LL 294 240517 In Finite Blessings

‘Be yourself’, ‘Be aware’……, every body gets a lot of advices like these. The problem of the day is that neither the giver nor the receiver knows what the exchanged information means. When I see beautiful quotes and adages flash through social media popups, many times I had wished if at least the sender had followed the spirit of the message. 

It is part of every religion to keep God restricted to a few narrow roads to earth. Those obedient religious Gods suffer with only a few narrow roads o reach His creations. This is another social puzzle!

Either we understand it or not the Universe is built in such a way that every part of it, be it a tiny particle or a big mass of earth, be it active or inactive, gets a feeling that it is at the centre of it and the whole universe exists just for that element or compound. Measure time by past and future; you will be in the centre. Measure space by north and south; you will be in the centre. This is the case with everything in this Universe. 

Still we do not trust the Universe or the Power we call God, who we believe has created us.  We also end up in the disappointment of having received no blessings. The truth is that it’s because of our holdings and inhibitions that we could not access them. Here is a story:

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car.  Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box.  Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angry, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money, you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to  him.  He had not seen him since that graduation day.  Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.  He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago.  With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.  And as he did, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible.  It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL.

Joseph Mattappally

Love Matters

In the beginning there was only one thing - Nature. As humans with double consciousness took shape in cloths, Nature further split into Me and the Nature around Me. Words with reference to Nature were the first to form in every vocabulary. Me further split into Others and My People. It continues growing down and down. 

It wouldn’t have been bad if we had been closing into ‘self-love’; but what is happening is that we are moving towards ‘selfishness,’ which is its’ opposite in every sense. ‘Self -love’ holds the theory that everything in Nature is close-knit and we are supposed to consider everything here, though our concern is limited to a small area. In Selfishness Nature and the Self are two entities positioned at opposite poles. In selfishness we don’t like others having the same thing or pleasure – that is the problem! It shows that we are slowly losing our touch with Nature. 

Have anybody thought of what happens when we lose our touch with Nature? I just copy and paste a Social Media post. It reads:

“If you lose touch with nature you lose touch with humanity. If there's no relationship with nature then you become a killer; then you kill baby seals, whales, dolphins, and man either for gain, for "sport," for food, or for knowledge. Then nature is frightened of you, withdrawing its beauty. You may take long walks in the woods or camp in lovely places but you are a killer and so lose their friendship.” 

And finally you reach a point where you probably are not related to anything even to your spouse or children.

Joseph Mattappally

On Attitude

Attitude decides everything and so we are always cautioned about being in the right attitude. See, Rs. hundred is too much for a beggar but okay when it’s given as tip at a fancy restaurant; hours at a gym look alright, but helping the mother at home doesn’t. Praying three minutes turns boring but never a three hours long movie. The length of a given unit of time also changes according to our attitude. When we are in pain time is unusually longer. In all these cases, it is our attitude that makes the difference. 

Many times I have pondered on this strange human behaviour. No satisfactory answer! This strange behavior is seen not only among the commons but among the great uncommons too. Two poor starving kids sitting on the pavement may not get even a slice of bread but a realistic painting of them might fetch many lakhs of Rupees. It is because of this human tendency to see everything through a sensually appreciable frame that we have an established advertising industry which presents everything in a way people easily loves to have. 

Digging deep, we understand that our attitudes are mostly shaped by our past experiences, especially those that we had in childhood years. Because of these experiences we have lost our purpose with all social activities - religions too. We have now swiping machines decorating the idols and what we develop also is a swiping spirituality. Somebody has embedded in most believers that religion is something to be learned. What is more important in religion – experience, ethical codes or knowledge? Certainly experience. Spiritual experiences are subtler and need not be physical at all. Then why are there big institutes for Philosophy, Theology and Ethics? It is because our attitudes have not changed. 

It is right attitude that takes us to the right experience. Right attitude can easily be identified by observing the grade of consideration we apply, when deciding upon things where another thing from Nature is involved. Always think in other’s favour. It is when your sibling smiles that your peace buds blossom within you. Everything in this Universe is created in a way that it cannot resist love or an expression filled with it. A smile anyone gets makes his/her whole day bright. Give it to everyone for free!

