My Perspective on Happiness

The girl I love had once asked me if I have any posts about happiness. I've been trying to come up with one ever since she made that request, but in vain.

The reason is very simple. You can 'feel' happy to any extent, but you would definitely find it difficult to 'describe' it or 'define' it. But I've just made an attempt to pour out my thoughts about it.

Let me tell you one thing very well in advance. You'd have definitely come across whatever I say here through any media, through anyone. So it might sound redundant. Please bear with it if so.

After some brainstorming and intense introspection, I concluded that happiness is nothing but the state of feeling good. That's it? Is it as simple as that? Well, it may look simple. But in fact, it is highly complex.

Now, let me tell you more about this state of feeling good. This state is absolutely intrinsic and is unfazed due to external circumstances. I'm now reminded of a statement that I used to tell my mother when I was in 7th standard: "I'll surely be the class topper if Jagadish is not my classmate." Here I am making use of the word 'if'. Those with a computer science background would have realized what I'm talking about.

We use 'if' only to introduce conditions. We can use this 'if' in both positive ways as well as negative ways.

For example, you can say, "I'll succeed if I work hard."

or

"I'll be happy if you leave me alone.", "I'll be happy if I have an iPod."

That's the difference. You are concerned with your self in the former and you are concerned with a different person or a thing in the latter.

You will never find happiness if you look for it elsewhere. Happiness is always where it is, within the self. What is this self?

The definition of the self is highly spiritual. If you have an idea about what the soul is you'll have an idea about what the self is. Both are one and the same.

The body has its limits but the self does not. It's an unlimited entity. It's completely capable of achieving anything. That's why it is highly important for one to be sure or confident of one's self.

You probably might have not experienced the power of the self in real life and are hence sceptical about it.

Detach your self from the 'if's. A change of thought can certainly brighten up your mood and help you sustain it.

That doesn't mean that you should renounce all your materialistic pleasures. It only means that you should realize that you are greater than all those things put together. An iPod is just a thing that is there to entertain you; you are its master. Being the master you should be able to live without it. Remember, the master is always powerful than the servant. So the former should definitely be able to do whatever the latter can.

Having confused you a bit, I would like to jump to a different facet or dimension that is concerned with being happy. The first thing one needs to do in order to be happy is to be thankful.

Be thankful for sitting in front of a computer reading this blog post. Because, there are millions of people in the world who don't know to read and an equal number of people who haven't even heard of a computer.

Be thankful for each and every thing you have in life. Don't worry if you don't have something today. You'll get it tomorrow. Now that brings us to another thing.

Hope.

That four letter word which is as indispensable as love. I strongly feel that hope is not a dead thing. It is in fact, a good thing. That's what makes you accomplish things.

I fell in love with this quote the moment I saw it, which is nearly 5 years ago.

"The difference between an optimist and a pessimist is droll;
The former sees the donut, the latter sees the hole."

I'm an optimist. I'm grateful for whatever I have in life.

I'm grateful for the wonderful parents I've got.
I'm grateful for the highly supportive friends I've got.
I'm grateful to the arts which never fail to make me feel good. Perhaps that's the reason I'm good at them.
I'm grateful to my teachers.
I'm grateful...
I'm grateful...

The list goes on and on. I'm grateful for each and every thing that happens in my life. This is what they call looking at things in the right perspective.

I don't feel bad that the girl I love doesn't reciprocate my feelings. I only feel happy that I can love someone so much. Isn't that something one should feel really happy for?

I'm grateful to her for making me realize the magnitude and intensity of love that is present in me.

And I hope that all will be well in the end.

As you sow, so shall you reap.

I've sown something invaluable. So, I'll definitely not fail.
This is a matter of hope. It makes me feel good.

I'm grateful and hopeful. I'm grateful for the past and hopeful for the future.

Hence I'm happy. :)

I don't know if I have confused you or if I have helped you come to a conclusion.

Feel happy if I have confused you, because conclusion follows confusion. Feel happy if I have made my point clear because I have helped you reach a conclusion.

My Perspective on 'The Lost Symbol'

Criticism is something that I haven't ventured into yet. But my mind kept telling me again and again to write my views about 'The Lost Symbol' just after I finished reading it. The reason is still unknown but here is what I truly think about the latest venture of Dan Brown.

The Lost Symbol is a typical Langdon-ish novel. This is how it is: Robert Langdon - Summoned to a famous spot on an unusual hour of the day - Witnesses something highly disturbing - A secret society resurfaces - Head of the society is Langdon's close friend - Startling revelations - A powerful message in the end.

So this is the skeleton of a Dan Brown's novel in which Langdon is the lead character. I was mighty impressed by 'Angels and Demons' that I read it 4 times. And the beauty of the story is that I understood its true meaning only when I read it for the fourth time. Hmmm. My intellect wasn't that matured in the year 2005 I guess.

