To Blog or Not to Blog is the Question

So the chinese are already plotting to replace the Dalai Lama

The Questions are

1. What will be the world reaction ?
2. Will Dalai Lama choose his own successor ?
3. Will the post of Dalai Lama be abolished ?

Dear God,

How have you been doing ? Whats new and exciting ?

I have been chilling, keeping busy and all that. You must be surprised at recieving letters from a stranger like me, do brace yourself cos this is the first in the series of letters that I will write to you.

Who am I ?

Check on your HTS(Human tracking system), my HIN(Human Identification number) is 666-666-666-666. If you dont find me there which I am pretty sure you wont, ask Satan to check in the STS(Satans tracking system), he must be keeping a good tab on me, my SIN( Satan identification number) is also 666-666-666-666. Tell him I am not a Satanist either

Well if I am an atheist why God ?

Well, call me a hypocrite and all that but I love the concept of God , not all the times but most of the times. So although I dont acknowledge you or accept your presence, I still want others to acknowledge your presence, just to keep them from doing all the stupid things, which they still find justification to do and blame it so easily on you.

Think of me as writing letters to you just as a kid writes letters to SantaClaus. In case you do exist, which might be a highly improbable condition, do read these letters.

Why dont i believe in God ?

God, there are gazallion reasons why I dont believe in you. One simple reason, if you did exist there wouldn’t have been so much suffering in this world. Yeah yeah yeah people tell me its karma and God is testing his subjects, yada yada yada . Tell me one thing God, if I were to torture people for fun or for something I call a higher purpose, which only I am privy to , wouldnt you call me a sadist?

I do believe in Spiderman, Superman, Batman and of course the tooth fairy .

Will I be convincing others to become atheists ?

Hell no God. Let them do what pleases them. Just as I dont want someone to force me to accept your presence, so I wouldnt want to force others to become atheists. Rather as I said earlier that I want people to accept and acknowledge you.

God, sometimes its funny people try to logically prove to me that God exists. God, arent you based on faith which is exactly opposite of logic. So in case someone logically proves that you do exist , in essence they are proving that you dont .

Sometimes people tell me of all the tortures that might fall on me just cos I am not acknowledging you. God, I would like to tell you I am not scared of death or hell (atleast till now).

What will I write ?

Dont you worry, I wont ask you to do anything for me. I know you must already have a backlog of things to attend to and I wont burden you with my stuff.

Two things which I will write to you about .

• I have lots of gripes about stuff which I find amusing or plain stupid.
• Since I am plain stupid, sometimes I dont understand things that are written in the religious books , I might ask you for clarifications on it.

What if you dont reply ?

I dont expect a reply, remember I am an atheist

Sincerely,
An Atheist.

Tea, one of the most loved beverages in India, first originated in China and found its way to England and came to India during its colonisation by the English. The Indians, as is their wont ,decided to add spices like cardamom , black pepper, cloves, ginger and of course some milk from the holy cow and to satiate their sweet tooth lots of sugar and finally came up with a concoction called Chai, which is now available in every coffee house in the US.

But what made it even more interesting is tea’s religious origins, yes religious. I guess this has not yet reached the religious elite else I see the holy Chai being offered to the gazallion Godheads all over the country.

So here goes the legend of the origin of Tea. After Buddha’s death somewhere around 450 B.C. and the efforts during the 2nd century BC of King Ashoka , the Constantine of Buddhism , Buddhism spread to most of Asia including China. A Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma, born around 400 AD in Southern Indian state of Kerala, the Venice of India, on the insistence of his Guru , decided to go over to China to overlook the progress of Buddhism and to correct them just in case the Chinese digressed from the core concepts. Bodhidharma was a big martial arts fighter too . Did that make his Guru send him to China is a matter of speculation

Anyway so our Bodhidharma makes his way to China and sees that the Chinese have become book-worms and are trying to achieve good karma by doing favorable actions, which should be anathema to a Buddhist. So he starts using the cane method to correct them and the Chinese surprisingly listen. So our Bodhidharma then introduces an Indian meditation technique called ‘dhyaan’ , which the Chinese could not pronounce correctly and deformed it to Chu’an ,which the Japanese pick up trying to imitate their bigger neighbors and deformed it again to Zen , which now the Americans have picked up and thank God the deformation buck stops here. Anyway our Bodhidharma also introduces martial arts he learnt in India to these monks for their self-protection and strictly forbade them from hurting anyone needlessly. Now you know why the martial arts teachers tell you that it is for self-defense and not for hurting someone else. Anyway so the Chinese call it Kung-fu , not sure if the Chinese deformed the name, but thanks to the Chinese for keeping the knowledge of martial arts alive, which has almost become defunct in India.

OK ok we are coming to the origin of tea. Hold on. So the Chinese Emperor Wu, who has done many bad(read fun) things early in his life and now reforming himself in his old age through the building of monasteries and supporting monks , invites our Bodhidharma to the palace to get his esteemed opinion on how much merit did all this endow him.

