Be Happy!

Wasting time?

2012-02-01T21:20:00.001+05:30

"Don't waste time, go, do something useful!" is one phrase so often thrown at people who seem to be involved in mindless activities. Wise men and sages say that time waste is life waste. Pragmatists say that bygone moments cannot be retrieved back.

But what exactly is wasting time? What activities qualify to be called as time waste? Is it watching movies? Is it sitting on the facebook to post about the snacks you had in the evening? Is it partying with friends on the roadside or in malls? Or sleeping in the afternoons?

And more importantly, what activities qualify to be called as proper utilization of time? Is it planting a tree on the roadside? Or reading religious/ spiritual texts? Or rendering some voluntary service to destitutes? Or making money?

I tried hard to understand what the concept of utilizing/ wasting time is. Fortunately, after 12 years, I seem to have gotten some convincing answer.

Any moment not lived in accordance with one's real life purpose is a moment wasted. And any moment that is not wasted is the moment utilized.

Now in real life scenarios, this may translate into something like: If our life purpose is to become free in spirit, then a moment spent in feeling bad about your friend's prosperity(which you apparently don't possess) is a moment wasted. While a moment spent in relaxing your tired body/ mind or a moment spent in appreciating the beauty of nature or a work well done, or a moment spent in making your life easier to live is a moment utilized!

Ideals - are they just for pep talk?

2011-11-14T02:00:00.001+05:30

Dialogue....

A materially rich idealist at heart:"Character is more important than money or fame. One must always strive for a blemishless character. Deficits in character cannot be compensated by having more money or fame".

Common man: "Oh yeah... money is not all that important.. as long as you live in a lavish villa, drive a sedan and go to foreign tours on vacations... Get to know the life of a middle class guy who manages to live with dignity by sacrificing some basic comforts, and then repeat the lines above... pep talk and reality are two different things"

A materially low profiled idealist at heart:"Character is more important than money or fame. One must always strive for a blemishless character. Deficits in character cannot be compensated by having more money or fame".

Common man: "hold on bro.. its easy to devalue what you don't possess. Had you all the alluring money and lifestyle of a rich, famous man, you would not be saying this. Better be true to yourself and honestly accept what your heart asks for... pep talk and reality are two different things"

The same ideal, quoted by people of different financial profiles... is rejected with equal disgrace. Guess people only accept and believe what they like (and whatever is convenient to them) , irrespective of its relevance!!!

Time to wake up from the slumbers, I believe! Excuses are too lame.. for not living a contended and meaningful life.

Infatuated with success?

2011-06-09T13:23:00.000+05:30

When you aspire for that oh-so-unattainable position/ possession, work towards it and find that you haven't gotten 'there' but just ended up being 'mediocre' or 'failed', it makes you feel horrible?

Added to it, if any of your associates get 'there' rather effortlessly, like a cake walk, does your head spin? Do you feel like stung and suffer from thoughts of worthlessness, jealousy, guilt and isolation?

Well, these are symptoms of infatuation with success... Sure enough, hard earned victory is sweet. But we all need different doses of success-failure combos in our lives to fulfill our life's purpose. The dose is different for different individuals at different points in time.

Hence, we need to understand our 'success' is not entirely our own individual credit and our 'failure' is not necessarily our own individual inadequacy. There is nothing personal about it, except ofcourse our deep desire for a position/ possession and our sincere efforts to attain the same. The sooner we understand this, the surer we can be on our road to personal happiness and fulfillment.

Earning wealth or making money?

2011-04-28T04:06:00.001+05:30

Are these two the same? Well, most of us have believed for decades that they are!

Wealth is infinitely more than just money. While money defines your "buying capability" of certain tangible/ intangible stuff governed by the laws of 'demand and supply', wealth actually empowers you to supercede the laws of demand and supply. you only have surplus; when u have wealth.

if the concept of XML in computer programming languages is familiar to you, you can understand this something like:

Wealth creation is similar to the metadata that describes the behavior and structure of an XML; while money making is one XML file with certain user entered values.

Buy a painting, and u own just the painting. Conquer the heart of the painter, and all his paintings are yours!

Fundas Evergreen

2011-02-17T19:37:00.006+05:30

1. Love is all that we need, at all times.
2. Love is the remedy for all ills.
3. Giving / receiving love alone is living, other activities in themselves don't matter.
4. Whatever happens, happens for the highest good
5. Dont get struck up anywhere in life.. just move on, no matter how stubborn or painful the situation, life knows how to dissolve, just keep flowing.
6. Love, love and only love. Nothing else is required, whatever may be the situation
7. NEVER operate from hatred, frustration, anger, despondency, hopelessness, head weight or a shallow sense of self centredness.
8. Operate from LOVE, where you see the BIG picture, instead of trivial gains.
9. You are here to live YOUR life, not somebody else's. Hence, never compare the stuff in your life with anyone else's for the good, or for the bad. We each have different purposes and different destinations, based on which our lives are designed; to just give us those experiences, which we need the most. There is simply no point despising your own life or desiring the life of another person!
10. Never waste your time on stuff that does not matter. Be intelligent enough to distinguish what you need and what you dont need.

