At the barber shop

 My barber is really really clever! He has found an excellent way to minimise his work. He plays Cheesy Telugu movies, that makes one feel like plucking out his hair. By the time one gets his turn at the saloon, half the hair is already plucked out. Sometimes if the movie is too irritating, 90% of hair is already off the scalp. Here’s an example of one such scene that probably is a major contributing factor to the barber spending no more than 5 minutes for my hair cut!!!!

Resistance

It takes effort just to enter the building. The resistance is palpable in the air. The presence of certain individuals seems to make it worse. I feel like Charles Moriorty trudging through thick fog across the moor. There is always uncertainty or the unknown lurking nearby. The melancholy is overpowering. And yet trudge one must. In the case of Charles Moriorty it was his heart pining for Miss Stapleton that gave him courage in darkness of the Moor. Like the horrid acts of Hugo Baskerville which unleashed the curse on the family and the Hound from hell, there are the events of the past which make their presence felt, when one looks around at the same people and places. While it was Miss Stapleton who provided the much needed courage to Charles Baskerville, to me it is the search for the elusive success that once seemed second nature to me. With that hope in my heart, I turn up every day to do what I must. And to do the best I can. I look at the images of the Gods and Saints, hoping that I would finally be blessed with success. That the terrible events of the past will be long forgotten. But the vibrations of the events are palpable. The battle scars are yet to heal. But move on I must! For the soul wants, what the soul needs!

I look for the tavern!

 

I was in deeply contented in the beloved's Garden

Drinking blissful wine from everlasting source in paradise

Cast down due to foolish desires and faults,

I left the tavern and came to a lunatic asylum

My family laid a path of thorns for me to walk

They crowned me the king of paupers and crowned me with thorns

This is not like Socrates's hemlock

Potent elixir that frees one from hell called life

This is a slow death that one dies

Being stabbed a thousand times

In the midst of all this. I walk the torturous path

Hoping to find the tavern somewhere!

Fear

Why pray, do you fear? 

Why do your limbs shudder? 

Do you fear losing something or someone?

Do you fear temporal and spatial seperation?

Do you fear what people will think about you?

Or do you fear failure, penury and ruin?

Or do you fear the dark abyss of your soul where light dare not penetrate?

Or do you fear the greatest of fears which visits uninvited on one and all? 

But needless are your worries and fears

For what is destined to happen will happen anyway

Continue fighting on the battlefield of life

So that you may leave this realm with a smile

And then in Odin's arena continue fighting fearlessly

So almighty father may grant you the best place in the banquet 

Hemlock!

 

I must have committed some heinous crimes

In my past births, verily to suffer thus!

I must have done something bad to you in some lives past

To ensure that you came into my life to make me repent!

Time and again have I groveled at your feet

With the hope that my heart is not shattered into a thousand pieces

But now I had enough of being servile! 

What has to happen must happen!

Like Socrates of Athens before me,

I gladly welcome the hemlock of your tortures

I have become numb to the countless poison darts

That you have kept firing at me mercilessly

I hereby declare that I am a lost soul

Seeking my true destination. 

I have also realized that this is a lonely battle

There is only one seat reserved at Odin's feast in Valhalla!

Castles in the air!

 What does it cost? you think, 

to build castles in the air!

Does it hurt, you think,to 

nurture dreams of your own?

Why not dream big, you think,

So long as you dream anyway!

Little realizing that, all this dreaming

Can cost you dearly!!

For as you trudge daily towards your castles

They seem to move farther and farther away

And then they seem to be a blip in the distant horizon

Beyond reach and all but forgotten.

Then you understand that, this is but a small sacrifice

For the ones you love. You work like a machine to provide for them

And yet the work never seems to be completed.

Deadlines are always looming large.

Barely has one deadline passed, 

one would be confronted with a new task

But you bravely try to manage that

Knowing that you are doing it for the ones you love

You start wondering if you are doing a good enough job?

A casual remark, a jibe an insult pierces you 

However none of that hurts as much as it does

To hear the ones you love say, you don't do much for them!

Realize this now oh foolish heart! The mind

is filled with unrequited desires by the thousands!

A million regrets and a thousand insults rear their ugly heads!

Yet remember that none of them can enter without your permission!

So build strong fortified walls around your heart

Let the icy winds of the Norse gods steele your heart

So what if you live in a hut built of mud and bricks

It can be the castle of your dreams and you can be the king!

So go ahead and dream a little! Maybe dream some more!

