More randomness from me..

Feeling like I have turned a corner...Everything in life makes you grow and see things in a light you never knew you could...It's amazing how you think that something is too hard to do, but when you want it so much, you can reconstruct your original modes of function....

Just thinking about moles and chemistry and..

What I wasn't-has made me what I am today.

Child Time Life

This time last year uni had just finished, the last exam was May 29th, the Ball was June 4th and we all made our way back home. Can you believe it? 4 years just like that!! And 5 since school-when we used to wear uniforms and suits.

Sumeet is coming here exactly a month today!! I can still remember when he was just a baby! Now he's winding up Mum and Dad with 'having a designer suit collection' for 6th Form! Goodness! Does he know how you even earn enough money for a suit!! Oops, I'm sounding like a grownup!!

Still a little monkey though! Like all of us! Keep the kid alive I say!!

I still remember my Blubird A La Carte Kitchen! Red and Yellow. When Ajay used to come, our mums would talk and Ajay and I used to spend hours setting up our 'restaurant' and then it would be time to go!!

And, oh yeh! The cars!! Rajesh [my cousin in Kent] and I used to play with our Matchbox cars and had one of those garages!! Do you remember, some had windy lifts to get the car up to the top level!

One of my favourites was the Sweet Shop! It came with real jars [tiny] filled with Hundreds & Thousands!

I always wanted toys that I didn't have of course like any forever dissatisfied child! Like Roller Skates [when they first were out], and a Skate Board. But Mum always said 'you're too young, let's wait until your next birthday..' and now I'm going to be twenty-four-I'm not so bothered!

I have always wanted to play the piano..I would defo like one for my dream house when I'm 'older'. Do you remember what we used to say: 'bla bla bla when I grow up I bla bla bla'. When do we 'grow up'? And when are we 'older'?

I still feel young, but old and a little more focused than before. I think it is partly due to removing myself from everyday lifecycles that I was a part of in UK, and looking at life and people as an observer. Living alone, and the adventures and challenges that we embrace here in Japan, also make us a little stronger, wiser and at the same time impulsive. If I was the way I am here, I think I would have seen and done a huge amount of crazy travelling or just pushed myself beyond my 'old' boundaries, in the UK. I don't mean boundaries such as bad things or such. Boundaries that hold us back or rather keep us glued to our comfy spots. I mean, how often do we say, 'okay this weekend, I'm going to bla bla bla' without letting time & distance be the main priority and constraint? And money actually.

Looking at it all from afar makes you see who you are and what you want in life and how you want it to be. Not in terms of jobs though! Like that's a whole big bridge to cross next year! AAAAAAh!

Time really does fly. The only 2 facts we know are birth and death. When you're born, you're definitely going to die. It's nothing to be scared of, because life is eternal. Just the physical and materials, are of temporary states.

So what you do in between these 2 sides of taking your first breath and your last, is totally up to you. We as individuals are responsible for only our own karmas. Time is unknown and so is destiny. So it's up to you to go, live, enjoy and love. With that come all that I have spoken about before: the laws of truth, balance and your relationship with yourself. Who are you?

That is what you find out in life.

Baby Monkeys!

Yesterday I had one of the best days here in Japan and probably the most enjoyable in my whole life even. I think it was the most 'in touch with nature' experiences ever.
I spent the day amongst the company of monkeys living in the mountains of Nagano.

It is one of the most natural habitats I have had the freedom to be at one with the animals...no bars, cages, feeding or glass boxes and zoo keepers interefering with the monkeys daily life.

It was a long drive-and the first for me here in Japan. Uni mate Sal and I left from　Kanazawa　around 8am and we arrived in the tiny village-hidden in the tall trees at about 12pm. The driving was fun-listening to lots of music and singing along the way. The car was automatic [again, my first tiime with one of them] - Toyota Vitz, and had a Navigator-so directions were easy.

The actual monkey residence was up a wind cliff camouflaged in a forest in a place called Jigokudani in Shiga Heights. We had a good 20 minutes of wild woods to get through before we saw the cutest species on this planet.

It was so hard not to scream 'oh my gosh look at them' out loud. Instead we had to contain the excitement in honour of the residents of the natural habitat. The were hardly any people and hundreds of monkeys just chilling, having an onsen and relaxing in the 40 degree celcius water. There were babies too...like little new born cheeky monkeys being carried around by their mummy and daddys, there were some little brother and sister types chasing and fighting, there were some baby monkeys swimming under the water!

Sal and I were in our element, as monkeys are our favourite animals. We both agreed that really, there are no words to describe what we felt to sit and stroll amongst them. They didn't even act as if we were there.

Well, only pictures can do their cuteness justice.....

My Theory Of God..We are all students and teachers of wisdom..

My personal beliefs backed by theories of Sanatam Dharma [also known as Hinduism]and various other teachings from many 'faiths'

I like to see God as a strong beautiful flame burning blissfully in a coloured glass lantern. God is the flame of consciousness and the one who lights the flame. God is complete. All.

Whichever piece of coloured glass you look through, depends on what you see, because it is God that is already full of different personalities and able to show perfect messages, fit for those who receive them.

May be you see God as Jesus, or Allah or Krsna. However, it is not that you see it like that, because God actually is Jesus, Allah, and Krsna.

But we are all moulded with the same clay by the same hand

The teachings of the Vedas are not something to convert to...anyone can follow these philosophies..and most probably do whatever faith they 'belong' to or follow.

........I believe we are taught to see the light in all souls. As opposed to discriminating against them using material branding, religions and class.

