The Ripple Effect...

Ever wondered what would eventually happen if we did something in some particular way, as compared to having done it in a different way, or even compared to not having done that something at all? Knowingly or otherwise every action has not just an immediate reaction in accordance with laws of physics, it also has a ripple effect felt at a different point in time, an after-effect...

What may seem like one small piece of debris on the road, in a country of billions, may mean many billions of such acts in places where control and cleanup of it is more challenging...

What may seem like 5 cents of corruption by one person, may mean thousands of such 5 cents in corruption by millions of people, eventually causing a tsunami of corruption beyond control and cleanup...

Change is needed indeed... Not just in the big picture, but in the details too... Not just in the system, but also in the people that comprise and consume the system... Not just in the rules out there, but also the way we look at them and follow them...

Responsibility is needed indeed... Not just external, but internal too...

Next time you think its no big deal to something, 'Oh - think twice... Its just another day for you and me in paradise...' - Phil Collins

Chaos... And the state of mind...

Was watching a program on the Science HD channel, called 'Human Body - Pushing to the Limits'. The series showcases different scenarios of extreme conditioning of the physical and mental components of the human body, and delves into the details of how adaptive and capable humans are to withstand extreme conditions, both physical and mental.

The past few weeks have been a little stressful for me personally in terms of schedule and project timelines. I must say its been a long yet enduring journey so far... The next couple of months promise only to add to this chaos... Then again, it makes me realize these moments are created so we'll be able to cherish the fruits at a later point in time...

What prepares us for the worst, is not so we go through tough times but for how we are actually moulded to handle anything less than the maximum with the perception of considering it meagre. In other words, it feels like being caught in the eye of a storm right now! And hopefully the blackhole is only the start of a new galaxy!!!

"Hope - is a good thing!" - Shawshank Redemption...

Basic Instincts...

As is the case with most things personal, our Ego is as big as our imagination! Ofcourse 'We' know the answers and 'We' know it all... As humans we have our basic instincts, some automatic and some developed over a period of time... It may be oxymoronic to term Basic Instincts as a 'Developed' trait but a closer look makes the picture clearer...

For someone who was born and brought up in a densely and heavily populated country (India), I used to believe I could handle a Big-City lifestyle... It turns out its only a relative factor as people are only as used-to as they want to be... For instance, back in India there is a unique yet risky way of surviving roads and traffic... There is no value for a Honk, nor is there value for Yielding! At the same time life seems great to locals as they swing and swirl their way through the maze of a traffic every single moment of their lives on the Indian roads... I guess people got 'used' to driving in India... Something that they 'developed' over a period of time with practice over and over again... Basic Instincts take over, and mindless driving becomes impossible...

Think about this: If someone in your next lane cuts ahead of you with no indicator, and then slows down in front of you - how would you react? ...

To Be Continued...

A Brand New Day, A Fresh New Start !!!

Almost like getting out of a Coma - I restart blogging today... Cant believe how long it has been since I last wrote...

I remember the first time I started blogging and told a friend about it, his initial reaction was - please dont blog like the guy who writes about how his toothpaste tastes great or the girl who writes about her new shoes... But then I thought to myself, is it not the very premise where blogging made an entry into the world wide web... As I figured later for myself, I had a tendancy to write a lot about philosophical and thought-provoking stuff... With this fresh new start I plan to write on a variety of topics, some real, some imaginary, some funny, some not so funny...

Its a new day, its a brand new day... Its a new start, its a fresh new start!

Blogosphere - here I come, again!!!

Over and Out !!!

This blog site has been temporarily shutdown due to inactivity !!!

Thank you for visiting and for reading my previous posts!

The truth about Cats and Dogs!!!

Has anyone wondered what kind of a hypcrotic society that we all live in? For starters, any rule that we want 'others' to follow, have merely been created for our own convenience! Something that really comes to our attention today, is the differences between what is perceived to be humane and what is perceived to be inhumane! While you may be wondering why the title of this post has been named 'The truth about Cats and Dogs', I wanted to use an analogy to elaborate on a topic long seen in this age as Business As Usual!

Its a known fact that Cats and Dogs are some of the most popular animals that become personal pets to millions of people around the world. There are even laws across several countries protecting these Cats and Dogs against human violence and ill-treatment, and rightly so! Does this mean that all animals which are termed 'not pets' though still being 'Herbivorous' really cause a serious threat to Humans in the food chain so as to justify merciless killings or even articulated slaughters? I would only like to think not!

