Raavan and I

Today is Vijayadashmi, Tenth Day of Navratras. It is celebrated as a mark of Victory of Raam over Raavan. 2017 Vijayadashami will be a "Vichaardashmi" (Tenth day of conclusive Thoughts). Today's blog is the screenshot of the 2017 Navratri, which has etched another deep mark on my memories. As usual, One story, few couplets, my narrative on two topics and a song. Although Irshaad Kaamil has written many memorable songs,  I concluded on this one .. Ghar ....Mohit Chauhan's soul-soothing voice 

My Blogs are a "Safarnama" means Travelogue, it's a very personal narrative of one's account of what they have experienced in the journey. The words in the "safarnama" are not a mere description of things they see, people they meet but also how the journey makes them feel. A few people may think my blogs are about my romanticism with the past, but in fact, they are just safarnama, the travelogue. Some may relate to it but for others, the journey itself may be alien to their thought process and hence they may not relate to it.  I am neither elated by the appreciation nor moved by the criticism. Mirrors of life are to be respected the way they are, sadly people blame the mirrors for showing them their true self and get agitated, then they look for mirrors that show them their photoshopped self. 

Love is an elevated path to death: All Paths, every breath, leads to Death, death is the only inevitable reality of life. No life escapes it. Every action we choose to do leads to a path to our end. I often think about the path Raavan Chose, he had an over swelled pride but who doesn't have that these days, he had no regrets, exactly like most people who slip in their life these days.  Raavan had lust but respect for Sita too, he didn't exploit Sita, he imprisoned her but at the end, she was found alive. he didn't touch Sita but let her decide. I wonder if all his actions actually fall in the category of an Anti-Hero. All 10 faces of Raavan were visible, everyone has 10 faces these days but not even one is visible. Raavan would be a Hero today and not an anti-hero. He will be the protagonist. 

I heard or read a Buddhist story once, a prince is sent to a Monk for his education. The monk pairs him with another boy his age, the second disciple is an ordinary son of a  soldier. As time progresses, the two become friends and stay together, think similarly as well. When it's time for their graduation, the monk tells the prince that he is not ready to love and hence his education isn't complete. The prince is shocked and wants this to be proven to him. The monk then calls both the prince and his friend for a test, he gifts them a hill of gold coins and their challenge is to distribute the gold amongst the villagers so that they feel blessed and their poverty elevated and the feeling of love is elevated. The gold, however, needs to be distributed over 30 days. Both friends choose a village each. The Prince arrives in his designated village in the evening and calls for a meeting of the village heads and announces that he will start distributing gold coins from tomorrow. The villagers verbally praise the prince and everyone starts to get ready for gold distribution. The focus in this village is gold and the prince. In the other village, the ordinary student arrives and meets everyone one by one, explaining he is here to give gold.But no one believes him, he also tells them that the Gold will not make them happy, over time, he makes friends and tells each villager that they can take as much gold as they want. In 30 days, Prince's villages have ego battles, backbiting, false praises and a lot of unhappy people despite the gold.  The prince's friend, however, is making new friends and is happier each day. Gold finishes and they both head back to the monastery.  The Monk asks about their experience, Prince is unhappy, he blames the villagers for being greedy and ungrateful whereas his friend his happy. The monk then explains why the prince fails.
Love is like Gold, we think we are giving what is primarily our treasure. Fact is NO, it's a universal treasure which must go around. If we get loved for that good, else its OK.
This is my conclusion of last 7 years. The moles on the body are easily forgotten but the moles on the soul live in our memories.
Indefatigable love is nothing but an elevated path to death.

"Aks" is the reflection of the soul. This nazm that I am proud of ...re-posting. Wajood means the entity, self ...

मेरा अक्स तुम्हारी आखों में रहता है , तुम्हारी खुली आखों में मुझे अपना अक्स दिखता है.......
मेरा वजूद मेरे अक्स से काफी मुक्तलिफ़ है......
मेरा अक्स तुम्हारा हो गया और मेरा वजूद किसी और का......
मेरा वजूद और मेरा अक्स एक दिन तुम्हे मिलने आएंगे , उस दिन का बस तुम इंतज़ार करना......
अगर मैं ना आया तो समझ लेना के मेरा अक्स मेरे वजूद से हार गया......
और फिर मेरा एक आखरी काम कर देना, मेरे अक्स को किसी किताब में दफना देना.....
मेरा अक्स तुम्हारी बातों में सुनाई देगा , वो सबको तुम्हारी आखों में दिखाई देगा....
एक दो सदियां मेरा इंतज़ार करना ...... और हो सके तो मुझे माफ़ करना.....

Human Geology:  Geology is an earth science concerned with the solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. It is basically a study of Material, Time and Pressure. I, in fact, see all humans through this lens, I see the Material In them, The Time they have spent and the Education is futile, what material you have become, Pressure you have withstood and the combination of this. So here how I see each individual , First material , truth be told , some people are genetically blessed or have some chromosomal defect (I learnt this word this week ) , what we are born as cant be changed . Genes do have an undeniable effect but they are only one-third of the second factor. The second factor is time, this isn't your physical age but the time spent in various situations and the percolated learning one has absorbed with time. When I meet people, I try and see which good and bad experiences they have been exposed to. Pain and bliss both evolve us in a unique way and that shows in time. The third factor is Pressure, there is an old saying that if you want to judge a man, see him when he is angry and in power and if you want to judge a woman, see her at her emotional worst and powerless. What we become over time is how we apply our values to situations.  The geology of mankind is material, time and pressure.  

रोज़ होता है मुझ पर साबित यह जुर्म-ए-ख़ामोशी.....
मेरा ज़मीर मुझे अपनी राय का इज़हार नहीं करने देता.....

The two-finger test: I have always believed that people will hurt you as much as you allow them to, deterrence value is important but in emotional matters, we give our all to such people and become subservient. This is the nature of love. If you don't find respect and reciprocation of love, one must leave but we often keep trying till the fag end of possibilities. I do that too but often leads to disgust and sadness as to why I allow some people to walk over me. Just like the two-finger test is done as a part of the medical examination after a sexual assault to check a woman's vaginal laxity, which is used to determine if she is habituated to intercourse. People do the same to you, they hurt you in the magnitude you are habituated to and if they know you were hurt more in the past and you stayed quiet, they will hurt you more, so letting someone know that you have been hurt in the past is letting them know how much is your tolerance level .

इस ज़माने के नए लोग हैं साहब , उन्हें आईने में भी सच नहीं दिखना चहिये ....
ना दोस्ती है न दुश्मनी तुमसे , सबके काम आओ , सबको अपना रास्ता चाहिए .....
इनका एहम ज़रूरी , इनका गरूर मीनार , इनको एक ज़र ख़रीद गुलाम चाहिए .....
यह मंदिर क्यों जाते हैं , रोज़े क्यों रखते हैं , इनको तो एक ज़ाती खुदा चाहिए.....

The song of the week, been on the loop constantly  ......