SwarAsia Malaysia

Define Malaysia? 

To me its impossible!

I will tell you why...

Its a southeastern country with substantial influences from the Chinese, Indian, Persian, Arabic and European culture where Islam is the official religion and yet celebrates some Hindu Festivals in a bigger scale then in India, and has most of its buildings missing the 4th floor and called 3A instead because the chinese believe number 4 brings bad luck!!!

When you zoom into families and individuals you will see Malay families with kids insisting on thosai and chutneys for breakfast and Indian families packing 10 roti canais and nasi lemaks for the whole family!

Every kitchen in Malaysian homes will have a mix of ingredients and pots and pans from various cultures... 

We can see Hindus putting up Christmas trees at home and Christians doing the rangoli on Deepavali!!!

You can stand next to stranger who looks originally Chinese until you hear them speak fluently in TAMIL!!! 

We have chinese kids learning Indian classical dance and Indian kids learning ballet. 

No matter what language we speak we are sure to add "LAH" "MEH" "AH" to it! 

SO...who ARE we??? 

WORDS will NEVER get you there!

ONLY MUSIC can do that! So,

Come watch SwarAsia Malaysia! and let the music define who we are! With all the mixes and matches of culture...beautifully composed and arranged! What you hear will not be the Sitar or Cello or guitar or tabla or cajoun...what you hear will be us! Because it has been arranged by a purely Malaysian musician who can feel from his soul all the flavours that makes us uniquely who we are!

Anything beautiful is beyond definition and so is 

"SwarAsia Malaysia"

a Fusion Band brought together by our very own Sitar Maestro Samuel Dass with 6 other talented musicians! 

A two hour music repertoire! 

with

Sitar: Samuel Dass

Tabla: Prakash Kandasamy

Cello: Mariamlisa Zainal Abidin

Bass: Eliezer Enan

Guitar: Marco Antonio Alonso

Cajoun: Selvendrrah Krishnan

Percussion:Dhivager Murahari

What better way to start 

TWENTY SEVENTEEN!

Heres a glimpse of the making, if you are not convinced :) 

https://www.facebook.com/SwaraCAC/videos/1395095003836629/

Call 0166820919/03-74969700 and reserve your seats to an unforgettable musical experience!

See you at Temple of Fine Arts, Kuala Lumpur this

JANUARY THE SIXTH

8.15PM

Brought to you by

SWARA COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER

To UK For Sardines :)

My father, being the eldest in the family, had to quit school and go to work to support the family when he was just about 13 years old. One by one, his brothers and sisters finished schooling, started working and also got married. They moved to their own houses and my father was finally settled down with my mom, me and my elder brother when he was into his 30s. He is a government servant an a very disciplined person. All my life i see him waking up at 6.30 am, having breakfast by 7.30am, going to work, having lunch at 1PM, back to work till 5PM, then off to go play football, and in the later years, walking. He comes home, takes his bath and has dinner at 8pm, watches TV till 9PM sharp, and off to bed!! Believe me i have not seen this pattern change EVER!!

Even on Sundays, except for the afternoon nap, meal time would not change. 

Now, he is 77 years old, still working full time at my uncles law firm and still follows the SAME routine. Everything else and everyone else in the family has changed and yet he remains the same. I dont know if that is good or bad but i know for sure that he is content! Never regretted anything about his life, never mentioned he wishes things were different at any time. Despite the family getting chaotic with all sorts of problems, he simply lives in his own world, in the same routine and that kind of annoys my mum at times...hahaha..she will say...look at your father...with all these problems in the family, he does not respond in anyway. But isnt that just great! Untouched by your surroundings, simply happy with his motorcycle, job, a few friends, his home cooked happy meals! No ambitions, no cravings, simply being what he can within his capacity and doing what he can for the family. No loans, no debt...in his own little house in a beautiful housing area. He needs nothing more than that. 

But, theres one thing i hear him talk about ever since i was a little girl...ENGLAND. Probably because his younger brother went to work and study in England and he has seen the pictures and heard stories about the place. He finds everything about England amusing. "The shirts are good over there, the cut is different" he would say. "The quality of food is good over there" "The Shaving set is of good quality over there" "There is this canned sardine in a tin with a blue cross on the top, its very tasty" he would say. And 4 years back when i had the opportunity to visit England with my aunt and cousin, he told me to look for this canned Sardine with a blue cross on top...and i did look for it everywhere i went, from Sainsbury's to Marks & Spencer food outlets, Waitrose and every other supermarket i came across but i couldnt find this sardine!! When i got back from the trip i told him, i couldnt find it. I also tried looking for the kind of shaving set he was talking about and managed to buy it though he said it was not exactly the kind he was referring to.

