Begin to Believe

'In the end of the day...the world has changed'

We got pulled over by a young Kannadiga couple yesterday on the way to office. Obviously distressed, they mumbled in broken English that they'd come to Goa on vacation, lost their wallet, family can't send money, they were from a small village, could we lend them something? They promised names, addresses, phone numbers & to pay us back at the soonest. Broke after a series of misfortunes with disobedient ATMs & thefts in our homes, we offered to help them call family at the most. They asked the way to the nearest police station, and before we could get to the bike to escort them, they'd fled.

'we desire our fate, we sit and pray'

I've been contemplating meditation, to escape inconvenient realities. To distance myself from wickedness. Long swims in the sea, long conversations in the moonlight, nothing seems to change the harsh reality that people are simply ignorant and nothing you do can change the innate stupidity of people willing to be led by the nose to believe in whatever the world is stuffing down their throats. No one seems to want to read, learn, exchange & understand information being bandied about with gusto. Whether it's waxing eloquent about Modi & 'look at how much development there is in Gujarat' or refusing to refrain from contrived mind games, people have just rotten further.

'saw the future in my dreams
it never felt ... so extreme,'

a four month sabbatical from Goa & it's largely pseudo neo-hippie crowd helped immensely. Mountain dwelling Russian couples, Radha worshipping babas from Varanasi, generation Z little boys from urban Delhi, calm Pahadi Bullet boys, eloquent villagers, commune dwellers from the 70's, urban sadhus wielding technology, parents discussing pros & cons of pot, artists, musicians, film makers and book lovers, there's more such mad people out there who have all escaped the normative and have found their own compromises with society.

'riots in the streets searching for a resolution,'

To borrow Auntie's words - 'there is only chaos out there' - for you who believe that antagonism and aggression is the way to change the world, let go. Let go your righteous anger - once you stand on the cliff and stare out at the vastness of the universe ahead of you, you will know why I say so. To witness the inky sea melt into the blazing purple-orange sun splashed across the sky, is to know the insignificance of the human race in the way of the universe. Once you know the way the pink of dawn makes the sea sparkle, you know you don't matter.

'waiting in confusion, here comes the revolution!'

Welcome to Space Central. Altered realities are lived here. The credo is Live & Let Live. And it's only a state of mind. Where the trees throw dappled shadows on the sand, with children swinging from handmade cloth swings and the sand glitters in the sunlight. The hills soar straight into the sky, majestic in their silence. Psychedelia comes with a code of conduct. No grinding pelvic thrusts and obscene 'whoo's are to ruin my moments. Simply not allowed. Free roamers. Free minds. I know they're watching. And they worry when they see you have no worries.

Again, borrowing from stuff Auntie shares (yes, I know she's damn cool)  - "Our entire biological system, the brain and the Earth itself, work on the same frequencies." (Nikola Tesla)

Yes, you should tune in to the universe. And yes, you can see sound. Yes, you can feel sunshine happiness exploding from within (try green tea brewed by a bottle-bottom-goggled Russian Uncle). Yes, you can spend hours cooking up wonderful stew in connivance with your equally unsure-if-I'm-terrified-or-bored-of-cooking flatmates while listening to Yousuf Islam (Cat Stevens' new avatar!) and be perfectly happy to be a-social. The fungus infested mango tree is literally bloomping with blossoms. The thief only took paper we pretend makes us oh-so-important (yes, money). I had a word with the dog, he's stopped going through our trash. He only comes to poop in our yard now. The sand flats shine a strange silver as they reflect the star spattered sky. The eerie calm of the Chapora river front is welcome after a disorganized day at the den of donkeys (human, not animal).

For the longest time, I have struggled to understand & fit into these systems which believe in repression and engage in bullying tactics to get their way. I attempted to engage with a society that doesn't permit us to sit cross-legged in chairs. "But, I like it" wasn't a good enough explanation for 'being a hippie' - I'm just going to start looking spaced out & saying it aligns my chakras for want of something better. 

Everywhere you turn, there are governments, corporations, enforcement agencies & idiotic individuals. Everyone wants to tag you & bag you. - so you're a pot-head aye? You must be slow & stupid... so you're travelling alone? You must be afraid & stupid. Oh you don't own very much do you? You must be poor & stupid. Oh so you're young. You just must be stupid.

I roll my eyes faster than Rothmans' rolled their cigarettes and forgive them mentally. So as you rage against nincompoops who have no structure or basis for organization, or the idiotic Japanese who allow mass murders of dolphins or those who continue to torture dogs for 'fun', as you lie to cover your sins or hide your mistakes, remember the Rastaman. With every screwed up thought you think, with every fake kinda love you impose on someone, Remember the Rastaman, for he sang of freedom, love & the power of music.

'The point is
Ultimately, is there is only spirit, nothing but spirit
You can call it anything you want, by either way you can call it, you know
Brahma or, the divine or, Budda, nature, or emptiness
Or whatever, you know, floats your boat'

The world will self-destruct when it's time coz there aint no fury like Mother Nature scorned. In the meantime, ignore your doubters, look forward to silence and sunsets and lovable dogs, and begin to believe.

'Because the truth is, you don't become at one with anything
There is only the one'

And everything else, is an illusion