Of Godmen and Religion

I do not follow religion very ardently...am kind of an agnostic. Not too sure about the existence of Gods and Goddesses. But yes, I do enjoy the festivities which surround it. A pleasant change from the daily humdrum of life. Well there are Gods and then there are Godmen.

Some events in the last couple of days, invoke me to think about lakhs and crores of people who place their faith, trust, money and selves at the feet of so called, self proclaimed, Gods. Somehow I am not able to take an objective stance. My beliefs and perhaps  my prejudices seep in.

Sri Sathya Sai baba started on the path of being a "baba" at the young age of 14 with some tricks or "magic". He gradually collected followers and soon started gaining fame. Declared himself Sri Sathya Sai baba. Sometimes, I wonder, how can a person declare himself God. Shirdi Sai Baba never said he was God. He became famous much much later...perhaps after his death. How can a group of people declare one amongst them God and follow him ardently with complete faith. 

Sri Sathya Sai baba dreamt that he would be ill for 40 days and later re-emerge again. Unfortunately that did not happen. He died on 24th April. Even that date is now under dispute.

Sri Sathya Sai baba was quoted in one of his followers book that a 3rd re-incarnation of Sai baba would be born in the year 2023 in Doddamalur. Giving ample time to the trust to consolidate and prepare for the next Sai. Apparently, he even pointed out a hut and has decided who will be the mother of Prema Sai!!!!

Apparently the "God"man needed a ventilator to live. If he was so sure of living after 40 days of illness, then why a ventilator, why hospitalization and the best of the medical facilities.

Sachin Tendulkar wept copiously at his death.

Taslima Nasreen asked him not to since the baba was already 85 years old and was past his prime.

The Prime minister and the Presidents crowded in the little village Puttaparthi which will now go on to achieve the status of Shirdi slowly.

The people who manage the Trust are now in danger. Of course, everyone wants a pie of the cake.

The saga continues...

Why do people place their faith so much in Godmen and the likes... Asharam bapu (multiple cases against him), Morarji Bapu and well Baba Ramdev (Well - he atleast teaches Yoga). Maybe, somewhere deep down, they want someone whom they can look up to...follow ...to guide them. Guide to what? Peace is achievable but only you can help yourself. Moksha? How? Do you know of any one person who has attained Moksha? and what is this concept anyways....Belief is handed over to generations....children learn from their parents and they from theirs...they question not. They just believe.

I am not here to judge to anyone. Each to his own sets of beliefs. But sometimes, I just wonder....

Arranged Match

A arranged match was "fixed" between two individuals, for marraige, by the elders in the family. The girl, lets call her Hema and the boy, lets call him Dharam underwent or should I say endured the following process:

Round 1:

Dharam's Father : (On a phone call to Hema's father) Namaste ji !!!! Ji, we, I and my Missus, were just passing by your residence, thought we'll come and see (read - check out) your daughter and meet your family, of course, if that is not a problem with you (in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon :-O, of course its a problem, but nevertheless). By the way, Dharam is also with me!!!!

Hema's Father: Arre no ji...not at all...this is your house only...you are most welcome...I will immediately inform Hema's mother...(so that Hema can be made presentable for the occasion!!!!) and reach home in just 30 mins...

At home, Hema's mother hastily makes the preparations...orders a local mithaiwala to send in some "motichoor ke laddoos" immediately along with some "namkeen", "cream biscuits" and "cold drinks". Hema is given instructions to quickly get ready in her best salwaar kameez...she reluctantly obliges!!!!

Dharam and Dharam's parents ARRIVE...rightly so...

Everyone is seated in the drawing room and sipping tea / cold-drinks and looking at the prospective bride and groom :-)

Hema's Mother : (Thinking in her mind) The boy is a little bit dark....hmmmm.... my daughter has more degrees than him....she is M.A....while he is only B.Com...my daughter is also very fair...gori - chitti...thodi  'healthy' hai par thik hai...the boy's personality is also okay...not that great.....hmm... only son ....hmmmm.... well settled in family business....Jackpot :-)

Hema's Father: (Thinking in his mind) Dharam's father is in a related business...good for our family business...hmmm.... only son.... looks a little bit meek...sahi hai...Hema is smarter...of course, compromise toh karna padega...after all, one can't get everything in life....hmmmm...jackpot???!!!!!!

