Chanting to God

People I want to tell you all that since last September (2012), I have been chanting Hanuman Chalisa, Ganesh mantra, Gayatri Mantra, Durga mantra and Hare Rama Hare Krishna mantra.
Daily I have been chanting it twice once in morning and once in evening. At least that is how it got started.
When it started I also brought Jesus Christ photo from Infant Jesus shrine at Viveknagar.
Around sometime after that I also began to chant "La Illaha Ill-la-laha...". Earlier I used to keep the photo in front of me and pray and then bow down after the prayer. For sometime I used to pray for five times a day but the timings was not fixed and that was a mistake. Because if there is a God or Allah, he stays in pattern and rhythm. If one day we pray at 11 AM and another day at 9 AM, it would not work.
I agree with what I heard from Dr. Zakir Naik who said that is we have to pray as Muslim then we have to follow as the process prescribed in Quran. If for mobile or satellite nothing is mentioned then we can follow as per our wish. Anything which is not prescribed we can follow in the best possible way. But anything which is prescribed has to be done in the exact same way.
Thus I discontinued calling "La-illaha...". Then I thought about Jesus and Infant Jesus. Who were these two. One was Jesus in infant form and one was adult Jesus. Around January 2013, I discontinued praying to both the photos and returned the photos at Infant Jesus shrine. I also stopped praying to photo and just pray with mental concentration and there is chanting (aloud) as well.
Why? Because Jesus was crucified and when we pray to infant Jesus in fact we are praying to an infant who is going to get crucified with or without our knowing and in fact we know that Jesus gets crucified. Thus I felt guilty as if I am complicit in Jesus's execution. We can assume that in Heaven Jesus and Infant Jesus co-exist. But this is "Mrutyuloka" or Earth or World whatever we may call it.
Since January end I am only praying to Hindu Gods as I am Hindu and I violate no rule of any religion if I pray to my own Gods. Upto yesterday, I was "accumulating and praying". i.e. in case I miss to pray someday, I will accumulate the prayer and pray double the next day or the day after. But yesterday, I changed it. Now no more accumulation. I will pray once a day, i.e. I will chant once a day. If I miss in some day, it would lapse.
That is what is Hinduism. It is not that strict. In fact we can deny the existence of God or the deities and no one would say anything. But same is not the case in Islam or Christianity. We can also pray in whatever method we please. We may or may not visit to temples. There is no compulsion. We may bow down or not to God even after visiting the temple.
I must add that I was not a fan of chanting or praying and the like. But when I fluked in in my first attempt at SAP FI certification on August 31, 2012, I visited the Iskon Bangalore temple with my wife and mother-in-law and there I immediately fell in love with the chant "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" which was going on in background. It gave me inner peace and strength to deal with my failure and proceed in life and then I qualified SAP FI on October 17, 2012.
Also Lord Ganapathi is giver of success and so is Lord Hanuman.

Three more movies

Watched three more movies over the last week.
First one was "Luv Shuv tey Chicken Kurana"
Second movie was "Phas gaye Re Obama"
Third movie "Love you Mr. Kalakaar".
Thats it three movies watched.
Meanwhile day before yesterday night, I had trouble sleeping and woke up at 2 AM. Then I thought due to beard probably my sleep got disturbed and so I shaved my beard off.
Later on I regretted it as even after shaving I could not sleep but finally could manage to sleep for 1 hour from 5 AM to 6 AM. Here are before and after photos.

How did I end up in blogspot?

