Resurrecting the Champ

Champ Champion Champions. The words so commonly used in the sporting arena. So widely used in many a movies and documentaries about them. Sometimes looking from outside may become overwhelming. In the absence of extra ordinariness within, most of us can only dream or look up to these super human being. Highly glorified and decorated they become good bedtime stories. Stories of human character and valor to vouch for. Stories in which people dared to push the boundaries of human limitation. Although they might have just be doing one more thing than any other normal human being but that extra inch is what makes them different.

Another character inherent in human being is the concept of hero worship. From time immemorial there has been Gods, leaders, super human beings in reality and in fantasy. What drives our love for them? I guess it originates from the realization of limited capabilities as a human being and our desire to be perfect. A desire to be something more than what we are and a desire to have effect on the blue prints of the world. They not only form a source of inspiration but also form a source of comfort driven from our imagination. Be there a believer, an agnostic, an atheist all of them in some form or the other look up to someone or something. In the process of getting trained as an adult we may have convinced ourselves to deny this reality but the fact remains that hero worshiping has been engraved in our genes.

There are God's and demi-Gods and there are people who worship them and there are fallen angels. The irony of putting someone or something so high in the pedestal is that the day they are found short in any of our perceived aspects they are brought down to a level and made to look more human. Human being has contradictory evaluation of such super humans. We are confused. We want them to be super human but at the same we love it when they are found out to be more human. An example is why spider man is the most successful comic superhero. Its because he is constantly fighting his demons. I think in the end we prefer the reflection of the battle within us via these imaginative characters and we like it when in the end they come out all gun's blazing and end up on top. But does that happen to all. In dictionary.com one of the meaning of "angels" was A guardian spirit or guiding influence. The epitome of all admiration has a history to fall sometimes. Is it the pressure of being under constant evaluation kills the champ within them. Or is it the dousing off the fire which makes them go into oblivion. How many sports person with promise do we remember. Not many, not at least in India. The song I'm just out to find probably captures the battle within these superheroes and the notion which makes them more human and more glorifiable by us. Do we ever feel the need to dig out their present after their hay days. I don't think so as we tend to easily shift our loyalties a newer promise. So is their any light at the end of the tunnel for them?

Another question which haunts me is that do the champions need to be always glorified. In other words is the one without publicity and hidden amidst many is not a champion. Do we really require to find out the extra ordinary amidst the sea of humanity to praise and worship. What about looking at one self. What about stirring one's own soul and finding out the champ within us. As a child all of us were full of energy. Without the care of the world living each day as it should be lived i.e. with freedom. Each of us promised ourselves the whole world. Although not visible to many. Not visible in ways which would be news worthy. But of the billions of people on this earth 99.9% or even more would be like that. Living a life which can be classified as an ordinary life. Still their was light which shone above, within us invisible to all but visible to us. We might not have realized the significance of the possibility but it was always there. The champ was always there. The eagerness to fight the battle and win was always there, of course differently in different people.

If such a champ was always there within us then why today most of us are unhappy, distressed, depressed. I guess in due course of time we got adulterated. In the process of learning the ways of the world we battled, we agitated, we accepted, we defied, we denied and then succumbed to its gruelling training. Where is the fire within us or was there any fire at all. Looking back, if we ponder, we did have that edge which defined us. But today because of the disappointments or because of the lack of goals we might have reached a stage where being a champion does not matter any more. We might feel that not being extra ordinary have made us too ordinary. But in my view point it is the ordinary who lives each day fighting is a true champion. With so much negativity around us what can we do. Every body I guess deserves a second chance rightly resonated in the song "Hey Bhagwaan Mujhko tu zindagi dobara de" by Raghu Dixit. So do we not as a person deserve a second chance to live moreover feel alive. I guess we do, everybody does, the only thing which remains to achieve that is to Resurrect the champ within us. Within us we are always, consciously or sub consciously, trying to be super human. Be it a father making super humanly effort for his son or daughter or vice versa, be it a person trying to reach invincibility in his work, be it a woman making an effort to be free in this oppressive society. Everybody is trying just a little bit more to achieve just a little to be ultimately loved by his/her loved ones unconditionally. In the end all I could say we try to be heroes for others or oneself . But there is a possibility that we may falter in the process. But I guess its all right to fell short of the ultimate aim but what is important we do deserve a chance to try. In the process of doing that, we may choose a path which is wrong but the choice is ours to make. Ultimately one day we may realize that we are not the heroes we or others thought us to be but I guess its all right for we have the limitations of being human. Just a chance is what we require, deserve for Resurrecting the champ within us and that I guess is all we need.

