Global Warming & You!

Dear One,

Bombay was a dreamer's paradise once, now it's a virtual nightmare for all. The overflowing people stuffed mercilessly in it's belly, the vehicles, the bumper to bumper traffic and the dark gutting smoke of pollution makes me sick and sad. What a plight it has gotten itself into or is it the outcome of careless people like us who care to lose nothing over it's abusive and systematic breakdown.

I fear a day is not far off when Bombay (and the world by far) will be a pitiful human dumping ground, deprived of vital oxygen, filled with dangerous emission smoke, no green patches in sight, only structures of black mortar and death. Trees and green patches are vanishing in alarming numbers, making the climate unbearably hot by the day and unpleasantly warm at nights. I get a feeling, I am sitting in a steam chamber all day and night, sweating profusely non-stop. The air conditioners (be it cars, home or office) are one of the silent killers, busy pumping out chilled air infused with a dangerous mix of chloroflourocarbons, for us to unwittingly feast our lungs on.

So is there a solution to the deadly effects of global warming, as it's slowly chokes the wheels of  times to a grinding halt? The answer is - Yes! There is a way. Awareness is the way. With awareness comes education and with education - action. This is the only way which will lead to a global solution.

Did you know that :

- At the rate our climate is changing, the world will soon be warmer than at any time in the last 10,000 years.
- The world has warmed by 0.5 degC over the past century and an average 2 degC warming is predicted by 2100.
- There is scientific consensus that air pollution from human activities is partly responsible for global warming.
- Climatic changes will alter natural vegetation, wildlife habitats, crop growing seasons, and distribution of pests and diseases.
- Global warming will cause a continued and accelerated rise in sea levels, threatening half of the world's most critical coastal wetlands.
- About 30 new infectious diseases have emerged in the past 20 years.
- Global warming will expose millions of people to new health risks. Infectious diseases are emerging, re-surging and undergoing redistribution on a global scale.
- Global sea level has risen between 10 to 25 cm in the last 100 years and will rise faster still in the coming decades.

- Climatic changes will alter natural vegetation, wildlife habitats, crop growing seasons, and the distribution of pests and diseases.

You can help control Global Warming by taking these simple yet highly effective measures -

Replace a regular incandescent light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb (cfl) 
CFLs use 60% less energy than a regular bulb. This simple switch will save about 300 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Clean or replace filters of your air conditioner

Cleaning a dirty air filter can save 350 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

Choose energy efficient appliances when making new purchases

Look for the Energy Star label on new appliances to choose the most energy efficient products available.

Do not leave appliances on standby mode

Use the "on/off" function on the machine itself. 

Defrost old fridges and freezers regularly

Even better is to replace them with newer models, which all have automatic defrost cycles and are generally up to two times more energy-efficient than their predecessors.

Cover your pots while cooking

Doing so can save a lot of the energy needed for preparing the dish. Even better are pressure cookers and steamers: they can save around 70%!

Buy intelligently

One bottle of 1.5l requires less energy and produces less waste than three bottles of 0.5l. As well, buy recycled paper products: it takes less 70 to 90% less energy to make recycled paper and it prevents the loss of forests worldwide.

Choose products that come with little packaging and buy refills when you can

You will also cut down on waste production and energy use... another help against global warming.

Reuse your shopping bag

When shopping, it saves energy and waste to use a reusable bag instead of accepting a disposable one in each shop. Waste not only discharges CO2 and methane into the atmosphere, it can also pollute the air, groundwater and soil.

Reduce waste

Most products we buy cause greenhouse gas emissions in one or another way, e.g. during production and distribution. By taking your lunch in a reusable lunch box instead of a disposable one, you save the energy needed to produce new lunch boxes.

Plant a tree

A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. Shade provided by trees can also reduce your air conditioning bill by 10 to 15%. The Arbor Day Foundation has information on planting and provides trees you can plant with membership.

Buy fresh foods instead of frozen

Frozen food uses 10 times more energy to produce.

Eat less meat

Methane is the second most significant greenhouse gas and cows are one of the greatest methane emitters. Their grassy diet and multiple stomachs cause them to produce methane, which they exhale with every breath.

Keep your car tuned up

Regular maintenance helps improve fuel efficiency and reduces emissions. When just 1% of car owners properly maintain their cars, nearly a billion pounds of carbon dioxide are kept out of the atmosphere.

Drive carefully and do not waste fuel

You can reduce CO2 emissions by readjusting your driving style. Choose proper gears, do not abuse the gas pedal, use the engine brake instead of the pedal brake when possible and turn off your engine when your vehicle is motionless for more than one minute. By readjusting your driving style you can save money on both fuel and car maintenance.

Protect and conserve forest worldwide

Forests play a critical role in global warming: they store carbon. When forests are burned or cut down, their stored carbon is release into the atmosphere - deforestation now accounts for about 20% of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Conservation International has more information on saving forests from global warming.

Global Warming is a dramatically urgent and serious problem. We don't need to wait for governments to find a solution for this problem: each individual can bring an important help adopting a more responsible lifestyle: starting from little, everyday things. It's the only reasonable way to save our planet, before it is too late.

I pledge my support against Global Warming. Won't you too?

In peace.

S.R

Known Questions - Unknown Answers

Dear One,

Finally, I end my self-imposed break with this post. Sometimes, thoughts fail to arouse the words you are searching for, leaving you hollow and empty. Although sporadic with stray incidents, the last few sabbatical weeks were plain and uneventful; yet it was wistfully spent in deep introspection and meditation on the poignant questions of life.