Joseph Mattappally

My India

Desktops, Laptops, Palmtops, Rolltops… technology is advancing or evolving in a cracking pace. All innovations added together have made both the nation and the individual smart. But, this is not the India of my dreams. The more we embrace shortcuts and change our life styles to become smarter and smarter the more we become prone to disappointments of all sorts. India of my dreams is not a crowd luxury mongers but a family of self-confident people who live in a state of peaceful happiness and celestial awareness. 

 

India had a bright past. All that the present world cries to have newly invented were not unknown to India. What is special with India was that we knew how to use knowledge in all its appropriateness. The theory of gravitation, which we attribute to Newton, was originally invented by Bhaskaracharya. (Read it in 'Siddhantha Sirmani’ > part ‘Bhuvanakosam’> Chapter 6. It was Aryabhatta who first said that the earth is round and it is rotating around the sun (read ‘Arybhatiyam’ which Aryabhata 1st wrote in his 23 year in AD 449). It was not Isaac Newton who first said that light is travelling. Instead, it was the great Vijayanagar Empire Guru, Sayanacharya, who prayed, ‘I bow to Thee Sun God who sends light at a speed of 2022 ‘yojana' in half of a ‘nimisha'. Remember that Varahamihira had calculated the longitude and latitude of the city of Alexandria to be 23.7 degrees in the year AD 553, while with Greenwich meantime also, the figure is almost the same - 23.3 degrees. In front of St. George Sanskrit University in Germany, we see a sculpture of our Indian Seer Panini. Know that German grammar is based on the book 'Ashtadhyaayi', which he wrote. 

Our Atharva Veda with all its 51 branches is a complete medical book. The father of Medical Sciences Hippocratus says in his book 117 times that he has heavily drawn from the Indian Mystics, Charaka and Susrutha. Surveys of Washington Post and New York Times say that 65% of the 40 plus people there do Suryanamaskar - the Indian Yoga. Patanjali talks about evolution well in his Natyasasthra. It is Chanakya in ‘Arthasasthra who talked about a one day break in seven days. In the Bodleian library of Oxford University, there are around 2000 numbers of palm leaf records kept at high security. Those 442 Rigveda books in Harvard University belong to India. Maxmuller who learned Sanskrit, translated very many Sanskrit books and finally wrote the Book of Oriental for himself agrees that the whole world will once stretch both its hands before India, just to know what they missed.

 

The Persians, the Dutch, the Portuguese, the French, the English …., all invaded into our country – some with Semitic philosophies and some with Arabian disciplines, but most prepared to loot our open treasuries. Still, India is intact and stands against all recessions and famines. India was always a hard nut to crack, even for the gunmen of the West. How many of us know that India is the only continuing ancient culture of that kind? All other ancient civilizations are under mud, but India is not. Don’t you Indians feel proud of our rich heritage? 

But now, it is very sad to say that the purpose of all social workers, religious or politicians, seems to be looting each other. It pains me heavily. I envision an India in which God Consciousness is a common gift and where parents are honoured, teachers are respected, leaders are followed, siblings are served and the entire humanity is loved unconditionally. Just one determined human being is enough to transform this great nation back to its original ambience – its’ You!

Joseph Mattappally

Inner Mahabharata

LL 290 211116 Inner Mahabharata

Indian epics always are subject to multitudes of inner and outer interpretations. This is one touching interpretation for which I owe my unknown friend Krishna. The story goes:

“Sanjay, at the end of the war went to the spot where the greatest war took place; Kurukshetra. He looked around and wondered if the war really happened, if the ground beneath him had soaked all that blood, if the great Pandavas and Krishna stood where he stood. 

“You will never know the truth about that!” said an aging soft voice. Sanjay turned around to find an Old man in saffron robes appearing out of a column of dust. 

“I know you are here to find out about the Kurukshetra war, but you cannot know about that war till you know what the real war is about.” the Old man said enigmatically.

“What do you mean?” 

