Learnings from the teacher of the year 2020

 This year has been different; and there is something new most of us have realized or learned.  It came as a surprise, we thought it would be a fleeting show, but it seems to be unending. The year is about to end; but it is still around restricting our travel, making us have outside food as rarely if ever, craving to meet our near and dear ones. 

Some of the realizations are:

1. "Not to always plan for long term, things might not work out or might take a u-turn" and "dont loose hope cause you might be very close to reach the top."
2.  re - learned my old childhood lesson that we are all mere mortals and at the mercy of some Almighty or Super Being above . Science & technology are just extensions of our intelligence NOT our provider or protector .
3. realized that the rat race was a mirage. Going after the corner office, next promotion, swanky cars and expensive phones, foreign trips etc. all is farce... and what really matters - our family, our relationships, being humble and helpful. Get your focus right!!!
4. Life is so uncertain and anything can happen at any time which u never want to expect And try to close your parents
5. Never wait for tomorrow cause tomorrow can be the last day say 'love you' to all loved ones❤️
6. Don't take anything for granted especially NATURE coz when it hits back no corner in the world will be safe ...
7. If you are breathing, healthy & alive you are privileged. Life is short, there will come a day, when each of us without exception, will have to bid life, goodbye. No amount of success,money, power, fame or glory, can change that. So be kind.
8. realised that we all can become UNTOUCHABLES 😢 We can't even be pall bearers to our dear ones on their demise and be part of their final journey. We realised that our near & dear ones can't even hug us and express their condolences.I stepped into their shoes and realised how unfortunate the backward castes who are always treated like that feel
9. Use all the resources wisely..... Simplicity is the best.....surviving with even what you have is more important lesson learned..... value every human being... Because you never know what's gonna happen the verry next minute... hour. Day.. Month...
10. Learnt that we will never really know what happened to behind so many suicides, that rapes will continue without any justice to victims, that we not even rely on one single news channel for the real facts..that doctors wont even be given basic salary for fighting the real fight for the country..learnt indian judicial system will take forever to give a conclusion even when the truth is right infront of them...learnt that those who do one thumka on the screen are paid in crores go into depression and do drugs ..oh what a sad life ..and those who spend so much on education and wrk hard will never be given enough credit... learnt that when we stopped watching saas bahu sazish on television news channels took up the duty to entertain us in that way..why wont indian economy go down? Look where is the massive economy going.....learnt that the only way to get india up is start investing in educating citizens and strengthening the law and order...did u guy knows that when a lawyer dies...the whole court closes down mourn but when a doc dies..or is beaten up you just cant close the hospital down... here ethics come into play... law and order need to be strictly monitored and should not be closed every now and then and that enough with delaying of justice..or this country will soon be hell on earth...
11. News channels are for sale. Just like any/every other establishments in India. They have become the most dangerous instruments that have been employed to literally turn anyone /person/actor/state/citizen into any thing they choose . 2020 has opened my eyes to seeking an alternative to everything said by  news outlets . With certainty that there is always another angle that folks are not supposed so see/seek /understand/know. 
12. Many persons experienced depression under the regime of lock down !
13. Internet has been a greatest blessing, that help things moving, many things have gone online, including teaching. Teachers need more support and honour. 

And it is still around teaching us many more things. 

The Traveler's Gift - Andy Andrews

Have often wondered, how some books just reach us - always wanted something special as my 50th book, lo and behold, as we shifted the house, this book sat in my book shelf, asking me to pick her up. 

At a time when we are confined at home with virtual, a perfect Traveler's gift; making me ponder what came first the similar thoughts as part of inner engineering or this book?

A combination of fiction and self - help; as the cover page say, the books unveils Seven decisions that determine personal success, through forty-six-year-old David Ponder. He feels like a total failure. Once a high-flying executive in a Fortune 500 company, he now works a part-time, minimum wage job and struggles to support his family. Then, an even greater crisis hits: his daughter becomes ill, and he can’t afford to get her the medical help she needs. When his car skids on an icy road, he wonders if he even cares to survive the crash, he begins to think that maybe him not surviving the crash isn’t a bad thing…. The first 2 chapters in this book are setting the stage of watching a man’s life fall apart, to the point he is asking “Why me”.  Haven’t we all been there before at some stage in our life?

