LIFE IS FOR LIVING

To be honest to yourself is a big thing. Most people cannot do it. Cause they always try to judge themselves from another person's perspective. Its a very addictive thing to do. Cause you can see yourself in the light you always wanted to. And you can put the blame on the other person, saying that he/she thinks that i am like this, he/she believes that these are my qualities. Now you may say that, but what you're internally trying to do is making the other person define your virtues and who you are. This is done to adjust yourself to a vision of who you aspire to be. Its one of the biggest smoke and mirrors tendencies that all humans have. Its emotional attachment to who you want to be. Its a difficult thing to control because your heart is going "Yea, that's me, Im so awesome", but a voice in your head goes "Dude, that's bullshit, you're not so great". Now obviously, most of us want to overpower that voice in your mind, cause you dont wanna hear it . You wanna live in the fairytale that your heart is capable of. It's what happens when people are deluded about themselves and their abilities. The best football player in the world...when does he think he is the best? Is it after he wins the FIFA Footballer of the Year award, or wins a World Cup, or Champions League medal? Its hard to define. And desire plays such a huge role. There are 2 kinds of effect that undying, never-ceasing desire can have.

First : When an outsider defines you the way you want to be defined, you can go "Yes, my goal is accomplished. Ive achieved what I want to be". NOW, he uses this desire to THINK about how great he is, to look at his past, predict his future and really be full of self-pride. Its an emotional moment. And these guys are more emotional than most others.

Second : When an outsider defines you the way you want to be defined, you can go "Wow, great compliment, but am i really that good? Cause i sucked at certain things yesterday. HMMM....maybe i should use this as fuel to propel me further. I shouldn't judge myself the way others judge me. That's a dangerous thing to do" Cause a lot of things are impermanent, and it pays to move on. All you can do, is try your hardest in the current moment, be the best your abilities and situations allow you to be.

It requires intense mind control to be like the second person. To not get carried away. To cut-off from the rest of the world. Its scary, cause you're kind of denying your mind all the pleasures and thoughts it wants to indulge into. You're preventing yourself from being seduced by an external locus of identity. Most of the world champs of today are of the second kind. They see life for what it is, not what they want it to be. Just the other day, at Dadar station i saw the happiest person alive. It was a menial cobbler. The moment he started cleaning shoes, all he could hear/see/feel was that. That was his LIFE at the present. He was not interested in anything else. His poverty, illiteracy and harsh life seemed to be outta the window in that particular moment. Once he was finished, he had a content smile on his face even before he was paid. Now he may not be a Ratan Tata or a Shahrukh Khan, but he saw his life for what it was and LIVED it. He didn't wonder when he's gonna be paid the money for which he toiled for the last 5 minutes, he just soaked in all that was around him. You might not think he has no ambition, but how can that be judged in just a brief meeting? But the point is, he lives in the moment, or atleast tries his best to focus only on what's in front of him, not what lies in the future or what's embedded in the past. And THAT, JUST THAT is a quality worth respecting.

GO GET IT !!!

I've kinda been laying off the posts for a while. Its just that there are so many things going on in life. Every aspect needs attention. And i kinda have become more active recently, the laziness has taken a back seat. (finally :p) Action is the most proactive form of thinking. This is what i've heard from a wise friend of mine. And he's cent percent right. Now there are 2 directions i can take this topic further from here. First is the full-blown psycho-analysis that i subject everything i see, hear and feel to this. Its a very common occurrence. Second, i can do something different. Which is what im attempting to do today.

A clear sky filled with stars which light it up. We humans are in awe of it. We are really not in awe of the sight. Its the possibilities that inspire and wonder us. Its the unknown lying on these stars that trigger our reactions. Cause there's always that goal, that burning, killing desire to achieve something. That's what each person sees when he/she sees the stars. They say the hard and brittle journey of life makes you numb, makes you practical. I'd say being practical is all about ego. Cause we know what we want to achieve and we know how we can achieve it. Its all just inside us. But we gotta go for it. A commonly used expression is "Go grab it by the balls and get it" (sorry for the profanity). Cause time wont stop for you to think about getting it. You gotta go out there and make it happen man.

