Is it only the Government to blame for attacks?

The plight of a common man

Scene 1

There is a bomb blast in Pune. We are sipping tea next morning, watching the TV, blaming the Government for security lapses, blaming the terrorists for such attacks, getting sad for the people who lost their lives and families who lost their own.

But the point remains, aren't we as an alert citizen of the country can contribute to avoid such terror attacks. Is it only the Government or terrorists to be blamed, not us.

I remember some media people blurbing over the TV, that such attacks are planned not overnight, but over a period of time. Then is it only the responsibility of the Government to keep a track on such suspected activities and suspects.

Isn't it our own duty to at least know about our neighbours, be familiar with them. These terrorists live in our own vicinity with us, plan the attacks implement it and evade. We don't even sense their existence, because we hardly care.

If every one is at least knowing their next door neighbours, will not it at least create a panic and fear of plan leakage among these terrorists. It certainly will. But the point remains who care, let just sip tea, discuss and forget till the next time someone of our own is a victim of it.

I urge the citizen of India to wake up and contribute as an individual. This certainly will bring out a lot of difference.

Soul, God or Karma?

Souls don not exist..I say souls do not exist

Start with a bacterium. Does it have a soul and does it get an afterlife? A bacterium is a cell membrane filled with a variety of molecules. These molecules react together in different ways to create what we call life. Although all of these molecules are reacting in fascinating, interlocking ways, they are still nothing more than chemicals reacting. The "miracle of life" is no miracle -- it is a big chemical reaction. When those reactions stop, the cell is dead.

When the bacterium dies, does it get an afterlife?

There are not many people who believe that bacteria go to heaven. The holy books do not talk about heaven being filled with all the disease, putrefaction and pestilence that bacteria cause. And what, exactly, would go to heaven? Do all of the bacterium's molecules get transported to another dimension so that they can keep reacting? If that were happening, there would be thousands of tons of chemicals leaving earth every day. Clearly there is no afterlife for bacteria cells.

What about mosquitoes? A mosquito is much more complex than a bacterium cell. For one thing, a mosquito is a multi-cellular insect with amazing capabilities. But if you look at each cell in a mosquito, it is very much like a bacterium in its basic functioning.

Do mosquitoes get an afterlife? Clearly not. Think of how many mosquitoes have lived and died over the course of millions of years. No one imagines heaven being full of septillions of everlasting mosquitoes. There is also the problem that we saw with bacteria -- the only way for a mosquito to go to heaven would be to somehow transport all the chemicals in a mosquito from earth to heaven.

What about mice? They are no different from mosquitoes. Mice are multicellular organisms, but each cell is a little chemical factory very much like a bacterium. Dogs? Ditto. Chimps? Ditto.

So what about humans?

The human body is nothing but a set of chemical reactions. The chemical reactions powering a human life are no different from the reactions powering the life of a bacterium, a mosquito, a mouse, a dog or a chimp. When a human being dies, the chemical reactions stop. There is no "soul" mixed in with the chemicals, just like there is no soul in a bacterium, a mosquito, a mouse, a dog or a chimp. Why would there be an afterlife for the chemicals that make up a human body?

The whole notion of your "soul" is completely imaginary. The concept of a "soul" has been invented by religion because many people have trouble facing their own mortality. It makes people feel better, but the concept is a complete fabrication.

It is when you think about the chemical reactions powering your life and your brain that you realize how completely imaginary your "soul" truly is. And at that point, everything about religion comes unraveled.

Think back to when you were a kid and you realized that Santa was imaginary. As soon as you knew it, it was obvious. Reindeer cannot fly. A man cannot slide down chimneys. There is no way for one little sleigh to carry all the toys for all the kids in the world. Etc. It is obvious that Santa is make believe.

In the same way, it is obvious that human beings are big, walking chemical reactions . "Soul" is make believe just like Santa. When the chemical reactions cease, you die. That is the end of it.

Love Poems

**Without You**
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My days are long, my nights are cold
Without you here for me to hold.

The moment we kissed, I knew it was right
To love you & want you with all of my might.

The hopes that we shared, the dreams that we dreamt
Then you turned around & said nothing was meant.

The memories we've got, the joy & the pain
Are finished, forgotten - you wont try again.

You said that you care, that's no longer enough
So you just up and leave - the man that I love.

You want to be free, to chat up the girls
The tall ones, the short ones, with straight hair or curls.

You never told me these things you were feeling
You've broken my heart & I cant see it healing.

I hope that you're happy in all that you do
That my pain & my hurt YOU never go through.

You weren't just my lover but my best friend as well.
I gave you my all when in love I fell.

If I meet someone else, and I'm not sure I will
This hole in my heart he never can fill.

With you all my dreams looked like coming true
You've robbed me of those, what can I now do?

You said that you loved me, that we should get wed.
We then bought a house, new kitchen & bed!

But now its all over, you want me no more
Swept out of your life like the dust on the floor.

