There are times when you begin to wonder what the purpose of life is ? Why are we here ? People go to any length to amass wealth and power, kill others simply because they don't agree with them or for some other reason... so, did the creator, create these people to live so violently and whether there is any good reason why he or she looks away when such things happen ?
Please share your views on life and it's all round purpose
usha manohar wrote:We see films and the media leaning towards consumerism and making much of frivolous things that celebrities do ... I see many teenagers discussing seriously about dress malfunction? Of actresses as if it is a life and death issue . Entertainment is good but we need to set a certain higher standard for ourselves rather than stoop ..
I know what you mean. You know, during this year's Diwali, I actually felt a bit disconnected. I mean, I did all the things we are supposed to in preparation of the festival, cleaned the house, prepared a variety of food stuff, got new clothes etc.,, flowers.,put up lights everything. I had long discussions with friends about Diwali and how we were going to celebrate it , I was hoping to get together with friends, do something fun and nice with them and the kids etc. But no one was interested in being with friends or even family. Most of them were planning for big shopping from various malls and shops as sales were on, some of them were planning go away for a week's holidays.
It was then I realised that people have lost the true purpose of what life is all about and everything is about consumerism and the individual powers of spending money! I am still a bit to understand what life is about and what is the ultimate role of each of us etc. But what I understand now, at this point is that, life is not just about thinking about ourselves only, but more about what we can do for our society, our country etc.
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:usha manohar wrote:We see films and the media leaning towards consumerism and making much of frivolous things that celebrities do ... I see many teenagers discussing seriously about dress malfunction? Of actresses as if it is a life and death issue . Entertainment is good but we need to set a certain higher standard for ourselves rather than stoop ..
I know what you mean. You know, during this year's Diwali, I actually felt a bit disconnected. I mean, I did all the things we are supposed to in preparation of the festival, cleaned the house, prepared a variety of food stuff, got new clothes etc.,, flowers.,put up lights everything. I had long discussions with friends about Diwali and how we were going to celebrate it , I was hoping to get together with friends, do something fun and nice with them and the kids etc. But no one was interested in being with friends or even family. Most of them were planning for big shopping from various malls and shops as sales were on, some of them were planning go away for a week's holidays.
It was then I realised that people have lost the true purpose of what life is all about and everything is about consumerism and the individual powers of spending money! I am still a bit to understand what life is about and what is the ultimate role of each of us etc. But what I understand now, at this point is that, life is not just about thinking about ourselves only, but more about what we can do for our society, our country etc.
I totally agree with you. This year we didn't have to celebrate Diwali as my aunt in law passed away 5 days before Diwali. It was dry day as we had holidays and nothing to do..no Pooja, no diyas and no delicacies. My kids kept whining since morning as how boring it was with nothing to do. So we planned to go for a movie in evening. We booked the tickets for Secret Superstar in a theatre in nearby mall. We expected very less crowd due to festival. But to our surprise, shops were overcrowded due to last day sale and discount schemes. Instead of Pooja and celebration at home, they were out for shopping
Day by day the thought process is changing so fast that somewhere down the line we seem to be misfit. Discount coupons are making people crazy about shopping. People even buy unwanted things just to flaunt. Now, festivals have lost its actual importance and have become the reason to exhibit money.
What you are saying was happening before also but was limited to a very few families who could afford to do so. Today a much larger number of famikies are having good purchasing power and thus enjoy spending. Such trend is going to increase and will become the norm and look normal. Better to get used to it rather than clash with it.
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:usha manohar wrote:We see films and the media leaning towards consumerism and making much of frivolous things that celebrities do ... I see many teenagers discussing seriously about dress malfunction? Of actresses as if it is a life and death issue . Entertainment is good but we need to set a certain higher standard for ourselves rather than stoop ..
I know what you mean. You know, during this year's Diwali, I actually felt a bit disconnected. I mean, I did all the things we are supposed to in preparation of the festival, cleaned the house, prepared a variety of food stuff, got new clothes etc.,, flowers.,put up lights everything. I had long discussions with friends about Diwali and how we were going to celebrate it , I was hoping to get together with friends, do something fun and nice with them and the kids etc. But no one was interested in being with friends or even family. Most of them were planning for big shopping from various malls and shops as sales were on, some of them were planning go away for a week's holidays.
