December 2021

Nepali Folk Tales – Wise vs Intelligent vs Smart

It is not about being fast. It is about doing what’s appropriate.

Once there lived a tortoise, a frog, and a snake nearby a river. They were good friends. Their life was normal and good. They crossed the river together early in the morning, ate their respective foods, and returned back in the evenings.

One day while they were on the other side of the river, loud thunder and lightning together with deadly black clouds filled the skies. Realizing that it would soon rain heavily, the wise tortoise said –

‘Hey, guys. Look at the skies. I think it will rain heavily. We should return back. It will get worse if it floods.’

‘Don’t panic. Nothing is wrong. We can cross when it starts raining. There’s no point worrying now. I am innovative enough to figure out tens of solutions even if it floods,’ the frog, who was intelligent, said.

‘Exactly! It hasn’t rained yet. We shouldn’t bother about things that haven’t yet happened. Live in the present, son. Even if it floods I think I am smart enough to figure out hundreds of solutions for us,’ the snake added.

The tortoise wasn’t amused with their way of thinking.

‘See. I am neither fast nor intelligent and smart as you guys! All I know is that it will soon rain heavily and it’s better we cross the river. Else we may not be able to return at all. There’s nothing to lose if we get going now. Let’s go. I am going.’ the tortoise said and started to cross the river.

The frog and the snake smirked and went about their business. But just as the tortoise had anticipated, it soon rained heavily. They were finally alarmed and decided it was time to cross the river. The rain got heavier and heavier until the river started flooding.

First, the snake jumped but he got badly hit on his head by a large piece of floating log. This got him giddy. He lost control of himself. The river violently took him away and he soon died.

The frog, not seeing the snake, thought he had crossed the river. He jumped too. But the torrential river was too much for him to handle. The water kicked him around like a pinball. He couldn’t handle the force and died.

The tortoise saw all this from the other end. There was nothing he could do except wonder why his friends didn’t listen to him in time.

He moved on with his life.

The wise go slow.

Some Random Thoughts…

As I sit here with my laptop staring at this white canvas that tells me to write my story, I wonder who I might be writing it for. I wonder who would care about these ‘stories’ — which are in fact nothing but doubts, excitements, half-formed/uninformed ideas, opinions, perspectives and reveries. Yet, I believe such writing has the potential to do a lot if only a lot of people read seriously! I have even derived a quote: Writing is a small attempt with a huge potential consequence.
People who think a lot should write a lot. People who can’t think a lot should read a lot.
Some writer’s books feel like an ocean while some writer’s books feel like a muddy street.
Billionaires going on space trips and ordinary minds becoming writers is like wearing a woolen jacket on a hot summers day: They will only make things worse!
What I have noticed is, the more you write the better your typing gets. I do not know what importance it has on whatever I will end up writing today but I thought it would be a fun thing to share.
If you are like me who doesn’t have a dedicated list of things to write, then at times you must also feel there’s nothing special to write. What do you do then? Yet a feeling inside you pushes you to write, doesn’t it? It is like an addiction. But let’s be good on ourselves and call it a habit. Yet, that feeling is nothing but — the reasons why you write telling you why you should now be writing.
I started this by focusing on what Medium puts in its header: Title and Tell your story…I think it was a good start.
Yesterday I visited a book store and I saw a book written by a person who has participated in mediocre art-works throughout his life. His book was a Self-Improvement book and he was supposedly instructing others on how to live a quality life. IRONY!
If there’s anything in my life that resembles the cat and mouse situation it is me trying to interpret and understand what is causing my anxiety.
Apparently writing during a block is a lot like getting out of bed in winter mornings. Initially, you start imagining you won’t be able to get on with it. But once you decide to do it, you will always find a way around it.
People who have the habit of questioning whether their pursuits are substantial or not are both lucky and unlucky. Unlucky because they can no longer be children-like. Lucky because they can no longer be children-like.
As a writer, you can bend the Universe in whatever way you want. But for that you need strong shoulders. (Thanks Nietzsche!)
Let’s say, it’s 2070 and Humans have settled on Mars or some other planet. What did you imagine them doing there? — — I imagined them quarreling over some piece of land.
My dog is a local Nepali guy. What I realized today is — if I look at him without his name and all other cultural associations I have with him — he is a raw and wild animal living in a manmade world of language and technology.
Sometimes I utter the word Humans and enter a trance.
We humans, in this Cosmos is: a weird situation. Living to figure this riddle out is equally important to Living to make the world better, if not more!
You want to see the power of ideas? — — Imagine a cold dark pessimistic philosophy ruling over everyone’s thoughts!
Without entertainment and art, we would feel cold.
What is Art? — — Art is to humans what humans are to the Universe: Not practically necessary, but you haven’t been able to be without it either.
It is not AI vs Humans. It is Avaricious-Humans (AH) vs Humans.
Don’t be afraid of other people, ever.

These are some random thoughts I wrote when I had nothing specific to write. What do you write when you have nothing to write yet want to write?

December 28, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy 1

Nepali Folk Tales – The Path To Wisdom

Wisdom is difficult to acquire. You have got to be patient and must continue to learn and persevere.

Once there lived a king who loved to hunt. While on one such expedition, he reached deep into a forest. The forest was nothing special in that the king had hunted in its fringes numerous times. He hadn’t reached so deep, however.

When he reached to one particular area, he was suddenly filled with great calmness and peace. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. While he was a spiritual person, he had done nothing special to make him feel that way. So he realized it was not his own doing but of something special that lurked there.

He looked around until he discovered a small hut. He went inside and there he saw an old man who didn’t seem to be bothered with the arrival of the king. He stayed calm and smiled. The king was impressed. He knew why that place had such a vibe. He decided to leave everything he had and stay with that old man to learn the wisdom of calmness and peace.

He came back after a few days to live as a pupil of that old man. However, the king didn’t find life there as convenient and easy as he had thought it would be. The old man never spoke a word apart from commanding the king to do certain works. This way he didn’t let the king sit idly even for a moment. Worst of all, the old man never lectured nor taught anything. The king didn’t dare to make queries.

In a few days, the king found it intolerable. It was worse than his royal duties. He couldn’t take it anymore. So one day he amassed courage and went to the old man and asked –

‘Why don’t you teach me the secrets to wisdom?’

‘You are not ready yet,’ the old man replied.

The King quietly went about his tasks.

After a few days, the king asked again. But the old man replied that same –

‘You are not ready.’

And this continued until the king lost patience. One day while he was out on the spring to fetch water, he decided to walk away. Not had he walked a few steps, he heard a voice say –

‘Oh, look the king is running away from his duties.’

The king was surprised to hear this. He looked around but saw no one. Assuming it to be his illusion he continued to walk.

‘You are running away! The mighty king is fleeing,’ the voice said again

The king was now convinced that it was not his illusion. He looked around carefully and guessed it must have been coming from the pot. He went near and monitored the pot.

‘Where are you going?’ the pot asked.

The king was startled. He had seen nothing like this before. He looked around once again wondering if anyone played tricks on him.

‘Don’t be surprised. It’s me, the pot. Answer my question – Where are you going?’

The king nervously replied –

‘Back to my kingdom.’

‘Why?’

‘I came here hoping to learn wisdom on how to be calm and peaceful from the old man. But he keeps telling me I am not ready. I no longer think he is special. Even the little calmness and peace I had is gone now. There’s no point,’ the king said.

‘To learn even a small thing is difficult my friend. Much more difficult than to rule, you may have observed. You may suffer your entire life yet learn nothing. Look at me as an example, I have suffered much but have remained ignorant.’

‘Really? Can you tell me more about yourself? How can you speak? Why didn’t you speak before?’ the king asked. He now seemed interested.

‘It’s a long story,’ replied the pot. ‘Once a man came up to me with his spade and dug me out of my home. He then took me to his house and poured a lot of dirty water on me. He kneaded me into a dough. Oh, how much I suffered then!

‘But that was not it. He then took me to a shed and made small balls of my parts and placed me on a potter’s wheel until I got lightheaded. When he finally took me out of it, I thought the suffering was over. But far from it. He bear me with a wooden mallet and put me in a burning furnace. He then took me to a shop and left me there. Just like that!

‘There were many like me in that shop. I looked at them and realized that all of them had gone through the same suffering and agony like me. So that gave me some solace. I realized that I was not alone in this suffering. That’s when I was full of pity for other pots too.

‘But tell you what – that was not the end of my suffering. People came and thumped me to see if there was anything wrong with me. I was surprised that an intelligent creature like man would be so indifferent to the suffering of others. I began abhorring humans. After a few days of thumps and lumps, a fellow came and bought me. He then gave me to the old man. Thankfully, I haven’t suffered since then. The old man takes good care of me.

‘You have to understand this, oh mighty king. Wisdom is difficult to acquire. You have got to be patient and must continue to think, learn and persevere. Do not despair and return to your life of power and glory. They are nothing compared to wisdom. In fact, kingship is easy. You have people to do the smallest of things for you. On top of that, you won’t get the chance to contemplate and improve. Such is the grip of power. I have seen you desire and try. I think you have a chance. Very few people get this chance. Count for yourself how many kings there are in this world and how many wise people. I don’t think you will find it difficult to see that there aren’t much around with wisdom. Don’t let go of this opportunity that very few get.’

The pot said and sighed.

The king carefully lifted the pot, filled it with water, and took it back to the hut.

The pot hasn’t spoken nor has the king returned to his palace ever since.

December 27, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Mind Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Stories 0

Apply knowledge into action
Apply What You Know!

The other day the debate was around the same question:

What is the difference between knowing something and applying that knowledge in life?

After a friend of mine said what he always did —

‘I know all this. The problem is that these things cannot be applied to life.’

I get hit hard every time these things come up. It makes me wonder if all philosophical and literary pursuits are indeed vague and unimportant. I wonder if they are mere luxuries of impractical and privileged people: Fanciful playthings for people who cannot get along with reality.

But I had to answer my friend. I had to answer him because for most of the time, I see the importance. On top of that, I had to answer him to prove to myself that I was capable of interpreting almost any thought in words. But more importantly, the solution was lurking not too deep inside my consciousness. I had to bring it out.

‘Thoughts drift. Thoughts are not under our control easily. Applying something you know is just about successfully leashing certain thoughts. After that, it is about maneuvering them in any direction you want!’ I said.

I was relieved. The friend remained silent. Awkwardness reigned for a few minutes.

P.S. That friend exists inside my own head.

December 25, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy 26

Books in Brief — Edgar Allan Poe: Eureka

Read Duration: 2–3 days (It is short but requires attention.)

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

Year: 1848

Genre: Non-Fiction

Sub-Genre: Philosophy. Cosmology. Spirituality.

Opening sentence: To the few who love me and whom I love, to those who feel rather than think, to the dreamers and those who put their faith in dreams as in the only realities, I offer this book of truths, not in its character of truth-teller, but for the beauty that abounds in its truth, constituting it true. (Preface)

Top 10 Highlights:

‘Now I do not quarrel with these ancients’, continues the letter-writer, ‘so much on account of the transparent frivolity of their logic — which, to be plain, was baseless, worthless, and fantastic altogether — as on account of their pompous and infatuate proscription of all other roads to Truth than the two narrow and crooked paths, the one of creeping and the other of crawling, to which, in their ignorant perversity, they have dared to confine the soul — the soul which loves nothing so well as to soar in those regions of illimitable intuition which are utterly incognisant of “path”.

‘Kepler admitted that these laws he guessed — these laws whose investigation disclosed to the greatest British astronomers that principle, the basis of all (existing) physical principles, in going behind which we enter at once the nebulous kingdom of metaphysics. Yes! These vital laws Kepler guessed, that is to say, he imagined them…’

‘In concluding this letter, let me have the real pleasure of transcribing them once again: “I care not whether my work be read now or by posterity. I can afford to wait a century for readers when God himself has waited six thousand years for an observer. I triumph. I have stolen the golden secret of the Egyptians. I will indulge my sacred fury.”’

A diffusion from unity, under the conditions, involves the tendency to return into unity — a tendency ineradicable until satisfied.

Discarding now the two equivocal terms, ‘gravitation’ and ‘electricity’, let us adopt the more definite expressions, ‘attraction’ and ‘repulsion’. The former is the body, the latter the soul; the one is the material, the other the spiritual principle of the universe. No other principles exist.

…the tendency to the general centre is not to a centre as such, but because of its being a point in tending towards which each atom tends more directly to its real and essential centre, unity — the absolute and final union of all.

The wonderfully complex laws of revolution here described, however, are not to be understood as obtaining in our system alone. They prevail everywhere where attraction prevails. They control the universe of stars.

And that all around them (circular masses of nebulae), on every side, there are volumes of stars, stretching out apparently as if they were rushing towards a great central mass in consequence of the action of some great power.

With a perfectly legitimate reciprocity, we are now permitted to look at matter as created solely for the sake of this influence — solely to serve the objects of this spiritual ether.

Existence — self-existence — existence from all time and to all eternity, seems, up to the epoch of manhood, a normal and unquestionable condition. Seems, because it is. But now comes the period at which a conventional world-reason awakes us from the truth of our dream.

My Blurb:

Poe searches for the sweetest-spot of Wisdom to look into philosophical questions and he almost does it!

December 24, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Earth and Space History Life Mind Philosophy Science Society and Humanity 0

Nepali Folk Tales – Four Fools

Vanity, Stupidity, Greed and Cunnigness: The FOUR Deadly Poisons.

Once a poisonous snake intentionally rested in the middle of a forest road blocking the path to its only river. The animals heading to the river saw her and retreated. Although that meant they had to walk all the way around the forest to quench their thirst, they didn’t dare lock horns with her. Such was her reputation! She enjoyed every moment of all this.

When it was the turn of a thirsty elephant, he was in such haste that he didn’t notice the snake until his feet almost stepped on her. She reacted with a terrifying hiss. The sight of a vicious snake in front of him frightened the elephant off his feet. A few seconds later, he felt humiliated. He fumed –

‘Hey, what the hell do you think you are doing in the middle of the road? Get out. Can’t you see that you are on my way!’

‘I won’t. Get lost,’ the snake replied and looked away.

‘I will stamp on you,’ the elephant threatened.

‘I will bite you to death if you dare come near me,’ the snake said.

The elephant thought the snake would be intimidated by his size. But that obviously wasn’t the case! While it may have been wise of him to either move on or at least try to lure the dangerous snake in some way, he decided to brawl. He lifted that giant heavy leg of his and threatened to stamp her without realizing that one bite of hers would be enough to send him to permanent sleep. His actions angered the snake. She turned around and ferociously hissed. This yet again scared the elephant off his feet. He was so embarrassed that without thinking, he harshly stamped the snake to pieces. The snake died, but not before injecting her lethal poison inside the elephant’s body. The elephant was badly hurt. He couldn’t stand on his feet any longer. He collapsed to the ground. After a while, he died.

A hunter was walking around the forest when he noticed a dead elephant with a shiny tusk. He got excited at the sight of a free tusk. But he was so blinded that he didn’t even bother to be careful. He placed his quiver on the body of the elephant and used a knife to make an incision. After a while, he pulled the tusk with his bare hands. He pulled it with all his might. The tusk came off but such great force was applied that it pierced into his head. He died on the spot.

A few hours passed. A jackal sniffed his way to the three carcasses. He was over the moon at the sight of months worth of free meals. He didn’t want to share these with anyone else. He came up with a plan to erect the man vertically to make it seem like he was alive. Anyone who came sniffing would run off scared at the sight of a hunter. He would then get to enjoy all three for months!

To erect the man’s body, he decided to use the elephant for support. He held the man’s hair with his teeth and climbed up the elephant. He did that until he needed further elevation to make the man stand on his feet. He could then push the man in a way that he would be balanced in between the elephant’s legs. So he stepped on the quiver placed on the elephant’s body. But… he slipped and fell inside – and the arrows pierced him mercilessly. He bled and died within a few minutes.

All four: dead!

After a few days, When local villagers saw this sight, they were stunned. How could this have even happened, they wondered and discussed among themselves.

They couldn’t find an explanation. If anyone else had killed them all, why didn’t that anyone take anything at all! This became a huge riddle for the villagers.

Everyone, every single moment tried to find an explanation. But one thing or the other always didn’t connect. Finally, it reached the king. It was a huge deal after all!

The king too couldn’t think of any explanation so he asked a wise minister of his to figure out how all this may have happened. The minister went to the site and observed all the carcasses closely. He had solved it. He came back and said to the king –

The snake died of vanity

The elephant of stupidity

The man was blinded by his greed

The jackal by his cunningness.

All four were equal fools. No more no less!

It wasn’t difficult for people to guess what may have happened after this brilliant explanation!

December 24, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Stories 0

Nepali Folk Tales – The Doubts Of A Chameleon

We look at others and think they have it all. We wish we did what they did. But, what we forget is: There is a reason why we are the way we are! It’s for us to figure out what we really are.

Once there lived a chameleon who could not just change his color, he was a shapeshifter. He could turn into any creature he desired – however he desired – whenever he desired. But the issue with him was, he didn’t know what to become!

One day while roaming around in confusion, he reached a shed where a milker was milking a buffalo. As he watched the scene wondering what kind of life was best, a drop of milk entered his mouth. He loved the taste! And then he thought to himself – This is so good! If a drop tastes like this, imagine what a hundred drops might taste like! How lucky must this buffalo’s calf be! I think I should be a calf.

And then he had his first transformation – he turned into a newly born calf and sat near a buffalo who had just given birth. The next day, the owner of the shed saw this and was glad that one of his buffalos had given birth to a twin. He happily accepted it.

But life as a calf was not as wonderful as the chameleon had imagined. The milker hardly left any milk for him. All he got to drink was a few drops left behind in the udder. He starved badly.

Then one day he thought – This is not good! Life of a calf is miserable. I think I should become a milker. He is the one who takes all the milk.

And so he did. He transformed himself into the same milker, tied and shut the original at a corner of the shed and took his place.

But life as a milker too was not as wonderful as he had imagined. He had to work tremendously hard – day and night without getting to drink even a drop of milk. It was then that he realized that the milker doesn’t get to drink anything. Everything went to the owner.

Then he decided to transform into the owner of the shed. He transformed and untied the milker. He locked the original owner in the storeroom of his own house and started taking care of business. But hardly a day had passed and he began freaking out. He had to take care of the house, manage workers and other people, listen to harsh words from others, manage loans and credit – And all this gave him no rest. All he did was worry day and night. There was nothing else. Only a constant fear, threat and thoughts of profit!

While he got to drink the milk, the miserable thoughts he had to deal with made the milk irrelevant and tasteless. It was no different from the water he drank as a chameleon – just some liquid entering into his body. He ceased wanting to drink milk after a couple of days.

This is not fun. Not fun at all, he thought one night.

