Masters of Uncertainty

Quite recently, I was through some well-known success stories across the world, verifying what kind of people could easily make it. On the way I came across a New York Times survey report on the millionaires of the land. Their study on them regrets to say that these people cannot be millionaires, because they don't look like millionaires, they don't dress like millionaires, they don't eat like millionaires and above all they also don't act like millionaires. If being a millionaire means living the experience of an ordinary gentleman but with loads of tension and stress, who would choose to be a millionaire? That was the first question which crossed my mind. Suddenly, as if provoked by an inner flash, I turned to myself and asked, ‘Is it not true with everything we generally choose?’ We become this and that but do not at all look like what we have achieved. I know bright youngsters who say that the career they chose was not exactly what they envisioned. Are we living in a culture of instability and uncertainty? My answer is, ‘Yes’. I also am sure that this is what develops into stress, the most painful killer disease of the times.

Everybody begin with Himalayan expectations and Herculean preparations and we find them being caught up in confusion regarding ‘what next’. The moment these enthusiasts touch the clouds they are taken back into a culture of instability. Being aware of this danger and learning the art of managing situations should necessarily be included in personality development curriculum. However, I do not like to generalize my assumption into a theory, because I know at least one Indian guy, who still continues to be successful beyond confusions. I am talking about Shri Anand Kumar from Patna, Bihar (India). He has exceptional mathematical skills; many of his papers appeared in Mathematical Spectrum and The Mathematical Gazette. His ambition was to continue in Cambridge. He got an admission but did not join there, because his father could not afford to raise the necessary money. All their efforts to find a sponsor also failed. He had to give up his Cambridge dream for ever and live selling papads in the streets. 

However, Anand was not in confusion of any sort. He also tutored students in maths and earned extra money. As a year passed by, it was not his papad sale that grew but the number of students that came to him. It continued growing fast and when three years were completed there were almost 500 students enrolled. It was in 2003 that Kumar started the Super 30 program, for which he is now well-known. He now takes thirty intelligent students every year from economically backward sections which included even beggars and hawkers.  He provides them study materials and lodging for a year. His Ramanujam Institute does it all. Anand Kumar is not financed by any external agencies. What he could contribute turned out to be quite surprising. Out of the 270 students he tutored from 2002-2011, 236 students secured an admission to IIT. In 2010, all the students of Super 30 cleared IIT JEE entrance, making it a three in a row for the institution. Hearing about him through Time Magazine, even US President Obama is said to have come forward offering a pretty good support. It was not what Anand was looking for; he was not at all confused. 

I admire his stability, consistency, integrity, and self-respect. He lives in the present, unscarred by the fancies of chances. He shows us how exploiting chances and utilizing opportunities are different. He seems to have realized the purpose he is made for. That is what makes him very special on earth. 

Joseph Mattappally

Humility

Humility is the mother of many virtues because from it obedience, fear, patience, meekness and modesty are born. He who is humble easily obeys everyone, fears to offend anyone, is at peace with everyone, is kind with all, he lives happy, contented and in great peace. Humility does not consist in hiding our talents and virtues, but in possessing a clear knowledge of all that is lacking in us and acknowledging all the gifts God has given us freely. There are two types of humility: the humility of the intellect and the humility of the heart. Humility of the intellect consists in thinking lowly of ourselves; and humility of the heart consists in desiring to be despised by others, and in taking pleasure in contempt.

One of the best ways to acquire humility is to fix the following maxim in our mind: One is worth what he is worth in the eyes of God. There is no penance more effective than patience, no happiness equal than joyfulness, no disease more killing than lust, no virtue richer than humility. In humility and confidence, we have to go forward without pause. Humility is our left foot, confidence is our right. Let us use both of them to walk properly. Basic humility is the attitude of one who stands constantly under the judgment of God. It is the attitude of one who is like the soil. The fertile soil is there, unnoticed, taken for granted, always there to be trodden upon. It is silent, dark, inconspicuous and yet it is ready to revive any seed, ready to give it substance and life.