Many were the questions that buzzed around my head and heart, yet few answers actually gave me respite. A note about questions - Questions have a queer yet fascinating way of arousing your inner curiosity and intent, propelling you to find the hidden answers. But with time, those very questions become a prelude to a mad quest for answers, leaving you thoroughly high and dry for the rest of your life. Yet, ironically, some questions have the power to change the way you think in a jiffy, invariably changing your very life for better or for worse. Questions and answers are like twins, born of the same womb, yet so different. One arouses your soul and the other fulfills.

One of my favorite questions to ask is "Who are you?" - A simple enough question. Yet the responses that I get clearly illustrate that for the most part, people don't really know. We rely on labels to do the job -- labels that describe where we're from, what we do for a living, when we were born, or what we'd like others to think of us.

But that's not what I'm talking about.

The question is - Who ARE you - at your core? I'm not asking your age, your income, or your job title. I am not inquiring about your astrological sign. What I want to know is - what do you really believe in? What do you value above all else? What's the central philosophy by which you live your life?

I want to know what you're doing here - what your purpose is on this planet. I want to know what you would give your life for; what you are most afraid of; how you want to be remembered.

In essence, these are the simplest of questions; and yet they're also the most difficult to answer. They demand the sort of honesty and perspective that few people are willing or able to muster up. They hold the key to your happiness, your well-being, and your success. And they are possibly the most important questions you'll ever be asked.

Unfortunately, many people live in a manner which completely contradicts their beliefs, values, and true selves, making decisions based primarily on others' expectations. They operate on the tenuous hope that pleasing others will provide them with a sense of fulfillment and worth.

The problem with this approach is that the fulfillment they experience is fleeting. Their sense of self-worth is fragile and overshadowed by the looming threat that the approval they're getting might be taken away. The nagging feeling that their life is at odds with their core values and principles eats away at them. They may feel angry or ashamed; they may be resentful of those people they so desperately wish to please. They're unhappy and they don't know why.

The simple truth is this: YOU ARE NOT HERE TO PLEASE OTHERS. You are here first and foremost to express your truth and to live by the values which define you. You're here to love; to laugh; to live! So don't be afraid to ask yourself these questions. Forget what your answers SHOULD be. Give them the time and attention that they deserve. BE HONEST. And if you discover along the way that your choices aren't reflecting your true values and principles, CHOOSE DIFFERENTLY.

It's YOUR life. Live it ON PURPOSE. ASK the right questions to FIND the right answers and that shall set you FREE.

In peace.

S.R

A Writer's Break

Dear One,

Thank you for visiting "Soulful Journeys". I have taken a short break from writing, to help me quieten and sharpen my thoughts in soulful silence. Nonetheless, very soon, I will be back with more.

Till then...In peace!

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.

The Birth Of A Dream

Dear One,

As I write this 100th article, waves of distant memories flood my soul. I recollect the days, when I could hardly hold my tongue in conversation, to the pathetic grammatical mistakes, fit to bring down the ire of my language teachers in school. Looking back, it's highly satisfying to see myself come a long way; from being a thorough vernacular rustic, to one who decently manages to ink down his thoughts with comparative ease.

Due thanks to one school teacher of mine, who fueled my imagination and encouraged me not to take the caustic comments of others seriously, but to constantly work on self-improvement. I took her advice to heart and worked like a mad man in search of sweet sanity. Day and night, I worked one-pointedly to improve my language and general knowledge by reading books, writing broken letters of intent to many souls around the world (pen pals), listening to the BBC radio as early as 3.30 a.m. every single morning, to understand the  correct pronunciation of words. Yet when it came to actual speaking, I was a sad goner. I couldn't muster enough courage to talk aloud in front of an audience. I flummoxed with my words, chocked myself each time in utter despondency and confusion over the intricate nuances of language.

But I had the will to survive. Many were the instances, where my friends mocked at me and my "Southie" accent, and never even considered me fit for worldly existence. I was ear-marked as a life-long disaster, with no promise of building a great career or even a chance to earn a decent living. I was a worthless vagabond, jumping at every opportunity to be left alone and thinking of things unthinkable to the common mind. In short, I had tasted the pleasures of being an out and out nature's eccentric. I took time to think for myself, pondering over some nameless fascination or the other, only to be left behind by my career minded, intellectual friends.

Thus started my sole journey of self-discovery and self-expression. Rejected and ridiculed by the world, I found comfort in the various authors and their writings. They slowly took over the place of my fleeting friends, transforming my life into a picture of million words and ideas. They spoke to me in their own unique tongues and granted me a peek into their vivid beautiful minds. I too wanted to write like them and I wanted the world to hear me. A dream of becoming a writer was finally born.

After years of only thinking of becoming a writer and with no formal aptitude to be one; it all happened through a vague accident. A cousin of mine wanted me to write a testimonial for his FB account, and when I managed to post it online, many wonderful comments came my way, paving a path for my fading dreams. On the eve of last year's Christmas, I impulsively opened a blog account and started penning down my thoughts copiously every day. No matter what the situation, I made sure to dedicate at least half a hour everyday for soulful searching and reproducing it in words to the best of my abilities. The blog was aptly named "Soulful Journeys" and within months of singular dedicated writing, it transformed itself beautifully into a colorful bouquet of offerings for the readers, who take time and pleasure to read and appreciate it.

