Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Against your religion!

It was an year ago, when I was in Montevideo, Uruguay, I had been to a meditation center. It was pretty cold and every would sit on the chairs and meditate. Being a meditation center, one was supposed to keep your footwear outside the hall. Then something caught my eye... The lady in the row diagonally ahead of me was resting her feet on the book she was carrying. It was quite convenient to keep the book on the floor and keep her feet warm.
For a person like me from India, where books are considered sacred, no matter what kind of book it is, we don't touch it by our feet. When I saw her, it looked very weird to me. But to come to think of it practically, it was a very convenient solution. And why shouldn't be a lifeless object like a book, shouldn't be touched by feet.
I was disturbed at that sight... which only means my meditation was not at all upto the mark and was concentrating something other than meditation.

Its nice to find faults in others, but difficult to find in one self.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

My Previous Post - After Trip from Auschwitz

When we came back from Auschwitz, we were filled with so much of information, rather the horrific stories and I thought I would put them on the blog here.

But the moment I started to write, I just didn't feel like writing about it and didn't even want to think about it. I wrote everything around it and tried to push myself away from the main story. Sorry about that, but I guess its best that way at times.



The place and the strong history behind it really makes one so uncomfortable.
It's sometimes good to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, but I would keep this one as an exception.




Monday, March 15, 2010

Never before Experience

It had snowed whole night. The view from the 11th floor of the apartment was beautiful. It was a white blanket. I woke up at 4 am to leave for Karkow in the first available train. Equipped myself with two jackets to fight the cold we reached the station by 6 and thus started a journey which would be once in a lifetime.
We reached Krakow in just 2.5 hours and were pleasantly surprised. In our plan we had roughly designed we had targeted to see only the places in the city and not to take any long trips. But not everything goes according to the plan and these are some instances which help you build that faith, that not everything, which didnt happen as per your wishes was bad.
We were caught by couple of taxi drivers who were trying to sell the idea of going to Auschwitz. We weren't mentally prepared for this. But the 2nd driver who sold the same, somehow convinced us to visit a historical place. One of the good decisions made by us. It's a 75 Km Drive from Krakow main city station and approximately takes an hours or so to reach there.
Snow didnt seem to stop and we were enjoying every bit of it. The way the white flakes of snow settled on the windshield was beautiful until the wiper cleaned it for the fresh snow to deposit.
Our driver took us to a near by Village for us to take a few and we enjoyed in the freshly laid snow for a few minutes.

From Krakow
As we reached Auschwitz, we watched a movie which shows in short the details of what's in store for us as we enter the blocks. The first glimpse of the camp a board which says "Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work makes one free).

From Krakow


The entire camp is secured with high tension electric wires which are next to impossible to break.

From Krakow



The prisoners which would arrive there would be screened whether they are fit to work, and the rest would be led to the gas chambers, by giving them the reason that they are taking them disinfect with a bath. Once in the gas chambers they would be closed in the special room and then using cyanide they would be killed. Once they would be killed they would be snatched of their valuables including golden teeth and other jewelery, before being moved into the furnace. Just the thought of the same brings in shivers.

The kind of places the prisoners were made to live were simply inhuman, though it this term may not fully justify in portraiting the facts.

I guess the details of the life there could be found on many sites , but the thought itself is way outside my thinking limits as to how can someone get it done on such a huge magnitude.

Going there gives one the real meaning of FREEDOM and how we can really appreciate it.

From Krakow


The different blocks where the prisoners were put up.

From Krakow


The Death Wall. This is a place where many prisoners were shot dead or killed.

From Krakow


From Krakow


From Krakow


Place where Rudolf Hoss was finally pushed to death.

Worth a visit if you get a chance.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

A new Beginning

10th March 2010.
Some days are etched in your minds forever. Today could be one such day. The abundance yet the lack of people around you makes one feel the depth of relationships one has over the years. Got lots of calls and messages from all across the world today just to wish me, yet there was no one person who could do it in person. Feels strange at times. Are these the times of our future. Is internet everything? Facebook seems to have changed the way we keep in touch. The person next door is far of from a person who is literally 7 seas away.

Reached Warsaw a week back. Last week this time I had just come back from Mt Abu, recharging my batteries which are needed to survive a full year ahead. This time, the urge to go to Mt Abu was not much, but somehow I  end up reaching there every year. Meeting the people out there makes you feel so good and there is so much to do in our lives, especially when it comes to helping others. And one flight away from there, and then you are back into this iron age. Just like the lotus flower, even though being in dirty water, still manages to maintain its sancity is what I learnt in practice. This will help me a lot. I know it for sure. Its so weird that when you have realised that there is not much take away from one thing, and of all the things in the world you get what you want the most.

Reading the book " I am another you", by Priya Kumar, made me think of life in a different manner. The problems faced by everyone are quite similar,its the intensity that differs and the gravity of the impact on a given person. The rest remains the same. I would suggest it to be read by everyone. Especially those who think all the problems in the world are only with them. Priya connects to everyone sharing her problems and how each of them are similar to other's problems and how she came to terms with them , through a spiritual course which she goes through.

Waiting for a new day and looking for new things to learn every day.

Thought for the day: The Final Analysis

People are often unreasonable, self-centred: Forgive them anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you, but be honest anyway. What you spend years to build, someone could destroy overnight. Build anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow. Do good anyway. You see, in the final analysis it is between you and God; it never was between you and them anyway.
Thought for the Day