Soaring high gas prices....

Four dollars a gallon is where we are at right now with gas price....ofcourse with a possible increase in the future to this phenomenally high number too.....Where is this world leading to?....In fact the reason this topic came to my mind is one of the fwd ed emails I received from my friend about observing June14th as the 'STICK IT UP THEIR BEHIND DAY' in India to protest against the private owners of these gas companies & the Indian government for increasing the petrol price by Rs 5, diesel by Rs 3 & cooking gas cylinder by an atrocious Rs 50 per 14 kg cylinder....This probably is still affordable for those people in white collar jobs but imagine those families who are trying to make their ends meet in Rs. 5ooo or even lower than that as their income...I often hear a lot of people who visit India, come back & tell me that things have changed a lot in India, people are spending a lot, the buying power has increased, people buy fancy cars and so on....But in the last two of my visits to India the reality that I saw was yes the prices have gone up, a call taxi ride to get to somewhere within city limits easily demands a 500 rupee note, there are new flyovers & bridges, more restaurants selling burgers & pizza, a City center to boast about.......but at the same time there are still people who take those crowded trains& buses, walk in the hot sun, buy things in EMI and struggle to pay that off, eat in a restaurant once in a blue moon, & unable to save anything for their future......yes in my opinion the standard of living has increased probably for a lot of those IT professionals, real estate folks & the already affluent people.There are still so many people who are typical middle class, still paying off their loans & who take a deep breath at the end of each month...These are the people who are going to be affected by this soaring high gas prices....Is this really something to do with the increase in crude oil price in the international market or is it the government/private owners who are hiking these prices? Whatever be the reason , all I can think of as the end result is (that line from the movie Sivaji), "The rich get richer & the poor get poorer". So very true in this situation...

Devotionally Delighted....

Many in this world question the existence of god. Today I sympathize with all those people who are so very unfortunate to not be able to enjoy this real bliss. I was born in Chidambaram, the temple town of Lord Nataraja, visited the temple a number of times in these 27 years of my life and have continued to be a devout person but have never ever felt this way before...Yes I got a feeling of peeping right into heaven when I listened to Thiruvasagam in symphonic oratorio by Illayaraja. I’ve been hearing this for about two years now and till today have never got tired of listening to it. This is one such composition which needs to be heard a couple of times before you like it. And trust me if you like Tamil, then this is just a treat to your ears. Hat’s off to the legendary Illayaraja who has given true life to manikavasagar’s composition with his excellent pronunciation. One could feel the extent of his bhakthi in the way he has sung it. We all go to god with all our requests for different worldly pleasures but this song makes you realize that real happiness is achieving deliverance and reaching the feet of god. This song did invoke the spiritual mood in me today. If u listen to this with true devotion you’ll understand what I meant…… Thanks to my friends KD & DB from CA who introduced me to this.