Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Khud - aa

Couldn't help noticing the similarity in the word "Khudaa" and "Self."

Just proves it to be true that "God wont help those who cant help themselves" or to put in simple words there is no one who can help us, but us.

The word Khudaa would mean "Khud - aa" . Which is saying "Come yourself."

This just make me believe in my theory even more that the only God that is, is in us - and no one else.


Sunday, September 26, 2010

Snippets of "The Monk who sold his Ferrari"



  • Foremost amongst the things that they do is adopt a positive paradigm about their world and all that is in it."
  • What really separates people who are habitually upbeat and optimistic from those who are consistently miserable is how the circumstances of life are interpreted and processed."
  • 'There are no mistakes in life, only lessons. There is no such thing as a negative experience, only opportunities to grow, learn and advance along the road of self mastery .From struggle comes strength
  • When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds: your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.
  • The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master
  • Winston Churchill said that 'the price of greatness is, responsibility over each of your thoughts.'
  • Weak minds lead to weak actions
  • A strong, disciplined mind, which anyone can cultivate through daily practice, can achieve miracles. If you want to live life to the fullest, care for your thoughts as you would your most prized possessions.
  • Einstein said that 'imagination is more important than knowledge.' You must spend some time every day, even if it is just a few minutes, in the practice of creative envisioning
  • If there is a lack in your life it is because there is a lack in your thoughts.
  • It doesn't matter what other people say about you. What is important is what you say to yourself. Do not be concerned with the judgment of others as long as you know what you are doing is right. You can do whatever you want to do as long as it is correct according to your conscience and your heart. Never be ashamed of doing that which is right; decide on what you think is good and then stick to it. And for God's sake, never get into the petty habit of measuring your self-worth against other people's net worth. As Yogi Raman preached: 'Every second you spend thinking about someone else's dreams you take time away from your own.'"
  • You will never be able to hit a target that you cannot see. People spend their whole lives dreaming of becoming happier, living with more vitality and having an abundance of passion.
  • Concentrate every ounce of your mental energy on self-discovery. Learn what you excel at and what makes you happy
  • The Magic Rule of 21. The learned men and women of his world believed that, for new behavior to crystallize into a habit, one had to perform the new activity for twenty-one days in a row
  • As I told you, saying that you do not have the time to improve yourself, whether this means improving your mind or nourishing your spirit, is much like saying you do not have time to stop for gas because you are too busy driving. Eventually it will catch up with you."


Management Lesson

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field.
While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it.
As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was.
The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.
A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him!

Management Lessons
1) Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy.
2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
3) And when you're in deep shit, keep your mouth shut!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Death of Love

Have you ever experienced the death of love? It's bad. It stinks and it's suffocating. When love dies there's nothing worse that can happen. Love dies between parents and their kids : form the lover and the loved one:  from the institution that you are attached to: from the dreams that you had: from the friend you cared for the most : from things you had in you for which you loved yourself till the time they are no more in you: from the aspirations you had: from the dreams you had as a child. Death of love is catastrophic. I don't mean to scare you but I myself am scared. Things you craved for once no longer interest you.

Death of Love can come in many forms. Death, hatred, mistrust or simply growing out of it. Death of love crawls and works its way like a termite. Inconspicuous from the outside and lethal from the inside.

Love is not a legend. It exists, it is everywhere. The need for love makes it alive. All need to be loved, whether plants, animals or humans. Just like Life, love also needs to be nurtured, fed and kept safe from danger and taken care of. Or else love will wilt like a plant in sun.

Love if oriented properly can lead to miracles and if disoriented is devastating. Choosing the love of your life is so essential that the filtration process should not be taken for granted. Always go for things that you love, no matter what. For a well begun is half done, ain't it?

I am quite sure it's not better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all; the author surely didn't fall out of love or else wouldn't have written that. 

It's always a safe bet to love things and not persons. For if you love an Audi, you probably will ride it. But if you love a person, the buy-in is not just money. Other parameters also come in to account. So place your bets carefully.