In  my family, there is always someone travelling to UK every year. Cousins studied there, uncles and aunties would visit their friends there and everytime they came back, they would buy something for him, a shirt or socks or shoes and so on. He would be pretty delighted to receive them.

And after all these years of hearing him talk about England, i just suddenly had this thought....since he so adores this country, how would he feel if he had a chance to go there himself. So he could go look for all those stuff he wants to buy himself! But making a trip to UK was a BIG budget plan. So i kept that idea to myself, not wanting to get him all excited and then dissappoint him if i couldnt work it out. Just waited for the right moment...and after about 2 years, finally, I was able to plan it. With the support of my husband i managed to plan a two weeks' trip to England and Scotland with my parents!! It was unbelievable...but true!!

When we landed at Heathrow, my mum said..."cant believe we are walking in England!" Neither could i believe i actually brought them there! I kept telling myself "I am here with my parents" and it still didnt seem real! It was 2nd week November and England was all golden filled with Autumn leaves...my first time experiencing Autumn and my parents first time ever in Europe!

My father was all calm as always, but i knew he was excited. And from the moment we touched down, i kept a silent prayer going on in my head for the next 13 days to go on smooth, having a 66 and 76 years old parent in a temperature touching 0 and below was like taking babies on a tour. I needed to take care of myself too, cant afford to fall sick having both my parents to take care, but somehow deep within i knew this whole thing was meant to be and it will be alright...

Just before the day i left to UK, my cousin asked me, "Are you super excited?" and i took about 10 seconds to answer that as i coudnt decide if what i felt was "excitement" or "a mission to accomplish" and I needed this trip to go on well for it was a gift to my parents who both have seen lots of troubles from a very young age, mum was 14 when she got married. Dad was 13 when he went to work. They deserved this treat! And i thank the Universe a million times over and over for making it happen!

After 9 days in London, Bath and Manchester, we took a domestic flight to Aberdeen, Scotland as my cousin who is studying there invited us to spend another 4 days with her. Good news was, we had delicious home cooked Indian food!! And lots of laughters!

From day one, i made sure my parents wore enough layers of clothes to keep them warm, proper food and a good night's sleep. Thankfully weather in London was bearable...the sun was out though for a few hours, pretty bright and no rains. What more can i ask for! 

So, after visiting his fav team, taking the Stadium tour at Old Trafford...and walking the streets of Bath which looked like a painting altogether, taking a ride on Thames through the Tower Bridge, and posing in front of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace and above all walking around the unbelievably beautiful gardens and paths at Greenwich Park, and then to the Castles at Aberdeen, and yet just a day before we left Aberdeen for Malaysia, he tells me   "Anu i looked for the canned sardines with the blue cross, but couldnt find it :) :) hahahhaa...and i thought with a smile..."Pa do have you any idea what else you have been seeing over here?" and felt so happy that he had a chance to look through the shelves of the supermarkets for the Sardine he has been talking about for over 20 years...at least now he is convinced they dont sell that particular brand anymore and will not be hoping someone buys for him when they go to UK :) :) 

So it was a dream come true, not just for my dad but even more for me...! Nothing is as satisfying as making someone's dream come true...they joy you see in their faces...priceless! And here are some magical moments captured in my camera...for you :)

The pic above was while we were waiting for the transit at Amsterdam Airport....while i was waiting and still praying everything goes well, a clear rainbow appears with the sun shining bright against the clouds, and as i saw my father sitting there looking at the rainbow, i thought " Thank you God, thats a very clear sign and i know for sure thats how beautiful the next 13 days is going to be" :) 

Mum, looking at the North Sea of the Atlantic Ocean in Aberdeen, Scotland

My father holding a frozen leaf in Aberdeen

The cutest picture of the trip! 

At Dunnottar Castle Aberdeenshire

Choose your world

Where do you live...?

