Fifty things that can pep up your life

Here is a list to pep up your life! It came as an anonymous forward on WhatsApp, but I felt like preserving it for posterity. Hence I am putting it up on the site. Each one of the points is a gem, hope you like it too. Do let me know which ones you liked the most.

1.       Have a firm handshake

2.       Look people in the eye

3.       Sing in the shower

4.       Own a great stereo system

5.       If in a fight, hit first and hit hard

6.       Keep secrets

7.       Never give up on anybody.  Miracles happen everyday

8.       Always accept an outstretched hand

9.       Be brave. Even if you're not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference

10.   Whistle

11.   Avoid sarcastic remarks

12.   Choose your life's mate carefully. From this one decision will come 90 per cent of all your happiness or misery

13.   Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out

14.   Lend only those books you never care to see again

15.   Never deprive someone of hope; it might be all that they have

16.   When playing games with children, let them win

17.   Give people a second chance, always

18.   Be romantic

19.   Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know

20.   Loosen up. Relax. Except for rare life-and-death matters, nothing is as important as it first seems

21.   Don't allow the phone to interrupt important moments. It's there for your convenience, not the caller's

22.   Be a good loser for your loved ones

23.   Be a good winner of Hearts

24.   Think twice before burdening a friend with a secret

25.   When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go

26.   Be modest. A lot was accomplished before you were born

27.   Keep it simple

28.   Beware of the person who has nothing to lose

29.   Don't burn bridges. You'll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river

30.   Live your life so that your epitaph could read, “No Regrets”

31.   Be bold and courageous. When you look back on life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did

32.   Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them

33.   Remember no one makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who helped you

34.   Take charge of your attitude. Don't let someone else choose it for you

35.   Visit friends and relatives when they are in hospital; you need only stay a few minutes

36.   Begin each day with some of your favorite music

37.   Once in a while, take the scenic route

38.   Forgive quickly. Life is short

39.   Answer the phone with enthusiasm and energy in your voice

40.   Keep a note pad and pencil on your bed-side table. Million-dollar ideas sometimes strike at 3 A.M

41.   Show respect for everyone who works for a living, regardless of how trivial their job

42.   Send your loved ones flowers. Think of a reason later

43.   Make someone's day by encouraging them

44.   Become someone's hero

45.   Marry only for love

46.   Count your blessings

47.   Compliment the meal when you're a guest in someone's home

48.   Waive at the children on a school bus

49.   Remember that 80 per cent of the success in any job is based on your ability to deal with people

50.   Don't expect life to be fair

Why Socialism fails

Came across this interesting and instructive story recently:

An Economics Professor at a local University made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had recently failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and with socialism, no one would be poor, and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, “Ok, we will have an experiment in this class on the socialism principles. All grades will be averaged, and everyone will receive the same grade, no matter how one actually performs in the exam"

After the first test, the grades were averaged, and everyone got a “B”. The students who studied hard were a upset, and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little studied even less, and the ones who had studied hard earlier took it easy too. The second test average was a “D”! No one was happy. When the third test rolled around, the average was an “F”.

As the tests proceeded, the scores never increased, as bickering, blame and name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of others. By the end of the year, all failed.

The professor told them that socialism would ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when the reward is not yours, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

Buddham Sharanam Gachhami !

Long before India started exporting spices or software, Ideas, Thought Leadership and Spirituality were the earliest exports from India to the world. The zero and the decimal system, which forms basis of the numbering system that the world uses today, was invented in India. Kautilya’s Arthashastra, written in the 4^th Century BC, laid down the principles of governance, public administration and taxation several centuries before modern-day economics or political science was born. Wonders of modern science, from aircrafts to surgeries have all been mentioned in ancient Indian texts. Ayurveda holds the secrets of good health which modern day researchers are trying to discover and patent. Sushruta’s Sushruta Samhita, written in 800 BC mentions more than 300 surgeries, including the likes of plastic surgery, cataract and caesarian section. The techniques of Yoga and Meditation as key to a healthy body and a healthy mind are seeing resurgence in the West.

Grand Buddha statue at the pagoda

One of the ideas that India gave birth to, and were embraced by the world, were the teachings of Gautam Buddha. From Mongolia in the North to Sri Lanka in the South, and from South East Asia to Japan, Buddhism is today the fourth largest religion in the World. Close to half a million people in the world follow Buddha and his teachings as their principal religious order.

