The Wounded Warrior

The Wounded Warrior


Romulus stumbled in the dark; it was difficult to tell whether it was the drowsiness or the darkness that made him move so errantly. From the distance one could see a big figure slowly moving up the hill. His silhouette against the night sky was barely visible.

By the time Romulus reached the top of the hill, the sky was painted in a misty blue twilight. In an hour the sun would rise in the east from its slumber. He walked to the great oak tree and stood there examining the view in front of him.

Flocks of birds were crisscrossing across the early morning sky. A chilly wind was rustling the leaves of giant trees. Down the hill was an expanse of meadows.

Romulus untied the scabbard attached to his waistband. He sat down placing his sword beside him. The trunk of the tree supporting his back, he lay there looking at the nature in front of him. Towards the dead end of the night he had a nightmare and suddenly woke up. Unable to regain sleep in him cosy room he decided to take a walk and came all the way up the hill. Sleep, the warm blanket that wraps the human body in comfort and peace eluded him sometimes. It wasn’t always like this for him, there was a time when he used to sleep peacefully like a baby. He was different back then, so full of energy, filled with hope and enthusiasm.
Alas, times never remain the same and things have changed drastically for him, today he represents the complete contrast of what he was.

Romulus was born in a settlement on the river Tiber. He was very active and bright since his childhood. One always wondered at his stamina when they saw him run fast on those tiny legs of his. He excelled in education and was soon sent to an academy in Corinth. On completion of his education at the academy he decided to enlist himself into the legions. The scholars at the academy were shocked at his decision and tried hard to reason with him.
“Becoming a legionnaire is a huge waste of your talent Romulus, you could become a great trader or a businessman. More than all of this I believe that one day you could become a senator of Rome. You want to leave all of it and become a legionnaire; you want to patrol the jungles in the east and snowy peaks in the north. Before you even realize what you are into you would be slain by some barbarian tribes. You have all the talent in you to achieve what others just dream of and yet you want to leave it all”

“I will think about it master”, he replied nonchalantly. It was the army that fascinated him, the men in full amour, marching in formations to distant lands. The stories that he heard beckoned him to be a part of it and experience it.

He joined the legionnaires and was assigned to the Eagle legion, the finest among all Roman legions. Soon he saw action in the northern slopes, sometimes fighting against the barbarian hordes and sometimes against the snowstorms and lack of food. The inhospitable conditions, low rations, biting cold and constant fear of death take a toll even on the brave. There were a large no of deserters, some who leave the army and go back to their farms, some who continue serving and just leave when the time comes to act. Always calm and composed he never wavered even in the toughest of the times. It was in those times that Romulus was given important positions and responsibilities. On the battlefield his valor was unmatched, one of the best swordfighters he slew any moving life form within striking distance with such speed and agility that the enemy never ever really got a chance to have a swing at him. The legion was filled with whispers about his courage on the battlefield. The northern campaign was won after two years of hard battle and the barbarians driven outside the northern borders.

Romulus was posted to the town garrison of Corinth, the very same place where he was educated. Things had changed quite a lot and he was happy he was back in the town. He remembered his days form the academy when he had no money and used to loiter around the market aimlessly looking at what all he wanted to buy. Now he had the money with which he could buy what he wanted, he was happy and life seemed to be good.

Then one day he saw her near the governor’s palace. She and her friends were sitting in the lawns that dot the stretch of the governor’s road. The first thing that struck him was her smile. He just stood there admiring her charm. He couldn’t find her silent even for a second, she was constantly chattering something, laughing and smiling all the time. She noticed him staring at her and blushed as his eyes met hers. Daily it became a routine, everyday as he returned to his home from work he looked at her and she looked back. It took some time till Romulus had the courage to first talk to her. He got a chance to talk to her for just a few minutes everyday and he waited eagerly for that time. It almost seemed that the very objective of his daily existence were the few minutes that he got to spend with her. Soon they became good friends and friendship blossomed into love.

Love, the strange feeling that none could explain, the unknown warmth and joy that made life more meaningful. Romulus didn’t want anything more in life than her. Riches, pleasures, luxuries, power none of them mattered to him. What he truly cherished was the time he spent with her; the numerous things they talked about, her sparkling eyes which conveyed so much to him with just glances, her laughter, which was like soothing music, and numerous small little things that she talked about that filled his life with warmth and love.
His heart hardened by the battles softened up in her presence, he felt more human in her company. Used to face all the challenges alone in life things changed as for the first time he had someone with whom he could share his happiness, his sadness, his dreams and his worries. Life seemed so beautiful.

