Once upon a time...
There was a rich King who had 4 wives.
He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.
He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighboring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day
she would leave him for another.
He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidante and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her to help him get through the difficult times.
The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife and although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her.
One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short.
He thought of his luxurious life and pondered, "I now have 4 wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone.
Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No way!" replied the 4th wife and she walked away without another word.
Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart.
The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"No!" replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good!
When you die, I'm going to remarry!"
His heart sank and turned cold.
He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"
"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!" replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only send you to your grave."
Her answer came like a bolt of thunder and the King was devastated.
Then a voice called out:
"I'll leave with you and follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny,
she suffered from malnutrition.
Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"
In Truth, we all have 4 wives in our lives ...
Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.
Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth.
When we die, it will all go to others.
Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.
And our 1st wife is our Soul,
often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the ego.
However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go.
So cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now!
It is your greatest gift to offer the world.
Let it Shine!
I hope reading this story makes all readers relate to the Karma yoga in a better way..what is supreme and why to achieve this supreme through being a Karmyogi (being involved in selfless action) is because it's only our soul that follows us, body has to be left behind.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Monday, May 08, 2006
Karma Yoga as enshrined in Bhagwat Gita..
Hi all! I'll like to share whatever little i cud grasp frm the Greatest epic on Karma, the "Bhagwat Gita"
Karma means action..but the word action is insufficient to clarify the right meaning of the term Karma. The born nature of man anyways is always driven to action, so that can't be actually interpreted as 'Karma'.
The term Karma is very mysterious. "karma" actually implies performing your allotted duties/ responsibilities "selflessly".
To understand it better.. action is of three types.
Contaminated action, inaction and Karma yaga
Actions performed due to the carving for it's fruit is contaminated action. Due to the self conceited lust for fruitation, results of contaminated action are not satisfying very long and are perishable.
While some other men outwardly restrain organs of sense and action, just sitting mentally dwelling on the object of senses, ignoring their "duties". Those men are hypocrites indulging in inaction.
But to be a Karma yogi, Quoting an extract from Gita
Karmanaiva hi samdiddhimasthita janakadyah,
Lokasangrahamevapi sampasyankartumarhasi
It means Man’s right is only towards action/ Karma and should not feel any attachment towards the fruit of that Karma. As only through selfless action man reaches perfection and attains supreme!
Karma means action..but the word action is insufficient to clarify the right meaning of the term Karma. The born nature of man anyways is always driven to action, so that can't be actually interpreted as 'Karma'.
The term Karma is very mysterious. "karma" actually implies performing your allotted duties/ responsibilities "selflessly".
To understand it better.. action is of three types.
Contaminated action, inaction and Karma yaga
Actions performed due to the carving for it's fruit is contaminated action. Due to the self conceited lust for fruitation, results of contaminated action are not satisfying very long and are perishable.
While some other men outwardly restrain organs of sense and action, just sitting mentally dwelling on the object of senses, ignoring their "duties". Those men are hypocrites indulging in inaction.
But to be a Karma yogi, Quoting an extract from Gita
Karmanaiva hi samdiddhimasthita janakadyah,
Lokasangrahamevapi sampasyankartumarhasi
It means Man’s right is only towards action/ Karma and should not feel any attachment towards the fruit of that Karma. As only through selfless action man reaches perfection and attains supreme!
Monday, March 20, 2006
Patterns to creative thinking...
Hi junta!
Here’s some “probable” interesting introspection I like to highlight about the creative thought process and pattern to it, which most of us don’t realize too often. I highly recommend this reading to those who think of creativity as a cliché, or a stereotype phrase used for eccentric lost people….
My perspective is inference from the new avenues of information that I’ve been referring to on the same subject…
How dictionary defines creative thinking and creativity:-
“the intellectual fruitfulness of a creative imagination”
“passing above and beyond ordinary bounds; "a flight of fancy"; "flights of rhetoric"; "flights of imagination"
“the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses; "popular imagination created a world of demons"; "imagination reveals what the world could be"
Is Creativity a natural instinct?
Creativity distorts or dodges reality to create fantasy.
Conventionally people believed that creativity is the possession of artistic caliber which is a natural instinct or an inborn talent. But actually creativity doesn’t imply artistic caliber, - being skilled, artistic and creative are three different platforms all together they can be easily interlinked and overlapped but are three different concepts.
Creativity actually incorporates learning from our experiences, knowledge, surroundings and observations and adds a creative twist to it. It walks the line between what is there and what can be created out of it! Design pundits and modern thinkers strongly believe that creative thinking can be taught and generated.
Is creativity only intuitive?
Yes a part of it surely is.. “BUT” what sparks that intuition.. How we get the strong gut feeling?
