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Showing posts from 2016

Truth Is One Sided

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The worldly truth is always one sided. You may wonder how can that be? But let me show you how truth can be one sided. Let us take couple of examples here. First the perennial issues about a mother-in-law and their daughters-in-law fights! You have seen it in your life, how this happens. If you are the man caught in between these two, you will understand what I am saying. Both are right from their point of views and both are wrong too. You can see your mother getting hyper with your wife for her own reasons and your wife acting it out as an aggrieved party! Now tell me who is truthful and who is lying? You won’t be able to make out a case of one, wherein you will surely hurt the other. Next, the case between two lovers who are breaking up now. If you are the friend of the girl, you will surely have sympathies for her and would hate the man. On the other hand if you are from the boys side it would be the opposite. So now be a neutral judge and tell me who is in the right? Neither of t

Regret Many Things

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We regret many things in our life. We always wonder why aren’t we able to do those wonderful things that we used to do in our childhood or youth. On one hand we are rueful of the past and regret not being able to do many things then due to paucity of funds or knowledge or the will to do that. On the other hand now we regret not being able to be so proactive like your younger self. You were full of chutzpah and zest earlier and now you have lost the mojo in your life. Either ways, you are dreading your current status of being hyper active or a complete dodo. Your regret shows so plainly that you may completely turn yourself off. So why are you regretting your current or past status? Let us first tackle the lack of enthusiasm and inertia set in you today, whereas you were literally a firebrand earlier in life. You have asked yourself why are you like this now? A completely stupefied and inert being . It’s isn’t that you haven’t analyzed yourself to death for your current st

Do you copy your Guru or Mentor?

Do you copy your Guru or Mentor? When you copy your mentor or your Guru, do you really believe that you have reached their position? They say that imitation is best form of flattery! But in real life is that true and can you do it? Your mentor has very weird methods of training you and weirder ways of life. He may drink hard liquor out of straws or mix coffee with tea, so would you think that's what you too have got to do? Don't be silly, you are just proving to be a brainless jerk so don't do it. But your argument would be that shouldn't I be following what he does, even if it sounds crazy? That's how he came about to be so good, you would say! But being silly and idiotic is one thing and to copy that idiotic behavior is another. Just stay away from such show of silliness. Just be yourself and only take good and genuine stuff from your mentor. Now let's come to the spiritual domain and see how your master behaves. He is totally loco as far as you can see. He

The Deed Is Done

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What to do when the deed is done? Is there any way by means of which I can be redeemed? These are the questions that I got from some people some time back so I am writing the answers here. You know what you are doing is not right and yet you are still doing it. Or there are inevitable actions happening which could have been avoided in normal circumstances but the situations were too overwhelming and so that happened. I know this may sound vague to most people but those in the know will agree with me here. So let me give you some examples. Once when your immediate supervisor insisted you to have a glass of wine even though he knew you were a teetotaler and you were forced to accept it. Though you don’t do drugs, once you had it unknowingly. Similarly, you never are much into one night stand but the circumstances were too compelling and you ended up in the sack with some really obnoxious creature. Now these are random instances which I have written about so I guess you got the gist of it

What Went Wrong?

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What went wrong? So where did I go wrong? What just happened? This wasn’t expected! Everything was going on so perfectly and how did that happen? These are certain questions that everyone asks themselves when things do not go as per their plan. Be it an election, relationship, job, life or whatever, man has thought out certain outcomes which do not match up to the final results. You may say that there are past instances and history to back you up and yet the inevitable happened. There are reams of data and research that has gone into it so why didn’t the result match up to the probability? Let us see where these things really matter. Relationships are primarily the cause of everyone’s concern. We put so much into our relationships but the unwanted outcome foxes us. There are truly devoted couples and spouses and they have promised each other eternal bonding but still the inevitable breakup happens. The solemn promises just vanish at the sight of little discomforts or tiny misdeeds. Hu

Run Away Somewhere

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I want to run away somewhere. I want to retire now. I have worked all my life and I need to take the back seat and put my legs up. We come across these statements and it wouldn't have mattered, had they been uttered by some person in early or late sixties! But here we see an early forty or late thirties young person saying that and it shocks one. Why would you expect a thirties or forties person to take up retirement? It doesn't sound right and here we have them saying that they are tired of it all. Our parents have worked hard at some bank or factory and have reluctantly accepted a sixty year retirement. They wanted to continue to work way beyond their seventies also. When I see very old cleaners and drivers in Singapore, I feel they are the ones who truly deserve a break and retirement but these are the same people who refuse to let go of work. When we ask them about it, these people say that they wouldn't want to just hang around at home and not be useful so they