Then one fine day she broke the news that her parents had finalized a groom for her. A rich wealthy trader, from a distant far away town. Not wanting to waste any more time before it is too late he decided to ask for her hand in marriage. She refused to introduce him in home saying that it would make matters even more worse. Choosing a groom on their own was something that would not be tolerated in her house under any circumstances. She promised him that she would herself talk to them about him.

She did talk of him at home but met with stiff opposition. Her parents wanted her to be with someone of their choice someone capable and wealthy like the trader they selected, not this lowly soldier that their daughter keeps talking off. What really happened from here he didn’t know. She started saying that they had to stop their relationship and not expect anything in future.

Seeing his dreams and hopes shattered Romulus suffered in silence. Sometimes the anger was shown in some other ways, he felt that he was loosing her. He somehow had faith in love and believed that by giving her some more time she would face the opposition to her love and would stand for him and put up a fight. It was this small hope that he stuck on to, but things were changing rapidly. She was under strict supervision from home and he couldn’t get to talk with her much like before. The very object of his daily existence, those few minutes he got to spend with her were taken away from him.

One day at the garrison he go into a huge quarrel with his superiors. In the army disobedience was a gross deviation and would not be forgiven without consequences.
In the evening he got a chance to talk to her and calm his worries. She seemed so uninterested in what he had to say. His work life hung in balance along with his personal life, he didn’t know whether he would survive at the barracks and he didn’t know if she could find the courage and fight for him and be his wife.
A chain of events that followed upset him and this agitated him beyond imagination. Love has its expectation and he expected that she would be there for him when he wanted her so badly. Angered by her response he quarreled with her, and in a fit of anger said unpleasant things.

The next day he went to her to ask for forgiveness.
“I am going to get married”, she greeted him.
“But why? How can your marriage be fixed without your consent”
“I gave my consent”

“What…” he couldn’t just believe what she just said, a searing pain passed through his heart as if it would stop beating any moment.
“I accepted my parents choice and my marriage is fixed”


Romulus looked at his palms and noticed that they were shaking. The hand, that never shook in the battlefield and that knew no fear and was always steady in front of great odds, now shook violently whenever he thought of her.
The sun had risen by now. They were marks on his face revealing the moistness that escaped his eyes and made way towards his chin. Romulus suddenly noticed a man dressed in white robes moving towards him. He quickly took his sword lying beside him and gripped it tightly. Realizing that it was just an instantaneous reaction that became a habit due to the long years spent in battle in the northern slopes he released the sword.

The old man came and sat down beside him, dressed in pure white with a white flowing beard and white hair he looked like some heavenly resident.

“I am Dius a stranger in these parts, what pains you young man”, he asked as he sat down beside him.

Romulus suddenly realized that his tears were still visible. Embarrassed he wiped them.
“I am Romulus a soldier”

“Why do you feel so embarrassed for letting our water that soothes the pain in your heart”, grinned the scholar.
“Who told you I am in pain, and who told you that I am embarrassed”

“Your expressions are hard to ignore even from a great distance”

Silence…..

“Silence is not an answer” the old man asked enquiringly.

“Listen old man, you turn up all of a sudden and you are so intrusive into other peoples lives, just leave me alone, leave me in peace”

“Young man I may help you overcome it, your burden may reduce by letting it out, you don’t loose anything”

“You think that problems have such a quick solution in life that they can be wiped away by just a conversation”
“Why don’t you try it once and see”
“Please leave me alone, nothing would change for me, its all over, she is gone and that’s the hard truth”

“Aahhh, so it’s all because of a woman, what happened”

Always keeping his problems to himself and never sharing the pain with anyone Romulus for the first time opened up before him for some unknown reason. Perhaps there was a certain level of comfort he felt on the way he talked or probably he just wanted all those pent up feeling to just come out of his system.
Romulus narrated to Dius what all happened.

“Life seems so hard and unforgiving isn’t it” Dius commented after hearing out Romulus.

“Much worse, no matter how hard I try to push away all those thoughts they just keep coming back and haunt me, I just keep asking why me, of everyone why me to face so much pain and for what mistake of mine. Why did she do so, is it because her parents didn’t approve, she could have convinced them, was it so tough, did she do so because the groom was a wealthy man and I am just a normal soldier, did she do so because of the quarrel I had with her. Is love soo weak that just because of one quarrel it can be deserted, aren’t misunderstanding common among couples and they make up and that’s how love increases.”