You want a girl, go and find one for yourself.
You want money, go out there and work your ass off or work really smart.
You want a degree from a top class university, study study study.
You want to travel the world, go and get the resources to.
You want to be a pilot, go talk to a million pilots and find out what's needed.

Sometimes life just is really that simple. Its not about being practical to do things. The human ego does not recognize practicality, it recognizes spirit, perseverance and simple never-ceasing desire. That's what you gotta have. That killer instinct to make your dreams reality. Use that as fuel to do things. you'll find your way. There is no right path or wrong path here. Motivation beats all.

Im generally highly inspired when i write. That inspiration tends to wane once i finish writing. Now im gonna attempt to be inspired even after i write. Cause i know what i need exists as a reality, for now only in my mind. But i gotta turn it to my advantage and do stuff to go and get it.

BE PRACTICAL

A little child watching TV wants to meet Batman. The teenage girl in love with the cutest Backstreet boy wants him to be her "special one". The undying romantic follows his unrequited love to places that kill his spirit and ruin his life. The old man expects his grandchildren to grow up just like he grew up. A dictator ruling the whole world. A terrorist believes killing people can actually save other people. Saving the Earth's natural habitat. A blind girl wanting to see. India giving up Kashmir to Pakistan. Angelina Jolie dumping Brad Pitt for Laloo Prasad Yadav. A 54-year old man wanting to be the next Kurt Cobain. An F1 driver going at 280 kmph in the Bandra-Worli sea link. Man being to be able to travel to distant galaxies.

All the above are examples of stupidity, impracticality, irrationality. Why? Cause they're not feasible? Think again. Some of them have and can actually happen. In fact, i'll go out on a limb and say, that all of them can happen. Its the realm of possibility that makes a difference. To the untrained and unconscious mind, impossibility is impossible. But to the trained and conscious one, it is a very high probability. Dreams are always going to exist, be fulfilled and be shattered. They are part of what make us who we are. But what differentiates people from each other is the emotional attachment that the have towards their dreams. To some, they are just kiddish nonsense. To some, they are a possibility, which they indulge in when their unconscious mind rules them. And to some, they are a reality, they are all around them, they can see them. Its all about belief. A badly used word for belief sometimes is obsession. Are the two interchangeable? Is there a fine line between them?

Hmm. This is a difficult one. Cause a belief can be termed as an obsession and vice-versa. But the general difference is this. A belief is not necessarily bad for you, while an obsession in most cases definitely is. Its unhealthy. Because what you are doing is trying to control what you cannot control. Or trying to control what you can control by using unethical means, i.e. imposing on someone else's FREE WILL. A great line from the movie Bruce Almighty is, "Free will cannot be controlled, not even by God". Its a highly intelligent statement. It posits 2 things, that

If you don't destroy yourself, even God cannot.
If you don't help yourself, even God cannot.

What is evident here is that, you can play a spoilsport in God's plans, in destiny, in what people mistakenly call as fate. Now that is a humongous power. Its the reason why people with principles are the pillars of mankind. But this line into obsession is very thin. Obsession is a result of grief. Of not coming to terms with grief. Ironically, our society shows lots of sympathy towards the grieving, but when they are obsessed, society turns against them. Why so? People who are emotionally attached to things have a hard time accepting their loss and they should be helped out, not rejected and ostracized as fanatics. This is where the "BE PRACTICAL" culture fails. It sucks at this point. They say that emotions are a human's hallmark. But does being practical mean that injustice is done upon the hallmark? Its not really a great metaphor. But what im trying to say is that we dont predict grief, we dont take it for granted. But the getting over part is taken for granted. Society assumes you will get over. Why? Because society assumes that you are selfish and will work only for your benefit. That is a huge misconception. Cause certain people are just crazy enough to devote their time and life to certain things more than their "selfishness". Its funny how it works out. And ironically, these qualities of devoting and giving yourself to something are what society conventionally talks about.

