Thats-so-Raja !

Buddha was supposed to give a sermon one day. He came, sat on the stage, picked up a flower and started examining it. Immediately, he allowed himself to be drawn by its vibrant color, intoxicating scent and softness. He did not speak a single word for the entire sermon. One of the monks present there, called Mahakasyapa, finally smiled. He was the only one who is said to have got it. His realization became what we now call the “Zen” after passing through many generations. What was Buddha trying to teach us with his silent yet very powerful demonstration? Well, we all know its to do with achieving oneness of the mind, living in the present moment etc. But I think, more than that outcome , Buddha was trying to teach the mechanics of achieving it. In my own words, I would say the mechanics is “ TO MAXIMIZE THE PLEASURE ”. Just hold this thought here. Around the same time in Greece, a man called Epicurus discovered the same operating principles. Life is all about maxi...

Fellow Toastmasters, if I say the letter “L”, which word comes to your mind first? [ The audience said a range of words - Love, Life, Laughter... ] I am a little disappointed that no one said "Logic" . Its always this overrated 'love', 'luck' etc. But you know, logic has single-handedly transformed the entire humanity from being clueless neanderthals to a species that conquered this planet and many more planets to come. The purpose of my speech today is to resurrect the role of logic in everyday life. The monumental importance of standing logically-correct amidst the cacophony of illogical chatter and 'fallacies'! We will try to understand some common fallacies, so that we can appear smart and also win some arguments :) Early greek philosophers  used ‘Argument’ or ‘Dialectics’ as the chief tool to reason out everything. They did not have the elaborate scientific methods of the modern times. There were no formalism techniques to ...

I am a utilitarian. Do you know how hard it is to live as a utilitarian these days? You often get mocked in closer circles. In the pretentious places, you are looked down upon. You are generally pushed to feel like a flying swine - strange, curious and out of place. The problem is the word ‘utility’ in it. The commoners derive a shallow meaning that it is utility before happiness. Utility before pleasure. Stretching it a bit, they think that a utilitarian denies pleasures, leads a boring life of a miser, does not appreciate finer things in life and is generally a philistine. But utilitarianism is exactly opposite of that. I will be a damned liar if I declare that I am holy and have renounced all the pleasures. The tricky thing, and here in lies a great secret about the art of living, is to understand what pleasure really is. I think there is such a thing as ‘ supreme ’ pleasure. And by virtue of the existence of a supreme pleasure, there are also ‘ inferio...

“I don’t feel like going for this trip ” “Oh dear! Why?” “I don’t know” “hmmm… never mind. It will all end well” “All will end well? Is that another of your delusions? Do you want me to deceive myself like that?” “Nope. Seriously, things that have bothered me in the past have all ended well. It’s all for good. Even if it bothers now, in the long run, it will end well” [The above dialog was between a friend and me this morning] Now, remember the quintessential question – Is there an inherent meaning or purpose behind life? What you saw above is one of the conclusions – Everything is for good. For the good of ‘ YOU !’ For ages, people went crazy about that question. They pondered and because they can think, they concluded that, at the least, they are real. (Cogito ergo sum). But they were confused beyond that. Some suspected that they are part of some big plan but they just couldn’t deduce what this game is all about. I tried to distill the thinking into a simp...

( This is a sequel to A Date - Part 1 ) “How are you?” “I don’t know!” I had given that reply a few times recently. People gaped at me as if I was a green monkey. But seriously, that was a very honest reply. ‘I don’t know’ . A beautiful ‘I don’t know’ . I always had this question in my mind. When people smugly beam that they are doing fantastic, what is their point of reference? Queen of England ? Paris Hilton? Thomas Alva Edison? Jesus Christ? Florence Nightingale? Adolf Hitler? And when people sulk, “It’s been hard”, what are they comparing against? Well, I can declare that, “Oh, compared to what I was before, I am better / worse. Actually, I am my own reference ”. Sure! That’s a logically acceptable argument. But let us take it a bit deeper. If I have to declare that, then am I really a worthy reference to measure myself against? How much do I matter? I was born, fed, loved, abused, pampered, spoiled, praised, shattered, filtered, I was feeling, caring, sharing, hea...

“Good Morning. How is everything? Did you manage to have an early breakfast date with yourself?” I was on the bed in a hotel room in Jakarta when that SMS woke me up. I only managed to get a very few hours of sleep that night. Even in that, my mind went churning non-stop on some meaningless, unconnected things. I was literally aware of all that turmoil in the half sleep, twisting and tossing through it. Back to the SMS. All the SMS I get usually are with a single consistent purpose - my colleagues trying to find my whereabouts. Note - none of them is a hot babe. (This is altogether a different topic - how come no hot chick in this whole damn world manages to become an IT architect!!) Oh, for a change, I do occasionally get some irritating marketing campaigns. So, it is not a wonder that this message sprang me awake like a Maasai Warrior. (Maasai are an African tribe famous for their ability to rise from the deepest sleep to a state of total combat readiness in a matter of seconds)...