Samadhi, by Paramhansa Yogananda

Paramahansa Yogananda's poem Samadhi is one of the most vivid and poetic descriptions of the superconscious samadhi state achieved by advanced yogis.

Vanished the veils of light and shade,
Lifted every vapor of sorrow,
Sailed away all dawns of fleeting joy,
Gone the dim sensory mirage.
Love, hate, health, disease, life, death,
Perished these false shadows on the screen of duality.
Waves of laughter, scyllas of sarcasm, melancholic whirlpools,
Melting in the vast sea of bliss.
The storm of maya stilled
By magic wand of intuition deep.
The universe, forgotten dream, subconsciously lurks,
Ready to invade my newly-wakened memory divine.
I live without the cosmic shadow,
But it is not, bereft of me;
As the sea exists without the waves,
But they breathe not without the sea.
Dreams, wakings, states of deep turia sleep,
Present, past, future, no more for me,
But ever-present, all-flowing I, I, everywhere.
Planets, stars, stardust, earth,
Volcanic bursts of doomsday cataclysms,
Creation’s molding furnace,
Glaciers of silent x-rays, burning electron floods,
Thoughts of all men, past, present, to come,
Every blade of grass, myself, mankind,
Each particle of universal dust,
Anger, greed, good, bad, salvation, lust,
I swallowed, transmuted all
Into a vast ocean of blood of my own one Being!
Smoldering joy, oft-puffed by meditation
Blinding my tearful eyes,
Burst into immortal flames of bliss,
Consumed my tears, my frame, my all.
Thou art I, I am Thou,
Knowing, Knower, Known, as One!
Tranquilled, unbroken thrill, eternally living, ever-new peace!
Enjoyable beyond imagination of expectancy, samadhi bliss!
Not an unconscious state
Or mental chloroform without wilful return,
Samadhi but extends my conscious realm
Beyond limits of the mortal frame
To farthest boundary of eternity
Where I, the Cosmic Sea,
Watch the little ego floating in Me.
The sparrow, each grain of sand, fall not without My sight.
All space floats like an iceberg in My mental sea.
Colossal Container, I, of all things made.
By deeper, longer, thirsty, guru-given meditation
Comes this celestial samadhi.
Mobile murmurs of atoms are heard,
The dark earth, mountains, vales, lo! molten liquid!
Flowing seas change into vapors of nebulae!
Aum blows upon vapors, opening wondrously their veils,
Oceans stand revealed, shining electrons,
Till, at last sound of the cosmic drum,
Vanish the grosser lights into eternal rays
Of all-pervading bliss.
From joy I came, for joy I live, in sacred joy I melt.
Ocean of mind, I drink all creation’s waves.
Four veils of solid, liquid, vapor, light,
Lift aright.
Myself, in everything, enters the Great Myself.
Gone forever, fitful, flickering shadows of mortal memory.
Spotless is my mental sky, below, ahead, and high above.
Eternity and I, one united ray.
A tiny bubble of laughter, I
Am become the Sea of Mirth Itself.

Hierarchy of Knowledge

Dr. Deepak Ranade's another exceptional article was published in TOI Speaking Tree. I'm so lucky and happy that he had sent me a copy before it got published, and I was pretty moved by it's content.

Here it is, "Hierarchy of Knowledge":

The brain is ever endeavoring to learn, comprehend, understand. It is being flooded with information at maybe the rate of a million MB per second. It processes the data at an even more astonishing speed.

Processing data implies prioritizing the data. To assign meaning to incoming data
is a very important aspect of intelligence.

Interpretation of the data is a a very highly developed intelligence.
Data is ubiquitous. Right from the radio-waves emitted by celestial bodies from a few million light years away, to the feel of our clothing against our bodies, we are being bombarded by data.
Intelligence is the skill and speed to scan the incoming data, compare it with the existing database , discard the unimportant part (like the feel of our clothes against our skin) and also store the useful new data for future reference.

Apples fell even before Newton discovered gravity, but Newton processed the same data witnessed by others in a different paradigm. He discovered a force which till then was not known to mankind, no parallel, no tangible units of measurement and was embellished in abstraction. This realization or flash of comprehension was abstract intelligence at a sublime level, where his conclusion was not a mere deduction, or just analysis. Analysis would be a synthesis or jugglery of already known facts but where the summation leads to a greater than phenomenon that is where awareness transcends intellect, analysis and reasoning.