"Devote your life to one woman. Devote your career to one field. Devote yourself to one God. But, but, but, never get to attached to them, cause then we'll come down on you and rip you apart. Cause you have to BE PRACTICAL and move away, give no respect to your emotional attachment."

Talk about major bullcrap. This is at the top of the list for me. Call me egoistic, but i was brought up to respect certain things. And respect for yourself and your spirit is the biggest thing here. The whole BE PRACTICAL culture has its merits, definitely. But sometimes, we just term randomn things as being practical. Only if it makes sense in the conscious realm of possibility do we do things. When the unconscious mind picks up on things, it just shut up and BE PRACTICAL.

GANG WARS

They say that a lot of things are better in your head, not in front of you. Cause if they're right there, you wont notice their novelty, you'll notice what they don't have, you'll notice their flaws. Cause you're built that way. You have absolutely no appreciation for their value, you will want and dream to want better than them. Sigh, human nature. Purposefully, LIFE devised a way for humans to vent and remove all the frustration - Relationships. Very little about the people you have around you talks about competition, arrogance, killer instinct and the predator instinct. Cause its not the base or foundation of your relationship, unlike work. A boss only talks to his employee because he can do a certain job with proficiency. He talks only because his employee is useful to him. Cause he can make money from his work. While a friend, relative or a loved one will generally talk cause he wants to talk to the person in question. Its simple science. The pack hangs together and looks out for each other. Of course one pack will rarely compromise with the other. And thus the resulting "Gang Wars". The wars constitute every little action which we do in the modern society.

When we go to work, we give in to the monetary desires of the autowallahs and taxiwallahs.

When we decide to have a party, we have to take into account how it affects other people in terms of noise and frustration.

When we buy food, we argue with vendor about the edibility of the vegetable.

When we fight and beat up someone, we accept punishment for it. We give in to the LAW.

When we lose someone, we fight with God.

When we get rejected or turned down, we argue with our emotions.

When we have kids, we limit certain parts of ourselves to do only certain kind of things. Its a war.

When we become politicians, we fight the public. They just dont realize it that often.

When we become rich, we fight with the egos of others.

When we give up, we fight with our conscience.

When we die, we fight to go to heaven or hell.

When others die, we fight over their property, money and heritage.

When we decide to be cheerful and enthusiastic all day, we fight against a million pessimists.

When we make a decision, we fight against lots of people that we aspire to be.

When we kiss someone, we fight to make time stop.

When we go by instinct, we fight against the practicality which are expected to obey.

When we sleep, we wrestle with our dreams. We try to make the unreal real.

This brings me to an important point. That at any given moment of our lives, we are in conflict with the UNIVERSE. We fight to earn the right to fight even more. We persevere to persevere some more. When is it said that a person is defeated?? When he/she has nothing left to fight for, or to fight against.

Recently, even I have been drawn into a fight, its more of a rat-race. Percentiles, acads, resumes and job profiles are the order of the day. Survival of the fittest. Atleast on paper. Its just a sophisticated form of brawling like prehistoric cavemen. This rat-race is a highly interesting one cause you never know who wins :) :) All you know is NEXT, MOVE ON , WIN THE NEXT ONE. Right till we die, this is the philosophy. We desire to rise to that pinnacle which does not exist.

I had this kiddish dream of being the "Best Person in the World". Then one day, a very wise person asked me, "the best of what?" I just replied "The best of everything". He replied "Huh. Be practical." I thought at that point that how does one become the "Best Person in the World"? Is it an honour, a prize bestowed for some achievement? Is it being very rich? Is it being highly famous? Is it being the best looking???? What is it? I tried to find the best person in the world, I never found one.

You just can't have tags as these. Cause there are too many underlying and fascinating variables that affect this. People call it destiny. I call it the unpredictability of the EARTH. Im a maths prof. I believe that finding the permutations and combinations of LIFE is the only question which has infinite answers. And one thing is essential, if you wanna ride this fascinating rollercoaster you gotta be tough, cause a hard brake'll throw you off just LIKE THAT. But, but, but. Make sure you try to enjoy the journey :)

A CANVAS OR A PRISON ?