Well all that I have written in this post although may sound incoherent and random rambling but I just wrote what I wanted to write. Actually my writing is inspired from the movie Resurrecting the Champ which had a simplicity so moving that I had to write something howsoever unrelated the whole content may sound with the movie.

Quote : Confucius

Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it: Confucius

Never realized this belonged to Confucius.

Hey Jude: Beatles

An easy going song with a melodious tune. A song of person seeking hope and expecting to hold on to someone.
You Tube Link

Hey, Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Hey, Jude, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better.

And any time you feel the pain, hey, Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
Well don't you know that its a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder

Hey, Jude! Don't let her down
You have found her, now go and get her
Remember, to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better.

So let it out and let it in, hey, Jude, begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you, hey, Jude,
You'll do, the movement you need is on your shoulder

Hey, Jude, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Quote : Jack Handey

I hope that when I die, people say about me, 'Boy, that guy sure owed me a lot of money: Jack Handey

I hope putting this in my blog does not jeopardize my chances of getting more loan :P

Quote : Heinrich Heine

I fell asleep reading a dull book and dreamed I kept on reading, so I awoke from sheer boredom: Heinrich Heine

Till I searched for it in google I really thought it was an original creation of the person who kept it as her status message. Found it very funny

Quote : Dale Carnegie

Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain - and most fools do: Dale Carnegie

He he ...ho ho...ahemmmm..ahemmm...Hence proved I am a fool

25/5/2008: Koramangala Methodist Church: Speaker : Pastor H Mathew: Theme:Gifts of the Spirit

This day was really strange. For a change I did not sleep during the sermon. If you think that is something unthinkable then hold on, what is even more shocking that the speaker was Pastor H. Mathew. For those who are following this sunday stories of mine, you already know my not so comfortable relationship with his sermon. I guess one should always expect the unexpected. Anyways here goes what he had to say. The reading for this day was taken from Galatians: 5: 16-26

We live in a world where we come across plenty of things which we cherish. On the other hand we may come across thing which we wish we never had to face. We as people are busy being so are the others who we may meet. Their could be plenty who need guidance of the Lord. Sometimes some of us may feel the absence of the guidance of the Lord. In this busy schedule, the spiritual life also needs its place and presence. So their is a need to be busy in spiritual life too. In such fast paced world whenever we feel tired their is Jesus to carry us on his shoulders. (Psalm 46:10) The presence of the Lord is required in our life. And we also require to have the holy spirit present in our bodies.

Anecdote: Jesus goes t his temple to find out that it has been taken over by all the things deemed unholy in God's sight. So he got angry overturned all such activities to make the place as it should have been i.e. to be a place of worship. We need a place where people can come together in the presence of the Lord. We need to be still in His love and give time to the Lord. In the passage read to day there are three C's which needs to be considered and notice.

1)Conflict: In the passage we see that the two nature mentioned i.e. wicked and spiritual are in conflict. They are in constant battle. Sometimes we succumb to the powers of evil then we need more time to bring out and harness the spiritual power within us. What are the fruits of the spirit? Love, kindness, peace...all of them constitutes the fruits we are talking about. These are the nature and the character of the holy spirit which helps us in defeating the evil within us. These factors are the spiritual fruits which will keep us healthy spiritually.

2) Crucified: Those who belong to Christ have crucified the sinful nature with passion and desire. When we are crucified in the holy spirit then the holy spirit dwells in us. Baptism in the the church symbolizes the death of us and us being raised in the Lord. (Romans 8:6) Mind of sinful man is death but mind controlled by spirit is peaceful...
Anecdote: Sadhu Sundar Singh. After he accepted Jesus he became a great witness of the Lord. With Christ he said it was like being in the ocean of love.

3) Conform: Conform to the way of the spirit. Since we live in the spirit we should keep it in step with the holy spirit. We need to walk along the holy spirit. We should not lead a spiritual life at the superficial level. Within us we need to conform to the callings then only we will experience the spirit dwelling within us continuously. Someone pointed out that one is paint and the other is stain. Paint looks good and is on the surface and can be removed. Stain goes deep inside the fabric and need effort in its removal. Likewise the holy spirit goes deep within us to clean us from the stains of evil.

Anecdote: A young artist was dissatisfied with his creation. He thought of taking the paint brush of a famous artist and then may be he will be able to do better job. Somehow he got hold of the brush and carried on painting. But still he was not happy. Then a friend of his said it is not the masters brush but the masters spirit is required.

