The Deeper Truth

We are living in the middle of a revolution in path breaking research in human consciousness. Over past few years, geneticists, neuroscientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists, anthropologists, and others have made great strides in understanding the building blocks of human flourishing. And a core finding of their work is that we are not primarily the products of our conscious thinking. We are primarily the products of thinking that happens below the level of awareness.
The unconscious parts of the mind are NOT primitive vestiges that need to be conquered in order to make wise decisions. They are NOT dark caverns of repressed sexual urges. Instead, the unconscious parts of the mind are most of the mind - where most of the decisions and many of the most imperssive acts of thinking take place. These submerged processes are the seedbeds of accomplishments.
If the study of the conscious mind highlights the importance of reason and analysis, study of the unconscious mind highlights the importance of passions and perception. If the outer mind highlights the power of the individual, the inner mind highlights the power of relationships and the invisible bonds between people. If the outer mind hungers for status, money and applause, the inner mind hungers for harmony and connection  - those moments of self consciousness fades away and a person is lost in a challenge, a cause, the ove of another or the love of God! Mihaly calls this state of awareness as being in FLOW.
The unconscious is impulsive, emotional, sensitive, and unpredictable. It has its shortcomings. It needs supervision. But it can be brilliant too! It is capable of processing blizzards of data and making daring creative leaps. Most of all, it is also wonderfully gregarious. Your unconscious, that inner extrovert, wants you to reach outward and connect. It wants you to achieve communion with work, friend, family, nation and cause. Your unconscious wants to entangle you in the think web of relations that are essense of human flourishing. It longs and pushes for love.
Of all the blessings that come with being alive, it is the most awesome gift!
There are various sources of this unconscious dimension of the mind. Some are genetic. Some are memetic.
The source and inspiration of such a dimension is another topic of discussion, which I will save for another article.
But the point here is being aware of that deeper truth - that hidden aspect of being human! It is about being present to the fact that when someone loves or hates the other - the motivation of doing so - might be totally beyond the conscious self of that person! Whatever the person reasons out explaining his/her reaction or action, is just cooking up a story to fit to a conceived form of artificial reality!

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The Sun’s Redemption

Thousands of Billions of light years ago,
The world was dark and dull.
Only were the stars in the far away land,
Safe and hidden in their homes,
Among their near and dear ones –
Twinkling each in their small worlds.

One among the stars,
Broke out from his kin –
Went away to further land,
The new world – world of glitter and radiance
Of the golden and lovely Moon!

The start struck by the cupid’s arrow,
Spellbound by the beauty of the Moon,
Was head over heels for her!


The star went to the kingdom of the Moon,
Held out his throbbing heart!
For he wanted to give it to the Moon!

His heart was shiny, full of love and passion,
Bright and young, brimming with life!
The Moon glanced at it,
But then turned away – For it was too ordinary and naïve.

With a polite smile,
Did the Moon turned and said –
“Go back to your smaller world, you lowly star!
You don’t have light – just a fading twinkle!”
The Moon left the star lonely with indifferent gaze.

Star’s heart bled, wept and cried!
The Moon never turned back,
Disappeared she, in the lifeless cold mist.

The star knew now, the Moon was not his!
For she was from the world of riches,
Bright, glittering were her ways,
Brimming with radiance were her
Most Beautiful Eyes,
And resonated with life,
Her angelic voice!
He knew he cannot posses the divine,
But couldn’t he admire the divinity?

The little life that was left in its light,
The star decided to dedicate
To his Moon – his Love!
Decided he to spend rest of his existence,
With thoughtful reminiscence
Of those lovely memories –
Her silvery radiance,
Her tranquil presence,
Creating a new world,
Bathed in the golden glow
Of her love!

Retreated the star,
In dark cavern among the woods,
Where none can reach,
Even in thought.
In the heart wrenching solitude,
Aloof from the world,
The star closed his eyes,
And got lost in memories of his beloved!

There was his profound Love,
Already kindled in the remote corner of his heart,
The lamp of love was twinkling,
Amidst the stormy night of indifference!

Closed was his eyes,
Looked he rock still,
But was there roaring emotions,
Passions of deep un-fulfilled love,
Beating were strongest waves,
On the walls of his tender heart!

The heart throbbed,
Cried out loud – in deep silence,
Was it wet with tears, sweat and blood,
It was restless, and turbulent.
All was dark, all was still,
None was there to witness,
The lover’s fate.

Eons passed,
The star was still,
Idle at the same place,
His eyes still closed.
Passing time had changed things,
Now there was no woods,
No darkness!
Things were different!
The love filled heart of the Star,
Was radiating out bright light of bliss!
The twinkling lamp of desire,
Was now full blown bright fire!

Bright red and hot,
With all its fury and elegance,
The Star was no more just a lowly twinkle!
It was a full blown fiery fury!
The pure true and pristine love,
Had been nurtured
In the cradle of patience, longing, and passion!
More light was created,
One quantum at a time,
Over thousands of centuries!
True love had the ability,
To culture within itself,
More and more light!
More and more radiance!
It did not need someone to love him back,
It did not require someone to understand!

Along all these years,
Darkness was gone!
For the Love of the star,
Had evolved him to the SUN!
Bright it was! Glaring and Fiery!
Still he was in deep love,
With a forgone past,
Eons ago – The lady with the Most Beautiful Eyes!
He did not know where was the Moon,
Or where her kingdom lies!
He even was unaware how she looked,
And how were her ways!
Only thing he knew – He loved her,
As fervently as he did – ages ago!

Continued the Sun in his new fire,
Nurturing his age old Desire!
Spreading life giving light to the Earth,
To all Flora and Fauna!

Each day across the sky,
The Sun kept traveling,
In his solitary journey,
Burning in the agony,
The world knew nothing of this thirst!
Of this pain, and this ardor!
For they worshipped the Sun,
As he showed all - what life is!
Bright and lively were the streams,
Trees and birds,
Animals and men!
Flourishing was nature,
Civilizations many great!
Awesome work of art!
Ingenuous human creativity,
All was visible in the light of the Sun!