So our Bodhidharma replied ” Nothing”
Wu, stunned at this answer asked “What is the teaching of Buddhism?”
Our Bodhidharma replied “Vast emptiness”
Wu , now showing no respect to our Bodhidharma asked him “Who do you think you are? ”
Our Bodhidharma replied “I dont know”.

Obviously, our Bodhidharma was rather unceremoniously thrown out of the court . Dont know if Emperor Wu ,now returned to his old behavior, which atleast gave him pleasure or continued doing good things, which gave him nothing.

Anyway so now our frustrated Bodhidharma, having further denied entry to a shaolin temple, decided to do some deep meditation in a cave for some nine years staring at a wall ,sitting inches away from it. Well ,disgusted that he was falling asleep he cut off his eyelids (dont try this at home) and threw them away. Lo and behold from his eyelids sprung some bushes, which were nothing but our tea plants. And hence drinking tea has become a religious rite in China and Japan.

Well some more legends , his best student and successor Huiko decided to cut his arm while our Bodhidharma was doing meditation in the cave, to prove his credentials and also to show his devotion to him. OK now that is taking it too far and also my post is becoming too big . So ciao.

I called up a very cheerful, good friend of mine and suddenly I saw a very different picture of her. She recently broke-up with her boyfriend of 5 years and she now feels horrible and cheated. And it got me thinking.

I asked myself isn’t betrayal first nature to a human being? Everyone betrays and everyone gets betrayed. One who betrays never thinks that he/she is betraying someone, may be as an afterthought when he/she goes through similiar circumstances.

There is no way one can be immune to it, even if one is the most powerful person on earth or even if one is son of God. I am talking of the two biggest betrayals in the history of mankind which most of us know. One was the betrayal of Jesus Christ, the son of God and the other was that of Julius Ceasar , probably the most powerful person humanity has ever known.

Betrayal is usually done by someone whom you trust (duh ???) very well and these two cases show it in all its gory colors.

Jesus christ was betrayed by Judas, one of his twelve discipiles. Of all the people in the world He chose twelve and one of them betrays Him.
Julius Ceasar was betrayed by his Senate and his adopted son, Brutus. Ceasar chose and adopted Brutus to be his successor and the senate was composed of members whom the Ceasar almost chose himself. These people brutally stabbed Julius Ceasar to death in his very own seat of power, the senate ,where he should be safest. The whole episode is so well recounted by Shakespeare in his famous book ‘Julius Ceasar’. And who can forget one of the most tragic statements in literary history when Julius Ceasar says “What, you too, brutus” when he is stabbed by his own son,Brutus.

18. Laalaait adharon se jisne,
haay nahi choomi haalaa
harsh-vikampit kar se jisne,
haa na chhuwaa madhu ka pyaalaa
haath pakad lajjit saaki ka,
paas nahi jisne kheenchaa
vyarth sukhaa daali jeevan ki,
usne madhumay MADHUSHAALAA.

The poet is playful again and says that one who has not kissed the wine with his thirsty lips, one who has not touched the cup with his trembling hands , one who has not held the shyful saaki’s hand and pulled her towards oneself , he has wasted this lovely life (Madhushala).

Here I remember Ghalibs poetry
go haath ko jumbish nahi aankhon mein to dum hai
rahne do saagar-o-meena mere saamne.

Ghalib says that what if I dont have the strength in my numb hands to get the cup , I have strength in my eyes. So he tells the bartender(saaki) to let the wine stay in front of him.

19. bane pujaari premi saaqi,
gangaajal pawan haalaa
rahe pherata avirat gati se,
madhu ke pyaalon ki maalaa
aur liye jaa, aur piye jaa,
isi mantra ka jaap kare
maen Shiv ki pratimaa ban baethun,
mandir ho yeh MADHUSHAALAA.

This is the poets imagination running wild. He imagines his lover saaki as priest, the wine as the holy Ganges water, and the saaki by making the rosary bead of wine glasses uttering the mantra of ‘Take more and drink more’ . He imagines himself as the Lord Shivas idol and the Madhushala(tavern) as the temple.

I faced some ire from some religious people whenever I uttered this to them .
And for them I have this sher, I guess it is Ghalib again.

zaahid, sharaab peene de masjid mein baithkar
ya woh jagah bathaa jaha khuda na ho

Ghalib(???) says O priest ,lemme have wine/liquor in the mosque or tell me where there is no God.

20. baji na mandir mein ghadiyaali
chadi na pratima par maala ,
baitha apne bhuvan muazzin
dekhar masjid mein taala
lutey khajaane narpatiyo ke
giri gado ki deevaren
rahe mubaarak peenevaale,
khuli rahe yah madhushaala

The poet says that it doesnt matter to him if the bells doesnt toll in the temple,nor if the idol is not decorated with flowers , nor if the imam (Islamic priest) sits at home adn doesnt open the masjid for prayers. It doesnt matter to him if the treasures of the rich are looted nor if the fortress is felled . He only wishes the drinker to remain fit and fine and the Madhushala to remain open.

