How May I Serve?

How may I Serve?
Every breath I think,
Keep I reminding myself,
How may I Serve.

For only through serving,
do I discover myself,
Its only through serving,
I create myself.

It makes me feel I am part of the Whole,
For I am being the link with the Tao!

Service is only that matters,
In this existence from Nothing to Nothing.
None was mine when I ascended,
None shall I take with, when I pass away.
For only thing that is worth doing in this journey,
Is to Serve and Serve.

I shall not serve to make someone happy,
Nor to be good to God.
For being of some service,
to life and others,
helps me pay the huge debt,
I owe to the Universe,
For all I was and had,
For all I am and have,
For all I shall be and have!
And the all I shall have and be.
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My way of Being

The way I see my life is something that I have learnt, and it has evolved through  years.
I see myself as a link, as a channel, as a means towards the manifestation of the will of the hidden power - The Tao. I am just playing my role to keep the civilization going in its entirety.
I am unique and special. (So are you) But at the same time I am aware that I am part of the whole - just a small part of the random universe. I love to thrive in this and many such paradox which constitute life.
My life is all about what I serve, what I give, what I create and contribute. I do not expect anything for myself, neither I crave for anything particular. I being a link, connecting the worldly manifestation with the Source Energy, there is nothing I can imagine for my own self exclusive. It does not make sense - how can channel hoard something for itself, how can the open sky grasp tight anything its own fist?
I know the Universe owes me nothing. I have got more than I deserve. All my vital body functions are taken care my an invisible intelligence. I do not have to worry to breathe, or to keep the heart keeping beating. Everything is taken care. I am aware that I am a soldier of God, to contribute here, thereby working and co-creating with my fellow beings, taking humanity to the next level of power and grace.
For I know the Tao is always present in me and in "10000 other things". My physical being is just a part of my real Being. The physical world is just a part of the Real World. There is more mystery and elegance to the existence, beyond the narrow visible truth. For there is a truth with transcends objective reality. This truth is made up by my inner sense of well being. This subjective truth moulds my existence every moment.
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The Beauty of Duality

The most beautiful opportunity of being human is to be able to be in duality.
Duality is the inherent paradox existing in life. For example, I might be unable to grasp what tall means, if there is no short to define it. If there is no dark, light is not comprehensible. Good-bad, Right-wrong, beautiful-ugly, love-hate, free will- surrender...there are so many such examples of duality in our every day life.
The beauty of being human is an opportunity to experience the delicious pull of this duality, and be in a state of peace, flowing with life.
Dr. Wayne Dyer says - "Effort is one piece of the whole; another piece is non-effort. Fuse these dichotomies, and the result is effortless action without attachment to outcome. This is precisely how you dance with someone:You make an attempt, assume a position, listen to the music, and let go all at the same time, allowing yourself to easily move with your partner."
Similarly meeting a beautiful and attractive person is sometimes a enticing duality of amorous attraction and platonic congeniality.
The duality of free will, and at the same time having the surrender and faith on that invisible power that things fall in place as per the bigger design, makes ones existence a lot meaningful.
Feeling that deep attachment, being aware the subject of attachment is ephemeral, adds intense richness to the relationship.
Knowing that one is absolutely unique and special, and at the same time being part of the whole, creates greater awareness and harmony.
Being in love with the favorite deity, and at the same time being aware that God is formless, omnipresent and at source of everything manifested, is an interesting awareness.
The duality of growing old and weak, but at the same time being at prime of ones existence and understanding of life, is interesting.
The duality of the certainly of the will, and the randomness of reality is eye opening.

The unnecessity of identifying  with one particular notion - one way of being is pretty apparent. Rather it adds lot be beauty in life being in fusion with the paradoxes thrown by our existence, and dance with the rhythm of life.
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Judge me not for what I write!

Judge me not for what I write.

I am not just my writings.

For my words are solidified
Insights of a moment,
creating trails behind me,
on the sand of time.

For I am a spectrum of varied
thoughts, ideas, impressions.
I am not one self!
Rather a link between
the Absolute,
and the ever changing nature!
cruising ahead with life!

I keep swinging
In the harmony of my Journey.
Thinking different things,
Feeling varied emotions.

My writings are the songs
sung by just one aspect of mine,
being the link,
at a point in history.

For I am more than what I write,
I am more than what I do,
I am more than what I think,
I am more than what I feel,
I am more than what I have!

Being part of the Whole,
I am playing my role,
giving completeness to,
the painting of nature,
the song of life!
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Spirituality is an enabler, not a destination!

Spirituality, metaphysics, religion, God - all these are mental models which are excellent means of restoring order in the otherwise entropy ridden consciousness of mankind.
Certainly the practices like meditation, yoga, prayers help to build human consciousness and evolve the culture to the next level of finesse.

But, the moment these mental models become ones destination, it is derogatory for the evolution of mankind. For if someone jails herself in a cave, and meditates throughout life, there is a problem to the culture. Certainly that human in the deep trance of religious ecstasy, is able to feel the pleasure of the trance. It is definitely very fulfilling. But the person does not leave any work of creativity for the culture and society. There is no work of art that is created for posteriority and a heritage left for humanity, that could have transcended the life of the person, which could have help humanity to achieve something beyond its present powers.

The works of the great masters - Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, and the likes are certainly creative and worth following. Mind you, for them God or Spirituality was not the final destination. They had a concrete domain grounded on sociology that they were addressing. Their purpose of existence was to evolve human culture to a level which is beyond the biological urges. In a sense these great masters aim was to bring about more such distinction between an animal and a human. They initiated a lateral evolution, orthogonally apart from the Darwinian biological evolution of mankind. I call it a cultural evolution.
See, their aim was social upliftment, and spirituality was used as an enabler. That was not the end by itself. What was the vision was something else - bringing order, maturity, compassion and understanding in a social context.

What is disturbing is that some use spirituality as an end to itself. This certainly leads to lethargy, and reasoning out ones own in-adequacy. The established religion, new age spirituality, all of these help humans to create psychological shields to keep them in their comfort zones, and totally stagnate cultural evolution.
Why I say this because most of these constructs do not help a person to confront the reality, and grow in the process. But rather they create un-real metaphysical parallel pseudo realities which unfortunately push the person away from what is real in the physical realm.

Well, I am not raising questions on the validity of the un-real metaphysical pseudo realities. I am not learned enough to raise questions on them. Only what I am saying is that even if they are real, they are not worth having end to themselves. If one is so much engrossed in translating the happenings of the real world to the mental model which she has inherited from a book, or someone else, she obviously will miss out many intricate details of every moment of her existence. Such mental models work as a bias shield which tend to misguide a person from what is happening around in real. It is so very important to focus on the outside world and the work at hand, and not get diverted into any such parallel translation of the realities. Life has to be made simple, and as is. Only then one can divert ones psychic energy to its entirety to something worth pursuing.