He immediately went downstairs, freed the original owner, turned into a chameleon and ran off the house. He didn’t transform into anything else ever again.

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Mind Nepali Folk Tales Stories Uncategorized 0

Free Working

When it comes to earning a living or fulfilling our wants in life, it is tempting to settle at one profession and define ourselves forever with that.

I am not sure if it is just because we have all been educated that way:

Specialize in one thing!

Master it!

But there is a different joy as well as there are both challenges and opportunities in working on multiple projects and fields:

Freely jumping/roaming around, experimenting, knocking doors, learning-losing, adapting! Not shackled by specializations or stereotypes.

Free and diverse.

The way it was always meant to be!

LONG LIVE Free working!

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Content Industry Life Philosophy 30

An Effective Movie Watching Formula

I absolutely hate these kinds of writings:

Who the hell do I think I am to be writing about methods of my movie watching!

Am I a producer? No. Am I a director/editor? No. Am I a professional screenwriter or any other movie business professional? No. Am I an actor? No. Am I a critic? No.

Then why should you care about my methods of movie watching?

Let me modify one Rousseau from the 18th century:

I am not a — producer, director, editor, screenwriter, actor or critic. I am none. This is why I make this kind of list. If I was either of them, I would be too busy making movies, not these stupid how’s.

Okay with that aside, let’s begin.

What I mean to do here actually is share a formula of movie watching that I had devised a while back for my personal convenience. This formula has really helped me interpret and understand movies in context, their meanings and purposes — without which my movie watching would have otherwise slipped by as a mere one/two/three-hour pasttime-entertainment.

This formula contains multiple components and each have distinct parameters which add up for overall movie-quality.

I am sharing this for two reasons, firstly, so that it may be useful for someone and secondly, so that I may be suggested and critiqued in this so I can improve on it, hence, improving my movie watching experiences.

Before sharing the formula and briefly discussing the components, I would like to define movies in this context as:

Any fictional-moving-visual-entertainment.

It must be clear that documentaries don’t have anything to do here. But there is a problem, what about theatres and shows like WWE which has both live and TV audiences. For convenience sake, let’s include them as well!

But the main focus is on those 90+ minutes things which we all call — movies.

And there are no equipment and temporal boundaries. A fictional short shot with a cheap phone by a Nepali kid is as good as one by Christopher Nolan.

Here is the formula I use for movie watching —

ARFE-HT

Yes, it’s an acronym.

Each alphabet stands for one component and I mark them on the scale of 10. That is the parameter. Now let me describe the components one by one.

A — Aesthetics:

Technically, aesthetics is a philosophical study and examination of beauty and taste. But how I try to use it in movie-watching is by studying, examining and marking the ‘beautiful’ in a movie as per my taste. I don’t try to use ‘schools’ derived standards of beauty.

What I find beautiful is based on:

The color

The brightness

The set or location and costumes.

The music/soundtrack

The flow of transitions and cuts

The flow of shots and scenes

Synchrony between various components.

The Overall Story (not plots/subplots)

I think all these are self-explanatory.

I try to look at all these sub-components and then try to mark the overall aesthetics on the scale of 10, with 10 being the best and 0 being the worst.

Luc Besson’s Le Grand Bleu is a 10/10 for me.

I don’t remember giving zero to any. But few Nepali movies must have gotten a 1.

R — Reality factor:

While I prefer realism in movies, it is not at all necessary for all movies to be realistic. Yet it is difficult to define realism.

Which one would be more realistic: A movie based on a fantasy setting like say, Star Wars which manages to talk about human social issues and realpolitik or some types of Bollywood movies which deal with real life settings but go so astray from life that it has no resemblance with any part of our lives at all.

So, how I try to determine the Reality factor is by checking whether the movie has managed to show any kind of truth or not, by dealing with important subjects of our lives. Irrespective of the settings and characters. Star Wars gets higher point than this:

Gunda (1998) Full Hindi Movie | Mithun Chakraborty, Mukesh Rishi, Shakti Kapoor, Mohan Joshi — YouTube

I do think that the purpose of movies is to illustrate or show either the realities of life or the world. That is why I tend to mark movies with wisdom – highly. Whether it teaches me something important about our lives and the world or not, whether it challenges my opinions and perspectives or not – is what I try to determine.

Here too I try to look at all these sub-components and then try to mark the overall reality factor on the scale of 10, with 10 being the best and 0 being the worst.

Abbas Kiarostami’s The Taste of Cherry is a 10/10 for me,

The Bollywood movie mentioned above gets zero.

F — Feelings:

Feelings imply the ability of the movie to generate/trigger feelings and emotions in me. While a lot of movies intend to provide some kind of feeling but fail due to various factors, the ability of a movie — through its various players — to do things to me, is how I judge.

I have been using an ancient Hindustani theatre-use-evaluation method for the judgement of feelings. It is called Navarasa, or nine feelings to be played with by contents.

Those nine entities are:

Śṛṅgāraḥ : Romance, Love, attractiveness.

Hāsyam : Laughter, mirth, comedy.

Raudram: Fury.

Kāruṇyam : Compassion, mercy.

Bībhatsam : Disgust, aversion.

Bhayānakam : Horror, terror.

Veeram : Heroism.

Adbhutam : Wonder, amazement.

Śāntam: Peace or tranquility

I do not have a preference for this or that feeling. If a movie manages to hit me hard, I don’t care where I have been hit.

Let me provide my 10/10 movies for each (respective to the list above):

Mute (2018), Borat, (not being able to think of one), Where is my friend’s house?, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Moon/Climax (2018), One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 2001:A Space Odyssey, Stalker (Tarkovsky).

E — Entertainment:

Because entertainment and fun are very very subjective and relative things, I have put my own margin into them. Plot-flow and performance have a great hand in this.

Photo by Laura Tancredi from Pexels

However, there is a limit as to how extreme one movie can go. Too much don’t-cares for the sake of making it artsy won’t do for me. Neither will mundane-repetitive-formulaic stuff nor pure comedy. I do have a guilty inclination — I find suspense/mystery pretty amusing.

The experience for me has to be tolerable. While a movie may have boring parts, every other factor mentioned here should work towards keeping me hooked. If it doesn’t manage to do it. It gets a low point on my scale.

Death at a Funeral (2007) is 10/10 for me, while any Bollywood blockbuster with a megastar is a 0.

H — Heroism:

This particular judgement of heroism differs from the one included in feelings. The heroism feeling mentioned under feelings is one where I appreciate the thought/deeds of character(s) in adverse situations. The toughness, the grit, the suffering, the act, etc.

But this heroism applies to movies where too much emphasis is provided to a character(s), such that they eclipse the story. In other words, heroism is where the actor or the character becomes more important than the movie and its story.

This is why it’s marking is done in reverse order. 0 is for movies with too much heroism such as Hollywood superhero flicks or Bollywood megastar ones. 10 is where the characters behave as characters and fit in perfectly with the story like in Rashomon.

T — Technicality:

This is where I look at the various technical aspects of movies which equally contribute to the overall performance and experience.

I have managed to find following important aspects:

Cinematography or Animation

Direction

Editing

Acting

Screenplay

Soundtrack and Music tightness

Plot/Subplot

Story

Here, the soundtrack differs from the ones in aesthetics in that this is whether or not the sound fits in with the cinema. Vangelis’ work in Blade Runner is absolutely beautiful, I do not find it apt in the movie. I felt Vangelis was more powerful than the narrative. So, it will get a high point in aesthetics but will not here.

All Coen Brother movies are 10/10 for me in terms of technicality.

So, this is how I watch my movies. I observe, analyze, mark and then add all of them up.

It may be a tedious, boring and inappropriate way for a proper experience but I found that it was the only way I could give context to my movie watching and make them relevant.

As mentioned earlier, I wrote this so that I could share the way I do it and also so that I could learn about my correctness and absurdities.

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Content Industry Life Stories Technology 28

Dealing With Bad Thoughts

Background

Before talking in detail about bad thoughts, let me give some context.

A terrible nightmare woke me up at 3 AM this morning. After that, I went into a 30 minutes or so of ridiculous post-dream analysis.

I felt terrible. Weak. The dream and its thoughts were miserable!

I restrain myself from using the lessons from Vedic and Buddhist spirituality I once learnt. I dumped them after practicing for a lot of years, because I felt they were limiting my world-view and perspectives.

But this morning I the petty thoughts were intolerable. The more I argued with myself, the more I suffered.

So, after a long gap, I took out that spiritual-weapon. Focusing, drowning and losing myself on a feeling of nothingness!

It helped me fall asleep.

But that episode is still haunting me right now. Like a wound it persists. I don’t know what to do with it. It is injuring and damaging.

I have decided to write about them here to see what happens!

Thoughts are the ultimate entities of this human existence of ours. I have elsewhere tried to justify this statement. Thoughts play a crucial role in our knowing.

True and False are also essential to us.

If I am hiking in the woods and a thought suddenly says — A tiger is approaching, my immediate reaction will be to be alert and then look around. I do this because I want a proof of that thought. If I don’t find any, I relax a tad and walk on. This is because I haven’t found any justified truth to what the thought told me.

But still why my thought may have told me that is a question that won’t let me relax completely. If I can relax a bit, it’s only because I found a certain false in the thought statement.

However, if I notice birds flying or other animals making hasteful noise when I look around, I have found some evidence to support that thought, which increases my heartbeat, gets me sweating and emotionally injures me after which I start to figure out mechanisms of defence. This is because I found a certain truth in the thought.

But the differentiation between true and false is not an easy task as thoughts in themselves do not provide us with any distinction. Thoughts in isolation can be either. False thoughts can be judged as being true and vice-versa. As happened to me this morning, I panicked because I took the thoughts as being true which may or may not have been the case.

This is where a faculty in us called thinking is to be used for — locating evidence.

Evidence is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as:

the facts, signs or objects that make you believe that something is true

In the case of the tiger in the woods, I searched for facts, signs or objects that had to prove to me that the tiger was there. In the case where I did not find any, I relaxed and moved on, whereas when I found some, I panicked and began thinking self-defence.

But figuring out the evidence wasn’t so easy this morning. For one, the dream and the subsequent thoughts told me things that were detrimental which was followed by imaginative ‘evidence’ which then emotionally injured me.

Unlike the tiger-case, I had no way of identifying facts, signs or objects as the thoughts were not about my immediate physical environment. They were about my self-worth and poor-decisions.

I then tried to argue with the evidence it provided by searching for counter-evidences which were again countered…

Now, how do I correctly gather evidence to judge the true or false thoughts that are about things as subjective as self-worth and decisions?

In other words, How do I deal with injurious subjective thoughts?

If my thoughts tell me that I am worthless, justified by an immediate evidence of me not earning money currently, which then injures me; how do I deal with them?

The path I chose was of ignoring — focusing, drowning and losing myself on a feeling of nothingness!

Is that it? The best solution? Is it healthy?

My purpose behind writing this was to just interpret whatever had happened this morning with me. As I have been writing, I have been noticing how absurd but effective the spiritual method is. While it would have been a stupid act in the woods, it does seem to be a worthwhile act in the safety of bed. That is, in the domains of subjective thoughts.

But in the long-term it seems hazardous. Since it is like tucking away an object of discomfort, I think it won’t stop thoughts from haunting you after a certain period. As I said in the beginning, while I did manage to fall asleep, the wound hasn’t left me.

A long-term approach such as that is sure to keep one away from addressing the issues at hand turning one’s life into one with ignorance. It was one of the reasons I had stopped using their teachings altogether because I thought they were limiting my world-view and perspectives.

So what is the solution?

I think I have found a few:

(Please remember that I am only talking about injurious thoughts related to Self-Worth and Decisions)

Be Strong:

Irrespective of the situation and threat, the only thing we can do that will not have any repercussions in both short and long-term and will only help us in dealing with the injury better is to be strong. Come what may I will deal with it could be the best thing to remind yourself during a crisis.

Seek Evidence:

While seeking evidence may not be as easy as in the immediate and physical scenarios, I think we should try to look for real-life proof of the doubts we are having. Trying to answer questions such as — What is the basis of the thoughts I am having? How can I prove it? What may have triggered it? can prove to be helpful as they take us away from the injury into the lands of scrutiny, where we have control (somewhat). This questioning I believe is the apt method to judge the true or false thoughts that are about things as subjective as self-worth and decisions

Remind yourself of deeds done:

This is where every deed ever done comes into play. Reminding ourselves of each act of success achieved, however trivial, can prove to be very useful. Maybe it is a game won, a road travelled, an adventure, an obstacle that had been overcome!

For me the purpose behind writing this was to — firstly, interpret what had happened to me earlier and then to hopefully heal myself through it.

I think I have successfully managed to do it (for now).

Writing for me is very important for many reasons. I am feeling the beauty and reality of one of those right now.

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy 0

Future of Thinking

I asked myself about the future of thinking after I noticed how alert I was getting using my phone, laptop and TV.

I tried to understand the alertness and discovered that there was a voice inside my head that constantly reminded me that whatever I do in those devices is being surveilled, monitored and analyzed.

What is happening now is that this alertness is getting contagious. The hangover from device-usage is getting into my head. I am getting alert while I think, see or talk sensitive stuff in the same manner.

As if my thoughts and views are being surveilled, monitored and analyzed.

Is this what will happen to our thoughts in the future?

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy Science Society and Humanity Technology World 0

How To Handle Philosophical Arguments?

I have often found myself in the middle of philosophical arguments fuming with anger, full of anxiety. Speaking or typing at the speed of light what my fast-beating heart and an inflating ego demand of me.

While my intention behind discussing ‘deep’ things with others is almost always to share and hear things about I have been reading, thinking or writing, I haven’t been able to stop myself from getting petty to the point of attempting to humiliate the other person with all kinds of insults to his/her intellectual capacities.

This got me questioning:

How can I handle such philosophical arguments better?

There are a couple of things I am clear about:

I *want* to have such discussions

I *don’t want* to win the arguments. I just want to learn a thing or two, boast a bit and have a good time at the end of it all!

So, how can I stop such philosophical arguments from getting petty?

How can I handle such arguments better?

Can I?

The first thing is to see what goes on during such arguments by trying to identify some significant factors at work.

We have to remember that Man – being an intellectually advanced (relatively) animal – is very sensitive towards its intellectual abilities.
No normal or dignified human being would ever want to be told that his/her cognitive abilities are of a low-grade. It would be like challenging a python on its strangulation abilities by strangulating it. The python would obviously want to prove you wrong.

I think this factor is at work our petty philosophical arguments.

The dignity factor

What I noticed was, most of us arguers believe that the ability to philosophize is the highest kind of intellectual ability. It’s just the way our culture is set up.

But it is justifiable because the ability to philosophize implies the ability to use our brains for something other than trifles. Everyone can trifle! Something other than practicality. Everyone can be practical! To dwell in the domains of abstractions and values. Now, not everyone can do that is what we believe! The same reason we value science, mathematics and engineering too. Apart from the money.

I think this is why no one wants to lose such arguments. As it would imply intellectual loss. Defeat.

From this angle, it seems as if philosophical arguments are the best test of cognitive abilities.

At this point we can wonder why it has never become a popular sport or a reality show. There is so much at stake!

The other factor I found was Cultural/Identity Sensitivity.

Philosophical arguments touch on areas that form the basis of any culture and identity. Religion, Ethnicity, Nationalism, all these have subjective worldview at their bases. Philosophical arguments are merely debates at core: The nature of reality, Creator, Rights and Wrongs, Why x is better than y, etc.

These are substantial stuff. No wonder people get agitated! Some even kill others for their views…This is a dangerous territory!

The other factor is emotional sensitivity.

If Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra has helped me get over severe nervousness and anxiety, then I certainly would be emotionally offended if anyone calls it merely a reverie of a madman.

Similarly, if Vedic spirituality has helped someone get over an emotional trauma, and if I go and tell that person the whole Vedic system is merely intellectual narcotics composed by addicts drinking liquid narcotics, they are bound to want to pull my tongue out of my mouth!

These are the factors I have discovered as of now. I will update if I find more.

Now, what about the answers to these questions:

How can I stop the arguments from getting petty?

How can I handle such arguments better?

Can I?

The best solution is to stop participating in such arguments altogether.

But as I mentioned above, I do not want to do that.

So, in order to stop it from getting petty to the point of anger and harassment, I should remember that the person in the argument who remains calm the longest has a better intellectual ability. This is self-explanatory.

Of all abilities, I believe that controlling and directing thoughts, desires and feelings are the most difficult. If I manage to remain calm throughout, then I believe my ego will be silenced.

At the same time, I should remember that I always have the option of walking out of such arguments or not participating at all. If I am having an argument it means I have voluntarily participated in it. Therefore, I should be able to reasonably listen to others and calmly defend my opinions and learnings. Even if it concerns me culturally and emotionally. If I can do that, my ego again will surely keep quiet.

Finally, the question: CAN I?

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy Society and Humanity 0

Why Do We Like Stories?

Because They Are Travels: Into a Different Space, Time and Identity.

If I am to recall the moments from my childhood when I have felt the strongest in a joyful way Absorbing Stories would surely occupy a lot of headspace!

The stories I read of Sindbad, Gulliver, Panchatantra, or the Arabian Nights gave me some of the most intense and wonderful feelings. I immersed myself in the character, time and the environment of the story with a sense of both nervousness and excitement. The warm feeling inside my chest boiled and tried to explode from the limitations of my physical body. It’s inability to do so being the only thing to remind me that my existence belonged here in this world in this country called Nepal and in this family called…

There were sports, TV cartoons and movies. While I didn’t find them as immersive as reading, they were deeply influential. I played a few video games but wasn’t too fond of them.

I wasn’t a social guy and I do not have fond memories with friends. Yes, there are moments with family that are special but let’s not talk about it here. What I want to discuss here is stories.

The moments I have spent absorbing fictional narratives or creating my own — strolling around my room and the house — are deeply special.

As time has passed, I have tried to understand why stories did to me what they did. I have tried to understand the feeling that arises when I am about to dive into one. The understanding process hasn’t been easy. But what I have come to realize lately is — this is a special subject for not just me but for a lot of people.

There are a lot of theories and a lot of interpretations. I don’t want to get into all that too. What I want to do, however, is share how I currently interpret the feeling generated both from the stories and the nature of stories. This interpretation is neither academic nor professional. It is about the reasons they make you feel that way and is simple:

Stories are a type of travel.

Yes, Stories are a form of travel. A psychological, spiritual, philosophical travel. This is what makes it special.

Not getting into the practical implications, I see three different types of travels we participate in during our immersing in the stories:

Different Space

Different Time

Different Personality

These three factors are together responsible for creating that feeling.

Different Space: Through stories, we travel into different places. Our mind seems to forget that the body it is in is actually in a cozy space — consuming a narrative. This frees us from the burdens of our current space. (Maybe we are freeloading!)