I know, I still have a long way to go towards refining my writing skills. It is still unfinished and naive, filled with bland smilies and metaphors at each step. However, thankfully, my first step was a fruitful impetus to take the road ahead, filled with immense delight and opportunities. I will keep working towards my goal of penning down a full-fledged book before my earthly role comes to an end someday. Till then, I shall keep dreaming and find newer styles to express my dreamy thoughts to the real world.

Thank you, each one of you, for visiting my blog often; liking what I write and encouraging me for what I am. Truly, a word of encouragement is all it takes to help someone pursue their dreams. And as someone wisely said, "If you want to be remembered, write something that's worth reading or do something that's worth writing." God willing, I intend to do both.

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.

P.S. - I intend to take a small writer's break from today, for a few days at least, to replenish my soul with quiet wisdom and soulful musings. See you very soon. 

BREAKING NEWS!!!

Dear One,

Breaking News! Breaking News! Breaking News!

Are you kidding me? Do you still think, there is any breaking news left for us to see or hear? Same shit - New day - Every day, is what breaking news is all about today. Each day is a reminder of how miserable and monotonous our life has become. You turn to any page of a news paper, and you are sure to notice black & white words of failed marriages, brutal killings and rape, attack on a senior, this political party or that throwing foolish tantrums and much more non-sensical stuff splashed all over, day in and out.

Sometimes I wonder, life would be so much better without the news papers. I don't mean in any way to run away from reality or live uninformed in my alter world, but just think about it; I feel, it prepares me to be knowledgeably desolate and gloomy for the rest of the day. Imagine instead, getting up in the morning to the music of the birds, the morning sun smiling on your face, the gentle breeze greeting you great morning and your wife making a cup of the best coffee for you...WOW!!!

Are you still kidding me? Stop dreaming. Nothing of this sort either happens, for goodness sake.

Day to day life is losing it's flavor by over sensationalism and professionally inked gossips. We have become a breed of prying humans, feasting our senses on people's issues and troubles. I strongly think, this mass flow of unedited information is making us callous and heartless individuals, waiting to pass our expert comments or judgement to say the least. We gasp a bit in righteous shock and it's all over for the day. Life continues waiting for another piece of sensational news the next day. No doubt, the information age has made us better informed and up to date, however it has cost us a huge price in return. We have lost our peace of mind and the simple pleasure of being truly and blissfully ignorant of all these dubious and mind polluting information.

I remember my childhood days, when my father woke up early in the morning, took the day's newspaper, and set out to the nearby park to read it with deliberate ease and pleasure. Although later, he had to travel a clean distance everyday to his workplace, this daily morning ritual never changed for years. After the reading stint, he would come back a happy man, replete with enough information to face his day with unassuming joy and confidence.

Coming back to the present day, my sister carries on this legacy of addictive and ritualistic reading of the newspaper, before plunging ahead in the day to day activities. Albeit, the outcome of this activity is exponentially different from what my father experienced ages ago. As my sister begins ingesting the daily dose of reality, her facial expressions goes from seemingly serene to frantic rage. She doesn't hesitate a bit to express her mounting anger by mouthing off refined local abuses against the perpetrators of the day. New Day - New News - Newer Abuses seems to be her unsung daily motto.

Comparing my dad and sister's tryst with the newspaper, I see a sea of changes in views and temperaments. Those day's were simple and uncomplicated, and today we are trying to make sense of our senseless existence, with newspapers adding to the ever-abundant woes. Maybe we are well connected with the world, but we are miles away from the basic connection - Human Connection. We fret and fume over the day's happenings with renewed vengeance, only to lose out on the day itself. We carry the day's informational burden in our heads, and spread the good (bad & ugly) word to one and all, making their day as miserable as ours.

News has lost it's true potential and intent. It no longer prompts us to take informed measures, instead it makes us cringe or sympathize in our chairs with an irresponsible detached heart. That's one main reason I quit reading the daily newspaper. It was filling me hollow anger and pessimism and slowly poisoning my soul with hopelessness. Any news was no good news for me. My mind was looking out for the dark clouds, minus the silver lining. I was seeing only rattling about the various flaws in the system, least bothered to do anything about it. How many of you share the same plight as mine - Talk and only talk. Do nothing ever after knowing everything.

My mornings now, are less cluttered and stress free. I start my day with a hot cup of coffee and a positive read. I no longer crave for morning gossip at other's expense. In no way, I miss the important happenings of the day; as the day proceeds, I skim the information and digest the necessary and let go the unwanted. I raise my voice against injustice in my own personal way, and manage to support a good cause - intently, silently and peacefully.

Life without newspaper is still very much the same, however with a small twist - I am at peace with myself. I no longer get hyper with useless rage or shake my head in disdain and mindlessly blame the authorities over some remote mishap or glitch. I read what I want to read and make an informed decision on what I want to do about it. Now, for me, some news is surely good news.

News is about making you do something, and not just to sit and do nothing. Think about it?

Are you still reading the Newspaper?

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.

The Magic Of Listening

Dear One,

I prefer to listen more than I like to talk and that sometimes, become my undoing. Yet, in my opinion, listening is the finest aspect of effective communication. It's the magic key to open to locked doors of life long relationships.

We all know the power of words, and the effect it has on our inter-personal relationships. However in recent times, we have become impervious to the benefits of soulful listening. In terms of communication many are excellent when it comes to writing. Others are highly effective when it comes to speaking. But the third key communication skill is still lacking in most of us - Listening. Many struggle when it comes to listening. Why? Well, often the reason is that unlike speaking or writing, we are never taught the fine art of listening, and more so ever we just like listening to our own voices and opinions, let alone anyone else's.