Since we have done the prognosis, let's do the medication too. So what-if Love dies. The first thing you do is change. Change something or everything , but change. Let the buffer time be small before you come to the normal levels . Don't be bitter. Death of Love make you bitter, makes you a worse person than the one you were before. Don't let these things bother you. Memory will try to flush that person out. The memory cells will die,  flushing those chemicals out of the system or earthing the  tiny sparks of memories locked in the capacitors of your brain - memories of the loved ones. Bad thoughts will come, they should, they are a sign of the wave ebbing their way back into the sea of forgetfulness and again the memory loss that you blamed for missing out a theorem in exams that you mugged so well, the same forgetfulness will come to your rescue. Soon you will forget everything and believe me you will forget everything. Soon you will start dreaming other things. Soon you will love someone else. Nature has programmed us so. The aim should be to keep the time from the Death of Love to the Sea of forgetfulness as short as possible.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Humans and Dogs - Who lead whom to do what

Humans are so much like dogs, especially in the corporate environment. People treat only those to whom they report as their masters. They bark and growl at their peers. They look down on the juniors like a house dog does to stray dogs. Well its all a doggy world in the office, if you look through my eyes. Any information is not relevant if your boss thinks that it is not. All your tricks of catching your tail with your mouth is not exciting enough if your boss thinks its useless. When you are with your boss, you are happiest. When your boss hits you, you are in the lowest of lows. You always need a boss to be around, its in your DNA. That may have lead to the invention of God.

Its a doggy dog world out here in the office. Smelling butts, eating shit, wagging tails, greed, jumping without thinking on opportunities, running after a thing (Frisbee)  which you don't even need or eat, hating your species for no specific reason.

May be after living with humans for so many ears all these attributes may have been learnt by dogs from us only.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Trust


Trust is such a thing that anyone can write volumes on it. But what exactly is trust. Trust I believe is restraint on yourself. Restraint not to say or do anything that your brain tells but to listen to yourself and tell that its not correct and more than that believe in it so much that you are willing to defy your own brain sense.

That all is that there is to trust. A firm trust can never be broken. Trust is the strongest of all the intangibles that are around viz. Love, hatred, Anguish, Lust, etc.

Trust is willingness to lie in service to others. Trust is letting down your armor and willing to take the pain.

Trust is letting down your weapons and baring yourself to any blows from the one you trust.

Funny ....

How to Answer the Tough Interview Questions

 

A lot of people know how to write a resume and talk their way into an interview. But when they get into the make or break dialogue, they stumble upon tough questions. Below, is some advice on approaching the tough questions that interviewers like to throw at job applicants:

 

Why did you leave your last job?

Real answer: It sucked.

What you should say: I felt my talents and abilities were underutilized.

 

What are your biggest weaknesses?

Real answer: I can't concentrate for more than five minutes, hate all forms of authority and tend to fall asleep at my desk.

What you should say: I'm a workaholic. I just don't know when to put down my work.

 

You don't seem to hold on to a job long. Why should we think you'll stay here any longer than you've stayed elsewhere?

Real answer: My employers have always had a hang-up about keeping only competent employees..

What you should say: I'm at a point in my career where I am tired of moving around. I really want to feel part of a team, a long-term enterprise, where I can make a contribution.

For all those of u aiming for job switches...............

 

How do you handle change?

Real answer: I deal with it everyday, unless I'm out of clean underwear.

What you should say: I think everyone knows that today the only constant is change. I thrive on it.

 

 How do you get along with others?

Real answer: Fine, as long as they stay out of my face.

What you should say: I think the interpersonal dynamics of the workplace can be among the most satisfying aspects of any job.

 

What does the word success mean to you?

Real answer: It means that I don't have to drag my sorry ass out of bed to kiss yours.

What you should say: Success, for me, would be knowing I am making a difference working with a team of people to make a more profitable enterprise.

 

What does the word failure mean to you?

Real answer: It means I continue to collect unemployment insurance.

What you should say: Failure? I'm sorry, I don't know what you mean. That word is not in my vocabulary.

 

Do you get along with your current boss?

Real answer: I get along fine, considering what kind of a malicious person he is.

What you should say: I don't think I'd call him a boss; he's been more of a mentor to me.

 

Do you ever get angry with co-workers?

Real answer: I don't get angry, I get even.

What you should say: Nothing angers me more than to see a co-worker not pulling his weight, goofing off or stealing. Yes, sometimes I do get angry with co-workers.

 

Can I contact your references?

Real answer: Sure, but they won't know who I am.

What you should say: Some of them are out of the country right now. Maybe I can arrange to have them contact you.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Rain drops are ........

I am amazed at my ability to have an opinion on everything. No wonder I think myself as the most interesting company. And when I don't get time for myself I am angry at myself for not giving time to myself, my company.

