September 01, 2004

"The world's on fire and it's more than I can handle..."

The above lyrics are from Sarah McLachlan's latest song 'World on Fire'. I have it up as my nickname on Msn messenger and last night before I fell asleep, I realized how apt the nickname was for today's times. Current events have left me feeling angry, scared and disheartened. Not to say that tragedy hasn't occured many a time before - but something about these horrible acts happening in the span of a couple of days has left me with a lot of questions. The events I'm talking about? - the bus blast in Israel, the Russian airline crashes, the bombing of a Moscow subway, the killing of 12 Nepali hostages in Iraq and now the hostage situation in Russia. One after the other, the world has become a very scary place. Thoughts race through my head and I have a heated discussion with my sister-in-law trying to see if we can put some sense into such senseless acts. We try to find a solid explanation, anything that will help us accept these crimes, but to no avail. I wonder what life is all about. Am I actually doing anything worthwhile? What kind of a person am I? Who am I? How does this grand scheme work? Who can I trust? Is it worth having any kids in this world and being unsure every step of the way about their safety? What can one be sure of anyway? (And please don't tell me change is what we can be sure of, I know that!) Is there a point to all these questions, am I going to get any concrete answers? I have gone through or rather have been going through the process of trying to figure out who I am - what I stand for, what I believe in, what I wish to be known for, etc. And I'm certain many others have gone through such a stage before me and many others will follow with similar questions. I always use to scorn when my dad would say 'It's the Kaliyuga', but now I'm considering that it is the Kaliyuga - when the world as we know it doesn't make sense anymore. Are these just the ramblings of someone who's panicking about the state of affairs that she sees around her? Will anything come from this - I hope so, in the positive sense. But with the death and destructions that one hears, sees and feels around oneself, it's hard to feel optimistic often or have the idealistic vision that I once used to possess. Although part of me fiercely wants to hold onto to the idealism, most of me is trying to accept the reality that is. Does anyone have any thoughts or answers? In the end, I leave you with the lyrics of a song that really hit home when I first heard it. It has been sung by the Black Eyed Peas and carries a powerful message about the world today - 'Where is the Love?'.

What's wrong with the world, mama
People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above'
Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love

It just ain't the same, always unchanged
New days are strange, is the world insaneIf love and peace is so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations droppin' bombs
Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young
So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin'
in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love
The love, the love

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin'
Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead in spreading love we spreading animosity
Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under
Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found

Now ask yourself
Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?
Where is the love?

People killin', people dyin'
Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach
And would you turn the other cheek

Father, Father, Father help us
Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin'
Where is the love (Love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)

Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)
Where is the love (The love)"

10 comments:

Vee said...

Jayashree, thanks a lot. You've made my day... actually truth-be-told, since I take many things to heart, I'm sure this comment of yours will keep making my day whenever I despair. :) - V

odysseus said...
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Vee said...
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odysseus said...

In the first place, its warming to see that there are still ppl left, who are worried about the world. :)
no am not joking.

the world is nothing but a stage for all living things.
but the director, staging the various plays, call him GOD, has his own ways and reasons for conducting certain acts.

>>I wonder what life is all about. Am I actually doing
>>anything worthwhile?

IMHO, We are mere puppets! Left on our own to find the ways in our life - the temporary period we get to be on stage.

"Doing anything worthwhile" - is related to individual perspectives and interpretations. If performing a certain act provides a sense of satisfaction and well being and of having done something beneficial to others - it is worthwhile.

Well, i'd prefer not to elaborate more, as the realizations increase, the tendency to elaborate, explain and the quest for more, decreases.

The Quest is scientific, the realizations are mystical.

>>What kind of a person am I? Who am I?
Self realization, is a very elusive topic - its kinda recursive too! think about it!

Me = My Mind+Heart!

My Mind poses this question - Who am I? its upto the mind to accept / deny any kind of explanation on this.
and why would the mind accept / deny? who / what does it take to validate a thought into a belief that could satisfy the mind?
perhaps the mind has a mind of its own!!!

The point here is, mind itself is chaotic.
when and where the mind reaches its stillness, calm and finds its peace - finding an order in chaos - answers for many questions would fall in place.

Realizations are one of the factors that would help the mind reach its stillness.

The Acts of violence at Beslen are part of this unknown play, but something that unwraps itself progressively like any other incidents / happenings in our lives.

The emotionally human part of us, on the grounds of love, symphathizes and emphathizes for the people involved, for the tragedy - thus evoking a range of other complex emotions - ultimately leading to the outburst as seen.
Different States of Mind at play.

We, i believe, have been provided with just the might to play our parts - roles and responsibilities kinda imprinted in our genes - with due power / authority and responsibilities or the ability to find and define our our limits during our lives.

Our Mind, the Genes, Our Realization levels trigger / guide our actions - actions which might be like
... assuming new responsibilities / roles as we shape up,
... raising ourselves to higher echelons of life / career
... playing the roles we see ourselves in
etc.

If that might have been possible for a single person to
stop the happenings of Beslen and likes, well, it would have happened so.

To Cut Short,
.... The Stage is chaotic, perhas planned so
.... The Plays are a mix of good, bad and ugly
.... There are Spectators and there are Players
.... At a given point of time, one can either be a spectator or a player - as it is destined
.... if i were a player, i wouldn't be discussing this here perhaps
.... as a spectator and one trying to analyse this stage and its plays, first thing that would help me is to know my mind
.... knowing my mind, with the help of various factors, would lead me to a result in my quest - in some mysterious way or other
.... Ultimately,
The Stage is chaotic - our mind too is chaotic.
There is an inherent link, deep down somewhere
between the Stage, the Plays and Our Minds.

I Doubt, if this link could be seperated to be analysed and understood at all!

If the mind can find its calm, the realization of this link - perhaps that would be "Peace".

The Key Element for all this is the MIND...
and the various states of the MIND ... :)

Hence, as theadore roosevelt said,

" ..... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. "

IF YOU "REALIZE" SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE, TO MAKE THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE, VERY STRONGLY, A VOICE FROM THE DEPTHS OF YOUR HEART,
DON'T THINK - DON'T ANALYSE - JUST DO IT -
HOWEVER SMALL, HOWEVER INSIGNIFICANT.

To Summarize...
-----------------------------------------------
KARMANYE VADHIKARASTE MA PHALESHU KADACHANA
MA KARMAPHALA HETURBHURMATEY SANGOSTVA AKARMANI
Do your duty and be detached from its outcome,
do not be driven by the end product,
enjoy the process of getting there.
- 2:47 SRIMAD BHAGVAD GITA
-----------------------------------------------
Its quite applicable in all the walks of life... :)

Pixie La Roo said...

I'm not going to say anything different than the others. Your post brings to mind a scene from Anbe Sivam where Madhavan is a self absorbed yuppie and Kamal is the underdog out to make the world better.
Kamal convinces Maddy to give his blood and save a young boy's life who later dies of complications. At this, Madhavan cries out that God isn't fair and that there is no God in this world.
Kamal tells Maddy that 'a heart that cries for a little boy whom he's never met is God'.

You have a good heart. I'd say that you're a huge throbbing heart. :)

I think I've told you this before. You're one of those, I've always looked upto you as someone who I'd like to be because of the way you envelope your goodness all around you. You spread the warmth around with your compassion. You're doing more than you know by being you.