I recollect an incident that has left a powerful impression on me and embossed deeply the life-transforming effects of genuine listening. I had long gone on a recreational tour to a distant state, and while traveling in train, I happened to befriend an old couple. They had a sad, forlorn look on their wrinkled faces and they were too engrossed in pondering about their own pitiable existence, than talking to anyone else. Most part of my day was spent in staring at the beautiful ever-changing sceneries or perhaps in reading a book to kill time. Suddenly, the old man caught fancy to the book I was reading and struck the first note of unexpected conversation.

'What book are you reading, son?'

'Oh! This one'. I said, with a slight smile, 'is a book about following your dreams.' He was quizzical about the answer and reconfirmed once again, 'About following your dreams, is it?'

'Yes sir!' I said playfully. It teaches you how to decipher, learn and live your dreams. His face eased up after hearing my clarifying response. He moved in closer to his seat and almost whispered ruefully, lest people might hear him say, "Will you help me read my dreams?"

I laughed it off saying that, I was not a professional dream reader or anything of that sorts, it was just a passing fad of mine to kill time in the moving train. But he was insistent on me listening to his untold dreams and help him make sense of them. I humbly relented to his sincere plea and accepted to hear his story.

His story was one of love and deceit, loss and pain, life and death. He was a successful trader in his prime, with his wife being his constant companion in good times and in bad. He had three children, who he said with an unshed tear in his eyes, were all settled abroad with their families. He now stays all alone and secluded with his wife in a remote part of the city suburb, doing nothing worthwhile, waiting eagerly for Brother Death to make it's timely presence. I was listening with rapt attention to every word the old man was saying, as if my very life hung on them for some queer reason.

The old lady seemed not much interested in talking, as much as she was in looking outside blankly with shallow, tear-filled eyes. The elderly man on the other hand, donned on his best oratory cap and was belting out incidents from his tragic life one after the other, silently acknowledging my intent listening with a faint smile. I listened to him ever so patiently, with a sense of respect for his ripened age.

I truly lost the touch of time, listening intently to the tales of old as the night passed away to welcome a brand new morning. I saw the old man awake with a smile on his face and the old lady too was up and reading a magazine; but something I knew was not the same. As I took my seat, the old man ordered coffee for the three of us, with me courteously insisting to pay the bill. He ignored my repeated pleas with a flick of his hands and gently took out an worn out note from his pocket and handed it over to the coffee vendor.

As we neared our destination, he turned to me and said with a grateful smile that I can never forget, 'Thank you son, for talking to me. This was the most memorable train journey of my life.' I openly wondered as to what he was talking about and just continued smiling at him with a quizzical look. As he took his baggage, ready to disembark, he glanced at me with filial affection and said, "If you hadn't spoken to me, I wouldn't have seen the light of the day. I, along with my wife were planning to put an end to our miserable lives. But now, I have gained new strength to carry on and a ray of hope to cling on to.'

Bewildered at the unexpected answer, I kept looking at the fading silhouette of the elderly couple now walking with a sense of purpose. It was then the old lady slightly turned back for a second and smiled at me as if to say, "Thank you son!". A tear of unsaid fulfillment rolled down my eyes.

I never spoke much on that fateful day, but much was heard to unknowingly salvage a lost life. What words couldn't do, soulful listening did. We often get irritated with people who speak much, or write them off as talkative show-grabbers. But sometimes, all they need is a listening ear to mend their broken hearts and hope to rebuild their unfulfilled dreams. True communication is to know when to talk and when to keep quiet and just listen.

 Talk less. Listen more.

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.

Life's Most Important Choices

Dear One,

“When it comes down to it, it isn’t the major choices we make in life – career, marriage, etc. – that count the most. It is the everyday, minor decisions that make life work for us.” –Shad Helmstetter, Ph.D.

Have you ever stopped to think about the impact your choices have had, or are having, on your life? When I was thinking about a topic for the next blog post and the word “choices” came to mind. Occasionally I hear people say, “I have/had no choice.” And I couldn’t understand why they felt that way. See, they had a choice, they just didn’t like the choices. I guess you can say it was a choice between the “lesser of two evils.” Or they felt they were not able to make the choice they really wanted.

Well my feeling was….if you can’t do it now, then plan for it so you can do it at some future date. Just come up with a plan, take action, and stick to it until you achieve whatever it is you want. Nobody said it would be easy, however, it can be done.

In his book “Choices,” Dr. Shad Helmstetter came up with a list of the 100 Most Important Choices in your life. Before we get to the list, here’s a little of what Shad Helmstetter had to say about making choices:

“When we begin to take a careful look at the choices we make, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that the most important choices are the choices that guide and direct the major areas of our life.

It is easy to think that if we make good choices about our career, marriage, education, income, family, etc., we should be able to do just fine. But what about the other choices – the thousands of almost unnoticed choices that all of us make (or do not make), day in and day out? How important are those “little” choices?

They are exceptionally important. It may be the big choices in life that set the direction for where we’re going, but it is the little choices that get us there.

Here is a list of 100 odd choices. Some of them seem important; others seem so insignificant that we might wonder how they could be important at all. But each of them makes up some part of what we call “life.”

As you read through this list, notice that any one of the choices, no matter how seemingly insignificant, affects something about us; what we do, how we spend our time, what we think and how we think, how we feel, what we like or dislike, what works for us and what does not.

