Hello friends,

There is something about India that makes you fall in love with the chaos, buzz and inimitable energy that surrounds every corner.Lyrical, passionate, colloquial, abstruse, rigorous, humorous, romantic, austere, playful. These are the words that come to my mind when I think of India. But the most enduring, or perhaps encapsulating, of all these words is: warmth. It is the warmth of my country that I love the most.

For me, India is  a sanctuary of peace, spiritual haven, a land filled with warmth and emotion that is incomparable to anywhere else in the world.

Here wishing you all a very Happy Republic Day (26th Jan 2012). May the tricolors fill your life with peace, prosperity and purity.

HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY!!!!!!!!

Makar Sankranti is a festival of nature. Without the presence of nature, we can not live even for a moment. Makar Sankranti is a way or synonym to thank for this blessing. Sun is a factor of life, light and growth. It is an integral part of our life. The arrival of sun in the morning, not just start the routine of humans but all other living beings.

If we look in the geographical science, we find that equator divides earth into southern and northern hemisphere. Before Makar Sankranti, sun is in the southern hemisphere that is tropic of Capricorn. But, after this, the sun start moving towards the northern hemisphere.Where Sun is known to enter the northern solstice.

Concentrating minds in God on the day of Makar Sankranti is the thing which gives this festival a spiritual base. With this resolution, a person moves forward in life with the thinking of God and gaining knowledge about God. In search of ultimate peace and happiness,a person has to wonder in many lifetimes. Makar sankranti is the most auspicious day for taking such a resolution.

There is no such thing as being isolated. To be is to be related and without relationship there is no existence. What do we mean by relationship? It is an interconnected challenge and response between two people, between you and me, the challenge which you throw out and which I accept or to which I respond; also the challenge I throw out to you. The relationship of two people creates society; society is not independent of you and me; the mass is not by itself a separate entity but you and I in our relationship to each other create the mass, the group, the society.

Relationship is the awareness of interconnection between two people. What is that relationship generally based on? Is it not based on so-called interdependence, mutual assistance? At least, we say it is mutual help, mutual aid and so on, but actually, apart from words, apart from the emotional screen which we throw up against each other, what is it based upon? On mutual gratification, is it not? If I do not please you, you get rid of me; if I please you, you accept me either as your wife or as your neighbor or as your friend. That is the fact.

What is it that you call the family? Obviously it is a relationship of intimacy, of communion. In your family, in your relationship with your wife, with your husband, is there communion? Surely that is what we mean by relationship, do we not? Relationship means communion without fear, freedom to understand each other, to communicate directly. Obviously relationship means that – to be in communion with another. Are you? Are you in communion with your wife? Perhaps you are physically but that is not relationship.

You and your wife live on opposite sides of a wall of isolation, do you not? You have your own pursuits, your ambitions, and she has hers. You live behind the wall and occasionally look over the top – and that you call relationship. That is a fact, is it not? You may enlarge it, soften it, and introduce a new set of words to describe it. but that is the fact – that you and another live in isolation, and that life in isolation you call relationship.

If there is real relationship between two people, which means there is communion between them, then the implications are enormous. Then there is no isolation; there is love and not responsibility or duty. It is the people who are isolated behind their walls who talk about duty and responsibility. A man who loves does not talk about responsibility – he loves. Therefore he shares with another his joy, his sorrow, his money. Are your families such? Is there direct communion with your wife, with your children? Obviously not.

Therefore the family is merely an excuse to continue your name or tradition, to give you what you want, sexually or psychologically, so the family becomes a means of self-perpetuation, of carrying on your name. That is one kind of immortality, one kind of permanency. The family is also used as a means of gratification. I exploit others ruthlessly in the business world, in the political or social world outside, and at home I try to be kind and generous. How absurd! Or the world is too much for me, I want peace and I go home. I suffer in the world and I go home and try to find comfort. So I use relationship as a means of gratification, which means I do not want to be disturbed by my relationship.

Thus relationship is sought where there is mutual satisfaction, gratification; when you do not find that satisfaction you change relationship; either you divorce or you remain together but seek gratification elsewhere or else you move from one relationship to another till you find what you seek – which is satisfaction, gratification, and a sense of self-protection and comfort. After all, that is our relationship in the world, and it is thus in fact.