Till today the Sun continues its journey,
Burning in deep love,
For his age old love!
Clueless is he about the Moon,
And her ways!

Watches the sky,
Silent and Calm!
Both Sun and the Moon.
Each continuing its own rhythm,
Unknown of each other!

The Moon is as indifferent as ever.
Beautiful it is the most!
And her Beautiful Eyes!
With more lovers and admirers!
From distant lands!

Her glamour though has reduced an inch.
Her countenance has a wrinkle
Of the past – an indelible memory of Eons ago,
About the Star who loved her more than any!

Mortals of the world,
Still see the dark patches on the Moon,
Silently speaking her tale of emptiness profound!
Unknown of the real reason,
World has woven many myths!

Sky is calm and silent!
Never did it care to whisper to the Sun,
Or for that matter to the Moon,
For if any one waits for sometime,
In its journey across the horizon,
The age old sweethearts might meet!

Weary of the shallow selfishness,
I did confront the sky!
“Don’t you have a heart!
Why don’t you make them meet?”

The Sky smiled and replied –
It is the distance that has kept the love alive!
For this un-fulfilled love,
Is that what has made the twinkling star – the glaring Sun!
And the fragile beauty – the gallant Moon!
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Towards an Inspirational Tomorrow!

The mixture of cooperative and competitive human instincts, the subtle but potent quest for status, has played a very important role in evolution of mankind towards better and more beautiful. In the eighteenth century, Immanuel Kant noted the "unsocial sociability" of man, with special emphasis on the "unsocial" part and its ironic consequences.

Kant's in his essay "Idea for a universal History with a Cosmopolitan Purpose" writes the following -
"Through the desire of honor, power or property, it drives him to seek status among his fellows, whom he cannot "bear" yet cannot "bear to leave". Via this quest for status, "The first true steps are taken from barbarism to culture, which in fact consists in the social worthiness of man". This commences "a continued process of enlightenment" as "all man's talents are gradually developed, his taste cultivated".

Without these "asocial qualities" human beings "would live an Arcadian, pastoral existence of perfect concord, self-sufficieny and mutual love. But all human talents would remain hidden forever in a dormant state, and men, as good-natured as the sheep they tended, would scarcely render their existence more valuable than that of their animals". In that event, "the end for which they were created, their rational nature, would be an unfilled void. Nature should thus be thanked for fostering social incompatibility, enviously competitive vanity, and insatiable desires for possession or even power".

Perhaps as history unfolds, Kant wrote, we will see "how the human race eventually works its way upward to a situation in which all the germs implanted by nature can be developed fully, and in which man's destiny can be fulfilled here on earth."

This was all conjectures, Kant stressed. Writing in 1784, before the harnessing of electricity, before the telegraph of typewriter or computer, he admitted that so far there was just "a little" evidence of such a "purposeful natural process". Only time would tell. "For this cycle of events seems to take so long a time to complete, that the small part of it traversed by mankind up till now does not allow us to determine with certainty the shape of the whole cycle, and the relation of its parts to the whole".


Well that was back then - in 1784, when the great Immanuel Kant had this visionary thought.
Today in the era of facebook, google, apple, durex, cloud computing, space exploration, quantum physics revolutions, path breaking advances in neuro-science, the human civilization has certainly come a long way towards a highly complex evolved state with a future more glorious than the Roman Gods.

In this globalized world closely knit with internet, things are much more easier to do than in those dark ages of Kant. Being alive at this point of the evolution of this planet and its inhabitants, we have this utmost privilege to build upon with more beauty on the legacy we already have.

The need of the hour is for the general demography to understand and appreciate that they belong to an inflection point of human destiny, and the way they spend their lives today will determine the degree of greatness humanity reaches tomorrow. The choice is yours - use this life for something bigger than your own existence- something which enables mankind to achieve further complexity and beauty, or just wade away in the life aimlessly - drugged with the genetic urge of indulgence. Also it is in urgent need that mankind shakes off its age old propensity to cling to idealistic perception of morality and goodness - giving mystical turns - making a good myth out of humanity - but of negligible pragmatic importance. As Kant had rightly pointed out 3 centuries ago that it was in Natural Selection's interest of human to be "humane" and NOT "divine". We certainly would have lost the race and be "good and harmonious herd of sheep" today, haven't we had the humane tendency to be better and more beautiful - sometimes labeled as "asocial" the attributes of envy, jealousy, being possessive, and enamored by the lust of respect and status.
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Growing In Love!

 They say -
I have “fallen” in love!
But wondering was I
Is it really a fall?
Or it is a Continuous Growth?

Each time I have been
In the state of love,
Haven’t  I grown
Up to avenues higher!

Being in love
Made me feel the
Phantasm of mind
Which magically transforms
A damsel to divine!
It allowed me behold in the ordinary -
The most beautiful being!
More beautiful than the divine!

I came to know
Life is not what is -
Rather it is what I create!
It is my perception which is real to me
Not the reality!
For the first time,
I had the visceral feeling
Of what they say -
Story is truer than the Truth!

Being in love
Made me transcend my ordinary being -
My wishes, my dreams, my desire!
To a much higher plane -
Of what she wishes, she dreams, she desires!
And then the transcendence extended even further -
To what they wish, they dream, they desire!
And then even further I grew -
To what the institution wishes, it dreams, it desires!

And then did I think for the first time –
Life as a whole - humanity together -
What it wishes, dreams and desires!
What a beautiful state of being I am!
Living for the beloved -
In the form of the muse with the most beautiful eyes,
In the form of a vision so inspiring to keep me charged,
In the form of a meaning of life, making myself relevant!

Being in love,
Made me honor the space of others!
It is that an expectation of something in return could
Immediately thwart away my being in love,
Into a parasitic urge of possessing which can never be possessed,
Into downgrading the divine,
Into lowly worldly clinging and clasping,
Leading to a commoditized degradable familiarity!

