Sunday, April 7, 2013

Stolen and Returned

Laptop Bag Contents


Things that got stolen: I had made this list to give to the police station.

1. Laptop bag and inside it was:
2. Pocket Bhagawad Gita (had spent years translating each word in many shlokas/ had done sandhi viched, made notes topic wise) – can’t stay without BG in the mornings
3. Tata docomo data card
4. Office id and access card (replacement would cost 500)
5. Purse with 340+ rupees in cash
    a. ICICI debit card – balance Rs.1513.55
    b. PAN card
    c. B school alumni card
    d. B school student ID
    e. Lifestyle Inner circle card
    f. MORE card
    g. Auchan card
    h. Star Bazaar card
6. Makeup pouch
    a. Raaga bracelet like watch – 3750 Rs
    b. Hyderabadi pearl earrings – Rs. 650
    c. 4 one gram gold bangles – Rs. 1000+ (in 2004)
    d. Fa deodorant
    e. Bindi, Hairpins, Safety pins, Hairbands, ponds powder dabba
    f. Lakme Eyeliner, Mascara, Eyebrow pencil, eyetex, kumkum
7. Things that I forgot in my bag/purse (next day morning when I found it outside the door)
    a. Mouse
    b. Headset
    c. Yoga track pants
    d. Aqua blue earrings
    e. Visiting cards of young at heart friends, Id card of Anna Institute, Ramana maharishi photo, BMTC monthly pass, JustBooks Membership card

Retrospection

I was searching for theft in astrology, I was expecting 6th house, while 8th house came up. And I got mired by dwadamsha details. My mind went back to thiruvannamalai girivalam Dec 1-2, 2009, when a thief had stolen my purse with all id proofs, mobile and I had to borrow 500 from a Swiss law student. In my first thiruvannamalai full moon trip, I had kept my purse on kitchen stove and only when I had to buy bus tickets, I remembered, alighted somewhere, took an auto back home and went to cmbt after a long round trip. In one of the trips, when mom still didn’t know how to operate mobile, I was separated from mom in the crowd and I roamed all night, going between police station and temples without even a single paise in my hands. One constable lent me 100 rs that full moon day, one flower seller lent me 1Rs, so I could call my mom. Since phone was in silent mode, mom didn’t even answer the phone. We finally met only the next day morning. An autodriver in lungi stole my digital camera during inner path girivalam in 2011. And even now I feel nauseated seeing guys in lungis. Somehow am always penniless during thiruvannamalai full moon trips.

I was analyzing the chara dasa (maha, antar, pratyantar, shuksma) dasha of Dec 2, 2009 night and yesterday early morning and found commonalities.

Since I need the laptop for listening to my yoga teacher’s mp3 instructions and mobile for keeping timer for kapalabati, only my laptop bag and its contents were stolen and not the actual laptop and mobile which were supposed to be inside it. I get up at 5:30 am in the morning and watching the rising sun is something that really energizes me and makes me feel like a child again. I need lots of open space, with abundant ventilation, natural light. I brush my teeth outside on the terrace, facing north east, since my teacher wrote so. 5:40 am was when I opened the main door and went to terrace to brush my teeth and do my asans, keeping all doors open with lights on, in the pre- dawn darkness.

Discovery of Theft

Around 10:30 am when I wanted to recharge my mobile, I realized that laptop bag with my purse was missing. I searched all over, went 5 floors down, told the warden, they came up, searched all over, I got hysterical with the pg caretaker for not giving us keys (even if he had given keys, I would not have locked early morning, while doing surya namaskars), I shed tears, sat staring at the jyoti in front of god (Krishna, Raghavendra Swami, Rama) for 1 hr. I was angry that I could not stop my tears, I was wondering, if I lost my temper and cool for my laptop bag contents, did I possess them or those things possessed me? I was glad I had transferred all money to mom on Friday, except what I needed for this month’s expenses. My point to agni bhagawan in jyoti was, if it was mine, let it come back. I called up my brother to get my account number and called up icicibank and blocked the debit card.

Primarily since, my room is in 5th floor terrace with no lift, I sat staring at jyoti till lunch came at 12:45pm. One pg mate Anbu Lakshmi, held my hands and asked me not to cry or get angry and I felt so ashamed that someone had to tell me this. I kept telling others during lunch and dinner that that I must have stolen something in my previous life. My moochies purse had a marked price of Rs 450, but i felt a dead skin didn't deserve anything more than Rs. 200 and i had replaced the Rs 450 sticker with a Rs 200 sticker in a supermarket and bought it. It was too large to enter my jeans pocket and i was angry with that as well, in addition to overpricing. To compensate,  i spent the exact balance amount on 2 school boys on road. I frankly don't understand, looking back now.

Lost and Found

I had a disturbed sleep. I woke up around midnight and again at 2 am to put the quilt on the bare cot. It is cold only post 3 am in the night. I don’t like mattresses that others have slept on (also due to bed bugs) and prefer bare cot with a bare thin mattress that I can easily wash and dry for my back. I listen to BG explanation all night on laptop, when I sleep alone, so that I don’t think about unwanted things when am awake alone at night. Swami Sarveshananda was talking about desire clutching knowledge and how brilliance destroys a person who wants to be recognized for his knowledge, for being there, doing that and how a fall due to buddhi nasham was the worst fall.

This morning, I again woke up at 5:30 am, but instead of opening the door in the darkness, I sat to write down the punishments mentioned in garuda purana for stealing various things in an A4 sheet and translation of 1st verse of Isavasya upanisad and pasted it on the main door. I could remember the punishments only for stealing Au, books, money, food and poison. When I finished pasting 2 sheets on main door and bedroom door, sun was already up in its pinkish orange red glory. I brushed my teeth in full daylight in a hurry and was wondering, from where all blood was coming as I massaged my tongue. I came back to room to get the chair for kriya that I found the laptop bag outside the door. I felt so thankful to sun god, that my eyes moistened. I saw the guy in the adjacent buildinng, who returned my bag in blue lungi from the stairs, i saw only his legs from the top.

The fact that it came back – minus the Rs 340 cash (the thief didn’t even spare the Rs 2 coins inside the purse), rest everything, except my raga watch and one bangle, made me believe in divine force above. I was too excited to do suryanamaskars, I first called up my brother and told him. I called my mom next and sun was already uncomfortably hot at 6:30 am. Still, I did my asanas with heartfelt thanks. After bathing, I offered my head (remembering coconut), all knowledge to God. Everything is god’s gift. Sarvam ShriKrishnarpanmastu.