Sometimes life gives you weeks where the days just pass. It is not like you are passing your TIME. It just seems that TIME is passing you by. Cause most of things you do and the thoughts you have, seem uninspired. They actually may be quite insightful and perceptive, but since you've had them before, they're old news for you. Every second seems to drag, not because you're getting bored. What you're doing excites you and its fun, but it just seems bland compared to what you've done, what you've achieved. Your mind picks up on these things and you contemplate - a change of setting, a change of lifestyle, a peek into a friend's life. Your mind gives you these thoughts and avenues for change. It lives a life of its own- uncluttered, imaginative and rebellious. Yet in its form, it is melancholy, half and fake excitement. Cause you know you're supposed to do something today. A plan, an agenda, a purpose is there. And you know your mind has to fulfill these responsibilities and purposefully do its duty, thus resulting in no excitement that the 21st century wandering and waving mind is capable of experiencing.

Isn't that what we all crave? Perpetual excitement? Actually being able to LIVE every second the same way. Energized, driven and with no fear. But what happens is that sometimes the mind tends to move into a zone of loneliness and disconnect. Not for the lack of company, even compelling company at that, but for the lack of a fresher perspective, a reason to do and a change from the sustained level of excitement currently.

What really intrigues me is when the mind starts to accept this current zone of loneliness and disconnect. At what point do you, as an adventurous, potent and agile person start to accept, that, ya, THIS is MY LIFE. This is what im going to do. This is all I can achieve in my years. I can't conquer everything. I cant be the Master of All. Cause we've been taught to never give in, never underestimate ourselves and never stop being ambitious. Cause we're taught never to be content, to strive to be better and greater, to learn from others. For the honest, uncomplicated and simple mind, this is an impossible task. The honest mind views itself for what it is, that is, it is not the best. No matter how far you go, there always is that final hurdle, final mountain to be climbed, some person to beat, some desire to accomplish. This brings me to my next question.

Are human beings really bottomless pits of need? Is that our curse for being different from the animals? Is our ego the bane and boon of our existence? Cause we cant keep it simple. There are just too many on this planet for us to keep it simple. May be the cavemen could keep it simple. Just eat, hunt, make love to their woman, fight and sleep. Maybe that was a simpler TIME, a TIME where everything didn't have to be understood, it was obvious. But then, what screwed it up, what cataclysm made it into the multi-layer, intricately framed world of today? As i keep thinking about this, an answer comes to my mind. Maybe evolution is the culprit. Human beings used their intelligence to evolve. And in the process we lost most of our simplicity. We trained to be practical, use reasoning and deduce things. But do our minds really move just like our bodies do? Can we always be reasonable and use our intelligence to benefit us? In fact, is thinking really action? Aren't these two inter-linked? Cause you can think while acting and you can act while thinking. Could i even write an article about something as innate as this if i wasnt using my brain? What would i write if i allowed myself to switch my conscious brain off??

Isnt it ironic that im talking about not using my brain while im using it? Furthermore, would i realize that i should not be using my brain if i wasnt using it in the first place? How and when would i have come to this realization? And doesnt not using my brain prevent me from such other realizations?

Hahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Hahahahahaaa

Just while writing the above 2 paragraphs, i realize that this is why writers go mad, kill themselves and are such maniacs :) Cause they want answers, and they want them ASAP. Their mind is their canvas and their prison. They carry too much baggage, mentally, and are always looking to justify disposing it. But they like the baggage, they can tangibly associate it with the materialistic world. As a layman would call it, that's what makes them think differently. They are so stuck in their minds, that they exist in many lifetimes and dimensions. That their mind takes them places where they cant go. And ironically, it is because of this preoccupation with the mind, that they rarely go to places.

Recognizing why and how a person thinks is a key to world domination. I'll repeat. Recognizing why and how a person thinks is a key to world domination.

Its just that very few writers actually use this key for their own benefit. That is what they are against. Its breaks an invisible line in their head.

Lol. Now, im sleepy. Too much psychobabble for today. Gnite.