Your 100 Most Important Choices:

1 – Who you spend most of your time with
2 – How you comb your hair
3 – What your favorite foods are
4 – What you eat most often
5 – How often you call home
6 – The books you read
7 – Your posture
8 – How much or how little you smile
9 – What you watch on television and how much you watch
10 – Your hobbies
11 – How much you exercise
12 – Whether you argue more than you should
13 – The style and color clothes you wear
14 – Who you invite to a party
15 – Whether you write letters
16 – Which telephone calls you return
17 – The appearance of your home
18 – How long something stays broken before you fix it
19 – How late you stay up at night
20 – What time you get up in the morning
21 – How well you listen to others
22 – Whether you smoke
23 – Whether you gossip
24 – How well you are able to concentrate
25 – The political candidates you vote for
26 – Whether you like or fear computers
27 – How fast you drive
28 – How much risk you are willing to take
29 – Whether you save money
30 – Whether you are a leader or a follower
31 – The amount of time you spend with your kids
32 – How organized you are
33 – Whether you go to church
34 – Whether you belong to a social or service organization
35 – How often you change shoes
36 – Who you admire most
37 – How often you are late for something
38 – What you do about a traffic ticket
39 – Who pays the bills in your household
40 – Who decides what to have for dinner
41 – How much time you give yourself to get ready in the morning
42 – What you do at the end of the day
43 – What you drink, if, and how much
44 – Where you buy your groceries, and why
45 – How calm you are
46 – Whose opinions you ask for
47 – How you handle problems at work
48 – Whether you attend concerts or cultural events
49 – How often you eat out
50 – How interested you are in other people
51 – How you show your emotions
52 – What newspapers or magazines you read
53 – Whether you give free advice
54 – What kind of car you drive, and what shape it’s in
55 – How you react to negative attitudes or opinions from others
56 – What sports you participate in
57 – How you spend your holidays
58 – How important it is for you to follow the trend
59 – How much time you spend talking to your spouse or mate
60 – How important you feel you are
61 – How you use credit cards
62 – How you look at problems in the past
63– How you treat or relate to members of the opposite sex
64 – How often you feel sorry for yourself
65 – Who upsets you the most
66 – Whether you like a challenge
67 – Who controls the conversation
68 – How you feel about world problems
69 – What you think about while you’re getting ready in the morning
70 – How much you worry
71 – How much patience you have
72 – How many compliments you give
73 – What gets you angry
74 – How often you almost run out of gas in the car
75 – What you do when you don’t get your way
76 – How much you spend, and on what
77 – How often you criticize
78– How happy you are
79 – How you feel about what other people think of you
80 – How often you do not tell the truth, and why
81 – How you take care of yourself
82 – How much you respect yourself
83 – How often you complain
84 – How often you have to be reminded of something
85 – Who you talk to when you have a problem
86 – How you leave your desk or work space at the end of the day
87 – What movies you attend
88 – How often you get a haircut
89 – How often you have friends visit
90 – How much encouragement you give to others
91 – How polite you are
92 – When you do your Christmas shopping
93 – What you think about, when you have time to think
94 – How much time you take to sell your ideas
95 – Whether you eat breakfast
96 – How you feel when you come home from work
97 – What you do when you’ve made a mistake
98 – What you do when someone else has made a mistake
99 – How you react to being stuck in a traffic jam
100 – What you think about just before you go to sleep at night

Choices affect the quality of your life and it's varied outcomes. So choose wisely!

For further reading you may refer to Dr. Shad Helmstetter’s website : http://www.shadhelmstetter.com

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.

Mumbai's Most Haunted

Dear One,

Mumbai is famous for it's legendary landmarks such as The Gateway Of India, the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel, the beautiful Queen's Necklace and much more for the eyes to feast on. But there is also a dark side of Mumbai, which is unknown to many Mumbaiites - A Mumbai, which is filled with urban legends of ghosts and goblins, haunting the very places you often visit everyday, forming the dark under-belly of this famous city.

There are many stories of haunted buildings in Mumbai; residence to many humans and their ghostly neighbors. One such place is the railway quarters in Byculla. This cluster of high-rise residential buildings form the backbone of Byculla, standing tall and strong. Yet it has a murky history attached to it. Many cases of suicides and murders still haunt the lonely stairways of these tall structures.

As a renegade collegian, I often visited this area, as one of my close friend was put up there along with his family. The first few visits were filled with mute curiosity and fear, as my friend recounted many tales of mysterious happenings in and around that damned area. Our heads were filled with stories of sightings of apparitions, mysterious clawing of invisible prying hands, unknown voices from the past and unexplained human possessions. We were a mix of hard nosed skeptics and gullible believers, and some of us were both put together. Taking this cue as a challenge, we set out, as every hot-blooded collegian would, to explore these "haunted" corners of Mumbai. (Later we changed our mind, and decided to focus on studies instead lest our parents haunt us)

Many places in Mumbai, some known and many unknown have a silent tale of  untold suffering and eerie haunting. The residents of these areas swear by their lives to lend credibility to these mysterious happenings. One such area is the Gokuldham Towers, in Goregaon (E). For years, these queer identical towers had no takers, due to ghostly presence circulating around the vicinity. This prime property was up for grabs for a mere pittance, yet no one wanted to invest for the fear of losing their lives or least said, their sanity. For many years, it continued to hold a deathly sway over the locals; then the rumors died down just as it appeared and now it's fully sold out. People say, it was a marketing gimmick to bring down the soaring property rates, but nobody knows the real story.

Other such "ghostly" stories are splattered across Mumbai for the skeptics and the brave to authenticate and live to tell the tale. Few urban legends are given below to make your blood and imagination race beyond control.

