The atom is the smallest unit that defines the chemical elements and their isotopes. Every material object, or substance that can be touched and felt, is made up of atoms. - http://buff.ly/1ug0FJJ
Yet we believe that there are non-living things!!!!
Contradictory and Confusing !!!
It always puzzles me, as to why we always create problems and then try to solve them!!! Here is one perfect example of things to come!!!
We spend time and money to gain the knowledge to create the issue and then spend double the money to resolve/fix the issue.
If money could have been been eliminated from the equation, the knowledge would have elevated the individual to think and act for the betterment of self and surroundings.
http://www.techrepublic.com/article/7-out-of-10-fear-security-implications-of-internet-of-things/
There has been a lot of furore recently on having the right qualification for a particular role. When will the folks realise that qualification is not a "magic wand" or advantage; at times it is more of a hindrance for growth.
I am a firm believer that there is nothing called a right qualification for any role or position, after all these qualifications have been made by humans for humans, and are awarded on the basis of some form of examinations/assessment again developed and administered by humans. I strongly believe that the true qualifications of an individual for a role are: A goal, a strong will, the ability to think critically through a problem(present at birth and lost on the way to adulthood) and experience. Everything else can be learn’t on the way. The reason I believe this, is from my own experience.
We are so distorted in our outlook and always feel that a degree or pg or something will do wonders for the individual. A piece of paper is all that we care for; we are never concerned about the individual’s capability to do a particular task.
After having worked in the Information Technology industry for more than two decades initially as a technical person and then in management, I decided to get into career profiling and coaching for kids. All through my work life I have seen people who studied a certain speciality or got a certain degree without really knowing why they went for it and then worked in a completely different area. And then later in life they realise that “this is not what I should have been doing. This is not what I like.” However by then it is too late to change. I felt that it is very important that as child and in their growing years, their foundation is well built. Schools without passionate teachers would only create people who are similar to the products that we see getting created from a factory. Today most of the schools have a mould where every student in force fitted and by the time they finish their schooling, a partially finished product is released to the world. On this finishing activities in the form of degrees/certifications are performed and the finished good’s is available for display for the industry and organisation to choose and pick. What remains after the “choose and pick” gets either thrown into the waste basket or may be “recycled” (additional learning/degrees/certifications) and circle starts again.
This practice has to change, we need to give our children an education that emphasizes on practical aspect more than just theory. There should be emphasize on art and craft from the very primary levels; this will ensure that the creativity in every child is nurtured and not killed! I believe that it is Art and Culture that is important; science and math is always part of it, but the vice-versa is not true. Today’s children do not read Mulla Naseeruddin stories, or the Jataka tles, or Hitoupadesha or Birbal stories, they have only seen Doremon, or Chota Bheem or cartoonised forms of Epics (and the epic twisted and modified by the makers of these cartoons) on one the children’s channels. These new generation programs send out a subtle form of violence in their depiction, and the child grows up with this buried deep inside somewhere lying dormant and then emerging as they grow older. I believe that the violence and atrocities that we see and hear around us are the results and trying to “fix” them can only be temporary solution and very soon the fix will get over ridden.
We need to re build our school syllabus to constitute and highlight our philosophy, culture and knowledge. For e.g. Today our children are mesmerized by the international tourist places; but how many of them (here I would like to include the adults) know about the great destinations in India. We have places in India where there are structures built (many centuries ago) with such precise calculations, that amaze us even today. There are beautiful places the beauty of which surpasses some of the most beautiful places (around the world) as cited by various magazines and media.
Education is a basic necessity of every individual; however “the education” should be of use to the individual’s day to day life and not just a piece of paper to flaunt and secure a job. Instead of everyone trying to become an engineer or doctor, there is opportunity for so many other professions. I wish if the government can showcase (something like the census data dashboards) the current demand for the different types of jobs, based on the area of expertise, etc. This way the youth is better informed and will make informed decisions to planning their career. Isn’t it better to have few applicants who are passionate about what they have studied and focused to deliver than thousands of “qualified” applicants!
My manager keeps telling me “To be successful you need to be creative, and think out of the Box”
However when I was at school and wanted to learn music, I was told to forget Art and Craft and learn Science and Math to be successful!
This world is such a crazy place :(
The caste system has been a bane of this country. Many leaders have fought tooth and nail to reduce and ultimately remove this evil, and the change is visible. However there is the rise of the new age un-said Caste System.
