வா வா என் தேவ‌தையே...

வ‌ண்ண‌தேவ‌னின் த‌லைம‌க‌ளே
ம‌ழ‌லை‌க் க‌லைம‌க‌ளே
முத்த‌மிழ் உரைத்தாய‌டி
உன்
க‌னிமொழி
க‌ண்மொழி
க‌ண்ணீர் மொழியில்!

க‌விஞ‌னானேன்
கரைந்த‌ உன்
கண் மையால்!!!

To little Durga (one of many kids to be a part of this year's edition of Lakshmi Bal Mahotsav and with whom I had the privilege of spending a day's time!) whose tears when I left her included ones that were to be mine too!!

More on Lakshmi Bal Mahotsav here!!

S-S 3: Life's like that!

It's been a long hiatus. Where have I been and what have I been up to? If ever there was someone who could answer these questions, it would only be me and fortunately for me I don't have any answers to bore myself to death with another of my own stupid "been there done that" explanations. So what is on this time from S-S?

It has already been a long journey and the silence of the night is shattered!

Sishya: O Wise one. Much as you may say that your silence means lot more than your words, I already find life to be an incomprehensible puzzle; burden me not with silence as a response! Make me understand life..

SP: It is not what Sigmund Freud sees as “Quest for Pleasure”, not what Alfred Adler calls “Quest for Power”, not what Viktor Frankl calls "Search for meaning" that makes life. I do not call these wrong. All I say is these are effects of a much more basic thing! Life is a “Call to action”. Why do I say so?
Action is the atomic unit of transaction for life! Each instant in life is a “call to action”. It is this action that results in you being happy, sad, in love, in despair, powerful, trampled, alive and dead!!

O Sishya..simple as it may seem..the term action here signifies not just action.it includes inaction as well. Your next question would obviously be: How would inaction be a call to action??..Here you go: It is your action that decides inaction to be the course of action. So that is still action!

What Freud and Adler see are much more abstract, at a higher level and most importantly, don’t capture the dynamism that life is! The definition of life as a “Call to action” is much more an inside-out perspective of life, an emergent view of the phenomenon that life is, able to accommodate the evolving nature of life!

Each instant of life presents an opportunity to act! Act and grow or stay and decay!

Sishya:Well..you only managed to confuse the confounded!I quit.Would you care to make this conversation ligher?

SP:Well..if it were so easy to explain I would’ve! But see if this helps..I attempt to provide an explanation of life in terms of Options. If you ask me “Of all the financial products, why options?!”..here is my answer..
• Volatility is what makes both valuable
• Both have a limited downside and unlimited upside and is near impossible to predict with certainty their occurrences

So..”Life is a long call on yourself with a strike price of Nirvana and a short time to maturity. The contract is to be rolled over every instant. The downside is limited to your life and upside is potentially all the world that you can think of!! Hit the strike and your option becomes all the more valuable. On the other hand, each low instant would take you closer to the downside and would make you close your call!”

Did that help?!

Sishya: Yea certainly. But not to the question I had. Now I understand why silence is much more valuable! I would have been much more comfortable and happy with my mouth shut instead of having posed this question to you and suffer this!!

SP: Hahaha

The odyssey is still on...

மோக‌த்தைக் கொன்று விடு!

மேக‌த்தினூடே வ‌ந்த மாற‌னின் தூத‌றிந்தாள்..
மோக‌‌த்தின் மொழியுண‌ர்ந்தாள்..
ப‌ச‌லை கொண்டாளின் பின்னிய‌ ஆடையின்
முத்த‌ மழை!!!

The concept for this post is a result of me getting drenched in a heavy downpour last night while returning home!!! Thoughts crowded, words didn't and the lead character now is a female to meet my Tamil vocabulary limitations!! :D

The title is from a Subramaniya Bharthiyar's poem. Here is a Youtube version of the song, sung by none other than the inimitable Maharajapuram Santhanam!!

