Thoughts: How come soul mates are found so nearby?

Someone asked why is it that soul mates often are found so near to us? Why not one’s soul mate would be living in some African village; and thereby we would never meet them? Also, how is it that in case of second marriages, people find another so called soul mate? Is it that soul mate system is so efficient?
 

From what I have read in books by authors writing about soul mates; we are “destined” to meet our that soul in this life and this is why we would find our soul mate(s) very near to us. In case of second marriage also, it was destined to be that way; means there was a purpose why the second love resided where one did, which was nearby. So this part is fine.
 

Also, there may be more than one soul mates, from the multiple past lives. Some from the previous life, some from 2-3 birth before. It may be destiny which one we shall meet in this life and there would be some purpose.
 

But I think this concept has been hyped for commercial gains by writers and also has been used too often to be true all the time.

Time magazine

For some time every weekend I bring home an issue of Time Magazine borrowed from office library and return it on Monday. The coverage of international politics and economy is really in-depth and wonderful. The articles and columns are frank, fair and rich in content. The magazine evaluates pros and cons of all events (it discussed Boston bombers extensively); also lots of touching subjects, like America's best sniper and Iraq war veteran who wrote a best-seller "American Sniper" was shot dead by a mentally ill Marine whom he was trying to help rehabilitate. Also, good coverage of Middle East, China, Korea & Japan so far. A transcending experience.

How Belief in Rebirths makes an Ethical Society

Let us read what a piece of research published in Psychological Science titled Vividness of the Future Self Predicts Delinquency says:
 

Undergraduates who had gazed at their 40-year-old selves in virtual “mirrors” were 74% less likely to cheat for extra cash on a subsequent trivia test, says a team led by Jean-Louis van Gelder of the Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement and Hal E. Hershfield of NYU. This and another experiment suggest that one reason people make self-defeating choices such as engaging in unethical behavior is that their ability to imagine their future selves is limited. They’re less inclined to indulge in illegal acts if they can see vivid images of themselves such as the computer simulations presented by the researchers.
 

From the above research and observation it is clear that if a person thinks of one’s long term, one would do less of wrongdoing; and more clear one sees it stronger would be the determination not to do something wrong. Hence, we can say with confidence that those who would believe that they will be reborn on earth and their Karma would decide their fate in the next life also, would be less motivated to do anything wrong. This is why people in India are generally honest and have very strong sense of discrimination between right and wrong. Also, we can understand the occasional wrong or unethical deeds by people here with the fact that for thousand years foreign faiths have ruled over India, the faiths of Islam and Christianity both not believing in rebirths. So modern crime and occasional digression of parts of society can be seen as result of going away from the foundations of Indian culture which has always been rooted in Karma. Most religions and sects which came out of Hinduism, like Jainism or Buddhism, have Karma an essential part of their belief.

Dhoni

What does AbRam Mean? Shah Rukh Khan’s son’s name?

When Shah Rukh Khan got his first (so far) surrogate baby boy, he named him AbRam. Note that “R” is a capital here, as against the common convention. I wondered like many people, what does “AbRam” mean?
 

On one forum I could read a person claiming that it should have been “Abraham” which is Hebrew origin. But if he wanted to be it Abraham which is a proper word, he could name him so. Why choose AbRam appearing as specifically different name than Abraham?
 

Another portal tells the real reason. You can read it to understand:
 

His older children Aryan, 16 and Suhana, 13 were given Indian names and everyone wondered what SRK would name his son. While he is a Muslim, his wife Gauri is a Hindu, so he has chosen a name that has both Hindu and Muslim reverberations. AbRam is a Hebrew name that means ‘Father of Many’. The name also encompasses one of the foremost Hindu deities Ram and he has highlighted this by spelling the R with a capital. Looks like SRK has come up with quite an innovative name. We congratulate the Khans and wish AbRam all health and happiness.

Lootera: A Touching Love Story

We watched the new movie in town ‘Lootera’ starring Sonakshi Sinha and Ranbeer Singh. We watched it a few days after its release and by that time we had already heard opinion of a few friends. By and large the only criticism was that the movie was slow, though some also said Ranbeer was not as good as Sonakshi. While watching the movie I realized that it is natural for period cinema to demand a slower pace than masala movies which are what we get in the name of movies these days. And we too observed that Sonakshi had played her part so well that she could leave any other actress of these times miles behind her… Ranbeer was charming and good too; it was only that Sonakshi took the limelight with her acting.

