Life

Why did Buddha marry Yashoda when he had to leave the palace to move to the forest in search of the meaning of life? Why did Krishna enter into a relationship with Radha when he had to leave Brij to fight against Kansa? Why didn't he come back to Brij after killing Kansa? Why did Rama let go of Sita when a few of the people in his kingdom raised their fingers at the character of Sita? Why did Mira marry a prince when she accepted Krishna as her husband?  All these questions indicate a conflict between the "purpose of relationships" and the "purpose of life". For most people, the relationship is the fulcrum of life, and they feel that they are living for their family. They would give away any and everything for their family. That's why they would criticise Rama for leaving Sita, without realizing that he is the same Rama who went all the way to Lanka to get Sita back. They criticise Buddha for having left his family, failing to realize that it is the same Bud...

The present-day society is the most comfortable in the entire history of humanity. We have invented machines to carry out work at home, have built highways, can fly conveniently across countries, have comfortable homes, have information of almost every kind at our fingertips, and also have AI to help us make use of the information. Advances in robotics have made many apparently impossible tasks quite easy to perform. Yet, so many countries are at war, people are suffering from psychological disorders, depression, there are broken relationships everywhere, and people are under tremendous stress. What has gone wrong in the process? Why is development not bringing happiness? Because we have chosen "comforts" over "growth". Because we have chosen "fear" over "love". Doesn't that sound strange? Why would somebody choose "fear" over "love"? Probably, we are not aware of it while making these choices. Our unconscious mind process...

I think that most of us would agree that the most painful people in any organization are those who want credit for everything without commensurate capabilities. Since they do not have the capabilities, they try to use unfair means and manipulate. Precious time of the organization, as well as other employees, is wasted in office politics. I discussed this phenomenon at length in the context of 3 different organizations yesterday with three different friends. That shows how widely prevalent this phenomenon is.  What makes these "intelligent" people so insecure and stupid that they waste their lives proving themselves and taking credit rather than working on their capabilities? They are "intelligent" because they have invested time and energy in understanding a subject. In the process, they have turned their eyes away from the larger life. A doctor may be very good at surgery and definitely "intelligent". However, if he feels that the same skill set will work...

It's the easiest thing in the world to judge and pass comments. There are two reasons why people are so quick to pass judgments. First, people have minimal exposure to life. Second, they conveniently ignore what they don't know. It becomes quite difficult to deal with people having both of these "qualities"😜. We see the most educated as well as the illiterate people falling into the trap. In fact, the educated people have sharper logic to deny the existence of reality beyond what they already know.  But why would anybody be disinterested in knowing the reality? Why would Ravana reject Rama being God? Why would Duryodhana not be able to see his own greed? Why would a terrorist not be able to see that he is killing innocent people? Why would the people sitting in the topmost positions in this world not be able to see that they have made the world so chaotic? Why do viruses attack us and not produce their own food? Why do we have parasites in this world? Why is there so...

CBSE results of 10th and 12th have been declared, and every kid who appeared in the examination has got a percentage that will be tagged with them for their entire life. I still remember my percentage of 10th and 12th because they have been asked on so many occasions, in almost all the examinations that I appeared in after my 12th. These kids will also be made to remember these percentages. Society will do some sort of grading of the children based on these percentages in "Intelligent", "brilliant", "average", "poor", and so many other categories. I fail to understand why we are so obsessed with Board exams. Doesn't it put so much pressure on the kids? Doesn't it take away their right to free thinking? We see that in almost all the fields of life, be it politics, business, bureaucracy, art, music, or even science, people at the top have not been toppers in the formal school system. They have been the ones who could understand their unique...

The world of the brain is quite strange. We all create our own virtual realities that exist only inside our brains. For example, somebody feels cheated in a relationship and carries that feeling throughout their life, while the "cheater" may have the same sense of being cheated. People are willing to spend lakhs to visit the mountains, while the people living in those mountains want to move to the plains. Many poor people spend their lives with the dream of becoming rich, while many rich people, like Buddha, give away the comforts of palaces to seek the meaning of life. It's difficult to discriminate between the real and the fake. Our brain often creates an illusion. It's the most difficult thing in this world to understand the nature of this illusion. It's like trying to find the real colour of an object while wearing coloured glasses. That's almost impossible. Since different people are wearing glasses of different colours, the same object will appear differ...

The human mind is quite restless to complete the story about everything—the story about ourselves, the purpose of life, others, their nature, history, mythology, and everything else. That's why it fills in the blanks. We know very little about a person and presume many things, and when we meet them, many of our assumptions get shattered. Sometimes we get surprised to know how people perceive us.  The human brain is a meaning-making machine that constantly makes meanings. Probably that's a survival need, and human beings have been able to survive due to that. While driving on the road, at night, we can see only a very small area where the beam of the headlight is focused, but since we have to drive, our brain makes assumptions about the route, the condition of the road ahead, and so many other things. Of course, the traffic signals help us navigate. Nowadays, we have Google Maps also helping us decide the route. But our direct awareness of the road is quite limited, and the mind...

Today, while walking in the park, I observed three groups of people. One group of old people who were busy singing the old Bollywood songs. The other group of people, some young and some old, were chanting mantras. The third one is walking and jogging in the park. Everybody is seeking one or the other thing in life. All are perfectly logical. In fact, you talk to any of them and they would be equally convinced of their life choices. Had they not been convinced, they would have been sitting in their home or would not have gotten out of bed. Why does our logic guide us towards different things in life? Some get convinced to exploit others to gain little benefit, while some sacrifice their lives for the freedom of the nation. While somebody would kill their sibling for not being able to snatch the remote control of the television, somebody will take the responsibility for their siblings throughout their life. The most amazing thing is that everybody is equally convinced by his logic. The ...

