COMMERCIALIZING FAITH

"Give a man a rock,
Tell him its divine.
And he’ll worship it,
Till the end of his time…”

These famous words of Swami Vivekananda, perhaps best describes today’s commercial faith. I call it commercial, because, lets face it – you just can’t go to a temple nowadays, or any place of worship, for that matter, without cold, hard cash in your pocket. Shelling out huge sums of cash is just the first step – they have different terminologies for it like ‘darshan fees’, ‘prasad fees’, ‘archana fees’, and so on. What is this but blatant blasphemy of “God” and overt exploitation of blind faith of our fellow humans? In laymen terms, its called daylight robbery – only, no one realizes it. Lets take a case study, shall we?

Isckon is perhaps a household name by now. A few years back, there were rumors that the so-called sacred institution was a front for drug peddling, prostitution, and work-force abuse. I don’t know how far this is true, but personally I don’t care. What I actually want to convey about Isckon, is the fact that it does not instill that bhakti— which is what we surely go to temples for. We see cakes being sold everywhere; milkshakes, pizzas, doughnuts, for crying out loud. It’s more like a bakery than a temple and I know many would disagree, but all I tell them is to think out of the box, think rationally.

Unfortunately, I once found myself in a temple dedicated to lord Shiva. I happened to see many things, which disappointed me. I saw a helpless foreigner being cheated out of his money by a purohit, who was speaking to him about how the temple trust found him charitable, and how they would send him prasadam, by post. I saw, also, that the money went into the purohit’s cloth. The people who are deemed messengers of faith, are themselves corrupt. Later a woman who was in front of me asked a pujari, where she could get the archana done, for which he replied to enquire at a counter! You see, the whole effect of devotion is lost if you stuff bakeries and reception counters into temples.

It’s the common scene in any temple you visit, in Bangalore. People try to make temples more attractive and modern but fail to remember during the endeavor that that is not what we want. What we do want is a calm place where we can enjoy our moments with God under a huge banyan tree, listening to the chirping of birds, rather than getting a scratch card to win prasadams!

2-0-0-8..!!!

Happy new year, folks! Another year, yet another time...
Enjoy! :)

Nothing's weird!

While there are many weird things in space, one of the weirdest things is what isn't there - the nothingness of the great black void. But what may be most strange about this nothingness is the possibility that it is in fact not really nothing, but rather a whole lot of something we just can't see!

"The nothingness of the vacuum has come under theoretical scrutiny the past century, and what appears most plausible, and most fantastic, is that space is filled with a seething froth of virtual particles," says James C. White II, executive director of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. "And space itself, at the smallest scales we can consider, may co-mingle with time in a foam of space-time."

White describes this "foam of space-time" as ubiquitous events, all defined by their positions in space and time. If empty space could be photographed, we'd see a sea of virtual particles that spring into existence and disappear.

This ultimate small world is thought to be composed of "particles that come into existence out of seemingly nothing, from the very energy of the vacuum itself, that exist for times so short that their being does not seem to violate the law that says you can't make something out of nothing," White says.

Researchers are just beginning to knock on the door of this weird, small world.

Courtesy: space.com

I'm Back!

Taking a break seems more likely to become a habit!
But I'm back now! Ready to go!

Let's start a newsletter... (Hmmm... then again, let's just scream at each other!)

Ever been bored to death in life and decided that it's time you made a change in your lifestyle? I'm sure you have. One of the most common things to do when you're bored is to think of how crappy the world is, and in the end of your reverie, you invariably end up blaming the stupid, unjust world for your boredom and depression. Come on, don't smile! I'm sure you've done this! And for a few people, this is the time they start thinking about how they're gonna change the world, and make this a better place for their kids to live in (Sheesh! I've read this line in some stupid 1st grade textbook!). So, they begin to think about how to change the world, without realizing that people who have tried and failed before them have been christened as Fathers of the Nation and have been conferred insignificant awards POSTHUMOUSLY!!! But, as they say, Fortune Favors The Brave, and our bored, nameless protagonists go ahead and decide to start a newsletter to "address the issues," and if that line isn't corny and clichéd enough, "a platform for people to voice their opinion!"
Gimme a break!
I was recently invited to a committee meeting of an organization, whose name I won't reveal for reasons of personal safety, and I was asked to give my "expert opinions" and "valuable comments" to help them start a newsletter - both online and print editions. Like a jackass, I went there and had the most disturbing six hours of my short 22-year life.
The meeting started off quite well, with the various members explaining to me what their organization was all about and how they felt that the society was a bit too "weird" these days. They had planned to "address these issues" (Sheesh!) through a newsletter, where people can write about anything and everything that happens around them, with a totally non-objective point-of-view. I nodded and made appropriate noises, with the occasional, "Oh, really? Nice!"
After they finished their talking, they asked me my opinion. I asked them, "What is this organization all about?"
Actually, I should have said that I opened a floodgate, because this innocent question of mine threw all the five people across from me in a state of silent, red-faced embarrassment. For a moment I thought if I'd stumbled onto an old secret society, about which they were a bit hesitant to talk about as it involved ritualistic torture of animals. But then, I realized that they just plain didn't know what their organization was all about!!!!
I mean, if this sounds a bit funny, then you have no idea how ridiculous what transpired next was! Another member of the "Core Committee" walked in three hours late for the meeting, and started explaining to me what the organization was all about. This time, it was the turn of the other five members to pitch on with the occasional, "Oh, really?!? Do we actually do all that??" I held my tongue, and watched as the six people - all of whom were women, by the way - bickered and bitched and screamed and shouted and finally pulled their hair out in deciding what their bloody "organization" was all about! (The word "organization" sounds so damn ironic, doesn't it??) The best part of the whole meeting was, apart from the buffet of foods, the fact that I felt so nostalgic about all that was going on. I had been part of innumerable such planning committees in my student days, and I'd lost count of how many good ideas had gone down the drain because of wasting too much time on planning the damn thing! Watching these kids shout and scream at each other, I asked them politely, "When did you girls get the idea to start an organization and a newsletter?"
"December," came the prompt response, perhaps the only one on which all six shrews agreed upon.
"It's now March," I said. "So, you've been planning for four months now?"
They nodded mutely, resting their vocal chords to give me some much-needed relief.
Then one of them cried out, "I don't like the name we have for the organization! Let's change it!" I rest my case...
I made my way home after six hours of this nonsense, my day-off from work ruined, but I was sad for the fact that one of my cousins was caught up in this Nameless Organization. I advised her to withdraw from it, as I didn't see it taking off anywhere, and told her that it's just a waste of time. Hope she agrees...
So, are you bored?? Come on, let's start a newsletter!!!
Heh Heh Heh!