So we need to inherit the nature of the Lord and be in the holy spirit to enjoy its fruit and replenish it periodically.

Then he closed summarizing the sermon.

Quote : Jean Nidetch

It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny.Jean Nidetch

Hmmm....Hmmmm...Hmmmmmm...Hmmmmmmmm....

Quote : Friedrich Nietzsche

You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star: Friedrich Nietzsche

The degree of complexity in his quotable quote matches the complexity of his name. Former is a mind twister and the latter a tongue twister.

Why

Too many Why's are ringing,
Bringing with itself, questions worth fathoming..

It was easy before,
For life was like a folklore..

As a child this world was brimming with promise,
Making each moment, a moment without care..
For their was no race in which I had to fare.

Then something inevitable happened,
I graduated ...
From the simplicity of childhood,
Embarking upon the complexities of adulthood.

Each day was a challenge
Looked upon with equal disgust and fight
Fought hard , fought fare, fought a losing battle in my own right
Fought even when the promise of tomorrow was not so bright..

Now I stand at a reflecting square
Pondering upon the phenomenon which is not so rare..
The more I think, the more I am filled with disgust..
Now comes the time to ask and let not the questions rust
The why's, The How's, The What's, the answers to which are a must...

I wanna ask what is my purpose?
Without which I am like an insignificant locus...
Being there as a part of a system..
Living a life without any focus...

Living, Procreating and Dying
Is it all which constitutes life?
Or is it more, beyond my incomprehensible mind

Why is is that in me I have so many Why?
Is the promise in a child, just a lie.

What is success which I am aimlessly pursuing
Or for that matter Do I even know what am I aiming

What is the difference between good and evil?
Why to explain it, there always has to be devil

What is right and wrong
The difference for which I long

If nothing else then can I ask only this..
The meaning of happiness is what I always miss

What should I do that would make life meaningful
I ask you Lord
Was all this a mistake
And now you have turned around and have no take

After a moment of silence this is what I hear
Yes a mistake is what I have done, I fear
I send such an ungrateful midget who now I have to rear

Non Xml Chracters and JAVA

To hell with the non xml characters. Pissing me off and wasting a lot of my time finally found the answer from who else but google. Strange is the importance of google in a techie's life to the point I have started to address it as a person.
       Crawled stuff from net in spite of all the standards of the world yields in data and encoding from planet Mars. Then a poor guy from this earth like me whose boundaries has been defined inches away from his skin has to battle it out with this unknown enemy in not so data friendly territory of JAVA. Throwing exception and kicking me off from the battle with knockout punches I finally found the chick in its armor. The solution was simple, chose your battle, if you don't know the enemy simply avoid it :)

public static String stripNonValidXMLCharacters(String in) throws Exception{
     StringBuffer out = new StringBuffer();
     char current;
     if (in == null || ("".equals(in))) return "";
     for (int i = 0; i < in.length(); i++) {
         current = in.charAt(i);
         if ((current == 0x9) ||
         (current == 0xA) ||
         (current == 0xD) ||
         ((current >= 0x20) && (current <= 0xD7FF)) ||
         ((current >= 0xE000) && (current <= 0xFFFD)) ||
         ((current >= 0x10000) && (current <= 0x10FFFF)))
         out.append(current);
     }
     return out.toString();
}

Quote Colette

There are days when solitude, for someone my age, is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall.Colette

This is too powerful to add my pathetic viewpoints.

3 Doors Down : Here Without You

Love this song. Was hearing it after a long time and all I could react was by saying "Man..Oh Man...Oh Man..". Wonderful lyrics. Amazing declaration of emotions and has a tune of rocking love. Amazing. In the end I could only say the two words which of late has become the most over used two words for expressing any thing i.e. Andar Bahar :)

YouTube Link
A hundred days had made me older
since the last time that I've saw your pretty face

A thousand lights had made me colder and I don't think I can look at this the same

But all the miles had separate
They disappear now when I'm dreaming of your face

I'm here without you baby
but your still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
and I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
but your still with me in my dreams
And tonight it's only you and me

The miles just keep rollin
as the people either way to say hello
I've heard this life is overrated
but I hope that it gets better as we go

I'm here without you baby
but your still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
and I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
but your still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl it's only you and me

Everything I know,
and anywhere I go
it gets hard but it won't take away my love
And when the last one falls,
when it's all said and done
it get hard but it won't take away my love

I'm here without you baby
but your still on my lonely mind
I think about you baby
and I dream about you all the time
I'm here without you baby
but your still with me in my dreams
And tonight girl it's only you and me

Quote : Stephen Baker

Stephen Baker: If you don't give people a choice, people will spend more.