How often have you answered that question? And how differently have you answered it? All of us would give the location...like, in this particular street, area, town, state and so on. But is that where we are living for real? Ever thought about it?

When you wake up in the morning, what is your first thought? Your office matters? The file that's missing. The payment due? The appointment with client? The jam? The groceries you need to get? Getting your kids to school...The argument you had with someone yesterday? The neighbour you hate?? 

OR

The sunrise, the colour of the sky, the chirping birds, the dew on flowers, the soft grass, the new blooms in your garden, the happy moments yesterday, your favourite music, your favourite book, or how you are going to dress up for the day?? Your best friends, your loving aunt?? Your cute puppy!!?

Both person maybe waking up from the same bed, and yet living in a completely different world. What occupies every moment in your head makes your world. 

And when we live in every moment, we live in our own unique world coz no two person's moments could possibly be the same at any point of their lives. Everyone has to deal with different moments, let it be good or bad, happy or sad, funny or angry...every moment is uniquely YOURS to experience! Your own respond, your own feeling, your own understanding, your own joy! No other person will experience it the same way!

So each person actually lives in their OWN world! There is no ONE WORLD...but billions of worlds colliding, merging and splitting every second of the day. 

Sometimes we are thrown into a certain world without our consent. While sometimes we deliberately step into a certain world. But what we choose to LIVE in becomes the real world. And by real i don't mean, what you can see, touch, hear or smell but what you can feel within you. One might be living in a horrible condition, congested town, with little facilities and yet feel the joy of their little new born baby in their hands and their world would be as soft and as pure as the new born baby despite the environment. While someone else could be living in a palace and yet craving for love and their world could be as cruel as hell.

And the beauty of life is, no matter where you live or what the circumstances are, there is ONE thing that is available for all...LOVE. You can love in a prison, you can love in a palace, you can love in hut or mansion and when you learn love, you love it ALL. We, human beings are made of LOVE, we are LOVE.

Its that secret potion you can add on to ANYTHING you want, the only ingredient needed to grow your own beautiful world. The more LOVE you add the more beautiful your world gets...

So wake up to your own loving and beautiful world...never mind whats going on around you. Do whats necessary to face it, but stay in love within and simply watch how your life changes...

There are millions of realms to live in, choose yours!!! and LIVE IT!! NO, we don't share the same world as many say....on the contrary, we CREATE our own unique world!! 

So, where do YOU LIVE??

THE FEET OF A GURU

Why do we prostrate "fall on the feet" (as the Indians call it) of a Guru?

To seek blessings? To show respect? Out of  love? or is it simply a culture which we got used to without questioning?

Every year, on the 10th day of Navarathiri celebrations, which is called Vijayadasami in India, parents will take their children with a tray of fruits, flowers, sweets, clothes and money to be offered to their gurus (teachers/masters) as an expression of gratitude. They will tell them to fall on the feet of their guru to seek blessings. And the children do it year after year. But do they know, why they are doing it? 

The Indians strongly believe that  a person is destined to learn from a particular guru and unless and until they meet that particular one, they maybe distracted. It is said that the bond between a student and their destined Guru is created long before they actually meet. Life after life a person is directed and redirected into a path that finally meets somewhere, when the student is ready. The gurus maybe spiritual or gurus of artforms.

When such students and gurus meet, somehow they will both know it. Coz no one can possibly miss the joy that follows. And again, the question is, why do we fall on the feet of a Guru?

Its a surrender. Like saying, i am done searching, ive been directed and redirected. Ive been drowned and saved, ive been lost and found, again and again over God Knows how many life times and here, finally i am standing right before you! Its unbelievable! Its overwhelming! so, what else can you do if not fall on their feet!! A surrender, saying now, you guide me! Now you show me the light, you teach me, tell me what i should learn next. Whats the next step? whats the next move, whats the next expression, whats the next note, mood, feel, emotion?? You tell me! And what i place on your feet is my trust and love and what i ask in return is your blessings. Its a flow of energy....so, the Divine can flow into the Guru continuously for energy can never be stocked..it has to flow. Everytime a Guru blesses someone, they themselves receive multiple blessings from the ever abundant universe. The students are a way, the Gurus could renew their blessings.

So, when you touch the feet of a Guru, a flow of energy is created, from the Universe to the Guru, and from the Guru to their student. Its like a switch which allows the flow of electricity. Thats what the feet of a Guru is..... 