Relationship is sought where there can be security, where you as an individual can live in a state of security, in a state of gratification, in a state of ignorance – all of which always creates conflict, does it not? If you do not satisfy me and I am seeking satisfaction, naturally there must be conflict, because we are both seeking security in each other; when that security becomes uncertain you become jealous, you become violent, you become possessive and so on. So relationship invariably results in possession in condemnation, in self-assertive demands for security, for comfort and for gratification, and in that there is naturally no love.

We talk about love, we talk about responsibility, duty, but there is really no love; relationship is based on gratification, the effect of which we see in the present civilization. The way we treat our wives, children, neighbours, and friends is an indication that in our relationship there is really no love at all. It is merely a mutual search for gratification. As this is so, what then is the purpose of relationship? What is its ultimate significance? If you observe yourself in relationship with others, do you not find that relationship is a process of self-revelation? Does not my contact with you reveal my own state of being if I am aware, if I am alert enough to be conscious of my own reaction in relationship?

Relationship is really a process of self-revelation, which is a process of self-knowledge; in that revelation there are many unpleasant things, disquieting, uncomfortable thoughts, activities. Since I do not like what I discover, I run away from a relationship which is not pleasant to a relationship which is pleasant. Therefore, relationship has very little significance when we are merely seeking mutual gratification but becomes extraordinarily significant when it is a means of self-revelation and self-knowledge.

After all, there is no relationship in love, is there? It is only when you love something and expects a return of your love that there is a relationship. When you love, that is when you give yourself over to something entirely, wholly, and then there is no relationship.

If you do love, if there is such a love, then it is a marvelous thing. In such love there is no friction, there is not the one and the other, there is complete unity. It is a state of integration, a complete being. There are such moments, such rare, happy, joyous moments, when there is complete love, complete communion. What generally happens is that love is not what is important but the other, the object of love becomes important; the one to whom love is given becomes important and not love itself.

Then the object of love, for various reasons, either biological, verbal or because of a desire for gratification, for comfort and so on, becomes important and love recedes. Then possession, jealousy and demands create conflict and love recedes further and further; the further it recedes, the more the problem of relationship loses its significance, its worth and its meaning.

Therefore, love is one of the most difficult things to comprehend. It cannot come through an intellectual urgency, it cannot be manufactured by various methods and means and disciplines. It is a state of being when the activities of the self have ceased; but they will not cease if you merely suppress them, shun them or discipline them. You must understand the activities of the self in all the different layers of consciousness. We have moments when we do love, when there is no thought, no motive, but those moments are very rare. Because they are rare we cling to them in memory and thus create a barrier between living reality and the action of our daily existence.

In order to understand relationship it is important to understand first of all what is, what are actually taking place in our lives, in all the different subtle forms; and also what relationship actually means? Relationship is self-revelation. it is because we do not want to be revealed to ourselves that we hide in comfort, and then relationship loses its extraordinary depth, significance and beauty. There can be true relationship only when there is love but love is not the search for gratification. Love exists only when there is self-forgetfulness, when there is complete communion, not between one and two, but communion with the highest; and that can only take place when the self is forgotten.

Dear IECians…..

May this new year bring many opportunities to your way,
to explore every joy of life
&
may your resolutions for the days ahead stay firm,
turning all your dreams into reality
and all your efforts into great achievements.

Happy New Year to you & your Family.

Dear All,

I wish You Lovely X-mas
I wish You Favorable
I wish You Enjoyable
You shall not Lack in this X-mas
Thy Lord shall provide to You!
Merry X-Mas.

“May this Christmas be bright and cheerful and may the New Year begin on a prosperous note!”

‘Identification’ is so common a quality that for purposes of observation it is difficult to separate it from everything else. Man is always in a state of identification, only the object of identification changes.

A man identifies with a small problem which confronts him and he completely forgets the aims with which he began. He identifies with one thought and forgets other thoughts; he is identified with one feeling, with one mood, and forgets his own wider thoughts, emotions, and moods. In work on themselves people are so much identified with separate aims that they fail to see the wood for the trees. Two or three trees nearest to them represent for them the whole wood.

