Blog posts on subjects of interest by S.K
I am writing here on various subjects including philosophy, Hinduism, Hindutva, Carvaka, education, relationships and almost everything under the Sun!
Broken friendship
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I was behaving in a peculiar manner for the last few days. Yes. Odd. I was actually demeaning myself by going after a friend of mine who suddenly said he hates me – quite uncharacteristic of him. His behaviour was bizarre and inscrutable. He started playing coy – why this sudden “kolaveri da”! I was foxed. I tried to unravel the mystery but to no avail. He remained incommunicado for the most part.
It was a veritable agony for me. It was all-consuming. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. The brain rewired all synapses focused on this single nagging riddle. Why this fellow, who was such a cuddly buddy, suddenly walked out on me? Oh God, gimme the answer..!
All reason, Id, self-respect, ego, super-ego (Sigmund Freud turns in his Austrian grave!) – all vanished. Here I am begging him to wise me up as to why this stonewall, with advance apologies galore (just in case).
But on second thoughts, why had I reacted the way I did? Why didn’t I compose myself and just let sleeping dogs lie? Why didn’t I remain stoic and start analyzing things in a sober way which I do normally in all such situations? A chance mention in an article on eavesdropping of cellphone conversations provided the answer to this puzzle. Here it is (Source: Cracked.com):
The human brain likes things to be predictable, and it can’t really relax and “tune out” something that doesn’t make sense. You might notice yourself trying to fill in the other half of the phone conversations you overhear. It’s the same mechanism that makes it so hard to walk away after you’ve seen the first 15 minutes of an episode of CSI or Law & Order: The brain naturally hates leaving questions unanswered. Suddenly, you’re trying to solve a puzzle instead of concentrating on how little you give a shit about the exact drunken position he passed out in last night.
“Since halfalogues really are more distracting, and you can’t tune them out, people become irritated [and], even more importantly, their cognitive performance is impaired”, avers a Cornell University study.
Postscript: Solved the riddle ultimately but still no joy! Normalcy in the relationship is still elusive since the root cause of the friction seems to be a chance remark on my part that has hurt the other party so deeply that the boo-boo couldn’t be soothed even by profuse apologies of gargantuan proportions.
So here I am, terribly bruised 
New Jersey residents pray for snow this season!
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After a premature snowstorm in October, 2011 which caused widespread devastation (Read my post: “Every natural event has a meaning and purpose“) almost of the whole of New Jersey state has been snow-starved till 23rd of December 2011, dashing the hopes of getting a much coveted “White Christmas”. In addition, the skiers are hoping – rather praying for a quick snowfall before X-mas.
At N.J. ski resorts, warm winter threatens snow-centered business. Without cold or snow, not many skiers will be headed to the slopes during the holiday stretch, when resorts usually make 10 percent to 15 percent of their revenue. Hence they are trying to rig up man-made snow to woo skiing customers!
(source: www.nj.com)
Curvaceous Gina Lollobrigida
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The theme music of the romantic comedy of yesteryears, “Come September” has been lingering in my ears bringing forth the reminiscences of the Jukebox prominently placed in the Gupta’s State Hotel on the Luz Corner (in Mylapore, Chennai, India) wherein I used to bung in a 25 paise coin to listen to that evergreen melody composed by Bobby Darin. But what is more remarkable about that movie is the svelte hourglass figure, sultry face with triangular chin, bewitching smile – who can forget the timeless beauty of Gina (Luigina) Lollobrigida!
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Every natural event has a meaning and purpose
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I discussed about the Autumn Leaves and Fall colors in my previous post. I had also mused that there is a specific reason for the leaves leaving the host trees during autumn. One weird happening in October 2011 in north-east parts of US stood testimony to the wisdom of nature in setting out happenings in clockwork precision so that each event has a bearing on the other.
A premature snowfall occurred on 29th October, 2011 in north-east US around the states of New Jersey and New York. Take a glimpse of it as I saw it on that day:
Metamorphosis of colors from bright yellows to vibrant reds during fall
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I have always been fascinated by the magical splendor of colors that the leaves display at the start of the fall in US during September-October. The changing matrix of colors of fall foliage never fails to surprise and delight me. Why does a fall leaf changes color? Where do the yellows, reds, purples and oranges come from? These questions pop up every time I watch this game of chiaroscuro played with clock-work precision year after year by the “Autumn Leaves”!
Curbing the tendency to dwell deep into a long-winded botanical explanation of the phenomenon, let me try to put it in everyman’s language.
Why and how leaves change color during autumn?
Leaves are plants’ food factories endowed by nature. They manufacture most of the foods necessary for the tree’s growth. Plants take water from the ground through their roots and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide into oxygen and glucose.
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Offspring of centuries of superstition and tyranny!
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Here is some candid observation by Swami Vivekananda while on a visit to Japan in 1893. The Swamiji is famous for not mincing words. Read on..
Only I want that numbers of our young men should pay a visit to Japan and China every year. Especially to the Japanese, India is still the dreamland of everything high and good. And you, what are you? … talking twaddle all your lives, vain talkers, what are you? Come, see these people, and then go and hide your faces in shame. A race of dotards, you lose your caste if you come out! Sitting down these hundreds of years with an ever-increasing load of crystallized superstition on your heads, for hundreds of years spending all your energy upon discussing the touchableness or untouchableness of this food or that, with all humanity crushed out of you by the continuous social tyranny of ages – what are you? And what are you doing now? … promenading the sea-shores with books in your hands – repeating undigested stray bits of European brainwork, and the whole soul bent upon getting a thirty rupee clerkship, or at best becoming a lawyer – the height of young India’s ambition – and every student with a whole brood of hungry children cackling at his heels and asking for bread! Is there not water enough in the sea to drown you, books, gowns, university diplomas, and all?
The present situation is not much different, isn’t it!
How a lone nut transforms into a leader or a Guru!
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It is because of a dynamic follower or a disciple. Take the case of Ramakrishna. The world came to know of him only due to Swami Vivekananda. It was Vivekananda who founded the Ramakrishna order comprising of the Math and the Mission. He organized them after the passing away of Ramakrishna in 1886.
But for the joining of the dynamic and influential Vivekananda aka Narendra Dutta as the disciple of Ramakrishna he would have been just another mystic nut!
Derec Sivers has an interesting insight to this tipping point of the first follower who makes the leader what he is.
Listen to Sivers expounding his theory of Leadership:
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About Me
I am S.K!
Yes. The quintessential S.K, the modest narcissist. Please take time to delve deep into this web site. I have been contributing to this site from 2003 onwards. I am sure you may stumble upon a few subjects of interest to you. To know about S.K the person, please visit my Google profile.
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