Power:- it is one of the most sought after commodities in today’s neck- breaking competitive scenario. In fact, money and power often compete among themselves to top the ”Things I Need to have to Lead a Good Life” list of the majority of people nowadays. And even though we are the most intelligent beings living on the earth at present, we tend to follow the path shown to us by our elders. Our situation is not very different from that of the worker ants. Thus, it is no wonder that people blindly follow the beaten path of accumulating as much money and power they can. But in this race to reach the top, we make the gravest folly;- we ignore the basic and the simplest truths of life. We fail to understand, rather we forget the fact that like every strength has a weakness, likewise every weakness has an inherent strength of its own. Powerlessness has a power of its own, Power of which everyone is aware but of whose true potential no one but a handful of people are conscious. This power is the ability to invoke sympathy in the minds of others. A child’s fallen face accompanied by a broken voice is enough to melt his mother’s heart and get his work done. In the same fashion, a wife convinces her husband to do some household chores. But, unintentional use of this power, fully driven by emotions seldom does reap any rewards as a little less may not not be good enough and overdo it a little and you end up drawing ire instead of sympathy. That is why, even though everyone tends to show themselves in a state of powerlessness to get their purpose served at some point of life, seldom do they succeed. In fact their condition is like that of a hungry man with loads of cans of food but with nothing to open tham. Thus he ends up dying of hunger. That is what happens with the crowd. But a chosen few manage to salvage a can opener from somewhere. It may be a gift of god or a lifetime spent on observing people , but some people out there excel in the science of human behavior. These people have a custom made weapon which can be named as emotional bomb, named so as it relies on the use of powerlessness to draw sympathy from others. A person in an apparent state of powerlessness induces in a relatively better off person sympathy for him. This induction of sympathetic feelings, hence birth of emotion plays the main role in making a powerless person powerful. Emotions cloud the judgment of a person and everyone of us does have a particular emotional weakness. These experts rely on this weakness to construct this bomb. Just the right amount of show of of right emotion at the right moment and Kaboom! The bomb melts the heart as it were made of wax and the best and the worst part is that the victim never knows that he has been attacked. The bomb never leaves behind the trace. Even though we may not realize it, but this is exactly what beggars and reality T.V. shows try to do with the general public:- inducing sympathy by a show of powerlessness. The above two instances occur at a large scale but you never know when someone may explode the bomb on you. You may as well have been hit by it and you will never know about it.Now that the potency of powerlessness has been discussed, a question may come up:- suppose there comes a day when every human that walks on this earth becomes master in creating an emotional bomb of his own, then what will happen? As far as it can be fathomed, that will be the day when apocalypse truly strikes the earth as from that day onwards , we will stop trusting each other. Words like love, anger, greed, joy will become extinct . The world will become emotionless, we will stop feeling ,we shall become heartless and as a result, dead because someone has rightly said that:-
“We can learn to live in a world devoid of money but not in a world devoid of emotions.”Thursday, 23 February 2012
Over a cup of coffee
A coffee shop is one of the fittest places for a person to think new thoughts and observe new people without giving an impression of ‘being spied upon’. So, being a freelance writer, whenever I get time from other chores, I walk to the nearest C.C.D., grab my favourite seat at the end of the sitting hall, have a cup of cappuccino and start thinking about what to write next and I always make it a point to leave the cafe only after finishing one or two articles. Thus, more often than not, I am the first customer to arrive in the café and the last to leave. As I enter the cafe and reach for my reserved spot, a fine Sunday morning, I was surprised, rather disappointed to see my seat already occupied by a man, supposedly in his mid fifties, wearing a yellow Ed-Hardy T-shirt and a sky blue denim jeans. Even though the dressing was a bit too flashy for a man of his age, what surprised me the most was the color of his hair. ‘That man had dyed them blue!’ Considering him a lunatic, I had half a mind to request him to shift to another place lest he may throw up a tantrum. Eventually, gathering up courage, I walked up to him but before I could speak up he spoke:-
’Come Karan, Have a seat. I have been waiting for you since half an hour. Chetan got you late again, I suppose.’
Honestly, I freaked out. ’How did he know I was to come here today and above all, how did he know the thing about Chetan. But there was something in his voice, a soft, mellow tone that made me take the seat opposite him against my senses.
‘Sir, Do I know you?’ I asked him after regaining my composure.
‘Yes, everyone around here knows me.’ He replied.
‘Then, I suppose you must be the owner of this place, but I don’t think I know you.’
