Eastern Vs. Western Culture

When Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of Mount Everest on 29^th May, 1953, their reactions were a study in contrast. While both were jubilant about the success, it is said that Edmund Hillary proudly stamped the flagpole on the head of the summit.

Tenzing Norgay, on the other hand, humbly bowed his head on the summit. This is because the Nepalese Tibetan community call Mount Everest by the name ‘Chomolungma’, meaning ‘Mother of the World’. Tenzing humbly sought forgiveness for stamping on the revered mother’s head.

As the two men made their way back down, the first climber they met was teammate George Lowe, a New Zealander. Hillary's greeting to him, which has now become the legendary statement, was: "Well, George, we knocked the bastard off!"

James Ramsey Ullman mentions in the Tenzing’s autobiography, ‘Tiger of the Snows’, “In his (Tenzing’s) moment of triumph what he felt in his heart was gratitude to Everest. His prayer for his future life is that it may be worthy of Everest.”

No wonder, both the heroes went on to lead diametrically opposite lives after conquering the summit.

Reference links:

https://www.dailyo.in/variety/mount-everest-tenzing-norgay-son-edmund-hillary-commercialisation-hmi-nehru/story/1/17572.html

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/everest/sir-edmund-hillary-tenzing-norgay-1953/

Fantastic reviews for Bare Bones in Baroda

On 19^th August 2017, my play Bare Bones was staged in Baroda. And it would be an understatement to say that Baroda audience absolutely wow'ed us.

I had often heard about the cultural wisdom and artistic acumen of Baroda citizens. But to experience it first hand was something else, and hence I'm compelled from within to write this little piece in your appreciation.

The frequent chuckles at the mildly funny lines, the occasional roaring laughter at the really funny lines, the loud applause at times, the sporadic 'wow's that we could hear at those deep lines, which made me - the writer - proud of your understanding of the layers beneath the text, the meaningful silence during the intense moments, and to end it all with the standing ovation and the final applause that didn't stop for two full minutes.

While we as actors customarily stand after the show, the feeling within me was that we, the actors, were giving a standing ovation to you, the audience, even as you were reciprocating.

The writer writes, and director directs hoping that they'd get an audience that would understand the unsaid, and experience the unstated. And I felt that Baroda gave us that experience which will be extremely difficult to beat.

The audience loved Bare Bones so much that a couple of them wrote wonderful blogs for it. Prakash Gowda wrote it like a hate story, and Shalini wrote it like the two characters in one of my short plays, Where Heart meets Mind. Thank you so much Prakash and Shalini for your kind words. 

A vote of thanks to Applause Vadodara for inviting us there. Without you, this would not have been possible. 

Finally! I've created something viral

It’s very rare that something that we have created becomes viral. But I’m so glad and honoured that something that I conceptualized and wrote, became viral. So much so that it deserved a blog.

Last year, I came up with this thought for the Dussehra wishes for Litmus Branding, the small big advertising company where I work. Dharmesh Panchal was the designer and Hiren Panchal & Kapil Vaishnani gave their artistic inputs as the creative directors.

And this Dussehra, which is today, we have been flooded by the same message from all side sans the Litmus name.

Cliched as it may sound, it is still the right time to say that ‘Copying is the best form of flattery’.

So much so that we found it on some celebrity pages on Social Media too. This one below is Sunil Grover calling it a nice depiction.

Team Litmus and I are delighted to have something viral in our name. 

भगवान - इंसान

जब दिखेगा सभी में उसे भगवान
तब बनाएगा धरती पर स्वर्ग इंसान

Life is Beyond Both

Where living is neither celebrated
nor is dying mourned,
because it is known that
life is beyond both.
Come, let's go there.

Let Your Words Inspire

Let your words inspire,
let your thoughts heal and
let your silent presence spread love.

Mind & Heart

O' the dwellers in the joys of the mind,
have you even felt the love of your heart?
How you wallow in the cloud of your own thoughts,
and prevent the sun of love from shining through!

मैं कहाँ सोचता हुँ

मैं कहाँ सोचता हुँ ?
सोच तो बस आ जाती है
और मेरे शरीर से
अपना कहा करवा जाती है 

Was that the best I could've done?

'Was that the best I could've done?' That's the only question I ask myself now.

If the answer is a yes then great, else I resolve to do better next time.

Either way, I don't leave any space for resentment, guilt, or the burden of others' expectations or mine to weigh me down.

I forgive myself quickly, learn and simply move on to create the next best moment of my life.

Often I don't succeed in being the best version of myself, but I still don't give myself any space to feel resentment or guilt. That makes me wonderfully free.

Grace Showering

आइना - Aaina

वो नहीं जो सिर्फ 

दिखाए मुझको मुझे 

मिले तो मानु उसे आइना 

जो मिलवाए खुदसे मुझे 

Wo nahin jo Sirf 

Dikhaye mujhko Mujhe.

Mile to manu use aaina

Jo milwaye khudse mujhe. 

The Power of Desirelessness

What separates a billionaire from a beggar? Wealth. Yes, that’s the first cut. But at a more subliminal level, what makes a billionaire bigger than a beggar is the fact that the billionaire doesn’t need anything from the beggar, nor does he want to become a beggar. On the other hand, a beggar wants everything that the billionaire has and wants to become a billionaire. Since the beggar wants to become a billionaire, the beggar invariably makes the billionaire bigger and larger than life.

The keyword here is ‘Desire’. It is this desire to become someone that makes ‘that someone’ bigger or more important than us.

Two men who do not need anything from each other are absolutely equal. So what makes us smaller is our desire to be someone who we think we are not – wealthier, more powerful, more famous, more beautiful and so on. Now flip that point around – if we accept who we are and release our desire to be someone else, then we are already equal, we are not smaller and hence ‘that someone’ is not bigger.

Now, a lot of us harbour a desire to be God. What if we recognize our own Godliness and drop that desire as well. Then we instantly become equal with God, because we don’t want to be Him, nor do we need anything from Him.

When that desirelessness arises from an understanding of our ‘completeness’, we allow the universe to operate through us by a desireless acceptance of His will as our will. So we become a fantastic filterless channel for manifesting the divine, through us.

Unflinching desirelessness is an instant power unlike any other. But a truly desireless person will not care for that too, because seeking power through desirelessness is again a desire.

It is through such absolute desirelessness that a nearly illiterate paanwala simpleton had attained enlightenment in just three years. His name was Nisargadutta Maharaj.

Evolution of Love - Part 2

.
I
I love
I love you
I hate you
I love you
I love
I
.

Guilt is of no Use

A soul that chooses to stay with the body can make a person survive a bullet through the head. And a soul that chooses to go can find an excuse as flimsy as a sneeze to leave the body.

So let go of your guilt for your dear one's death, if you are carrying it. Your negligence didn't kill them nor your diligence could've helped them live.

That beautiful soul chose to go, it's as simple as that. Any further layer of thought than this in your heart is excess baggage. Leave this behind and travel light.

Guilt is of no use. It only makes you love yourself less.