The Twins

The restaurant owner smiled as he saw a couple of his regular customers walk in for dinner. He had always seen them come in together and had observed they conversed together happily, ate and left with a contended expression on their faces. The boy and girl were in their late teens, and seemed to be brother and sister – the resemblance was striking.

In order to maintain a level of consistency and understanding for their needs, he invariably assigned the same waiter to serve them. As he glanced towards them, he saw that the boy seemed agitated and the waiter was saying something to him. The girl placed her hand on his, and calmed him down. She then held the menu in her hand and said something to the waiter. The waiter nodded and came away. Once the waiter had conveyed the order to the kitchen staff, the owner spoke to him asking what the matter was.

“Well, one of the items the boy wanted isn't available today. He was irritated with that”, said the waiter.
“Oh, OK. The girl handled the situation very smoothly. I guess they are brother and sister. Do you know their names?”
“Well, they mentioned they were twins. I do not know their names though. Also they have paid in cash all the time, so there is no electronic receipt with their names either”.
“Sure..since they are regulars, we need to ensure they are satisfied and leave happy”.

After a few days, the boy came to the restaurant for dinner with 7 other friends. His twin sister was not accompanying him this time. The waiter quickly took their orders and served them quickly.

As time went by, after a few drinks, the group got to be boisterous. They were singing loudly, yelling and screaming. The owner grew to be worried, people at the tables close to this group were conscious and glared at them, clearly irritated. The owner was not sure what to do, after all he was dealing with a regular and loyal customer. He decided he would not intervene – after all it was a group of people having fun. Why come in the way? After a few minutes, two groups of people in adjacent tables quickly wrapped up their dinner, paid and left. As new people entered the restaurant, they were clearly taken aback by the noise. While some exited, preferring to find another place, a few persisted due to their general patronage of the place.

The manager was thoughtful. The boy was so much different at the times he came to the restaurant with his twin sister. What caused this change of behaviour – it was almost as if his twin sister was the balancing force in this boy's life. This was not a good night – some of the damage done would hurt for some time. The manager sighed – now starting to feel that he should have intervened and challenged the boy when the ruckus started.

He got up, determined to at least have a polite word with the boy so that this does not recur. As he walked towards the table, he saw that the group was done and the boy's friends were all walking away towards the door. The boy standing, was leaving a tip, and was ready to walk away.

The manager walked up to him and spoke “Quite a time you folks had”.
“Oh yes!”, replied the boy brightly “Our college term ended and a few of us decided to have fun”.
“Well you were very loud at times. Since you are regular, I let it be this time”, said the manager.
“Oh, were we?”, said the boy frowning.
“I have noticed you generally come here with your sister, isn't it?”, asked the manager.
“Oh yes! She is my twin and mostly insists on being around, but today I gave her the slip”, chuckled the boy.
“Ok!” said the manager shaking hands with the boy. “And what are your names?”
“I am Freedom” said the boy.
“Oh, and your twin sister?”, asked the manager.
“She is Responsibility”, replied the boy.

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Housekeeping

I was restless – there were a great many things to do. And the usual thoughts on messages, calls and other things swam in my mind.

I paused for a moment and collected my thoughts. I could not however delay the housekeeping work any longer – and that is what I needed to attend to immediately. The mess had to be cleared - and I had to do it. There are many ways to go about it – but I decided to do it my own way. After all, it simply does not matter how you do it, what cleaning tools you use, so long as the place was organized and neat afterward.

I started with the obvious – the most recent and visible dust scattered all over. As I swept it away I realized, I had to dig deeper. As I peeped into a corner I found to my surprise some large stains. I thought over it and chuckled – a bad quarrel had led to spills and hence the stains. I worked on it and the stains dulled. I left it at that – I would revisit it again and work on it some other time.

As I reached into more corners, I found some things I had been missing since some time! A few were generous gifts from others – friends and family; a feeling of delight and gratitude rose. I resolved to share some of these things with others later.

I slowly opened my eyes. A sense of calm enveloped me. Housekeeping the mind was serious business, and followed the same principles as anything else. Also it is so very important - the more regular I am the better it is for me..



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Mysterious Maya

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I smiled as I thought about my new connection - Maya. The name was appropriate, as she had a deep sense of mystery about her. I looked closely at her timelines – it went back well into the past. Interestingly, the timeline covered most major events in her life. When I looked at her, I always admired her for the deep sense of calm on her face. But her timeline indicated there had been turbulent and violent times as well. As I read through her timeline, I wondered why would she put so much information to the outside world right since the early part of her life.

I was curious to know everything about her - she was the most fascinating person I had ever known. I reflected on my interaction with her – conversation was difficult as she spoke a different language, but I grew to recognize some of her signs. Though I was connected, I wasn't even sure if I could consider her a true friend yet.