Dharam's Father: (Thinking in his mind) The girl is okay....fair....thodi moti hai...but  my son is also dark and meek...good family...of course, a dowry has to be discussed....could be useful in business also....hmmm...jackpot!!!!!

Dharam's Mother: (Thinking in her mind) The girl is fattttt. Colour is okay...these days dusky girls are preferred...so what if she is fair...but she is definitely fatttttt. More degrees than my son...hmmm....too much education is also not good for the girl...will take some hard work to control her....hmmmm.....but she definitely has to reduce...atleast 10 kgs....has to join VLCC....hmmmm.....jackpot :-x

For the first 5 mins, only the sound of munching biscuits....and sipping of the cold drinks and tea is heard...after a while, Hema's father begins the conversation...

Round 2

Hema's father: So what do you think Ji....the children will look good together.... we toh ji like your son...simple and sober and shy (read submissive / meek)....Ji, your family is also good.... By God, Dharam's mother is also so simple and nice and quiet (well - as long as it lasts!!!)...

Hema's mother: Have some more namkeen ji...this is the best namkeen in this city !!! (Offering them the plate)

Dharam's father: Hmmmm... the girl is also good...simple and sober and shy and educated...(*Dharam's mother rolling her eyes*) What do you think Dharam ki maa?

Dharam's mother: Dekho ji, we like the girl.... but she is a bit fat.... she has to join VLCC....(Vandana Luthra will be sooooo happy)...we are a simple family...and we want a simple girl who will adjust...(read - education be damned...I am the boss)...

Hema's mother: Arre Dharam ki maa, do not worry at all.....our daughter is very obedient...(well - atleast she will be intially)... I have taught her everything...she makes very good Chole Bhature....She has made that for lunch today...you must have lunch and then only go....

Round 3:

Dharam's mother:  Hmmmm.....Ji, thik hai....

Dharam's father:    Hmmmm...thik hai ji....

Hema's father:       (*Smiling*) thik hai ji....

Hema's monther:   (*Smiling* - offering the "motichoor ke laddoss" ) these are best "motichoor ke laddoss" in the city ji...:-)

Hema's mother: Ae Ji, let the children talk for a little while....even they should know each other better...now that they are going to be life partners....Beta, you can go to the TV room and chat for a while (*smiling broadly*)....

The "children" apparently leave for the TV room and actually watch TV....leaving their elders to talk about other details!!!!!

Round 4:

Dharam's father: Ji, the marraige will take place in our city....and as told to you earlier also (referring to Hema's father), we will finalise the budget...Rs. XX,XX,XXX ...

Hema's Father: Ji, I am perfectly fine with this...but we will definitely have one small function over here also!!!!

Both the mothers are nodding in unison!!!!

Dharam's mother: Please buy more sarees for Hema......since we wear a lot of sarees....and yes - no jeans allowed...it is not in our culture you see....

Hema's mother: Dont you worry Samdhan ji....I will arrange for everything as per your requirement (read "including gold")...:-)

Hema: (thinking "ho gaya....life ka kachra....") *sigh*

Dharam: (thinking "Happy Budday") *sigh*

P.S. It happens only in India.

MIS reporting

Sales guy  to Sales Head: Sir, here is the weekly MIS

Sales Head : [Looking at the one page MIS] hmmmmm
                  : Sales Target has increased,
                  : Branches have increased....
                  : Increase the length of the MIS... make it 2 pages

Sales guy    : :-P (*eyes rolling*)

Silly, Stupid me...

Was browsing on the internet when I came across some prose and paragraphs on bullying behaviour. There are some interesting reads on the same. This inspired me to write some and the resultant following lines are my responses on the same...

Pic Source: Google.com

I have nothing to say to you

I have nothing to want

Got no words left

Got nothing to rant.

Just let me be, stupid

And tactless and dumb

Just want to be mindless

Just want to be numb.

Want to run away from it all

Want to be left alone

Want to be left in a corner

In between the worlds, don’t want to be torn.

Dont want no ramifications...

Of my selfish and self centred acts...

Dont want no situation...

Where I cant get back...

An inseparable part of my life

My babble and stupidity

Dont want no divide...

Over life and its jamboree.

Dont want no conflict

Dont want no harshness

Dont want no curt

Over any brashness

I play along, unwanted

Try to be in sync

With the intelligence that is flaunted

Like a clown in a ring.

Not your ideal mate

Not your bestest friend

Not one tune to gyrate

To make your life grand...