I will analyse how I ended in blogspot.
Basically man desire is to keep a log for himself. Long ago, when captains used to sail the oceans they used to keep logs. That journey could take months even years.
Log is kind of a diary. When we grow up to around 14 or 15 y.o we start keeping diary. I also kept a diary but there was a problem. Diary can be read. You keep it in cupboard. Someone has access to your cupboard and can read it. You keep it in schoolbag. Someone in school may read it in your absence.
Thus I got rid of the diary. Then it was after I moved into hostel. People may observe what you're doing and then may say that you are writing diary and you feel bad and then stop writing. That is what happened in my case. But then you need to maintain how much you're spending. For that expenses you may write in diary. You may not write stories or experiences but you have to write that I spent 50 rupees or 100 rupees. Bus tickets, lunch, cinema tickets etc. Then you may get casual and not maintain any expense report and then diary habit will fade away.
Then again you may relocate to another place and new requirement may force you to keep expense report (preferably in diary) again.
Then in addition to maintaining expenses you write your movements. Like when you caught train, etc. Then in my case I began to write what movie I watched. Basically it would be a kind of 'log book'. That was year 2005-06. Then I began blogspot (old). Later in the same year I joined Wipro my ex-company and then deleted the blogspot account. Subsequently, I opened orkut. Orkut was basically a 'social networking' site.
Also in my company, we had a forum called Channel-W. It was basically a PHPBB forum and people could remain anonymous. I used it till 2010 end when they replaced it with a new Channel-W.
In 2008, I deleted the orkut account. In 2009, I got an ex-Channel-Wite sending me friend request on facebook as well as linked in. My facebook account remained dormant / I hardly used it until I left my Wipro company on July 2011. I used it a lot for 1 year when I deleted it permanently on August 2012. Subsequently, twice I re-opened facebook and re-deleted the same.
Linkedin also remained dormant since I joined and now I have deleted it. Just like facebook, I have reopened and re-deleted it. It did not help me find a job and that was the reason.
Meanwhile when I was into ChannelW, in addition to engaging in good time fun with folks, I also used to post "Latest and Last movie watched" in respective thread (in Channel W). When I left Wipro, I also left Channel W and I lost all the posts.
In 2011 January onwards when Phpbb ChannelW got deleted, I used twitter to post the "Latest and Last movie watched". Difference between twitter and ChannelW is that Channel W can be accessed only by Wipro employees interested in the same whereas anyone in the world can access Anup Sabat on twitter (or at least they could while I was there/ in twitter).
But then in August 2012, when I deleted the facebook, I also deleted all my tweets and then my twitter account. Subsequently, I have re-opened twitter also twice and deleted it twice.
The day I deleted the twitter and facebook for the last time (it was May 2013), I re-opened blogspot.
Another reason for my opening of blogspot is that I went to a site called bestgore and there posted few comments. It goes through the wordpress account. But the real me is not the one in bestgore. The real me is out here and few sample which I want to make is there in blogspot.

Three more movies

I watched three more movies over last two days.
"Ek Thi Daayan". Very poor movie. People who watched it in theatres must have lost their bucks.
"Enemy at the Gates". Nice movie. Shows Battle of Stalingrad. To win a war what it takes it shows. Also, it shows that Nazi Germany was sure to get defeated as their adversary were persistent.
"Flight". Nice movie. I liked it. In very simple terms it shows the way a man will reclaim his life. Instead of letting the taint go to an airhostess he loved, the pilot takes the blame and gets back his family in the process. Basically it shows how human relationship is complex. Aashiqui 2 also shows that. Human relationship is complex. Basically we yearn for success and fame and money but when we have those all we want is peace of mind and to be happy and then we don't want what we wanted earlier. Our requirement changes.

Elevated Expressway on Hosur Road

Friends, I would like to comment that the elevated expressway built on Hosur Road is the worst thought one could have given to the urban planning process.
I am sick and tired of people praising in left right and center.
Okay, it may be helpful for the people who use it to go beyond those 10 kms which is its length. But for the people living or working below it, life is a living hell. That expressway shows what is basically wrong with the human race.
It is greed which inspired people to built it. Property rates for far flung areas like Attibele, Anekal, Sarjapur-Anekal Road, etc got a boost. It was the land mafia which decided it to be built. Also it became a paid road and that resulted in collection and collection to fill up the coffers.
Just look at the traffic jams at Bommanahalli, Parappana Agrahara and Konappa Agrahara i.e. Hosa Road junction and Electronics City Gate 1. It shows that the world was better off without such an elevated road. What is achieved from that could have got achieved with something lesser, five small flyovers or underpasses or a combination of those.
There are five signals after Silk Board:- Bommanahalli, Garbhevipalya, Kudlu Gate, Hosa Road, ECity 1 and Ecity 2. Presently there is no crossing at ECity2 and they built a small bridge to cross from one side to the next.
With Six underpasses or flyovers small ones the problems of traffic could have got solved. Instead our "great thinkers" went for a huge structure one for greed and envy.
The reasons for building such a big bridge and make 'hell on earth' can be outlined below:
1)They wanted a 'showcase for Bangalore' to be shown to foreigners who visit their city as to how their city is great. But fools they made a 'ruin of their city'
2)They wanted to do least interruption of traffic during construction. Flyover like this is usually readymade and is only 'fitted'. They copied Mysore Road and Muhammad Ali Road of Mumbai. But fools they ruined it as the flyover is here to stay permanently period.
3)They wanted to make it as "one project" and not six small projects. But what use is this if they spoil the beauty.
4)Land mafia wanted to boost prices for far flung areas.
5)Money collection from one flyover is possible. Money collection from 6 small flyovers/underpasses is just not practical.
6)They want people to be directed like hearded animals into a single direction. Six small bridges/underpasses may not achieve that objective and they may get scattered.
In short, I would say that Hosur Road flyover is one of the worst to happen to Bangalore. I wont say the same thing about flyovers at Mysore, Tumkur Road and upcoming near Hebbal.
That is one of the reason I left my earlier job.
My company folks posted me to Bommanahalli office and I could not bear being near that signal under the elevated highway for the rest of my life. At least that is what I thought. My company did not give time limit and I was supposed to stay there (assumed) till I die or resign or transfer. But in June 2011, when I was getting transferred, it would be at least three years if I ever get reassigned. I told them that "I am unwilling to continue for even a day if it was M4 office" (that is what they called the Bommanahalli office).
Now that the flyover is there nothing can be done near it. No underpass, no other flyover and no metro. They simply ruined it. Also, people you may notice no trees are visible for the entire stretch of 10kms plus. Once one leaves Koramanagala, there is absolute lack of trees of any kind. They should have made a tree planted highway sans elevation. No elevated highway but tree lined highway. They just ruined the world.