- D'Souza chawl, near Canossa School, has a well with no boundary walls. A woman once fell into the well while filling water and died. Ever since, locals say, her ghost comes there every night, strolls around, and disappears by dawn.

- A man committed suicide at Vrindavan Society, Thane. Security guards here have reported some bizarre incidents, including the one, when one of them was slapped so hard he fell off his chair. The only other guard so far off, he says, could not have touched him.

- Forest guards at the Borivali National Park, swear that a ghost often asks people for lifts late into the night, and also throws stones at the homes of staffers.

- Goregaon Aarey Milk Colony is an infamous site for ghost visitings. Many film actors, even today, refuse to shoot here after 6 pm due to the rumour that there is a ghost in this area.

- Juhu locals claim they have heard ghostly sounds from a forsaken bungalow on 12th Road, Juhu. The bungalow is still unsold.

- In one of the flats at Grand Parrari Towers in Kemps Corner, all three generations of the family committed suicide, with the last case in 2004. The flat is unsold because it is said to be possessed by spirits.

Any takers???

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world. 

Questions On Afterlife?

Dear One,

"What happens 'to me' after death?" 

"Is there an afterlife?" 

"Do we reincarnate?" 

"Is death the final destination or is there more to it?"

These poignant questions have eluded man and his understanding for centuries. When he loses his most loved ones, a subtle chord snaps in his heart, pushing him further to think of afterlife and what happens thereafter.

So what does happen after death anyway?

Hindu philosophers and yogis have pondered long and deep about the mysteries of life and death, and have concluded that the soul has to undergo any of the following three, depending on your karma -

- Reborn as one of the 84 lakh species

- Go to hell, suffer for your misdeeds, and be reborn again

- Go to heaven and attain Moksha or Salvation

Religion, primarily view life after death as a punishment or a reward, making their followers cringe in fear or want in expectation. Religion, then becomes a ruthless dictator of dreams or nightmares.

For the modern Hindu, hell and heaven are plain hogwash and senseless dogma. But if you care to go a bit deeper into it's esoteric philosophy, it sheds a new light on what modern scientists are beginning to discover. Recent scientific studies have convinced modern physicists of parallel universes and co-existence of multiple realities, in the same space and time dimensions. It is although a matter of much debate and counter-arguments, nevertheless modern science is opening up to the fact of afterlife, that ancient Indian scientist-philosophers had already researched and documented in their various masterly treatises.

At a much deeper level of understanding, Hindu scriptures do not conclude with the description of just one hell and one heaven. They believe in multiple heavens or worlds of light and hells or worlds of darkness, stretching across the vast spaces of the manifest universe. According to Hindu cosmology, creation is an endless phenomenon and as mysterious as the the mystery of the Divinity itself. It says, the universe consists of multiple worlds, layers and planes of existence, some known and many unknown, some within the field of awareness and sensory knowledge and some much beyond. These worlds are inhabited and controlled by different powers, beings, objects, energies, deities and mysterious events. 

It is very interesting that today's scientists are also talking about similar concepts in a more scientific and organized way trying to explain the mysteries of life and death. This is very much akin to the vision of a  spectacular kind, which the ancient Indian seers saw, that does not preclude the possibility of either evolution or theories of quantum physics, mathematical  or particle basis of the origin of the universe or relativity. 

In Hinduism, we also encounter another argument concerning the possibilities of life after death. According to this, the body is made up of 5 elements, known as pancha mahabhutas. These are earth, fire, air, water and ether or space. After the death of a person, elements of the gross body merges into the the gross elements of the earth, which are basically earth, fire, air and water, while the subtle elements such as mind, intellect, and consciousness go to the ethereal worlds along with the soul. After exhausting karma in each of these planes and shedding the respective bodies there, the soul returns again to earth with a few memories of the individual soul to undergo further evolution. 

On the individual plane, Hindu scriptures identify the heaven and hell in the precincts of the human body also. The heaven is the pleasure principle in our consciousness and it's created by the movement of the senses. Hell is the pain principle, created by evil thoughts and desires and the suffering we undergo due to our misdeeds. Beyond these two, are the world of dreams, the world of deep sleep and the transcendental world of bliss.

Thus we can see Hindu cosmology offers a very complex structure of the universe, in which heaven and hell are just two worlds, which are not necessarily the only places to which human beings go after death. Heavenly existence is not permanent, so also the existence in hell. It is the individual karma which is the ultimate deciding factor. And it is through karma a person moves in the labyrinth of worlds, till he or she is permanently released  into the highest state of existence - Nirvana, Moksha or Deliverance. 

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.

The Lost Years Of Jesus

Dear One,

A long time ago, I stumbled upon a strange old book, that managed to arrest my immediate attention and curiosity. It was rotting in a heap of other decrepit books waiting for similar salvation. I moved in for a closer look at this dusty and tattered volume, whose first few pages were completely destroyed by the unforgiving clutches of time. Rightly said, time destroys everything in it's way - good or bad alike.

Opening what was left of the queer book, I gleaned onto it's contents wearily. The rear page was hardly  legible with yellow stains of decay. I gently dust the ancient residue with my bare hands, hoping to catch a fleeting glimpse of the author's words, peering at me invitingly. The book itself was in a state of abject despair, and to read it further was like pushing it's luck to the extreme.