Novelist Somerset Maugham carried with him an old and cracked cup aboard a small cargo ship during his escape from war-torn France in 1940. The ship was crowded, the weather hot and water was rationed. For years afterward he would point to the old cup and tell his friends. “That was what held my daily allowance of water.” “Whenever I feel myself getting a bit stuffy,” he would add, “and inclined to take the comfortable places I stay in and the good food I eat for granted, I fill my cup at the tap and drink it—slowly, brings me back to earth again in quite hurry.”

The clothing of humility never goes out of style.

Sr (dr) Lilly Thokkanattu SJL

Know thy self! Never imitate!

I have been discussing on Krishna’s life and philosophy not so that we will make him our ideal and imitate him. If we can understand Krishna’s life, it will help us understand our own life in its right perspective. If we fully unfold and understand Krishna’s life, which is vast and multidimensional, it will enable us to unfold our own life and know it. But we will never understand Krishna if we think in terms of imitating him. If we imitate someone or other, we will never understand because of that. And we will never understand our own life. In fact the reason we want to imitate someone is that we do not want to take the trouble of understanding ourselves. It is a way to escape the arduous task of understanding ourselves. Understanding begins when someone ceases to imitate others and start knowing who we are and what we can be. The life of one like Krishna, who has achieved his full enfoldment helps to understand our own life. To become like others even Krishna’s carbon copy is neither possible nor desirable. Everyone is different and will remain different. 

Krishna never imitates anyone. Buddha does not follow others. It is ironic that we few try to imitate the people who never imitated others. People like Krishna, Buddha and Christ are the exquisite flowerings of individuality. The basic fear of imitation is quite different. Imitation in itself is ugly, unnatural and wrong. Never a person like me or you have happened in the long past of mankind, and never a person like me or you is going to happen again in future. God is a creator, he is creativity itself. He is always original and he never makes a carbon copy. And therefore, if we ever deny our individuality and try to follow and be like someone else, we are violating the fundamental law of life. Imitation is a crime against God. He made me and you an individual, he gave us individuality and we are sometimes trying to impose other’s personality. This is the basic fear ad fundamental problem of our life. 

Up to now most religious teachers and priests of the world have taught imitation. Parents and teachers all over the world exhort young men and women from their early childhood to be like others. They never ask them to be themselves. They insist to all of us, “Be like Krishna, Christ or Buddha, but never commit the mistake of being like you, yourself.” Why? How is it that all educational institutions in the world teach us to be imitators and never ask us to be ourselves?  There are good reasons for it. And we shall discuss it in future weeks....

Dr Dwarakanath, 

Mitran Foundation, the stress Management People.

Sauce and Rice

I visited South Korea for the first time in the year 1995. Before that, I had been to Japan twice in 1988 and 1989. At that time, Japan was considered to be the most developed nation of the east and South Korea was only trying to come up. It was no match to Japan and there appeared to be no chance also of it becoming so. But that was exactly what had happened by the year 1995 and the possibility of South Korea leaving behind Japan was also not being ruled out. Against this background, the visit to South Korea had been very enlightening as well as inspiring. One of the memorable examples is the visit to the POSCO steel plant, where our delegation was received very warmly. The environment of the plant was so good that we felt like we were going around in a park. 

During the course of this visit, the Indian ambassador in South Korea had hosted a dinner for us. While we were talking about the many good things of the country, the ambassador told us that the whole development of South Korea was a matter of only thirty years. Before that, it was a poor country and the people there could barely manage to afford the staple food. The prevalent saying there was that the people at that time had only one variation in their menu, and it was sauce (chatni) and rice (chawal) at lunch time and rice and sauce at dinner time. This was all they knew about food. From that stage, South Korea had achieved the status of one of the most developed nations within a span of three decades. 