I am and I will be

The way i am meant to be

Sorry, i am not intelligent

The way you thought

I would be.

I am just happy and content

To be a silly, stupid me....

Friday Again!!!!

I spent the last weekend, a long one infact, at Ahmedabad. I had a list of To-Do's before I even reached there and bragged about it in my previous post.Just a small status update on that:

1. Bake a Cheesecake :  Not Done :-( (my excuse - no blueberries and no strawberries)

2. Visit Adalaj              : Not Done (my excuse - photography is not allowed there anymore)

3. Take some pictures in the garden: Clicked randomly for half an hour :-P (Ya - I know what you are thinking....:-P, will post some pictures in some new posts later on...)

4. Watch the World Cup Finals (Yes - I did :-) :-D ) and YAYYYYYYY!!!!!

With reference to point 4, that was awesome. After 28 long years, the Cricket World Cup is ours FINALLY!!!! Benefits of winning the world cup (for the nation and the cricketers) are as follows :

1. Its ours for the next 4 years!!!!

2. We can go on and on and on and on about it....It is etched in almost everyone's memories....easy topic of conversation and yes - no chance of offending anyone.

3. Finally my hubby and dad can be one side of the conversation...:-)

4. Bal Thackeray and Raj Thackeray watched cricket peacefully ....;-) (Mumbaikars were saved from further hooliganism...) 

5. The crowd at the stadium did some serious celebrity spotting ....

6. We can give Kapil Dev a break and now start our conversations like, "When Dhoni's boys won the World cup.........."

7. General insurance companies got business...I hear Dhoni has now been insured for Rs. 34 crores..:-O (*gasp*)

8. The team can now earn more via endorsements and attending marriages.... hopefully there will be no match fixing rumors!!!!

and last but not the least...

9. Sachin Tendulkar....:-) can sleep peacefully....its like the icing on the cake...after giving 21 years of his life to the sport...he has been an important part of the WINNING world cup team.

And the cricket crazy nation can now get on with their lives.....(*phew*) :-)

Well to celebrate the success of the match, I decided to learn something new from my mom... made Spring rolls the next day...:-). Easy to make, atleast thats what it looked like, and definitely yummy.....:-) I wish I could remember the recipe and call it really my own making....:-P but I am sure, it can be "googled" easily :-).

P.S. My mom has become a fan of Zee Khana Khazana. I need to subscribe to that channel soon !!!!

Moments gone by....

The lines on my face

The wrinkles near my eyes

Speak of my age

As time flies.

Of moments, of phase

Like stars in the night

Of time, of days

An era gone by. 

 

Of moments happy and gay

Of dark and the light

Of clouds of grey

And evening sighs!!!

Shadows in the evening play

On a brink of a twilight

Waiting for murmers to say

What a wonderlife life!!!

Pic taken by Meghna Garg (c), Ahmedabad

 

 

Friday it is :-)

Source: becomefitatfifty.blogspot.com

And yes- I am looking forward to it :-). Tonight, I will be travelling to my hometown Ahmedabad. Although my folks have shifted to Delhi, my mom keeps visiting. I love the city. Thats where I have grown up. Thats where I have done my schooling and my growing up. This may be my last visit because there are fair chances that our house might be put up for rent!!!!

Well, I do have a list of To-dos to do with my mom and the following tops the list:

1. Bake a cheesecake (A baking challenge sent to me by Anita). I am really hoping to make a success on this one.

2. Click some photographs of the flowers in our garden and if time permits, visit Adalaj.

3. Watch the India Vs SriLanka Finals for the World Cup, 2011 :-) (Astrologers say that Dhoni's stars are bright - hence dont want to miss the chance of missing out on seeing India win the World Cup :-))

On a brighter note, I have submitted 2 of my TP poems(Crappy Poem and Epitaph) to a Poet Rally and the responses have made my week :-)

To give you an update on my current working conditions, out of the total team of 5, 2 of my colleagues have resigned. Yesterday was the last day of Komal. Ashish went in the middle of the month. My other colleague Prathamesh is on leave. That leaves me and my boss :-), but luckily for me, he's a nice guy!!!! Feeling a bit left out though...Am sitting alone in the dealing room with 8 phones, 3 computers, 1 Reuters terminal and a CNBC anchor :-P ...But, hey no complaints :-).

In this Pic: Komal, Ashish and Me