Here is a true story that I heard from someone – Writing it in his words :
The caste system has not changed only evolved or adapted. Let me tell you about a friend of mine. I know him from my childhood. We used to walk together to school. My family was quite well off, as my father had a shop that sold everything from vegetables to grocery to anything else. However my friend was not so lucky, his was from a poor family, his father and mother used to work in the fields, and my friend would have to help his mother to carry the cut grass home in the evening. The cut grass was for the cows in my home and they would get paid for it. His parents did not make enough and most of the time they did not have money to buy even rice and vegetables. So his mother would come and ask my grandmother to tell her son(my father) to give some rice and vegetables on credit and they would pay later. To add to all of this they were from a lower caste so were expected to toil and live a miserable life. My friend however was good in his studies and today he is a Sub-Inspector (SI) of Police. As a SI his work demands that he stand in the scorching sun to ensure that VIPs can zip through. He is at the beck and call of his bosses. Times have changed and the country has “progressed”, has it really? In my childhood I have seen my friend’s parents being ordered around because they were from a lower caste, and people from specific castes were destined to do certain types of work or activity only. Today my friend is a SI but he still gets ordered around by his “boses”; The old bubble burst and gave way to the new bubble!
I will like to cite here an incident in the life of Adi Shankaracharya+++, philosopher and guru. This incident is narrated in Shankara Digvijaya by Madhava Vidyaranya,who had helped in founding of Vijayanagara Empire and is also the biographer of Adi Shankaracharya. The following excerpt is from “Shankaracharya and an Untouchable” an exposition of Manisha Panchakam%%%.It is said that one afternoon at Varanasi, Adi Shankaracharya was walking with his disciple to the Ganges, for performing the midday rites. On the way he met a candala, an untouchable on the roadside. The untouchability factor was so deep rooted that even a man of wisdom and realization became subject to it. Shankaracharya said to the candala “move away, move away”. This was very common wherein the high-class people would keep uttering “move away, move away” going on the roads. This was the scenario many years back in our country and this that too in a holy city like Varanasi (then benaras). Pure madness, probably un-imaginable in today’s context! The candala responded in the following way “O worthy Brahmana, please let me know what exactly you wish to move away. Is it the physical body from one another, or consciousness from one another”. Is there any difference in the reflection of the sun in the waters of the Ganges or in the water present in the street of a candala? Likewise, is there any difference when the water- containers happen to be golden vessels and earthen pots ? Adi Shankracharya’s reaction – He thought for a moment and reflected in himself “This man has taught me Vedanta correctly” and replied “That Consciousness which shines forth most distinctly in the state of wakefulness, dream and deep sleep; that which is the one witness of the universe that constitute all bodies from the great creator(Brahma) to the tiny ant; that I am convinced – whoever so possesses this firm wisdom is my Guru, be he a candala or a twice-born###.
“A parasitic creeper can be removed effectively only by removing it from the soil level and pruning the tree or plant. Missing either one will not eradicate it completely”
+++ Adi Shankaracharya was a Philosopher from Kalady, in Ernakulam district of Kerala in South India. He travelled across the length and breadth of India to propagate the great philosophical truths of the Upanishads, which would help rediscover the true cultural basis of our nation.
http://www.kamakoti.org/miscl/adi.html
http://www.sringeri.net/history/sri-adi-shankaracharya
%%% Manisha Panchakam
http://sanskritdocuments.org/all_pdf/manishhaa5.pdf
###A twice born or Bhramana; after the holy thread is given, a child is considered to be born again.
Another year has come to close in the education sector in India, and multitudes of students who have completed their Class XII are busy preparing/appearing for the various entrance examinations for different engineering/medical colleges across India. A kind of Rat race! I have nothing personal against these competitive examinations; I am just worried for kids who may not make or rather may not get a required score to get admission. For some it almost a do or die scenario.
Aren’t there other options, I mean everyone has some unique talent, some find it early in life and loose it on the way, some find it late in life and make it up, some find it late in life and decide to abandon it, some never find it, for some, others find it for them and then there is the very small group which actually find and use their talent and are successful. How can we inculcate the belief in the thousands who don’t make in the exams and consider themselves to be less fortunate or intelligent then the others who made it?
We loose what we have in pursuit of someone’s dream!
Our system of education needs to change. I am not hinting at our schools and colleges, but a much more basic thing, our basic learning. We need to teach children to value themselves first, “you are what you are”, “you are the world”, and “the world is what you are”. In fact one can even replace the world with the universe. This will make them more confident and prepare them to face the world better and take decisions based on a situation. Everyone is a teacher and every experience a learning. We should not forget that Learning is an automatic process; we don't have control over our five senses, so how can we decide what to learn and what not to!
It is high time we run behind values and not numbers, if we want the world to be a better place for ourselves and the future. No one can save us, ONLY we can save our-self. I should not blame others for what I am facing or going through, because "I am" the root cause.
The word Love, as a noun is defined as “a strong feeling of affection” and the antonym is “hatred”.
The antonym is good to read, but not practical in real life. Let me cite an example. I love chocolates, couple of years back I would always have loads of chocolate at home. Presently I do not prefer chocolates, I still do not hate chocolates, I just avoid by choice.