“The Mahabharata is an Epic, a ballad, perhaps a reality but definitely a philosophy.” 

The Old man smiled luring Sanjay into more questions. 

“Can you tell me what the philosophy is then?” 

Sanjay requested. 

“Sure”, began the Old man. “The Pandavas are nothing but your five senses, sight, smell, taste, touch and sound and do you know what the Kauravas are?” He asked narrowing his eyes. 

 “The Kauravas are the hundred vices that attack your senses everyday but you can fight them and do you know how?”  Sanjay shook his head again. 

“When Krishna rides your chariot!”  The Old man smiled brighter and Sanjay gasped at that gem of insight. 

“Krishna is your inner voice, your soul, your guiding light and if you let your life in his hands you have nothing to worry.”

Sanjay was stupefied but came around quickly with another question. “Then why are Dronacharya and Bhishma fighting for the Kauravas, if they are vices?” 

The Old man nodded, sadder for the question.  “It just means that as you grow up your perception of your elders change. The elders who you thought were perfect in your growing up years are not all that perfect. They have faults.  And one day you will have to decide if they are for your good or your bad. Then you may also realize that you may have to fight them for the good. It is the hardest part of growing up and that is why the Geeta is important.” 

Sanjay slumped down on the ground, not because he was tired but because he could understand and was struck by the enormity of it all. 

 “What about Karna?” he whispered. 

“Ah!” said the Old man. “You have saved the best for last. Karna is the brother to your senses, he is desire, he is a part of you but stands with the vices. He feels wronged and makes excuses for being with the vices as your desire does all the time. 

 Does your desire not give you excuses to embrace vices?” 

Sanjay nodded silently. He looked at the ground, consumed with a million thoughts, trying to put everything together and then when he looked up the Old man was gone. 

Joseph Mattappally

Right Attitude

“They are well off!” said my friend. It was about a family we both knew that he was talking about. Well off according to him simply meant that all those in the family are decently employed, children thriving academically and they have a good sum in custody. They are physically healthy too; no doubt - they are well off! Under somebody paying them, people are generally well off! When shall we find a generation trying to be well off at their own risk? With the right attitude and approach, it is not impossible at all.

Quite recently, when I happened to read the story of a man who had begun preparing his suicide note in 65, this was the thought that stormed inwards. How many of us sell what we have? This story I mentioned is about a man from Kentucky. He lost his father when he was five. He quit the School at 16, married at 18 and got divorced soon. He was a big failure wherever he worked. When he was preparing the suicide note he looked into himself to see what actually he knew in life. He found that he was never cursed for what he did in the kitchen of small restaurant, years back. He remembered that his recipes were appreciated. 

For the little retirement benefit he received from the Government, the same day he bought some chicken, got it fried using his exclusive recipe and went door-to-door selling it. Remember, at 89 Colonel Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) Empire was a billionaire. He died happily. Yeah, life is all about identifying what one has, using it appropriately and sharing it with the right attitude. 

Joseph Mattappally

Quite Unevolved

The Country of Israel has got two seas in it – Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Galilee is rich in life and the Dead Sea is hell for life. The Dead Sea is famous for its hyper saline water, which makes floating easy. Interestingly, both these are fed by the same river of Jordan. The sea of Galilee, through which river Jordan flows, has a lot of springs in it but the dead sea has got no other inlets or outlets other than the river Jordan which ends in it. The same water demonstrates two distinct features. Nature is so mysterious; so is human mind too, which also is part of Nature. 

From North India we hear a lot of cry and clamor against cow slaughter. As I understood it, basically it was not the idea of any political party but the outcome of an empathetic attitude of the religious Indians in India. Truly, most upper cast Indian communities in India are vegetarians who are broadly against killing of animals of any kind. In North Indian cities, stray dogs fed with biscuits and bathed in milk are common scenes. These people do not like anybody neither killing dogs nor hurting it, though dogs usually create a mess in the crowds. In the cast sensitive and arson popular city of Ahmedabad, tubs filled with water for the birds are common. The city has a million of pigeons in it. Still, a wounded pigeon is taken care of by its inhabitants and the animal helpline agency alike. Amdavadis also are a kind sect of people, just like other citizens of India. But who can forget that it was in the same city that many people were brutally burned or cruelly murdered recently? 