‘Yup, indirectly I am the owner and you do know me.’
‘But sir, I am sure I have neither seen you nor corresponded with you in the past.’i replied, a little exasperatedly.
‘Of the former you are absolutely right but you have corresponded with me umpteen times.’
‘Sir, I think you have got hold of the wrong person. Now if you will be kind enough to shift to-‘ but before I could finish, he snarled
‘Quiet, you insolent fool! How dare you propose me to shift to the next seat. I am God, you idiot. Does that word seem familiar to you?’
And for the second time in ten minutes, I freaked out. Only this time, it was accompanied by a chill down my spine. I don’t know for how much time I stood there, completely struck by what I just heard. But after what felt like hours, I spoke in as loud a tone as I could muster ‘Sir, I seriously am not in a mood for jokes today. Maybe we should talk some other day. And, if my any chance you are what you say, then prove it.’
‘Ok Then! You want to be a writer, is that right?‘
‘That everyone around here knows. Tell something that I have told no one.‘
‘Ok. So try this one. You believe in my existence but are not brave enough to accept it as then you have to pray to me like everyone else and you are too arrogant and self-obsessed to do so. Am I right? I think this is a secret between the two of us only.’
The man had really made a point. No one knew this thing about and moreover the thing about chetan. But I was not ready to believe that god was in front of me, above all in a coffee bar, not the most probable place for a god to be in.
‘You are right. But, I have difficulty in believing it. After all, a god in a coffee shop and with me! I never respected you.’
‘You will, in due time. Everyone does. And as far as a coffee shop is concerned, I just love coffee. It’s a pity I have to do with nectar in heaven.So once in a while, I hop in for a shot or two. Oh I forgot!’
’Two cappuccinos and two chocolate pasties, please. ’he said to the waiter.
‘Treat’s on me today.’ He said with a wink.
So gods drink coffee and they wink as well. Well,that’s something new.
‘And as far as talking to you is concerned, I am tired of speaking to the geniuses. As you see, they suffer from one common problem. They all forget the basics while delving in the complexities. Either, they blindly accept what is peak to them or they blatantly refuse. They never search for a third world while the truth is that within these two lie infinitely many options and what better option to talk to about these situations than a thinking fool like you. So frankly, I am here for some entertainment.’
So, gods get bored, they insult and they need entertainment too.
‘I am not listening. ’came a sarcastic reply.
Once again, I freaked out. So, he could read my mind. He is definitely something not human, but god. It is difficult to digest.
‘I know it is difficult to digest, but I think coffee will be of some help. Have your coffee before it gets cold.’ he said holding a cup towards me. I took the cup and started drinking.
‘Ah goodness!just heaven.’ He said after having a sip.’And listen, I have to go other places also. So I am here till the coffee and the cake finish. Don’t worry, I will drink slowly.’ He said smilingly.
‘ Sir, you msut have something to tell me about as you have come to see me .’ I asked, hoping to find answer to the question worrying me.
‘ All in due time, son. Firstly, I am here to talk about what you were thinking to write today.’
‘What, The Greater good?’
‘Exactly the same. So do you really believe in what you were going to write today?’ he questioned.
‘ I think I do.’ I replied uncertainly.
‘Just reply in yes or no.’ came a subtle yet stern reply.
‘I am not sure.’ ‘See child, learn the first rule of writing. You can never write about something you’re not sure of.’
‘I think I will discuss it with you.’
‘That’s why I am here for. I am always here for you humans but you never listen to your inner voice. So where do you want to start?’ God asked.
‘ We often say that what happens happens for good. But Hitler and butchers like him killed millions of people, millions died in the wars, everyday thousand die in terror incidents around the world. On a smaller scale ,burglaries happen every day, people fight, hearts break and many such things happen. How can these be for the greater good?’
‘See, whatever happens, May it be a war or a heart break, it always happens for a reason. You may not be able to see it at that point of time, but there is a reason behind it.’
‘But sir, that’s not what I seek to know. Does it always happen for good?’ I raised the question.
‘Son, you have to understand this one fact. There is nothing such as absolute good or absolute bad. As there is no good man who has never committed a sin and there is no sinner who has never done an act of benevolence likewise every good thing has a downside and every bad thing has a good side. It is the sum of the pros and cons which determine which side is heavier: the good side or the bad side. Yes, wars are bad but they make the world understand the importance of peace. Hitler came, committed sins which cannot be even spoken of but his actions may have discouraged many others to follow the same path as his. Better one Hitler than a horde of them. Likewise, everything good has a downside. Let’s take chetan’s example. You got late because he did not wake you up . And he did not wake you up because he went out with Neha and forgot to wake you up. Even though he has found ‘the love of his life’ as you folks put it, but she has certainly put some distance between him and his friends. This is just one small example from your life. Man made motors and caused pollution. Motors are good but pollution is bad. Thus, everything has an ulterior motive which you can’t fathom. ’
‘You have confused me.’
