Sri Sri David Dhawan

Blog: Hey man, what's up?

Me: What's up bloggy?

Blog: Now when did David Dhawan got the title of 'Sri Sri' !

Me: Oh, never mind about that. I wrote it because it sounded kind off funny. You know who I am talking about when I mention 'Sri Sri', right?

Blog: Oh yeah. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of Art of Living Foundation. A great guy I must say. There are a few nice videos on youtube of his discourses.

Me: Yeah. So I took a course recently. It's called Art of Living part 1.

Blog: Oh really?? Dude, you must be all enlightened now. What do they teach in that course, I mean what is it all about? And what did you learn there? In fact, first tell me why you even did this course?

Me: So, I have tried to meditate by reading various techniques in books and watching videos on youtube and other similar resources, but was never successful to meditate (or that is what I think). So I thought lets try if this can help me.

Blog: I see. What exactly do you mean by meditation?

Me: It's a state of mind when ... errr.. .actually it's a stat of 'no mind' .. .aaaaa .. when your mind is kindoff numb ... hmmm .. not numb .. but at peace .. like when you don't have any thoughts in your mind .. not even the thought that you don't have any thought .. you know when ....

Blog: I got it, i got it, don't try too hard. It's like when you switch off the computer server!!

Me: Dude, humans are not as lucky as you. Our brain can never be 'Shut Down'. I wish it was that easy.

Blog: I was kidding. So what about it? Were you able to do IT this time?

Me: If I have to answer in boolean, I would say NO.

Blog: Waste of time and money, eh?

Me: Did I say that? You don't have to extrapolate what ever I say dude.

Blog: So why don't you share your experience with me ?

Me: That's why I am here right now, for sharing if not my whole personal experience but the 'David Dhawan' part of it.

Blog: Okk, I am all ears. So what of this Dhawan thing?

Me: So David Dhawan is a fairly successful Bollywood movie director. And though almost 90% of Bollywood movies can be labeled with the same tag but he is the one who is the symbol of a genre of movies which come with a disclaimer - 'Keep your brains out of the movie theater'.

Blog: No Brain .. No mind .. I sense the connection now ... go on ...

Me: Good. So you can never enjoy a typical David Dhawan movie if you dare make the mistake of analyzing the movie. And mostly people don't do that including me. But then these are the same people who analyze that .. you know if there is God out there .. what is this life for .. what will Art of Living course do for you .. are these guys actually spiritual or they just have good marketing skills .. why do they charge money for the course when Truth doesn't sell .. how can a Breathing technique be spiritual, and other such doubts.
And by being so analytical .. they block their mind and don't let the True message reach you.

Blog: Hmm, but what you are saying is kind off scary. You can't possibly listen and accept everything, a lot of which could be crap. Isn't that how cults are formed?

Me: What I am saying is that you can have a true spiritual experience only if you have an open mind. To be context specific, Art of Living course will work for you only if you go out there without any prejudice. But mind you, spirituality is all about an individual evolution. Cults are formed when you are made to believe that society >> individual. And didn't I say that you will see Truth only if you first are open? It also means, that if indeed they are trying to form a cult, you will see through that too.

Blog: So your point is that life should be lived in a 'David Dhawan' mode or you will loose out on a whole lot of fun, right?

Me: You said it. There are times when your intellectual thinking has to take a backseat and you need to go with the flow. And my suggestion to any one who takes an AOL course or anything similar is that 'Keep your brains out of the show'.

Blog: I don't know about you. But I do believe in God. And i am so thankful to him that I am not a human. Saves me from a lot of philosophical babble!

Rape victims and Ramayana.

Atul: Hey bloggy, whats up?

Blog: Not bad. Why don't you install Google Chrome and run me on that?

Atul: Actually I did install Chrome but didn't like it. Well, or lets say that I still like Firefox better than Chrome.

Blog: Ok, never mind, so what's up with this Ramayana thing?

Atul: I watched this movie yesterday - Khaamosh Pani (Silent Waters). It's a Pakistani movie and actually, a pretty nice attempt. Btw, warn me if I start writing a review of the movie instead of what I intended to write. So this movie is based on the period when Pakistan was undergoing a political crisis.

Blog: Wait a minute, be specific. Because Pakistan has always been in a political crisis!

Atul: Allright, so it's on the backdrop of the events in late 1970s when Zia Ul Haq took over and Marshall law was enforced on Pakistan with ouster of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Blog: I know who you are talking about, that Haq guy had the weirdest moustache and hair style.

Atul: Yep. So the story is based on a mother and her son during that period, living in a village immune to the political turmoil in big cities. But as the story progresses, her son starts getting Islamicized and intolerant to other religions. And from the flashback we get to know her story that how she was a Sikh woman, forced to commit suicide during partition by her own family members, but she doesn't jump into that well and instead runs away. Eventually she is caught by some Muslim folks, repeatedly raped before some one shows pity on her and marries her. I am not giving away the story here, was just building up the context of what I have to say next.

Blog: Oh man, that is tragic. We can go on and on discussing the human tragedy of the partition, but keep it for another blog post. Now I know how does the rape comes in the title of this post but how about Ramayana? Isn't that a great epic of you Hindus?

Atul: You are right, it's probably the most revered of the Hindu epics with Rama, the lead hero being the Super God of sorts for Hindus. Now assuming that you already know the story and know that how Rama brings back Sita abducted by Demon Ravana I will fast forward to when Rama asks Sita to leave him because people start doubting Sita and her purity.

