Thursday 30 April 2015

The Science of Living

Life has many facets: habits, aspirations, goals, significance etc. It is rare that there has been an artist who was also a good householder and a progressive human being. When I say a good householder, I mean one who facilitates the family in all respects. He not only provides for them materially but also emotionally. This is so, typically for a family man. But when we talk of an individual who doesn’t have a family they too will have to find out their goals, what they want to do in life by controlling or changing their habits. In these circumstances it is difficult to imagine an artist who is totally devoted to his/her passion for art putting similar stress on all the other aspects of life, as said above.

Therefore I think we must understand and practice the ‘Science of living’.

The first facet of this science, according to me, would be ‘Self Awareness’. An individual needs to be conscious of his own body, state of mind including thoughts, actions, ideas, feeling and interaction with others. Besides, self awareness has to be a continuous process. It’s only then that you can mould your thoughts, actions and relationship with others. Without doubt, this requires a constant review – a study that is scientific in nature. It teaches you how to go about finding solutions to the problems.


Once you are self aware, you must set your priorities. It is not only fixing the priorities but also scheduling them according to their relative importance. We must remember that when we schedule a task and provide a time slot, it is not necessary that time allocated will always be found to be sufficient. Time management is another important aspect to be reviewed from time to time. The discipline that you require for constant follow up requires a scientific approach. It should have nothing to do with the moods of the person. When a particular task is not finished as per schedule you need to provide the next slot and abide by it. This protocol alone can bring about the desired results.

  
Once we are self aware, and we know what to do and we have also fixed our priorities, it is necessary to develop a keen sense of focus. To my mind doing only one thing at a time is the best approach. As far as possible there should be no interruption. Equally important is your total mind and soul into what you are doing. One has to start living in the present, moment to moment. Deliberate effort may be required for some time but then it becomes your habit and you start navigating you life as if you are flying an airplane.


Lastly, I would say that your speech is very important. Because we have to interact with colleagues, family members and the society at large, we must choose our words and use them effectively. Any wrong choice or casual approach towards this very important aspect of human personality can be disastrous. Speech must always be clear; words should be chosen with discretion and spoken effectively. Speech helps to maintain and improve our relations in any environment.


To conclude I would like to say that a successful life in modern times requires us to know and practice the ‘Science of living’.

Thanks for reading.


Tributes to Veer Savarakar


We join the nation in paying our respectful tribute to Swatantryaveer Veer Savarkar on his 131st birth anniversary! May he inspire us all with a new spirit of national re-awakening! It was Veer Savarakar who made Indians aware about the First War of Independence of 1857 through his famous Book on the subject.

Please visit: http://www.savarkar.org/en/veer-savarkar to learn more about this national hero!


Mother’s Day.

Had published a blog on the Mother’s Day last year. I am here by publishing the same again. It reflects the importance of motherhood in Indian context. Even though the tradition of respecting mothers in a ceremonial manner was started in US, the importance of motherhood in our country can never, ever be exaggerated.

Mother’s Day was initiated in Philadelphia (USA) by Ms. Anna Jarvis is 1907. It is a great gesture to honour our Mothers. Many countries today celebrate Mother’s Day in their own ways. We must appreciate Ms. Anna Jarvis for her noble initiative.

In India, when we celebrate Mother’s day indeed we must pay respect to our Mothers and celebrate the occasion in whichever way we want. But more importantly, we must also remember and pay homage to the great mothers our country had been blessed with. I would like to mention three names from the many that can be chosen from the pages of history. These are:

Jijabai – mother of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

Maharani Lakshmibai – Jhansi ki Rani, and

Vidyavati – mother of Shaheed Bhagat Singh


Jijabai – also known as Rajmata Jijabai the great queen mother who instilled all the qualities in Chatrapati Shivaji. His exceptional courage, bravery and application of mind in direly fearful circumstances were all gifted to him by his mother. It is said that Jijabai had fervently prayed to Goddess Bhavani to bless her with a son that would liberate the divided and disheartened hindus from the tyrant rulers of the time who severely tortured and persecuted them. Shivaji’s mother instilled in him the patriotic values and the burning desire to liberate the people from tyranny. History is witness to all his brave encounters with the Mughals and the Deccan Sultans. His war strategies and the lightning fast tactics would amaze the best generals of his time. His agility, alertness and fast decision making power remains a lesson for all leaders of all times. This day let us pay our respects to his mother Rajmata Jijaba who was the force behind him.


Maharani Lakshmibai – At a very young age she married the Maharaja of Gaekwad and bore him a son. However the baby did not survive for long. The Maharaja then adopted a young boy as Prince and future heir to the throne. However the Maharaja did not survive after this adoption. Lakshmibai had to fight all odds to get her adopted son due and legitimate recognition by the British. The stories of her bravery are etched in the annals of india’s glorious history. Till the very end she fought for the honour of her state and for the rights of her only son – the heir to the throne of Jhansi.



