This is a pure rant and thoughts that came across based on a mundane incident.

Today I met a guy at a grocery store and passed “hello” casually while buying the milk I had in my hand. I noticed the guy talking to his friend on his phone and realized he was talking Bengali. Even if he looked a little middle-eastern/Indian, I wasn’t sure initially about his origin but after hearing him speak, it was clear that he was from India. And so while I was paying my bill, I casually asked the guy if he was from Bengal and saw a grin in his face. His answer was “Are you from India ?” and so I happily said “Tamilnadu”. He replied again “I’m from Bangladesh” with a serious stare, without blinking, his grin vanishing and still cold. All I could muster was “OK” and walked away. Looking back, an incidental encounter like that should not affect me but it was still disturbing.

Why ? I ponder. Did he have to break off the conversation because I was from India ? May be he suffered in the hands of some random Indians, amongst the billion of us. Or he just hates Indians. And more specifically south Indians. Either way, I do not care. But it pains me to think how all of us, humans in general, hate each other so much and create segregations based on race, religion, land, ethnicity, faith and even ideas that we often forget the beauty of the divine unity.

Sometimes I think, the only way to bring people together is to create this all powerful ‘Alien’, a devil, that oppresses every human, immaterial of the origin or belief, all the same. Then, the hatred can be channeled on this one source and unite us as the earth race. And that is the first step to reaching universal singularity. I hope that will happen eventually because this attitude we carry is self destructive and cannot last long and will not let us live in peace. It is probably the nature of our species and a higher evolution might change the perspective. Or so I hope.

I diverged from couple of steps to light years on this post but my thoughts, hopefully come across clear. May be it is time for me to get a smart phone to type this up as when I get the thoughts rather than remembering what I came across couple of hours before.

I have been meditating for a few years now and every now and then, I have this realization that I can expand to the entire size of the universe and contract myself to the size of an atom, just moving with my breath. It is a beautiful feeling but my words are inadequate to express them.

But when you look at two images side-by-side, representing the macro and micro universes and find similarities beyond comprehension, there is very little to express in words any more.

Just look and meditate on it. Enough said.

Every time there is a self deprecating sensation to give up, there always is that one aspiration that brings you back on your foot, giving life to lost senses. Most often, it is hard to realize what ticks you, even though latently you believe in it, and it driving you through the mundane and hardships that the universe conjures. But when you do reach deep down and find that reminiscent feeling, it is worth a thousand unfulfilled lives.

There have been some real tough situations, when the pressure is getting to your head, I’ve managed to thread out the strength to move forward but never has it been more apparent to me, the source of this strength, than when I’m running. The long distances, however painful they might be, brings out a beast, tamed and strong, with a resolve to push the body beyond your preconceived perception of limits. And that is worth the physical pain, I believe, and brings me back to doing more of these over and over. Endurance although intuitively physical, is a lot more mental at its core, a similarity that I think true yoga and a marathon share…

If my body can take more of this abuse, I sure hope to continue running till my heart gives out …

This is something I understand, strive to reach every day. And every time I try, I fail.

And what I have not expressed in words yet, this comic portrays, an inevitable and undeniable truth, beautifully, like a reflection of the full moon, on a lake without ripples.

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I was watching TV, working on my code, not paying any attention to what was going on. And I look up and hear Achilles say,

I’ll tell you a secret. Something they don’t teach you in your temple. The Gods envy us. They envy us because we’re mortal, because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now. We will never be here again.

Beautiful. ‘Troy’, a movie that is pretty normal in most aspects IMO, packed a dialogue so intense, so true and elegant. I cannot even begin to express my appreciation in mere words, on the subtlety this transcends. It was like poetry…

Few of the things I care about in this endless pursuit of knowledge, as an individual on this earth … Concisely and very precisely thought out and written in simplicity:

1. Universe
2. Life
3. Death
4. Free Will
5. Sex

Michael Brooks on five mysteries of the universe.