A switch To bless and be blessed!

Have a blessed and joyous Vijayadasami!

Theres no need to understand

Most people who are in search of the truth are trying to "understand life" but my question is..."What is there to understand?" What difference would it make?? Would you laugh a little more...would you be more forgiving? Would you do what you love? Would you appreciate every moment you are breathing? If yes...then why wait to "understand life"? Why bother asking SO many questions? Why confuse yourself with a thousand contradicting answers. Why do research on neverending scriptures?? Do you need a Buddha to tell you to laugh? Didnt you laugh as a child way before you even knew who Buddha is?? Then, why cant you do it now!!!? What exactly are you waiting for? Stop wasting precious moments trying to find an answer to something you cant question! No questions ( no matter how intelligent you are) can have the RIGHT answer to LIFE. Every answer will be different when it comes from another source. Then, are you going to spend another few more lifetimes finding out which answer is right?? When exactly do you intend to LIVE your LIFE...even Hinduism only gives you 7 lifetimes to get it right. But at the rate you are going, 7 thousand lives wont get you there! so DROP IT! like right now! and get on with life as it is. Enough rituals, enough rules and regulations and systems! Be you! at least give it a try...what have you got to lose! You dont get any bonus lifetime if you spend it on doing research on it! Are you???

When you start living your life, the meaning emerges out of your being, effortless. The answers flow into you without any questions. You will know it and yet will not be able to explain it. You will not be able to put in words coz its not meant for words. It is meant to be felt, loved, lived, be amused, amazed and surrendered to! 

And what does "living" mean? Does it mean you have to do the most extraordinary things or to achieve the unachievable..or to travel the world? Or to do social service? No, its not even that. Its just to be in line with life. To embrace the moments it brings to you without a fuss. To feel the moments in the depth of your soul. To remember who you are (i dont mean your name, or your fathers name...but who you are from within!) Stop being trapped in a routine...live spontanously. Fall graciously...get up again and again! Stop fussing, ranting, complaining, being frustrated (at EVERY single thing that you see, hear or experience!) be ready for the surprises, accept changes and above all LOVE your life!

Stop trying to change the world, stop accusing and blaming others, shift your focus into your own being instead of every other thing in the world. Feel yourself, know yourself, remember where you are (i dont mean the state or the country, but where you really are!) Watch everything, judge no one (i know its easier said then done, but keep reminding yourself and it slowly becomes a habit) There are no good or bad..but just whats necessary to keep life going, in line with the whole. 

Trust the amazing nature of life, it has been going on for billions of years. Stop resisting everything that comes your way just because it is not in your "Plan" coz you have no idea what surprises life could bring if you surrender to her.

Dont fake happiness. Find that joy within and be happy for real! Cry when you have to and then let it go! Live it all. Stop running away from negativity...the whole universe is made of both negative and positive. You cant run away from it. Find a balance and keep still. Stop swinging from one extreme to the other. Look at both sides and create your own center. Watch it and live at that center. 

be light and easy....life is so amazingly mysterious...stop grumbling about traffic jams (For heavens sake!) Talk about everything else thats amazing...the skies, the stars, the galaxies, the planets, moons...the streams and oceans, bugs and butterflies, the sun and wind...the breaths we take...the feelings, the joy and the love we share! Take it all in and live it all!

Then, theres no need to understand life :) 

Sadhana 2016 DAY 1

Sadhana 2016, Day 1, was my first time on stage with my Bhairavi :)

Who is Bhairavi? My sitar of course :) Two years ago when i got my brand new sitar from Calcutta, India, especially chosen, tested and brought to Malaysia by my guru himself, i fell in love with her. And, knowing she is going to be my best friend for life...i named her Bhairavi! Why Bhairavi and not any other raag? Because that was the first raag i heard my guru play life in a concert titled PRANAM and i was moved to the core by it. Of course he played the other raags first and Bhairavi comes as the finale. Yet...there was something about this raag that got to my soul. Especially that particular piece which i had been listening over and over in one of his youtube videos and the difference it made when you hear it LIFE...the echoes, the vibrations, the energy and magic of it!! It was an experience i will never forget. That is why i decided to name her Bhairavi! 