MENTAL INERTIA

Inertia - it is the force that drives us. Most people, once they reach a certain age, tend to follow a distinct path. It is distinct cause it is characterized by features of their personality. An achiever will always achieve things in his life, no matter what obstacles might come in his way. A loser may always be a loser, no matter how hard he tries. Or a daydreamer/idealist will always be one, no matter how hard life tries shapes him. Cause events that have happened in childhood and adolescence stay with us for the long haul. They are the singular most instrumental moments that shape our personalities. Our reactions to these little things might define us for the rest of our lives. Cause the human mind is like the retina of the eye. We recognise things happening around us and can produce a visual representation of it. But if we're exposed to too much light and if our minds are toyed with beyond a certain extent, we're damaged.

These life-defining moments are way too hard to recognize when u experience them. I mean, Joe Satriani decided to become a guitarist once he heard that Jimi Hendrix had died. Satriani was only 13 years old then. If someone would have told him back then that he would be one of the most famous and critically-acclaimed guitarists today, he would've laughed and scoffed. But its funny how things turned out exactly like that. Cause Satriani's mental inertia made him reach where he is today. That innate desire, nay, need to be a reknowned guitarist propelled him forwards. And thats exactly how it works in most of us. Except that most of us have a need for doing the oddest possible things.

Some of us, no matter how much we want it, can never settle to anything. We're what they call the wanderers or "responsibility-shirkers". We'll try one career after another, and just live in that infinite loop all our lives.

Some of us, just have that desire to be rich. To have so much money, and to be so busy making it, that we got no time to utilize it. That's what gives us a high. Cause we know we've XYZ lakh in the bank. And we dont wanna spend it, cause just like Gollum in the movie, "It's our precious".

Some of us, just want to be creators. We want to make something worthwhile. It might be a book, a movie, a painting or a song. It just has to be fully ours. We spend our days and nights doing this to make a mark.

Some of us, just desire to find our soul mate. We desire to find that perfect individual who acts as a counterpoint all our properties and makes us feel like "The One". We go through life, moving from one relationship to the other, to find that one person.

Some of us live on faith. We believe that we'll ride the wave of life and manage things cause we know the creator up there is watching and He's gonna make things ok, no matter what. We can survive the deadliest conditions and worst situations via this faith.

Some of us are so lacking in self-belief that even in the happiest situations, we'll look for negativity. Cause that's what's been embedded into our minds since an early age, we are people who self-destruct.

Its mental inertia which causes such things. We are so used to things happening in a certain manner, that even if they happen in some other ways, its too hard for us to deal with them. That is why there are short-lived successes and one-hit wonders. Cause the people cant really deal with such drastic changes in their life, even if the changes are for the better. I guess a lotta people dont live out their fantasies. Cause most of them want them so much, that they think about them too much. They just live them out vicariously or in their heads. That is the truth. Cause the mind can only be diverted after a certain point. It cannot be forced to return on the path it has just traversed. Thus the concept of regret and thus the concept of getting over it being highly, highly important.

Wrestling - An ART FORM

"If you smellllalalalaooooh, what The Rock is cooking". "Gimme a HELL YEAH". "You can't see me". "Rest in Peaaccceeee". "You've got....No chance in hell!!!". "Hulkamania is runnin wild, brother".

The above sentences are vintage dialogues of different World Wrestling Entertainment (ya, i believe its a better name than WWF) superstars. The wrestling industry has a been a massive part of the teenage years of most of today's generation. It encompassed all that we believed in. It stood for the brash, no-nonsense, arrogant little snots that a lot of us always aspired to be. It was, and still is a kid's dream. Thus the common notion that wrestling is a thing of the past. An activity that is acceptable and tolerated when you're a little kid, cause frankly, life isn't like that. You cant break rules, whack people and raise hell all the time you want. You have to be a civilized member of the society that we have to live in. Thus the perception that once you're old enough, watching such stuff doesnt make sense. This may be seen as a perfectly viable argument. But it pays to analyze both sides of the coin.