I am a student of ancient literature and it never fails to fascinate me to pick up an old book, run my fingers across it's bruised pages and re-live it's magic anew. As I began to scan the near faded words, a thrill of awe and excitement ran down my spine over what I saw. I paid the bookseller in full without haggling further, as the price for such an invaluable book was nothing more than a pittance. I reverentially took the book and rushed home to immerse myself in it's hidden mysteries, waiting to be retold, probably for one last time.

The name of the book was, "The Unknown Life Of Christ" authored by a traveling Russian Doctor - Nicolas Notovich.  It was an old publication, probably published in the 1800's, and it had caused an instant uproar and controversies galore, among the devout as it came in to print even then. The prologue of the book itself was enough to prove it's controversial volatility and content. It read -

- Ancient scrolls reveal that Jesus spent seventeen years in India and Tibet
- From age thirteen to age twenty-nine, he was both a student and teacher of Buddhist and Hindu holy men
- The story of his journey from Jerusalem to Benares was recorded by Brahman historians
- Today they still know him and love him as St. Issa. Their 'Buddha'

I personally admire Jesus - The man and his Mission, as much as I admire Lord Ram or Gautama - The Buddha. As a student of liberal spirituality and religion, I love to explore various religious texts and literature without any inherent prejudice or malice. My sole aim is to understand and decipher, the role of history and circumstance in transforming the lives of ordinary men and women, catapulting them to soaring heights of power and influence; capable of impacting the very foundations of human civilization and thought.

I knew the story and the message of The Bible, and I was also aware of the quaint legend of Christ's mysterious disappearance at the age of 13, only to reappear miraculously in Jerusalem, later in his 29th year as a worthy spiritual leader and The Messiah. What transpired in between those years remain a holy mystery, and modern day followers of Christ over rule or side step it as unimportant figment of worthless history or imagination.

However, this book reiterates with tangible proofs and hard facts, the arduous journey Christ undertook in search of true wisdom. His search for knowledge, it ruefully claims, led him to the land of spirituality - India.

India at the time of Christ, was a Mecca for spiritual studies. Formidable stalwarts and sages mingled together to create a byzantine civilization of advanced technology and infra-structure. It was also the land of Master Yogis - The super human scientists of the inner realms, and Christ very well knew that the answers to all his questions, lay with them to be re-discovered. 

An ancient Indian text, Bhavishya Mahapuran, records an encounter between King Shalivahana and one St.Issa, at the foothills of Srinagar, Kashmir. It also follows in detail, the spiritual journey undertaken by The Christ himself, under the able tutelage of several Buddhist and Hindu Yogis, gradually transforming Himself into a spiritual dynamo, fit to carry the message of love and peace to distant lands.

In modern day Ladhak, there is an ancient monastery which houses the records of a man who was known as Issa, and his spiritual exploits undertaken to help ease the burden of the locals. It records many miracles Jesus performed on the plains of this arid land, making way for him as a future Messiah. Hence we know him in India as 'Issamassih' or Issa - The Messiah.

In the later years of Christ and his ministry, his teachings bear an uncanny coherence to the teachings of the ancient masters of the East. Many are also the similarities between the ritualistic practices of Hinduism and Christianity, striking a loving yet distant chord between the two. Many worshipful practices of Catholicism and  Hinduism, I dare say, are like two sides of the same coin; divided by modern day prejudices.

I do wish to believe that Christ, once lived in India, the holy land of the blessed and the best, but this is a controversial thought to support; as these days God and His messengers, have become a copy-righted propriety material for the over-zealous followers of the faith. They fight over the Man and the Way, only to forget all about his pristine life and teachings to follow. 

Christ for me, is the epitome of a man, who had the courage and wisdom, to identify himself fully with His Creator - His Father; Our Father. The so called "believers of faith", can very well question the credibility of Christ's unknown connection with this holy land and can fight their wits to prove it otherwise; however one thing stands out clear and straight for anyone to refute - Christ or Krishna belongs to all humankind, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. They are Universal Messengers of peace and love; hence they cannot be slotted by any human standards, filled with hypocrisy and deceit. They rightly belong to me, as much as the sun or the moon belongs to you or anyone else.

The one who understands this is wise, the rest otherwise.

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.

P.S - By the way, it's been long since I have donated this book to a worthy library for due preservation and upkeep. It rests there in peace, hoping to find it's final deliverance, in the hands of the worthy.

Legends Who Shaped My Life - Swami Vivekananda

Dear One,

"Arise! Awake! Stop not till the goal is reached."

Thus roared Swami Vivekananda, proclaiming aloud the message of the Upanishads. Vivekananda, brings a lot of fond memories of my eventful childhood. As a cent percent diffident child of circumstance, I turned to Vivekananda for inspiration and he did complete justice nonetheless. Vivekananda was my childhood hero, I clearly remember. When my friends were in awe of Superman and Bahadur, I dreamt of becoming a Vivekananda - The True son of the Indian soil.

The life of Vivekananda was filled with catastrophic upheavals and turmoils. From being born in an aristocratic family, to being reduced to a life of a pauper makes the reader wonder and admire the mettle of the man. His famous teacher, Sri Ramkrishna Paramahansa, was said to have once quoted, 'If it wasn't for someone like Naren (His pre-monastic name), nobody else could take on the blows of destiny with a broad smile.'

Vivekanada was raw power personified. It is said, his spiritual aura was so palpable, that no one could come near him for a few meters. Yet, the man had a heart of gold. He used to weep when he saw his country men spending sleepless nights of hunger and abjection. He avowed he shall not rest in peace, till the last man in his country shall not be fed with a square meal. Many are the anecdotes of Vivekananda, that show the strength of his sterling character. I have reproduced a few for you to adjudge and be inspired by India's famous and legendary warrior monk as he was rightly called.