The last thing David remembers is the icy crash and he wakes up to a unique experience that will change his life. But an extraordinary experience awaits David Ponder. He finds himself traveling back in time, meeting leaders and heroes at crucial moments in their lives—from Abraham Lincoln to Anne Frank. By the time his journey is over, he has received seven secrets for success—and a second chance. The Traveler's Gift offers a modern day parable of one man's choices—and the attitudes that make the difference between failure and success.  

The actual principles/decisions are:

1. The buck stops here. I am responsible for my past and my future.
2. I will seek wisdom. I will be a servant to others.
3. I am a person of action. I seize this moment. I choose now.
4. I have a decided heart. My destiny is assured.
5. Today I will choose to be happy. I am the possessor of a grateful spirit.
6. I will greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will forgive myself.
7. I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith.

The buck stops here. I control my thoughts. I control my emotions. In the future when I am tempted to ask the question “Why me?” I will immediately counter with the answer: “Why not me?” Challenges are gifts, opportunities to learn. Problems are the common thread running through the lives of great men and women. In times of adversity, I will not have a problem to deal with; I will have a choice to make. My thoughts will be clear. I will make the right choice. Adversity is preparation for greatness. I will accept this preparation. Why me? Why not me? I will be prepared for something great!

 

The Case of the Bonsai Manager - R. Gopalakrishnan

This is the perfect antidote for every manager who feels they are not achieving their full potential. Effective leadership is not just about hard facts but also about listening to, and using, your intuition. Using anecdotes from Nature and the world of management, R.Gopalakrishnan explores how you can be more intuitive, inclusive and humane. This was 49th of 2020.

The six simple messages of this book are:

• Intuition does exist and it is very important for the manager, especially at the more senior levels of leadership
• Analysis and intuition are not substitutes for each other, they are complementary.
• A manager can develop intuition through viewing issues holistically, with the 'surrounds' of the issues, and not in isolation. He should observe and learn from the peripherals of his vision, hearing, experiences and relationships.
• The manager's intuition is enhanced through varied experiences and relationships, contemplation and reflection
• A manager can develop his intuition by exploring and sensing beyond what is visible and audible.
• The leader needs to think about issues at the 'edges of the spectrum of the obvious'.

The book is organized in five sections:

• Section 1 is a discussion about analysis and intuition. It contains a relevant incident from author's experience.
• Section 2 is a pragmatic view about how the leader's intuition works.
• Section 3 is about building intuition through varied experiences and varied relationships.
• Section 4 is about building intuition through contemplation and reflection and
• Section 5 is about building intuition through sensing and perceiving beyond the obvious. 

Intuition complements analysis and is not a substitute; it does exist and increases in importance with seniority and larger responsibility. People with an intuition-driven mind are more interested in the possibilities than in the predictions, they like to listen to what comes from the unconscious, and they  emphasize vision and purpose and are less driven by process and routine. 

There is a sort of ‘email ID’ in the brain.  BRIM, standing for the Brain’s Remote Implicit Memory. The letter R in BRIM stands for ‘remote’. The part of the memory called the remote memory  stretches very deep into your psyche and childhood - your village, your grandfather’s house, the smells of mother’s cooking, and the stories that granny told you. This remote memory is very durable. That is why a person may forget what happened last week, but can recall early life events with clarity. The letter I in BRIM stands for 'implicit'.  In the implicit memory, you hold processes - such processes manifest themselves as skills and habits. BRIM is the common area between the remote and implicit memory in the brain. To develop strong intuition, this  email ID must be accessed for messages stored there. 