There are Niagaras of love in everybody, so are springs of hatred too. Unlike most other living species on earth, it is strange to see the self hating attitude of human beings. Unlimited love to another being of the same kind is very limited in our realm. There is nothing strange in it; this is what keeps us unevolved.

Joseph Mattappally

The Hair of a President

On the walls of the White house Oval Office, photographs of memorable events are hung. They are always updated with new ones every two weeks. But since three years there remains the picture of a five year old boy touching the head of the first black President of USA – Barack Obama. This picture, as his wife Michelle explains it, was shot from White house itself. In the picture, the President is bend by 900 from his waist and a small boy is touching his head as if a great Guru is blessing his dearest disciple. According to the story behind this picture, a Whitehouse staff with his wife and two children one day came to meet President Obama. When the President approached the family, the youngest of the boys, raised his hand as if trying to touch somewhere on the face of the President. A little confused, Obama wanted to know what he meant. The boy said that he wants to know if his hair also is the same as that of him. Obama instantly bent his head well low saying, 

“Why don’t you touch and know it for yourself?” The boy touched his head and shouted in joy, 

“Yes it is the same.”

The White house sees this picture as a signature photo of the times, which shows the change that USA has gone through during the past 150 years. One and a half centuries back, the White House was full of slaves; now it has only Masters. 

I see this picture from a different perspective. According to me, it is the picture of a small enthusiastic boy, who anxiously yearned to know the differences between an average human being and a real hero. This boy got convinced that he also is built by the same elements. I wish, if this picture would be reminding everyone the fact that we don’t generally use many of the available machineries within.

Joseph Mattappally

Burying your Valuables

Human habits and attitudes are typical. We throw a tip of 500 Rs. in a five star hotel with pleasure but are not comfortable while giving 10 Rs. to a beggar. There are a minimum of two personalities in every person. The world needs smart techniques to educate people. That’s why the Ten Commandments turn just part of an epic only. Nobody learns that adultery or murder is a sin. It is here that I love the Brazilian millionaire Thane Chiquinho Scarpa, who tried a smart technique to teach the public a lesson. He announced in his facebook page that he is going to bury alive his million-dollar Bentley car. 

His announcement raised many eyebrows all over the world because already he was known for outrageous acts, such as willing his fortunes to his cockatoo. He announced that he will be burying his vehicle in his yard, just as pharaohs did with their precious possessions. 

On the day of the burial, Count Scarpa's real intentions were revealed. As the press gathered around Mr. Scarpa, the Bentley and a big hole in the ground, it was announced that the event marked the opening of "National Organ Donation Week," and Scarpa's stunt turned out to be the launching pad of a campaign by Leo Burnett Tailor Made. "I didn't bury my car, but everyone thought it absurd when I said I would," he said. "What's absurd is burying your organs, which can save many lives. Nothing is more valuable. Be a donor and tell your family." 

Joseph Mattappally

Congrats Bagarti

It is said that a thousand words equal one picture and a thousand pictures equal one live example. Motivating by live examples had been the modes operandi of great visionaries who shone like bright lamps in darkness. At a time in which positive thinking is replaced by positive attitude and hard work with smart work, right motivation is power. Here, it is a simple guy from a simple background who has set an elite example of successfully chasing one’s goal. 

I don’t know who helped Jothi Ranjan Bagarti (32) from Orissa to reach the impossible, practically for a security guard. IAS had been his goal in life; however, he could not make it in his first attempt ten years back. Even though he seemed to be quite content with his present family life, the fire within was not settled. His intense desire to reach, where he intended, was not extinguished; it kept on kicking from within. For the last two years, he was working hard to get through all the rigid tests. Do you know what happened? Recently he has resigned from Cognizent Technologies and another fellow will occupy his chair at the gates, for this man is now in Mussoorie for the IAS training.      

