Until Nirvana do us part!

Hindus are united in the belief that human life is actually a cycle – a cycle of birth and death until one attains “Nirvana” or eternal relief. Life on this earth, according to Hindu religion, is all about experiences which lead to the soul’s evolution, until it becomes one with God. And that act of becoming one with God, releases the soul from this cycle – called “Janma-mrityu” (life and death).

Ever since I was a child, I had heard mention about this life, the next one or the one before. Whenever something good happened in my life, I was told that it was the fruit of my actions in my previous life. And when something bad happened, for example, if someone cheated me of money, I was told that I probably owed money in my previous life and was repaying that debt off now. Thus it is, that I am constantly watching my deeds in this life, so that when I am reborn, I am that much closer to attaining Nirvana and hoping to be released from the “Janma-mrityu” cycle.

And as far as I can remember, people in India routinely cursed others who upset them by informing them that they would regress and be born a dog or a cat in their next life for their misdeeds in this one! Stands to reason that I inferred from those remarks that Hindus consider humans as the highest form of life, closer to God than any other being. For a very long time, I have accepted this edict, because it was inculcated in me as a very young child.

That was until we got Subbu, our cat. I am now forced to re-evaluate my assumptions. As I watch his life fly by, day after peaceful day, starting with early morning hugs, caresses, kisses and eternally full food bowl, I am starting to wonder: are humans really the superior beings? Are human closer to God than animals? Are we, indeed, born as humans in this life because of our past good deeds? Or could it be that we are born as humans in this life because we have committed sins in our past lives? Had I been good, and kind and compassionate and loving and grateful, should I not have been born as someone as peaceful, as serene and as happy as my cat?

I think Subbu’s life. more than mine, resembles that of the revered Indian sadhu (ascetic), whose meditations bring him close to God.

I’ll demonstrate with a run-down of his typical day:
5:00 am: It is wake-up time. If the ones who are fortunate enough to serve Subbu aren’t awake, no problem, he is happy to go the extra mile to wake them up so they can finish up their chores of taking care of him, before heading out to work to earn money to feed Subbu. He does that by crouching low by the side of the bed and pouncing on their toes jutting from under the bed cover. He does this repeatedly, all the while making mewing sounds until they wake up. Then he promptly flops on their feet and does a few somersaults to show them that he loves them. Because he looks so sweet when he flops on his back, Subbu’s owners forget to scold him for waking them up at an unearthly hour, in this fashion, and he gets a belly rub, many strokes and lots of kisses instead.

5:10 am: Stroking and petting done. It is time to refill Subbu’s food bowl which has been licked clean during the night. Subbu doesn’t mind having to lead them to his food bowl. He does this by walking a few steps, sitting down facing the direction he wants to lead them, and looking back at them, with his unblinking stare and eyes speaking volumes. As they follow, he’ll walk a few more steps and repeat performance, until he leads them to his empty bowl. Then, an indignant meow will let them know that while they have been remiss in letting his bowl get empty, he’ll forgive them if they refill promptly.

8:00 am: Time to see off the guy who goes out each morning to bring home the moolah! That’s the least Subbu can do. He does this by running down the stairs to the door to say bye and then running up the stairs and racing to the deck to wave goodbye from upstairs.

8:30 am: What is this other person doing? Shouldn’t she be petting Subbu, rather than being stuck in front of that screen? Oh well, Subbu drapes himself on his favorite black chair (the one that attracts the most fur) and looks bored. He spends the next hour or so, staring unblinkingly at the back of her head while he meditates on how wonderful his life is.

9:30 am: Time for a nap. Subbu retires upstairs to the master bedroom. The comforter is a dark red one so it is a perfect foil for an utterly indolent, beautifully soft, gorgeously gray and white fur ball. Subbu settles down for a nap, so his owner can come by and admire his killer looks and take pictures.

9:40 am: Subbu is now on his back, hind paws airborne, fore paws covering his eyes, pink little tongue sticking out, flesh reposing in utter stillness. Life is good.

4:00 pm: Wake up, stretch on the wall, fling oneself on human toes for more petting.

5:00 pm: Time to go out! Run down the stairs and mew loudly by the door until it is opened. Peek out, watch out for dogs, and run outside into the wilderness. Ah! the freedom to chase bugs, climb trees, watch birds and root around nature!

6:00 pm: Here is a strange human who’s walking towards Subbu. Subbu promptly does his “damsel in distress” act! Runs towards the stranger, flings himself at her toes and rolls on his back, all the while watching the human’s reaction out of the corner of his eyes. Predictably, she coos, ooohs and aaahs, stoops down to rub his belly and exclaims loudly about the cute cat! With one more feather in his hat, Subbu gets up, dusts himself off and walks away, tail in the air to resume his wilderness foray, while cruelly leaving behind a damsel in the throes of Subbu love!

9:00 pm: Subbu’s owners are being pests, scouring the neighborhood for him, calling his name loudly and disturbing the peace. Subbu comes bounding out the darkness, his beautiful eyes gleaming and promptly flops at their feet to indicate that he has no plans to go back inside.