Different Time: Same as the above, through stories we also travel into a different time. This frees us from the burdens of the current time and age. (Maybe we have an installment to clear tomorrow!)

Different Personality: Perhaps the most important characteristic responsible for the joy stories produce — through stories we travel to a different personality. We forget our self-identity and become the character we relate to. We forget our national, cultural, religious, age identity as our mind relates to something else. This frees us from the bondages, headaches— anxieties of our present self. This relaxes us. (Maybe we do not like our present self, situation and society!)

This escape from the identity shackle is what most spirituality is about too!

But I have a question:

Does a person who absolutely loves his/her place, time and personality feel this way with stories too?

Mind, life, life lessons, mindhack, articles about mind, articles about life, articles about life lesson, mind exploration, short articles about mind, english articles about mind, self improvement articles, Adesh Acharya, writings about mind

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Content Industry Life Mind Philosophy 0

We Humans Never Learn!

We humans tend to think we are really smart as a species. I don’t remember who, but someone surely said —

this is because we don’t have any other point-of-view.

However, our haughtiness makes us utter things such as:

Only a fool makes the same mistake twice.

As if ordained by some perfect being!

It is in situations such as these, that we take ourselves too seriously, forgetting that we are smart only because we think so.

The point I am trying to get across is that:

No matter how smart we think we are, we all are indeed fools.

Our reverence towards our own fellow humans proves this.

Time and time again, we have been deceived, troubled and subjugated by the very person or the system we hold great reverence towards. Be it the emperors, the religious gurus, democratic leaders, the corporate visionaries, whoever. We have all been constantly well-deceived by those we revere.

Yet, we don’t learn!

Here we are today creating, gossiping, promoting and worshipping modern tyrants (dressed as merchants) only to create more tomorrow.

We humans never learn, do we?

Mind, life, life lessons, mindhack, articles about mind, articles about life, articles about life lesson, mind exploration, short articles about mind, english articles about mind, self improvement articles, Adesh Acharya, writings about mind

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh History Life Mind Philosophy Society and Humanity 0

Desire Management Formula

I had developed a desire-management formula. I have been implementing it for more than a couple of years now. The reason for sharing?

It has proved to be very effective.

Now that I have fully committed myself to a life as a writer, there are a few elements which I think are essential to such a lifestyle.

This desire management is simply an allocation of those elements to the wants and needs embedded in almost all of us.

I had been very random and all-over-the-place with my thoughts, desires, time, work and life management. This particular formula has helped me get a little bit more organized. It may be of help for others as well, irrespective of the profession.

I hereby publicize this formula as The ABCD formula as it contains the (fundamentals) ABCDs of my existence and life.

The ABCD

ABCD = A, B, C and D desires. All four are distinct sets of various sub-desires. Those which are common with each other are organized in the same set. This way, each set is a whole desire or as I like to call it — the wills. Each will is named according to the most generic term that applies to all sub-desires.

Let’s dive into the desire management formula.

A

It stands for Ability.

Ability is the state of being able to do something. It is about skill, talent and capability. It is the absolute means, the foundation without which none of my other wills or sub-desires can be fulfilled.

My desires in terms of the abilities I want/need are as follows:

Ability to Think

Ability to Learn and Understand

Ability to pursue freedom

Ability to love

Ability to experience

Ability to enjoy

Ability for aesthetics

Ability to earn and survive

Ability to be strong

Ability of Wisdom

Thinking, learning, freedom, love, enjoyment, aesthetics, earning and surviving are my sub-desires. All these are grouped in the ‘A’ set.

With the A set, my purpose is — to remind myself that in order to look far, I need a good telescope.

It’s all about maintaining, polishing, updating and upgrading my abilities to do things. It’s about sharpening the tool, so to speak. It’s about the tool. It’s about the lenses and the vehicles.

B

It stands for Being.

Being is about existing in a certain way with certain values and ideals. It is about personal ethics and feelings. It incorporates everything I am, want-to-be and will-to-be as a free-being, human-being, son, father, etc. etc.

My desires in terms of the being are as follows:

Greedlessness

Non-Petty

Love

Good life

Freedom

Strength

Free thinking

Life and World Experiences (including Travels)

Aesthetics

Joy

I want to be as greedless as possible. At the same time I want to ensure I am not petty. I want love, freedom, strength, free-thinking, experiences, travels, aesthetics and joys in life. All these are grouped into the ‘B’ set.

With the B set, my purpose is — to remind myself of things that really make me who I am. My real purpose in life. My being. My essence.

It’s all about being who I am with this. I have settled on these sub-desires after years of hard work. My work with the B set is to ensure I don’t ‘sell-out’ (Whatever that may mean!)

C

It stands for Seeing. But is written C. Hence, C is an apt alphabet. Plus, it makes it easier as it perfectly fits well into the ABCD system which makes it easier for me to remember whatever I am trying to. I hereby use the term C-ing for seeing.

C-ing is about learning, knowing and understanding various subjects and elements of my life and of this existence of ours.

I had earlier mentioned about my life as a writer. My desire to — learn throughout my life was one of the things responsible for this choice. Now, it is also a necessity to sustain that choice. If I want to continue being a writer, I have to try to learn all the things all the time.

All the subjects I find interesting, relevant and important are covered under the C will or the C set which contains 3 distinct subsets.

My desires in terms of the knowledges of things I want/need are organized as follows:

HG-HE-STEP

sPa

POLE™

All three are acronyms.

HG-HE-STEP includes knowledge of things that are somewhat social or humanitarian in nature.

H: History

G: Geography

H: Humanity

E: Experiences (of People)

S: Society

T: Technology

E: Economics

P: Politics

sPa includes knowledges of and via three tools of knowledge acquisition:

S: Science

P: Philosophy

A: Arts

This sub-set includes looking at the previous subset through all three lenses (for instance, looking at technology from a scientific lens as well as from a philosophical one) along with studying the fields themselves and their interconnections.

For example, Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Arts, Art of Science, Scientific Art, etc. etc.

POLE™ is all about my subjective, intuitive understanding and conclusions of everything possible.

P: Perceptions

O: Opinions

L: Life-Lessons

E: Experiences

™: Thought Management

Alternatively, I also use: EEEGSSTTPP

which stands for: Existential, Experiential, Economic, Geographic, Scientific, Social, Technological, Temporal, Political and Philosophical knowledge.

But it is difficult to memorize. C-subsets are much more convenient.

With the C set, my purpose is — to remind myself of things I want to and have to learn.

It’s all about organizing, balancing, selecting and choosing the subjects to learn.

D

It stands for Doing.

Doing is all about the actions I need to take and the things I need to do to fulfill the desires of ABC. This is through which I get things done. It’s about setting and implementing goals, objectives, strategies and tactics.

At the point of this writing, my D is threefold:

Write

Publish

Enterprise

I got to write, publish and be active in various activities apart from those two. This part is subject to much change and adaptations.

With the D set, my purpose is — to remind myself and ensure I successfully do what I need to do.

Conclusion

You may have noticed how they are all interconnected. I think this is the beauty of this desire management formula (for me obviously!).

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy 29

Thought Experiment of an Alternative Existence

Let us begin this thought experiment by imagining a habitable planet with life. Far Far away!

The planet is revolving around its own star. Its day-night period same as Earth’s.

And on that planet, let us imagine species – Millions. With variety for procreation. Just like on Earth.

Let us imagine one species among them head-and-shoulders above the rest – In intelligence and sophistication. Just like us!

Now let us decide that the planet has had life for more than a billion years. The intelligent species there has been smarting around for more than 2 million years. Just like ours!

Now let us imagine the planet with its peculiar atmosphere, water, soil, forest, etc.

Let us imagine all this with one crucial difference — it’s intelligent species not like humans. Let us imagine them different. Yes, let them walk on two feet and let them look like us physically. But let them not be like us behaviorally.

Let’s make them different.

Let’s not make them build huge buildings, monuments and structures. Let’s not make them political. Let’s not make them national. Let’s not make them create huge corporations. Let’s not make them kill each other or creatures. Let’s not make them adhere to their own mandatory principles. Let’s not make them need any kind of superficial entertainment — Let’s make them wise.

Yes, let’s imagine them greedless, free and wise. It’s just a thought experiment after all!

They didn’t build huge buildings and structures because they are okay with distributed minimalistic settlements and structures of aesthetic/experiential importance.

They didn’t organize politically because they are okay with improvisational organizing. They understand the need of community but also realize the absurdity of politics and power.

Everyone is wise enough to mind their own business and greedless enough to not want unnecessary things. Everyone has their own land and they are fine cultivating what they need and consuming it. Remember, they are not greedy, so it will work.

Now, since they are wise as such, they did not need/want big businesses.

Nor did they have to trouble other creatures for their own amusement. They live at a distance far enough to remain untroubled by other creatures.

Since they are free and wise, they didn’t adhere to mandatory customs and principles such as marriage and children. Their population is well balanced. Whenever it seems to increase, they have the wisdom to understand it, hence, there will always be those who will make personal sacrifices. They didn’t need any forms of superficial entertainment as they don’t have any dissapointments hence anxieties.

So, what will they do? How will they live? How do we imagine that?

I propose the following:

They will spend their time in philosophical, scientific or artistic contemplation and creation. Depending on individual preferences or the need.

They won’t build sophisticated technologies. There is no need — they don’t want to conquer their fellows or the cosmos. They are wise enough to be happy where they are. They will scientific technologies though. For reasons clear! They might have computers and internet.

They have understood that the only purpose of their high intelligence is to experience and understand life and the world. Nothing else matters! All is peaceful and well.

What is the difference between them and us?

It’s greed, isn’t it?

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Earth and Space Life Mind Philosophy Science Society and Humanity Stories Technology World 0

Rahul Sankrityayan — The Birth of Brahman and Reincarnation

Rahul Sankrityayan was an Indian Marxist thinker who studied, travelled and wrote a lot.

Here I want to quickly share his views on the birth and use of Hindu God Brahman and the Hindu Reincarnation system by the ruling system in ancient India. It is presented in fictional form in his historical-fiction From Volga to Ganges.

Pravahan is a king of Panchalpur (Kannauj) in around 700 BC who has modified the Hindu Religion. His lover Lopa is not very fond of that kind of thinking though.

One day she asks,

‘Why are you involved in things apart from royal duties?’

To which Pravahan replies,

‘You mean my flight towards Brahman? But Lopa, all these things are not separate from Royal Duties. Our ancestors had honored Rishis such as Vasistha and Vishwamitra for the sake of supporting the State. Those Rishis inspired people to follow the command of the king in the name of gods such as Indra, Agni and Varun. Those Rishis made the kings conduct huge and expensive Yagyas so that the public’s belief in them would persist…All this was done to establish people’s faith in divine forces…and to tell them that all we have is due to Gods.’

‘But you already had old gods, what was the need of Brahman?’

‘For ages, nobody has seen Indra, Varun and the likes, therefore a few have started to doubt…I have established the form of Brahman in such a way that no one can ever demand to see it. It is beyond the senses. No one can doubt this concept the way they might doubt gods with forms’

‘…are you doing all this merely to keep your citizens in illusion?’

‘…It is necessary to do all this to keep the state under my control…our biggest enemies are the ones who doubt gods and Yagyas’

‘But you also talk of the existence and philosophy of Brahman…?’

‘If there is an existence then there has to be a philosophy. Not through senses though, because skeptics will talk of empirical proofs — this is why I talk about subtle senses. And now I talk of such methods that people will keep searching for ever and ever without losing their belief…’.

And then Pravahan tells her about his new invention that is greater than Brahman — Reincarnation:

‘Reincarnation is the most useful. The rate at which the wealth of we feudals, Brahmins and merchants is increasing is the same at which ordinary people are getting poor. There are those now who provoke artisans, farmers and slaves by saying, “You are troubling yourself by giving away your earnings to others. They trouble you and tell you that the Suffering, Pain, charity and sacrifices you do here will be repaid in heaven…No one has seen anyone enjoy happiness in heaven…”, to which we have established a narrative. All differences in this world are the result of your deeds in your previous lives…I do not care about Truth and Lies, it (an idea) just has to be useful for me. Today the idea of coming back to this world after death doesn’t seem credible…there will come a time when all of the pathetic citizens will be ready to bear pain, suffering and injustice in the hope of rebirth…’

‘But isn’t it ruining the lives of hundreds of generations just for your selfish wants?’

‘…it isn’t wrong. I am doing such a task that even the ancient Rishis couldn’t do…’

‘You are too cold Pravahan!’

‘But I have merely acted as per my ability!’

I understand that this whole thing has been presented by Sankrityayan in a Marxist mirror. That is, this thing of Metaphysical and spiritual nature has been looked upon from a dialectic-political-economic angle. It has also been presented in an artistic/imaginative manner. It is surely a limited view-point. But, it is a different perspective nonetheless!

It is about questioning the one who said the said.

December 23, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Books Life Mind Philosophy Society and Humanity Stories World 0

Nepali Folk Tales – Integrity of A Woman

Live a life of Integrity and Intelligence.

Once there lived a Pandit who had a beautiful wife. In fact, so beautiful that every man who ever laid eyes on her desired her. The prince, the minister’s son, the merchant’s son, and even the barber’s son were among the few that constantly drooled over her. But the Pandit was strict, so no one ever dared to go near and approach.

One day the Pandit had to urgently visit another country. He didn’t have any money so he went to the merchant and loaned 200 Rupees. He told him that his wife would manage some money by tomorrow and pay him back the day after. He went home and told his wife about the loan. She assured him that she would think of some way. The Pandit left in the evening.

The wife had a habit of bathing at the river at the earliest dawn. While she was coming back from her bath the next morning, thinking of ways to pay the merchant back, the king’s son blocked her way and said –

‘I am really enchanted by your looks. I want to take you to the palace tonight. How long will you keep up with that pathetic brahmin? I will give you whatever you want.’

The woman thought for a while and said –

‘Oh, Prince! Why don’t you come to my house at 10 PM tonight? I will fulfill all your needs.’

The prince said he would and they parted ways.

After a while, she met the minister’s son.

‘I am in love with your body. I want to make you the princess of my heart tonight,’ he said.

The woman told him to come to hers at 11 PM. Likewise, she met the merchant’s son and told him to meet her at 12 PM at her house when he too expressed his feelings for her. A little later, she met the barber’s son and told him to come at 1 AM. After this, she reached her home.

She thought for a long time after which she called and asked four of her close friends to come to hers immediately.

‘Friends, taking advantage of my husband’s absence, the prince, the minister’s son, the merchant’s son, and the barber’s son – all tried to seduce me today. I have cleverly called all of them – one at a time – at my home tonight. I want you to come and help me. I want you guys to tell them I like surprises and then I want you to ask them to hide in the black boxes I have in the other room. Once they enter, I want you to shut it and lock it.’

The friends agreed.

That night, after supper they all got ready and waited. At 10 PM, the prince arrived. The woman hid and the friends cleverly made him enter the box. After which they shut it, locked it and placed it in the garden. The prince yelled from inside.

Likewise, at 11 PM the minister’s son came and they did the same. They managed to lock all four men by 1 PM.

The next morning the merchant came to take his money back.

‘What 200 Rupees? I don’t know of any such loan.’ the wife told him.

The merchant was in shock.

‘What are you talking about! Your husband took 200 Rupees from me the day before yesterday. He said you would pay me back today. You are deceiving me. This is not good,’ he said.

‘I don’t know of such commitments,’ she said.

This terrified the merchant. He swore at her and straight away headed to the King’s court. He explained everything to him. Since the merchant was the king’s close ally, he asked one of his guards to go and bring the woman to the court immediately. The guard did so.

‘Did you or your husband take the merchant’s money?’ the king asked.

‘No your highness. We haven’t taken anything from anyone. We are simple people with simple ways.’ she pleaded.

There was a heated discussion after that. The merchant insisted that they had taken money from him while the woman kept denying it. The king listened to all of it. He was slowly losing his patience. The woman understood that the king would support the merchant and not her if everything failed. So she made a move –

‘Okay! You guys may not believe me, but you surely believe in God. What if I called upon my goddess? If she asks me to pay the money back in front of you, I will pay it.’

Everyone was surprised. The merchant scolded her. But the king was a man of faith and spirituality. He wanted to see if that could really happen.

‘You can bring your goddess here, is that what you mean?’ the king asked.

‘Yes, your highness. I can bring her here in front of all of you,’ she replied.

‘Then do it,’ the king ordered.

‘But she is too heavy. I cannot carry her myself. I need a few strong men to come with me to my house,’ she said.

The king asked four soldiers to go with her.

When they reached her home, she asked the four men to wait outside for a while and entered.

She went to each of the black boxes and said –

‘Listen! If you do as I say, I will set you free at my home with dignity. Otherwise, I will take you to court and expose you in front of hundreds of people.’

Each agreed to assist her.

‘If so then I will take you guys to the court now and when the king asks whether I have taken money from the merchant, you guys should deny. Am I clear?’, she said.

All of them agreed. She asked the four men to come in and take the boxes away.

At the court, the boxes were kept in front of the woman. The King went near and asked –

‘Has this woman taken money from the merchant?’

‘No-No-No, she hasn’t,’ came voices from each box.

This amazed the King. He couldn’t hold himself any longer. He had to see the goddess! For the first time in his life!

He wanted that divine experience. So, he ordered his men to open the box immediately. They did so.

Four men stepped out one after another. It wasn’t difficult for anyone to recognize them. The King although disappointed, was amazed at the sight. He asked why they were shut like that. The woman explained everything. The four confessed.

The king was impressed with the woman’s wisdom and heavily rewarded her. He was sad that he couldn’t see the goddess though!

The men apologized. The woman went home pleased.

December 22, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Stories 30

20 Wise Proverbs from Nepal

The bigger the pile the bigger the strife.

Earlier this month, I compiled a list of 30 Nepali Proverbs which had some wise proverbs:

30 Wise Proverbs From Nepal

It was a fun ride. So, I have decided to go on it again. I have manually translated these from the Nepali language. So, it is like the handcrafted version of literary work. Enjoy!

Everyone sees a burnt forest, none see a burnt heart — External problems are easily visible so they gather attention. Internal problems are known only to the sufferer and there are few who understand them.

One who eats ember excretes ember — Your output depends on your input. If you listen to a dictator, you will praise the dictator!

Without carrion, a vulture doesn’t roam — An opportunist isn’t there where there isn’t opportunity.

I will fake a hit, you fake a cry — Let’s act together to deceive everyone else.

A roaring tiger never eats — One who is intimidated, doesn’t hurt.

Poor have no money, the rich have no heart.

A sleeper loses, waker gains — If you are not alert enough, you will lose a lot of things. It will be taken by the one who is alert.

