Global Warming - Do we really need to know if it is real?

I don't know who this person is, or how this video fell on my lap. But honestly, in terms of both logic and clarity, I have never had an argument so convincingly laid out. This argument doesn't even talk about the plausibility of man made climate change, but keeps it as an unknown. Yet the conclusion and the call to action is startling.

Now that I have seen it, I am heeding his request and passing this along. I think, you should do the same too (unless you are able to see any holes in his hypothesis, in which case I would like to know what it is)!

little things

little things? really?

1. the little drops of water on the windshield as the wiper washes them away
2. hot tea or coffee on a rainy day
3. first drops of rain that fall on you
4. the tear drops that fall down from a good melody
5. seeing your beloved after a long time
6. working with involvement knowing no one will ever notice you worked that way
7. an unexpected hug
8. the giggle from a friend for a joke you cracked
9. looking up at the sun and wondering where you would be without it
10. looking down at the moist earth and wondering where you would be without it
11. looking at the car lovingly after it returned you back from a long trip
12. looking at the sea crab jump into the ocean water
13. sitting silently and watching the waves kiss the shore
14. an unexpected call (sms or im ping) from a friend
15. early morning sadhana and the feeling of oneness with something you can't quite say what
16. early morning sadhana and the feeling of oneness with something you can't quite say what, and the wonderment of why you aren't keeping this up regularly
17. the exhilaration of intense physical activity
18. watching a dog roll about lazily
19. watching the cats eat snacks and wondering who gave them this appetite
20. the minute details on the body of an ant and the audacity of the one who put them there knowing very well no one might ever look at it
21. a full meal after a burning hungry stomach
22. a bus journey to a place without planning
23. the courage to do something that has been holding you a prisoner for long
24. walking for long not knowing where exactly
25. ice cream after dinner
26. speaking your mind without caring for the consequences
27. speaking your mind, yet taking care not to hurt the other
28. lying down on wet grass looking up at the sky
29. having your pet dog lick your face
30. kissing your grandmother on the forehead
31. kissing your mother on the cheek
32. leaving a gift on someone's desk anonymously
33. watching a squirrel eat guava
34. watching a master performer at work
35. gasping at the immensity of a mountain
36. trekking up a mountain and realizing how small you really are
37. watching a bird on the wing and wondering if you will ever get to do that
38. reading a good story on tinkle
39. reading a good blog post and feeling you know the author very well
40. riding a scooter and imagining the scooter is non existent
41. tasting something and disappearing into the taste
42. staying up late into the night without an agenda
43. sleeping late into the morning without an agenda
44. watching a master in "namaste" and wondering if you will ever manage an iota of that grace
45. watching a brian lara late cut
46. watching a federer forehand pass
47. watching an orchestra in full swing
48. an unconditional prayer
49. watching a polar bear and its cub play in the snow
50. watching some one in pain and feeling that pain as yours
51. watching some one in joy and feeling that joy as yours
52. watching the land fade away into oblivion as the flight soars up into sky
53. exploring something and figuring out how it works
54. an insight that came from clarity
55. an insight that came from intuition
56. temptation that prods you into indulgence, and deciding against since you know better
57. temptation that prods you into indulgence, and indulging without guilt
58. a choice made out of long term wisdom rather than short term gratification
59. a heartfelt thank you to some one
60. a heartfelt gesture without expecting a thank-you
61. a heartfelt thank you from some one
62. tears of joy on someone's eyes
63. tears of laughter on someone's eyes
64. a happy face
65. a peaceful face
66. the twinkle of mischief on the eyes of a friend
67. earthworms on moist earth
68. walking on the footpath, seeing earthworms on the footpath, picking them up and leaving them back on the earth
69. braking your vehicle to let the dog cross the road
70. braking your vehicle to let the pedestrians finish crossing
71. knowing you can honk and deciding not to
72. letting someone behind you ahead of the queue once in a while
73. getting onto a running train with skill
74. disembarking from a running train before it halts
75. laughing at your mistake
76. saying "i am sorry" and really meaning it
77. listening with attention
78. listening without judgement
79. watching your country lose a game and applauding the other country for playing better
80. watching a donkey on the road and realizing it must be important if the creator decided to invest her time creating
81. admiring the audacity of the poet who saw the creator in a crow's feather
82. reading verses from sublime devotion
83. feeling extreme gratitude for realizing how lucky you are to be where you are
84. that one burst of inspiration that pushes you to do something that is far greater than everything you've done this far in your life
85. when you realize anger is plain stupidity
86. watching the fury of a giant waterfall
87. talking to a child 
88. listening with rapt attention
89. talking to someone late into the night without any agenda
90. dancing with abandon
91. eating food knowing it was cooked with love
92. eating food knowing it tastes bad and still loving it
93. feeling a deep joy within that makes every little desire or ambition you've ever held seem meaningless
94. feeling a deep humbleness knowing your place in existence
95. feeling deep fear and yet sidestepping it
96. looking at a turtle and wondering about its wizdom
97. the croak of a frog on a rainy day
98. huddling inside a blanket on a cold night
99. watching a cow's eyes and wondering if you would manage half its humility