My personal opinion is that Angels and Demons is far better than the Da Vinci Code in many ways. But it is a pity that the former is highly underrated. What impressed me greatly in Angels and Demons is that its theme and message is universal whereas that of the Da Vinci Code is meant for a particular sect of people. Interestingly, the largest in the world. No wonder it kicked off a great controversy.

The most important message that Angels and Demons conveyed was, 'Spirituality and science are not different from one another and that ancient wisdom was far advanced than modern intellect'. [Or, that's the message that I inferred from the book.]

Excuse me, what do all these have to do with 'the Lost Symbol'. Getting to it.

Dan Brown conveys the same message in 'The Lost Symbol'. But the difference lies in the location and the secret society involved. The location being Washington D.C this time and the society being the Brotherhood of the Freemasons. The author has made a great effort to recreate the magic he weaved in 'A & D' and has also succeeded greatly. This time it is better, grander and bigger. The information he shares about the society and the way he solves the huge jigsaw puzzle is completely mindblowing.

I have always strongly believed that our Indian rishis possessed unsurpassable knowledge. Of course, I later realized that great minds from all ancient civilizations possessed the same intellectual wealth. Dan highly glorifies those thousands of wise sages of olden times, belonging to all cultures and civilizations in 'the Lost Symbol'. Like mentioned earlier, this is the second time he does it. But he does it in a greater manner.

One thing that I found to be a bit poor in 'the Lost Symbol' is the portrayal of the villain. That is unconvincing and Dan's vain efforts to make the villain look terrifying and fearsome is evident.

The plot is for sure redundant, but still it is a fast-paced thriller. Redundancy is something unwelcome in the field of arts and I'm sure that well-learned hardcore fans of Dan Brown would have certainly been disappointed by 'the Lost Symbol'. But, that is not the biggest problem. Mankind still chooses to stay in darkness despite millions of men proclaiming that there is eternal light, since time immemorial. Dan Brown is also one among those millions who wish to make man aware of his true capability.

I'm the kind of person who gives more importance to the message that is conveyed rather than to the way it is conveyed. So it is only obvious that I'd love 'the Lost Symbol' to a great extent because the message it conveys is great, true and eternal.

Some people may not appreciate or accept my views about this book. I don't even care about it.

I'd silently think of the words Dean Galloway utters.

"You do not yet have eyes to see."

About Love

It has been very long since I updated this blog. To tell the truth I didn't find any worthwhile topics to write about. I know there are a lot of things in this world to talk and comment about. I can forever keep complaining. I can forever keep ranting about the atrocities going on in the world. But are my rants going to bring about any change? It is only action that can make it possible.

Well, as the title of this post suggests I'd like to talk 'About Love' in this post.

You might be interested in knowing what prompts me to write about love now. Well, I came across a line in one of my favourite Tamil songs. I've known that song for the past 5 years but only last night did I put my thoughts deep into it. In fact, it is a beautiful movie and the song is equally beautiful.

Okay okay. I can hear you people saying "Enough of your 'mokkai' Vinay. Come to the point." He he. Fine.

'Ulagatthil ulla chithravadhaikkellaam chella peyar vaitthaal kaadhal..'

This is the line that I'm talking about. Well what does it mean?

"Love is the beautiful name given to the collection of all the tortures of the world"
[I'm totally sorry if the translation sucks buddies]

It is a well known fact that 'A rose is a rose no matter what name you give it." Similarly 'love' is certainly a collection of tortures no matter how you call it or what name you give it.

I'm a person who tells everyone to share love. So isn't it ironical to say that love is a collection of tortures? Yes, it is. That's how love is and that's how lovers consider it today, right? The original definition of love has been lost long ago. Today's people have redefined the term completely.

Friends, there are two kinds of people: those who think with their heart and those who think with their mind. The former are always concerned with human emotions and many other stuff that are considered to be 'unnecessary and waste' by the latter. Loving comes as naturally as breathing for those who think with their mind. Their love is unconditional and they demand nothing from others.

Unfortunately, we live in an age when a person loves another just for his/her money or just to pass time and to forget boredom. It has become very difficult to find love in almost all walks of our lives. People send their parents to old age homes; neighbours are alien to them. And the worst treatment of love is faced by Mother Nature herself. In the name of technological advancement we have only polluted water bodies and the atmosphere making life difficult for all.

Well, I hope my dear friend would not mind using him as an example here. I don't want to disclose his name too.

My friend rides his bike with me being the pillion rider and thousand other morons as 'roadmates'. It's not needed to say how horrible the traffic in Mount Road would be at 8PM during weekdays. Chennai-ites! Need I say about it? Everyone finds it difficult to move forward in that traffic and my friend is not an exception. Is a text message so important at this kind of a situation? My friend isn't so insane to be texting while riding a bike in such a road. But it is his lover who expects a prompt reply from him!! Come on people! It does not mean that a person loves you truly only if he/she sends quick replies to your messages. You never know what kind of a situation he/she is in. This only shows a lack of understanding.

This is certainly not how I envision love. So it means that either others are unaware of true love or that my perspective about love is incorrect. What do you say?