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Showing posts from March, 2008

Krishna, Dharma, and the Mahabharata I Thought I Knew

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Krishna and Arjuna at Kurukshetra When I was growing up, I used to listen to so many stories from our epics and mythology—whether it was reading Amar Chitra Katha books or listening to my paati narrate tales of bravery and valor, the purpose of the divine, and the importance of adhering to dharma. Stories of Shiva and Vishnu found their way into my life through various forms. As a child, it was fascinating to see the power wielded by the Gods. And the message I took away was very simple: if you are devoted to the Gods, no harm can befall you. The Mahabharata, Ramayana, Nala-Damayanti, tales of Muruga and Ganesha, Draupadi, the Pandavas, the Kauravas—the army of characters was endless. To say they fascinated me would be a big understatement. I have read the Mahabharata many times, through various authors, and listened to many narrations of it. Every single time, I walk away with a new meaning. Kri...
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Anbe Sivam

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Our lives are governed by facts and beliefs over a period of time that we have got used to these things; practices have been stamped with unquestionable beliefs. It is only a confined section of the society that tends to think on iconoclastic lines, and majority of us find it difficult to have our views matched with the minority section. I run into a severe thought process; most of the times, they are about trivialities, and the rest, about the extremes. It is always a great feeling to know that you have complete control of life, and that you want to think and act independently. But, ironically, it gives us great comfort to think that there is a power vastly superior than us controlling the various stages of our lives. Who is He? is a big question, but it gives great comfort to know that there is a He governing our lives! Last week, I happened to watch the movie Anbe Siva m once again (you can safely put the number of viewings to a double digit value). Some of my non-T...
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Simply subconscious

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It's an awry feeling to get up at around 8 in the morning after about twenty snoozes an hour; the war torn feeling just lingers on and you know exactly what you are going to do for the next twenty to thirty minutes to get ready for work, and at the back of your head, you actually don't have any idea as to what you're doing. Ironical, but every human being getting up to go to work will know what exactly I'm talking about. Every morning is like a deja vu and the repeatability of daily life leaves you asking a lot more questions instead of getting the answers as time goes on. What is it about the subconscious aspect of life? Many times, I don't even realize that I am driving my car from home to office or vice-versa. I have spoken to a lot of people about this, and I get a response, that it is the case of taking certain things for granted. It is just about how you prioritize certain things in life. You know the route by-heart, that you end up following the car ahea...
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