It was said in an article related to Apple which reported the high percentage of market share of Apple in above $1000 laptop and pc segment. Looking objectively it seems quite true in all the areas.

Quote : Bill Nye

The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it :Bill Nye


He he ..ha ha..Ho Ho...

Quote : John Updike

Any activity becomes creative if the doer cares about doing it right, or doing it better: John Updike

Hmmmmm....Wellll....Hmmmm...Welll...I guess so but what about the ones who don't care any more...Hmmm...Interesting anomaly...I guess

Quote : George Carlin

It's never just a game when you're winning : George Carlin

What about when you are always losing Mr. Carlin

Chetan Bhagat: Three Mistake of My Life

Of late I have not been reading much but this weekend thanks to my neighbour I picked up this book by Chetan Bhagat. An easy masala read as one can expect from a Chetan Bhagat's novel. I am sure this book is not for the critics and neither for book lovers who brag about the type of novel they read. I guess it is more so a book for the masses summed up by Mr. Bhagat himself that this is the book for his fans. It was a simple book, cheap and thin. I probably needed to start of again with a book of this kind. In the end all I could say nothing succeed Ike success. If his book outsells critical prediction then that is what is going to matter. I guess it will with the kind of marketing and other positive variable factors which comes along with Chetan Bhagat. I would say no harm in picking up this book over a coffee and spending your free time with it. No harm will get done. Even if you find it beneath your intellectuality, don't worry, it will get over in no time. :)

18/5/2008: Koramangala Methodist Church, Bangalore: Speaker: Pastor Andrew: Theme: Empowered by the Spirit

The speaker for this day was Pastor Andrew. I like this guy. He speaks well and gives me enough fodder to write. The difference this day was that I had walked to church instead of biking. I was feeling good and the praise and worship was fantastic. The speaker also did not disappoint with his well directed sermon. One of those days when all things went right. So here is the sermon in first person. The passage for meditation was taken from Ephesians:5:15-21

We are called Christians (those who follow the Lord). In the new testament, we the people of God have an identity i.e. spiritual ones. Three observation can be made about the holy spirit from the new testament. Will try to portray/ show the spiritual reference which will help us in our spiritual journey.
1st Observation: Spiritual people need the holy spirit. One cannot please God on our own, on our own talent, on our own credentials. God send us the power which would help us to please Him.
John: 14:15-18: Jesus is talking about another helper. The one who comes along with you in your spiritual journey. What Jesus says is that I will give you another helper who will help you in your spiritual journey. Basically the observation is we cannot please God on our own.
2nd Observation: Spiritual people need to be in balance. It is quite possible that we may not be in balance. How can we go out of balance in life. We may be intellectuals seeking reason in everything to believe. Some of us may be very emotional. The biblical pattern suggest we need to be both intellectual and emotional. Word of God tells us to the put our foot in both camps. Jesus was emotional. He cried at various instances in his stay on earth. Jesus was intellectual. As we look in Luke:24:32 we can observe that in their heart they became emotional as Jesus open their mind. Spiritual people can be conservative (resisting any change) or they may be radical (advocating only change). John 10:35: Jesus was radical as well as conservative. He says He comes not to abolish the law but to keep it. But at the same time Jesus was radical defying time and trend to talk to the prostitute, eat with poor and many such activities against established norms and practices.
If we only concentrate on the holy spirit then we go out of balance. Now the question is how to keep the balance. Colossi ans:3:16 has the answer. The spirit of God and the word of God will keep us in balance. We are moving amidst two polarities. If we concentrate only on one thing then it is not the right approach. We need to understand that we need to take the middle path. Christians should always be in equilibrium. It can become public spectacle if we fall. We need to stay in balance. May the Lord give us the strength to be in balance.
3rd Observation: Spiritual people need to exhibit the fruits of the spirit. How do people realize that you are a Christian. Galatians:5:22,33: What is the fruit of the spirit. Fruit of the spirit is love ....This is what is the most important thing. If we don't see people around with love then their is something wrong with us. The church is an institution where losers can find solace. We are this thing together and we need to exhibit love for one another. As a church we want to change the world but it is not working. Is our doctrine, theology, stewardship wrong. No, it is because of the absence of love. Loving the one who is not changeable. Their won't be any revival in church, in family in the absence of love.

