Miracle story - Coincidence or Destiny?

As I watched a TV show today on MSNBC on some of the major flight crashes caused by maintenance problems, it made me think, once again, of why certain events are destined to happened. Why is that Aloha Airlines Flight 243 whose fuselage was ripped apart during the April, 1988, landed safely with most passengers except for one senior flight attendant C.B. Lansing who was sucked out of the airplane. Her body was never found. Every one else survived as the plane landed safely after that. Why her? A nice, helpful, courteous person had to go and in such a dramatic way?

What's even more dramatic is the Japan Airlines Flight 123 that left Tokyo International Airport on August 12th, 1985 with 524 passengers. The flight took off at 6.12 P.M. and after the vertical stabilizer broke away, the Captain struggled to control the plane for over 30 minutes. The plane crashed in the mountains 32 minutes after the flight took off. Every one thought that all passengers had died. Well, almost. A miracle - 4 female passengers - from 8 to 34 year old had miraculously survived. Against all odds. Do you still believe there's no destiny?

Sad story of the circle of life while living

When I read this story of this 52 year old man accused of pouring urine on this father
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/mar/28/port-st-lucie-man-arrested-after-allegedly-pouring/ , I was overwhelmed with all kinds of emotions about life. Did that father treat his son so badly as a kid to deserve this? Or is it related to some other karma associated with the father and the son? We don't know the full story. But, it's interesting how when we are young, we are on top of the world and can't do anything wrong. I have seen young and even middle aged people treat their kids, friends, spouse, and parents like crap. They don't ever think of the repercussions. No, there are no legal repercussions. But, there are definitely moral repercussions. That, my friends, is Karma. Karma is not just about paying for your deeds in the next life. It also means you have to pay some of that debt in this life. When you are old and helpless. That's when it might strike. Oh, you Mr. or Ms. arrogant, flying high no-good homo sapien - will you be ready to bear that pain?

People around you will be gone

As I was walking through the park yesterday, I noticed people walking around and observed them. I was thinking that all of these people will be gone one day. Some sooner. Others later. But, each and every one of us will be gone. So, all the petty things that we fret are not going to mean anything anyway. Same applies to all your friends and family. It's only a matter of time. So, enjoy every moment and appreciate the presence of every one - even people you run into at the parks, in the mall, or on the streets.

People have been happy?

I have been traveling a lot lately to the East coast. In spite of the economy, flight delays, and all the craziness at the airports, I have noticed that people have been very friendly and pleasant. Even the flight attendants. I am not sure why this is the case. May be people are getting tired of feeling depressed and unhappy. But it's good to see that people are resilient and trying to be happy. Life is too short anyway and why create all the unhappiness around you.

Has anyone else noticed this as well?

Every moment is important - Flight 447

228 passengers - young, old, man, woman, kids, adults, various ethnicities and religions, moms, dads, sons, daughters, uncles, aunts, grandpa, grandma..Leaving from Rio on Air France Flight 447 for Paris had no idea. Did they do anything wrong? No. Absolutely not. This was all destined. But, we have no idea when and how we'll move to the next phase of life.

We spend so much time living in our past and future and forget about present. Every moment is important and yet we waste it. Money, property, cars, luxuries, clothes.... they all mean nothing. Focus on the real things. Emotions, love, passion, giving. Make every moment a memorable one.

Bad economy, doom and gloom - it's not the end of the world

There are a lot of depressed people right now. If you are jobless with bills piling up and everything seems hopeless, you are not alone. But, remember life is bigger than all these things. This time shall pass as well like all the other times. Life is too short as it is. Stay positive and continue to enjoy every moment. Talk to people who are positive so you don't keep diving into further negativity. To find a job, get out to as many networking events as you can - you'd be surprised how connecting with other people can lead you to ideas and opportunities. If you have too many bills that are overdue, pick up the phone and talk to your credit card companies to come up with a reasonable plan. Whatever you do, stay positive. Think positive. We all have the power to turn things around. Feel it. Believe it. It'll happen.

Madoff Scandal - Karma at play?

A lot of people have asked me if Karma is always from previous lives or current lives. The quick answer is both. We have to pay for our deeds from the previous birth and this year. What Madoff did to thousands of investors is already have an effect on his current life. He's move from a penthouse flat to a small prison cell. He'll live in this hell every day for the rest of his life. So, he'll pay for his karma in this life. But, it might not be enough. In his next live, his payback might continue. What do you think? 

Captain C.B. Sully Sullenberger

Captain Sully from Danville California is truly a hero by saving 150 lives. If you think about this landing in New York a few days ago from a philosophical perspective, what do you think it means? Was it just a coincidence? I don't believe that. There was some deeper meaning behind this. Either it's Captain Sully's destiny that's supposed to change with this or may be there were some people on the plane who will now have a totally different perspective on life. Or may be there were supposed to be casualties on that day but someone's strong prayers on the plane changed the course. You have to wonder. Mysteries of life continue....

Meaning of Life

Here's an excerpt from one of the chapters from my book Why? which is now available online at Amazon.com and BN.com:

Many people believe that life has no meaning, no purpose whatsoever. We live our lives and we die. And, nothing happens. We just cease to exist. Interesting concept. However, it’s basically a defeatist attitude. These people get tired of trying to figure out the purpose of why we are
here. Our brains are not equipped to capture the answers to every question. So, they figure if we can’t think of an answer, the answer must not exist. They don’t try to use out-of-the-box thinking to get the answers-not from the brain but from the soul.

Life is everywhere. There are a lot more animals than human beings. No one knows for sure, but according to some sources, there are more than two million animal species with many more still being discovered. This means that there are trillions of animals living on Earth. If we add other living organisms like plants, trees, and various forms of bacteria, then the number could increase to many more trillions, all living and thriving.

Over 6.6 billion people currently living. Over 100 billion people come and gone. Many more trillions of birds, animals, and other creatures. Without purpose? Think about it.

The World Events - Mumbai, India, Thailand

Life has so many twists. My family and I were getting ready to take our trip to India - after 12 years - in a few days and looking forward to it. For some reason things were just not feeling right. And, then the terror strikes in Mumbai, India with close to 200 deaths. We have spent a lot of time watching the events throughout the weekend. You can't help but wonder why are these people doing these terrible things.  Most of the terrorists were young people in their early 20s. Why would they waste their lives like this? Why would they want to kill so many innocent people? There must have been some connection to their Karma in their previous lives that brought them to this point. It's a terrible and tragic event. And, you have to ask - why? 

Thailand is going through some turmoil as well. Why are we going through these strange times with terrorist attacks, economic crisis, unemployment, etc.? Why now? How is the World supposed to evolve from this? These are just a few questions I'll be exploring in the coming days and I invite you all to provide your thoughts as well.