Warren Buffet
I happened to come across an interesting mail, reporting parts of an interview with one of the richest persons in the world. Obviously, I thought, it is about the ‘how to become rich’ or still better, ‘how to make money’ etc. I was about to dissuade myself from reading any further, but the opening remarks(“…..even if u are not much into investing…”) caught my attention.
As I read further, it occurred to me, that here was evidence that the ancient traditional view holds good too well. Spiritual masters advise that only one part out of sixteen was enough to handle the material aspect of life, and rest of the 15 parts of one’s focus was needed to make the inwards journey! And, they also added, if these 15 parts make some progress, the outside situation is taken care by itself! The questions ‘thrown’ at him brought out those answers, which highlighted his way of doing things, looking at people, looking at life, handling situations, handling investments etc. I can visualize the plight of the audience, while everyone would be wishing that he would part with some ‘mantra’ to become at least modestly rich, what he spoke did not offer anything that they can start off with!
It was with great hesitation that I brought it upon myself to write a few lines about this interview, and instead had thought of just ‘forwarding’ it as everybody else does. But a good friend of mine insisted upon knowing what I thought about it, and I have chosen to just indicate instead of elaborating on the several exact similarities (that I could notice), the similar types of attitudes required for spiritual journey too! I wanted to avoid ‘unsolicited’ burdensome reading of such elaboration. I find myself ‘chuckle’ at the words of the great person, who put those great concepts so simply. It is too much to expect a spiritual Master to waste efforts to amass similar wealth just to convince that the techniques are similar (the intensity required for spirituality being many fold than that required for becoming ‘deity of financial world’s Mt.Olympus!). This wizard tells us how to invest money. Spiritual Giants have been telling us since ages, how to invest ‘life-span’! No wonder, the words of all these achievers and accomplishers towards the end of their life, rhyme the same way as the words of spiritual masters. Perhaps, in a very subdued note they seem to ‘confess’, “had I held on to these concepts and turned inwards, the rewards would have been everlasting ones”.
Regards,
Psn(23rd April, 2010)
Quote:
Read it even if u are not much into investing …it’s a good read..interview with Warren Buffett
He Speaks Now,It was a wonderful experience listening to and learning from the Master Investor- Warren Buffett himself and all I can say is that he stands alone as the reigning deity of financial world’s Mt Olympus!The degree of humility and composure he exhibited, although he is the richest and most well respected human is stunning!I tried to take some notes and would like to share with you some of the best questions and answers which came across during the conversation between we mortals and God.Having read about him, observed him and worshipped him for a few years now, I think it is reasonable to believe that this guy is exactly what he seems: a plain-speaking, tee totaling man of uncrackable integrity who works really, really hard and sticks to his investing and management principles through boom and bust which makes him a freak of nature since he is above normal human tendencies. He is like a comet streaking through the heavens every 75 years or so.The questions the shareholders threw at him for 7 continuous hours ranged from finances, life, religion, career, politics, sports and several other streams. And he answered everything with a Zen like calm and confidence.Even if you are least bothered about investments and finances, I insist, Please read on.
What does it take to become a successful investor? Brilliance or Smartness?
Neither, Success in investing doesn’t correlate with I.Q. Once you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that gets other people into trouble in investing.
When do you deicide to invest in a firm?
The best thing that happens to us is when a great company gets into temporary trouble. We want to buy them when they’re on the operating table. (Mr. Buffett bought Coke when it had its biggest fiasco after launching New Coke; he bought American Express when it went through a loss making phase in the early 60’s)
What do you look for in people when they come to sell their firms to you?
I don’t look for the usual credentials such as an MBA, a pedigree (Harvard, Wharton), or cash reserves or market cap of their firm. What I look for is just a passion in their eyes; I think that’s the key. A person who is hungry will always do well. I prefer it when people even after selling stay on and work for the firm; they are people who can’t wait to get off their bed to get to work. Passion is everything; there is no replacement for innate interest.
Mr. Buffett, you told us that Berkshire Hathaway has $ 45 Billion in cash. Why aren’t you investing?
Up until a few years back I had more ideas than money. Now I have more money than ideas.
When do you plan to retire?
I love my job; I love it so much that I tap dance to work. Mrs. B, the founder of Nebraska Furniture Mark worked until she was 104, she died within 6 months of her retirement, that’s a lesson to all my managers, don’t retire! I personally am going to work 6-7 years after I die, probably that’s what they mean when they say- “Thinking out of the Box”!!
Why do stock market crashes happen?
Because of human nature for greed and insecurity. The 1970s were unbelievable. The world wasn’t going to end, but businesses were being given away. Human nature has not changed. People will always behave in a manic-depressive way over time. They will offer great values to you.”
What are the things that are taught wrong in Business school and the corporate world?
I like such open ended questions, I think Business schools should refrain from teaching their wards about profit making and profit making alone, it gives a sense of 1 dimensional outlook to the young students that loss is a curse. In reality, in the corporate world, failure and loss making are inevitable. The capital market without loss is like Christianity without hell. I think they should teach the student on how to buy a business, how to value a business? Not just on how to determine the price of a business. Because price is what you pay, value is what you get.
Do you still hate Technology stocks?
With Coke I can come up with a very rational figure for the cash it will generate in the future. But with the top 10 Internet companies, how much cash will they produce over the next 25 years? If you say you don’t know, then you don’t know what it is worth and you are speculating, not investing. All I know is that I don’t know, and if I don’t know, I don’t invest.”
How to think about Investing?
The first investment primer was written by Aesop in 600 B.C. He said, ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.’ Aesop forgot to say when you get the two in the bush and what interest rates are; investing is simply figuring out your cash outlay (the bird in the hand) and comparing it to how many birds are in the bush and when you get them.”
How do you feel after donating $ 40 Billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation? You are a hero to us!
I feel nothing. I haven’t sacrificed anything in life. I have had a good life. I donated after I turned 75. I think I admire those people who sacrifice their time, share their food and home, as the people to be emulated not me. Besides, what is money before a man’s life?
What do you think are the pitfalls in donation?
I have never donated a dime to churches or other such organizations; I need to believe in something before I end up doing that. I have been observing the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation for years now and I am confident they will do a fantastic job of making use of the money. I am a big believer in Outsourcing, others believed in me as an Investor and gave their hard earned money to invest. I believe in Bill Gates, he is a better donor than me.
Why do you work from Omaha and not Wall Street , New York ?
Wall Street is the only place where people alight from Rolls Royce to get advised by people who use the Public transportation system.
You seem to be so well read, tell us how it all started.
My father was a stock broker, so we had all these financial books in our library. He introduced me to those classics and I got into them. I am lucky that my father was not a fan of Playboy! Reading is the best habit you can get. Well, you can learn from teachers too, and have mentors but there are so many constraints attached- they will talk fast, talk slow, they might talk like a pro or they might be terrible communicators. Books are a different animal altogether, I love reading! The beauty about reading and learning is that the more you learn the more you want to learn.
People who join Berkshire Hathaway seldom leave. How do you get along well with all your executives?I try to get quality people.
I always say – Hire someone in your organization who is better than you are. If you do that, you build a company of giants. If you get people worse than yourself, you build a company of dwarfs. And do not try to do everything yourself. Delegate the jobs and look out of the window. The results will come. That’s how you build institutions. It happens only when you empower others, believe in others. I am an investor, I am very secured at that, I have no clue how to make Coca-Cola or how to dole out credit cards (Mr. Buffett owns 8% of Coca-Cola and 13 % of American Express). I understand the wisdom of the aphorism that you cannot please all the people all the time. Of Course, you will always find qualities that you don’t like in people around you, but if you observe carefully the love of the work unites you both. There is no point in being obsessive about a bad quality in a person, whom you otherwise respect.
I am a small time businessman from Dallas , Texas , what do I need to do to hit big time?
Be patient, Achieving your financial goals and dreams will not happen overnight. As much as we would all really love to accomplish our goals in a few years, this is an ongoing process. Defining your financial goals is not a one-time task; you need to keep adding new plans at different stages in your life. We all admire the skills of Olympic ice skaters, pro golfers, and concert pianists. But do we remember that they didn’t acquire their skills overnight? They had to practice hours on end for years to achieve their dreams. The key to success is to continue learning throughout your life with a voracious appetite.
I think it is marvelous that you have had a golden run with investing, how did you do that?
My rule is to be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. Besides, I call investing the greatest job in the world because you never have to swing. You stand at the plate; the pitcher throws you General Motors at 47! U.S. Steel at 39! And nobody calls a strike on you. There’s no penalty except opportunity lost. All day you wait for the pitch you like; then when the fielders are asleep, you step up and hit it. Stay dispassionate and be patient. You’re dealing with a lot of silly people in the marketplace; it’s like a great big casino and everyone else is boozing. If you can stick with drinking Coke, you should be OK. First the crowd is boozy on optimism and buying every new issue in sight. The next moment it is boozy on pessimism, buying gold bars and predicting another Great Depression, most people get interested in stocks when everyone else is. The time to get interested is when no one else is. You can’t buy what is popular and do well.
Mr. Buffett you have seen so many crashes and recessions, your take on facing recessions and stock market crashes?
If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians. Every scenario is different. But always remember, Tough times do not last. Tough people do.
What is the 1 biggest advice you would impart to a young investor like me?
Think for a moment that you are given a car and told this is the only car you would get for the rest of your life. Then you would make sure that you car is taken care of well, it is oiled and detailed every now and then. You would make sure that it never gets rusted, and you would garage it. Think of yourself as that car. You just get 1 body, 1 mind and 1 soul. Take care of it well. Invest in yourself that would be my advice.
You personally know many of the Financial executives who are engineers of the current turmoil in the financial world, surprisingly even after record losses, those executives receive astronomical salaries and bonuses and arrogantly declare that they deserve it, why dint you advice them from making such decisions and what’s your view on their justification for their pay?
I like sharing my ideas but don’t like imposing my ideas on anybody. It doesn’t make sense and is a waste of time. If somebody has decided that they know everything that is there to know, nobody can help them. The best way to learn and succeed is to know that we know nothing. There is an entire universe out there and still some of us think we can know everything. In the world of investing a few people after making some money tend to imagine they are invincible and great. This is the worst thing that could happen to any investor, because it surely means that the investor will end up taking unnecessary risks and end up losing everything ? arrogance, ego and overconfidence are very lethal. Personally I don’t feel too comfortable with too much extravagance, because I always think like an investor. My thought process doesn’t see a lot of value in a fancy car or a designer suit. Thinking like an investor always is very important to bring in a sense of discipline and focus. Before reading balance sheets and investing you need to make sure your outlook and mindset is that of an investor. Never let ego, arrogance and over-confidence control you – not just as an investor but also as a human being. You will never have internal peace if you are unable to look at everybody around you with love, compassion and understanding. Irrespective of who the person is, he or she can teach you something you don’t know. I have learnt so much from people all around me and I wouldn’t have been able to learn all these wonderful things if I had not spoken to them with a smile. To quote Sir Isaac Newton- If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.
It was a 7 hour conversation and I could just capture some of the best questions and answers.
As 37,000+ dazed, amazed and grateful shareholders trooped out of the stadium after the meeting, I found myself recalling one of my favorite quotes-“A man has to learn that he cannot command things, but that he can command himself; that he cannot coerce the wills of others, but that he can mold and master his own will: and things serve him who serves truth; people seek guidance of him who is master of himself”.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Positive
I received a request to take up a question.
It was this:
Quote:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100407034710AAIlWKJ
how do you overcome negativity in your life ? these persistent negative thoughts are ruining my life ,how do?
build a brain full of positive thoughts and keep negativity to minimum
My answer:
Make a humble but very significant beginning by accepting the fact that there is negativity within us. By simply accepting that there is a negative aspect, we are already planting a positive aspect, of accepting the truth. Looking around at people we can see this easily. Initially, when they refuse to accept that they are a bit negative about anything, they actually end up contributing to the already existing small bit of negativity. One cannot also be too overcautious about this! Just due to some false apprehension if somebody tries to buy a ‘safe’ insurance of a false pretense of accepting that there is some negativity (where there is nothing like that), such a person would end up actually planting one!
Life, by itself is a positive aspect. Only our actions or thoughts can be life-negative. When we find that we are full of negativity, all we have to do is go to our roots, our life, and look at the strongest aspect, the most positive aspect, that is ‘life is still happening in us’.
Next obvious, logical, sequential aspect is that we are breathing in and out. Just watch that very intensely, but utterly relaxed. The very quality of watching breath brings certain very significant aspect of ‘positivity’ that can sustain any and every negativity that has crept or can creep in! This suggestion may look too primitive, crude and illogical. But instead of waiting for proof, etc, it makes sense to lean on the experience of several centuries of ancient masters. The proof will occur any way, with sustained efforts. And basically there is no cost or extra efforts involved. We have to breathe anyways. Just that we are keeping its awareness, and in doing so, trying to remain rooted at where life is happening.. here and now!!
Unquote:
Now having answered, I felt persuaded to look at the question in a deeper perspective, its fuzzy aspect. And the following is what I went through, or rather, it went through me.
The fuzzy aspect of ‘Positive’ approach.
There is a saying….. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”… We are neither angels, nor do we wish to remain fools, despite the fact that danger lurks at almost all places…. …..now especially, with that wide-spread-terrorism.
We are not unfamiliar with the knotty problem of what to choose, when there is really some choice available. Our choice depends upon how positive we can really afford to be. This again in turn depends upon how resourceful we are!
I have been fortunate to witness a few rare breed of bank officers, who ‘volunteer’ to take charge of problematic branches, when they are due for transfer. I did manage to squeeze out a confession of their ‘secret’ formula, as to why they chose to volunteer taking over problematic branches. ‘Simple’, they said, ‘Banking is typically individualistic-attitude-driven-profession, despite several policies laid down to have a fair control over ‘discretion’ used by local heads, which are likely to jeopardize the bank’s stability. A branch can turn ‘problematic’ only when the head of the family fails to get that magical blend of human aspect, commercial viability, and economic prudence while dealing with customers, and especially the staff. Now, when somebody has already spoiled a place, the next person is found to be a great sigh of relief to all around, whether the next person performs or not, even cessation of giving problems is in itself greatly welcomed. So, the appreciation is almost guaranteed. Any additional performance is bonus! A typical positive approach. What these gentlemen hid from me is an honest reporting of their own latent abilities. But that was what exactly what inspired me to grill them into confessing thus!
There was an old Hindi movie, in which the villain-hero is confronted with ‘dead-end’ like situation. He is surrounded by policemen who have used a girl as‘bait’ to trap him inside a conveniently located hotel room. When this hero points a gun at this girl, having discovered the treachery, she announces that she had already emptied the cartridge chamber, and that he has no escape with the police waiting downstairs. Now, here is the positive approach. Instead of getting rid of a problem, this hero introduces a new problem for the police. He smiles and tells the girl that only they both know that the chamber is empty. So he tapes her lips, ties her hands to the rear, drags her along, pointing the gun at her head. The police are ‘committed’ to avoid killing of an innocent, and helplessly watch as he walks away right through them.