Blog: Hold on, what do you mean by purity? So people actually thought that Sita had sex with Ravana?

Atul: That was a bit raw, but yes, you are right. It was the main accusation against her.

Blog: I don't get it. May be I am just a dumb blog and not as intelligent as you humans, but one thing is for sure, and it is that Ravana could have raped Sita but no way they had consensual sex.

Atul: You are right again. You see ...

Blog: There is nothing to see in it. Even if she was raped, that should lead to sympathy of people towards her not their antipathy. That's preposterous.

Atul: Well I am not saying that the people were right in saying or thinking so.

Blog: And nor was your Lord Rama. By that logic, every rape victim should be ostracized from society and sent to those rehabilitation centers where they earn their livelihood by knitting carpets or making cane chairs. The other day I read about Sati system, the craziest thing I ever read. And then these honour killings, always with innocent women being the victim. Don't you have any respect for women?

Atul: Why are you blaming me? I didn't rape any one. Instead, what I am trying to say is that what Lord Rama did was ...

Blog: Bullshit ! That's what it was. And you say that he is your ideal God?

Atul: No, he is not. And you mind your language least you want me to get killed.
I don't think Rama was perfect and for that matter Ramayana is a perfect story. And that's what bamboozles me, what could be the reason that the authors of Ramayana added this Sita Vanvaas episode in what is other wise a perfect story.

Blog: I know, because those guys were assholes?

Atul: Shut up. There can be three reasons.
1. It's a known fact that Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana didn't write the Uttara Kanda in which these events take place. So either the story was not very well integrated or there's a conspiracy theory that some one else added this story to the original epic to kind off denegrate the character of Rama. I am not a buyer of that theory.

2. The authors wanted to show that how a man who could fight the deadliest of all the daemons could not fight the mores of the society. So by adding this episode, the authors made the story more relevant and humane. It didn't make Lord Rama an ideal but used him as a tool to tell us that what is indeed ideal.

3. Well, I hope it's not true but ...

Blog: Hahahaha, I know you can't say it, so let me do the honors. The only other justification of Rama not accepting a supposed rape victim who had passed the 'Agni Pariksha' and was her divine beloved and was won back after a deadly war killing thousands of monkeys and a million Rakshas is that ... the author of Ramayana was an ASSHOLE.

Atul: You said it!

And finally Gandhi died!

Blog: What? Really? You are not kidding me, right? I didn't get any RSS news alert. How? When? Accident? Homicide? Oh man, she was going to be the president of your country!

Atul: Who are you talking about?

Blog: Sonia Gandhi, who are YOU talking about?

Atul: oh man, you got me wrong. I was talking about Mahatma Gandhi.

Blog: oh, do you think I am a fool?

Atul: Actually, yes. Because Sonia Gandhi would have become the Prime Minster of India, not the President you bloody obsessed-american-presidential-campaign-follower.

Blog: Oops. I am sorry for that. But I just checked my facts on Gandhi on wiki, this guy - Mr. Mahatma died in 1948. And in fact he was murdered by another guy Mr. Godse. Ah, you humans are the most interesting species, like I never heard a monkey killing another monkey .. but let me not rant about it. So now tell me, who died and when?

Atul: I meant the same guy you read about - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. And he died yesterday on Oct 2, 2008.

Blog: Dude, you need a break. He was born on October 2, he didn't die on October 2.

Atul: Don't you still understand? I am talking allegorically. There are only three National Days in India. Independence Day, Republic Day and Gandhi's Birthday. I know that these days may have lost their relevance now, but I still watch the Republic day parade or at least its' clipping on TV, I still read / watch Prime Minister's address to nation on Independence day but Gandhi Jayanti? I do nothing. There was a time when I would watch that rerun of the Academy award winner movie made by a non Indian about the greatest of the Indians. But yesterday, I did nothing. I came to Office, fixed a few bugs, discussed the current financial crisis over lunch and talked about the Palin - Biden vice presidential debate but forgot that it was 2nd October. So I said, he has finally died.

Blog: Oh I see. But do you know what is the mistake that you guys made? You didn't associate his birthday with a festival. People still celebrate Jesus' birthday, Buddha's b'day and though mythical but Krishna's b'day. But then Gandhi is no God.

Atul: True, he is not God. And probably that's why its more important to remember him more than you remember Buddha. He is a proof that Buddha did exist. He is not called Mahatma for nothing. Yes he was spiritual, but he was not one of those Gurus having their Ashram on river side in Rishikesh (no offense intended) selling spirituality to the wealthy foreigners, none of those either who built their own sect (no offense again), instead he help built an entire Nation. And yes, he was a political leader but unlike those fodder eaters and saari hoarders (offense intended) whose definition of 'mine' is limited to family members, instead his definition of 'mine' was an entire country, that's why his own son became estranged to him. I know there are too many critics of him, blaming him for the partition of India, of being anti Revolutionaries like Netaji Bose / Bhagat Singh and basically what not. Just the fact that he was finally murdered by a guy who belonged to a party which still has a huge stake in the Indian socio-political landscape says it all. I don't care about these criticisms, because most of these critics are biased. All I hope is that History does justice to him, and he is talked about a mythical Mahatma a 500 years from now. But dude, for me he died yesterday.

Blog: Don't you ever blame me for not understanding allegories. Do you think I didn't get the inner message of this blog entry? The father of your nation may have died yesterday, but you just resurrected him today.