As i went on for the weekly classes, i had no such goal or ambition to perform in shows. I just loved learning the notes...i just love the sound that comes each time i pluck the strings. Even the first notes and fingering exercises got me excited...haha! i would practice it as though they were some masterpieces. I would even record and listen to the simple Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni ..over and over...simply because i was so amused that it was ME making those sounds... :) And that's what kept me going, not caring how long i might take to learn a whole song in a particular raag. I never even thought about it. Because it was so joyous all the way! It was like..who cares what i might play in five years...when every note is so beautiful!!

And today, after exactly two years...i have learnt one whole song ( about 6 mins long) in raag Bhairavi and will be performing this Sunday in Swara CAC's Students concert, Sadhana 2016. While rehearsing with my group today, i was in the verge of tears as it was so joyous to be able to play the raag myself..especially such a beautiful composition and it seems more like a miracle that i am going to perform with them. 

Last Sunday, my group played raag Yaman (picture above) and surprisingly i did not feel nervous on stage though it was my FIRST sitar performance. With all the spotlights, the people and the mics attached, i somehow felt calm. Just before the curtain went up, i told my Bhairavi..."never mind whose watching or listening, its just about you and me here...so stay with me please!" and know what? she did!! :) 

So, here's another round of rehearsals going on till this Sunday and i pray, once again she stays with me through the notes of Raag Bhairavi!

 

I have to mention this, when the MCs announce that the next performance is by the students of this guru, we walk in with pride, knowing we have learnt from the best of the best gurus and absolutely confident of ourselves. Performing well, will be the best guru dharchana we can offer to such dedicated master who would go all out to make sure we get EVERY note absolutely RIGHT! No compromises...and no excuses!!No matter how tiring it is for him to check each and every one of his students in EVERY class and yet he doesn't give up on us. You get it right or you dont play at all! That is how every note is learnt by every student. 

So, just saying thank you will not be enough for all the joy that is brought into our lives through music. As i said before, this performance is a dedication to our guru, master Samuel J Dass.  

We hope to give the best we can! :) And all the best to my most wonderful sitar gang who are performing this week! Love you all! 

 

The picture above snapped by my friend Usha with her HP...she was upset it turned out dark....but i so love it.  Because i wasn't aware she was taking this picture...and i am looking somewhere beyond this world...I've no idea what was on my mind...i cant recall this moment...and it only seems like it all happened in another realm :)

So, hope to see you this Sunday at Temple of Fine Arts, 6PM!!

SADHANA 2016

SADHANA 2016, what is it?

Its when every beat, every step, every note and every move which has been instilled painstakingly into our nerves by the gurus, finally takes a form, that can be related to the audience.

What you will watch or hear in this show, is something that grew inch by inch into the souls of the performers. It is not something that happens overnight. Not even over months, but years!  Its a flow of two way energy, between the guru and student that finally merges at a point, mixed with dedication and love, and takes on a new life.

With every note you learn, you get a little closer to the tune and with every step you learn, you get a little closer to the dance. Every class will only seem like...one step or one note that you cant relate as a whole, but as you keep practicing and adding on the next note and step, it begins to make sense. Then you begin to see the magic, and that keeps you going, and suddenly after years of these little steps, you suddenly find yourself dancing, singing or playing a song. Usually you are surprised at the outcome. You finally see, what has been happening in every class from the first day. You now now how to put it together. Its then not called steps anymore, but DANCE. Not notes, but MUSIC.  

And SADHANA 2016 is another step closer to magic, because whatever that has been happening on different days, different times, different disciplines, with different gurus and students who have been teaching (or screaming, precisely :)) and learning various forms of ART, slowly growing together under one roof but not really taking notice of each other, but suddenly comes to life as whole group of performers who now recognize one another and are connected through the arts. 

Taking into consideration that this is all happening in Kuala Lumpur, these students and their parents who are living somewhere amidst the concrete jungle, and in times when people think money is the most important thing in life and everything else is secondary, its pretty amazing how such shows are still possible. The reason could only be that we are still human beings and are still connected to the divine nature. We cant help it. No matter how hectic life is, no matter how busy, how far we live, how expensive it is, our hearts cant help seeking whats REAL! And that is why, parents can go to such extend to take the time for their children to be involved in such shows. That's is also why students are able to take the stress of painful practices and yet go on learning joyfully.

