैं खड़ा हूँ राह पर तुम्हारे बनकर एक आसान रास्ता,
हाथ थामोगे तो उठा दूंगा तुम्हारी सच्चाई पर से आस्था!

और तुम नहीं राम कि मुझको तुम मार सकोगे,
न ही तुम हो कृष्ण, न्याय की राह तुम पहचान सकोगे!
न तुम अर्जुन, न तुम भीष्म, न तुम धर्मराज हो,
न तुम लक्ष्मण, न तुम भरत, न रघुवंश तुम आज हो!

कहाँ पर भागोगे जब तुम्हारे मन को मैं हथियूंगा?
कितना पुण्य कर पाओगे जब हर ओर से घिर आऊंगा?
मैं ही था वो जिसने सदियों पहले मंदिरों को जलवाया था,
मैं ही था जिसने नालंदा और तक्षिला को मिटाया था,
मैं ही था वो जिसने मुगलों से खूनी खेल खिलवाया था,
वह भी मैं ही था जिसने चित्तोड़ दुर्ग में माताओं को आग में धकेला था,
और जालियांवाला के खूनी खेल का भी मैं कारण अकेला था!


फिर भी अचंभित होकर डरता हूँ खत्म हो जाऊंगा,
एक उम्मीद की छोटी किरण से भी जलकर भस्म हो जाऊंगा!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9ISBTgCjWo&t=82s

सब चुप क्यों हैं?

(कल्पना करिए आप 12-15 वर्ष पहले के भारत में हैं। जैसे जैसे मैं समय में आगे बढूंगा आप समझते जाएंगे)

रोज़ाना चलते जीवन के यापन में,

सब चुप क्यों हैं?

अंतर्द्वंद के स्थापन से भी,

सब चुप क्यों हैं?

 

सर उठा कर देखते हैं जब लोग,

पता लगता है कि रास्ते तो अब खाली है।

खुली आंख से देखते दुनिया को,

संसार की हालत भी निराली है।

आकाश में लोभ के पंछी दिखाई पड़ते हैं,

अपनों के परिवेश में पराये दिखाई पड़ते हैं,

चहुँ ओर स्वार्थ की धुंध का विस्तार है,

मंदिरों की जगह मैखाने दिखाई पड़ते हैं।

सत्य के वाक्यों में बहाने दिखाई पड़ते हैं,

झूठ की हवा भी क्या चली है,

मित्रों में अब अनजाने दिखाई पड़ते हैं।

कौन कहे सत्य और निष्ठा के लक्षण सुप्त क्यों हैं।

जानते हुए भी न जाने सब चुप क्यों हैं?

 

भारतवर्ष के भीतर भी दुश्मन हैं,

द्वेष और क्रोध से भरे ये जाते हैं,

क्षति पहुंचती है जब देश को,

मुख खोल ये गधे-सा मुस्कुराते हैं।

राष्ट्रहित की बात जब होती है,

झूठ फैला ये दंगे भड़काते हैं,

आतंकियों के मरने पर ये,

काली पट्टी बांध संसद में आते हैं,

जी भर के ये आंसू बहाते हैं,

और वर्षों तक बिरयानी उन्हें खिलाते हैं,

AFSPA और TADA जैसे कानून भी हटाते हैं।

तब, आतंकी इतने मुक्त क्यों थे?

ये देख उस समय सब चुप क्यों थे?

 

जब बढ़ा था अंधकार बहुत,

सरकार में आया था अहंकार बहुत,

जनता ने बाहुबल दिखाया था,

लोकतंत्र को सार्थक करवाया था।

उद्दंडता की जब पराकाष्ठा थी,

वंशवाद से मुक्ति की आकांक्षा थी,

विधान-पटल पर सर्द शीत छाई थी,

सरकार जब वामपंथ की अनुयायी थी,

भूमि आतंकित हो दहलाई थी,

पूरे देश की बात तो छोड़िए,

सिर्फ मुम्बई ही कई हमलों से थर्राई थी।

सेना को ज्यादातर निष्क्रियता के आदेश क्यों थे?

नेतृत्व करने वाले तब चुप क्यों थे?