Being in love,
Made me feel the pull of life,
In the form of a desire not granted,
Looking forward for miracles,
Cherishing the indifference of
The universe and the beloved!
Thereby for the first time,
Appreciating the love what I already abound!
My family, my friends, my job, my poems!

Being in love,
Made me appreciate in cellular level,
The profound force of Natural Selection,
Ingrained deep into the genes,
Totally hidden from the conscious awareness!
It made me see the world most of it going totally pup petted
By the genetic urge -
The invisible and unconscious - force of evolution
Using mortals as vehicles -
In its own journey to Higher Complexity!

Being in love,
Made me see God,
Who was greater and more beautiful
Than any of those, who they talk about,
In fairy tales and mythologies!

It was not only the pleasure
Of seeing God in those most beautiful eyes!
But also cherishing the Omnipresence -
Literally for the first time!
Either in those sweet memories of love,
Or in that moment of caring –
Holding my infant baby in hand just after she was born,
 Or helping that blind couple cross the busy road,
Or hugging that embarrassed person who was
Un-dignified by the world being mis-understood by all!
Or the moment of that fulfilling smile –
Having written that poem – “The Ocean and The Moon”!


Being in love,
Made me feel that pain – which is death to hide!
Increasing the appreciation of
Kindness and understanding!
It taught me the value of being loved
Each long hard and thorny moment spent in
Empty and Silent Solitude!

They say -
I have fallen in love!
But wondering was I
Is it a fall?
Or a continuous Growth?

I have learnt –
More I love –
The more I am alive, The more I learn – The more I give - More I grow – More I am relevant!
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The Old and The New!

Since ages long,He survives!
Through accidents many,
Unconsciously harmonized,
Amid random chaos!
Evolving along the plot
laid by the natural selection.

Not much has changed in his being,
Nostalgic of the days eons ago,
He continues in his old ways!
Surrendered fully
To the Selfish genes,
The ancient insticts,
The archaic ardour,
The prisine passions!
Lives he chained,
In the dark and Tiny
Dungeon slimy.
Captivated forever,
By the lustful craving,
Centered in the self!

Blind to the evolving world,
Beautiful trees,
And sparkling stars,
Goes his life behind the bars.
Drugged with his self importance,
Craves he deeply to be loved and cared!
Living his own ways,
Weeps he in despair,
For the love lost,
And Gold snatched!

Busy is he,
Warring with all,
Fighting his battle,
To kill and defeat!
For he has to win,
He has to win!

His life is taken away,
By jealosy, fantasizing, and dreams!
All drugged and puppeted
By the selfish genetic urge.

His reason to be happy,
Derives from his possessions,
And his feeling of worth,
From the sense of being loved and understood!

Enslaved by his instincts,

He has loved with full ardor,

But each time conditioned

With the desire to be loved back.

He has lived with energy,

But each moment in the rush to win more and more.

Then from nowhere,

Was the New Born!

The New was not an identity!

Neither a noun he was.

But was he just a Verb!

An action – a thought – a stance – a poise!

He needed nothing,

Expected none,

For the essence of his existence

Was to Love and just Love!

He was in love with her,

He called – The Lady with the Most Beautiful Eyes!

He was in love with the vision,

He was in love with his work,

He was in love with his poems,

He was in love with his family and friends!

He was in love with everything life had to offer -

Today, tomorrow and thereafter!

He was just a means towards

Something more beautiful,

Something more creative,

Something more inspiring!

He was the channel of the divine,

A solution to a problem,

A resting shoulder to the friend!

He was the valiant heart

Ready to lay his life,

Anytime for the Right,

For the Beautiful

For the Inspiring!

He was an Obstinate Optimist!

Always having a countenance of smile

Hiding all his pains,

For he knew all those are just illusions!

What was real – was just Love – Just Love!

Needed he none to love him back,

Needed he none to understand him,

Needed he none to care for him!

For he was not an identity,

He was neither a noun,

Just he was a verb – an action – a thought – an idea!

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An Amazing Morning!

There was something very strange that happened in the bus today while going to office. The music system in the bus was playing a song. The strangest part is I was not able to understand how the music system could play that song..that too repeatedly!!!

I used to think that it is just humans who have reasonable cognitive abilities. But then today I was awestruck at discovering that the music system also has a very advanced perceptive mechanism too!

The most intriguing thing was not that the music system was playing a song..but the specific song that it had chosen to play was the most amazing part of the whole story...and even more uncanny was the exact timing of the playing of the song.

Quite magically the music system was able to see, synthesize and contemplate on ideas and thoughts, which was actually not visible to other humans around - in the bus...It could actually peep through the contours of neural topography in my mind, and put the information in words and was singing it with beautiful tune. I was so uncomfortable to be in a state where my mind was appearing as transparent to the music system..Absolutely caught red-handed! Thank God, the world of the mortals have not yet developed such an advanced cognitive capabilities yet! I was safe in the hands of anonymity!

 You must be wondering what was that the music system playing..well it was this old Bollywood song -

“Kitna haseen chehra, kitni pyari aankhein

Kitni pyari aankhen hai aankhon se chhalakta pyar

Kudrat ne banaya hoga, phursat se tujhe mere yaar”

Now, that the secret was between me and the music system, I was safe. There were some people who were tapping their feet on the tunes. There were some who were giving their lips to the song. Even few kept the song in their mind – humming it till night – all through the day at work!

For the beauty of your thought transcended my soul and mind to that of so many today! I know this day  was one of the most amazing days! For it started with the cunning music system stealing away my moment of solitude with your thoughts. Well I allowed him to steal it – for I knew it was so beautiful! Certainly the day was added with that special flair of your presence – transcending and divine – although just in thought!

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Sorry...But I Love You!

So said the valiant Mountain,

To the indifferent westerly wind!

Knew not the bonhomie wind,

The ways of the mountain,

That she was loved more than ever

By the quiet and still earthly piece!

The Westerly wind came straight

From the abode of heaven,

From among the streams and falls!