Easier said than done :) but its better to do it this way. Keep reminding yourself in times of 'crises' about the grandeur of love. That may as well, be the first step towards true living!

Lyrics of nirvana satakam- chidananda rupah sivoham sivoham

2011-01-11T19:18:00.003+05:30

Manobuddhyahankara chittani naham
na cha shrotra jihve na cha ghrana netre
na cha vyoma bhumir na tejo na vayuh
chidananda rupah shivoham shivoham

Na cha prana sandnyo na vai pancha vayur
na va sapta dhatur na va pancha koshah
na vak pani padau na chopasthapayu
chidananda rupah shivoham shivoham

na me dvesha raago na me lobha mohau
mado naiva me naiva matsarya bhavah
na dharmo na chartho na kamo na mokshah
chidananda rupah shivoham shivoham

na punyam na papam na saukhyam na dukham
na mantro na teetham na veda na yagnah
aham bhojanam naiva bhojyan na bhoktah
chidandanda rupah shivoham shivoham

na mrutyur na shanka na me jati bhedah
pita naiva me naiva mata na janmah
na bandhur na mitram gurur naiva shishyah
chidananda rupah shivoham shivoham

aham nirvikalpo niraakara roopo
vibhu vyapya sarvatra sarvendriyani
sada me samatvan na muktir na bandhah
chidananda rupah shivoham shivoham

Self Confidence can never, ever be understated or hyped

2010-08-29T02:00:00.002+05:30

Right from inspirational writers and speakers to psychic gurus, psychologists, corporate managers, educational institutions, all of them unanimously echo time and again that it is just self confidence that matters- nothing more, nothing less. And, it is so true!

But what stands out glaringly is the absence of self confidence almost everywhere. People seem to focus more on "appearing confident" and "happy" than to experience self confidence as a natural flow in life. Some imagine self confidence as the ability to speak aloud in big audience, while some imagine it to be a mask of indifference and show no emotion. Many equate self confidence with social acceptance. While self confidence may get you any or all of the above, these are not the parameters to gauge self confidence and are not even accurately reflective of your confidence levels.

Self confidence cannot be "acquired" from anywhere, anybody or anything. It inherently IS. The sooner you understand this, the closer you get to happiness. It is a simple faith that you have in yourself that you are correct, you are competent, you deserve all that you desire and you are LOVABLE.

But this simple faith is becoming increasingly difficult to hold on to. One of the main destructive agents is a judgmental society. People form opinions purely based on their perceptions and personal experiences, which cannot be generalized. They air/assert/ impose these opinions and impact the thought process in their circle. Everybody brings forth their own view points about what is "desirable", "acceptable", "good" etc, and discard other ways of thought and action as wrong/ unproductive/ misleading.

We, as social animals impact and get impacted by our environment. In this exchange of thoughts through words and deeds, an amalgamation happens and people accept thoughts that contradict their inherent understanding. Sometimes, the power of external thought is so powerful that it subdues an individual's latent understanding. These individuals are the ones who suffer the greatest risk of losing their self confidence by relying on mob judgment consciously or unconsciously.

But who suffers ultimately? ALL OF US, the society as whole, along with the individual. A society comprising of individuals with tampered self confidence is very weak and prone to collapsing even with minor disagreements or differences in opinions.

But what is the way out? How can we help ourselves out of this destructive spiral? We need not give up our faculties of judgment or stop ourselves from expressing what we feel. All we need is to incorporate the understanding that every single individual in the society is a part of the WHOLE, every one sees the world from THEIR own perspective and everyone, including self needs to be treated with respect and care. Although people have disagreements among themselves, it is important to note that everybody is right from their own perspectives. And you need not dismiss yourself to be aligned along some body else's lines. Just LIVE and LET LIVE. Follow your own heart, your own path, and just do whatever makes sense to you, while understanding that everyone around you also has these basic privileges.

the thin line.. can u discern???

2009-04-28T11:06:00.008+05:30

courage and recklessness
confidence and arrogance
sensitive and touchy
humble and submissive
composed and passive
self control and self denial
inspired and influenced
questioning and doubting
religious and ritualistic
honesty and naivity
innocence and ignorance
being moderate and being mediocre
self love and self centeredness
self esteem and big ego
detachment from action and attachment to inaction
.......................

