Are you Wild or Well-tamed?

Hiding behind one’s external persona is a deeper core of real self.

A self that has a touch of The Wild! 

It's ferocious, vigorous, impulsive! And if not leashed tightly… it goes simply Wild!

I say so as it bears all the features of being animalistic! To list a few…

It's quick to anger

Vulnerable to intense jealousy

Lead by insane possessiveness

Mad enough to act crazily

Forgets the importance of relationships

Is self-obsessed and ego-centric

It desires the Moon 

and beyond…. All that is!

Unmanaged and uncontrolled

It goes wild and… wilder,

It's within you, me, him and her

Deep deep inside us!

So, time and again

One needs to tame it!

Talk to it, threaten it,

Do whatever to subdue it!

We need to remind each other

We need to read those books

We need to do whatever it takes

To keep it hung tightly on hooks!

So, lets this evening,

Save a few moments for self

To do a little check and 

Take that required step

Let's tame it down further 

To build a prettier life 

Life full of joy…

Contentment, and those wider smiles!

And when you are done

Do take a deeper relook

And answer it for yourself

Are you well-tamed… Or wild & need another book? 😜😊

School of Learning…

                        Where there are no holds barred!

This morning I was touched by a newspaper article I came across on A School For Grannies.

Warmed by the thought of Professor Bangar, The Founder of this innovative school, and the zeal and the burning desire of his real old 30-odd students(one of whom is 92 years), I felt compelled to applaud it.

Age definitely must not be a restraining factor at all when it comes to Learning. Not alone from our environment and experiences but also the academic learning.

So very often we come across young and old people with regrets for not having understood the worth of or not having had the means or money for receiving education at the right time.

Most touching are the very common cases in our country where children have to give up education and take on working instead to support themselves or lend a hand in earning for the family.

And if we talk about women specifically we all know heart of heart, how despite having the Right to equality in education, young girls desirous of studying are made to quit schools for their brothers when family can support education for just one and how girls are instead forced into household chores and not provided even the elementary education.

Many, if not all, such children, irrespective of their gender, grow up into adults feeling lacking and inferior.

And as they grow further mature or old, they have this constant nagging feeling that life could have been different had they received education at the right time.

Yes, you and I can vouch for that it indeed would have been so! But why should they live on with that regret now and forever? Each individual has a right to education and he or she should exploit the right whenever best he can.

While all children, boys or girls, rich or poor, must receive the formal education they are rightful of, at the same time the eager grown-ups and even the elderlies must be encouraged and assisted to pursue education no matter how old they are!

Let the school of learning be open for one and all and let there be no holds barred!

Kudos to this School for Grannies! Let’s have more of those!

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
                                                                                            - Mahatma Gandhi

                                                                                            

India, Faith and the Babas!

Another Baba down! After a long drama which held the country hostage for more than 72 hours, with more than two states directly affected with the Baba’s followers burning down whatever public property came their way, finally the Baba has been convicted, sentenced and jailed!

An exemplary verdict, which definitely brought justice to the complainants and some sense of relief to the myriad unknown victims, who chose to remain under the cover of anonymity, has also put a big question mark on the belief and faith of the gullible, desperate seekers who are anxious to hold on to anyone who gives them a glimpse of hope, a ray of sunshine in this mad, dark world and a wee bit of mental peace.

Guess, round the world, people have been wired like that. No matter what religion they belong to or which country they are born in, they need something or someone to believe in; someone who instils in them an iota of belief in the existence and accessibility of God!

And it is this incessant subconscious need of the people which various con men take advantage of, appearing under the guise of self-proclaimed Godmen who play with the faith and belief of the people.

Is it really the public that is encouraging these fakes, as claimed by numerous WhatsApp messages doing the rounds, and does the situation really warrant the ban on the Babas or Gurus as demanded by the news channels?

Since times immemorial, India is a land of the Gurus, where the oldest of the theological theories from one and all religions, stress the importance of taking a guru’s ‘sharan’ and reiterate, over and over again, that none gets to enter the heavens unless he has a Master.

It is not Hinduism alone which emphasises on the role of the Gurus. All religions talk about the presence of God’s messengers on earth in some form or the other at any point of time.

Heaven being the destination aimed at after death in all religions, a seeker is not in the wrong if he is looking all around to take the refuge of a Guru. And after all, if there is a God what else better means would he have to use than a man to a man.

The idols are symbolic, the books have the Gurus’ or Masters’ teachings, temples were meant to be a peaceful place to pray, sermons are to remind us of God. But the knowledge of how to reach Him has only been imparted by a few masters to their followers. At the root the original teachings of all the saints from different religions, say the same leaving no doubt in the accessibility of God through the Guru.