It so happened once that the slow speed of work at a railway ticket reservation counter causes a simmer of irritated people waiting in a long queue. There is nothing unusual about it. But on that day, the supervisor got a hint about a likely visit by some inspection officials, and requested the booking clerk to speed up as a ‘one-time-measure’ to avoid adverse remarks/consequences. The timing was so perfect that the next innocent/ignorant fellow who joined up the queue did not have to wait any longer than any of the people ahead of him. His net waiting time was ridiculously low! We may call it luck, coincidence, or whatever. But we know, some people carry this luck around them all the while, while others reach the scene only when it turns problematic! The fuzzy aspect of positive approach is about sensing this a little ahead! It looks too much, to guess. Well, please see, share brokers keep a keen watch at market sentiments, company’s performance, activities of a company, like watching bulk-recruitment, bulk purchase of precious raw materials, etc to make a guess of future potential performance.
Not to speak of those wizards who outdid the income-tax law makers, when they tapped ‘expenditure’ as a source of income, avoiding the maze of complexities devised by ‘experts’ who laid traps with ‘income’ definitions! And now we have ‘deemed’ income benefits, the fringe benefits tax, etc, a feeble attempt to catch up with super wiz-kids working incessantly with exchange-rate-hedging-benefits in place of simple ‘income’ / ‘expense’ nets of tax. It seems we Indians were saved from severity of recession not by virtue of our prudence, but sheer ignorance about ‘hedging’ concepts in financial management!
Perhaps, no body did it better than Alfred Nobel who made good money when countries were at war. So much that later, it really caused some remorse even! And it is the very same element of “positive” approach in him which fetched good money, led him to convert the ‘negative’ effect on others into a positive one, when he instituted the now famous Nobel Prize, Nobel Foundation, which rewards, inspires and motivates the best and rarest of positive performances globally! Now very few people remember him by the title he had infamously acquired, that of “Merchant of death” !
Spirituality rewards us with this fuzzy approach, that elusive ‘remote-sensing’ of impending or lurking danger or favourable opportunity, to a keen, alert & aware person.
Psn (8th April, 2010)
It was this:
Quote:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100407034710AAIlWKJ
how do you overcome negativity in your life ? these persistent negative thoughts are ruining my life ,how do?
build a brain full of positive thoughts and keep negativity to minimum
My answer:
Make a humble but very significant beginning by accepting the fact that there is negativity within us. By simply accepting that there is a negative aspect, we are already planting a positive aspect, of accepting the truth. Looking around at people we can see this easily. Initially, when they refuse to accept that they are a bit negative about anything, they actually end up contributing to the already existing small bit of negativity. One cannot also be too overcautious about this! Just due to some false apprehension if somebody tries to buy a ‘safe’ insurance of a false pretense of accepting that there is some negativity (where there is nothing like that), such a person would end up actually planting one!
Life, by itself is a positive aspect. Only our actions or thoughts can be life-negative. When we find that we are full of negativity, all we have to do is go to our roots, our life, and look at the strongest aspect, the most positive aspect, that is ‘life is still happening in us’.
Next obvious, logical, sequential aspect is that we are breathing in and out. Just watch that very intensely, but utterly relaxed. The very quality of watching breath brings certain very significant aspect of ‘positivity’ that can sustain any and every negativity that has crept or can creep in! This suggestion may look too primitive, crude and illogical. But instead of waiting for proof, etc, it makes sense to lean on the experience of several centuries of ancient masters. The proof will occur any way, with sustained efforts. And basically there is no cost or extra efforts involved. We have to breathe anyways. Just that we are keeping its awareness, and in doing so, trying to remain rooted at where life is happening.. here and now!!
Unquote:
Now having answered, I felt persuaded to look at the question in a deeper perspective, its fuzzy aspect. And the following is what I went through, or rather, it went through me.
The fuzzy aspect of ‘Positive’ approach.
There is a saying….. “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”… We are neither angels, nor do we wish to remain fools, despite the fact that danger lurks at almost all places…. …..now especially, with that wide-spread-terrorism.
We are not unfamiliar with the knotty problem of what to choose, when there is really some choice available. Our choice depends upon how positive we can really afford to be. This again in turn depends upon how resourceful we are!
I have been fortunate to witness a few rare breed of bank officers, who ‘volunteer’ to take charge of problematic branches, when they are due for transfer. I did manage to squeeze out a confession of their ‘secret’ formula, as to why they chose to volunteer taking over problematic branches. ‘Simple’, they said, ‘Banking is typically individualistic-attitude-driven-profession, despite several policies laid down to have a fair control over ‘discretion’ used by local heads, which are likely to jeopardize the bank’s stability. A branch can turn ‘problematic’ only when the head of the family fails to get that magical blend of human aspect, commercial viability, and economic prudence while dealing with customers, and especially the staff. Now, when somebody has already spoiled a place, the next person is found to be a great sigh of relief to all around, whether the next person performs or not, even cessation of giving problems is in itself greatly welcomed. So, the appreciation is almost guaranteed. Any additional performance is bonus! A typical positive approach. What these gentlemen hid from me is an honest reporting of their own latent abilities. But that was what exactly what inspired me to grill them into confessing thus!
There was an old Hindi movie, in which the villain-hero is confronted with ‘dead-end’ like situation. He is surrounded by policemen who have used a girl as‘bait’ to trap him inside a conveniently located hotel room. When this hero points a gun at this girl, having discovered the treachery, she announces that she had already emptied the cartridge chamber, and that he has no escape with the police waiting downstairs. Now, here is the positive approach. Instead of getting rid of a problem, this hero introduces a new problem for the police. He smiles and tells the girl that only they both know that the chamber is empty. So he tapes her lips, ties her hands to the rear, drags her along, pointing the gun at her head. The police are ‘committed’ to avoid killing of an innocent, and helplessly watch as he walks away right through them.
It so happened once that the slow speed of work at a railway ticket reservation counter causes a simmer of irritated people waiting in a long queue. There is nothing unusual about it. But on that day, the supervisor got a hint about a likely visit by some inspection officials, and requested the booking clerk to speed up as a ‘one-time-measure’ to avoid adverse remarks/consequences. The timing was so perfect that the next innocent/ignorant fellow who joined up the queue did not have to wait any longer than any of the people ahead of him. His net waiting time was ridiculously low! We may call it luck, coincidence, or whatever. But we know, some people carry this luck around them all the while, while others reach the scene only when it turns problematic! The fuzzy aspect of positive approach is about sensing this a little ahead! It looks too much, to guess. Well, please see, share brokers keep a keen watch at market sentiments, company’s performance, activities of a company, like watching bulk-recruitment, bulk purchase of precious raw materials, etc to make a guess of future potential performance.
Not to speak of those wizards who outdid the income-tax law makers, when they tapped ‘expenditure’ as a source of income, avoiding the maze of complexities devised by ‘experts’ who laid traps with ‘income’ definitions! And now we have ‘deemed’ income benefits, the fringe benefits tax, etc, a feeble attempt to catch up with super wiz-kids working incessantly with exchange-rate-hedging-benefits in place of simple ‘income’ / ‘expense’ nets of tax. It seems we Indians were saved from severity of recession not by virtue of our prudence, but sheer ignorance about ‘hedging’ concepts in financial management!
Perhaps, no body did it better than Alfred Nobel who made good money when countries were at war. So much that later, it really caused some remorse even! And it is the very same element of “positive” approach in him which fetched good money, led him to convert the ‘negative’ effect on others into a positive one, when he instituted the now famous Nobel Prize, Nobel Foundation, which rewards, inspires and motivates the best and rarest of positive performances globally! Now very few people remember him by the title he had infamously acquired, that of “Merchant of death” !
Spirituality rewards us with this fuzzy approach, that elusive ‘remote-sensing’ of impending or lurking danger or favourable opportunity, to a keen, alert & aware person.
Psn (8th April, 2010)
Computer Games
With enough reasonable respect, reverence and a balanced tone, I summoned up courage to politely interrupt and ask a kid, what he was playing, when I stood beside him, watched the monitor, and the kid, twisting and turning around in that chair, shaking his head in all directions, quite unawares, while all his attention was simply swallowed by that gadget, the mouse, or whatever.
I felt amply rewarded when he chose to give me a very brief reply instead of that stock reply “don’t disturb”. ‘Uncle,’ he sermonized, ‘don’t bother to get to know what it is, your age is never going to allow you to get a feel of these kinds of complex fast games on the computer. I am maneuvering lots of hurdles, challenges and its sorts to reach a goal, and with as many points as possible,,,’
‘Okay, okay,’ I said, and simply attempted to grasp by watching the monitor. True, (I felt with a chuckle within myself) there were many complex choices, hurdles, etc in that game. I soon got lost into my own thoughts… did I miss something in life? Is it too late to have a feel of this type of games? That kid’s parent had gleefully announced that this was prescribed to improve a child’s creative abilities, quick-response-potential etc, and it is therefore that he invested into a PC and rushed to supplement it with choicest varieties of games. This kid was already an expert at hoodwinking the innocent parent about what was ‘syllabus’ , what was project, and what was extra-‘activities’. They all looked alike, and there was no yardstick to keep a measure and check at what the kid did during that precious ‘home-work’ time. That is not the essence of new generation kids. It is simply that we did not bother to keep ourselves updated with technology, whatever the reason.
Now my personal search took me to my childhood days. The hurdles, the tasks, the unexpected ‘turns’ that the ‘road’ displayed in that computer game reminded me of my earliest attempts to deliver a can of milk from my ancestral house to an aunt who resided about 5 kms away. The route was narrow, through lanes bounded by slanting fences made up of thorns from bamboo trees. The one-way-lane was full of boulders, pits, etc which served as storm-drain-cum-walking path. So, the rain water used to create newer hurdles to even regular users. At that age, carrying the milk can, dangling at the hinge held by thin semicircular hook called handle, avoiding spillage was by itself a formidable task. My aunt could very easily make out any spillage exceeding a spoonful, from the mark on the can, up to which milk is measured every time. Now the uneven path, boulders, etc needed my eyes to be focused a few feet ahead of my feet, all the time. But overhanging protruding thorny fence would take me by surprise. As if all this is not enough, there is invariably a sure ‘surprise’ element. The surprise is only about where it happens along my path. A buffalo would come in the opposite direction. I mentally try to pray and appeal “dear buffalo, I am carrying a precious cargo which is yielded by one of your own brethren” (At that age, I even failed to notice my twice-error in gender, where the approaching menace was also a female, as much as the cargo-yielder! Perhaps, brethrens was more appropriate for brotherly-comrades, and had nothing to do when the competition was entirely between women). Anyway, the choice was to run back fast, duck into some narrow crevice, remain out-of-notice-range of that ‘black-bull-dozer’, and maintain the milk-level intact. Rain was for me ‘No Prob’s” at those occasions. Less chances of adversaries from opposite direction.
I had my share of ‘live’ computer games with similar hurdles, probs, etc…
That made me wonder, where we lost that ritual of visiting ‘native’ place, during school-annual-holidays. My parents had belonged to a generation which had migrated to cities to seek more ‘respectable’ white collared jobs. Salary was paltry, but job security, and some terminal benefits formed the early temptations. So, they could not alienate abruptly from their roots, which were invariably in simple countryside villages. We had our share of compare and contrast. We were not spared from ‘observations’ by village folks. They easily made out from the restless-looking kids, as contradistinguished from ‘rest-of-the’ kids and remarked “they are from ‘patnam’ (meaning town), and they find it difficult to pass time”. This remark was made too often and had its severity on me, of a thorough undervaluation about city-bred-kids. They made it sound in a ‘matter-of fact’ tone that for village folks there was no such thing as boredom, or problem of ‘spending’ away the time. I needlessly misconstrued myself to be a representative of the city-kids, burdened with the unenviable task of redeeming the allegation that we are incompetent to deal with excessive-leisure problem of a village life. How I went about it, is a story in itself.
But when I look at today’s kids, they have no connecting cables with villages. Most of the ancestral homes are given up. The linking descendents have been alienated and children have only flats and ‘apart’-‘meant’s as permanent addresses. We are almost into having BT-kids, like that BT-Brinjals. It is a question of time. Country-eggs gave way to table-eggs (with veterinary dozes of antibiotics through the caged birds—their laid eggs), ‘ apple’ tomatoes in place of sour-country-tomatoes, and the likes.
No, I really don’t mind having remained a bit ‘backward’ or cattle-class, compared to computer wiz-kids. I would never exchange those sweet village memories and rich experiences for anything.
Psn(8th April, 2010)
I felt amply rewarded when he chose to give me a very brief reply instead of that stock reply “don’t disturb”. ‘Uncle,’ he sermonized, ‘don’t bother to get to know what it is, your age is never going to allow you to get a feel of these kinds of complex fast games on the computer. I am maneuvering lots of hurdles, challenges and its sorts to reach a goal, and with as many points as possible,,,’
‘Okay, okay,’ I said, and simply attempted to grasp by watching the monitor. True, (I felt with a chuckle within myself) there were many complex choices, hurdles, etc in that game. I soon got lost into my own thoughts… did I miss something in life? Is it too late to have a feel of this type of games? That kid’s parent had gleefully announced that this was prescribed to improve a child’s creative abilities, quick-response-potential etc, and it is therefore that he invested into a PC and rushed to supplement it with choicest varieties of games. This kid was already an expert at hoodwinking the innocent parent about what was ‘syllabus’ , what was project, and what was extra-‘activities’. They all looked alike, and there was no yardstick to keep a measure and check at what the kid did during that precious ‘home-work’ time. That is not the essence of new generation kids. It is simply that we did not bother to keep ourselves updated with technology, whatever the reason.
Now my personal search took me to my childhood days. The hurdles, the tasks, the unexpected ‘turns’ that the ‘road’ displayed in that computer game reminded me of my earliest attempts to deliver a can of milk from my ancestral house to an aunt who resided about 5 kms away. The route was narrow, through lanes bounded by slanting fences made up of thorns from bamboo trees. The one-way-lane was full of boulders, pits, etc which served as storm-drain-cum-walking path. So, the rain water used to create newer hurdles to even regular users. At that age, carrying the milk can, dangling at the hinge held by thin semicircular hook called handle, avoiding spillage was by itself a formidable task. My aunt could very easily make out any spillage exceeding a spoonful, from the mark on the can, up to which milk is measured every time. Now the uneven path, boulders, etc needed my eyes to be focused a few feet ahead of my feet, all the time. But overhanging protruding thorny fence would take me by surprise. As if all this is not enough, there is invariably a sure ‘surprise’ element. The surprise is only about where it happens along my path. A buffalo would come in the opposite direction. I mentally try to pray and appeal “dear buffalo, I am carrying a precious cargo which is yielded by one of your own brethren” (At that age, I even failed to notice my twice-error in gender, where the approaching menace was also a female, as much as the cargo-yielder! Perhaps, brethrens was more appropriate for brotherly-comrades, and had nothing to do when the competition was entirely between women). Anyway, the choice was to run back fast, duck into some narrow crevice, remain out-of-notice-range of that ‘black-bull-dozer’, and maintain the milk-level intact. Rain was for me ‘No Prob’s” at those occasions. Less chances of adversaries from opposite direction.