I reflected on this:
Outwardly, Maya was neither friendly, nor unfriendly
She portrayed a sense of calm and balance
She was not verbal, and yet was very expressive
She encouraged me to understand her better
She had interlinked her life very closely with mine
She wanted me to learn the language she spoke
She wanted me to learn lessons from her life
She wanted me to write her story


All this was encouraging, and I supposed I could count her as a friend. However, her message seemed to be “Just be” - don't simplify a relationship with labels such as “friend” and “foe”.

Can you recognize “Maya”? You know her too!

I have used “Maya” in place of the “Universe”. Why don't you re-read the text above with “Universe” in place of “Maya”…..

It is sometimes easy to lose sight of how profound the universe is. She has allowed us to see her and that too well into her past. And she has extraordinary lessons for all of us on how we need to be balanced.

“I will tell you why we have these extraordinary minds and souls, Miss Whittaker," he continued, as though he had not heard her. "We have them because there is a supreme intelligence in the universe, which wishes for communion with us. This supreme intelligence longs to be known. It calls out to us. It draws us close to its mystery, and grants us these remarkable minds, in order that we try to reach for it. It wants us to find it. It wants union with us, more than anything.”

― Elizabeth Gilbert, The Signature of All Things

“Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.”

― Alan W. Watts

My last post dealt on about how we need to think of the universe as being alive. Isn't it remarkable that the universe has encouraged us to be curious, build capability across several generations and reach out to the very limits of our intellect to be able to understand her not only how she is today, but well into the past and how she was born? Stephen Hawking had remarked that science would be able to say how the universe was born but not why.

The question on why the universe bothers to exist is the same as asking why we bother to exist. To answer that question you must both look out and look in – listen to the whisper from outside and the voice from inside. And wise men tell us it can be done – if you learn the language of silence which is more expressive and clearer than words…..

In looking at the universe, are we not looking at ourselves? Isn't that why knowing more about the universe is possible and exciting, since it is a process of self-discovery ultimately? Have you felt your oneness with the universe?

Tracing back to the Oldest Life Form

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What is the oldest life form which comes to your mind? Here, even a google search might send you off-track…..

There is no harm is starting with the obvious though – a google search. This leads us to the page titled  Timeline of the evolutionary history of life. The article tells us that the earliest evidence of simple life was around 440 million years after the Earth was formed (around 4.54 billion years back). We, modern humans have been around for a very small fraction of Earth's existence. It is an interesting account on we have managed to trace our origins from the earliest forms of life.

The universe fascinates us, everything about it - it's origins, history, evolution, purpose…..However, many a times we lose perspective of our relation with the universe. As we look around us, the universe is all around us, and we are within – an outer protective covering, much like our houses, only so much bigger. The universe appears to be a physical entity enclosing the only significantly intelligent life form we know of – us. Let us imagine for a moment that someone tells us that a building has given birth to a child. What would our reaction be? - we would regard this as absolutely ridiculous isn't it? It is life which spawns life!

Isn't the oldest life form the universe itself? Why have we come to regard the universe as a totally physical entity? Is it because we hold ourselves as the ideal reference point? We picture the universe as something like a balloon, expanding as balloons do with we having found a place for ourselves inside. The universe is very alive though; sustaining itself, spawning life, creating matter & energy, and changing all the time.

“In the older view the goddess Universe was alive, herself organically the Earth, the horizon, and the heavens. Now she is dead, and the universe is not an organism, but a building, with gods at rest in it in luxury: not as personifications of the energies in their manners of operation, but as luxury tenants, requiring service. And Man, accordingly, is not as a child born to flower in the knowledge of his own eternal portion but as a robot fashioned to serve.”
― Joseph Campbell

Considering the universe as alive is a far richer and profound view. It changes our perspective on our relation with the universe. We and the universe are one – we started as one, and we remain one in purpose, very much like a wave is part of the ocean.

“You are a function of what the whole universe is doing in the same way that a wave is a function of what the whole ocean is doing.”
― Alan W. Watts

As a wave is indistinguishable and shares identity and purpose with the ocean, we share the same relation with the universe. We carry the responsibility of aligning to the universe as waves with the sea.

“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.”
― Joseph Campbell

“There is force in the universe, which, if we permit it, will flow through us and produce miraculous results.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

In your minds do you think of the universe as being alive?

Addition and Subtraction

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These are basic skills, are they not? Yet, are we sure we are good at it? Do we accord both the right emphasis?

Well, I must admit that the title is misleading as it is metaphorical, but clarity will come as you read on. Success, as we see it, is largely a matter of (quantum of) addition – adding to the bank balance, adding skills, adding more friends (on social media and in real-life), adding to places travelled, adding business contacts, adding to gadgets owned, adding property, and so many other things. In fact it is addition which preys on our mind all the mind. Success in the world view is all about addition! In fact our self esteem depends totally on our ability to add! Happiness in the view of many is addition at a steady and never ending pace.

