Thursday, January 31, 2013

Life Talk....
(Excerpts of interview with Pt. Ajay Chakraborti)

Panditji, what is success after all?

Pt. Ajoy Chakraborti: "My grandfather, a doctor, was strictly against his son taking up a career in music. So, my father ran away from home and struggled a lot. He even raised cattle and tried carpentry, but was very keen that I pursue music as a career. Even I had to struggle initially, as our financial condition wasn't great. I went to sell sarees and mats to people. That phase of life taught me a lot, as there is no better teacher in life than poverty. It teaches you the real values of life and it's because of that phase that I can enjoy my success that much more today." (Times of India- June 19, 2011)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013


PEBBLE STORY

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.    
The money lender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter.  
So he proposed a bargain.  He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter.
Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.
So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.
He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag.        Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.
3 conditions laid down by the moneylender:
If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife & her father's debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him & her father's debt would still be forgiven.
3) If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. 
As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. 
As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.
He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field..
What would you have done if you were the girl?  
If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?
Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking.                                       Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.
Take a moment to ponder over the story. 
The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.
What would you recommend to the girl to do?


Well, here is what she did…………………

The girl put her hand into the money bag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble - strewn path where it immediately became lost among   all the other pebbles.
 "Oh, how clumsy of me, “she said."But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one.
And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.
The girl instead of panicking and cursing her fate decided to take her life in her own hands and changed her destiny

Everyone wants to be successful. Have you ever thought about what success is? It’s simply ignorance of your capabilities. You have set a limitation on your self, and whenever you cross your own boundary or limitation, you claim success. Success is ignorance of the power of your Self because you assume you can do only that much.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

‎"Many things in your life matter, but only one thing matters absolutely.

It matters whether you succeed or fail in the eyes of the world. It matters whether you are healthy or not healthy, whether you are educated or not educated. It matter whether you are rich or poor — it certainly makes a difference in your life. Yes, all these things matter, relatively speaking, but they don't matter absolutely.

There is something that matters more than any of those things and that is finding the essence of who you are beyond that short-lived entity, that short-lived personalized sense of self."

Eckhart Tolle

Thursday, January 17, 2013


THE COFFEE STORY – DON’T MOST OF US DO THE SAME THING?

Something true which we do not realise.
“The happiest people in the world are not those who have no
problems, but those who learn to live with things that are less than
perfect.”
A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -porcelain,  plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite- telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee, the professor said: “If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the simple and cheap ones.”
While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee.  In most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… Then you began eyeing each other’s cups.
Now consider this:
  • Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.
  • They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.
  • Sometimes, by concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.  Enjoy your coffee!.”
“The happiest people don’t have the best of everything.  They just make the best of everything.”
  • Live simply.
  • Love generously.
  • Care deeply.
  • Speak kindly.
  • Leave the rest to God.
courtesy - Anuradha Mahesh.