My life is not metaphysics. I have to earn my bread and butter, commute to office, face the boss, slog in deadlines, pursue my hobbies and ambitions etc. All these give me the kick for my existence. Spending more time in metaphysical model making to explain one thing or the other, I lose out time to really devote in things which creates meaning for myself - may be my work, my hobby, my ambition, my goals, etc.
Having said that I agree that an understanding of spirituality, and oneness of consciousness, the aspect of divine presence, help in tackling the real world challenges more smartly.

But at the same time, I would reject the labeling of the real world events as "illusions" and "Maya". How can something as real as a poetry well written, a painting well done, an act of kindness, a heart break, or a promotion, or a sexual ecstasy, etc be labeled as "cosmic dance" and "illusion". It is like blinding ones eye to the real world, and create a pseudo reality which is designed to suit ones ego.

Being alive in this world, one has to abide by the realities of this world. One has to carry out ones roles and responsibilities, and be like another ordinary human being.
Being even a God, in this life is an opportunity wasted. Life is a priceless opportunity to experience what it feels like human. The effort of being a God, having spirituality as a destination is an major opportunity wasted.

I would prefer enjoying the food, nature, the flora and fauna, the human relationships, the complexities of the domain of my pursuit, and leaving works of novelty in the domain, for the culture to evolve, rather than spending hours meditation on a mental model, imprisoning myself in a cave!
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The Passive Pleasure of Kinship

Starting from the most novel inventions to the incredible works of art of the Renaissance era of Florence, Paris, and Greece, all the creations for which mankind will ever be proud have been the result of two major factors - the innate creativity of the creator, and her skill and expertise of the rules of the game she is playing, be it poetry or sculpturing.

The skills and expertise can be enhanced effectively through competition. It was the national level competition organized by the rich traders of Florence which inspired the artists to go beyond their limits to create awesome designs, and work of art, which when completed awed even the creator. 

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in his  book Flow says that the consciousness gets more complex each time a person encounters competition, and breaks her limits and becomes better. By "complex" he means that a person become unique, and more skillful, with each such competition. There is another much more profound aspect of this complexity, which involves development of "integration" inside ones consciousness, in which the person does no more compete against other individuals, but competition becomes an end to itself, in order to become better. The person feels that she is part of the whole, and it is not that she is a separate ego, fighting against others. Well, I will not go in depth of this aspect, as the main subject of this article is something else. 

Well, getting back to the importance of competition, scrutiny and criticism, it has been found by various psychologists is that it is only through a constant challenge to do more and better, that creates an original creativity which is of very high value.

Extending this aspect of sociology, to the common friendship, one lands into an important realization. Most of the times we are attracted to people who think like us, have similar value system and interests. We say that our thoughts match. We feel comfortable in company of such friends. Even if you look deeply into a romantic relationship, it is also based on this aspect of endorsement. The lover feels important and happy by the realization that the loved on likes her, and understands her. She is very important to the loved one's life.

But then, this pleasure of kinship, harms the creativity of a person. It does not aid the consciousness of the person to grow "complex". This is because one is always surrounded by agreement, and praise. There is no one who can stand against the person, or rather bring up something that challenges the person to go beyond his current abilities. 

Like for example, a mother is always filled with praise for her son. No matter how ordinary is the son, she always has this blind, narrow minded superiority feeling for her son. Such blind approvals tend to reduce the creativity and potentiality of an individual.

Much of the greatness of Raphael was due to the criticism he used to get from Michaelangelo, and the competition from other great artists of the Renaissance era. If Raphael might have been surrounded only by his fans, he might never had gone beyond his limits.

Mihály Csíkszentmihályi says - "The idea of friends - when a friendship is primarily a way validating ones own sense of self, it will give pleasure, but it will not be enjoyable, as it does not make our consciousness complex". Even familial bonds should be directed towards making the consciousness more complex"

The company of peers, like every other activity, can be experienced at various levels of complexity - at the lowest level - it is pleasurable way to ward off chaos and feel happy, temporarily; at the highest it provides a strong sense of enjoyment and growth.

Unfortunately most of kinship in our society is based on the lowest level of complexity - where it is all about agreement and making the other feel accepted, and cared. By design, due to our animal instincts we herd with other animals who belong to the same species of our intellect. We never want to shun that aura of comfort zone, as being with our own species fuels our ego, and the pride of being right.

Humans have to realize that the only way they can keep growing is challenging themselves every day with something bigger and nobler, not by being in the bliss of the pleasure of kinship.

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Pessimism is easy - Not worth of attention

The greater danger
for most of us
is not that our aim is
too high
and we miss it,
but that it is
too low
and we reach it
         -Michelangelo (1475 - 1564)

Pessimism is a very easy way out in life. It certainly is not worth of any interest and attention to any reasonable person. It is destruction of human potential. It is a cultural murder. I do not say that it is morally bad, and you should not be pessimist. What I want to present in this article is that pessimism is just too much a trivial and savage dimension to ones intellect. It is not worth of an ounce of human attention.
Pessimism is a very short view in ones life. A person become pessimist when she is confronted with road blocks, issues and obstacles. It is the short term attention to the overall picture is the creeps pessimism in. If one looks into the big picture, look back a few thousand years, you realize that we have advanced fantastically from the day when the first amoeba crawled out of the slime and made its adventure on the land.

Tragedy is a cooked up melodrama.  It takes lot of cultural evolution to be able to attribute comedy, irony, and ambiguity to a so called tragic situation.

Rome was not built in a day. So was not the Baptistery of Florence! It took lot of courage, perseverance, ingenuity, creativity and conviction to create these expressions of beauty on this planet. I am sure it would have been very easy for Lorenzo Ghiberti to be pessimistic and express his inability to build both the north and the east doors of the Baptistery. But he chose the other way - the way which was more exciting! He researched the old Roman architecture, developed new ways of casting metal, improved his skill sets on sculpting. And took over the job of building those doors for next 50 years of his life!
It was not just by whim that later on Michaelangelo termed the east pair of doors as the  "Gate to Paradise"! It was really a work of art which even Gods would have been envious!

Its looks much more challenging and adventurous to be positive, and working towards a cause bigger than ones life! So rightly put by Victor Frankle the Australian psychologist-
"Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue...as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a course greater than oneself"

The real happiness can be thus achieved only by taking the road less traveled; only by disciplining oneself to be positive, and think big and great!

Shun the pessimism. It is easy. it is not worth of your precious attention.
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Yes I am life, So you are!