9:30 pm: Back home. Its time to play. Subbu races up and down the stairs, pushing the torn cloth mouse and trying to get the lazy owners to work up a sweat. He tries valiantly for about 15 minutes and then gives up and runs up and down on his own, chasing many imaginary mice.

10:00 pm: Time to grab the foot of the master bed before those humans can come by and stretch out in Subbu’s space.

Life, as I said, is good. Peace, happiness, contentment, love, acceptance – complete acceptance of every situation that life throws at Subbu, and so Nirvana cannot be far away.

Now you tell me, my dear reader: is the cat’s life not one of complete surrender to God’s will? Is it not a life filled with positive emotions of love, (universal love, remember the demonstration of love for the stranger who happened to cross his path?), acceptance and peace?

Doesn’t it seem as though a cat is closer to God than man is?

The Joy of Absolute Faith

Unlike Oliver Twist, the famed protagonist of Charles Dickens’ novel, Subbu, our cat, did not ask for more! Subbu led an envious cat life – full of petting and feting and loving. He loved being welcomed with smooches and cuddles every time he sauntered into view. He loved our home and neighborhood. He had access to the wilderness he dearly loved, and enjoyed his daily romp in the woods. He loved to watch the birds all the while pretending he was a tiger crouching for his prey. And he loved to slink away sheepishly, if the bird ever dared to look at him. Life was fun. Life was enjoyable. Life was everything he could ask of it. Life was full.

Subbu couldn’t have asked for more.

And that was until 3 days ago when life decided to throw Subbu a curve ball. We closed up home and moved across the country. Subbu watched questioningly, as we loaded up our van with his food and water bowls and his meager possessions. And then he watched helplessly in dismay, as we dragged him squalling and mewling pitifully into the “big gray moving beast” – our van. He climbed on my lap and watched the moving scenery with rounded eyes, filled with fear and disbelief. What had happened to his wonderful life? Why was he cooped up and moving so fast? Where were these people whom he had once trusted taking him? Why couldn’t he go out and visit with his birds and bugs, deer and water fowl? Why couldn’t he spend his days snoozing under the desk with his paws up in the air? Why? Why?

And so, the first half of a day was spent with Subbu resisting and questioning and being fearful. Then came a time, sometime mid way through the day, when Subbu stopped resisting. He suddenly recalled that wherever he was being taken, he was being taken by people whom he loved and trusted. He retreated between our seats and settled in to snooze. Within a couple of hours he was relaxed and soon he was on his back, paws up in the air, sleeping in the abject surrender of one who had reposed his complete trust on his loved ones and knew he would fine. The rest of the 22 hour journey went fine – for Subbu as well as for us.

So, what is the moral of this story? How does this apply to us in these trying times?

We are now at a time in our lives when we know not why “bad” things happen and we know not why “bad” things happen to good people. All over the world, the global economy is melting and taking away livelihoods for millions of people. We watch as years of hard work, responsible behavior and hard earned savings vanish in a whirl of greed and corruption. We watch helplessly as the very same people who recklessly played with our savings, are being bailed out  by the Govt. by mortgaging our future. The world seems upside down. There is war going on in many countries. Suffering does not seem to end. The world as we know it, is a fearful place and we live our daily lives, asking, “WHY? WHY?” Every single time we question, we resist the events in our lives and live out of fear and resentment. And lose the precious seconds, minutes and hours our lives to fear.

And spend our lives second-guessing the supreme power – the one who brought us on this journey. Like Subbu, we don’t understand why we are being taken to this place in our lives. If we too, like Subbu, stopped resisting and remember that we love and trust this supreme power to take care of us, we too, can lie back and relax with our paws up in the air and let life take its course.

And, like Subbu, we too will enjoy the journey wherever it takes us.

Palin Planet!

At breakfast today, I told my son, “You know, it’s time for me to write again about Sarah Palin!”

As a fledgling blogger, I am very interested in checking out the stats of my blogs. And the discovery I made was not surprising.

So when my son asked me why I wanted to write about Sarah Palin yet again, I unabashedly told him that my posting about Sarah Palin gets a more consistent viewing than many of my other blogs, barring the one about “Even a cat has Karma“. Good enough reason to write about what the “Palin ingredient” does for the media.

Whatever Sarah Palin may represent to the rest of us, we all seem to have a love-hate relationship with her. Every feeling about Sarah is extreme. There are those who worship the ground she treads on, aka William Kristol, Sean Hannity, and some folks in Alaska.

And then there are those like me, who read about her and watch her on TV with incredulity. What on earth?…. is what we think when we hear her speak. Her brand of gibberish is certainly very entertaining and very very unique. She strives really hard to make sense, and I bet in her mind, she does make sense, but the words out of her mouth never seem to pause – they flow like the Ganges, ravishing all sane thought and idea in its wake.

What does Sarah Palin do for the media? Well, I have not yet heard anyone openly acknowledge her star power, so I will. As far as the Internet goes, any mention of Palin, has a Web site auto-ping and grab content to display on their site (0f course, with a link back to my blog!) – so that’s exposure right away. The minute I press the Publish Post button on this blog, I am going to get a ping back. Not bad.

As far as TV shows go – the ratings go through the roof, if the channel advertises that Sarah is going to be on the show. Why does this happen?

