Thursday, July 19, 2012
OneWorld: Thought-Counterthought : Political event v/s socia...
OneWorld: Thought-Counterthought : Political event v/s socia...: A couple of news items in past week caught my eye on some inherent contradiction , thought of sharing this with you : 1) Cricket with Pak...
Thought-Counterthought : Political event v/s social impact
A couple of news items in past week caught my eye on some inherent contradiction , thought of sharing this with you :
1) Cricket with Pakistan
Prima facie seems innocuous & constructive step , though essentially propped up more by political considerations than sporting urge . Hence some voices of dissent including that of Sunil Gavaskar appear discordant
Counter thought :
If all events / relations with Pakistan were suspended after the 26/11 .... wondering , are we doing this ' restoration ' of relationship because we feel that the reasons for our suspension been conclusively addressed or are we doing it out of a realisation that the suspension that time itself was wrong ?
If suspension of relationship was to bring the Terrorist state to mend its ways .... bring the culprits to book ... has that happened now or do we ( as always ) naively believe that restoration of cricket ties will get the Terrorist state to handover the culprits to us .... or is it ( as always ) an impotent surrender of the Victim state to the Terrorist state ?
For those who advocate separation of sports & terrorism , take an analogy :
If you belong to a family which has suffered life & wealth losses due to repeated attacks by a rough family with malicious intent , you are fighting for justice through ' proper ' channels but the rough family has not been brought to books . Now suddenly you receive a marriage proposal from a boy form the rough family for your daughter ..... would you be dispassionate enough to take a call on the proposal quite independent of the pending justice on the murders committed by the rough family
If your answer is a ' NO ' in the interest of our family & pride ; why would we want our Nation to lose its right to justice & pride ?
2) Muslim convention by a political party
Another political event prompted by state elections which are drawing closer .
There is nothing wrong with organising any such convention , if your intent is constructive & genuine to help any such community ; I'd greatly respect such an initiative .
However the problem is the intent ..... first of all there never has been any ( constructive ) content behind any such initiative ..... certain religious community have only been exploited as Vote Banks under ' minority ' politics by communal politicians ..... without doing any visible , progressive work for the community .
It's sad that communities whose only galvanisation is by the name of the religion , have blindly allowed to be exploited .
That the intent is facile is clear , since it did not happen in last 4 years , but at time , closer to the election ; it is also malicious , only to polarise society along religious lines ..... if this is not the case & if the objective is to mobilise different communities to understand issues to take up for resolution & if you really wanted to do something for the depressed classes ...... why does this political party or any other party not call for a Women's convention ..... if at all , in our country , more than any caste , religion ; women is the most exploited section of our society
Counter thought
I believe , in the convention , Leader of the party ' promised ' that a certain % of candidates will be from the community -- great idea ! ..... along the same lines & with the ' genuine ' intent of uplifting the exploited classes ; how about the party announcing close to 50 % tickets in the election to women ?
I'd be a staunch supporter of such a progressive move !
1) Cricket with Pakistan
Prima facie seems innocuous & constructive step , though essentially propped up more by political considerations than sporting urge . Hence some voices of dissent including that of Sunil Gavaskar appear discordant
Counter thought :
If all events / relations with Pakistan were suspended after the 26/11 .... wondering , are we doing this ' restoration ' of relationship because we feel that the reasons for our suspension been conclusively addressed or are we doing it out of a realisation that the suspension that time itself was wrong ?
If suspension of relationship was to bring the Terrorist state to mend its ways .... bring the culprits to book ... has that happened now or do we ( as always ) naively believe that restoration of cricket ties will get the Terrorist state to handover the culprits to us .... or is it ( as always ) an impotent surrender of the Victim state to the Terrorist state ?
For those who advocate separation of sports & terrorism , take an analogy :
If you belong to a family which has suffered life & wealth losses due to repeated attacks by a rough family with malicious intent , you are fighting for justice through ' proper ' channels but the rough family has not been brought to books . Now suddenly you receive a marriage proposal from a boy form the rough family for your daughter ..... would you be dispassionate enough to take a call on the proposal quite independent of the pending justice on the murders committed by the rough family
If your answer is a ' NO ' in the interest of our family & pride ; why would we want our Nation to lose its right to justice & pride ?