It is very sad that there are people who can make a mockery of this pious Guru and shishya bond in a country like India where there have been several revered saints and children grow up listening to the stories of the same.

It is indeed sad that the faith and belief of the people in this beautiful relationship are shaken time and again by such fakes.

May the faith of the people be restored in the Gurus and may this land of the saints be blessed again with wisdom, sense of discrimination and piety.

A Tryst with Shayari

अर्ज़ है उस खुदा से

कि हम नासमझ को समझ दे

हम दूसरों की खता से पहले

खुद की गुस्ताखी देखें

............................................  ..............................................   ..........................................

दिल में जज़्बात जब दबे रह जाते हैं

खुदा गवाह है... खुदा गवाह है... 

कई सैलाबों के रास्ते खुलने को हो जाते हैं

पता नहीं कब आ जायेगा अचानक से यूँ तूफ़ान

कि संभालने पर भी संभल ना पायेगा कारवाँ

Sometimes Life Just Calls For An Umbrella

At times when there seems to be a downpour of troubles and life seems to go haywire all one heartily seeks is the shelter of an umbrella.

An umbrella that guards him from the impact of plights, an umbrella that guards his little left share of delights, an umbrella which when open feels like a beautiful sky and an umbrella that may become like one’s world at the time.

This umbrella can come in myriad forms and colours. In form of a friend who extends her shoulder, in form of the mentor who stands by you when needed, in form of a parent who is by your side no matter what, in form of a spouse who doesn’t judge you and in form of a small help at just the right time which one cannot ever be thankful enough for!

Yes, we all long for an umbrella when life is harsh on us. Be it the heat of the moment or a deluge of problems, it is the umbrella that guards us, shelters us and keeps us safe and sound.

We all need to keep our umbrellas well and handy. If we nurture our relationships with our friends, family, neighbours and colleagues with love, care, understanding and compassion, our umbrella will welcome us with warmth when needed and shield us against not just the heat and downpour of life but also the lemons life throws at us.

Yes, sometimes life just calls for an umbrella! Keep yours ready!

Credits: The picture used has been taken from dgreetings.com

Wee Bit Of Madness!

It takes a wee bit of madness to scale mountain heights, it takes a wee bit of madness to go skydiving, it takes a wee bit of madness to go biking around the world and it takes a wee bit of madness to do the things you like!

It takes a wee bit of madness to go head over heels in love! It takes a wee bit of madness to work on your passion and it takes just a wee bit of madness to live life king size! And it’s this madness that makes life actually worth living!

Deep inside us we all have that latent flame which needs to be rekindled to reignite our passion and make us zealous and alive!

Yes alive! In true sense of the word! Which doesn’t mean breathing, eating, slogging and sleeping… and reliving the same rut everyday of life!

It means waking up in the morning with a twinkle in eyes and a smile curving your lips. It means keeping that madness alive!

No great genius has ever existed without a touch of madness.

                       -    Aristotle

Liven Up!

Treading the path of life we all reach a stage when we are so involved in doing the daily chores and fulfilling our responsibilities to the best that we hardly notice the years slipping by and only live from weekend to weekend, completely leaving behind what we had initially set for! 

Looking back at the carefree school college days we often exclaim “O Yes! Those were the days!” The days when we had wild dreams of touching the sky while looking for a new horizon! And then we all achieved our academic scores, married our loving and caring spouses and got busy making homes out of concrete houses and balancing lives between work and home! 

And while doing all that we somewhere left behind our dreams, our hobbies and our passions… which at times give a gentle tug deep within. Somewhere deep down one feels a void which if not filled gives one a persistent feeling that something is amiss! 

But what’s stopping us now? Can’t we work our way around in our favour? Why not? Someone so aptly said, “If you do what you need to do you are surviving, if you do what you want to do you are living”. 

Trust me! Life can really be amazing if we do what we love to do and what we want to do. It can really bring a world of difference to the quality of our lives. And it really does not require us to take some tall decisions or make some big changes. All it requires of us is to do those little-little things we crave for and which give us happiness deep within. 

Life is too short and unpredictable and mostly does not give us a second chance. This reminds me of a short story I would like to share with you. 

About a hundred years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his surprise and horror, read his name in the Obituary Column. The newspaper had definitely made a mistake but his first reaction was of shock and for a moment he wondered whether he was ‘here’ or ‘up there’! 