Most beautiful were her eyes,

Heart lightening her smile!

Totally unaware of

The ugly, rough and old mountain,

She danced her way in the tune of nature!

For she was carrying with her

The style, the grace and elegance,

Unknown to the earthly mortals.

As the hurtling wind whisked away the

Face of the Mountain,

Spontaneously did he lose,

His heart, drugged in her grace!

The wrinkled and hard striations,

On the rugged slopes,

Held the wind for a moment,

Love struck – with lump in the throat,

And wild throb in the heart!

Turn did the heavenly wind,

With disdain in her eyes,

She lashed on him with fiery temper,

“You Earthly lesser heap,

Be with your lowly hills,

Touch me not

For your thoughts even

Deserve me NOT”

Meekly said the humble mountain,

Leaving her hold for ever,

Saying to her in voice of eternity –

“Sorry….But I Love you!”

Eons have passed by,

The Mountain stands still,

Surrounded by the lowly hills!

Never has he spoken his heart to any,

Hides his pain in his snow capped cold peaks!

He smiles, he laughs,

Makes the sheep graze on his chest.

Complains he to none –

For he knows he is in love!

Once a year the Westerly wind still comes,

In her own grace and charming smile!

Now the mountain does not hold her,

He tries to be away from her intoxicated presence!

With every indifferent glace of the hers,

He murmurs – “Sorry…But I Love you!”

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The Kin factor and Natural Selection

An excerpt from the book - The Moral Animal by Robert Wright.

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With Hamilton's theory in hand, it is easier to appreciate the connection Darwin saw between a cow that has "well marbled" beef, and gets slaughtered and eaten, and an ant that works hard all its life without issue. The cow gene responsible for the good marbling, to be sure, has done nothing for its vehicle (the cow itself), which is now slaughtered, and may do nothing for the direct genetic legacy of its vehicle; dead cows cannot have more offspring. But the gene will still do much for the indirect genetic legacy of its vehicle, for by producing the marbling, it prompts a farmer to feed and breed the vehicle's close relatives, some of which contain copies of the gene. So too with the sterile ant.

The worker ants have no direct legacy as most of them are sterile, but the genes responsible for this fact do just fine, thank you, so long as the time and energy that would have been devoted to reproduction are profitably spent helping close relatives be prolific. Though the gene for sterility lies dormant in these relatives, it is there, and passes to the next generation, where it again produces gobs of sterile altruists devoted to its transmission. 

This is the exact sense in which worker bees and tasty cattle are alike : some genes, by impeding their transmission through one conduit, lubricate their transmission through others, and the net result is more transmission.

That Darwin, working with no knowledge of genes, with no sound understanding of the nature of heredity, should sense this parallel a century before Hamilton is one of the higher tributes to the care and precision of this thought. 

Those genes that are conducive to the survival and reproduction of copies of themselves are the genes that win. They may do this straightforwardly, by promoting their vehicle to survive, beget offspring, and equip the offspring for survival and reproduction. Or they may do this circuitously - by, say, prompting their vehicle to labor tirelessly, sterilely, and "selflessly", so that a queen ant can have lots of offspring containing them. However the genes get the job done, it is selfish from "their" point of view, even if it seems altruistic at the level of the organism. 

Naturally, the level of organism is of primary concern to human beings; human beings are organisms. But it is of secondary importance to natural selection. if there is sense in which natural selection "cares" about anything - and there is, metaphorically - that thing is not us; it is the information in our sex cells, our eggs, and our sperm. Of course, natural selection "wants" us to behave in certain ways. But, so long as we comply, it does not care whether we are made happy or sad in the process, whether we get physically mangled in our genes, even whether we die. The only thing natural selection ultimately "wants" to keep in good shape is the information in our genes, and it will countenance any suffering on our part that serves this purpose.

Hamiltonian math contains a potent symbol - r - which represents the degree of relatedness among organisms. Among full siblings, r is 1/2, among half siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles, it is 1/4, and among first cousins it is 1/8. The new math says that genes for sacrificial behavior will thrive so long as the cost to the altruist (in terms of impact on future reproductive success) is less than the benefit to the recipient (ditto) times the degrees of relatedness between the two. 

When Hamilton introduced the theory of kin selection, he used as his example the very group of organisms that had perplexed Darwin. Like Darwin, he had been struck by the extraordinary self-sacrifice among many insects. He noted that, thanks to a bizarre form of reproduction, these species feature an unusually large r. Sister ants share 3/4 of their genes by common descent, not just 1/2. So altruism of extraordinary magnitude is justified in the eyes of natural selection.

So too with human beings - not groups of human beings, but the group of cells that make up a human being. At some point hundreds of millions of years ago, muticellular life arose. Societies of cells became so highly integrated as to qualify for the title "organism", and these organisms, eventually begat us. It is fair, technically speaking, to consider even so coherent an organism as a human being as tight-knit community of single-celled organisms. These cells exhibit a kind of cooperation and self-sacrifice that makes even the machine-like efficiency of an insect colony look ragged by comparison. Almost all the cells in the human body are sterile. Only the sex cells - our "queen bees" - get to make copies of themselves for posterity. That the zillions of sterile cells act as if they are perfectly content with this arrangement is doubtless grounded in the fact that the "r" between them and the sex cells is 1; genes in sterile cells are transmitted to future generations as assuredly via sperm of egg as they would be if their particular cellular vehicles were doing the transmitting. Again: when "r" is 1, altruism is ultimate.

Women are NOT equal to Men

An excerpt from the book - "The Moral Animal" by - Robert Wright.
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There is a difference of opinion over how much "respect" women get in the modern moral climate. 

Respect is an ambiguous word. Maybe men who consider woman well "respected" mean that women have been accepted at work as worthy colleagues. And maybe women are indeed getting more of this kind of respect. But if by "respect" you mean what the Victorians meant when they urged respect for women - not treating them as objects of sexual conquest - then respect has probably dropped since 1970. Women would certainly like to have more of the second kind of respect.

