Random Thoughts

Crap loses some of its qualities over a period of time - it loses its stench; it dries out. But it doesn’t stop being crap.

Moral of the story: Dried crap is still crap !

In the beginning, there was man. He lived without worries and without laws. He had no house, no wife and no ties to anything. He travelled when and where he wanted; slept when he felt sleepy; ate when he was hungry; reproduced when he felt like. Stars and the moon were merely instruments that helped him see at night. Sometimes they disappeared behind dark clouds which sent bright silver lightnings to the land. It was scary, but man was not scared because he had nothing to worry about.

Sometimes strange things happened. His companions would become inactive and just die. That didn't worry him either. He would just choose new companions and move on with his life.

Man was just another animal. But, he evolved differently. He gradually acquired the ability to think. He learned to ask "Why?" and "Why not?". He developed the ability to constantly refine his outlook. He started getting tired of his nomadic lifestyle. He wanted change.

He liked a woman and he wanted her to belong to him alone. He called her his wife and kept her away from the other men. The little ones born to her became his children. Then, he wanted a land of his own and a house of his own. He rounded up an area of land and called it his land. He killed the animals that trespassed into his land and ate them. He grew plants and grains on his land and ate them too. He could do anything he wanted there. He liked this new kind of freedom and didn't miss the old freedom.

Man was slowly getting attached to his material life. He liked having things labeled as his. Life was better - well mostly. All the natural disasters that had failed to affect him earlier, were still there. Now, they began to affect him.

The clouds covered the stars and there were lightnings and rains. The lightnings hit his children and some of them turned lifeless. A strange illness spread and his wife turned lifeless. Rains brought floods and washed away everything he grew on his land. He was devastated. He spent a long time asking "Why?" and "Why not?", but wasn't satisfied with the response. There were too many unknowns that didn't worry him earlier, but did now. He wanted someone or something to own up to the unknowns.

Thus, God was created. Man created God in his own form.Since God wouldn't appear in front of man, man kept him invisible. That was okay, because God could own up to anything that the man wanted him to. As some of the unknowns turned to knowns, man acquitted God and took ownership of them. But, the list of unknowns grew and God remained indispensible. Man called the God his too.

Man evolved differently in different parts of the world. Thus, there were different gods everywhere. Where men thought more and tried to reason more, there were more gods.

Then, man started moving from place to place. When he moved, he took his God with him and introduced him to the new place. Man discovered that his God was different from the God of the place. Man being possessive of his own God, didn't like the God of the place. Differences caused tension which sometimes resulted in bloodshed. But, overall, man was smart because he could reason. He decided there has to be a way to get along. He thought, "Why not make all Gods the same? After all, they are all invisible!".

Man didn't really like the idea, but that was the best to avoid annihilation. Man didn't want to die leaving the Gods orphaned. So, the man loudly said, "All Gods are one", though in his mind he said, "My God is better than his".

Thus, man endures.

As the world continues to get smaller and smaller, our minds need to broaden by growing out of the boundaries that have been traditionally set for us.

We have been conditioned to feel proud of where we are from. It is time to start feeling ashamed too. Our world is a mix of pride-worthy and shame-worthy things. I can't feel any more proud of the high literacy rate and living standards in Kerala, than feeling ashamed of the high poverty rate in Rwanda.

It is time we took our share of responsibility for the whole world.

While advancing in our lives, we move like earthworms.

With great difficulty, we stretch and reach out to where we want to go, then pull our rear-end (again with great difficulty) to settle down in our new position. This motion is repeated several times until we reach a completely foreign land and settle down there for a while before we start wondering "Where the heck have I reached?".

That's when we start thinking about the land we left behind and realize that even though we managed to pull our body off, we left something behind – our hearts.

This is from a promotional e-mail from an Indian bank targetting the NRI money.

A happiest daughter cannot be the one whose dad is far away from her and making money and filling up the bank's coffers.

India has the happiest banks in the world - rich NRIs depositing millions and often using it merely for the pleasure of counting the balance.

Recently I happened to read an interview with an ex-millionnaire who had lost all his wealth including his luxurious multi-million dollar home that was designed after a cruise ship. The home was featured on local television and had contributed partly to his fame as a millionnaire who had distinct tastes.

He started responding to the interviewer's questions saying "I am not filthy rich any more" with a smile. When asked, "Do you miss the house?", he replied, "No, I don't. I was not addicted to the luxury. The house was just a badge for me. It was like climbing the Everest. You reach the peak and go back to your previous life".

I am sure that is something any ex-millionnaire would (like to) say to cover up the embarrassment of losing the wealth, but there was something about the way he said it that made me believe him.

We all need some badges and ribbons to prove us to ourselves. It may sound easy and simplistic to say that we should lead a simple life, control our desires and be happy with what we have. But that is not how human beings are wired. We have desires, we are jealous of our peers who reached out and won the stars. If we can keep the desire and jealousy at bay, that is the perfect world, but it seldom works that way. So, we need our own badges, ribbons and stars to prove to ourselves and others that we can do it.  

When we have achieved a badge, it is very difficult to deliberately let go of it. It could be depressing if it is snatched away from us, but it is very important to maintain a positive attitude and look at it matter-of-factedly.

Am I the only one noticing the increasing number of articles in the media quoting an official "who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to talk to the media"?

Doesn't it make you wonder what is going on? Why are so many people tempted to leak out sensitive information knowing that they should not be doing it? If the media can easily get to secret information (and write about it openly), who else is getting to it? What are the government agencies doing about it? Or, are these agencies being too secretive prompting the officals to spill the beans?

- Why does one have to be Democrat or Republican?

- Why does one have to be a believer of a religion – any religion?

- Why does one have to forego a mind-pleasing object just because someone else ruled that it is taboo?

- Why does one have to subscribe to a certain set of opinions formed by someone else?

There are many things that you can't change about yourself. But, if you won't change things that you can change about yourself, merely by pushing your brain to and beyond the limits, how can you make a big deal about the things that you can't change about yourself? Who is whose prisoner? Who is to blame?

BP has a new CEO. The leak is sealed. The "Oil Spill Update" section with the live view of the "spill" on newspaper websites have disappeared. The pictures of a record-setting 130-pound catfish caught in the Missouri river have replaced the pictures of the oil-soaked pelicans on the Gulf beaches. BP's stock price has climbed 20% in the last month. The same reporters who took boat rides around the Gulf and showed off their gloved hands dipped in oil, are now quietly saying that there is no oil on the coast now. Pundits are stating that the effect of the largest oil spill was not as bad as predicted.

Is the world back to normal? Can we all sigh now? Can I drive my Hummer again without fear of getting shot at?

What we are seeing in the Gulf of Mexico is the inevitable culmination of man’s ever-growing greed. So far, we have been doing a good job at placing all the blame on one entity, called BP, and coming out clean. But, don’t the fingers really point at us? Isn’t BP’s greed just a repercussion of our own greed? Our greed that makes us want to drive our Hummers to the grocery store that is 10 minutes away by foot! Our greed that makes us want a huge house and want us hibernate in the air conditioner’s comfort even when there is pleasant weather outside! Our greed that drove us to raping the earth by drilling 4 miles into her!

It is time we really gave some serious thoughts about what we want to do with this earth of ours!!