Science is essentially related to a spatio-temporal grid. It is seemingly restrained by the confines of cause and effect. Any theory has to be reinforced by experimental verification and then to be ratified by adding the attributes of repeatability and predictability. This verification is mediated by measurable parameters, which again are the slaves of the tangibles governed by the senses.
The boat of the sense organs can navigate the intellect only within the waters of the tangible. Once it touches the shores of the intangible the sense organs are powerless and defunct. The realms of the intangible may be dwelled into only by awareness, which is supra-sensory and out of the spatio-temporal Cartesian grid. This intangible is out of bounds for the intellect which is defanged when depraved of sensory inputs. That is the reason why this aspect of knowledge is termed as “Realization”. Realization implies knowledge which is already there but which we are unaware of. The knowledge of the form shifts focus to awareness. Awareness is independent of subject object bifurcation Reasoning, deduction and investigation are meaningless tools which only obfuscate and serve to the detriment of the user.

The knowledge of the manifest is a stepping stone to enhancing awareness. By knowing what I am not is a very potent principle to know what I am. If I cannot fathom the manifest, then I cannot even dream of the unmanifest. The journey to realization involves traveling over a diverse terrain. Each distinct terrain requires a commensurate vehicle. The vehicle of reason used to traverse the terra firma of tangibility needs to be abandoned when one has to take to the aerial journey of enhanced awareness. For this journey one has to travel very light, against the gravity of reason, logic and sensory perception into the realm of space of consciousness. The only navigation system being the guidance of the Guru. Most perceive the Guru to be in a particular form and person. But actually the Guru is a tatva (principle). It could manifest in any form. It only requires the disciple to be in a state of preparedness or conditioning before it reveals itself.

The entire journey is beyond the realm of consciousness. As consciousness involves duality, i.e. someone is conscious of something, the subject object dichotomy still lingers.
When one transcends consciousness, there is only awareness, a sense of “I am”.
Consciousness can be conditioned and adulterated by desires, vasanas. But awareness supercedes all and is the dwelling or source of the supreme being. This awareness is bliss, joy bereft of any duality, form and shape. In this state all derivatives of consciousness like space, time form and appearance melt into just “I am” .

Somewhat akin to the Bose- Einstein condensate of matter. The inability to communicate this state of awareness using the parameters of the conscious state leads to the mysticism of spiritual knowledge. But this knowledge is of the highest order and really ceases to be knowledge also as knowledge is implicit with a “knower” which again is a state of duality.

Strictly Beautiful :: Thomas Dolby & Rochelle Garnier

Christmas happens everywhere every time someone reaches out to touch another life with love

Where are you, Lord Jesus? Is seeing your face as simple as gazing down into a manger’s hay? Is there a deserted stable somewhere, aglow with your Presence? Might I join a band of magi and follow a star to you? Might I keep watch with simple shepherds and bear the good news from Gabriel’s own luminous lips?

Give me strength to follow, 364 days, whatever star might lead me to you on the 365th. That some day I might behold, unsquinting, the radiance of your Glory in a season that will be forever.

~Michael Card, from The Promise, Introduction

Christmas happens everywhere every time someone reaches out to touch another life with love.

~ Carol Duerksen

Rodrigo Y Gabriela cover Orion

Hi guys, it's really nice to see you. Where are you from you said? Are you sure??

Real World is Beyond the Mind

One of the most important works of the century is the book 'I AM THAT', Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, Published by Acorn Press, Translated by Maurice Frydman.

Can't resist sharing one of the chapters I read yesterday :

Real World is Beyond the Mind

Questioner: On several occasions the question was raised as to whether the universe is subject to the law of causation, or does it exist and function outside the law. You seem to hold the view that it is uncaused, that everything, however small, is uncaused, arising and disappearing for no known reason whatsoever.

Maharaj: Causation means succession in time of events in space, the space being physical or mental. Time, space, causation are mental categories, arising and subsiding with the mind.

Q: As long as the mind operates, causation is a valid law.

M: Like everything mental, the so-called law of causation contradicts itself. No thing in existence has a particular cause; the entire universe contributes to the existence of even the smallest thing; nothing could be as it is without the universe being what it is. When the source and ground of everything is the only cause of everything, to speak of causality as a universal law is wrong. The universe is not bound by its content, because its potentialities are infinite; besides it is a manifestation, or expression of a principle fundamentally and totally free.

