Tree , Speaking or Silent ?

It was a sunny afternoon when I was heading towards my home in Bangalore.I saw some people gathered around a tree. They were cutting a tree.

I stood sometime watching it. The Tree was quite huge and an old one too. Its branches were large. There were many birds circling atop the tree chirping and singing their songs. It was the not the usual happy notes I hear each morning. It looked as if the birds were mourning the death of their beloved home - the tree.

The tree was providing shelter to the men who were cutting it off. It surely must be speaking something. Or do you think it was silently watching its death ?

Song of a nightingale

Tired of writing C, Java and Shell

Testing, Box and System, has made my life dull

Project Reviews and Feature meetings seem endless

The demands of the customers are countless

At the end of a long day, after I send my last email

The engineer in me gave way to listen to the nightingale

Sweet is the melody, but sweeter was the silence

I felt refreshed, and thanked for His presence

All of a sudden, life appears so peaceful and good

The song of the nightingale has changed me, is it for good?

Thoughts of a river

Brrr.. Its very cold here. I have just sprung from my mother earth. On all sides I can see my big brother mountains looking down at me with such love. They are making way for me to flow in between them. They look so mighty and tough, but they are so very soft where I flow across them.

There are so many animals who visit me. They bow their heads as if to seek permission before tasting me.There are so many birds I can see swooping down ever so gently to sit on me for few minutes. The birds seem weightless and they make sure they land on me so gently, as if taking care not to hurt me.  Then , I see many fishes making their home in me. They are not disturbed by my flow. I ensure that they all get some food inside me as God has not made them capable to live without me. Oh , they are all so grateful to me , they show their love by cleaning me up. They are sometimes afraid of the long beaked birds and try to swim deep inside me. Many times the birds get lucky and catch a fish or two.I feel sad on seeing the young fish caught in the long beaks , but God has created some of them to be food for the birds. I understand that and flow along.

As I flow along , am joined by my sisters. We all meet , make merry and go along together as one. I gain strength and become mightier with each turn. Suddenly , God wants to see me sing and dance.So , he has created a steep crevice in the mountain where I flow. I know there is mother earth below me to take care , so without thinking twice , I dive. Oh , what a sound I create.My song is heard by all for quite afar. God is happy and he makes me take some rest and let me continue my journey.This continued all the year along.

One fine day , I see some men coming my way. They came to see my sang and dance. They were so happy that many joined me in the dance. They became wet , but looked like they didn't care. They cleaned themselves and called me "Water Falls". Some also pointed some round object at me. There was a flash of light and it didn't hurt me. This routine continued. Men also brought some food alongwith them which they ate sitting on my back.Some fed food to my fishes.

I was happy that life went well.I could flow , dance and swell. I was celebrating each moment , though i was flowing every moment. But one another day , an engineer came my way. He put some sort of a wheel under me which made the wheel turn. Later he built more such machines. He used to call them Turbines. I learnt that he generated electricity from my fall. I was made to fall by God , so I didnt mind, though it hurt me to fall on the iron machines and not on mother earth.. I thought am useful now in more ways to man. He could see in the dark , work on machines , travel on trams .. all using the electricity which was created from my falls.

The story would be happier if it ended there. But man became more greedy and lost his mind. He started abusing me by throwing many waste. . All the chemical and plastic waste used to choke my fishes and created a dirty smell. Now, the birds also don't visit me often, The animals have moved away from me as man has made some buildings which he calls "factories". He has forgotten that his factories run by the electricity which he had got out of me. He has started making many things useful to other men. In the process , he creates lots of industrial waste which he throws in me without a thought. I still try to carry all of that away. Many waste material come with me but some stay as they are caught in the rocks and coudnt swim across.

Now am flowing with an intention  to carry the waste material away. But I found that man started to obstruct my way. There was another damn engineer ( I mean a dam engineer ) who had built a solid rock wall in my way. He had got the rocks from my brother mountains. He had used my mother earth to produce a strong bindng material which he called "cement". Oh , this was so strong. It held the rocks together even though I banged with all my might, day and night.