S - S Session 2 - Derivatives??!!

SP, out after a big bout of gyan on derivatives, meets Sishya who is just flabbergasted by all this! Pop comes the question!!

Sishya: What on earth makes Financial Derivatives interesting and disgusting at the same time??

SP: Sishya, Have you heard of "circular reference"? Here I use derivatives to state why they are the way they are!!
By design, these Financial Derivatives appeal and don't, simultaneously, because, the problems/questions posed around them are capped on the upside by your creativity and on the other hand, the solutions using these, are capped (or uncapped, to be precise ;), considering that fact that, these very instruments have brought about this second depression!!) only by your stupidity! And the icing on the cake is, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe." (by Albert Einstein)

The very presence of non-symmetrical pay-offs is what makes Derivatives present 2 views of itself simultaneously!!

Sishya: !!??

S - S Session 1!!

After a long hiatus, here I am back to blog! Somehow this idea of a 2 character dialog style appeals to me (from various sources, right from the Gita to innumerable comic strips and blogs). So I ape this style in an attempt to create a dialogue based series between 2 characters:

Sishya - Someone who has a unending quiver of questions and is willing to listen to drivel, data, information and knowledge
Sthithapragyan - "The Perfect Yogi" as is described by the Gita! But the point here being, our Sthithapragyan will answer questions on any area, not just spirituality!

These characters are my mouthpieces and shall speak my thoughts, based on whatever I read and think! A crude way of bringing out my thought process, as I understood various things in life!!

Sishya:
What is it that is referred to by so many as God?

Sthithapragyan:
Ah! You ask me to define the indefinable! Let me see if I can answer you

It is that Self that has no origin, is complete in itself and is indestructible.
It is that Self that manifests itself in all and envelops all in itself.

In short,

Aham Parichhinnah (I am limited) is not true!!
Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman) !!

Know the above and know yourself!
Tat Vam Asi (Thou are that)!!!

The quest shall continue!!!

நான் தேடும் செவ்வ‌ந்திப் பூவிது...

மேதினி மீதினி இருக்க‌வோர் இட‌மேது
மாள்வோமென்ற‌து ம‌ல‌ரின‌ம்..

ந‌ங்கையின் அவிழ்கூந்த‌ல் அலைபாய‌!

நறுமுகை ந‌ய‌ன‌ம் க‌ண்டு க‌ள்ளுண்டான்..
நகைத்தான்..
நாய‌க‌ன்...
ம‌ல‌ருக்கோ ம‌ர‌ண‌மென்றான்!!!


The title of this post is dedicated to Maestro Ilayaraaja (taken right out of a very famous song of his) on his Birthday today!

Well..the post itself is dedicated to...... ;)

Hahahaha.....

Democracy Vetoed (It can't be Voted..can it be from me ?? ;))

It's time again for the world's biggest showcase of the amount of resources that can be expended to implement and justify an incongruous philosophy called Democracy!
So why do I say that now?? No... Am not one of these opportunists to take advantage of an occasion (Do you by any chance think that I used that word to refer to a politician? well...Yeah..you got it right then!!!....;)) The truth is: Democracy is just not right for us (us meaning Indians..) or it makes more sense to put it the other way...India in its current state is (err...it never has been as I have always been saying, to be very frank) not right in embracing democracy. Before someone gets ready to send me to the heavens (or hell it is??) for this sacrilege of the very foundation of our country, I would like to state the reasons that I have in mind:

1. Democracy, according to Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy) is, 'a form of government in which state-power is held by the majority of citizens within a country or a state'. Need I say more? The average voter turnout in Indian polls ranges from 50% to 60% (I guess, on quite some occasions, it is less than 50% and the beauty of statistics acts as the saving grace...I don't know how, but do extremities average to this number?!!I leave this to the number crunchers to answer). So what about the other significant lot who either choose not to vote or do not know that they have to??? If you ask me as to what the solution to this is, I do not have any right now. But am not the Devil's advocate content with identifying what doesn't work with this system. Given the amount of laziness inherent in me, this process of coming up with a sensible suggestion is going to take quite some time.