I had my share of ‘live’ computer games with similar hurdles, probs, etc…
That made me wonder, where we lost that ritual of visiting ‘native’ place, during school-annual-holidays. My parents had belonged to a generation which had migrated to cities to seek more ‘respectable’ white collared jobs. Salary was paltry, but job security, and some terminal benefits formed the early temptations. So, they could not alienate abruptly from their roots, which were invariably in simple countryside villages. We had our share of compare and contrast. We were not spared from ‘observations’ by village folks. They easily made out from the restless-looking kids, as contradistinguished from ‘rest-of-the’ kids and remarked “they are from ‘patnam’ (meaning town), and they find it difficult to pass time”. This remark was made too often and had its severity on me, of a thorough undervaluation about city-bred-kids. They made it sound in a ‘matter-of fact’ tone that for village folks there was no such thing as boredom, or problem of ‘spending’ away the time. I needlessly misconstrued myself to be a representative of the city-kids, burdened with the unenviable task of redeeming the allegation that we are incompetent to deal with excessive-leisure problem of a village life. How I went about it, is a story in itself.
But when I look at today’s kids, they have no connecting cables with villages. Most of the ancestral homes are given up. The linking descendents have been alienated and children have only flats and ‘apart’-‘meant’s as permanent addresses. We are almost into having BT-kids, like that BT-Brinjals. It is a question of time. Country-eggs gave way to table-eggs (with veterinary dozes of antibiotics through the caged birds—their laid eggs), ‘ apple’ tomatoes in place of sour-country-tomatoes, and the likes.
No, I really don’t mind having remained a bit ‘backward’ or cattle-class, compared to computer wiz-kids. I would never exchange those sweet village memories and rich experiences for anything.
Psn(8th April, 2010)
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
Interesting Person
Right from early childhood days, I was not just confined to looking out for interesting persons. I thought it is wise to avoid pitfalls, making use of the experience of others. I was fortunately ‘non-stupid’ enough to know that I cannot make use of the wisdom of others.
So, the aspect of looking out for such ‘out of box’ type of people was already lighted up within me. Instead of revealing the ‘technique’ of spotting out such people, all I was rewarded was with the unfolding of several types of ways in which I can be utterly stupid when I look at people around!
Then someone told me about those ‘mystic’ persons, who prefer to work incognito. Obviously, they go unnoticed, until they choose to reveal themselves. Now I was confronted with a problem. I was too keen about avoidance of even inadvertently annoying them. My solution was very primitive, and down to earth simple. I just copied the idea of that ‘little’ man from the fictional novel ‘Day of the Jackal’. The super cop did not take chances. He simply tapped every one’s phone when confronted with the job of finding out the leak from amidst high ranking ministers!
How I do it is my own private affair, and, very reasonably, it has to remain so.
This question about ‘what makes a person interesting’ reminded me of my search-struggles.
Psn (7th April, 2010)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100331122003AAnULNq
In your honest humble opinion, What makes a person interesting?
Your opinion.Gracias. Good day!
My humble opinion:
To me, even a mountain goat is very interesting especially 'when watch it standing precariously on the narrow edge of a steep straight drop of a very tall mountain'.... But to the next similar goat standing beside it, perhaps even on a firm ground, this goat is nothing special, uninteresting, and even perhaps stupid looking!Indian soil's greatest gift to people since time immemorial is that many Great Masters pass off quite unnoticed, imperceptibly, right through the midst of a crowd, leaving them quite undisturbed to afford the freedom to do what they like to do with themselves! And if we may call it a miracle, such people when they become 'exquisitely interesting' to a few fortunate people around, these few people in turn pay the highest form of respect by simply leaving them undisturbed, but very consciously, and in full awareness, thus begetting an eligibility of the best of benedictions!Very sorry, and humble apologies if this answer seems totally out of context, but the question was too tempting, with the addition of "honest, humble, YOUR opinion" ... etc.
( Either ways, I stand to gain.... :) !!!)
Thanks.
So, the aspect of looking out for such ‘out of box’ type of people was already lighted up within me. Instead of revealing the ‘technique’ of spotting out such people, all I was rewarded was with the unfolding of several types of ways in which I can be utterly stupid when I look at people around!
Then someone told me about those ‘mystic’ persons, who prefer to work incognito. Obviously, they go unnoticed, until they choose to reveal themselves. Now I was confronted with a problem. I was too keen about avoidance of even inadvertently annoying them. My solution was very primitive, and down to earth simple. I just copied the idea of that ‘little’ man from the fictional novel ‘Day of the Jackal’. The super cop did not take chances. He simply tapped every one’s phone when confronted with the job of finding out the leak from amidst high ranking ministers!
How I do it is my own private affair, and, very reasonably, it has to remain so.
This question about ‘what makes a person interesting’ reminded me of my search-struggles.
Psn (7th April, 2010)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100331122003AAnULNq
In your honest humble opinion, What makes a person interesting?
Your opinion.Gracias. Good day!
My humble opinion:
To me, even a mountain goat is very interesting especially 'when watch it standing precariously on the narrow edge of a steep straight drop of a very tall mountain'.... But to the next similar goat standing beside it, perhaps even on a firm ground, this goat is nothing special, uninteresting, and even perhaps stupid looking!Indian soil's greatest gift to people since time immemorial is that many Great Masters pass off quite unnoticed, imperceptibly, right through the midst of a crowd, leaving them quite undisturbed to afford the freedom to do what they like to do with themselves! And if we may call it a miracle, such people when they become 'exquisitely interesting' to a few fortunate people around, these few people in turn pay the highest form of respect by simply leaving them undisturbed, but very consciously, and in full awareness, thus begetting an eligibility of the best of benedictions!Very sorry, and humble apologies if this answer seems totally out of context, but the question was too tempting, with the addition of "honest, humble, YOUR opinion" ... etc.
( Either ways, I stand to gain.... :) !!!)
Thanks.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Sync
“I sync with him well” When I overheard this for the first time, ‘sinking in the well’ is what I was reminded of, since I was yet to get ‘sync’d’ with the modern syntax of the mobile-conversations-styles (we used to get ‘immobilized’ when we happen to listen to our elders with rapt attention, when they speak). Good, I thought, these children are able to look at that aspect so well, and in time, to be able to get along well, and accomplish great things, soon. But, when at times, they started to emphasize too much on this ‘sinking together well into the same well’, I was wondering about the well’s well-being itself.
Present day youngsters, even when they, as a rare gesture, ‘compromise’ with their parents, and concede for an arranged marriage, first check if they are in ‘sync’ with each other, or whether their ‘chemistry’ is going to match well. When they are ‘dead’ sure that their parents are not capable of cross-verifying this ‘sync’ they refuse ‘dictated’ alliances. What is the point fixing up one bullock cart wheel on a 350 CC motorbike and trying to drive it?
It is now that I wonder more about that childhood memory that reminds me of a neighbourhood ‘Uncle’ who comfortably rode his bicycle, which had developed a twist at its pedal-side sprocket. Every time he pedals, he had to give a mini-pause after one-third of the circling of the pedal, and the sprocket re-aligns with a ‘tug’ sound even, to continue the comfortable transmission of mechanical effort to the wheel sprocket (via-the-loose-chain)! I tried riding it, but had to get down to hoist the chain onto the pedal sprocket every few yards! “This bi-cycle ‘listens’ only to me, ….” He used to sermonize with a broad grin, and an air of superiority. He got himself ‘sync’d’ with that defective pedal, instead of incurring the repair-expense which was definitely burdensome on his small purse! I got my early lessons on the technology of moving towards ‘choicelessness’!
There was an advertisement for some pressure cooker, where the wife asks the hubby to visualize of everybody in the household looked like “Xerox” copies (photo-copies) of each other, the husband, wife, children, parents, cousins, friends etc. The visual-graphics in that ad said it all, about such a concept! That cannot be a good sync. Then how do we decide. What is the yardstick of a good sync? At times, the last bus just left, and it is within the reach if we can sprint up to that just-gaining-speed-bus. The wife is unable to sync with the hubby who manages to catch up despite holding luggage in both hands. Or is it that the high-heels are ‘temporarily-out-of-sync’ with the road, the situation etc?
They can argue squatting on the bare road-side, casting allegations that the wife could never produce a well-synchronized side dish for the main course on a dining table for breakfast, lunch etc. The wife could in turn allege that he could never manage to take leave from work when there was a good movie in that ‘decent’ theatre nearby, and invariably got leave only when there was dull movie. Even if everything ‘seems’ to go too well, the wife would remind in the middle of the movie “did you turn off that water tap, at home?” …. And then, it is the end of the ‘entertainment’ value of that movie.
Ask any child if their parents are well sync’d, and we can be rest assured of wholesome entertainment with humorous incidents.
Even at work place, or when in a queue at public places, we seldom find things ‘well synchronized’. Even those planners of violence have their main worry, that the ‘timers’ are not well-synchronised, and goes off at wrong moment, either before or after the presence of the targeted VIP!
But troubles are well synchronised, of course, by themselves, amongst themselves, and for themselves.
Therefore, it is not surprising when somebody asks about one’s own ambitions, goals, attitudes, achievements etc, whether ‘at least’ they are in tune and synchronised.
A child, who is joyous for no apparent reason, cannot even grasp this question. True, the child is yet to become ‘mature’ enough, or to know well about self. When do we really start bothering about this ‘in-sync’? When things don’t feel okay with us, or when everything seems fine? Please try to look at people, who we find rarely in pleasant mood. We don’t even have to ask them about this sync. Their very conversation is usually about a long list of un-sync’d items.
There was a time, when the ‘head’ of the family surprised the women folk producing a saree or so that was instantly and invariably liked very much. Now, ‘matching’ a garment is more complex than assembling the right-matching-components for a spacecraft designed to reach up to Jupiter.
For my part, I know too well, how difficult it is to ‘sync’ my views with the taste of the readers! So, that is how it is.
Psn(6th April, 2010)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhIVWbZLYmneimTJsj3O_3KRHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20100404091417AA19MZD&show=7#profile-info-kOfnOB6haa
Do you think ambitions , abilities , attitudes and achievements are always in tune and synchronised ?
My answer:
Usually not.A driver's eyes, ears, hands, and then the steering wheel, engine's piston, valves, brake drum, alignment of wheels, speed, the curvature of the road, the surface, the pedestrian crossing, the signals, etc all are seldom in synchrony. That is why, when flying we keep the aircraft at such great distances from each other. There is more of traffic jams in air than on road surface. We did not spare even the immediate outer space, having littered the whole circle with junk of used satellites, making even space travel perilous!
Ancient people realized this deep enough, and did not bother about that "technological" advancement without first bringing the body-mind-breath into perfect synchrony. Now having achieved that the lucky few never felt the need to explore any other advancement! And others around had sufficient reason to trust these few Great Masters. That is how we can find the "accounting" for that mystic lack of technological advancement despite far far superior intelligence of the ancient masters! Even today, the best of people (intelligence wise) have consciously opted for simple life personally. That is evidence good enough, if we are really serious about getting synchronised.
Present day youngsters, even when they, as a rare gesture, ‘compromise’ with their parents, and concede for an arranged marriage, first check if they are in ‘sync’ with each other, or whether their ‘chemistry’ is going to match well. When they are ‘dead’ sure that their parents are not capable of cross-verifying this ‘sync’ they refuse ‘dictated’ alliances. What is the point fixing up one bullock cart wheel on a 350 CC motorbike and trying to drive it?
It is now that I wonder more about that childhood memory that reminds me of a neighbourhood ‘Uncle’ who comfortably rode his bicycle, which had developed a twist at its pedal-side sprocket. Every time he pedals, he had to give a mini-pause after one-third of the circling of the pedal, and the sprocket re-aligns with a ‘tug’ sound even, to continue the comfortable transmission of mechanical effort to the wheel sprocket (via-the-loose-chain)! I tried riding it, but had to get down to hoist the chain onto the pedal sprocket every few yards! “This bi-cycle ‘listens’ only to me, ….” He used to sermonize with a broad grin, and an air of superiority. He got himself ‘sync’d’ with that defective pedal, instead of incurring the repair-expense which was definitely burdensome on his small purse! I got my early lessons on the technology of moving towards ‘choicelessness’!
There was an advertisement for some pressure cooker, where the wife asks the hubby to visualize of everybody in the household looked like “Xerox” copies (photo-copies) of each other, the husband, wife, children, parents, cousins, friends etc. The visual-graphics in that ad said it all, about such a concept! That cannot be a good sync. Then how do we decide. What is the yardstick of a good sync? At times, the last bus just left, and it is within the reach if we can sprint up to that just-gaining-speed-bus. The wife is unable to sync with the hubby who manages to catch up despite holding luggage in both hands. Or is it that the high-heels are ‘temporarily-out-of-sync’ with the road, the situation etc?
They can argue squatting on the bare road-side, casting allegations that the wife could never produce a well-synchronized side dish for the main course on a dining table for breakfast, lunch etc. The wife could in turn allege that he could never manage to take leave from work when there was a good movie in that ‘decent’ theatre nearby, and invariably got leave only when there was dull movie. Even if everything ‘seems’ to go too well, the wife would remind in the middle of the movie “did you turn off that water tap, at home?” …. And then, it is the end of the ‘entertainment’ value of that movie.
Ask any child if their parents are well sync’d, and we can be rest assured of wholesome entertainment with humorous incidents.
Even at work place, or when in a queue at public places, we seldom find things ‘well synchronized’. Even those planners of violence have their main worry, that the ‘timers’ are not well-synchronised, and goes off at wrong moment, either before or after the presence of the targeted VIP!
But troubles are well synchronised, of course, by themselves, amongst themselves, and for themselves.
Therefore, it is not surprising when somebody asks about one’s own ambitions, goals, attitudes, achievements etc, whether ‘at least’ they are in tune and synchronised.
A child, who is joyous for no apparent reason, cannot even grasp this question. True, the child is yet to become ‘mature’ enough, or to know well about self. When do we really start bothering about this ‘in-sync’? When things don’t feel okay with us, or when everything seems fine? Please try to look at people, who we find rarely in pleasant mood. We don’t even have to ask them about this sync. Their very conversation is usually about a long list of un-sync’d items.
There was a time, when the ‘head’ of the family surprised the women folk producing a saree or so that was instantly and invariably liked very much. Now, ‘matching’ a garment is more complex than assembling the right-matching-components for a spacecraft designed to reach up to Jupiter.
For my part, I know too well, how difficult it is to ‘sync’ my views with the taste of the readers! So, that is how it is.