 

संसार का यही नियम है मित्र,

बदलाव ही केवल स्थिरता है मित्र,

वर्षों की विचारधारा से जब अति हो जाती है,

उन्नति की राह में वह अनुपयुक्त हो जाती है।

बदलाव से वही लोग तो डरते हैं,

लूटपाट के स्थापित साधन जिनके हाथ से फिसलते हैं।

विकास के लिए बस इतनी बात ही काफी है,

सिर्फ सौ अपराध की माफी है,

नेतृत्व कोई भी हो -

जब सत्ता शिशुपाल बन जाएगी,

जनता से माफी नहीं वह पाएगी,

द्वेष में दुर्व्यवहार बढ़ेगा जिसका,

सुदर्शन से सर कटेगा उसका।

 

देखें, देखें असत्य के लिए वे कितनी आवाज़ उठाएंगे,

देखें उनके चेले कितनी गोली चलाएंगे,

देखें वे कब तक रक्षकों का लहू बहा पाएंगे,

देखें वे कितने जनों को गुमराह कर पाएंगे,

देखें अपने ढकोसलों से कब तक - "आज़ादी" के नारे लगाएंगे,

देखें वे कब तक पत्थर उठाएंगे,

देखें वे कब तक बसों को जलाएंगे,

देखें वे कितनी पुलिस चौकियों में आग लगाएंगे,

देखें भले लोग भी, आखिर कब तक शांति का पाठ पढ़ाएंगे,

देखें हम सब भी आखिर, कब तक चुप रह पाएंगे।

What is and how to get out of the Social Media trap - My Facebook Theory of 3 strikes and the subtle art of not giving a f**k

(Have you ever felt a sudden urge to open social media and try to make a new friend? Or have you ever felt a sudden pang of loneliness even though you have people around you?)

Hi all,

So what I am about to tell you is my 'subtle art of not giving a fuck' using which you can find who's good for you and who's not (if you are adamant that you are going to use social media anyway) and how you can not let social media affect your well-being. This is applicable on facebook and other social media sites.

So, let's begin.

Okay, so we are all aware about the use of social media and its disadvantages. The so many researchers and psychologists have already pointed them out to us, and there are so many reasons! According to a report of the study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania in Nov 2018, use of social media increases depression and loneliness in individuals along with increasing anxiety and decreasing self-esteem. According to another report in early 2019, psychologists found that social media makes people's behavior to become apathetic towards others, making them self-centered. On introspection you will find this to be quite true. Even if this is not completely applicable to you because you are not a constant user of social media or you do not feel the compulsive urge to take a picture every hour or every day and post it to Instagram of yourself or what you are doing, on thinking about it you will find that this makes perfect sense for the people who do this i.e., you can see how this is applicable to them because the act of updating every little thing on social media marks the psyche of having a need to tell the world what they are doing which in turn shows the self-centeredness of that individual. This shows that slowly and steadily their nature of behavior changes to being selfish - not caring about anyone else but feeling a constant need to satisfy oneself in terms of social validation in social media and real life. This behavior is worrisome especially when the majority of the population on social media is between 12 to 22 years of age.

Try to imagine this, you like a girl so naturally you want to talk to her to get to know her, so you send her a friend request, she accepts. Now you send her a message - you say hello- and await for her reply. She sees your message but does not reply anything back. How do you feel? You feel neglected (I know I have felt that way), even abandoned in some cases. If you take a good look at your account, you will find that out of so many of your 'friends' spanning from hundreds to thousands, you actually know a very few of them, fewer in real life. And this is where my method come in. So, my theory is that the people in your friend list must justify that they are your 'friends' because what is the use of having people in your friend list with whom you have never even had a conversation or who will never come out to help you when you are really in need in real life. What use is keeping such people in your list? It is like doing 'Lean Management' of social media. What is the use of keeping people who cannot add value or contribute in any way to your growth in life (Getting likes on your pics or a mere display of number of the amount of friends in your friend list is Not adding value).

In order to achieve this what I do is I open my friend list and I check how many people do I know and with how many I had a conversation with. The rest I remove from my friend list. Simple, huh? Well, not for the type of people I mentioned in the beginning. It is like quitting alcohol for an alcoholic or like quitting cigarette for a chain smoker. They experience a satisfaction due to their approval seeking behavior and that is how they validate themselves by the amount of likes they get or the increasing numbers in their friend list.