21.bade bade parivar mitey yo,
ek na ho ronevaala,
ho jaaye sunsaan mahal be,
jaha thirakti surbaala,
rajya ulat jaaye, bhoopo ki
bhagya-sulakshmi so jaaye;
jame rahenge peehevaale,
jaga karegi madhushaala

The poet says that even if big families perish without trace, even if palaces become empty where once there was a lot of show, even if the regimes change ,even if lady luck goes to sleep , even then the drinkers will rule and the Madhushala will remain open.

22.sab mit jaaye, bana rahega
sundar saaki,yam kaala
soonkhe sab ras,bane rahnege,
kintu, halaahal aur haala,
dhoomdhaam aur chahal-pahal ke
sthaan sabhi sunsaan bane,
jaga karega avirath marghat,
jaga karegi madhushaala

The poet says Madhushala and the death(cemetery) are the only truths in this world.

The poet here says even if the world perishes ,the black God of death(yam) and the beautiful saaki will remain, even if all the oceans dry , poison (a/c to Hindu mythology, this poison,halaahal was created out of churning the ocean by Gods and demons) and wine will remain ,even if all the places of entertainment are deserted , the cemetry will be alive(???) and the Madhushala will be abuzz.

23.bura sada kehlaayega jag mein
baanka, mad-chanchal pyaala,
chail-chabila, rasiya saaki.
albela peenevaala;
patey kaha se , madhushala aur,
jag ki jodi theek nahi -
jag jarjar pratidin, pratikshan,par
nitya naveli madhushaala

The world will always say bad things about the nice cup , the voluptous saaki and the lively drinker. How can there be similarities between this world and Madhushala ? The world is decaying day by day whereas Madhsuhala is always fresh .

24.bina piye jo madhushala ko
bura kahe , vah matvaala,
pee lene par toh uske muh
par jaayega taala;
daas drohiyo dono mein hai
jeet suraki, pyaale ki,
vishvavijayini bankar jag mein
aayi meri Madhushaala

One who has never tasted wine and says harsh words about Madhushala, once he tastes wine he becomes speechless. The wine and the cup always wins in every battle. Madhushala has come in this world as the king(world beater).

I remember one of Ghulam Ali’s nice songs where he says
naa tajrubakaari se vaiz ki ye baaten hai
is rang ko kya jaane poocha jo kabhi pee hai

The poet here says not to mind the preacher as the preacher is in-experienced in drinking and doesnt know the beauty of alcohol.

25.hara bhara rahta madiraalay,
jag par padh jaaye paala,
vaha muharram ka taam chaaye,
yaha holika ki jvaala;
svarg lok se seedhi uthari
vasudha par, dukh kya jaane;
padhe marsiya duniya saari,
id manaati madhushaala

The poet wishes the madhushala to be evergreen and let the world has calamities . Let the world mourn as if it were Muharram, and let Madhushala celebrate the fire and color festival Holi (Indian festival). The poet claims that the Madhushala has descended straight from heaven and hence it doesnt know sadness. The poet further says the world is reading marsiya, and the Madhushala is celebrating Id.

Muharram is an Islamic ocassion where 10 days of mourning is observed in memory of Karbala tragedy ,where the grandson of Prophet Mohammed was martyred(One can compare this martyrdom to that of Christ). This is a Shiite festival and some very vivid poetic accounts of this tragedy, named marsiya, are told by some great poets. My personal favorite is Babar Ali Anees .Check him out at here http://urdupoetry.com/anees.html.
Id is again an Islamic festival in which there is happiness and lots of feasting.

Have been thinking about how to end this. Its better I end it with a great Hindi poem about one of the great Indian warriors ,Rani Lakshmi Bai,queen of Jhansi, the Joan of Arc of India. Rani Laksmi Bai fought for independence of India during the revolution of 1857 against the British and the legend is as big as that of William Wallace of Scotland(movie Braveheart of Mel Gibson).

The famous lines of this poem is known to probably more than 50% of all Indians

bundelo harbolo ke muh
hamne suni kahaani thi
khoob ladi mardaani wah to
jhansi waali rani thi

(From the singers of Bundelkhand we heard this story, the queen of Jhansi fought like a man)

Dont remember all of the poem but know a few relevant lines .

lakshmi thi ya durga thi vah svayam veertha ki avtaar
…..
….
(Was she Goddess Lakshmi or Goddess Durga or was she an epitome of courage)

ghayal hokar giri singhni
usey veer-gati paani thi
bundelo harbolo ke muh
hamne suni kahaani thi
khoob ladi mardaani wah to
jhansi waali rani thi

(During the ensuing fight with the british, she attained martyrdom. The poet compares her to a lioness.)

dikha gayi path , sikha gayi
hamko jo seekh sikhaani thi
bundelo ….
…..
….
…..

(She showed us the way, and taught us some good lessons)

jaao rani yaad rakhenge ham kruthagya bharatvaasi
…
…..
….
…..

(the author bids good bye to the queen saying the people of the country will be indebted to her)

tera smaarak tu hi hogi
tu khud amit nishaani thi
bundelo harbolo ke muh
hamne suni kahaani thi
khoob ladi mardaani wah to
jhansi waali rani thi

(The authors says that she will be her own tomb , she will always be remembered)