i am not able to word the 100th one properly :)

the sand clock

grain by grain the tiny ant moves home
doesn't see how much it collects
drip by drip, gallons flow out of the tap
all things meaningful and significant
get made or get lost in tiny pieces
the mighty ocean, after all
would come to naught if it thought
that tiny droplet insignificant

sivapurANam

Imagine having a treasure chest in your home and not looking at it for years together? That was my state until a few years ago. To think that my mother and grandmother used to read this very often (my grandmother, twice a day actually) makes it even more amusing. Actually, it was iLaiyarAjA who made me listen to this through his album thiruvAsakam. But this stops there. I might have never gotten to the point of reading/listening to this if not for him, and I am grateful for that. But the lyrics were rearranged in that album and after getting to read the entire "thoguppu", it actually feels like sacrilege! Nothing against IR, I am sure his attempt was sincere, but it's not gelling well!

Anyway, back to sivapurANam, the words are explosive. It is very hard to imagine how words can flow unabated like a river at such intensity. It is very obvious these words were not "thought out". It is also hard to imagine how someone in that consciousness could have managed to "pen them down on paper". Infact, legend has it that when mAnickavAsakar was singing these verses in bliss, Lord Shiva himself wrote them down and that is how we have them in written form.

The verses contain the same thing. Praises of the Lord. In one varying form after another. And it makes sense. A person in bliss just sings what he is experiencing. And what multitude forms of expression! And the pithiness is just deceptive. One small verse, he manages to explain the existence itself. For examples, "sOthiyane, thunniruLe, thOnRA perumaiyane..." (Dazzling light, Blinding darkness, the one who was never Created) or "Ekan, anEkan" (the One, who is also many).

There were places where he debases himself so much, that I found this a put-off initially. It is like some one who insults himself to just feel good. I always used to wonder - someone singing praises of the Lord, if genuine, would certainly not insult himself in such a manner. I latter read the interpretation in an elucidation. He was placing himself as part of the common humanity and taking their state as his own. That was a powerfully humbling experience!

It is said that he dissolved into light! His devotion was such - I don't need separate proof, I have the verses. Actually, it is said that, a device for devotion should be such that it should melt the person made like a stone. The one who is subtle can get moved by a flower or a dewdrop. That which melts a stony person is no ordinary device*. And this compilation is one! There is a reason why they say - "He who does not melt for the thiruvAsakam will not melt for anything!"

* - Sadhguru said this in context of the temples of Egypt. It made me want to visit them! :)

Note: A lot of viewers are coming here wanting the lyrics of sivapurANam. It is available here - provided you can read thamizh.

Sadhguru's talk at TED India

Nothing much left to say - he owned the stage!

The blue planet

The earth is in a very precarious position. On the one side, on a universal scale, it amounts to nothingness in size. On the other end, it is amazingly resilient. Given the uncertainty, where if the sun decides tomorrow, it can gobble up the earth in no time, it has already lasted five million years or so.

What is more, it is at that exact spot away from the sun in distance that sustains conscious life. It is also said that the water inside the earth got unlocked with precise timing to form oceans*. While I am certain there is life outside earth - by sheer probability from the vastness of the universe, there is currently no known concrete proof of conscious life outside planet earth.

This blue planet is truly a wondrous miracle. It is living two realities at the same time - potential overnight annihilation, yet this incredible colorful dance - like tightrope walking*. Somewhere, somehow, I feel that life placed the wrong sort of guests on this planet. The thing that keeps me in peace is that, tomorrow, if one smart guy nukes the planet, the earth will still be fine -just the humans would be gone. Another five thousand or ten thousand years later, after the trees and oceans and rivers are replenished, she will start from scratch - may be with a sigh! I do feel sorry for the forests, rivers and animals though.

Sorry Ma - we're too big for our shoes, and you must be smiling looking at us!

*1 - Too early, it would have vaporized into space. Too late, it would have inundated the planet without any feasibility to create life.

*2 - It is said that, if the earth was created on Jan 1st, the first humans walked in during Dec 31st, 11:45 PM!

*3 - A few years ago, I wrote a story about this. More like a rambling about what we're doing and what we can do!

Global Warming: Time lapse proof of extreme ice loss into oceans

To add to the existing "debate" and "ambiguity". I will do my bit to muddle the already existing chaos. Unless we get clarity on what's going on, aren't these evidences cause for a little bit of concern at least?