Atheist or otherwise – by fault or default?

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Atheism, dharma, God, religion, spirituality

Can atheists & non-athists coexist peacefully? Yup, I sure think so. That’s b’cos both reside within me!!

My father believed in God. My mother doesn’t.

This simple fact gave me the best gift – that of Personal Choice!

If both parents were believers, I’d have been unwittingly (and witlessly) built along similar lines. If both parents were atheists, I’d have been poured into a similar mould.

Now I’m free to think, judge, evaluate, transform, debate, expand horizons and explore. Have I reached a decision? Cant say. I’m still open to revelations.

All I can say at present is :

Varna is not equal to Caste
Ritual is not equal to Religion
Religion is not equal to Dharma

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Book review – Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss

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Bhagavad Gita, book review, hypnotherapy, immortal soul, near death, past lives, reincarnation, sankhya yoga, spirituality

Twitter review – With great expectations comes great disappointment.

First things first – the book is already a blockbuster seller. That relieves me from the sin of jeopardizing a newbie author. It also means the author can pull a Rhett Butler snarl upon my opinions.

So why am I reviewing it? B’cos a blog post is long overdue in my schedule 🙂

Premise– A blonde laboratory technician cum swimwear model Catherine (ahem!) is depressed. She is plagued by childhood demons, ongoing nightmares and an abusive married boyfriend. She turns up for hypnotherapy at Dr Weiss’s clinic and discovers a chain of prior births.

Catherine taps into 86 prior births in lurid detail, speaks foreign languages fluently for brief spans, finds past relatives reborn as current colleagues and generally re-falls in love with life instead of nitpicking over its brief grief.

The novelty of the first 20 pages wanes rapidly as the process gets repetitive. Dr Weiss demonstrates more hand clapping and chest thumping than a sombre scientific approach.

To an Indian bred on the ‘immortal soul, mortal body‘ principle of Sankhya yoga (Bhagavad Gita), reincarnation concept is not a novelty. I was eager for the

Sparrows & squirrels: peaceful coexistence

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empty nest syndrome, peace, pets, soothing, sparrows, spirituality, squirrel, stress buster

This is the live streaming video I see everyday out of my balcony. Stress buster, soul soother, peace of mind bought at the price of a few Kang seeds.

The first guest to arrive is invariably Mr. Squirrel.

Atheism to theism – via a man and a meal.

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Arjun Related posts, arjuna, Atheism, bhagvada, Bhagwad Gita, faith, God, ISKON, Krishn, Krishna, Mahabharata, maximum comments, religion, spirituality, temple

Born to a theist Papa and an atheist Mom, I had the luxury of choice. I chose to be an atheist.

Being  a science student automatically made me lean heavily towards ‘proof and results’. Temples contributed liberally to my disgust of theism. Think impatient Pujaris  (We are the proprietary middle-men to Heaven.) Think lecherous peddlers (A hundred rupees note will get you instant darshan, Madam!) Think repugnant God-men (I distinctly remember meeting one with red eyes, grey beard and saffron robes. When I and my brother refused to genuflect, his eyes darkened in incredulous rage. P.S: The only en’light’ment he saw must be at the end of his ganja–chillum!)

Meanwhile a wily God with a zany sense of humor decided to ensnare me with two most unlikely baits. A man and a meal…

God’s Jigsaw Puzzle

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Atheism, blessing., faith, God, Gratitude, Jigsaw, Life, miracle, Mom, Mumbai bomb blasts, Savior, spirituality

Circa 1993 . H.S.C exams. Biology, my favorite paper. Every answer on my fingertip; and from there fluidly onto the answer paper. The giddy bubbly feeling when everything is sailing smooth. Life is perfect!

My answers fill Main plus 3 extra sheets. I crosscheck my roll number and hand over the paper bang on time. I stroll out with a silly smug smile hovering over my lips.  As I collect my bag, Disaster strikes! I have forgotten