“Everyday my mind just keeps asking these questions again and again, these questions torture me endlessly, how I wish I knew the truth. No matter how hard I try not to think of her there seems to be something or the other which reminds me. Then all of the past comes revisiting, Its like having a volcano within my heart and everyday it spews out the hot lava which burns the inner linings of my heart, the pain Dius the pain, its unbearable, it is with such great effort that I try to conceal it from the outside world.”

“When at the garrison as I keep working suddenly I am reminded of her and my eyes become moist. Its hard to conceal it, sometimes when I get caught I just get away by saying some dust fell in my eyes. Dius the last time I cried before this was nine years ago when I was still a child.”
“It has been so many months Dius since all of this happened, and yet I cannot think of any other woman other than her, she refuses to leave my mind, how could it be so easy for her, how could she just forget everything in one day and move on with someone else for the rest of her life.”

“She had so much love for me, I could see it in her eyes, what made her change. She just left me alone in the middle of nowhere. How could she just desert me and move away, didn’t her heart every cry out that there was tru love that she was deserting. Didn’t she realize that there is a person who loves her more than himself and his life would be so devastated. She was my support Dius, she was the reason I lived, the hope I had in my life, she was the happiness, she was everything and when she left she just took away all that was a part of me. She just destroyed my life beyond repair”

“Every day I keep saying to myself that time would heal all of this but it never happens. There is no respite from the sufferings.”

Both of them sat there in silence staring into wilderness. The first one to break silence was Dius the old man.

“Romulus, my dear Romulus, I am so sorry for what has happened to you”, the old man replied with concern.

“You gave her the chance of destroying your life and she did destroy everything with such perfection, but it wasn’t her mistake Romulus it was yours, for letting your guard down, for giving someone else the capability to hurt you. I do not know of what reasons she married someone else but I do know of why you are in so much pain”

“Before I talk to you anything more on this, remember this for your entire life Romulus, Never give the opportunity to destroy your life to anyone else, never ever.”

“Romulus, the mistake you did was tagging happiness to an individual. You had wonderful times in her company and you were so happy in her presence that you started to believe that the cause for you happiness is that one single person, and her absence has hit you so hard that you have started to believe that happiness has deserted you. You and you alone are responsible for your happiness and it is nothing but the way you react to different situations you face in life. We all make the mistake many times in our lives Romulus, we tag happiness to people or objects and we tend to believe that our well-being and joy are solely dependent something else other than us.”

“Try looking at happiness form a different perspective, irrespective of the situation irrespective of the people who come into your life, you spread happiness around you and you will start to realize that no individual can bring or take away any happiness from your life”

Romulus disagreed “Tell me Dius , if what you say is right then no one would feel any love for anyone, and just looking after your own happiness is greed”

“No, I didn’t mean that, definitely the heart has a language of its own which couldn’t be deciphered by scholars till date, I am saying that a persons happiness is not just dependent on the presence of just one individual. Happiness is not greed and I accept that, true happiness can only be achieved when you spread it among those who care for you or those you know or those in need of it.”

“You accepted her completely and whole heartedly, you built a vision of your future along with her, you accepted that it was her with whom you would live the rest of you life, walk alongside her for the rest of your life, you made castles in air of the life you both would live in your future. It’s called hope and it is hope based on which all human beings live, its hope that gives strength to an individual to fight against odds. When she left she took away the hope in your life. That’s why you feel so weak Romulus, that’s why the pain is unbearable, because to you she was a part of all that you hoped for and the absence of hope meant that you no longer have the strength to fight against odds.”

“What do I do now Dius , please help me, I cannot carry on like this forever”, Romulus felt solace in the answers.

“Redefine hope again, your life has been destroyed completely, there is no point in fretting over what has been destroyed. You need to concentrate on rebuilding it. It is not easy young man, trust me, but it is not impossible, if you are looking for a path that has no pain then you are mistaken.”

“Is there no remedy for the pain Dius, there must be something, you are a wise person you should know of some way to overcome this.”

“Romulus when you go to battle and the enemy is defeated it doesn’t mean that your side hasn’t faced any casualties. Life is similar, you need to fight this out and win it, but it doesn’t mean that you would not face any pain in the process, no matter how hard you try there will be pain”

“You are saying about rebuilding hope, starting afresh, it’s good to hear, but is it possible, there are some things that cannot be changed. The scar would be there forever in my life. If I was a trader or a wealthy man, wouldn’t she find it hard to leave me, wouldn’t her parents accept then? Dius it is not that I couldn’t achieve all that, I was at the academy once and I excelled in it, I didn’t take up the charted path, as I wanted to be a legionnaire and serve Rome. If only I could have done what the scholars at the academy advised and become a trader or senator. This truth would haunt me for the rest of my life. I don’t feel any longing to be a soldier. The drive, the zeal, its all gone. The old Romulus does not exist anymore, everything’s changed and changed so drastically that some things are beyond repair.”