Buddha taught that suffering is an ingrained part of existence, but it is possible to end it by following the right path. The right path, he said is the eight – fold noble path of right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. Buddha said no teachings should be accepted unless they are borne out by our experience and are praised by the wise. Buddha held that two qualities are rare among humans: Katannuta that is, Gratitude and Pubbakarita, which is, initiative to help others without expecting anything in return. These two qualities are the true measure of progress.

A grand Pagoda, styled along traditional Burmese architecture, has come up in Mumbai recently.  The pagoda, built by the Global Vipassana Foundation seeks to spread the true teachings of Buddha and  promotes the practice of Vipassana Meditation that was said to have been practiced by Buddha himself.

The Pagoda claims to contain the largest pillar-less dome structure in the World, 90 feet in height and 280 feet in diameter. Built using 2.5 million tonnes of stone and 3,000 truckloads of sand, the pagoda towers to a height of a 30-storey building. Underneath it is a huge meditation hall which can accommodate 8,000 people at a time. It has been designed as a replica of Shwe Dagon Pagoda of Myanmar. Relics of Gautam Buddha are enshrined at the site. The entire complex, apart from the main pagoda, contains several other structures such as an art gallery, a library, two other smaller pagodas, an auditorium, a food court etc. Exquisite samples of traditional Burmese architecture can be seen throughout the campus. The art gallery contains stunning paintings depicting the life of Gautam Buddha from birth to death. An excellent facility, to listen to the story of each painting as you move along the gallery, using a tape and earphones is available. This makes the visit to the gallery worthwhile and meaningful, as it enhances our understanding of the life of Gautam Buddha and his teachings. The pagoda is located off the coast of Gorai, in Mumbai. Take a look some day.

Thought for the day

"Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid" - Albert Einstein

The King and the Falcon

Once upon a time, there was a King who received two Falcons as gift from a visiting sage. The King kept the falcons in his garden and took good care of them. Every day, one of the Falcons would fly high up in the air, go to far off places and return to the garden in the evening. The other falcon however, stayed put in one place and rarely moved out of the branch of the tree where it lived. The King wondered what the reason for this was, the sage had told him both the falcons fly high and far. The King asked his courtiers and ministers, enquired with all the wise men from his kingdom why the other falcon did not fly, but no one would give him a convincing reply, or make the falcon fly. The King announced a reward for anyone who could make the falcon fly. Several people tried, but all of them failed. The King gave up hope.

Then one day, the King heard that the falcon had started flying. It now went as high as the other falcon, as far as the other and came back in the evening. Surprised, the King asked who had made the falcon fly, and was told an old wise farmer had done it. The King called him to his court and asked, “What did you do to make the falcon fly?” “Oh, It was simple”, said the farmer, “I just cut the branch of the tree where the falcon lived”.

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Reminded me of a quote my friend Prabodh had told me – Everything you want in life is lying there, waiting to be picked, outside your comfort zone.

7 Mantras for 2012

Let us welcome the New Year with the “7 Mantras for 2012”, given by Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar, whom I had the opportunity to meet this year. As it happened, on one of my visits to Bangalore, I thought of presenting him a couple of books and visited his Ashram. I was guided to a large hall where “he would be coming soon to give Darshan”. As I looked around the jam packed hall for a place to sit, he walked in. And as luck would have it, came in the same direction where I was standing. I stepped forward, handed over the two books I had brought (one written by my father and the other by my mother) and gave him a brief introduction. He opened the books, browsed through them and expressed words of appreciation.

Sri Sri Ravishankar, enchanting his devotees during a satsang in Bangalore

So here we go - the 7 Mantras for 2012:

1. Reflect on your life in relation to the Cosmos. This will drop the smallness in you & you will be able to live fully. 

2. Remind yourself of the highest goal in Life. You are not here to grumble / complain. You are here for something bigger. 

3. Serve! Engage yourself in community service to whatever extent you can. 

4. Have faith & trust that the Divine loves you dearly & is taking care of you. 

5. As we flip the calendar, we need to flip our mind too. Don’t fill future dates with past events. Learn & move on. 

6. Smile more! True sign of prosperity is an unconditional smile on your face. 

7. Nurture yourself with music, prayer & silence. Meditation, pranayam & yoga rejuvenate; give depth & stability.