The same can be practiced with people. Earlier it was different, the people I did not like, used to dislike them, sometimes hate them and start avoiding them. As time passed from days to weeks to months and in some cases years, I started forgetting them or rather their presence in any form disappeared from my active senses. Of course during small casual talk with other people if one or some of these people’s reference came up, immediately some old not so good memories would start flashing in the mind. The refreshed link/links to these people would linger around for hours or days and then slowly they fade away. After couple of such occasions, I did some subtle analyzing and noticed that it was always the bad incidents with the folks that I would be forced to remember, never a good one. I decided to try an experiment, every time a situation turned up, I would force my brain to turn up some good memories with the individual/s. After a couple of occasions, bad memories reduced in number and after a while stopped completely. With the negativity related to the individual gone, my dislike for the person was also gone. It was like seeing someone on the road or in a public place and since I do not know the person, I do not have any specific feelings towards that individual.
After many years of adopting this methodology, I am in better control of the feelings I have for people. I can quickly dissociate bad feeling’s and just retain the good. The memories are not gone, just don’t have the priority tag so that they don’t pop up anytime and every time.
By the way this exercise is really tough, believe me! It must have taken me more than a year or two, I really don’t have an exact answer, but it is worth it. It is effective for everything, not only people, could be specific food (to stop cravings), habits, etc.
The biggest advantage in adopting this technique is the positive energy that one gets in a not so good situation, and feeling less stressed out or depressing.I am keen to get some feedback or any similar experience you may have come across.
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The simplest explanation is that either cannot exist without the other. Every Wrong has a right hidden and every Right a wrong. The whole phenomena of existence is based on this theory.
Let’s look at nature for a moment ---- the beautiful and calm Deer is hunted by the majestic Lion. We can say it is wrong for the Lion to kill the Deer, but what option does it have, none, it just follows its own instinct, or rather it does not have a choice. Us Humans, do we have choice in killing an animal or even an insect, Yes we do. I have seen people killing ants in huge number with heavy pesticides. Come on what have they done to you, actually nothing. If you left your food out in the open the ant will certainly grab it, but then it does the same with a dead cockroach lying around.
So every time we do something wrong, we will find the right in it to justify or convince the self and others. The converse is not so, when we do something right we believe that there is no wrong in it. I am sure most of us would have heard or read the story of the struggling butterfly trying to get out of the cocoon and how the onlooker helped and in the process grounded it. Another scenario is wherein parents go out of the way helping their children and in the process crippling their growth(not necessarily physical) and wisdom.
Now that’s confusing. You must be wondering then how do I go about doing anything at all. Well initially it is about unlearning. The many good and right things we do are only good and right for the 5 senses. It is time to re-discover the 6th invisible sense, which is the prime. The awakening of the 6th will help mankind to live in harmony with our surroundings, we will still fight but not wage wars and violence will exist to subdue or stop greater violence’s. So the next time you set out to do something, step back and give it a few moments of your neutral thought, and then proceed. This activity could leave you clueless initially but with passing time your 6th sense will endow you with thoughts.Note: In the south of India, there is a custom of drawing "kolam" (rangoli in other places) on the ground in front of the house using white rice powder. It is believed that in the olden days coarse rice flour was used, so the ants would not have to walk too far or too long for a meal. The rice powder also provided birds and other small creatures something to eat it. This concept of welcoming other living beings into one's home and everyday life is an example of harmonious co-existence.Weekly Writing Challenge: Cliffhanger! by michelle w. on January 6, 2014
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1. Ojhri Camp disaster (Part 2) 2. What Am I?
Man, I am stuck in a traffic jam... What a block, I have been stuck in this for 30 min now....When will we stop having traffic blocks......If only we had wider roads.......If only we had flyovers.....Once the metro is finished.....
The ordeal that we go through everyday without a solution, and this is not about any city, town or place in particular. What is the perfect solution? I firmly believe that to find the solution to the issue we need to find the cause of the issue or rather causes to the issue of Traffic block.
Some causes that I could think offdisclaimer:All views expressed are my own and can be crazy at times, for I believe that Perfection is created by being imperfect....
How many times have each of us done something wrong and then justified to ourselves and convinced others why it is right and not wrong. In-numerable, countless, many a time, always…..
How can something we do right become wrong with the passage of time? How can we do something right and later feel that we have actually done wrong. Is our mind playing tricks on us? Is our sense of logic betraying us? The whole aspect is so confusing. We always hear people saying, “The person who does something wrong, will always have something to justify for”, is it really so. There are so many scenarios wherein the wrong has been done and the person or people who did it do not feel bad or think that they have done any wrong.
It is a big mystery, that has come down through time. Well there is no really big mystery, it is just that one needs to look at the whole scenario with a different view, a view not easy to obtain, a view not easy to understand, a view that is a paradigm shift, a view you will may not readily accept…
Until next time
Weekly Writing Challenge: Cliffhanger! by michelle w. on January 6, 2014Pingback
1. Ojhri Camp disaster (Part 1) 2. What Am I?