Both in Nature and in organizations, there arises two responses to an external threat: an adaptation to survive and a reallocation of resources. Accelerated evolution occurred in species with three characteristics:  one or a few members get and idea (innovation), then they share the idea with their colleagues (social propagation) and finally, they all try the idea out in different circumstances and location (mobility). If you do not expect to retire, you tend not to nurture talent. Scarce resources promote corporation.  Sense, listen and feel so that you can crack the code of change and rearrange the resources of the company to suit that code. 

A good leader must combine in him two important but competing and contrary qualities. One is to help create a vision, and energize, enthuse and empower his people to great heights of achievements and performance and the other is the architectural dimension. i.e. creating systems, structure and processes in the organization to ensure that the dreams and the views are  properly channeled and implemented. This is where the 'questioning' comes and contrarian viewpoint surface.  Enduring leaders are conscious about themselves as human beings, about their weaknesses, and about what can derail them. They have an eye of the fly. Society values efficiency more than effectiveness. One of the most satisfying things in life is a sense of purpose beyond oneself. This provides the values aspect of coping with turbulence. 

 "A bonsai manager limits him or herself from reaching his or her full potential."  It's impossible for people to reach full potential, as we put tape around ourselves. Become more self-aware, reflect on the experiences and learn from them. Each person is distinctive. Intuition is enhanced  through immersion, openness, contemplation and reflection (ImOpCoRe). The people who have demonstrated extraordinary intuition throughout history  (for example, Einstein, Mozarat and Salk) are people who demonstrated ImOPCoRe in abundant measure. 

To quote Einstein: "The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. 

Self Help Work Book:

Thought No. 1: To develop your powers of Intuition, you must believe that intuition does exist and has some power. Non-Believers cannot develop their intuition.

Thought No. 2: Before you convert your belief into intuition, you realize that 'what you know that you know' is a small part of what you 'do not know that you know'.

Thought No. 3: If you seek methods that will quickly develop your intuition, be patient, programmed method do not add up to much with regard to developing intuition.

Thought No. 4: To learn how to be intuitive, you must prepare and be prepared. You must adopt certain techniques that help enhance intuition. 

Thought No. 5: Much of our academic training is programmed teaching with formal curriculum and target milestones. Our minds are enslaved to such a regimen. You have to liberate your mind from such a tyranny early on in the intuition journey. 

Thought No. 6: Intuition comes into the consciousness in a flash, for just a moment. It may not remain in the conscious, so you have to write it down when it flashes from the unscious. 

Thought No. 7: Recognizing patterns and imagining situations are both important aids to intuition. These can be practised. 

As Ratan Tata writes in the foreword; " This book is about effective leadership in today's uncertain times and addressing budding managers aspiring to become tomorrow's leaders. 

Truth or it's annihilation

 

Critical thinking is being amply crushed by our education system itself. Majority of our population lacks analytical capabilities which is why fake propaganda is such a success. We don't ask questions. We believe everything that comes from what we perceive as positions of authority. And the minority voices of thinkers get drowned in all the noise.

Truth does not require explanation. But what if the extremist believes their truth and imposes it on critical thinkers.

No murder, No rape, No Pandemic, Mosques fall by itself, booming economy, borders safe, best CM to be next PM from the state where priority is construction of temple for 'God'!  Are we experiencing a collective, nation-wide hallucination? Is 'Maal' part of the daily food we consume? Seems some where having only that or all are?

And he was not Mohanlal but Mohandas. Real hero's are who fight for truth and justice

What do we call the people who fight against the person who fought for truth and justice, and who is constantly trying to bring him down? To the extend, the person who killed him was fully praised. 

"A lot of conversations have started about what Gandhi Ji is. If we can convict people with the benefit of hindsight, all of us would deserve to be sacked and even hanged.  Here are some remarkable facts that makes Gandhi Ji a  Mahatma. Think about the mind boggling numbers and see if you can do any one of them: 

1. Gandhiji was jailed eleven times. In all, he spent 11 years and 19 days in jail.

2. Gandhiji, in all fasted 17 times as his way of protest. 

3. Gandhi Ji fasted for 21 days at a stretch three times - one for Hindu/Muslim Unity,  another to protest untouchability and third time to protest his detention without charges. 