This narration by the ambassador was not only interesting but inspiring as well. He also mentioned that the main reason behind this progress was the committed leadership in the country. It was not only the vision of the leader but competence coupled with the discipline of the people on account of faith as well as fear. This was another message for us. Thereafter, I had the chance of visiting few more countries in the east. The secret of success everywhere was the same. The people have to become a part of the development process and it happens only when there is competent, committed and firm leadership. India is now a nation of more than one billion but there is a dearth of leadership which meets the above criteria. Still, it will be wrong to say that we stand no chance. After all, our country has produced a leader like Mahatma Gandhi, whose philosophy is now being considered relevant all across the globe. The fact that we have not tried to understand him correctly, what to say of following him, is perhaps the main reason behind the delay of our progress. But delays are not denials. Our country is fortunate to have much better resources and certainly our people’s staple food is dal (lentil) and chawal (rice), better than the Koreans at the beginning of their development. Let us learn from the experiences of such countries. 

Rakesh Mittal I A S

War Again

The origin and growth of Islam; the story continues....

At Mecca all sorts of oppositions were suppressed; it was then that Mohammed heard that the Byssantians are marching towards them.  Lot of preparations were required for the Muslims to face a big force like that of Byssantians. He asked the tribes to organize a big army. There was a pretty good response to the call of Mohammed. They all came forward ready to march through the desert leaving behind their home and possessions. However, there were some people who refused to participate in the war. They were hypocrites who had embraced Islam for personal gains. Mohammed asked one of them whether he had any objection to be part of the army. He replied, “O, prophet of God, please give me exemption; please don’t put me into trouble. It is a fact that there is nobody who may match me. But when I see Byssantian women, I am afraid that I may lose may patience.” In the meanwhile some people assembled secretly.  No one knew about this. The purpose was to create confusion and put fear in the minds of the people about war. 

Mohammed formed a group under the leadership of Thahell Abdulla. Some people came forward with support and Haffar contributed one thousand Dinars. The rich people followed him and contributed accordingly. The poor people also cooperated according to their ability. Some among them were not able to raise funds for travel expenses. Mohammed told them that he has not sufficient resources to take them along with. They got frustrated and started weeping. Because of tears in their eyes they were called Dukaven. There were eight thousand soldiers in the army. Mohammed made arrangements for carrying on the administration in Medina, in his absence. Mohammed recruited Mohammed Bin Masalma to look after the affairs of the state. He also entrusted Ali to look after his domestic affairs. In Mohammed’s absence Abu Bekker led prayer till the prophet started from Medina and took over the command of the army. Abdulla Ibn Ubayy had joined the army along with his tribe. Mohammed thought that it would be better that he and his army remained in Medina because Mohammed had doubt about his integrity. Mohammed commanded the army to march towards Sham. Ten thousand horsemen followed the army. Abu Khaisema who witnessed  return home. His wives were waiting for him with eatables. He reamarked, “Should I seek pleased with   behind while prophet of God was in desert suffering from scorching sun and terrible heat. Please help me to join the army. Thus Abu Khaisema joined the army. The army advanced towards Hijr. There were remnants of ancient Byssantian buildings, constructed by the tribe of Hamud. A carving out from the rock, Mohammed ordered the army to rest there. He advised them not to go out in the night without the company of other persons. It was a place swept by strong winds of sand. In the morning they found that the well was filled with sand. There was not even a drop of water to drink. They were very much worried not knowing where they would get water, to quench their thirst. They had to travel still long distance. Suddenly the atmosphere became cloudy and the rains started. They drank the rain water and also collected it.

The army marched forward to Thabuk. The Byssantians by that time came to know about the march of the Muslim army and its strength. The army of Byssantians which was moving towards Thabuk was forced to retreat. They thought that it would be better for them to take refuge in the fort where Mohammed and his army came. They found that the Byssantian army has already withdrawn. A tribe residing at the border had already made peace treaty with Mohammed and therefore there was no reason to apprehend an attack against the Byssantians anymore. 

