Tavern of Love

I walked into the market on a starlit night
Where merchants of different religions had set up shop

They rushed at passersby showing their wares
They fought with each other to get to the customer

Their wares were alluring and I was momentarily dazzled
I stood there unable to decide and confused

I bought some items from different merchants
I haggled with everyone on the overpriced items

I took the wares home and looked at them
Gone was the momentary happiness that I derived from them

Saddened I walked outside the cottage towards the neem tree
There sat a fakir gleaming in the night at the foot of the tree

"Listen not to the merchants of death" said the Fakir
He took me to his tavern and served me the wine of love

I was never this intoxicated with love
The Tavern turned out to be God's paradise

One look at the Fakir's face proved
That this is the face of God

Like a river I drifted intoxicated in love
And I merged into the clear blue waters of the ocean

A Slug fest of words

"rhurbur..blah..blah...Kejriwal...blah..blah..Modi...blah..blah..communal...rhubrurbur..2002...blah..blah...Aam Aadmi..."...This is what one hears these days in the cafeteria. All one hears is a lot of jumbled voices with some familiar political names interspersed in between the noise. On one such day, I saw a heated debate between two people at a table. I the two 'contestants' tensed, jaws clenched, gesticulating wildly. I could see them going through a lot of agony. Even after the altercation, I saw the people involved still suffering from the after effects of the fight. Which leads one to wonder, are these arguments worth their salt?

Whatever a person's political leanings might be, it is an idea that would have taken root after many subjective experiences. And often, the more one is attached to one's ideology/theology/religion the more painful such arguments might turn out to be. Are such arguments even worth it?

I for one am a nationalist and I support a certain party and candidate that I feel is best for the country. A friend was trying to convince me that he is not 'secular'. Secularism has been our country's bane. I did not mince my words when I conveyed my ideas to my friend. But I could see the pain that he was going through. This world is filled with problems of many kinds. But arguments of the kind on political ideologies or religion are self-invited problems. They do not auger well for anyone.

As an ardent devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba, I remember the first chapter of the Sai Satcharita as I pen down these thoughts. "Let us avoid contentiousness and arguments of any kind!" says Baba to Hemadpant advising his devotees to follow their chosen path and avoid un-necessary conflicts brought about by arguments of any kind.

As the Upanishads proclaim, all I can ask from my Sainath (God) is  peace! peace! peace!

Orion : The source of Mankind's origin?

The  planet was exceptionally bright in the night sky and appeared with a sort of bluish hue! It also appeared to be twinkling on this particular night. Planets normally do not do that! But on this night, Jupiter, the planet who had a special place in all ancient cultures and science twinkled! In Hinduism, he is called "Guru" (Teacher) the harbinger of auspiciousness, as Guru holds a very  special place in Hindu culture. In ancient Rome he was the king of Gods, also known as Zeus in Greece and was known to hurl his fiery thunderbolt at his enemies. From a scientific perspective, this was Jupiter, the largest of the Gas giants. And the planet Jupiter was continously pounded on that night by a comet hurtling through space at an incredible speed of 37 miles/second. The impact seemed so clearly visible on earth. The planet on that day twinkled, probably it was the effect of the impact of Schumachar Levi. And on that day, unkowingly I fell in love with the art of gazing at the heavens! On a clear cloudless night, nothing brings greater peace to the soul than to gaze at the starry skies above or to marvel at the inner workings of the Human soul. I realized this truth long before I heard the same quote by Immanual Kant.