And go along inching towards your dream.

We are all weary travelers hoping to reach the ultimate destination

So stop and smell the roses and enjoy the ride!

Emptiness

Every second I face the tortures of purgatory

Every breath I draw is painful and hurting

Suffering grevious wounds from a pestilence

That torments all and is called Expectation

A thousand times Iam stabbed in my heart

By those whom I call my own!

Who is this "I" and who are "they"?

They seem to be illusions of light and shade

A numbness comes ater the immense suffering

Stealing my sleep and hunger before my very eyes

I stare into the darkness  to find a Kindred soul

Only to stare at the vast emptiness of space

Friendless and bereft of love 

I stare into a lifeless chasm

One must pay for one's deeds good or bad

One must bear with fortitude the tortures of Hade's realm!

Gandhi Bazaar!

The scooters, motorbikes and the occasional cars made their way slowly amidst the sea of humanity. One had to be very cautious, for the gaze of most of this sea of humanity would be on the different shops in the bazaar. There were the street vendors selling flowers, vegetables, fruits and whatnot. The footpaths were crowded to a such an extent, it was difficult to figure out where to place one's next step. This was one of the most well lit streets in the entire South Bangalore. Night here turns into day. If one were to stop at any point in the street, and instead of looking at the wares in the street or the shops, were to look up at one of the electic poles one would gain valuable life lessons. For there one can gaze at beautiful verses from Dr.D.V.G's Magnum Opus "Manku Thimmana Kagga".

"Life is a Horse Cart! Fate it's master! You are the horse. The driver decides who the passengers along the journey are! Whether it's to a marriage or a funeral, the master of the cart decides. Run wherever he takes you, and if you get tired along the journey and should your feet tire out, you have the ground (Mother Earth) to support you!" One of the Kagga's were emblazoned, alongside a picture of the Great Dr.D.V.G. You have but to take a stroll here to learn valuable life lessons. The journey on foot through the streets of Gandhi Bazaar are sure to aid you in the journey of life.

As one looks around, everyone seems to be happy and contented. Everybody is looking around to buy something for the oncoming festival. Some seem to be taking a stroll, taking in the colors, lights, sights, sounds and smells. You can hear people haggling over flowers, fruits and vegetables. The effect of the streets are almost magical. People seem happy. The place almost seems therapeutic. I have never seen anyone looking morbid around here. It is mysterious how a stroll in here can heal painful wounds.

I think anyone with an ailment of the mind or body will find the atmosphere here soothing and healing. It is a mystery as to why Gandhi Bazaar exudes this kind of magical effect. Go there during Ganesh Chaturthi, and you will find the streets bedecked and lit up to rival the Disney world parade. And then there are places which are a gastronomical delight. Walk a little further along D.V.G road and taking a right would take you to a place perhaps more crowded than the rest of the Bazaar. You will be able to see people sitting on benches outside an old building, looking expectantly at an old man carrying a notebook and a pen. "Ramesh, 3 people!" he calls out! Ramesh with his wife and son gets up excitedly and walks in hungrily to the world famous Vidyarthi Bhavan. You can stand there outside looking at the somewhat old sign which announces proudly "Vidyarthi Bhavan : since 1942". This is a heritage place. Step inside and you find the interiors are in very good condition. It appears to be freshly painted. On the walls hang portraits of famous personalities who have tasted their world famous dosa. The delicious dosa which you can smell from outside. Once inside, a waiter comes and writes down the now familiar order "2 Dosas and a cup of coffee!". After waiting for a while you see the waiter clad in blue, carrying a huge stack full of Masala Dosa plates that resemble the leaning tower of Pisa. With great adroitness, the waiter transfers the plates to different tables. The moment the dosa plate is in front of you, you can smell the delicious aroma of Dosa roasted in Clarified butter (Ghee). As you are looking at the beautiful read, crispy looking dosa stuffed with spicy potato curry, another waiter pours ample spicy chutney on the side. If you haven't eaten their dosa yet, you should.

