So I thought

For years now, my regular media diet has leaned toward Sanatan-aligned news and commentary, which is practically pro-BJP. While it does bother me that the current BJP government doesn't seem very inclusive of Muslims, I still can't bring myself to support other political parties, as they feel far more damaging to me. I have been trying to find a way to communicate to BJP opinion makers that they can bring in Muslims in their fold and yet succeed in their agenda of nation building. Lately, though, a nagging doubt has crept in. I’ve started wondering if I’ve drifted more to the right, subtly shaped by the steady stream of narratives from BJP-oriented content creators. That question hit closer to home today. I sat down to watch a movie with my wife and daughter—a love story set during the Partition. I didn't know the film's name and deliberately chose not to look it up, though I quickly recognised Diljit Dosanjh in the lead and Naseeruddin Shah playing a Sikh character. Na...

 Space, at its core, means a place not being used or emptied, but space also refers to the emotional or physical independence you give to another person and yourself.it is a critical process that people don't do very often. It is essential to realise that giving yourself space, you heal and prevent yourself from burning out. It does not mean to meditate or sleep, of course. If that's what u want, then go ahead and just do what makes you happy, anything like painting, dancing, swimming or anything that calms you down or brings you joy.  But how do we give space? We provide them companionship while not being too much for a person to take in. Despite being the most evolved beings, sometimes humans can be a handful, so it can be overwhelming to keep up. This often causes burnout, and if we don't give people space, these feelings slowly start bottling up, and before we realise it, the person begins resenting us. In close relations, too, it is necessary to give space, and sometim...

Politics is a profession that is not supposed to provide income. This is a line for social service and not to generate income. However, it is quite surprising that men who are supposed to have regular income to support a family are more into politics. In India, women are generally not income earners and thus financially more in alignment with the political roles but they are so few in this line. This discrepancy is one of the basic causes of corruption as the main bread earner is into something that is not to create profit/income. This has an inbuilt mechanism for subversion and hypocrisy and lots of ills. If politics is to serve the people, women are better suited for this as service and compassion will find a natural home in women than in men. But the truth is that in practice politics is all about upmanship and taking credit for doing nothing and thus men have overrun this field.   If things are to change more women will have to come to politics. This will also improve the...

I would be quite interested in knowing who has benefitted from consuming the content shown on TV. To create deception these days TVs are being called Smart TV but to me, it is still an idiot box only. Tving strengthens the running away tendencies. It deprives good sleep as our garbage box of mind keeps getting bigger and our minds will keep ruminating.  For someone on the spiritual path, this is surely an issue to be dealt with at the earliest as Tving is the senseless filling of the mind with trash content while the spiritual process is about emptying it from the non-essential. With movie content available so freely, it struck me that such content is so engaging and addictive. I f one is spending time binge-watching of web series, there will be no time left to earn to finance this downhill-taking habit. The inbuilt self-destruction is apparent. There is so much innovation /research in content creation that one can be glued for hours . It is the surest way to destruction. I...

We all have listened to parents /teachers/ role models speak of the normal course of action to achieve success and yet this does not click with many. Why the understanding of normal is not the same for all of us. What is the missing point that it works for some and does not for many? The other day I was listening to a wise person and it sort of held key to this dilemma. Luckily I had missed the trap for most of my life but that was a blessing and not a conscious action now I will be able to break the shackles of unproductivity knowingly.   A classical musician has a different daily schedule- waking up early morning, missing out on cold drinks going to bed at a good time etc. It is his normal which might be viewed as austere or harsh by many other householders but to the musician, it is the only way to act- nothing extraordinary or special about it. A student who wants to top score or clear any top competitive test will be more with books or notebooks and almost no time for chat or...

In recent past weeks, there has been a lot of coverage of some big actors' movies being boycotted by Indian audiences. And this has been indirectly referenced to the Indian audience waking up to its cultural identity being taken up lightly by such many players in this industry and thus a payback time. Though I have not really gone to any depth about this issue, I certainly do not subscribe to the view that there are people distorting our cultural identities or markers. One of the biggest and unparalleled markers of my culture is the ability to allow freedom of expression and thus we must not define how others can bring life to their imaginations or stories. And my freedom of expression is not as defined in the constitution which is subject to the display of sensitivity. My freedom of expression is also capped by the display of sensitivity but it is not defined by changing times but by a universal understanding of what is right and wrong.  However, it made me wonder why actors are n...