It was then I realised that people have lost the true purpose of what life is all about and everything is about consumerism and the individual powers of spending money! I am still a bit to understand what life is about and what is the ultimate role of each of us etc. But what I understand now, at this point is that, life is not just about thinking about ourselves only, but more about what we can do for our society, our country etc.
The concept of festivals has undergone a total change now with people either being garish and showy or else being high nosed. I have a neighbor who does not celebrate any Hindu festivals but keeps a xmas tree in her house and goes gaga over Easter , her idea of secularism as perceived from our politicians. I hate no problem with her celebrating Xmas or Easter in fact I welcome it but to be snobbish about her own roots shows immaturity and a lack of forethought.
vijay wrote:What you are saying was happening before also but was limited to a very few families who could afford to do so. Today a much larger number of famikies are having good purchasing power and thus enjoy spending. Such trend is going to increase and will become the norm and look normal. Better to get used to it rather than clash with it.
Of course there is no stopping Change , one has to go with the flow. While it is good to see that the standard of living has been steadily showing an upswing , it would be good to see a balance maintained between quality and quantity.
Increased purchasing power gives boost to spending which in turn leads to good economic growth. Yes there will be some who will overbuy or show off but such cases are few. When purchasing power is God no one asks the purpose of life. It is when one is unfortunately poor that one starts wondering about life and birth and so on.
A quote I came across ..
The cities, the roads, the countryside, the people I meet - they all begin to blur. I tell myself I am searching for something. But more and more, it feels like I am wandering, waiting for something to happen to me, something that will change everything, something that my whole life has been leading up to.
vijay wrote:What you are saying was happening before also but was limited to a very few families who could afford to do so. Today a much larger number of famikies are having good purchasing power and thus enjoy spending. Such trend is going to increase and will become the norm and look normal. Better to get used to it rather than clash with it.
Right, this type of attitude was there in the past, is still present and will be there in the future too. It is very difficult for people like me to accept and appreciate the exhibition of money. leading a life without compassion is a sick thought process.
People make a distinction between old money and new money. The general feeling is that people with family money and wealth don't get carried away but from what I have experienced , a majority of them are very snobbish . The new money can be comical because they want to flash around without caring about quality or class ..either way too much of anything is bad for people ..
usha manohar wrote:A quote I came across ..
The cities, the roads, the countryside, the people I meet - they all begin to blur. I tell myself I am searching for something. But more and more, it feels like I am wandering, waiting for something to happen to me, something that will change everything, something that my whole life has been leading up to.
What a lovely quote and so appropriate. I wish more people thought about the same thing, the world would be a different place.
This year, we decided to do something different. My son likes to read a lot but he reads only books in English as that is the first language taught in school, though he is able to read well in Marathi, he refuses to read those books. So this year, during Diwali days, me and my husband after finishing our Pooja, decided to listen to audio books of a very prominent Marathi writer who was known for his humour. My son listened in the background and after some time got so interested that he came and sat with us and enjoyed listening to it a lot. He then made me promise that we would do this again.
It was time well spent and all three of us really connected. So it is up to us how we choose to celebrate the festival, whether we give in to current trends and follow a mob mentality or do something that we really like.
Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:usha manohar wrote:A quote I came across ..
The cities, the roads, the countryside, the people I meet - they all begin to blur. I tell myself I am searching for something. But more and more, it feels like I am wandering, waiting for something to happen to me, something that will change everything, something that my whole life has been leading up to.
What a lovely quote and so appropriate. I wish more people thought about the same thing, the world would be a different place.
This year, we decided to do something different. My son likes to read a lot but he reads only books in English as that is the first language taught in school, though he is able to read well in Marathi, he refuses to read those books. So this year, during Diwali days, me and my husband after finishing our Pooja, decided to listen to audio books of a very prominent Marathi writer who was known for his humour. My son listened in the background and after some time got so interested that he came and sat with us and enjoyed listening to it a lot. He then made me promise that we would do this again.
It was time well spent and all three of us really connected. So it is up to us how we choose to celebrate the festival, whether we give in to current trends and follow a mob mentality or do something that we really like.
