Trouble in Gangtok

On 24th September it rained and thundered like anything in Sikkim. Sikkim was struck with trazedy. Four mountaineers (including one of my friend ) died buried under an avalanche. There was no electricity and internet connection since 24th September. About 20 people died in other cases of landslides and felling trees. At one time I too felt that my time has come now. But, now the life has restored to normal. My television set and a few flurocent blubs in my house went phut due to lightening. But thanks God my computer set is saved, it was closed at that time. I will be back with my blog soon.

OH POVERTY!

Can Extreme Poverty Be Eliminated? SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN has a very informative article on this.

MOVIE PIRACY

Last Sunday when I brought a CD to watch a new Hindi movie I was surprised and angry to find that it was a pirated one. The sound and picture quality of the movie was so poor that the whole movie appeared to be recorded using a video recorder in a movie hall. The movie pirates are creating havoc with the quality and economy of the films. It was heartening to know that six major Hollywood studios, hoping to gain more control over their technological destiny, have agreed to jointly finance a multimillion-dollar research laboratory to speed the development of new ways to foil movie pirates. ...MORE. I hope that similar steps will be taken by the Bollywood studios here.

AMERICAN WINE

As the winter approches and Christmas is not far you can benefit from a little research on the wines from different countries and their unique taste. But according to a recent study it is the American taste which is going to be most popular.....MORE

IS OUR BRAIN STILL EVOLVING?

A new study proves that our brains are still evolving. Is it true that the brains of groups of people from different parts of the world function differently? For more read here

How To Have A Beautiful Mind is an excellent book by Edward De Bono. Bono writes that we spend a fortune on clothes, cosmetics, diets, workouts and even on surgery - to make our bodies more attractive. But we hardly make any effort to make our mind beautuful. He starts his book with this story-"There is this beautiful women at a coctail party . She has flawless skin, elegant clothes and aperfect figure. Surprisingly, she seems to be much on her own. people come up to her and quickly drift away. then there is this short, balding and mousy man. He is always surrounded by people in animated conversation with him. What is going on? The beautiful women had a boring mind and the mousy man had a beautiful mind. This is the difference." The book spread over eighteen chapters throws a new light on the functioning of human mind. It teaches you how to have a beautiful mind. A great book.

KHANGCHENDZONGA EXPEDITION

George Band is in Gangtok. He was part of the 1955 British expedition to Mount Khangchendzonga led by Charles Evan. In 1953, Band barely 18 years old had accompanied the John Hunt expedition to the Everest that put Hillary to the Top. By 1955 Everest has been conquered and so had K2, Khangchendzonga was the third highest peak in the world which was yet to be conquered. Charles Evan was successful in reaching to the top of Khangchendzonga. As the peak is worshipped by the local tribes in Sikkim the expedition left the six feet of the summit undone as a gesture of respect to the local sentiments.

Though Such expedtions are no longer allowed, Sikkim is celebrating 50th anniversary of the Khangchendzonga expedition.

HUMAN POPULATION

Is our growing population a threat to Planet Earth? Scientific American has this to say.

The Festival

Pang Lhabsol festival is quite unique to Sikkim. It was popularised by the third Chogyal (King) of Sikkim, Chakdor Namgyal. In this festival the snowy range of Kachendzonga is worshipped for its unifying powers. This festival marks the signing of the treaty of brotherhood between the Lepchas and Bhutias by Khye Bumsa (17th Century King of Kham province of Tibet) and Tetong Tek (17th Century Lepcha ruler of Sikkim) when the local deities were invoked to witness the occasion. In fact Phang means witness. On this day, the guardian deity is portrayed by masked Lama dances as a fiery red-faced deity with a crown of five skulls, riding a snow lion. To lighten the mood of the spectators, jesters called 'Atchars' play antics during the Chaams (Dance). The mood in Sikkim has become festive.

BOY WITH A PIPE

I found it very intertesting that a 1905 masterpiece by Pablo Picasso has sold for $104m, becoming the world's most expensive painting.Garcon a la Pipe - or Boy with a Pipe - was sold to an anonymous bidder at Sotheby's in New York. Picasso painted Garcon a la Pipe when he was 24. It depicts a young Parisian working boy crowned with a garland of roses, holding a pipe in his left hand. He completed the painting in 1905.
But I wonder why the buyer want to remain anonymous! Does he fear thieves or Tax officials?