Where there’s lake, there’s water — Lake is a body of water.

Give your ears not your words — Listen freely, do not commit easily .

A single moon is better than a thousand stars — A single person who seriously reads your works is better than many worthless followers.

Only a snake sees a snake’s feet — To know the weaknesses of others, you have to be like them.

Small mouth, big talk! — To talk of things beyond your ability.

Washing an ass with soap won’t turn it into a cow — External change doesn’t mean change in substance.

A barking dog never bites — Threatening things rarely hurt.

It’s dark under a lamp — We focus far and wide and miss what’s beside.

Never ask for directions to places you won’t go — Don’t concern yourself with things that are not important to you.

Everyone is naked underneath their clothes — We all are!

Suffering never comes alone — A single source of suffering hardly exists.

The bigger the pile the bigger the strife — The more you amass your wealth, the more problems for you.

You can hide contentment but not suffering — It is easier to be humble than be calm.

Did you like these wise proverbs?

If yes,

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE CONTENT DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

December 22, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Aphorisms and Quotes Articles Life Mind Philosophy Science Society and Humanity 0

Nepali Folk Tales – Presence of Mind

When in crisis, always remember to stay calm. Try to understand the situation instead of reacting. Make things happen with what you have.

Once there lived an old woman. Her husband had died when she was young. She didn’t marry again. She had neither children nor relatives. She was wealthy, however, and lived in a nice two-storeyed house and had lots of valuable items.

One night when the old woman was deep asleep in her room on the upper floor, four thieves broke into her house. They saw extremely valuable items and grabbed everything they could possibly take. This turned into a noisy affair that woke the old woman. Instead of reacting, however, she carefully paid attention to what was going on downstairs. She correctly observed that there were four thieves and all were young men.

This made her think. It surely wasn’t a good idea for a single old lady to go after four young thieves. One, they could hurt her. Two, even if they ran, they could come back later knowing it was only an old lady. Three, they could divide into multiple groups, where one could come back and steal while she was after another.

But hardships in life had strengthened the old woman. She was tough and wise. She didn’t panic. Instead, she calmly thought of a solution. A few minutes later, she got it!

She had multiple items in her house: Maana, Pathi, Supaa, Daala, Bancharo, etc. (all Nepali utility items.) What she did was modify their names and pretended she was calling her sons aloud –

‘Maanyau, Paathyau, Supaau, Daalau, Bancharau, wake up quick! Four thieves have broken into our house. Hurry up! Bring your weapons.’

She then created a lot of noise on that floor: She rapidly opened and shut the doors. She dropped and smashed things.

The thieves heard all this. They immediately paused and tried to look at each other in the darkness of night. While they couldn’t see each other, they all understood the severity of the situation. They understood that they couldn’t afford to wait even for a minute. Each dropped whatever he was taking, including his bag, and ran empty-handed from the house as fast he possibly could. All were gone in a jiffy.

The old woman went downstairs and saw that the thieves had managed to collect almost every valuable item. The old woman checked their bags: There were valuable items stolen from others as well.

Instead of panicking in the time of crisis, the old woman had shown great resolve and presence of mind. She made use of whatever was at her disposal.

(Translated from NEPALI LOKKATHA, TULASI DIWAS)

SHARE THIS TALE WITH YOUR FRIENDS IF YOU LIKED IT. THEY MIGHT FIND IT USEFUL TOO.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE THE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

December 21, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Society and Humanity Stories 0

Look At Things From A Different Angle

When we have anxieties and frustrations, our thoughts are stuck at some point in between the present (A) and the future (B). Both being points previously opened by ourselves from a different angle.

In other words, WHEN we feel that way, it is mostly because we are not finding a solid thought pattern that leads us from our present point A to our goal B. This maybe due to newer challenges.

More often than not, the solution comes by itself after a duration of intense suffering. Or we might force things.

But it always has the same approach:

Looking at A or B from a different angle.

December 21, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy 0

Nepali Folk Tales – Grit Of A Sparrow

Hardships in life are inevitable. It’s up to us to figure out how we come out of them. Grit and Courage are invaluable toolkits!

This story is about one such hardship and grit.

Once there lived a pair of sparrows. They loved each other and didn’t have much to worry about. They dwelled near the King’s palace so food came easy. All they had to do was enter into the palace garden through a small hole and they could soak themselves in grains, seeds, and all that was there. How much does a sparrow eat anyway!

They worked hard for only one day a week, during which they collected enough grains to feed them for the remaining days. Life was simple and good.

But now they had a concern – They weren’t able to bring young ones into the world.

This was because their nest never lasted long enough. Every time they built a nest, and prepared for the hatch, the royal elephant who walked the same route – destroyed them. It wasn’t done intentionally, it was just that his belly smashed the nest each time he walked. This way the sparrow couple never got enough time to hatch the eggs.

Once, while the king went on a hunting trip of 2-3 days with the elephant, the sparrows took a chance, built a nest, and even laid eggs. They buzzed with hope and excitement. But as soon as the king returned, the old story repeated itself – the elephant walked and obliterated the nest along with the eggs.

The female was distraught.

‘This is too much. I cannot take it anymore. Let’s leave this place, even if it means starving or struggling hopelessly for food,’ she cried.

This stirred the male. He couldn’t see his partner in such agony. But he couldn’t accept the idea of moving out of such a convenient place either. He had seen other sparrows immensely suffer for the lack of food. There were sparrows who had to abandon their eggs just because they had nothing to eat. The male had heard and seen all this! He couldn’t leave but couldn’t see his partner in distraught either. So, he decided to immediately do something about the elephant. He went and told his partner about it.

The female wasn’t amused at the idea.

‘What will we do? We are helpless! How can we fight an elephant?’ she questioned.

‘Don’t worry! I will do what I can. If I fail, we’ll move out,’ the male calmed her.

The next day the male decided to follow the elephant and attack when he was the most vulnerable. When the elephant reached near their shelter, he sat on the howdah. The mahout took the elephant to a cliff to graze. When the mahout went away leaving the elephant alone, the male entered into the elephant’s ear and flapped his wings with all his might. This hurt the elephant. He started to panic and restlessly move around. The male sparrow put more effort into the flapping. The elephant couldn’t take it. He lost control over himself and ran aimlessly. The sparrow came out and watched as the elephant fell from the cliff and died. The male smiled and returned home.

They gave birth to many chicks thereafter.

Meanwhile, the king bought a new elephant and, luckily for her, her belly didn’t interfere with the sparrow business!

SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE THE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

December 20, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy 0

Why Read And Write?

Written words are static in nature. Other forms of expression which rely on words such as speech are dynamic.

Written words remain static unless mobilized — which equips the recipient with control over the thoughts and ideas expressed.

This control is crucial because it gives time: A valuable entity.

This available time can be used to imagine, ponder, scrutinize, and eventually decide! This available time can also mean freedom — from haste, from manipulation. Freedom to imagine, contemplate, scrutinize what you like when you like!

You can pause and zoom on a single word for eons and not proceed without having extracted all the necessary juice out of it.

This observation made me derive a quote:

Written words are static content for dynamic minds while other forms which rely on words are dynamic content for static minds.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO ME VIA EMAIL TO HAVE THESE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

December 20, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Content Industry Life Mind Philosophy 30

The Burden of Inevitability

For years she had dreamt of this trip. For years she had energized herself in the darkest of nights — thinking of this journey. The idea jolted her, inspired her — rendered meaning to a life otherwise plummeting towards inconsequentialism.

How much had she imagined herself reaching her destination — The mountains of Annapurna!

She had imagined the moment she would take that woolen scarf off her face, remove her jacket cap and expose her face to the mountain wind — the cold wind would smash itself into her and she would finally rise and shine out of her slumber.

She would wake up to be new! She would wake up from a long long night of dread and frustration — into a morning of vigor, purpose, and action.

She would stare at the dazzling mountain snow as the sun would gleam on her face. She would take a deep breath and get into a meditative state. She would drink in each and every moment and then return home — to dedicate her entire life to the feeling she had mustered there.

Here she was —mere 5 km away from her destination. After this night was done, she would wake up early tomorrow and rush! Bloody run!

But she isn’t able to sleep. It is 2 AM and the old melancholy is back.

‘What are you so excited about?’

‘Wasn’t you arriving here inevitable?’

‘You have come 5 years too late’

‘You were always supposed to reach here. There’s nothing new. So, shut up!’

December 19, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Mind Philosophy Stories 28

Nepali Folk Tales – Revenge of The Sparrow

If you have suffered injustice – exploit and expose the rat and the flawed system. There is nothing wrong with that!

Once there lived a pair of sparrows. They loved and cared for each other until the female got pregnant. The male left her and fled. The female’s life was miserable after that. She gave birth to a chick and raised it in great hardship.

After a few months, the male realized that his child had now grown up and could be of great assistance to him. He came back and demanded the chick. This angered the female. She yelled –

‘What makes you think you can come back and take my child? You left me stranded in time of hardship, what makes you think you can take my child!’

The male wasn’t going to give up. They fought. The male said the chick was rightfully his while the female said there was no such right. They went to the king’s court to settle the issue.

They explained everything to the King.

‘Whose is the chick, your highness?’ asked the female.

‘The chick belongs to the father,’ the King decreed.

‘Then you should write this on an inscription,’ the female said.

The King ordered – ‘A child belongs to the father more than the mother,’ to be written in the inscription. After this, the male took the chick away.

The female was badly hurt. She yelled and cried. She vowed to take revenge on the King.

A few weeks later, she died.

There was a carpenter who worked in the King’s palace. His wife was pregnant. The spirit of the female sparrow transmigrated into his wife’s womb. A daughter was born to them after 10 months.

She grew up endowed with great virtue and talents.

One day, there was a meeting in the palace between kings and the ministers. They were discussing who could grow a pumpkin inside a Gagri (Nepali Water Pitcher). No one thought anyone could.

A Gagri

After a while, one of the ministers spoke –

‘The carpenter is quite wise. He might!’

The King asked the carpenter to be brought to the court immediately and ordered him to do so. The carpenter couldn’t deny so he returned home dejected. He looked disappointed as he entered. His daughter saw this and came running at him. He shared everything with her. She thought for a while and told him to stay calm and go to bed. The father was not convinced but his daughter’s support did manage to calm him. The daughter meanwhile had a plan. (And some special abilities!)

The next day she bought some pumpkin seeds and a clay gagri. She planted the seeds in her garden. It sprang the next day and within a few days, some sprouts emerged in it. She took them and placed them inside the gagri. She took good care of the pumpkin and on the seventh day: The gargri had a pumpkin inside it. She took the gagri to her father and told him to go to the palace and ask the king to take the pumpkin out without breaking it into pieces. The father was pleased. He went to the palace and did as she had asked.

The king was astonished to see this but was nevertheless pleased with the carpenter. He gave some reward and the carpenter returned home.

There was another meeting in the palace after a few days. This time they discussed who could build a house in reverse order. Everyone thought the intelligent carpenter could do it, if anyone. The King summoned the carpenter and asked him to build a house in reverse. This time too, the carpenter couldn’t deny so he returned home dejected. He had the same look of disappointment as he entered. His daughter saw this and asked what was wrong. He shared everything. She thought for a while and told him to stay calm and go to bed. The father was not convinced but his daughter’s support meant a lot to him. The daughter had a plan.

The next day she told her father to go ask for money with the King to build the house. She told him to take a paathi (an archaic nepali cup) and to tell the King to fill the paathi from the opposite end when he is about to give it. The carpenter went to the palace and did what she said. The King yelled at him –

‘Fool! How can a paathi be filled in reverse!’

The carpenter told him that he would require money that has been filled in reverse order to build a house in that order. The King realized the error and pardoned him. The carpenter went home and shared this with his daughter. She was pleased.

During the next meeting at the palace, they discussed who could bring the things of ultimate quality, character, and taste. Once again, they all agreed that only the carpenter could do it. The carpenter was called and was asked to bring them. The carpenter couldn’t deny so he returned home dejected. He looked disappointed when he entered. His daughter saw him and asked what was wrong. He told her everything. She thought for a while and told him to stay calm and go to bed.

The next day she asked him to bring a piece of new cloth. She tore the cloth into three pieces and filled them with salt, chilly, and rice. She gave those to his father and told him to take this to the King and say –

‘The ultimate quality is rice, the ultimate character is chilly, and the ultimate taste is salt.’

The carpenter went to the court and did what his daughter told. The King opened the clothes and was impressed with what the carpenter had done. He rewarded him with two thousand rupees. The carpenter gleefully accepted it and returned home. He gave it to his daughter. She, however, asked him to buy her a horse with it. The daughter began riding the horse around.

The carpenter’s house wasn’t too far from the palace and its stable. There were only female horses there. The daughter sneakily left her horse at that stable every night. After a few months, one of the king’s horses was pregnant. In due time, she gave birth. The daughter then went to the stable, took the foal and brought it with her. When the guards interrupted, she said the foal was hers and didn’t give it back. When this issue couldn’t be resolved by the soldiers, the King had to intervene. He came up to her and said –

‘The foal born of my horse is mine.’

‘Who does a child belong to : the father or the mother, your highness?’ The little girl asked.

‘The mother,’ the King replied.

‘Why don’t you confirm this in one old inscription of yours,’ the girl suggested.

The king asked one of his men to go check. The man returned with the information that a child belonged to the father more than the mother.

And so the little girl took the little foal with her and the King remembered the sparrows.

The female sparrow took her revenge!

DISCUSSION

This is a mystical tale about a character wronged by both her loved-one and the system. The only thing of meaning and comfort is taken away for her. The character vows to take revenge, not just for personal satisfaction but also to expose the fallacy of a thought and a system. The character ends up taking revenge. But it required a great plan from her.

If we remove the mystical element from the tale then it becomes a tale of a woman’s struggle – which frequently occurs in society and people’s lives.

What we can learn from this is –

If you have suffered injustice – exploit and expose the rat and the flawed system. There is nothing wrong with that!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER TO HAVE THESE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

December 17, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Society and Humanity Stories 0

The Summit of Success!

One willing to go to the summit, should not give a damn about shame, disgust, sin, etc.

Nepal may not be among the strongest and the most powerful nations — but that doesn’t mean it has lacked the occasional thinker with words-of-wisdom. Today I am going to share a metaphorical story written by one such writer: Bhairav Aryal.

Hearing his uncle always say, ‘We all have to make it to the summit of success, anyhow!’

— a young schoolboy one day asks, ‘How tall is the summit of success? Can I reach there someday?’

In reply, the uncle says it was possible and would even take him there — if he could manage some money.

The same day the boy steals cash and jewellery from home. They leave in a Mercedes. On the way, the uncle first teaches that — one willing to go to the summit should not give a damn about shame, disgust, sin, etc.

Reaching a huge red pond, the uncle explains —

‘This is the sea of success. See how fun and romantic is this sea formed by the blood of the poor and the stupid. This is the route to the summit.’

The uncle takes him nearer and presses a switch. This takes them to a checkpoint. The boy hands his bag to uncle after which the latter disappears. He waits for four hours ! That’s when he remembers what the uncle had taught:

One willing to go to the summit, should not give a damn about shame, disgust, sin, etc.

He then — letting go of his shame, enters.

In a room, he sees self rotating chairs. Nervously he says —

‘I am here to see the summit of success but my uncle betrayed me. Can I get an entry-pass?’

The chairs laugh. A serious-looking chair asks whose guy he was. The boy is unable to answer. Meanwhile, a new person enters with a bag and all the chairs get into a tussle to get hold of that person. The boy sneakily leaves the room and heads upstairs.

After a floor with automated vessels that fight, he climbs further up.

A sweet voice welcomes him there. He looks around. He sees lots of thighs and legs. One thigh comes near him. And the lights go off. He hears chaotic sounds of those organs fighting with each other. He leaves to go further upstairs.

He sees nobody there. While he looks around, his back presses a switch that opens a door. There he sees a room with a disgusting smell. He sees human heads and bodily organs. He gets scared. He looks to run when he stumbles upon a corpse. Unable to bear the suffering, he closes his eyes and screams —

‘Uncle…Is this the summit of success?’

When he opens his eyes, he sees his uncle in front with a pistol pointed at him. The angry uncle tells him to leave. The boy joins his hands and tells him —

‘I will leave uncle! I saw the way to the summit of success you showed, but this wasn’t the summit of success I wanted to see’

Please Subscribe to my Medium newsletter.

https://fradesh.medium.com/subscribe

December 17, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Mind Philosophy Society and Humanity Stories 25

The Human Paradox

At least 900 species have gone extinct in the last five centuries and More than 35,000 species have been evaluated to be threatened with extinction today. This is the species count. Imagine the number of members gone!

This website here: 2021 U.S. Animal Kill Clock (animalclock.org) keeps count of the number of animals slaughtered in the US in the current year. The number at the time of this typing is — 49,336,478,598.

It is estimated that in the year 1500 there were 461 million people in the world. Each year 140 million human babies enter the world while around 59 million leave.

Not every species that goes extinct is because of human beings. But we are responsible for quite a few!

A quick walk around a city like Kathmandu will show you stories. Better than movies – because these stories are not just of human sorrows and glories. The stories are also of dogs. Stray dogs!

Dogs like to get cozy in winters or when it gets cold. They like to wrap themselves around their own body to generate heat.

A dog warming itself like that is disturbed by the noise of a speeding motorbike (which Nepal quite honestly hasn’t made and doesn’t deserve considering its output) which passes by the dog.

The dog is forced to get up in horror, only to realize that all is safe. No one cares about him/her enough to even intentionally bother. The biker is gone — to his friends perhaps. To watch a game of football perhaps! The dog looks on in shock. He has been robbed of his moment of warmth! No one knows if the dog will be able to sleep in there again.

Sights such as these make you apathetic towards people. While you may, a few minutes earlier have empathized with the desperately waiting human-eyes in shops that don’t sell a thing — You stop caring after these incidents.

You then start questioning — Why should I empathize with people? What right do some people have to burden others? Why are some people even existing? Why can’t there be a system that looks at animals and animal-like-humans equally?

It is nothing to be ashamed of. If the same question can be asked of dogs and other animals then why not of humans?

If more than 50 billion animals can be killed each year in US alone, what is the big deal with COVID? Let me go. Let them go.

(Such stray dogs are mercilessly killed by the municipality once their population goes out of hand.)

Why sustain a species at the price of finishing every other?

The paradoxical questions are :

Why do so many people have to live?

What is their purpose?

Why does a human get to ask these questions?

Where is the management?

To the third and fourth questions I have another question:

Is it time for an association of Post-Humans, who are intellectually superior to normal people?

Such Post-Humans can be decided on an emotional and intelligence criteria. Not IQ, Mensa or likes. Something new. Something beautiful. Something glorious!

