Reflections

Death is a certainty in life; All of us must have contemplated this ultimate reality at some point in time in our lives, regardless of age. That one day all that we see around us will cease   for us is not a comforting thought; yet – none of us can escape this ultimate reality. Most, I daresay all – must be terrified, or worried at the contemplation of the coming surety, be it 50 years away or more. One day, we will simply cease to be, that seems to be certain. At least until you begin to deeply contemplate this reality from your innermost being – your antahkaran, not out of fear – but out of curiosity… therein lies the first trigger for your release! UNDERSTANDING LIFE In order that we understand this feared “death”, we need to understand the true nature of our existence, alongside an acceptance of our Aatmaa {soul}. Not awareness of the Aatmaa, but acceptance, faith that it exists inside us. That is the real “Me”, all the rest is a setoff sheaths around our tru...

Yet again, our nation has been shocked by a heinous terrorist attack – at Pulwama, martyring more than 40 of our brave CRPF personnel in the prime of life. My heart – numb with shock, can only pray to the Almighty to give strength to their families in this dark hour. Let us, before we analyse our options, spend a minute to think of what these families have lost; with grief in my heart, to those braves, I can only say : shat shat naman … may you Rest In Peace! MOVING AHEAD In this terrible hour, let us do our best to keep calm. This does not mean I recommend inaction; rather, let us allow our Government-   it is an excellent Government – to do its Job. Give them time and space to deal with the terror on their own terms. I do not advocate we forgive and / or forget; just that we remain calm, and confident that our Government is there to respond and deal with this . Building vocal pressure towards any particular response method – there are plenty of options {look below}...

This is a short article; characteristically blunt–as is my habit, uncomfortable for some, old hat for others, and obvious for yet others. And yet, this – for want of a better word, extrapolation given below – is something that has most likely not occurred to most in the younger generation so far as I am aware. This is a time that is a harbinger of seminal change in Indian society, with its increasingly smaller and yet smaller sizes – which brings with it a set of challenges that are disturbing indeed. Today most of us have a decently large set of Brothers, Sisters and First Cousins; they are fun, at times nutty, at other times angry, and then at yet other times a massive support base for all of us. They are the extended family we take oftentimes for granted, they will always be there types. But critically, this situation as on current evidence, rests only for us – this generation. We are closely connected to our siblings; and we have large families. What of the next genera...