Selfless Love

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 What is selfless love? What do you do to the people you love? You do things for them and you sacrifice for them. Haven't you seen your parents or spouse sacrifice for you? Maybe you haven't but at least you have heard what it means to sacrifice for someone else? Soldiers sacrifice their lives for the country, isn't that so? When you love someone and truly care for them then you go out of the way to make them comfortable. You eat the leftovers and offer them the better part of the meal. You eat the sides of the bread and offer them the soft part of it. If the butter is getting over then you butter their slices but not yours when you are cleaning out the butter box. The mother tucks her kids into bed and may stay awake when they are tired and sick but she won't sleep. You have read the story of the gift of Magi when you were a kid and have always wanted to emulate those characters. Even in love or marriage which is based on love, the one who is truly in love does

Leaving The Guru

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What happens to those who leave their Gurus and go away without completing their training? Firstly, it isn’t the disciples prerogative to join the Guru but it is the other way round. The Guru is the one who selects his disciples. It’s the same method employed outside in the material world too. Institutions like Harvard or Cambridge select the candidates. Everyone may aspire to join but hardly few get to. Likewise, the Guru selects his own disciples and trains them. The training starts at the place where the Guru had left off earlier. This means the association of the Guru with his disciple is eternal . Whenever the disciple gets off his training, at that juncture he has to return back in some other life. Here let me give you a story to understand the truth about Guru’s teachings. Once a haughty Brahmin came to Swami Samarth Ramdas and demanded that the Swami teach him. Ramdas taught that Brahmin for some time. Everyday the disciples were supposed to go to the town to beg for foo

Three D's Of Spiritual

Today we are going to understand about the three D's of spiritual. But before we get into those, you should know that it all begins with Capital D, which is called Desire. Desire is the root cause of all our problems. So now that you know who spoils the show, let's  get on with it.  The three D's of spiritual upliftment are called dispassion, detachment and discrimination. These three D's are very tough to achieve for a common man. He falls prey to all the evils associated with these three. Let's first see how they affect him.  The first D is Dispassion and to overcome our worldly passion is the only way of reaching there. Man is so passionate about things like his ambition and achievements. Man wants to get to his aspired goals with passion. He puts his heart and body into it and tries to get there. He has set his goals and wants to achieve the desired objective. Dispassion is all about focus on the work or job but not on results. After all results are never in our

Beg For Food

Why do the sages and saints beg for food and wear hand me down clothes? This question sounds very intriguing and make us wonder about this special quality of the holy.  Some of the sages wear orange clothing which signifies renunciation and giving up of worldly life. While some other wear white clothes which signifies purity and godliness. Some wear black robes which suggest piety and some go without clothes also. But the true sages wear only the torn and worn out garments. These may be found in throwaway dumps or charitable institutions which collect old clothes.  Now the food eaten by such spiritual folks is also very frugal and simple. It may be tasteless or discarded. Some beg for meals or leftovers. Most of the religious institutions have kitchens which provide wholesome but simple meals. Some offer free food to a select few poor and needy. Many institutions collect money or food grains for such purposes.  It is mentioned in some spiritual texts that the true sages collect food by

Programmed To Fail?

Are you programmed to fail? The success rate is very low in everything from gambling to life. Hardly anyone wins there. Why are we always failing in life? There is hardly much success to write home about.  Check out the recent Olympics and you will notice thousands participated but only a handful won. That too, many medals went to the same sportsmen or sportswomen. The new winners could be counted on fingertips. Now check out the casinos and again the same ratio works. Winners could be counted on fingertips. Look at the daily or weekly Lotto and you will find again one or two winners.  Everyone goes to such places with an intention of winning but almost everyone comes back defeated by fate. Everyone aspires to become the top notch Hollywood star or best selling authors but the room is empty. Check out the Billionaires list in the magazines and you will find the same old faces there with hardly anyone new joining the ranks.  You may ask what is the use when you know the results for sure

Peace And Happiness

Do we get peace and happiness in spirituality? Does becoming spiritual means attaining tranquility and a life full of joy? Why are terms like happiness, joy, peace, tranquility, etc., associated with spirituality?  When you look at all the great exponents of spirituality, you will find their lives were full of strife and pain. Then why would anyone think that spirituality gives one peace and happiness?  In the initial stages when a man follows the path of spiritual, he desires all of the above but soon realizes that he is only running after mirages. There appears stillness and calm on the surface but below that is complete upheavals and disasters.  Those who join yoga or meditation classes are examples of people who seek that calm and peace and experience it in the beginning but as they progress on their accepted path, they experience tremendous disconnect and unease. If you check out the schools where they practice these disciplines, they are out to make money from you. Remember spiri

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

Familiarity breeds contempt is an adage quite common to all of us. We take too many things for granted in a relationship. Expectations and desires are the root cause of discomfort and distress in everybody's life.  The wife expects the husband to tell her where he went and what he did there. She wants him to give a detailed description of activities conducted and account for every minute spent. Likewise, the man expects her to perform her wifely duties or tasks diligently. Even if she is a working woman, he expects her to do many chores at home too. He offers her limited freedom and any act of so called unwritten rules of conduct, she has to face his ire.  When any man/woman gets into a relationship with another person, they slowly acquire control over the being of that person. Directing every action of their lives. The freedom to act or perform even mundane tasks becomes a rigorous regime. Let me give you an example here. Let's say a young man gets into a relationship with a g

Single Or Marry?