Identifying’ is one of our most terrible foes because it penetrates everywhere and deceives a man at the moment when it seems to him that he is struggling with it. It is especially difficult to free oneself from identifying because a man naturally becomes more easily identified with the things that interest him most, to which he gives his time, his work, and his attention. In order to free himself from identifying a man must be constantly on guard and be merciless with himself, that is, he must not be afraid of seeing all the subtle and hidden forms which identifying takes.

It is necessary to see and to study identifying to its very roots in oneself. The difficulty of struggling with identifying is still further increased by the fact that when people observe it in themselves they consider it a very good trait and call it ‘enthusiasm,’ ‘zeal,’ ‘passion,’ ’spontaneity,’ ‘inspiration,’ and names of that kind, and they consider that only in a state of identifying can a man really produce good work, no matter in what sphere. In reality of course this is illusion. Man cannot do anything sensible when he is in a state of identifying. If people could see what the state of identifying means they would alter their opinion.

One of the most powerful aspects of human is that human beings have the ability to generate invaluable ideas, visions and dreams. Ideas generation is a great human gift because we know that by it, inventions are developed for business, technology, communication and commerce.

Perfection is the state of being 100% flawless. It’s a condition that arises only when everything you can think of is without defect, mistake or error; a state of no further improvement. Everybody likes the idea of reaching a perfect situation, except that it is always difficult and almost very impossible to attain. In everyday life, we come in contact with situations that question our self-beliefs that easily get us into thinking about the better ways of improving our lives.

Often, I listen to people share their big dreams, goals and aspirations. Some of them show great enthusiasm as if they would start implementing their dreams immediately towards achieving them. But nothing is wrong with sharing lofty dreams, goals and aspirations; in fact I am one of those people who believe that if you must ever dream, dare to dream big!

But here is the problem that is common with average people. Many people believe in perfection even when they are not perfect. They want to work in the perfect organization, operate the system, and engage in the perfect relationships. They have great ideas, but they do absolutely nothing to start implementing them. They want new jobs; but they want to wait for the economy to get better before they approach their prospective employers for the jobs. They want to start a business, but they will never speak to their prospective customers 12 months after their dreams about their products and services until they finish designing the best website, obtain loan from the bank, rent an office on the high street, print the best business card, install the fastest internet and telephone systems, and perhaps launch the business with the Prime Minister in attendance.

Perfection is the major cause of procrastination and failure. It is the cancer of achievement that leads to poverty. If you ever have a dream of a goal you want to achieve, don’t wait for the perfect time. There is no such time as perfect. Find the people who are already doing similar things and learn from them. Engage the service of a performance coach or business strategist to help you accelerate your progress. There is no great strategy as taking a baby step in bringing a dream into reality. Begin small and learn as you progress so that over the years, you would have worked yourself to the point where people would think you are perfect.

Perfectionists are usually afraid of failing. They are more concerned with what other people would say if they fail than achieving what is most important in their lives. As a result, they procrastinate until the perfect time comes when they give up their dreams.

Perfectionism is dangerous to goals and dreams, and it stifles achievement. The major challenge perfectionists face is accepting a mistake. Mistake does not exist in their dictionary and they’d rather do nothing, than do anything with a mistake. But you can overcome the perfectionist’s mentality by realizing that every mistake you make on your dream’s journey is an experience towards achieving your dream.

If you want to succeed in anything at all; don’t worry about getting it all right initially. Make the commitment to take your first baby step and start it. As you progress in implementing your actions, you will start introduce new ideas to improve your results. Progress is a continuous improvement process; so also success, happiness, achievement and fulfillment. There is never a time when you will get it all perfectly right. Rather than wait for months and years to have things perfected, you could actually start now from the comfort of your home and expand from there.

How oddly similar are gossip and worry. They are both the outcome of a restless mind. A restless mind must have a changing variety of expressions and actions, it must be occupied; it must have ever increasing sensations, passing interests, and gossip contains the elements of all these. Gossip is the very antithesis of intensity and earnestness. To talk about another, pleasantly or viciously, is an escape from oneself, and escape is the cause of restlessness. Escape in its very nature is restless. Concern over the affairs of others seems to occupy most people, and this concern shows itself in the reading of innumerable magazines and newspapers with their gossip columns, their accounts of murders, divorces and so on.