Update: In a tangential topic, here are couple of things few others are worried, about the solar system: The Unknown Solar System.

I have heard about the legend of Faust before but never had the chance to read it. As destiny would have it, I recently stumbled upon Faust again, one of the works by Goethe (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe), the one that made him apparently famous in the literary world of then Europe.

For the past few days, piecemeal I’ve read and it is beautiful. My only regret is that I did not discover this gem before.

The tale of Faust is supposed to be Goethe’s greatest work into which he poured a lifetime of experience; the entire work took him his whole life and he finished the second part only a year before his demise. The literary work is written as a play (a poetical drama actually) and it portrays an interplay of religion, the supernatural, love, tragedy and the surreal. To give you an introduction about Faust, here’s a brief synopsis.

Faust is an old man, a sage or an alchemist, wise, learned and very pious. We see a conversation between God and Mephistopheles (satan) in which God remarks that Mephistopheles may try all he likes to tempt Faust; God is confident that Faust is too moral an individual to be tempted by anything. Mephistopheles sets to work, appearing to Faust and conversing with him. Faust is weary of life, and Mephistopheles is soon able to convince him that he could sample something more.

The story concerns the fate of Faust in his quest for the true essence of life. Frustrated with learning and the limits to his knowledge and power, he attracts the attention of the Devil (Mephistopheles), who agrees to serve Faust until the moment he attains the zenith of human happiness, at which point Mephistopheles may take his soul. Faust is pleased with the deal, as he believes the moment will never come.

In the first part, Mephistopheles leads Faust through experiences that culminate in a lustful and destructive relationship with an innocent and nubile woman named Gretchen. Gretchen and her family are destroyed by Mephistopheles’ deceptions and Faust’s desires and actions. The story ends in tragedy as Gretchen is saved and Faust is left in shame.

The second part begins with the spirits of the earth forgiving Faust (and the rest of mankind) and progresses into rich allegorical poetry. Faust and his devil pass through the world of politics and the world of the classical gods, and meet with Helen of Troy (the personification of beauty). Finally, having succeeded in taming the very forces of war and nature Faust experiences a single moment of happiness.

The devil Mephistopheles, trying to grab Faust’s soul when he dies, is frustrated as the Lord intervenes — recognizing the value of Faust’s unending striving.

This has been one of the most interesting drama’s I have ever read. It portrays one of the imminent weaknesses of the human kind; The quest for knowledge and the impossibility to attain enlightenment without the passion. And It punches in all that with philosophical poetry. Enough said. Go grab a copy now and enjoy it.

Download from Google for free.

The blissful silence in the depth of the night
Illusion of the mind in control, touching greater height
Peace descends all around in absolute serenity
The concentration opens and reaches the Universe in pure sublimity.

This joy that lingers ; Will it stay ?
All crutches to raise to that, haunts night and day
Tomorrow chaos shall return but memories do remain.
But that something touched feels pure like a elixir’s rain !

Life, this bitter sweet symphony
Still plays its tune amidst ruckus in complete harmony.
Every action, reaction perfect to its end
And so shall it be until all the energy is spent.

They want me to speak, not be moody
I am not moody, I retort but am stable
They dont understand, they insist
They comment on a man with dialogues…

What am I to reply to all that ?
Do I need to, is another question on the edge
All one can do is laugh at the faces,
Not on theirs but on destiny’s and await what is to come.

Smile, laugh, joy and all that sustains
I try, persist and shall succeed.
Nothing really matters on what opinion they contain
All that is needed now is the will to proceed.

Dreams, aspirations what make thee
The life’s sole push that drives and moves
What all we want endlessly remains the key
The beauty, intricately woven shapes the path.

The dream, the vision of an unknown life
The subconscious instruction speaking uncontrolled
Burning the fire withing, incessantly without strife
The will burns, changing future of everyone felt betrayed.

As one speaks, dreams change me,
Going with the flow desired, willed;
That which is everything shall move and satisfy thee,
This hope shall not fade away even if now killed.