WE SHOULD LAUGH A LOT

I really like this guy called Mulla Nasiruddin.He was a sufi mystic. I think he achieved enlightenmen through jokes and through his sense of humor. Here is a joke about Mulla.

Mulla Nasrudin and his wife went to Israel for their holidays and visited a nightclub in Tel Aviv. A comedian was on the bill who did his whole act in Hebrew. Nasrudin's wife sat through the comic's act in silence, but Nasrudin roared with laughter at the end of each joke.
"I did not know you understood Hebrew," she said to the Mulla when the comedian had concluded his act.
"I don't," replied Nasrudin.
"Well, how come you laughed so much at his jokes?"
"Oh," said Nasrudin, "I trusted him."

BEING HAPPY IS ENLIGHTENMENT!

I think that knowing the cause of suffering, avoiding them (causes), handling misfortune and pain and knowing the art or science of being happy and spreading happiness in the world is enlightenment. I find it hard to believe that there is any mystery attached with ‘Enlightenment’. Enlightenment can be achieved through meditation, sex, reading, writing, traveling, talking, loving, helping others, dancing, music, sports, business and making money, drinking, partying, foods (cooking or eating them) or even through blogging! This is what my idea of enlightenment is! I might be right, I might be wrong. But then it is a journey, the journey of self-discovery that I have embarked upon. This is my first step towards discovery of a spiritual world that I think lies within us. More on this in my next blog.

REMEMBERING THEM

ALL THOSE YOU WHO SLEEP TONIGHT
FAR FROM ONES YOU LOVED
NO HAND LEFT TO RIGHT
AND EMPTYNESS ABOVE

KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE
BUT THE WHOLE WORLD SHARE
YOUR TEARS
SOME FOR ONE NIGHT OR TWO
AND SOME FOR ALL THEIR YEARS!

By VIKRAM SETH

SEX AND ENLIGHTENMENT

Studying the spread of Vajrayana Buddhism in the Himalayan region, I was surprised to learn that enlightenment can be achieved through Sex. So far, I had only known that one fine day Buddha, a former prince in the 6th century BC India, sat under a tree and went on meditating for days and nights and overcoming many physical and spiritual hurdles, achieved enlightenment. I have even wondered what exactly enlightenment is? While trying to understand enlightenment, I was told that Enlightenment couldn’t be comprehended by Intellect. Intellect is not the right faculty to understand enlightenment. The word enlightenment has the word 'light' sandwiched between 'en' and 'enment'. It occured to me that through meditation a light must have appeared before Buddha dispelling all the darkness, which I think, are negativities. Or he may have achieved extraordinary control over his mind that he was able to control all the ramifications and emanations not only of his mind but of other people's mind too. This is my conjucture, there might be other theories.

But in the process of my learning, trying to understand enlightenment in the light of sex was puzzling me. I think OSHO was the first person from the Indian subcontinent who publicized the theory of achieving enlightenment through sex. He said (in his book 'From Sex To Superconciousness') that a sexual union between a male and a female can result into enlightenment if one knows the method. He was not liked in India. He became very controversial for propounding that. People found it hard to accept that a religious Guru is preaching sex! But what he telling was not a new theory but a very old one. I learnt that there have been from the first century onwards many practioner of Vajrayana Buddhism who with their female consort practiced Tantra to achieve enlightenment. Guru Padmasdambhava who brought Buddhism to Sikkim and Tibet was such a Buddhist master. More on this in my next blog.

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WE DO CARE!

USA may not be short of funds to help the Katrina affected people. The amount ($5Million) sent by India may not be adequate to help the people affected by Katrina, but I think it is a small gesture from us that we do care!

INDIAN AID

As I opened the web page of
The Pioneer, I read this:
India contributes $5 mn for Katrina relief

Agencies/ New Delhi

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced a $5 million contribution to the US Red Cross for relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the devastating Hurricane Katrina.

Sania Mirza is performing very well at US open. Her next match is with the Russian girl Maria Sharapova. Best of luck and all good wishes to Sania.

OH MY GOD!