Psn(6th April, 2010)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhIVWbZLYmneimTJsj3O_3KRHQx.;_ylv=3?qid=20100404091417AA19MZD&show=7#profile-info-kOfnOB6haa
Do you think ambitions , abilities , attitudes and achievements are always in tune and synchronised ?
My answer:
Usually not.A driver's eyes, ears, hands, and then the steering wheel, engine's piston, valves, brake drum, alignment of wheels, speed, the curvature of the road, the surface, the pedestrian crossing, the signals, etc all are seldom in synchrony. That is why, when flying we keep the aircraft at such great distances from each other. There is more of traffic jams in air than on road surface. We did not spare even the immediate outer space, having littered the whole circle with junk of used satellites, making even space travel perilous!
Ancient people realized this deep enough, and did not bother about that "technological" advancement without first bringing the body-mind-breath into perfect synchrony. Now having achieved that the lucky few never felt the need to explore any other advancement! And others around had sufficient reason to trust these few Great Masters. That is how we can find the "accounting" for that mystic lack of technological advancement despite far far superior intelligence of the ancient masters! Even today, the best of people (intelligence wise) have consciously opted for simple life personally. That is evidence good enough, if we are really serious about getting synchronised.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Spiritual aspect of a natural urge
Talking about abstention from drinking or taking a resolve is relatively easy, when away from the ‘vulnerable’ ground/area/war-field, like early mornings at home amidst the warmth of a strong well-knit family where all other ‘concerned’ family members feel ‘reassured’ to hear of our ‘sincere’ resolve afresh each time. Even when in a hospital bed due to the very consequence of excessive drinking this resolve seems relatively easy.
But right inside the ‘Madhushaala’ (Shri Harivansh Rai’s famed poem), it takes a different kind of mind to hang on to such a resolve. The war is between experiences, and the tremendous ‘force’ of cravings induced at our very cellular level. That is where spirituality comes to one’s rescue. It affords an ‘experience’, which can sustain any external temptation.
The topic was rather ‘hotly’ debated amidst my age group fellow-students during our penultimate and final years of schooling. But even I could not then guess, as to why most of them found it difficult to accept my view point about it. Now, as I can see, it was the proximity, the age, which did not allow the safe-distance, to stand and look at it, ponder over it, and think sensibly about it. From that view point, I did not expect such positive ‘vote’ response to my views, from today’s youngsters too. They did surprise me(pleasantly of course). I did not even think of adding, the ‘what next’ after managing that sensible dealing with this natural urge. I am slowly learning to refrain from giving that ‘unsolicited’ details.
It is good to save, conserve and preserve money, the most convenient form of wealth. But when it gets accumulated to a noticeable extent, the vulnerability too increases proportionately. This ‘natural’ energy too, was once upon a time so noticeable, but today, it is no problem, like, we are more dependent on ‘plastic’ money, so much as to even forget how a gold coin’s touch ‘feels’… very few can take notice of that preserved energy-form. This energy can be channelized to help us evolve a bit faster into spirituality. That is an altogether different ‘issue’…
Psn (29th March, 2010)
The Question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100318115726AApuDpo
Tell me, spiritually (or otherwise)... how do you define sexuality?
And, as always... please elaborate. :-)
My answer:
It is no different from that urge called "Hunger". We humans overdo anything and everything. Most people have not known hunger for a long time. They eat as soon as the stomach feels 'empty'.
Please see, animals and other creatures eat and mate only in strict adherence to their natural urge and not other wise. We were 'expected' to evolve further, not fall even below, at least, that level!
Restrictions are looked at as setting better conditions, and are needed only when we seek refinement. That is how the institution called marriage evolved. When religious sanctity is accorded, the very same natural urge is now a means of spiritual evolvement. Maybe it is found beyond grasp for some of the present day people, but that is not entirely their fault. Even emotions are becoming less understood. As a kid I used to wonder, when I read about ancient Indian puranic stories where a young beautiful lady princess used to feel very lucky if an ascetic, way beyond old age even chose to marry her. Now I know exactly what kind of 'appeal' that very old-aged, grey haired sage holds for that young lady(much to the disappointment to many young suitors, princes even!). For most young ladies it is quite unthinkable to 'espouse' such an old person. even on a movie screen, leave alone real life!
But right inside the ‘Madhushaala’ (Shri Harivansh Rai’s famed poem), it takes a different kind of mind to hang on to such a resolve. The war is between experiences, and the tremendous ‘force’ of cravings induced at our very cellular level. That is where spirituality comes to one’s rescue. It affords an ‘experience’, which can sustain any external temptation.
The topic was rather ‘hotly’ debated amidst my age group fellow-students during our penultimate and final years of schooling. But even I could not then guess, as to why most of them found it difficult to accept my view point about it. Now, as I can see, it was the proximity, the age, which did not allow the safe-distance, to stand and look at it, ponder over it, and think sensibly about it. From that view point, I did not expect such positive ‘vote’ response to my views, from today’s youngsters too. They did surprise me(pleasantly of course). I did not even think of adding, the ‘what next’ after managing that sensible dealing with this natural urge. I am slowly learning to refrain from giving that ‘unsolicited’ details.
It is good to save, conserve and preserve money, the most convenient form of wealth. But when it gets accumulated to a noticeable extent, the vulnerability too increases proportionately. This ‘natural’ energy too, was once upon a time so noticeable, but today, it is no problem, like, we are more dependent on ‘plastic’ money, so much as to even forget how a gold coin’s touch ‘feels’… very few can take notice of that preserved energy-form. This energy can be channelized to help us evolve a bit faster into spirituality. That is an altogether different ‘issue’…
Psn (29th March, 2010)
The Question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100318115726AApuDpo
Tell me, spiritually (or otherwise)... how do you define sexuality?
And, as always... please elaborate. :-)
My answer:
It is no different from that urge called "Hunger". We humans overdo anything and everything. Most people have not known hunger for a long time. They eat as soon as the stomach feels 'empty'.
Please see, animals and other creatures eat and mate only in strict adherence to their natural urge and not other wise. We were 'expected' to evolve further, not fall even below, at least, that level!
Restrictions are looked at as setting better conditions, and are needed only when we seek refinement. That is how the institution called marriage evolved. When religious sanctity is accorded, the very same natural urge is now a means of spiritual evolvement. Maybe it is found beyond grasp for some of the present day people, but that is not entirely their fault. Even emotions are becoming less understood. As a kid I used to wonder, when I read about ancient Indian puranic stories where a young beautiful lady princess used to feel very lucky if an ascetic, way beyond old age even chose to marry her. Now I know exactly what kind of 'appeal' that very old-aged, grey haired sage holds for that young lady(much to the disappointment to many young suitors, princes even!). For most young ladies it is quite unthinkable to 'espouse' such an old person. even on a movie screen, leave alone real life!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Inter Personal Skills
A brief Prologue: (28th March, 2010….) It is with a bit of hesitation, that I decided to proceed with posting this blog. The only inspiration came from the hero of the English Movie “Independence Day” wherein, he took the precious hint when his father commented “You will catch a cold”. He realized that a virus that causes cold temporarily incapacitates a person. The brief time is enough to make a dent into the adversary’s defense system. Perhaps, I could at least be that innocent commentor, to inspire the young world of Hi-tech-techies, with impregnable fortresses of management-technology-jargons! Otherwise, I feel quite incompetent at this.(End of prologue)
I do not get to hear this term too often. But I did come to know of this, right in my early school days. That is what makes me wonder. How that simple school teacher who barely managed with very paltry salary, and stuck to the job for the sheer love of teaching could make a mention of this wonderful enriching concept, to the tiny tender buds that we were, then!! All that I could manage to grasp is that this skill had to do a lot with some kind of ‘all-round, all-inclusive, all-encompassing’ abilities.
These business schools must be focusing a lot on this concept. But in the outside, where also this is quite relevant, there is only an obscure mention. It does not attract any elaboration even.
Recently I read about the huge accumulating losses made by India’s National Carrier, Air India. I was wondering if it had been left in the hands of the legendary “JRD”, this situation would not have arisen. He was a ‘techie’ at aviation skills. He was cost conscious. He was consumer conscious. And the best part of it is that, all of the Tatas were Human Resource conscious. Recently Shri Ratan Tata touched heights of humility when he very simply put it that when he employed the staff, he did not ‘bargain’ for the Taj Hotel Staff to risk their very lives when they responded beyond the call of duty, and saved many people during the tragic attack on 26/11, and that the least he could do was to keep paying their regular salary, though the Hotel was unable to function till restoration work was completed(The body language of the staff who came on media, looked quite unassuming about the effortless ease with which they risked their lives, as if saying quietly “Oh! That is quite normal being a ‘TATA’ staff”!) Shri Jamshetji continues to shower his blessings on the descendants and the staff, without discriminating (A true TATA family in every sense)! I even remember the whispered old stories when our Political goons could not tolerate smooth relations at TATA Steel, where the Union Leader was equally popular with workers and management, and to create a dent in such a large work force, a foul means of ‘eliminating’ the leader had to be undertaken! My idea is not to initiate a debate about the validity of these stories. But, to access an example, which seems reasonable tangible, to have a glimpse of that unique combination of three major heads of abstract concepts. It is good enough to accept the incidents as hypothetical or at ‘fictional’ levels, though personally I would need to make a lot of compromise within myself for that.
1. Technical skills that in turn inspires creativity in the team.
2. Managerial skills that in turn churn out productivity, cost effectiveness and insulate or insure against possible obsolescence of the very business!
3. Human Relations skills, which invoke the highest levels of ‘Human’ Resources.
Unless an individual happens to strike a balance of these three, there would be stagnation at any level (individual-career-level, organizational growth level, or even that particular trade/industry level. We have seen examples in the famous lecture ‘Have breakfast, or be breakfast’!)
For those mystic beings, these skills are quite incidental by-products of the arduous trek on spiritual path, as I too could have a glimpse, fortunately!
Psn(24th March, 2010)
I do not get to hear this term too often. But I did come to know of this, right in my early school days. That is what makes me wonder. How that simple school teacher who barely managed with very paltry salary, and stuck to the job for the sheer love of teaching could make a mention of this wonderful enriching concept, to the tiny tender buds that we were, then!! All that I could manage to grasp is that this skill had to do a lot with some kind of ‘all-round, all-inclusive, all-encompassing’ abilities.
These business schools must be focusing a lot on this concept. But in the outside, where also this is quite relevant, there is only an obscure mention. It does not attract any elaboration even.
Recently I read about the huge accumulating losses made by India’s National Carrier, Air India. I was wondering if it had been left in the hands of the legendary “JRD”, this situation would not have arisen. He was a ‘techie’ at aviation skills. He was cost conscious. He was consumer conscious. And the best part of it is that, all of the Tatas were Human Resource conscious. Recently Shri Ratan Tata touched heights of humility when he very simply put it that when he employed the staff, he did not ‘bargain’ for the Taj Hotel Staff to risk their very lives when they responded beyond the call of duty, and saved many people during the tragic attack on 26/11, and that the least he could do was to keep paying their regular salary, though the Hotel was unable to function till restoration work was completed(The body language of the staff who came on media, looked quite unassuming about the effortless ease with which they risked their lives, as if saying quietly “Oh! That is quite normal being a ‘TATA’ staff”!) Shri Jamshetji continues to shower his blessings on the descendants and the staff, without discriminating (A true TATA family in every sense)! I even remember the whispered old stories when our Political goons could not tolerate smooth relations at TATA Steel, where the Union Leader was equally popular with workers and management, and to create a dent in such a large work force, a foul means of ‘eliminating’ the leader had to be undertaken! My idea is not to initiate a debate about the validity of these stories. But, to access an example, which seems reasonable tangible, to have a glimpse of that unique combination of three major heads of abstract concepts. It is good enough to accept the incidents as hypothetical or at ‘fictional’ levels, though personally I would need to make a lot of compromise within myself for that.
1. Technical skills that in turn inspires creativity in the team.
2. Managerial skills that in turn churn out productivity, cost effectiveness and insulate or insure against possible obsolescence of the very business!
3. Human Relations skills, which invoke the highest levels of ‘Human’ Resources.
Unless an individual happens to strike a balance of these three, there would be stagnation at any level (individual-career-level, organizational growth level, or even that particular trade/industry level. We have seen examples in the famous lecture ‘Have breakfast, or be breakfast’!)
For those mystic beings, these skills are quite incidental by-products of the arduous trek on spiritual path, as I too could have a glimpse, fortunately!
Psn(24th March, 2010)
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Response Ability
There is no dearth of sermons, speeches, advices, warnings, disclaimers, FAQ’s, informative materials etc. Most of the times, very little of these get ‘registered’ into us,.
Our response ‘system’ is elusively unique. Most people give a thought even, only when it comes to handling problematic children of their own, who fail to respond to several of appeals (very much meant for children’s own welfare). How to make this children get the message? Shall we tell the teachers? Or is it better to request the close friends of these kids? Sometimes, talking to them over a mobile, the very same message at least gets ‘heard’.
A wonderful question came up seeking to find the effect of embellishing well, a message, with words.
I was incessantly pursuing the task of fine-tuning my own assessment, of my own levels of extracting the response, when I try to communicate. Work place atmosphere, the nature of ‘stock-in-trade’ etc contributed immensely to my experience. The spiritual pursuits added the reinforcements like that magical combination in Cement, sand, steel and jelly-stones in “R.C.C.” (Reinforced cement concrete). But with all this, I am nowhere near evoking a response when it comes to ‘spiritually-oriented-opinions”, for which I most eagerly await even for a mere acknowledgement of having read/heard.
In this backdrop, it would be highly speculative to judge my competence to answer this question. Let us see, if my apprehensions of an imminent failure trigger some response.
Psn (25th March, 2010)
Quote:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100324024744AABYOKY
Which one would you give more importance to, and why; words carrying deep feeling or words with strong intent?
My Answer:
Despite strong intent and that 'deep' feeling filled words, all those religious books , teachings, speeches, sayings etc have almost fallen on deaf ears. True , they are quite famous, but used mostly as 'ornamental' and for deceptively cosmetic purposes.
So, the emphasis lies on our disposition, attitude, presence of mind, alertness, awareness, when we respond to something that we hear, whether be it wonderful words or even a deep silence!
A kid responded to strong intent which did not work for the bulk of the people around, when this Zen master simply conveyed a message in the most wonderful way! Words were redundant! (Quote: http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind…
Whenever anyone asked him about Zen, the great master Gutei would quietly raise one finger into the air. A boy in the village began to imitate this behavior. Whenever he heard people talking about Gutei's teachings, he would interrupt the discussion and raise his finger. Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. When he saw him in the street, he seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and began to run off, but Gutei called out to him. When the boy turned to look, Gutei raised his finger into the air. At that moment the boy became enlightened. )
Our response ‘system’ is elusively unique. Most people give a thought even, only when it comes to handling problematic children of their own, who fail to respond to several of appeals (very much meant for children’s own welfare). How to make this children get the message? Shall we tell the teachers? Or is it better to request the close friends of these kids? Sometimes, talking to them over a mobile, the very same message at least gets ‘heard’.