There is no clear reason for sharp trade-off between the two; no reason that feminists of the late 1960s and early 1970s, in insisting on the first kind of respect, had to undermine the second. But, as things happened, they did! They did undermine the second form of respect over the first, going in the name of male - female equality.

They preached innate symmetry of the sexes in all major arenas, including sex. Many young women took the doctrine of symmetry to mean they could follow their sexual attractions and disregard any vague visceral wariness: sleep with any man they liked, without fear that his sexual interest did not signify comparable affection, without fear that sex might be more emotionally entangling for her than for him. (Some feminists practiced casual sex almost out of a sense of ideological commitment.)

Men, for their part, used the doctrine of symmetry to ease themselves off the moral hook. Now they could sleep around without worrying about emotional fallout; women were just like them, so no special consideration was necessary. In this they were and are, aided by women who actively resist special moral consideration as patronizing (which it sometimes is, and certainly in Victorian England).

Lawmakers, meanwhile, took sexual symmetry to mean that women needed not special legal protection. In many states, the 1970 brought "no-fault" divorce and the automatically equal division of a couple's assets - even if one spouse, usually the wife, hasn't been on a career track and thus faces bleaker prospects. The lifelong alimony that a divorced woman could once expect may now be replaced by a few years of "rehabilitative maintenance" payments, which are supposed to give her time to launch her career recovery - a recovery that, in face, will extend beyond a few years if she has a few children to tend. In trying to get a more equitable deal, it wont help to point out that cause of breakup was her husband's rampant philandering, or his sudden, brutal intolerance. These things, after all, are nobody's fault. The "no-fault" philosophy is one reason divorce is literally a profitable enterprise for men. (The other reason is lax enforcement of the man's financial obligations.) The height of no-fault vogue has now passed, and state legislatures have undone some of the damage, but not all.

The feminist doctrine of innate sexual symmetry wasn't the only culprit, or even, initially, the main one. Sexual and marital norms had been changing for a long time, for many reasons, ranging from contraceptive technology, from residential patterns to recreational trends. So why dwell on feminism? Party because of the sheer irony that attempts to stop one kind of exploitation of women aided another kind. Partly too, because though feminists did not single-handedly create the problem, some of them have helped sustain it. Until very recently, fear of feminist backlash was far and away the main obstacle to an honest discussion of difference between the sexes. Feminists have written articles and books denouncing "biological determination" without bothering to understand biology or determinism. And the increasing, if belated, feminist discussion of sex differences is sometimes vague and disingenuous; there is a tendency to describe differences that are plausible explicable in Darwinian terms while dodging the question of whether they are innate.

The Invisible and Unconscious

Behind the ruthless force of the Big Bang,
And zipping speed of the hurtling planets.

Behind the sluggish caterpillar metamorphosizing
Into the flamboyant Butterfly.

 Behind the superficial whims and fancies –
The profound ways of the genes – following natural selection.

Behind the veil of dry expressions –
The pristine and profound depth of Being in Love!

Behind the glamour of smiles and accolades,
The pin-drop solitude of cherishing a long passed memory,
Feeling the throb of a heart bleeding with the blessing for thou!

Behind the certainty of free will,
The unconscious inevitability of ways of things!

Behind the linear cause and effect,
The beauty of picture perfect asynchronous coincidences!

Behind the catastrophe of a dream crushed,
The beautiful genesis of a world bigger and better!

Behind the fragile birth to death dichotomy,
The eternal journey from immortality!

Behind the parasitic urge of being loved, liked and understood,
Being Indifferent in the Quite, Pristine, and Graceful Space of the Pride of Being in Love!

Irrespective of the misfortunes, heartbreak, obstacles, death and loss,
Being un-altered as a pole-star – sparkling out the radiance of optimism, creativity and workability!

Behind the rigid stance of the ego,
The humble and agile adaptability of mind and heart!

Transcending the rigidity and limiting world of the form,
Being present to the limitless and profound world of the non-form –
Contemplating in the silent space of deep meditation!
Across the jostle of everyday struggles.

Going farther from the domain of Doing,
Being grounded at the domain of Being!

Breaking the shackles of superstitious segregation God,
As a fictitious character of a farcical fairy tale,
Breathing the freedom of seeing God,
In the impeccable beauty of nature and perfection of human creativity;
In the positive dreams, desires, aspirations –
Contouring creation to a better tomorrow!

To Thou – Invisible and Unconscious,
I express my heartfelt gratitude!

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The Illusion of Understanding