2. Democracy is a system that has to be customized and is not a 'one size fits all' solution. Given India's literacy rates @ 60% or less (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_literacy_rate_of_india_in_2008), it hardly makes sense to focus on empowering first when education is left unattended. I say this because, education is the cornerstone for a good decision making system. So how would a decision made by a 40% non-educated population be right? By this I do not mean to slight or belittle any particular section (read not-so-fortunate-to-be-educated). I only wish to stress the importance of better primary education.

3. Democracy in India has just been given another meaning by our politicians (beginning with a lower case p, intentional :)). It has been taken to be the Right to Plunder and is the justification for perpetrating corruption all through the system. In short, it is a system that enables the empowered few to enrich themselves at the cost of the enslaved lot (well.. that was just an attempt to see how many e* words i knew..not bad eh...huh..that spoiled the mood of the post :(..)

So why do I stop with 3? Here is the reason for that. Is not Democracy a form of rule 'by the people, of the people and for the people' as its proponents say?
In the reasons stated above, 1 violates 'by', 2 violates 'of' and 3 violates 'for' (to ensure clarity, all the above only apply when taken for India . What else do I need to say??So what are we waiting for...CHANGE...

Warren Buffet remarked "Derivatives are the financial Weapons of Mass Destruction." Here is my take: Democracy is the political version of the same! :)

PS: To set the context right, this post was started on the day of the elections (May 13) and left half-way through then only to be completed today! This is the first in probably a series of 2 posts on Democracy in India!!

காத‌ல் பித்த‌ன்!!!

கால‌த்தை வென்ற‌வ‌ன் நான்..
க‌டிகார‌ங்க‌ள‌ற்ற‌ காத‌ல் தேச‌ம் இட்டுச் சென்றாய‌டி

செவிம‌டுத்தேன்..
புல‌மைப்பித்த‌ன் என்கிறாயோ??

உண்மையுரைத்தேன்..
சித்திர‌ம‌ல்லாது சுவ‌ரேத‌டி?!!

ஒன்றே குல‌மென்று பாடுவோம்!!!

பிரிவ‌த‌ன் ப‌ற்றுண‌ர்ந்துதானோ
பிரிவினையுட‌னே வாழ்கிறீர் முற்றும‌றிந்த‌ மூட‌ர்க‌ளே??

Strange are my ways!!!

Here is a all-too-familiar forward that seems to be interesting to many. However I don't find it to be that way! The first point being the student uses the hackneyed approach of telling God is not finite and blah blah. Second, his "Professor's Brain" quote just does not take this proof anywhere, except to find the support of students.
I have a whole list of observations on this conversation; but I hold them off for a later post.


An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof:
So you believe in God?

Student:
Absolutely, sir.

Prof:
Is God good?

Student:
Sure.

Prof:
Is God all-powerful?

Student:
Yes..

Prof:
My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal
him.
Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill.
But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?
(Student is silent.)

Prof:
You can't answer, can you?
Let's start again, young fella.
Is God good?

Student:
Yes.

Prof:
Is Satan good?

Student:
No.

Prof:
Where does Satan come from?

Student:
From....God.

Prof:
That's right.
Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student:
Yes.

Prof:
Evil is everywhere, isn't it?
And God did make everything, Correct?

Student:
Yes.

Prof:
So why create evil?
(Student does not answer.)

Prof:
Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness?
All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?

Student:
Yes, sir.

Prof:
So, who created them?
(Student has no answer.)

Prof:
Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you.
Tell me, son....Have you ever seen God?

Student:
No, sir.

Prof:
Tell us if you have ever heard your God?

Student:
No, sir.

Prof:
Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God?
Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?