After this the pastor summarized the three observation and concluded with a prayer

11/5/2008: Koramangala Methodist Church, Bangalore: Speaker: Rev. Bill Layle: Theme: Life in Spirit

The speaker on this day was Rev. Bill Layle, a pastor from Kentwood Community Church, Michigan who had come to Bangalore for the Emerging Youth Leader Conference. There is one thing about guys whose mother tongue is English. The thing is that they will be fast in their speaking and I struggled throughout to keep pace with the sermon. Somehow, I think I have managed to note down a some part of it, and reproducing it here in first person. His sermon was peculiar in one other way that it comprised of sections containing questions and thereafter 5-10 minute answer to the question. A different and effective style at least for the people like us who were listening to him for the first time.The reading for this day was taken from Judges:6:11-16

Life in spirit. Alternative is to lead a life not in spirit. Life of Gideon is what is being concentrated upon. In old testament it is said that the spirit of the Lord will come upon some. Due to Christ we have the opportunity to lead such a life. This body is the temple of the spirit...
6:12: Israelites were living in a valley.....Israel was impoverished. It is an opportunity to call to the Lord. One can be impoverished in many ways - financial, spiritual etc. There are various important question this passage raises. We have all these questions which waiver in our mind. God chose Gideon to sit on the chair of making difference. Question: What is life all about? In the same way we need to move to the chair of difference. Some may think that you are not mighty warriors. People tend to label. Soon we also start believing in the words they say. We cant do that
Ques: Who is God? The God who the forefathers talked about. The God who is almighty and powerful.
Personal Anecdote: A business was I, making good money, but was missing something i.e. a relationship with God. One need not be in full time ministry to be with God. Part of growing as a Christian is to shrink the gap of misunderstanding and difficulty.
God replied to Gideon Am I not sending You.
Ques: Who am I? (6:15). Self Doubt. He belonged to the lowest of families. Do you ever feel that God is using other people but will and can't use me. But God relabels people. "I the mighty warrior". God did not say you can do it. But he says (6:16) I will be with you. God can use anyone as it doesn't have to be an individual who knows as God expresses though us. We don't have to walk this life all alone.
Ques:(6:25): Will you put me first? We have things we are working for. We put our career, finance, family first. But do we have the courage to put God above all. Can we put him first in our life and allow Him to flow freely through us....
What do we want. What is our life all about. Do we have the courage to make a difference as we are the mighty warriors for God. Can we say/ask that 'God I am ready to be used by you and for you'. Do believe in the words 'I am the mighty warrior'. God will use us if we surrender our life to Him

4/5/2008: Koramangala Methodist Church, Bangalore: Speaker Pastor H. Mathew: Theme: Life in Spirit

The speaker for this day was Pastor H. Matthew. As any other day this day was no different. I felt asleep. For once I wish that I knew his native language. I have this feeling that he must be a much better speaker while speaking in his native language. If you ask me what is the basis of this belief. I would say nothing but my gut feeling. Another thing I noticed that there were plenty other people who were sleeping but at the same time some of them were awake and listening. So I guess his sermon is not so bad after all. May be the fault is in me only but what to do I try hard not to sleep during his sermon to no avail. Nevertheless here is his sermon in first person. The passage was taken from Romans 8:1-11

In the apostle creed we say we believe in the holy spirit. The third element of the trinity is more often than not neglected by us. We may feel it belongs to the pentecostal church but the fact is holy spirit continuosly work in each and every one. Noise, music gets associated with the holy spirit and we may percieve that we can receive it in such environments only. But we can be anointed in a number of different ways. To revive our life, to strengthen our life we require holy spirit. It is the primary activating, motivating factor in the church today. Holy spirit; when it was received on the day of Pentecost; the lives of the people present got changed. Even the disciples underwent transformation. When it came, it came like a gushing wind. ....
Here my pen stopped working and a part of the sermon got lost in the process of finding a new pen

Holy spirit is percieved as a person and all the things in church is inspired by it. It is involved in all the activities of the church. Four things holy spirit does in believers life (i) Convicts the sinful (ii) Regenerates those who repent and believe (iii) Sanctifies our life (iv) Guide us in all the truth.
Holy spirit convicts the world (sinfull people). Holy spirit ministers to us by convicting us of sinful nature. So that we will be able to come out of the sinfull nature and we may live a righteous life in Jesus Christ. Many time we do unrighteous things inspite of knowing it to be so. Holy spirit continuosly warns us and shows us the right path. The people who crucified Christ thought that they were doing the right thing. After the crucifixtion and anointment of the holy spirit they realized that the person on the cross died for their sins and He is the son of God.....