Joseph Mattappally

Just Three Seconds

Quite recently, the story of a lady who was miraculously saved, passed through my fading memory. The story was about an old lady who owned a general store and gas station. Even though the gas station was slightly away from the city, she could make a good fortune. Where all its’ previous owners lost, she won. One day, the store staff closed the front doors and left. As usual, she checked and closed the daybook, counted the bills and left the counter. Before leaving the store through the back door, she got into the cooler room - just to see all soft drinks racks are properly filled and have enough stock. It was then that she heard a ‘clink’ sound from behind – the cooler room door got closed. She neither had the key nor the mobile and it was impossible for anyone to open that heavy door from inside. Minutes rolled on and nothing happened. She yelled aloud but nobody heard her. She was sure to die in it and it was then that she saw a man opening the door from outside, and peeping his head into it. She was saved. 

You will be surprised to hear why a man came into this store at so critical a time. This is another story. This grocery was adjacent to a bread shop run by an old Spanish man, to whom she used to give a very special Good morning and a Good night every day. She did not simply wave her hands and go, just as others do. She used to look into his eyes quite affectionately as if a daughter looks at her father and trying to say something and then give a wide smile along with a ‘Hey, how are you?’ Same was her Good night in the evening too. And that day, the old man did not see her even after 15 minutes of her usual leaving time. He looked out. Her car was there and the store was closed. The old man could not resist going into the store to verify what happened. He called her from out side, but nobody answered. He entered the store through the back door and checked all the store….. nobody was there.

 

He grew curious and decided to check the cooler room too. That was what exactly happened. The old man said, “You are special! It is your special smile that could fetch a good business for you and also save you from death.”

“Thank you Dad,” she said, with the same brand smile on her shivering lips. She continued,

“I knew that just three seconds with anyone could make a difference. No one has ever left this store without my special three seconds. In the first second I will look into my customer’s eyes; in the next second I will tell him that you are dear to me and my business; in the third second I give a very pretty smile of thanks for being into my life.”  

Joseph Mattappally

Accepting the Truth

Being natural, I think, is a great art. A few days back, I happened to come across a few lines sent to me, which said, “Man O Man! When without money, eats vegetables at home; when has money, eats the same vegetables in a fine restaurant. When without money, rides bicycle; when has money rides the same ‘exercise machine’. When without money walks to earn food; when has money, walks to burn fat. When without money, wishes to get married; when has money, wishes to get divorced. When without money, wife becomes secretary; when has money, secretary becomes wife. When without money, acts like a rich man; when has money acts like a poor man.” 

Our behaviour generally is unpredictable. When it comes to success, it is mostly the one who has learnt the art of being natural who wins. They develop their inherent ability to use Nature’s techniques to solve their problems. Hear these people.

"I failed in 8th standard." Sachin Tendulkar.

"During my secondary school, I was dropped from school basketball team." Michell Jordan.

"I was rejected for the job in All India Radio b’coz of my heavy voice." Amitabh Bacchan.

"I used to work in petrol Bunks." Dhirubhai Ambani.

"I was rejected in the interview of Pilot." Abdul Kalam.

"I didn't even complete my university education." Bill Gates.

 "I used to serve tea at a shop to support my football training." Lionel Messi.

 "I used to sleep on the floor in friends rooms, returning Coke bottles for food, money, and getting weekly free meals at a local temple." Steve Jobs.

"My teachers used to call me a failure." Tony Blair. 

The one who learns to be natural also masters the art of winning over situations. Accepting that there is a problem means that the problem is half solved.

Joseph Mattappally

The Skeptic and the Wizard

Just listen to these conversations. Deep in the state of Georgia an outback farmer, barefoot and ragged, sat on the veranda of his tumbledown shack. Along came a stranger who asked for a drink of water. Trying to be pleasant, the stranger asked, 

“How is your cotton coming along this year?” 

“I don’t have any,” replied the farmer.

“Didn’t you plant any?” asked the stranger. 

“Nope,” said the farmer. “I was afraid of the we evils.”

“Well, how is your corn then?” 

