Ferrari in India
April 23, 2008
Right now, there are two 12 cylinder Ferraris (seen above) making a complete lap around India starting in Delhi going to Kolkata, all the way down south, then up to Mumbai and back to Delhi. Check out the map below.
In the announcement they mentioned that they increased the ride height and added a lot of metal underneath. Having been on a lot of the roads they will be driving on, I can attest that their modifications are going to be needed.! What I don’t think they anticipate is that India is largely a 35 mph country. Rarely have I ever been more than 50 mph on any road there. So this may be the first long term journey in a Ferrari that is done entirely in first gear…maybe second on a good day.
The purpose of the post is to mention an email that I received in which the author said that what ever happens to us in life, we are bound by our karma. Our efforts can only take us so far and if a certain destiny is not indicated in the birth chart, then it can’t manifest in our life. I agree and the example that I always give is that, I think that a Ferrari is a work of art. The sound of the exhaust is a form of music and the special Ferrari red color and the elegant lines of each model are exceptional.
But…alas in my birth chart the ruler of my 4th house which represents vehicles is in the 8th, a weak house. I would say that my destiny doesn’t seem to include a nice red Ferrari, in spite of all the years of yagyas and spiritual service that I have performed.
Does this mean that the yagyas “haven’t worked”?
When I imagine actually having a Ferrari, I suspect that it would amount to a huge distraction that would keep me from things that are more important to my evolution. So it isn’t a matter of deprevation, although I always stand and watch when one goes by.
The thing about the puja.net yagyas is that we can absolutely guarantee that they are performed properly and to the highest traditional standards. But ultimately the effects of the yagyas are not up to us. As Krishna says in the Gita; “You have control over action alone. The results are up to me.” Philosophically, we can say that whatever happens as the result of a yagya will be that which is most beneficial to us from the long term perspective of our journey to enlightenment.
By performing yagyas we eliminate bad karmas and desirable qualities like health, wealth, family, knowledge, etc are enhanced and flow into our lives more readily. We are, as they say in the traditional texts, “earning merit” to ensure that we have an auspicious future in this life and the next. The specifics of what happens is difficult to control because what we think would be best for us (a new 12 cylinder Ferrari), may in the long run, not be most beneficial (a jail term for excessive speeding). So it is not we who decide….a higher power who is not succeptible to the lure of 600 hp, rich handmade seats, F1 style paddle shifters….that’s who decides.
But hope springs eternal. Maybe in some distant future my soul will need to be rich and to go really really fast in an Italian work-of-art automobile. I’d even be willing to drive around India in 1st gear! We’ll see, but somehow I doubt it. I’ll bet I’d end up with a bumper sticker that says “I’d rather be meditating”.
