Religion. Faith.
Does one feed the other or is one the foundation for the other?
What comes first, faith or religion? Can there be a seperation of one from the other - mutually exclusive concepts or are they always going to be intertwined?
There are multiple theories (religious as well as scientific) that extrapolate on these questions, but those are relatively detached and clinical since they are mostly scholastic nature. But what about the answers to these questions on a personal individual basis...
We each have "unique" experiences that help create individualistic filters and skew our view on life/situations; help us create our values, principles and beliefs.
How much of our faith/religion is affected by these filters?
How much of our filters are created by our faith/religion?
I have never adhered to A religion... I can't. I've been brought up in a home that follows two religions - catholic and jain. I was never asked to chose one over the other, instead I took part in all ceremonies/rites/rituals of both religions equally. I was allowed to choose which I wanted to understand and follow further. I chose neither, instead tried understanding the main ideas and beliefs nearly all the religions that there are today and deceided I didn't want to have one religion.
Faith was my answer. I chose to believe (and still do) that there is a higher power. Higher power that created us, the universe and everything we know today. Maybe there is purpose for our creation, maybe there is just no reason for our existence but there definitely is more than just us. No, even though the matrix is an interesting concept, that is something I really don't think is possible....
These are ideas and thoughts on an extremely personal subject (even if one has no inclination or stand on the matter). No offence intended. Just curiosity.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Monsoon Wedding
This weekend my most dearest friend got married. Vikram Chanda is finally married. The guy who was sure to be the last man standing, finally bit the dust. (Well Nik is still sorta holding up that fort, but he too will soon yield and succumb...)
I never thought it would be possible to see the ever-grinning Chanda smile that much. Shaleila and Chanda look so adorable together and they truely have found their better halves. (I don't know Shaleila that well, actually not at all, but she gives of such a fun & honest vibe it is hard to not like her and hopefully I will get to know her better)
The wedding was in Goa - beautiful rain drenched Goa... Lush, green and vibrant. Perfect.
It was a four day long affair attended by about a 100 odd freinds' of Chanda, from all over the country and the world. The wedding itself was on Saturday but it was planned such that the pre-wedding party was thursday, friday was R&R from the drinking (which didn't happen!) Saturday - wedding, Sunday back home... I'm pretty sure alot of people stayed till Monday... (btw Shaleila also had a whole bunch of people there.. please don't think only the "Chanda" people attended.)
It was a beautiful Church wedding at the Saligaon Church - for those of you who know their way around Goa, the Church is about half between Betim and Calangute on the Panjim - Baga road. I think. Well it is defintely half way between Panjim and Baga, it is a gorgerous Church and all lit up at night - hard to miss if you are on the right road.
The wedding had all the trappings of a catholic wedding from the bride in a beautiful white gown, the "i do's", tears, speeches, bouquet throwing to the sugared almonds as giveaways to the guests.
The ceremnoy itself was a little long - longer than in Europe - but lots of times funny since all the non catholics were sort of (very!) confused as to when to sit and when to stand... so if one person from the grooms' side sat at the wrong time they all sat.. just to realise that they had to stand, so everybody would stand up again.... and this happened even though everybody was, very thoughtfully, given a specially-put-together booklet in which every aspect of the ceremony was explained with pretty precise instructions with what had to be done when by the guests....
So basically I was in Goa for my friends' wedding... drank lots, met a tonne great new people (some of them were even from Delhi!! Can you believe it !!!!) ate some killer sea food, spent some time with my sister (just to find out that even though I like her, I'd kill her if she actually lived in my house all the time), chilled with my brother(realised I'll actually really miss him once he's gone to Germany), poured a glass of whiskey coke over groom right after he was drenched by a bucket of ice... can't remember why that happened, sat under the stars in Baga and was reminded about a certain somebody and a conversation we had about infinity on that exact same beach last December. Sitting on Baga beach, also made me think about my birthday weekend in May that was(also) spent in Goa. And the call I got from Chanda on my birthday morning, telling me he had proposed to Shaleila and that they were to be married.