“Didn’t plant any of that either. Was afraid there wasn’t going to be any rain.” 

Still trying to be helpful, the stranger asked, “Well, how about your potatoes?” 

“I don’t have any. I’m afraid of the potato bugs.” 

“Well, what did you plant this year?” asked the astonished visitor.

“Nothing,” answered the farmer. “I just played it safe.” 

Truly we pity with this farmer a sure and confirmed candidate for failure! 

There is still another group that is commonly found these days. 

In the next scene we find a wizard. Two friends, Ravi and Soma, lived in a town; they were very good friends. Ravi was an intelligent man and Soma always made it a point to take his advice whenever he had to decide on something. It was a time when mobile phones were slowly taking over. One day Soma asked Ravi, “I think of buying a mobile hand phone Ravi.” 

Ravi replied, “Mobile phone is always a good thing; what that is in the market now are simple analogue kits. If you can wait a little you will be able to buy a phone with a camera. I read that a company has almost launched it.” Soma waited for a year and he saw the ad saying that camera phones are now available in the town outlet. 

Soma was about to go to the town to buy one. Ravi asked him, “Are you going to buy this 1 MP camera phone? One MP is not enough for a good picture. If you can wait, you will get a 3 MP camera phone for almost the same price.” 

And when 3 MP camera phones came in, Ravi suggested that investing in an Android phone is better. Ravi keep on advising Soma and as far as I know, everybody in the town except Soma and Ravi have mobile phones. 

Aren’t they also sure candidates for failure? 

It is said that our wisdom comes from our experience, and our experience comes from our foolishness. How true!

Joseph Mattappally

The Story of Changes

Ours is a habit of getting bored at repetitions – be it the same pleasure or the same mouth watering dish. The thrilling portions of human history are those that talk about revolutions, which changed the daily chorus of humans drastically. The agricultural revolution that swept through almost all ancient cultures some 12,000 years ago was the first of major revolutions that shook us. Thereafter we see people living in small societies and also farming done in organized patterns. 

In our early days, as Yuval Noah Harari puts it in his famous book ‘Sapiens’, “…. our foragers mastered not only the surrounding world of animals, plants and objects, but also the internal world of bodies and their own senses. They listened to the slightest movement in the grass to learn whether a snake might be lurking there. They carefully observed the foliage of tress in order to discover fruits, beehives and birds nests. They moved with a minimum effort and noise, and knew how to sit, walk and run in the most agile and efficient manner …….. They had the physical dexterity that people today are unable to achieve even after years of practicing yoga or t’ai chi.” 

Those revolutionist foragers also would have been looking for more changes, just like us. Whenever I ask myself, which was better – the ancient or the most modern, I’m confused. Though totally agricultural dependent and used to only organic treatments, they were not free from life threats. A surprise draught or a flood or a crop disaster was frequent. Wars also contributed heavily in keeping the Sapien population under check. Today we have medical experts specialized on right thumbs and left thumbs. But the truth is that death and accident possibilities haven’t changed even a little. If it were snowfalls, snakebites, epidemics or wars that cut the life span of those foragers, today the reasons are different but the result is the same. Instead of snakebites we have road accidents; instead of cholera we have AIDS and cancer and wars continue to remain common. Absolute safety is still miles away. Is it not better to be content with what we have, rather than spending our energy on a long chase for more safety and more satisfaction standards? 

Joseph Mattappally

We Phones

If ‘Ahmedabad Mirror’ is not wrong, the city has become ‘Suicide City (of India)’, as the publication itself puts it. 66 suicides in 48 hours – that definitely is too much! But it is true, the reasons mostly being debt issues, disharmony in relationships, examination stress and love failures. This is not a problem confined to Ahmedabad alone. All these traced reasons aren’t new to humanity; the world is not unarmed against similar stress related issues either. Still, more and more people opt for the extreme step? Certainly, it could be because of their inability to face the challenges emerging from an updated social environment, in which, most children are brought up in glass cubicles. They have talents but not the right attitude. Morality is strange to them; they do not trust in unproven theories. At a similar scenario where each one competes with every other, rather than competing with ones own records, it is natural that things go beyond anybody’s control. 