Am I my profession,
Or my possessions?
Am I a father,
A husband, a friend, a lover?
Or I am a child,
Or a grown up adult!
Or a brimming energy all over,
Or I am a ray of hope!
A kiss of love!
May be I am the blessing of God!
Or may be that fearful child!
Or I am the jealous brat.
May be that envious neighbor,
Or that angry loser!
Am I that selfish coward?
Or that selfless valiant?
Am I that hater,
Or that unconditional lover!
Am I that determined 
unshakable leader?
Or that indulgent lesser mortal?
Am I the righteous,
Or just an addict of sensuality!
Am I a poet?
Or an engineer?
Or just another citizen in the crowd.


I am all!
So you are!!
More I grow, more I learn, more I read,
I feel I am more like you,
You like me!


Then why you hate or judge?
For I know that loving you,
Is all about loving myself!
For I know I am not one snapshot,
But a mosaic of simultaneous contrasts!


Yes I am life!
And so you are!
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Grateful for your indifference!

Lost have I your adorable presence.
All lost in the tide of time.
Surging waves of longing
Have I held for years.
Sometimes I try to cage it,
With the siniews of models,
philosophical and metaphysical.
Or sometimes with other mythical
mental abstractions.
But then it churns from the bottom
of my wailing heart,
Now and then shouting out -
can't we never be friends again?

For life is short,
Ready am I to be labelled wrong.
For all was my mistake - I agree.
Can't you please turn back again,
Till the motion of breaths remain?

But then I sigh,
For did ever meet
The Earth and Sky?
So did never both the banks
of the Ganges meet,
Even on Gods own feet!

And then again I think,
It is good that the Earth never met the Sky,
The banks never was in union,
For if they had met,
wouldnt have been either
Sky or the Earth,
Neither the Ganges flowing by!

It is the separation
That has kept the love alive!
For it is the gap between the notes,
which makes the music!
Isn't that your indifference has added all the beauty?

I choose not to annihilate my love,
with the ephemeral ecstasy of union!
For it is this separation, which has kept
My love so young, and so throbbing with life!

I am grateful for your indifference!
For I pray to the creator
To keep you the way you are,
Far away unaware!
And here I celebrate that love,
Which is death to hide,
Which is death to hide.
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Love is the only way...

Love is the only way to know another person in real. This is the only way any living being can really know another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can really know another human being until and unless she loves her.

By her love she is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the other person; and even more, she sees that which is potential in herself, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized.
Furthermore, by her love, the loving person enables the loved person to actualize these potentialities. By making her aware of what she can be and of what she should become, she makes these potentialities come true. You see, by loving someone, it is not only that you do some good to the person being loved, but you automatically enrich yourself.

In a way love is the ultimate means of Creativity. A thing, aspect, or an attribute takes a thing of beautiful creative expression when seen from the the angle of pure love.

The capacity to love is a human faculty that has to be advanced voluntarily. Being in the lineage of apes, we actually do not posses this faculty by birth. Since birth, love the way we know is not a love in real sense. It is rather "need". I baby does not love her parents. She needs them. Out of that need, the bond grows. This tempo is carried forward in adult life even. We love another human being based on concrete, pre-defined conditions. When the conditions are compromised, love ceases to be present. There is nothing wrong or right in this. It is the way we are designed.

But, to be able to develop the kind of love, which can be blessed on upon any one and every one, one needs to discipline oneself. One needs to forgo being judgmental and egotist by choice. This is an virtue which is not pre-designed in humans. But it can be developed with practice. Having attained this advancement in consciousness, a person's life is filled with happiness and wellbeing. As these are just side-effects of being in love.

Love is the only context on which a civilization can flourish, a culture can grow, an inheritance passed over. There is no other way.
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CK Prahalad passes away

A bad Sunday to start with. Read in the newspaper, Prof. C K Prahalad is no more. A very shocking news to me. CK has always been an ideal to me. His soul certainly might be resting in peace in the fulfillment of having had a life well lived.
Here is a chronological snapshot of Sir CK's career -
1. Born - 1941 to a well known Sanskrit scholar and a judge in Chennai.
2. At the age of 19 he joined Union Carbide, after he does BSc in Physics at the Loyola College, Chennai.
Works in Union Carbide for 4 years.
3. Joins IIM-A and does in post graduation.
4. Joins Harvard Business School for Doctorate program in Business Administration. Gets his Phd in 1975.
5. Returns to India, and teaches at the IIM-A
6. Later he returns to the United States, where he held position of the Paul and Ruth McCracken Distinguished University Professor of Corporate Strategy at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business in the University of Michigan
7. C. K. Prahalad is the author of a number of well known works in corporate strategy including The Core Competence of the Corporation (Harvard Business Review, May–June, 1990). He authored several international bestsellers, including:
"Competing for the Future" 1994,
"The Future of Competition," 2004 and
"The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits," Wharton School Publishing, 2004.
"The New Age of Innovation."
He was co-founder and became CEO of Praja Inc. The goals of the company ranged from allowing common people to access information without restriction to providing a testbed for various management ideas.

8.  Prahalad has been among top ten management thinkers in every major survey for over ten years. Business Week said of him: "a brilliant teacher at the University of Michigan, he may well be the most influential thinker on business strategy today." He was a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission of the United Nations on Private Sector and Development. He was the first recipient of the Lal Bahadur Shastri Award for contributions to Management and Public Administration presented by the President of India in 2000.

My introduction to CK was through his book - "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid". I read this book in the year 2007. This book was a major inflection point in my outlook towards business. This book discusses a revolutionary paradigm of creating business value, working with the poorest communities. Prahalad coined the word - "The Bottom of the Pyramid". Since this book was out, there had been innumerable research and papers written on this aspect. A book which is worth reading.

Prof Prahalad has not only made India proud with his works, but also the entire community at the bottom of the pyramid, through out the world. It is rightly said that the words of a teacher impacts world in many ways, through eternity. Sir - Although you are not there around, your life, your thoughts, your insights will continue to inspire the world.

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Excuse to be Happy

Only the need is
An Excuse to be happy!

The insomniac rejoices her state,
by the awareness that
She has more wakeful moments
every single day to cherish!

The blind knows,
nothing lesser than
the beauty of her imagination
Will she ever see!

The crippled knows no reason to hurry,
And miss the beauty of every day simple moments.

The destitute is relaxed,
She has no enemy to snatch anything away!

The beggar sleeps with peace,
With no burden of responsibilities!

The daily wager,
has nothing to plan than to live happily in the NOW!

The jobless lives in that
happiness of concentrated pursuit of getting a new job
A new life, A brand new future!

A lovelorn is happy as she earns that rare opportunity,
To realize what an unconditional love is all about!

The penniless monk is happy as she feels,
She is going near God!

The office clerk is happy after a  busy long day,
To return home, and play with her little girl!

The slum dweller is ecstatic,
For she knows that she could afford a shelter in the storm!

The one who failed is happy,
As she knows she has a direction to go and to prove herself!

The abandoned is happy,
As she realizes she really needs none to feel happy!