Q: Yes, one can see that ultimately to speak of one thing being the only cause of another thing is altogether wrong. Yet, in actual life we invariably initiate action with a view to a result.

M: Yes, there is a lot of such activity going on, because of ignorance. 'Would people know that nothing can happen unless the entire universe makes it happen, they would achieve much more with less expenditure of energy.

Q: If everything is an expression of the totality of causes, how can we talk of a purposeful action towards an achievement?

M: The very urge to achieve is also an expression of the total universe. It merely shows that the energy potential has risen at a particular point. It is the illusion of time that makes you talk of causality. When the past and the future are seen in the timeless now, as parts of a common pattern, the idea of cause-effect loses its validity and creative freedom takes its place.

Q: Yet, I cannot see how can anything come to be without a cause.

M: When I say a thing is without a cause, I mean it can be without
a particular cause. Your own mother was needed to give you birth; But you could not have been born without the sun and the earth. Even these could not have caused your birth without your own desire to be born. It is desire that gives birth, that gives name and form. The desirable is imagined and wanted and manifests itself as something tangible or conceivable.
Thus is created the world in which we live, our personal
world. The real world is beyond the mind's ken; we see it through the net of our desires, divided into pleasure and pain, right and wrong, inner and outer. To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not hard to do so, for the net is full of holes.

Q: What do you mean by holes? And how to find them?

M: Look at the net and its many contradictions. You do and undo at every step. You want peace, love, happiness and work hard to create pain, hatred and war. You want longevity and overeat, you want friendship and exploit. See your net as made of such contradictions and remove them -- your very seeing them will make them go.

Q: Since my seeing the contradiction makes it go, is there no causal link between my seeing and its going?

M: Causality, even as a concept, does not apply to chaos.

Q: To what extent is desire a causal factor?

M: One of the many. For everything there are innumerable causal factors. But the source of all that is, is the Infinite Possibility, the Supreme Reality, which is in you and which throws its power and light and love on every experience. But, this source is not a cause and no cause is a source. Because of that, I say everything is uncaused. You may try to trace how a thing happens, but you cannot find out why a thing is as it is. A thing is as it is, because the universe is as it is.

The Human Form is like a Boat

An important observation from the Bhagvad Gita is that we Humans derive a variance from other living creatures just because of our scientific, cultural, religious and philosophical advancements.

If we call ourselves 'Sophisticated Animals', we can be considered actually superior only if we inquire about an Absolute Truth. Only a few develop the power of enquiry and reasoning beyond the known & obvious - "Athato Brahma Jijnasa".

Thus we can see a Human life as a boat traveling towards a destination.

Actual subjects of enquiry are:

• The cause of suffering.
• The Destination we are seeking.
  

Original Painting by Redon, Odilon [WebMuseum Paris]

The Brain is what makes you believe

Vilayanur Ramachandran, a Neurologist, gave an astounding talk on how our brain acts as the only bridge to believe the relational aspects of mind and matter. His series of experiments, meticulously performed and impeccably explained in this video, reveal some amazing concepts.

Can we imagine due to brain damage, some people associate every number with a color? Some patients will fail to recognize their mother by her face, but recognize her voice! Take a look at this really mind boggling lecture.

The video is around 20 minutes in length, so please let it download first. Press 'play' and then 'pause' to let it load fully.



Credits: Geeksaresexy

Why I Succeed

Andy McKee - Divinity 'Synonymous'

HOW? Just how does he do that??



Thanks Nigel...

Alien Sculptures & Digital Art of Francesco Mai

In the digital age we've seen new art forms emerging out of artificially intelligent assistance of modern software. With new trends in 3D technologies for artists, some sure have taken a quantum leap. It's clear with a radical progress in computing power, images which would take days to render can be exported in a few hours.

So many artists have achieved the freedom, without being dependent on processing power and bound to the limitations.

One of the best digital artists I've come across is Francesco Mai. He truly uses the power of Lightwave, Cinema 4d and other tools to redefine his pseudo realities.


With seamless levels of detail, we see him truly capturing his imagination. It's his 'mind extended' into arresting forms which are deviant, yet extraordinary.


The images have been published after taking permission from Francesco and in turn his curiosity towards this article.