In case you happen to reach Gandhi Bazaar at a time when Vidyarthi Bhavan is closed there are numerous other hotels which serve gastronomical delights! And if you look at Gandhi Bazaar over the years, very little seems to have changed. I remember as a kid, my father taking me to a small book store (Which isn't there anymore! Unfortunately I do not remember the name either!) to buy me my very first Tintin comic book. It was "Crab with the Golden claws!". Back then, it cost Rs.60 and it was expensive. But my father inculcated this habit in me of reading classy books like Tintin. Even back in 2012, Belegere's Books and Coffee was a very nice and fancy book store (Unfortunately this too is closed). There is "Shri Book World" which sells mainly technical books and text books. Then there is "Ankita Book store" to serve your thirst for Kannada books. Then if you are in the mood for fried foods or sweets there are countless shops that cater to your tastes. Famous amongst these is "Subbamma" shop.

What can I say? As a book lover and a foodie, I find walking past the various shops in Gandhi Bazaar therapeutic. As I walked the streets of Gandhi Bazaar the day before Nagarapanchami festival, I felt : If heaven had a thoroughfare and a market it would resemble the streets of Gandhi Bazaar!

This dervesh was once a sober man

This dervesh was once a sober man
The shrine in his heart was uninhabited

He roamed the markets buying ever new wares
Brought by merchants from afar

"I cannot live without this new soft Persian rug"
Thought this dervish once with fervent desire

Thoughts of the new rug gripped him until he bought it
However the joy of having the new rug lasted not more than a fortnight

When his thoughts were drawn to the new carriage his neighbour bought
Drawn by white and grey steeds of the finest variety from Medina

This dervish who speaks now, started saving up for the carriage
And so continued the hoarding and unending conquests of desires

However the happiness remained elusive as ever
The void in the shrine of the heart seemed to grow

Until the dervish caught whiff of the beloved's holy feet
Sweet "attar" wafted from a great distance as the faithful started their worship

The fakir's enigmatic presence started pulling at my heart strings from a distance
The unbearable yearning filled the void now and I ran towards the shrine like one possessed

The children remarked, "There goes another madman running after the fakir!!!"
This happened once in a while when someone was this close to eternal happiness

I drank in the wine of the beloved's presence all night
I then danced in unbounded joy at the fakir's sight

Once I left for the fakir's shrine in the city centre
The fakir came back to reside in my heart shrine

From that day all sobriety was lost like the chaff before wind
And this person became the drunken dervish never to become sober again!

The Flute's lamentation

“Hear ye, how the flute wails, lamenting the separation from the reed - bed” said Rumi in the Masnavi. This is the tale of mankind. The ego it seems has severed the connection to the divine within, and men lament in manifold ways this painful separation. All ailments and ills of the society are due to this ever drifting divide between man and his maker. 

I wonder if at any moment one looks at the situation around him and finds that it is not acceptable, then the ensuing emotions like anger, frustration, sadness, greed etc are all due to this separateness from the beloved.

If one knows that there is a cosmic design behind everything and I am being guided by that design and I need it’s support and not the other way around, half our problems will go away. Then we will work and take action from a position of strength and not weakness. When the mind feels overwhelmed by events and the ego steps in and says “I must do something or the whole village, country, nation, universe will burn…” This is an illusion. Often the most extraordinary miracles have saved us from calamities. A sincere prayer at the shrine of the Sadguru has always ensured success. When we have the most powerful almighty who rules the entire creation within our hearts, why worry? First we should not get perturbed by events, but look at them calmly and then if we can change anything we should try to, else we should cling to the feet of the Sadguru and request his aid, which will unerringly take us in the right direction as it always does!

On Tyrants and their devotees!

Today I had a discussion with a  Christian friend about how there is no right or wrong but thinking makes it so. My friend jumped at the opportunity and went on harping about how, Constantine is the most misunderstood Emperor of all time. He said, Constantine’s mother was most religious, and Constantine realised that he can use this as a tool to ‘unify’ his kingdom and strengthen his rule. He figured if everyone believed in the Son of God, his rule would be unquestioned. And my friend said to do this Constantine had to slaughter all the pagans and those who did not believe in Christianity. My friend went on to say that he would not be a Christian, had Constantine not slaughtered those who did not share his beliefs and ambitions.

It got me thinking, Sapiens as a species have been known to unify under  collective Imaginary story (Be it religion or political ideology) . Would others who belong to dogmas spread by violence be grateful to tyrants raped, looted, plundered and pillaged their home town. A person belonging to such a dogma might think had his forefathers not been murdered and their wives and children taken as slaves, the person may not belong to such and such a dogma. And hence he would be grateful to the very tyrant who tortured his ancestors who share his very DNA.