I think I have to take a break from Sikkim. The news from New Orleans is disturbing. I just saw the footage of New Orleans devastation on BBC, Thousands have died and millions become homeless because of the Hurricane Katrina. People are begging for food and to add to the problem there is complete lawlessness. Armed gangs have been reported to roaming and on looting spree. Reuters have this to report , "New Orleans today is a nightmare come true for America as the hungry beg for help, bodies lie along flooded sidewalks, and bands of armed thugs thwart fitful rescue efforts. Gunfire in some areas has halted search and rescue efforts. Police Chief Eddie Compass, commenting on the anarchy that has seized New Orleans, said, "We have individuals who are getting raped, we have individuals who are getting beaten." A woman said she asked a police officer for assistance and his response was, "Go to hell. It's every man for himself."

This is disturbing indeed! But I have a firm faith that the people of USA will rise to the occasion and with tenacity and courage will overcome the misfortune. May God help them in their fight!

UNDERSTANDING MIND

In Buddhism, the most intertesting thing I find was understanding the mind. I have realised that Buddhism is essentially a mind religion. I remember a story told to me by a monk :

Once upon a time in ancient India in the land of Uruvella (modern Bodhgaya) there were two monks; one old another young. Once they were visiting a monastery on the other side of the river Niranjara. They came across a young beautiful girl, bejeweled and in fine clothes. She requested them to help her in crossing the river. Being the summer season the river was shallow and the water was waist deep. The young monk lifted the girl on her shoulders and crossed the river. The girl thanked him and went away. The old monk became disturbed. He kept murmuring and showing his annoyance. Walking, they came to a point the old monk could hold no longer. “ Why did you touch her? We monks are not supposed to touch women. There was no need to carry her”, the old monk scolded. The young monk remained calm and replied, “I left her at the bank of the river, why are you still carrying her?”.

Reading some Buddhist texts I learnt that we use our mind as 'goods carrier'. We carry all sorts of goods on them. Most of the goods that we carry are nothing but junks, not worth carrying. They are our petrified thoughts, ideologies, beliefs and conditionings that has been constantly fed to us from our milieu that we live in. These goods greatly affect our nature of mind. If the thoughts that we carry are negative in nature they will lead us to negative action. Likewise if they are positive our action will be positive. We are constantly assaulted with barrage of different thoughts.

India has a tradition of philosophers that have pondered over the nature of mind. They discovered many meditation technique of knowing the nature of mind. They discovered that the mind have two positions one that looks out and another that looks in. Most of the times our mind looks out. We see the material world outside. We have not been conditioned or trained to look inside. The very idea of looking inside makes us uncomfortable and we don’t know how to do it.

Looking inside we discover the inner nature of mind. We learn about the composition of mind. If we analyze the negative compositions of our mind, we discover: Anger, Greed, Jealousy, Spite, Cruelty, Fear, Anxiety, Ego, Ill-Will, Hatred, Suspicion, Distrust, Violence, Deceit, Weakness etc. Likewise the positive compositions are: Compassion, Empathy, Love, Trust, Kindness, Non-Violence, Courage, Will power, Creativity, etc.

The positive and negative qualities are very much there. The idea is not to condemn the negative one and feel good about the positive one but just to understand that they exist. With the knowledge that these qualities exist or doesn’t exist will come understanding. Understanding the nature of mind is the first step towards having a controlled mind. A controlled mind is the gateway to a successful, happy and contented life.

The masters of Buddhism through the ages have discovered the techniques , meditational methods to control the mind. They are the real gems in evolution of human mind. My discovery continues. More in next blog.

MT. KACHENDZONGA

There is one special thing about Sikkim. The kachendzonga peak is the highest in the country. With a height of about 8586 meter from the mean sea level, it is third highest in the world. The local people especially the Bhutias and Lepchas worship it. Soon a grand festival is going to be held in Gangtok to celebrate Mt. Kachendzonga. People from all over the world are going to participate in it. There will be lot of food and dancing. I am looking forward to it. The rainny season in Sikkim is over now and plenty of sunshine has warmed up the environment here.

I will tell you more about this pre-Buddhist religion in Sikkim in my subsequent blogs. But I keep on hitting new and interesting things in Sikkim. For a break let me tell you that I met this person called Gyatso, who kept a tin of biscuits given to him about forty years ago. The tin of biscuit is still with him. He is even trying to make it figure in Limca Book of Records. He think that it must be the oldest tin of biscuit in Asia. Best of luck to Gyatso!

