Sensual Healing

Spirtiuality and Humor

Yeah, I need to heal. Heal from an ailment called desire. Once I start healing and continue what I have been doing all along, the whole process is going to be such a joy. I am beginning to get a sneak preview. I am sure with perseverance and time I would be able to get almost there if not really there.

The need to stop the flow of desires arises so as to see the purpose of life clearly. Is it to “enjoy” life by trying to get the best of everything? I thought so, not long ago and how wrong I had been all my life, I realize now. By trying to be desire free one is able to get the glimpse of what is the real goal. Am I on the right highway or is it going to lead to a dead end. By the time I realize the truth, it would be just about time to depart.

The cravings for good things in life are more like an addiction and we are hesitant to call them that. Once one gets or achieves the thing he or she desires, be it a new pair of shoes or setting up another multimillion dollar project, the novelty wears down. It is no longer desirable. Was the desire worth so much of our precious time and energy? The worst part is the moment one desire is fulfilled the next one starts to sprout. One is caught in this vicious circle of trying to fulfill these cravings. Some are met with success and some are not and in such cases the disappointment follows. The desire of having good life with good food, good liquor and other carnal pleasures is recurring. The moment the feeling of so called satisfaction starts to wane, the same desire is back, demanding attention once again. We have experienced it over and over again especially those of us who have been through life for some time now.

So is the purpose of life is to be the slave of these cravings lifelong and profess to be great leaders, intellectuals, socialites or an average bread earner for the family. I guess not, for we have taken birth in the human form, the top spot one can achieve among all things living. Join the “Total Surrender” club and get rid of desires which lead to all miseries in life. It would require continuous practice and complete surrender. The results of such practice when start manifesting are something that none of the good food, good liquor and other carnal pleasures ever be able to compete with. The pleasures of breaking free from desires are eternal and which bring us closer to the real reason of existence.

Humor 360

A news story: A 23 old robber lost his wallet in the scuffle with the “victim”. He calls the “victim” to return his wallet and gets caught by the police.

Today’s picture is of a contemplating sparrow after a feed.

The Solitary Sparrow

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Life Aboard a Ship: The Bridge

The Bridge

Life Aboard a Ship

Today I’ll take you on a tour of the bridge as in on board the vessel. On board, the bridge is a place from where I navigate the ship. It is essentially subdivided into a chart room and wheel house and these days since the communications too has become a part of the navigating officers job, a communications space.
The chartroom is the place where the chart or the map of the region where the ship is placed. The position of the vessel is plotted regularly. The frequency of such plotting is more when she is near the coast than when she is mid ocean where there are less obstructions. A modern day gadget is the electronic plotter which indicates the position of vessel by a light on the chart and is interfaced with the GPS. The digital versions of charts are now available under a system known as ECDIS or the Electronic Charts Display and Information System. These are the digital charts which are easily updated by satellite. Apart from charts the chartroom has GPS which gives us the present position. There is a depth sounding device called the Echo Sounder. It works by sending the sound waves and timing the reflected waves from the bottom. Then there is a course recorder which records the course the vessel is steering. A relative new addition is the equivalent of the black box in jets and is called the Voyage Data Recorder. A comprehensive data logger which keeps records of all important data and is primarily for investigations following an accident.
The wheel house is forward of the chartroom and is separated by only curtains during the night. This is to ensure that the watchkeepers are able to see the far off lights without any interference from the chart room illumination. It essentially houses the steering wheel which is used during manual steering. The autopilot is used for steering while the vessel is at sea. There is an engine telegraph, which is used to increase or decrease the revolutions when maneuvering during arrival or departure at ports and anchorages. The various switches for steering motors, air horn and other accessories are on various panels located here. The front of the wheel house is a series of glass windows to ensure good visibility and is more like the wind shield of a vehicle.
Since the start of the millennium the communications too has become part of the navigating officer’s job. It was formerly the responsibility of the Radio officer. Here various satellite terminals and transceivers using terrestrial means of communications are located.
It is the bridge of a ship where the captain goes to take the vessel alongside or coming out of the harbor. It is the place of work for the navigating officers and the command station of the ship.I have spent many a working hours on the bridge of many a ships and hope to continue for as long as I can. It is from the bridge that I have viewed many beautiful sundowns at sea and spectacular views around the world.