So , there am stuck and have lost my freedom.I was going to meet my mother ocean. She would be happy to receive me to clear my dirt. Man is not understanding and is destroying the mother earth.

Wise old man

There was once , an old man
He played golf , and had a strong arm

He had a son, who was quite young
He loved a girl and told no one

The girls father used to play golf
Once, he met the old man on the course

He said- You know what ?
You have a fine lad, and my girl is attracted somewhat

While we both tee with our hand
Will you offer me your sons hand ?

The old man agreed and his son was wed
All were happy and life moved ahead

The old man became much older
He stopped playing golf alltogether

His son didn't bother, of course
He also became a father in due course

The old man was happy, and so was his son
Both were fathers, and both had sons

One day the old man called his son
And told him to watch his son

Its not enough to listen to words spoken
But also to read his mind , quite often

See in your sons mind, the way I saw in you
If need be , dont hesitate to start something new

Not only golf , I was ready to learn anything new
Life is to be lived, for your loved ones and not only for you.

Watch your Action

Action is very dear to many people (including me). We always want to be active doing something or the other.
If not studying something, we switch over to viewing TV, If there is no interesting thing to watch on TV , we keep browsing all the channels. How many times have we come back to the first channel we were watching ?


Apart from watching TV , we also keep busy doing many things, most of them which are essential, but also some non-essential. Which are the actions , we should watch out for ? Are any of these actions , worth putting more focus on and do with a sense of purpose ?


Most of us agree that our actions should be guided towards some result. We act to get fruit. I think there is nothing wrong with it, except that this approach increases our expectations. When we perform an action with sole objective of achieving the result , have we enjoyed performing it fully ? Did we get the thrill of doing the action ? Or were we more worried of what if it wrong ? What if we don't get the expected returns ?


Now , consider a case when you act without bothering too much about the results. I am not telling act recklessly or act in haste or without responsibility. I strongly condemn such thoughtless actions.


What I am more tending towards is "How can our actions help us realise our potential ?" Right action is the one doing which we get elevated. That actions which we can associate ourselves us with. The farmer acts , his action is to grow.If he waits for a 100% gurantee of good mansoon , then he can never be able to start with his action. If a student waits until he is 100% sure of getting the first position , then he can never write the exam.


So, we need to take right action at the right time. The entire purpose of watching our action is to achieve this and also to lead us to the right action. How do we watch our action? For a moment, disassociate from yourself. Consider you are your own observer. One part of you will observe while other parts of you continue to act. The observer in you will be the guide to evaluate and lead to right action.

I think most of the health problems we are having is due to having a mind which is active, but a body which is inactive. It should be the other way round. Let your body become more active. Keep your mind little less busy. Try to keep your mind clear and dont clutter it with many thoughts. Keep your body in good shape by daily exercises , moderate eating and good rest. This will enable you to lead an active and healthy life.

Jai Guru Dev

During my basic course , I felt someone around me
During the advanced course, that person entered me


It took me months afterwards to realise
That it was myself, whom I had lost in childhood days

Jai Guru Dev !

School memories

Some say "Thenginakayi Chippu" , some say "Green Chaddi"
Some liked kho-kho, some kabaddi

Some say geography teacher , some liked music teacher
Sudhir hasn't posted his , we are all waiting to hear

All our memories are good to recollect
When we have spent a decade,innocent

Finally,when it comes to our memorable moments
It has to be our teacher's love on their students

They treated all of us equal and fair
Most of you got "Excellent",while I managed to get "Fair"

I have no regrets,for it has ended well.
We are all again together,each with his story to tell.

