Narada's vision

"And Narada, beholding the fortunate Yudhisthira's prosperity that was born of that sacrifice, became highly gratified. Beholding that vast concourse all the Kshatriyas, the Muni Narada, O king of men, became thoughtful. And, O bull amongst men, the Rishi began to recollect the words he had heard of old in the mansion of Brahma regarding the incarnation on earth of portions of every deity. And knowing, O son of the Kuru race, that that was a concourse (of incarnate) gods, Narada thought in his mind of Hari with eyes like lotus-petals. He knew that that creator himself of every object one, that exalted of all gods--Narayana--who had formerly commanded the celestials, saying,--'Be ye born on earth and slay one another and come back to heaven'--that slayer of all the enemies of the gods, that subjugator of all hostile towns, in order to fulfil his own promise, had been born in the Kshatriya order. And Narada knew that the exalted and holy Narayana, also called Sambhu the lord of the universe, having commanded all the celestials thus, had taken his birth in the race of Yadus and that foremost of all perpetuator of races, having sprung from the line of the Andhaka-Vrishnis on earth was graced with great good fortune and was shining like the moon herself among stars. Narada knew that Hari the grinder of foes, whose strength of arm was ever praised by all the celestials with Indra among them, was then living in the world in human form. Oh, the Self-Create will himself take away (from the earth) this vast concourse of Kshatriyas endued with so much strength. Such was the vision of Narada the omniscient who knew Hari or Narayana to be that Supreme Lord whom everybody worshipped with sacrifice. And Narada, gifted with great intelligence and the foremost of all persons and conversant with morality, thinking of all this, sat at that sacrifice of the wise king Yudhisthira the just with feelings of awe.

The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa - BOOK 2 - SABHA PARVA
Translated into English Prose from the Original Sanskrit Text by Kisari Mohan Ganguli [1883-1896]

The asker

Happiness.....contentment.....resignation....how many sides does this coin have??

Have you ever asked yourself if you're happy and felt yourself go on the defensive - "Yes! Yes I'm happy! Why should I not be? Look, I'm smiling!" Ever wonder why this happens? How it happens? Who asks and who answers? Does the asker not know the answer already? Can the answerer ever be a good liar?

The asker is like the guy in the passenger seat. If the drive is fun, he shuts up to watch. If it's not, he pipes up with questions...but never gets in the driver's seat.

But he also helps to keep you awake.

Reluctant feminism

I remember reading somewhere that eventually, men will be extinct.

No, ladies, I'm not talking about the human race. It's men I'm talking about...the male of the species. Not too far in the future, our earthly remains will rest in peace in the world's sperm banks. Androids with positronic members will be instruments of satiation for Women's Lib(ido).

If all this seems too far-fetched, consider this:

• In Japan, an increasing number of women would rather stay single. Life is just less complicated that way, they say.
• "Love" has been proved to have the same symptoms as addiction, including dependence and withdrawal. So as long as the stimuli exist, the subject doesn't matter. And if you want to get rid of the addiction, that's OK, too...just eat more whole foods and you'll feel better.
  
• The media has already adopted the viewpoint, portraying successful marriages as miracles, and divorce as just another bump in the road, like an accident or a flat tyre.
  
• Role model women are Britney Spears (who gets married 'as a joke' and files for annulment a week later), Paris Hilton (who....oh, you know!) and the leading ladies of Sex and the City (who throw a fit even at being called 'girlfriend').
  
• Role model men are steroid-enhanced hunks with IQs in the negative, who keep their flat bellies even after kegs of beer. On the other end of the spectrum, stereotypifying the real world, are Homer Simpson and Drew Carey.
• 'Data', an android ("If you are referring to sexuality, I am... fully functional") from Star Trek: the Next Generation, has the highest (female) fan-following among all the characters on that series.

And if you think about the fact that women are capable of almost all the touted guy jobs, and still are the only ones who can deal with the physical aspect of the procreation of the species, I'll say that at this point men seem a lot more dispensable than women, and male chauvinism is little more than a lame excuse. Heck, even gay marriages are illegal.

Moral of the story: If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Think, how can we be better than positronic androids with sculpted bodies, manufactured expression and zero maintenance? How are we more than our sperms (especially those of us that can't swim)?

Think. Our future depends on it.