The New Age generation lacks mighty reasons to continue. Most people, I think, haven’t the ability to frame even a good looking simple white lie. The best of the lot belong to the group of academically well qualified. In the West there is a trend to skip ‘no failures’ scholars during interviews, under the pretext that they may not be able to survive failures or withstand challenges. It’s true. How can we make everyone shock proof? Where our kind take smart phones for parents, spouse, siblings or friends, no surprise we will lose. There we don’t experiment; there are only the choices of following the given options. Smartphones also haven’t the habit of continuously listening to other’s woes or kicking ones mind to suggest an appropriate solution in a given situation. Until we turn to WE phones instead of I phones, more cities are likely to become good suicide destinations, very soon.

Joseph Mattappally

I don’t Know

13.5 billion years have passed by since energy, time and space came into being, according to the Big Bang theory. Some 3-4 million years ago, on a planet called earth certain molecules combined to form particularly large and intricate structures called organisms. Slowly life began to flourish on earth. One of the most important revolutions that shaped the course of history on its revolutionary evolution is the Cognitive Revolution, which is dated back to 70,000 years.

As humans evolved, they turned out to be the only species with exceptionally big brains. While a mammal, which weighed 60 kilograms has an average brain size of 200 cubic centimeters, human brain weighed at an average of 600 cubic centimeters. Thank God, for the partiality shown to humans; otherwise every life species on earth would have developed their own space programs and war tactics. Truly, it is on the intellectual limitations of other things and beings that we humans build our glass mansions. 

As the cognitive revolution began, there developed seeds of own destruction too. We have proofs to believe that structured communication tactics also began during this period. Studies on communication between living beings have proved that animal communication is confined to the present, like ‘an eagle is flying above’ or ‘a snake is waiting near’. Only humans are able to say that there is a lion near the river. They only developed the capacity to speak about unknown things or things that never existed. You cannot fool a monkey off a banana by convincing it that it will get a hill of bananas after its death. It is from our capacity to think and speak on things beyond visibility, from where myths came into our lives. So came religions too, spreading fear all around. It is our capacity to think about things that did not exist that paves our way to inventions on a daily basis. 

The civilization of Atlantis was limited to an area, so was Moo that existed in Sahara. They were all completely wiped out from the surface of the earth; one reason was that they all crossed the limitations set to them as human beings. Unlike ancient civilizations that were limited to certain areas, we are an whole mass living in one global village and it seems that our end could be complete eviction from the surface of the earth, for we also are crossing the ‘optimum points’ set by the universe. My question is what would have been better - a life in the present or a life spread to unknown domains of past and future? My answer is ‘I don’t know’. 

Joseph Mattappally

Beyond the 5th

We know that a drop of water taken out of the ocean is as powerless as a simple drop and it is not the case if it is in the ocean. There, it is part of the waves; it is the ocean itself. Everything in this universe needs a link with the wholeness of the universe; nothing can exist alone, isolated from everything else. Psychology says that no human being is able to survive, unless he/she is loved by some one or something else. A man having nobody to love is virtually dead, according to them. Self love is only a small solution; love and be loved is the rule. This is the case with all animate and inanimate things in this universe. There is continuous communication going in between everything. The only being unaware of this complex communication network could be humans.

There are endless variety and number of things in this universe, living or dead. Science knows that each element in this universe is capable of establishing communication links with other elements of distinct nature. In the case of living beings, we know that something is connecting them. There are more mysteries connected with bio-energy fields, a subtle energy field that surrounds everything. Don’t we feel scared to stand aside an angry man? Doesn’t a lady become restless with strangers aside? 10th monkey syndrome says that a monkey learning a new experience shares the same with every other being of its’ species, where ever it be. How? It is not proved. All that we know is that there is an energy spectrum through which they exchange their thoughts.