As we are concerned with what others think of us, so we are anxious to know all about them; and from this arise the crude and subtle forms of snobbishness and the worship of authority. Thus we become more and more externalized and inwardly empty. The more externalized we are, the more sensations and distractions there must be, and this gives rise to a mind that is never quiet, that is not capable of deep search and discovery.

Gossip is an expression of a restless mind; but merely to be silent does not indicate a tranquil mind, Tranquility does not come into being with abstinence or denial; it comes with the understanding of what is. To understand what is needs swift awareness, for what is not static.

If we did not worry, most of us would feel that we were not alive; to be struggling with a problem is for the majority of us an indication of existence. We cannot imagine life without a problem; and the more we are occupied with a problem, the more alert we think we are. The constant tension over a problem which thought itself has created only dulls the mind, making it insensitive and weary.

Why is there the ceaseless preoccupation with a problem? Will worry resolve the problem? Or does the answer to the problem come when the mind is quiet? But for most people, a quiet mind is a rather fearsome thing; they are afraid to be quiet, for heaven knows what they may discover in themselves, and worry is a preventive. A mind that is afraid to discover must ever be on the defensive, and restlessness is its defence.

Through constant strain, through habit and the influence of circumstances, the conscious layers of the mind have become agitated and restless Modern existence encourages this super- ficial activity and distraction, which is another form of self-defence. Defence is resistance, which prevents understanding.

Worry, like gossip, has the semblance of intensity and seriousness; but if one observes more closely one will see that it arises from attraction and not earnestness. Attraction is ever changing, and that is why the objects of worry and gossip change. Change is merely modified continuity. Gossip and worry can come to an end only when the restlessness of the mind is understood. Mere abstinence, control or discipline will not bring about tranquility, but only dull the mind, making it insensitive and confined.

Curiosity is not the way of understanding. Understanding comes with self-knowledge. He who suffers is not curious; and mere curiosity, with its speculative overtones, is a hindrance to self-knowledge. Speculation, like curiosity, is an indication of restlessness; and a restless mind, however gifted, destroys understanding and happiness.

I am feeling great by receiving “Global Education Leadership Award” from the International Achievers Conference at International Achievers Summit in Bangkok on “Globalisation of Industries and World Peace” on 10^th November 2011.

International Achievers Conference (IAC) concentrates on the theme “how the successful Achievers can help the social & economic infrastructural development in and around the country.”

A man had only one son. That son was on his deathbed. The physicians had given up saying they cannot do anything to save him. They said he will not survive. There was no cure for the disease. It was a matter of just one or two days, he was to die any moment. The father stayed awake all night sitting at his bedside. It was time to say good-bye. Tears were flowing from his eyes. Sitting and sitting, at about three in the morning the father began to doze.

While he slept he saw a dream of a great empire. He saw that he was the mighty lord of that empire. He saw that had twelve sons – all very handsome, young, talented, intelligent, great warriors! There was no one comparable in the whole world. He had a vast horde of wealth. Unlimited. He further dreamt that he was a world ruler – his rule extending over the whole earth. He was occupied seeing this dream when the son on the deathbed breathed his last. His wife screamed and started crying. He opened his eyes. He was completely shocked.

He sat dumbfounded. Because just a moment before there was a great kingdom, twelve sons, great wealth – it was all gone. And here this son has died! He remained completely lost. His wife worried whether his mind was damaged, because he had had great affection for his son, and not a single tear was coming to his eyes. When the son was living he had cried over him, now the son has died and the father is not crying?

His wife shook him and said, “Has something happened to you? Why don’t you cry?”

He said, “Who should I cry for? There were twelve sons, they died. There was a great empire, it has gone. Should I cry for them or should I cry for this one? I am thinking who should I cry for? Just as twelve are gone, thirteen are gone.”

“Everything is finished” he said to the wife. “That was a dream and this too is a dream. When I was seeing that dream, I had completely forgotten this son. His disease, my affection, my anxiety – everything was forgotten. When that dream broke I remembered you. Tonight I will sleep and again I will forget you. So it comes and goes, now it is, now it is not: and now both dreams are gone. Now I have awakened from dreaming. Now I won’t be roaming about in dreams. It is enough, the time has come. The fruit has ripened, it is time for it to fall!”

That very moment the man rose and went away. He left the home of dreams and discovered the home of wakefulness. It is said that he inspired several texts and helped many find their home.