BON : THE PREBUDDHIST RELIGION OF TIBET

Lama Yungdrung smiled and said that he belongs to Bon sect, a pre-Buddhist sect of Tibet. Before the coming of Buddhism in Tibet , Bon was the prevalent religion. 'We are Bonpos and our religion is Yungdrung Bon'., Lama yungdrung said. 'Ours is the original religion of Tibet. ' He said with a resolve and I noticed the streak of a humble prideness on his face. 'We have our own Buddha whom we call Sangey Tonpa Shenrap', He said. Later on I discovered that the followers of Bon religion were reduced to minority after coming of Buddhism of Guru Padmasambhava in Tibet in the seventh century. There is even a history of conflict between Buddhism and Bon in Tibet. But I noticed no tangible difference between the two religion. Their Lamas wore same dress only with a difference of a blue inside their robe. They have their own religious head called Lopon Tenzing Namdak who now live at a Bon monastery in Nepal. On the way a little far from a small helmet called Rabangla, we reached Shohing, a small village. Where on the road side I came across a small monastery. 'This is my monastery', he said. ' Presently only 15 lamas live here, but we have a plan of expending our monastery, so more and more lamas can be accomodated and we can preserve our religion and tradition', Lama Yungdrung sounded exited. There was even a small guest house for the guests in the monastery. We were lodged there.

GURU PADMASAMBHAVA

Guru Padmasambvhava (7th century BUddhist Tantrik master)) is credited with bringing Buddhism to Sikkim. He is regarded as the second Buddha by the Buddhists of Sikkim. In Sikkim I came to know that the Buddhists of Sikkim who mostly belong to Bhutia tribe follow four schools of Buddhism. The four of schools of Tibetan Buddhism are Nyingma,Kagyu, Sakya and Gelugs. Most of the Buddhists in Sikkim are followers of Nyingma which was founded by Guru Padmasambhava. It basically is a Tantric sect and its Lamas keep long hair and are allowed to live with their consorts called 'Khandrula'. They claim that they achive enlightenment through Tantric way taught by Buddha. The photgraph here is of Gurupadmasambava recently built at Namchi (South Sikkim). It is 135 ft tall statue of Guru Padmasambhava said to be tallest in the world.

I was full of surprise when Lama Yungdrung told me that he doesnt belong to all the four sects mentioned by me. His sect is the oldest. He belongs to a pre-Buddhist sect of Tibet. Read my next blog to know about this pre-Buddhist sect.

LAMA YUNGDRUNG

My meeting Lama Yungdrung was accidental. I was learning Buddhism in Sikkim. I heared about a 2oo years old monastery called Pemayangtze in West Sikkim. I decided to visit it. I contacted a local freelance photographer friend Mr Lepcha. He agreed to accompany me to pemayangtze monastery which was a 4 hour drive from Gangtok. He said that it would be nice if we take a Lama with us. The Lama according to him would be able to explain to us what we will not understand at the monastery. I was doubtful about the idea of taking a Lama from Gangtok, dont we will get plenty of them at the monastery! Mr Lepcha said that he knows a Lama who is a good friend of him and who has agreed to accompany us to the monastery.
Next day morning it was drizziling. Mr Lepcha arrived with vehicle and honked at my residence. I entered the vehicle and saw an elederly monk with a big smile. 'How are u saheb?' He said. I returned the smiled and shook hand with him. 'Please visit my monastery . It is a small monastery , but ours is the oldest religion', Lama Yungdrung said. At that time I hadn't comprehended the full meaning of what he was saying.
It was only later that I understood what he meant by his 'oldest religion'.
Read my next blog...for more that what I discovered.

A Village Near Gangtok.

The country side of Sikkim is very beautiful.