Why can’t those Post-Humans then manage humans, just as normal humans manage animals and slaughter-houses?

Not to eat of course!

The idea is to create a situation where a superior breed of humans take control over the world and with intellect and empathy manage other humans, creatures and environment. Creating a balance.

How can it be done?

It won’t be easy of course!

But remember: It mustn’t have been easy for our ancestors to tame and manage dogs too.

The number at the time of this finishing is — 49,344,410,694!

December 17, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Earth and Space Life Philosophy Society and Humanity World 0

On UG Krishnamurti
My Opinion on the person I have only seen and heard on the internet

Before I get into UG Krishnamurti, I want to share some background.

I intensely explored the internet for doses of wisdom. Philosophers, Spiritualists, Poets, Writers, Filmmakers, Artists, Scientists — I was on a mission to find and understand everyone who thought freely and deeply.

I used to jump around fields — at times philosophy, at times spirituality, literature, cinema, arts, science…where, finding a thinker I related to — I would consume everythought available on the internet of his/hers. I wasn’t committed to any specific field.

Deep inside however, I was in fact seeking ‘the one’ ultimate thinker to whom I could submit myself intellectually-whole-heartedly. And based on whose style of thinking, I could build and develop mine!

A case of seeking the giant on whose shoulder I was to stand.

It was during such explorations that I stumbled upon the ideas of an old person from India discovered under the tag: Indian Spiritualists.

I had followed quite a few from India before — Kautilya, Kabir, Vivekananda, Paramhansa Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi, Rajneesh, Aurobindo Ghosh, even one Vimalananada from Robert Svoboda’s Aghora. I was pro-vedic spirituality at that time and had great reverence for the System.

But this particular old bloke I discovered was something else!

He said Vedic Rishis were fanatics high on drugs (Soma) and called one Rajneesh a pimp. He openly said he was not anyone’s guru and that knowledge of the ultimate was absurd.

‘You cannot know anything

You don’t want to know’,

he proclaimed. He hadn’t written any books, so all that was available was through videos. YouTube has tons of it.

He yelled, sweared, and roasted almost every revered spiritual saint and system.

I was immediately drawn to these thoughts as he spoke unlike any I had heard and had ideas that would put even Nietzsche to shame. He was quite something ! He was UG Krishnamurti.

I am not going to write about his life here. My only purpose with this article is to share what I think he was and his perspective is.

And so as time passed I started getting heavily-influenced by him. I continuously watched his videos and his thoughts and ideas became the foundation of my own thoughts and thinking. I had found the shoulder. But the one I couldn’t stand on. There was none!

He was elusive and incomprehensible. The more I thought I understood the man the more confused I got. I tried to fit him into different systems of thinking. At times it felt he fit into Roussean style, at times to Postmodern thought, at times to Mahayana and eventually to Absurdism. But something or the other always didn’t connect!

Initially, he had felt so natural and easy to grasp but the more I watched his videos and read stories about him, the things he said, the more bewildered I got.

He didn’t seem to care to write, make money, enterprise his thoughts. He didn’t seem to care about anything. He at times calmly expressed his ideas while at times, yelled in the videos. What was he about? What does he care of? Does he even care for a thing? Even Buddha preached as far as I knew!

Who was this guy? What was wrong/right with him? Was he a hypocrite? Was there any marketing-propaganda I missed? Who was he most like: Camus, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Rousseau?

Years passed and the influence remained and grew. His perception of life and the world very much remained at my intellectual-core. I gradually separated from Vedic Spirituality as I discovered flaws and absurdities.

My every impulse of wanting to be a guru someday, revering some thinker, monetizing my thinking, pursuing the 4 Ps (Power, Prestige, Popularity, Pleasure) used to hit upon the wall called UG which used to shatter and destroy the desires mercilessly. Desires were gone alright, but I didn’t know what else to do. What to pursue!

UG Krishnamurti was there in his American/Indian home talking with celebrities and big-shots. He didn’t seem to have a concern for money. It all seemed to have been taken care of by his followers or however. But I was here in Nepal, struggling in semi-political institutions to make ends meet. He may not have wanted to be a Guru but he was one.

I quietly kept his thoughts and ideas inside a small compartment of my mind and called it UGian Philosophy. I didn’t want to discuss or debate about it with anyone. I didn’t even want to search for other people’s opinion on him on the Internet. He was a puzzle, a riddle that I was to solve — by myself. He was a philosopher whose philosophy had inspired me, influenced me and had formed the base of my intellectual thinking. I had to find a category for his thinking. There had to be a category!

This continued for a few years.

But now, as of today, I think I have an answer to him and his ideas. I think I have finally understood what his philosophy was. Although, I have to honestly say that the UG Krishnamurti that influenced me was the one I viewed and listened to on the internet. I have no idea what he was like in person and what the background of it all was. It is just about the UG Krishnamurtithat appears in Videos and his meeter’s blogs.

What I understood was that the process of assigning UG Krishnamurti and his thoughts to a school of thinking or philosophy was in itself an absurdity. UG Krishnamurti was not a philosopher. In that, he didn’t have a philosophy to teach or preach. UG Krishnamurti was merely a negater:

He was what remains if you remove all schools of thoughts from a person.

Let me explain:

All thinkers I mentioned above: Kautilya, Kabir, Vivekananda, Paramhansa Yogananda, Ramana Maharshi, Rajneesh, Aurobindo Ghosh, Vimalananada had some philosophical destination to sell and achieve. This applies to all other schools of philosophy, science and arts. They all are about taking you to a particular intellectual space. A destiny, a goal.

UG Krishnamurti had none. He was not about anything or anywhere. He was only a denier. Once again, he is what is left in a person if you remove all schools of thoughts from him: Philosophies, Sciences, Arts — everything! With that removal goes every value, morality, perception related to those schools. Every ambition or corruption we have is indeed the mixture of countless confused schools of thinking!

Take Schopenhauer for instance, a denier but still had spaces to sell and achieve. Be it in the form of an aesthetic-genius who can perceive the will-in-itself or in the form of an ascetic who accepts the nature of will. Buddha had nibbana to sell and achieve. Nietzsche eventually had Uberman and perspectivism. Absurdists had existential-meaning to achieve. Science likewise has empirical evidence.

But UG Krishnamurti had none. He didn’t seem to profess any particular destination. All he did was deny all existing ones. The closest I have found to this type of thinking today is of the absurdists. Yet, the absurdists seek existential-meaning, the cause to exist and do. For example, through Camus’ Arts it is as if they seek justification to do things in life. But without pursuit, UG became a natural thinker. The what is!

I would even go as far as to say that he is Man in the natural form without a color of culture.

UG Krishnamurti seems to have firstly, denied everything and secondly, didn’t seem to have bothered to search for new avenues. He seems to have just settled in negation without bothering to seek further. Why he didn’t care is not for me to answer. Although I can make a guess that he might have thought that commiting to a seek would once again trap him in the rabbit hole. It would mean ambition, rhetoric and eventually —would have meant ending up like everyone else making the same mistakes. Just another system!

All systems eventually fail, and what begins as a naive pursuit of truth necessarily ends with forceful adjustments to opinions once hardships arise, he probably understood. Absurdism!

What all this has eventually meant to me is that UG has immensely helped me see the absurdity and negate all propaganda, marketing, hypes and promises of various systems of thinking. Yes, we all have seen how each system promises, asserts and presents itself as if it is the only credible method to the truth. Thanks to UG Krishnamurti I have had the courage to see the absurdity in each and negate all of them in me.

What this has done to me is — opened me to the exploration of brand new possibilities either through the invention of a new system or through the amalgamation of all existing ones. (Yes, I am risking inevitability but I have my tools of hope!)

Other difference with me is that I have not concluded. I have not settled in negation. I still seek, search and pursue. And that immediately makes me a non-UG. And I have no problem with that! I believe in exploration and seeking. Not on settling and concluding. Hence, I look to learn and take important aspects from here and there. With UG, what I have done is follow a technique professed by Buddha with whom I don’t agree on much otherwise:

Just because a boat has taken you across a river doesn’t mean you have to carry the boat around with you further.

December 17, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy 0

The Philosophy of Cataclysm

A small background before we jump into the philosophy of cataclysm.

I grew up with Hindu/Buddhist philosophies and as you may know — there’s a gargantuan presence of the inevitability of death in these systems of thinking.

Take the goddess Kali for instance — one of the most popular goddesses around. Her name is the feminine form of Kala which implies both time and death.

Psychospiritually, death could mean the killing of Ego and Maya — the kill is optional. But it also means the finish line of a certain biological span — which is inevitable. It doesn’t mean you should kill your biological self though!

Worshipping Kali is a method of non-stop realizing the fact that death is inevitable and living according to that realization (with humility and wisdom).

Hear from one of the most popular ‘experts’ of the system:

Death — Mother — Kali? — OSHO Online Library

We are well aware of what Mr. Siddhartha Gautam had to say of death:

The Buddha himself described death as the ‘the greatest of all teachers’, ‘the sickness’ and ‘the most important manifestation of impermanence’.

In another context, the country I am from — Nepal has had a phase of weird six years.

First, in April of 2015, we had a sequence of massive earthquakes that killed about 9,000 people.

Nepal earthquake of 2015 | Magnitude, Death Toll, Aftermath, & Facts | Britannica

While numbers do tell the magnitude of impact, they don’t tell the whole story — especially psychoemotional ones!

For more than a month we all lived with the constant thought that anything catastrophic could happen any fkn time and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it.

(Except hope you weren’t the one who ended up in rubble with your corpse looking like a smashed brown tomato with shades of grey concrete!)

And then in September of the same year, this happened:

2015 Nepal blockade

India imposed an economic blockade on Nepal. Since every day-to-day stuff comes from there, things got pretty hard!

Basically, there was no fuel so everything inflated. From food to clothes, every fkn thing! You had to plan for a week to travel a distance of 30 km and if you agreed to do it — you had to share a bus with ~150 co-pathetic souls which had a capacity of 60 at most. That too at a high cost.

But the most vicious inflation took place in the most dreaded area — inside the head!

Here you were, hardly recovering from the natural catastrophe that didn’t take you away only because you were lucky — and now you couldn’t even trust humans! Bastards from the South could march in anytime with their leather boots and take you to their concentration camp — Yes, you thought these!

And then 2020 came and COVID happened. You sat at your home wondering what the brothers from North and West have spread around the world. You come from one of the most irrelevant nations in the world which means the richer folks could be experimenting on you and you could do nothing about it! Your perspective on vaccines or the whole issue didn’t count too. You were nothing! And you could be thrust into nothingness anytime they wanted!

So you spent all your time on the internet with the intention of understanding the world and then knew all about Climate Change, Food Crisis, Water Crisis, World War 3, Asteroids, AIs, etc. etc — all serious contenders to end this human hubbub!

All this has accumulated into an understanding of the world where:

Some of us have started to constantly realize the fact that catastrophe is inevitable. Philosophy of Cataclysm is real.

My point is —

There is a new philosophy in the market place. It is called Cataclysm. Or it could be called inevitabilism, even catastrophism, maybe end-of-humans! Decivilization???

Even that’s not the point though.

The actual point is that we may have to start a new religion:

Where we invent a new God. This God shall be the symbol of impending catastrophe. This God’s only job will be:

To make us constantly realize the fact that cataclysm is inevitable!

So the possibility of cataclysm remains and determines every breath we take, every hand we shake.

Let’s discuss more of this philosophy of cataclysm.

Let’s do it.

December 17, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Earth and Space Life Philosophy Society and Humanity World 0

Detoxify Yourself From The Silicon Valley Influence

Recently I wrote a piece analyzing Steve Jobs through his quotes:

Understanding Steve Jobs Through His Quotes

As I went through his life and ideas, I realized how profound impact this guy and his type of thinking has had in our minds and the world today.

I will cut to the chase: The impact is damaging!

Yes, I do understand that the laptop I use, the phone I use — are all the results of innovative works done on the West Coast of the United States. And I also understand that these technologies are the very reason why I could dare to self-study and self-employ myself.

But when I looked at these people and their motives closely, a horrifying reality grimly slapped me in the face: These people wanted to rule the world and our minds, and they did!

Now there’s nothing new with people wanting to rule others. It has been happening forever. And there’s nothing we have been able to do to remove this part of our existence.

Tribal leaders talked of security, and ended up leading.

Spiritual/Religious leaders talked of material salvation, and ended up leading.

Democratic heroes talked of freedom, and ended up leading.

Communistic utopia promised of kinglessness, and ended of leading.

This has been going on forever and unless we do something radical to the collective human conscience, it will continue to do so. In this latest chapter, however, our leaders are the hollow boys from California — who talked of technological-empowerment, and have ended up leading!

Yes, once again I will say — the technology I use today is their blessing. It has helped me in my learning and creative process.

But,

Wasn’t that commander a blessing to normal folks who didn’t know where the next attack would come from?

Weren’t spiritual talks a blessing to people when they failed to attain satisfaction through material pursuits?

Wasn’t democratic ideal a blessing to citizens when tyrants horsed around doing whatever they wanted?

Wasn’t communism a blessing when capitalistic thinking destroyed the life and soul of people who bled their sweat in work?

What I have realized is — Whenever we accept blessings, we accept reverence too! And this is what is happening to our world today: We have unknowingly welcomed new Gods because we were so blind with the blessings given to us.

But there’s something damaging about gods, that’s why we time and time again put up a struggle to destroy the old temples and jump into creating a new one whenever anyone promises to take the initiative. This damaging thing is: God rules over not just our life and economics, God infiltrates deep into our minds!

And this is why I said that the impact of Silicon Valley heroes is damaging: They are not just about technology. They have infiltrated into the deepest regions of our individual minds — therefore into our social behavior. They have become our new Gods. Like it or not!

The concept of God was to create a presence so strong within us that it penetrates deep into our consciousness and the teaching dictates our every thought and behavior. The same is with any kind of ideology. And the same is happening to us with the values of Silicon Valley.

There are a few mindsets I noticed that have come out of there:

The only purpose of life is to make it big, you shall believe!

Tell them you are denting the Universe, and they will follow

Become a king through entrepreneurship, and they will bow

Create platforms, set the rules, and they will fight

Create technologies that expose their weaknesses, and they will drool

Create technologies that encourage laziness, and they will submit

Make them dependent on you and your work, and they will surrender

Tell them the market decides, and they will feel helpless

Tell them their life will get better, and they will believe

and finally,

Present yourself with daunting cockiness and — they will worship

Again, it is not about the technologies, it is about the impact these ideas have had on our minds and the world. It is about the impact this kind of thinking is having on technologies themselves.

One can only wonder what kind of technologies we might have had if they were not dictated by the ambitions of intellectually immature children with fanciful dreams! (With a lot of support from the Uncle, of course!)

See for yourself. Look at the richest people in the world today and all that have come out of that wretched valley called Silicon, don’t you see all of the above being ticked?

Look at the most powerful person in the world today, doesn’t he talk the biggest?

Look at the audacity of a person who trades in software, don’t you bow?

Look at ‘that’ platform for instance, aren’t we bashing our horns with each other?

Look at the platform that had to recently change its name for posterior goodwill, didn’t it expose us all naked?

Look at the watch in your hand, are you supposed to be told when to sleep and when to wake up? Do we need a bloody software to tell us if our grammar is correct or not?

Look at the most popular internet search service, can you even search your key anymore?

Look at the heap of algorithm-driven generic content that is eclipsing who knows how many Aristophanes, Rousseaus, Beethovens and Teslas (Nikola), don’t you feel powerless?

Look at your life, did you need all these fancy AI driven inspectors, don’t you feel duped?

Look at the confidence of those narrow-minded marketing coaches spread over the internet like cockroaches in a gutter — who promise you a navigation through the market — don’t they make you feel helpless? (Even if you ‘make it’ through their coaching, you will have already become somebody else. It comes at a price: you have to be one of them!)

And all this is damaging: they have turned our mind and the world into one pathetic automated machine whose only function is to ‘dent the universe.’ Isn’t the universe already dented enough?

I am convinced now more than ever: We have had enough of technology. They aren’t going to solve any of our issues. It’s people’s behavior that has to be mended. It’s not out of a utopian need, it’s out of self-preservation that I speak this.

A person who takes vulgar pictures of young children will continue to do so — be it on an analog camera or IPhone 13!

A culture that produces crap drama will continue to do so — be it in theatre or Netflix!

Two nations that fight with each other will continue to do so — be it in SC Sea or Mars!

A country whose people are morally corrupt will continue to deceive the public — be it through government or e-commerce!

A spoilt kid who irritates others will continue to do so — be it through his bicycle bell or 1000 cc bikes!

These toys just don’t matter if people are going to be the same.

We have reached to a point where there can be millions of articles on the internet talking about the dangers of AI for writers and yet, none have the audacity to stand up and say: Stop this AI bullshit!

I really wonder:

What kind of technologies we might have had if they were not driven by the ambitions of intellectually immature children with fanciful dreams!

Coming back to the original point, we are driven today by the ideals of: superficial living, technology/market dependence, mutual exploitation and averageness with cocky-presentation. All these are Silicon Valley givens.

Yes, Silicon Valley has given a lot more to us. And I personally thank them for it. But now it’s time to move on. Now it’s time to unlearn. It’s damaging. This is not what life is about!

And for those who care about posterity,

I think the people of 2050 will wonder:

What kind of life we might have had if those who were aware 30 years ago did not surrender to the ambitions of the intellectually immature children with fanciful dreams!

So what do we do?

We start off by unlearning the lessons taught by them and detoxifying ourselves of their influence.

Technology isn’t wrong. The ones who control it should be scrutinized. Technology can be used for self-knowing, experiences, and exploration. It has to be freed from the clutches of Lusty boys of Silly-Con Valley! and so should our thoughts and life and the world and…

December 17, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Mind Philosophy Society and Humanity Technology 27

Nepali Folk Tales – The Dog, The Jackal and The Lion

Once a dog was strolling near a forest when he saw a jackal sitting with her cubs. The dog sensed a resemblance with them. He went near and said –

‘We look the same. We must be from the same family. I think we should live together as one.’

The jackal too didn’t see much difference between herself and the dog, so she agreed to the proposal.

They went together until they reached a warm-looking den. They sniffed around and knew it was a den of a lion. The lion was apparently away, so the dog, the jackal, and her cubs went inside and made themselves comfortable.

In the evening, they sensed the lion approaching. The cubs got scared and began to cry.

‘Why are they making such a distressing noise?’ the dog asked the jackal.

‘They are asking for the lion’s heart,’ said the jackal loudly. She wanted the lion to hear.

The dog was smart so he understood what the jackal was up to.

‘Why don’t you give them the heart I brought the other day,’ said the dog loudly.

‘They are not gonna eat stale heart! They want it fresh,’ the jackal replied.