There is a deep need hard wired in us humans to be loved, understood, accepted, and appreciated. Of-course it helps being loved, cared and respected, as these create positive emotions, triggering most of human creativity, originality, ingenuity and wellbeing. Due to this obvious significance, natural selection probably has favored the sustenance of this need over eons of evolution.
Thinking from the perspective of a brain scientist, or an evolution biologist such a deep craving to be loved and understood by others looks like un-called for. This is because, in entirety, our perceptions of life, people and events are based on what tale our brain tells us about them. The way the brain responds, is dependent on many factors – starting from pure genetic aspect, to the developmental stage of the brain cells at a point of time, to the way the cells are morphed based on the impacts of the culture, and experience of the subject.
Due to these varied pivotal points, obviously the brain of a person is vastly different from that of another. Each of them carries its own physiological and memetic idiosyncrasies. This immediately leads into immense variety of perception, outlook and capacity of understanding. Even a particular brain evolves in a life span. Hence the understanding and perspective at one point of time of a particular human might markedly be different from that at some other point of time.
Given that the sense of reality is what is carved out by a human brain, each person has a different world of reality for her. So, every human being is like a carrier of genetic and memetic expressions in their brain – giving them totally unique perception of life. This as a result, makes it very difficult for a person to really understand another in its entirety.
Given this vast diversity in cognitive abilities, it is a misplaced expectation on the part of a person that she might be loved and accepted by others – no matter how close or far they are related as per any sociological constructs they are involved into, what society generally terms a relationship.
Given this state of affair, no wonder most of the relationships humans enter into – either with another human, or with an organization or with a vision, are deeply conditioned with mutual needs. Till one or more needs of both the parties involved are met, the understanding is found. The moment there is a non equilibrium of needs, the relationship starts losing its sheen. Darwin explains such a phenomenon as normal in the animal kingdom. One might be seduced to accept the same logic for evolution of humans. But I feel it might be oversimplification of humanity as such to extrapolate Darwinian Theory to human evolution. By the way, Darwin had no mention of mankind in his entire book – Origin of Species.
Is the situation that hopeless? Is there no way in which there can be a sustainable understanding and bond created among humans, or institutions, which are un-conditional, and the probability of understanding and love are heightened?
In an effort to bring into some order into this confusion of diversity, probably various man-made interventions are put into place. For example in corporate world, these interventions are placed as standard operating procedures, roles and responsibilities, vision and mission statements, goal settings, etc. This attempts to bring some form of commonality in which the issues at hand can be interpreted by the work force. In case of wider social contexts, such interventions are put in place by traditions, culture, religion, mythologies, folk beliefs and rituals.
Ethnologists and evolutionary biologists have experimentally proved that human mind is like a basin to suck in any sort of external influences. A context created by such interventions help the mind to think in a particular direction, and develop a particular cognitive perspective which empathizes with people of similar beliefs. So, in the stage of a corporate world, where there are well defined context created – in the form of various interventions of organizational behaviors – management of human relations are easier.
But in a bigger diverse group which is not homogenized by a common belief, organization goal, ritual, religion or a vision, it becomes highly difficult to maintain a homogenous perspective, which can help further understanding and love. Every individual of such a diverse group thinks and judges things differently, causing deep differences in perceiving the reality.  This makes it daunting to create faith, bond, trust and a lasting relationship.
In the absence of such a formal discipline it is highly probable that a person is not understood, and is not loved in return. Even after prolonged effort, any attempt to make one to be understood, and loved mostly turns out futile.
Given this as the way humans are made, I take it as a useless enterprise to make people love you, or even expect people to understand you fully. In the name of social compassion and tolerance, I might be tolerated by others with a smile, but it is absolutely a lost war, if I work towards making others love me at their core. The creation of strong and deep bond between individuals cannot be forced on. It can however organically grow between people if there are common grounds discovered and appreciated mutually.
Sometimes deep bonds do get created as one partakes her journey of life. But most of the times this happens because a similarity in the perspectives of the mind – either due to similar cultural impact on the mind, or a similar genetic makeup of the physiology of the brain. But generally speaking such a deep mutual bond, love and faith is difficult to be created in general.
Given this dilemma of life, at max a person can do her part best to her knowledge – deriving happiness by using ones signature strengths every day in the main realms of living. At the same time, using these signature strengths to forward knowledge, power, or goodness, the person creates a meaning to her existence. All these are done without any expectation to win over anyone else’s affection.
Life becomes a solitary journey undertaken as an opportunity to learn, grow, explore and express. It becomes like an enterprise undertaken by Michelangelo – 12000 sq feet paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel for 4 continuous years – no way bothered about what any art critic will opine about his art, when he is finished with it. Life becomes like a Mozart being in FLOW, working on his prodigious compositions least worried about how many applause will be conferred to him when he performs it on the stage.
Being in this steadfast journey using ones signature strengths, doing something one is proud of, at the same time leaving behind a legacy, with a work of beauty, creates a fulfilling life.
It might be worth keeping in perspective that one cannot force others love and understand oneself. But at least, the person can love others to extremes of her ability. This understanding might start with a person and her ways, but it transcends beyond her – to life’s purpose, vision, a meaning of existence – to probably life itself, or might be beyond life – to multiple lives – continuing through eternity.

Life therefore probably can be perceived as an endeavor of solitary engagement into something that adds to overall beauty of creation.

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The Art of Choice

Risen have we humans,
Out of the deemed savageness,
To the beautiful pedestal
Of Grace and Beauty -

The rich cultures,
Varied and profound!

The lovely languages,
Songs and Stories!

The grand rituals,
Rules and Rhythms!

The noble restraint,
Adding to passion a beautiful dimension!

The elegance of fashion,
Carving out beauty to the next level!

The meticulous pursuit of science and rationality,
Di-ciphering the love of God!

Addiction to that honorable poise,
Transcending the genetic urge!

That steadfast resolve,
To live for a grand a purpose!

The choice to always love,
Over hatred and indifference!

The decision to always smile,
Over thorns and petals,
Holding the tears always hidden in heart,
Giving away Laughter and Joy!

Painting the landscape of life,
With colors just right,
Strokes just perfect,
Not a streak less,
Not a streak more!

The art of keeping that right balance,
Between Freedom and Responsibility,
With elegance and class!

Grateful am I
For being granted this art!
In the form of Choice,
Being a human!

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Solitude – A Grace

Eons Far from the Bustle
Of Mortals and Gods,
Of Rights and Wrongs,
Of Elation and Heartbreak,
Of Expectation and Indifference,
Of Win and Lose,
Of Beauty, and Ugly,
Of Smile and Weep,
Here I walk in Solitude –
A lonely soul,
Flowing in this
Benignly indifferent Universe!

Blessed is my beloved - my Solitude,
Which none can steal!
Always very close to my heart,
Which none can part!

Adds a unique grace,
To my being,
My Solitude divine!

For it gives the space,
To weave the tapestry of my love,
Tempered with
Indifference and aloofness,
With distance and poise!

With the throbbing urge,
I die to express and own!
But then the Solitude,
Makes me savor my love,
Being intoxicated with the dream,
Without having to own it!

For the Solitude,
Helps not to own the dream,
For whatever you own,
Loses its value!
No matter how precious it occurred once!

The Solitude,
Builds that grace in life,
Building up the sweet pain!
Keeping composure,
Making one taste
The carefree ramblings
Of a drunkard!

All the beauty of life,
Of love and passion,
Gets embellished with
An added grace,
With the intoxicating
Hue of Solitude!