I am happy for them. Actually I'm overjoyed. It kind of restores my faith in the concept that there is somebody out there for everybody and at the right time you'll find what you are looking for. Just need to be patient.
---------------------------------------------------------------
PS: for all those of you who are going to attend a catholic wedding and are single, a word of advice - beware of the love songs... they WILL make you feel very single & you WILL cry (not neccesarily due to being/feeling single). So make sure you find someone to distract yourself with. Sadly enough I didn't take my own advice!! :)
All in all, I had a great time and a bunch of realisations. Some good, some not so nice, but most importantly I'm grateful for all the great things in my life, especially my brother and the wonderful people I call my friends.
I never thought it would be possible to see the ever-grinning Chanda smile that much. Shaleila and Chanda look so adorable together and they truely have found their better halves. (I don't know Shaleila that well, actually not at all, but she gives of such a fun & honest vibe it is hard to not like her and hopefully I will get to know her better)
The wedding was in Goa - beautiful rain drenched Goa... Lush, green and vibrant. Perfect.
It was a four day long affair attended by about a 100 odd freinds' of Chanda, from all over the country and the world. The wedding itself was on Saturday but it was planned such that the pre-wedding party was thursday, friday was R&R from the drinking (which didn't happen!) Saturday - wedding, Sunday back home... I'm pretty sure alot of people stayed till Monday... (btw Shaleila also had a whole bunch of people there.. please don't think only the "Chanda" people attended.)
It was a beautiful Church wedding at the Saligaon Church - for those of you who know their way around Goa, the Church is about half between Betim and Calangute on the Panjim - Baga road. I think. Well it is defintely half way between Panjim and Baga, it is a gorgerous Church and all lit up at night - hard to miss if you are on the right road.
The wedding had all the trappings of a catholic wedding from the bride in a beautiful white gown, the "i do's", tears, speeches, bouquet throwing to the sugared almonds as giveaways to the guests.
The ceremnoy itself was a little long - longer than in Europe - but lots of times funny since all the non catholics were sort of (very!) confused as to when to sit and when to stand... so if one person from the grooms' side sat at the wrong time they all sat.. just to realise that they had to stand, so everybody would stand up again.... and this happened even though everybody was, very thoughtfully, given a specially-put-together booklet in which every aspect of the ceremony was explained with pretty precise instructions with what had to be done when by the guests....
So basically I was in Goa for my friends' wedding... drank lots, met a tonne great new people (some of them were even from Delhi!! Can you believe it !!!!) ate some killer sea food, spent some time with my sister (just to find out that even though I like her, I'd kill her if she actually lived in my house all the time), chilled with my brother(realised I'll actually really miss him once he's gone to Germany), poured a glass of whiskey coke over groom right after he was drenched by a bucket of ice... can't remember why that happened, sat under the stars in Baga and was reminded about a certain somebody and a conversation we had about infinity on that exact same beach last December. Sitting on Baga beach, also made me think about my birthday weekend in May that was(also) spent in Goa. And the call I got from Chanda on my birthday morning, telling me he had proposed to Shaleila and that they were to be married.
I am happy for them. Actually I'm overjoyed. It kind of restores my faith in the concept that there is somebody out there for everybody and at the right time you'll find what you are looking for. Just need to be patient.
---------------------------------------------------------------
PS: for all those of you who are going to attend a catholic wedding and are single, a word of advice - beware of the love songs... they WILL make you feel very single & you WILL cry (not neccesarily due to being/feeling single). So make sure you find someone to distract yourself with. Sadly enough I didn't take my own advice!! :)
All in all, I had a great time and a bunch of realisations. Some good, some not so nice, but most importantly I'm grateful for all the great things in my life, especially my brother and the wonderful people I call my friends.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
All things come in threes....
I think the proverb is " all good things come in threes.." but it seems to me that "all things come in threes" is truer and more realistic, specially for not-so-good things. Or maybe I notice the "not-so-good" threes more than the "good" threes because - touch wood - I have more good things in my life than bad things.
And the "threes" happen in the same category of life. By categories I mean love, luck, money, friends, enemies, accidents... Generalised categories into which we file everyday incidents.