The ugly is happy,
As she truly experiences that beauty is really skin deep!

I am grateful for that inner Voice,
Saying that happiness is my personal choice.

In the turmoil of the rising and waning tide,
Happiness is but death to hide.

I smile like God,
For have I the Freedom as a Human
The freedom to choose
An Excuse to be Happy!!
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Beyond...

To that new life, O Father usher me into

A life beyond greed, where there is contentment.
A life beyond lust, where love overtakes.
A life beyond fear, where taking that risk is more important.

A life beyond the pampering Of friends and family,
Where criticism shapes my flow,
And competition helps me grow.

A life beyond the slumber of rest,
Where a higher calling wakes me up!

A life beyond the high throne of the arrogance of a teacher,
To that humble, and hungry ground of a student.

A life beyond the dull comfort of the known,
To that chilling excitement of the un-known.

A life beyond the blind divide and ego of religion,
To that extended limitless world where all are one.

A life beyond the ridiculous superstitions in the name of faith,
To that rational world of natural harmony.

A life beyond the narrowness and cowardice of devastating war,
To that courage of creating and sustaining peace.

A life beyond the propensity of being surrounded by like minded people,
To that courage to confront and grown in diversity.

A life beyond the utter naïveté of judgment,
To that open and grand world of acceptance and compassion.

A life beyond the shallow little dungeon of selfishness,
To that grand palace of selflessness.

A place from the pond of mind,
To that ocean of heart.

From that boring state of conformism,
To that fun filled world of non-conformism.

From that poverty stricken attitude of searching love in return,
To that affluent state of just showering love with open arms.

From that base urge to put others down in a competition,
To that fresh inspiration of growing ones own self.

From that lonely egoist state of "I", "Me", and "Mine"
To that ecstatic experience of the flow of being part of a One Whole.

From that hopeless view of seeing my life as a disjunct event,
limited by birth and death,
To that illuminating realization of the knowing,
That this life is just a continuation of the collective consciousness,
In the timeline of eternity.

From the lethargy of being attracted to mundane pleasures,
To that intense state joyful active pursuit of meaning.

From that propensity of being hurt,
To that flamboyance of hypnotic radiance of happiness.

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Life is shorter than I thought!

Life is shorter than I thought!
The stage of adolescence got spent in naivety!
The teen was gone in
getting a feel about what is all around.
Ten years hence I took
to figure out what is that I really want!

Now, already spent half of the life,
I really see so much less a time is left for me!

To laugh, and to smile,
To love and give,
To explore and be awed,
To learn things new, and grow!
To contribute and spread happiness,
To wipe a tear,
To cause a smile,
To make a heart pound with passion!
To inspire and be inspired!
To feel beauty and passion,
To be numbed in deep love!
To feel the goose bump over the body!
To be attracted and attract!
To write something beautiful,
To speak out what makes a difference,
To act that creates an impact,
To appreciate and understand,
To break the shackles of biases and prejudices,
To conquer what is known as fear,
To try out something new,
To dance in rain,
To play in mud,
To get a glimpse of my limitations,
And then working to transcend them!
And then cherish the feeling of being God!
To express my heartfelt gratitude,
To entities both in form and non-form!

To love and lose,
To like and be hated,
Also to love and be loved!
And..yes also to hate, and but be loved!!
To ignore, but being missed, and yes the vice versa!

The sensuous nature in abundance around,
craving to be touched and cuddled!
The heights of mountain,
The depth of the seas,
The expanse of the corn fields,
The glee of the sunflower,
The elegance of the tulip,
The fragrance of the rose,
All there in bounty,
Like a lovelorn beloved,
waiting for my embrace of attention!

So much less a time I have,
Why am I spending it in things mundane?
Why am I spending it
doing things I dont want to do?
Why am I spending it listening to
Things I dont want to listen?
or seeing things I dont want to see?
Even listening to what I dont want to listen?

For I can create a world I want to live,
Close to my heart!
A world decorated with challenges anew,
Heights to be scaled,
Barriers to be broken,
Having the head held high,
and setting the mind free,
Here I stand at the prime of my life,
Determined to make the most of
the rare opportunity of being a Human!
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The First Step to God!

O dear friend, you spend hours
meditating on God.
You have your beliefs,
your conception of what God is.
And sure you do love Him/Her
You call God!

I wonder how could you love
someone whom you have never known!
You do not even know that entity is Him or Her!
Your perception of God,
Does not comprise of even
a nanosecond of direct experience!
Your perception of God is
either based on a book,
or words of some one else,
or product of your imagination.

You so easily fall for
a monkey, an elephant,
a stone, or a tree,
Or a hero of a mythic tale!
But, you find so hard to love
a human being,
In flesh and blood,
So real, and so true!

You so easily take for granted
people who love you the most!
You search for excuses
to be offended, and judge others.
Busy labeling people
Good and Bad,
your life is spent!

If you have not been able to
Love even one person around you,
How can you love an abstract mental model?

If you have not really loved
with pure unconditional heart
one human,
How can you love a clay idol?

If you have not spoken out
words of love, expressing your heart,
to your beloved,
How can you aspire to
win over the heart of that lifeless cross,
singing hymns at church once a week?

If you have not been able
to love yourself,
for what you are,
and what you are not,
How can you ever love
A borrowed mental construct
You call GOD?

It is so simple my friend -
The first step to writing
a beautiful poem,
is to learn a language!
Same is the first step
to really know GOD,
is to love your fellow beings!!
______________________________________________
Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar

Being a Link

With so many wishes and ambitions,
filled in heart,
I walk down the pathway.
More I get inside,
more is the chatter :
My desires, my ambitions,
My safety, my importance.
Drugged to death,
am I, like a zombie walking by.

Obsessed with what I want,
I completely have ignored what reality is!
Life is always about forcing my will
Against all odds, no matter what!

But then a step back I took,
watched the drama in perspective,
And then was a deep insight!
I was nothing but just a Link!

When absorbed in,
Wording my feelings in a beautiful poem,
Did I discover
It was not "I" who was doing the writing,
Rather i was just a link to
That Source from where
the Powerful expressions were flowing!

When engrossed in the act of love,
Did I waken up!
It was not that "I" who was loving,
But the orgasmic love of the Source,
was flowing through!

While fixing that difficult
problem at work,
It was i who was being just
a "Link" between the problem
and the solution!

Being just a Link,
made all the difference!
Life is so much free now!
For being a Link with the nature,
and the world Outside,
creates an extended "I".

This new "I" was not Samrat.
Neither was it a son, a husband, or a father.
It was also not the lover, the poet, the dreamer!
It was not a doer altogether!
Rather the new "I" was a "Link"
: A part of the Symphony of nature.
The existence was not in a separate I,
Rather it was an inclusion of I, you, and that!
I am just a link, and nothing else!

