Literary Discussions

[03:22] Sitaram: is your work going ok, are you hard hit by the recession
[03:23] Krish: not really
[03:23] Krish: the recession is a scam
[03:23] Krish: my business is getting better
[03:23] Sitaram: well, that is great!
[03:23] Krish: i am planning to come to the US soon
[03:23] Krish: i wish to meet you soon when am there sitaram
[03:23] Sitaram: well, come and visit
us in nyc
[03:23] Sitaram: certainly
[03:24] Krish: yes
[03:24] Krish: was travelling the region
[03:24] Krish: last month
[03:24] Krish: learnt alot
[03:24] Sitaram: which region which country
[03:24] Krish: was my first traveling experience in my life
[03:24] Krish: in 23 years
[03:24] Sitaram: are you in usa yet
[03:24] Sitaram: were you in calif.
[03:24] Krish: nope am not
[03:25] Krish: was in indonesia
[03:25] Krish: kl, penang
[03:25] Krish: then bangkok
[03:25] Sitaram: aha,.... they speak Bahasa there, right
[03:25] Krish: yes
[03:25] Krish: bangkok is a beautiful place
[03:25] Sitaram: i knew some indonesians on internet
[03:25] Krish: respectful and cultured people
[03:26] Sitaram: actually, it is one of largest muslim countries, and things
are very stable
[03:26] Sitaram: honor killings are unknown there
[03:26] Sitaram: that is what i heard
[03:26] Krish: indonesia was alright
[03:26] Krish: but i still felt quite unsafe
[03:27] Krish: compared to thailand
[03:27] Krish: i was in jakarta and kalimantan
[03:27] Sitaram: right, i am sure it cannot compare to singapore for law and order
[03:27] Krish: yes
[03:27] Krish: singapore is safe haven to me
[03:27] Krish: i feel so safe here
[03:27] Sitaram: i knew a woman in jakarta on internet
[03:27] Sitaram: just friends
[03:28] Krish: oh i see
[03:28] Sitaram: but she was a heroine addict
[03:28] Krish: oh
[03:28] Krish: gosh
[03:28] Sitaram: she claims to have lost the habit
[03:28] Sitaram: it was 2 years ago when i met her
[03:28] Krish: ohhh
[03:28] Krish: wow
[03:29] Sitaram: she said she would inject like 6 or 10 times per day, and
it would take a LOT to actually make her really high
[03:29] Sitaram: they build up a tolerance
[03:29] Sitaram: and then they need it just to feel normal
[03:29] Sitaram: i never tried any drugs myself
[03:29] Sitaram: i was always scared of addiction
[03:29] Sitaram: someone offered me some cocaine in the 1980s, but i
didnt even want to know what it feels like
[03:30] Sitaram: i figured once i had a taste, i would crave it the rest of my
life
[03:30] Sitaram: i have not had a drop of liquor or any tobacco for 1
year now
[03:30] Krish: gosh
[03:30] Krish: wow
[03:30] Sitaram: i never want to go back...
[03:30] Krish: thats good
[03:31] Sitaram: when you get over 60 which i am, then, your body cant
take it any more
[03:31] Krish: yes
[03:31] Sitaram: and i take 6 different medicines each day, so,
alcohol would interfere
[03:31] Krish: gosh
[03:31] Krish: yes definitely
[03:32] Krish: sitaram
[03:32] Sitaram: 1 for high blood sugar, 2 for pressure, one for stomach
acid, one flomax for urine flow, and a sleeping pill
[03:32] Krish: can i ask you something
[03:32] Sitaram: sure
[03:32] Sitaram: anything
[03:32] Krish: i started talking to you abt 5-6 years ago
[03:32] Krish: i think
[03:32] Sitaram: yes, i was thinking of that today
[03:32] Krish: my life has changed so much
[03:33] Krish: today my business is moderately successful
[03:33] Krish: and all this wouldnt have happened
[03:33] Krish: if you didnt make me think
[03:33] Krish: years back
[03:33] Krish: i owe alot to you
[03:33] Sitaram: well, i think you might have been influenced by
someone or something else
[03:34] Sitaram: because, i really only repeat like an old parrot what i
have heard and read for years
[03:34] Krish: i take it as my spiritual journey really began when i started
talking to you when i was rejected by the pentecoastal woman
[03:34] Sitaram: oh, yeah, i remember about that
[03:34] Krish: yes
[03:34] Sitaram: they are BAD news
[03:34] Krish: hahaha
[03:34] Sitaram: i mean, protestants in general
[03:34] Krish: yes
[03:35] Krish: the funny thing is she left the church
[03:35] Sitaram: catholics and orthodox (greek/russian) are much
nicer to deal with
[03:35] Krish: yes
[03:35] Sitaram: protestants can be fanatical
[03:35] Sitaram: and unstable
[03:35] Krish: very
[03:35] Sitaram: judgmental too
[03:35] Krish: yes
[03:35] Krish: gosh
[03:35] Krish: seriously sitaram
[03:36] Krish: do you think putting ur works in a book can be done?
[03:36] Krish: i think it might help alot of people
[03:36] Krish: i want to give something back
[03:36] Sitaram: well, hmmm.... i am happy for anyone to edit it...
[03:36] Krish: i want to do something
[03:36] Sitaram: i am not certain i could see it clearly myself...
[03:37] Sitaram: i mean, it might take someone else to make excerpts,
and edit and organize
[03:37] Krish: ok
[03:37] Krish: i wouldnt mind doing it but i dont know how or what to write
[03:37] Sitaram: well, you know, as long as it is alive in some form on the
internet, then, people can access it
[03:37] Sitaram: and it stays in the
search engines
[03:38] Sitaram: that is perhaps enough
[03:38] Krish: are you sure?