2 not so good things happened in the same category in the last 3 days... the second incident being slightly worse than the first.. I just hope the 3rd isn't fatal.
And the "threes" happen in the same category of life. By categories I mean love, luck, money, friends, enemies, accidents... Generalised categories into which we file everyday incidents.
2 not so good things happened in the same category in the last 3 days... the second incident being slightly worse than the first.. I just hope the 3rd isn't fatal.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Smallville.
Life has been hectic for most part of last month and defintely will continue to be so till the end of the year.....
There was India's "first ever" Spring Summer Fashion Week... courtesy Wills Lifestyle and Nokia... so lots of shows and parties... (seperate post...hopefully!)
Delhi's excuse to be pretentious and over the top has become bi-annual.
Next week I'm going to Goa for a friend's wedding... high time he got married! :)
After that ofcourse starts "festive season" madness which will run through Dusehra, Diwali, hopefully the Bombay fashion, the wedding season and ofcourse Christmas and New Year (hopefully in New York)....
...... from now till the end of the year there are multiple excuses to party....
But coming back to my original thought for this post... other than partying I have also been working very hard and travelling .. specifically to mini-metro/small town India. I've noticed these places are more open to ideas than "modern india", which the metros are a part of. Specifically, basic courtesy towards and treatment of women.
If you have lived in Delhi long enough you'll have become immune to lecherous looks, comments and general lascivious behaviour. Men treat women like objects...
In the smaller towns, people (men) look at you, like they'd look at anything else new to their environment... purely out of curiosity.
Metros (specfically Delhi) people (men) look AT you.. simultaneously objectifying & working out an exceptionally lewd disrespectful comment.
It is annoying at best.... at worst.....well.....
And I'm not commenting on all men... I'm commenting on a cross section of men from the same socio economic lower middle/lower class background, that do not differ in Metro India or small town India.
They have the same social, economic, educational and family structural backgrounds, they just moved from small town to big town. Yet they have such different attitudes when it comes to women.
Does moving to a bigger city make it ok to lose all basic respect for another person.?
Maybe it happens everywhere, just not at the same level so small town seems to be "better" than big town India.... but from personal experience/observation, Delhi (which I love and call home despite everything) highlights a lack of basic sense when it comes to these things compared to other cities and specially the smaller ones....
Disconnected post at best... :)
There was India's "first ever" Spring Summer Fashion Week... courtesy Wills Lifestyle and Nokia... so lots of shows and parties... (seperate post...hopefully!)
Delhi's excuse to be pretentious and over the top has become bi-annual.
Next week I'm going to Goa for a friend's wedding... high time he got married! :)
After that ofcourse starts "festive season" madness which will run through Dusehra, Diwali, hopefully the Bombay fashion, the wedding season and ofcourse Christmas and New Year (hopefully in New York)....
...... from now till the end of the year there are multiple excuses to party....
But coming back to my original thought for this post... other than partying I have also been working very hard and travelling .. specifically to mini-metro/small town India. I've noticed these places are more open to ideas than "modern india", which the metros are a part of. Specifically, basic courtesy towards and treatment of women.
If you have lived in Delhi long enough you'll have become immune to lecherous looks, comments and general lascivious behaviour. Men treat women like objects...
In the smaller towns, people (men) look at you, like they'd look at anything else new to their environment... purely out of curiosity.
Metros (specfically Delhi) people (men) look AT you.. simultaneously objectifying & working out an exceptionally lewd disrespectful comment.
It is annoying at best.... at worst.....well.....
And I'm not commenting on all men... I'm commenting on a cross section of men from the same socio economic lower middle/lower class background, that do not differ in Metro India or small town India.
They have the same social, economic, educational and family structural backgrounds, they just moved from small town to big town. Yet they have such different attitudes when it comes to women.
Does moving to a bigger city make it ok to lose all basic respect for another person.?
Maybe it happens everywhere, just not at the same level so small town seems to be "better" than big town India.... but from personal experience/observation, Delhi (which I love and call home despite everything) highlights a lack of basic sense when it comes to these things compared to other cities and specially the smaller ones....
Disconnected post at best... :)
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