Wrestling is an art form. Its a form of entertainment which tells a story. It is not "men fighting in tights" as people have so grossly and unjustly termed it. It is similar to other art forms like music, cinema or writing. It takes the viewer through an emotional journey. Dont tell me that even the staunchest anti-wrestling fan will not be amused by the promos given by The Rock? These promos alone sold millions of pay-per-view buys. Don't tell me even the most non-violent person alive cannot admire the athleticism and dedication of a star performer like Shawn Michaels? His series of matches over the years have set the bar for all sorts of sports entertainment. And dont tell me that when Stone Cold Steve Austin yelled "Gimme a HELL YEAH", not everyone did? That was what defined the power of wrestling. Cause it took viewers to alternate worlds, alternate states of consciousness, which is what any great art form should do. A common mistake is that the cornerstone of wrestling entertainment is physical confrontation. It is actually a compelling storyline which leads to a physical confrontation. Only if there is a reason to emotionally invest in the product will watching wrestling be popular. Wrestling connects to people in lots of ways. The average man imagines his boss as the wrestler getting his butt kicked. The little teenager imagines himself as the next daredevil like Jeff hardy to do acrobatics. The old man, battered and bruised by the mental stress and strain caused to him by LIFE, just imagines all the people who have done him wrong as people who's butt he's always wanted to kick. Wrestling gives him that satisfaction. Arent empathy and living vicariously the main reasons why music, films and novels came to into existence. Its all ENTERTAINMENT. Which is what people turn to after a stressful day.

Romantic songs, comedy films, action flicks and inspirational writing. All art forms. Another similarity among them - All fiction. Fake. Hocum. Full of Crap. Nonsense to make money. But why do we associate ourselves with and appreciate them. Cause they take us to "altered states of consicousness". Cause they make us feel things. Cause they make us realize what we CAN FEEL if we are in a certain state, not what we DO FEEL. My biggest frustration is that people say wrestling is "fake" and thus criticize it. So what? Even movies and stories are fake. Do we argue with George Lucas when he mentions "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."? No we accept that it all is fake. But are we enjoying the story? Damn yes. Hell, most times artists dont even mention that their creations are set in some other world. Then why this bigotry towards wrestling?? Why the unnecessary questioning of its reality? Why the devaluing of its companies and performers?? These double standards are glaringly evident to me.

The wrestling business is a highly profitable one. Cause wrestling promotions, wrestlers and the media work very hard to develop a product that is appealing to the target audience. The storylines have lots of sensibilities and references to current developments. Of course, a lot of them are bad, predictable stories. But yeah, even the movie biz has a majority of flops (at least bollywood :p) and most writers are copycats too. So this makes it similar, not as people view, opposite, to other art forms. The principle of using violence to solve conflict is a highly debatable one, but i think even movies and novels have highly controversial themes. Its just that some minds are open enough to accept that its entertainment, not reality and others actually try to apply the Four Noble Truths designed by Buddha to a wrestling feud. These are the actual "stupid kids". As far as the issue of wrestlers dying due to steroid and drug abuse, thats a topic for a separate post itself. But i will say this. Every profession has its pros and cons. Even a fireman can die. He too willingly puts himself in danger. Its completely his choice. Does that mean no one becomes a fireman??

I am a self-confessed massive wrestling fan. I believe it is a great way to tell a story and it should be acknowledged as one, no matter if it is appreciated or criticized. In fact wrestling does not mean WWE, there are a hundred other wrestling promotions and companies. It is highly, highly popular and is a multi-billion dollar industry. And its popularity is spread throughout the world. Right from the USA to Germany and from Australia to Japan. Speaking of Japan, i have a theory that the Japanese are the authority on the most compelling art forms. Be it games, sports, music or movies, the Japanese can tell a emotionally moving art form from a highly bland one. And guess what, wrestling is most popular not in the USA, but in Japan. I have added some links here of some wrestling fan sites, hoping some of you will check them out and see for yourself what wrestling really is.

www.prowrestling.net

www.pwtorch.com

Now in the undying wrestling words - "Thats the bottom line cause Stone Cold says so".