His second thought, when he regained his composure, was to find out what people had said about him. The Obituary read, “Dynamite King Dies” and also, “He was the merchant of death”. This man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words ‘The merchant of death’, he was horrified and he asked himself if this was how he wanted to be remembered. 

He perused over it and decided against it. That very day, he altered the track of his life and started working towards peace. This man was The Popular Alfred Nobel who is fondly remembered today by the great Nobel Prize. 

Now just as Alfred Nobel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values, let us pause and do the same for a minute and ask ourselves – How would we like to be remembered? Will we be spoken well of? Will we be remembered with love and affection? What will our kids remember us for, the hours we slogged to earn money and keep home, or the time we spent with them? And will we be even missed? 

Actually we might not even get a second chance like Alfred Nobel because life often throws lemons our way when we least expect. However even then it is for us to make masala lemonade out of those! 

Alright, lighten up! Life is too short to dwell on sadness or be stressed. So, count your blessings, square your shoulders, lift your head high, take a long deep breath and smile and let that smile reach your eyes, put a spring in your step as you walk and live life as if there is no tomorrow! 

Life is too short to live by someone else’s expectations and life is too short to delay the realisation of our own dreams. So live your life whole-heartedly and be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire! 

One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

--Oscar Wilde

Credits: The picture is taken from pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/549228117026865737/)

Roots and Wings

Each one of us endeavours to provide the best she can for her children. However the definition of best may vary for each individual. For one where it may mean a treasure trove, for another it may be a lifetime effort to provide the best education possible while yet another might believe it to be a set of values.

Not undermining the importance of each considering the important role they all play in our lives, I agree to the saying that the two greatest things one may gift her child are The Roots and The Wings. Roots to remind where he or she belongs and wings to realise what one can become.

Just as I say this, I am reminded of a message doing rounds on Whatsapp with a video clipping of Mrs Sudha Murthy, wife of one of India's richest men, Mr Narayan Murthy, an Indian IT industrialist and co-founder of Infosys, being interviewed on one of the television channels.

Dressed in a simple white saree and adorning silver hair in the video, Mrs Murthy is being asked about her plainness and simplicity and how unlike most others she is not wearing wealth on her sleeves and how despite all the name, fame and money does she remain grounded.

As beautiful, as she looks in that simple look she wears all the time, is her reply to the anchor. She says she is the way she is because she is not a rich man’s daughter and coming from a distinguished academic background family she was never lured or fascinated by money and never felt the need to prove anything to anyone.

Known for living a very simple life and running various NGOs, Mrs Sudha Murthy, is the perfect example of one with strong roots and high-flying wings.

While the wings enable one to reach soaring heights and accomplishing great successes, roots help one to remain grounded, humble and compassionate.

Much as we are attached to our children and many-a-times feel compelled by our own desires to direct them in a certain direction, it is essential that we give them wings and let them explore the highest arenas and even venture into the unknown.

At the same time it is essential that their roots be strong so that they keep in touch with reality and not let the success or wealth get to their head and exposure lose their balance.

Free Lunch for The Soul

Are there really no free lunches? Maybe not! Not in this materialistic calculative world built of the absolute gross matter.

However, there is an exotic, esoteric, addictive and absolutely free lunch available for the soul of each and every one of us. All we have to do is make the first move and taste the first bite… and each day take just one bite till we can’t resist going for the second and then the third and then till we feel full.

And with each bite, you will feel a wave of calmness and an inexplicable bliss sweep over you. The more you let yourself immerse in its warmth the more you are drawn to it and soon you realise that you have never had as scrumptious a meal as this free lunch for the soul.

Now, would you like to know what this free lunch for the soul is?

This heavenly free lunch for the soul is what connects us to the One and Only Supreme God, The One who is beyond the realm of caste, colour & creed and beyond all discrimination bases, we have divided our human race on.

This free lunch comprises of an arcane meal of meditation prepared with loads of love and faith in The One who created us all and The One in whom we merge.

Since times immemorial, mystics, yogis, rishis and sages alike have stressed the importance and benefits of meditation and the medical and spiritual fruits it holds for us.

And since in this modern scientific world we do not accept anything unless it has a logical, scientific evidence to prove it, scientists conducted various researches to probably contradict the theory of the puritans and ended up proving it right.

Today science agrees that meditation causes significant changes in our brain and helps reduce stress, the most common culprit in most ailments, and provides a sense of well-being, reduces blood pressure, cures insomnia, improves memory and helps us lead a better quality life.

So much for just a few minutes a day of our precious time otherwise spent in all activities except any providing nourishment to the soul, the very essence of our being.