So, this July the proud gurus of Swara Community Arts Center in PJ are waiting to see their students on stage and so are their families and friends. Yes, its going to be ALL STUDENTS this time while the gurus sit back and relax?? Ermm no i don't think so, most of them are more nervous than when they are performing themselves. Hahaha, but that's only because they want to see the best of their students!

So, come join us, support and bless our first times on stage. Lets celebrate ARTS with a passion that never fades. ARTS keep life aglow and shining within the souls of performers and audience creating a connection that takes you into the other realms.

See you at TEMPLE OF FINE ARTS, Brickfields this 17th and 24th July, 6PM!

SITAR GROUP

Bharathanatyam

Kurati Kummi-Children

Bharathanatyam Adults

Children-Odissi

Children and adult-TABLA

Bharathanatyam-ADULTS

Odissi-ADULTS

And with many more performances!

SADHANA 2016 

above all is a dedication to our beloved gurus of 

Swara Community Arts Center.

Samuel J Dass, Prakash Kandasamy, Neha Mondal Chakravarti, Vathana Chandrasegaran, Nitin Shirale, Eliezer Enan, Pangasaasanii Gowrisan , Sangeetha Irene & Maheeswari

WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Performances

Sitar

Tabla

Guitar

Violin

Veena

Vocal

Odissi

Kathak

Bharathanatyam 

Bollywood

 call 016-6820919 for invites

Cosmic Injustice?

While reading this book about experiences of a guy with nature, i came across this term which caught my attention and made me sit wondering about a lot of things for a few minutes...

"COSMIC INJUSTICE" ....yes think about it for a bit before you read on. :)

Another paragraph which made more sense to what i was wondering about:-

"What is it about our species that allows us to watch sitcoms and argue over sports while cultures and creatures and those things meek and green and good are chopped, shot, and burned from the world for a buck? Why is it that we so revere compassionate, heroic characters in literature and theory but practice such arrant apathy?"

Just think about it, this world is made of a million things, all alive in its own way but with ONLY one form of life that does not live according to its natural ways...HUMAN BEINGS...all animals live in their own ways according to the characteristics of the species it belongs to, they eat the same time type of food, built nests the same way, live in the same habitat. We don't see vegetarian lions, or meat eating goat, all hyenas laugh the same way, all cuckoos sing the same tune. They simply stick to their nature. They don't act differently. 

Same goes to all kinds of plants, roses are roses, lilies are lilies, they don't cross their boundaries, all permanently stuck in its only reality, no way out. If you are a rose, no matter how beautiful you are, you will just be a rose forever! you will not explore or experience the nature of Lotus, of being soaked in mud and to bloom with the sun! No such thing is allowed. Nature has decided the fate and that's the END!
 
But HUMAN BEINGS!  You can be anything you want to be! You are planted with PASSION in your heart, that one thing other life forms are not packed with! They merely live to spend their lifetime. Trapped in their own ways of life. They cant get out of it! They dont experience ecstasy! But we are allowed to go beyond! And to rejoice in every moment lived with passion! Most people are trapped just like the roses and lotuses, though beautiful, it is still a prison. Why stay trapped when we are allowed to explore! Theres SO much to experience! Endless!! and the good news is we are allowed to! Then why stay trapped!? I don't get it! I seriously don't! 

And then, locking ourselves in our own prisons, we say "Life is unfair" hello!! If only you can hear life screaming at us "Get out of your head!! get into your soul!! IT IS ALL THERE!! 

Just think, why would nature create a species only to let it suffer! If we were to only breed and die like all other animals and plants then why give us sixth sense, why let us feel what the others don't, why make us see what others don't, why such variety among the same species, some are yogis, some are scientist, some are artists. Why give us the brains that can build rockets, and to explore the space. Why let us discover electricity if its going to pollute the environment? Why allow such criminals who kill animals for money, why create the villains!! Why not create a standard human being who acts exactly the same, lovable, just eating, breeding and lazing around like animals!? Wouldn't planet Earth be safer that way, no one to destroy the amazon, no one killing the elephants for ivory, no one killing sharks for its fin! SIMPLE! is it not? And we think nature is so dumb to have created a species who can be self destructive. And we have this group of people who are trying to save the planet! Hello again! We are the last thing nature can count on to save itself! So stop being such a hero!