It is good you thought of doing that Kalyani because one can foresee a slow death of local languages in times to come, and unless we pass it on to our future generations they will not be able to appreciate it. On the one hand some people may go overboard with the language issue but unless steps are taken by the authorities all the local languages may perish .
usha manohar wrote:Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:usha manohar wrote:A quote I came across ..
The cities, the roads, the countryside, the people I meet - they all begin to blur. I tell myself I am searching for something. But more and more, it feels like I am wandering, waiting for something to happen to me, something that will change everything, something that my whole life has been leading up to.
What a lovely quote and so appropriate. I wish more people thought about the same thing, the world would be a different place.
This year, we decided to do something different. My son likes to read a lot but he reads only books in English as that is the first language taught in school, though he is able to read well in Marathi, he refuses to read those books. So this year, during Diwali days, me and my husband after finishing our Pooja, decided to listen to audio books of a very prominent Marathi writer who was known for his humour. My son listened in the background and after some time got so interested that he came and sat with us and enjoyed listening to it a lot. He then made me promise that we would do this again.
It was time well spent and all three of us really connected. So it is up to us how we choose to celebrate the festival, whether we give in to current trends and follow a mob mentality or do something that we really like.
It is good you thought of doing that Kalyani because one can foresee a slow death of local languages in times to come, and unless we pass it on to our future generations they will not be able to appreciate it. On the one hand some people may go overboard with the language issue but unless steps are taken by the authorities all the local languages may perish .
Great! Kalyani. This is how you connected your child with his roots which is a very good attempt. I face the same issue because I am a Bengali but my son is growing up in Delhi. Although I grew up in Patna I learnt my mother tongue properly. My son speaks fluently, can read with some difficulty but can't write at all. In Delhi it has become a bit more difficult but we are trying our best to make our son get connected with Bangla language. I am also trying it through story books as he is an avid reader. He fumbles but still reads various comics and Satyajit Ray's books. Hope he learns to read properly!
In my own state we have 4 languages spoken in different regions - Kannada which is the official state language, Konkani and Thulu spoken in the coastal Karnataka and Kodava language spoken in Coorg. So one can imagine the difficulties we have with regard to languages. However , the more languages you know the better it is for the development of the brain cells and I am told that linguists are generally very broad minded in their views.
usha manohar wrote:In my own state we have 4 languages spoken in different regions - Kannada which is the official state language, Konkani and Thulu spoken in the coastal Karnataka and Kodava language spoken in Coorg. So one can imagine the difficulties we have with regard to languages. However , the more languages you know the better it is for the development of the brain cells and I am told that linguists are generally very broad minded in their views.
Well, it's an info to me that linguists are generally broad-minded. That sounds nice. What I feel is, a knowledge of many languages makes a person quite alert. Understanding level increases as well as one becomes much more expressive.
I would love to learn as many languages as possible. Mainly Indian languages as they are so rich. I have picked up speaking, reading and writing of English, Hindi and Sanskrit. I am getting fluent in talking Kannada. Now planning to start reading and writing of Kannada. Can watch Bengali and Punjabi movies without subtitles.
I know of a Tamilian lady. She was my mentor 10 years back. She knows 26 languages, all major Indian languages and a few foreign ones. She is fluent in reading, writing too. She is a well known name in India for Montessori movement. Now she is above 90, but still active with translation of various books in different regional languages. She is active, smart and very much ahead of her times. She could drive till 80. A true inspiration for many
Arunima Singh wrote:I would love to learn as many languages as possible. Mainly Indian languages as they are so rich. I have picked up speaking, reading and writing of English, Hindi and Sanskrit. I am getting fluent in talking Kannada. Now planning to start reading and writing of Kannada. Can watch Bengali and Punjabi movies without subtitles.
I know of a Tamilian lady. She was my mentor 10 years back. She knows 26 languages, all major Indian languages and a few foreign ones. She is fluent in reading, writing too. She is a well known name in India for Montessori movement. Now she is above 90, but still active with translation of various books in different regional languages. She is active, smart and very much ahead of her times. She could drive till 80. A true inspiration for many
Such people are indeed respectful and inspirational. If possible then kindly share her name Arunima. I think, everyoone would love to learn about her.
@kiran8