In any surrounding we automatically tend to form certain patterns which are an intangible & eclectic combination of observations & perceptions and draw certain inferences and conclusions that are primarily a constituent of our unconscious mind. These we term as “intuitions”. Even though our mind does works, all the time, to preserve “intuitions” it is @ a very abstract level and does not involve cognitive part of our brain so we are often unable to track down the logically essence of an intuition.
If we practice to implement the same "Intutive" design approch, converting the process @ a congnitive level, by rationalizing the input data we can discovery far better patterns and involving more minds in such a process can multifold effective creative thinking for more far-sighted, diverse and "profit making" ideas.
P.S. There is loads more i'll like to share on design methodology and tools to creative thinking .. but giving too much @ a time doesn't give time to seep in...btw wud really like a feed back and intense discussion from readers on the same.
Here's a nice quote i'll like to leave everyone with... till next time (do post ur responses)
"Design is so critical it should be on the agenda of every meeting in every single department." Tom Peters
Here’s some “probable” interesting introspection I like to highlight about the creative thought process and pattern to it, which most of us don’t realize too often. I highly recommend this reading to those who think of creativity as a cliché, or a stereotype phrase used for eccentric lost people….
My perspective is inference from the new avenues of information that I’ve been referring to on the same subject…
How dictionary defines creative thinking and creativity:-
“the intellectual fruitfulness of a creative imagination”
“passing above and beyond ordinary bounds; "a flight of fancy"; "flights of rhetoric"; "flights of imagination"
“the formation of a mental image of something that is not perceived as real and is not present to the senses; "popular imagination created a world of demons"; "imagination reveals what the world could be"
Is Creativity a natural instinct?
Creativity distorts or dodges reality to create fantasy.
Conventionally people believed that creativity is the possession of artistic caliber which is a natural instinct or an inborn talent. But actually creativity doesn’t imply artistic caliber, - being skilled, artistic and creative are three different platforms all together they can be easily interlinked and overlapped but are three different concepts.
Creativity actually incorporates learning from our experiences, knowledge, surroundings and observations and adds a creative twist to it. It walks the line between what is there and what can be created out of it! Design pundits and modern thinkers strongly believe that creative thinking can be taught and generated.
Is creativity only intuitive?
Yes a part of it surely is.. “BUT” what sparks that intuition.. How we get the strong gut feeling?
In any surrounding we automatically tend to form certain patterns which are an intangible & eclectic combination of observations & perceptions and draw certain inferences and conclusions that are primarily a constituent of our unconscious mind. These we term as “intuitions”. Even though our mind does works, all the time, to preserve “intuitions” it is @ a very abstract level and does not involve cognitive part of our brain so we are often unable to track down the logically essence of an intuition.
If we practice to implement the same "Intutive" design approch, converting the process @ a congnitive level, by rationalizing the input data we can discovery far better patterns and involving more minds in such a process can multifold effective creative thinking for more far-sighted, diverse and "profit making" ideas.
P.S. There is loads more i'll like to share on design methodology and tools to creative thinking .. but giving too much @ a time doesn't give time to seep in...btw wud really like a feed back and intense discussion from readers on the same.
Here's a nice quote i'll like to leave everyone with... till next time (do post ur responses)
"Design is so critical it should be on the agenda of every meeting in every single department." Tom Peters
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Lyrics to "Everybody is free to wear sunscreen" by Baz Luhrman
People this makes loads sense..check out the lyrics, beautiful song, i'll try and add the link for the song as well... till then read & get inspired:)
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97,
Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis or reliable then my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice....now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, nevermind, you won't understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded, but trust me in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive; forget the insults. (if you succeed in doing this, tell me how).
Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of Calcium. Be kind to your knees -- you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40; maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body: use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it; it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance...even if you have no where to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions (even if you don't follow them).
Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings: they're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but what a precious few should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps and geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old; and when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you are 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of wishing the past from the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me, I'm the sunscreen.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97,
Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis or reliable then my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice....now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, nevermind, you won't understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded, but trust me in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind: the kind that blindsides you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts; don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive; forget the insults. (if you succeed in doing this, tell me how).
Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of Calcium. Be kind to your knees -- you'll miss them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40; maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body: use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it; it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance...even if you have no where to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions (even if you don't follow them).
Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents; you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings: they're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but what a precious few should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps and geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old; and when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you are 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of wishing the past from the disposal--wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts, and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me, I'm the sunscreen.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
All Growth Demands Destruction...
Ever tasted Failure?
- Bitter, spiteful, despairing, disappointing are the causal- effect adjectives that we relate to the word… Failure. We believe Failure to be an adversary…
But is it so?
lets imagine that we were all blessed with a 100% success rate and none of us could fail….how would that have been? What kind of life would have we lived had man never failed in life…
Umm if you ask me, we would perhaps have been still be living in the Stone Age, hunting for food being our major activity schedule.