Gripped by sleep I started to lose my concentration frequently till I finally gave up. So the sermon reproduced after this will become more and more incoherent ultimately ending without any conclusion.

Holy Spirit rejuvinates those who believe. .....Power of revival comes via holy spirit. When regeneration happens ; person life, mind, thoughts will be under control of Christ jesus (Romons 8:1-2)......

After this I totally lost it and stopped noting down anything more.

27/4/2008: Koramangala Methodist Church, Bangalore : Speaker: Rev Paul...: Theme: Life beyond Grave

The speaker for this day was Rev. Paul... Pastor of Methodist Church at Mysore..This guy was different. I bet no matter how much you feel sleepy you are guaranteed to remain wide awake during his sermon. The reason is simple which is he is too loud. Listening to him from a single microphone with speakers metres away from you was equivalent to listening to loud music in a closed room. Hey I am not criticizing. He was just someone who was unknowingly able to solve the biggest problem of mine during sermons i.e. sleep. The reading for this day was taken from Psalm:34:1-10 and here goes his sermon in first person.

In the Psalm the first 10 verses are hymn and last 10 versus are sermon. In the first three verses David vows to praise and exalt God and invite others.
Two friend walking through the field saw a raging bull. They ran to a drench and the bull came after them. Then one of them shouted to the other that 'Mark please pray'. Mark replied that 'I cannot I have never said a public prayer in my life'. The friend being afraid and nervous requested Mark to try and pray anything. Mark being nervous himself said a prayer which he use to say on the dinning table. 'O Lord..For what we are about to receive we are truly thankful :)'
Can we be truly thankful of what we receive...
David did not say I may. He was determined to praise God at all times - in adversity, joy or sorrow. Can we say Thank You in the times of pain. Can we say Thank You in the times of sorrow. Can we say Thank You in adverse situations. How do we look at God. As an object of praise or worship. Shall praise be in our mouth always. We must glorify our Lord not only with all our soul but also with our lips. We praise with our lips by singing a hymn titled "Then sings my soul my Saviour lord to thee. How great thou art, How great thou art"
Job 1:20. Job got up and fell to the ground in worship. He got up in all his sorrow and pain and prayed that whatever Lord gave me has take it away. May the name of the Lord be praised. God expect us to praise Him even in times of trouble, in times of immense pain. Are we doing that. if we are unable to do that then we should pray to Him that Lord I need to be anointed. I need your help. Romans 8:28: All things work for good, for those who have been called. We are lucky of having been called.
Psalm 34:4: Have we experienced Life beyond grave. Have we experienced salvation, grace, deliverance.. None of us has experienced life beyond grave.
Two drunken soldier walked towards their captain room. One asked the other where are we going. Near the captain's room they saw the captain standing outside but they did not salute. Captain got angry and asked do you know who I am. One of them said to the other 'We don't where we are going but this man does not even know who He is.'
We cannot find comfort in this world but Bible talks about life beyond grave. We are aware that life ends with life. In this world we know that life ends with death. Death is a certainty but promise of a permanent place (heaven) has been made .
He will be faithful and liberate us from the troubles we encounter in this world. Death is real but we need not fear. Jesus conquered the power of death and we have the His power and the Holy spirit. Let us encourage ourselves in this knowledge. Life has been given by God and returned to God in death.
John 11:26: Whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Death is an end to an earthly relationship. Let us not fear something which is just a necessary prelude. John 14:14: If a man dies will he live again. Jesus says He is the resurrection. Are we ready to reign with God. Can we say this to Lord. When a man and a woman marries they promise to cherish each other always. Jesus promises and says that come to me heavy hearted I will give you rest. Do we believe that there is life beyond grave. God will wipe out our tears as He has been doing so. Psalm34:4: What is your fear this morning. Fear of failure, fear of anything....we all are living in fear. Are we in a situation where we don't know where to go...Seek God as David sought the Lord. Only Jesus can deliver us from the power of fear

Quote : Friedrich Nietzsche

Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called 'Ego'. Friedrich Nietzsche

Woof..Woof..Woofy quote indeed.