Now this piece of advice is for guys only:
So guys, you remember when your request was approved by a very cute girl and you sent her a message but she never gave any response even after seeing your message? Let me break something to you, if you ever see a girl's account (Oh yes, I have seen) what you'll find is that just like you there are hundreds of other guys who behaved just like you did. So, what to do? What I do is when I see a girl whom I don't really know to be online, I say hello. If there is no response then just move on and the next time I see her online, I again say hello. I do this 3 times in total - 3 strikes! If after that there is no reply, I simply send her an additional message telling her that I am removing her (and not in the angry, egotistical way) and I remove her. What happened was that you tried getting to know a new person but since there was no response, it was like talking to a wall. So instead of sulking over it and enabling the social media to develop that same habit of seeking approval in you (which will gradually and silently metamorph into the psyche I mentioned above) and subsequently feeling sad about it, what you did was you nipped that habit in the bud by letting the attachment for that unknown person go. So in your subconscious mind, you simply didn't gave a f**k about it. Make sense?

So, what are your thought about this? Agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below.

The Poet

Is a poet not a poet unless he is known?
Or unless his name, upon the carcass of a tree,
Blinding, in golden letters beautifully shone?
Is he not someone, to lead with might,
and raise a din of soundless voice,
to address every whim in the world's plight?
It is said, 'The pen is mightier than the sword'
Or sometimes it may be so true,
For a humble poet writes and stays,
to his intentions, sincere and in lieu.

Travelling down your memory lane

How do I begin to tell you

of how I feel about you?

I found you out of the blue,

when I was down, thought I was through.

I miss what we had,

it was just months ago,

and I will forever cherish that time spent,

precious, before we had to go.

I had no idea at that time,

that my heart will become so close to thine.

It still is, though I am alone, again,

travelling down your memory lane.

The life with my sister

 

Hey Dear Sister,

Warning: Not limited to just praises. LOL.

It does not seem so long ago that we were fighting and bickering over who gets the remote of the television so that we can watch our favourite programs when I visited you to get away from all the craziness of Engineering college only to land in yours. Which consisted of constant differences in our opinions. You with a flexible and fun loving view of leading life and me with a stoic and a rigid view filled with rules to be followed for every small thing. Or shall I say, me with a very introverted nature and you with an extrovert nature. It certainly was no picnic for me. Then there were disagreements, there were our fights, our wrestling for the T.V. remote and, though less frequent, asking for your pretty friends phone numbers (*smile). In other words, you were the complete opposite of me. I had been exasperated, resigned, infuriated, confused, bewildered and very annoyed at times.

And now, you are married. You have become a woman, a wife, a source of inspiration and a beloved partner of someone - his constant companion in everything in this tumultuous journey of life. And let me tell you it is still not easy for me, au contraire, it is now more difficult because now I do not remember the times that I have been angry at you, fought with you or secretly ate the portion of the chocolate that was supposed to be for you (*grin). No! Now all these things seems so petty that they do not matter to the least.

In fact, what appears to be real and what appeals now most to the soft and delicate part of my nature are the memories of you putting cool wraps on my head during high fever, or reminding me in almost a scolding way to take my medicine which I got from Red Cross Hospital,  or making maggi for yourself but still sharing with me a portion of it, or going out to eat at - 'Sagar Gere' or 'Dominos' or whatnot restaurants there were - with me in the evenings, or making macroni for me which you know is my favourite only when you make it, or patiently listening to me ranting about the evil deeds of my ex-girlfriend, etc. the list goes on and on. Everything matters now, every small little thing that appeared to be trivial at that time now holds a certain emotion with it. And that's how life goes on, happiness and good memories happen by the accumulation of small things in life, so never miss them. Also, in addition to that, the most important thing in any relationship, more than love itself, is Respect for each other, rest everything follows. This is a little piece of advice that I give you with all my love for in the beginning of this grand and awesome journey you two are going to embark upon together.

