Kabir's couplets (dohas)

Kabir was a saintly person born in Varanasi, India, in the 14th century. I remember reading a few of his rhyming two line couplets filled with sagely advice in my Hindi textbook in high school. Kabir used examples from everyday life and nature to illustrate his message. Recently, I came across a rendering of his dohas in musical form on YouTube.

There were no automobiles or trains or phones in that century.

Below is my translation of a few of his two line dohas  in plain English.

1.Consuming books in this ‘mua’ world, nobody becomes a pundit (scholar),

A person who realizes the meaning of the two and half letter word Prem (devotional love) is a true pundit!

2. So what if you consider yourself big, like the tall tree of ‘khajoor’ (dates)

Such a tree gives no shade to the weary traveler and the fruit is very high, beyond his reach.

3. If my guru and Govind (God) were to appear in front of me at the same time, who should I worship first by touching his feet ?

I think I will worship my guru first, because it was he who gave me the knowledge about God (and path to reach him)!

4. People remember God when they are in trouble and feel miserable, and forget him when they are happy and joyful,

Says Kabir, if they remembered God during good times also, why would they ever be unhappy and miserable?

 5. A bee struggles to get out of sweet jaggery by fluttering it wings that become stuck together,

Tired and frustrated it buzzes, says Kabira too much greed is not good !

Without Comment!

 

            Protesting against I.C.E in hot weather!

Near my residence in Issaquah, Washington.

Schrodinger's Cat - Part 2

 When I wrote an alternate interpretation of Schrodinger's cat a couple of days back, it was supposed to be a humorous piece. But since then more serious thoughts regarding the thought experiment have invaded my mind. What if Schrodinger was communicating secretly about the bomb….why would one want to kill a cat to explain Quantum world, strange indeed!

And the killing mechanism is ingenious - a radioactive material that throws out an electron which is detected by a Geiger counter like device which in turn triggers a switch to open a poison cylinder! Because ordinary humans can't see an electron most of the world would remain in mystery as to who released the poison causing the death of the subject. Hollywood ? Bollywood?

Schrodinger's cat - an alternate explanation!

Schrodinger's cat is the silliest explanation I have ever encountered! A cat is in a box with a radioactive material and after a while we have to guess whether it is alive or dead ! It could be alive or dead and because of that uncertainty we say that it is in ‘superposition’ because for a while we have to say that both states, alive and dead, are true, scientifically speaking !! Until we decide to open the box and observe the cat at which point the two states merge into one, scientifically speaking, and we get the answer. 

They also say that the act of observation changes the result ! Even if the cat was getting poisoned, fresh air will enter the box and might save the cat's life !

 It could also be an attempt to blame the observer for the consequence of the cruel experiment.What if there was a human being inside the box instead of the cat ! Can we say that his life was in superposition until we decided to open the box and because we will find him toasted after a while when we open the box, the act of observation caused the result. Therefore, the observer is to be blamed!

What if this was an excuse for throwing the atomic bomb - the scientists could not decide what would happen until the bomb was actually launched and they counted the number of dead and sick people, probabilistically speaking!

Quantum indeed!

Weather Whether !

I have never experienced weather like this before !

Only a a day earlier I had walked a mile in hot sun all tired and wished I had a cap and a T-shirt on and the next day it rains and the temperature goes so low, with a cold breeze included, that it feels like God did a weather rewind and put us back in winter !! I had to take out my winter jacket again.

Weather here changes not only by the day but by the hour or even by the minute. Last year I remember walking on the Front street next to the library hoping to enjoy the warmth of the sun above when all of a sudden freezing cold breeze attacked us making me retreat into the library. On another occasion, rain pounded the pavement on Front street while a street parallel to it was all clear and sunny !!

There was even an attack by the sun god couple of years back when the power went out and many residents of the building I reside in sat in the lobby. Outside it was sweaty and hot wind ('loo') blew making one very uncomfortable. I have experienced such hot weather only in New Delhi, India. According to weather page in the local news paper, New Delhi is listed at 113 degrees Fahrenheit currently.

I live in Issaquah, Washington.

Piku - A movie review

"Piku, flush mein pani nahi hai" (Piku, there is no water in the flush tank)

                      - the starting of the movie....

                     

Shit doesn't happen. That is the theme of this movie. Literally. Director Sircar continues his light hearted and humorous look at life. From the dilapidated ruins of old Lucknow in ‘Gulabo Sitabo’ he moves to the problems of old age in modern life in ‘Piku’. 

Mr. Banerjee, a 70 year old Bengali, and his 30 year old architect daughter Piku , live together in New Delhi, India. That they live together may seem very unusual in the USA but in busy North India this living arrangement is perfectly normal. As the daughter says to her boyfriend she can't just abandon her sick dad and marry someone unless the potential partner accepts the fact that the three will live together . India is a country where family members live together in a joint family arrangement, even if they occasionally argue and fight!

Mr. Banerjee suffers from chronic constipation and he is open about it with his daughter and the servants. There is discussion about the quality and quantity of his stool at the dinner table. He leaves messages with his daughter's secretary regarding gas and semi-liquid motion embarrassing her and amusing the audience. There is a suggestion given as to how Mr. Banerjee should mount the commode in Indian style so the stool release process becomes easier. Mr. Banerjee himself mentions, during one of his informal lunch conversations. that there is a mind-body connection and stress and frustration can cause constipation. The reverse is true as well !!

Mr. Banerjee decides to drive to Calcutta from New Delhi with his daughter, a driver and a servant. Among the luggage tied to the car’s roof is a wooden commode just in case…

In Calcutta, at their mansion where his brother lives the discussion about Mr. Banerjee's constipation continues and they argue whether it runs in their family. One day, Mr. Banerjee gets the urge to take a bike ride thru the city and vanishes alone causing much worry amongst the family members especially his frustrated daughter. But he returns after a while safely and has the best potty experience of his life!!!

Mr. Banerjee didn't want to die inside a hospital tied to tubes and instruments and so he passes away peacefully on his bed in his home. Close to his daughter. There is a budding romance between the daughter and the owner of a taxi service and so the boyfriend is omnipresent in her life in the second half of the movie.

A Prayer....

 There are wars in progress, people are vanishing from their homes, murders and potential assassination attempts are occurring according to news reports. To some people this might be business as usual, but is it ? In the lonely dark nights of winter it seems like evil has descended upon the planet if you add to this mix your own personal problems, but the warm sunlight of approaching summer makes this depressing state almost tolerable!

Therefore, it seems appropriate to repeat an ancient Hindu prayer:

Aum bhur bhuvah swaha….

May we meditate on the effulgent light of one who is worshipful and has given birth to all the worlds, may he guide the rays of our intelligence towards the path of good !