The whimsical me - Part 1

Patriotism 

"Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism - how passionately I hate them!" -  Albert Einstein

"A nation is a society united by a delusion about its ancestry and by common hatred of its neighbours." - William Ralph Inge

I have always wondered about what exactly patriotism means. To me, the country I was born in means nothing more or nothing less than the country I live in. Although, I have to admit that I do feel a strange connection and superfluous pride when I talk about my native country.  I am more aware of the way of life, the cultural heritage in my native country than anywhere else in the world.   I understand that it is very common for a human being to be attached to something, or someone that they are used to, rather habituated to. I got to experience it first hand recently when I lost my coffee mug. I felt  miserable for the next few days. I actually mourned its loss! I could not believe that I became so disgustingly materialistic. That realization   got me to think more and I ended up comparing the feelings of patriotism to that of materialism. Both arise from a sense of attachment. Perhaps, it is this attachment that is the key to all sorrows in life. What about attachment to another human being? Is it glorified as love?

My Basic Values

Why do you need values to live life? Does having values make you feel that you are living life in a better way?  Having a set of values to live by surely make one happier and more lovable. There are three basic value that I treasure; honesty, modesty, and courage. They are the core value that I yearn for in myself and in the people I interact with. I am lucky to have in my life people who have those values and much much more. Everyone I know is a better person than I am and that keeps me inspired to strive for a better me.

I recently read an article that said that modest people are not usually successful. After thinking about it for a while, it started to make sense to me. The few successful people I know usually directly or indirectly brag.

 The spiritual background I am from, sees even the very word  'I' as something that is not true. When there is no 'I 'and no 'you', then there is no fear. When there is no fear, all the values that I treasure, freely exist. The chase for success, fame, and money eventually erodes these values.

"What About me?"

I found this very appealing while browsing and decided to just have it in here.

"Women through the ages have lived life on terms laid out by men. She has lived a straight – jacketed life, trained by her father, reined by her husband and buried by her son. Her intellect, emotions and attitudes have been fine-tuned to suit men, the way men want her. The laws of the country and the civilized world today profess equality of man and woman, while accepting an inherent difference; yet this equality has not permeated into real life. The woman of today as of yore, is still given roles to play, rules to live, by men; who carve her into a more acceptable form as defined by an unconscious culture.The collective conscious that decides of how and what a woman should be, is finally what decides the fate of the woman, however much we profess equality of man and woman."

‘I Must Have Been Crazy’

Madness seems to be an escape route for most. Why should one even listen to what someone so sick and perverted? Oh! Natural Justice!! Natural justice to someone who is so against nature. Makes me sick and want to puke. How is it possible for him to even try to justify what he has done? Even worse, the lawyer who chose to defend him. Sick, perverted men. The truth is getting scarier than fiction. I need some place to air my feelings and disgust. Not that its going to be better after this but, I do get a fake sense of satisfaction that I did something rather than just think, think and think some more about it. Even though I know that revenge is bitter, somehow I am all for 'Revenge'. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth is kind of my moto. That old ****** does not even have enough life left for any of that. I don't know, I hope there is a God. I hope the 'karmic cycle' and 'karma' really exist.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/09/world/europe/09dungeon.html?ref=world

Random Thoughts and Confusions

Travelling is one of the best parts of being alive. I love to travel, just seeing places and the beauty in nature. So, thats not very confusing. What is confusing is that I am not sure what should be the differences between a man and a woman. Why is it not possible for people to look beyond the physical differences? I have never been able to comprehend that. I feel, the didiferences other than the physical ones are mostly those that are imbided by the upbringing. I hate the fact that most men think of women only as objects of desire. Hate it when women think of themselves as inferior to men. Very confused about life in general:).

Fickle mind

All the effort I take to stay away from philosophical topics are in vain. I cannot stop myslef from thinking about the fultile life I lead. Before typing this I did a google search on 'fickle mind' and this : http://www.gurbani.org/webart189.htm was the very first result that showed up. So, the nature of my mind separates me from God and my true self? Truly, I am foolish, stupid, masterless, fickle, powerless, lowly and ignorant.

To be, or not to be

I have never been able to fully understand the meaning of morals and ethics. Possibly because I have not tried to. My motto in life was never to hurt anyone, that is a failed motto now. Although, as far as I am concerened if you do not hurt anyone to the best of your abilities, morality and ethics just fall into place. I might be wrong.

I enjoy company and I like anyone and everyone I talk to. But before I talk to someone, the inate feeling for another fellow human being is disgust, anger or some other starnge feeling of dislike. I am trying hard to overcome this feeling and see others as equals and like everyone. Should try harder, I guess.

William Shakespeare - To be, or not to be (from Hamlet 3/1)To be, or not to be: that is the question:

"Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. - Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remember'd."