INDIAN PHILOSOPHY

The word Philo means Love and Sophy means Knowledge, thus the word Philosophy means Love of Knowledge. When we speak of Indian Philosophy we are speaking in essence of branches or streams of knowledge that are specific to Indian thought. Duh! No rocket science that ! What I am trying to say is Indian philosophy unlike Greek philosophy is not a confluence of philosophies and regional cultures, but is a pristine philosophy, sacred unto itself.

Indian philosophy has great metrical lines which bring together various scattered texts relating to its tradition, literature and lore. Some of which I mention below, pertaining to Lord Indra (The GOD OF RAIN and the HEAVENS).

Indra, twin brother of the god of fire,
When thou wast born, thy mother Aditi
Gave thee, her lusty child, the thrilling draught
Of mountain-growing Soma - the source of life
And never-dying vigour to thy frame.

Then at the Thunderer's birth, appalled with fear,
Dreading the hundred-jointed thunderbolt -
Forged by the cunning Tvashtri - mountains rocked,
Earth shook and heaven trembled. Thou wast born
Without a rival, king of gods and men -
The eye of living and terrestrial things.
Immortal Indra, unrelenting foe
Of drought and darkness , infinitely wise,
Terrific crusher of thy enemies,
Heroic, irresistable in might,
Wall of defence to us thy worshippers,
We sing thy praises, and our ardent hymns
Embrace thee, as a loving wife her Lord.
Thou art our guardian, advocate and friend,
A brother, father, mother all combined.
Most fatherly of fathers, we are thine,
And thou art ours; oh! Let thy pitying soul
Turn to us in compassion, when we praise thee,
And slay us not for one sin or for many.
Deliver us today , tomorrow , everyday.
Armed for the conflict, see! the demons come -
Ahi  & Vritra, and a long array
Of darksome spirits. Quick then quaff the draught
That stimulateris thy martial energy;
And dashing onward in they golden car,
Drawn by thy ruddy, Ribbu-fashioned steeds, (Ribbus - were the celestial artistes of the Veda)
Speed to the charge, escorted by the Maruts.

                                                                      - More to come.

The Cricket Match between India & South Africa

Forget the powerplays forget the other issues, there are some fundamentally disturbing points that were brought to my notice - as a cricket fan a few days ago.
1. An Uncle I know knows Nayan Mongia personally.Mongia (India's ex-wicket keeper) informed him there are a lot of undercurrents going around in the Indian dressing room. For ex- Dhoni hates Shreesanth.
2. Dhoni himself has got an arrogant head on his shoulders and is not as popularly belived "Mr. Cool". while performing .
3. He has made many tactical and strategic errors in the game which include the following :
    - Asking Yusuf Pathan to bat one down, immediately after Gambhirs dismissal
    - Incoherent batting with the middle and lower order batsmen without even so much as getting a sighter on the
      bowling first.
   - Fielding was sloppy, Gautam Gambhir dropped a catch
   - Giving Ashish Nehra the last over in such a crucial situation was a tactical and strategic error

Love Poem

If you could see what you meant to me
And life was beyond a known destiny
How would I be true to you
Together beyond the yonder blue

Of Days and nights many dreams hath gone
Where the light of love hath once shone
And today I stand in your midst
Tinkering with the heart, that is the gist

What is it that I am to say to you
Except that I Love thee and am so true
Going beyond what thoughts may bring
This song of love, I choose to sing

For if a man could win your heart and I may be that man
If destiny's child can labor in love, like only I know can
I would do so, and bring the heavens for you
Watching you walk past the morning dew

How I hope to hold your hand some day
That we may walk again again this way
To tell you that I love you so,
This sonnet I composed for thee to know...

