Happy Birthday Sensei!

I can literally divide my life into two halves, one before I encountered Nicherin Daishonin Buddhism and one after. This life defining Philosophy has given me the strength to take control of my environment, my happiness, my karmas. It's given be a leap of faith, a leap of faith backed by reason and logic.

Today on your birthday, Sensei, I thank you for being the best mentor anyone can ever have. When everything seems topsy turvy and devastated, your guidance and words of Hope, come in like the light through the crack, brightening the darkest corners. With you I have shared my hopes, dreams, fears, angst, tears and mystically your words have given me the life force to  sail through.  

You have inspired me through your own life struggles, to dream for the impossible, to go after the cherished and to make a difference in the society. You have empowered us with hope, wisdom, courage and compassion to face each life struggle with the spirit of the lion, to enjoy the suffering as much as the joy, to awaken to our kosen rufu mission, to smile through hostility, to emerge and inspire others to emerge as Boddhisatwas.

I hereby express my profound gratitude for your support, for your warm embrace even when I slackened, for your prayers, for your writings, for making me master of my own destiny and dreams.

In this Year of Expansion, I am gonna literally, come out as blue deeper than indigo. One of those hundreds and thousands of Shinichi's, I will rise to fulfil my vow. I will make you proud as Ikeda Kayo Kai.

Happy Birthday Sensei! To your long and healthy life!

Being the Yonder Star!

It's Christmas and it's the season to sing and dance and to spread Joy. The secret Santa madness, the lunches and the dinners, the vacations and getaways, the confidential of high heels and apparels, the food mad trails and indulging in intoxicants, all of it more make the Holiday Season perfect.

But there is a little bit more to this last stride to the year. The birth of Jesus, marked an event of hope, a leap of faith of may be, to break the deadlocks, to overcome the marshy land and emerge as the Lotus, to believe in the existence of the Yonder Star and follow the light.

Even the ever joyous Santa comes with a 'Clause', therefore it's foolish to believe that the road ahead will not be bumpy and be rose tinted. But if you have hope and steadfast determination to steadfast ahead, the bumpy ride will be the rollercoaster that gives you adrenaline rush.

We all need an anchor in our life, something we can hold on to, something we can cocoon ourselves in, in the event of distress. This Christmas let us be that anchor for just one individual, let us not give him a bandage to temporarily soothe the turmoil but give him hope of good times in future.

Words of encouragement, words showing hope, words of camaraderie will make you a yonder star in someone's life and encourage that someone to be a yonder star in someone else's life.

Merry Christmas!

The fear of taking the road less travelled.

It's Diwali and all the Diwali wishes I have received and exchanged today had an undertone current of a desire to have courage and wisdom to beat our fears.

I believe that we all our blessed with this one skill set which is unfathomable. But it does take in a lot of introspection and effort to realise that skill set and work towards harbouring it. Most of the times we are stooped down by the human factor around us. As a rule, we are not very acceptable of the extra ordinary, be it be trangenders getting legal status of the third sex or people pursuing their passion which doesn't sync with their degree. And to top it all if it's a career switch after investing years in a profession, it's a catastrophe. Raised eyebrows, uncouth permutation combinations, label of being defeated at your present profile, ah, you name it, and people around have already drawn that conclusion.

So at this threshold what do we have to enroute happiness. Well, confidence and belief and if you are fortunate small set of people who encourage your every step on the road less travelled. Collecting the favourable factors one needs to tread that path at least once in one's lifetime. And even it's a futile journey, being as pessimist as possible, at the end of the doomsday, one will still not have regrets of taking it up.

So, there are plethora of us (Attorneys) who have shrieked the slogan, 'Leave law behind'. The reason could be many, working ours that end only when you sleep, huge disparity between billable hours and the takeaways, traditional (read lala firms) still believing it to be an era of British colonialism, discrimination between men and women,  black and white positioning in life, or just the overhauling fear of making a typo in a brief. And if not these, just a simple nod to 'law doesn't interest me anymore'. But leaving it all behind how factored is that step. Fear, darling, fear. Fear of acceptance, fear of non association with being called a 'lawyer', fear of what next, fear of starting from scratch, eats us and condemns us of blasphemy. And thus a retired hurt.