2) Muslim convention by a political party
Another political event prompted by state elections which are drawing closer .
There is nothing wrong with organising any such convention , if your intent is constructive & genuine to help any such community ; I'd greatly respect such an initiative .
However the problem is the intent ..... first of all there never has been any ( constructive ) content behind any such initiative ..... certain religious community have only been exploited as Vote Banks under ' minority ' politics by communal politicians ..... without doing any visible , progressive work for the community .
It's sad that communities whose only galvanisation is by the name of the religion , have blindly allowed to be exploited .
That the intent is facile is clear , since it did not happen in last 4 years , but at time , closer to the election ; it is also malicious , only to polarise society along religious lines ..... if this is not the case & if the objective is to mobilise different communities to understand issues to take up for resolution & if you really wanted to do something for the depressed classes ...... why does this political party or any other party not call for a Women's convention ..... if at all , in our country , more than any caste , religion ; women is the most exploited section of our society
Counter thought
I believe , in the convention , Leader of the party ' promised ' that a certain % of candidates will be from the community -- great idea ! ..... along the same lines & with the ' genuine ' intent of uplifting the exploited classes ; how about the party announcing close to 50 % tickets in the election to women ?
I'd be a staunch supporter of such a progressive move !
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
OneWorld: Body v/s Soul
OneWorld: Body v/s Soul: This story is about pre -war ( Mahabharat ) preparations . Both Duryodhan & Arjun approached Lord Krishna for his help in impending war . ...
Monday, July 16, 2012
Body v/s Soul
This story is about pre -war ( Mahabharat ) preparations .
Both Duryodhan & Arjun approached Lord Krishna for his help in impending war . Krishna said , since you both have approached me at the same time I need to help both . You have a choice between me & my army ; Duryodhan was given the 1st chance ; he went for numbers , he asked for Krishna's army , consequently Arjun was happy getting Krishna on Pandava's side .
It turned out to be the crucial choice between Body ( bodies ) & Soul .... the rest was History as the cliche goes .
Don't most of us , most times , behave like Duryodhan ? largely in the material world , groping mostly on the surface . We are so engulfed & enamoured by the materialistic satiations that we hardly have the time & importantly the awareness to seek depth in life , to take a profound , long term view of life , to search for our Soul , which is lost in the chaos of the mundane ! The lack of depth makes us so superficial , that our smiles have become mechanical , we count love by gifts & take money for affection --- where relationships are turned into a set of cost/benefit transactions .
Well if we don't like what we read here , there is still hope -- It means that while we may be lost , we are still alive !
All that is needed is ' Awareness ' of what we want v/s what we are doing , what is real v/s what is facile .... in real term it's ' Soul searching ' ; the rest will fall in place .
Both Duryodhan & Arjun approached Lord Krishna for his help in impending war . Krishna said , since you both have approached me at the same time I need to help both . You have a choice between me & my army ; Duryodhan was given the 1st chance ; he went for numbers , he asked for Krishna's army , consequently Arjun was happy getting Krishna on Pandava's side .
It turned out to be the crucial choice between Body ( bodies ) & Soul .... the rest was History as the cliche goes .
Don't most of us , most times , behave like Duryodhan ? largely in the material world , groping mostly on the surface . We are so engulfed & enamoured by the materialistic satiations that we hardly have the time & importantly the awareness to seek depth in life , to take a profound , long term view of life , to search for our Soul , which is lost in the chaos of the mundane ! The lack of depth makes us so superficial , that our smiles have become mechanical , we count love by gifts & take money for affection --- where relationships are turned into a set of cost/benefit transactions .
Well if we don't like what we read here , there is still hope -- It means that while we may be lost , we are still alive !
