Friday, April 18, 2014

Karma, Confessions & the Universe

We all have some dreams in life, some of these dreams are realistic and achievable and others are just plain stupid and bizarre. Something like say, me winning Ms World competition. Theoretically and practically I know this is impossible but that doesn’t stop me from practicing my winning speech every night before I go to sleep. I definitely don’t mean to say that dreams never come true. In fact without dreams (both conscious and unconscious) our lives would lack lustre, goals, ambitions and the very essence of wellbeing. Dreams are what give us the energy to get out from bed every morning and help give a direction to our life. History has been witness to people achieving what they desired for, we all have heard atleast one such stories which seems unreal and gives goosebumps. Lets talk about the current talk of the town and the butt of numerous jokes and one-liners on social medias – our very own Mr Narender Modi. The enigmatic leader had humble upbringing, as a young lad he used to assist his father in selling tea at a railway station. The guy dreamed big and is today on the threshold of attaining the position of the most coveted person in the country.

Photo Courtesy - hbjcapital.com


They say the universe around us has mystical powers of which most of us are unaware. It is a widely accepted fact that if we reaaaallly want to achieve something, the entire universe conspires to help us get what we want. It sounds like a gimmick but it really is true. The first time I actually came to believe this theory was when – nope not after watching Shahrukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om. It was when I read Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist books which highlight the power of our thoughts and how they affect the course of our and our close ones destiny. After reading about this theory I realized that it stands true for many scenarios in my own life. E.g I always had thing about Mumbai, sitting in the mountains of Jammu & Kashmir I used to think about going to Mumbai and sip cutting chai in marine drive. You can imagine my ecstasy when I saw my job offer letter which had the joining location as Mumbai in bold letters. Mumbai was not even one of the training centers they have all across India. But still I was chosen for Mumbai, I guess it was written in my destiny even if it meant a direct deputation to project without training. I read an interview of Boman Irani once, wherein he mentioned that acting was always his passion. Ever since he remembered, he always wanted to be an actor. However the first role offered to him in the Hindi film industry was at the age of 40. Even then the amount of success and love he received is unmatched. So our dreams, the fire within us and of course our hardwork towards achieving that dream do give the universe a kick-start to start working its magical brush. But what if after some years we no longer want the same things, does the universe get that drift or does it keep working oblivious to the change of plans. We all change our minds about something we were serious about a while ago. As a kid I used to be crazy about Milky Bar chocolates but I guess I ate so many that now I just cannot stand them. Similarly time, situations and circumstances change our outlook and affection for many things and people.

My best friend was totally besotted with this guy she was dating back in our college days. So much so that she used to constantly worry about their future together. The fact that whether their parents would agree to their match and even if they did would their kundali’s match. They were a solid item for around 2-3 years but then things started to turn topsy-turvy. The guy started to get possessive and the girl needed her breathing space. So after a lot of analysis and thinking, she decided to break-off from the relation. But to her horror the guy was not that over her, now that both of them are of the “marriageable age” he told his parents about the girl. His parents talked to the girls’ parents, the guy, both set of parents were very positive on the match and that’s not all. Even the kundali matched with a score of 32/36. In short everything turned out the way it was supposed to be, except for the falling out of love part. Now I keep thinking what if the universe is somehow hell bent to make it happen. Maybe in some years in the event of some bizarre situation they will get married and blessed from both set of parents like it was initially desired.

And then there is Karma, the repercussion of all our actions (good and bad) which have to be borne by us in this and subsequent lives that we will lead. Don’t know about others but this is something which I strongly believe. Just like the universe conspiracy I have come across many instances from my own life which have strengthened my belief in the fact that Karma is a bitch. When I was little my cousin suffered from a very serious bout of stomach infection. He vomited everything he ate and fainted every time he got up from the bed. For some strange reason the little me found his frequent fainting stunts very amusing. I made fun of him and that irritated him a lot. After some days he was perfectly fine but the little sepo started to vomit and faint. In my dizziness and semi-conscious state I remember him telling me “Dekha, mera mazak udati thi naa” (“See , you made fun of me”). And that my friends was my first tryst with Karma. Inconsequential as it may seem, yet it taught me a lesson. Although I am not a criminal I do have a share of things-I-am-not-proud-of. Sometimes when I can’t sleep at night I fret over the list and then sleep doesn’t come at all. I don’t know when or how the karma is gonna work on my deeds but it surely is something I give a lot of thought to. Say for example if you knowingly or unknowingly break someone’s heart or reject someones love and affection towards you, does that mean that you will yourself never find love or even if you find it, it will not last and you will not be happy. Ever.
**Dramatic Sighs**

Photo Courtesy - www.spiritual-knowledge.net

One can choose to ignore this but you can never can't deny its presence. Even Newton’s third law says, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. So next time you plan to break someone’s heart (or legs) try to imagine an equal beam scale (Insaaf ka Tarazu) and make sure to be a good person and moves the scales in the favor of good deeds.

Happiness comes due to good actions, suffering results from evil actions, 
by actions, all things are obtained, by inaction, nothing whatsoever is enjoyed. 
If one's action bore no fruit, then everything would be of no avail, 
if the world worked from fate alone, it would be neutralized. 
—Mahabharata, xiii.6.10 & 19


Love:
Sepo

13 comments:

  1. A good philosophical piece of writing Sneha! :) Even I believe that the stronger the desire to achieve one's goal, the quicker they gonna achieve it - but just having a strong desire doesn't take us further, so we gotta start working towards that goal every minute of every day - eat it, sleep it, dream it, breathe it and how soon you gonna win depends on how badly you want success!! :)

    And coming to Karma, I too believe in what goes around, comes around - but if we hurt someone unintentionally/accidentally - I guess Karma won't return back the same - so, Karma works based on your core intentions, natural behavior, beliefs and values are!

    All the Best,
    Cheers!! :)

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  2. Wow this was truly an amazing writeup! I have always believed that there is some master plan for each of us, sort of like a framework. But within that frame work, its upto us - the paths we choose and the direction we choose to follow to reach the destination. At least that's how I pacify myself about things that are beyond my control and try to do the best I can with situations that are in my control!

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    1. That's a very good and an interesting analogy. Just like Shakespeare said we are merely characters who play our part in the play of life

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  3. Nice post sepo.

    I also truly believe in karma.
    Kisi ka acha karoge toh acha ho hoga ...
    These are not only words ,but its reality and faith...

    Keep writing .....

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  4. A lot of the time, I find that the Universe doesn't necessarily give you what you WANT, but rather what you NEED. Some times it all matches up and that's fabulous. And at other times, it's still fabulous!

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  5. Love the post, SEPO. It's so true bout life like Boman tryst with acting, Coelho's book and, of course, your Mumbai job. One just need to believe in dreams and one can never know when it will come true. "When backpacking, you meet people and pay your debts. When the debts get paid off, you part, and that’s that." I truly believe in this quote and happened quite a few times. I am a hopeful and let's continue dreaming coz it takes seconds for luck to strike.
    Do have a look on the April A to Z writing challenge I am participating on
    www.vishalbheeroo.wordpress.com

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    1. You are very right Vishal and I loved that quote too :-)
      Our A-Z challenge is awesome.

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  6. Loved this post sneha.!
    Actually i read it twice...
    zyada kya kahun, bas aapse sahmat hun !

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  7. कर्मचक्र बढ़ता रहता है,
    सूर्य सतत चढ़ता रहता है।

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