Humor 360

A recent news in a National broadsheet. A group of persons hired as audience for a reality show were unhappy the way they were treated during the shoot.
So much for the “Reality Show” with a not so real audience.

There were two men at work near a park. One was digging a hole and the other was filling it up. A curious bystander who had been watching them for a while finally couldn’t stop himself from asking them as to what were they trying to do. The man filling the hole replied. Sir, we were a team of three. The supervisor had assigned the job to plant saplings at the perimeter of this park. We decided one of us would dig the hole, one would get the saplings and plant it and one would fill the hole up. It just so happens that the guy who was to plant the saplings has reported sick.

Today’s picture is of Portulaca in full bloom at our home.

The Portulaca

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The Seven Seas

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The vast expanse of blue under an equally blue sky as seen from the bridge where I am, when navigating, appeared to be calmness personified. I thought, how still, water can become when no external forces are acting on it, in some ways similar to us, the kind of calmness one experiences when there is no flow of thoughts, a situation though rarely experienced. This spread of blue was being pierced by the bows of the ship, creating small waves at the fore end and a wake at the stern. Other than that there was no movement.
The view of sea on a moonlit night has no comparison. The light of Moon skimming over the sea surface and the ship silently making way towards her destination can trigger a very romantic emotion. The seas can have colors ranging from bright blue to pale green. I occasionally get to see bioluminescence at sea which is so intriguing. The streams of lights passing by you. The seas are home to million of fascinating flora and fauna. Now we have a regulation in place that prohibits taking ballast from one costal nation to other lest it disturbs the ecosystem of the arrival port. What we do is takeout water from the port of taking ballast, in mid ocean and replace it with water from there. At times you get to see the dolphins giving a synchronized display at others it is the whales, apparent by the fountain from the sea surface. The seagulls often take a ride on board, from one island to another.
The nations of the world were explored by sea by the great explorers of yore and the early traders used sea to sail to faraway lands to earn more money. The seas turn into ocean, mid ocean and back to seas when near the land. The imaginary line that we call equator, which divides the earth into two hemispheres is crossed with a celebration. All first time crossers are put together and have to undergo rather ghastly acts, though taken in good spirit, before being given the certificate my none other than Lord Neptune , the King of the Oceans, enacted by one of us on board.
The seas can become rather rough at times and it is the time when extra precautions are taken mainly regarding the securing of stuff, on deck, stores, galley and everywhere else. The fresh guys often get seasick so do some of the veterans. The vessel if pounding in her present course, is put on a course where she is comfortable and the revolutions on the engine are reduced to prevent overspeeding when the propeller comes out of the water, while pitching. Today with the weather routing available through satellite, things are much easier. Today’s Skipper has much more information in his hand than those in the past, and hence has lot more options, to deal with such situations. But these periods of turbulence are not for ever. Life goes on. We have smooth sailings again and we continue with our voyage
The one striking fact about sea is that no one ever gets sick here because of any infection for the air is so pure and free of pollution. Some deep breaths at mid ocean and you are rejuvenated beyond imagination.
I love the sea and its beautiful sunsets. The dawns and the dusks. The singing waves. The moon lit waves. The pure air and the line faraway where the ocean meets the sky.

Humor 360

Last summer, I saw a squirrel perched on top of a scarecrow on a litchi tree, using it as a tool to reach the higher reaches and enjoying its mid day meal. So much for the scarecrow serving its purpose.

A Life Insurance advert. We settle all claims sooner than anyone else. Just try dying once and check out for yourself.