I'm truly honored that he gave me permission to exhibit the works and write about him. Please check back for updates and more amazing digital imagery by Francesco Mai.

His complete works can be viewed here: http://www.francescomai.com/

Sever Connections, Overcome Illusion

Deepak M Ranade, A Consultant Neurosurgeon wrote for the TOI Speaking Tree (November 30, Pune):

Consciousness cannot be fragmented. It can only alter its manifestation and seek expression in different forms. This alteration — energy being converted into mass — results in life forms and the universe. It appears that each form is separate and unique. The sense organs are specifically designed to further refurbish this illusion of separateness. As the process of segregation of consciousness further evolves, it creates an illusory spatio-temporal grid.

Breaking the symmetry or congruence of the nirakaar or unmanifest into a spectrum of forms and shapes is Creation. The frequency of this energy gets scattered within a band. At the highest end of this spectrum is zero entropy energy — pure awareness, God or satchitananda — and down the hierarchy, the entropy keeps increasing, resulting in a plethora of forms and figures which is Creation. Pure awareness gets distorted into a split awareness, generating a subject-object dichotomy and subsequently identity, ego.

At the subatomic level, the building block of all matter according to one theory is the string, which is actually energy vibrating at different frequencies.Entire Creation being illusory is that Creation is actually energy manifesting in different frequency bandwidths and each object represents a construct of a particular frequency. Sense organs then trick the brain into believing the separate existence of all that it sees, feels and hears. This master programme weaves the trichotomy of the seer, the seen and the process of seeing.

What my eye sees may just be a transduction of the signal in a preset pattern at a specified locus in the microprocessor called the brain. What my sense organs perceive may just be a function of their programme. Any visual image is actually an interpretation of the incident — light falling on the rods and cones in the retina. The brain thereafter is programmed to interpret these inputs. So the interpretation of any object would essentially be a derivative of this programme.

The interpretation of the incoming data from cognitive apparatus has inherent limitations. The brain receives all signals and through a complex relay system helps in interpreting them. This system itself may be subliminal and may produce incongruous conclusions. In the phantom limb phenomenon, wherein a person feels like scratching a non-existent (amputated) hand, the brain refuses to accept the nonexistence of the limb because the specific area in the brain that represents the hand remains functional. So it may just be possible that the hand which i am scratching is a construct of a brain pre-wired to believe its existence.

Could the consciousness apparatus become conscious of its own self? The only way it can perceive itself is by effacing itself completely, and merge into the vastness of universal consciousness. This would end the deceptive trilogy of the seer, the seen and the process of seeing. This assimilative technique is the only method for perception to perceive itself. The merger is a quantum leap and cannot be achieved by the reductionism approach, which is moored in the "observer and the observed" realm.

Yoga is aimed at disconnection. Yoga is defined as Chitta-vritti nirodh. Chitta is the cumulative awareness of all the sensory experiences and vritti is the intense desire for sensory gratification. This disconnection is in effect overcoming sensory deception.

Yves LaRock - Rise Up

'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' - Some interesting trivia

June 15, 1987 30 hired hands move 800 hospital beds onto the beach at Saunton Sands in North Devon for Storm Thorgerson to shoot what will be the cover of 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason'.

September 7, 1987 'A Momentary Lapse of Reason' album is released.

The sound of the alarm system at David Gilmour's studio Astoria was used at the start of 'One Slip'.

On September 9, 1987 Pink Floyd's first tour in 10 years began. 'MLOR' is Pink Floyd's longest running tour to date.

The tour featured the world's biggest outdoor stage, custom-built by Paul Staples. The proscenium alone was 85 foot high by 98 foot wide. Transportation required four steel systems on the road at any one time, and 45 trucks were used to move the steelwork and equipment.

For this tour, Brit Row merged their own facilities with those of their close associates, American-based Maryland Sound Inc. (MSI) whose proprietory PA stock formed the core of the touring system.

Buford Jones joined PF for the tour, his live mixing credits had included ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, and David Bowie.

Before the concert of January 29th 1988, a 12 meter long, inflatable pig, being used at a record company function 'broke free' from its mooring and slowly disappeared from sight, just as its fellow porker had done in 1977.

May 6, 1988 Pink Floyd's flying pig met an unfortunate end during the first Foxboro concert, when it was grabbed by the audience and torn to shreds. Fortunately, the band kept a spare inflatable on hand.