“Time heals the pain Romulus”
“I don’t believe you, does time really have that power, if it really did then why is there no respite to what I am suffering, its been many months since all of it happened and yet there is no peace for me”

“Time heals to an extent not completely, some pain can be treated some cannot, time will just reduce it to an extent that is bearable or time reduces the frequency of it affecting you. You would be bothered by these thoughts less number of times in future than now. I will give an example, when this first happened what was your condition”

“Very bad, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, nightmares haunted me relentlessly, I couldn’t concentrate on anything, stomach used to pain, and …..”
“And what Romulus…..”

Romulus shut his eyes for the shame was too much to bear
“My nose used to bleed”
He, who could never be injured on the battlefield by the enemy, who didn’t shed a single drop of blood on the battlefield, who never suffered a wound or an injury till date was finally wounded by love. It took an invisible unknown identity called love to finally draw blood from his body.

“Do you face any of it now”
“No, some of them have gone, some still trouble me but they have reduced”

“That’s what happens in life Romulus, time heals. Imagine X and Y who are together and happy, both X and Y get separated and travel to different parts, they no longer talk to each other or stay in touch with each other. X and Y soon have a new set of friends. Earlier X and Y tagged happiness to each other, now their experiences are being replaced with those that other people bring into their lives, the reasons for their happiness become someone else and the memories of the old person slowly fades. Soon the tagging of happiness or love that X & Y made for each other starts to weaken, the feelings for each other in the past just becomes vague memories. New persons take up their positions or tagging in their life. X and Y start tagging them to different emotions and time makes them believe that the old memories are useless in comparison to the new fresh experiences with the new persons. So the transition takes place successfully over a period of time.”

“Romulus , remember one important thing about love, never have any expectations from it. Having expectations causes pain. You had expectations and that’s why you are suffering. You expected that love would never desert you and stay with you throughout life, it did not happen and you are suffering. You expected that love would be so pure and true that it is free from materialistic things in life, it did not happen and you are suffering from it. You expected that the person in love with you would fight for you, it did not happen and you are suffering. You expected that the person in love with you would stay with you in thick and thin and would stand beside you, she didn’t do that once and you got angry and quarreled with her. Just remember never have any expectations from love, just give and don’t wish for anything in return, don’t even expect to be loved and taken care of. When you have no expectations then you have fewer reasons to disagree or feel disappointed with the other person. This way you ensure that no one in future get a chance to destroy your life.”

“I need to leave Romulus, but remember there is no full solution yet discovered for the situation you are in, you can fight it out provided you are willing to find the truth and overcome it. Love is a strange thing, no one could explain it clearly till date.”

Romulus was deeply lost in thought as Dius bade an unanswered goodbye and left the oak tree. By the time he regained his senses he was all alone on the hilltop.

(For my good friend , may his soul find peace)

Upcoming posts

Posts that would come up in the following weeks
The Pursuit of Happiness-2 & 3-Philosophy
The Wounded Warrior- Conversation between a warrior wounded by love and a scholar in ancient Rome around 100 BC-Short Story
The Three Musketeers-Short Story Series
The state of the Nation-Essay

