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Month: February 2021

Shock and Awe 5

Shock and Awe 5

Published February 8, 2021

Time again for another Shock and Awe post.

Quoting below from the free Amazing Simple Gita.

  1. When we want anything, our mind starts getting perturbed. Are we getting it? or Not? Our mind is disturbed and finds no peace.
  2. 4 important points for peace:
    1. Give up all desires that come to your mind.
    2. Also give up all attachments.
    3. Give up “I”…the feeling I did it, I was responsible etc.
    4. Give up ‘mine’. The possessions, the feeling of mine which separates you from ‘all’, i.e. the Lord
  3. A person attains actionlessness not by withdrawing from action, but by renouncing fruits of actions

What simple yet splendid takeaways!

An important point, is that all of the above are at the mind level. In the material physical world, we need to behave with common sense. Also, these are ‘destination’ verses, and not necessarily something we can perfect in just a short time.

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Oh stress

Oh stress

Published February 7, 2021

Everyone is stressed today. Even toddlers, in the face of gargantuan expectations of success from their parents.

The sheer number of kids competing in junior Olympiads, reality TV shows for best dancer, best singer, best chef and what not. Many more categories have been added by the hour, surely.

If these are done with love, fun and enjoyment, then absolutely no problem. But in reality (pun intended), these are for quick fame, and quicker moolah.

If childhood itself begins with stress, little chance of youth or young adulthood and beyond not going down the same path. If childhood itself begins with fierce competition – and not everyone wins every single time – then what is to say of later life?

As noted previously here, it is important to take life sincerely, but not seriously.

Bertrand Russell had the last say on this, ‘If you’re beginning to think that what you’re doing is very important, you need to take a holiday.’

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Giving advice

Giving advice

Published February 6, 2021

If someone comes up to you for advice, the best and only to way give any guidance, should be without expectations. Why?

Here’s someone who wants to know from you whether to do xyz or not. The following 4 outcomes are possible, assuming they follow your advice.

  1. You suggest they do xyz. They do it, and good happens. You were right, but they will attribute it to themselves.
  2. You suggest they do xyz. They do it, and bad happens. You were wrong, and they will attribute it to you.
  3. You suggest they do not do xyz. They don’t do it, and bad happens. You were wrong, and they will attribute it to you.
  4. You suggest they do not do xyz. They don’t do it, and good happens. You were right, but they will attribute it to themselves.

In all cases, you get no recognition. Does that mean we stop helping others? Absolutely not. But when we do so, we must have the best intentions in mind while guiding them, whilst having zero expectations. The end result is not in our control. And so expecting praise in return is foolhardy.

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536 AD

536 AD

Published February 5, 2021

Did you just have the worst day, week or month ever? Yes, we’ve all had it bad – a terrible pandemic is wreaking havoc. And unfortunately, so many people have suffered immensely, many are dead too. But if you’re reading this, you’re at least alive. For many people, this year has been more of an inconvenience than anything worse. Still, there is no dearth of people cribbing despite the various conveniences they have got – including more time with family, more time with nature, lesser time spent commuting etc.

One way to remain mentally balanced, is to remember that things could have been much worse. How much worse, you ask? We need only look back to historian accounts of the year 536 AD. That is the year when a volcano in Iceland erupted. It sent such large volumes of ash into the atmosphere, that the whole earth was blanketed in smog – so much so that the sun could not be seen. Many parts of the world remained in darkness for two full years! Other consequences? The earth’s climate went for a toss resulting in droughts and starvation. The world economy went into depression. Enough already? This was then followed by a bubonic plague, wiping out 100 million people, nearly 50% of the world’s population at the time.

All this while not having TVs, computers, smartphones, internet and pretty much any technology. Today, we literally have everything, and have many many reasons to be happy. Yet many choose to isolate and focus only on the negatives. Let 536 AD be our wake up call.

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Karmic cricket

Karmic cricket

Published February 4, 2021

In a recent cricket test match between India and Australia, the Indian captain Ajinkya Rahane was lauded by even his harshest critics. That the man showed what good sportsmanship is, cannot be denied. However, it wasn’t rosy. In just the match before, a judgement error on his part caused him to run his partner Virat Kohli out. Rahane apologized, but the latter was obviously frustrated and disappointed, and he let it show.

As fate would have it, in the second test, while Rahane was batting really well, it was now his turn to be run-out. But he showed no sign of frustration or anger. Instead, he coolly went over to his partner Ravindra Jadeja (who was responsible for the run out), put his hand on his shoulder, and encouraged him to carry on. What a nice gesture!

