Musings Own Thoughts

  This question has haunted me for a long time and I do not think I have an answer to it. Since time immemorial there have been power asymmetries and there have been oppressors and the oppressed. Revolts against the oppressor have been seen and the fight between good and evil is the subject of books, wars and the basis of religions. The simplistic narrative of all such situations is that evil is all evil and good is all good and the good will eventually win and destroy evil. This is the black and white certainty of most of our belief systems the stuff of our childhood story tales and Hindi films which end with a happy ending.  The symbolism since time has been the theme of dark forces black battling against the good forces which are always shown as bright or pure white.  The power of our conscience is such that we see everything clearly and in many cases we see wrong things being done like stealing, cheating, being unfaithful, deceiving, slandering and even killing. At su...

 Today I wish to write about the wisdom of the Buddhas signified by the Japanese proverb.  See no Evil. Hear no Evil. Speak no Evil. Think or Do no Evil.  While this seems good to display, is it justified in terms of way things pan out in this world. We are surrounded by evil forces and the high standards of ethical and moral behaviour are rarely if ever upheld. The lines between correct and incorrect are indistinct if not completely invisible.  Many believe that we are living in the worst times, where the human intellect has fallen beyond measure. But this position too is relative as evil and good exist as surely as day and night for as long as humans existed and will continue to do so in differing proportions. So while it is important to recognize this duality it is equally important to be extra careful to verify and be clear as to the veracity of what is fact or fiction and truth or untruth.  The monkeys or Buddhas are symbolic of a slow measured pace of life...

 There are a few books I usually read simultaneously and the sequence of books read is generally random based on some recommendations.  Many of these are heavy non fiction books. Books on public policy have been on my reading list for a while and the realization that simplistic state interventions based on hunches not well researched can have effects which are opposite of what was intended. The state by itself tends to be an oppressor and has a monopoly on sanctioned violence. So if the common rights of one are infringed by another there are laws to justify punishing the infrigers on behalf of the oppressed. While there maybe safeguards to prevent misuse, these too can be set aside and state can selectively misuse the law and become an oppressor itself. The state can and does take away your land and possessions for the greater common good and also in fact take nearly one third of your hard earned money as tax to ensure you get basic amenities and as a nation guard you against ...

 First principles say that God is defined in the dictionary in different ways. There are broadly two  main connotations of the word. GOD spelt always in capital is a supreme power or entity mainly abstract and even if concrete an entity all powerful, all knowing but which does not have an actual face. The second concept is one of ruler, an all pervading entity and a director who is in charge with an actual face.  This concept evolved in human history over many ages and based on the ability of the human mind to comprehend, anything large, incomprehensible, unexplainable became akin to God. The nomadic prehistoric man objectified God as in whatever helped him survive and overcome his adversaries.So a large tree, rocks, walls and dense forests or even storms, rivers, lightering and thunder which created a favourable outcome with respect to survival against animals enemies became God. As he got domesticated and started keeping animals and made agriculture and food production ...

  Reading the scriptures and getting inspired by some passages is the journey of transformation where man brings into his consciousness the divinity as expressed by the Lord in this case Jesus Christ who spoke these words. Many of the words after some days of repetition become rote chanting light with very little going by transformation. Yet in the last few days certain words are ringing so clearly and loudly that this passage is now becoming a common central scripture. I will take the whole passage and try to contextually explain how the difficult situations can be overcome by this lovely passage. As I started writing this blog last night I heard the news of the demise of Dr. Manmohan Singh who also could take comfort from this scripture. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. . Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousne...

  As I transformed from Academic Orthopedics to Administration, my attendance in Orthopedic meetings reduced but I kept up with the knowledge required to treat patients through peer interaction and doing cases within my limitations. The last two days have seen me attending the prestigious Western India Regional Orthopedic Conference which for those who are not in the field of Orthopedics has evolved to become the premier conference in India. The President of Bombay Orthopedic Society and Conference Chairman Dr. Mohan Desai was my houseman at Bhagwati Hospital Borivili in 1986-87. A nervous boy from a simple middle class Maharashtrian family, has grown to reach heights far beyond our dreams in those years. I am glad that I may have had a small part to play in this evolution. Before getting into the topic, I must talk about WIROC in general and how WIROC 24 has got its present form and format.                      ...

 In the very beginning when I started blogging I was looking for shortcuts and solutions to the problems of life. There was a tendency to look for and find men of wisdom and see weather following a few of them would give solutions to life. So one of my first blogs was on the topic of Guru. https://vhjokhi.blogspot.com/2005/02/guru.html   We find that there were so many such Gurus who could preach with mesmeric skill and excellent oratory powers sway millions of human beings into actions and literally blind faith in the spoken word. Many such persons have touched my life and the gullible trusting me was willing to give them a long rope, but invariably I found that they hung themselves.  The usual ways in which I found them was word of mouth especially of friends who were educated, men or women with a scientific temper, so called radical intelligentsia. While I have revered and accepted a few relatively good persons who are almost infallible and hard to not accept, the...

  A.U.M. silence & Waking.Dreaming.Deep Sleep. Turiya. I have been listening to a podcast Vedanta Talks and trying to decipher this concept of states of consciousness.  The beauty of Vedanta and monotheism  is the elegance of reasoning and how it seems to tie up so many loose ends and provide answers to seemingly vexed questions with neat logical solutions. While they seem reasonably easy to understand they are incredibly difficult to actually understand and be aware about. Living life based on the only permanent reality which is one and the only permanent state which truly exists, seems well nigh impossible. While even as the one permanent Self is the only thing which exists the fact is that we in our ignorance mistake everything which we experience as the real thing is the obstacle to Self realisation. When we are in one of the three states that is waking,dreaming and deep sleep we accept that as real to the exclusion of the other two. What are these three states? W...