Before the shows in Rotterdam, Holland, on June 13-14, 1988, the crowds were entertained by two airplanes performing aerobatic stunts. Holland was the only country on the tour to allow this to happen.

June 16, 1988, Berlin, Germany- Pink Floyd played on the Western side of the Berlin Wall, 2000 East Germans congregated on the other side to listen. There were several arrests as the fans chanted for the wall to be torn down.

On July 28, 1988 to celebrate Rick Wright's birthday, the rest of the band joined by the entire crowd, sang Happy Birthday to Rick.

July 15, 1989 Venice, Italy was the most controversial concert of Pink Floyd's career. Despite local protest they were allowed to play a free concert from a barge in the lagoon opposite St. Mark's Square, from where an estimated 200,000 people watched. The concert was nearly cancelled on July 13th, when the City's Superintendent of Monuments claimed that the vibration could damage the buildings. To pacify critics Pink Floyd played at reduced volume. 100 million viewers in 23 countries (including the Soviet Union, Israel, Yugoslavia, and East Germany) saw the show on TV.

Credits:
http://www.pinkfloyd-co.com (After content permission)
http://radio.weblogs.com
http://www.pinkfloyd-guitar.com

Jiddu Krishnamurti, the messianic Buddha

As early as 1889 Helena Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society, had told certain of her students that the purpose of Theosophy was to prepare humanity for the coming of the Lord Maitreya, the World Teacher for the Aquarian Age. After Blavatsky's death, Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater considered it their task to carry on this work, part of which was the preparation of a disciple who would serve as a vehicle for the Teacher when He came.

In 1909 at Adyar, India, Leadbeater discovered a boy, who had been born into an high-caste brahmin family, whose aura he judged to be completely free of selfishness. Annie Besant also met this boy and proclaimed him an incarnation of Maitreya, the messianic Buddha.

This boy was Jiddu Krishnamurti, who was then 13 years old. Adopted by Besant and Leadbeater, he received intensive training, then 10 years of schooling in England. People in many countries were informed of his future role.

At the age of 27, Krishnamurti had a personal vision which convinced him that the consciousness of Maitreya was beginning to overshadow him. Theosophists throughout the world had been waiting for this development. Annie Besant traveled (1926-27) in England and the United States with her protégé Jiddu Krishnamurti, whom she announced as the new Messiah.

In 1929, following this two-year tour Krishnamurti himself rejected these claims that he was to be regarded as a World Teacher, and dissolved the World Order of the Star, a religious organization he had founded in 1911. At this point it numbered 60,000 members, managed huge sums of money, and owned tracts of land throughout the world, many designated for Krishnamurti's future work. He was then 34 years old. Krishnamurti also renounced his association with the Theosophical Society, declaring: "I do not want followers. My only concern is to set men absolutely, unconditionally free." He spent the rest of his years teaching humanity how to achieve that freedom.

He retained some connection with the theosophical movement, however, and continued an active career of lecturing and writing. He finally settled in Ojai, Calif., where from 1969 he headed the Krishnamurti Foundation. His writings include Commentaries on Living (1956-60), Freedom from the Known (1969), The First and Last Freedom (1975), Life in Freedom (1986), and Think on These Things (1989).

Credits: age-of-the-sage.org

Evolution

Mind 1: howcome r u being so nice to me
nowdays u hardly trouble me

"evolution" ? :)

Mind 2: im always nice.. u dont realize it

evolution is stalled a bit

Mind 1: why?

Mind 2: dunno

im searchin why it is so

Mind 1: wait i have something u mite just like

What am I searching for,
Where am I going now,
Who am I deep inside,
I want to know somehow.

There is so much to learn,
Life has so much to give,
if I just plan my way,
I'd live a new life each day.

Looking at life through the eyes of love,
Truths of life reveal,
Suddenly it dawns on me...
...The answers are within

Mind 2: :) so true

thanks... thats really nice of u

Mind 1: actually a 4yr old kid taught me this... its a nursery rhyme

Mind 2: very nice, its so deep for a nursery rhyme
Mind 1: i know...

Flashes from Swami Vivekananda - 2

Religion, the great milch cow, has given many kicks, but never mind, it gives a great deal of milk.

Work purifies the heart and so leads to Vidya (wisdom).

What we call nature, fate, is simply God's will.