The Journey

Mahesh stood in front of the bus, staring at it, as if it were some time machine. He was fidgeting uneasily, unsure whether to board the bus or not. Finally mustering the courage he slowly boarded the bus. He took a seat at the back and kept his suitcase beside him on the seat. With a spluttering awkward noise, the engines roared to life as the driver started the bus. It was 5:00 am and in about 4 hours he would reach his destination, Mangalpur. Mangalpur is his hometown and it had been 6 long years since he had been to this place.
Mahesh took out a crumpled Rs 100 note as the conductor approached him.
“One ticket to Mangalpur”
The conductor took the soiled note and examined it minutely like an archeologist examining a prehistoric stone. Mumbling some words to himself he finally put the note in his bag, punched a ticket and handed it over to Mahesh along with the change. Mahesh glanced out of the window as the bus sped towards its destination. Soon he could see farms and villages on both sides of the road, which meant that they have left the city of Hyderabad far behind. He leaned back on the seat as he thought about his home and his parents whom he would be visiting after a long gap of six years. His thoughts raced into the past…
Mahesh was a rebel in all ways. He used to live a life the way he liked it and the way he wanted to live it. Neither force nor pressure could compel him to do something, which he didn’t believe in. He studied till 10th at the local government school and then he stopped studying because he didn’t believe it added any value to him. The long classes were boring and cumbersome. He disliked mathematics, hated science, geography sounded like greek, history was boring. So one day he finally announced his decision that he was going to quit studies amidst vociferous protests from his family members. He brushed them aside with the typical rashness of a rebel.
“Mahesh is Mahesh, and I will not do anything for the sake of it unless and until I enjoy it”, he would reply to his parents.
Even his parents had to finally accept defeat in front of his stubbornness.
With lot of time to spare Mahesh took up his hobby of painting and drawing with a vengeance. He may be a dummy with the books but with the brush and the sketch in his hand he was a wizard. All the life and lifeless forms around him got transferred onto his canvas with a striking similarity that amazed everyone. However his specialty was in sketching buildings. That’s what he enjoyed the most. He sketched every building present in Mangalpur, later on he started to sketch imaginary buildings and monuments. His drawings were magnificient.
Finally one day he stood in front of his father and announced his decision as what he wanted to do in his life.
“Architect”, his father thundered.
“Are you mad, has logic and reason deserted you”
“Father, I have taken a decision. I want to be an architect with all my heart and no one can stop me now.”, Mahesh replied with his head bowed down.

“What makes you think that a dumb 10th class pass out would become an architect, just because you make a few good drawings doesn’t mean that you can become an architect”, his father shouted back.

“Everyone appreciates my drawings and painting, if you do not have the flair to judge my art then please stay away from it”, he replied.

“Don’t you dare speak in that tone to your parents, you are coming with me to our cloth shop from tomorrow and start doing something responsible from tomorrow. Too much of idle time has made you into an ass.”, his father thundered.
“ You need to be good at studies to be an architect. You need to master mathematics and physics, which you cannot do. Try to think about it in a logical way”, his mother tried to reason.

“Father, I have seen dreams of me building great tall buildings and beautiful monuments. Heads of state felicitated me for my work in my dreams. I think it is a premonition of the future. It’s like a prophecy. I was born to do something great. This is my destiny father. I will work hard and become an architect. I know that it is possible”

Mahesh’s father shook his head in disbelief.
“You are insane, you want to pursue something because you have dreamt about something? You need a doctor. You should be in a mental asylum. Things have gone too far. Unless and until you obey my orders you loose the right to live in this house. Either you do as I say or you get out of my home and make a living of your own”.

“Fine father, I will leave the house tomorrow and will return only as an architect”.

The next day he packed his bags and took leave of his sobbing mother and grandparents. He looked at the stoic unexpressive face of his father.
“I am leaving father”

“Son remember, the youth thinks that they have answers to each and every question, but with age you come to accept the fact that for some questions there are no answers”

Not able to understand what his father meant he left his home and made his way to Hyderabad. He was amazed by the sheer size and vastness of the city. There were beautiful monuments and tall buildings. It was here that Mahesh believed that his dream would come true. To support himself he started looking out for some work. Unfortunately for a person who has just done schooling there were not many jobs available. So he decided to be a mason. Atleast he would get to learn something about the construction of the buildings. It was here he came face to face with the harsh realities of life. Not having a place to live and not able to afford one he used to sleep at the construction site. It was here that he got introduced to a friend called Hunger. He bought some books from a second hand books peddler, as he had to continue his studies to be an architect. He used to stay awake for hours beneath the streetlights to master mathematics and physics. However the harder he tried the more difficult the subjects became. No matter how hard he tried he could understand neither head nor tail of what was in the books. The engineer at the construction site took pity on him and used to coach him in his spare time. Still no progress was made. Every time he wrote his 11th class exams he failed. After about two years he had a huge fight with some of his co-workers over a game of cards and they kicked him out of his job.
Not willing to accept defeat he took up a job as a waiter at a local restaurant. He told himself that the strenuous job at the construction site was the reason he couldn’t concentrate on his studies.
Mahesh lost almost half his weight and looked all dirty and shabby. He still dreamed about being an architect.
He worked from dawn to night at the restaurant and used to study till late in the night. The owner of the restaurant used to encourage him and even bought him new books and study material. Still the following year he failed yet once again. The restaurant closed down due to losses and the owner went back to his elder brother in Pune. Mahesh took up a job as a mechanic at a local repair shop. All day he would repair vehicles and by evening he would be covered all over in black grease and oil. The repair shop was nearby a college and he used to watch the students as they made way home in the evenings. He would say to himself that one day too would be one of them attending college. Unfortunately the harder he tried the more he failed.