However, if for once, one doesn't let the fear engulf us in a canopy and take into treading the path of our passion, there are possible results. Who knows, the Mystic Law of the Universe was just waiting us to grow some balls and take that step. There is an equal probability of a successful career out an envied passion which has all three markings of the dream job, beauty, benefit and goodness. And who cares if doesn't work out, at least one will not live a life of harping on, 'if I had more courage'. And if not anything it will make a fantastic drunken story. I came, I saw, I conquered.

In the last few months, I have mystically come across a number of us, especially lawyers, who were not entrapped by their degree. They took note of their calling and today are successful entrepreneurs, consultants, fashion bloggers, photographers, motivational speakers (you see lawyers sell easily). They all had this one mindset in this common, 'Fuck this shit, bro. The people around will label be 'not the ordinary' when I make it there and quote be as example'.

Frost was not stupid to be remembered even today for 'The road less travelled'. Alice would have never made to your library had she given to fear to venture to the unknown wonderland.

Ah! This was a long post and my coffee has become cold, I need to warm it or may be I can make a new one, this time with a little more passion than the last coffee. (Subtle anology drawn)

Happy Diwali Guys. 14 years of exile and the homecoming gave us Diwali. May we all gain victory over our exiles of fear and plunge into the undercurrent of 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'.

A few good men can make all the difference!

On my way from Hauz Khas Village to Gurgaon, yesterday, late in the night, dense fog and zero percent visibility left me stranded on the road. All in vain, parked my car on the side of the road, with no idea what to do. 5 minutes passed and a car stops right next to me. My heart in my mouth, I started fidgeting on the phone. A gentleman, out of the 3 gentlemen in the car, came to my window and asked me where I had to go. I told him where and he told me he will drive through that route and I should follow him. May be I was stupid to trust him and started following his car. But after a while even driving wasn't possible. May be he sensed this. He stopped his car and asked me if he should drive my car while his car would follow us. Again stupid enough to trust. Friendly, small talk, yes he made. Reluctant participation from my side with a hyperbola belief I will be home.

Did I reach home, safe and sound?

ABSOLUTELY! Thank you, good men for restoring, atleast my faith in goodness around. Indebted!

Your Mind is writing Cheques, Encash!

Dreams washed away by the sparkling water,

She stood all naked amidst the labyrinth of logic,

May be right, may be wrong,

She was happy, may be Not,

Splashing that sparkling water on her face, when,

Oh! She was a Dreamer all over again!

Her dreams were just not splash of colours, pictures scattered here and there,

It was her extended self, a self she applauded, a self she cajoled, a self she wanted to be,

From those dreamy afternoons on the swing,

To those enchanting pictures that the rains bring,

She was a child; she was gaining momentum, still not scarred,

Logic, reasoning, circumstances, doubts were irrelevant, her dreams were still not marred.

The momentum of growing up took speed,

And yielded attacks of barriers, time, doubt, society,

She was engulfed, she had to be,

Right meant crushing those dreams, which the broad sunlight had yet to see,

Leaving the meandering ways, she took the straight road,

The Road less travelled only to Frost, she picked up her luggage where everyone hoard.

Society applauded, she met known faces, her mind all sane, her demeanour all guarded,

While the days went by in the hula-hoop,

The nights scared her,

But with time less, even nights became days,

No fear, no worry, no care

No time to sit, think and stare.

One forlorn afternoon, while battling towards her dos and don’t for the day,

A familiar vision caught her sight,

A young girl on the swing humming ‘Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb.....’

She smiled and passed by, still holding her to do list of dos and don’ts,

The day ended, the to-do list was ticked and in the kitchen it was perfectly done ham, 

The night was here, surprisingly it was comforting, for she dreamt and realised Mary did have a lamb.

The morning next was strange, like a memory form the forgotten past,

The maze, meandering ways, labyrinth had all returned,

She smiled while the insanity made home,

She knew where she belonged, where her happiness and achievements will share camaraderie,

It’s then,

She splashed  that sparkling water on her face, when,

Oh! She was a Dreamer all over again!