And when I actually began to study astrophysics during tenth grade, I was filled with wonder and awe at the immense and probably unbounded Universe. I also diligently read Stephen Hawking's "The brief history of time". I also happened to watch a show called "Stephen Hawking's universe" where I was introduced to String theory, concept of Parallel universes etc. I could not grasp the concept of String theory until I saw the truly eloquent documentary by Dr.Brian Greene called the Elegant universe. Anyway, I meander from the point I was trying to convey. It was that I had fallen in love with astronomy and astrophysics. Many a nights I would be sitting in the terrace gazing at the stars and making my own little observations. One object that always fascinated me was the constellation Orion. It never was difficult to spot the familiar shape of a hunter or deer (Depending on which philosophy you follow). This constellation is  located in the celestial equator and is visible through out the world. I had read that many a star births happened in a thick soup of Star dust in the horse head nebula located in this constellation. I would look for interesting books on astronomy and thumb through high resolution pictures of this nebula in the shape of a stallion. 


I do not know why, I always was fascinated by this constellation. The Rig Veda describes this constellation as Mriga (Deer). The Greek mythology describes Orion as a demi God and the son of Poseidon. He was supposedly a giant who would walk on the oceans and the water would only be as high as his waist. After his death, the Gods are said to have honored him with a permanent place in the heavens. The Egyptians associated Orion with their God Osiris, who was in charge of rebirth and afterlife. Many of the shafts in the pyramids of Giza seem to point towards Orion. The pyramids themselves some researchers claim are shaped like the belt of Orion. The Hopi Indians of the American South West chose the three Mesas to settle down in Arizona because they seemed to resemble the star formation in the belt of Orion. The Babylonians also believed Orion was like the Sheperd of the skies and took special interest in Orion. Also the great city of Tenocitlan built by the Mayans in antiquity also seems to resemble the star formation in Orion. The "Gods" from orion are said to have come to Tenochitlan to converse with the Mayan Kings. It is probably for this reason that the city came to be called the "City of the Gods".


I always used to gaze upon this constellation and never before realized that my special interest in this constellation during those star gazing sessions was unique. Many of our ancestors were intrigued by Orion. In fact if one were to look at the ancient accounts on Orion with a different light, one might see that all ancient cultures seem to point at Orion as the  source of the birth of Human beings on earth. This makes one wonder if our ancestors came from the heavens. We all know that we come from Stardust. We are all made up of celestial matter. In fact one of the reasons why I used to gaze so intently at the stars was to try to find answers to some questions. Questions like, "Are we alone in the Universe?". If yes why? If no, who else is there? And why haven't they made contact with us?". That is why I find topics like Roswell and Area 51 to be excellent Dinner table conversations. It is my ardent desire to travel the wide expanse of planet earth to find answers to so many questions. Nowadays when I look at the stars, I am reminded of a quote by Rumi -"We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering like stardust". My gut feeling always tells me, how true!

Dara Shukoh

Amongst the Ahmad Sirhindis
I chose Mian Mir as my Murid

Amongst the Aurangzebs,Shujas and Murads
I chose to be the lone Dara Shukoh

Amongst the Swords and muskets of steel
I chose the ancient knowledge present in the scriptures

When everyone inscribed your name in Arabic
I chose to wear a ring with "Prabhu" inscribed on it

Amongst the many believers
I chose to be the Heretic

Amongst those counting rosary beads
I chose to seek the beloved through knowledge

Amongst the many who chose conversion and prosecution   
I chose peace and unification

Amongst the many who read prayers with hatred inside
I chose to read the Upanishads and let them in my heart reside

Amongst the many who ran aground on the rocky shores of Ego
I chose to drown where 2 great oceans merged!

-- Dedicated to a great human being and a true man of God - Dara Shukah

Duryodhana and Satyaki

One fateful day during the great Mahabharata war found Duryodhana and Satyaki with their horns locked! It was a strange sight that met the eyes of many a soldiers. Duryodhana and Satyaki with each arrow exhanged, remembered the good old days. When they were kids, learning the art of weilding wepons under the tutelage of their Guru Shree Dronacharya. "Oh Satyaki! how wonderful were the times we spent during childhood at the Gurukul! Those days will never come back. Look at us now, trying to kill each other. Indeed, my greed has led to this!" . said Duryodhana. Satyaki replied "Oh king! What is the use of remembering those days now. This is the time to fight. Gather yourself and speak with your arrows!" It was such a strange sight that Sanjaya who saw this thanks to the divine vision bestowed on him by the great Sage Vyaasa, reported this to the blind Dhritharashtra.Both felt momentarily saddened when they heard this. This was narrated by Vyaasa to his disciples as it was a very strange sight. The same was narrated by Vaishampaayana (the disciple of Sage Vyaasa) to Janmejaya, the great grandson of Arjuna, the Pandava.