A wonderful question came up seeking to find the effect of embellishing well, a message, with words.
I was incessantly pursuing the task of fine-tuning my own assessment, of my own levels of extracting the response, when I try to communicate. Work place atmosphere, the nature of ‘stock-in-trade’ etc contributed immensely to my experience. The spiritual pursuits added the reinforcements like that magical combination in Cement, sand, steel and jelly-stones in “R.C.C.” (Reinforced cement concrete). But with all this, I am nowhere near evoking a response when it comes to ‘spiritually-oriented-opinions”, for which I most eagerly await even for a mere acknowledgement of having read/heard.
In this backdrop, it would be highly speculative to judge my competence to answer this question. Let us see, if my apprehensions of an imminent failure trigger some response.
Psn (25th March, 2010)
Quote:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100324024744AABYOKY
Which one would you give more importance to, and why; words carrying deep feeling or words with strong intent?
My Answer:
Despite strong intent and that 'deep' feeling filled words, all those religious books , teachings, speeches, sayings etc have almost fallen on deaf ears. True , they are quite famous, but used mostly as 'ornamental' and for deceptively cosmetic purposes.
So, the emphasis lies on our disposition, attitude, presence of mind, alertness, awareness, when we respond to something that we hear, whether be it wonderful words or even a deep silence!
A kid responded to strong intent which did not work for the bulk of the people around, when this Zen master simply conveyed a message in the most wonderful way! Words were redundant! (Quote: http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind…
Whenever anyone asked him about Zen, the great master Gutei would quietly raise one finger into the air. A boy in the village began to imitate this behavior. Whenever he heard people talking about Gutei's teachings, he would interrupt the discussion and raise his finger. Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. When he saw him in the street, he seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and began to run off, but Gutei called out to him. When the boy turned to look, Gutei raised his finger into the air. At that moment the boy became enlightened. )
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Einstein’s experience of tastelessness!
Even before the subject of Physics (for that matter ‘Science’) took over my peace of mind in a very big way at school, I was fortunate to learn about Dr. Einstein.
And it is the ‘benediction’ part of the very same fortune, which has perhaps enabled me to take up this question the way I would always love to look at. (Though it looks silly, I am still quite apprehensive that if I had first known Dr. Einstein through Science lessons, instead of that brief biography in English Non-detailed syllabus, the admiration for the discoveries would have overshadowed my discovering the ‘great spiritual person himself’, within him)
I earnestly hope that my answer would not appear too ‘mystic’ to invoke an appeal to our ‘reasoning faculties’.
The fact is, I could not hold back my admiration for the Great thinker, scientist, and a yet greater, ‘human’ being.
Psn(24th March, 2010)
The question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100323213054AAgeQHD
Why is it "Tasteless" to live forever?
"I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly."-Albert Einstein
What's your opinion?
My answer:
In isolation, this question would attract an answer that has general and 'mass' appeal. But having quoted the Great Being 'Einstein' the reasons are unique.
Please note, "I will do it elegantly" is the whole of the clue !!!
We humans make lot of fuss when we 'go'. Very few people happen to even notice that other living creatures do it quite gracefully, elegantly and INCONSPICUOUSLY (of course, inconspicuous only to we the humans!). The tastelessness is due to the artificiality when a person steps into that realm of choicelessness, the ultimate freedom! "I want to go when I want" is very significant and indicates the heights of human capability wherein the rare type of real and true 'natural-death' is at will, and by choice, not waiting for the body to become incapable of 'housing' the life-energy. I shall reserve my interpretation of the words "my share" with a sense of sanctity (it is yet again, my share too!).
Mere 'thanks' looks ridiculously insufficient for this quote and of course the question.
And it is the ‘benediction’ part of the very same fortune, which has perhaps enabled me to take up this question the way I would always love to look at. (Though it looks silly, I am still quite apprehensive that if I had first known Dr. Einstein through Science lessons, instead of that brief biography in English Non-detailed syllabus, the admiration for the discoveries would have overshadowed my discovering the ‘great spiritual person himself’, within him)
I earnestly hope that my answer would not appear too ‘mystic’ to invoke an appeal to our ‘reasoning faculties’.
The fact is, I could not hold back my admiration for the Great thinker, scientist, and a yet greater, ‘human’ being.
Psn(24th March, 2010)
The question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100323213054AAgeQHD
Why is it "Tasteless" to live forever?
"I want to go when I want. It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly."-Albert Einstein
What's your opinion?
My answer:
In isolation, this question would attract an answer that has general and 'mass' appeal. But having quoted the Great Being 'Einstein' the reasons are unique.
Please note, "I will do it elegantly" is the whole of the clue !!!
We humans make lot of fuss when we 'go'. Very few people happen to even notice that other living creatures do it quite gracefully, elegantly and INCONSPICUOUSLY (of course, inconspicuous only to we the humans!). The tastelessness is due to the artificiality when a person steps into that realm of choicelessness, the ultimate freedom! "I want to go when I want" is very significant and indicates the heights of human capability wherein the rare type of real and true 'natural-death' is at will, and by choice, not waiting for the body to become incapable of 'housing' the life-energy. I shall reserve my interpretation of the words "my share" with a sense of sanctity (it is yet again, my share too!).
Mere 'thanks' looks ridiculously insufficient for this quote and of course the question.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
True Relation
A mind boggling question came up. Many things that climb up and down our list of priorities, decide the very basis of relationships. A ‘double’ agent suddenly becomes the most sought after loyalist, for the ‘intelligence’ interceptors.
My answer could perhaps irritate the asker / reader, initially. But I did not like to let off a casual reader lightly. And so I took a different perspective at the answer.
This, I am aware is in spite of other two ‘posts’ under the caption “Theory of relativity for commoners” (http://selfseekers.blogspot.com/2008/12/theory-of-relativity-for-commoners.html ), and another ‘related’ one, “Hierarchy of Relationships” (http://selfseekers.blogspot.com/2010/02/hierarchy-of-relationships.html ).
The answer itself is sufficient to do what I feel persuaded to go about in this brief introduction. So, I ‘ground’ it right here.
Psn(23rd March, 2010)
The question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100322190359AAXvxLO
Which relation is the the true and stronger one ?
There arer many relations in the life of Man? But which one is the most stronger and truthful?
My answer:
This relation with 'mother' earth.We spend most of our energies, time, resources, money, effort etc to get away from this relation all the time, to become available to do something else!
Please see, the bulk of our movements during all our life is to get away from gravity, which pulls us down towards earth all the time!
So the strongest bond, and relation, whether we like it or not, whether we agree or not, whether believe in it or not! Irrefutable truth. We are made up of the very same stuff, the earth (plus, the five elements held by it). We renew the relationship when we eat and also when we excrete.The ancient spiritual masters could see some truth in this, and that is why they formulated techniques to first reduce this relationship to the barest minimum level. Yogic exercises, postures that make the body light, agile, swift, less dependent on food, sleep(horizontal excessive gravity-effect), and even breathing deep (to extend the life span by reducing the intake per minute, etc), and then look at the inner freedom! But today, we have succeeded in making so many gadgets out of this earth-related materials that our dependence and relation is inextricably deep.
Sorry, but, other relationships (intra-human) are some way or other through this relationship. We fight with human relatives(parents, brothers, sisters, spouse, co-parceners etc), only when property rights are vital, till then our mutual relationships are cordial.
My answer could perhaps irritate the asker / reader, initially. But I did not like to let off a casual reader lightly. And so I took a different perspective at the answer.
This, I am aware is in spite of other two ‘posts’ under the caption “Theory of relativity for commoners” (http://selfseekers.blogspot.com/2008/12/theory-of-relativity-for-commoners.html ), and another ‘related’ one, “Hierarchy of Relationships” (http://selfseekers.blogspot.com/2010/02/hierarchy-of-relationships.html ).
The answer itself is sufficient to do what I feel persuaded to go about in this brief introduction. So, I ‘ground’ it right here.
Psn(23rd March, 2010)
The question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100322190359AAXvxLO
Which relation is the the true and stronger one ?
There arer many relations in the life of Man? But which one is the most stronger and truthful?
My answer:
This relation with 'mother' earth.We spend most of our energies, time, resources, money, effort etc to get away from this relation all the time, to become available to do something else!
Please see, the bulk of our movements during all our life is to get away from gravity, which pulls us down towards earth all the time!
So the strongest bond, and relation, whether we like it or not, whether we agree or not, whether believe in it or not! Irrefutable truth. We are made up of the very same stuff, the earth (plus, the five elements held by it). We renew the relationship when we eat and also when we excrete.The ancient spiritual masters could see some truth in this, and that is why they formulated techniques to first reduce this relationship to the barest minimum level. Yogic exercises, postures that make the body light, agile, swift, less dependent on food, sleep(horizontal excessive gravity-effect), and even breathing deep (to extend the life span by reducing the intake per minute, etc), and then look at the inner freedom! But today, we have succeeded in making so many gadgets out of this earth-related materials that our dependence and relation is inextricably deep.
Sorry, but, other relationships (intra-human) are some way or other through this relationship. We fight with human relatives(parents, brothers, sisters, spouse, co-parceners etc), only when property rights are vital, till then our mutual relationships are cordial.
Courage
I did not expect that my answer might ‘click’.
But this one was my ‘living’ experience. Not exactly ‘through’ martial arts, though. It is much more subtle than that. I had to work my way, to really appreciate the martial arts at that level, in-depth! (The “thumbs” up that pours in can only be felt, not seen or heard!).
Anyway, it is very difficult to convince that courage of this kind is worth it. It has been emphasized over and again since times immemorial, but it does not appeal to logic that easily. And it is therefore that I did not expect a positive response. But the mere ‘dotted’ line ‘comment’ looks like even a bonus!
I really hope that my humble efforts have been (and also remain so), instrumental in shifting yet another person into that ‘fast’ track, towards deeper levels of consciousness!
……………….. (me too !!)
psn (23rd March, 2010)
The question.
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100320062323AAjPiBq
How can i overcome to emotional factor?
i am physically strong guy...... learning marshal arts from two years.but can't able to fight with anyone, even though i am good at my fighting style.reason is emotional factor!!due to strong emotional mind i can't hit anyone.... this attitude is not useful in games like marshal arts.so, how to overcome emotional factor in my case??[plz ignore the grammar]
My answer:
What you think as your weakness seems to be your best strength. It takes a lot of courage, to "not want to hurt others"! Even those who lack the physical strength, satisfy their weakness of 'negative' emotion to hurt others by at least hurling abuses in place of blows which requires good fighting style. If the skills in martial arts grows without ever using it at games, competition or to hurt others, this power turns inwards and becomes a towering spiritual strength. Only very very lucky people manage to do it, though it is the desire of every genuine Master who teaches martial arts to see at least one or two disciples grow into spirituality.
Best wishes.
But this one was my ‘living’ experience. Not exactly ‘through’ martial arts, though. It is much more subtle than that. I had to work my way, to really appreciate the martial arts at that level, in-depth! (The “thumbs” up that pours in can only be felt, not seen or heard!).
Anyway, it is very difficult to convince that courage of this kind is worth it. It has been emphasized over and again since times immemorial, but it does not appeal to logic that easily. And it is therefore that I did not expect a positive response. But the mere ‘dotted’ line ‘comment’ looks like even a bonus!
I really hope that my humble efforts have been (and also remain so), instrumental in shifting yet another person into that ‘fast’ track, towards deeper levels of consciousness!
……………….. (me too !!)
psn (23rd March, 2010)
The question.
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100320062323AAjPiBq
How can i overcome to emotional factor?
i am physically strong guy...... learning marshal arts from two years.but can't able to fight with anyone, even though i am good at my fighting style.reason is emotional factor!!due to strong emotional mind i can't hit anyone.... this attitude is not useful in games like marshal arts.so, how to overcome emotional factor in my case??[plz ignore the grammar]
My answer:
What you think as your weakness seems to be your best strength. It takes a lot of courage, to "not want to hurt others"! Even those who lack the physical strength, satisfy their weakness of 'negative' emotion to hurt others by at least hurling abuses in place of blows which requires good fighting style. If the skills in martial arts grows without ever using it at games, competition or to hurt others, this power turns inwards and becomes a towering spiritual strength. Only very very lucky people manage to do it, though it is the desire of every genuine Master who teaches martial arts to see at least one or two disciples grow into spirituality.
Best wishes.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Finger "Chip"
A wonderful story!
When the asker commented about ‘especially’ my answer, I was tempted to re-tell it here too.
I hope you would love the story, and possibly it might keep you intrigued too!
Happy fingering.
Regards,
Psn(17th March, 2010)
The question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100314090441AA1iWv4
Zen Story:What do you understand from this??? Read it and share your opinions?
Whenever anyone asked him about Zen, the great master Gutei would quietly raise one finger into the air. A boy in the village began to imitate this behavior. Whenever he heard people talking about Gutei's teachings, he would interrupt the discussion and raise his finger. Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. When he saw him in the street, he seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and began to run off, but Gutei called out to him. When the boy turned to look, Gutei raised his finger into the air. At that moment the boy became enlightened.
Additional Details
I didn't understand any of you especially Spiritualseeker.What is benevolent about cutting a student's finger???? I have heard that Zen masters are logical and I expect a clear,logical explanation not abstract spiritual ones.
My answer:
The great master Gutei was indeed an embodiment of compassion. Who else can muster courage to cut off the finger of a 'candidate' on the verge, with just one last barrier left to be removed, the finger! Usually, Zen masters give enough chance to opt out of the path when half-willing, half-hearted people seek to become disciples. This is a wonderful story of out-of-the-way benevolence.
Reply to asker's comments:
Sorry about the abstract answer. But that is the way it is. The very chance to look at this story is a stupendous reward for me. I once again bow before the Great Master Gutei, here and now. His compassion is indeed matchless!
When the asker commented about ‘especially’ my answer, I was tempted to re-tell it here too.
I hope you would love the story, and possibly it might keep you intrigued too!
Happy fingering.
Regards,
Psn(17th March, 2010)
The question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100314090441AA1iWv4
Zen Story:What do you understand from this??? Read it and share your opinions?
Whenever anyone asked him about Zen, the great master Gutei would quietly raise one finger into the air. A boy in the village began to imitate this behavior. Whenever he heard people talking about Gutei's teachings, he would interrupt the discussion and raise his finger. Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. When he saw him in the street, he seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and began to run off, but Gutei called out to him. When the boy turned to look, Gutei raised his finger into the air. At that moment the boy became enlightened.
Additional Details
I didn't understand any of you especially Spiritualseeker.What is benevolent about cutting a student's finger???? I have heard that Zen masters are logical and I expect a clear,logical explanation not abstract spiritual ones.
My answer:
The great master Gutei was indeed an embodiment of compassion. Who else can muster courage to cut off the finger of a 'candidate' on the verge, with just one last barrier left to be removed, the finger! Usually, Zen masters give enough chance to opt out of the path when half-willing, half-hearted people seek to become disciples. This is a wonderful story of out-of-the-way benevolence.
