MY SONGS 

 

 This is specifically for my friends who follow a spiritual Guru Ganapathi Sachidananda Sastry.

(Please appreciate my frustration, as now I have to invoke the Guru himself).

One may be a very devout person, doing bhajans or poojas every day. One may be follower of a sect or a Guru.

But by sending repeatedly the photos/videos of such religious activitity to others, every day, one is actually doing REVERSE ADVERTISING. This leads to the recipients feeling helpless in the face of such an adamant behavior.

CAN ONE NOT CONFINE ONE'S PERSONAL HABITS TO THEMSELVES ? IT IS MY ERNEST APPEAL TO SUCH OF MY FRIENDS NOT TO SEND TO ME ANY OF THEIR DAILY RITUALS OF DIVINE ACTIVITIES.

Note : I have personally sent this same message to one of my friends in Hyderabad.

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Writing negatively about Spiritual Gurus seems to be a taboo in our circles. Most people are shocked to see someone write in such a manner despicizing the social media activities of many who are followers of any Sect or spiritual Guru.

Yesterday I wrote how I feel when I receive a daily dose of photos/videos of spiritual activity from some people. I am not a seeker of spiritual life. I have my own life style. I do not send by WhatsApp my activities to anyone who may not be interested in my kind of activities. I let all to lead their own lives. But some people thrust their choices, their preferences, their interests, their likings, their beliefs etc on others who are unwilling to buy any of their forwards. And this is done repeatedly, day after day.

What is their intention ? Is it to convert me to their Sect ? Does their Guru preach them to influence more and more people ? Do these bhakts get any compensation to get more people join their group ?

Yesterday I shared my thoughts on the daily dose of photos and videos that I am flooded with on WhatsApp by someone who is an ardent follower of Ganapati Sachidananda Sastry. I shared that post personally with that person also. In response, I got a message this morning reading as "If you do not like someone's story, then write your own story, GM". Well, what else have I been doing all these years ? I write extensively, airing out my views on diverse subjects. But no Guru has ever been able to influence me so as to target others to force them to go through my posts.

One Guru just cannot give the wisdom to a few that they need so badly.

 MOHATARMA MUMTAZ NASEEM KI EK GHAZAL

तुझे कैसे इल्म न हो सका बड़ी दूर तक ये ख़बर गई

तिरे शहर ही की ये शाएरा तिरे इंतिज़ार में मर गई

कोई बातें थीं कोई था सबब जो मैं वा'दा कर के मुकर गई

तिरे प्यार पर तो यक़ीन था मैं ख़ुद अपने आप से डर गई

वो तिरे मिज़ाज की बात थी ये मिरे मिज़ाज की बात है

तू मिरी नज़र से न गिर सका मैं तिरी नज़र से उतर गई

है ख़ुदा गवाह तिरे बिना मिरी ज़िंदगी तो न कट सकी

मुझे ये बता कि मिरे बिना तिरी उम्र कैसे गुज़र गई

वो सफ़र को अपने तमाम कर, गई रात आएँगे लौट कर

ये 'नसीम' मैं ने सुनी ख़बर तो मैं शाम ही से सँवर गई

 ONE LIFETIME IS MORE THAN ENOUGH.

Most people do very little in their lifetime. But there is so much they could have done.

From reading books to writing , for instance. And reading books on different subjects. Not to master the topics but to learn. The World that we live in offers us a million times more information than we ever even imagine.

One can listen to music of various types and places. We just have to run our imagination wild. For instance, I suddenly wanted to listen to Sinhala old movie songs..... just to see if they are closer to our own vintage songs. And yes, I found there are a lot of similarities in how movies were/are made, how songs are picturized, how the songs are composed, etc. I do not know Sinhala, yet a chord does strike.

One can sing songs, it is a passion one can pursue. But not many venture out to do that. You may need to sing often. You may need to buy a good sound system, a mic etc. This is something that many can do, but do not indulge in.

One can write some poetry. In whichever language one is more proficient.

One can scout the internet with wild questions. Learn about some of the greatest buildings, landmarks, learn of culture in some of the remotest of countries. AI can be made use of in all our pursuits for more knowledge. One can be creative in sketchwork, paintings, caricature, and crafts.

One can play any sport and follow some of the most incredible feats in various sports and games by watching them YouTube or on TV.

News from around the World can teach us a lot not only by way of information on current affairs, but also in how broadcasting is changing everywhere. For example, during the current Israel-US Vs. Iran war which is now into its third week, I usually watch newschannels from Israel , USA, Gulf countries, Fox News, BBC, DW etc. Most people can do these, but do not go beyond our own newschannels.

On the social media, there is no dearth of quality activity that one can do. Hundreds of thousands of factual and informative posts abound the social media. You learn all the time, if not whiling away a lot of time watching the soap operas or "serials" as they are known on our TV Channels. Entertainment can come in various forms --- cartoons, jokes (including cryptic ones), word puns/word plays, video clips of comedy shows and much more.

Most people spend a good amount of time on learning sciences. Explore more, through books and internet and TV. Extraordinary history and current happenings on sciences and technology blow away our mind. High-tech gadgets are being produced almost every day in various countries.

How do the Hindus in Bali, in Fiji, in Suriname, in Guyana, in Mauritious, etc celebrate the festivals that we here in India celebrate ? Just ask yourself these questions and you are on a new path. Within India, there are so diverse food habits, cultures, festivals, rituals that one can study and get to know. Wikipedia or AI can give accurate account of any information.

This morning I came across an interesting information. I explored a bit further to discover that....'The Oberammergau Passion Play (German: Oberammergauer Passionsspiele) is a passion play that has been performed every 10 years from 1634 to 1674 and each decadal year since 1680 (with a few exceptions) by the inhabitants of the village of Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany."

I often post write ups titled ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER. Everyone will find themselves realizing this if and only if we explore.

Even writing on this subject can be a never ending task. But I can always pause and confinue to write further later.

WE ONLY LIVE ONCE, but ONE LIFTIME IS MORE THAN ENOUGH to do more , to learn more, to interact more, to enjoy more, to pursue arts/crafts more etc. One must have passion. A lot of things will fall in place by themselves.