Today’s picture is from my mother’s garden.

The Purple Petals

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A Life Free of Ego

Spirituality and Humor

The ego is born as soon as the child comes out of the mother’s womb. Though it starts manifesting itself only when one is in early teens and this limit must be heading southwards, I guess, like everything else in these times. The sad part is it doesn’t leave you even during your last days with Mother Earth. An old, fragile person though hardly able to carry out anything physical may be full of ego that may make a youth uncomfortable.
The ego is the cause of many an unhappiness in a person’s life. It is the ego which bars you from doing acts of kindness to fellow humans, or accept the fact that you had been wrong in whatever you were asking others to follow or to simply do things which are supposedly not suited for your stature or the position you hold, like cleaning the floor or doing the dishes and many other similar jobs, jobs not chores. It comes in the way of relationships.
The ego makes one live under a constant fear of being hurt, hurt which any one from a child to someone from the so called lower stratum of society can deliver. It is like living in an emotionally stooped manner under an invisible weight, lifelong. No one is seen to consciously make an effort to get rid of it, on the contrary it is encouraged in some personality development circles who argue that ego in healthy dose is good to achieve your ambition. I would like to differ. It is such a shortsighted view of things.
The egoist is shunned by all, though many may practice the art of sycophancy when dealing with him to achieve their ends, whatever those may be. An egoist never gets the true picture of how things are. He gets the distorted reports manipulated by sycophants. The result, the decisions are biased. The wealth and the associated stature fan the fire of egoism. So does the high position one may have in publiclife. However humble we may project ourselves to be in public but ego is the main reason of family businesses splitting. The ego in us make us take things for granted like how should we be treated by others, and when such treatment is not met, ego is easily hurt and leads to disappointment.
Yes, the ego free life would be an ideal life but can one achieve it by sheer perseverance, once one is convinced of merits of such a life. I would say no. It would not be possible by our efforts alone and we’ll get back to my “Total Surrender” post for some reference. We do need His help. Without his helping hand, it is impossible. Once the Ego starts leaving, you start feeling the pleasures of the weight being withdrawn, the weight that you had been carrying since way back when. Forget the way world wants to see you. Let the world see the way you want do things without a trace of ego, carrying out things much more productively and getting results which none of the Management Gurus ever dreamt of.
I personally experience it during my management at workplace and in life in general. I wouldn’t opt for any other way. It is such a nice and fulfilling feeling. The works which you have to struggle getting done with your share of ego can be done in relative ease, almost effortlessly and with a little more effort put in by the staff.
Taking the ego purging to the next level can mean not to hint it even in the body language. A person in authority tends to have his arms akimbo when getting things done. The same act of getting things done can be done without the hands on the hips and elbows jutting out and with a higher level of acceptability among the subordinates.
These thoughts may seem trivial but I have found them of immense importance and I am having a great new experience in this purging of the ego.

Humor 360

One person to another: It’s so easy to quit smoking, I have done it so many times.

One study shows that every country of the world is in debt. But where has all the money gone?

Today I bring you a picture from the Ocean.