‘See, what I want to say is the devil and the angel walk hand in hand. One can never live without the other.’
‘Then why did you put this notion when it is not entirely true. You are not known to spread lies among men.’
‘Son, positivity is the only weapon that can fight disappointment. As far as I think, putting this fact among men has been one of my greatest achievements till date. Negativity is not a driving force, rather it is a repulsive one. In times of distress, if you don’t have this phrase to cheer you up, then days will turn into months and months into years, but you will keep on sitting. I agree that it is not entirely true but it is necessary. And if a lie does help you to get up and work harder, then it can’t be that bad.’
‘Ok. ’I replied a little hesitantly. Taking a piece of pastry, I continued the conversation.’ Actually I have one more question, not related to the article.’
‘Fire away.’God replied.
‘Is everything in our life pre-destined. Is it true that we have no control over it?’
‘Blatant lies! Do you think I have time to monitor each and every move of six billion people. Actually, people are afraid to be held accountable for their faults. So they put the blame on me. How many people give me credit for their promotion or their children’s good results. But yes, if they lose their jobs or their children fail, then I am to blame.’
‘But you just said that you are here for us only and your voice guides us but we don’t listen.’
‘Yes, I said that. Every being on this earth contains a part of me. Think of it like D.N.A. You have your father’s D.N.A. and you look like him Similarly, a part of me is inside you and it is what you call the soul. It gives you commands, commands you beings call the inner voice. But this doesn’t mean I am always beside you. Think a single being making six billion walk. Doesn’t it sound preposterous to you? It does to me, anyways.’
‘So, you don’t choose what is to happen in our life and you don’t know it?’
‘There is a big difference between knowing and choosing. I know what you will do but I don’t choose the path. You choose it yourself. Everyone in this world is here to complete a job. That’s why I send you down here. How you do it is in your hands. It doesn’t matter to me. At the end of the day what matters is whether you have fulfilled your destiny and that you do. My sole job is to choose your source and destination. How you traverse the distance is upto you.’
‘One more question-‘
‘Sorry, I got to go. The coffee has finished.’ God said, turning his empty coffee cup upside down.
‘God, please stay for one more coffee.’I said out of disappointment and desperation. ‘Damn you C.C.D.!Can’t you make bigger cups?’ The talks had just got interesting and the coffee had to finish just now.
‘ I know you want me to stay but I have to go other places also. And I think that’s enough for today. Remember what happens-‘
-happens for a reason, yes I know.’ I said disappointedly.
‘Don’t get sad. I’ll come back some other time. And Karan remember one thing. Anything that happens, happens for a reason. Even if it seems highly unreal and improbable as The law of duality always reigns supreme. Now I think I need to take leave -‘.By now he seemed to vibrate around his place, the air around him was flickering and the voice was distorted, like it was coming over radio.
‘- and I hope to see you in the near-‘
‘Uth ja saale. Is baar phir faffa lagana hai kay. Thank god neha woke me up otherwise we would have been late again.’ Chetan shouted while waking me up.
‘So was it all a dream?’ Thinkins so, I woke up and looked at the mirror, the first thing I do every morning. And I freaked out for the fourth time .
My lips, well they were smeared with chocolate sauce!’
’Come Karan, Have a seat. I have been waiting for you since half an hour. Chetan got you late again, I suppose.’
Honestly, I freaked out. ’How did he know I was to come here today and above all, how did he know the thing about Chetan. But there was something in his voice, a soft, mellow tone that made me take the seat opposite him against my senses.
‘Sir, Do I know you?’ I asked him after regaining my composure.
‘Yes, everyone around here knows me.’ He replied.
‘Then, I suppose you must be the owner of this place, but I don’t think I know you.’
‘Yup, indirectly I am the owner and you do know me.’
‘But sir, I am sure I have neither seen you nor corresponded with you in the past.’i replied, a little exasperatedly.
‘Of the former you are absolutely right but you have corresponded with me umpteen times.’
‘Sir, I think you have got hold of the wrong person. Now if you will be kind enough to shift to-‘ but before I could finish, he snarled
‘Quiet, you insolent fool! How dare you propose me to shift to the next seat. I am God, you idiot. Does that word seem familiar to you?’