‘Tell them to be quiet for a while. I can sense a lion coming this way, I will kill it and bring a fresh heart,’ the dog said.

The lion heard all this. He believed a stronger creature than him was inside his den. He ran away in a jiffy. The dog and the jackal made that den their home after that.

(Taken from Folk Tales from Nepal: The Origin of Alcohol and Other Stories, Keshar Lall, Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 2009)

Discussion:

This tale is about characters of similar nature coming together to fight opposition and adversity. This tale doesn’t give a good message as it is about occupying what belongs to others and deceiving the rightful owner with trickery and teamwork.

What we can learn from this is –

There are lots of dogs and jackals in this world. Be alert and discover the truth before giving up!

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE THESE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

[contact-form-7 id=”332″ title=”Contact form 1″]

December 16, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Mind Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Society and Humanity Stories 0

Your Options in Life

When you realize that the environment you exist in is incompatible, unsuited for you and it becomes inhospitable, you have four options in life.

You can either,

Adjust

Conquer

Change

Leave

All these require distinct traits. Let’s see what they are:

Adjust: To adjust in such an environment means to be okay with things as they are. You will need patience, tolerance, malleability, and open- mindedness to do this. You have to be willing to change yourself and suppress a lot of thoughts.

Conquer: To conquer such an environment means to rule over it. It requires energy, will-to-power, boldness, and cunningness.

Change: To change such an environment means struggling to eliminate the toxicity in it. It means changing the agents. It requires involvement, persuasion, vision, and communication. You don’t necessarily have to conquer to change.

Leave: To leave such an environment means to quit it altogether to never return again. It requires courage, imagination, determination and detachment.

Q: What’s the best option in life among them?

A: In life, 4 isn’t an option, so I would go for 3. If it’s any other environment, I would go for 4. But it all depends on the traits you have or can have. You can add more options in life too!

[contact-form-7 id=”332″ title=”Contact form 1″]

December 16, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy Society and Humanity 29

Nepali Folk Tales – The Old Man and His Daughter

There once lived an old man who had four sons and one daughter. All were married.

The sons, their wives, and the old man lived in the same house while the daughter lived in a different village with her husband.

The sons and their wives didn’t care much for the old man. He struggled to even eat and drink in good taste. They hardly spoke with him and were rude – unless they wanted a favor.

One day while his daughter had come to visit him, she asked –

‘Are your daughters-in-law taking good care of you, father?’

‘I am old. I cannot do anything on my own. They only bother to be nice to me when they want something in return,’ the father said with tears in his eyes.

The daughter was sad hearing this.

‘Oh, father! I would stay with you if I could. But a daughter has to be at her own house with her husband’s family. I can’t even take me with you,’ she said.

Her words touched him deep. The contrasting nature of his children flashed in front of his eyes. But he couldn’t speak a word.

‘I have an idea,’ the daughter said in excitement. The father paid attention.

She took off a gold chain from her neck and gave it to him.

‘I have a solution to this problem, but you have to do as I say,’ she said.

The father nodded.

‘This is my chain. Take it. You can return it to me later. The plan is for you to wear this and indirectly tell your daughters-in-law that whoever takes the best care of you will get it,’

He wasn’t willing to take the chain but the daughter insisted. He finally agreed to go ahead with the plan and wore it on his neck.

It didn’t take long for his daughters-in-law to notice the new shiny gold. Each of them came to him when no one else was around and asked –

‘Father, where did you get it?’

‘It is of my deceased wife. I have decided to wear it,’ he said to each.

‘What will you plan to do with the chain? It looks like it could be of great use to younger women,’ each said.

‘Ah, I plan to give it to the person who takes the best care of me,’ he replied.

Now the daughters-in-law competed with each other. Each wanted to give him the best care possible. They took good care of the old man’s drinks, food, clothes, and they behaved well. Even their husbands changed. All this resulted in the old man having a good life.

After a couple of years, the old man got ill. He knew he wouldn’t live long. He tried to contact his daughter but failed to do so. And as he had assumed, he died within a few days.

The daughter came and the family finished the last rites together.

In the morning of the day she was to leave, she went to her sisters-in-law and asked –

‘Did father leave me a parting message?’

‘Yes,’ they said. ‘He asked us to tell you that the firewood from last time was very good.’

She then covertly went to the courtyard and removed the pile of firewood. There it shined: Her golden chain! She took it and left for her home.

DISCUSSION

This tale is about a man who has worked very hard to ensure he and his children have a good life. But when he is old and unable to take care of himself anymore, his children brush him aside. (These kinds of incidents frequently occur). But the old man is lucky to have a caring and thoughtful daughter who understands his situation and comes up with a genius solution. The result: the old man is treated well. He lives in good care and attention until he dies.

What we can learn from this is –

Most humans are terrible. Yet, we all are forced to live together in this world. The cunning, the evil, the petty will try to make our lives miserable. To survive with them, we better beat them at their own game!

December 16, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Society and Humanity Stories 0

Nepali Folk Tales – A Brave Boy

There once was an orphan boy. He lived in a small house with a relative who didn’t care much about him. There was a coconut tree near his house. The boy went there daily, climbed it, and enjoyed the coconuts. That’s all there was to his life.

One day while he was on the top of the tree, a rakshasi (female man-eating being) came and shouted –

‘Hey, kid! Give me a coconut.’

The boy was angry at her rude demand.

‘Why do you want other people’s stuff? Is it yours?’ he yelled back.

‘If you don’t give me a coconut I will eat that soft meat of yours,’ she threatened.

The boy looked at her carefully. Seeing her body and teeth, he got scared. He said he would give some and dropped one in the ground. The rakshasi wasn’t amused at the behavior.

‘Give it to me in my hands,’ she shouted.

The boy decided to do as she said. He came down and was about to hand a coconut over to her when… She grabbed him and put him in a sack. She took him with her to her home.

‘Help, help,’ the boy cried from inside.

‘Hold on, it’s momentary. The pain will vanish once you get into my belly,’ she said with an evil laugh and walked on.

On the way, however, the rakshasi had to poop. She kept the boy nearby and went into the forest. Seizing the opportunity, the boy carefully got out of the sack, filled it with rocks, and returned to the coconut tree. The rakshasi came back and lifted the sack. Surprised at it being heavier, she opened it – to find only rocks!

Fuming with anger, she decided to return back to the coconut tree. Just as she was about to reach there, she spotted the boy. So, she went back to her home and returned the next day in a different attire. Appearing as a different person.

She asked for a coconut just like before. The boy replied –

‘I won’t give anything to anyone! How can I afford to give everyone a coconut!’

This triggered the rakshasi. She climbed the tree, forcefully grabbed the boy, placed him in her sack, and took him.

On the way, she had to pee. She kept the sack just like the other day and went nearby. The boy seized this opportunity and carefully got out of the sack. This time around, however, he filled the sack with some wet mud and returned to the coconut tree. The rakshasi returned, carried the sack, and walked towards her home.

As she was about to get there, she noticed that her back was wet.

‘This rascal has urinated,’ she said and opened the sack. She was surprised to find nothing but wet mud there.

‘Next time I won’t stop anywhere,’ she said.

The boy climbed the tree early the next morning. A few hours later, he spotted the rakshasi coming towards him. He got scared and hurried down. In doing so, he fell badly and couldn’t get up in time. The rakshasi took this opportunity to put him in her sack. This time she successfully brought him home.

There was rakshasi’s daughter in the house too.

‘Fry him,’ the rakshasi said and instructed her on how to cook a human properly. She then went outside for another catch.

The young rakshasi took the boy out of the sack and prepared to cut him to pieces. The boy was scared but didn’t lose his calm. He could sense that the girl was stupid. He took this opportunity to lure her into giving him her clothes. He wore them and forcefully placed the girl inside a dhinki and beat her to small pieces. He prepared her just as the rakshasi had taught earlier.

In the evening the rakshasi returned.

‘Is the meat ready?’ she asked the girl.

The boy imitated the girl’s voice and said – ‘Yes, it’s ready mother.’

‘Bring it, I wanna taste it,’ she said.

The boy covered his face and brought the meat. The rakshasi was pleased with the sight.

‘Finally, after so many days of struggle! This boy seemed so tasty,’ she said and began eating.

Just as she was done, the boy took off the clothes and shouted –

‘How was your daughter’s meat?’

He ran out of the house in a jiffy. The rakshasi looked on.

The rakshasi hasn’t come out of her house since…

DISCUSSION:

This tale is about a boy who has had to face a lot of hardships in life. His only solace too is intruded. His life is threatened, yet he somehow manages to save himself. Every single time. He doesn’t give up. He keeps on trying. Finally, he uses his intelligence to deal with the solution once and for all.

The thing to learn from this is –

Be brave. Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope and your awareness. It usually requires only one intelligent move – at the right time in the right place – to deal with a problem and ward it off forever.

December 15, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Society and Humanity Stories 0

Nepali Folk Tales – A Hunter and a Tiger

A man was out in the forest hunting birds when he came across a tiger. Excited at the sight of a muscular adult, the tiger prepared to pounce on him. The hunter noticed this in time and began pleading –

‘Please don’t kill me. Let’s be friends. I can manage better prey for you and will help you in a lot of things.’

The tiger liked the idea and said –

‘Sounds good! Go and kill my enemy – the porcupine’

The hunter agreed and asked where the porcupine was.

The tiger led the hunter to the hole where it lived. He pointed his gun at the face of the hole and waited for the porcupine. As soon as it came out, the man shot it – dead on the spot!

It impressed the tiger. But he didn’t want others to know about it as it would hurt his reputation.

‘Please don’t tell anyone about all this. I do not want others to know that you killed the porcupine,’ he requested.

The hunter agreed. He took the porcupine home and ate it for dinner.

The next morning, the hunter’s wife went to fetch water in a local tap. She picked her teeth with a bamboo splinter as she walked. Two of her neighbors observed this and asked what she had eaten.

‘My husband brought a porcupine last night, he had killed it himself,’ she boasted.

The news spread like wildfire around the village. It was only a matter of time before it reached the tiger. Fuming with anger, he went around the jungle searching for the hunter. When he finally spotted him, he questioned the hunter’s commitment.

‘I said nothing,’ the hunter argued.

‘I don’t know. Now, I will prey on you,’ the tiger said.

This frightened the man and it showed in his body. He trembled.

The tiger noticed this and asked –

‘Why do you tremble?’

The hunter thought for a while. He realized that the only thing the tiger was afraid of was the porcupine. So, he decided to cash in on this opportunity.

‘The porcupine I ate yesterday is mad at you. It wants to come out of my body to hurt you,’ he said.

The tiger sprinted out of sight in a jiffy!

DISCUSSION:

A person is in threat. Scared out of mind, that person requests the threatening person to pardon him by promising to help in return. He helps the threat get rid of its biggest weakness. But the threat asks for a commitment to that secret. Although the man adheres to his words, the nature of things is such that the secret is out. The threat is mad at the person for revealing it and goes to destroy him. The man realizes the threat’s weakness and uses it to chase it off!

What we can learn from this tale is –

Be careful with sensitive information

Stay true to your words – but if someone doesn’t understand your situation and comes to hurt you, use your intelligence to exploit their weakness for your safety.

December 14, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Society and Humanity Stories 30

Nepali Folk Tales – Eight Children

There once lived a haughty boy. His name was Bunachha. He spoke like an old man.

One day, he went to his mother and said-

‘Mother! Now that I am clever and I can correctly pronounce tough words, I am thinking about going to Calcutta to make good money. Is it okay with you?’

‘Sure. Why not! But do you realize that there are wild rivers on the way?’ she said.

‘Am I a coward! I will go. Send me as soon as possible. I will bring great money and we will build a new house,’ Bunachha replied.

‘Who will you go with?’ the mother asked.

‘Why are you worrying. I have six-seven friends. We will go together.’

As soon as the mother agreed, Bunachha ran out. He went to his friends and spoke-

‘Look, friends! I am leaving for Calcutta. Whoever wants to go, can join me. We are now capable enough to correctly pronounce tough words. What’s the issue? We will earn well and build new houses here after we come back. What say?’

The friends agreed.

The next day, the friends took permission from their respective homes and gathered at the same place. Eight kids were now set to leave.

‘Okay, then! Tomorrow, all of you bring the necessary things and take leave from your home,’ Bunachha ordered. They all agreed and left.

Bunachha carried his belongings, took leave from his mother, and arrived at the designated place early the next morning. Slowly the friends gathered too.

‘Okay, friends. Are we ready to leave?’, Bunachha asked.

They cheered.

‘Okay then, let’s go.’, he said and they left.

On their way, they talked about all kinds of stuff and easily crossed the roads, until they reached a river.

‘See my friends! My mother had warned me of these rivers. So we all have to cross it as a unit. Else the river will take us with it. So…Hold your hands and let’s go!‘ Bunachha ordered.

They successfully crossed.

Immediately, Bunachha said –

‘Wait, now we will count if all eight of us are here.’

He began counting:

‘One, Two, Three…Seven’

‘Where’s one,’ he wondered. Another friend came forward.

‘Should I recount? You may have missed,’ he requested.

Bunachha agreed.

‘One, Two, Three, Four…Seven.’

‘You were right! Where’s one? Who is gone? Where did he go?’ he panicked.

All the boys panicked. They restlessly began screaming.

An old man who was bathing in the river nearby heard the noise. He rushed to them and asked –

‘What’s up boys? Who is lost?’

‘Eight of us left home to go abroad. All eight of us were here before we crossed this river, but now we are only seven,’ they explained.

The old man laughed.

‘Silly boys! Stay in line. I will count,’ he said and counted –

‘One, Two…Seven, Eight!’

‘The one who counted forgot to count himself. Silly boys!’ said the old man and went back to his bath. But on his way he thought –

Where might have they come from! Where might they be going! If I could keep them with me, I could make them work for me. This way, I could make some more money.

The old man went back to the boys and asked –

‘Tell me, where did you come from and where are you going?’

‘We came from our home and we are headed for Calcutta. We are going there to make some money to build houses for us here,’ the boys immediately answered.

The old man now was excited. He wanted to take them with him. He could take great advantage of them.

‘See boys – You guys are children as of now. It’s not easy to reach Calcutta. You won’t be able to do it. There’s a lot to do at my house. Why don’t you guys help me, I will pay you. You will become more mature in 2-4 years. By then, you will also have enough money. You can leave then. What say?’ he asked.

The boys looked at each other. They couldn’t give an answer. So they all went to the old man’s house. He fed them well. He didn’t make them work that day.

The next day he assigned them each a work. One had to carry water, one had to bring logs from wood, one had to graze the goats…

On the eighth day, they had to beat rice in a Dhinki (It is a traditional rice mill or husk lever used in Nepal). The old man gave each of them a bundle and said –

‘Boys, go and beat these rice in the dhinki.’

A Dhinki. Source: Krish, Wikicommons.

(In Newari it can be interpreted in two ways: either ‘Go beat the rice’ or ‘Throw the dhinki.’ The boys interpret the latter.)

For a while, the boys stared in amazement at the work assigned to them. Bunachha spoke –

‘Why are you guys staring? We have to do whatever grandfather has told us to do. Before he returns, we have to throw this away. Else it won’t be good for us.’

Everyone agreed and worked together to bring the dhinki out. But they were not sure where they were supposed to throw it. Again, the leader Bunachha stepped up –

‘Can’t you see? We will throw it off the cliff of that hill’.

Everyone did as he ordered and threw the dhinki off the cliff. By the time they were home, the old man was back.

‘Did you beat rice in the dhinki?‘ the old man rudely asked Bunachha.

Banuchha interpreted the other meaning.

‘Yes. It was tough. But I threw it out of the cliff,’ he proudly said.

‘What?!’ the old man exploded in rage –

‘Rascals, did I ask you to throw the dhinki? I told you to beat rice. Go, bring it back. Else you may have to starve.’

‘But how can we bring it back? We can’t bring it back from there!’ they said.

The old man felt bad for them.

How will they bring it back from such a height! he thought and told them to work carefully from now on.

One day they went goat-grazing. While the goats browsed the boys played.

At dusk, the weather deteriorated. Black clouds covered the sky. A cold and fierce wind blew. The poor kids brought the scattered goats together at a pati (A roofed resting place). The boys and the goats woefully shivered until the boys couldn’t take it anymore. They collected dry leaves, twigs and started a fire.

The fire, however, scared the goats. They moved away.

‘Why won’t these goats stay by the fire?’, Bunucha said – ‘Friends, we have got to bring them closer to the fire.’

The boys followed his command and forcefully brought the goats near. The goats retaliated and haphazardly jumped around. The further the goats went, the more the boys brought them closer – until they brought them too close. All of them burnt and died!

‘Look how things are! A little while ago they jumped and ran because it was too cold. Now that they are warm, they sleep calm,’ Bunuchha said.

After a while:

‘Now the rain has stopped. Let’s get back home. Let’s wake them up,’ Bunuchha ordered.

The boys made noise and tried to shoo away the goats. But they were dead! They didn’t move.

A frustrated Bunucha said –

‘How long do we wait! How long do we warm them! I am starving! Let us carry one each and leave.’

And so all the boys carried a goat on their back and walked.

The old man was already back home by the time the boys returned. He was astonished to see the boys carry one scorched goat each.

‘What did you do to them? Why did you kill them?’ the old man asked.

‘We didn’t kill them! These poor folks were shivering. It rained crazy and the wind was fierce. We collected dry leaves and started a fire. We allowed them to enjoy the fire too. They were silent once they were warm. But they didn’t seem to want to leave and were reluctant. We forcefully carried one each,’ Baluchha explained. The boys confirmed.

The old man couldn’t utter a word! He was shocked. Dumbfounded. Hopeless!

DISCUSSION:

This tale majorly shows the thought process and activities of young and bold characters. Our main guy, Bunachha, is innocent and haughty. He is in a hurry to mature so he wants to do things that older people do.

Luckily, he has friends who too are bold. But they are more simpleminded and are willing to do whatever Bunachha commands. So this tale can also be looked upon as a tale of leader and followers. The introduction of the old man brings in an opportunist character who is clever and knows how to manipulate others for his own advantage. We do not have a shortage of such people in our society! However, the old man himself suffers, thanks to Bunachha’s haughtiness and the innocence of the boys. This way, it also becomes a tale of innocence and boldness vs cleverness. At the end of it all, innocence and boldness prevail.

A major lesson to be learnt from this tale is this –

While it is great to be brave – watchfulness, humility and wisdom are equally important. Our society is full of opportunistic rogues, and the world is a tough place to be. Mix courage with knowledge and humility and no one can ever hurt you!

HAVE THE CONTENT DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX. SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER.

(THE SUBSCRIPTION BOX IS NEAR THIS POST!)