Japa is repeating the Holy Name; through this the devotee rises to the Infinite.

The path of devotion is natural and pleasant.

Choose the highest ideal and live your life up to that.

Experience is the only teacher.

Philosophy is not got by studying books.

The world is but a gymnasium in which we play; our life is an eternal holiday.

Asian Film Festival Revisited - 2

Kikar Ha Halomot (Desperado Square)
Directed & Written by Benny Torati
Cast: Joseph Shiloach, Yona Elian, Mohammed Bakri, Uri Gavriel, Nir Levy, Sharon Raginiano, Uri Klauzner, Ayelet Zurer
Language: Hebrew

I never knew Indian films do so well in Israel. Desperado Square is a unique tale about a love triangle. The story revolves around a theater, which was running packed some years back. The reason was not just that it'd play Hindi movies, but also romantic sagas like Raj Kapoor's Sangam.

Sangam had been a super hit in a small town of Israel where this theatre is located. But the film has a beautifying aspect to it. Characters surrounding the theater are in a similar situation as in the story of Sangam. An enchanting love story is eventually revealed.

Other scenes are very nicely created, the film takes the audience on many emotional levels with it's screenplay. Do watch it for amazing direction and performances.

League of Shadows VA

League of Shadows, one of the albums released this year by Noize Conspiracy Records.


A crazy package of tunes that will elevate you. The most killa artists featured here, exhibiting evolution. It's like war on a spiritual battlefield. Some of these tracks can be called 'serious morning music' as me and DJ Mukti used to nominate.

01. 7:57 Abomination – Revelations ∞ ∞

02. 8:14 Digital Talk – The Keeper ∞ ∞ ∞

03. 7:55 Delysid – League of Shadows ∞ ∞ ∞

04. 7:53 Seroxat – Dark Days ∞ ∞

05. 8:16 Phatmatix – Mind Manipulation ∞ ∞ ∞

06. 7:31 Azax Syndrom – Replica (Abomination Rmx) ∞ ∞ ∞

07. 7:19 Fungus Funk - Noise Waveform ∞ ∞ ∞

08. 6:52 Frozen Ghost vs. Hiyarant – Lockdown ∞ ∞ ∞

09. 7:34 Wicca – California Nightmare ∞ ∞ ∞

In this compilation all tracks are just great.

Asian Film Festival Revisited - 1

The Asian Film Festival was held in Pune from 1st to 8th November 2007. A confluence of the best from Asian cinema was experienced here. I saw films that don't entertain, but literally touch lives. Some exclusive films from Japan, China, Israel, Iran, Taiwan, Thailand, Srilanka, Korea, Bhutan, Philippines, Kyrgyzstan were screened.

With subjects scrutinizing depths of humanity, it was a great trip for those who know 'life' itself, ultimately is a movie.

I could watch only a few of them, but senior citizens from Pune, retired and chilling in life, flocked the multiplex with a competition within themselves as, 'How many can you watch in a day!?'. They were seen with nicely packed lunch boxes and thermoses full of tea.

Out of around 70 movies, I saw only some , but they've made a great impact. To tell you about a few:

Opening film:
Shaere Zobale-ha (Poet of The Wastes)
Director: Mohammad Ahmadi
Screenplay: Mohsin Makhmalbaf
Cast: Saber Abbar, Mohammad Eskandari, Leila Hatami, Farzin Mohades
Language: Persian

The story of a street worker, who is one of the 3000 employed by the government for cleaning streets and waste management. He was amongst Iran's 4 million jobless first, till he is selected for the job after answering Kepler's laws, clearing a physical test, and failing a very interesting political test:

interviewer : are you a leftist or a rightist?
Saber: sometimes I am a leftist and sometimes a rightist
interviewer: are you a leftist or a rightist?
Saber: well sir I can't really say, what is left today is right tomorrow and what is right today is left tomorrow and it becomes right again the day after. I guess I am none.
interviewer: well..you fail the test. we want someone who knows what he is, to be our street cleaner.

A very lucid story about this man Saber, who collects garbage and discovers life of the neighborhood.

The film is like directed in a way as if the director has a palette of colors and he wished to draw Saber's life on screen. Its so well-made that you'll think about it for hours after watching it.