Not so Charm(s)ing experience...

This happened on the day Bangalore city slept... I was trying to find a cigarette shop desperately, and i had to resort to an army surplus store to get some smokes. the guy who ran that canteen didn't have any of the usual brands like Kings or Wills... all he had was this weird, unheard-of brand called Charms... well, desperate as i was, i bought a couple and tried it. It wasn't a charming experience... i almost threw up after a few drags and crawled my way to the nearest water dispenser to wash down the dirty taste... please don't try this at home! or anywhere for that matter...!

The Day Bangalore Slept...

It was a day like no other. I woke up in the morning at around nine to the deafening sound of silence all around me. The hustle and bustle of a city rampant with people - the tell-tale sounds of shops opening their shutters for the day's business, the screams of the vendors, the screech of automobiles as they grind to a halt in inching traffic - were missing. I was disoriented for a while; was I really awake? Was I home in Bangalore? Then it struck me - yes, I was home and wide awake, and today was the day Bangalore was supposed to sleep. The so-called "Bundh" had made the flatlands of Mars appear to be teeming with life!
On my way to work at around two in the afternoon (Yeah, I work for a newspaper, and my day begins at three!), the roads looked so lifeless, not a single vehicle in sight. Hell, not a single soul in sight! I was craving, itching for a cigarette, and no shop was open! I could barely control the urge! I was half-toying with the idea of sucking on the exhaust of my bike, when I passed an army R&D headquarters. Gambling on an idea, I went inside and headed straight to the army's surplus canteen. I asked for cigarettes, and lo and behold! I got cigarettes! Whew! Next time, if a bundh is anounced beforehand, I advice all smokers to load themselves up the previous day! You may not be as lucky as I was!

Water, Water Everywhere...

...and not a drop to drink, goes the old Egyptian adage. Or should I say wisecrack? One very interesting piece of information that I happened to come across is the use of water in "Getting High"! Yeah, ever heard of Absinthe? Heh Heh...

Absinthe (also absinth) is a distilled, highly alcoholic, anise-flavored spirit derived from herbs including the flowers and leaves of the medicinal plant Artemisia absinthium, also called grand wormwood. Although it is sometimes incorrectly called a liqueur, absinthe is not bottled with added sugar and is therefore classified as a liquor or spirit.

Absinthe is often referred to as la Fée Verte ('The Green Fairy') because of its coloring — typically a naturally created pale or emerald green, but sometimes clear or artificially colored. Due to its high proof and concentration of oils, absintheurs typically add three to five parts ice-cold water to a dose of absinthe, which causes the drink to turn cloudy, called 'louching', often the water is used to dissolve added sugar to decrease bitterness. This preparation is considered an important part of the experience of drinking absinthe, so much so that it has become ritualized, complete with special slotted absinthe spoons and other accoutrements. Absinthe's flavor is similar to anise-flavored liqueurs, with a light bitterness and greater complexity imparted by multiple herbs.

Absinthe originated in Switzerland as an elixir/tincture, used in a similar capacity as patent medicines would be used later in the United States. However it is better known for its popularity in late 19th and early 20th century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers whose romantic associations with the drink still linger in popular culture. In its heyday, the most popular brand of absinthe worldwide was Pernod Fils. At the height of this popularity, absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive, psychoactive drug; the chemical thujone was blamed for most of its deleterious effects. By 1915, it was banned in a number of European countries and the United States. Even though it was vilified, no evidence shows it to be any more dangerous or psychoactive than ordinary alcohol. A modern absinthe revival began in the 1990s, as countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale.