Cultivation in Falun Dafa

Jan 06, 2013 Pune, India - Another year has passed by and another one stands ahead with its arms wide open to embrace me, giving me another moment for my cultivation. It’s been two short years I have been cultivating myself in Falun Dafa. Short since it is now when I realize how long the process of self-cultivation really is! And I am quite sure that my tenure of this life time will seem just a moment when I review myself back. And I am sure that my genuineness and diligence is what would count in the long term. 

My Life has changed a lot after I have started cultivating myself in Dafa in early 2011. Before that, I was just another everyday man who used to quibble over every day issues, the one who lost his temper over petty issues and the one with a zillion attachments of personal gain and interpersonal conflicts. Getting rid of these attachments does need an initiation of a divine thought. Just one thought – to change ones conventional thinking. All it takes is to have a fresh look at the universe, the environment around us. And when I state so, it’s meaning is truly profound. It is almost not so easy for an everyday person to develop this thought. When one reads Zhuan Falun for the very first time, believe me that is the greatest part of it all. Someone who might find it too hard to accept, would find it too hard to continue. But, loosening oneself by giving up our conventional understandings and way of thinking, will simply make things easier. 

There has been several ups and downs in my cultivation but Dafa acts as a torch bearer in my life. Every moment in my life is an opportunity to validate the Dafa and thanking the Master.

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The Science of Spirituality

July 22, 2011 Pune, India - The so called scientific advances and technological innovations have gifted us many things in the recent years - from smarter modes of communication, to high configuration personal computers and smarter cell phones to name a few. Being an everyday person, it is very easy to adore these technological advances and adopt them into our day to day lives. They are to make our lives easy and easier with every single passing day. Certainly, it is obvious for an everyday person to continually strive to gather ease in leading a modern human life and technology has been instrumental in achieving this goal to a certain extent. This is a general notion we have of Science today. It is about all that we could feel, see, touch and reap benefits out of. If one comes across something which is difficult to comprehend, he would immediately reject it, terming it as superstitious or unscientific. As for the phenomena which objectively exist around us and impact our lives, people do not dare speak about them. However, some people have very rigid mentalities and pass reckless opinions about subjects they do not comprehend. Whereas, the phenomena that are tangible are all labeled as topics of science. No seeing, no believing - this is how the world sees it today. It is indeed sad that spiritualism is still categorized as a philosophical topic. And when it comes to philosophy, modern people have a petty casual approach towards the subject. This is a big hurdle in the enlightenment of common humankind.

No matter how far a spaceship can fly, no matter how long medical science can prolong your life, no matter how many technological innovations man could make, it is too much confined to our physical materialistic world. The so called progress of humankind is a mere notion when it comes to the high level truths which greatly impact our lives. It is just too easy to not believe them and this is the reason why despite so many scientific advancements, modern human is still not able to figure out how a brain functions, from where feelings originate and how the mind works. Opinionated people find it very easy to categorize all such topics as paranormal or within areas of future explorations. The fact is that, with the present approach of science and with the current set of notions, it is impossible for humankind to know the truths of the universe.

Spirituality is still a mystery to many. Some are not clear enough with their correlation with religions. There are so many religions and so many practices in society today. So much so that people just do not understand as to why really they exist. On the contrary, everyday people have extremely strong notions about their religion or sect. Some people may fall prey to some serious sins like killing in the name of religion. Religions have been instrumental in shaping the lives of human society since an ancient time. However today, religions fail to provide their real teachings anymore and their real purpose of establishment has itself become obsolete. This is primarily because human society has changed and so are the standards that discern the good and the bad.

It is no doubt that our world today has become too much materialistic and most of our notions are greatly influenced by various pursuits of personal gain. This is common in the world of everyday people. People are just too much confused when it comes to social interactions and leading a life. The same applies to any spiritual practice. For most of the people, spiritualism is meditation. There are many theories and books available in the market that teach various techniques of meditation. They are written by everyday people bearing various pursuits for fame and personal gains. They cannot really teach a genuine way towards enlightenment. With various pursuits and everyday people desires in mind, one cannot progress. This is absolutely true.

Spirituality is a cultivation practice in the real sense. A genuine cultivation practice involves cultivation of both mind and body. Meditation is a form of physical exercise which supplements the cultivation of mind, providing spiritual energy to unveil the mysteries of the universe and self improvement. I understand that today there are a zillion practices present with various masters that provide their teachings. Almost all of them provide their teachings with a pursuit of healing and fitness. This includes Yoga, Reiki and many more. In the midst of so many things, it is very important that a person remains single minded and stick to one practice. A person who just keeps on studying theories without practicing them will ultimately land up doing nothing. This would be a very difficult situation since his mind will be too messed up. Single minded-ness is the key towards advancement in cultivation and spiritualism.

So far, only the Buddha Fa has been able to provide a complete insight into the mysteries of the Universe. Now what exactly is the Buddha Fa? Let me highlight that it is not related to Buddhist religion since the original teachings of several religions have now become obsolete. Falun Dafa or Falun Gong is a spiritual practice which truly allows its practitioners to ascend towards higher levels of cultivation. There are over ten crore practitioners worldwide. As of today, only Falun Dafa is able to provide the true teachings of the Buddha Fa. The practice consists of five set of physical exercises which includes energizing the physical channels of our body and meditation. All these exercises are easy to learn and the instructions can be freely downloaded from the Internet. Zhuan Falun is the book which is a complete teaching of Falun Dafa which could also be downloaded free of charge. Truly, a genuine practice is always selfless and regardless of any pursuits.

Spirituality is all about complying oneself to the characteristics of the universe under any adverse circumstances. Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance are the fundamental characteristics of the universe and conforming to them is the ultimate requirement of a cultivation practice. Exercises and meditation are supplementary. If humankind is able to have a fresh look at the universe and the things around him, science will get a better definition.

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Accept What You Cannot Change, Change What You Cannot Accept

April 21, 2011 Pune, India - If someone walks into the middle of your life and tells you that your life isn't really the entire truth of the universe, what would your reaction be? As an everyday person, you would reject him instantly. You would call such a person, mysterious, superstitious, insane and so on. The same is the case with our Falun Dafa or Dafa or Fa. The extent to which you study and practice the Fa, the closer you would progress towards the truth of the universe. Unfortunately, for an everyday person it is very difficult to give up his rigid mentality, prejudiced views and his past learnings. This contradicts with my current knowledge and beliefs, he would protest. This all seems hypothetical theory which is hard, way too hard to believe and follow. As the Fa says, humankind must fundamentally change its conventional thinking and open up their minds to accept new ideas and approaches. Otherwise the current civilization will forever continue to crawl in between the boundaries which is delimited by its own ignorance and prejudices.

Imagine the world in which we live today, our interpretations of progress is confined to what we refer to as scientific advances, technological progressions and the amenities of the modern human lifestyle. If a couple of hundred years back, if someone said that man would be able to walk on the moon, then he would definitely be declared a fool, superstitious or an idiot. Without even having a spacecraft invented, how can a person really talk about a theory of man reaching on the moon? It would sound like a joke. The mentality of accepting unforeseen facts, possibilities or a form of existence entirely depends on the mind-set of human beings. I have seen several people around who do not understand the facts but have a very strong opinions about some unforeseen truths. Instantly, they reject things that does not make sense to them, they do not comprehend or they are unable to understand.

One of the biggest problem in the humankind of today is their rigid mentality. They believe only those things that they have seen and experienced. They are not willing to change or experience new things for a simple reason that they do not comprehend it, find it too hard to believe. Their channels are blocked and minds are locked. If technology is what can be seen, felt and heard they gather a firm belief in it. They wholeheartedly accept it as the absolute truth of the universe. Modern man call it science or technology and has made it a way of life. This is how they fail to realize that this is just a small part of the entire truth of the universe. They are confined to believe this way and the various dimensions of life are not even thought to explore. This is what is happening with the Fa.

The understanding of modern man is restricted to the knowledge and experiences that occur between his birth and the so called death. Right since his birth, he gathers numerous attachments to matter. Food, water, land, shelter, garments, property, money etc. are all various forms of matter. With his pair of eyes, all he can see is various forms of matter. He sees what his eyes reflect back on his brain. The pair of eyes he owns is pretty much confined to see matter in this dimension of the universe. If one says, there exists a third eye in between ones eye brows, it is quite possible that many of us would straight away reject this concept. Even modern scientists have accepted that there exists an aperture (tianmu) in between ones forehead. But they are just not able to explain it. Their rigid mentality is a hurdle in order to get a better understanding of the human life. This is the reason why even today, everyday person is not able to comprehend how human brain works, whether there really exists something called as a mind, from where thoughts originate - do they have any material existence and so on. Humankind is unwilling to believe anything beyond what they can comprehend in this physical dimension filled with matter. The largest thing they know are planets and the smallest one is a cell, an atom, a proton, an electron or a neutron. They have not been able to build such a microscope which could foresee beyond this physical dimension.

Such rigid thinking is a huge hurdle in self improvement and cultivation. We have raised ourselves to think at a very low level and thus our understanding of life is very tiny and restricted. Everyday people find it so easy to fool others, bully them and commit serious sins. With a very shallow understanding of life, it is very difficult to grow up and become enlightened.

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Falun Gong - An Open Mind And A Willing Heart

March 27, 2011 Pune, India - One of the noblest thought that could come to a mind of a genuine Falun Gong practitioner is to introduce the practice amongst the everyday people he comes across during his course of cultivation. I am definitely sure that this thought in the practitioner’s mind is a result of profound compassion towards the people around him and that it has been cultivated by him through the practice itself.

Most of the everyday people, to whom Falun Gong practice is being introduced, think about what he is really going to gain out of it. Being an everyday person, it is very easy for them to expect for something they are investing, time in this case. Why should I practice Falun Gong? It’s a very obvious question that comes to the mind of a non-practitioner. They relate it to other practices viz. Qigong, Yoga, Art of Living etc. which is primarily done for healing and fitness by everyday people. It sometimes makes me feel too difficult to explain people that Falun Gong is not pursued for physical fitness or curing illnesses. As our Master Li (founder of Falun Gong) illustrates, people with illnesses are not really meant to practice Falun Gong. It is for a simple reason that not everybody can practice it. In fact, if such a person tries to practice it, he won’t be allowed to do it. One of my school friends recently admitted to me that he is not able to practice for a simple reason that it is too difficult to follow. Of course, it is difficult to follow just for a simple reason that it is just too difficult to give up your conventional thinking in the present human society. It is as difficult to practice as thinking good about the person who has been unfair to you. Probably, this is the very reason why a majority people to whom I tell about the practice do not turn up for the Falun Gong exercise sessions.

We have been practicing Falun Gong in some of the public places, parks etc. in our vicinity for several days. We have been distributing information brochures and sometimes, printed copies of Zhuan Falun to people who really show interest. Most of the people enquire about the details of the practice and get intrigued by the characteristics of Zhen-Shan-Ren i.e. Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. Some of them truly manifest that the practice is based on some divine principles of morality but they are just reluctant to change their present life. They express a sense of failure and complain that this practice is not practical. They simply ignore that facts and try to sneak away towards their everyday life. Some people really want to give it a try and turn up for the exercise sessions. However, they are very reluctant to read the teachings and principles on which these exercises are based upon. Falun Gong consists of five slow moving exercises which includes both standing and sitting meditation exercises. The very first exercise is primarily done to open up and unblock the energy channels within our human bodies. Non-practitioners, who are reluctant to open up their minds and understand the facts behind the exercises, will find it very difficult to stay with and continue the practice. For the ones, who genuinely read and manifest the principles of the Fa, would genuinely realize that they have been blessed to be a Falun Gong practitioner.

Falun Gong is not primarily for healing and fitness, but all such benefits are mere by-products of the practice. Falun Gong is a practice based on high level principles and as per our Master Li Hongzhi, such a practice is being openly introduced to the public for the very first time in the history of human civilization. There are crores of practitioners today all over the world who have been trying seamlessly to cultivate the good and righteous thoughts during this Dharma ending period. Numerous Falun Gong practitioners have experienced slow aging just by getting their virtues correct. One of my fellow Falun Gong practitioner who has been practicing for around seven years, do not remember if he has taken any pill or fallen ill during this period. This practice has built up a strong belief in my mind that the treatments done by doctors merely transform or postpone illnesses. The root cause of all the miseries and illnesses is truly not being dealt with by the everyday people. They have been too much busy with their so called personal lives, which generically comprises of inter-personal conflicts, jealousy, egoism, addictions and attachments. I just feel nothing but concerned.

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Is One Day Good Enough?

March 08, 2011 Pune, India - It's the International Women's Day again and it's time to review again the state where we stand. One of the greatest woman in my life, my wife delivered a baby girl on 28th Feb last week. This is our first baby and we now feel blessed for being the proud parents of a baby girl. However, it sometimes makes me feel too down when I come across people with a very low level thoughts when it comes to a girl child. Our society has deteriorated to a very low extent. Merely observing a commemorative day for women has no meaning when they are disrespected over the rest of the year. The society must cultivate itself to celebrate womanhood and learn to treat women with dignity and compassion.

Nonetheless, this time I couldn't think better and more beautiful than composing a poem to express my recent experience on being a father of a baby girl in this male obsessed wicked world.

I wished for a girl
She wanted a boy
A thought across my mind
How impatient was I

I was going to be a father
In a moment or three
How I cared for the little one
And for the mommy to be

Staring at the labour room
There stood me
A thousand prayers I groomed
For a soothing delivery to be

Lengthy moments of wait
Vanished like a gale
As the nurses stood at the gate
Deplorable and pale

Is everything alright sister?
I waited for a sigh
The doctor will answer you mister
It shouldn't be I

Congratulations, said the doctor
As he wore a grim dark smile
Of a girl you're now a father
Said he, in his very own style

Leaving the tender soul in my hand
There walked away the squad
Sneaked a tear of compassion
As I caressed my child

Get us all some sweets sir
I heard a voice behind
Bravo, it's a boy, said the sister
To an another man beside

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A Journey Through Nothingness...

February 25, 2011 Pune, India - Nothing in the world can take away from a man, who has nothing; Nothing in the world can hurt a man who wants nothing. I thought about the plight of a multi millionaire man resting on his death bed. If riches is what could fetch one happiness, he must have lived a life of the happiest man in the world. Today, this is the notion of happiness amongst everyday people - you and me. An everyday person often mistakes excitement for happiness. To be able to fetch your favorite ice-cream, winning a few hundred dollar lottery or meeting your favorite person are various forms of excitement. This feeling brings the mind of an everyday person to it's highest emotional peak. Similarly, there is a lowest emotional peak - fear. Then what happiness really is? Some say it's contentment or satisfaction. Some say that happiness is stability of mind. For me, happiness is nothingness - to be able to stick to nothingness in adverse everyday situations. And that is the path of cultivation - our practice of Falun Dafa.

Our conventional thinking about our materialistic attachments is the biggest hurdle to our cultivation practice of body and mind. As a new practitioner, I wonder how many of us can really stay away from our materialistic thoughts while performing the Falun Gong exercises. Oh! my friend owes a thousand rupees to me, I haven't paid my electricity bill yet; when is the due date? My neighbor has got a new car; I wish to buy a better one than him! I must rush home after the exercises lest I would be late for office. Although you think that you are practicing cultivation, the mind is cultivating evil deep within. But to say, we are still practicing cultivation. And we know that cultivation is good. Isn't this contradicting somewhere? Definitely, this is evil cultivation. With a mind filled with various kinds of attachments, it is very difficult to practice nothingness and cultivation.

In order to be a practitioner in the real sense, one must be very loosely connected to our possessions. Thinking too much about our possessions create an evil called attachment. There are various forms of attachments which will restrict your growth in the course of cultivation practice. Attachments need not always bear a monetary value. Feelings like jealousy, anger, hatred and even love is a form of attachment. Being attached to the human society, one is bound to gather various feelings, relationships and materialistic possessions. In our Falun Dafa, one is permitted to possess riches and materialistic properties. If a practitioner gives away everything, he won't be any different from a monk or a sanyasi. We are permitted to carry and manage our money and possessions since we are still practicing amongst everyday people. The crux is how lightly we take and pursue interpersonal conflicts, preferences of self interest and our attachments.

The path of cultivation is good and difficult at the same time. Good and bad is relative in the dimension of everyday people. What one person thinks good might be bad from the perspective of another everyday person. Similarly, what one thinks bad might be good from the perspective of another everyday person. So far our thoughts and actions comply with Zen-Shan-Ren (Truth, Benevolence and Forbearance) which are the characteristics of the universe, it can be termed as good. Cultivating mind and body is by adopting righteous thoughts and conforming to these characteristics of the universe. The path of cultivation passes through nothingness and for a everyday person, this seems to be the most difficult thing to do. The higher a man progresses through his path of cultivation, the closer he is to the truth of the universe.

Accolades: This post was chosen as the Best Post from the Indian Blogosphere by BlogAdda - their topmost pick on 26th February, 2011

Who : Neeraj Shinde
What : A Journey Through Nothingness…
Spicy : Neeraj informs us about the journey of nothingness through the path of cultivation, a practice of Falun Dafa. In today’s world we are too much attached to our materialistic things. The practice of Falun Dafa is about being loosely connected to those things. Get closer to the truth of the universe through Neeraj’s post!

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Falun Gong - An Open Secret

February 12, 2011 Pune, India - I attended a centenary lecture of a CEO of one of the greatest multinational organizations in the world this week and must admit that it got me nothing but disappointment. I would have had a drastically opposite perspective about it, if I were not a Falun Gong practitioner. Is making money the real purpose of our existence? Certainly not! I am not really criticizing anyone here. I am not permitted to do that. I mean it. But it really makes me feel sad to manifest the fact that several people in the world with able capabilities talk like mere businessmen. That is just one of the zillion aspects of the modern life.

Where is the modern world heading towards? Just sit back and relax, turn on your television set – your favorite news channel. Watch it. Sons killing their mothers, father raping their daughters, thefts, betrayals, kidnappings, domestic violence, social unrest, intolerance, hatred, extra marital affairs, gambling, addictions, religious conflicts – is there an end to all of these varied forms of Karma. An ignorant person would take it as granted as a part of life and switch the channel. That’s the way it is. I am a no person to have control over it. A few, with a sadistic bent of mind would like to entertain themselves over the grief of their fellow beings. Again, I am not criticizing anyone here since I am not permitted to do that. That’s an undeniable fact of our current lives. We are into the dimension of the everyday people. We have attachments which are hard to resist, we fume up very easily and almost always make things worse in a fit. These are the characteristics of everyday people – you and me.

I have seen people killing each other over religion or the so called religious sentiments, whatsoever. Let me ask a very simple question here. What has the person who killed another man in a rage really understood about religion? What did he protect when he intentionally committed such a grave Karma? This is complete lack of forbearance. Amongst the everyday people, prejudices and reactions without a thought are so common that they are now a part of our so called DNA. In this course, the facts behind the truth of the universe are casually overlooked. And the funniest part of it is that we are almost unaware of this loss - our own loss.

All the illnesses and sufferings are the aftermaths of our bad deeds – the karma. I know most of you will find this statement ridiculous; some might neglect it by terming it plain philosophy. For most, philosophy is not practicality – remember that we all think from a dimension of an everyday person. The universe is not confined to a single dimension. Being an everyday person we have deviated from our true selves, the characteristics of the universe – Truthfulness, Benevolence (Compassion) and Forbearance (Tolerance). Since we are a part of the universe, we must comply with these characteristics of the universe. Every matter in the universe possesses these characteristics. The ‘true self’ within us possesses these qualities. While committing a bad deed, haven’t you felt it deep within your mind, your conscience? The life amongst the everyday people isn’t that easy. Especially, in the world of today when there is ‘karma’ all over it has become way too difficult to stick to your true self. It is like a war within. You need to inculcate the qualities of the universe in order to understand the truth of the universe. This is the path of salvation.

What is Falun Gong? Firstly, Falun Gong or Falun Dafa is not a religion – I am just trying to clear the notion of the everyday people here. It is an ancient cultivation practice which is indeed a science by itself. Falun Gong was introduced to the public in the year 1992 by Mr. Li Hongzhi. Falun Dafa is today practiced by over 10 crore people in more than 114 countries. It comprises of a five set of simple exercises which are easy to learn and suitable for all age groups. As a practitioner, I would say that it is a practice to inculcate the righteous by purification of our everyday bodies and mind. For new practitioners I would strongly recommend to read Zhuan Falun. However, this post of mine is not really to credit myself or advertise any one. It is rather meant to 'hint' my fellow human beings with whom I share a predestined relationship. In order to start with the practice, you need to possess an open mind and a willing heart. That is a mandate. In fact, that is the first step towards enlightenment, believe me. This is absolute truth.

It is never too late. You will realize it only when you start. Please note that Falun Dafa is free and practitioners all over the world are volunteers. Please feel free to contact any of the volunteer contacts at your nearest site locations. I will feel privileged to assist you with any help that might be needed.

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LOST Imparts a Strong Message

December 22, 2010 Pune, India - The chaos and confusion occurring in the mind of the viewers for almost 6 long years has ended recently with the LOST finale coming to a conclusion. Whether or not it is a real conclusion is a debatable topic but it is undoubtedly true that this TV series has set up a bar too high in the field of television entertainment. LOST had hosted 5 seasons until 2009 and this year hosted the final season i.e. LOST - the final season. With the final season coming to an end, I personally feel that the producers have left us wandering for the answers to the questions that engulfed our gray cells from Season 1 through Season 5 last year. The way this series was shaping up, I had great expectations from the producers and I am really happy to say that the final season ended in an interestingly unusual manner. Right from the first frame of the series, when Jack Shepherd opens up his eye in the Island, the story has made us think. Unusual things like the smoke monster, time traveling, electromagnetism and it's effects on human mind, destiny, fate compelled us to think from a scientific perspective. Some great scientists do believe that time traveling can be explained using the theory of relativity which is duly based on the relation between speed, distance, time and energy. Well, that's just one perspective I used to understand the entire story. But, it fails to answer all of the questions that are being raised by the producers of LOST.

After studying the entire story, I then turned up to a different perspective. The makers of LOST have made a brilliant attempt to portray a story which is awesomely entertaining, mind boggling, intelligent and above all imparting a great message to an ordinary viewer. I believe that the makers have intentionally made sure that they do not provide specific answers to all the questions a casual viewer might raise. In order to understand the message, it is very important to change your bent of mind from a viewer with straight line of thinking to a viewer with lucidly free flowing thoughts and a stream of understanding. I know that is difficult to understand but that is all what getting LOST is all about. Well, in this post, let me explain the gist of the story in my very own way and perspective.

Using my perspective, I have built a few theorems that explains and answers most of the important questions raised. However, this won't answer all of the questions that are specific to the character of the story. The makers of the story have made sure that they leave some questions unanswered for the viewers to figure out. One of the reasons why I loved the way LOST concluded is that it didn't end up like a conventional, single threaded story - ones like the happily ever after or the ones with a straight conclusion. I love the way it progressed and the way in which it ended. Although the series ended with the 6th season, it has imparted a very strong message and that is to - 'Let Go' and 'Move On'.

Often in our lives, we come across situations wherein we feel so bad about our existing life situation. We just get carried away by these situations so much so that we build confines amongst ourselves and get trapped in it.

The story of LOST starts with the Oceanic flight 815 getting crashed on an island. Now, whether or not the passengers actually died in the plane crash is left to the viewers discretion. What's more important here is to understand that most of the people on the plane which includes the main characters of the story viz. Jack, Hugo, Kate, James or Sawyer, Sayid and so on were very much trapped within the confines of their personal worldly problems. That is the reason why they were chosen up for the Island in the first place. Who really chose them? Was it Jacob or the makers of the story is again left to the viewer's discretion.

The Island is actually an epitome of the source of life within every human being. To say we are different entities, different bodies, getting born in different forms and time period. But, the source of life is one thing that binds us all. And that is what we call the Island. The source of life has two distinct perspectives, the good and the evil. Nevertheless, there is a superpower that safeguards this source or the heart of the Island. Jacob - the character who enacts as the protector of the Island plays this role.

The Island is timeless. It has the power to heal every problem associated with life. When the flight 815 crashed on the Island, the passengers were almost in the transition process from life to death. And then there is re-birth. The Island has the potential to give it all. The entire story that took place is between this transition phase. When one says that he had a near death experience, he actually reaches the Island, the source of life. When the Oceanic 6 (the six survivors of the flight 815 air-crash) escaped from the Island, they resumed their mundane normal lives which were same as their lives before the accident. There wasn't really any change in their situations. That is the reason why they were needed back on the Island. It is not actually, Benjamin Linus or Charles Widmore summoning them or provoking them to come back; it is the call of the destiny. They actually figure out a means to come back to the Island when they meet Dan Faraday's mother - another near death experience.

The exact moments when all the main characters of the story died is not distinctly specified but it is true that they died at different points in time. But it is more important for us to realize that it was on the Island that all of these characters came out of their confines of worldly issues. For instance, Jack who had issues with his father Christian only realized the situation of a father when he actually became a father of a fictional son David. Jin changed his perspective towards his wife Sun. However, some like Michael committed grave sins which eventually restricted them from moving out of their own confines - they remained trapped on the Island. The final season of the story is all about imparting good messages. But that is possible only when we change our perspectives towards difficult life situations. It is utmost important that it is love that binds us all as humans in the long run. Eventually, the characters of the story build up relationships amongst themselves in order to lead a better life ahead. Life and death is a continuous journey and there doesn't really exist anything like 'Now' in this course. It is important for us all to realize that we have come up from the same source - the Island.

Good and evil are relative and they can change forms. Jacob, the protector of the Island and the Man in Black were identical twins. However, the Man in Black came across the fact that their actual mother was killed by the lady who enacted their fake mother. Jacob was reluctant to accept this fact. The truth was hidden and this gave rise to an evil situation wherein Jacob killed his own brother. This is when the evil black smoke (monster) came out of the source and started corrupting the Island inhabitants. It's only when we devote a reasonable time to understand the truth, and the people around us we can actually stop the growth of the evil. This was probably, the mistake which Jacob referred to during his brief conversations.

The story, in a nutshell, tells us to 'move on' with every difficult situation in life and 'let go' certain things rather than constraining ourselves or quibbling over the problems. Everything in life exists for a purpose. It only ends once, everything that happens before that is just progress.

This is just my personal interpretation of the story, if you think otherwise, move on...

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Divorce - a Short Story

December 11, 2010 Pune, India - "Marriages are made in heaven", I remembered her answer which sounded on a serious note to my blithe ignorant question seeking a reason why she had decided to marry me! Her answer had connected our hearts in less than a moment and we were no strangers anymore. I knew that she was going to be a good wife.

That was the beginning of a budding relationship.

But that was years back. Just as the events of the present day case proceedings in the court of law, her reply had moved me from the bottom of my heart. Whosoever made marriages; but I was pretty certain that divorces were man made, I thought as the jury signed the verdict. We were quite sure that this, one last journey was going to put an end to the chaos happening in our lives over the past three years. Right since we had started our journey from the district court, I was looking at her face intermittently. It was drizzling steadily on the dusky city street and she just kept on staring outside the window of the car. I was clueless about what mingled in her head, but something ensured my weary mind that the final verdict of granting us a divorce must have relieved her - in fact us both.

I noticed that she was continually ignoring my presence in the car, rather trying to divagate from the collective memories we had created over the past few years. Her reticence inspired me to not utter a word. It was a hard fact that we had now officially given up the rights over each other. This was something that was hard for me to sustain. I was constantly making futile attempts to see some similar emotions on her face that imitated my mind. But more than anything else, it was her silence that was killing me to death at the moment. How can she be so stubborn? I kept on thinking...

"So, will you marry some other man?", I asked her as I burst away the silence which was almost deafening me.

I knew that was such a stupid question but it was starting a conversation that was gaining my priority at the moment. She looked back at me in despair. I slowed down the car over the left as I let overtake a speedy car over my right. This is something I always hated to do.

I noticed that she had decided not to answer my question. I realized that it was none of my business anymore and took a different turn away from home.

"Where are you taking the car?", she asked me desperately. Ultimately, I felt happy to have been successful in stealing away some words from her mouth.

I kept on driving for a few minutes and stopped at a water pool. It was a lush green park with a huge rocky mountain in the backyard which was beautifully dressed by the weeds of the September rains. The place wasn't unfamiliar to either of us. In fact, it was this place where our journey had begun and our relationship had blossomed. We knew that recollecting the sheer number of evenings we had spent together, in this park, weaving our futures was never so easy.

I asked her to get down and parked the vehicle by the road.

"I would like you to end it here", I said as I stood in front of her, meekly.

She looked straight into my eyes. I observed that my words had hit her hard within. Apparently, a couple of tear drops secretly left her black beautiful eyes - the ones which were once only mine.

"Do you think, signing a couple of documents will erase it all?", she asked in a low tone.

I shrugged.

"I just can't imagine...", I murmured and was unable to speak any further.

Moments passed away like ages as we stood there like two lost strangers waiting for nothing. The beautiful evening was gradually gulped away by the darkness of the fast approaching night.

"Beep...beep..$#.beep...$...beep..#" A sudden ring from my cell phone brought me back to my senses.

Was that a dream? I tried hard to think in my current state of trance. I opened my eyes and had a glimpse of her beautiful face, passionately staring at me. She was looking at me in amazement and I ensured myself of my return from a different world.

"What are you talking about?", she asked in a firm voice.

"Woah! Was I? Just a bad dream Priya", I said as I looked back at her. She was looking beautiful than ever before.

I was wondering about what I might have muttered in my sleep.

"Did you hear me speak?", I asked her in my attempt to evade any embarrassment.

"Not really", she said as she smiled.

I felt relieved as she brought me closer and touched my face gently. She had an unusual sparkle in her eyes. Momentarily, the smile on her lips had faded away.

"Did you dream about a divorce because of the paltry quarrel we had last night?", she asked gravely.

I looked at her, spellbound.

I had no feeling to express; no other gesture to show than giving her a big and long hug.

Dedicated to my dear wife Priya on our second anniversary - for her profound love, immense care and also the stupid disputes that has made my life so interesting. I love you! You're the best wife a man can get.

Accolades: This post was chosen as the Best Post from the Indian Blogosphere by BlogAdda - the week of 16 November, 2010

Who : Neeraj Shinde
What : Divorce – a Short Story
Tangy : Neeraj has just moved out of court with his ex-wife after the divorce verdict was declared. He wants her to break his silence and say something the last time and his phone rings! Read ahead to find out what he says finally…

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GiveIndia.org Made Me Feel Like a Real Winner!

November 02, 2010 Pune, India - GiveIndia.org recently felicitated one of my posts on Giving and awarded a small amount to me as a token of their appreciation. Although, this money may sound as a very small amount, I only realized it's potential when I donated it in order to part sponsor education for a disadvantaged and poor child for a year. I must admit that this is the best way in which I have ever spent a thousand bucks, which otherwise would have been transformed into a useless shopping voucher. I had almost forgot of this small donation when today, a feedback document on this donation from GiveIndia touched my email in-box and subsequently, my heart. Today, I was into tears when I read the feedback of this transaction - the way it was going to improvise a life of a twelve year old girl. I feel like sharing this feeling with all my dear readers which I am unable to resist at the moment.

***

Feedback on the utilization of your donation, as received from The Akanksha Foundation

Transaction number : TRN-0001315301/TD-0001351063
Transaction date : 19-Aug-2010
Name of the donor : Neeraj Shinde
Purpose of donation : Part sponsor education for a disadvantaged & poor child for a year
Units : 1
Amount : INR 1000

Beneficiary Details
Brief Description

The Akanksha Foundation is an NGO working in the field of non-formal education for slum children in Mumbai and Pune. Ms Shaheen Mistri set up the organization 20 years ago to cater to the needs of many children in Mumbai who live in very difficult conditions and do not get the opportunity of education. Our vision is that one day, all children will be equipped with the education, skills and character that need to lead empowered lives.

The organization has expanded from 15 children in one centre to over 3500 children at present in 63 centers in Mumbai and Pune. A group of over 500 volunteers support the program together with 120 teachers and over 50 staff. A commitment is made to support the children through their school going years and to help them plan what skills they can use and how they can earn a steady livelihood as a step towards improving their standards of living.

Children come to a center.

An Akanksha Centre,
• runs each day for a group of 60 children for two and half hours five days a week.
• Is located in existing premises such as schools, colleges, public buildings, or offices which lend their space for classes free of charge (or at a nominal fee)
• Is staffed by a Head Teacher and an Assistant Teacher who plan the learning activities and teach the children each day and who collect the children from the slum area and brings them to the centre.
• Has a syllabus that is adjustable to the varying learning levels of the children
• Is supervised by Manager, Education and one of two Educational Coordinators who visit each of the centers regularly to help the teachers ensure that quality learning is taking place at the centre
• Is supported by social worker who liaise with the slum community where the children live, in order to tackle issues such as attendance in school, health and nutrition
• Has volunteers who supplement the services of the two teachers and offer instruction in their own areas of expertise
• Is assessed monthly through model centre meetings

Name: Priyanka Hiralal Shrivastav
DOB: 12th Jan, 1997(?)( 12 years)
Name of Formal School: Love Grove Road Pumping Station Upper Primary Marathi School
Std: 6th (Marathi medium)
Residential Address: Dr. Annie Besant Road, Mariamma Nagar, Worli, Mumbai - 18
Father’s Name: Hiralal Shivram Shrivastav
Occupation: Security Guard
Mother’s Name: Vidya Hiralal Shrivastav
Occupation: Housemaid
No. of siblings: 3(1 sister and 2 brothers)-
Native Place: Uttar Pradesh
Religion : Hindu
No. of years at Maharashtra: 8 years

Priyanka is a very quite child and is very attentive and sincere. She is very hard working too and tries and not gives up. Even during empowerment sessions even if she is not participating you know that she is paying attention and grasping concepts. She needs a strong push all the time to perform well, in spite of a lot of influence from her peers she has still been able to hold on to her focus and interest in studies.

***

Thank you www.GiveIndia.org - you made me feel like a real "Winner".

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Awaiting Justice... Seeking Safety in City Buses

October 09, 2010 Navi Mumbai, India - It has been four long years that I have been waiting for justice from the N.M.M.T. officials with regards to the very unfortunate rowdy bus conductor episode in which I was a victim of one of the errant employee, a bus conductor of Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport. After four long years, the NMMT authorities have woke up and have recently sent me two communication letters at very short notices asking for my physical presence at their Turbhe, Navi Mumbai office. I am miserably dissatisfied with the casual proceedings in this case by the public organization. The entire episode really haunts me with a grave question as of how secure we as the city residents are while we move out of our homes into city buses. Below is the letter I posted to NMMT inquiry officer today who is looking into this case:

(Delivered By India Post - Speed Post EM249202692IN on 9th Oct, 2010)

To,

The Enquiry Officer,

Enquiry Department,

Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (N.M.M.T.),

Turbhe Depot, 2nd Floor,

Turbhe - Navi Mumbai - 400 703

Dear Sir,

Subject: Complaint lodged by me on July 28th, 2006 against rowdy bus conductor Shree Chintamani Kadam, Badge no. 196149

In the above context, I have received your two letters dated 7th Sep, 2010 calling me to appear for enquiry on 17th Sep, 2010 and another dated 4th Oct, 2010 advising me to appear as a witness on 15th Oct, 2010 in connection with the charge sheet filed against the errant bus conductor Shri. Kadam.

At the outset, I have to submit in this connection that I may please be exempted from giving personal appearance at your office for the reason that from the last over two years; I have been settled in Pune city and cannot afford to give any personal appearance. However, at the same time I hereby make it very clear that my presence or absence in the enquiry process does not in any way make my submissions in the complaint weak. As such, you are requested to complete the enquiry process in my absence and on the basis of the factual points made in my complaint without any further delay. Regarding the inquiry process, first of all I am totally dissatisfied with your delaying tactics in concluding the inquiry process which otherwise should have been completed latest by the year end of 2006. It is quite unreasonable, unjust and biased approach of N.M.M.T. to have taken two and a half years to appoint you as an enquiry officer in this case and now you are taking your own time to finish the process. Also, your insisting on my personal appearance would amount to negating justice by applying delaying tactics as you'll agree that "Justice delayed is justice denied". Besides, the delay being caused in this process gives rise to the suspicion that the inquiry process is being made as a farce and you are predetermined in unduly protecting your own employee/worker from handing out penalty for his misdeeds.

It is, therefore, to be noted that N.M.M.T. being a public institution has to set its own house in order and the commuters are saved from the rude and inconsiderate behavior of its workers. I, therefore, once again request your honor to kindly take into account all my submissions made in my complaint letter as also the points made herein before and conclude the enquiry process without any further delay in the interest of justice and oblige.

Before I conclude, I submit that the worker Shree Kadam was neither familiar to me earlier nor I am keeping any personal/individual grudge against him. Also, there is no question of my having any personal enmity with him. As such, I appeal before your good self that the case proceedings or the enquiry process is concluded in a purely objective manner and without any aspect of biased approach which will go a long way in improving N.M.M.T.'s image in the public eye.

I do hope, my submissions meet the ends of justice for which I shall remain thankful to you sir.

I am aware to take legal recourse in the matter if the circumstances so demand.

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

Neeraj Shinde

(Complainant)

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