The movie is based on an old short story ‘The Last Leaf’ by O. Henry published in 1907. The movie is a classic love story and is set in the 1950s. The look and feel of the old days is captured very well. I am proud that our own movie makers can capture it so well; like so many classic Hollywood movies. Till the time you are in the theatre, you are taken on a journey of golden old times and it is indeed a wonderful story… The life and twist of fate for old Jamindars has also been shown fairly. After land-reforms, they did not lose only money but a lot! The toll on their self-respect, human psyche and socioeconomic life was grave and wrenching. I am not sure if any author or researcher tried to find that out on deeper levels. Perhaps it is not popular and cool to think of human tragedy when the victims are the rich lot from the past. But this movie does throw a fair light at the historical situation.

The movie shows the love between a daughter and a father so well. Sonakshi playing as Pakhi (btw, I think they should have chosen some new name; this ‘Pakhi’ is too filmy a name) loves and shares a very deep bond with her father who is equally concerned about her. He tells her stories (one story where king’s life is contained in a parrot is too touching) at her bedside, and nurses her when she is unwell (suffering from asthma). Given their respective age, she should be serving her old father but perhaps father was playing the role of her mother too and hence his love towards her also had maternal warmth… Apart from this, the friendships, be it between Pakhi and her female friend, or between Ranveer (playing as Varun Srivastav) and his friend Devdas are developed very well. In fact all characters in the movie are explored and developed so well. Even Pakhi’s maid servant (played by Divya Dutta) is shown feeling sorry for Pakhi and viewers can feel her emotions! Each character is alive and full of life and sentiments; be it Varun’s thief-friend or his thug uncle, all stand out and remain in the memory of the viewers… It is easy in books to achieve such an effect but I think this difficult task has been done in the movie very well…

Now coming to the love story; I think it is a heart touching story which moves us immensely. Viewers feel a hatred towards Varun when he lefts Pakhi and goes away; they feel immense pain for Pakhi when she suffers; they get angry when Varun returns and a love-hate episode runs between them; and in the end they feel sorry for him when he goes through so much pain and suffering… As it is said, there are no black and white characters in the movie but they tread in the grey areas enriching us with an experience that won’t be achievement in a world full of judgments… At many stages of the movie, particularly in the last hours, I felt like crying and it felt heart would break with so much pain and suffering which Pakhi and Varun were going through…

To a large extent Pakhi and Varun were victims of fate even though it may not appear clearly. Varun knew that his uncle won’t allow him to marry her, so he planned to go away to some unknown place with her to lead their beautiful life together. But just one day before the wedding, Devdas returned with their uncle appearing as Mr. Vajpayee and everything goes wrong. By the time he returns in the end, Pakhi was ill beyond cure and it was too late. Otherwise he could still say sorry (after knowing that uncle was already arrested; he could plan a new life). Also it seems Pakhi was unconsciously waiting for him, or perhaps she did not want to live; that she continued in a hill station even after knowing that the cold was not good for her health. In the old days a lot of disease were fatal, for which now there are cures. In a way Varun getting killed saved him from a lot of misery in store, because it would be too difficult for him to lead life when Pakhi won’t be there… 

Those who called the movie slow judged it from the modern masala-movies as frame of reference… I liked Ranbeer though in many scenes Sonakshi leaves him behind in acting prowess, and perhaps the producers chose him because he could be molded into what they would like to, while the super stars would like to carry the burden of their oft-repeated charisma… I watched a TV interview of director Vikramaditya Motwane along with Sonakshi and Ranbeer and I think he is great.

Also, the first part of the movie was full of fun and hilarious moments while the second went at deeper aspects and tragedies. The episode in the end with ‘the last leaf’ was soul touching…

Lootera is a heart touching love story woven in a period film of the rare kind now in the age of masala movies. You should not miss this experience and do watch it, if not already. I wish more such movies are made in India.