Solute gives the unstrung freedom,
To sing the song of the heart,
To write the poems of the soul,
To be original,
To continue to be in love!
In Hope and despair!

Solitude creates that perspective,
The bigger picture,
To cherish the gift of
Togetherness, love, and friendship!
Inspiring to be more human -
In peace and harmony!

As a silent observer,
Watching the dance of creation,
From birth to death,
Millions of millions of years,
Passing by,
In the garden of solitude,
I sing the song of my heart!
Expressing my gratitude,
For being alive!

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The Ocean and the Moon

Long long ago.
Once upon a time,
In a distant land,
There was an ocean –
Pure and white,
Vast with passion profound.

One night,
Gazing at the starry sky,
Unknowingly he committed
A beautiful blunder!
He fell in love with the moon!

Unaware was the Moon,
About this passion
From the unknown lands.

She was a fairy always carefree.
Hailing from the green mountains,
Bonhomie for sky and stars was she!

Her countenance was as amorous
As Venus’s own kiss!
She used to trod the starry ways,
Caressing the bosom of the sky!

The lovelorn ocean,
Throbbing with restless waves,
Called his beloved,
Wide and loud!
For he just wanted a kind glance,
A Smile to put him to trance!

By the ocean, was walking
A little girl holding the finger of her father.
Astounded at the ocean’s desperate call,
She exclaimed with inquisition deep,
“What does the ocean want?”
“What does this timeless, tireless, melancholy roar mean?”

Daddy stopped by.
For he could feel the ocean,
Kissing his bare feet,
And whispering in his ears -
What did he actually want!
What was the timeless, tireless, melancholy roar mean!

Father’s heart did sink,
With a lump in his throat,
He tried to explain to the little girl,
“The ocean is celebrating,
With a passionate song,
Singing to the fullness of his heart,
Trying to reach out to the Moon,
Expressing his bliss being in love!”

The little girl being confused,
Wondered – “but the Moon from such distant skies,
Will always see a serene ocean, calm and quiet!
With countenance decorated with a peaceful smile!”
 “How will ever Moon know – How deeply the ocean loved?”
“How will the ocean get the Moon?”
“Is it all not love’s labor lost?”

Pitying at her ignorance,
The father smiled,
“Baby – love is not about give and take,
Love is not about being loved in return!
Love is not a treaty, or a pursuit to steal somebody.

Rather – love is a dream, a sweet pain, an intoxication!
It makes an ocean – The Ocean!
And a moon – The Moon!

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A heartfelt Salute…

A heartfelt salute to the Egyptians!
You took the risk – jumped in the fire –
Made a better world!

I salute the brave souls
Who cared about their dream,
Took that big leap,
Going beyond the
Genetic urge to play safe!

I salute those evolved beings,
Who see their purpose
Before their pleasures.
For whom being alive,
Is an opportunity to
Make a better world!

I salute those gallant hearts,
Who had the courage to
Go beyond being cynical,
Holding a hope,
Giving goodness a chance!

I salute those passionate souls,
Who went beyond looking good,
And had the courage,
To take that risk –
To express their love,
Knowing it was irrelevant,
Whether they got it back!

I salute those Gods,
In flesh and blood,
Who define their being alive,
With creating a work of art,
Every awake moment,
Either with a job well done,
Or bringing a smile to others,
Adding to the collective wellbeing,
Either by a kind pat,
Or a compassionate smile!

I salute those brethren,
Who go beyond what is apparent,
And takes that valiant stride,
To re-look at things,
With a perspective of love!

I salute those sages,
Who are incurable romantic,
Spilling over with love,
For one and all,
Painting a lovely life,
For themselves and others,
Today, tomorrow and forever..

I salute those honorable beings,
For whom love is –
All about giving,
All about expressing,
All about caring,
All about kindness,
All about compassion,
All about understanding!
And nothing about getting
Anything in return!

They are forever in rapture –
Intoxicated, building memories,
Of love pristine,
Woven into a beautiful dream!
With no intent,
To shatter the dream divine,
Into the crass reality!

For their love and care!
Is a style of being alive,
Falling in love -
With a person, a cause, a dream, a purpose!

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Sometimes it is best unsaid..

With all its love,
The great banyan tree,
Has spread its restful shadow,
Giving solace to countless travelers!

With all its care,
The Nile has provided for,
Many civilizations,
Since eternity!

With all its warmth,
The Sun has been giving,
With all its power,
Vigor and light to countless
Beings on this planet!

The road has been
Enduring with patience,
All hardships of countless feet,
Tires and wheels!
Always open with spread arms,
Guiding every soul,
To its destination!

The green fields,
Have always allowed
Itself to be smothered,
So that it can grow food
For we humans!

After nourishing its own
Choicest fruits and flowers,
The tree, gives them all,
In their full youth,
To gratify our whims!

The universe keeps ticking
With absolute accuracy,
Keeping that delicate balance On!
So that we can breathe and be alive,
Not getting hurtled with ferocious speed,
To some dark corner of the universe!

All of them,
Do love us more than their own selves!
Not for one day, or two.
But for ages countless!

Gallantly have they chosen
Never to express,
Their heartfelt love and longing!
With heart full of honor and love
They were always quiet!
Today and ages gone by.
Or any future to come!

For they know –
Sometime it is best unsaid..
Or might be they are aware –
That profound love might not
Be accommodated in the shallow
Expression of an in-animate language!

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An Alter life..

Living from morning to night,
Birth to death, do I live many alter lives!
Phases they come in, and pass by,
Like changing seasons.
Have I died so many a times,
Have been born afresh –
With new hope and new love!

Various shades of the rainbow,
Each held impeccably stretched
Across the sky of my awareness.
Each shade sings a new song,
Writes a new poem,
Sends a new blessing!

In some shade,
They call me a professional!
Respected and paid for
A Job I am proud of!
Creating history in my way,
Every day – every moment.