If you want to re-live the great times we had
Just give me a ring, I'll be only too glad

**Game I Play**
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Let me tell you about a game I play
Where I close my eyes and fade away

I float away to a special place
Beyond the stars and moon and space

In this special place you see
There are only two people - just you and me

In this place, all is right
Nothing but love, and we never fight

In this place, there is no sadness
No cells, no courts, none of that madness

No rules to follow, no laws to break
No bars to hold us or separate

No one to tell us we can't kiss or touch
I don't just tell you "I love you" - I show you how much

But eventually the game must end
My eyes must open, and reality sets in

But someday soon - I'm not sure when
I will close my eyes and play my game again

**Lost Dream**
----------------------------
You looked into my heart and found my lost dream,
A very common one I guess it may seem.
No one else like you in my heart is the same,
Cuz I've really changed since in my life you came.
You told me that my fait rests in my hands,
To make life as best I can.
You took my hand and out of the shadows we ran.
With my back to the dark and my heart towards the light,
You told me to do what I thought was right.
Even though you promised that you'd always stay,
No matter how close you are it feels as though you're miles away.
Now as I look back at the past,
I realize that time moves by way too fast.
The memory of our friendship I hold near,
How I wish you could still be here,
For you know me better than I know myself,
only you have ever seen me cry.
But now when I talk you just hear but don't listen to what I have to say,
You just pull your heart away.
So not even to my self do I want to confess,
That as time goes by I don't seem to like you less

**Pain Pain Go Away**
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Pain pain go away!
Please do not come back another day.
Tears falling down my face
oh how I wish for his warm embrace.
Wonder if he cares about me.
Wonder if this is suppose to be.
How can he stand there and break my heart
How did we allow us to grow so far apart?
My dreams of us being happy is not going to come true
all I am feeling is down and blue.
Pain pain go away
bring me back to another day
where he loved me and
we thought we were meant to be.
I will not stop loving you that much is true
but I will be stronger in time
and not feel so blue.
you will always be in my heart
even when we are apart.
One day I will have that warm embrace
and tears will stop flowing down my face.
Pain pain go away
leave me alone and do not stay.

**Missing You**
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My heart aches within from missing you,
My lips long for the feel of missing you,
Right now all I need is to gently touch your skin,
To look into your eyes and see deep within,
Just one warm embrace,
Just to look upon your face,
Just one little touch,
From the one I love so much,
If I could gaze upon your smile,
For just a little while,
To know that you miss me too,
As I'm thinking of you,
To hear the sound of you breathe,
Knowing you'll never leave,
To see you walk up to me,
Then embrace you tenderly,
To just be with the one who's sent my heart feeling,
And brought about this downpour of emotion and feeling,
I sit here alone in my office tonight,
And pray that somehow this all turns out right,
I've never been one to do more talking than giving,
I'm not well off but I work hard for a living,
I've told you many thoughts that weren't borrowed or bought,
And in lifetime, who would have thought,
That I have found someone who was just meant for me,
I can't explain the magic or why this should be,
But there is one thing that I know for certain
That this just isn’t over till one of us draws the final curtain,
For I've seen an angel and I want you to know
If it's my choice to make, I'm never let you go,
Don't know what life holds, maybe there's no reason or rhyme,
To think you may be mine in a matter of time,
And though I cannot touch you and we are now apart,
My Love, you do dwell, so deep within my heart.

What actually we live for?

More often the question crops up my mind, that what is the penultimate thing in life that everyone lives for.

Is it

1). The self illusion of being better than the rest

Most people i have come across in my life live for fulfilling and thereby enhancing their self illusion that they are the best, in whatever sense anyone can think of.

They eat, drink, sleep and talk with that illusion in mind only, as if there is nothing more in this world except the expectation of listening to their own praise through people.

2). The strong desire to have a companionship in life

Some people though they are very few, actually live in hope of finding a perfect companion with whom their life could be journey worth traveling. But in pursuit of that, they forget making friends with whom your journey till finding that illusive companion can be precious and something to cherish about.

3). To work only towards achieving such a big happiness that everyone should be envious f

In pursuit of searching for a bigger happiness, we often tend to ignore the millions of small instances which we can treasure throughout our life.

Infact, there is no perfect or big happiness. Its actually a cumulative outcome of those smaller instances only, which we often ignore.

The war within

I have seen myself evolving from being a school kid (who used to go to the primary school with a sack in hand, so that I could sit on it) to a research professional who find it very hard to even take a bus/auto for commuting. Its a long journey and complete transforming in my life.

But sometimes, I do think that is it what I always wanted, or have I missed something in pursuit of a good living standard and career growth hunger.

The answer I always find is that I am not exactly what I was some 10-15 years back. I still remember the times of my childhood.

Almost the entire town was knowing me. But when I look back at my posh flat today, hardly even my next door neighbour knows even my name.

We used to crib about the habit of people poking their noses into others personal affairs. But when I come back home fully drunk from a elite office party, I wish those people should have been here cribbing about these habits.

We used to climb the stairs and get on the roof just to have a glance at the so called good looking girl of our colony. It was totally a silent talk through our eyes. We hardly used to talk each other, and left our visual touch thereafter. But today when I see girls ready to give all what they have just for the sake of either some fun or money, I feel those times were better.

I am myself getting more and more deeper into this dirty, but so called fancy and high standard metro culture I am trying to adjust into right now.

Hope someday, I find a courage to come out of this illusion, and try getting back those old moments again.

Kunal Bhardwaj