Justice P K Shamsuddin

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Many Faces of Humanity

Life is a flow. While some are engaged to life in the flow of the Great Stream of life, others are mere spectators of life passing by like bumps on drift wood deposited on the shore of the Stream by the current.  I put myself in the flow of traveling from one side of the globe to the other a few days ago. Traveling was enjoyable once. Not anymore. Now it is for the strong and the stout-hearted. Getting from point A to point B is a drudgery to be endured with patience, determination, and resignation, thanks to Global Terrorism. It is, of course, different for the young and the new. They will never know the pleasure of old time traveling before various networks of terrorism took over the air-ways. I still vividly remember the time in 1982 when my plane from Mumbai had arrived at New York late, and I ran from the International terminal to the Domestic terminal to catch a flight to St. Louis, and walked right into the plane without any cumbersome security check and a boarding pass, and that too one minute before the door to the plane shut. The other day (August 6, 2013), I travelled from Munnar area to Kochi International Airport against all odds in sheer faith. Tragedy in the form of huge avalanches of muds and boulders destroying homes and buildings struck my hometown of Kunchithanni causing deaths and sheer devastation on the night of August 5. The avalanches shut down the entire town. Roads piled-up high with mud-slides, trees, and other debris were blocked for traffic. Many stretches of the mountain road to the airport were closed due to avalanches. While clearing avalanches at the Cheeyappara Waterfalls, rescue workers were killed by further rock falls; several tourist vehicles were also washed away. To cap it all, the international airport at Kochi was closed due to flooding of runways. I drove for 4 hours my 4-wheel drive jeep along tough mountain terrain that included a long diversion on a very narrow bumpy road with ruts in a forest inhabited by wild animals to arrive at the air-port about nine hours before my plane was scheduled to depart.

It is the hours during the natural catastrophe just before and during the long tiresome journey from Kunchithanni (Munnar) to Kochi and to Dallas via Abu Dhabi and Washington, D.C. that the many faces of humanity across the globe dawned on me. I saw everyone in a somber mood around Kunchithanni on the day of the tragedy.  Yet I witnessed sobbing and weeping, laughter and mirth in spots. The vastness of unimaginable and unstoppable destruction due to avalanches awed all, and covered their faces with fear, insecurity, and uncertainty. Some of the calamities could have been prevented if the culverts in Kunchithanni were not blocked, and if the drainage systems were not clogged, and if the safety codes for buildings were observed. Again and again I have observed that many persons, intelligent though they are, still have to learn the very costly lesson that prevention is better than cure. My journey to the US caused some inconveniences. It could have been postponed. My inconveniences were nothing compared to the loss of lives and life-time earnings. The tired, weary, and sad faces, in the world’s airports, coming from burying a loved one, visiting relatives and leaving them behind were there. So were the joyous faces of those returning from vacations and reunions.  The excited faces arising from the desire and hope of starting a new and prosperous life in a new world of opportunities were also part of the blend. The faces of children were the mirror of the world where no joy or pain, no wonder or disgust was concealed. They needed constant attention and stimulation. The whole world of cargo and luggage were also on the move. From the way the bags were tossed while loading and unloading at the airports, I had no doubts many choice pickle jars packed in their suitcases would be broken. I succeeded for the first time in my entire life in eliminating my usual two heavy suitcases, and managing only with essential cabin carry-ons. When I look at the things I did not use, I could have still eliminated some more items from my essentials.

The jumbo jet was a micro-universe that displayed in a miniature way many things that go in the macro-universe. A burly man occupying the seat next to me showed all the signs of aggressive border incursions. He did not keep his husky body and hefty hands to his seat.  My assertive stance to rest my hand on a part of hand-rest got me nowhere. And yet there were angels around. The young lady who yielded her turn so I could use the rest room when in bad need, and the young man who let me use his phone to make a much-needed call as I could not use my credit card (as it turned out the card  had expired a few days earlier) come to my mind.