Gangtok And Shimla

Sikkim is a small Himalayan state. Gangtok, its capital is small and beautiful. Gangtok, I think is more beautiful than Shimla. This could be because Gangtok is new and younger than Shimla. Like other Hill stations in India Gangtok was never under British. Sikkim remained protectorate of Government of India till 1975. In 1975 Indira Gandhi took some strong steps to make Sikkim a part of India. There was also a people's movement here for Sikkim's merger with India. Under the leadership of L.D. Kazi, the Chogyal, the king of Sikkim was removed and a democatic election for the first time was held in sikkim in 1975 and Kazi became the first Chief minister of Sikim. The Kazi is still alive. Now more than 100 years old he lives in Kalimpong, a nearby hill station adjacent to Darjeeling. The young generation now seem to forget him. He leads a reclusive life.

But Gangtok moves on. People now eager to excell in life are vibrant and dynamic. One thing that is remarkable about the people of Gangtok is that there is a streak of spirituality in their quest for material things.

india and china

These two contries are the greatest emerging power in Asia. India has its own strenths and weaknesses and China has its own. But sometimes I think that we are not as disciplined as China is. Their achivement is something that we see. We lack marketing skill. We dont know how to market ourselves. How to sell the things that need to be sold. China despite its closed society and being communist is progressing and we with all the politically correct things are not showing signs of development. The flood in the Mumbai was an eye opener.

SANDY SINHA

my world

my world
While coming to Sikkim (India) and doing some research here on Buddhism I discovered that Nathula Pass is the door which is going to open in the first week of October this year in Sikkim. Nathula Pass is about 14,000 feet from the mean sea level on the Indo-China border. Trade, which will mostly be in barter system will begin this year. The people of Sikkim are excited about the opening of the border and they view that it will bring new prosperity to the people of the region. Many people are excited that they will be able to visit Lhasa in future. This is a new chapter in the relation ship between India and China. Nathula was the part of the old silk route.

SANDY SINHA

my world

my world
I live in a small town. My milkman is a very honest man. Today morning when I asked him 'Hey! Milkman is your milk pure?'. He said 'It is my cow's milk sir, I dont give milk I only deliver it!'

'Okay -okay is your cow's milk pure?
'Yes sir! the milk is very pure, I mix Bisleri only!'

POETS

my world
EEK DIN EEK TRAFFIC POLICE
WALE NEY
EEK SCOOTER WALEY KO
DOOSREY SCOOTER WALEY KA
TEEZI SEY PEECHA KARTEY
DEKH USEY ROKA
RASH DRIVING KEY LIYEY
USEY TOKA-

TRAFFIC KA NIYAM TORTEY HO
DOOSEREY SCOOTER KA PEECHA
KYON KARTEY HO?

YEH SOON UK SCOOTERWALEY NEY KAHA
YEH APNEY KYA KIYA
USEY BHAGA DIYA!

MAIN KAVI HOON WO BHI KAVI THA
USNEY MERI KAVITA SUNI NAHIN
KAMBAKHT APNI SUNA GAYA!

SANDY SINHA

my world

my world
EK BAR EK NETA NEY
ELECTION SEY PAHLEY
APNEY P.A. SEY KAHA
MERA TO ELECTION SYMBOL HOGA GADHA

KYONKI HAMAREY DESH MAIN
GADHON KI KAMI NAHIN HAI
EES DESH MAIN AAP JAHAN JAYENGAY
HAR TARAF HAR JAGAH
AAP GADHEY PAYENGAY

VOTER TO ELECTION SYMBOL
DEKHTEY HEE PAHCHAN JAYENGAY

YAH SUNTEY HEE P.A. NEY KAHA
LEKIN SIR EK BAAT TO BATEYEY
AAPMAIN AUR AAPKE ELECTION SYMBOL MAIN
KUCHH TO FARK HONA CHAHEY

SANDY SINHA

my world

The special thing about Hindi Comedy poetry is that it sounds best when it is recited. The great comedy poets in Hindi, also called Hasya Kavis have such a reputation that the momenmt they reach on stage people starts laughing. Their very sight is laughfable. Not often, but sometimes these comedy poems are also laden with Vyanga, which means that it conveys some serious thoughts coated in comedy. The poet conveys message through these comedy poems. The two comedy poems that have I have posted doesnt have any serious thoughts. They are just for laughs. Such poems are good for health. Enjoy them. The only hurdle in enjoying the posted poems is not knowing Hindi. You must know Hindi to enjoy them. If you dont know Hindi but know only English then contact me. I may teach you some Hindi. With best wishes.