There are rare cases when subtraction surfaces in our thoughts, but gains priority only if it threatens to take away something from us. A case in point is weight – there are many who take up weight reduction once it is clear that it could impact health or self esteem. Weight, as in turns out is not the only thing we need to think of subtracting. Subtraction lends balance and true purpose to our lives.

Subtracting a little of our bank balance for charity helps others and provides great satisfaction. Subtracting from our pride helps us understand others. Subtracting our stereotypes and biases helps us see the world as it is, instead of our warped view of it. Subtracting our sense of uniqueness allows us to see the essential oneness of everything in the universe. Subtracting meaningless effort allows time for reflection and creativity.

If we subtract the past pains and future fears from our thoughts, we are in the “now” - truly living the present moment. There are a number of other things we need to work on subtracting as well – stereotypes, biases, overindulgence, false sense of identity, overconfidence, pleasure seeking frenzy, and others.

Enlightenment is a demolition project. It simply shows you that everything you ever believed was true isn’t.
- Adyashanti

“If the past was the age of adding to one's mind, now is the age of subtracting what is in his mind. A person who subtracts his minds in this time will recover his original nature.”
― Woo Myung,

You have probably been asking yourself every day “What did I add today?”. Don't you think you should also be asking “What did I subtract today?”.

Soar High and Spread Cheer!

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In the new year, may you experience the joy of being free

To fly high, very high, higher than where your thoughts go


In the new year, may you accept the world and everything for how it is

And know that if there is something you can change, it is only yourself


In the new year, as you reach out, sense and feel everything else

May you experience that everything is one, and it is you


In the new year, may you spread your hands wide to touch those

Who have lost much, or never had as much as you did


In the new year, may you realize that there are no limits

There never were, and there never will be, for what can be


In the new year, may you recognize yourself for who are

And stop trying to become, for you already are


In the new year, may you be brave to let go, and be carried away

To drop your fears, live your dreams, soar high and spread cheer!

The Spirit of a City

Many years ago, I was discussing the monsoon patterns in India with a relative in Tamil Nadu. While Mumbai typically sees heavy rain when the South West Monsoon reaches the city after hitting Andaman & Nicobar islands & Kerala in June, Tamil Nadu gets rains with the North East cycle around October / November. Considering the relatively low rainfall and perennial water shortage in Tamil Nadu, I quipped (in an attempt to be clever) that the scanty rainfall which Tamil Nadu gets cannot be considered as any kind of a monsoon really. That has been the case since long, water shortages being a major concern for the state and rivers drying up. My grandparents had told me about a flood long back when the river Vaigai was in spate in Madurai after heavy rains, leading to considerable destruction and loss of life. But that seemed in the distant past and an odd freak occurrence.

This impression of Tamil Nadu being a mostly dry state strongly entrenched, the rains Chennai faced this year is hence unexpected and shocking. While Mumbai has always had heavy rains, it too was caught unaware with extreme rains on 26 Jul 2005 (I had written the short story based on real incidents with minor deviations in Call to the Edge). On that day, streets turned into streams and rivers – all in full force catching people unawares. As with Chennai, many lives were lost. It was hence easy for Mumbaikars to understand what Chennai must be going through – having lived through floods & bomb blasts. A program on NDTV after the 1993 bombs still sticks in my mind. Pranoy Roy ended the program with a tribute to the remarkable people of Mumbai. While haunting visuals played, a rolling text went “If it was terrorism's aim to destroy a city, in Mumbai it failed miserably. Hospitals had to turn away many of the large crowds who turned up to donate blood, while the city still mourned those it had lost…..”. Well, that kind of sensitive coverage is not to be seen on television networks any more – and that is a different matter. Coincidentally, in the case of the Chennai floods, NDTV had the best coverage allowing people to call for help. 

The extent of the tragedy became apparent as we desperately connected with relatives, some of whom were traveling. There were disturbing stories – bodies, snakes, no communication, severe flooding….. Many lives were lost, and there were others who lost all they had. The headline in the Economic Times said it all “Entire city a giant swimming pool”. All of the people I spoke to, though, displayed remarkable strength and composure. 

In the face of immense hardship and an unprecedented situation not seen in decades, the spirit of the city came to the fore. There are umpteen stories of people rescuing others, distributing food, providing shelter, and donating money. Social media played it's part as well in connecting people and spreading information. There was a period though when everything was simply down. The rest of the country responded as well – with people rushing supplies from other places too. There were of course a few who sought to profit from the situation – typically a few transporters and middlemen. But by and large, it was a city, whose people stuck together – determined to wade out (quite literally as well) of the situation. With people like that, nature's fury could not hold a city down for long. 

Chennai has bared it's soul this past month for all to see (as I have seen Mumbai do in the past) – and it was inspiring, very inspiring. 

It is only fitting that my first post on my new blog on life experiences is a tribute to the remarkable people of Chennai.