The Human Economics of Desires, Wants and Determinations!

It’s that time of the Year. Remember that Piece of Paper/adorned Dairy where you scribbled your bucketlist for 2014. Oh! Because we are the generation who is cursed with the advent of technology, may be the bucketlist is well guarded in the nook of that no public access zone on your machines.

Where they will be certain ‘Oh, Yes’ moments and ‘Ticks’ on the list, there will obviously be occurrences of long faces as well.

So, what happens when wishlist doesn't culminate into ACHIEVED! Do we give up on the desires or may be train our brain into thinking that this might not be the best thing for us or divert all our energy to the second best thing.

See, the entire dogma of begging infront of a supernatural power for benefits without bringing about any change/human revolution in you, doesn't sync in with me. The trick is not to undermine the power of the Mystic Law and have a doubt-free faith in its existence and then bringing about Human Revolution in yourself, in such way that the environment starts responding to your desires and carves the path for you to fulfill them.

Okay, let’s simplify the mechanics.

If I want my kosen-rufu Job, what do I do about it? While applying, networking for it, I also try and imbibe all the qualities that my prospective employer may look for and thus make the environment a magnetic field. Basically, it is evolving yourself in such a fashion that automatically whatever you desire gets attracted to you. And this is purely possible because of HUMAN REVOLUTION. Newton’s Third Law of Motion.

The next battle is “Jo hota hai ache ke liye hota hai”. Somehow, the interpretations of Gita have ruined it for us. It just stinks of lethargy and non-progressive contentment. So the Economics says, we will all achieve our determinations and report victories but how soon we achieve them depends on whether we are crawling, walking or running towards them. And yet again depends on with how much zeal and passion you want to report Victories and but ofcourse HUMAN REVOLUTION. So until and unless you yourself don’t desire/want a particular thing, conspicuous or inconspicuous, you have all the chance in the world to achieve it.

So, may be your boss thinks you are douchebag or the neighbourhood Uncle, doesn't think high of your culinary skills, may be the love you wanted never came back, or that stock market ate up all your savings, move the bloody environment to declare SPARTA! 

Different definitions of Love! Part 2- The Quarter Life Crisis!

A week to the back to back wedding  season and I have serious symptoms of maturity. So, because of lack of work in office these days, the Clients seem to be on the upcoming Holiday-orgasm, I have been thinking about how our perspective about love/commitment changes with age.

Just two days back, at one of our drunk nights, a friend tells me, “I am in the age –bracket where investing time, energy and emotions (Yes, emotions indulge in the Quarter life) in a frivolous relationship seems a waste. Whatever, I get into now, will/should be on the path to culminate into the 7 vows”. I concur.

I guess, being with someone now, is beyond the feeling of butterfly in the stomach or just the need of feeling that body next to yours or a trophy to display to the world. The shit gets real now. The crude story is 6 months and love is out of the window in any relationship, so can you bank your lifetime on just Love. NO.  

Without sounding morbid, commitment has a bucketlist! Mine might be too prudish for yours but it is certainly there. There is no cliché of “He should complete me” but someone who, may be with different lifestyle or slightly parallel yet complimenting life-ideology, helps me flourish my own life-ideologies. If I don’t come out as better person with another human attachment in my life, what’s the point of that attachment!

Gone are the days of 36 ke 36 gun match hue hain! The two individuals can have separate lifestyles, no way am I advocating whoring around but my inquisitive plunges in baking obviously will not sync in with his man-love for football. But that’s alright. OD-ing on anything, anyway leads to catastrophe.

So long story cut short.

(a) Only I am the centre of my happiness and I can’t depend on anyone to sprinkle fairy dust in my    life.

(b) As disappointing as it sounds, too old for dating games.

(c) Relationships are not like monkey on back. Individual lifestyles while inspiring the other person  to grow beautifully is a keeper.

(d) Even with all the hullahoop the desire to come back to each other is it.

(e) Get me my Vodka with water and limejuice!