We cant reverse the technology...we cant even live without a mobile phone. We cant imagine a world without electricity. We need the taps and running water, we need the heaters, we need the vehicles. No matter how much we love nature, its impossible to reverse everything that has been created.

My question is, why do we think nature was not aware of what is was getting into by creating us. It seems to me, more like it has put us here for a reason. We may not live to see it, but it is sure getting somewhere. At the rate science is going now, imagine the world 50 years from now! Do you seriously believe, planting a thousand trees a year is going to change that??

I don't think so. I think it is going where it wants to go, we may call it destructive, but probably it is not! What if it is building an entire new world with a different kind of species with higher intelligence?! Who can adopt to places further away from planet earth? People are breaking records in sports every year, what exactly is the limit, we don't know! So , what if nature does want us to go beyond our limits to a place destined, which only nature herself would know. What if Earth is just a training ground?? :)

The universe cant be wrong, it is too systematic to make such foolish mistakes...it could have killed us all in a blink if it wanted to. But no, its waiting, ever patiently for it to happen naturally. WHY?

It is not a Cosmic Injustice! It is destiny, not only of human beings but of the universe. We are just playing parts! No one is a saint, no one is a hero, no one is a sinner, no one criminal! Everyone is simply doing their part, like it or not! And without realising, we are helping the universe reach its destiny! That's what we are! A tool!

Or at least that's what i think we are :) :) 
 

Warrior Princess

When I spotted this book in the shelves of MPH bookstore, I just walked straight to the counter with it to pay while Nantha was looking at me in disbelief....."huh! You got your book already" hahaha yeah...coz I usually go through every book in the shelves before I find the one I really like. But hey, check out this synopsis and tell me if you would bother looking for a better one.

"Warrior Princess is the funny and inspirational memoir of Mindy Budgor , a young entrepreneur tired of having a job to have a job, who decides to make changes in her life. While waiting for her business school applications to go through, she decides to volunteer in Africa, helping build schools and hospitals in the Maasai Mara. When living and working with the Maasai, Mindy asks the chief why there are no women warriors. He responds simply and derisively: because women are not strong enough or brave enough.

Mindy immediately realizes her calling and thus begins her adventure to become the first female Maasai warrior. As a result of this training and advocacy, the Maasai in Loita, Kenya, are leading the charge to change tribal law to allow women to become Maasai warriors. Mindy as a tribe member is ready to return to stand with her fellow warriors against whatever opposition they might face. Be it lions, or elephants, or western influence."

"Do you want to be a doctor or teacher"? Was the only options given to me when I was a child. And I honestly grew up having no idea that a lady can be anything but a doctor or a teacher....Hahahaha...imagine your parents asking you "do you want to go live in a jungle and learn the way of life?" How it would excite the spirits of a child!! 

We tend to limit our vision about life into a set of routine so it looks systematic and smooth. But then LIFE is WILD. That's why we face so many obstacles on the way. Life gets bored with routine. It loves spontaneity...it loves surprises....it loves changes! No two rocks are identical...every wave in a ocean is different in its strength, no two leaves are exactly the same size or colour...every stream changes its path as the water keeps flowing over the rocks, the whole universe keeps creating new life and yet we human beings belief in so called "systems" which keeps us trapped ...with our spirits screaming from within. We so adamantly try to stay in our so called safe zone. 

Life keeps throwing rocks at us so we will move but we hold on to the "normal",  crying and screaming but refusing to let go. Then life has no choice but to drag us forcefully and throw us in the middle of some unknown path where everything looks new....the people, the environment, the mood, all new. We stand up feeling lost for a while. And then we begin to SEE what we have been missing while we were in our "safe zone".

Then, we start walking in our brand new world step by step, learning and unlearning along the way. Then we SEE the dance of life. Then....we HEAR the music.....then we EXPERIENCE the love. For the first time....we feel ALIVE!! For the first time we feel the JOY! For the first time, we feel HUMAN! Then we say thank you a million times for every rock that hit us every teardrop we shed, every painful moment we went through for without them we will never reach!

So, let your soul guide you to your destiny, just hang in there light and easy so you can be drifted effortlessly. Stop clinging on to something so tight that life has to tear you apart before it could get you going. Let go....trust the flow....and go with it. And enjoy the process, at every point, find the joy in being right where you are! stop chasing....stop resisting! And watch what happens!! 