Student:
No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.

Prof:
Yet you still believe in Him?

Student:
Yes.

Prof:
According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your 'GOD' doesn't exist.
What do you say to that, son?

Student:
Nothing. I only have my faith.

Prof:
Yes, Faith. And that is the problem science has.

Student:
Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Prof:
Yes.

Student:
And is there such a thing as cold?

Prof:
Yes.

Student:
No sir. There isn't.(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student:
Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, megaheat, white heat, a little heat or no heat..But we don't have anything called cold.
We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.There is no such thing as cold.Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat.We cannot measure cold.Heat is energy.Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it. (There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)

Student:
What about darkness, Professor?
Is there such a thing as darkness?

Prof:
Yes... What is night if there isn't darkness?

Student :
You're wrong again, sir.Darkness is the absence of something.You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Prof:
So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student:
Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Prof:
Flawed? Can you explain how?

Student:
Sir, you are working on the premise of duality.You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God.You are viewing the concept of God as something finite,something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought..It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor.Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Prof:
If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes,of course, I do.

Student:
Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)

Student:
Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.)

Student:
Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain?(The class breaks out into laughter.)

Student:
Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, touched or smelt it?So, according to the established rules of empirical, testable,
demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures?? (The room is silent.. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable. )

Prof:
I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.

Student:
That is it sir... a link between man and god is FAITH :)

Here is something that strikes me right away:
The student calls darkness to be the absence of light and death to be the absence of life.

But isn't something glaring out there?

"The presence of absence"!!! Is this not in itself a manifestation of duality? So unless absence is present, any sense in the student's proof is absent! (To all Tamizh movie lovers, this may look like the Munnadi Pinnadi Kannadi Panchatantiram comedy sequence!!)

Interestingly my opinions on this are only 2 lines long, in comparison to the conversation!!!

க‌ண்க‌ளிலே ஒரு காத‌ல் க‌தை!!!

மூன்றில் மூன்றாண்டானும் உன‌க்கிணையாமோ
இர‌ண்டில் அள‌ந்தாய் நீய‌டி
ஒன்றென‌ இருண்ட‌தென்ன‌ யாவும்
ஓ
இமைக‌ள் இசைத்த‌ன‌வோ!!!

Born with Id..Driven by Ego..Powered by Super-Ego!!!

How ironical it is to note that however minuscule I am in comparison to this world and however immaterial I am to it, it exists only because I do!!!

Hail Freud!!!

சிரிப்பினை சிறைகொண்ட‌வ‌ளே!!!

My first on-demand short post dedicated to the India's own Micro-Finance and Retail Banking Sourcing Strategist :)

Heavy is my heart!
For your face misses an art!!

Thou art That!

"Neither am I what the earth holds
Nor what the naked eye beholds
For I am sight, the seen and the Seer!"


Inspired by Kurt Cobain's quote (that I don't recall) and The Gita. Pun intended, in-spite of the error which even naive users, leave alone purists of the language would frown at!

இத‌ழில் க‌விதை எழுதும் நேர‌மிது...!!!

இதழ் முத்த‌மிட்ட‌வ‌ன்
இங்கே முத்திரை கொண்டான்!!!


ரோஜாவா நீ
க‌ள்ளி??

;)

ஆத்திச்சூடி Remix!!

அக‌ம் அநித்ய‌ம்
ஆன்மா அறி
இற‌ப்பு இய‌ல்
ஈச‌ன் நீ!

உழைத்து உண்
ஊனுயிர் பிரித்துண‌ர்
எழுச்சி வித்திடு
ஏழ்மை ஒழி!!

ஐந்த‌தன் ப‌ய‌ன்கொள்
ஒன்றாம் குல‌ம்
ஓய்வ‌து ம‌ர‌ண‌ம்
ஔட‌த‌ம் பொதுவுடைமை
ஆயுத‌ம் ஞான‌ம்!!!