By this I mean, before anyone with a clear conscience can state that he/she feels sorry for an injured cat or dog, maybe they should ask themselves how many animals' deaths they were responsible for in the past week/month! And all that for what? A tasty meal? ABOMINABLE!!!

Its that time of the year again...

Its that time of the year again... Yes, its the holiday season...

Its been a real long while since I wrote anything here, but I do plan to come up with a lot more posts in the coming year... What more, it'll have a lot more variety in topics and themes... Am really looking forward to good times, good things to come and great things to achieve and learn!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

satyam, gnanam, anantam brahma...

satyam - the truth...

gnanam - the wisdom...

anantam - the joy...

brahma - the selfless self...

its all about...

attitude... the best friend one can have, or the worst enemy one could fear...

back in the days when i used to be in grad-school, i had a tremendous experience of meeting kids from various backgrounds... some would think they are kings and queens of the world, some would think they are the greatest losers to have ended up in grad-skool in the first place... there were a bunch of them, whose attitude i could never forget or bear... it was the first week there that semester, and the international students association had organized a welcome party for all incoming students... while we were all in the process of meeting fellow students, there was this bunch standing in a corner... they were literally discussing the last names of students, and their regional/cultural/religious origins, basically mocking at atleast one of those things... though i meant to go right at them and bash them up, i realized that we are all educated to behave in cultured ways, and dissent is reserved for brutes...

as far as the school, it was a great place for getting an education... a calm, peaceful college town... the place itself was not buzzing with party-activities as such, but campus events kept the atmosphere quite happening... time and again, i would meet students who would basically crib that the place is dead, and is not as happening as their home-city (a Mumbai, or an NYC)... Despite coming from a reasonably big city (Chennai) myself, I neither had the time nor the energy to crib and be frustrated about it... Infact I only enjoyed the calm and the peace of such a learning paradise...

it is a matter of mind, most problems are... especially when we constantly complain of things that we do not have, while failing to appreciate the wonderful things that we DO have around us... how many times in a day do we actually realize that somewhere in a developing country, the money we just spent on a cappucino would have been sufficient for an entire meal's cost? or, how many times in a day do we actually do the right things, even if trivial? like being judicious with electricity or water usage or not driving a fuel-gulping-SUV?

one of my most favourite slogans... "attitude is everything" - sums it up... the truth is out there... but alas, the horse can only be taken up to the lake... to drink it up though, the horse is on its own... the will, leads the way!

do you...

do you respect pedestrian signals? or, do you just behave like those big-city-brutes who are so busy to even notice the stop-signal in front of them?

do you take care not to litter? or, do you just trash the world around you?

do you care not to be rude or harsh to people around you? or, do you come across as an arrogant egoistic person who is too good for fellow-beings?

did you take time today to be thankful for what you have, and to make that tiny yet positive difference in someone's life? try a smile...

"I used to think the God is Truth... But I realized that the Truth is God" - M K Gandhi...

"For all theists, God is Love... For those atheists, Love is God" - Anonymous...

a few random thoughts...

ever thought why it gets so silent and uncomfortable while in a slow elevator with a bunch of strangers who would not look up to see you in the eyes? try some office elevators...

ever tried to cross a pedestrian walkway in a crowded parking lot, when no one wants to yield to you despite you trying to help out a senior citizen cross the road? try walking in parking lots in the Bay Area, CA...

ever gone to a X-Mart, stood in an endless line only for an irritant rep at the counter show her sick attitude on you and yelling at you for bringing an item without its price tag stuck on to it? try going to a 24-hour X-Mart at some 11-PM or so...

ever tried to walk on a sidewalk when you are not only expected to speed-walk, but are abused and called names merely for slowing down or stopping? try going to a city which also has the same name as its state...

a popular quote goes:

Live in NYC but get out before it makes you too hard... Live in Northern California but get out before it makes you too soft...

have you given your thought some food today?

One drop at a time...

The oceans are vast and deep, but what makes them so are the induvidual drops that they are made of...


Have you ever yielded to a pedestrian and looked into their eyes to feel their gratitude? Have you taken time to talk to that friend of yours who needed a minute of yours, to open up and share? Have you controlled your temptation to pickup a fight when there was enough reason yet not enough value on a heated debate over a sales counter?

Have you ever shared or lended anything close to you, to someone in dire need? Have you ever thought of all the poor and hungry people when you have a meal, and been thankful for what you have to eat?

Where does social responsibility end, and personal responsibility begin? Ever wondered how the world would be if each of us had this personal moral responsibility to live humane, be it toward fellow-humans or not?

