Month: August 2023

Of aims and best laid plans…

Life is a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get… Forrest Gump “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable…” Dwight Eisenhower Pretty much sums up two schools of thought when it comes to planning your life ahead. The first believes that life is …

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Drinking food and chewing water…

आहार  शुद्धौ   सत्त्व  शुद्धिः सत्त्व शुद्धौ  ध्रुवा स्मृतिः     स्मृति लम्भे  सर्व ग्रन्थीनांविप्र  मोक्षः ||  āhāra-śuddhau sattva-śuddhiḥ sattva-śuddhau dhruvāsmṛtiḥ smṛtilambhe sarva-granthīnām vipramokṣaḥ If one eats pure food, one’s mind becomes pure. If the mind is pure, one’s memory becomes strong and steady. If the memory is good, one becomes free from all bondages.  Chandogya Upanishad …

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Of weddings and mice…

There was a beautiful hermitage on the bank of river Gangā, where a group of hermits lived in peace. The hermits were disciples of a Guru Yadnyavalkya, who was always absorbed in meditation, and followed rigorous self-discipline. One day, while he was bathing in the river, a hawk flew over with a mouse in its claws. Suddenly, …

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To kill or not to kill…

Should we as a society, support the death penalty? More importantly, is it right? This seemingly innocent question can at first instance, be answered in a direct yes, or a no. People can have quite polarized views when it comes to the death penalty. Some crimes, like the Nirbhaya gang rape case that shook India a …

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Around India in 80 trains…

I don’t know how I came across this book, but I’m glad that I did. Not a fan of travelogues usually, since I am not much of a traveller myself. The Goodreads score wasn’t very encouraging as well. Nevertheless, I took the plunge… India…one country, birthplace of five major world religions, 22 scheduled languages, 29 …

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A miracle of sorts…

Bharata, or India, is not short of a miracle in itself. While Bharatvarsha has existed for thousands of years, it has seldom functioned as a single, unified unit. In 1947, India was created as a modern nation by reorganizing 530 odd princely territories into Part A, Part B and Part C states. In 1956, these …

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A few pages that I liked…

The reading habit is fast dying…its decline hastened by, among other things, our decreasing attention spans (thank you Social Media) and availability of lesser alternatives (thank you OTT). Having said that, for many, reading has also made a transition – from paperback to electronic versions. I prefer the e-book mainly for its convenience (try carrying …

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