Sleepless in Mumbai!

Sleep, as always, is averting me. No, I’m not in love, neither have I been worried. In fact, it is the most wonderfully peaceful time of my life. But sleep, has its own whims and fancies. And so I blog at this dark hour.

So they ask, why do you climb a mountain? because the mountain is there. So why do you eat food? because there are so many wonderful things to eat. So why do you write? because there are thoughts that try hard enough to be heard. So why do you work? because there are unfinished jobs.

Any other answers, such as – “we climb to make a world record”, or “we eat to nourish our bodies”, or “we write because that might make us famous”, or ” we work to make money” … are lame answers. Okay, wait – this is not one of those blog posts meant to make the point that one should work for oneself and not others. And to prove it, I say – equally lame are the answers such as “we climb because we have strong urge to reach the top”, or “we eat because we are hungry”, or “we write to express ourselves”, or “we work because we love working”.

On such sleepless nights, the philosopher in me wakes up – the one that loves to inquire, because he wonders, not because he doubts. And asks simple and beautiful questions, like this one – why do we act? And after deep thought all answers that it gets finally amount to “for the heck of it”, “for the bloody heck of it”.

No purpose, however lofty, is justification enough – eventually. The more deep I go in thought, in action, in emotion – the more hollow the purposes seem. Purpose is a funny word. Sometimes, it means the “urge before we act” … and sometimes its “the result we hope to achieve after we act”. The assumption that these two are same or linked – is dangerously insane. Sanity, for that matter, does not rest on this insane assumption – though it is made to believe by our schools.

To those who have read him, I might sound like Roberto Calasso, no wonders. His book Ka has been quite an influence.

So this assumption, that our urge to start an action is somehow linked to the results of the action, is what the Buddha called “the concept of causation” … a sort of cognitive association we form between two events separated in time – the earlier one being assumed to be the “cause” of the other. This concept, according to Buddha, is a myth. I don’t completely agree with him. Not because I think he was wrong, but because knowing it, really doesn’t help. And in Calasso style – I ask the Buddha: “what does it mean to help?” … and he replies: “again, ‘to help’ is a concept that presupposes cause. In other words, why do you think – things should help?” … I actually didn’t get his question at first, I thought for a while before I inquired again – “no I don’t think all things should help. But then, I shouldn’t care about those things which don’t help – right?” … Buddha as usual smiled, and said “you think you can control what you care about” … and then I smiled too. ЁЯЩВ What I saw in the moment was the fact that I care about things which are not necessarily consequential (consequence is an opposite of cause) … and many times I don’t care about things which are consequential … similarly I many times have “passionate urges for things” which I don’t care about… and many times I’m dispassionate about things I care about….┬а basically I realized that “caring for something or someone” is more fundamental, more profound, more important, more desirable, more right … than “expecting a consequence” or “pursuing an urge” … I felt nice!

“To care for”, is what the Buddha called Karuna .. and it does not have a “why?” to it … it happens for the heck of it.

For those, who are wondering how I happen to talk to a person who lived 2,600 years ago, I’ve just this to say – that, according to me, is the most inconsequential question to ask. ЁЯЩВ

Ahir ki chhohariya

Time to say happy birthday to Krishna! So, here’s my favorite piece of poetry (by Raskhan) about him:

рд╕реЗрд╕, рдорд╣реЗрд╕, рдЧрдиреЗрд╕, рджрд┐рдиреЗрд╕, рд╕реБрд░реЗрд╕рд╣реБрдБ рдЬрд╛рдБрд╣реА рдирд┐рд░рдВрддрд░ рдЧрд╛рд╡реЗрдВ,
рдЬрд╛рдБрд╣реА рдЕрдирд╛рджреА, рдЕрдирдиреНрдд, рдЕрдЦрдгреНрдб, рдЕрдЫреЗрдж, рдЕрднреЗрдж, рд╕реБрд╡реЗрдж рдмрддрд╛рд╡реЗрдВ,
рдирд╛рд░рдж рд╕реЗ рд╢реБрдХ рд╡реНрдпрд╛рд╕ рд░рдЯреЗрдВ, рдкрдЪрд┐ рд╣рд╛рд░реЗ рддрдК рдкреБрдирд┐ рдкрд╛рд░ рди рдкрд╛рд╡реЗрдВ,
рддрд╛рд╣реА рдЕрд╣реАрд░ рдХреА рдЫреЛрд╣рд░рд┐рдпрд╛, рдЫрдЫрд┐рдпрд╛ рднрд░ рдЫрд╛рдБрдЫ рдкреЗ рдирд╛рдЪ рдирдЪрд╛рд╡реЗрдВред

… whom all the mighty beings: the Shesha (the celestial remainder mighty snake), Mahesh (the almighty Shiva), Ganesha, Dinesha (the sun god), and Suresha (the king of god’s Indra) eternally praise,
… who has always been described as the one without begining or end, who is complete in itself, is impenetrable, itself is the undifferentiated reality, and obviously is the omniscient,
… from Narada to Shuka Muni to Vyaas are tired of chanting whose name, and still could not understand him completely,
… he himself dances to the tune of a bunch of cowherd girls, just for a pot of buttermilk.

Besides, I love the god who sets nice precedents like stealing clothes of girls bathing in a river. ЁЯШЙ

Harih Om!