Ākāśāt Patitaṃ: Many Forms, One Reality

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Adi Shankara: The image that's stayed with me forever Sanskrit and shlokas have always fascinated me. The sheer vastness of Sanskrit literature is humbling. There are enough verses, texts, commentaries and traditions to occupy many lifetimes, and still leave one feeling that one has barely scratched the surface. But I didn't think much about any of this when I was growing up. I would recite shlokas in the morning and evening without fail. They were simply part of life. The words were there, the rituals were there, the temples were there—but much of it happened in the background. I was busy with academics. There was no time for Sanskrit or Vedanta. At least, that is what I used to tell myself. Of course, time was never really the problem. I could spend five days watching a Test match from morning to evening and somehow consider that perfectly legitimate use of my time! The truth was simpler: Sanskrit and Vedanta had not yet become priorities. Gr...
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The social syndrome

My friend told me that he never blocks any of his friends on his Facebook news feed because that's the way he gets maximum fun on Facebook.

"It's a great way to pass time.  Most of the guys I barely know.  Half of them are jokers."

But, I somehow don't have the time for most of the nonsense that goes in the name of updates.  I don't even have a dedicated Facebook app on my mobile phone.  I just use the People Hub to get updates of people who are there in my phone book contacts.  Otherwise, I just don't care.  Most of the important updates in my friends' lives still come via emails or phone calls.

Anyway, last week, we had been to the Sunnyvale Hindu temple.  After the renovation work, it's all the more beautiful.  And as is the norm, we met someone we knew.  As I said earlier, you just have to step out of the house, and you'll meet someone you know.

We exchanged pleasantries.

I knew he was in the bay area.

Then, he told me, "I did not know you were in the bay area."

"Oh, surprising! Are we not connected on LinkedIn? I always keep my profile updated", I said.

"I see.  I am not very active on any social network", he said.

Anyway, we chatted for a few minutes and decided to catch up sometime later.

We walked towards the car, and I passed on a few details to my wife about her new acquaintance.

Immediately, she called up her friend.

"Hey, you remember yesterday, we were talking about a guy who had posted pictures of him carrying his wife on Facebook? "

"Isn't he the guy who had also altered the Kolaveri lyrics to include some cheesy lines about his wife on Facebook?", the voice on the other line added.

"Yes, it's the same guy."

"Imagine the sheer coincidence.  We just met him today."

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