For I have my dream,
I have my ambition.
But at the same time,
I am the link between the
Source and the nature.
World does not work
on my will and whim.
But me being the link,
can always figure out the
most optimum experience with what IS.

It is not about forcing ones will
On everything.
Rather it is about winnowing
in the lap of wind of nature,
but at the same time,
knowing the direction to go!

The beauty of life,
Is in the love given,
In the warmth experienced,
In the contributions done,
In the growth gained in hardships,
In being kind and compassionate,

All of these done,
being just a Link,
winnowing in the current of life!

Only on being the link,
was I able to gain freedom
from my inner chatter,
my old I.
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Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar

ज़िन्दगी कितनी हसीं है

ज़िन्दगी कितनी हसीं है 
मदहोश हूँ मैं उसकी आहोश में!
जिसकी  कोई शुरुआत नहीं,
न ही कोई अंत है!
जन्मों से है वो परम आकर्षक,
जिसने दी है प्रकृति को उसका मकसद!


ऐ हमसफ़र, तुने ही तो दिया है चन्द्रमा की शीतलता,
हिमालय के अडिग स्थिरता की प्रेरणा भी तो तुम ही हो!
आकाश है कर फैलाये, तुम्हारी ही प्रतीक्षा में!
दूर जहां से तारें टिमटिमा रहे हैं,
तुम्हारी एक झलक के मत्वालें! 
ठंडी हवा बह रही है, 
इसी फिराक में, 
की कर ले एक पल का स्पर्श!


सागर की लहरें हैं व्याकुल!
उत्सुक हैं तुम्हारा सन्निद्य प्राप्त करने के लिए!
नदियाँ बह रही हें निरंतर,
अश्रु धारा बन कर, तुम्हारे वियोग में!


मैं  कितना खुश  हूं!
ज़िन्दगी हैं मेरी प्रियतमा 
हर पल जिसका साथ हें,
जनम जन्मान्तर से! 


मेरी शायरी में है वो बनती सवंरती
खुशिया बिखेरती हर पल
प्रेम की लालिमा से वो 
आप्लावित करती मेरा तन मन!


इस शरीर में हूँ आज,
कल चोर के जाऊँगा कहीं और!
लेकिन ऐ ज़िन्दगी
तुम हो वो नश्वर प्रेमिका
मेरे अंतर मन की!

ज़िन्दगी कितनी हसीं है 

मदहोश हूँ मैं उसकी आहोश में!

जिसकी  कोई शुरुआत नहीं,

न ही कोई अंत है!

जन्मों से है वो परम आकर्षक,

जिसने दी है प्रकृति को उसका मकसद!

______________________________________________
Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar

Challenges Beautify Life

Embarked on this journey of life,
I ventured to beautify it!
With money,
a car, and a house!
A sweetheart to die for,
A noble job to be proud of!

Wanted I cleaner roads,
Absence of traffic jams,
lush greener parks,
Walmarts and Sam Clubs!
For I had ventured to beautify
the journey of my life!

An easy boss to please, wanted I,
Friendly colleagues who keep me high,
Lesser work, more pay,
All that I wanted always at bay!
For I had ventured to beautify
the journey of my life!

A long break from work,
A good holiday to spend in a resort!
Good food and good rest.
With family and friends!

The pursuit continued,
More I got, the more wanted I.
Of late realized - Pleasure cannot beautify life!
But only happiness can!

It is the challenge which beautifies
the life!
All those uphills, and obstacles,
makes us soar higher!
And with every challenge faced,
and every problem solved,
emerged a new I!
A more blossomed, and awakened I!

With every moment of adversity,
With every drop of sweat of hard work!
With every moment spent in ecstasy of
a creative endeavor,
Did a new bud blossom,
adding a newer dimension to
who am I!

Figured I out,
Happiness is not something out there!
It is nothing but the flow of everyday life!
It does not really matter what I do,
But the decider of happiness is
How I do what I do!

For I do not want to die a complacent life,
For I know it is a stagnant pond!
I challenge the thunderous waves,
with sinews battling with the wild force!
For I know each lashing of such challenges,
make me stronger, and my life more beautiful!

Life is a continuum of expanding the challenge!
It is not about basking in the glory of
a battle won, in the distant past!
It is about finding out higher goals,
Amazing oneself, with feats impossible!

For this is only what
makes life ticking in all its grace and fun!

Be in continuous flow of being one with life!
With every passing day, come one step closer to
the divine within!

So shun not from Challenges!
Accept the adversities with grace!
For only these are which builds our muscles,
to be able to move the world!

Living an easy life
is a boring stay,
like a falling pebble on the way!

For Challenges beautify life.
Be a creator, decorate your being!
Create newer challenges every moment
To be busy with!
And be amazed by a new you,
every moment in this journey!
______________________________________________
Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar

Why do I write?

Why do I write?

Is it to pen down those
Agitating thoughts fighting for an expression?

Or is it that I am unable to hold
Inside me the happiness of being alive?

Or is it that I want to speak those
Unspoken thoughts which never got a chance
to be expressed?

Or is it about projecting
my inside mind in the specifics of
language constructs to make out
Who I actually am?

Or is it really to understand what is that I am not,

Reading through the criticism of my writings?

Or is it to express my love
For all those, who would be offended otherwise?

Or, is it to cherish being a free flowing channel,
Of that Power?

Or is to to transcend the limitation of
of my limited world, eager to reach kiss the Universe?

Or is it to give form to the fuzziness
of my feelings?

Or is it a search for
like minded buddies?

I know it is all and many more
Which pulls me to writing,
like a hypnotized being,
flowing in the stream of thought.

The best part of all that I most cherish,
Is this moment in your life,
That I have grabbed,
In a divine communion,
Soul to Soul!
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Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar

An Anatomy of Love

Each person exists not as a single identity. The name, body and any other physical aspect of a person are just  pointers to a simultaneous existence of a complex aggregation of varied tendencies. Each human being is a complex mosaic of numerous propensities, all varied from each other.

Each of such propensities, shades or tendencies show up in different physical scenarios, when activated by a social, or a biological stimuli, giving a whole new identity to the person. Hence the so called identity of a human being is a dynamic state, which changes based on the external or internal stimuli.

When there is a mutual enchantment between two human beings, it is based on a particular instance of the dynamic state their personalities. Actually, such enchantments are states of absolute identification of a trait by a human, that he/she discovers in another person. This trait is something that the person either appreciates very much, or is missing in his/her repertoire of traits.

Now, since humans are dynamic mosaic of varied traits and propensities, these states obviously keep changing. With every such change in the trait, a relationship which is based on such a static snapshot of a trait type, dwindles. It is an naivety to base a relationship on such enchantments of a snapshot of a changing diaspora of varied tendencies.