[03:38] Sitaram: perhaps the age of books is over....
[03:38] Sitaram: i mean, google
search engines....
[03:38] Krish: true
[03:38] Sitaram: that is where the great influence is
[03:38] Krish: of course
[03:38] Krish: i just want this knowledge
[03:38] Krish: to be spread
[03:38] Krish: to many
[03:39] Sitaram: it is sufficient if you keep the files archived
[03:39] Krish: yes i do hve it with me
[03:39] Krish: sitaram
[03:39] Sitaram: that is sufficient, and you are skilled in computers, so,
you will preserve them
[03:39] Krish: you spent many years in a monastry
[03:39] Krish: and then as a buddhist and then as a hindu
[03:39] Sitaram: well, i spent one year as a novice when i was age 25
[03:39] Sitaram: 13 months actually
[03:40] Krish: ohhh
[03:40] Sitaram: and i spent several years living as a layperson in the
monastery,... and visiting it a lot
[03:40] Sitaram: several actually
[03:40] Sitaram: one russian, one greek
[03:41] Krish: perhaps this spiritual journey can be noted
[03:41] Sitaram: yes,.... all together i have had many experiences of
several different religions
[03:41] Krish: yes this is something i would like to write about
[03:41] Krish: bcos thats the fundamental problem.. people get
stuck to religion
[03:41] Sitaram: i suppose in a nutshell, some theme about my life,
where i attend st. johns annapolis great books program for 4 years
[03:41] Sitaram: and seek truth in western philosophy
[03:42] Krish: and ur journey was what inspired me
[03:42] Krish: ohhh
[03:42] Sitaram: and then, i seek it in orthodox christian monasticism
[03:42] Sitaram: and then i spend several years reading many books on
psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis
[03:42] Krish: wow
[03:43] Sitaram: then i start blogging in 1998 with a geocities free site,
using only a few html commands
[03:43] Sitaram: so i was blogging before there was a word BLOG
[03:43] Krish: haha
[03:43] Sitaram: so, then, the 2 years around the Guyanese Hindu Mandir in
brooklyn, across the street from the apartment
[03:44] Sitaram: and then a year or two , nights and weekends at a
korean zen center in nyc (Chogye)
[03:44] Krish: ohhh
[03:44] Sitaram: and then, a year or so with the Hare Krishnas
[03:44] Sitaram: and then, my great battle with islam
[03:45] Sitaram: and then, reconciling myself to islam
[03:45] Krish: hmmmm
[03:45] Sitaram: so, that might be the framework for a story
[03:45] Krish: yes
[03:45] Sitaram: a biography, weaving in all the various blog posts
[03:45] Krish: yes
[03:45] Sitaram: perhaps all that is necessary is the story, and highlights
[03:45] Krish: i have never written a book before
[03:46] Krish: i have no idea how to do this
[03:46] Sitaram: perhaps a 100 page book, with links or search engine
arguments to find more on internet
[03:46] Krish: yes
[03:47] Krish: i did my business so that i will have money to study
[03:47] Krish: after a year of stopping school
[03:47] Krish: i have now saved enough
[03:47] Krish: for my school fees
[03:47] Sitaram: that is good
[03:47] Krish: now i wish to get back into the journey
[03:48] Sitaram: there is time, there are some years for you
[03:48] Sitaram: you will succeed when the time is right
[03:48] Krish: sitaram are u familiar with osho's writings
[03:48] Sitaram: well, yes, and he was very talented,... but there is a
dark side to osho
[03:48] Sitaram: i have one of his books on Heraclitus
[03:49] Krish: ohh
[03:49] Sitaram: the ancient greek
[03:49] Sitaram: but, i spoke for hours with a woman who was in his
oregon ashram when she was 18, for 6 months
[03:49] Sitaram: and she described the sexual activities
[03:49] Krish: they had sexual activities in the ashram?
[03:50] Sitaram: actually, she became a sex addict, with hundreds
of partners, and she went regularly to Puna to the Osho center
[03:50] Sitaram: they are required to have AIDES HIV tests, and then, the
engage in sex as a kind of religious practice
[03:50] Krish: gosh
[03:51] Sitaram: it is 4am i am forgetting the words
[03:51] Krish: thats messed up
[03:51] Sitaram: but this woman, said that after 6 months in Osho's
ashram, she was bleeding from the rectum (anus) because that was an
activity which was encouraged
[03:51] Sitaram: tantric
[03:51] Krish: holy smokes
[03:51] Sitaram: that is the word
[03:52] Sitaram: she was really convinced of the value of tantric sex
[03:52] Krish: its a god damn harlem
[03:52] Krish: not a ashram
[03:52] Sitaram: well, harlem is a nice place now,.... so, better not to
say that
[03:52] Krish: HAHAHA
[03:52] Krish: HAHAAHAHAHAH
[03:52] Sitaram: i live very close to harlem, like a 40 min train ride
[03:52] Krish: ahhh
[03:53] Krish: i see
[03:53] Sitaram: and Bill Clinton has his offices there
[03:53] Krish: why gosh
[03:53] Sitaram: former pres. clinton
[03:53] Krish: and osho
[03:53] Krish: has such a following
[03:53] Krish: in the US
[03:53] Sitaram: he is very popular with African Americans
[03:53] Krish: i know the whole hippies loved it
[03:53] Sitaram: well, the woman i knew was with Osho in Oregon in the
1980s
[03:53] Krish: oh
[03:53] Krish: tantric sex and all
[03:55] Sitaram: i know,... not
necessary,... but, contact me at my
gmail address, when you are coming