Getting pretty much what was needed, would have kept man satiated with what he got, never exploring what he could create. Had all his hunting expeditions given him enough kill (due to the ‘blessing’ that he couldn’t fail..) he would have never starved, he wouldn’t have ever bothered to look for resorts to store food and to grow food for himself..& further & further.. to the 21st hi tech world that we live in.
It’s is somewhat true that our achievements as a society/ as a civilization are somewhere attributed to the failures of our prev. generations. It’s so human to loath failure, which makes it challenging for us to beat the odds come what may. We give it the hardest push; extract the best within us, from our surroundings just to rescind the slap of a failure. Amalgamating the best efforts from within and surrounding always results in betterment, growth and development.
I don’t think success is attributed to failure.. For some it’s a flying start they don’t have to be bashed by a severe failure to achieve. So how can we attribute it all to failure? If it is all about being ‘successful ’we needn’t have to have taste failure for that. But there’s a difference…. And the difference is as much as say- being served a lavish luncheon w/o even working for it.. w/o earning it for urselves.. or starve the whole day and work your ass to get a meal!
So if we really introspect in a way"success” impedes growth because it satiates a person where as failure assists it!
That’s why we may say “All GROWTH DEMANDS DESTRUCTION” (to grow destroy within, wht u r, wht u have achieved in past, but just start afresh...)
- Bitter, spiteful, despairing, disappointing are the causal- effect adjectives that we relate to the word… Failure. We believe Failure to be an adversary…
But is it so?
lets imagine that we were all blessed with a 100% success rate and none of us could fail….how would that have been? What kind of life would have we lived had man never failed in life…
Umm if you ask me, we would perhaps have been still be living in the Stone Age, hunting for food being our major activity schedule.
Getting pretty much what was needed, would have kept man satiated with what he got, never exploring what he could create. Had all his hunting expeditions given him enough kill (due to the ‘blessing’ that he couldn’t fail..) he would have never starved, he wouldn’t have ever bothered to look for resorts to store food and to grow food for himself..& further & further.. to the 21st hi tech world that we live in.
It’s is somewhat true that our achievements as a society/ as a civilization are somewhere attributed to the failures of our prev. generations. It’s so human to loath failure, which makes it challenging for us to beat the odds come what may. We give it the hardest push; extract the best within us, from our surroundings just to rescind the slap of a failure. Amalgamating the best efforts from within and surrounding always results in betterment, growth and development.
I don’t think success is attributed to failure.. For some it’s a flying start they don’t have to be bashed by a severe failure to achieve. So how can we attribute it all to failure? If it is all about being ‘successful ’we needn’t have to have taste failure for that. But there’s a difference…. And the difference is as much as say- being served a lavish luncheon w/o even working for it.. w/o earning it for urselves.. or starve the whole day and work your ass to get a meal!
So if we really introspect in a way"success” impedes growth because it satiates a person where as failure assists it!
That’s why we may say “All GROWTH DEMANDS DESTRUCTION” (to grow destroy within, wht u r, wht u have achieved in past, but just start afresh...)
"I think therefore I am"
Quoting Rene Descartes, “I think therefore I am”…
The statement institutes a strong interrelationship between ‘Res Extensa’ (extended substance) and ‘Res Cogitans’ (thinking substance)
Everything evolved from an atom…but what makes Human a civilization, ruler/caretaker of earth and everything evolving on its facade is ‘Res Cogitans’ (thinking substance). Our grey matter enables us to feel, think, express and dwell upon.
‘Xpress’ that’s what I concerned out here, which is why I thought of starting to blog, so as to Xpress feelings, thoughts and inspirations that I dwell on!
Therefore I’ll christen my blog as “Imprints of my Muse”
CAUTION: ALL READERS ARE BEWARED MUSE IS GOING TO BE –
45% NUBELOUS
35% PHILO.
Residual BORING
The statement institutes a strong interrelationship between ‘Res Extensa’ (extended substance) and ‘Res Cogitans’ (thinking substance)
Everything evolved from an atom…but what makes Human a civilization, ruler/caretaker of earth and everything evolving on its facade is ‘Res Cogitans’ (thinking substance). Our grey matter enables us to feel, think, express and dwell upon.
‘Xpress’ that’s what I concerned out here, which is why I thought of starting to blog, so as to Xpress feelings, thoughts and inspirations that I dwell on!
Therefore I’ll christen my blog as “Imprints of my Muse”
CAUTION: ALL READERS ARE BEWARED MUSE IS GOING TO BE –
45% NUBELOUS
35% PHILO.
Residual BORING
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