 

JC Bose undoubtedly proved that plants hear us and they even detect our thoughts. It could only be careless deers that grace around a lion’s den. It could only be human beings who do not hear what other things and beings in this universe say or who do not want to care for anything that is beyond audio spectrum. This clearly says that we are not in communication with the universe. We live in isolation and that is one reason why we are prone to all sorts of health hazards. We do not know about a medium other than structured languages using which we can remain connected with everything in this universe. In silence we should have been able to hear, in darkness we should have been be able to see. The more we remain in contact with the universe the more healthy we grow. Loving everything is more pleasing than being loved by everything. There, we go beyond evolution.

Joseph Mattappally

Know What You Ask

This is an old Classroom joke. During class, the chemistry professor was demonstrating the properties of various acids. 

"Now I'm dropping this silver coin into this glass of acid. Will it dissolve?" 

"No, Sir," a student called out.

"And why not?" the professor queried.

"Because if it would, you wouldn't have dropped it in."

If the teacher knows that silver gets dissolved in that particular liquid he will not ever drop the coin in it. 

And if we knew the value of time we would not have wasted time as we did it yesterday. Look at the available time we have. 

There are 365 days per year available for work. 

There are 52 weeks per year in which you already have two days off per week, leaving 261 days available for work. 

Since you spend 16 hours each day away from work, you have used up 170 days, leaving only 91 days available. 

You spend 30 minutes each day on coffee break that accounts for 23 days each year, leaving only 68 days available. 

With a one hour lunch break each day, you have used up another 48 days, leaving only 22 days available for work. 

You normally spend 2 days per year on sick leave. This leaves you only 20 days available for work. 

We offer 5 holidays per year, so your available working days are down to 15 days. 

We generously give you 14 days vacation per year which leaves you only one day available for work and I'll be damned if you're going to take that day off!!!

Joseph Mattappally

Welcome Mud Pots !

Mud, to which everything in this Nature is accustomed, is an important element of nature. It contains important minerals, which have positive effects on human health. Mud can absorb toxins from human body. It is very useful in preventing many diseases. It is also known for its healing properties. It also helps in cooling and relaxing body as it can hold moisture for a long time. 

‘In less time at less space’ is the law of the land now. In our mad run after conveniences, luxury and comfort, India also underwent a transformation from the traditional to the advanced, only to see that ‘old was gold’. The result was clearly more stress and more diseases. Recent studies say that we should not have broken our mud utensils for glittering non-stick carcinogenic pans we use now. Experience says that our ‘Namaste’ is many times stronger than a formal lifeless good morning. The style we sit for food, the order of items served, the organic food we cook…. all contributed in keeping our ancestors healthy every time. India never needed as many hospitals as we do now.

Nobody has ever found out a better healer than Nature, a better treatment than yoga and a better behaviour than being natural. This wisdom is not reserved to India only. In many parts of the world, homes are still made from locally obtained materials like wood, palm or grass thatch, mud, and even cow dung. Travel within villages occurs on trails, not roads, and peasant farmers forage foods, herbs and building materials from wild vegetation near their homes. At night, the stars shine overhead without any city lights to compete with them. People who live in Nature are undoubtedly the happiest and healthiest people living upon this earth. Were it not happiness and satisfaction that we would have inevitably looked for in life?

Joseph Mattappally

Sum and Substance

This is an extract from the conversations between two Indian saints, Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda. The questions are from Swami Vivekananda. 

Q:- “I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.”

A:- “Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.” 

Q:- “Why has life become complicated now?”

A:- “Stop analyzing life. It makes it complicated. Just live it.”

Q:- “Why are we then constantly unhappy?” 

A:- “Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.”

Q:- “Why do good people always suffer?” 

A:- “Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer. With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.”

Q:- “You mean to say such experience is useful?”

A:- “Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons later.”

Q:- “Because of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading.”

A:- “If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides the way.” 

Q:- “Does failure hurt more than moving in the right direction?”

A:- “Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you.”

Q:- “In tough times, how do you stay motivated?”

A:- “Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.” 

Q:- “What surprises you about people?”

A:- “When they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me?”

Q:- “How can I get the best out of life?”

A:- “Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.”

Q:- “One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.”

A:- “There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.”

Joseph Mattappally