Reflections

A NOTE ON SPIRITUAL SATISFACTION What is satisfaction? What does Santushti imply in reality? When I ask this question, I am speaking of Satisfaction, Santushti in its deepest, most profound state. A state wherein one’s mind is at peace, calm and tranquil, a state where there are no ripples in your mind, or any emotions in your heart. That stillness, that calm is true satisfaction. It is most often confused with acceptance, or even compromise – the difference is in both,   the burning desire to achieve / possess / do something remains. But in a state of satisfaction, this desire is also quelled – leaving a calm motionless lake. In its crudest form, Satisfaction is always used in reference to a specific need or want; that is a superficial look at the term, and is typically a temporary state. In such a temporary stage, the core desire remains, and that, with time, again lights the fires of desire, ambition etc. This leads to a mind that is full of thoughts, emotions, feelin...

CONFORM, OR PERISH… IS THAT THE WAY? Why do we let the world dictate to us? Don't use that colour with this, dont mix x spice with y, don't keep this dish with that, dont wear that with this, dont do this, dont do that? So, in other words, we live by external rules? No individual expression? Our self worth is determined by what others think? Is that how thinkers and creaters imagine the unimaginable? Perhaps the biggest aspect of this is that the deleterious impact of this sad habit which percolates and permeates into every sphere of human activity, including profession and family both. LEARNING THE NEW, UNLEARNING THE OLD There is little, if any, scope for true individuality. How can we grow out of our current ability and realise potential if we limit ourselves by this pressure to suppress individuality? This is central to imagination, growth, development, and forward / upwards movement.   How can we unlearn the old and learn the new if we ourselves con...

ARJUN’S SPECIAL QUALITIES Arjun is a name and a person who needs no introduction to most Indians; one mention is enough to trigger images of sharp intellect, of fearless fighting capability, of legendary archery and combat skills – none of these attributes needs further clarification for most of us. Yet, there are a few aspects of this great warrior, this prince among men, that deserve a much deeper look. These are attributes which do not readily come to mind. At best, the one quality that will occur to some is his bhakti for the Lord Shri Krushn, as evident in the Krushnaarjun Samvaad {Known popularly as the Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta} BACKGROUND Let us remind ourselves of the background of this finest of creations on Earth, the Krushnaarjun Samvaad : it took place in the middle of a battlefield, on the eve of an epochal battle involving nearly all the known kingdoms of ancient Aryavart. In short, anyone who was anyone and his entire clan was there for the battle. This...

Confidence remains one of the most popular, focused on and discussed wiords in a manager’s dictionary, be it routine chats in teams, or be it hiring, or be it routine / strategic / tactical decisions or steps in managing. It becomes a fundamental, core parameter at most   times. While it is indeed vitally important, it is more often than not misunderstood, or its relative importance overstated , or misunderstood, leading to actual real-world problems… CONFIDENCE – OR COMPETENCIES? I have a different take... Confidence is linked to the end-result; and is thus a product, not a determinant in itself . I prefer focus not on being confident - I find that a distraction - but on the Process. The moment I focus on the process, and de-link everything else, and decide to give it my best shot - I am in comfort zone; even if I fail . Focussing on the process perforce requires me to break each task into into constituent elements; executing each element with max focus brings sa...

One of the most prominent questions in the modern world is the hunt for Peace of Mind, and the worries over Materialism that is fast rising in the developed and developing worlds. One stream of thought states that the real world requires Hard Work, Commitment, Discipline, Mental Focus and has myriad issues and crises to contend, and thus Peace of Mind {PoM} is hard to come by. Another stream maintains that it is very much doable…   the dominant narrative is that Peace of Mind and Materialistic Lifestyles don’t mix; that you have to sacrifice, and that Hard Work is the sole preserve of the materialistic chase, given that while the body exists, its needs are real. These both states are in reality a state of being , a state of mind, an entire lifestyle by themselves, that is the irreducible minimum. This transcends hard work commitment etc... these are paths to a goal. Going forward ,we need to understand that we are living in a material world, a world dominated by a West...

It was a chance meeting with Dr Ashish Tavkarr {Top Psychotherapist specializing in critical cases} at CCD Bhandarkar Road Pune that set off this train of thoughts; a look at the rising issues relating to the mind in Indian Society. This is not limited to Psychology, a hobby of mine – but extends to stress, lifestyle and mental issues. This chance meeting naturally veered to aspects to Psychological ailments that we Indians tend to suffer from. My questions to him were quite straightforward, though slightly off-the-beaten-track. My observations were on the line of the surprising rising trend of psychological issues in Indian Society, and the inability of the Indian Family unit to deal with these. As a matter of fact, my observation at the close of our chat was rather blunt : Psychotherapy is a rich-man’s illness, due to a variety of reasons. The key aspect here is psychological ailments have no biological reasons by-and-large in terms of vectors of the disease; and yet the...

In the first week of December of last year I received a question in response to an article I penned: " would be good if a simple method could be created to inculcate it in kids " by a reader from the Corporate World; a question asked nearly 49 days ago, asking how can we ensure that our children get these habits ingrained in them. I had no answer then; I still dont - but I am beginning to get closer to an answer, which I will pen in today's write-up.... The article in question is Speaking From The Heart - 2 : SkillsRequired, Path, Pluses and Minuses.... MAKING SENSE OF THE PATH: THE BEGINNINGS Here, when I say “The Path” I refer to the transformation from flippant, frivolous, or double meaning, or downright false uncaring speech to one of strong character, morals, values and absolute truth. If we are to get to unlocking the answer to the question asked above, the first and foremost requirement becomes understanding the transformation, and learning lessons fr...

In the previous part – Speak From The Heart: Thoughts, Words, Action, Values inTotal Agreement , we have seen the concept of Speaking from the heart, and what it takes to achieve, a complete consonance in morals, values, thoughts, beliefs, and speech; and had closed on the concept of benefits and risks from the same. Before we go deeper into the same, let us examine this concept from the top, getting a better feel of this, and its actual practice. IN PRACTICE One can say that this isn’t something that needs to be a constant practice; in normal conversation, for instance, we usually say many things we don’t really mean – and given the prevalent societal constructs, these are understood for what they are : just normal talk. For example – when someone asks you to visit, you always say, sure I will; but rarely do you ever visit. Now this is understood; and you would be right in thinking so – especially since it is quite possible that this offer to visit itself is a polite one...