THE DAILY OBSERVER-67

 😎THE DAILY OBSERVER-(67)😎

Mon 05 Apr 2021

    SHERBET FOR THE SOUL

    Every now and then on this site, in the middle of all the din and bustle of heated exchanges on all national and even international topics under the sun,there props up

some really worthwhile treasure. And of course, true to our salt, we brush aside all such nuggets for consideration on a future unspecified date that we all are well aware will never come. We seem to be only too eager to get carried away by petty distractions and studiously avoid some topics that  actually might benefit everyone - as if that would be a crime. Just a few days back, there was the mention of pranayama, jal-neti and yoga, for instance.

          Do i see some of you already

getting impatient with what you are reading or is it just my imagination?

The Observer is meant to be a leisurely and relaxing read in free time and members of this here group of ours are certainly well-off enough to be able to afford that. I mean, if we are not extremely rich in terms of time available at this stage in life , what are we ? One can only feel sorry for those who are still short of time. Just recall how we used to drool over the comics and stories in the Sunday papers before we started checking out the front-page stuff. And then, at some later stage, we realised that even the centre-page had something meaningful in it . Well, on Saturday , USG  transported us to the middle page- the one that makes your thoughts grind to a halt for a while - talk about the soul.

       Believe it or not, i had been mulling over the introduction of the middle page of the TDO for some time now.But i was not too sure about the kind of reception it would get and so kept putting it off. Just like pranayama is Amrit for the body, the middle page should be sherbet for the soul---something cool and refreshing and soothing.

    If we are not mere animations or automatons spouting out some pre-recorded noises and carrying out pre-programmed actions, what are we ? Flesh and bones are the matter part of us and thoughts are the energy but surely there is more to us than that. Say we call it the soul, the unchanging part. Is  all existence just random or is there some purpose ? USG emphasises that each soul is unique and has a unique purpose.

          EACH soul in our group is unique and has a specific purpose.

Yes Sir, and that includes Shashi Bhushan Tyagi and Manjit Singh Sidhu too. As a result of the initial prod by USG and the very friendly

exchanges between Shashi and Manjit, there came tumbling out the bio-datas of Pratapda and PC Jha and  a few more too in the bargain.

           But for TDO, the news that SBT is an M.A. in Philosophy, topping in Indian philosophy takes the cake. Who could ever have imagined that constant prattling about the wealth of the nation being

swindled by Ambani-Adani ( and according to latest reports from Chief Detective Satbir, Thadani 

too ) would result in such a revelation ? Which is exactly why freedom of expression is to be encouraged rather than otherwise. Some good always results. On the other hand, please do not forget that Manjit was a Students Union leader in Punjab University of those days. That, in itself is equivalent to a Masters not only in Philosophy but a wide range of subjects in the higher realms. Remember this- we are not here to remove someone else's toxicity, but to remove that part of our own which reacts to such toxicity. If you feel too bad about something that is posted, use Ian's Golden key- CHABI. Say - 

" Charlie hai, aage badh " to yourself and carry on.

        So, all this while we have had these politicians,philosophers, landlords, economists,security experts, fishermen,bankers and corporate honchos among others trying to teach the rest of us ignorant folks about the Farmers problems. Is it at all a wonder then, that it has only resulted in total confusion?

        But, as brought out by Vidur, the only thing to do when the Nimbu Pani has become too acidic is to dilute it with lots of cold water and enjoy it. That brings me back to the heading - sherbet. While the word Nimbu-Pani is very refreshing on its own, the word " sherbet "

somehow denotes something much more than that - rejuvenating is somewhat closer.

          Years back, when i had just been posted to Delhi, i met an old college-mate after a long time and we were exchanging pleasantries.

After we had completed updating ourselves on the latest, he suddenly asked me - and how is your soul ? That question had me stunned for a long time and set me on a search which carries on till this very moment. 

        HOW iS YOUR SOUL ? First reaction was to begin searching for it. Can something which is formless be seen by the eyes alone ? Can silence be heard ? Can any of the senses cognize it ? Does something like that even exist ? With so many questions about it, how does one go about finding the sherbet and offering it ?

And by the way, today happens to be the first Monday of April, just four days away from April 1.😁🙏