Recipe for Finding You

Recipe for : Finding yourself
Whats needed : An onion and an open mind

Sit firmly in a calm place.Do some pranayama or deep breathing for few minutes.
This will make your mind clear and  focus on what you are going to do next
Take one fresh onion and start to peel off its skin slowly.
Remove each layer , one after another very slowly.
While removing each layer , think that you are removing and discarding one layer of your existence
Your external environment gets removed first.
You remove another peel of onion and there goes your attachments to your body
Alongwith it , goes your pain or pleasure associated with your body.
Off comes your ego , that was very difficult.
Peel more layers and throw off your intellect , memories  and your thoughts , and your mind
As you go deeper and deeper , you feel a sort of lightness
At a personal level , your eyes will begin to feel watery ( as its an onion you are peeling)
Some may feel like crying , some others may feel like laughing
Do not resist your feelings and emotions , do whatever you feel like
Cry if you feel like it or laugh if you feel more like it
Realise they are just some impressions in your mind that is going out  .. let it go.
As you keep doing this , you will come to the end of the onion.
Really ? What is left now ? Nothing
That's what you really are ? You have peeled off all your layers of existence and find there's nothing inside.
From everything , the journey has moved towards nothing.

Now close your eyes.

Feel yourself as nothing . Feel your mind as empty.Feel the lightness of you.
Be in this state of nothingness for as long as you want.
Somedays you may just end this here.You will feel a deep sense of calmness.
Keep your eyes closed for some time and whenever you feel done, slowly open your eyes.

Some other days, you may want to proceed to the next steps :
Now, fill yourself with whatever is very dear to you.
It maybe your goals , your career , your family , money , health , whatever is very dear to you.
Now , feel that you are filled with whatever you have chosen and you already are what you desire to be.
Keep your eyes closed for some time and whenever you feel done, slowly open your eyes.
You will feel more energised to achieve whatever is dear to you.
Practice this recipe for some days. Enjoy the results.

Note: You might have realised by now that you may do this without the onion. Its just an example to get started. You need only you and nothing else.Some light music in the background will also be wonderful.

Celebrate Life

Friends ask me "Whats wrong with you.
All of a sudden, I see a different you"

I say:
"I am no longer stresssed , the way I used to be
I celebrate Life , the way it needs to be"

Musings

Some travel far and wide
Take snaps and post on profile

Some do puja and share
For others to comment on divine

Some forget that today will be history tomorrow
And they worry and fret in sorrow

Some always like to live in their past
For they think,good times don't last

None is right , none is wrong
For each , her own song.

The World is not enough

Its not enough to come first in studies and sports
Its not enough to get a good job and earn lakhs
Its just not enough if you wear a Rolex
Also not enough if you drive a Benz

The world is just not enough
Until your mind decides "Enough is Enough"

Finding Time and Inspiration

Where do you find time , she asked me

I searched  behind and in front

I searched to my left and right

I searched up and also down 

I also searched inside and outside

I didn't find 'time', but then realised,

That in my searching , I had lost some of it.
So, I stopped the search , and made the best of what was left !

Where do you find inspiration , she asked me next 

For this post , you are the inspiration , my dear guest !

Thanks for taking time to read this and for triggering these thoughts. Celebrate Life

Walk , Just for Walk

I am writing about some simple pleasures of life that I love and one of them is walking.Have you ever walked just for the sake of walking ?

Not with any plan or any pre-determined purpose,
Not to go somewhere or come from somewhere,
Not to buy something or sell something,
Not to catch a bus or any other vehicle,
Not to window-shop in a mall or go to a restaurant,
Not to pay some bill or meet some person,
Not to loose weight or to loose anything,
Not to get somewhere or to come from anywhere,
Not to take your pet for a stroll or your kid for a walk
Not to smoke a cigarette or to join a smoking friend,
Not to excercise your body or your mind ,
Not to accompany your spouse or children or anyone
Not to gossip on your mobile or to plug in your mp3 player
Not for trekking or hiking ( I dont know the difference between these two)

I mean just walk for the sake of walking and
To let your legs take you wherever they want to go,
To let your mind accept the fact that you are just walking for its own sake.
To feel your legs stretching while you walk,
To feel each step as you walk and your contact with mother earth on each step

If not , try it out. Its simple and just amazing.It will ease your nerves and lessens your problems.
It will de-clutter your mind and makes you more creative. It will make your grateful that you can walk.
If you liked this simple act of walking , post your comment , for I will be glad to hear from you.