Again, two very different reasons – First off, lets not disregard the devotees, for they make up the true ratings.

They come out in droves to watch her, comprehend her utterances, interpret it to suit themselves, salivate over her good looks, discuss her hair, make-up, clothes and figure. These true ratings, in my opinion, are made up to two distinct categories of people – the men, some of whom comprise of the pimpled adolescent boys or the bored husbands who like to imagine her as the hot, bespectacled librarian. These are the kind who love to see eye-candy and get a kick out of seeing the Palin photo daily on the news. Honorable mention in this category are the Brits and the Pakistanis (led by the stalwart Zardari).

The second category is the women. These are the working women, housewives, forty-somethings, and women who dream of fame and recognition. To them, Sarah represents a dream come true – “someone like me” becoming famous. Some of these women are actually smart, good looking and educated. But their filter for viewing Sarah is themselves. They see her as themselves and so cut her slack for her incoherent talk, her rambling rhetoric and “interpret” her sentences for the rest of us, in the multiple blog comments.

Secondly, there are the infidels, like myself, who dare to be skeptics. This category comes out in droves too when a Sarah Palin show is aired, and this is the number that embellishes the ratings. These people come to see the Sarah Palin shows for entertainment. True entertainment. We watch in awe that someone like Sarah gets to be on prime time. We watch in horror and pain as she ties herself up in a flurry of her words, like a python slowly tightening its hold on its
prey. We watch in fascination, as the TV host lets her get away with answers that have no bearing on the question asked. And we watched with fear, when we thought she might, she just might, get to become VP and cast the pall of her intellect on America.

So there you go, my in-depth analysis of Sarah Palin’s media advantage . Love her or hate her, you can never just ignore her.

And that’s true STAR POWER!!

Even a cat has Karma!

Barack Obama and I have something in common – Our “change is coming” theme! Resist it as we may, life is all about change. Good change, bad change – we categorize it, but change is just change. If there was no change, life wouldnt be as exciting, as fun, and the wild careening ride until death releases us to God knows where!

As I connected this in my head I pondered about Subbu, my cat. He is a gift from my son. As I delight over him every morning and literally every time I catch sight of him – lolling around, begging for treats, sitting by the french window but with his head twisted back to see if I would come by and let him out, digging up my carpets, lying all day with paws up in the air under my son, Karthik’s desk, I start thinking about how his life has changed in this past year.

Subbu was born as Sebastian, on a Wisconsin farm in the depths of winter. He was transported by Karthik’s friend to their college residence when he was just a few weeks old. As a kitten, he adjusted very well to the drive – sleeping draped around the boy’s neck for 3 hours.

Back in Madison, he was confronted with the dregs of an in-campus home – a deep, dank home filled with cigarette stubs, video games, dirty carpets, unmade beds, and dishes all over the place. His house mates consisted of another cat called Alistair and 5 young college males, who proceeded to pet him whenever they noticed him; feed him at a fairly regular schedule; but cleaned out the litter box only when even their friends who came drunk to their parties noticed the stench.

Subbu’s sole contact with outside air for those 6 months, was when he was let out into the tiny deck, once in a long while. The rest of the time, he learned to play with Alistair and meow outside the boys’ doors when he wanted to be petted.

When my son Karthik moved out of the house to live by himself, in the final semester of his college, Subbu was donated by Karthik’s roommates to a girl who also lived in campus. We know not how Subbu’s life was that semester; what we do know is that in a short span of a year, Subbu had moved 3 homes and had had 3 different set of living conditions – every change was out of his control.

When he finally came to me, he was again transported 8 hours – but this time, since he was older, we tried to put in a cat carrier. His fear of being locked up made him meow so pitifully and so loudly that we took our chances of being scratched and clawed and let him loose in the car. Cool cat that he is, he slept peacefully at Karthik’s feet for 8 hours, his gorgeous gray fur merging seamlessly with the gray car mat.

Now he lives with us and he has been rechristened Subbu – simply because I cannot pronounce Sebastian very easily. In addition, the name Sebastian doesn’t lend itself well to baby talk.
Subbu’s life has changed yet again – I think its his Karma! Here he has access to the great outdoors – we live in a single family home in a sparsely populated neighborhood. There are no homes on one side of ours. Besides, ours is a lovely neighborhood – we have the deer, the racoons, bald soaring eagles, and even the peacocks, visit us regularly. There is a lake in the neighborhood, so Subbu gets to revert to his roots and pretend he’s a tiger on a hunt! He crouches in the tall grass around the lake, seeking prey. He chases bugs around, and climbs on trees to pander to his true cat’s nature. He gets to stay out as long as he wants to and when he comes back home with his fur laden with wild flowers, leaves and thorns, he gets groomed and petted.

Now Subbu is also due for another change when we move. He’ll probably lose his great outdoors especially if we move into a more urban home.

So, what does this simple life story say about Karma?
Even a cat has his Karma. And that Karma drives his life in this birth. I guess the difference between a man’s Karma and a cat’s Karma is probably an element of free will that man has, that an animal does not. Beyond that, there’s something to be said for Karma!