How cruel a fate is in store for this human kind. At least in Vedanta, during the era of Adi Shankara, there were Buddhists, Jains, Mimamsakas, Charvaakas etc living side by side. There would be debates and discussions, however there never was any slaughter. Now I am surprised that something built on such peaceful and benign intentions which recognises the inherent differences in human thought and recognises different lines of thought is much chastised whereas if the followers of other dogma indulged in such heinous acts, they are recognised as heroes. 

My friend also said, he would not understand what was said when a priest in a Hindu temple would pray to God on your behalf. He said to him, Christ has said there is no intermediary. 

Contrary to his thought, in Vedanta, there is no intermediary. There is no prophet divining the word of God. There is no single or multiple set of men who dictate what is right and what is wrong. Vedanta never says do this or do that. On the contrary it says find out the truth by yourself. Experience the reality of Brahman by your own grit.Unfortunately ignorance is what pushes people to violent dogma and makes them feel any kind of atrocities performed on fellow children of God is justifiable so everyone can come to their level of thought.

If I see someone performing better than me, my natural inclination is to misunderstand him and to bring him to my level, so I (The ego) am not destroyed. 

This was the thought of Tyrants, and this is the thought process of those who follow them blindly and are grateful to them.

My friend said if you speak to someone from your religion then you feel you both are speaking the same language. On introspection I felt he could not be more wrong! Fortunately for me, Baba has taught me the language of all Human Beings. And while I could decipher what my friend was talking about, I doubt he will ever be able to listen to the stillness inherent in all of creation. The noise of religious dogma is very tumultuous and if that be the case, how can one learn to revel in the divine stillness within?

The Persian Market

Tourists come and go to the persian market
Taking in the sights, sounds and aromas

The various merchants try to interest them in their wares
"Look at these jucy dates" says one, "smell this lovely scent" says another

"Listen to the melodius tunes from this flute" says another
"Feel the softnesss of these persian rugs" says another

And yet there comes the lover yearning for the beloved
Burnt in the fires of seperation he thirsts for nectar

The wares interest him not and the merchants realize
That this is no ordinary tourist and can never be sober

Amidst all the clamor of the busy market street
The lover catches a whiff of the beloved from afar

He ignores the merchants and runs towards the shrine
Where those who are lovestruck wait for the beloved with bated breath

Having burnt in the furnace of seperation with a shudder he knocks at the door
The door opens and the lover becomes the beloved by forgetting himself

Sleep

Every time the cruel world gave me the cold shoulder
You were there to soothe me into deep rest

Every time I ended up getting hurt with an injury
You were there to numb my pain away

How many times have I cried myself hoarse
Until my mother's caressing arms took me to your doorstep

The rich or the poor are not to be distinguished
By your all encompassing power their worries are extinguished

They say the ones you love can hurt you the most
By their mere words and looking the other way

These are wounds that are most difficult to heal
Although this cross everyone needs to bear

When I am most hurt and seek your help
Why do you elude me and go away

I am a prisoner in the clutches of a cruel task master
One who took the heart I offered and stomped all over it!

Let me for a moment leave my burden by the roadside
And lying under the neem tree with the fakir's feet as my pillows

Let me dream the dreams of Universal love
Under the starry gaze of my loving Fakir

The world oh fakir has crushed my dreams and broken my heart
You and you alone can mend this and give me eternal rest

Fakir, I seek nothing but your company now
Let me sleep peacefully at your lotus feet.

Paradise from afar

What seemed to be lush and green from afar
Turned out to be bleak and dull from near by

What seemed soothing and warm from a distance
Turned out to be cruel and cold from near by

Dullard that I am I left the shelter of the fakir and parents
To seek greener pastures in your heartless city

I built a massive palace in my heart to make it our home
You broke my heart and made it the final resting place of love

I gave you my time, love and life, hoping to be loved
All I got was insults, curses and humiliations

The fakir had made me a king and lord of my dominion
You made me a pauper begging for love at your doorstep

I came to your city full of businessmen seeking your loving embrace
All I got in return was kicks, heart breaks and disgrace

I turn towards the fakir and ask him why did you let this happen
The fakir just smiles, asks me to forget all this and return to his feet

What seemed Paradise from afar
Turned out to be hell from near!

Your time is up, my time is now!

I was a wrestling fan ever since I was kid. There! I have admitted it! No shame in admitting what you like and living life the way you see fit! Although I rarely watch it now, there are times when for nostalgia's sake I play the game on my xbox or watch old videos. For those who watched wrestling in the last decade, every wrestle mania main event was highlighted by a wrestler who goes by the name of John Cena. And each year brought in more innovative entrance of Cena into the ring. And every time he came to the ring, one would hear his catchy rap song which went "Your time is up, my time is now! You can't see me! My time is now!"