So coming back to my musings. One interesting thing I noticed this morning as I was driving on the Inner circle road. When you come to office early at 8 am you see drivers on the road who drive carefully, maintain lanes and don't honk unnecessarily. Its like all the tortoises from the "Hare and Tortoise" story are driving. But when you come to office at 10 am, the scene is so different. Its a rush hour, horns blaring, lane integrity is kept in the backseat, and traffic rules are for the weak hearted. Its like all the hare from the much fabled "Hare and Tortoise" are on the road. Well in the end its up to me what I want to be the hare or the tortoise.

One more great realization happened to me when I was riding my bike back home. I have heard people say "enjoy the rain, the nature and its beauties." Well, let me take you through my experience. I was riding back home and suddenly the clouds gave way. Its started to drizzle and then pour. I thought of enjoying the rain, but then was reminded of my laptop with me. But then the rains had no intention of stopping so I thought might as well enjoy the rain. What to say .. After 10 minutes of continuous downpour when even one's underwear gets wet the rains seem no more fun. The breeze feels like chilled freon and the stickiness of the clothes to the body is like skin trying to shed off and still held by little fibers. The rain seems no more fun after being drenched for 10 minutes. I am sure who sang "Rain drops are falling on my head" made the whole song in 10 minutes. Had he been there any longer the song would have had its own share of interjections in form of abuses in the lyrics. The song would have been something like this " the rain drops are f**king on my head "

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Essence of life

Once my friend asked me "When you go to sleep, do you ask yourself what have you achieved today?"

My Simple and straightforward answer was "I don't ask such difficult questions to myself that take my sleep away."

But today I couldn't help asking myself. Is Desire better or Ability.
These are the only 2 things that makes a man successful. Desires and Abilities.

I was fixed in this dilemma. How can desires be a greater consequence than ability. If a man is not able to walk then even though he has a desire of running a marathon then how will he do that. So I was pretty much convinced that abilities are of more importance. But then I remembered the movie Gattaca. I recommend this movie to all parents to show it to their children. It is an extraordinary movie of desires winning over abilities. The protagonist wanted to be a space traveler but his vitals were not up to the mark. How he joins the firm as janitor and finally reaches his dream. And the quote which is indelible in my memory "I never cared for the swim back."

Now I am convinced Desires are 90% and abilities are 10% or even lesser. Well what good is an ability if I don't have a desire to use them. But if I have a desire I can find new ways to work around my shortcomings. Desire is supreme. But then Gautam Bhuddha had said "the root cause of all evils is desire"

What can I say? Gautam Bhuddha should have seen Gattaca

Monday, September 13, 2010

What to think of think - Newton and Eve

This was what came to me while sitting and doing nothing. Why is it the rule of nature that we have to work to survive. I simply don't understand, who came with this stupid suggestion to " To work is to survive."

Why people who do not work are looked as an added burden and those who work are considered good. Why ? just Why?

I think it was set when you see that people who work are those who start getting the girls. Girls think that this guy works and will work for me so I should sleep with him. This makes him a hot property. All the other guys seeing that this guy who works, is enjoying all the goodies, start working just like him and the real winner is the girls who now have an option to choose from two hard working men. Now more men join in and hence quantity leads to quality being a metric. Now, not just doing work is enough but to do good work is essential. The benchmark is raised. And the circle gets deepened.

Gautam Bhuddha actually had come with the solution for all this. the placebo.
Desire is the root cause of all evils

Desire to sleep with the best women was the root cause of work. Had our great great great ancestors figured it out then we would not have the norm of working for survival. And all would have been happy. Looks like Eve came to earth to start the same business she was adept in the Garden of Heaven - Making men lives miserable.

But being a man I can understand what Adam would have felt like looking at Eve. He would have thought "I will give the world to sleep with her once." Bingo, there was it. Eve not only slept with Adam but also shoved the apple down his throat. Adam was a dumb guy. Instead of Adam I wish it was Bill Gates or more appropriately Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods would have take the apple and shoved it inside all the holes of Eve just for pleasure and later used the abused and overused apple and shot a 18 hole game with it with his golf stick . That would have served Eve well. But then Eve would have thrown the stick on him just like his wife did. So I guess Tiger Woods is out. Hugh Heifner would have clicked Eve and put her poster in the gate of the Garden and sold it to God too. Adolf Hitler would have killed Eve saying she is a Jew. That would have served her well, but then Adolf would have used him self so much that he would have died of exhausting of his left hand and both testicles.

So who could have been ideal Adam among the mortals we had till now. I guess it would have been some one who is allergic to apples or may be Newton. I can think of only one man who put apple to good use other than eating it. Newton it should have been him. Newton and Eve lived happily in the Garden of Heaven, ever and ever and ever and they even discovered gravity of Heaven.