December 13, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Stories 0

Nepali Folk Tales: 4 Instructions

Once there lived an old couple. They had five sons of which four moved out of the country at a young age. Only the youngest son, who was feeble-minded, stayed with them.

At the age of 55, the old man suffered from an illness. But luckily he recovered. The young son worked with responsibility after that. He loved his parents. The parents too, loved him equally. Soon he married.

Time passed and at the age of 85, the father suffered from a deadly disease. They tried a variety of solutions, but nothing worked this time around. The father finally lost hope, so he called his son and said-

‘Your brothers ran away early but due to God’s grace, you stayed with us. I am satisfied with you. I won’t live long now. Take care of your mother and your wife. I will give you four instructions which you have to follow if you don’t want to suffer in life. Now listen to those four instructions:

Never run in a sesame field

Never idly sit on walls and streets fidgeting your legs

Never share your secrets with your wife

Never befriend a Kami (A low order caste in Hindu System)

The father suffered in agony and didn’t last long after that.

This is after four years of his death. The son remembered the instructions. But he wondered how true they really were. So, he decided to test them himself.

First, he ran in a sesame field. The seeds stung his feet badly and the wounds didn’t heal for years. He realized that sesame seeds were actually rough and poisonous.

He then wanted to test the second instruction.

He went to the walls of his field and sat. A black snake bit his legs. The snake was venomous, so his feet didn’t heal at all. His toes rot and fell.

Realizing the truth of those two instructions, he decided to test the third.

He befriended a Kami. Nothing bad happened to him immediately, he went on to test his wife.

He went to the palace of the king and stole his peacock. He came home and told his wife about it. He then hid the peacock in a box without letting his wife know and killed and cooked a chicken. That night, they both enjoyed the meal.

‘Do not tell this to anyone, if the king finds out, I am dead,’ he told his wife.

The next morning his wife went to bring some water from a local tap. She uncomfortably moved her tongue around her mouth as she walked. The neighboring women noticed this. One came up and asked – ‘What’s wrong with your mouth?’

‘Nothing,’ the woman replied and walked on. After a while however, she couldn’t resist and whispered –

‘Okay I will tell you something. But make sure you won’t tell this to anyone. Yesterday my husband stole the king’s peacock. We ate it for dinner. That’s what has stuck in my teeth.’

The neighbor said she won’t tell anyone and left.

At the palace, the king searched for his lost peacock. Everyone was at it. Around the same time, the neighbor woman told her husband about the peacock. The husband told somebody else and in no time, the news spread like wildfire. It reached the king. He was told that someone stole and ate his peacock. The king immediately ordered two of his guards to bring the culprit to him. It didn’t take long for them to find the man and then they brought him to the palace.

‘Why did you steal the peacock?,’ they asked him.

He told the truth. So the king ordained to have him executed. The ministers took him to the riverside. At that time, a Kami was sharpening his Khukuri. The ministers called him. The man thought to himself-

‘This Kami is my friend but now he is helping them execute me. My father was correct.’

But just as he was about to be executed he plead-

‘Please don’t kill me because I haven’t killed the king’s peacock. I will bring it as it is. I did all this to test my father’s instruction.’

And he explained everything. He was then allowed to go home and bring the peacock.

He realized that it was wrong to befriend a Kami and reveal secrets to one’s wife. He found all his father’s instructions to be correct.

THE END.

Discussion:

This story is all about four instructions a father gives to his son:

Never run in a sesame field

Never idly sit on walls and streets fidgeting your legs

Never share your secrets with your wife

Never befriend a Kami (A low order caste in Hindu System)

The first instruction teaches this – If you do reckless activities in a dangerous environment, you can’t expect good things to happen to you. You will be hurt. Be careful and understand the environment before taking action on it.

The second instruction teaches this – Sitting idly in public places or in life implies you are a careless and lazy person. The snake bite probably symbolizes someone saying harsh things to you.

The third instruction can be applied to any person who has a habit of gossiping and who doesn’t have control over the self. It doesn’t mean it has to be a wife or a woman. There are men who are worse. The message is this – Never share your secrets to stupid people!

The fourth instruction is caste-biased. But if we remove the character and caste, what we learn is – Never befriend and trust a person who is unobliged to the friendship. Choose your companions and acquaintances wisely. Don’t depend on anyone unless you are sure of them.

The general message is to be careful in life. Choose companions and activities with great care, attention and wisdom.

December 12, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy Society and Humanity Stories 28

Nepali Folk Tales: Bitter But True

There once lived an elderly couple who gave birth to a son in their advancing years. They named him Balram.

When Balram matured, they had an extravagant wedding for him. Balram’s wife was very beautiful. The old couple were glad to have found such a daughter-in-law.

While assured of her beauty, the old man one day decided to learn of her mental abilities. So he called her up and asked –

‘Can you tell me how much we may have spent at your wedding?’

‘I think only 2 mana rice (1 Mana equals 0.56 liter),’ she replied.

The old man irritated with this answer said –

‘I spent so much on your wedding and now you say only 2 manas! You talk as if we didn’t do enough. I don’t want to see the face of a stupid person like you. You go back home. There is no place for a daughter-in-law like you in my house’

The daughter-in-law was astonished to see him react like that. But she didn’t speak a word. The old man decided to take her back himself immediately.

On their way, the old man walked ahead while she followed behind.

They saw a group headed for cremation. The daughter-in-law asked them, ‘Is this a single corpse or a hundred?’

Hearing such a stupid question from her, the old man fumed. He thought what a fool of a woman she was. How can she ask if it was a single corpse or a hundred when she could clearly see only one. I think she really is madcap. But he didn’t speak a word. He kept on walking.

A little further, they saw large cropland. Farmers were harvesting. The daughter-in-law asked-

‘Father, are these crops of last year or of the current year?’

The old man was fed up with her, yet he didn’t speak a word and kept walking. The daughter-in-law kept up with him.

A little further they heard a jackal howl. The old man didn’t bother but she got restless. She understood animal language. The jackal was saying, ‘A corpse is buried here. If anyone would dig it out, I could eat. There’s a diamond ring in the finger of this corpse. Whoever brings it out, will get that ring’

‘It would be great to get hold of the ring. But how? The old man won’t believe it if I tell him about it,’ the daughter-in-law thought to herself.

The old man was tired from the walk. They sat under a peepal tree for a while. The old man took a nap. She took this opportunity and went near the jackal and began digging. After a while, she found both the corpse and the ring. She placed the corpse in front of the jackal and took off the ring.

When the old man woke up and couldn’t see her, he looked around for her. He finally spotted her near the corpse. He nervously thought – ‘Oh my! what kind of daughter-in-law did I get! She is not even afraid to be around corpses. I don’t think I should walk with her.’

So he didn’t say a word and walked on.

Seeing him walk away she ran towards him and walked together.

They stayed over at a place overnight and continued walking the next morning.

They heard a crow cawing. The old man didn’t notice a thing but she understood what the crow was saying:

‘There are two vessels underneath this tree which are full of coins. There’s even a bowl of curd. If anyone dug this place, I would eat the curd and give the coins’

She ran and began digging. After a while, she spotted a vessel. It was exactly the way the crow described. She gave the curd and took the coins.

The old man now was impressed on having gotten such wealth due to his daughter-in-law’s valor. She told him about the crow. The old man felt guilty for thinking she was a nincompoop. He decided not to send her back and they returned.

The old man was curious.

‘Why did you sit beside the corpse,’ he finally asked. She explained everything. She even gave him the ring. The old man started believing her.

After a while, he asked – ‘Why did you ask if that corpse was one or hundred?’

‘One who does well for others is called a hundred corpses after death. One who hasn’t done anything is called a single corpse – that’s why I asked,’ she replied.

‘And what about the harvest?’ he asked.

‘One who collects the harvest of the previous year has no debt to clear. If it is of this years, then there will be debts and investments, that’s why I asked.’

The old man now was happy hearing all this from her. But he still had a question. He asked it –

‘Listen, I spent so much on my son’s wedding. But you said I didn’t spend much. Why did you say that? Do you think the wedding was possible with 2 mana of rice?’

‘There’s a reason I said that. Yeah, you may have spent a lot at our wedding, but I could see only 2 mana of rice spent with all your heart. The rest of your expenses were merely for showing-off. Only the expense out of love and sympathy will give good returns. That’s why I gave such an answer but you didn’t understand,’ she replied.

Hearing such bitter but true words from his daughter-in-law impressed him.

‘She is very intelligent. She is equally virtuous. I thought unnecessary things,’ he said to himself.

After that day, the old man handed all the responsibilities over to her and lived in comfort and peace.

December 9, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales 0

Nepali Folk Tales: You Go For The Meat But Drown In The Soup

Once upon a time in an unknown village lived a man who had two wives. From each, he had a daughter. The elder daughter was Subhadra and the younger Nauli.

Subhadra’s mother died within a few years of her birth. After this, her stepmom gave her a hard time. One day she called her daughter Nauli and said-

‘Listen! Take Subhadra for a bath on the pond and push her in it. She will die and we will live in happiness.’

Nauli did as her mother said and pushed Subhadra into the pond.

But Subhadra didn’t die. Jaldev (Water God) saved her, took her to a nice city and left her there. Since she didn’t know anyone, she couldn’t find anything to eat. Hunger and thirst troubled her. She decided to walk around. Finally, she met an old woman and said-

‘Please give me something to eat, give me some work. I am hungry’

‘I will give you food, drinks, clothes and everything else but you have to work 3-4 years for me. If you do so, I will even pay you,’ she told her.

Subhadra agreed and got to work. She had to graze and milk cows-goats.

One day a clowder of cats followed her. She took some milk out of the vessel and fed them. They started meandering around her. She gave them milk each day.

As time passed, the old woman made her clean the lawn and sieve rice too. Subhadra began feeding the birds in the process.

Three years passed.

One day the old woman sent Subhadra to a dark room and made her handpick some rice. This treatment distressed her and she wept at her condition. The cats heard this, came in, and asked –

‘Why are you crying Subhadra?’

Subhadra explained everything.

The cats told her to not worry and promised to help her out. That night the cats stayed in that room without sleeping. Subhadra handpicked from whatever light came through their eyes.

The next day, the old woman asked Subhadra to bring water in a sieve. Subhadra cried as she went. The birds came to help her. They brought mud in their beaks and used it to cover the holes in the sieve. Subhadra took the water home with success.

Her valor pleased the old woman. Since Subhadra had proved herself to be proficient at work, the old woman asked her to fetch a box from the lake. She went and brought it home. The old woman asked her to rotate it three times. Hardly had she rotated it once, she found herself standing near a pond. She had a box in her hand. It was full of gold, silver, jewelry and nice clothes.

At that moment, a prince came from god knows where. He came near Subhadra and asked-

‘Who are you?’

Subhadra told her story. The prince proposed to her for marriage. But Subhadra said she would only do so with permission from her parents. The prince agreed.

Subhadra went home. Her stepmom was horror-struck.

‘Didi had pushed me into the pond to kill me. But I didn’t die. I lived in joy’, Subhadra said.

Subhadra’s father arrived. He was elated to see his daughter. He asked where she had been all these days. Subhadra told the entire story including the proposal of the prince.

Meanwhile, Nauli burnt with envy.

‘I will also go to that pond and return like Subhadra,’ she said to herself.

The next morning she jumped at the exact point at which she had pushed Subhadra. But Nauli never returned. She had gone for the meat but had drowned in the soup. Meanwhile, Subhadra wed the prince and lived in great joy thereafter.

Discussion:

This is a fable with a dark ending. Otherwise it has a generic plot of greed and suffering.

When it comes to characters, Subhadra’s life teaches us that perseverance and the ability to endure hardship will always have good returns. She tolerated everything life threw at her. She only had hardwork and patience to turn to.

Nothing significant happens to the original culprit – Nauli’s mother.

Subhadra’s father has been portrayed as a naive man who never has a clue on what goes on. The old woman is confusing. She shows signs of grace but also puts Subhadra into tough tests. Her eventual action signifies her mythical nature.

Nauli, on the other hand is both senseless and greedy. If you don’t work hard on yourself – on your character and values – that’s how you will end up! The prince is a pragmatic man who seems to be ready to cooperate with Subhadra throughout life.

If we are to give a realistic spin to this tale, we have to eliminate the mythical parts. There are a few.

The first is of Jaldev (Water God) who saves Subhadra, takes her to a nice city and leaves her there. This seems to have been added for the mythical air. Although Subhadra’s fortune revolves around water, we may look at Jaldev as a metaphorical representation of water – which may have played a significant part in the life of some person. Subhadra may have been rescued by someone. But being too hurt to go back home, she may have wandered into the city.

The actions of cats and the birds don’t seem plausible. Subhadra may have had a small light from somewhere through which she did the whole rice thing. Subhadra had enough sense to fill the sieve with mud or whatever there was – so there is no need for mythical birds.

The Prince could be a normal honorable lad. The old woman could have been lonely without an heir and could have handed her valuable belongings to Subhadra seeing her decency and character.

(This has been translated from Nepali Lok Katha Sangalo, compiled by Ram Bikram Sijapati)

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO HAVE CONTENT DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.

December 8, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Philosophy 0

30 Wise Proverbs From Nepal

Nepal may not be among the strongest and the most powerful nations but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t had occasional thinkers with words of wisdom. Here are 30 wise proverbs from the land of mountains and wise ones (what?):

The lost fish is always big

He who is thirsty needs to find the spring

A devious friend is worse than an enemy

Opportunities come but they do not linger

When the Sun arrives, the Stars disappear

Greed brings Gain, Gain brings Sorrow

Even an ox will give birth — if you are lucky

To be in a hurry when one can barely walk!

You may eat what you want, but you wear for others

When brothers brawl, the villagers exploit

The tiger that eats you will not spare me

You have to tolerate the kicks of the cow which gives you milk

The buffalo is scared of the mendicant just as the mendicant is afraid of the buffalo

When elephants fight, grass trample

Ask for a goat to those who promise you an elephant

When the cat leaves, the rats rule

Too many cats kill no mice

Don’t sacrifice your goat for an ill chicken

Even a black crow lays white eggs

Can a hog muddy the sea?

The forest goes and so does the tiger

Every spring has a different taste, every man a different idea

Pulling a creeper can bring a landslide

No one sits by an extinguished fire

Children are the wealth of the poor

Will impatience bear a son?

A knot tied with joy is untied with tears

While the holy men die of starvation, rogues live on milk and rice

Even an unloaded gun fires when you’re having a bad day

The enemy is never idle

Did you like these wise proverbs?

If yes,

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE CONTENT DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

December 8, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Aphorisms and Quotes Articles Life Mind Philosophy 27

Nepali Folk Tales: An Envious Sister

Once there lived a farmer couple who yielded more than enough from their land. They always had spare after they consumed for themselves. They were content in every aspect – except: They didn’t have children.

They went to pilgrimages, fasted, gave to charity, etc. but to no avail: They couldn’t bear a child. Yet, they continued with their discipline.

The perseverance paid-off after a few years, as they finally gave birth – to a daughter. Although they were happy they finally had a child, they weren’t as satisfied as they might have been had it been a son. The daughter grew up while the couple remained patient and continued to try for a son. But even after a decade, it didn’t happen. Yet, they didn’t lose hope.

One day they called some astrologers and showed their horoscopes (china).

‘We will only tell you the truth if you believe us,’ they said.

The couple agreed.

‘What we can see in your horoscope is that you will only have a son once your daughter gets married. So send her away as soon as possible’

The couple got excited and after a few months, they selected a good man and married their daughter. After that, as the astrologers had said, the old couple gave birth to a son and named him Mohan. The couple exploded with happiness and gave a party to the entire village. The villagers came, enjoyed, and gave their blessings.

No one has control over the inevitable. The young boy couldn’t receive the care of his parents for long as both his parents died by the time he was five.

The villagers mourned the death and could see Mohan having a miserable life. So, they decided the village chief would be taking care of Mohan.

After a while, the daughter sniveled back home and said she would take Mohan with her. The villagers thought it was a good thing so they allowed her to leave with him.

Mohan lived well for a few months. But, his sister and brother-in-law were in fact after his inherited wealth. Now, all they did was discuss and weave plans to get hold of it.

One day, Mohan yearned to meet his parents. He went to his sister and asked:

‘Didi, where are our parents? Do you know?’

‘They are at the pond. Do you want to meet them?’ the sister swindled.

Since Mohan had been desperate to see his parents for a long time, he said:

‘If you can then please take me. I will go meet them’

The sinful sister took Mohan to a nearby pond and said, ‘There is a huge Kaalidaha at the center of this pond. In its bank is the Maligainthaan. Our parents are there.’

Mohan being the innocent child he was, asked – ‘Didi are there lands there?’

‘Yes. There are lands and goats. That’s how our parents survive’, she answered.

Hearing this, Mohan got excited and told his sister to take him there.

The gratified sister took him near the pond and said – ‘I am not feeling too well. I will remain here on this edge. You proceed’

Naive Mohan believed his sister and entered the pond. He headed towards the center. Even when the water reached up to his knees, he didn’t fluster. He went on.

Soon the water reached his hips. The sister thinking he might panic told him to go further – quicker.

Hearing this, a fearless Mohan went on. He couldn’t see the Kaalidaha and the Maaligaithaan even when the water reached up to his neck. He shouted-

‘They are giving us water up to the chin but no Kaalidaha and the Maaligaithaan’

The sister, worried he might come back, further encouraged him-

‘Go further my brother, there must be Kaalidaha and the Maaligaithaan’

Mohan, blinded by faith on his sister, moved further ahead. He was eager and restless to meet his parents. Not caring about the water, he kept moving. Until…he drowned! He tried to save himself but not being too good at swimming, he swallowed a lot of water until he could no longer persist.

Seeing this, the sister jumped in excitement and raced back home. She was over the moon with the thought of getting all that wealth. She told the whole story to her husband. He too danced in joy.

The couple stayed at home quietly till the evening. It was when the dusk set in, that they pretentiously went around the neighborhood searching for Mohan. After a few hours, they sat in their garden and screamed and cried.

All the neighbors gathered around them asking what had happened. The sister said-

‘I don’t know where my brother Mohan has gone. The only remaining memory of my parents is gone! How do I live now? There’s no one left for me in this world!’

The husband too imitated his wife. The neighbors empathized with them.

For a week or two, the couple continuously shed crocodile-tears. After that, the sister went to her original home, met the Village Chief and took the property from her deceased brother.

At the other end, after seven days of Mohan’s death, a bamboo sprang up at the center of the pond. It began growing ferociously.

Meanwhile, the sister’s dream of living a wonderful life was shattered as her husband brought in another wife. This meant she had to share everything with another woman.

She cried day and night after that. Soon, she found herself being treated as a servant in the house.