Vidyavati – who can match the sacrifice of the great mother who decided not to go to bring the dead body of his young son because she did not want anyone to witness the tears in her eyes. The stories of her motivation towards her son comprise a great honour for our country. Let us remember the tremendous mother of Shahid Bhagat Singh.

I am urging my readers to share these views with friends.

Modi’s Journey of Life in Pictures

















 

 








 


The Auspicious Akshaya Tritiya.


Akshaya Tritiya, also known as Akha Teej, is a holy day for Hindus and Jains. It falls on the third Tithi (lunar day) of Bright Half (Shukla Paksha) of the pan-Indian month of Vaishakha and one of the four most important days for Hindus.[2] It is an auspicious day of the birthday of Lord Parasurama who is the sixth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. On this day Veda Vyas and Lord Ganesha began to write Mahabharata.


In Jain and Hindu calendars, some days of the month are absent in counting and some days (tithi in lunar calendars) come extra, but Akshay tritiya is one day which is never “absent” from the lunar calendar.
The word “Akshaya” means the never diminishing in Sanskrit and the day is believed to bring good luck and success. It is believed that if you do charity on this day you will be blessed. On Akshay Tritiya, Mrutika worshiped.



The day is considered auspicious for starting new ventures. The legend is that any venture initiated on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya continues to grow and bring prosperity. Hence, new ventures, like starting a business, construction, etc. is performed on Akshaya Tritiya.

Thanks for reading.


Life’s Lessons from Shakespeare.

Shakespeare was born in April 1564. Some people say he was born on 22nd April others opine 23rd April 1564. He died at the age of 52 years on 23rd April 1660 that means almost 400 years ago.


How is it that his popularity as a dramatist has not faded out? The reason is his philosophy, the wisdom that we find in his plays and the energizing wit and humor of his comedy.   In fact, these transcend the limits of time and space. He has dealt with human emotions – anger, ambition, jealousy, credulity, indecision etc: these habits are found in the people even today.

In this post I propose to discuss his wisdom as is evident from the 3 pieces I have picked from 3 different plays.

HAMLET


Hamlet was a victim of indecision. Indecision was the bane of his life. Unfortunately today also we find many of us suffer from indecision. In the process we undergoavoidable mental agony. I give below the oft quoted words of Hamlet.

To be, or not to be: that is the question: whether’ it’s nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?

In sharp contrast are the following words taken from his play As You Like It.

As You Like It.



And this our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.

These words, I find, are even more relevant today than were in his own time. ‘Exempt from Public Haunt’- we are in dire need of getting a break and going to the nature from our daily hectic life. And the best place is back to the nature. We have lots of resorts by the sea side, on the scenic mountains, and similar places where we are away from ‘Public Haunt’. As Shakespeare says we can speak to the trees enjoy running brooks/trees and find all the goodness of the world in nature.

Finally I have picked up a very significant point from the tragedy- Macbeth. :


Macbeth 



When our actions do not, our fears do make us traitors.

The philosophy of this word is as true today as at any time. Often we do not want to act as Williams yet due to our fears we are motivated to indulge. In many other plays to I find Shakespeare’s massage to imbibe courage in ones personality, speaks louder than words.

Thank you for reading.





Friday 18 April 2014

Rise of Social Media

Befooling people in the age of social media is losing one’s own credibility. Social media is a platform where an ordinary man can express himself/herself without spending any money or without using any influence. One doesn’t have to depend on anyone in power to use the media. Because, no power is controlling it. Should the owners of any popular site decide to exercise any control or should they try to create some kind of influence on any issue, this is bound to be construed as personal agenda. Personal Agenda is against the spirit of Social Media.
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Social media is fast growing only because it is free and fair. Regarding freedom, I reiterate that if there were no freedom of expression, Social Media would never have achieved the popularity it has gained in such a short time. Another very important factor in its favour is that it is participative. Anyone can start a discussion, contribute to the existing one; start a group or join one already there. Besides, it is not just confined to exchange of views or ideas. We can share pictures, movies, audio/video files etc. Undoubtedly, Social Media encourages to be social, to be creative and effective. It is a boon in this Brave New World.

Earlier, Television gained its popularity because of the ease of entertainment without the arduous task of going out to the theatre one can watch a programme news or even a movie: all sitting in the comfort of your home. But it took quite some time. Where television swayed the mind of people, lots of program producer emerged. Training institutes for training programme producers also came into being. The channel owners provided the infrastructure and producers created such programmes as would engage the audience. Producers who applied their mind and understood the audience likes and dislikes could make such serials which continued for years. But there is a rub. Some people did find that these serials offer no value and were a ploy to engage them. The TV was termed an idiot for which I consider it is. More on this some other time.

But so far as Social Media is concerned, it is also engagement, but it is of a different kind. Here each person becomes a participant if he/she desires to be one. There are always group of people who share their views. There are people who have comments to offer. And as said above, it is not limited to discussions. Sharing of pictures, videos, knowledge on different subjects are both engaging and entertaining. It is for each one of us to make full use of this unique Free Gift.

Thanks for reading.

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