A Sudden Clash of Thunder

I usually have a pencil and ruler with me while reading such books, just to mark words i might want to share or read again later. Usually it is like a few lines after every few page which catches my attention but with this book, i ended up having to underline something in almost every other page!! I almost gave up underlining them, as the whole book was filled with eye opening messages and breathtaking words, i couldn't decide which not to mark! 

It was not A sudden clash of thunder but a series of thunder clashing over and over!

All my life, what i heard about meditation is, to quiet the mind, to drop the mind, to stop the mind, to be against the mind in order to find peace. And every time anyone tries to meditate their first complaints would include..."My mind wont stop thinking" and they get frustrated after trying forcefully to stop these thoughts from flooding their head. The more they try, the more difficult it becomes. And the whole effort of "finding peace" becomes a burden. Its almost like we were better off NOT trying to meditate. Well i am glad i didn't go that far, i never forced myself to meditate, i somehow felt that it will happen when i am ready and forcing will not help. But until i read this book i had no idea that the WHOLE approach to drop the mind is wrong! Before i tell you why please read this part from the book which left me speechless!

"No-mind is not against mind; no-mind is beyond mind. No-mind does not come by killing and destroying the mind. No mind comes when you have understood the mind totally that thinking is no longer needed- your understanding has replaced it

If i  am to explain the above message in my own words, i would say its just like cooking :) why? If you really know cooking, then you would love cooking without a recipe, you just throw in a little bit of this and that and you will find yourself getting the ingredients needed automatically. Your hand simply moves to the shelves and grabs the spices needed, you don't stop to think...what next? You don't think how many spoons of this or that? Have you noticed that most people who can cook well will never measure the salt or spices using the spoons...they just sprinkle or pour in the right amount without measuring. Because you have understood the recipe so well you don't need to think...it comes naturally. Its less stressful and it becomes a joy to cook. But to those who can't cook. They will need to think of the dish at least a day ahead and then keeping the recipe with them while cooking. They are stressed about following the instructions, one spoon or quarter spoon...have i added too much salt or too little spice, have i missed out any ingredient. Your mind goes on and on worrying about cooking...and most of the times the dish doesn't turn up as it should be. And that's frustrating.  

So just like that, we need to understand the mind first before we even sit to meditate. If we have no idea what the mind is, then how can we go beyond! 

How do we understand the mind? Simply follow Osho's words. Just watch it. Watch the thoughts that pops up, let it be...let it happen...let it go as much as it wants. Stop forcing yourself to stop these thoughts...and gradually it will slow down by itself. Here's the part that explains it beautifully:-

"When something happens without any violence it has a beauty of its own, it has a natural growth. You can force a flower and open it by force, you can pull the petals of a bud and open it by force-but you have destroyed the beauty of the flower. Now it is almost dead. It cannot stand your violence. The petals will be hanging loose, limp, dying. When the bud opens by its own energy, when it opens of its own accord, then those petals are alive."

And another very important fact to take note is, people tend to feel guilty about certain thoughts that comes to them. They cant help having a certain thought which maybe considered "immoral" and they will feel bad for having such thoughts and feel they are not fit to be  called "Pure" but the good news here is, our thoughts are not our true selves. Thoughts can be provoked by a million things we see, hear and experience but what we are at the core remains untouched. But we tend to identify ourselves based on our thoughts which is only on the surface of it...go deeper and we will see the real person! Here's a part that explains it:-

"And nothing is wrong-even if immoral thoughts, so called immoral thoughts, pass through your mind, let them pass; nothing is wrong. You remain detached. No harm is being done. It is just fiction; you are seeing an inner movie. Allow it its own way and it will lead you, by and by, to the state of no-mind. Watching ultimately culminates in no-mind"

That's good news, isn't it?? :) Ive read about watching the mind in many other books of Osho and have been doing just that for sometime. It is a slower process but it works wonders! You become a lot more relaxed, joyous and light. What happened to me is, the less i bothered about the thoughts that comes to my mind, the less the confusion about everything that happens daily got, and in that way, i safe my energy to do the things i love and i am able to go on day to day...moment to moment joyously. Let thought be thoughts. Let it not touch what we are within. What we are within is LOVE and nothing but LOVE...lets get there :)