One day, as she was beating some rice, she heard her brother’s voice- The water is up to the hips…

She got scared yet listened carefully. The voice seemed to be coming closer. She fell and had a seizure. But there was no one around to bring her out of it.

After a while, her brother’s voice brought her back to sense. She got up and saw a flute-seller in the garden. The brother’s voice was in fact coming out from one of the flutes. She was taken aback by such a sight. She bought one by giving some rice in return.

Having done with the rice beating, the sister kept that flute underneath her pillow. At midnight, the same voice of her brother returned from inside the flute. The sister asked-

‘Where are you brother? Please forgive me. I didn’t know. I wasted your life because of my stupidity. I took myself to the whirlpool of suffering’

While she lamented as such, all of a sudden the flute began speaking like a beautiful wind blow –

‘Sister, you might find it amazing to see a flute talking. But listen to me. Don’t get too surprised. After I drowned, I became a bamboo and sprang up. The water in the pond dried in a few days. One day the flute-maker came to drink water from the pond. He saw me and manufactured a flute out of me. I became a unique kind of flute. I begin without even having to play me. This helped the flute-seller sell well. The reason I spoke this way was to search for you’

Hearing this the sister lamented and said-

‘Will I be able to meet you or not? If yes, then how? Please give me an idea’

The brother responds –

‘Sister! What’s the use of meeting an envious person (Daahile) like you? After father and mother died, I was all that was left for you. I was everything: your brother, father, mother, all in one. Even if you were taken by greed, you could have asked with me. I would have given. You were everything to me- mother, sister! But, what did you eventually get? I can live but I won’t tell you how. I am upset with you’

The sister’s heart wept sternly. She began banging her head in the walls. She regretted what she had done. Hearing her wail in her room, her husband and his other wife came running. But she kept wailing. The husband tried talking with her, but not getting any response, he returned back to his room.

The lamentation continued for a long time. ‘Brother! Please forgive me for my previous misdeeds. Please don’t bury me in this maelstrom of worry and suffering.’

The brother after hearing all this said-

‘Sister! You have acknowledged your mistake. This is a wonderful thing. But a person who has made a mistake once will repeat it again. That’s why if you take a vow, I will tell you the way to be alive again or else I won’t’

‘Brother! I won’t repeat such a thing again. Consider me a fool and forgive me for my mistakes. I avow. I won’t do such a terrible deed ever again in my life,’ she said.

‘If so then I will tell you, listen – go to that pond and carefully dig the root of the tallest bamboo. You will find a white thing that looks like a chicken egg. Bring that thing, rub some dung over it, place it in a bowel, and sprinkle some water on it. After that, cover it with a pure cloth, step outside the room and close the door. Don’t come inside and let nobody know all this,’ the brother instructed.

She got cheerful. She eagerly waited for the night to end.

Just as the dawn was setting in, she took a shovel and went to the pond. She started digging just as her brother had instructed. She soon found the egg thing. She took it home and did as he said. After a while, the siblings met.

They went to the village and the brother explained everything to the elders. They all went to Mohan’s brother-in-law. He was punished and fined. Everything went back to Mohan. The sister apologized. After all that, Mohan and his sister went back to their old home and lived happily ever after.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO HAVE CONTENT DELIVERED AT YOUR INBOX.

December 8, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Stories 0

Time Management Formula

We all have limited time. There’s a lot to think, learn, do and live in this duration. At times it feels a single life is not enough. And it isn’t! This makes effective time management a serious thing.

While we may not have been able to unearth an elixir to make us immortal (it’s good it doesn’t exist), we have been equipped with a good enough intelligence for us to do wonders with – if we use it effectively.

One way to do that is by trying to allocate and manage our life and its duration in an effective manner.

Time Management is simply the process of managing the time allocated to us for an effective life.

I developed a time management formula a few months ago and I have been implementing regularly. It has proved to be effective.

Now that I have fully committed myself to a life as a writer, there are a few elements which I think are essential to such a lifestyle.

This time management is simply an allocation of those elements to the clock-time embedded in almost all of us.

I had been very random and all-over-the-place with my time and work management. This particular formula has helped me get a little bit more organized.

I hereby coin this formula — The C-Clockwork (because it contains a few Cs)

The C-Clockwork

The C-Clockwork consists of 4 Cs sub-grouped into 2 Cs each, which in turn are allocated into groups of roughly 3 hours each. Each pair of Cs get around 6 hours and are interconnected. The clock cycle begins at 6 AM and ends at 6 PM.

The Cs are:

Contemplation

Consumption

Creation

Coordination (Communication)

Here 1 and 2, Contemplation and Consumption make a pair while 3 and 4, Creation and Coordination make one.

Let me briefly describe what they mean so to show why they are paired like that. But I would like to remind the reader once again that this allocation or division is based on what I think are the essential elements in my life as a writer.

The 1st Pair: Contemplation and Consumption

Contemplation: This is where I think. I begin the process at 6 AM by trying to answers questions that are integral to my life as an individual, such as —

What is going on in my life currently?

What do I want?

Why do I want what I want?

What have I wanted?

What should I want?

What is the status of all that I have wanted?

What should I not want?

What do I need?

Why do I need?

What should I do?

What should I not do?

What is helping me?

What is ailing me?

What do I need to do to remain motivated/inspired? etc.

More often than not, I wake up confused or curious on these. So by asking these questions walking to-and-fro with, firstly a cup of warm water followed by a pinch of black pepper in a cup of warm water and finally a cup of tea, I try to answer all these questions. I note the important points.

On rare occasions where I do not wake up bothered by my personal conditions, I contemplate on social, political, scientific, artistic and philosophical issues. The questions vary. There is no set formula in this. It may often be what I had been exposed to the day-before or in my dreams.

This lasts for 2.5–3 hours.

Consumption: It begins with my bathroom time at about 9 AM where I read the news followed by mostly continuing with the book I have been reading.

I use the term consumption for any reading, listening or video-watching activity — from others. But it is mostly reading.

I have made reading a great priority in my life. But before this structuring I was very haphazard in it. If I was reading a book, I would go on and on for the whole day until I finished it. But I noticed that such reading had an adverse affect on my thinking and writing. Most days would just pass by reading books without anything else. Reflections on books read were not happening. Writing wasn’t happening. This gradually became very problematic.

This C-Clockwork has allowed me to manage my reading time well. Now, I read at a certain period of time and have adequate time to think and write about it.

This ends at around 11:30 when I have lunch.

The C-Clockwork

The 2nd pair: Creation and Coordination

Creation: After lunch and chores, at about 12:30, I begin the process of Creation. This is when I write. This goes on for about 3 hours.

Writing on medium has proved to be very helpful for me in this process as it has allowed me to dedicate myself to one piece of writing a day. Otherwise, I wasted a lot of time either wondering on what to do or debating with myself on why not to write xyz.

The writing projects I have has to be worked on in this time period.

I am also involved in visual-arts projects. I make documentaries and animated cartoons. Writing them, directing them, is reserved within Creation.

Coordination: Interchangeable with Communication, this is the time-span when I:

Meet in person- go outside, talk to people with whom I am working or am supposed to work together on project(s).

Meet on the Internet- talk to people online with whom I am working or am supposed to work together on project(s).

Seek people with whom to work together on project(s)

My poor organizing before this system had me isolating myself for days without any communications with others, whenever I was reading or writing something important. That got me ignoring a lot of projects and people. Didn’t turn out to be a good thing at all!

Beginning at 3 PM and extending up to 6 PM, I spend my time going outside to meet people, making phone calls, sending or reading emails, finding relevant people and organizations, etc.

The Pairing

I have paired it as such because Contemplation and Consumption are inward, introspective processes. Nothing comes out of me during these. I just intake. They are about organizing and receiving thoughts respectively.

Similarly, Creation and Coordination are extroverted processes. Here the thoughts go out. They are outbound. They are about creativity and communication respectively.

Inconsistencies

Of course, there are days of inconsistencies. I may have to go out early in the morning or read a very important work in the evenings. I try my best to not divert but at times circumstances get the better of me.

But I try to cover-up by doing the activity missed in that timespan, the activity of which I did in the period of inconsistency.

Aftermath

After 6 PM: It’s Personal time. I spend time with family or doing activities of joy. Going out for an evening walk or some glass of beer takes place here.

Before the implementation of this formula, I wasn’t spending much time with my family or in activities of joy.

Now I feel things are sorted out well.

Let’s see how long I can prolong this!

If you like what I say, You can support me here: https://ko-fi.com/fradesh

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE CONTENT SENT STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

December 8, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Articles Life Mind Philosophy 25

Will it all End? — It hardly matters!

Sensing what humans were doing to her forest, a tiger at a national park started getting paranoid.

‘They will destroy this all one day. I will have nowhere to go. There’s no point giving birth. There’s no point looking ahead at the future. We’ll all go’, she thought strolling along the riverside.

She was still young and was yet to bear a child. A few years ago, she buzzed with excitement and energy. But lately, she had lost all interest. She looked lean and weak.

Looking around, she saw all her favorite hide-outs and trees being cut down mercilessly. Each time she came back to an old place, something was gone.

‘All this will soon go! There’s no point’, she thought as she sat on a rock resting her chin in her paws.

Just then, a few meters away, she spotted a couple of Sambar deers budding with joy and romance. A few months ago, she would have quietly got down and stealthily walked to feed on them. But now, she lacked both energy and will.

The Sambars saw her. But they must have sensed her feebleness and pessimism for they weren’t scared at all. Instead, they jumped and giggled their way nearer to her.

‘What are you so happy about? Don’t you realize — all this will be gone soon?’ the tiger roared at the couple.

Surprised by the tiger’s humility, the Sambars walked closer to her.

‘What’s up with her?’ the male whispered to his partner.

‘No Idea! let’s ask her,’ the female replied.

They reached up to her and the female said:

‘I am pregnant. That’s why we’re celebrating’

‘You fools! Don’t you see, all this will be gone soon. Why are you bringing a newborn into this world? The humans will destroy it all. They will end it all. Don’t you think I want to give birth? But there’s no point! Our world will end,’ the tiger passionately spoke.

‘How old are you?’ the female deer asked.

‘Four’

‘That means you still got more than 10 years to live!,’ the male deer said.

‘Yes. So what?’

‘I think you are the one who is a fool here!,’ the female deer spoke. The male poked her in nervousness. The tiger stood up. The female didn’t seem to be intimidated as she continued:

‘It’s one thing to understand what’s happening in the world but it’s completely stupid to obsess over it. You are an individual. Your job is to survive and live. You are a tiger, for god’s sake! You are supposed to fight till your last breath. The world will end the moment you die! There’s no other end. You are a bloody individual animal in this forest full of billion other animals. Don’t act as if you are the forest. You’re not! You’re nothing. You are not the whole, you are just a part. You are only supposed to focus on your individuality and at best your children and family. Let your children come and let them survive for their individuality. You’re not the fking whole. You are not supposed to think for us. We are supposed to think for ourselves. The world is this way because of those who thought for everyone. Please do me a favor and don’t think for me. You go out there and fight against the world till your last breath. The forest ends for you the day you don’t find a single spot to hide or a single deer to feed on. Until then…it doesn’t end!

‘If something is beyond your ability — you can do nothing about it. This forest is too important for them anyway…to let it die. The most powerful among them will ensure this world will keep on existing — not for the world’s sake but because they have no other playground to show-off their scepters!’

The tiger encouraged and inspired by the speech, pounced on the deer and shredded her to pieces. The male ran away.

‘I will survive, I will live. The World ends the day I die’, she roared as the deer-blood dripped from her jaws.

Moral:

1. Don’t inspire a tiger. Especially if you’re a deer.

2. You are not the whole. You are just a part. Go out there and live till the end of your world!

December 6, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Earth and Space Life Philosophy Society and Humanity World 0

Story about life: A Rat’s Story
Understand Yourself, Be Yourself!

Enjoy this Story about life which both entertains and provides valuable life lesson!

An ambitious rat wanted to get married. So, he went to the most powerful human king and asked for his daughter.

‘You are the greatest. I am the best. I want to marry the princess,’ he said.

The King responded by saying that the Sun was mightier than him. The rat then went to the Sun and said the same.

‘But…the cloud is more powerful than me,’ the Sun said.

And so the rat went to the cloud. The cloud explained how the wind was more powerful — for the wind pushed it around.

The ambitious rat went to the wind.

‘I am not as strong as you think Mr. Rat,’ the wind responded and told him how the grass was stronger.

‘For, no matter how hard I try, I can’t blow it away.’

The rat then went to the grass and asked for his daughter. The grass responded:

‘What are you talking about! You are stronger than me. You hide beneath me, cut my roots and kill me. You are better than me, rat!’

The ambitious rat understood the fallacy of his reasoning and married a rat!

This short inspirational story which is a Nepali Folk Tale teaches a valuable life lesson.

Blinded by ambition and greed, we tend to go after that which seems the most lucrative. We forget what we are as individuals in this process. We are all wired different. This is due to our distinct environment and experiences. We are all unique in our own way. Our desires and skills and different. We need to identify them!

Our task is to understand our desires and go after them — all guns blazing. Mastering the skills in the process.

This story is a Nepali folk tale.

December 6, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Life Nepali Folk Tales Stories 0

Ask it!

I have experience of fighting alone in the Content Industry. Over the years, I have worked on Books, Music, Documentaries, Animations, YouTube comedies and even some Digital Marketing.
You can ask me anything you want on the COMMENT SECTION BELOW. Go ahead. I DON’T JUDGE.
(You can also bring up Mind, Life and World related subjects. I will be more than happy to discuss)

December 3, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Content Industry Content Services 30

Screenplays

I Write Screenplays for Movies, Documentaries, Animations and all other forms of Visual Media.

Check out my works below and decide for yourself if you want my writings for your valuable content.
If you did then you can casually email me your project idea and expections and I will respond:
author@fradesh.com

December 3, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Content Services 30

Paranoia

Paranoia is my poetry-collection published in 2019.

It embodies a fascinating fusion of philosophy and practical life with divergent aspects. With subtle, succinct but simple presentation and emphatic phrases, we hope the general literature lovers can enjoy reading this a lot. We hope poem-lovers will be allured with the way of presentation and rejoice reading this as they will find themselves very close in all of the poems and can listen to the reverberation of their minds and hearts.

(Based on the review by Asst. Professor Prakash Acharya)

PARANOIA

Free Pdf here: https://fradesh.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/PARANOIA_Adesh_Acharya.pdf

December 1, 2021 by Fr. Adesh Books Life 29

Adesh Acharya

Hey, I am Adesh. Welcome to my world! I am a Life & Mind Explorer, Self-Explorer, Creator, Writer. Come take a journey of mind, life and the world with me through this website.

Search

Subscribe to my newsletter below to have my thoughts delivered straight to your inbox

Let's Talk!

Send me an email and let's discuss ideas & share works.

Name*
Email*
Message*

Recent Posts

Learning Through Experiences

How Long Is 21 Days?

How a Raymond Carver Poem Made Me Rethink Technology’s Role in Our Lives

Idea Management: How Do You Manage Your Ideas?

The Differences Between Useless Thoughts and Thinking

Archives

March 2023

February 2023

January 2023

December 2022

August 2022

July 2022

June 2022

May 2022

April 2022

March 2022

February 2022

January 2022

December 2021

November 2021

October 2021

I can't be afraid or tremble, for I have to see what is to be seen!

My presence is metamorphosing you

Can't tell what lies. Should know no lies!

December 2021

It is not about being fast. It is about doing what’s appropriate.

Wisdom is difficult to acquire. You have got to be patient and must continue to learn and persevere.

Vanity, Stupidity, Greed and Cunnigness: The FOUR Deadly Poisons.

We look at others and think they have it all. We wish we did what they did. But, what we forget is: There is a reason why we are the way we are! It’s for us to figure out what we really are.

The way it was always meant to be!

Here is the formula I use for movie watching —

A — Aesthetics:

R — Reality factor:

F — Feelings:

E — Entertainment:

H — Heroism:

T — Technicality:

Background

Be Strong:

Seek Evidence:

Remind yourself of deeds done:

How can I handle such philosophical arguments better?

So, how can I stop such philosophical arguments from getting petty?

The dignity factor

The other factor I found was Cultural/Identity Sensitivity.

The other factor is emotional sensitivity.

Because They Are Travels: Into a Different Space, Time and Identity.

The moments I have spent absorbing fictional narratives or creating my own — strolling around my room and the house — are deeply special.

Stories are a type of travel.

No matter how smart we think we are, we all are indeed fools.

We humans never learn, do we?

It has proved to be very effective.

A

B

C

D

It’s greed, isn’t it?

Live a life of Integrity and Intelligence.

The bigger the pile the bigger the strife.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE CONTENT DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE THE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

Looking at A or B from a different angle.

Hardships in life are inevitable. It’s up to us to figure out how we come out of them. Grit and Courage are invaluable toolkits!

SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE THE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO ME VIA EMAIL TO HAVE THESE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

DISCUSSION

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER TO HAVE THESE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

One willing to go to the summit, should not give a damn about shame, disgust, sin, etc.

But remember: It mustn’t have been easy for our ancestors to tame and manage dogs too.

A case of seeking the giant on whose shoulder I was to stand.

He was what remains if you remove all schools of thoughts from a person.

Worshipping Kali is a method of non-stop realizing the fact that death is inevitable and living according to that realization (with humility and wisdom).

(Except hope you weren’t the one who ended up in rubble with your corpse looking like a smashed brown tomato with shades of grey concrete!)

Some of us have started to constantly realize the fact that catastrophe is inevitable. Philosophy of Cataclysm is real.

To make us constantly realize the fact that cataclysm is inevitable!

So the possibility of cataclysm remains and determines every breath we take, every hand we shake.

Let’s discuss more of this philosophy of cataclysm.

We start off by unlearning the lessons taught by them and detoxifying ourselves of their influence.

Discussion:

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE THESE STORIES DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!

When you realize that the environment you exist in is incompatible, unsuited for you and it becomes inhospitable, you have four options in life.

Q: What’s the best option in life among them?

DISCUSSION

DISCUSSION:

HAVE THE CONTENT DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX. SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEWSLETTER.

(THE SUBSCRIPTION BOX IS NEAR THIS POST!)

Discussion:

The general message is to be careful in life. Choose companions and activities with great care, attention and wisdom.

Discussion:

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO HAVE CONTENT DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX.

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER TO HAVE CONTENT DELIVERED STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

Time Management is simply the process of managing the time allocated to us for an effective life.

This short inspirational story which is a Nepali Folk Tale teaches a valuable life lesson.

Our task is to understand our desires and go after them — all guns blazing. Mastering the skills in the process.

I Write Screenplays for Movies, Documentaries, Animations and all other forms of Visual Media.

Recent Posts

Archives