Reply to asker's comments:
Sorry about the abstract answer. But that is the way it is. The very chance to look at this story is a stupendous reward for me. I once again bow before the Great Master Gutei, here and now. His compassion is indeed matchless!
Easy Now
The asker was kind enough to draw my attention to this wonderful question.
I loved to answer it.
I was wondering if it would persuade others too, to give it a thought.
The rewards are ample, and motivations to strive perennial.
My very best wishes,
Psn (17th March, 2010)
The question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100317001119AA5QjBK
Can you imagine how many people would exist if everyone knew how easy it was to live in this physical life?
Now... if you disagree with this sentiment in ANY way, then please tell me... why?And, as always, please... elaborate. ;-)Thank you to those who answer...})})})})>much-love-to-you-all>({({({{(
My answer:
Well, as soon as this wisdom of 'easy-living' dawns, very few would choose to retain the 'physical' existence, and if so, for a very noble purpose, out of unimaginable extent of compassion, towards the left out ones. Such people also look at their own communication skills or at least an effective mouthpiece to convey the messages with least distortions, and maximum time-relevant, mass appeal. (The answer, when looked at, after having typed it out, looks as abstract as the question, so why spoil the brevity with any further elaboration? Let the thirsty ones seek further :) ...)
I loved to answer it.
I was wondering if it would persuade others too, to give it a thought.
The rewards are ample, and motivations to strive perennial.
My very best wishes,
Psn (17th March, 2010)
The question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100317001119AA5QjBK
Can you imagine how many people would exist if everyone knew how easy it was to live in this physical life?
Now... if you disagree with this sentiment in ANY way, then please tell me... why?And, as always, please... elaborate. ;-)Thank you to those who answer...})})})})>much-love-to-you-all>({({({{(
My answer:
Well, as soon as this wisdom of 'easy-living' dawns, very few would choose to retain the 'physical' existence, and if so, for a very noble purpose, out of unimaginable extent of compassion, towards the left out ones. Such people also look at their own communication skills or at least an effective mouthpiece to convey the messages with least distortions, and maximum time-relevant, mass appeal. (The answer, when looked at, after having typed it out, looks as abstract as the question, so why spoil the brevity with any further elaboration? Let the thirsty ones seek further :) ...)
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Co-Experience.
Saha-Anubhoothi is the root word in Sanskrit. Saha is simply “co” like that ‘& Co.,’ Sahapaati is the word for class-mates, meaning ‘learns along with the other’.
Interestingly enough, we find this word (sahaanubhoothi) being used liberally to mean only as some sort of sympathy, “kind-consideration”(using that discretionary capability to “allow” some concession in favour of somebody in a lesser comfort or in discomfort), etc ( I dare not graze into other pastures like sahataapam, anutaapam or paschataapam, because invariably it ends into getting heated, being a “taapam”. Already we are reeling with the summer heat, being March, and we are also heated up due to discussing hotly, a recent topic called ‘Global-warming’!).
But when we look at the word ‘anubhoothi’ it is clearly just an ‘experience’ (not an idea, imagination, or thought). Perhaps, pain brings a person a bit closer to ‘life-experience’ better than other situations like joy, success, etc. When there is a deep experience, it just permeates around. The other person around too does have that experience, but whether with or without any awareness is dependent on the ‘availability’ of that person. Generally, a bit broad-minded person, with that fellow-feeling or fellow-consideration becomes more readily available to experience the pain of other. That may be the reason why the meaning of saha-anubhoothi became restricted over a period of time. As a contrast, nothing really prevents us from experiencing the joy of the other person, but we are caught up in our own web most of the time, and so we inadvertently remain ‘unavailable ‘ for that experience. For instance, a young student, bags a Gold Medal in an University examination, and the whole family seems to share the joy. But please see, each has one’s own private reason for rejoicing the same event, quite unique, distinctive, and not ‘experiential’ most of the times! The feel of joy is not exactly through the experience of it, but the thought process of having compared the ‘expectation’ or anticipation, or even contra-expectation (beyond expectation), and its matching of the situation (the actualization of the Gold Medal). Though without much of that self-awareness, a kid going into the LKG on the first day of his schooling, due to that pristine innocence, happens to simply absorb the ‘experience’ of intense sorrow of another kid who cries in deep anguish of being suddenly left out alone in the hands of a total stranger, for the first time in his life. Having absorbed this experience from the crying kid, this fellow also starts crying without knowing why! That also is saha-anubhoothi.
A saha-dharmini (wife) was supposed to share the anubhoothi of her spouse for the rest of the life, having taken the sacred vows with fire as a divine witness. This tradition was based on the observation that only women are gifted with the capability to ‘feel’ anubhooti of another person. Now when a woman finds herself incessantly engaged in that co-experience, over a period of time, she is naturally freed from her own thought process, preferences, likes and dislikes. Meditativeness simply pervades into her quite effortlessly. Perhaps that is why no special religious rituals are ‘prescribed’ for a woman compared to endless ‘duties’ cast upon her male counterpart in a ‘grihastha’ aashrama life. Obviously she ‘waits’ upon the spouse most of the time, “all attention”.
When the deep reasons, perception of these reasons fade out over centuries, the traditional outlook of woman seems like subservience, and it is quite logical to struggle for liberation out of this kind of slavery. Rightly, we have that woman’s day, to remind that she has chosen to have that ‘saha-anubhoothi’ as a matter of ex-gratia towards the spouse and other men-folk, at her choice, and at will. The way the femininity has been designed, the physiology struggles to adjust to this ‘modern’ view/outlook, and we now have a spate of latest types of woman-related physiological health problems, needing constant medical help. (For those who are inclined to doubt or question the theory that women are gifted to ‘experience’ the anubhoothi better than men, there is an example, which may only demand a little bit of ‘faith’ in puranic stories. Krishna was capable of experiencing intense joy and joy being experiential, it permeated into those Gopikas (the bulk of women folk around that place called Gokul), who grossly outnumbered the men who chose to wander around Krishna quite aimlessly, due to the sheer joyousness permeating into any body receptive enough around him.
We, the present day citizens scatter only that negative emotion most of the time, putting up a ‘defensive’ long face as soon as we step out of our homes, and join the mainstream of crowd, wading through busy traffic, fretting and fuming through bottlenecks commuting to and fro our workplace, market place for shopping etc.
A little bit of conscious concerted effort in that direction to try out sharing experience would bring a lot of deep life-experience and a sense of joy into us.
With wishful regards,
Psn(11th March, 2010)
Interestingly enough, we find this word (sahaanubhoothi) being used liberally to mean only as some sort of sympathy, “kind-consideration”(using that discretionary capability to “allow” some concession in favour of somebody in a lesser comfort or in discomfort), etc ( I dare not graze into other pastures like sahataapam, anutaapam or paschataapam, because invariably it ends into getting heated, being a “taapam”. Already we are reeling with the summer heat, being March, and we are also heated up due to discussing hotly, a recent topic called ‘Global-warming’!).
But when we look at the word ‘anubhoothi’ it is clearly just an ‘experience’ (not an idea, imagination, or thought). Perhaps, pain brings a person a bit closer to ‘life-experience’ better than other situations like joy, success, etc. When there is a deep experience, it just permeates around. The other person around too does have that experience, but whether with or without any awareness is dependent on the ‘availability’ of that person. Generally, a bit broad-minded person, with that fellow-feeling or fellow-consideration becomes more readily available to experience the pain of other. That may be the reason why the meaning of saha-anubhoothi became restricted over a period of time. As a contrast, nothing really prevents us from experiencing the joy of the other person, but we are caught up in our own web most of the time, and so we inadvertently remain ‘unavailable ‘ for that experience. For instance, a young student, bags a Gold Medal in an University examination, and the whole family seems to share the joy. But please see, each has one’s own private reason for rejoicing the same event, quite unique, distinctive, and not ‘experiential’ most of the times! The feel of joy is not exactly through the experience of it, but the thought process of having compared the ‘expectation’ or anticipation, or even contra-expectation (beyond expectation), and its matching of the situation (the actualization of the Gold Medal). Though without much of that self-awareness, a kid going into the LKG on the first day of his schooling, due to that pristine innocence, happens to simply absorb the ‘experience’ of intense sorrow of another kid who cries in deep anguish of being suddenly left out alone in the hands of a total stranger, for the first time in his life. Having absorbed this experience from the crying kid, this fellow also starts crying without knowing why! That also is saha-anubhoothi.
A saha-dharmini (wife) was supposed to share the anubhoothi of her spouse for the rest of the life, having taken the sacred vows with fire as a divine witness. This tradition was based on the observation that only women are gifted with the capability to ‘feel’ anubhooti of another person. Now when a woman finds herself incessantly engaged in that co-experience, over a period of time, she is naturally freed from her own thought process, preferences, likes and dislikes. Meditativeness simply pervades into her quite effortlessly. Perhaps that is why no special religious rituals are ‘prescribed’ for a woman compared to endless ‘duties’ cast upon her male counterpart in a ‘grihastha’ aashrama life. Obviously she ‘waits’ upon the spouse most of the time, “all attention”.
When the deep reasons, perception of these reasons fade out over centuries, the traditional outlook of woman seems like subservience, and it is quite logical to struggle for liberation out of this kind of slavery. Rightly, we have that woman’s day, to remind that she has chosen to have that ‘saha-anubhoothi’ as a matter of ex-gratia towards the spouse and other men-folk, at her choice, and at will. The way the femininity has been designed, the physiology struggles to adjust to this ‘modern’ view/outlook, and we now have a spate of latest types of woman-related physiological health problems, needing constant medical help. (For those who are inclined to doubt or question the theory that women are gifted to ‘experience’ the anubhoothi better than men, there is an example, which may only demand a little bit of ‘faith’ in puranic stories. Krishna was capable of experiencing intense joy and joy being experiential, it permeated into those Gopikas (the bulk of women folk around that place called Gokul), who grossly outnumbered the men who chose to wander around Krishna quite aimlessly, due to the sheer joyousness permeating into any body receptive enough around him.
We, the present day citizens scatter only that negative emotion most of the time, putting up a ‘defensive’ long face as soon as we step out of our homes, and join the mainstream of crowd, wading through busy traffic, fretting and fuming through bottlenecks commuting to and fro our workplace, market place for shopping etc.
A little bit of conscious concerted effort in that direction to try out sharing experience would bring a lot of deep life-experience and a sense of joy into us.
With wishful regards,
Psn(11th March, 2010)
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
Resonated Emotion
Ever visited the Kindergarten / nursery class of the tiny tots? The very first day of the ‘schooling? Not all children cry on the first day. Nor do they plan for it. In fact they look forward to some pleasant ‘out-of-routine’ adventure. It so happens that a few of the kids suddenly find themselves left alone, in the hands of total strangers(they have no idea that it is a ‘teacher’), and they suddenly feel insecure and scared. The comfort zone is lost for the first time, big way. They cry very intensely. This emotion simply permeates through other children. After the first few moments of total ‘receptivity’ and observation, these other children too start crying, not at all knowing why they do. The teacher is now grappled with a lot of ‘wholesale’ wailing lot of kids. An experienced teacher would have noticed the early birds, and knows that she/he needs to just handle them, and the rest would be ‘automatically’ consoled/calmed.
As adults, when the same emotions go very deep beyond the normal capacity to handle, then there is a small problem. An expert’s help may be needed. I was reminded of a wonderful movie “Chandramukhi”(in Hindi language, “Manichitra-thaazhu” in Malayalam), where the director/script-writer did dare to bring out a direct compare-and-contrast between the traditional belief of a person being ‘possessed’, with an exorcist to remedy, and at the same time, a renowned psychiatrist who can clearly demarcate the distinction between this empathy effect and the possession, and due to a deep appreciation of both these aspects, handles a rare type of experimental cure, quite successfully. In real life, very few tantriks can make out the difference (the symptoms are quite similar, as in this movie, with the heroine), and all they do is to try out the ‘standard’ prescribed rituals, which may work even at psychic levels if fortunate (otherwise, the problem gets further compounded!).
Anyway, the intuitive aspect of the mind, when it combines the creative, imaginative and emotive power, works wonders that baffles the best of logical thinkers. I suppose, spirituality might handle it better.
It looks like, I happened to hit the mark, when I attempted to answer a question which did not attract many answers. I was not quite sure if my answer would appeal to the asker. But I knew that if it did appeal it would be complete, leaving no doubts. Fortunately the asker could ‘place’ the answer at the right slot, and complete the puzzle. What he experienced quite inadvertently and unawares is perhaps, traditionally known as Bhava Spandana in Indian Yogic culture.
At diluted levels, we do experience these kinds of spill-over of emotions into one another. But it goes almost un-noticed due to varied reasons. A brief knowledge would help us to make ourselves less vulnerable, and yet available, at will.
Regards,
Psn(9th March, 2010)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100308053530AAtn1u0
The question:
I may be foolish or selfish by asking this, I think anyone can help on this question please read below.?
Please read the whole thing, everything will lead to the question. Today a couple hours earlier, it was around 2-3am, I heard a man screaming outside "I am going to kill" you to a woman, I found out it was a woman because of her screams. I was in my room watching a Taiwanese police drama with the lights off. I am 18 years old almost 19, in my opinion I am an expect in my own thought out martial arts, I don't like hitting nor hurting anyone, nor do I like thinking or saying bad things about anyone, the martial arts I have never used on anyone nor do I ever plan to do so, the reason is because of the above and in my own opinion it has complete control of an opponents body, in the physical sense. In my opinion I am physically able to handle myself, I practiced punching trees, ran 10miles before, did 25 pullups, over 100 push ups, lifted extremely heavy weights. And not only in strength but also I can think in very complex ways how to overcome things or use them to my benefit. Before in my younger days I was fearless, I didn't care about dieing at all, that's how it lead to the martial arts I know. But the question and problem is, when I was sitting in my room hearing those screams, I didn't go outside and try to help, I know 95% I would have taken care of the situation with ease, 5% is if the other person somehow becomes lucky, that can always happen, so as you can I have carefully even made the percentage of success. But the decision I made was to call the police 911, with 2 girls with a sweet voice answering me, then for some reason I started to stutter murmuring my words as in a scared tone and shaking my heart beat rose, I became weak, while repeating several times my address. Why did this happen to me, am I that weak, in my younger times I was always seeking someone strong to fight against, always ready to fight dozens of people, whether they had knives I could have cared less, even if i was bloody all over I still would have gotten up, that's how I thought. Just today I was shivering with fear while calling the police just because of some screams. Why am I that pathetic, what am I scared of, even those 2girls who answered my call took care of situation like it was nothing. And me with all this background, was shaking in fear just by asking for help. I don't get it, I don't know if any of you believe in hell or heaven, but even if I died I know a person like would be sent straight to hell, because of own personal feelings and doings, maybe it might of been my fear of death, because who wants to burn in hell. Please give an answer if your so willing too.