And for the second time in ten minutes, I freaked out. Only this time, it was accompanied by a chill down my spine. I don’t know for how much time I stood there, completely struck by what I just heard. But after what felt like hours, I spoke in as loud a tone as I could muster ‘Sir, I seriously am not in a mood for jokes today. Maybe we should talk some other day. And, if my any chance you are what you say, then prove it.’
‘Ok Then! You want to be a writer, is that right?‘
‘That everyone around here knows. Tell something that I have told no one.‘
‘Ok. So try this one. You believe in my existence but are not brave enough to accept it as then you have to pray to me like everyone else and you are too arrogant and self-obsessed to do so. Am I right? I think this is a secret between the two of us only.’
The man had really made a point. No one knew this thing about and moreover the thing about chetan. But I was not ready to believe that god was in front of me, above all in a coffee bar, not the most probable place for a god to be in.
‘You are right. But, I have difficulty in believing it. After all, a god in a coffee shop and with me! I never respected you.’
‘You will, in due time. Everyone does. And as far as a coffee shop is concerned, I just love coffee. It’s a pity I have to do with nectar in heaven.So once in a while, I hop in for a shot or two. Oh I forgot!’
’Two cappuccinos and two chocolate pasties, please. ’he said to the waiter.
‘Treat’s on me today.’ He said with a wink.
So gods drink coffee and they wink as well. Well,that’s something new.
‘And as far as talking to you is concerned, I am tired of speaking to the geniuses. As you see, they suffer from one common problem. They all forget the basics while delving in the complexities. Either, they blindly accept what is peak to them or they blatantly refuse. They never search for a third world while the truth is that within these two lie infinitely many options and what better option to talk to about these situations than a thinking fool like you. So frankly, I am here for some entertainment.’
So, gods get bored, they insult and they need entertainment too.
‘I am not listening. ’came a sarcastic reply.
Once again, I freaked out. So, he could read my mind. He is definitely something not human, but god. It is difficult to digest.
‘I know it is difficult to digest, but I think coffee will be of some help. Have your coffee before it gets cold.’ he said holding a cup towards me. I took the cup and started drinking.
‘Ah goodness!just heaven.’ He said after having a sip.’And listen, I have to go other places also. So I am here till the coffee and the cake finish. Don’t worry, I will drink slowly.’ He said smilingly.
‘ Sir, you msut have something to tell me about as you have come to see me .’ I asked, hoping to find answer to the question worrying me.
‘ All in due time, son. Firstly, I am here to talk about what you were thinking to write today.’
‘What, The Greater good?’
‘Exactly the same. So do you really believe in what you were going to write today?’ he questioned.
‘ I think I do.’ I replied uncertainly.
‘Just reply in yes or no.’ came a subtle yet stern reply.
‘I am not sure.’ ‘See child, learn the first rule of writing. You can never write about something you’re not sure of.’
‘I think I will discuss it with you.’
‘That’s why I am here for. I am always here for you humans but you never listen to your inner voice. So where do you want to start?’ God asked.
‘ We often say that what happens happens for good. But Hitler and butchers like him killed millions of people, millions died in the wars, everyday thousand die in terror incidents around the world. On a smaller scale ,burglaries happen every day, people fight, hearts break and many such things happen. How can these be for the greater good?’
‘See, whatever happens, May it be a war or a heart break, it always happens for a reason. You may not be able to see it at that point of time, but there is a reason behind it.’
‘But sir, that’s not what I seek to know. Does it always happen for good?’ I raised the question.
‘Son, you have to understand this one fact. There is nothing such as absolute good or absolute bad. As there is no good man who has never committed a sin and there is no sinner who has never done an act of benevolence likewise every good thing has a downside and every bad thing has a good side. It is the sum of the pros and cons which determine which side is heavier: the good side or the bad side. Yes, wars are bad but they make the world understand the importance of peace. Hitler came, committed sins which cannot be even spoken of but his actions may have discouraged many others to follow the same path as his. Better one Hitler than a horde of them. Likewise, everything good has a downside. Let’s take chetan’s example. You got late because he did not wake you up . And he did not wake you up because he went out with Neha and forgot to wake you up. Even though he has found ‘the love of his life’ as you folks put it, but she has certainly put some distance between him and his friends. This is just one small example from your life. Man made motors and caused pollution. Motors are good but pollution is bad. Thus, everything has an ulterior motive which you can’t fathom. ’
‘You have confused me.’