1. Once at Varanasi, as Swamiji was coming out of the temple of Mother Durga, he was surrounded by a large number of chattering monkeys. They seemed to  be threatening him. Swamiji did not want them to catch hold of him, so he started to run away. But the monkeys chased him. An old sannyasin was there, watching those monkeys. He called out to Swamiji, 'Stop! Face the brutes!' Swamiji stopped. He turned round and faced the monkeys. At once, they ran away. Many years later, Swamiji said: 'If you ever feel afraid of anything, always turn around and face it. Never think of running away.' 


2. In America, Swamiji was watching some boys. They were standing on the bridge trying to shoot at egg-shells that  were floating on the river, but they always missed the target. Swamiji took the gun and aimed at the shells. He fired twelve times and every time he hit an egg-shell. The boys asked Swamiji: 'Well Mister, how did you do it?' Swamiji said ' Whatever you are doing, put your whole mind on it. If you are shooting, your mind should be only on the target. Then you will never miss. If you are learning your lessons, think only of the lesson. In my country boys are taught to do this.' 


3. Swamiji became well-known in America. Once he was given a rousing reception at a railway station as he got down from the train. A Negro porter went forward to shake hands with him saying: `Congratualations! I am extremly delighted that a man of my race has attained such great honour! The entire Negro community in this country feels proud of you!' Swamiji eagerly shook hands with the porter and said warmly, `Thank you, brother!' He refused to deny he was a Negro. 


Swamiji was insulted, humiliated and refused entry into many hotels in the South an suspicion that he was a Negro. But he never protested or explained that he was an Indian. A Western disciple once asked him why he did not tell them he was from India in such situations. `What!', Swamiji replied, `Rise at the expense of another! I did not come to earth for that!'

Today, as the man I stand in front of you, is mainly due to the influence of Vivekananda and his powerful message. The skeptic who became a disciple and later a monk, only to make the whole world tremble in awe under his gigantic spiritual persona. To him I pay my humble tribute and gratitude - Swami Vivekanda, The Warrior Monk of India.

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.

The Magic Of Tarot

Dear One,

Since childhood, I was drawn to the mystical realms of the unknown, like an iron to a magnet. The sheer fascination for the occult sciences led to many magical adventures along the way. Over the years, I have observed and learnt many new facets of human ingenuity and depth. The occult is not a taboo, as some of us believe; but it is just a covered truth. Once uncovered, it will shine in it's fullest glory, making you one of it's treasured patrons. Till then, it's best not to pass any judgement, lest it is misunderstood and vilified.

One such highly misunderstood art form is the Tarot (It's pronounced Taa-ro). It's origin is shrouded in obscurity and mystery, some claiming, it was a form of divination that existed in the early Egyptian civilization, and made famous by the wandering gypsies of yore. The word Tarot itself, some say, is an anagram of sorts, which holds the key to the mystery of the cards. No historic evidence supports all the claims nor there are any conclusive facts to prove otherwise.

You are free to think, that such kind of trickery or mind-washing was just to fool innocent people and make them emotionally dependent slaves. It was rampant in the middle ages, where select men and women, had a powerful sway over the general public, by their extra-ordinary abilities to predict the future and all things mundane. They were known as Soothsayers. Later, after the advent of organized religions such as Christianity and Buddhism, they were branded as practitioners of the black art, and ostracized as pagan or devil worshippers - Hence the term Dark Ages.

Humans throughout history, have been afraid and insecure about their own faith. Religion and their representatives, played catalysts to make it even worse. If they saw any other religion or belief's apart from their own, gaining ground, they immediately swung into action to pull it down (Refer to the famous witch hunts of Europe). They acted the part of moral police, promoting what they believed to be true and trouncing what they never understood. This is the insensitive frailty of us humans; we support blindly what we understand and openly criticize and censure what we don't. Does it mean, only what you understand (and believe) is true and the rest a fallacy or heresy?

Tarot, as some historians believe, was primarily a card game. Later down the ages, it became a symbol of revolt against organized orthodoxy, later transforming itself into encrypted messages for the devout. Now a days, it's used as a tool of divination, to foretell the past, present and future. There are thousands of Tarot readers in the market, trying to pass off as genuine, with their own imagination and interpretation of this ancient card mystery.

The ancients too had their own quirks and fantasies. True knowledge is that which endures the test of time. Time is the greatest misinterpreter. It spares no one. Look at Krishna or Jesus or The Buddha. Every one of them have been misinterpreted and quoted according to individual ramifications. The teachings of the bygone sages and saints were simple and straight, but their blessed followers twisted it to make it more dramatic and palatable over time, for us now to accept it as miraculous and divine.

Tarot, in it's purest form is yet unknown. Was it a card game or a tool for divination is open for speculation. Never the less, it has a vibrant history waiting to be re-discovered. History is a mystery, for those who don't want to understand. It is also a mixture of facts and fiction. Open your mind and decipher the facts from fiction; it will uncover itself through the light of new human awareness. By studying ancient history, one can prepare and alter the course of a new future.

Take up the study of history; and I am sure you will stumble upon some unknown facts that can forever change the way you think and see. (And the world, if lucky)

Peace in oneself. Peace in the world.

P.S - I have kept this post open. I am presently studying the history and the mysteries of Tarot. Once done satisfactorily, I shall write on it further. Till then, don't misinterpret, just let it be.