It is relevant here to make a brief note on security checks. I wondered if the personnel for the security checks were recruited for their sadism. In my evaluation the US security personnel would stand out with regard to sadism. Sadism and arrogance are a deadly combination that detracts from humanity. I was subjected to 4 security checks between Kochi and Dallas. The fourth check was a special one at Abu Dhabi for the USA. I do not want to think I am marked for racial profiling as I stand out with a cap and an Ayatollah-like flowing beard. I will never understand why one would need to go through security checks while changing from one plane to another in a large well- managed airport.

I could not but observe boredom and ennui visible overwhelmingly on the many faces of humanity. That got me thinking. How did humanity get here? Why are we not enjoying and celebrating life as we are supposed to?  Truly in those faces of humanity marred by wants and needs, cares and concerns, deprivations and depredations, and traumas and catastrophes lie hidden treasures of human knowledge that needs to deliver wisdom. We have a great deal of knowledge, but very little wisdom. Facts gotten by science need to be interpreted and synthesized by philosophy. As Will Durant, a great synthesizer of leading philosophical thoughts put it: Science tells us how to heal and how to kill, but philosophy tells when to heal and when to kill. Or perhaps not to kill at all, where spirituality comes in. Currently only about one third of positive human energy of the entire world is used, the rest is buried under massive avalanches of greed, selfishness, and depression. We need to liberate the trapped two thirds of positive energy for a new direction for humanity. We need to put these many faces of humanity together instilling hope and love, bearing on them a synthesis of science, philosophy and spirituality so a new humanity can emerge.

Swami (Dr) Snehananda Jyoti 

The Legacy of Doing

For all the gains I could reach, I owe my great masters, among whom Dr. Shamal Durvey from Mumbai, is the most revered. She once said, “We are all the time doing and thinking.....in between if we suddenly stop for a minute? Let us see what happens......perhaps some realisation.....“ Thinking is the activity of the mind while in doing, all the constituents of the body are involved. I have quite a baggage full of unanswered questions on right thinking and doing. Random esoteric answers do not satisfy me at all. A few months back, I happened to see the picture of a very old lady, sitting aside the market street in Kolkota with variety fries for sale. The exclusive on her said that she is very very weak, still she brings the fried food stuff everyday from a distant place where she lives. As I understand, her thinking and doing is limited to making fries, selling them and thus supporting her promoters.

Some other time, I remember to have read about one Abhmanyu Samal from Odisha, a young man in his forties. He is professionally a garbage mechanic. He developed a helicopter with the engine of a scooter, general pipes and tin. The forty thousand rupees he spent on the project was not spoiled. He flew his homebrew copter at a speed of 120 kms. It is difficult to define and categorize this young man’s world of thinking and doing. It is unlimited by time and space. Scientists, thinkers, social/religious workers and even politicians fall in this group. These people follow much precision in whatever they do. I remember the inaugural address situation of an acknowledged US president, Abraham Lincoln. A rich man stood up and asked him, “Mr. Lincoln, you should not forget that your father used to make shoes for my family.” The whole Senate laughed. Lincoln looked at the man and said, ”Sir, I know that my father used to make shoes in your house for your family, and there will be many others here. His shoes were not just shoes; he poured his whole soul in it. ……… But as far as I know, nobody has ever complained about my father’s shoes. He was a genius, a great creator and I am proud of my father”. The whole Senate was struck dumb. Lincoln was talking about a man who did something with great pride; perhaps he would have been referring to a man who did what he is supposed to do, without monitory motives. Human deeds can’t be classified into a few social categories, I know. My Master Shamalji once said, “When we are struggling, we need to ask ourselves - is this action appropriate? Is this my role at this moment? We need to drop struggles..... That is low energy....and when we do something with happiness that is high energy.......”  I endorse this categorization, according to which all deeds are classified into those with high energy and that with low energy. But I doubt if there are situations that do not fall in any of these.  

A man came home from work and found his five children outside, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife’s car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap, and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked: “What happened here today?” She again smiled and answered, ”Well, today I didn’t do anything". 

Joseph Mattappally