Love as a state of being, is completely different from such enchantments. When a person is truly in love with another person, there is no enchantment with one particular snapshot of varied tendencies. Rather, enchantment is with the entire dynamic mosaic of ever-changing diaspora of traits. This not only includes all the shades of the personality of the beloved, but also her the dreams, aspirations, thoughts, and actions. There might be a small proportion of the mosaic which the lover might not identify with. But, he accepts it, and respects the individuality of the beloved. In long term such a relationship develops primarily as unconditional. There is time when it is all about giving, rather than taking in such relationships. Instances of such relationships are prevalent in long marriages in eastern civilizations, mother-son relationships, sometimes between close buddies, etc.

This realization of dynamism of human psychological set up is pretty enriching, primarily because of the following aspects it unveils -

1. It exposes the naivety of craving for a beloved, for what one craves for is not the beloved in entirety. That is just a tiny snapshot of the dynamic process what is the being of the beloved.

2. We fall in love with psychological constructs - not human beings. When we like some one, we are actually liking the psychological snapshot of that person that is visible to us at that point of time.

3. This points to another very interesting thing. We identify with a snapshot of the traits, which are "visible to us", at any point of time. So, loving someone, is more of a function of the inner state of a human being, rather than what the other person does, or is.
The same person might be judged as an enchanting person by someone, and at the same time, rejected as a bore by someone else. It is just what was being projected out of each of these individuals while interacting with that single person.
See, love is a function of perception. And perception is a direct manifestation of  what is projected out from you. It is - "what we see what we believe" , and not that "we believe what we see".

4. It is a deep seated ignorance to actually hate a human being. It is actually psychologically impossible to hate a human being. As described above, humans are a mosaic of varied traits, you can never manage to hate all the different colors in the mosaic. It is mathematically impossible too.

5. It calls for immense compassion. As a corollary to the point 4, you are bound to be compassionate to all! May be all the masters since ages, from all the parts of this planet were hinting to the same aspect, when they used to say - "Love thy enemies".

6. Humans are an aggregation of infinite potentialities. We are limitless in what we can achieve, do or conceive. What we make out of our life, and think of ourselves, is another such limited static snapshot we take of our dynamic diaspora of unlimited potential. This aspect was nicely state of Henry Ford when he had mused - "If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right"

7. Being consistent with one set of beliefs and ideologies are voluntary stagnation of our limitless being. As per nature it is not possible, unless it is forced on, by artificial shallow social constructs. It was rightly put by Oscar Wilde when he had said, "Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative."
Consistency is being in a static place. Life is dynamic.
But my readers might point fingers at this claim, pointing out to the need of consistency in happy relationships. I defer. It is not consistency that keeps relationships going. It is rather on contrary. It is the dynamism of growing together, both psychologically, spirituality and romantically that nourishes a relationship. Consistency is death. It is not life.

8. One becomes understanding to the mood swings of the partner. Same thing applies on to any body. One just does not get upset if someone behaves in a way contrary to the expectations imposed.

Similar to the above 8 corollaries to this anatomy of Love, many can be created. But it is of immense importance to be aware of the bottom line - We as humans in flesh and blood are just pointers to a limitless expression of a formless divinity!

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Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar

Does Universe Owes Me Anything More?

A body in loan have I got.
For a time very limited.
An opportunity to be alive
Bestowed on me
From some generous coincidence!
From the beginning of this journey
Have I got so much un-ending!
Does the universe owes me anything more?

I wonder, what I hold on to
Is that false sense of significance?
On my self, which any way is borrowed?
Or is that urge to be liked?
Though it does not do any good.
For I know, with every bashing,
I wake up to a new understanding!
A praise does me no good!
Just prolongs the homeostasis!

That deep urge to be accepted and loved,
I wonder is for whom!
Neither is this body mine,
Nor the mind.
Alit in this flesh and bones,
Just to know which has to be left,
All beautiful things around,
Has to be abandoned,
People, places enchanting all the way,
Have to be forgone!
When, I know all these are just in loan!

Invited I am
As a visitor new,
To this grand celebration of life!
The only thing I can do
Is to experience things anew!
For I know which every experience I have,
I discover who am I!
Is it not that the sole purpose?

With every uphill I climb,
With every sweat that tickles by,
With every line of poetry I write,
With each of those uncomfortable moments,
With each rejection more than acceptance,
With each failure, more than success,
With each tear, more than smile,
Do I realize more and more,
Who am I and what can I be more!

For it is more fun,
To risk out to avenues newer,
Taking the road less traveled,
Love and just love,

Contrasts in life,
Help me to make sense of things.
What puts me off,
Makes me realize what turns me on!
Each moment of hurt,
Awakens me to the love I have!
Duality like a black charcoal,
helps me to draw that beautiful sketch,
on the otherwise blank sheet of emptiness!
Does not those black marks,
On the background of dull blank emptiness,
The only things that make it worthwhile?

Let the scar be put,
Let the knife bleed,
Let the marks of adversity
beautify me!
For these are the strokes of
the Painting Divine,
on the blankness of life.

I know, the child never longs
To sleep and rest!
Each moment it is awake,
It tries out things anew,
For it falls, gets hurt,
but still continues on its
valiant endeavors!
For it listens to none,
Conforms only to what it feels!
May be, so they say,
Child is closer to God!

Life is that journey of the child,
Each moment expended to
Know itself more,
Discover what life has to give!

The worth of my existence,
Is not in how many love me!
But it is in the fact,
How many do I LOVE!
It is not in what all I get,
But how much I give!

For everything I have,
Is taken in loan!
Does the universe owes me anything more?
______________________________________________
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All the very best dear Shamit!

Nice to know you are riding on the lightning,
Conquering heights, for others which is frightening!
Battling the winds, Flowing in grace!
With smile in your face!

For with your "Dhonuk" you are
Already in the winning league!
With the clear dream, and the passion to carve it out!
With your strong intention, and yearning for art
There you stand, so apart from the rest in the mart!

For the Universe is by your side
With every stroke of your brush,
In harmony is the Power,
With your urge!
For the Power of the Bing Bang
Silently stands beside!

Nice to see a man with a beautiful cause,
Determined and steadfast,
Flowing towards his own meaning!
Making full use of life,
Being a merchant of Happiness,
For his own, and the world!

Wish you
That you can be fully You!
Being beautified with every uphill on the way!
May you never be weary of scaling new heights!
For the Creator loves who follow their heart!

All the very best dear Shamit!

______________________________________________
Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar

To You My Friend!

To you my friend,

I write this, yes to you..

from whom I have stolen this moment,

To just be with, soul to soul!

As you read these words,

Let me say,

grateful I am for the presence of yours!

For it is in your listening,

Have I known who I am!

You might be far,

you might be near,

For these words carry my blessings,

straight to your heart!

In your company,

I have learnt, I have grown,

Making me more,

Of who intrinsically I am!

Shaping me out,

Towards my destiny!