When he failed for the sixth time he couldn’t take it any more. That morning he looked in the mirror he saw a skinny and shaggy person, a complete contrast to what he was 6 years ago. He just broke down in front of the mirror. The desire to fight had deserted him. He decided to go back home. All his friends might be happily settled and married in life and he was living the life of a beggar here. He took leave of his employer and packed his bags and made way to the bus-station.

“Mangalpur, last stop”, the conductor shouted.

Mahesh slowly picked up his suitcase and got down the bus. He slowly started walking towards his home; unsure whether his parents would recognize the completely changed person that he has become now. What will he say to his father now?Maybe he would say, “I have learnt to accept the fact that for some questions there are no answers”.

Pursuit of Happiness -1

I was watching this amazing film one day in which the protagonist quotes a famous gentleman and says that happiness is always a pursuit as no matter how much an individual has, he is always in the search for more. This made me recall the words of another philosopher who once proclaimed that the objective of life is happiness itself. Now both these statements seemed similar and yet when looked upon together there seemed to be a vast difference in what both conveyed.

I started to ponder over it and a few questions arose in my mind
a)is happiness an Eldorado that could never be achieved
b)is the objective of life something different than happiness.
c)is there a way to achieve complete happiness (with the pursuit ending)

In this post I will write about the first point – “Is happiness an Eldorado that can be never achieved”

Eldorado is said to be the land of plentiful gold. There are many who believe that Eldorado is just a myth, there are some who believe it existed long time ago. There have been many expeditions till date in search of this place (off course for the gold), but still it remains elusive. The point why I ask whether happiness is an Eldorado is for three reasons, firstly is happiness a myth, secondly in today’s materialistic world have we become so rigid that we have begun to take materialistic success as an indicator of happiness, similar to the explorers who ventured in search for the gold; thirdly whether happiness is something that is designed to be elusive just like Eldorado and we are all likes the explorers who are in search for it.

The much often heard materialistic vs spiritualistic pursuits of humans, scholars all round the world have been arguing the fact that today’s generation is way to much involved in materialistic pursuits rather than the spiritual and this has been a reason for so much discontent and unhappiness today. Is this really true.

Now let us look at the probable scenarios that bring happiness to a person’s life.
To a child probably buying an ice cream, playing with friends, watching some cartoon and vacations or holiday from school may bring in happiness. To an adult, situations like promotion at job, increase in salary, an appreciation at work, weekends, purchasing some valuable assets, spending time with family etc may bring in happiness. It varies from person to person on what brings happiness into his life. Any situation that brings a favorable or desirable outcome to the individual causes happiness. So in order to be happy at all times, it requires that a series of favorable /desirable events keep playing up back to back for an individual.

Now consider two people, one who likes winter and one who hates winter, the onset of the winter brings a favorable outcome to one and unfavorable to another, similarly imagine two people in competition in business, winning a sales contract is favorable for one and unfavourable for the other as he couldn’t get that contract. So all people cannot have a continuous set of favorable incidents. If one expects happiness based on the favorable or desirable events that take place in his life, it shows greed (things should be favorable to me always irrespective of how they are to others). Imagine a negative element like greed causing happiness.

Happiness is nothing but a reaction to a situation. If the reaction to any situation we face is positive irrespective of whether the situation is favorable or not favorable, desirable or not desirable, then one alienates the dependency of happiness on greed.

A positive element cannot and should not be having a dependency on a negative element.
Happiness is no Eldorado and it exists, but the way we try to view it makes a huge difference in our experience, whether we make it dependent on greed or independent of any other things.

In my future posts I shall discuss about the other two questions, is happiness the objective of life or is there something other than happiness that is much more important and whether there is a way to achieve complete happiness.

Vijay Diwas: First Post

Hi,

Today is Vijay Divas, 10 years since the Kargil war.

A silent salutation to the bravery of the Indian soldier amidst overwhelming odds. The real heroes whose selfless sacrifice deserves commendation from everyone. A billion people owe their freedom to the select few who wear the uniform. A billion people indebted to the few men in green whose valor is incomparable.

My first blog entry, somehow i fell that diaries were much better than blogs. It has been quite sometime since i took a break from writing. The break has been so long that i have lost my touch completely, hoping to regain the flow as i start writing and improving post after post.

Dinesh