Where did humans come from?

On a Friday afternoon, as I was having lunch with a work colleague, a casual chat about culture turned into an extremely stimulating discussion on religion and origin of humans. My colleague, who has been a non-practicing Muslim for many years, articulated his human behavior analogy in such a philosophical manner that I was convinced humans are a dangerous group of species and our creator didn’t care for us anymore. His theory was neither influenced by any spiritual teachings nor any religious text. He was simply narrating his beliefs that came from his subconscious mind which had been searching for answers on our existence.

According to him, we were perhaps designed by unknown Martians or simply extraterrestrial creatures. If you believe in the concept of Adam and Eve, you are a direct result of a mistake/sin committed by Adam and Eve by eating the forbidden fruit. Had they not done that, we wouldn’t be here which means we are basically here by mistake. According to Science, we are descendants of apes which probably makes the most sense but did you ever think we could have been designed by scientifically advanced people from the outer space as a test which went wrong? This is because, as humans, we have no physical variations as opposed to 84 million other species that come in all forms of shapes, figures and sizes. Even dinosaurs who dominated earth for many years had variations – 3 legged, 4 legged, some had ability to fly and so much more. Same family birds, reptiles and mammals have so much variation in their appearance but humans have had the same structure ever since it all started. Those Martians perhaps came to experiment with a new breed, they created us and they realized they made a mistake because humans became dangerous the way they thought and acted. They left us and now from time to time they try to make contact without much success. As humans uncover the mysteries of this universe through advanced technologies, they are constantly getting closer to our creator. After all, people in olden times thought lightening in sky was a result of GOD’s anger but now we know it’s nothing but an electricity discharge.

 As my colleague and I discussed religion, which supposedly has all the answers, we concluded that it was an institute which was a band-aid solution. If a child suffers from a little burn on the hand, parents would simply tell them I told you not to do it but never give proper explanation. They wouldn’t tell the child that if your skin comes in contact with fire, it will destroy some cells which in return will cause pain. Religion acts in a similar way. Religion is a great source of spirituality and we must respect that. These mammoth and extravagant places of worship that generate millions in donations have been in existence for hundreds of years and they only reflect human idiocy. It’s a form or bribery which is not going to please our creator. Experiencing the energy that surrounds us is the way to move forward which is what our great messengers did. Science is helping us achieve a lot of things and we must carry on.

UPANISHADS – “Energy can neither be created, nor be destroyed”

NRI Patriotism

India celebrates her 64th year of Independence from British Raj today. In this day and age of social media, you see umpteenth videos being posted about glorious India and receive wishes for “Happy Independence Day” (or “Mera Bharat Mahaan) but as an Indian, living abroad, I am uncertain on how to react to these messages. I, for one, will soon lose my Indian citizenship in exchange for a more advantageous Canadian citizenship and secondly, I feel Patriotism has no value in this globalized world anymore.

Every year, millions of Indians living abroad, most of whom have already given up their Indian citizenship; celebrate August 15th by marching on the busy streets to mark yet another year of Indian independence. That celebration reflects the passion and sentiments NRIs carry for India but at the same time we don’t contribute in India’s growth (at least not the majority), we conveniently ridicule every scam in India, we mock India’s Legislative and Judicial system, we have no faith in India’s civil society functioning and most importantly, we propose solutions on improving the system but never take part in it. How do we then go out and audaciously swing the Indian flags on foreign streets to glorify the independence which, if at all did anything, perhaps provided us the opportunity to cross-over and look for a better lifestyle? If I can’t stay in that society and bring about a change, I have no right to comment on its shortcomings or feel part of its progress.

In a vast country like India where providing parity in any field is a challenge, you will find almost every other citizen wanting to leave its shores for better prospects elsewhere. With majority of the population categorized as backward classes, no one has any sense of belonging there. Rich send their kids to expensive universities abroad so they can live and settle down there and others are just looking at any other possible way to intersect to other side. Despite the tremendous economic growth in the country, if given the opportunity to settle down abroad, majority of the Indians would take that in a heartbeat. It’s not the problem of the people who wish to seek more comfortable life even if it means moving away from homeland. A secure and comfortable life is our right. Personally, I am first loyal to my loved ones and then to any other union, society or government. I definitely conform to certain laws manufactured by a society but I will never put a country over my family.