I do not know how many times we will be able to meet in the future, we both are going to be very busy from this point forth. So, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you what all this meant to me, what you mean to me (I am getting a little teary-eyed here, silly old me). You are my little sister after all. I may now open the gate of your home when I visit Bhopal and not meet with the shrill  yet warm with concern greeting of yours that "You're here". You are beginning a new journey in your life, a journey you may find gratifying to an extent that it may translate into the "meaning of life". Congratulations!

Love you sister!

Love,
Anshu

P.S.: I will still disturb you sometimes with my poetries being published and anything new I write.

P.P.S.: Give my greetings to Abhimanyu and wish him my best.

Reminisce

He sat on a bench all by himself,
in the same garden, as before.
Looking at the same blossoming buds,
but not the same loneliness, t'was more.

Now the evening seems quiet and dull,
and the dusk has lost its touch,
there are no more chirping of the birds,
just lipless, unhappy smile of the skull.

Quiet, he sat there still,
to recourse that long way from whence he came,
when there was another - match'd with loving steps,
whose name now he breathes in pain.

A rush was it to have her there,
upon that same ol' dusty road,
like a lake that lifeless stood,
now found a way to gush and flow.

He couldn't believe how he found,
such a soul so pure and full of love.
A fool was he that he could't see,
that old sword of deceit still dangled above.

He wept and cried from inside - so full of grief,
when she left his hand and took another path,
and though he could still breathe the air,
it was so full of despair's wrath.

Something shattered within his heart,
maybe the violins playing cupid's tune.
While she distanced - stepped further away,
with tears he stood glancing at the moon.

How he prayed in his every breath,
to again have that nectar of sweetest love.
But alas! Her footsteps with his along the shore,
were wiped by time's unkind tides above.

She came back to him but was it she?
For it was a mere shadow of what she were.
Her approaches were mere perfunctory ones,
her loving words were mere desultory ones.

And he tried in vain to rekindle that fire,
that once held witness to their glorious love,
of ecstasy and passion that learnt from them,
the meaning of kisses, souls merging hugs.

But indeed a mere shadow it was,
dark and unyielding of her former self.
She never came back from that path she took,
as now he sits on that garden bench; melancholic,
reminiscing of who she was, all by himself.

I miss you then

Whenever newer events arise,
I miss you silently in disguise.
Disguise of an empty smile,
sometimes crooked, mindless all the while.

When I wake to the chirping sounds,
outside my window, all around.
Breaking away from your dreams
All I long then is to hear,
your soft whispers in my ear,
your gentle coaxing for me to rise
to stand up and face the day
with all that's best,
not needed to say.
I miss you then and all minutes to come.

As I slowly, in a daze,
discern tiny droplets touching my face,
it slowly dawns upon my mind
it's raining outside, with a pain.
I wish then to take a ride,
with you throughout, by my side.
We go to the hills perhaps,
a silent, overwhelming, beautiful space,
your sweet kiss and warm embrace.
I miss you, sitting in this crowded yet, a lonely space.

The lonely evenings spent alone,
without your concern, without your scold,
I loose myself in my closed room,
and go to the place where memories bloom.
I miss you then in every breath,
as I slowly drift between disguised smiles and gloom.

Fearless

For those who are sad, in despair, giving up or just disappointed and discouraged. This will help and give you strength, you might be able to relate at least a few lines to your own life.

When crossroads came and I had to,
I always chose the hardest of them all,
they bent me in those twisted ways,
which made me stand apart and tall.

I am glad they did not kill,
and I knew my mettle through the tests,
which came and went as swift,
as the sun and moon's unrest.

I often shivered of the fear,
as crippling as it can be,
to face those demons that stood before,
but struck them nonetheless therefore.

There are far more wiser and braver still,
many people that I know,
gone through even harder times,
but vigilant, in the summers, rain or snow.

But I must not be sad or even shy,
to admit a person's worth.
For I am not less, and can't deny,
I have been bloodied too, and tasted dirt.

So even when the flames engulf,
the consequence of my sweat and blood,
I will not crumble or fall apart to lose,
but get up and rebuild, again by worn out tools.

Even if I am hung to dry,
by fools upon those steady gallows,
I will breathe again, and be heard,
by my thundering roars and bellow.

Embrace

I wrote this some time back. Though the situation is very different now, the feeling was worth writing about.

