Celebrating unity

We must strive to recognize our differences,and yet celebrate our unity. We all aren't alike. Apart from being distinct physically, each person has a unique nature. Some are temperamental, some overemotional, some insensitive. Being any of these isn't necessarily wrong. It just is. But in a world that is increasingly intolerant, a slight deviation from our internal 'what's acceptable' filter is frowned upon. The first filter is looks. Why do we attach so much importance to one's physical appearance? So often we hear someone say 'She looks like a promiscuous woman'. Why? Just because she chooses to dress in a way not acceptable to us? We quickly term people as 'beautiful', 'ugly', 'too short', 'too tall', 'fat', 'skinny'...the list is endless. Our matrimonial adverts stem from such perceptions.

When we recognize that all of us are just the same, at the soul level, all our perceptions will disappear. If the 'six degrees of separation' theory is to be believed, then we're all related to one another by just six people. And even if there's no scientific basis to the theory, isn't it something nice to believe in anyway?

Love everyone, and respect and accept them for who they are...not what they look like. Look at each person as a soul who has chosen that body, whether it's obese, skinny, crippled...anything. See the beauty in every creation...and your own inner beauty will shine on the outside. And it'll be beauty that lasts. For what you judge, you will one day become.

A soul's cry

I walk through a million souls,

Yet sometimes I feel so alone,

An actor in life, I play many roles

I shriek in happiness, in despair I groan


What is the purpose of my being?

My inner voice calls out to me,

Is there a message I'm not really seeing?

My mind wants to read it, my soul is simply free


For the soul knows that there is no goal,

This drama I'm in does not reflect me,

There is no act, nor is there a role,

In the vast spiritual realm, I'm just a tiny bee


The real me resides in a place too deep.

The image in the mirror makes me vain,

In my subconscious, when I sleep,

I find the connection and lose all the pain.


As I awake and return to the grind,

Back to the world, where I laugh and weep,

In this state, I'm controlled by my mind,

My soul cries out, 'when will you sleep!'?

Lost in Love

In your light I awaken,

In your light I sleep,

You shelter me when I’m forsaken,

You comfort me when I weep.


Our bond is like none other,

We set our souls free,

I can’t imagine another,

You fill my heart with glee


This distance really kills me,

Like a dagger through my heart,

My love, why can’t you see?

We can never be apart


My heart is so lost in love,

In your memory, it pines

Our love is a gift from the heavens above,

Don’t you see the obvious signs?

An unconditional bond

I don’t need love, or approval to be free,

My life is complete, as complete can be,

The oneness with her is all I need,

It’s him I blindly follow, a simple life I lead


She has all the answers, I needn’t struggle,

My god space is a respite from life – the illusionary bubble,

The path is so clear, oh how easily I can see!

The greatest solutions lie within me


As I walk through life in a nonchalant way,

Unperturbed by sadness, in solitude I lay,

I hear a voice, this maddening sound,

Is it a connection that I’ve finally found?


‘There’s still time’, the voice says, ‘do your thing’,

‘Maintain subtlety though, in this life of bling’,

‘This alliance is a permanent one’,

‘Until then, don’t deprive yourself of fun’


Savour the illusion while it lasts,

The bonds you make will fly away

Establish a deeper connection, with the one within,

And see your soul reflect the enlightenment ray


Rohan Pasricha

Genuineness – A rarity today

It’s common; it has happened to all of us at sometime or the other. Someone tells you something, a scathing comment presumably said in jest but insulting nevertheless. Easy to say it shouldn’t rattle a person, but it does to even the best of us. So how should one react? Does one go the aggressive way or the dignified silence way? Especially if one is sure that the person who passes such mindless remarks suffers from tragic insecurity?

