October 26, 2013

Victory, Glory, Success, Happiness should Transcend

I am watching Bhaag Milkha Bhaag right now & I have just realised the real domain of X. (x = success, fame, glory, happiness etc.)
It is & should not be limited to personal success, fame, glory or happiness but transcend. 
Transcend into the lives of the self, the family, employees, friends, close ones, locality, city, state, country further into the humanity across the world & even the world itself, & finally into the true self.
Eg. Sachin Tendulkar, once upon a time it was the pleasure of a few to watch him play & succeed, then of Mumbai (Ranji) then of India, later of the people all over world. Even further he became an inspiration for not just sportsmen but a role model for personal lives & professional ethics. Similarly Rahul Dravid, Milkha Singh (as depicted in the movie) & numerous other people.
Similarly Bhagwaan Mahaveer.

Remember it should transcend to your self & it will complete you.

Because it is not just about money. It is about a lot lot more.

October 25, 2013

Apple MacBook Pro 13" with retina India Price

 

I was so happy to know that the upgraded (haswell processor) 13" MBP with retina is priced at $1300 (about Rs. 78,000)
That joy was short lived as the price came on the apple India website, Rs. 99,900 (almost $1650)

Out of this Rs. 11,500 (about $180) is the import duty in India (acceptable) still the price should be around Rs. 90,000 not 99,900! That is still close to a $150 difference, after duty!

What is that about?

October 24, 2013

Experiences matter more than facts, figures & numbers

Personal opinion.

Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl Excerpts

I am still just reading the Preface of A Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankl & this is deep.
Here is a collection of excerpts from the book that I like.
I will keep on updating this post as I read the book.

“He who has a why to live can bear with almost any how.”

“the last of human freedoms" - the ability to "choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances.”

“Hunger, humiliation, fear and deep anger at injustice are rendered tolerable by closely guarded images of beloved persons, by religion, by a grim sense of humor, and even by glimpses of the healing beauties of nature - a tree or a sunset.”

“Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run - in the long run, I say! -
success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it.”

“psychology requires a certain scientific detachment”

“when we saw a comrade smoking his own cigarettes, we knew he had given up faith in his strength to carry on, and, once lost, the will to live seldom returned.”

“An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior”

There is always a choice of thought & action. “man does have a choice of action. There were enough examples, often of a heroic nature, which proved that apathy could be overcome, irritability suppressed. Man can preserve a vestige of spiritual freedom, of independence of mind, even in such terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress.

We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

“the sort of person the prisoner became was the result of an inner decision, and not the result of camp influences alone. Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp. Dostoevski said once, "There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings”

“Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.”

“man's inner strength may raise him above his outward fate”



The Midnight Tides, Malazan Series Review

Okay, so an epic fantasy review after a long time.
Malazan Book of the Fallen is truly an epic fantasy series, grander in scheme than even LOTR & very elaborate in description.
Here is a review of The Midnight Tides
This book could have been a non-fiction book, if you removed the names, the God involvements & the rebirth (several times) of Rhulad Sengar.
This is a story of debt, interest & greed. Reading this, I was thinking isn't this what is happening in the world today. Isn't that what caused the major financial collapse in the US & Europe? Isn't this, why the banks are minting money, literally.
The story delves deep into the culture of Letheras, a city of Gold (figuratively) where everything is rationalised in the name of money & lending. Where the supreme rulers are, not the ruling family, but the money lenders. Even the throne has a huge debt.
Conquest, slaughter, slavery & exploitation is all legitimised & practiced systematically in the name of progress.
& finally, how this very greed would have lead to the downfall of the entire kingdom. (were it not conquered by the Tiste Edur before the collapse.)

One of the facts mentioned in there, once one enters this cycle of debt, it is almost impossible to break out.

How true in this realm of the humans, too.

October 14, 2013

Ill-effects of Peer De-Pressurisation

Peer De-pressurisation. Something very similar & profound yet so new. On October 8, 2013 Kruti & I were talking about piracy. How it is so easy to Pirate stuff, courtesy of the internet.
& how it is so wrong.
That is when this concept occurred to me.
We have a very high mental resistance to traditional 'bad-activities' such as stealing someone's wallet. Why? Because we have been taught & have come to realise that it is a very bad thing to do. & nobody around us does it.
However for piracy (which is  almost the same as stealing a wallet) everyone around us (in college) is doing it, someone downloads a movie torrent, another guy downloads a T. V. series etc. which simply reduces the mental resistance to piracy, it just looks like, 'everyone is doing it, including these good people, so maybe it isn't that bad.' but it is only when we look deep that we realise piracy is the same as stealing someone's wallet.
Similarly for smoking & drinking too.

October 12, 2013

Reasons to not get married so early.

There is so much talk of my marriage these days, that I think I must jot down these points as a reminder to self.
1. I am a just a kid! ONLY 23 years old.
2. No financial independence for me yet.
3. I don't think I can handle the responsibility of a wife & soon-kids right now.
4. If I get married right now, it might be to a body rather than to a person.
5. Repeat : I am just a kid!
6. I don't want to get married. Others want to get me married.
7. I do not know who I am & neither do I know what am I looking for in a potential 7-lives partner. {Reference : 7 janmon ka bandhan}

October 6, 2013

There is something about Love

I have experienced love, sometime in the past, a past that looks so distant, almost like a third-person perspective, but feels so close, like it just happened.
Love is freedom.
Love sets you free by freeing your emotions, your desires & your mind.
Love makes you stop thinking & start feeling.
Love is like waking up as a different person, it is almost like being born again & you are never the same again, ever.
That is not all, but all that comes to mind right now.

October 5, 2013

Peace in turmoil

The turmoil is there, has always been there & will always be there.
But earlier I was at peace, the turmoil did not affect me.
Now I am caught up in the turmoil.
I must be peace.
At the Center of the turmoil in the eye, there is peace.

Or far away from it? But that would be just a temporary solution.

October 4, 2013

Love is freedom

Penning the thought, rather the feeling, will try & write on it later.


Review of The Prophet, Kahil Gibran

I am reading The Prophet by Kahil Gibran right now on the recommendation of Kruti.
I usually do not write reviews or talk about books until I have completed reading them, but this book is a book of teachings. A must-read-&-understand.
It may take me a couple of days to complete it, in the meanwhile you should read it!


October 1, 2013

For my sister, Kruti.

Leaving for Singapore finally.

Tere jaane ka itna gam nahin Behena jitna Tere auto-shaper banne ka hai.
 & 
You are more conscious about your games than models are about their food.

Hope you will keep on updating your blog (more frequently).
You reader can check out her blog at http://blog.krutimunot.com

For my sister, Kruti.

Leaving for Singapore finally.

Tere jaane ka itna gam nahin Behena jitna Tere auto-shaper banne ka hai.

Hope you will keep on updating your blog (more frequently).
you reader can check out her blog at http://blog.krutimunot.com