This article isn't about wrestling.It's about time! Time! That all elusive, mysterious, all consuming entity. People have gone insane trying to unearth it's secrets. Few have lived to tell the tale. The one's who utilized it well have etched their name in people's memories for all time. Time management is a difficult topic, a difficult topic for those who do not respect time. And I am by no means an authority when it comes to time management. I have never had the hurried fervor of the Greek heroes of antiquity who wanted to immortalize their names. I am not even like the ascetic who shamed Alexander the great and asked him to sit still and just be! I am just the common man, with lots of desires, ambitions. I love to go on long drives! I want to take a bike and ride all over the world. I want to become the very best at what I do! And yet I am lazy as hell. When confronted with some free time, I would rather lie on my bed and read some detective novel or play video games. But you know what they say, people who have suffered defeats can become excellent coaches, because they know very well what can bring you down. I am one such ambitious man who has been way led by his own disrespect for his time.

I have noticed time and again, that when you do not respect your priorities, nobody respects them for you. People get so accustomed to having you slave over them that they forget that you too have a life. Your life is one of compromises everywhere. Then all you will ever be will be the average Joe, whom no one remembers. I was stunned at how easily I give up my own work and time just to please others. Be it at the office or at home. Then what is left of my life. Is it always one of doing what others want you to do? Is there no end to this slavery? Is one to be bound and humiliated for all eternity?

I would get angry at people when they disrespected my time. But I would find that they are doing this because subliminally they are getting the message that I do not respect my time. I easily give in to their demands. So why bother. Tell this loser at the last minute that I want him to drive me around town and do my bidding. And when I rebel and ask why am I treated this way, the people in turn growl back at me like a rabid dog! I guess I cannot blame them. I have created this situation for myself. So I am now going to go about trying new strategies to respect my time and to let people know that they cannot walk all over me. Friends, if you are like me, if you are that nice guy who wants to win a Nobel peace prize..Forget it! Nice guys do not get Nobel Peace prize all the time. If you do not believe me, look at the list of all the Nobel Peace Prize winners.

So friends, remember this..Time is important. And tell that average Joe inside you who tries to make everyone happy "Your time is up! My time is now!" . Become better than what you were yesterday. Compete against yourself. Do not blame the world for treating you like trash. Make them take notice and win accolades!

Why Swerve from rituals?

 I passed through a boiling cauldron of negativity and anger

until the fakir asked me to remember you

And then forgotten was the pain and suffering
Forgotten was 'I'


For all that remained was you my beloved

The world asks this dervesh why swerve from rituals and behave uncouth
Why roam the streets like one intoxicated

Why lose self respect and dance near the shrine
I tell them it is they who are intoxicated in profit and loss

I am lost to this Bazaar of swindlers
For I fly above the filthy waters of trade

And I soar in the heavenly wind towards my beloved! 

Pariah

Is it my fault that every day is followed by night?
Or is it my fault that darkness follows light

Is it my fault that those that are born ought to die
Or is it my fault that few are truthful and everyone else lie

Is it my fault that there is pain and suffering
Or maybe it is because of me that people have opinions differing

Is it my fault that the earth sometimes rumbles and swallows people whole?
Or maybe it is my fault the tsunamis leave destruction in their wake

Is it my fault that all of life is struggling
Or maybe it is my fault that the whole world is suffering

Looks like to you of all that is wrong in the universe I am the cause
Or maybe you see only trouble and depression in my presence

Walk  like me in the thorny path uphill barefoot
And you will see what it feels like to be a pariah!

Cosmic Symphony

The mellow sun smiled down upon the green earth
The cool breeze pleased the trees to no end

They swayed and nodded as though dancing in tune
To the silent beautiful music that played out

As I walked in the pathway that resembled a green carpet
Eager to share this cosmic symphony with the beloved

The birds chirped in glee at the onset of this beautiful evening
The cat looked at them with hungry eyes, but then remained immobile

The squirrel ran up the tree to cuddle his mate
The ears on the hares were erect as they looked everywhere in rapt attention

For everyone was spell bound by the beauty of the evening
The smell of earth was all around wafting through the air

It was then that I beheld you in all your glory
Walking towards me, It felt like bliss had descended on me in torrents

My hurried steps tried to match yours as we ran towards each other
Like two oceans merging into one we walked into each other's arms

The rest of the world was forgotten in your heavenly clasp
As day metamorphosed into night the two of us merged into one!