The ways are innumerable. But how should one exude their resilience and at the same time firmly put their point across? Though I absolutely adore the people who prefer keeping mum instead of retorting, I personally oppose the practice. I do believe that there are times when one needs to draw the line, and dispel the fallacy of the person who thinks he/she has a great sense of humour. And boy am I good at that! I did it yesterday; perhaps I even went a tad overboard during my insulting spree, but I felt it was much needed. One should be shown their place, no matter who he/she is. I completely understand and even sympathize that exhibiting good humour is not everyone’s cup of tea and if it isn’t, the person should exercise a certain degree of restrain instead of portraying themselves as a ‘open-your-mouth-ha-ha-ha’ case. And I’ve encountered a plethora of people of this loony variety, and trust me, at times you don’t even know what to tell them since they pose such a serious threat to your intelligence. You feel that whatever you say might actually accentuate their buffoonery, instead of diminishing it. It’s a lost case really, unless your retort to their ‘joking’ insult is so simplified that it penetrates their dense skulls.

The title ‘Genuineness is a rarity today’ is symbolic of the times we live in. Though I still firmly believe that goodness in the world far outweighs the negativity prevalent, it’s sad that certain people are such weak personalities that their only way of reconciliation is finding ‘flaws’ in others, despite being loaded with real flaws themselves. Sometimes, it’s alright to stay silent and feel bad for them. But many times, it’s important to make them realize the importance of the power of silence. I know this blog post, in a way, deviates from my regular feel-good posts but since life is very real, and so are the incidents we encounter, I wanted to deal with an issue that we all at some point have gone through, but didn’t know what the real solution to it. And frankly, what I’m propagating might not be the perfect antidote to the problem either. But it works for me, and I wanted to share it with you all.

Lots of love,

Roh

Election End

Politicians here politicians there,

There are politicians everywhere,

Some promise jobs, others assure food,

While a few are genuine, majority of them are shrewd

 

They're visible only during voting times,

You can see them grinning from ear to ear,

What lies behind these deceptive smiles,

Is their reality which we, the helpless people, fear!

 

Elections are over now; they’ve disappeared yet again

Who comes into power is all they’re interested in,

The promises made will drown with the rain,

While we continue to suffer, their bank accounts will gain!

 

All parties apparently work for the common man,

Their swanky cars, however, portray a different image,

When calamity strikes, they’re the first to flee,

Making shoddy attempts to douse public rage.

 

We’ve voted for someone; we’ve done our bit,

On blind trust, we’ve given our vote,

All we can do now is just helplessly sit

And welcome the new captain of India’s boat

The Funeral Mascot

It's a rather chilly night, chillier than the cold shoulder I was given at the highly boring function I had to attend. One negative aspect about a funeral is that it's anyway a rather depressing affair. What's even more depressing is that I'm dead and invisible to the human eye (hence the cold shoulder). And I'm attending a funeral of some other deceased.

Did that send a chill down your spine? A dead man attending funerals? Decipher on...

I was married at 22. I settled down in life rather quickly. I had a good job at a reputed bank and made a decent enough salary to keep my wife and me more than just afloat. We loved each other to death, which in my case was literal! I used to have a strange, recurrent dream of attending funerals. Every night I would dream of attending the funeral of someone or the other. Little did I know that my dreams would one day mirror reality. The dreams just seemed so random.

My encounter with death began one fine morning on 27th August 2000. I was crossing the road casually when a truck at lightning speed came and knocked me over. I don't recollect any pain. I just remember being transported to a scary yet spectacular world of shimmering lights and haunting sounds. The ambience was bright yet subtle; I hadn't seen something like this before.

I heard a voice. It said 'Welcome Max. You're no more. You've lived an overall good life, albeit with a few grave mistakes. You need to redeem yourself. From now on, you must attend the funeral of every person who dies, and bless them for a peaceful journey but you must also suck the blood of one person at the funeral in order to keep your dead existence in bodily form. Your victim will be preordained, someone who has lived an impure life. You will continue to do this until your wife too breathes her last. It is then when you'll finally unite in heaven'.

My wife is still young, so I don't see that happening soon. But hey, next time you're at a funeral, and your heart isn't clean, just remember I'm around.

Rohan Pasricha