The soul which keeps us alive and which when leaves our body brings our mortal existence to an end. The soul which alone remains alive beyond our death and reincarnates time and again. The soul which bears the impressions of our karmas, both good and bad, which in turn design our future, that is, write our destiny.

Can we really ignore this aspect of our existence? We spend considerable time grooming our body using the best possible and sharpening our minds by persistently working out solutions to our day to day problems. How about the soul, the most vital aspect?

Besides the proven medical benefits meditation has on our body, it elevates the soul spiritually, making it noble, kind, tolerant, compassionate, humble and content. It enhances all the positive attributes which lie at times latent in a human being and need to be awakened.

Also, it is the basic foundation of all religions, which actually unanimously agree that God is one and can be merged into only by practising meditation.

So why not satiate our famished soul with this nourishing free lunch to lead a happy, peaceful, contented life and to develop Godly qualities and become deserving of merging into Him, The One and Only Supreme Power!

Credits: The picture used is taken from mindmuscle.com

A baby step towards a better future

There is hardly a day when the daily newspaper does not send shivers down my spine by one or the other horrifying incident and makes me wonder where, as a society, are we heading.

What is worse and dreadful is the fact that in the most gruesome of the acts it is our youth who is involved and is at it’s worst.

Much as it makes me scared for the future and safety of our children, it also makes me ponder hard as to what’s going wrong & where and what exactly do we need to do or change to make the world a better place to live in.

After a long deep contemplation, I have realised that it all begins at school. Today, children spend more time at school and with their peers than with their families. So, it is very important for our schooling system and environment to be structured efficiently and comprehensively.

In our materialistic society where there is cut-throat competition at every step of life, the reputation of a school is set on the basis of the percentage its students score and the colleges they get admission in.

Sadly this materialism is eating up our society from within making it hollow as in the prime years of his development when a child needs to be nurtured holistically, few vital aspects of his basic human nature are overlooked terribly because of our faulty education system and wrong prioritisation.

We need to transform whole education system and instead lay an emphasis developing our children into good human beings before brilliant students. Once the foundation laid is flawless and robust, the results achieved will be nothing but desirable.

Talking about holistic development, human nature can be broadly categorised into four aspects namely, Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual.

While today much emphasis is on the mental aspect, which covers the learning skills and intelligence, many of our good schools today are also making efforts towards the proper physical development of children by providing well-balanced meals or menus and giving decent weightage to games and physical activities.

However, what’s lacking and needs to be worked upon is the emotional and spiritual development of each child as unless each of the aspects of a child’s basic nature is nurtured, a balanced social structure cannot be obtained.

Considering the kinds of misdeeds our juveniles and young adults are involved in, it's time to stimulate the innate sensitivity in our children and strengthen their empathy making them better at not only handling their own emotions but also understanding and responding better to those of others.

But we cannot stop here as the foundation of emotional balance is set upon a sound spiritual balance.

This is so, as it is fundamentally Spiritual Quotient which sets us apart from animals who definitely have certain IQ and are also seen to have some EQ, however, until now no research has shown animals having SQ.

Putting it another way, a human being lacking a certain SQ is just as good as an animal. And haven’t we witnessed the animalistic behaviour of human beings time and again!?

Man being intrinsically spiritual goes haywire when he loses touch with his spiritual self which is humble, peaceful, unselfish, kind and a fragment of the divine. Soaked in materialism he forgets all that he is and instead becomes egoistic, violent, selfish, greedy, cruel and animalistic. All violent acts, we witness day to day, are triggered or inspired by one of the above.

So it becomes imperative that we address the need of the hour and overhaul our education system and work towards the development of our naïve children into physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually sound youngsters who can lead our world into a bright, happy future.

Credits: the picture used has been taken from jen-irishu.com

The Joy of Giving!

          

2^nd of October brings along joy… not just because it’s a gazetted holiday in India for Gandhi Jayanti but because it marks the beginning of a beautiful week, celebrating the joy of giving, popularly known as ‘Daan Utsav’ in India since 2009.

During the Daan Utsav, millions of people irrespective of their cultural, caste and economic background come forward and donate whatever and how so much they can, from the bottom of their heart. While many donate money, clothes, food etc. to the needy, many others devote their time to those in need.

But why?  In this crazy fast-paced world where one does not have time to eat all three meals sitting or where money is never enough to fulfill one’s all desires… why this extra effort towards giving?