4. In all, 79,000 km is the estimated distance that Gandhiji walked during his campaigns from 1914 to 1948. This is equivalent to circling the Earth twice.

5. Gandhiji walked 18 kms a day for nearly 40 years.

6. Gandhi Ji wore just a loin cloth for 27 years. He gave up his normal wardrobe in Sep 1921.

7. In 1930, Gandhiji was the Time Magazine's Man of the Year.

8. Gandhi wrote a lot if articles and essays. He founded 3 newspapers and wrote 3 books of his own. The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi have 50,000 pages!

9. His book, ' My Experiments with Truth' sold 57.74 lac copies till 2019. The sale in English was 20.98 lac copies. The Malayalam edition.published in 1997 sold 8.24 lac copies. 

10. He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times but never won. Maybe, the Nobel was not worth a Mahatma. 

It is the poet Rabindranath Tagore, who gave the title Mahatma to Gandhiji. His resilience, steely resolve, determination, non-violent ways to protest, struggle, suffering and still a desire to do good can never be found in another. Even today, when any leader, from left to right to far right visit any foreign country, they espouse the teachings of Gandhiji to get any credibility or recognition. 

Try a million times, but for India, there is only one Mahatma and One 'Father of the Nation. 

MAHATMA GANDHI."

And beyond the numbers and facts, anyone who has read his book 'my experiments with truth' and has even modicum of an open mind would realize what an astounding force for good one person can be. Reading that was a character forming experience. A lifetime of a lesson in radical honesty and humility. But then I guess people can only learn what they are ready for / capable of, at a given point in time.

Albert Einstein said of Mahatma Gandhi that: "Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth."

Sad to see trending in India on Gandhi Jayanthi - 2nd October - 'Godse Zindabad'

True every coin has two sides, and so do people. But now! 

Mansplaining

 

“Mansplaining” is about raising awareness of how deeply embedded misogyny is in our society, down to little interactions that men aren’t aware of, but women put up with constantly. Then there’s the “make me a sandwich” guys who genuinely believe women are inferior and enjoy attacking women across all kinds of platforms, think women belong at home having babies, basically being domestic servants/laborers for men. Then you’ve got guys who are actively dangerous to us, who abuse the women in their lives (physically/mentally/emotionally/financially, etc), who will beat, rape, and kill us. Men are much more likely to kill their female partners than the other way around. Never mind politicians making sweeping policies of exclusion, limiting access, to healthcare and other services.

I’m not saying that all men do these things, but it’s all connected, all variations on misogyny. So many men who would never rape or beat a woman still don’t see us as actual people who are their equals, and still behave in ways that are harmful and reinforce the existing norms.

You’re right, there are a lot of injustices in the world. But when you boil them down, most of the root causes are the same: disregard for those who are ‘different’. To fight back and make things better, we need to address the fundamental issues at all levels, and that includes within ourselves.

You can avoid being a mansplainer by asking yourself these questions:

• Did she indicate any desire to hear this information?
• Is it possible that she knows more about this topic than I do?
• Did I read the room before starting to speak?

Joy-ride Towards Divinity: A Spiritual Autobiography - Shobha Rajgopal Menon

 

Joy-ride Towards Divinity: A Spiritual Autobiography is by Shobha Rajgopal Menon  who is  retired as Principal from the reputed St. Kabir High School in Ahmedabad. She has undergone dedicated spiritual ‘Sadhana’ for over eight years. The present book is an outcome of the knowledge gathered during those wonderful years in search of Divinity.It is a useful and exciting reading for spiritual seekers.

The author has been awarded Ph.D. in English Literature by ‘The International University of Contemporary Studues’, Washindton.D.C, U.S.A., in 2011, for this book published in November 2009.

Introduction.

The world is poised at a juncture where it needs a new direction; a change of perspective into a more compassionate, humanitarian one. This can be accomplished only by a serious look inward into the essence of the individual. The coming generation needs to be nurtured on the intuitive wisdom within, leading to universal love so that one can look forward to a healthier world tomorrow, if not an ideal one.