That the love in my heart is forever true
Good tidings it brings forever anew
And you shall be the queen of hearts
Dearest may we never depart...
                                                            - Ankush

whatislove-ankush

Love . So much is mentioned about this word that it has almost lost its sanctity. Love has so many forms and so many relationships fall under the gamut of love. And yet when one comes to think of it essentially, the phenomenon of love is Universal in nature. A mother child relationship, a sibling relationship, a young couple in love,the middle aged in love, love that is platonic in nature..., grandparents with their children and so forth. So what is this phenomenon that we all experience, which we call 'Love'. Is it the soul satisfying craving of each one to find oneself in another, is it the essence of all religions (Religion = Re-ligare which means to 'Bind together'), or is it just mere Utopia and does not exist.

If Love indeed is, then what is the world coming to, or rather why the despondency around? Life and love is not built magically. The twinkle in the dearests' eyes, the harmony of beating hearts, that magic moment and other such fantasies are perhaps just that...the juxtapositioning of confused souls, seeking out that special someone to love are all functional areas, perhaps one may dare to say in management parlance 'Functional mental silos', mere manifestations of 'Love' not love itself.

To my mind the essential core of the matter is 'Self love'. Think about it - its logical, if I can't love myself, what love can I possibly hope to share with another. I will only be seeking confirmation of my own persona in another's thought processes. This is perhaps why we have so many disruptive relationships around us today. I am not speaking merely of  matrimonial alliances, let us talk of simple relationships. Boy meets girl, boy likes girl and vice versa - both decide to start courting one another. How little or how much shall we say do they actually understand the intricacies of relationships. Complex human emotions, which are beyond the 'Feel good factor', for that lasts only so long as the 'Mid Summer nights dream'....what after that?? Have we pondered to think? What is the heart of Romance, but an enduring maturity towards one's own self complementing ways sought in one's partner. When the two are not neccessarily identical to one another, but compliment each other's deficiency's is when they can be said to be in love.
Another thing that never ceases to amaze me is the expression "Fall in love", why should there be a fall, when it is such a positive, vibrant and beautiful emotion. The expression should rather to my mind read - "Rise in Love" - for one grows towards, rises towards and becomes a finer person in love. The eye of the lover is forever in sync with that of the beloved. You only have to see a couple that has stayed married for decades together to gauge how much they love each other and best of all, most of it is non verbal communication. Silence is the biggest manifestation of love. It is not a passive dreary silence, but that 'active' 'conscious' silence, in presence of which the beloved can just be, relax and perform...even mundane life duties. Love comes with sacrifice and sacrifice once again comes with maturity. What is seen in modern India as in most cities globally (though there they are more prone to erroneous thought and immaturity, coupled with arrogance), is that the notion of love, has become very 'Flimpsy' and 'ephermeral' as it were. It is as though 'Passion' has substituted love and like creatures human beings sacrifice their intellects at the alter of devastation to fall prey to their lower impulses. This can hardly be called "Love". To me Love is a grandoise notion, something that symbolizes the best within and the best without. It is what you bring to the table - to the relationship, to the person that makes the difference. It manifests in the smile of the child, in the cacklish laughter of the teenager, the sombre glances of the elders and the cool gaze of old age. That is love! An enduring phenomenon of care, sensitivity, of giving and sharing, of mutual respect and interpersonal chemistry (no order is being implied here)! Telling someone "I Love You", has become a fad - sending roses etc on valentines day , while these practices are not wrong in themselves, a little more thought needs to go into our daily behavior and personal modus operandi. The saying of the words "I Love You", is not half as important as showing the care in little acts and day to day behaviors. This requires maturity like I've said before and most of all patience.
Thus the Prince charming or the Princcess is someone one who has a heart of gold and is not afraid to share himself or herself with the beloved. Someone who can focus beyond the notion of their own personal petty world, a larger than life thought process and an incredible appetite to understand the needs of one's beloved. Platonic, just and equanimous in their approach, starting from that tingling feeling in the stomach, to an assurance of a lifetime to the beloved, is the essence of love. Yes, I am speaking of commitment. Commitment to the other that one is no longer 'Ego centric', but their world now hereon revolves around their 'Beloved'.
This is something I have learnt from life and I thought I should share it with my readers., it is wisdom gained with years gone by!!!
To sum up,
"Love is to the human heart, what the Sun is to flowers and to love and be loved is the greatest joy of human existence".
Signing off - Ankush