Santhosh's ramblings

We have a plant in the house that cranes its neck towards the sun, catching a glimpse of it for about 2 hours each day. The rest of the day, it remains in the same position, seemingly waiting for the sun to rise again. It eagerly awaits the next morning to enjoy that fleeting moment of sunlight, even though it quickly passes away from its horizon of view.  Sunflower gardens are a breathtaking sight. The whole group or field of sunflowers keeps craning their stems (necks) to follow the sun, capturing its light. When the sun sets, they droop their heads, eagerly anticipating the next morning when they can behold the sun again. In today's world, we are bombarded with lies, half-truths, and manipulated media. False news and perception management through outright lies have become part of our daily life. To find the truth, or even catch a glimpse of it, we must crane our necks and search carefully, like finding a needle in a haystack. There was a time when we could find some truth in cer...

Recently, I spent 2 weeks on a campus where humans coexist with a large population of monkeys (Rhesus). On the night of my departure, we counted about 25 monkeys in one group, comprising fathers, mothers, grandparents, children, and grandchildren. They roam freely in the campus without any issues. Interestingly, the humans in the campus seem to be more afraid of the monkeys than the monkeys are of humans.  ‘ In conversations with friends on the campus, I realized that people tend to stay inside more due to fear of monkeys, almost feeling caged in. On the other hand, monkeys are least bothered because the green campus provides ample food for them. Humans, particularly men, walk around with sticks and catapults to protect their women from the monkeys.   A similar peaceful coexistence was observed during a recent trip to Tanzania. Different animals coexist with each other harmoniously. Animals come close to safari jeeps, almost as if informing the humans of their presence. They h...

Can one become weary of doing good? Yes there are many times, personally I have felt weary and wanted to give up. I suppose this is not an uncommon feature for others too. Paul knew this and that is why he wrote to Galatians - “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9NIV Three common reasons why people (including me) feel weary of doing good, are considered here.  One, the drudgery of the mundane and routines. Though we want to feel passionate and engaged actively always, there will be times, when the routines of the day to day work and engagement seems to push us into weariness and wanting a rest from doing good for a period of time. Re-reading the book of Joshua it was interesting to observe that most of his life except for the initial years of war, would have been spend sorting out the allocation of land and settling the petty squabbles around those probably? How did he manage these mundan...

8.00 AM - I did not sleep well. So as the saying goes got up on the “wrong side of the bed”. So got out late to work traffic was impossible!  Another car cut across in traffic and almost hit mine.  And the routine was disrupted. And that impacted the emotional well being much of the morning hours. Unnecessary disruption impacting my well being…. 4.00 pm. “I am a cop. I along with my wife and children were caught by 20 men. They took us to a small room and beat me and my wife up. Wife and children managed to escape. I continued to receive beating. Our house was burnt. Somehow I managed to escape. We have lost everything. Our lives have been disrupted totally.” “Any loud sounds I get up and get palpitations. I don’t sleep at night. I have lost everything I owned”.  Many more such stories…. My morning disruption pales as I listen to these stories…

The car was not really smooth to drive, and I knew something was amiss. I glanced at the fuel gauge, which was hovering in the 'E' region, indicating low fuel. I thought this might be the reason, but there had to be something more. Even at the 'E' region, the car still had about 4-5 litres of fuel. This alone could not explain the issue. Additionally, there was an occasional red light indicator whine that would come up transiently.   After filling up the petrol, I asked them to check the air as well. It turned out that the front tires had too little air, which probably contributed to the problem. However, I was not fully satisfied. The car was due for a service, so I sent it in. After the service, the car came back as smooth as before. The service engineer mentioned something about an alignment that needed to be done and some short circuits in the electrical system. It didn't make much sense to me, but those issues had been taken care of. These things can prevent a ...

Awakened sleep – this appears like an oxymoron. But this is what the Shunamite woman said, “ I was asleep, but my heart was awake ”. (SoS; 5:2) Was she in REM sleep? Where could she recognize that she was sleeping but her heart was awake? As she moved in and out of her NREM to REM, she kept recognizing her awakened heart? But the question I am grappling with is, what keeps my heart awake? For her, it was the anticipation that her lover would come at any time and call her out. A desire for her lover, as she went in and out of her NREM, REM sleep cycles. Neuroscience and physiology now say that in such relaxed contexts, like sleep, and music, diffuse thinking happens. “Diffuse-mode thinking is what happens when you relax your attention and just let your mind wander. This relaxation can allow different areas of the brain to hook up and return valuable insights.” Author Barbara Oakley, using the analogy of playing a pinball game writes “The diffuse approach… often involves a big-pict...

Observing young bikers who engage in reckless and daring maneuvers on the busy roads of Delhi evokes various emotions in me. I call them Reckless and Crazy. Initially, I feel irritated, wondering how they can behave in such a manner. I also experience fear, as it is apparent that their reckless driving endangers their own lives and the lives of others. At the same time, a desire arises within me, a longing for youthful freedom to engage in such daring acts that were denied to me. However, upon further reflection, I realize that recklessness and craziness are inherent in all of us. It seems to be a part of human nature. Some individuals exhibit this behavior for the sake of others, such as when someone in love engages in crazy and reckless acts for their beloved. Others engage in such behavior purely for their own satisfaction and the thrill of adventure. I have even heard of a 81-year-old man climbing Mount Everest – now, that's truly crazy! Perhaps those of us who believe in a C...