Culturally, we remain rooted to our background and family values but there’s no need to mix that with Patriotism, Nationalism or Jingoism. All these sentiments have no value if you are feeding off each other in this free market. My identity will always remain Indian despite living anywhere but it only means that I must take pride in the cultural values inculcated in me. I must resent and shun any discrimination against people of the Indian community but I shall also not get carried away by any patriotic emotion as it will only create division among people. I have utmost respect for all Indian freedom fighters because imperialism is a curse and they did exactly what was right for India. I just refuse to be a part of Indian movements mirroring nationalism on foreign lands where those acts have little or no significance to locals and majority of Indians.

Cricket – My Passion and Love... before I met my wife

The first cricket match I ever watched was between India and West Indies in 1991 that took place in Perth, Australia. I had just come back home with a friend after playing marbles (or maybe hide & seek) and my friend requested me to put cricket to check on scores. Prior to that moment; I had no interest in the game as I was just a 9 year old who preferred all the gully sports – lukka chhupi, marbles, cycling and just running around with friends for no reason. The match was delicately poised with WI needing 1 run to win with 1 wicket remaining. The next ball from Manoj Prabhakar got the edge of the bat and Azhar took this impossible catch to tie the match. That was my first ever exposure to a cricket match and how could I not become fan of this greatest sport ever. That moment changed my life forever.

My passion for the sport knew no bounds. Just like many other Indian kids, I played cricket on every damn place – inside the house, rooftops, middle of the street, empty home plots, closed factories, unkempt grounds and in front of the mirror admiring my shots. Not only did I break window glasses and lamps of neighbours’ houses, I broke so many things in my own house that I can’t even remember. My mother cringed and pleaded but I was not the one to be stopped. Cricket had gripped me completely. I turned out to be a decent player playing regularly for different gully teams and winning them matches with my quick bowling. My batting was laughable, just a notch above Courtney Walsh and Ashish Nehra, but I improved later on. With tennis ball cricket, I was ruthless. I once hit a hundred in 24 balls! I went on to play district cricket and played against Yuvraj, who now plays for India. I nurtured so many dreams of playing for India that I couldn’t sleep in the night before a morning match, I bunked school to watch matches, I sneaked out of school during recess to catch some cricket (only I know how I got back inside the school again),I skipped meals when India lost... the list goes on. Alas, all hopes were dashed when you find out how tough things can be so you eventually end up taking the easier route – Study in Canada.

Now I only watch cricket because I can’t find those 7 hours, I mean really, those 7 beautiful hours that you require completing a match. I blame it on Canada... Even if I had the 7 hours, I am sure it would either snow or rain in between...How cruel...

World Cup 2011 is just around the corner and I just can’t wait for it to begin. To all those critics of the game, who think it’s too long and confusing, I have to ask you this – how many other sports have three different formats where each format requires you to play differently with same rules? Even though a 50-over match is long but 99% of the time you will get a result unlike world’s most popular sport Soccer. Compare a tied soccer match to a tied match in cricket – the pleasure in cricket is beyond comprehension. Don’t even compare Cricket with Baseball. Not only is baseball the worst game ever invented where you can swing all you want but your bat won’t touch the ball, the game has 9 innings and the scorecard in the end still reads 1-0. What the hell does that mean? And what on this earth are sports like Curling, Luge track racing, Lacrosse... And Golf??? It’s a sport? Why do you want to spend all your day trying to put a tiny ball in a hole 18 times...

Okay, enough said now... I love Tennis too :) love watching and playing it...

2011 Cricket World Cup begins on February 19. If India wins, I will celebrate like crazy but if Canada wins at least one game, I will celebrate even more.

