small satori at work

For almost 20+ years now I have always said that  Deepavali need not be about bursting crackers, the mindless spending of money on wasteful expenditure to burst loud crackers to create toxic fumes that hang on the city for couple of days choking every breathing lung, is not a way to celebrate any festival. But, this year i am afraid talking about air or noise pollution on Deepavali day will make me look like an anti-national. -- rhetoric is the lazy first step ('ask the christians to stop bursting crackers during christmas', 'why do you remember pollution only during hindu festival'...), these will be seen  in the coming days in online posts and responses by the lazy gang -- then comes the obscurantist smarty-pants view that can cite from unknown and unheard of scriptures, preferably in sanskrit,  to justify polluting (as far as i know lighting of lamps are the only ones prescribed and none of the chemical ways of lamps or crackers were in vogue when the last time

When Democratically elected governments abuse the powers to scuttle people's voice, how do people support such a move? What motivates them to support such excesses by the government? Recent dialogues among several circles has given me some insights. One common feature i see in people who support, is that all of them at some level are abusers of power, whether it be in their families, communities, professions or public offices. Once you are used to abusing power at a small level, you are awestruck when it is done at a bigger level, the act of abuse, both validates and strengthens your weakness.

With age memories distort Changes to facts of past to suit our views of present Self preservation causes distortion No one preserves a self from past, So, all our memories are always distorted We age with these distortions All memory is distorted so that we create a new reality. Truth is only Now.

In its carefully selected reasoning, In its need to build its identity, it creates a world to live in. In its failure, it remains mortal, In trying to achieve peace within its failing, it immortalizes the human limitation of thanklessness.

great is the gratitude  towards those who sustaining unwanted engagement, towards those who avoid speech and meaningless banter, to be rejected by people instead of having to reject.

"This is an analogy of what often happens in life." We have experiences when the light of day vanishes, leaving us in some dark and desolate midnight - moments when our highest hopes are turned into shambles of despair or when we are the victims of some tragic injustice and some terrible exploitation. During such moments our spirits are almost overcome by gloom and despair, and we feel that there is no light anywhere. But ever and again, we look toward the east and discover that there is another light which shines even in the darkness, and "the spear of frustration" is transformed "into a shaft of light."  This would be an unbearable world were God to have only a single light, but we may be consoled that God has two lights: a light to guide us in the brightness of the day when hopes are fulfilled and circumstances are favorable, and a light that guides us in the darkness of the midnight when we are thwarted and the slumbering giants of gloom and h