The Turbulent Sea

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Carrying Cargoes

Life Aboard a Ship

The major trade of the world is by sea. The merchant vessels generally known as freighters as distinct from passenger ships make the transportation possible from one part of the globe to another.
The type I work on are the kind which carry stuff in bulk like coal, iron ore, grain etc. and hence known as Bulk Carriers. Today I’ll give you a sneak preview of all works and planning that goes behind carrying cargoes, from the time of fixing a cargo to when it is delivered to its rightful owners.
The moment any cargo is fixed the charterers or owners as the case may be ask the vessel how much would it be possible to load, given the fuel, freshwater, unpumpable ballast, constant (unknown weights) and stowage factor(volume occupied by one ton of cargo). All this is calculated and cargo distributed in holds (compartments in the ship where cargo is stowed) in the loading computer to ensure stresses and other parameters are within acceptable limits.
Once the cargo quantity is calculated and sent back to the charterers and voyage confirmed preparations for loading in the holds start, depending on the type of cargo. It basically requires a dry sweeping, and washing by high pressure water jet. I love this high pressure cleaning. It is so efficient and satisfying. If required to clean for high grade cargoes such cleaning is done to a higher standard.
On arrival load port, the holds are inspected by a surveyor who checks if the condition of the holds is acceptable to load the cargo that has been fixed. An initial draft survey is done to ascertain the displacement before loading and another one after completion of loading to arrive at figure of cargo loaded. After this go ahead, the vessel starts to load cargo as per the loading plan that had been prepared with due consideration to the fact that at no stage of loading, the maximum allowable stresses are exceeded. There have been instances when vessels have snapped into two, in port while loading. After the final draft survey, the Master signs the bill of lading, which is a kind of receipt for the cargo loaded and a second original serves as means of identification of the rightful owner of cargo at the discharge port. I love the sight of a fully laden ship, all battened up, ready to move out of the harbor and head for her port of destination to yet again deliver one more time what she has been delivering eversince her inaugural voyage.
On arrival at the discharge port the Master is presented by a Bill of lading or other legally acceptable instrument. Once he is satisfied as to the authenticity of the receiver, the discharge of cargo begins. Here too there are the two draft surveys to ascertain the quantity of cargo discharged. The discharge plan like the loading plan is followed, for the same reasons. Once the cargo is safely delivered to the receiver, the vessel is ready to start her preparation for next loading, the instructions for which would have been received by now.
As a result of the present economic downturn a number of ships had to be laid off due to lack of business. An indication of which was the number of vessels seen at anchorages off Singapore, till a few month ago, which is by far the world’s busiest port. That number has started to decrease, as I noticed during our last call at Singapore. An indication that the world trade is picking up again which is good news for each one of us, I guess.

Humor 360
Once a man was asked to make observations on the effect of breaking legs on a cockroach. He broke one leg, and he shouted “Move” and the roach started limping. He noted the roach starts limping when one leg is broken. He broke the second leg and roach started dragging. He made the observation in his notebook. After a couple of more leg breakings, he wrote the roach starts wobbling. And finally it was the turn of the last remaining leg. He broke it and shouted “Move” but the roach did not respond. After a little thought the man concluded that cockroach gets deaf when all it legs are broken.
I have just been back after just over six months at sea. I plan to be home for some time now as I would be building our home. I sure would blog more frequently now.

Today I bring you a picture of Mother Nature taken during a long drive not long ago.

I Wish I Had a Home Here

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The Cloudscape

Beauty of Nature

The ever evolving clouds in the sky have fascinated me since my early days. Watching clouds change shapes can be very absorbing on a lazy winter afternoon. It’s like watching Mother Nature’s Kaleidoscope. The abstracts sometimes amazingly take form of things which are very close to living and nonliving forms in real life.
During earlier part of my sea life, we had to watch them closely and make observations, to send weather reports from sea when the satellites were still in their infancy. It was then I learned the various types, like the cumulus (my favorite) which are the cauliflower shaped clouds that fill the sky often and can be of a large vertical extent. Then there are the cirrus which resemble the cotton flakes and the earlier generation of seamen used the direction they aligned themselves to tell the centre of a storm. The stratus, which as the name indicates, are the layer type clouds and can be of the dark threatening variety that end up giving heavy downpour. These basic types are categorized further by their height above the earth’s surface. The Cirrostratus are the higher altitude stratus whereas the Altostratus are the medium altitude stratus.
At sea, as a first mate and incharge of getting daily maintenance done on board, I used to get the vessel alter course just to avoid getting drenched under a passing shower, especially if some painting job on deck was planned for the day.

