LISTENING

Man learns less by reading, more by observing and the maximum by listening. Research proves that we learn 80 per cent of what we know by listening but most of us absorb just 25 per cent of what we hear. Books are vocal words told in black and white. Speech is not always lip service. It can motivate, enlighten, guide, clarify, provoke, educate, inform and entertain.

Listening requires to be learnt. Everyone talks but only a few listen. We hear to overhear and drop to eavesdrop. Gettan, a Zen monk used to say, “When you have a talking mouth, you have no listening ears.” People love their own voice more than the symphony of Mozart. Read More...

PLAYING WITH FIRE

Fire is beautiful. One gets enthralled at viewing the sanguine sky during dawn and dusk. Fire maintains its eternal pristine purity. Air gets congested, water gets poisoned, earth gets polluted and sky becomes saturnine but fire remains untouched. Water tends to go down and fire always flares up. It aims high and stays pointed. If energy is directed upwards it is meditation and when it flows down the lane it is indulgence. Water cleanses but gets turbid. Fire distills without getting disturbed or distorted. Fire burns but also purifies, destroys but distills, scorches but synthesizes. Fire multiplies on its own. A spark can become an inferno and a leak can lead to a holocaust. Light envisages god and enlightenment implies realization. Read More...

A cup of Tea

An ounce of tea has gallons of antiquity. It is replete with resplendent history, mesmerizing mythology and appealing anecdotes to its credit. It is the oldest beverage and still widely drunk for its rejuvenating capacity and refreshing quality. It triggers the dimensions of our dynamism. To day, it competes only with water in consumption.

The origin of tea and the discovery of its taste were purely serendipity. Chinese emperor Shen Nung was a serious stickler for boiling water. Once, it was done in garden and the leaves from a nearby plant accidentally fell to render the water brown. The emperor drank the mixture and declared it a delicacy. He eulogized it as donor of ‘vigour of body, contentment of mind and determination of purpose’.Read More...

Battle and war

Exploitation is ubiquitous. It is found both in flora and fauna. Parasitic vines and insectivorous plants are not rare. Every organism fights, strives, struggles and exploits for survival and continuance.
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Darkness deciphered

Darkness is beautiful. It is ubiquitous and universal. Light highlights and darkness hides. Light is shallow and darkness is deep. Light was begotten by darkness. Light is not absolute. We have darkness dispersed even during the day and the intensity decides the hour. Transparency is a utopia and translucence is the reality. Shades of trees, shadows of beings, shelters of buildings are all darkness dissolved in doses.
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Desire to be desireless

Ascetics describe desire as devil and hedonists, as preface to pleasure. Many acknowledge desire as driving force and striving source for all progress.

Needs are to be distinguished from wants. Needs are limited and wants are infinite. When one fulfills needs, one is not labeled greedy. The basic requirements need not be sacrificed to become ‘Master of Austerities’.
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God is a verb

Our prayers are both conditional and conditioned. The viscosity of fear and gravity of grief determine the density of prayer. Prayer is popular, as it is easy to preach and practice. We are comfortable with rituals because others can perform them on our behalf. Affluence is the affordability to maximise sloth.
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