The book is dedicated with gratitude to :

*beloved guru, Sadguru Jaggi Vasudev,

*erstwhile and revered guru Shri  Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari,

*First guide, co-seeker and friend in the spiritual quest, Preceptor Sheela Das,

*Family friend Parashu, who introduced  to the spiritual system instrumental to inner growth,

*And to Divinity itself.

The other chapters are:

1  The Roots of my Quest.

2   My Formal Introduction to Spirituality.

3   The First Touch of Divinity.

"Br.Rajagopal’s visit, and more specifically his sitting, opened my heart to a beautiful and mysterious new aspect of the spiritual sadhana. While seeing him off, by way of thanks, I said to him, “I feel I have met Master himself!”. To this he answered very benevolently, “I am just a candle, he is the sun!” After he left, I realized the deeper implications of the wonderful gift I had received from him. The effect of his spiritual transmission started manifesting itself with full impact only after he left. He had given me the first taste of Divinity! This was the first time I realized what spiritual bliss is all about! My heart was brimming with affection for everyone. For days, I was going through life with a strange inexplicable joy within me, in a dazed, intoxicated condition!"

4   The Taste of Divine Bliss.

5   Believe me, its Child’s Play!

All the communication systems that humanity has so far invented, and all that will happen in this field in future, is already present in the most sophisticated form, within the human being! It is not very difficult to think one step beyond this, and perceive that the external world is just an amateur manifestation of the fathomless internal one. The scriptures have been reaffirming this universal truth all through!

6   Small Wonders!

7   Chatting with God!

8   The Most Blessed Day of my Spiritual Life.

The desperation to ‘merge’, drives you to tears of pure misery. This is the secret of the ecstasy of Meera, Surdas, Tulsidas, and other Bhaktas down the line. The inexplicably blissful yearning, when it becomes unbearable, finally climaxes into an ecstatic outburst of something within! This, as per my understanding, is the ‘divine bliss’ that spiritual seekers are craving for. 

9   My First Satsang as a Preceptor.

The whole spiritual trip is so highly personalized and experiential that it can not be interpreted in words. Nevertheless, this tradition of guarding spiritual knowledge should be exercised with discretion by the guardians of spirituality. Carried beyond a point this secretiveness turns into a vice in the spiritual hierarchy. It is the lone reason for this precious wealth not being systematically handed down through generations, and made available to humanity liberally. Easy access to spiritual truths would have made humanity so much more aware of the transcendental than they are today.

10   A Red Rose for Divine Love!

11   A Stumbling Block on my Spiritual Track.

Depression is the worst hell one can be in, as long as it lasts.  I was’ down and out’ for three months, going around ‘like a zombie’ for another six, and ‘getting back to normalcy’ for another year.

12   Back on the Track of Divinity.

Mara’s Children’ is the general term used for the whole gamut of the recurring, disturbing thoughts which keep rising up from within your own conscience. One needs to learn to overcome these with serenity and inner strength. 

13   In Love with God!

There are no coincidences in Divinity’s kingdom. This is often seen mentioned in spiritual texts. My experience is a live proof to this fact. ‘Not a leaf shakes without Divinity being aware of it’ says an adage among the enlightened. The mural in question is still very much there as part of the school’s new branch’s rear wall, for anyone to verify!

