Authentic Living

The one question that has been on my mind lately, is WHAT IS SIN? Every culture, every race, every religion has a different idea of what sin is...but then we are all the same HUMAN! So does that mean, i escape a certain sin simply because i happen to be in a certain society by chance! Does nature bother with your religion or culture when it decides to punish you!? All nature sees is HUMAN....so what exactly is SIN?

None of the books i read gave me a satisfactory answer to this question...but i knew it was coming....somewhere, somehow, someone must have the answer. And not surprisingly, i finally found it in Osho's "danger

:truth at work" 

And i actually laughed out loud when i read those lines coz just like answers to all the other complicated questions we ask, this too was SIMPLE!! We as always go on missing the simple answers. You don't have to read scriptures, or memorize vedas, or chant a thousand mantraas to find these answers...its just put at plain sight and yet we go on missing it!

Before i share the answer, just imagine this, the whole world is alive with all kinds of living things, animals and plants, streams and rocks, bugs and insects, mountains and oceans and human beings are a part of this whole but the only difference is ALL other things of this world goes on according to nature EXCEPT we human beings! We have created a million rules to follow (which is all against our nature) and then call it a SIN when we cant follow it!  If such rules were necessary, do you think nature wouldn't have packed it into our system!??

For instance, if we should only be vegetarians, then nature could have easily made our system to only work if we consumed vegetable.....but people who are non vegetarian live on...dont they?? So, how could it be a sin if nature allows it?? Why should it give us a choice if it is not allowed! Nature works in a circle and it sure needs one life eating another. But how we do it is the question. Don't torture an animal before you slaughter it. And don't eat for pleasure which causes all the demand for such torture to take place. Eat what you have to and let other animals live! Isn't that exactly what carnivorous animals are doing? 

I am a vegetarian, not for religious purposes, but i am simply not comfortable eating non vegetarian food. But that doesn't have to work for everyone. If you can take non veg then go ahead but just remember to do it the right way, take responsibility to know where your meat comes from. If it comes from farms where animals are being tortured, stop buying from these sources. When you are aware sharks are being tortured for its fin, then stop consuming shark fin soup! And dont wait for the whole world to stop. YOU stop it first and the world will follow.  Eat moderately and don't waste food, don't eat for fun! Enjoy and respect the food you have. Then theres no place for "SIN"

So heres the answer i found in the book:

"To me there is only one sin, and that is not to be yourself. And to me there is only one virtue, and that is to know yourself. If you are Adam and Eve, just born, just getting out of the Garden of Eden-nobody to ask what to do, nobody to ask what discipline is right, no priest, no rabbi, no pope is available- what are you going to do?

Do that!" 

Does it not make sense?? We have forgotten how to react naturally with a thousand rules contradicting in our heads each time we face a situation in life. We have forgotten how to be natural. We react according to what our parents made us believe, what our society made us believe, cultures, traditions, rules and regulations crowding our head into one gigantic MESS. And then we wonder why life gets so chaotic! How else can it be when everyone we meet, is trying to fit into a different set of messy ideas about life and while we are all entangled in these ideas we forget how to love...which is the ONE most PRECIOUS quality we have. Seriously, do we even remember we are HUMAN BEINGS??? And what we can NATURALLY be??

Stratford-upon-Avon

It was my first ever morning in England, having home cooked English breakfast. Its amazing how a simple toast with butter and scrambled eggs and coffee tastes over there! Was sitting at the table in our friend's cozy home at Dunstable, looking at the garden through the sliding glass door, feeling pretty fresh after a good sleep since we arrived there. I managed to call Nantha to inform him that we have all arrived safely. So, i was totally at ease.

That's when our friend asks "so, you should all rest today, but tomorrow we can go sightseeing.Where would you like to go first?" and she looks at me. I was staring blankly at her, coz firstly i am not those kind of tourist who would browse out for the entire list of "places to go" when you go travelling. I like surprises and also prefer to simply go with the flow. So apart from the basic ticket bookings and accommodations i did not really browse for places to see. 

Secondly i wasn't sure where exactly Dunstable was. I mean apart from the distance from the airport i wasn't sure how far it was from the other popular London's attractions. So i didn't want to suggest a place which was too far away or troublesome to get to. She must have sensed that i had absolutely no idea where i wanted to go. So she asked again..."how about Shakespeare's Village?" And my eyes widened!  Almost choking on my toast, i stared at her in disbelieve. 

...Shakespeare's village?? It exists? And we can go there?? how come NO one i know who have been to England EVER mentioned this place? All i hear about is...Oxford Street, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Windsor Castle and so on...but NEVER this? Of course i did not say all this aloud. It was just the thoughts going on in my mind while i managed to calmly answer "Really? Shakespeare's birthplace? wow! That will be so interesting!! lets go!"    

OK! we leave tomorrow morning after breakfast then, she says. I was delighted! Then i found out that the place is called Stradford-upon-Avon. Now please tell me honestly if you have heard a name of any other place which sounds more poetic or musical or romantic as that! Of course, it is where Shakespeare was born! It has to be romantic, i thought :)

So, the next day, off we went after breakfast. She drove us all the way there and i remember it took about slightly less than an hour to reach. 

And wow, i don't think i would be able to explain the place in just one post. It was simply out of the world. It was like you have just walked through a time machine and got out in the 1560s! With all its ancient buildings and farms and even the way people dressed was like they had just popped out from the past.

Life performers acting his plays 

Seriously, that was the day i truly wished i did English literature in school! Because i could imagine how anyone who knows Shakespeare's work might feel when they visit this place. It is simply magical. You can watch life performers acting out his plays as you walk around the cottage gardens. You can see everything and anything about Shakespeare.  