.....to be compassionate and non-ignorant - not narrow minded to let labels dictate life [teachings of Krishna/Hinduism/vedas etc guide me to be like this]
Krsna taught Arjun that a good person has these virtues [from the Rig Vedas]: and again many of these overlap with scriptures of many faiths
Fearlessness, purity of heart, perseverance in the yoga of knowledge, charity, sense restraint, sacrifice, study of the scriptures, austerity, honesty; (16.01)

Non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, equanimity, abstaining from malicious talk, compassion for all creatures, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness; (16.02)

Splendour, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, absence of malice, and absence of pride; these are the qualities of those endowed with divine virtues, O Arjun. (16.03)

It is these virtues by which we balance our karma. And God is Truth.

...also, to not discriminate against others using their beliefs as a benchmark to measure them by. But to see God - Not as a power that exists ONLY in one name, because otherwise this will lead you to think that others who believe in God of a different form are wrong.

Sanatam Dharam is a philosophy of life, not meant to bind, oppress or restrict, but guide. It is important to not go to the excess that doing everything we want and thinking everything we want is still sanatana dharma

One builds their karma through ones actions. And most importantly God is loving and compassionate. He doesn't see good in killing. Ahimsa is one of the highest virtues God has told us to live by.

The Dharma sastras and related texts support my thinking and theory:
1-The Law of Divine Unity
The whole universe is permeated with divine presence. Therefore one should deal with every object in it as if one is dealing with oneself or with God.

God is omnipresent and omniscient. Everything in this universe is thus very sacred and very divine. Because it is filled with the presence of God, every thing here deserves respect and consideration.

Those who seek harmony and peace in life understand this principle very well and treat every thing in the world with due respect and a sense of sacredness.


The Law of Inherent Balance

There is an inherent balance in all created things. If you want peace and happiness all around you and within you, you have to respect this law and keep this balance in your life as well as your environment.

Everything in this world is balanced. For every force here there is an opposite and balancing force. Pairs of opposites hold the world. You destroy one and you will destroy the other soon.
According to this law, happiness and peace are possible only when you do not disturb the harmony and the order that exists in yourself and in the whole creation around you.

This law demands that you have to treat every one as how you want to be treated by others.

He, who is aware of this truth, treats every object in the universe with unconditional respect, love and consideration.
He treats everything and everyone here the way he treats himself or the way he expects others to treat him.
He treats everyone and every thing as if it is a part of him or an aspect of God.


The Law of Individual Reality

You are the creator of your life and your reality. Your thoughts become your actions and your actions create the circumstances in your life. You are responsible for everything that happens to you in your life.

This is the simple law of as you sow so you reap.
It can also be called the law of motion and emotion.
Every thought that we send out into the universe comes back to us with accumulated energy of its own kind.
When negative thoughts go out of our minds, they will come back to us with redoubled negative energy and give us lot of pain and unhappiness.

Positive thoughts on the other hand bring in positive energy and energize us, establishing in the process peace and harmony in our consciousness.

Our actions too yield the same results. Our positive actions bring in positive rewards and our negative actions bring negative rewards.

The energy that we unleash, either in the form of a thought or action always comes back to us with increased force.
Thus through our actions and thoughts we are constantly creating our own realities.
Whatever we give comes back to us.


The Fifth Law: The Law of Harmony

Truth is Harmony; Truth is 'Rta', order.
The ancient believed in 'rta' (pronounced ritha) meaning the universal order or harmony. 'Rta' is an ancient word to which we can trace at least few important words that are known to us today. One is the Sanskrit world 'ritu', which means season. The others are the Latin word 'rhythmus', the French word 'rhythme', the Greek word 'rhuthmos' and the English word 'rhythm', all meaning, beat, pulse, metre, pattern, order, flowing, and harmony.
Let us understand why the concept of harmony and rhythm was considered so important by our ancient generations and why they elevated it to the level of highest divinity.

They did so because they considered Truth, harmony and order to be the Ultimate Reality lying beyond all realities, the hidden secret behind all manifest creation, or the Absolute Truth above all relative truths.

What is truth?

Truth does not necessarily mean only verbal truths.
Truth is the fundamental reality where there are no conflicts and confusion, no divisions and separation, but only unity and harmony. Truth is where there is movement without obstruction and where there is order without confusion.
Where there is conflict, separation and feeling of alienation, there is no truth.Where there is division and alignment of divisions into opposing parts there is no truth.

There is no truth in ones life and ones being unless there is total harmony in ones whole being, which include ones activities, thoughts and environment.

Truth resolves all conflicts, divisions and differences and establishes permanent peace, order and harmony in ones life.
There is conflict when you consider the world outside is different and separate from you.
There is conflict when you consider others are different and separate from you.

There is conflict when you consider that some one is good, or some one is bad; that some thing is this or some thing is that. There is conflict as long as you pass petty judgements about yourself or about the world around you.

Unless you learn to resolve these differences, by expanding your consciousness, and learn to appreciate them in their own light, you cannot have real harmony and peace in your life.
The ordinary mind cannot understand this truth because it is still steeped in ignorance.

But at the highest level of consciousness, all conflicts and confusion resolve themselves into one beautiful, harmonious whole. You may call it divine. You may call it God, This or That. The fact is, it is one, it is whole, it is harmony and order, without any divisions and without any conflicts.

At that level even in the seemingly chaotic conditions of life one can perceive harmony and certain order. That which we understand as good or that we understand as bad, become but the facets of the same Truth.

He lives in harmony with himself and with others, with the world within himself and with the world external to him. He suffers not from fear or insecurity, or from worries and anxieties about himself or his life.

This is the truth.

If you want to live in peace, stop categorizing and grouping things and people, and it includes you also.

Stop judging things from the relative state of your mind, against the partial truths you know and believe in.

Understand that harmony comes when you live in peace with the world around you, and when you accept it whole heatedly and unconditionally without measuring it against your limited knowledge.

It happens when you become an embodiment of 'Rta', the rhythm of life and creation, in which the ancients believed so much.