‘See, what I want to say is the devil and the angel walk hand in hand. One can never live without the other.’
‘Then why did you put this notion when it is not entirely true. You are not known to spread lies among men.’
‘Son, positivity is the only weapon that can fight disappointment. As far as I think, putting this fact among men has been one of my greatest achievements till date. Negativity is not a driving force, rather it is a repulsive one. In times of distress, if you don’t have this phrase to cheer you up, then days will turn into months and months into years, but you will keep on sitting. I agree that it is not entirely true but it is necessary. And if a lie does help you to get up and work harder, then it can’t be that bad.’
‘Ok. ’I replied a little hesitantly. Taking a piece of pastry, I continued the conversation.’ Actually I have one more question, not related to the article.’
‘Fire away.’God replied.
‘Is everything in our life pre-destined. Is it true that we have no control over it?’
‘Blatant lies! Do you think I have time to monitor each and every move of six billion people. Actually, people are afraid to be held accountable for their faults. So they put the blame on me. How many people give me credit for their promotion or their children’s good results. But yes, if they lose their jobs or their children fail, then I am to blame.’
‘But you just said that you are here for us only and your voice guides us but we don’t listen.’
‘Yes, I said that. Every being on this earth contains a part of me. Think of it like D.N.A. You have your father’s D.N.A. and you look like him Similarly, a part of me is inside you and it is what you call the soul. It gives you commands, commands you beings call the inner voice. But this doesn’t mean I am always beside you. Think a single being making six billion walk. Doesn’t it sound preposterous to you? It does to me, anyways.’
‘So, you don’t choose what is to happen in our life and you don’t know it?’
‘There is a big difference between knowing and choosing. I know what you will do but I don’t choose the path. You choose it yourself. Everyone in this world is here to complete a job. That’s why I send you down here. How you do it is in your hands. It doesn’t matter to me. At the end of the day what matters is whether you have fulfilled your destiny and that you do. My sole job is to choose your source and destination. How you traverse the distance is upto you.’
‘One more question-‘
‘Sorry, I got to go. The coffee has finished.’ God said, turning his empty coffee cup upside down.
‘God, please stay for one more coffee.’I said out of disappointment and desperation. ‘Damn you C.C.D.!Can’t you make bigger cups?’ The talks had just got interesting and the coffee had to finish just now.
‘ I know you want me to stay but I have to go other places also. And I think that’s enough for today. Remember what happens-‘
-happens for a reason, yes I know.’ I said disappointedly.
‘Don’t get sad. I’ll come back some other time. And Karan remember one thing. Anything that happens, happens for a reason. Even if it seems highly unreal and improbable as The law of duality always reigns supreme. Now I think I need to take leave -‘.By now he seemed to vibrate around his place, the air around him was flickering and the voice was distorted, like it was coming over radio.
‘- and I hope to see you in the near-‘
‘Uth ja saale. Is baar phir faffa lagana hai kay. Thank god neha woke me up otherwise we would have been late again.’ Chetan shouted while waking me up.
‘So was it all a dream?’ Thinkins so, I woke up and looked at the mirror, the first thing I do every morning. And I freaked out for the fourth time .
My lips, well they were smeared with chocolate sauce!’
Saturday, 4 June 2011
Surprising someone:-A pleasant surprise for you too!!
Yesterday, two of my college friends had their birthday. As the college was off for summer holidays, all of us were at our homes. So, our group thought of giving them a surprise(as was the ritual at the birthday of each of our friends) by wishing them in group through a conference call. A couple of days prior to the 3rd, I started getting in contact with all the members of our group planning about how to make the surprise a perfect one. At last, the day came.As soon as the clock struck 12 , I called up both of them one after the other(all the other members were already patched up in conference). Really,I didn’t need to ask them how they felt about it, their voices reflected their feelings. It was just like being at college again, sitting in the canteen, gossiping while gobbling samosas and drinking Pepsi. After we hung up the phone(after about 40 minutes with my phone balance becoming lighter by a good amount ;-)), i don,t know why, but i felt really good. Giving the surprise made me feel happy because I was a part of something that made two people feel really special, even though for a small period of time, on the biggest day of their life. This feeling was something that left me feeling fresh and energetic for the rest of the day which came as a pleasant surprise for me.
So folks, next time you get a chance to surprise someone, do it. Trust me, It feels real good...
So folks, next time you get a chance to surprise someone, do it. Trust me, It feels real good...
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