Life

Life is full of contradictions. It is very long and very short at the same time. When we are stuck in a situation that we do not like, life appears to be quite long; on the other hand, when we enjoy what we are doing, life passes in the blink of an eye. Life is full of choices and at the same time constrained of choices. We are free to make any decision to change our career, invest in new relationships, or explore different things in this world, but at the same time the old choices demand their share of time and we feel constrained to allot time to those choices. The more time we allot to those choices the more constrained we feel to make new choices.  Many such contradictions persist because we do not know the consequences of change. We are generally afraid of the unknown and that's why take the safe option of pursuing whatever path is shown by society. That's why most people get an education, marry, have kids, have some promotions, retire, and die. That's the entire story...

Human civilization is built around stories. We try to find reasons to celebrate. Celebrate different festivals based on the stories that are believed in by the whole of society. Celebrate birthdays based on the commonly held feel-good belief about the day of the year we were born. We celebrate the first day of the year. We also celebrate different days such as Father's Day, Mother's Day, etc. We have made stories about all these days which are believed in by human beings across the globe. In Organizations, we search for opportunities to celebrate the achievement of targets and outstanding achievements. What is the truth behind all these celebrations? Somebody just created a story and sold that to the public at large. Some time back nobody knew about all these Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Valentine's Day in India and today almost all the urban youths are mad about all these days. They will buy different types of gifts to celebrate and that is what the market wants...

Why do we want to contribute to the lives of others? Why do we want to do charity? To get some intangible benefits in the form of name and fame? Or to accumulate some "good deeds" in our balance sheer of life so that when we die, these "good deeds" help us secure a good position in the next life? Or do we feel an enhanced "self-esteem"? Can there be giving without any associated desire to get any of these things?  I feel that till there is "contribution", there will always be a commensurate desire to get something tangible or intangible in return. The moment there is a feeling that we are contributing, there will always be an associated feeling that we are "making an effort" and whenever there is an effort, we are naturally conditioned to expect something in return, whether tangible or intangible. However, there may also be a possibility where we are just enjoying the manifestation of a possibility and then leave it for others to accept...

We are emotionally attached to so many people including our parents, kids, and friends. If any of these people fall sick, we can feel their pain. We often pray that they do not suffer and that their sufferings are transmitted to us. I am not sure about other animals and plants, but these feelings are typical of human beings. Sometimes we feel a similar connection with the almighty as well. We feel emotionally attached to the "God" or "Goddess" we pray. We call it Bhakti. However, if we dive a little deeper, we will soon understand that all these emotional attachments are creations of the mind. Our mind has two typical parts. First being emotional and the second being rational. The emotional mind typically operates on memories that are essential for our survival. Parents take care of us in our childhood when we are quite vulnerable and that is the reason all of us have a very special emotional bond with our parents. Similarly, we, as parents take care of our kids whe...

 The present-day world is strange. Instant gratification is the new norm. If you want to eat something at midnight, there is no problem "Zomato" is there to serve you. You forgot to purchase groceries and running out of stock. There is no problem and "Blinkit" will order the same in minutes. If you want to read a book, just order that on Amazon, and the book will be delivered in hours, or buy a Kindle edition and you can read the same immediately. If you want to watch a movie, just type the name of the movie on YouTube or the OTT platform and you can watch the movie. You can listen to the music you wish just by giving Alexa a command.  When everything is so instant and kids are used to these instant gratifications, it seems to be quite a big task for them to wait for years to get into the college of their choice. They have to let go of fun with their friends, social functions and ceremonies, night outs and parties with their friends and so many other things and conc...

We appreciate Bhagar Singh as a hero in India because he sacrificed his life for the country's freedom. Mahatma Gandhi is the father of the nation. Ram is worshipped in almost every home. Yet, if we are allowed to draw the horoscope of our kids, none of us would like to have similar planets in the horoscope of our kids. Why should they be hanged like Bhagat Singh? Why should they live a life of detachment and sacrifice like Mahatma Gandhi? Why should they suffer in the forest like Rama? We want the "most comfortable" life for our kids. What stopped Gandhi from setting the target of becoming the best of the lawyers in South Africa and leading a wealthy lifestyle? What stopped Rama from accepting the request of Bharata to become the king of Ayodhya and live a comfortable life? What stopped Gautama from accepting the comforts arranged for him by his desperate father and living happily. All of them explored the domain of known and did not find that to be interesting enough. R...

Human beings have a strong desire to contribute. Almost all of us want to contribute to the lives of our children. We give them the best education and make the best resources available. We contribute to our organizations and communities in different ways. The desire to contribute is intrinsic to human beings because it gives them a purpose in life.  Some human beings prefer themselves and their "happiness" over such contributions. They would make excuses rather than take up additional responsibilities at the workplace. They would consume the resources of the community disproportionately. They would not mind spoiling the air by burning crackers for their momentary fun. They would not mind playing loud DJs and disturbing others for their momentary entertainment. Some of them would be so selfish that they would not mind sacrificing even their family members for their petty interests. Generally, we would find that the first category of people are happier in society than the secon...

I was reading a book titled "Fluke" written by Brian Klass. The author mentions a fascinating experiment called the "Long Term Evolution Experiment" carried out by a scientist named Lenski on E-coli bacteria. The bacteria pass through 6.54 generations per day, enabling scientists to observe the evolution of identical bacteria over 1.5 million years of human life. The bacteria feed on glucose and can not digest citric acid. There were hardly any known examples of E-coli eating citric acid. For the experiment, the identical bacteria were divided into 12 different parts. Ideally, in the same conditions and with the same food, the bacteria should have evolved the same way. However, bacteria in one of the 12 flasks developed the capacity to digest citric acid while the bacteria in the other 11 flasks could not develop the same.  I wonder whether the genetic mutation and evolution of the E. coli bacteria in the Long Term Evolution Experiment have anything to do with ...

"I did so much for him and he did such a bad thing to me". We hear this dialogue almost day in and day out in different contexts. Sometimes we have these complaints against our kids, sometimes against our friends, spouses, and sometimes organizations and colleagues. Probably all of us have a very strong self-image of being "givers". Being a "giver" gives us a sense of purpose. You ask any person in his 40s and 50s about the purpose of his life and in most cases, the answer will be "I am living life for my kids". However, a little deeper examination will reveal that almost in all situations, we are "takers" rather than "givers".  If we want to give a hundred rupee note to a street kid and he refuses the same, what will be our first reaction? probably most of us will feel hurt. If the purpose was to give, why would we feel hurt. It is because the primary purpose of offering that hundred rupee note was to get thanks from him to e...

One attribute distinguishing human beings from other living beings in this world is their inherent desire to manage their image. Tigers kill other animals and eat them but they do not pretend to be saints. Human beings invest a lot of time and energy in their image management. We notice almost every day the most corrupt people pretend to be honest, the people who do not understand even A, B, or C of spirituality become the caretakers of religion, people who are completely self-obsessed and narcissistic pretend to be most generous and caring, people who do not have a second thought on exploiting others pretend to be quite helpful. If we examine our society carefully, we will quickly notice that most people have disproportionately high desires as compared to their capabilities and that is the fundamental reason of falsity in their characters. We are quite lazy. Somehow this society places a huge premium on laziness and comfort. Best jobs are the ones with little amount of work and huge m...