My answer:
Practice of martial acts makes a person very receptive to emotional vibration from others. That is how, we can feel the fear creeping in the opponent when we stare into his/her eyes, and take a defensive posture. But unless we have a complete training the receptivity could make us also vulnerable. Especially, when we are not in a combative mood (like the situation in the question), the vibration received stays for a while, without a properly channelised outlet. Now the screams from the girl are full of fear. The same may have crept in, and while talking over the phone, it manifested and came out along with the words. This happens very rarely, and there is nothing to really worry about. But it gives us information about such a possibility. In any form of martial arts, breath awareness is insisted upon, as an essential tool. The very same breath awareness would have helped while speaking on phone too.
Best wishes.
As adults, when the same emotions go very deep beyond the normal capacity to handle, then there is a small problem. An expert’s help may be needed. I was reminded of a wonderful movie “Chandramukhi”(in Hindi language, “Manichitra-thaazhu” in Malayalam), where the director/script-writer did dare to bring out a direct compare-and-contrast between the traditional belief of a person being ‘possessed’, with an exorcist to remedy, and at the same time, a renowned psychiatrist who can clearly demarcate the distinction between this empathy effect and the possession, and due to a deep appreciation of both these aspects, handles a rare type of experimental cure, quite successfully. In real life, very few tantriks can make out the difference (the symptoms are quite similar, as in this movie, with the heroine), and all they do is to try out the ‘standard’ prescribed rituals, which may work even at psychic levels if fortunate (otherwise, the problem gets further compounded!).
Anyway, the intuitive aspect of the mind, when it combines the creative, imaginative and emotive power, works wonders that baffles the best of logical thinkers. I suppose, spirituality might handle it better.
It looks like, I happened to hit the mark, when I attempted to answer a question which did not attract many answers. I was not quite sure if my answer would appeal to the asker. But I knew that if it did appeal it would be complete, leaving no doubts. Fortunately the asker could ‘place’ the answer at the right slot, and complete the puzzle. What he experienced quite inadvertently and unawares is perhaps, traditionally known as Bhava Spandana in Indian Yogic culture.
At diluted levels, we do experience these kinds of spill-over of emotions into one another. But it goes almost un-noticed due to varied reasons. A brief knowledge would help us to make ourselves less vulnerable, and yet available, at will.
Regards,
Psn(9th March, 2010)
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100308053530AAtn1u0
The question:
I may be foolish or selfish by asking this, I think anyone can help on this question please read below.?
Please read the whole thing, everything will lead to the question. Today a couple hours earlier, it was around 2-3am, I heard a man screaming outside "I am going to kill" you to a woman, I found out it was a woman because of her screams. I was in my room watching a Taiwanese police drama with the lights off. I am 18 years old almost 19, in my opinion I am an expect in my own thought out martial arts, I don't like hitting nor hurting anyone, nor do I like thinking or saying bad things about anyone, the martial arts I have never used on anyone nor do I ever plan to do so, the reason is because of the above and in my own opinion it has complete control of an opponents body, in the physical sense. In my opinion I am physically able to handle myself, I practiced punching trees, ran 10miles before, did 25 pullups, over 100 push ups, lifted extremely heavy weights. And not only in strength but also I can think in very complex ways how to overcome things or use them to my benefit. Before in my younger days I was fearless, I didn't care about dieing at all, that's how it lead to the martial arts I know. But the question and problem is, when I was sitting in my room hearing those screams, I didn't go outside and try to help, I know 95% I would have taken care of the situation with ease, 5% is if the other person somehow becomes lucky, that can always happen, so as you can I have carefully even made the percentage of success. But the decision I made was to call the police 911, with 2 girls with a sweet voice answering me, then for some reason I started to stutter murmuring my words as in a scared tone and shaking my heart beat rose, I became weak, while repeating several times my address. Why did this happen to me, am I that weak, in my younger times I was always seeking someone strong to fight against, always ready to fight dozens of people, whether they had knives I could have cared less, even if i was bloody all over I still would have gotten up, that's how I thought. Just today I was shivering with fear while calling the police just because of some screams. Why am I that pathetic, what am I scared of, even those 2girls who answered my call took care of situation like it was nothing. And me with all this background, was shaking in fear just by asking for help. I don't get it, I don't know if any of you believe in hell or heaven, but even if I died I know a person like would be sent straight to hell, because of own personal feelings and doings, maybe it might of been my fear of death, because who wants to burn in hell. Please give an answer if your so willing too.
My answer:
Practice of martial acts makes a person very receptive to emotional vibration from others. That is how, we can feel the fear creeping in the opponent when we stare into his/her eyes, and take a defensive posture. But unless we have a complete training the receptivity could make us also vulnerable. Especially, when we are not in a combative mood (like the situation in the question), the vibration received stays for a while, without a properly channelised outlet. Now the screams from the girl are full of fear. The same may have crept in, and while talking over the phone, it manifested and came out along with the words. This happens very rarely, and there is nothing to really worry about. But it gives us information about such a possibility. In any form of martial arts, breath awareness is insisted upon, as an essential tool. The very same breath awareness would have helped while speaking on phone too.
Best wishes.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Tapasya
I suppose, penance is the nearest word in English for Tapasya.
The earliest encounter I remember to have had with this word is when my elders, my grandmother, mother, aunts etc referred to my ‘waiting’ patiently and intensely. I was watching them ‘brew’ some unusual item in the kitchen at our ancestral home (not just a house, then) at our village. It was my grandmother's humble way of passing on the baton to the next generation, when she instructed the daughters/ daughters-in-law to revive some ancient recipe which requires elaborate preparation. I could see why these items did not happen in our routine week-ends even in our city dwellings. As soon as I could sense that they are up to something wonderful, unique, unusual, out-of-ordinary-routine, I was all attention, and even failed to notice that my usual mischief prone schedules faded out. I mustered all efforts to be exceptionally obedient, lest I would be asked to keep myself at a safe distance, while I had decided to be at the hub of the activity, not ready to miss anything. My attempts to ask and find out what it is all about, usually gets warded off in a summary manner, since they themselves needed all their focusing.
During all this, all that they know is that I was around there, unusually silent, and carefully non-interfering. They just feel my harmless presence. This docile effort is amply rewarded, when they offer the first sample-taste of the finished product. This is where they also mention that “he has been doing tapas for this all the while”. I knew this much, that it was some sort of a compliment to me, and not the usual dose of admonishments. Yet, I could not grasp as to what I did to merit that dubious word ‘tapas’. All I did was to focus completely on what was going on. I was so absorbed that I even forgot that I was hungry, and the usual mid-day meal time was crossed over, the women folk too failed to notice it, due to the absence of my reminder that ‘I am hungry’.
A couple of decades later, I had a glimpse of it on celluloid, when I saw movies like “Zanjeer” & “Kala pathar” etc, where the hero retained that grim look all the time, to remind the audience that he carried that main purpose of his life all through, irrespective of the situation outside. Many years later, in a spiritual session, I was told that an intense participation could help reducing the time element in reaching the goals. Such practices required years of ‘doing’ regularly to reach a particular notch level. The word itself, means ‘heat’ (Taap, tapah) at its root. So the process of heating it up was the time consuming element. Heating up to such a point, where the shaping takes place instantly, as with molten metals. Slow heating takes time, we know. Becoming very intense about something would itself hasten the heating process tremendously, is what we learnt. An example we can see is the record-shattering-performances by sportspersons at the Olympics. It is here that individual’s own performance matters a lot, in contrast to other fields like academics, businesses, etc where outstanding achievements do happen but the nature of intensity is entirely different.
How to get at this kind of intense-ness is not of much interest to a casual reader, I agree, and therefore suffice it to say that once it is mastered, enough to be able to invoke it at will, not only spiritual growth, but handling of material aspects of routine life becomes almost effortless.
Psn (27th February, 2010)
The earliest encounter I remember to have had with this word is when my elders, my grandmother, mother, aunts etc referred to my ‘waiting’ patiently and intensely. I was watching them ‘brew’ some unusual item in the kitchen at our ancestral home (not just a house, then) at our village. It was my grandmother's humble way of passing on the baton to the next generation, when she instructed the daughters/ daughters-in-law to revive some ancient recipe which requires elaborate preparation. I could see why these items did not happen in our routine week-ends even in our city dwellings. As soon as I could sense that they are up to something wonderful, unique, unusual, out-of-ordinary-routine, I was all attention, and even failed to notice that my usual mischief prone schedules faded out. I mustered all efforts to be exceptionally obedient, lest I would be asked to keep myself at a safe distance, while I had decided to be at the hub of the activity, not ready to miss anything. My attempts to ask and find out what it is all about, usually gets warded off in a summary manner, since they themselves needed all their focusing.
During all this, all that they know is that I was around there, unusually silent, and carefully non-interfering. They just feel my harmless presence. This docile effort is amply rewarded, when they offer the first sample-taste of the finished product. This is where they also mention that “he has been doing tapas for this all the while”. I knew this much, that it was some sort of a compliment to me, and not the usual dose of admonishments. Yet, I could not grasp as to what I did to merit that dubious word ‘tapas’. All I did was to focus completely on what was going on. I was so absorbed that I even forgot that I was hungry, and the usual mid-day meal time was crossed over, the women folk too failed to notice it, due to the absence of my reminder that ‘I am hungry’.
A couple of decades later, I had a glimpse of it on celluloid, when I saw movies like “Zanjeer” & “Kala pathar” etc, where the hero retained that grim look all the time, to remind the audience that he carried that main purpose of his life all through, irrespective of the situation outside. Many years later, in a spiritual session, I was told that an intense participation could help reducing the time element in reaching the goals. Such practices required years of ‘doing’ regularly to reach a particular notch level. The word itself, means ‘heat’ (Taap, tapah) at its root. So the process of heating it up was the time consuming element. Heating up to such a point, where the shaping takes place instantly, as with molten metals. Slow heating takes time, we know. Becoming very intense about something would itself hasten the heating process tremendously, is what we learnt. An example we can see is the record-shattering-performances by sportspersons at the Olympics. It is here that individual’s own performance matters a lot, in contrast to other fields like academics, businesses, etc where outstanding achievements do happen but the nature of intensity is entirely different.
How to get at this kind of intense-ness is not of much interest to a casual reader, I agree, and therefore suffice it to say that once it is mastered, enough to be able to invoke it at will, not only spiritual growth, but handling of material aspects of routine life becomes almost effortless.
Psn (27th February, 2010)
Prayer
Right from early childhood, elders around me attempted to teach me to pray (worship was a monopoly of designated priests, who worship, and then make it easier for us to pray/ask). They even told me what to ask for, when praying to the various Gods in the temples around. The funny mind that I carried, I seldom failed to ask the name of the deity in each temple, and the volley of questions included what type of prayers we could offer to that particular deity. My humble idea was that in case that deity did not specialize in the thing that I asked for, that God or Goddess would be needlessly embarrassed (so I thought!). It could also be that there would be a mutual memorandum of Understanding that they would not encroach into each other’s portfolio.
As I grew a bit more, it then occurred to me that all these Gods had a ‘complete’ data base of events that had occurred and was yet to happen. Then, what is the point in my asking for something? More importantly I liked to know, whether these Gods really require to be ‘told’ what we needed? Because it conflicted with our understanding that Gods are omniscient, in addition to being omnipotent and omnipresent.
The stories of faulty prayers scared me. Some body mis-pronounced ‘Nir-deva-twam’ (‘let there be no competition’ from lower powers), while asking for a boon, to the highest One, and in a hurry asked for ‘Nidrey-va-twam’ (sleepiness). It was granted instantly. The asker of this prayer had to compromise with 6 months of deep sleep every year! I now thought of a bug-free prayer, and chose to accept traditional forms. Even they were in large variety.
The best one seemed to be in a story where a begger turns a negotiator, and makes a proposal that the Other One could not refuse (God-Father movie style)! He told (not asked), “O’ God, by myself, I do not covet for any thing, but let not people call me, your best devotee, a person who is in ‘want’ all the time”. This seemed like a life-time tax payment. No hassles thereafter. Now, it is the botheration of the Other One to worry eternally to keep us above wants. But then, later, it occurred to me ‘What if the Great One feels insulted that we had to ask Him, what we need, for him to really gain knowledge about it?” This is something that He would never disclose to the ‘concerned’ person. One has to be fortunate to deduce from experience that we just never happen to get what we ask, and instead, we get what we did not bargain for. A very inconvenient thing…..
Trust had to step in now. All we can do is to go to him (when we feel a bit run out of battery, not for anything else), and stand before Him. Hand over ourselves completely (any way, that is our ‘status’ even otherwise, at all times). If possible, listen with rapt attention, alertness, awareness, and an empty mind. If there is any communication that is worth while, it has to be only from Him, not from us to Him. If we are eligible, we may get to hear or feel it. Otherwise, out of trust, quietly leave the place, with the confidence that only some benefit could have accrued, which we are yet to know about.
Some how, I feel quite contended with this position, even if the bulk of the people around insist on a loud ‘presentation’ of their charter of demands. Clearly, I am not in their way. Trust works for me. And when I could later see that most of the enlightenments happened in places other than places of worship (not just prayer/asking places), it seemed to embolden my inclination to avoid adding to the crowd at ‘popular’ shrines.
Please tell me if I have been on the negative side of the ‘growth’ with these flawed concept, or is it that I am ‘grooved’ into being ‘pray full’, instead of a concerted effort at a prayer .
Regards,
Psn (27th February, 2010)
As I grew a bit more, it then occurred to me that all these Gods had a ‘complete’ data base of events that had occurred and was yet to happen. Then, what is the point in my asking for something? More importantly I liked to know, whether these Gods really require to be ‘told’ what we needed? Because it conflicted with our understanding that Gods are omniscient, in addition to being omnipotent and omnipresent.
The stories of faulty prayers scared me. Some body mis-pronounced ‘Nir-deva-twam’ (‘let there be no competition’ from lower powers), while asking for a boon, to the highest One, and in a hurry asked for ‘Nidrey-va-twam’ (sleepiness). It was granted instantly. The asker of this prayer had to compromise with 6 months of deep sleep every year! I now thought of a bug-free prayer, and chose to accept traditional forms. Even they were in large variety.
The best one seemed to be in a story where a begger turns a negotiator, and makes a proposal that the Other One could not refuse (God-Father movie style)! He told (not asked), “O’ God, by myself, I do not covet for any thing, but let not people call me, your best devotee, a person who is in ‘want’ all the time”. This seemed like a life-time tax payment. No hassles thereafter. Now, it is the botheration of the Other One to worry eternally to keep us above wants. But then, later, it occurred to me ‘What if the Great One feels insulted that we had to ask Him, what we need, for him to really gain knowledge about it?” This is something that He would never disclose to the ‘concerned’ person. One has to be fortunate to deduce from experience that we just never happen to get what we ask, and instead, we get what we did not bargain for. A very inconvenient thing…..