Are we all corrupt

Corruption – one word that is synonymous with current affairs these days. You would identify with the term even more if you are from subcontinent. Every day a new scam unveils its ugly surface only to be nipped in the bud later on. Corruption is quite rampant in developing countries as it exists at grass root levels. In developed countries, or so called first world, it mostly exists at a higher level. Numerous Ponzi schemes, BP gas leak, Wikileaks, Wars in Iraq & Afghanistan prove it. Are we all part of this? No matter what we protest against, the powerful and mightier always wins. How does one put an end to it? The ugly truth is – no one in this world is clean. We are all corrupt. We all stop at MONEY. Here’s my take on corruption.

We become corrupt the moment we are born. If corruption means bribing someone to get work done, then every child is corrupt. Try stopping a toddler from crying without giving him something in return. If toys are not provided, a child is not happy. As we grow older and start going to school, we want what other kids have. Do we not hate our fathers for refusing to provide us with what we want? Haven’t we all been there? If you get what you want suddenly love for your parents increases by many folds. We want favours in return of a good behaviour.

As we grow older, we start going out with friends and have relationships. How much do we spend on our bfs/gfs so they are pleased? A LOT. What’s that? Bribe? In a way it is, otherwise why would you spend even a penny on a stranger? Of course there’s human bonding but buying expensive gifts to please someone is nothing but bribery. It’s the purest form of corruption. If we don’t get that kind of attention from our partners we don’t like the relationship. There are exceptions but most of us succumb to the material way of taking a relationship forward.

Corruption is human nature. It’s a part of our lives and we don’t seem to understand it. Yes, we all want money in order to fulfill our needs but it doesn’t stop there. Once we get money, we want more. Bigger house, bigger car, bigger everything... How does it come? Trust me; it’s always at the expense of someone else. People living in west enjoy many luxuries because poor kids are employed in other countries to build products they desire. They don’t need to bribe someone because somebody above them has already bribed many. Why is there a need to outsource? In the name of trade, we say it helps both the countries but why does a task become menial in your country at the first place? We never want to keep others at same level as us. We want to be above others. They say China’s labour is cheap and that’s why we outsource. Why is it cheap? Because you made it through your corrupt policies!

Corruption is within us. We will exercise it whenever it is required.

Let’s end this with a Buddhist Quote I read recently – “All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?”

Food Supply

I recently read on an ad that we produce enough food to feed everyone on this planet and yet 1 out of every 7 people is malnourished. This means almost a billion people don’t have enough to eat every day. Now if there is enough food for everyone then where’s the food for these billion people going? Are some of us overeating? Or may be wasting? It has to be true because this morning I heard Ethiopia has asked for urgent food aid for almost 6 million people. According to UN even North Korea’s food situation is desperate as food aid is only reaching 1/3rd of the people. 20 million people need food aid in Africa due to poor rainfall. Food prices are also going up because of poor rain fall in Asian countries where much of the wheat and rice is grown.

Despite all the shortages and inflation, we here enjoy the luxury of sitting in a nice restaurant regularly devouring various cuisines from around the world, over stacking our fridges with food and throwing away food that is 1 day past its expiry or food that got spoilt because we just forgot to eat it. I don’t know if this lifestyle is right or wrong but morally it certainly sounds wrong. How can I now go to an Ethiopian restaurant to eat when I know people in Ethiopia are dying for that same food? If those same ingredients can be brought here so we can all enjoy that delicacy then why not in Ethiopia itself. If there is lack of food supply in a particular country then I am sure we have enough surpluses elsewhere to cover that shortage. That food doesn’t reach the needy because it’s kept in reserves so just in case there is drought or any other disasters, people of that country are saved. Drought may not happen but food remains in those warehouses. I am not saying countries don’t send food aid wherever required but there is obviously something wrong in the system that so many people go hungry every day.

I remember reading a book called “The Skeptical Environmentalist” written by a Danish author, Bjorn Lomborg. It came back in 2002 and took everyone by surprise with its audacious content. Hailed as a revolutionary book, it claimed we have enough resources in the world to feed more people than we currently have on daily basis. Many criticised for misinterpreting scientific data but then many were convinced. I support Lomborg because looking at western countries (and now even Asia) where obesity rate is all time high and where weight loss diets/plans are fast becoming billion dollar industries, certain portion of the population is more than just well fed.

.