Of late I have been emailing my contacts more and blogging less. Mostly random thoughts ruminated at leisure have constituted these emails. A friend suggested that I collect them and save them here so that they are not lost for ever. So here they are:
- Over the centuries, we have come up with better toys to keep ourselves entertained with, but our state of mind has remained more or less the same. We have developed.....but have we evolved?
- The number one requirement to gain entry into the club of professionals is to understand integrity and to practise it. Without that, a professionally qualified individual is a danger to society!
- Subroto Bagchi
I wonder if that makes discouraging and de motivating 'rogues' (after ensuring that we are not ourselves one :-) ) from attaining higher professional degrees a service to the society?! Hmmm...the problem is how does one define a 'rogue'? Also, wasn't this the line of thinking that led to the holocaust? Sometimes things get so complicated! As somebody once said, the only problem with life is that there is no danger music in the background! :-)
- There are basically two kinds of creatures on this Planet -
1. Those that believe that birth is the beginning and death is the end of life and hence think, 'speak' and act accordingly.
2. Those that believe that birth is not the beginning and death is not the end of life and hence think, 'speak' and act accordingly.
The zillion dollar question is - Which category of creatures is right?! The answer to this question will enable us to take the smartest* decisions at any given point in space and/or time!
*I am intentionally not using the words 'right/wrong'.
- Remember that famous quote from the 'Spider Man' movie?
'With great power comes great responsibility'
The context there was a man with super powers. But when you actually think about it Homo Sapiens (Yes, us!) have been endowed with powers far beyond the reach of the rest of the inhabitants of this planet (animals, birds, fishes, insects...). How responsible are we as owners(?) and managers of this planet? Quite irresponsible I think...floods in one place...droughts in another place...
Let's start by switching off unwanted lights/fans/other equipments, turning off taps when not needed, by switching off vehicles at traffic signals, by saving/planting trees...
"What difference does it make?" May or may not be much but we become better human beings and that is a huge difference!
- 'Serve the people. Die for the country. Live like a legend!'
This is a dialogue from the movie ' Wanted ' which has caught the fancy of the movie-going-folks in India
I wonder what happened to these qualities (heroism and self-sacrifice) in us? Qualities which were so common in the general public just 60 years ago! Do they catch our fancy only when we get our butts kicked by people like the British? Or do we value, cherish and live those qualities under normal circumstances also? This is a question that each one of us need to ask oneself when in solitude...
'Do I want to be one among those whose who died and never lived? Or do I want to be one among those who lived and never died?!'
- When was the last time we did something just for the joy of it...just b'coz we felt like doing it and not for anything or anybody else? Let's not lose touch with the child in us...with the spontaneity that went/goes with it…for that is the best part of us that He likes! In all probability, all our intellectual somersaults will appear childish to the 'Don' who keeps the galaxies spinning on their axes!
Which was why Billy Widdledon changed. He began to hang around Herby Vandeman; he walked like Herby Vandeman; he talked like Herby Vandeman. He mixed me up! I began to walk and talk like Billy Widdledon, who was walking and talking like Herby Vandeman.
And then it dawned on me that Herby Vandeman walked and talked like Joey Haverlin. And Joey Haverlin walked and talked like Corky Sabinson.
So here I am walking and talking like Billy Widdledon's imitation of Herby Vandeman's version of Joey Haverlin, trying to walk and talk like Corky Sabinson. And who do you think Corky Sabinson is always walking and talking like? Of all people, Dopey Wellington - that little pest who walks and talks like me! ...Be Yourself.
Source: Chicken Soup for the Soul
- I hereby solemnly declare and promise that, if admitted to the degree for which I have been duly recommended, I will, in my daily life and conversation and in thought, word and deed, conduct myself as befits a member of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning; That I will, to the utmost of my capacity and opportunity, support the cause of Sound Learning, Humanity, Morality and Spirituality; and that, as far as lies in me, I shall uphold and advance the social and, indeed all round welfare of my country men and fellow men".
The Convocation Oath that we took in front of Him! Yes, Him! To what extent are we living by it? On that day it was more of a ritual but when I look back and think about it, my shoulders droop at the 'weight' of that Oath. The line marked in red is a very huge responsibility indeed. We have already taken the Oath. I suppose now we have no choice but to live by it !
- Why should we always be thinking something?...Why can't we just sit still for a moment?...There is so much depth in dynamic inactivity!
- If you ever find a man opening the door of his car for his wife, then
Inference 1: The Car is new... OR
Inference 2: The Wife is new!
I initially found this in the Jokes section and had a good laugh! :-) But later as I pondered more, I realized how much of a 'not-a-joke' it is! How everything in life loses it's shine in course of time, how nothing lasts for ever! (Obvious Qn here - What is it that does not lose it's shine & lasts for ever?).
'Kshanikam, kshanikam, dhukham, dhukham, nithyam asukam lokam, tasmat jaagratha, jaagratha, jaagratha'. (Translation: Everything is so momentary, life is full of misery; therefore be careful, be careful, be careful!)...words of a Pessimist or words of an Optimist with experience?!
That is food for thought :-)
- Those who finally win any game are the ones who know the rules of the game the best and abide by them the best of all.
*The last ball...the last run...the last breath... need not necessarily be 'finally'.
- Fact 1: 99% of mouse genes have homologues in humans and 96% are in the same syntenic location!!
Fact 2: There are only 4 major blood types for the entire human race!!
So much for "Aaaaah!...My generation..."..."My gene..."..."My blood..."..."My offspring"..."My Caste..."..."My Creed..."..."My Religion...!!"
- The purpose of birth is to enable one to prepare for death.
- Leadership is about a fierce adherence to a vision while everyone around you thinks you're wasting your time.
-Robin Sharma on Twitter
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