You might love me,

Or you might hate me.

But whatever you feel for me,

Is not that which binds you and me?

For I wonder are we just this physical selves!

For how could I then touch you,

Right now so far away?

Just with a whiff of my whim!!

For I know,

This invisible ever-expansive,

Bond connects me and you!

Beneath all that is in form!

Irrespective of what is apparent out there,

There is this connection we both share,

which I know is death to hide!

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My leather diary

I have a leather diary,

dark and sensuous,

Beautiful, soft and sexy!

She had a question since long -

"Where I stands in your life,

In the world of Facebook and Blog?

For most of the time,

you are in the company of,

your my new found love!

The Facebook an Blog!"

I smile, and hold her tight!

Drying her tears, giving her a kiss.

For you are my inner sanctuary!

Close to my heart!

My words in your pages,

Is the Genesis of what you see in form,

Glittering in colors,

out there in the Facebook and Blog!

The source is you,

You get me started,

What out there is,

Just a projection of what we both share!

in privacy of our hearts!

With none to share!

From you comes the spark,

Which lightens the world!

Be awed by the glitter out there,

For they are just projection,

Of the Love we share!

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To the Monk sitting inside dark cave

The monk sitting inside the dark cave

meditating for years together!

For you want to see God?

Strange are your ways!

Shunning the most precious

gift, you are hanging on

a mirage!

Is your stillness of mind,

more sacred than

the beloved's hug?

Is the chanting of your hymn,

more soothing than

Mozart's Symphony?

Is your Mantra,

more enchanting than

the words of Tagore?

If you cant love a human

in flesh and blood, so real near you,

Can you ever love an idea in non-form realm?

If you have never loved, and then lost,

if your tears have never eventually over time,

softened your longing,

How can you long for somebody,

you have never touched?

What is the meaning,

in hiding inside mental constructs,

receding from physical reality?

You say all those are "Maya"!

Why you forget you are part of the

same weaving?

For you are one among many petals,

forming the flower of creation!

How can you just shun who you are?

For Life is a short vacation!

In the most beautiful place

known as Earth!

Do not be a fool,

and waste your time inside the

darkness of the cave!

Venture out,

Lift your soul,

With the fragrance of the flowers!

With the sensuous rising orgasm

of the ocean!

With the smile of the child!

With the stillness of the moon

shining on the lake at night!

Listen to the stories

the wind has to whisper in your ears,

Note what the cuckoo has to say

early in the morning!

Watch the birds venturing out

in the morning sky!

Feel the throb of creation,

in each and every form around!

Come back to your natural self!

Dont hold back your urge!

Make love with the sensuous Creation!

Dont shun her!

Though she shall be ever voluptuous,

Through eternity,

But you shall perish in a blip!

The monk sitting inside the dark cave

Strange are your ways!

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Life is not a Dormitory

What are you fearing from?

For none can reach the soul!

What is there to lose?

When none is yours!

What is there to be harmed?

When nothing can make you less!

Purpose of your life

Is NOT a better and settled tomorrow!

It is also not just to be happy.

For happiness fizzles out in no time.

It is not to have a safe point to rest.

For it is not fun to be wasted in slumber!

Life is not a Dormitory!

Life is a celebration!

It is a perpetual action!

It is a never ending opera!

It is the energy of the never tired Niagara!

Jump out from your bed!

Life is not a Dormitory!

Create a world more beautiful!

Pursue the passion which is death to hide!

Fear less, Risk more!

For in risking yourself,

You discover who you are!

Dance in the rain,

run facing the wind!

Open your bossom to the lightning!

Feel the heat!

It is already too late!

Jump out from your bed!

Life is not a Dormitory!

Copy Right © All rights reserved - Samrat Kar

Gender Equality - A Myth

A lot have been written, talked about and debated on gender equality. Coming to the ground realities of the way the society works today, in the entire world, one really gets disillusioned on this aspect.

World might have been swept with the ideas of free market, equality, globalization, democracy, etc. But, if you get into the every day working of most of the corporate houses, big and small alike, lie the dark patch of gender inequality present.

Sometimes we hear the politicians, sometimes head of big public sector corporations, and sometimes department heads of big corporations – all expressing their bias towards male community for getting things done. A lady is always taken appropriate as a thing of beauty – to be adorned when you want to make something charming, or eye catching. Be it advertising, public relationship department or the front office desk. It looks like that the fairer sex has to hit the glass ceiling beyond these roles.

The proponent of the male camp has various instances to prove that their bias towards male makes lot of business and economic sense. They say after all a women need to go for maternity leave, she cannot work late at nights; she is very emotional, she cannot travel, etc etc.

Having a woman in the team makes it dicy. You never know when she needs a very long vacation. And then the fate of the project is uncertain!

The other day there was some “big guy” proclaiming in one of the news channels how much business sense it makes not to have a lady pilot for the Indian air force. It looks like having a lady as the pilot does allow the Indian Air Force to do a break-even for the investments done on the pilot’s training!

Unfortunately many among us approve the idea of having equal opportunities for women just on paper, to sound good, and be politically right. When most of us are on that decision making chair, we prefer to have a guy for the post, not a girl.

Unfortunately most of the enterprises – mainly the small and medium scale industries in India as well as abroad, do not give the fairer sex its fair share. Somehow most of the management fraternity is not sensitized about the gender equality. Infact the issues like these and other of its genre – like corporate social responsibility, global warming, etc always takes a back seat. The most important agenda for most the corporations is – short term gain.

Well, it might be unjust to expect a for-profit business organization to have the social welfare on its primary agenda. But, labeling gender equality as yet another social welfare scheme, is blasphemous.

It not only is utmost social responsibility of the corporations to maintain its gender diversity, it certainly makes lot of business sense.

It is really questionable to think that if a couple of months of vacation taken by a person in his entire career in an organization would impact the bottom-line of the organization. Certainly the organization has to create back up plans to support its lady employee needs.

In many cases, the gender inequality goes completely unnoticed. With all good intentions decisions are taken without even thinking about this aspect.

Mostly in the technological companies, it is very hard to find woman in top positions. It is an urgent need for the corporate heads to un-learn their superstitions of male superiority and surrender to the fact that female representation in the company makes the workforce well rounded. In the long run, it has a major impact on the company’s culture and organic development. Certainly in short term, going through the economic objectivity, the male camp might win. But, going into depth, looking towards the long term future, it makes real business sense to have gender equality in an organization.

The best way to mandate gender equality in corporations is to link it to the performance report of the organization. This might help giving the issue its legitimate importance.

Today big corporate houses like PepsiCo, ICICI Bank, BioCon, to name a few, are all headed by lady CEOs. Gradually the male dominance on the management bastion is losing up. It is nice to have this well rounded picture. But it is certain that we have miles to go before gender equality is taken seriously.