All that is needed is ' Awareness ' of what we want v/s what we are doing , what is real v/s what is facile .... in real term it's ' Soul searching ' ; the rest will fall in place .
Saturday, June 30, 2012
What do YOU want to do ?
I have been connected , as much & as & when I can , with community bodies & serving on resident associations . Last year I was President of the resident association at apartment complex I stay -- which has more than 800 apartments . As always , in such services , there are some learning , reinforcements of points we learnt earlier , such as :
# Person who opts to be on the association body to serve community is there because of his/her own choice -- there is no reason or scope to complain , either for the load or the abusive ingratitude of others
# There will always be many armchair consultants who have an opinion on everything ( importantly including of themselves ) but are never available when it comes to work
# Most think that paying their maintenance dues gets them ownership right on everything, including members of working staff & volunteer members of association committee . There are a few with high negativity , political agenda , who will always be waiting to grind their axe & hurl abuses .
# However for all such negative elements , armchair consultants , there will always be those dedicated ones who will stand up & volunteer to take community work
However this posting is more to share with you interesting thought exchange which happened to happen in the backdrop of above . Incident below is not uncommon in society working .
Residents association ( despite rules / regulations & bye-laws being in place ) derive their power primarily from resident support , if some choose to misbehave or get into indiscipline , at times there is very little associations can do since they neither have enforcement or judiciary / regulatory powers . Hence there will always be some cases of residents who would continue to flout rules .
It's not uncommon for some ( irate ) residents to ask us " if so & so does not follow this rule why should I be disciplined , can I also flout it ? The answer to this tricky question is simple :
" This is what YOU need to decide . You need to decide whether you'd follow rules like majority does , despite some errants or whether you'd follow misbehavour . Finally whether to act as a responsible citizen or not is your decision ---- it depends on your conscience , your values /background , your life priorities & your sense of what is right / wrong
Secondly we ask him as to why does he / she feel promptrd to follow only ( what he / she knows as ) wrong examplkes , why not be motivated to follow good examples ... examples of those residents to volunteer to work for the association sacrificing their own time ?
Finally , not many people are consciously aware , but is interesting to note ..... why should ' how you behave ' be decided by some one else ( I do this because so & so did this ) How should you behave should be decided by you , based on your considerations , independent of some one else's context ... why do you let go of your right to think independently "
Personal Coaching , which is what I do professionally , is all about creating such ' AWARENESS ' .
Think about it .... let me know . Have a GREAT week ahead !
# Person who opts to be on the association body to serve community is there because of his/her own choice -- there is no reason or scope to complain , either for the load or the abusive ingratitude of others
# There will always be many armchair consultants who have an opinion on everything ( importantly including of themselves ) but are never available when it comes to work
# Most think that paying their maintenance dues gets them ownership right on everything, including members of working staff & volunteer members of association committee . There are a few with high negativity , political agenda , who will always be waiting to grind their axe & hurl abuses .
# However for all such negative elements , armchair consultants , there will always be those dedicated ones who will stand up & volunteer to take community work
However this posting is more to share with you interesting thought exchange which happened to happen in the backdrop of above . Incident below is not uncommon in society working .
Residents association ( despite rules / regulations & bye-laws being in place ) derive their power primarily from resident support , if some choose to misbehave or get into indiscipline , at times there is very little associations can do since they neither have enforcement or judiciary / regulatory powers . Hence there will always be some cases of residents who would continue to flout rules .
It's not uncommon for some ( irate ) residents to ask us " if so & so does not follow this rule why should I be disciplined , can I also flout it ? The answer to this tricky question is simple :
" This is what YOU need to decide . You need to decide whether you'd follow rules like majority does , despite some errants or whether you'd follow misbehavour . Finally whether to act as a responsible citizen or not is your decision ---- it depends on your conscience , your values /background , your life priorities & your sense of what is right / wrong
Secondly we ask him as to why does he / she feel promptrd to follow only ( what he / she knows as ) wrong examplkes , why not be motivated to follow good examples ... examples of those residents to volunteer to work for the association sacrificing their own time ?
