happy happy joy joy

Nostalgia!
4am, Bhola and Katik in the room, fighter-max days at IIT! and this song makes all of us very very happy :)

Almighty glimpse...

My God.. If there is that World with static time, zero space and may be identical cause-effect. I know you are there! Can you please tell.. watssup!? do you have a moment? wanna catch up with you and get to life :)

Blurred days...

The rambling mind puts its dreamy nets over everything. And then.. in the warp and woof of thoughts is all this World - hells and heavens, worst and best.

This task doesn't seem to give any joy or grace now. But, the silence and sweet songs tell some dreams might see the light.

I just hope.. these storms and illusions might teach some better ways!

Just a dream...

I dreamt of Jamaica...

I lived a Rastafari life...

I wish...

The biggest junkyard - human brain

The structure and working of the human brain is obviously fascinating, but getting lost in reading the brain anatomy book by John Nolte on a lazy Sunday without a background in medical lingo gets the mind thinking in the ways, interesting though, other than the intended.

The brain is very very structured. Thank God! Control of all fundamental mechanisms, sensory data processing, motor controls, personality/behavioural traits, language and cognitive skills are all managed at specific locations. Evolution is the statistical re-shuffling of the gene-pool in the combining DNAs over an insanely long period of time.. I feel, understanding evolution is the learning of refinement in the controller mechanisms of life forms, core of which is the brain.

A neuron is like a tiny piece of semiconductor (or actually the other way round :P) ready to quickly transmit some kind of messages through ionization. The human brain has neurons of the order of fcuking 100 billion!! This factory requires approx 25% of total oxygen supply in the body. This bunch of neurons is very carefully floating in some cerebro-spinal fluid, all of which is enclosed in a hard helmet of the skull.

Now at the psychological level and yet to understand this as a machine, all worldly and unworldly patterns of sight, touch, thoughts, feelings, encoded DNA formats for internal processes, blah blah blah are simply stored in and processed with interconnections of these 100 billion neurons. Yes! the whole stuff about life and this world and beyond of which we think or imagine are just patterns in this gray thingi. A deeper understanding might get depressing, but I seriously can never believe the sci-fi stud thinkers of all times who can imagine complete brain control by electronically barging in the brain circuitry. It will be something freaky.. out of wits. On the other hand, some ancient wise people have experienced and explained the brain and everything of us to have some higher connections which transcend the worldly thinking (and so can't be rationalized in existing science). However, lets take this interesting thing - so many chemicals just fool around with the normal functioning of the brain! Fundamentally, the 'highs' and 'kicks' are just some equivalent changes in thoughts which chemicals induce. So, its all in our t h o u g h t s!! One thought can even spike the blood supply to the brain or alter the functioning of a portion of the brain.

Defining mind is very difficult in the tangible space but the safest assumption is that its as real as the outside world. Thoughts evolve with every single step in the evolution along with the refinement of the DNA (which is just a chemical composition or a mathematical encoding of some structure). The linkage between these two worlds, the kick-ass mix of chemistry/biology with psychology/spirtuality, happens at the understanding of the brain from different sides!

Times of Mumbai

Not peaceful but still liking it to do something at DB. The diversity of my group rocks! At different places, just 5 people from all over - an Armenian, a Russian, one Italiano, a French and one bleddy Indian ;)

Quite a big water tank top on the terrace above 12'th floor in the middle of Tilak Nagar (Chembur) from where almost 1/5th of the whole Mumbai city is visible, turns out to be one awesome party place! Whole night in the cool breeze at that height is a kind of pleasure which can't be easily expected in Mumbai! I just fantasize to find such a place near the Powai lake.

Some people discover some things very late.. But once known, it becomes an addiction and just can't help enjoying it. At least back at home in Pune, I'm liking it to drive around anywhere and everywhere. Awaiting some nice rains and long drives!

Not so funky, but a kids like room! It was initially an unorthodox idea for that kind of a bedroom in an apartment. But, having no other quick option to find any bachelor's suited place for rent, I took it up. Actually, a fancy room looks like a super kewl place to live for now!

Back at homeland on weekends gives the much needed peacefulness and bliss! Sunday afty grand lunch and an instant tripping off to sleep feels like some kind of a dream coming true ;)

Still catching up with lots of people everywhere! Still catching up with all the new south park episodes! Still catching up with a lot of music I hadn't known after getting out of the college.

Waiting to hit London sometime soon. In spite of all the pain, there is something which I like in this big bad world of investment banking. For me, It all started in this beautiful city.. Just awaiting to get there again at least for some time ;)

Random walks in holy spaces

You certainly have the right for prescribed activities but never at anytime in their results.

- Bhagavad Gita (2:47)

Desire is the root cause of all suffering.

- Gautama Buddha

On the face, all of these words appear to be pure shite! May be religious ways to fool people or a loser's instinct. If not for the results, I wouldn't have done the things. Whatever I do, desire leads me to do it. These teachings are not even meant for hedging emotions for expectations, in a way - If things go well, I'll eat the cake and be happy. If things go bad, I'll try to listen to the above. What they teach is something which goes very very deep.

We always try to seek the good (pleasure and comfort) and avoid the bad (pain and discomfort). The mind always thinks in a relativistic manner. Life moves in positive if environment arranges for only the good or the mind thinks of things as good. Same is the reverse case. By the laws of nature, existence of pleasure or comfort is impossible without the existence of pain or discomfort. Its just the two sides of the coin and the whole emotional roller-coaster ride is the flipping of mind between the good and bad. So, is it a zero-sum game or a completely random process? Both will be far from the meaning of life. Lord Krishna and the great Buddha settle down this problem.

Waves roll over the surface of the ocean. Every single high is followed by a low and no low fails to get back to a high. But deep down within there is perfect calmness. Desire and comfort remain at the surface. They will be driven by the circumstances and each tide, good or bad, will be followed by the other. The heart might get full with ecstasy or it might get wrung by hands that don't hear any cry. But deep inside is the true spirit of humankind. The bonding of true relationships, the search of a free mind for God, oneness with all of nature, unfolding of the purpose of life, ... All of these are unshakable and this is where the teachings show the way. All the worldly things remain the same, just the understanding changes. Mind doesn't consider only the tip of the iceberg on the waves... but the floating iceberg in a tiny part of the top of an entire ocean. The understanding of the game-plan of God can give the most solid support to stand on. Right now, I can just try to think. To map this in real life and make the mind free is a journey worth lifetime :)