Quest for life

Rule 34: Submission does not mean being weak or passive. It leads to neither fatalism nor capitulation. Just the opposite. True power resides in submission a power that comes within. Those who submit to the divine essence of life will live in unperturbed tranquility and peace even the whole wide world goes through turbulence after turbulence. When we talk about submission people think of two opponents trying to establish supremacy over each other, where one party has to relinquish control or power over to the other. The act of giving up control is seen as submission and usually viewed as something which a person does involuntarily and under pressure. However, submission can be a voluntary act as well. It can be an act of love and surrender to someone or something willingly. When submission is involuntary one is forced to put his ego aside and then serve the other force but when one submits willingly it is an act of faith and putting aside ego is only a small part in this kind of su

Rule no 13 of Shamz e Tabriz:  Try not to resist the changes, which come your way. Instead let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come? They say change is the only constant. Everything is on the move. The whole universe, this earth and every atom on it, time and everything that seems to   move and not move with time is constantly changing. One thing transforms itself into another and the cycle of change keeps moving. Change is everywhere and we go through it every moment. As Greek philosopher  Heraclitus said that "you can't step into the same river twice"  and yet we all want our lives to be a constant.   We teach our kids that ending has to be happily ever after....We dream that happy times are going to last forever and we do everything in our hands to keep the things as they are even if present circumstances are pathetic and a change is actually req

Shamz E Tabriz's 4th rule of Love says " Intellect and love are made of different materials. Intellect ties people in knots and risks nothing, but love dissolves all tangles and risks everything. Intellect is always cautious and advises, ‘Beware too much ecstasy’, whereas love says, ‘Oh, never mind! Take the plunge!’ Intellect does not easily break down, whereas love can effortlessly reduce itself to rubble. But treasures are hidden among ruins. A broken heart hides treasures" Love says, ‘Oh, never mind! Take the plunge!’ How can love be so reckless? Why does it think of only the immediate happiness and forgets about the later consequences? What drives it to be so reckless and risk-taking? If it is one's heart then why does one's heart only feels and doesn't think anything? Who needs a broken heart even if it hides treasures? These are the thoughts clouding my mind these days. I have been thinking of writing essays on these rules for quite some time now.

Someone recently told me that perception is mother of all f*** ups. That made me think; "what has perception got to do with 'F*** ups". As it turns out, perception has everything to do with it. We just perceive some things because we have those beliefs out of common knowledge, fleeting experiences and convenience, not only convenience but also fun to remain in the dark. When it comes to perception we mainly rely on our five senses and obviously perceive whatever is most convenient and enjoyable to the senses without bothering to find the reality. We make opinions based on these perceptions and some times completely forget how much it can harm others. Just today one of my colleague commented something jokingly which is enough to spoil my reputation. I am well aware that he knows the reality but it is always more fun to feed people's perception. Moreover why deviate from something which is more juicy gossip and have fun at some female's expense than be a gentlema

Whenever there is a favorite song of mine on the radio, I not only sing along but can do a jig or two while driving the car. This, however, is a highly unacceptable behaviour as per my mom who thinks that I am past the age where such behaviour would have suited me. I keep asking my mom if there is any rule book on age appropriate behaviour for adults. For I have heard about age appropriate behaviour for kids and I do understand that there are certain norms that society expects you to follow once you have a certain type of understanding and maturity. However, if the behaviour doesn't interfere with anyone and is totally for your own pleasure does it have to be age appropriate? What is age appropriate anyway? Different cultures think differently on the same. For eg Hindi has a proverb which says "Buddhi Ghodi Lal Lagaam" which means heavily decorated old mare. In India, it is quite often used for older females who use bright colors or are heavily made up. I find it quite

Yesterday went to buy my dinner and while I was waiting for it to be packed was served a fantastic and much needed cup of tea. When I wanted to leave some tip the guys refused and were just happy to make me feel a little more comfortable in a foreign land. Wow, what hospitable attitude! I was thinking what did I do to deserve such kindness. There are many acts of kindness that we can do and probably do in our daily lives which bring happiness and satisfaction to our lives. Like helping old people to cross the road or paying for someone's coffee or education or saying some kind words to make someone feel better. However, how many times are we kind to our loved ones. Aren't we too pressed for time when it comes to spend time with our loved ones. Isn't it too much of an effort to say some kind words to people who are closest to us. So how is it that we are kind to strangers and not so kind to our near ones? What makes us act with kindness with total strangers and not with o

One of my good friendships started with a compliment given to me in the porch of a hotel where I was waiting for my car. It was an interesting chance encounter which started with a compliment. Although I was really happy to accept the compliment on my really old Saree, it was not till the time I have had another nice chance encounter with a taxi driver in Baku that I actually thought about compliments and how we perceive them at different stages of our lives. It won't be very clear to readers if I didn't explain about my "encounter" with the taxi driver. A few days back I was walking through the beautiful boulevard of Baku. I was half way through to my hotel and it was already dark. Now I started walking a little fast and reached for the road to get to my hotel. Suddenly a taxi stopped and driver started urging me to avail taxi ride. My hotel was near and I was not interested in taking a taxi so I gestured that I don't want a taxi. To my surprise he kept on ins