The simple and sweet reply is Giving brings Joy. There is no other feeling as fulfilling as the one, one gets by giving. The smile on the recipient’s face, the knowledge that it would help someone some ways, at times the blessings one receives… fills one’s heart with such contentment, peace and joy that is hard to find otherwise.

While many have been donating since ever many more are stepping forward each year to discover the joy of giving. However, still there are many of us who feel they do not have enough yet to share or give away, hence they set milestones… as in ‘when I start earning this much I will start donating’, ‘when I retire I will join an NGO’ etc.

It need not be so actually. No matter how little we start with, giving brings along the same satisfaction and the same sense of joy!

Also, giving is said to bring abundance! The more you give the more you receive! But the catch is don’t give in expectation of receiving, else that’s where it will go wrong!

Give from your heart! Give with a feeling of joy! Give with a heartfelt gratitude, feeling thankful for all what you have for there are so so many in this world who do not have that much!

And while organized events and NGOs prompt and motivate one to make that little extra effort, one does not have to wait for that! Give what you can when you can! And it will bring you so much of peace within.

Also, you don’t have to go hunting out whom to help and how. Like it’s said ‘Charity begins at home’. It is about giving, doing something for someone other than your own self!

Spend some time with your old grandparents or parents or even little children seeking time and attention. Give a tub of ice-cream or a pack of edible goodies for your maid’s children, impart basic education to the deprived. Even as little thing as helping some old man or woman cross a busy street can make you feel good for the rest of the day.

Take baby steps and the world will edge towards becoming a better place to live in! 

Begin with small things and you will soon be addicted for there is no other joy compared to the Joy of Giving!

 Credits: The quote has been taken from storingsunshine.com and quotesgram.com

It all starts with a dream!

A peek into the story behind the success, fame, money or happiness of any man or woman reveals a single passionate and magical propeller – The Dream!

Dream is what keeps one alive, dream is what makes one lose sleep & achieve and dream is what makes one feel not just successful but also self-fulfilled and in-sync with her being.

We all survive the span of a lifetime; a few short, others a little longer. However not many of us really live our lives how we once dreamed to and not many of us depart happily with a contented feeling of having lived life wholeheartedly or atleast having done all to pursue our dreams and our passions.

At the end of it most people are known to have more regrets for having NOT done what they desired to than for having done the things they did in their lives.

As Allan Rufus puts it, “Life is like a sandwich! Birth as one slice and death the other. What you put in between the slices is upto you. Is your sandwich tasty or sour?”

Life is indeed what we make it! We can fill it with our huffed-puffed days or line it with ecstatic moments experienced only when we do what we WANT to do and work towards fulfilling our personal desires and dreams!

Most often we get so engrossed in our daily routines and making the ends meet that the DREAMS WORTH LIVING are left far behind! Then there is not much left in our lives when we cease to dream!

So… DREAM!  And dream BIG! Revive your dreams and paint new ones! And then… Chase Your Dreams!

Set up goals and work towards those on a daily basis and soon enough you will be living your dreams!

Don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t be afraid of obstacles which might come across and don’t be afraid of sarcasm or criticism which you might have to face.

Just work insanely towards living your dream! Keep the fire burning within you and when you feel the flame go low fuel the fire by envisioning your destination. Imagine how it would feel to be there… exactly where you want to be!

Live that moment in your imagination and let it feel real. Let the ecstasy of the dream-come-true-feel run all over you and energize you to do better than the best. That is when work will feel like play. That is when you will be propelled further towards the fulfillment of your dream!

And then there will be no stopping you from Living Your Dream!

You have to dream before your dreams can come true.

                                                                        -A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

(Note: The credit for the image goes to Brian Solis and has been taken from flickr.  Some rights reserved.                                                   

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.)

Lost My Dream!

(Is this your story too?)

One fine morning I woke up restless and while sipping my routine hot cuppa tea I realized that I had lost my dream!

I thought and I thought hard! I tried to look for it and yet it was nowhere to be seen!

I thought hard to recollect when it was with me last…

And I realized it was when I had spring in step, shine in my eyes and zeal in my heart!

That was when I had it with me last!

Oh! But what had happened then? I guess I grew up and shook hand with life and signed an intangible pact,

Promising that I would go with its flow and would never resist or stop and true to my word I met every condition of the pact!

So I kept going and going and reached where I am and never realized when I lost my dream,

The maddening pace of life never let me pause and think what I was leaving behind! Oh no! Now I realize I lost the most precious thing! I Lost My Dream!

It kept me alive and yes it made me insane!

But it was what I wanted so even slogging for it would not have been a drain.

Oh! My Oh My! Why did I lose my dream!