(all others u can think of.........)

the thin line is the same that distinguishes
strength from weakness,
love from non love,
baby from bath water,
master from slave,
freedom from bondage,
energy from inertia,
vidya from avidya and
life from death.....

It is not what the action that appears on the outside that matters, what matters is where YOU are......

Strength is life, weakness is death!!!

ode to time

2009-03-14T22:19:00.001+05:30

time transforms an ugly caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly
time moulds an impish boy into a responsible man
time turns a damsel to an unstable old lady
time takes out from a tiny seed, a huge tree
time wipes tears and shatters fears
time heals the wounds that fate brings
time is the bridge between dreams and reality
time tags you to cares, and time relieves you of pains
time complicates and simplifies
time ticks your life at the pace of a day per 24 hrs, no matter whether u weep, wail or smile
time shows that life goes on, come what may
time dictates your stay
time creates desire and destroys it
time makes anything and anyone good or bad
wise ones understand this, from dust they come, unto dust they go, and make the most of their sojourn in time
they know, time n tide wait for none
n that time waste is life waste

Kaalaya namaha, kaalaateetaya namaha!!!

My Love.....

2009-03-05T18:44:00.000+05:30

I was sitting on a bench looking for love....

out came a man, full of zeal, passion and energy
his love rushed, gushed, pushed and...... perished!

then came another, full of wit, charm and grace
his love sparkled, glittered, dazzled and... dulled!

another rolled in, full of sincerity, sweetness and straightforwardness
his love assumed, assured, accomodated and.... lulled!

I was still sitting there, on the bench, while each passing love left me wiser
there was the dance of love in varied colors and costumes that I witnessed,
so elusive, mysteriously slipped out of my hands everytime I reached for it to grasp,
or just frightened to suffocate me

then I sat still, continued to gaze, and asked my heart where it is- a love that energises, soothes, brightens, nourishes, stays and sustains.
awaiting an answer, I looked into my own heart
and voila! there it is!
has played hide and seek mischeivously, by projecting itself on the canvas in different vestures
it touched me with tenderness n stroked me with strength n assured me of its eternity
it springed from a source untraceable, sought channels to spread out
and reunite with itself, cased in the hearts of all around me!

Let go, Let god!

2009-03-04T17:33:00.000+05:30

let go of the worry about things you cannot change, for worry alone does not change anything
let go of the fear of the unknown, for what we know is far too less
let go of resistance to pain and affinity to pleasure, like pain, pleasure also comes uninvited, let them not dictate ur decisions
let go of attachment to action and inaction, js do it (or dont do it)
let go of the negativity that holds u back, a wonderful world and a wonderful life is ahead!

Let god manifest through your actions as perfection
let god rule your life and enrich ur heart
let god shine through your character and illumine your heart
let god smile through you and spread love
let god be your strength, let not desperation for anything cloud your vision of god!

Be yourself, be happyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

who r u?

2008-11-03T16:08:00.000+05:30

u work less than what u r paid for - u r a THIEF!
u work exactly for what u r paid - u r a SLAVE
u work to ur full capacity, n do more than wat u r paid for - u r the MASTER

not good enough???

2008-08-29T14:44:00.000+05:30

In a small town, a little boy collected a heap of stones, all of different sizes, colours and shapes. He wanted to use them as paper weights.

Of all the stones, there was one big, granite stone that was quite heavy. Its weight qualified it to serve as an excellent paper weight. But it had very sharp edges that tore many a paper. There was another one, a brick, very heavy too and had no sharp edges. But when it got wet from the moisture when it rained outside, the brick soiled the papers. there was another stone, was very smooth and rounded, of medium size, It did a fairly good job, but due to its smoothness, an accidental touch or push would roll down the stone. There was one marble stone, which had a really pleasant tone and a moderate size. There were some more stones of large, moderate and small sizes, some being broken pieces of tiles, some decorative stones discarded from households. The smallest of them all was a stone that was somewhat geometric in shape and crystalline in nature.

The larger and moderate sized stones received better treatment from their master for being better paper weights while the smaller stones and the ones that could damage the paper was mostly overlooked and almost always unnoticed. But they yearned to be appreciated by their master, who always did that to their peers with more favorable sizes.

One day, the boy decided to throw off all the stones that did not serve his purpose. The stones to be discarded were deeply pained at their master's decision and their inability to win his appreciation. The big granite stone, the brick, the smooth stones, the little crystalline stone were mercilessly thrown out.

The stones lay there helplessly, in despair at their own unworthiness. One day, a mason passed that way and spotted the granite stone and the brick. He examined them carefully and thought they would make good candidates for construction, owing to their strength and has taken them along with him. The stones were happy to get a new master who valued them for what they are.