Trust had to step in now. All we can do is to go to him (when we feel a bit run out of battery, not for anything else), and stand before Him. Hand over ourselves completely (any way, that is our ‘status’ even otherwise, at all times). If possible, listen with rapt attention, alertness, awareness, and an empty mind. If there is any communication that is worth while, it has to be only from Him, not from us to Him. If we are eligible, we may get to hear or feel it. Otherwise, out of trust, quietly leave the place, with the confidence that only some benefit could have accrued, which we are yet to know about.
Some how, I feel quite contended with this position, even if the bulk of the people around insist on a loud ‘presentation’ of their charter of demands. Clearly, I am not in their way. Trust works for me. And when I could later see that most of the enlightenments happened in places other than places of worship (not just prayer/asking places), it seemed to embolden my inclination to avoid adding to the crowd at ‘popular’ shrines.
Please tell me if I have been on the negative side of the ‘growth’ with these flawed concept, or is it that I am ‘grooved’ into being ‘pray full’, instead of a concerted effort at a prayer .
Regards,
Psn (27th February, 2010)
Monday, February 22, 2010
Intimidation
The great scientist Dr. Albert Einstein, is reported to have said this : “It [atomic energy] may intimidate the human race into bringing order into its international affairs" (Albert Einstein).
And even in law, the theory of punishments includes one type of punishment as a “deterrent”, only with this hope of intimidating the onlookers.
What is wrong, in exploiting this vulnerability of being prone to intimidation, when we ourselves are ready to be subjected to intimidation day-in-and-out, in all our activities?
“Everybody” is a gentleman, when there is a policeman around the corner”.
People who genuinely tried “Gandhi-giri” in their real life failed, only because they did not notice the element of ‘intimidation’ by the “media effect” in the examples that the movie ‘Lage-Raho-Munnabhai” had depicted.
The fear of death intimidates us, and we die many times before it really happens.
The ‘vacuum’ after retirement, intimidates people who are otherwise clearly convinced that voluntary retirement is the best option when the work place no more supports sincerity, and when financial considerations are no more valid.
We do many things, opt for many things, merely because we feel intimidated of being left out, singled out, etc.
Oh! Even I seem to be indulging in that needless intimidation, reminding ourselves of the situations that trigger intimidation.
I am tempted to look at “expectation”, as, perhaps the root cause of this intimidation.
We expect that we are allowed to live a little longer, and therefore death finds scope to intimidate us.
We ‘expect’ lots of respect from others, all the time, and therefore that forced ‘ethical’ behaviour intimidates a visible adherence from us all the while.
Try to intimidate a three month old baby with anything, anyways, anyhow…. In all probability, at best, it may find your gesticulations/articulations quite an entertaining amusement!
We settle the score with that child, as soon as it acquires a little bit of ‘self-awareness’ and now starts to choose, relinquishing that priceless ‘choicelessness’ that it had enjoyed as nature’s best benediction for that brief, blissful, baby-period. Now, we recklessly intimidate that child, be it our ‘own’ even, with all samples of direct and indirect intimidations, till the child grows up to repay us in our ‘own’ coin!
That is why perhaps, these wandering mendicants choose to beg just one thing, their food, and declare their “abound” nature by choosing “choicelessness” quite consciously, to be least available to intimidation of any sort for the rest of their lives! They choose the ‘death’ even, in evolved cases/instances.
We can try out in small measures, to test its efficacy, if that intimidation and ‘expectation’ are really related.
Regards,Psn(22nd February, 2010)
And even in law, the theory of punishments includes one type of punishment as a “deterrent”, only with this hope of intimidating the onlookers.
What is wrong, in exploiting this vulnerability of being prone to intimidation, when we ourselves are ready to be subjected to intimidation day-in-and-out, in all our activities?
“Everybody” is a gentleman, when there is a policeman around the corner”.
People who genuinely tried “Gandhi-giri” in their real life failed, only because they did not notice the element of ‘intimidation’ by the “media effect” in the examples that the movie ‘Lage-Raho-Munnabhai” had depicted.
The fear of death intimidates us, and we die many times before it really happens.
The ‘vacuum’ after retirement, intimidates people who are otherwise clearly convinced that voluntary retirement is the best option when the work place no more supports sincerity, and when financial considerations are no more valid.
We do many things, opt for many things, merely because we feel intimidated of being left out, singled out, etc.
Oh! Even I seem to be indulging in that needless intimidation, reminding ourselves of the situations that trigger intimidation.
I am tempted to look at “expectation”, as, perhaps the root cause of this intimidation.
We expect that we are allowed to live a little longer, and therefore death finds scope to intimidate us.
We ‘expect’ lots of respect from others, all the time, and therefore that forced ‘ethical’ behaviour intimidates a visible adherence from us all the while.
Try to intimidate a three month old baby with anything, anyways, anyhow…. In all probability, at best, it may find your gesticulations/articulations quite an entertaining amusement!
We settle the score with that child, as soon as it acquires a little bit of ‘self-awareness’ and now starts to choose, relinquishing that priceless ‘choicelessness’ that it had enjoyed as nature’s best benediction for that brief, blissful, baby-period. Now, we recklessly intimidate that child, be it our ‘own’ even, with all samples of direct and indirect intimidations, till the child grows up to repay us in our ‘own’ coin!
That is why perhaps, these wandering mendicants choose to beg just one thing, their food, and declare their “abound” nature by choosing “choicelessness” quite consciously, to be least available to intimidation of any sort for the rest of their lives! They choose the ‘death’ even, in evolved cases/instances.
We can try out in small measures, to test its efficacy, if that intimidation and ‘expectation’ are really related.
Regards,Psn(22nd February, 2010)
Ethics Oversimplified
Ethics is prescribed quite often. But its true intrinsic meaning seems quite elusive. Not because it is complex by itself. We make it complicated, by attaching ‘strings’. Why we do it is, simply because, our mind refuses ‘one-way-traffic’. We expect some kind of reciprocal ethics from the ‘beneficiary’ of our ethics.
Even corporate level institutions have tried out that ‘business-ethics’. It does not seem to work. We have been very clever to trade our carbon emission entitlements, refusing to be truly ethical.
Perhaps that is why a question came up, looking out for non-traditional, unconventional, unique definition of ethics. The real search is to find out what would really work.
I somehow found myself oblivious of the concept of ethics for quite a long time. But, having attempted to look at spirituality, quite intensely too, from that ‘ridiculously-early’ age, I was tempted to offer an ‘own’ definition. The global tender allows such kind of a free-bid. The best part is that there is no ‘third’ umpire, to pass a judgement. But if somebody is really interested, and finds it worth trying out, the results are truly rewarding, obviating any need for external recognition, appreciation, acknowledgement, etc.
Regards,
Psn (22 February, 2010)
The question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100221091942AAlsTcW
What is your own definition of ethics?
When I mean ethics I mean doing the ethical thing or not (doing the good or bad thing)
My answer:
"Own" definition is ridiculously simple.
When the finger on our left hand is injured, the fingers of the right hand do not need any ethics to extend help, nor do they complain that this left-hand-finger is unduly 'pampered' with good bandage, complete rest (as if it works hitherto!), etc. Science tells us that there is "cellular level intelligence" functioning a bit independently (that is why it fights back to survive when an insect bites, without waiting for our 'moral-sanction', even if we were on hunger-strike-unto-death).
By the same analogy, what ever rules we voluntarily adhere to, visualising this one-ness with people, and living/nonliving things around, it can be called ethics.
When we make a humble beginning to visualise, with some trust in nature, we would be blessed with the 'experience' that we were not really limited within our-OWN-body, all the time, but really we were all one and part of the universe. Once this experience dawns, no more ethics are needed. Till then, any "similar" rule with a hidden agenda is self-deceit, in the name of "ethics"
Even corporate level institutions have tried out that ‘business-ethics’. It does not seem to work. We have been very clever to trade our carbon emission entitlements, refusing to be truly ethical.
Perhaps that is why a question came up, looking out for non-traditional, unconventional, unique definition of ethics. The real search is to find out what would really work.
I somehow found myself oblivious of the concept of ethics for quite a long time. But, having attempted to look at spirituality, quite intensely too, from that ‘ridiculously-early’ age, I was tempted to offer an ‘own’ definition. The global tender allows such kind of a free-bid. The best part is that there is no ‘third’ umpire, to pass a judgement. But if somebody is really interested, and finds it worth trying out, the results are truly rewarding, obviating any need for external recognition, appreciation, acknowledgement, etc.
Regards,
Psn (22 February, 2010)
The question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100221091942AAlsTcW
What is your own definition of ethics?
When I mean ethics I mean doing the ethical thing or not (doing the good or bad thing)
My answer:
"Own" definition is ridiculously simple.
When the finger on our left hand is injured, the fingers of the right hand do not need any ethics to extend help, nor do they complain that this left-hand-finger is unduly 'pampered' with good bandage, complete rest (as if it works hitherto!), etc. Science tells us that there is "cellular level intelligence" functioning a bit independently (that is why it fights back to survive when an insect bites, without waiting for our 'moral-sanction', even if we were on hunger-strike-unto-death).
By the same analogy, what ever rules we voluntarily adhere to, visualising this one-ness with people, and living/nonliving things around, it can be called ethics.
When we make a humble beginning to visualise, with some trust in nature, we would be blessed with the 'experience' that we were not really limited within our-OWN-body, all the time, but really we were all one and part of the universe. Once this experience dawns, no more ethics are needed. Till then, any "similar" rule with a hidden agenda is self-deceit, in the name of "ethics"
"Own"-Err-Ship
Quite often I used to wonder, about the nature of this ‘owner-ship’. When I happened to take up the study of law, I found that I really do not own my own house property for which I paid adequate consideration ‘ in full ‘ and final settlement. The document is registered, and everybody is ready to call me ‘owner’ of this piece of property. And yet, in India, a democratic country, the President of the country is the true owner of the entire country! We are allowed to hold that property only ‘during the pleasure of the President’. Of course, basically, this law intends to facilitate ‘acquisitions’ for public purpose. And if necessary, to oust or outlaw an undesirable citizen, stripping him or her of all the titles to these properties.
Even before that, I found people find it difficult to ‘own’ moral response-abilities for many simple miss-haps that occur in normal routine life. And yet, they find ‘own’ brother, sister, relative, etc being the root cause of their misery in life. They struggle to retain that ownership helplessly. We retain ‘ownership’ to ‘apart-ments’ , though in the very same building.
How to really own something, is in-deed a confusing question.
Some asker finds it amusing to tickle the most intimate relationship of ‘spouse’ with this ‘ownership’ issue, and further nudges it with the child-ownership.
Why not answer it, even if only to further confuse, is what I felt. But the benefit is that some re-look at the concept happens, what ever it ‘takes’.
When we find that we err in ownership-related-issues, we do not find enough time to look at it in detail. Children start disowning their parents when they step into teenage. That is the price the elders end up paying, when they try to exclusively try to own their children, refusing to own up the responsibilities for their own inadequacies in bringing them up.
Welcome to take a look at the question now, if you happen to own a little bit of ‘nerve’ having read this far.
And, no strings attached, for I quite understand how economical and viable it is, to own a stoic silence, instead of venturing comments/view/opinions etc, eitherways!
Regards,
Psn (22nd February, 2010)
The question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100221152415AAgIOVh
Are you the owner of your body or the one who you married to? if both own each other then what they fight for?
in this world every body just says that o my husband/wife owns my body and we can not do without each other. BUT when the child arrives the owners starts showing the rights and duties to each other. why ?and time comes when go for separation or devours.ha ha ha .SO WHO OWNS WHO?
My answer:
Until a few decades ago, the small islands of Andaman and Nicobar were used for punishing the freedom fighters. "Kaala Paani ki Sazaa" was the term used. People were tied by chains to their hands and feet, whipped with sharp whips, and dirty water poured over the blisters, so that the tiny wounds and blisters become pus-wounds, and a very slow torturous painful death is caused. The people who were thus chained, seemed to 'enjoy' it, and even mocked at the punishers saying, "we will take birth yet another hundred times, and be ready for similar death. How are you going to make sure to come to do it again to me?"....
Today, many of the tourists report having 'experienced' a strange high-energy in those condemned cells, when they visit those ancient jails.
The punishers physically tried to claim the ownership of those living 'bodies' of the prisoners.
The prisoners declared their freedom for the next hundred similar-torturous-births.
The results are seen today by the fortunate few tourists who are alert, awake, and aware.
..
We own those for whom we are ready to give up ourselves unconditionally. (ourselves too, included).
Even before that, I found people find it difficult to ‘own’ moral response-abilities for many simple miss-haps that occur in normal routine life. And yet, they find ‘own’ brother, sister, relative, etc being the root cause of their misery in life. They struggle to retain that ownership helplessly. We retain ‘ownership’ to ‘apart-ments’ , though in the very same building.
How to really own something, is in-deed a confusing question.
Some asker finds it amusing to tickle the most intimate relationship of ‘spouse’ with this ‘ownership’ issue, and further nudges it with the child-ownership.
Why not answer it, even if only to further confuse, is what I felt. But the benefit is that some re-look at the concept happens, what ever it ‘takes’.
When we find that we err in ownership-related-issues, we do not find enough time to look at it in detail. Children start disowning their parents when they step into teenage. That is the price the elders end up paying, when they try to exclusively try to own their children, refusing to own up the responsibilities for their own inadequacies in bringing them up.
Welcome to take a look at the question now, if you happen to own a little bit of ‘nerve’ having read this far.
And, no strings attached, for I quite understand how economical and viable it is, to own a stoic silence, instead of venturing comments/view/opinions etc, eitherways!
Regards,
Psn (22nd February, 2010)
The question:
http://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100221152415AAgIOVh
Are you the owner of your body or the one who you married to? if both own each other then what they fight for?
in this world every body just says that o my husband/wife owns my body and we can not do without each other. BUT when the child arrives the owners starts showing the rights and duties to each other. why ?and time comes when go for separation or devours.ha ha ha .SO WHO OWNS WHO?
My answer:
Until a few decades ago, the small islands of Andaman and Nicobar were used for punishing the freedom fighters. "Kaala Paani ki Sazaa" was the term used. People were tied by chains to their hands and feet, whipped with sharp whips, and dirty water poured over the blisters, so that the tiny wounds and blisters become pus-wounds, and a very slow torturous painful death is caused. The people who were thus chained, seemed to 'enjoy' it, and even mocked at the punishers saying, "we will take birth yet another hundred times, and be ready for similar death. How are you going to make sure to come to do it again to me?"....
Today, many of the tourists report having 'experienced' a strange high-energy in those condemned cells, when they visit those ancient jails.
The punishers physically tried to claim the ownership of those living 'bodies' of the prisoners.
The prisoners declared their freedom for the next hundred similar-torturous-births.
The results are seen today by the fortunate few tourists who are alert, awake, and aware.
..
We own those for whom we are ready to give up ourselves unconditionally. (ourselves too, included).
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