What is so great about this relatively unimportant event that it was recorded in the Bhaarata? I think I realized the significance of this today morning as I was on my way to work.

What made Duryodhana in the heat of the battle to become so emotional. That too, when fighting a Yaadava warrior of great repute like Satyaki. Satyaki, at his best, broke the bow of the invincible Dronacharya multiple times. Why then did Duryodhana become so emotional and start reminiscing about his childhood days.

Today as I left home for work, the weather was quite cloudy. After months of merciless summer heat today it was cool. Huge black clouds hovered above, warning one and all of the impending and much welcome downpour. Then on the way I spotted a City Central Library, that I used to frequent as a boy. And suddenly the entire atmosphere around me was transformed. I was that little kid again, who went to an over crowded library with his friends. Looking for any copies of Asterix or Tintin that we might find in the dusty shelves. The books in the library looked like some precious age old tomes that Indiana Jones would refer to unearth the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant. Coming back to the present my mind as I saw the library  conjured up an image that was surprisingly still very vivid in my memory. It was that of two infants being fed by a she-wolf. Then I remembered that  day, when I could not get hold of any Asterix or Tintin books. I had instead grabbed a book on Roman History. What attracted me initially was the pictures in the book. They looked neat, interesting and ancient. And it was in this book, that I saw a bronze statue of Remus and Romulus, who founded the Roman empire on the banks of the river Tiber. I then read their story. How their wicked uncle abandoned them in the forest and how they were reared by a She-wolf, until the parents found them and made them the rightful heirs of the kingdom that was to become one of the largest empires in the world.

All this came to my mind at that point of time, and somehow, I seemed to be in that old Bangalore. In that old Bangalore, where the weather was always cool. Where as kids we used to roam around freely. Where it did not take more than 20 minutes to reach M.G Road from my house. Where the temperature never exceeded 29 degree celcious. Where Malleshwaram was known for it's temples and not malls. But now gone are those days. That Bangalore is gone forever. That garden city is gone forever.

I came back to reality when I hit the traffic near dairy circle and the bright rays of the sun also penetrated through the dark clouds. It seemed as though the rays of the sun and the traffic brought me back to the present. It was as though I was in the heat of the battle at Kurukshetra. If you read the Mahabharata in depth, we are all fighting our own battles and we are all living in Kurukshetra. Some of us are forced into it because of Greed like Duryodhana. Some like Amba/Shikandin come here seeking revenge. But the best are those who come here like Arjuna surrendering themselves to the almighty Lord Krishna and doing their duty.

The ocean in the drop!

As I hold the pages of Diwan E Shams in my hand
It feels more intoxicating than a bottle of wine

The letters twirl and twist until
A whirlwind of love envolopes everything

The wine of love starts to flow in my veins
The sweet fragrance of the beloved wafts through the air

The outpourings of love burst forth from my lips
The falcon of love glides high in the clouds of ecstacy

All is enveloped by the soul of Rumi
The bliss of the ethereal Shams of Tabrezi   

I am no more a drop in the ocean
I am the ocean in the drop!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

"He composed music at the age of 4! He composed his first symphony at the age of 6" That is how Antonio Salieri describes Mozart in the 1984 period drama film Amadeus. That was Mozart! A child prodigy, who lived young, composed his best music while he was young and died young (At the age of 32). Some believe that it was the Italian composer Antonio Salieri himself who poisoned Mozart out of jealousy. For during his own lifetime Mozart had become a legend. Another composer, Joseph Haydn wrote "posterity will not see such talent again in a hundred years". I think Hayden was slightly off the mark. We have not seen such talent again! Great composers come and great composers go. But there can only be one and only one Mozart!