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The Sense of Awe

Most of the times when we encounter something big, somebody great, something unique and awesome, we tend to be overwhelmed by a sense of awe. Things look to us being bigger than our life. We are totally awestruck. We consider such people way greater than who we are, and immediately place them to a high altar, far away from us.

Being in this state of awe, there is this very interesting thing that happens. We miss out the really understanding the person, concept, or the message. Say for example you happen to meet President Obama. Mere his presence beside you will make you so conscious, and you get so much overwhelmed by that sense of awe, that you hardly listen what he has to say to you. This sense of awe creates a wall breaking the communication. It blocks a possible dimension that could have been otherwise created. Being lost in awe, we fail to appreciate the other person, or the other thing (the subject of awe).

On deeper contemplation, it appears that the subject of awe is also pretty much trivial. He/she is also like a common human being as we are. It is only that they thought something different, and have a different outlook.

It is so enlightening to have that taste of breaking the wall of awe, piercing through it, and really listening, understanding and appreciating the subject of awe. It might be anything, or any body. Having done this we come to the realization that what separates the commoners from the men and women of distinction is nothing supernatural. It is very normal, simple and humane. Each of us has that potential to rise above mediocrity and shine as men/women of distinction. The only thing that is required is a shift in our mental models.

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In Search of Happiness

Along with many, I was always intrigued on what happiness is all about. Was it a desire of accumulating more, and better things? Was it just a craving to be loved by others. Was it just about pleasures of food, sex, rest, and other physical and psychological stimulations?

Along with this, there was another question that always had troubled me - was there a way to be perpetually happy, each and every moment in life - till we die - and beyond?

Most of the times I found that the happiness of mine was function of something outside me. Either it was the acceptance or recognition from someone else, or a craving to accumulate stuffs of un-ending desires. Sometimes it was the longing for a break, or the other times it was craving for fun. Whenever these outside agents were missing, there was no question of feeling happy.

Off late I came upon an interesting realization! I discovered the difference between pleasure and happiness. Pleasure was something that was passive. It was pleasure that most of the times I was in search of. Pleasure in the form of rest, break, food, recognition, sex, latest consumer electronics, cars, shoes, dresses etc were certainly things those helped me to have a better and richer state of being, but they were not the only aspects of perpetual happiness. Those were like nice to have stuffs, which were definitely there to make me feel better and happy. But at the same time, they caused boredom pretty soon. And then there was this new craving for something new. Yes, again these new things resulted in me being happy for again certain small duration of time, till there was this another set of new desires coming up.

It is perfect to desire newer things. For that marks the continuity of life, and keeps the universe expanding. A stagnancy of desire is synonymous to death.

But, you see, each of these desires were always focussed outside. It appeared that I am a puppet to the things outside me. It was actually things outside me which really had control over my happiness.

I would be happy if there was no traffic jam. I would be happy if my boss smiled at me in the morning. I would be happy if I get love in return. I would be happy if I would get a good deal while buying my next gadget. I would be happy if people really understood me...and the list continues.

It was like the happiness of my self, was in the hands of everybody except me! Now that was really a very dis-empowering context to live life from!

But then, my involvement with certain very challenging and mission critical assignments at work, few hobbies of mine, certain books I read, really alit entirely new realization in me on what happiness is all about!

I realized that what I was searching for labeling it happiness was something that was just an indulgence which creates a temporary homeostasis that calmed down a temporal genetic urge. Some authors call this state as pleasure.

But what really brought a smile in my face, and gave me a perpetual sense of bliss was when I was doing something that helped me grow. When involved in a creative, and challenging work, which I innately liked, I could taste a state of bliss on which I was totally in control!

For the first time, I realized that happiness can be accomplished solely from within.

Another very important realization was that happiness was just a side effect of my act of doing something which was helping me create a meaning for my existence. It was either by writing a beautiful poem, or wording down my thoughts in my blog, or might be it was when I was involved in a difficult task in pressing tight schedule, Or it was an attempt to learn a new skill.

It was pretty much an awakening for me to realize that what was really making me happy would otherwise be look like a toil for someone else! It was always a process of being a "Butterfly" from being a "Caterpillar" that really gave me the kick. It was that inherent struggle to grow that was turning me on. The old pleasures of homeostatic masturbation were always in place. But then, those were not the primary focus.

What really kept me moving was anything that helped me grow. May be for the first time I really understood the true essence of Darwin's book "Origin of Species". May be by design we are programed for this. May be that is what keeps the humanity expanding, and taking a course which is better, more beautiful and more profound than past.

So, the pursuit of happiness is actually a search for meaning, for myself. A meaning that I was trying to get out of my work and hobbies. A meaning that I was sculpting with each moment of NOW in my life. It was more about what I was doing with the present, to create something that makes me grow, rather than, what the present was all about!

So, it was of pertinent importance to choose the actions that can really give perpetual happiness moment by moment. It is important not to inundate oneself with homeostatic indulgence. Although it has its own place. When we really need a homeostasis we can always choose so. It is of prime importance to know that it is our search of meaning, that can really give us happiness!

Happiness is a process of making an attempt to grow our consciousness either with a new skill, or reading a new book, or creating a work of art, or contemplate some new distinction, thereby creating a value for ourself and others in the process. More complex is the task at hand, and higher the skill required to get the task done, profounder is the Happiness!

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The Craving God!

I feel so sorry for you God!

I know you crave a mortal's life..

For it is only through these mortal eyes,

can I see the incredible Niagara!

Only these eyes show me the

flamboyant Himalayas!

It is only through the mortal being

can I smell the Jasmine,

And it is only my being human

which makes me be in the bliss

smelling the wet mud, in the short drizzle.

It is the in the privilege of being human,

I know what is being in Love,

what it means to miss someone,

what it means to just not being able

to stop loving her..

Even after trials unlimited..

It is only by being human,

Do I really know what is known as pain!

For I know that feeling forlorn,

really makes me gauge the depth

of what true love is all about!

It is only through this mortal skin,

I had felt the first naked touch

of my beloved!

For I am sure that was

more divine than the state of

having attained salvation!

It is only this mortal being

That adds to the beauty of nature,

either by a beautiful poem,

Or a heart touching tune,

May be an enlightening lyric.

Or an exotic painting.

It is only being human,

can I hate someone...

and only by doing so,

know how uncomfortable is the feeling,

of being in hatred!

For that makes me feel

for the first time what is Love in real sense!

It is only being human,

can I really feel in solidity

What is divinity!

It is only being human,

can I really not know my future!

And that un-discovered realm

I know is one excitement and thrill

You always miss Lord!

The divinity of the symphony of Mozart,

Is created only in the ears of a human!

Thank you God

For making me human!

For I would never trade being human

with being God!

For humanity is much more profound

Than Godhood!

Yes, I feel so sorry for you God!

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