There is a story in Panchatantra of how a mouse became mouse again. For the sake of completeness and for the benefit of those who haven’t heard it, let me briefly recount it here. A little mouse once fell from a falcon’s beak into a sage’s hand. Considering the life of a mouse to be […]
Fallacy of Helping Others
People want to make themselves “useful”, and some are even addicted to finding purpose in helping others (as we have seen in an earlier post). The question that is generally overlooked, however, is to what extent it is possible for anyone to help another! I believe that there is little one can do, and here we […]
The Answer that Buddha did not give Amrapali
I recently came across a post in my facebook feed, which narrated the story of Amrapali – a beautiful woman who was forced into prostitution. As per the account, when she wanted to join Buddha’s monastic order, Buddha first refused, because he was worried that her presence may distract adversely affect the monks of the order. […]
Why Some Masters of Martial Arts Claim Mystical Powers
Had an interesting discussion today with Pradeep, my friend and training partner, on mysticism in martial arts. It started with him telling me that he read my earlier post on the subject. After expressing a broad agreement with my views, he continued to share his thoughts on why many masters of martial arts claim to […]
Yearning for Choice – the Desire to be Free!
Along with the need to be needed, a major force that influences the decisions and actions of most humans seems to be the desire to be free. We often gravitate towards decisions and courses of action that appear to be chosen freely than through compulsion. Ironically, the predisposition for choices that reinforce our faith in […]
Addicted to Purpose – the Need to be Needed
If I don’t play Clash of Clans for some time, the game pops up notifications that say, “Chief, your village needs you”. Needless to say, this is a tool that game makers use to bind you to the game. What is more interesting is that this very chord, called purpose, is also the one by which […]
Exclusive Lanes at Toll Plaza and the Bane of VIP Culture
In April 2017, the Government of India decided to amend Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, that allowed State and Central Governments to decide who can use red beacons on their vehicles. Further, the use of beacons was banned for all VIPs, including vehicles of the Prime Minister and President of India. Over 70 years after independence, […]
More Food for thought from Fullmetal Alchemist
In the previous post, we considered an interesting philosophical idea presented in the Fullmetal Alchemist – Brotherhood anime series. While we are at it, let us look at a few other deep questions on life and ethics raised in this series, some of which particularly struck me as profound food for thought. If you are planning […]
The Truth of Despair
In the anime/manga series Fullmetal Alchemist, alchemists who perform the forbidden human transformation pass through a gate of truth. Here they come face to face with the God of their universe (also referred to as Truth) and are made to part with something extremely valuable to them. For example, a woman who tries to bring […]
The Greatest of Henpecked Husbands
Stories of pativratas – women devoted to their husbands – are generally celebrated in history, folklore, and classic literature. Henpecked husbands, on the other hand, are mostly not considered worthy of mention. So when I came across the tale of such a person in our scriptures found it very interesting. More so because, instead of looking […]