I was introduced to the world of Western Classical Music through my father. He was introduced into it by my late uncle. Whenever my uncle would come from Africa, he set aside some time listening to Classical music and discussing it with my father. My uncle had attended several orchestras by famous conductors. Once, my father also accompanied my uncle to a concert in Mumbai where the famous Indian conductor Zubin Mehta performed. My uncle repeatedly used to urge me to listen to Western classical music as he said it calms one's mind and is an instant source of relaxation. My uncle was a fan of Johann Sabastian Bach (The elder Bach). My father too even now claims he likes the elder Bach best. The Bach family was full of musicians. There is a famous quote that goes "The Bernoulli family is to Maths as the Bach family is to Music". Bach's name also appears on the famous Pulitzer winning book of Dr.Douglous Hoffstadter "Godel,Escher and Bach". Dr.Hoffstadter claims that consciousness is a self loop that can spontaneously arise in certain structures like Godel's incompleteness theorem, Escher's graphic art or Bach's music. I was at that time very fond of Beethoven's 9th symphony. I think unconsciously I connected with the values of freedom, equality and liberty that Beethoven cherished the most and which inspired his best music. We had a record player at home. One of the best records we had was of the 1970s British pop group ventures,trying their hand at playing what they considered the best classical music pieces. It was a masterpiece in fusion. A pop music band, playing classical music pieces using modern day instruments. My favorite even record was Beethoven's 9th. But I also liked another piece, which was Mozart's Symphony no 40. And on one occasion, when my dad, my uncle and I were sitting at our respective chairs at an acoustically suitable distance from the old record player listening to Mozart's 40, my uncle went on to narrate the greatness of Mozart. It must have made such a great impact on my mind that I picked a record which had his caricature on the cover. I immediately proceeded to make an exact copy of the caricature in my drawing book.

My drawing of Mozart (Misspelled of course :) )

Last week while I was rummaging through some old books (which I meant to throw away to make room for new books in the cupboard), I ran into my school drawing book. And there I found several brave attempts at drawing cartoons, comic book heroes, characters from movies that had made a lot of impact on my mind. In one of the pages in this dusty old book I ran into this drawing of Mozart. While it can be described as a crude drawing at best it still made my day. I was so thrilled. I could not contain my joy. I was smiling for a long time looking at the book. It took me back to a time, when life was so easy. The only thing to worry about was homeworks. One would sit in the class, look out of the window at the clear blue skies and get lost in the clouds, day dreaming. And then the teacher would come and give you a rap on the knuckles to bring you back to earth.  Life was so simple then. If there were no friends to play cricket with, there always was a cat or her kitten to give me company and to play with me. And you know, when I remember all these pleasant memories, what background score is playing in my mind? It's Mozart and there is no doubt about it.

When I listen to Mozart, sometimes these pleasant memories flit past my eyes as I impassively stare at them like an outsider. Mozart's music transforms our surroundings. It takes us to a place that is in the present moment bereft of the painful memories of the past or the worries of the future. I think there is a scientific reason behind this. Mozart himself composed all this music at an age when he was very innocent. Though most of his young life he spent traveling all over Austria accompanied by his father. He would enthrall people with his performance. Though life was this harsh, when he would compose/play music which came naturally to him as a gift from God, he would lose himself from the external world, turn inward and connect to the Universe. The subtle order and rhythm present in the motion of planets, stars, galaxies and sub atomic particles would beckon him to compose his masterpieces. I think that is why at a spiritual level it touches a chord within us. Our being reverberates with the harmony present in his music and would immediately become still. There we silently listen to the symphony that the universe constantly plays through Mozart.