Two more movies

I have watched two more movies. Last Thursday watched "Bheja Fry". Highly recommended movie. I saw Bheja Fry 2 earlier as well. I can say that Part 2 was more "Hindi". Part 1 which I saw was a mix of Hindi and English speaking worlds of India. It was a nice movie. Wish they make more movies like that.
Next movie watched is today "Aashiqui 2". Too good movie. I liked it. Bombay remains a dream city and city of dreams. People can take the city of Mumbai and twist it to make a really good story out of it. Both hero and heroines have done tremendous work. And new comers are very welcome and they bring a 'whiff of fresh air'.

Back from Hometown

I went to my hometown of Bhubaneswar and was back to Bengaluru yesterday.
There has been a change. I left on May 18th, May 19th I shaved on the train.
Then May 19th onwards I stopped shaving and today is June 12th. And hence for almost one month I have not shaved. But I have shaved my moustache off. I have left the beard portion.
In my 35 years of life first time I have followed my instincts and stopped shaving. All folks at my native place were kind of shocked and used to remark that why I had not shaved and that I should shave. They were mystified by my reason for not shaving.
Don't know how long it would last but it feels good. After a lot of research on the net I have got a few advantages of the beard:
1) Shaving is like a form of mutilation. We do self mutilation by shaving. We go to saloon. Someone else does it for us and we pay him for it.
2) Beard is only way to distinguish man from woman and child. As woman and child is incapable of growing beard.
3) Beard makes a man beautiful. A woman is always beautiful. But a man is beautiful only with a beard.
God wants man to look the way he made him. And the natural and beautiful look is through beard.
4) After having beard, one is conscious of the fact to keep it clean. And hence one washes the face. I can say in my case earlier when I used to shave daily, I rarely used to wash my face especially if I was at office or outside of my house. When I returned I used to wash face with soap. But now whether I am outside or at home, I go to the nearest water source and wash my face with plain water.
When we shave we feel our face is clean and hence we don't feel the need to wash it regularly. My whole life I lived like that. But with beard we wash our face to keep it clean and hence we become more clean in the process.
5) We save a lot of time and effort involved in shaving. Also we save a little bit of money as well. In fact we can do away with blade, cream and brush.
In my case when I feel the urge to shave I knock my mustache off.
I don't feel we are less manly if we shave. In fact, when we shave we are more like an "adult man". As kids don't need to shave and women have other facilities at their disposal. By not shaving we are more like kids. As kids don't need to shave. It is due to the age that the beard grows.
A man who shaves to look like a kid or woman who do not have beard, but he does it carrying out a 'manly act' of shaving. But a man who grows a beard does not do that 'act' of shaving and kids and women don't need to shave. Thus he is more like a kid or woman but he looks like a 'man'. My look as on 9th June (after 21 days of not shaving the beard).

During my MBA days, I had a professor by the name Nathan and he had told/ advised the students that one should either shave daily or one should grow a beard. That unshaven look like Hritik Roshan and the like does not work. Somehow it has imprinted on my mind and I fully support the view.
Hritik Roshan, John Abraham, Aftab Shivdasani, Arjun Kapoor and most other heroes sport the unshaven look. Not beard not clean shaven but 'unshaven'. That is wrong I feel personally. Because they are heroes of film industry they can do it, we can't. Either it is clean shaven or it is full beard whether with or without mustache.
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Will continue the above if I get more points to write about.
Today I watched Hindi movie "Hungama" on Videocon D2H. Excellent comedy movie. I liked it.