Freedom!

There is this story that is oft referred to, when speaking about someone who's trying to break the shackles that bind him. I think it is from Charles Dickens' 'A tale of two cities', or is it 'Great expectations' I cannot recollect. The story is about a man who has been in solitary confinement since his youth. As an old man, he is released from the dark and dreary cell that has held him all his life. His first reaction when he steps into the sunlight is one of fear and revulsion. The man cannot stand the warm sunlight and the bright colors all around. While the old man's story seems extra ordinary at first sight, isn't this the story of all our lives. Aren't we all, in some way bound in shackles. Afraid! Fear of freedom. Fear of going beyond our comfort zone. Strangely enough many of us continue living life as though all is fine and sundry. A hawk can enlighten the sea gull on the wonders of flying at dizzying heights. Or like the traveler who entertains us with the wondrous sights he has set his eyes upon. Until we meet this traveler, we do not realize that we are struck in an island, separated from so many wonderful things in the universe by that imposing ocean of fear.

I can say that I have met such a celestial traveler, who has chosen to be my best friend and companion for life. It is this angel who showed me there is a vast and wide world out there beyond the confines of the cell in which I have been imprisoned. In a year she patiently showed me the map of the entire prison where I am confined. She showed me the chains of fear and anxiety that are tied around my feet. I beheld the still image of my body, petrified like a sculpture unable to move anywhere but within the innards of the giant beast which is my own little world. But once you get a taste of freedom, once you know how it feels to live fearlessly and within God's embrace, would you still choose the prison of fear and illogical love? I think not.

I can only say that I am eternally grateful to the Lord God, for bestowing me with such a wonderful soul mate. I can see the shores of freedom from my raft, which I have set adrift in this ocean of fear. I can see the fair wind of my beloved's love pulling me towards greatness. Independence, here I come! 

Seeking certainty in an uncertain existence

Man is a being who builds a mental image of the universe. Each human being I feel lives in a different universe, where no two universes are similar. If we discount the people who have realized the mysteries of the universe, everyone is on a journey of learning or understanding. All we live by are theories and hypotheses. They are everywhere. They are in science, religion, spirituality, law, morality. Everything is seen through a tinted glass.

What is morally erroneous to a vegan seems morally right to a non-vegetarian. People fight. Media get's TRP over issues like this. Sometimes people lose their lives fighting over such beliefs that they hold.

Often not knowing that we live in a separate world from another individual makes us intolerant. Why are they eating that? Why do they pray to so many Gods? Is it not my duty to bring them to my way of life, which is the only way of life? This is the root cause of so much intolerance we see, whether in personal or professional lives. A good example can be the Foreign invasions of India since the 10th century AD. When the invaders found people to be worshiping many Gods, not even trying to understand the local culture they set about on a bloody conquest of murder, rape and pillage. All this they felt was justified for the greater cause of bringing the heretic to their fold. So much so that they thought that God would grant them great rewards in paradise for these acts.

While this is one problem that the world faces today, what exactly is the reason why people concoct theories or belief systems. People cannot deal with uncertainty. I once wrote about how Cantor unearthed a monster when he started working on infinite and trans-finite sets. People loathed the concept. Bertrand Russel loathed paradoxes and hence set about removing them in his magnum opus Principia Mathematica. Only he was disappointed when the brilliant Austrian logician Kurt Godel unearthed a monstrous paradox right in the heart of the principia, giving rise to the famous incompleteness theorem.

There is a problem in this world, for those who objectively seek certainty and confront uncertainties head on. Sometimes people are irrational, even the most sane people behave irrationally. How can one deal with such behavior. Those who seek certainty are sometimes overwhelmed and the world seems too cruel for the likes who seek truth. It is this attitude that drove Cantor mad. It is this that made Godel die of starvation. I think sometimes, when faced with irrationality or any other perplexing instances, it is better to take a step back , relax and say "Not my circus!  Not my monkeys!" :)

Sometimes it is better to be OK with ambiguity, uncertainty etc especially if at that point in time, anything you do might make matters worse. Best remember God if you are a theist and trust he will make things better. If you are an atheist or an agnostic, best do something you love to do. Read that brand new novel you've been told is brilliant. Go take a chance and watch that new Star Wars move. May the force be with you :)