Pursuit of Happiness

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS-HEDONIST OPINES

Its 1030 pm. I just returned from jog. Sweating profusely definitely kicks in dopamine high. Certainly some people looked at me weirdly as I was jogging in night time. But who cares! I just live for myself. As I was jogging , this blogpost got created in my mind hence I wrote it down before I forget.

Make yourself happy. What makes you happy? Not the world definition (Cash,Car&Castle!). Surrendering to world definition is worst form of slavery I believe. Trying to go by world standards of happiness would eventually make one slave and dissatisfied, disgruntled at death bed for not living life on his terms. 

I asked myself million times why I do something I do. Be it my job, hobbies I pursue, food I eat, games I play, people I spend with, things I do. Again and again! Just to get clarity. Just to see if I am doing to impress someone, prove a point to someone, to be part of society niche or for the world. Being brutal with self cuts down many layers of confusion, deception of mind, illusion of society programming.

Society programs human to do its bidding. Society hypnotizes us driving in the fear of missing the bus of life or missing the life itself.   I believe none of your thoughts which propel to some action are yours. But, they are borrowed from mass media, gossip or society.  “Date someone (Peer pressure), Get married  (even if u don’t like), buy a good car (more to impress and don’t forget those EMI’s), high paying job (Even if  its not of your inclination), Grow 6-pack abs (though I love yoga or sports), Travel world (Its new In-thing), Smoke-drink-eat like king (even when stomach groans under overload)” etc etc…I can continue forever. Society does tinker with our beliefs endlessly.

photo courtesy@ Mallik

The last thing I want on my death bed is “Regret”. I want to be brutally honest with myself. I quit 3 jobs to get job I truly enjoy. (You spend most part of life working in office , so better chose  job that gives you happiness than stress). I pursued many things before I realized simple book gives me more happiness than seeing the world or going to malls or movies. I realized jogging or yoga or simple veg meals give me satisfied guilt free sleep than gobbling heavy junk and not exercising . Having less possessions, manageable things and clutter free house for me brings more positivity , light than too many riches.

I realized less you live your life of your dreams, more you start to live in dreams than reality. To compensate the incompletion, You would end up creating multiple personalities within yourself. Always trying to prove yourself to the world. (Trust me, World is least interested in you. It has 7 billion like you).  Slowly if you love yourself and pursue your calling/happiness, less those personalities within each. Finally there would be only one. Inside and Outside! Life is complete. Comfortable in your skin.  No regrets whatsoever!

Once you are fulfilled, then world around you becomes joyful. Your work or relationship is more out of your joy than you trying to suck joy from others.  Your relationship with world is expression of your joy than cunning transaction.

Saying that, I rest my case. Iam no fanatic nor prisoner of my opinion. If iam wrong, iam open to correction. I am waiting. Adios Amigos.

Mesmerized Bibliophile

" When you read a great book, you dont escape from life, you plunge deeper into it"       -Julian Barne

 I just finished reading "The Calcutta Chromosome" by Amitav Ghosh. By time I completed the book, I was totally in daze. What a book! The way author spun the story, across the different time zones, myriad characters, -real& fictitious, myth & modern, Science & Superstitions, all disparate yet forming beautiful mosaic in the end. All different threads of narration coalescing to form beautiful story in the end. Its sheer genius of Ghosh to write such a wonderful futuristic medical thriller blending beautifully with ancient myth. It’s so intimidating and intelligent that I dared not to pick another book of his.

Ever since I was a kid I am quite obsessed with stories. Be it mythological or comics or non fiction or urban legends as long as it is well written to catch my attention. But for last five years or so I hardly read any fiction as my life itself became more exciting that tales of fiction pales to  contented life I lead. So all these 5 years its always non-fiction with exception of “Keepers of Kalachakra by Ashwin Sanghi” (iam kinda loyalist of Ashwin works).

I really wonder, how an author can write a story. Weave words out of nothing to form brilliant narrative? Especially fiction, where no precedence exists. In Calcutta chromosome , Amitav Ghosh writes on internet, Alexia, Artificial intelligence, holographic communication when no such science even existed when book was written in early nineties. This takes me to another brilliant futuristic author, Jules Verne. In my teens i read his book “20,000 leagues under the sea” where he describes Submarine named Nautilus, scuba gear, electric stun guns all while not even steam engine was invented at that time. How could these authors sneak into future or did today inventors based their inventions on past authors imagination? Honoring Verne-the man who invented future , US Navy christened its first nuclear submarine as USS Nautilus.

What is heartwarming is that both books have Indian connection. Amitav Ghosh is Indian who with sheer brilliance sits on par with western authors and hero (or anti hero) of 20,000 leagues “Captain Neo” was described later as Indian Maharaja.

"Books are had bound drug with no danger of an over dose. i am happy victim of books"

The amazement to these futuristic authors doesn’t restrict to novels. Comics like Flash Gordon the space hero evokes similar wonder. When proper phone is not in vogue, there is space travel, teleportation, laser beams, time travel, inter dimensional travel (long before Christopher Nolan came ith Intestellar film) etc. To this day comics like Flash Gordon, Mandrake, Phantom occupy golden part of my book collection.There might be many other authors like Asimov, Clarke or others but I haven’t read any of their work nor has capacity or class to touch them.

Now comes once again how could they spin tales on topics that doesn’t exist in that time period? How can you think unthinkable? Ever observed we seldom can claim any thought as 100% original. All our thoughts are just rehash or remix of existing/past thoughts. Nothing new or novel! I remember , as Advertising copy writer, I had only 2-3 original thoughts in 6 months and rest were just modification and additions to existing work. Buddhist or ancient Hindu texts speak of existence of plane where everything that has been and would be is stored. Like universal memory or Akashic records they say. 

"Thats the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet"  - Jhumpa Lahiri

Would writers’ (or inventors or film makers) imagination stretch beyond limits to new frontiers in space to access those records? Its like normal human beings minds are programmed to be in box and few (or chosen few? Now that’s something!) were able to break those boxes to soar higher or reach farthest ends of their mind that general humanity lost habit of or forgotten. Or some intelligent race (Aliens or Gods) insert ideas into human consciousness of chosen few for advancement of humanity? (In one comic Mandrake there is a story where aliens keep introducing diseases from space to keep humans busy or restrict them to earth than exploring galaxy). The chosen one like Neo in film Matrix?

Well, I have no clue. I am always curious to know and every work, when I come cross leaves me more amazed and more humble. But experiencing these things make my life more fulfilled and enriched. Poor aren’t those souls with less bank balance but those souls who don’t experience the wonders Universe presents. What a boorish snob he/she whose jaw doesn’t drop and daze at brilliance of   Creator Creativity and its/his/her Creation.