In some shade,
I am the loving father,
Gracefully holding the tiny hand
Of my daughter, helping her to grow,
Meaningfully and Joyously!

In some shade,
I am the darling husband,
With heart full of love and care,
For my better half – her life, and her dreams!

In some shade,
I am the heart of a friend,
Strong and confidant,
A shoulder for support!

In some shade,
I am the loving son,
Of two old, cute and loving souls!

In some shade,
There I sit,
Writing down my feelings,
As they flow through,
These words,
Shouting at me –
Calling myself
An incurable romantic maverick!

So many lives,
So many roles,
So many shades!

Skiing from one dream to the other,
Elegantly I keep expressing,
The pleasure of being alive,
Through a beautiful poem,
Through an expression of love,
Through a dream of hope,
Through a gesture of kindness,
Through a purpose grand!

I owe you nothing,
Nothing do I expect from!
Just wanted to thank you O Lord,
For an opportunity to express,
For an opportunity to love,
For an opportunity to feel,
The bountiful zest of your creation!

No one shade is mine,
No one dream is what I hold on forever!
I am a fleeting soul -
A beautiful tune,
Weaving the lyrics
Of the Song of being alive!
Experiencing and expressing,
The profundity,
Of Life itself!

There is no fear,
Nothing is there to lose,
For nothing is for real!
All but figments of imagination –
Creations of a dream –
Just different shades of the rainbow!

Till the last breath of mine,
Till I lay there cold and hard,
Ready to be burnt to ashes,
And strewn in the Ganges,
May I live every moment,
Being of some use,
To you, to them, and to the world!
May I contribute in my way,
Beautifying this world –
In style of mine -
May be with another beautiful poem,
Or another expression of love,
Determined to discover depths deeper than ever,
In the passion of love!
May be by painting the angel,
With the most beautiful eyes,
May be being awake the whole night,
Burning mid-night oil,
Toiling for a dream,
Worth pursuing for the mankind!
May be just being,
A Maverick – casual and happy!

I live not for myself,
Not for any ego,
Or an identity of mine!
My life is just song,
Of experience and expression,
Leaving behind an excitement – an orgasm!

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Am I just a Human?

Am I just another living creature?

With flesh and blood,

And some say soul.

With my prejudices,

Beliefs, fears, biases,

And superstitions!

Am I just another living creature?

With a sense of right and wrong,

Good and bad,

You and me,

Ideas of interesting and boring!

Am I just another living creature?

Struggling to make ends meet,

Sweating to ear my living,

Managing with my liabilities and

Responsibilities.

Am I just another living creature?

Led by my genetic urge,

To eat, prey, and reproduce.

Or may be I am

A temporary carrier of

All that is beautiful and bright!

All the virtues and inspiring traits!

Rising against all cynicism with

A ray of hope, and love!

All what is positive,

That natural selection,

Aided to evolve!

Being transient my design,

Conceived as a carrier,

Only for a short duration –

A small blip in eternity!

I do my best passing

Down all what is happy and bright,

To the posterity for ever.

The purpose of my life,

Is fulfilled with great grandeur,

If I am just am able to be what I am,

In its most superlative form,

Carrying with me

The light of love,

Understanding, peace!

With a deep seated,

Human defiance against,

Anything what is mean and negative,

I stand as a means – a channel –

And a bearer of the cross,

To show to the world,

There is always a hope,

For love deserves always another chance,

In every moment and in every age!

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Gods of the world

Do I need to believe
In stories and myths?
Do I need to believe in
Fairy tale characters as Gods?

Do not I have Gods all round me?
In the form of lovely friends,
Family and fellow brethren?
Why do I need to enclose myself
In the dungeon of my head
Contemplating a hypothetical entity,
Whose experience is itself
Borrowed either from a book
Or Another human –
In flesh, blood and passion.

I proclaim not
The non-existence of God.
Rather I proclaim Her (why His) nearness,
To be in my everyday life,
In the form of
Beautiful, creative, valiant, and authentic
Human souls –
My family, friends and my fellow brethren.

I dedicate all my moments
Of being alive to all my living Gods -
Throbbing with life and love!

Better they are for sure,
Than the lifeless, cold, hard, deaf and dumb
Gods of the world!

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Why am I feeling so lonely?

Why I am feeling so lonely?
Walking under the star lit sky,
Holding hand of the bright full moon,
With the invisible hands of my sight,
By the roaring sea shore,
On the cold sand,
Why am I feeling so lonely?

I have millions of stars,
Watching me walk barefoot.
Millions of galaxies
Silently passing me their blessings,
In the silent cold night,
Interrupted with the roars of waves!
Why am I feeling so lonely?

So may wavelets from the sea,
Moaning with passion high,
Comes to just have a touch of my feet,
And then they die!
Why am I feeling so lonely?

Those most beautiful eyes,
Through the starry skies,
Sending me sparkling twinkles,
Whispering to my heart,
With silent loving glance,
Embracing me with silvery moonlit warmth!
Why am I feeling so lonely?

Being blessed to be able
To see the beautiful bird
With golden wings,
Glossy feathers and young and smart!
With the most beautiful eyes,
Fly high and far!
Why am I feeling so lonely?

May be it is this loneliness,
Which holds the charm forever!

May be it is that,
Which beautifies the existence,
With fond and beautiful memories!

May be it is that,
Which makes me feel,
How precious is God’s most beautiful creation is!

May be it is that,
Which entitles me to that pleasure,
Pleasure of being in the fragrant garden,
Of the dreams of the Goddess,
With the most beautiful eyes!

May be it is that,
Which gives the excuse to be alive!

May be it is that,
Which makes my existence,
Full of hope and love,

May be it is that,
Which makes love
Overflow in all aspect of my life!

May be it is that which,
Re-affirms me that
I am an incurable romantic maverick.
And I love being like that!

May be it makes me believe,
God is not dead!

May be it makes me happy,
Knowing that it is that
Which leads my Goddess,
To happiness and peace!

May I be lonely forever!
For that will never make
The bird with the golden feather – “uncomfortable”
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