Oh those horizons...

The hopes they bring...

If not for these drops, where would we get...

If not one drop at a time, how would we sail...

One drop at a time...

Is all it takes!!!

Beautiful Day

"Beautiful Day" - Lyrics - U2

The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
There's no room
No space to rent in this town

You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere

You thought you'd found a friend
To take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace

It's a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away

You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination

You love this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you

It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out

See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

Its a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Beautiful day

Touch me
Take me to that other place
Reach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel it somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now

A beautiful day...

The philistine and the philosopher… Part 2 – For the sake of arguement…

No matter whether we believe in something or not, for the sake of arguement we do go about strongly defending our own point/s of view... however factual or otherwise it may be...

The deep sense in this kind of belief comes from a concept known to lesser mortals (like us) as Ego... The Ego in a philistine (the non-believer in philosophy) keeps him blind-folded to the wonderful world of philosophies and arguements... The lack of Ego in a philosopher, on the other hand, keeps the philosopher continue doing what he/she does best - philosophize...

While it may only sound to be a vague term, the 'philosophizing' concept has its own history, science and great past associated with it... More on this in blogs to come...

The philistine and the philosopher… Part 1 – The definitions and getting started…

Do we ask the question ‘why’ or ‘why not’? Or do we just go ‘whatever!!!’? Do we think we ‘must’ question the facts? Or do we think we must stop talking about things and start acting instead… If someone asks questions, does it mean he/she is lazy and spends too much time talking about things than rather doing? Or does it actually have mean it is only important to ask the questions?

The philistine says that it is almost sinful to merely discuss what could be, when it actually can be made to what it needs to be… The philosopher tends to ask if it is worth it, if it is the right way, and if it is getting where it needs to be with the right approach and attitude…

All the conventional wisdom, the wise-men and the experts, the messengers of knowledge, and the glorified philosophers of the past... All of it leads to everything but one… Is there a clear answer to any of these questions? In a world of materialistic survival guides, of mechanical routines and chores, of tasteless freedom, of reward without respect, and of value without pride, we can clearly make the cut from the wisely to the mistaken… Every mistake that we make - is only another step we take - another step in the right direction – in the quest for perfection…

the most wonderful time of the year...

right from things that are hoped and expected, to the resolutions that are meant to be broken... the season headed up to the new year is always the most wonderful time of the year...

wishing all a very happy and prosperous new year 2007!!!

The real beauty...

The nuances involved while steering one’s self through tough circumstances include but are not limited to determination, persistence and a positive attitude in general. We all face difficulties at some point in our lives. The levels and the frequencies may vary but we sure do face them. It is not how we get into these situations that are always the most important factor, but it is how we handle them and work our way out of them. The primary factor determining this is the kind of person that one is.

Let’s imagine that there are three theories to define different kinds of people in this world. The first kind: those who are unaffected by anything, be it positive or be it negative. In other words, these people do not care about anything, and do not FEEL excited about anything. The second kind: those who are always unhappy, and find faults not only in themselves but also in others all the time. In other words, these are absolute PESSIMISTS. The third kind: those who always look for positive things in what they see and what they do. In other words, they have a positive attitude and are absolute OPTIMISTS. Needless to say, there is no real 100% of any one kind and is usually a blend of these three.

When it comes to handling adverse conditions, it is so critical that we increase our optimistic part to as high as we can. It takes a lot to look at a bad situation and see the good parts in it. When India was still under the British rule prior to 1947, maybe this is what Mahatma Gandhi was able to do.

Life is too short to waste away whining and complaining. It’s a beautiful world alright, but what actually makes it beautiful is the perception of how we see it.

being selfless...

being humans it is only natural that we are selfish beings (for the most part)... at times when i think about how we are like crabs trying to get out a deep well... the famous story goes: there are many crabs stuck in a deep well... instead of helping each other out, each crab infact makes sure that no other crab climbs out of the well... too bad...

if only we listened with open ears to what our parents/dear ones tried to tell us during our formative years... if only we understood the terms compassion, teamwork, unity, etc... for starters, what can we really do? what could be a good first step toward understanding the concept of being selfless?

is being selfless being like Karna, who was foolish enough to succumb to the tricks of Lord Krishna (the story goes: In a famous Indian Epic, even Lord Krishna had to use treachery to overcome the evil and achieve greater good for the truth! In that process, the Lord deceives Karna, a noble soul who donates anything for the needy and ultimately ending up donating his own life-guard!)... is being selfless not acquiring any material wealth and donating 100% of one's earnings for the needy and the poor? is being selfless going out of the way not considering one's own needs to help out another person who is in dire need?