 Working with "fear" or "greed" is nowhere near working with "love." History and mythology are full of such examples. Rama loved his wife, and his love made him reach Lanka when nobody knew the whereabouts of Lanka to bring his wife back. Krishna became Arjuna's charioteer out of his love for Arjuna and changed the entire course of the battle. So many freedom fighters sacrificed their lives willingly out of their love for their country. Out of love, Savitri could take the life of her husband back from Yamraja. Out of love for his father, Nachiketa reached Yamraja.  Greed has made people do some of the ugliest things in this world. Greed for heaven turns people into suicide bombers, killing many fellow human beings. Greed for ruling the world made Hitler kill millions of innocent people. Greed for power has created so many dictators in this world who have committed numerous genocides. We see the greed of the employers exploiting the employees almost eve...

Yesterday, my daughter finished her book "The Road to Freedom" by Joseph Stiglitz, and we discussed the same. She told me that the author has discussed how freedom is related to the economy and finances. The author has argued that the state should work for the welfare of the poor because the poor can't gain freedom due to the lack of money, and they have fallen into the trap of poverty not because of their choice, but because a few in the society own disproportionate wealth and somehow wants to maintain those disparities. That deprives the poor of equal chances to grow. In fact, a child born in a financially insecure family has to struggle hard to study and become capable. Struggle is there on every front: right from school fees, to good books, to getting good teachers, to getting a conducive ecosystem, to getting guidance about different possibilities, to money for getting admission to good universities. In most poor families, children also take up some or the other work...

Everybody wants to grow and chooses the best growth path, yet almost all of us end our lives in "routine". Mostly, we are quite unhappy with the "routine" we are trapped in. The people who are trapped in poverty, unsure of even having food for the next time, want to somehow become rich. If they are successful, they end their life in a different "routine" as a rich person. Students who have to work hard in schools and colleges somehow want to finish their studies and start a career in a good organization. If they are successful, they end their life in another "routine" as an employee. Employees want to complete their job so that they have enough money for the education of their kids. If they are successful, they end their lives in another "routine" as a retired person. People look forward to entering into relationships for the sake of "exchange of ideas and thoughts," but soon, almost all the relationships become "routine...

Fear drives our lives. Are poor people more fearful than the rich? On the surface, this is true. However, reality is quite different. We see street children playing fearlessly on the streets despite heavy traffic. While the privileged children are afraid to even step outside their homes. We have a fear of losing "what we hold on to". Therefore, it depends on what we hold on to. We generally hold on to our image, dreams, relationships, and possessions. We hold on to our image, and that's the reason why the toppers in the school are often afraid. They are afraid to have a dent in their image of being brilliant. Initially, they ask questions fearlessly, appreciated in the process, but slowly in the process, they "hold on to that image of being brilliant", and slowly become quite fearful of "losing that tag". That makes them full of fear and cautious while asking questions and participating in the discussions. Similarly, many employees hold on to their ima...

Our daily schedule drains our energy and leaves little time to contemplate the meaning of life. We wake up in the morning and help the kids get ready for school. By the time they leave for school, it’s time for a walk or morning exercise, and after we return and finish the newspaper, it’s time to head to the office. The moment we reach the office, we operate on autopilot for the rest of the day. When we finally get home, we are almost exhausted, but we somehow manage to complete our evening walk, have dinner, and go to bed. Most people in this world live the same life. We wait for the weekend to watch movies and socialise with friends, and spend some time with family. Weekend passes very quickly, and again, the same routine takes over. In fact, with quick changes in the work culture in almost every organization, now even weekends are turning into working days.  Pre-civilization, each human being was free to choose their schedule. Conditions were quite harsh. Everybody needs to work...

A few days back, I observed some of the kids trying to earn some money by wiping the glasses of cars on the roads while the cars stopped at the traffic lights. Some ladies were also carrying babies in their laps and begging for money. This is one strata of the society that is somehow struggling for survival. There is another sector of society that is comfortable in mediocrity. That includes the people who are born rich and have a family business. The kids take over the family business from their parents without any new innovation. This also includes the people who spend their entire lives doing a routine job without much innovation. That also includes people who stay at home without any drive for excellence in any area of life. There is a third category of people who are always working hard for excellence in all walks of life. That may include scientists constantly trying the break the frontiers of present-day knowledge, doctors trying to find treatment for complicated diseases, spirit...

We make choices almost every moment. Sometimes we choose to listen, while sometimes we choose to close our ears. We listen carefully when somebody is talking sense, while closing our ears to nonsense. We listen to nice music while closing our ears when somebody is honking unnecessarily.  While listening to anything, what is our first reaction? For example, when we listen to honking, what is our first reaction? We may become alert to see whether we have done something wrong, or there is something wrong with the vehicle, and somebody is trying to attract our attention. However, when we are waiting at the red light, and somebody is honking from the back side, we tend to ignore the same. Similarly, in a city like Delhi, there is too much unnecessary honking, and we tend to ignore honking many times. However, on the other hand, when our parents tell us something unpleasant, we may close our ears to the same, which may have long-term consequences. For example, when we do not listen to th...