Finally , not many people are consciously aware , but is interesting to note ..... why should ' how you behave ' be decided by some one else ( I do this because so & so did this ) How should you behave should be decided by you , based on your considerations , independent of some one else's context ... why do you let go of your right to think independently "
Personal Coaching , which is what I do professionally , is all about creating such ' AWARENESS ' .
Think about it .... let me know . Have a GREAT week ahead !
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Reflections -- Good will happen to you
With my posting 2 days back , I actually wish to start a fortnightly column called -Reflections . These are reflective thoughts , quotes ; some of my own , some gathered along the way , useful nonetheless .
At every turn I'd consolidate on the thought posted at previous turn & present a new thought .
However the process of reflection can only get enriched with more people reflecting on ... I'd hence invite your comments , thoughts / counter thoughts & to build on the wisdom .
1) You get what you deserve was the first thought I posted .
To some it may appear as a limiting thought ( ' Why work , when in any case I'd get not more than what I have to get ' ) Quite to the contrary I see it as a liberating thought , one which opens you up to unlimited possibilities , challenges & puts your destiny squarely in your hand .... ' You get what you deserve ' is a key in your hand to open whichever door you wish to .. it says if you want more , get to deserve it first .... work to raise your level / capacity & hence 'deservability ' ; don't bank on any one to gift you more than what you deserve , you'll have to achieve it yourself .
2) “ Whatever happens is for good . Good will always happen to you “
Gives a positive , optimistic outlook , helps equanimity of mind & prompts focus on end goal -- Helps enhance patience & a good feel
Like the first thought , to some this too can appear deceptively fatalistic ( Have no ambition , don't feel challenged for more , accept whatever comes your way )
In reality it's not . It does not advocate shifting focus from either ambition or efforts ; it prods your mind away from the anxieties of the unknown & controllable ( what will happen to me ? ) which in a way should prompt the mind to be worry free to be fully focused on the task at hand , with a reassurance that -- don't worry , good things will happen -- keep working . It probably connects with What appears in BhagwadGeeta as Krishna's advice to Arjuna --- but more on it , the next fortnight .
At every turn I'd consolidate on the thought posted at previous turn & present a new thought .
However the process of reflection can only get enriched with more people reflecting on ... I'd hence invite your comments , thoughts / counter thoughts & to build on the wisdom .
1) You get what you deserve was the first thought I posted .
To some it may appear as a limiting thought ( ' Why work , when in any case I'd get not more than what I have to get ' ) Quite to the contrary I see it as a liberating thought , one which opens you up to unlimited possibilities , challenges & puts your destiny squarely in your hand .... ' You get what you deserve ' is a key in your hand to open whichever door you wish to .. it says if you want more , get to deserve it first .... work to raise your level / capacity & hence 'deservability ' ; don't bank on any one to gift you more than what you deserve , you'll have to achieve it yourself .
2) “ Whatever happens is for good . Good will always happen to you “
Gives a positive , optimistic outlook , helps equanimity of mind & prompts focus on end goal -- Helps enhance patience & a good feel
Like the first thought , to some this too can appear deceptively fatalistic ( Have no ambition , don't feel challenged for more , accept whatever comes your way )
In reality it's not . It does not advocate shifting focus from either ambition or efforts ; it prods your mind away from the anxieties of the unknown & controllable ( what will happen to me ? ) which in a way should prompt the mind to be worry free to be fully focused on the task at hand , with a reassurance that -- don't worry , good things will happen -- keep working . It probably connects with What appears in BhagwadGeeta as Krishna's advice to Arjuna --- but more on it , the next fortnight .
Monday, June 25, 2012
“ You get what you deserve “
o
It’s a potent statement as : (i) It positively
provocative , it means that if you wish to get more ; you need to deserve more
. You need to raise your level first , before expecting to get more (ii) It
quells unnecessary dissonance in minds of those who believe they’re victims of
circumstances . The statement makes you look within for reasons ; if you did
not like the result .
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