well, the simple answer is ofcourse 'it depends'... we can call ourselves selfless based on a few acts of basic goodness, but what really matters is when it really counts... when we are in that deep well, how we behave defines our character... when we try not to deceive even in the cause of greater goodness...

one of the most popular catch-phrases in recent television advertisements goes: there are some things money can't buy... for everything else, there is mastercard... the feeling we get when we see a needy person after we have helped them, is priceless...

these acts of moral goodness and selflessness can come from simple daily activities like yielding to pedestrians in parking lots, being courteous to customers/cashiers (works both ways), helping a friend in desperate need to the extent possible even if it costs us time and/or money...

thinking about it should make us all wonder... while doing so... keep this in mind:

Lyrics - Enigma

Thats not the beginning of the end
Thats the return to yourself
The return to innocence.
Love - devotion
Feeling - emotion.

Love - devotion
Feeling - emotion.
Dont be afraid to be weak
Dont be too proud to be strong
Just look into your heart my friend
That will be the return to yourself
The return to innocence.

If you want, then start to laugh
If you must, then start to cry
Be yourself dont hide
Just believe in destiny.
Dont care what people say
Just follow your own way
Dont give up and use the chance
To return to innocence.

Thats not the beginning of the end
Thats the return to yourself
The return to innocence.

Dont care what people say
Follow just your own way
Follow just your own way
Dont give up, dont give up
To return, to return to innocence.

If you want then laugh
If you must then cry
Be yourself dont hide
Just believe in destiny.

random thoughts today...

being an indian not only makes me proud due to the commonly known factors like culture, unity in diversity, etc but also the fact that some things come more naturally to us than any other people in this world... sometimes i wonder if people born outside india even think of some things in some ways like how indians do... call it the influence of indian media, call it the classes in the indian society, call it the educational system, call it the family values, we are indeed a special breed...

the power of information can be used constructively as well as destructively... myself being the optimist, i always like to think of constructive ways in life... managing personal information, especially in countries like the u.s. becomes not only a necessity but a social responsibility to survive the information hackers... there was this one time when i had some personal details in a homepage of mine... someone from back home had followed it and approached my family for assistance to their son who was going to join the same school as mine in the u.s... as much as i wanted to help out, i did not appreciate the intrusion into privacy that these people did...

personal experiences and acquired knowledge (be it from education or from media or from family) are the driving factors in the way that we live our lives... the human psyche understands and interprets things as right or wrong based on a personal understanding rising out of judgements/rulings of others' actions... these actions may or may not have been witnessed or felt in person, but could merely be learnt... a small innocent child may touch fire despite the warnings from parents for a couple of times... but as soon as it learns the fact that it can hurt the huamn skin, the child stops to do the same... some things as much as we want to follow, we tend not to listen to when being instructed by others...

while still a kid, during an attempt to offer a piece of advice i scolded someone... and that person didnt even care to listen to what i had to say... i tried giving the same piece of advice again after some time in a more loving tone, and believe me it reached the other person's head and heart just like how i wanted it to... it was obvious that the information had to be passed across, but the means and methodology involved were the key factors in making sure that it did so...

we all waste so much of time fighting with each other, and complaining about petty stuff... everyday i see more unhappy people than happy... if i want to be the change i want to see in the world, like what Gandhi's ideal human would, i would like two things set in every one of us: personal attitude + responsible information management...

getting it done...

in one of the popular writeups about 'how to crack a microsoft interview', i read about the two most critical qualities to possess... 'being smart' and 'getting things done'... i guess, as generic as they may sound, they are very specific points about induvidual personalities and attitudes...

i'm totally sure that every induvidual is in the absolute sense, perfectly capable of acheiving any results provided the right attitude, right energy and the right motivation are put behind the tasks. while that being said, it also becomes necessary for the person to be what is termed 'being pro-active'... being smart is one thing, being pro-active is an entirely different thing altogether...

if i were interviewing a candidate, i would not just look at how intelligent or how smart a candidate is, but would also look into his/her aptitude, drive/thirst to get things done... two of my favourite quotes are: 'quitters never win, winners never quit', and 'attitude is everything'... in a world where only the crazy rats win the race, it is absolutely a must to not just be smart, but to be constantly motivated and self-driven to go out there and get the job done...