For the record, all three players mentioned above are nothing short of amazing, have contributed to Indian cricket by leaps and bounds, and this post is not a relative comparison – only an unbiased description of the facts. To me, there are many things to learn from the sport, including patience, sportsmanship, doggedness, passive aggression, fitness and positivity among others.

One thing stands out though. And that is a reflection of karmic cycle. Each man is facing his own battle, no matter the trend of the war. The team could be winning the match, but the captain might get out for a duck. The batsmen might score the highest total ever, only to be let down by the subsequent bowling attack. Four out of five bowlers might take a wicket-an-over while the fifth might be walloped for 6 sixes. The team might lift the trophy, but for the serial underperformer this might very well be the last match. The possibilities are endless. Each man to himself. We can only do our best, and leave the rest!

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Free size

Free size

Published February 3, 2021

Here’s the thing about self-help and spirituality. One size rarely fits all. The goal is the same – to attain moksha or liberation. But the paths are many. Krishna tells Arjuna about karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga in the Gita. Even within these, the actual methods to be followed could be different. One might see great success following a 15-minute meditation plan a day. Others might struggle despite an hour of chanting.

In Dale Carnegie’s (DC) How to Win Friends and Influence People, there is a superb statement. The secret he says, is to interest people and build in them a genuine want, if you need them to do something for you. He gives a couple of solid examples too – such as how to get an irate tenant to pay his full rent rather than leave midway, and how a poor newspaper owner got a celebrity to write a star column on his paper.

But as he himself says, a common pushback would be, “Hey these examples are fine, but do these principles work for the tough monsters I have to face in my daily life?”

Here is DC’s amazing response. “You may be right. Nothing will work in all cases. And nothing will work with all people. If you are satisfied with the results you are now getting, then why change? If you are not satisfied, then why not experiment?”

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The baby brain

The baby brain

Published February 2, 2021

There is a concept called the ‘beginner brain’. Maybe you’ve heard of it. We could also call it the baby brain. It is a super useful concept, and also very easy to apply.

The idea is this. Why do babies learn so much and why do they enjoy it? Because they have no past reference points, of what is good or bad, and what is successful or not. They hence have zero expectations and are able to joyously accept all their experiences as learnings.

Can we do this in our daily lives? We tend to approach all our situations with the ‘expert brain’. Despite knowing the tendencies of an irate boss, can we still go into the meeting room with no expectations? Despite having a world of desires to fulfil, can we still embark on our day to day projects without worrying about the result? And can we respond calmly during the torrid times in our relationships, because we switch on our baby brains and have no expectations from our partner/spouse? Surely these are difficult, and progress will come over time.

But there are a few things we can start off with, to help the process. For example, without worrying about the meeting with your boss, you could tell yourself that every meeting is a new one, with new possibilities, and be grateful that you have a job in such tough times. Instead of being frustrated by your better-half because he/she doesn’t meet your standards, you could view them in new light, acknowledge that they’re just trying to be happy, that you both share good intentions, and they are struggling just like you are. Over time, this practise helps us be more flexible, open, curious, grateful and present in the moment.

Even before that, want to just test what it feels like to have a baby brain? Try brushing / combing / eating with your non-dominant hand. Have fun!

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Intel(lect) inside

Intel(lect) inside

Published February 1, 2021

A quick follow up to the Mind versus Intellect post from a few days ago. On the spiritual path, it is said that the intellect is a barrier. But why is that?

Because we are taught in life that we must understand everything before doing anything. Such as “Don’t mug your physics and chemistry formulae, try to understand it.” or “Try to understand your client’s needs before jumping to offer her a solution”. This is good for the real world no doubt.

But on the spiritual path, it is difficult to understand without experiencing. For instance, how can you understand a God that you have never seen? How can you post faith in a Guru if you don’t have a first-hand understanding of his miraculous ways? How can you meditate on chakras and nadis when these are hopelessly intangible? The intellect can indeed be the biggest barrier here. If none of this can be understood, then what is the point, you say?

Valid, but even child has no understanding of what its parents say. This is nature versus nurture. The child will not understand procreation, yet it is alive and here. The child will not understand thermodynamics or gravity or the laws of motion, yet these are the laws that govern the world around it. But what is evident to us today, is that the kid will learn these truths over time.

What must we do? We can park these questions aside for the time being. Our scriptures tell us that we can understand only when our intellect gets purified. Purification happens through implementation of the lessons taught in the scriptures. Living selflessly in service to God and society would be a great place to start. The rest will follow.

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