Should I remain single or should I marry? Often people ask me whether I am advocating marriage or to remain single? As a spiritual being I cannot advocate anything or something at all. But since I am addressing normal human beings who live in the world in a very normal manner, I have to talk to them alone. My spiritual discussion should not be construed wrongly here.  Now every man can get married to whomsoever they feel comfortable with. In our society today everyone has their own choices based on their personal preferences so I am not here to condone anyone for whatever leanings they may have. Marriage is a sacred human bond of oneness which calls for living in harmony with that individual with whom you legally tie yourself in. It's not that humans don't have a disagreement but living in harmony is of prime importance for better development of the bond.  See here, I wrote the word bond and it surely talks of being bound to that human or in bondage with that individual in the

Extreme Hatred

Why this extreme hatred for fellow human beings, you may ask? There are shootings, rapes, plunders, wars, senseless killings and so on. You wonder when it will come to an end. If you are that optimist who believes in good human nature, you will be in for a terrible shock. The power of evil grows exponentially and is never on the wane. You better watch out!  When you find similar incidents happening to you, the impact is phenomenal. Disagreement between spouses, siblings, parents and children, friends and so on, creates so much of discomfort for us that we hate it ourselves. Yet, we continue to have ill will and hold grudges. You proceed in your life with bitterness, not allowing goodness to flow back in.  Why does a human being have so much of hatred for another fellow human? Surely there has to be some terribly distorted reason for the evil to flourish. It is memories and how they get distorted for us. Memories are like those condiments and spices stored in cool dry places for future

Nothing Here

Welcome to my blog, you will get nothing here! What do people come to me for? Why would they visit a nondescript person like me?  Material worldly needs drives them to approach. Their desires are very small and mostly achievable in their normal course of life. These are destined and happen to come to them very naturally.  Look at someone coming for seeking a job. Don't you think that they would defiantly get one? Isn't it inevitable and very plausible? They just need to look around and they will surely find one. After all it was destined and they just walked up to it. What they need to do is summed up in two words- self effort. Once they sincerely tried looking for one, they would surely land it. So what has some nobody like me supposed to do there? I can only give a motivating talk or some sort of encouragement to look out for some good opportunities.  Again there are those who come specifically for marriage. They are desperate to get married. Sometimes they have exhausted the

Which Language?

So which language should I learn? Should I try learning Spanish or French or should I be practicing Swahili or Quechua? Why would a man want to indulge in different languages if it is meant for daily living?  From my point of view you need to know about three languages in total. First I would suggest your mother tongue so that when you wish to communicate with your parents or siblings you are able to do so. So your language of absolute necessity is your mother tongue. Why mother tongue you may ask? Your mother who is the epitome of love talks to you more than your dad. She feeds you, clothes you and generally takes care of all your needs as a child. So knowing your mother tongue is imperative.  Next comes the language of the region you live in. It is the state language or the language of the land. Some people construe it as region specific so be it. Only if you are not willing to move around in different zones or regions should you know specific to that region language. As an example,

Complacent Man

Why does man become complacent, lazy, lethargic, inert and weak within himself when he is so much capable of achieving whatever he aims for? Why does man not do things for his own self but does it for others?  I remember long ago, my two uncles who were electrical and air conditioning experts working for a multinational corporation, refusing to change the switch which had blown up at home and cleaning the filter of the air conditioner. Why would they refuse to do the jobs which they were willing to do for someone else?  Now look at yourself, at office you make beautiful presentations, arrange for meetings, coffee, tea, snacks, slides, AV projectors, conference rooms, etc., and send out calendar invites to all your colleagues and down lines and have meetings. But the same is never followed at home. You are sloppy at homework, never in time for anything, never would prepare for your kids tuitions or doing homework, never would you have a systematic approach to teaching your own spouse or

Famous And Successful

Some get famous and successful too early in life. When you want to put someone on a pedestal, you better have good reasons for doing that. Some people love to rise and rise and then fall flat on their butts. It is better to go steadily and efficiently to the top otherwise the fall will be imminent. Why make attempts in a rush to get to your destination when you can efficiently plan to get there at the perfect moment? Sometimes it is not about "time," but about efficacy and steadiness of action. You can't sculpt marble in a hurry, right?  In this creation, God has planned even the last wave of the ocean and the last breath of man. His power of planning can be seen even in the finest and the tiniest of the detail of an ant. But we love to rush with half baked ideas to try reach our destination with disastrous results.  When they send rockets in space, the amount of fine planning that goes into it is mind boggling. Even a simple weather change can cause billions of dollars i