One of the garbage bags is that of a celebrated poet, an old man who dumps his rough work(on his next book of poems) in the garbage bag everyday. Saber collects them and reads them. One day Saber does not find the poet's garbage bag and he calls out the poet

Saber: Mr. Poet, I don't see your garbage bag
Poet: I did keep it there an hour ago.
Saber: well sir, it is not there
Poet: I guess somebody took it
Saber: sir, you have to be careful, there are thieves around
Poet: but it is just a garbage bag
Saber: no sir, it is a garbage bag of a poet, there is dignity even in the garbage of a poet

The poet is impressed. Saber tells him he read all his poems and even recites one right there. The poet is really impressed.

Poet: why do you like poetry so much?
Saber: I like it so much that I want to be a poet. May be you can give me some lessons.
Poet: no, you have to do it yourself.
Saber: but sir I really don't know how.
Poet: don't rush it. I once tried to rush a cocoon into a butterfly. I warmed it up and all I got was a dead butterfly.

Then is a beautifully captured love story of Saber falling in love at first sight with a lonely, bankrupt Muslim girl. Saber finds torn pieces of letters written to her brother in US, about her visa getting rejected again and again.

He poses as a poet and sends her the poet's poems as if they were his own.

The film earned a well-deserved applause.

The Parable of the Pencil

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. "There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to held in someone's hand."
"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil."
"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."
"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside."
"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

Now replace the pencil with you.

The Maya of Audio Perception revealed using Holophony

Is what we see, hear, taste, smell and feel, a part of an existential reality? All scriptures corroborate the world being an interpretation of our sense perception. But to prove the whole Maya, Science is far from it's full potential. I feel scientists shouldn't even reach there, because we can't derive a significant meaning out of life otherwise.

For enthusiasts, I came across a petty, yet very interesting example of proving our illusive perception of sound. I love music and the sounds of nature... so Salutations and Hats off to the creator of human audio-perception. God, you bring lives to life!

Thanks to the 404 Creative Studios Blog for the data given below:

These super clear audio files are called holophony (holophonic sound recordings) and are designed to be listened to with headphones for the best effect. They have been recorded with a dummy head that has two microphones, one in each ear. The shape of the head and ears are designed to be similar to a human head to most closely replicate real human hearing. It’s pretty incredible.

Grab your headphones and have a listen. While the content itself isn’t that engaging, the sound effects will probably have you listening a second time.

A Virtual Haircut:

A Matchbox:

A Woman’s Voice:

more examples at www.holophonic.ch

Robert Venosa is not within linguistic definition

Imagine Salvador Dali's words of appreciation for another artist. You can get amazed with Robert Venosa and his spiritual insights depicting worlds beyond the space-time fabric.

His works characterize a pure transmogrified reality of the human self. He creates what cannot be called art, but a spiritual kaleidoscope of his journeys. If I gaze at them more, I get afraid of a post-hypnotic amnesia.

"Bravo Venosa! Dali is pleased to see spiritual madness painted with such a fine technique."
-- Salvador Dali

"My wish for the coming age is that humanity becomes once again conscious of our spiritual union with the divine works of art - inspired creations by masters such as Robert Venosa."

-- Dr. Albert Hofmann

"Robert Venosa's art truly captures the imprint of a spiritual force, each painting so alive, seeming to breathe, pulsate and stare back at you, challenging the viewer to also reach their highest potential."

-- Carlos Santana

You can have the experience on: http://www.venosa.com/

Twists like Jalebi

My beloved friend Tattoba (Tarang), sent me the best SMS this Dassara. Its one of the biggest festivals in India and sweets are almost mandatory. But Tattoba had a different message to convey:

Happy Dassara! May everything happen in your life like the sweet twists of jalebi!

Lucidity in this simple message shows the exactitude of some truths, the impermanence which drives every moment, the element of bewilderment with every twist we encounter. We don't encourage this astonishment, but assume sorrow.

Various Artists - Digital Singles Vol.1

Digital Singles Vol.1, presented by Aleph Zero Records, is a new compilation of latest creations by some of the best Downtempo Electronica & Chillout artists. If you own a coffee shop by the beach, this album is compulsory. Even if you don't, this brew of requiescence will always shine in your collection.


Shulman, Omnimotion, Bluetech and Anahata's tracks are congruous to complete shanti. New artists like Vataff Project and Agalacti have also been featured. Dancing can be stressful, it feels nice when you cool down with this album. I call it 'Conversation Music'... not only does the music converse with you, it lets you converse with others.