Another day, a small kid passing the same way was fascinated by the smooth, round stone. The stone seemed to be a good playmate for the kid. This stone was happy too, it got a master who dearly loved it and played with it.

The little crystalline stone now felt very lonely and insignificant as the days passed by and no one has taken any notice of it. The dejection and feeling of being unwanted haunted it all through. Finally, it declared its unworthiness to itself and became desensitised to all emotions and lay there bereft of life.

The very next moment, a learned geologist, passing that way took notice of this "small" stone, examined it and was awed! He found that this is a rare diamond with excellent refractive index! It shone brilliantly even with a single ray hat fell on it. The geologist thanked his fortune to have found this stone and handed it to a nearby museum, which gifted him handsomely for the contribution.

The diamond became the main attraction of the museum now. A couple of security guards were appointed specially to safeguard the attraction of the museum!!!

Spare a moment and think, is a "comparatively smaller stone" - the diamond useless because it cannot be a good paper weight?????

Courage and Confidence

2008-05-16T14:35:00.001+05:30

A business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out.

Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. "I can see that something is troubling you," he said. After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said, "I believe I can help you."

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, "Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time."

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

"I can erase my money worries in an instant!" he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the un cashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

"I'm so glad I caught him!" she cried. "I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He's always escaping from the rest home and telling people he's John D. Rockefeller."

And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned.

All year long he'd been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

Inter-Personal Skills

2008-05-07T21:10:00.000+05:30

No body can really understate the importance of inter personal skills, and hence its prominence requires no elaboration.

However, one can either genuinely possess/ acquire good inter personal skills, or just fake it in times of need.

Fundamentally, one needs to know these, both intellectually as well as instictually:

1. Every human being is a special creation of God and no two human beings are alike.

2. Every person has some special, desirable trait. If you can learn to recognise this in every person and acknowledge him/ her about it, sincerely, and make them feel good about themselves, the same behaviour will be reciprocated back to you, by those around you.

3. LISTEN. This is probably the one skill most of us need to cultivate/ hone. If you can genuinely and ACTIVELY listen to the person in front of you, 99% of the time, you will be a darling to that person and people even go out of their way to help you, without realising so.

4. As you focus on becoming a better person day by day, and become more considerate to those around you, this particular aspect of your personality- your interpersonal skills, also sharpen, as a consequence.

5. EMPATHY: Do unto others as you would like it done unto you. Learn to put yourself in the other guy's shoes and think. You will then naturally master inter personal skills.

LOVE........

2008-05-05T22:59:00.000+05:30

To combat darkness, there is no other way, but to bring light. To combat hatred, unrest, lethargy, indifference, violence, the only remedy is love. Love is the one remedy for all ills of mankind today.

Just imagine, how difficult it really is, to hate a person who loves you. So the answer lies just there. Give more and more and more love.... so much love that there is no room for hatred at all! fill every gap of your life with love. That is the best way to keep all the other less favourale emotions at a bay.

Start the day with love, spend the day with love, and end the day with love, that is the way to God.

Rewarding Work Attitude

2008-04-30T12:45:00.000+05:30

Work, well done is a reward in itself. No other reward equals it.

Work/profession is a tool to bring out the best of your capabilities, it is to be revered, not to be misused as a tool to gain recognition/ money/ social network, etc. The latter, ofcourse may be the consequences of doing good work, but never must be the goals of your work.

Doing one's duty diligently and efficiently, despite the boredom of daily routine and many other obstacles, is a virtue, the idle can never know in their lifetime.

Thumb Rules of Life!

2008-04-28T17:17:00.000+05:30

Human body is psycho-somatic in nature. Pscho - mind, somatic - body. Any disturbance/ turbulence in the mind reflects as sickness of the body.

As said "a healthy mind in a healthy body", one ought to take care of one's mind and thoughts and keep it as peaceful as possible.

Being Happy inspite of every unpleasant situation is a decision we owe to ourselves, for a healthy, peaceful life.

On a day- to- day basis, we find ourselves introspecting on the meaning of life, why we are here and how to be happy always. These insights are powerful tools for our transformation, provided we act upon them.

Here are a few of my observations and thoughts. Readers are welcome to share their insights too. Lets make this world a better place to live.

Pain and pleasure are passing clouds of life, none stays permanantly. To dissociate oneself from both is the mark of true wisdom.

No one person is "better" than the other. We are all here to work on our weaknesses and enhance our strengths. To give room to either superiority or inferiority complexes is the sureshot road to misery.

You are facing challenges in life, not because you are inadequate, it is the nature of life to throw challenges, that make you strong from within.

Never compare yourself to others. The only person you have to compare is yourself. At every point of time, if you strive to better yourself and give your best, you are the most successful person one can come across.

Buddies, share your insights too, lets get better every moment...