 

A warm summer's sweet delight,
closer, looking in her eyes,
sitting huddled in the sand,
beside the tides, earth's heaving sighs.

Passions high, entangled limbs,
kisses balmier than a rose's lips.
Sunset, dusk and moonlit nights,
all merry, all rejoice.

Heavenly abode, where else it is?
where lies mankind's most craving smiles?
Where but in love's most embracing arms!
Where but in those stolen glance!

Mine?

Oh! How exquisite are the flowers!
How enthralling their smell!
that wafts with the breeze.
How poised is the moon!
gleaming above, full with beauty,
hooking the heart with such an ease.

In the moonlight there stood she,
a hand outstretched, lazily, towards me,
a wounded battle-scarred young man which shook
of terrible aches of heart and body and mind,
the damsel, mending me, but slowly it took.

I was drawn towards her in that pleasant rain,
getting up, mending, slowly, inspite the pain.
I looked up towards the life I want,
embraced in the soulful dance, love entrant,
Delved so deep, no can or can't.

She took withered hands of mine in hers,
and kissed each in turn with her lips divine,
waking me up, shaking me up,
swelling with joy, welling tears of love enshrined,
her soothing whispers, kisses untimed.

I was halfway up to her embrace,
halfway through to complete this race,
a race with myself, to leave behind,
insecurities, torments, timidity and memories unkind,
And then, I belonged, from my heart and mind.

She smiled and kissed me leaning halfway down,
murmuring those words & I was a king without a crown,
I prayed and prayed and yearned the end,
the doubts in my heart and my body to mend,
I was happy, jovial - in bliss, without pretend.

I was about to reach to my fullest height,
towards that dream of divine love at first sight,
Yet her hold slackened upon my hand,
and her gaze turned cold as Hades's land.
I was drifting again to the world of pain,
with no hand to pull me out of this shame.

I woke up sweaty and with a start,
in hope to hold onto whom I gave my heart,
But where was she? Where vanished that appeal?
Where was that world, that girl and those feelings ethereal?
Was it all inside my mind? Or was it real, truthfully, love defined?
I hope to know, I hope to find,
through all the tribulations and promises kind,
were they false, a figment of mind or was she mine!

The truth of Life

Beyond this day, if we shall find,

a loss of will to yearly stroll,

and seek the meek embrace,

of beloved sleep and swelling toll.

 

It means we will soon in time,

see life's greatest truth.

An old friend will come and greet,

in the morning chirps or night owl's hoot.

 

He, the death, is most trustworthy of our ends,

rest were just mirthless games,

of old friends or foes, doubtful,

devious, with varied masks they played.

 

He stands behind every door,

to shake your hand one day

just nod and smile, same jovial mood,

when maybe few times in your life

you pass those menacing corridors.

 

Do not fear but be delighted,

it is the fate of every being.

Like the butterfly from its cocoon,

it is a new, another journey yet to be seen.

 

Live the life free of hate,

and grasp his hand with a merry look.

Pass free of any bounding yearning,

as there is no question in the end

of what you made and what you took.

 

It is the divine truth of life,

ugly sometimes it may seem.

But death is the ultimate absolute,

of every mortal, every life, resolute.

 

He is the constant companion of every being,

Oblivious to their actions in life.

Standing between heaven and earthen layer,

as an unalterable truth,

with every soul and every prayer.

Passion

The ambrosia of passion,

When it goes down your throat,

It turns all facades,

Into pleasurable hopes.

In that mist of pleasure,

When you twist and shine,

Yet you don’t reveal through

The love you’ve hidden behind.

I look through her,

Titillated to the core

Whether I’ll end up in her arms,

Or at the foot of her door.

On both accounts, I won’t give up still,

To love and spread bliss,

Will be my life and my thrill.

My hopes and my smile,

Might reveal it all

To kiss her hand, or to bend on my knee

If I have that gall?

To kiss her goodbye,

I hope I never do,

To wake up to that sunshine,

In that beautiful dawn I hope,

I’ll always end to.

But I know not what,

She has hidden inside,

A ‘yes’ or a ‘no’

I cannot decide.

I wish to see her smile,

Waking up in that morning glow,

And I hope that cloud of doubt,

Let’s the rays of my wishes through