Track list and rating: [∞ ∞ ∞-killer ∞ ∞-very nice ∞-nice]

01. Shulman - The Unexpected Visitor (CBL Carbonator remix) ∞ ∞
02. Bluetech - Oleander (Phutureprimitive Symbiotic remix) ∞ ∞ ∞
03. Anahata - Moments ∞ ∞ ∞
04. Vataff Project - The Eternal Flute ∞
05. Shulman - NN3 ∞ ∞ ∞
06. Agalactia - Aloe Vera ∞ ∞
07. Omnimotion - Uncontrolled ∞ ∞ ∞
08. Bluetech - Misaki ∞ ∞ ∞
09. Omnimotion - Cozy Life (radio edit) ∞ ∞ ∞

Flashes from Swami Vivekananda - 1

Man is the highest being that exists.

We cannot see outside what we are not inside.

All condemnation of others really condemns ourselves.

No action can give you freedom, only self-knowledge can.

Hold your money merely as custodian for what is God's.

Be in the world, but not of it, like the lotus leaf.

It is our privilege to be allowed to be charitable, for only so can we grow.

Truth must have no compromise.

No man should be judged by his defects.

Never lose faith in yourself, you can do anything in the universe.

Our best work is done, our greatest influence is exerted, when we are without thought of self.

Mati Klarwein's Magical Realism

Eleonore Ananda by Mati Klarwein - 1975

Mati Klarwein wrote:

In August 1975 we went on a 7 day hindu pilgrimage of 13,000 Shiva freaks climbing our way up the himalayas on a narrow trail on horseback, like ants in a trance, to go touch lord Shiva's penis, a giant priapic ice stalagmite that grows to maximum size on August's full moon inside a giant cave with a square entrance hewn by titans. Twenty pilgrims died on our pilgrimage. One of them was a brahmin lady behind us on an old white horse who suddenly stumbled and slipped, disappearing with his screaming lady rider in fluttering red sari down what seemed a bottomless canyon because the final thud was not audible. My 12 year old daughter looked at me with blank expression and said: "Please don't tell mummy about this, OK"? This painting of Ma Ananda Moyi, a wandering Indian saint, was done as a magic protection for my daughter a month before the pilgrimage.

More of his visionary art and works can be seen on:

http://www.matiklarweinart.com/

The Moment of Dawn

An an extract from Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coelho . A collection of short essays which have been inspiring me last few days. Coelho's excellence is in how he's compiled it; definitely a must-read.

During the World Economic Forum at Davos, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, Shimon Peres, told the following story.

A Rabbi gathered together his students and asked them:
'How do we know the exact moment when night ends and day begins?'
'When it's light enough to tell a sheep from a dog,' said one boy.
Another student said, 'No, when it's light enough to tell an olive tree from a fig tree.'
'No, that's not a good definition either.'
'Well, what's the right answer?' asked the boys.
And the Rabbi said:
'When a stranger approaches, and we think he is our brother, and all conflicts disappear, that is the moment when night ends and day begins.'

Concept - Paranormal

The first track by Concept which I had was "Blackhole". After my ears sensed it, & the brain interpreted it, I did an Electroencephalography on myself.

3d Vision's amazing new release, the new paranormal album by Concept called Paranormal.

Its difficult to comprehend the concept of a 'feeling', but this is what the tracks made me feel:
[∞ ∞ ∞-killer ∞ ∞-very nice ∞-nice]

1. Micro Express ∞ ∞ ∞
2. Paranormal Phenomena ∞ ∞ ∞
3. Cloning Area ∞ ∞ ∞
4. Lost Satellite ∞ ∞
5. Human Thing ∞ ∞ ∞
6. Shamanik Dreams ∞ ∞
7. Sharp Phase ∞ ∞ ∞
8. Crazy ∞ ∞ ∞
9. The Dark Edge ∞ ∞ ∞

Awesome bass lines, super production, abnormal & worth it...

Life, Living and Livelihood

This is the mantra of invocation, adoration and worship. It is repeated at the auspicious beginning of a task, project, change of life, community undertaking or simply to offer Him our praise.

Man is not a hunter-gatherer any more. We strive to make the most out of our conscious being.

For me, life and living are two subsets of the mind, which can be seen as universal. The two aspects manifest only because of the sheer belief that 'I' exist.

Here I start my blog.