Quote : Che Guevara

Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.: Che Guevara

Che: Ridiculous: Forget it. I think he was just trying to be modest. Ridiculous is what I may sound when I say that actually anyone doing something great and different is driven out of the feeling of true love :) (Have to add my ridiculous touch to the famous one :D )

Remy Zero : Somebody Save Me

Ever got that sinking feeling and a desire to be saved. Amazing song by Remy Zero which was first heard by me as a soundtrack of a serial name Smallville. Today this song revisits me in a different context altogether..

Distressed.. Dejected.. Questions without answers.. Way.. Path.. Right.. Wrong.. Lost.. Disillusioned.. Help... Save.. Somebody.. Gulp.. Gulp.. Somebody.. Somebody..

You Tube Link
I feel my wings have broken in your hands
I feel the words unspoken inside

When they pull you under
And I would give you anything you want
Well all I wanted
All my dreams have fallen down
Crawling around somebody save me
And two warm hands break right through me
Somebody SAVE me
I don't care how you do it
Just stay Stay
Come on, I've been waiting for you

I see the world has folded in your heart
I feel the waves crash down inside

And they pull me under
I would give you anything you want
Well all I wanted
And all my dreams have fallen down
Crawling around somebody save me
And two warm hands break right through me
Somebody save me
I don't care how you do it
Just stay Stay
Come on
I've been waiting for you

And all my dreams are on the ground

Crawling around somebody save me
And two warm hands break right through me
Somebody save me
I don't care how you do it
Just save me

I've made this whole world shine for
Just Stay Stay
Come on
I'm still waiting for you

Quote : Galileo

Oh Galileo !! Oh Galileo !! You rock the boat of my beliefs

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo

Quote : Aristotle

All Paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind : Aristotle

I don't know whether to agree or disagree with this guy. What do you feel? :)

Goo Goo Dolls: Acoustic

You Tube Link
Amazing lyrics. Look at it, read it and then what else can one do but to fall in love with it

They painted up your secrets
With the lies they told to you
And the least they ever gave you
Was the most you ever knew

And I wonder where these dreams go
When the world gets in your way
What's the point in all this screaming
No one's listening anyway

Your voice is small and fading
And you hide in here unknown
And your mother loves your father
'Cause she's got nowhere to go

And she wonders where these dreams go
'Cause the world got in her way
What's the point in ever trying
Nothing's changing anyway

They press their lips against you
And you love the lies they say
And I tried so hard to reach you
But you're falling anyway

And you know I see right through you
When the world gets in your way
What's the point in all this screamin'
You're not listening anyway

The Bicycle Trip: Part 2

[The Journey]
So we started. Started on a journey which I was not very sure of. Started of from Jayanagar Bangalore to Nandi Hills. At 1:30 am in the morning I was able to see a Bangalore which is hard to imagine at any other time. Bangalore was quiet, peaceful and there were not many people/vehicle on the road who were in a hurry. As a friend of mine use to say one can really enjoy the night and concentrate more, as there are not many noises to distract us. Same was the experience which I was getting except the silence of the night was getting breached by the constant rhythm of our peddling. Initially it was easy. The effort which was required to pedal was more so driven by initial thrust of the excitement of adventurism.