14   The Manifold Blessings of the Spiritual Path.

Spirituality will soon be declared a science that can be introduced officially even in schools, and imparted scientifically and methodically under the guidance of accomplished teachers. Meanwhile, one needs to exercise caution while choosing a spiritual Guru. In the present scenario, there are quite a few masquerading as realized Masters, making easy moneys from large followings. It is time to make sincere efforts to remove the veil over the cosmic. There are pointers in this direction already. The flowering of the famed ‘Sahasrara’ of the individual will soon become indispensable and integral to education and knowledge and to the development of humanity in general. Scientists have evidence that says that the present-day man uses only 3% of the brain that nature has gifted him with! The homo-sapiens will walk the earth in his ultimate splendor, only when his caliber has been fully realized through spiritual pursuits. As the famous quote goes, “It is an understatement to say that God has made man. He is still making him”

15   Never say Die!

16   Shiva’s Abode at the Foothills of the Velliangiri.

17   The Magic Never Wears off!

Bhakti, Gnana, Karma and Hata, are known to be the four paths to enlightenment in the Indian yogic tradition. What I have discovered, through my own spiritual quest of about eight years, (exclusive of the unavoidable two to three years’ break) is that all these paths themselves are basically one. Follow any one earnestly, and you will find that after you reach beyond a point, the others naturally merge into it. A person who is on the Bhakti path, is in love with God. When her devotion grows intense, she dedicates all that she does, to God, out of sheer love. And when this transcendental devotion pervades all work, work turns ‘into worship’ in the real sense. Everything is done in constant remembrance of the Divine, and thus work attains perfection. This is ‘Karma Yoga’ accomplished. Further, this love acquires universal dimensions, as the Guru himself represents God; the omnipresent. This all-embracing love brings with it identification with everything in creation. This sense of universal oneness enhances intuitive abilities, which is the source of all-inclusive knowledge and wisdom. This is ‘Gnana Yoga’ in essence. As for ‘Hata Yoga’s, the body is considered to be the temple of the Divine. It is to be kept in a condition good enough for God to reside in. This is the reason for all the stress laid on health and hygiene in the yogic tradition. Besides, anyone interested in following the spiritual path must see to it that she keeps the body agile for the practice, and hence, sooner or later she resorts to yogic exercises that tone up the body. This is what I have been doing of late, to adapt my stiff joints to Isha Yoga! So all spiritual paths not only lead to one God, but all paths themselves blend into one en route! The Isha Foundation calls its practice ‘Kriya Yoga’; a combination of asanas, mudras and pranayams. This system too, obviously, brings Bhakti, Gnana, Karma and Hata, in its wake!

*Bhakti = devotion.

*Gnana =knowledge, wisdom.

*Karma = action, work.

*Hata = toning up of the physical body.

*Asanas = sitting positions.

*Mudras = gestures of the hands, including positions of fingers.

*Pranayams = breathing exercises.

18   All the World is God’s Abode!

God can surely not appreciate us dumping the responsibilities of our life, and walking off to the Himalayas to follow our spiritual whims, expecting all concerned to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives! Both spiritual and material life must go on side by side, right in the middle of the hub of life. That is the real ‘spirit’ of spirituality. The life of Krishna was in essence, a profound statement in this direction. He was, all at once, the ace-statesman of the Mahabharata fame, the delightfully playful beloved of the gopis, the accomplished Guru of the dejected Arjuna, the ‘ishtadevata’ of thousands of devotees, and yet, in essence the simple cowherd boy of the countryside!

19   A Closer Look at the Isha Way of Life.

20   The Isha Mahashivaratri ; Within my own Self!

21   Forward, towards  Eternity……’

If asked what I have gained through this search into the self, the answer is ‘nothing’ with a capital ‘N’. This means, that I am close to that ‘nothingness’ which is the source of everything in creation. It means that death does not mean anything to me, as I know that none ever dies. It means there is nothing material that can I really desire. It means that I am emotionally fulfilled with all the love an individual can have, from God himself! It means I have a constant companion in the spiritual realm who knows me thoroughly, even better than I know myself! At the material level, it means that my knowledge and understanding has become enhanced through the continuous unfolding of my intuitive faculties. Coming down to the mundane,it means that many of my little and large problems in life get sorted out all by themselves.

It is as if God has adopted me, and looks after me, not as I please, but on his own terms and conditions. And those conditions are extremely benevolent ones! Er….. excuse me; God is online for a chat regarding the further journey…… See you later!

Don't know how and why did this book land into my hands, but a much needed solace, and 48th of 2020.