Once on a cloudy day, to my query on picking him up from school, as to what he was doing in the class, my son responded, “I was watching clouds”. Like father like son, I thought. I couldn’t identify more with my son, at that point in time.
I was reading one of my reader’s blogs when the lady in one of her posts described having gone up to the mountain top and wished she could jump to touch the clouds. What an idea! On a trip to Mussourie, a neighborhood tourist attracting hill, I once overheard a local, that clouds often float through their living room. Hey, ain’t that romantic? The family having an after lunch chat and a cloud appears through an open window making things foggy for a few moments. I bet it is.

Humor 360
One day, while in the dry dock at Piraeus, Greece, the local workshop supervisor asked the British Chief engineer to get the bunker tank cleaned for some repairs in the adjacent compartment. Due to heavy work schedule of the Chief , it got overlooked.
The Supervisor when told by his people that the job by the ship staff was not started till late afternoon, came fuming on the ship.
He went straight to Chief Engineer’s cabin and asked “Chief, Do you understand English?”
This from a man who spoke a heavily accented form and requiring much grammatical help to a person whose forefathers gave the world the language.

It is from the time when the cell phones had just become popular and people hadn’t got quite used to the new way of getting call, anyplace. A husband gets a call, from his wife, while shopping at a supermarket. His first response, “How did you know I was here”?

I had been to sea for a couple of months and am back home for a brief holiday. Things haven’t been going quite as planned, I am not incharge of the vessel yet but accepting what comes naturally has been a direction He has been giving me in these recent years. And I am enjoying every bit of that direction. The acceptance preempts any disappointment within.

Today's picture is from the neighborhood of my mother's home.

The Weaver and The Weave

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The Humble Path

Spirituality and Humor

Humility, a term widely used but hardly followed. As the years go by the term is getting further and further away from its true meaning.
Here, I am not referring to the kind shown by the celebrities in their interviews or in the award ceremonies or the one shown by us in our day to day conversations, when we don’t mean what we are saying. We do it so as to be politically correct and it doesn’t require much effort.
True humility can not be achieved by our efforts alone, however hard we may try. One needs His help and to be eligible for that one got to be the member of the “Total Surrender” club.
A humble person, like other virtuous person doesn’t have to carry a placard about how humble he is but it shows in the way he goes about living his life. As you go further in the path of life, holding His finger, like a child holding his father’s when he has just begun to walk, He tells you stuff that only He can tell. The trouble begins when you let go of the finger and think you are big enough to take a walk by yourself. Though you may succeed on a scale in which the world measures success, but deep within, there is always an emptiness which no amount of money can fill. One may be the richest person on the planet but he is vulnerable and can be easily shaken by other people’s remarks. His wealth doesn’t help him to absorb that shock.
The journey to humility can be started at any point in time, though it’s hard to be humble when you are young and not so experienced with the ways of life, which are harsh but just.
As I said the first step to living a life worth living would be to surrender to Him, unconditionally and then make a conscious effort to achieve your goal. A daily discussion with self at the wrapping up part of the day, can be very useful in assessing what all went wrong during the day, when you weren’t humble enough or when the ego in you beat you in your resolve.
There is so much joy in being humble which the ego in us can never even imagine, is possible. Always place others, including inanimate objects, before you and the humility will start manifesting itself, like the hint of the sapling out of the Mother Earth of a seed sown.
These hints by no means are easy to follow nor the results achieved in one lifetime. These are things we must sincerely strive for, for our own good. The sensual pleasures last no more than a few moments but these pleasures out of humility are eternal and count in improving the quality of life, which has nothing to do with materialism.
I am on the path now. I am, by no means, a big achiever but because of “Total Surrender”, I at least see where I have to go. I am trying and it’s such a beautiful journey.
Here in Doon the “Cuckoo Fest” has begun and you can hear them singing all day long. The butterflies are fluttering, the dragonflies are jetting and Mother Earth has changed to her garb of green during this season of rains.








Today I bring you a recent sundown as viewed from our home.

Mother Nature's Canvas

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