[The Agony]
Sooner or later one had to face the truth. Sooner or later the euphoria had to die down and reality had to sink in. After about an hour of biking the desire to take a break and rest became too strong to avoid. The biggest source of discomfort was my ass to the point I was not able to sit without feeling pain. Then we (mostly because of me) committed a mistake which had its bearing on rest of our journey. We stopped to relax and it is sinful to stop as your body cools down and to resume with same vigour becomes a difficult task. With herculean efforts I picked myself up but the fate of the journey had been decided in the very first stop itself. The stops became more and more frequent topped by the ever increasing pain in the ass. Amidst all these we were still enjoying the ride of ours. There is a different way of looking at the ever increasing stops in number and length is that we were able to savour our journey more and more :)
[The Risk]
One of the factor which heightens risk on a bike trip is that one has to bike on a highway. A place where mostly heavy motor vehicles are the only one plying . Another factor which a person should always consider is the light factor. One should ensure one has some form of headlight and even more important are the tail light. And we did not have any. Another thing which had doubled our required efforts was that one of the bike (mine) was gear less. The roads are generally undulated. However good and smooth they may be on a bike one can feel even a degree of uphill. Unfortunately the way from Bangalore to Nandi Hills has plenty of such uphill stretches which I had never realized on motor-bike trips before. But all these factors were not bogging us down. But it always is good to play safe and have a gear bike for any trip one plans. This trip being a first experience of that kind taught us lot. We have now become wiser for next trip if any :)
[Devanahalli]
Ask any Bangalorean who flies, they dread the name of this place. A place far far away from the city. A destination which any not so super human would find difficult to reach given the ever crumbling infrastructure of Bangalore. A place where the new Bangalore airport is go to be. This was the place where I finally gave up. In many ways or other sitting there and waiting for the sun to come up for the journey back home was very symbolic. The promise, the enthusiasm, the novelty of doing something new and different like the new airport. The final give up symbolizing the short sightedness of the plan. Well !! was my mind occupied by these thought at that point of time.Actually not, rather I was feeling ecstatic that I have been able to make it so far. At least there was some distance covered by us which I could proudly talk about. The new airport after all is not so near. :)
[Return Journey]
With all our (rather mine) energy gone . We decided to get a ride back home. But the problem was the equipment (i.e. the two bikes) which we were carrying. Somehow we managed to get a tempo which took us 15 km nearer to home. Unfortunately after that, in spite of our best efforts we were unable to get any vehicle of any sort. So we decided ride back home. A decision which was very difficult but we had no choice. I would say the ride back was better in one way that our body remained warm because of the sun. The other side of the story is that we were like zombie aiming only to reach home somehow as our asses had gone too sore. With multiple breaks in between we managed somehow to reach home with my friend and myself splitting up for the last 6-7 km to ride back to our own homes. The whole of the return bike trip was overwhelmed by a single thought which was to get home boosting our self up by telling ourselves a km less mate with each passing km. :)
[Aftermath]
Back home there was not much to do but to sleep. But everything has a catch and this action of mine which I wanted, needed to do was more at the mercy of the electricity board. Nevertheless when the board showed grace I slept to the fullest. The new thing about this sleep was that it was dreamless and peaceful. I slept to, and with contentment. One more thing which gained significance after the trip was that I hogged like anything. The amount I ate and desired to eat could easily have fed 5-6 full grown human being. I gave myself the reason for my new found hunger as an increase in metabolic rate of mine. Hopefully I am right. I am too lazy to verify :). Looking I have only one thing to say it was a trip to remember and cherish and I hope in some more crazy moments of mine I would undertake many more such trips. :)

The Bicycle TRIP: Part 1

[Introduction]
An idea, a thought got finally materialized. Since the day I have landed in Bangalore somebody or the other always use to suggest for a bicycle trip. For reasons which is pretty obvious along with my laziness, the trip never happened. If it is not so obvious then you should use the part of the brain muscle which drives imagination, then may be you will be able to have a feel it. But 20th of April, 2008 was something different. On the fateful day I finally undertook a trip with one of my friend. Why did I finally agree to this crazy notion is still unknown to me.
But there are few factors which influenced or clouded my decision making process. Firstly my biker friend recently bought a bike costing 13k and he was in high spirits regarding this trip. Just for the sake of comparison and to give you the feel, the cost of my bike is around 3k. Secondly I was desperate need for something crazy in my life. Wanted to fill myself with physical exhaustion and pain to suppress other emotions which is giving me a lot of sorrow of late. This second reason is probably why I ultimately agreed to the trip and today I have no regrets


[Build Up]
Our excitement and enthusiasm before the trip was comparable to that of child having receive a new toy. Initially my friend was insisting on the trip to mysore (about 150 km from Bangalore). Now he is a guy who is fit. He plays squash, frequent gym and was bicycling up and down 20 km to his office everyday. There was my friend and here was me - a smoking chimney with no physical activity of any form. I was scared and 150 km out of the blue seemed impossible to me. After a little convincing I managed to change the destination to Nandi Hills which is about 80 km from Bangalore, At least this target did not sound so unachievable. 19th April a day before the trip we had to prepare our self. The images of the t-shirts which you are seeing was the part of the preparation. We probably wanted to spread some message in this adventure of ours and more so because it sounded something different.
So we bought plain t-shirts and customized it completely with our random thoughts. How much or did any one manage to have a look at our t-shirts is a question belonging to some alien category which we (at least I) don't even want to bother about. Buying stuffs like water, glucose, torch, head gear and getting our bike in proper shape were the other few task which we undertook. In addition to all these I converted an old, tattered good old faithful jeans of mine to make a half pant out of it.
We got so engrossed in all these activities that we ate up most of our resting time before the trip. Our anticipation and excitement ensured that we stay wide awake for the the few hours which we had manage to get out from our preparation. Nevertheless our preparation was complete and we started off around 1:30 am from our place to experience something which was completely strange, new and good.