Aunt and friend outside Anne Hathaway's cottage

The cottages looked like paintings that had come alive.The farm animals and people working there and how they were maintaining the farm in the traditional way, exactly how it was done in the 16th century! 

Inside Anne Hathaway's cottage

Me dressed like a farm worker :)

Me with cousin and friend outside Shakespeare's house

Where little baby Shakespeare slept :)

The awesome fireplace !!

The cozy dining room

The Best kitchen in the world....erm i wish the duck was alive though :)

The sheep and pigs roaming happily. No cruel cages or cramped up factories to torture them. Life as it is...


...just beautiful.

And you know what the best ever part was, after roaming around the whole morning, at about 2pm we were all hungry and decided to have some English tea and scones at a tea house. And honestly, I love it! again, the view we had made every sip worth it.

At Mary Arden's House

What a lovely day it was and what an awesome beginning of my holiday. So you see? This is why i love surprises! A place i never knew existed ...and that turns out to be the best!

Me signing the guest book , i think i wrote something like
"Simply Magical" :)

My favourite picture, standing inside Shakespeare's house:)

Hmm, so when i get to go to England again...this place will be a sure visit. Because there were more places to see in the village which we had to miss during this first trip as we made a day trip and had to get home by evening. You might need two full days to see all the places. 

So, when you visit England, please keep this place in mind. You will so love it! For me, it sort of gave an experience of a real ENGLISH world, a traditional one. That was truly special. 

Soothing Sight

My good friend Kym, once said " How come most people do not seem to think about why there are tonnes of meat for sale in the supermarkets but then we dont see any animal roaming around in our neighbourhood....where do these meat come from ? Where are the animals..?" Yes ...how come people dont see it ! All these animals are cramped up in a inhumanely horrific condition simply so that WE have more space to live !! For those of you who have had the guts to watch the videos of these animals being tortured , thank you.. for will know what i am talking about...and for those of you who simply avoided watching these videos so that you could sleep better i have just one question...is everything ok for as long we dont see it ?? Just ask yourselves.....and let your heart answer that..

Anyway...though there are so much of cruelty going on everywhere...off and on nature somehow inspires you to believe in humanity. I had one such experience recently while i was in India....and i will not explain further for i shall let the pictures speak for itself....so good to see nature in its right order at least in some corners of the world ...truly inspiring...

And of course i understand that it doesnt mean there are no commercial animal farms in India..still it was soothing to know at least some were in safe hands... these pictures were taken along the highway from Chennai to Thirupathi and also at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu.

A little healing images :):)

Tsunami VS Human ??

11 MILLION people murdered during holocaust with estimated 1.1 MILLION CHILDREN !

Estimated over 70 MILLION people dead during World War II

80 THOUSAND people mass murdered in RWANDA GENOCIDE

100 Thousand civilians killed in GULF WAR

Over 10 Thousand dead in just 4 years in Afghanistan war

100 THOUSAND killed in Sri Lankan War

over 13 Thousand killed in 10 just years Nepal Civil war

23 Thousand Elephants killed EACH YEAR !! for its tusks

38 MILLION sharks killed EACH YEAR for its fins

ONE MILLION animal killed PER HOUR !!! for human consumption ONLY in US !!

Plus .... http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/massacre.html ( Please have a look before you read on )

Plus MILLIONS of more killings recorded by human being for money , fame, power & greed all over the world

VS

the DEADLIEST tsunami IN HISTORY claims lives of 200,000 ??

erm....yeah we sure have a BETTER chance with nature....

whos wit me :) :) :)

SUPPORT FREE RANGE & HUMANE FARMING

Theres always something we can do ...no matter how small the impact...but choosing to ignore injustice is the most disastrous outcome we could bring to the world. We refuse to even watch videos of animals being tortured...because its disturbing...so we make an easy decision ...IGNORE ! SO... its ok as long as we DONT SEE it ????

Then why dont we IGNORE the earthquakes....tsunamis...tornados...flash floods...and volcano eruptions...? We still sit glued to the TV or Computer screen ...watching...and giving remarks such as..." OHH...dear GOD...WHY??, poor people...how horrific..!" and so on.....we dare watch it coz we believe those things are all ACT OF GOD...so we dont feel guilty watching them...we dont take the blame...and we cant stop it from happening...! thats why we DARE watch and speak about it openly...

But when it comes to ANIMAL FACTORY FARMING...most people act oblivious to it....coz they know that theres something EACH and every one of us could do to stop it....but we CHOOSE NOT TO !...and thus to avoid the Guilt ....we IGNORE...after all....the animals Cant SPEAK....so who would know...?

I beg to those of you who are reading this....here are a few of the smallest changes we can make....

- Eat MORE vegetable in a week...if you cant be totally vegetarian...coz when the demand is reduced...this madness will also be reduced!

- Stop consuming ONE type of meat that you can live without...at least start with shark fin's soup, then Ham or bacon or anything at all...

- Educate your children about how to support FREE RANGE FARMING

And above all....HAVE MERCY ! ACT like HUMAN.....is that so hard ! !?

If you have no idea what factory farming is....please google for you tube videos or link to Pig Gestation Crates / Factory Dairy Production / Battery farming....as i will not provide those horrific links here as i dont want children watching it by any chance....for its extremely disturbing...

We totally depend on the younger generation to make the change...so create the awareness by helping them make the right and humane choices while they are still young . And also to avoid more and more adults choosing factory farming as the means for earning in the future.

Look at the loving glances of these animals....please say if they deserve to be treated this way ?