chaotic order

"Man's search for Meaning" - a book by Dr Viktor Frankl Most of us float through life without an existential crisis. In a way, it is a boon; for not many can survive the pangs of being stripped bare of all possessions - material, social and psychological. Biologically, a species is built for survival. An organism will persist in preserving its cellular integrity as far as it physically possible; but once that threshold is crossed, it gives itself away to mutation and irrevocable obliteration. But with Man, evolution is experimenting with a new way of being. There is a self-conscious element within him that is both a participant and an observer in the world he lives in. Over thousands of years of gradual and catastrophic changes, the inner life of a Human being has assumed several roles in different dimensions; to the extent that the proverbial “ghost in the machine”, as Arthur Koestler, phrased it, is now stands viscerally divorced from the physical self to a point th

American railroad has played an important role in the growth and prosperity of the United States. The founders of the nation realized very early that an effective system of transportation across the vast breadth of this continent is indispensable to preserve economic, social and political stability. The History of American railways is a saga by itself, and it is not the purpose of this essay to get into its details. The movie I am about to review is based on a period in Railway history, when a paralyzed economy was cramping its growth; and more so - throwing people out of work. Tennessee Williams wonderful play "This property is condemned" was turned into a movie by Sydney Pollack in 1966. Pollack is one of my favorite directors. His ability to direct and produce stories with a Human touch and sensibility without too much of fun fare or drama; capturing the essential essence of a relationship and explore its nuances without prejudices and opinions is the hallmark of this

Before you read this, I would want to make my point very clear that I hold the institution of marriage in highest regard. Not only has it been one of our spectacular evolutionary successes to adopt monogamy (as far as possible), and nurture strong ties as a family; but the very tapestry of man cultural history is woven with this fabric of genders collaborating and fostering a long standing relationship between themselves. Man’s transition from a Hunting battlefield to a settled agrarian community needed this paste of marital union to hold together the insatiable energies that could potentially be let loose in a growing economic, political and cultural climate that a stable life entails. Except for a few stray stunted communities around the globe, almost every known human habitation has a custom that resembles the ties of marriage. And that by itself, is a testimony to its universal archetype. However, a young lady in England married herself a few weeks back. Yes, you read me right!

I was reading in the Newspapers today about Obama’s credit card being invalidated during his visit to a restaurant with his family, and how he had to ask Michelle to pay through her’s. This is an extraordinary instance in the practice of democratic values that makes the United States of America one of the truest representatives of democracy as a form of enlightened governance. The fact that the President had to pay for his dinner is a tacit acknowledgement that he is a citizen like anyone else there; and secondly, the freedom of the system to block his Credit card for non-usage, and the restaurant conveying that information to him without fear of retribution is an acknowledgement of mutually agreed laws; and thirdly, the President , taking no offence , requests his wife to pay – shows the character of his Presidency and tacit acknowledgement that he is as much a citizen as he is the President of a powerful country that values its integrity and honor. The concept of democracy is a f

On my way back from the health club , I was tuned into a NPR podcast, where a Trained Mortician and embalmer was being interviewed on the nature of her profession. She was asked on what should change in the 'Cremation industry' today; to which her answer was quite extraordinary. She replied :" I wish families would be there when I push the body into hot fire. Most of the time, I do it alone with no family members around. They are either uncomfortable, or at best pay mechanical lip service to the dead. What I would want to see is more personal involvement in the ritualizing of death, and not delegate it to a professional company to do the job.." As a species, we have an unique attitude towards death. The fact of the matter is that we frankly do not know how to treat a dead body. Do we bury it, cremate it, throw it to the vultures, allow to it rot - there is absolutely no unanimity on this fundamental truth of life. None of our animal cousins seems to have to this c

We were walking back from the library. He is a psychiatrist living in an apartment (a posh Condominium...) very close to my community. Both of us keep bumping into each other in the same aisle, looking for books on medieval Christian theology. That’s how we got acquainted. He has a pretty decent practice including a couple of celebrities as his clientele. A simple man, very well read with a deep interest in Eastern mystical traditions. Many a beautiful Saturday have been spent, if I am in Atlanta, having lunch together and talking about the evolution of Man’s vision of Godhead, its transition from Polytheism to Monotheism, and the heretic traditions of Western philosophy. He said “Bala, one of the things that intrigue me about mystical writings is the emphasis on: “Don’t live in the past or the future, live in the present”. Whether it be Boethius, Aquinas, Eckhart, Boehme, Shankara, Buddha or Rumi - all of them seem to stressing this point. But you know, as a psychiatrist, I find t

There are only two kinds of readers for Stephen Kings books - There are some who love him; others hate him. I find myself vacillating between the two. I have never been a real lover of any fiction that does not pay its due regard to language, structure or fails to sensitize the reader to something beyond mundane emotions. The typical pulp fiction that ones finds proliferating all around (especially in airports) have never attracted me; and if it did, I have never got beyond  the first twenty pages of such a book. I would have read around twenty of King's novels, and I must say, not all of them have held my interest till the end. Apart from occasional flashes of brilliance here and there, most of them are pretty pedestrian in execution, written with clear eye to achieving quantity than quality. To some, however, Stephen's king's works are masterpieces of supernatural and dark literature. Well , I have to agree that his sense of the abnormal is unique in that genre; and the