Hope never dies

Despite having all the information, intelligence and knowledge, no one can accurately predict what will happen tomorrow or even in the next moment. The future will always remain uncertain. Hope lies in this uncertainty. So long as there is uncertainty, hope is alive.

We normally live by our habits and most of us have the habit of doubting future and losing hope. Nature's law is: whatever is repeatedly counted, increases with time. Therefore, we should make a habit of counting our blessings all the time. Everyone is blessed with some thing. Even a person having nothing, is at least blessed with his life. And, as long as one is alive, one can try.

Instead of asking, "what will happen tomorrow", one should ask, "what can I do today." Moment-to-moment, one should ask how can I best use my current resources (e.g. time, money, physical capacity, knowledge, etc.). When we give our 100% in the present moment, we gain a great sense of satisfaction that no one can snatch away from us. This sense of satisfaction will reduce the anxiety of the future. Thus we live through a series of satisfying moments. Future becomes incidental and inconsequential. If we have sincerely done our bit, nature will do its own bit in its own time best suited for our welfare. Our worrying about the future will only hinder nature's process.

Life is a Puzzle

Few months ago, my daughter purchased a 500 pieces puzzle. We laid it on our dining table hoping to solve it in a few days at the most. As the days rolled by, it dawned on us that this puzzle, like life, was not a piece of cake and this was going to be a long-drawn game.

Everyone in the family chipped-in with his/her own unique logic and approach – sometimes together and often separately. The first thing we all learned was: every piece is unique and you can’t force any piece in its destined place. The right piece will easily slip in its own place. Sometimes, we would struggle for over half-an-hour just to fit one piece. At other times, several pieces would just find their own places almost like miracle. Sometimes logic would work in finding right pieces and thus inflating our egos. At other times, all logical and rational thinking would fail leading to huge frustration and head-ache. There were times when we gave-up and switched off. Then, while passing the dining table, we would glance over it and some gut feeling would force us to pick a random piece and some unseen hand would guide the hand to the right place, thus humbling our ego. Such moments were rare, but ecstatic. After nearly four months at last, we completed the puzzle.

However, we learnt many other lessons along the way:

·       It is easier to start in a corner or on the edges rather than jumping in the middle of the puzzle.

·       When you don’t see any way out in one part of the puzzle, move to another part with a fresh mind.

·       Listen to your gut-feelings. It is often correct, even if not complying with any logical thinking.

·       Collect similar shaped pieces together in smaller groups. It is then easier to find the required shaped piece.

·     Challenge the position of a piece, if you are unable to place an obvious piece next to it. That piece might have been inadvertently forced in that place. Be open to all possibilities.

·        Sometimes, follow the theory of elimination to narrow the choice of the desired piece fast.

·       Take frequent look at the big picture and let the eyes naturally fall on any specific part. It would inspire you to locate right piece for the right place.

·       When working together, never criticize other member’s approach, however silly it may appear. Let each member separately focus on his/her chosen area of the puzzle to avoid any clash.

·     When feeling frustrated, review your past progress and trust your ability to move forward with more success.

·       Every piece is important. Often the smallest and seemingly insignificant piece is the key to break a deadlock situation.

·       Take a break, when not able to make any head-way, only to return later with a relaxed mind.

·       Never think of giving-up. If a puzzle has been created, then it must be solvable. Have patience.

·       Be regular in your attempts. Even if the progress is only one piece a day, it is taking you closer to solving the entire puzzle.

Happiness or Sadness – Our Choice

Can we choose happiness or sadness?

Let’s first understand what is happiness or sadness. Both are extreme forms of emotions felt by the mind. Mind builds up some expectations. When these expectations are fulfilled, we feel happy and when they are not, we feel sad. We may not have any control over the factors that help fulfill our expectations. But, we can certainly control our expectations by analyzing whether they are in line with our capacities and resources. The more realistic our expectations will be, the more will be the chances of their fulfillment and hence happiness. However, there is no guarantee of their fulfillment. Sadness is still possible.

We feel happy or sad because we have identified ourselves with our minds. The truth is: our mind is only a tool which we possess. We are beyond and far more powerful than the mind. At the core of our being, there is only ‘Bliss’. But, we are hardly there to experience it. Instead, we live and breathe through our minds. We have allowed our possession, a tool, to rule over our lives. Just as we let our cell phones take over the control of our lives. Our moods are driven by the presence or absence of messages it delivers. We forget that it is only a tool of communication – no more, no less. It’s up to us how we use it. We may put it on silence mode when we don’t want to be disturbed by its noise, or even switch it off when we don’t want to communicate anything.

Mind can similarly be used as and when needed. It will certainly get affected by the external factors over which we have little control. It will experience happiness or sadness from time-to-time. But, we needn’t get affected by its condition. When the cell phone battery dies, we simply plug it into the source of power. Similarly, when the mind experiences sadness, we simply need to feed it with some inspiring thoughts. And, when it is experiencing happiness, we should enjoy its presence and make use of its immense power, just as we use our cell phone when it is fully charged.

It is, however, not easy to disengage from the mind. Years of practice to identify with mind cannot be reversed instantly. Perhaps, we should start by saying, “My mind is feeling sad or happy”, instead of saying, “I am feeling sad or happy.” Also, we should start visualizing the mind as a tool (e.g. a cell phone). Slowly but surely the bondage would break. As we start feeling separation from the mind, we would start becoming free from its emotions. We would also start gaining control over it. We must realize that “Mind is a wonderful servant, but a terrible master.”

Better Halves

I couldn’t agree more with P. G. Bhaskar (“It’s a no contest. Wife 1, Me 0”, KT June 6, 2014) in his humorous take on losing battle with his better half, which carried a strong element of universal truth. But, don’t we enjoy losing to those whom we love? We gladly let our better halves win every argument and discussion. We dare not end any discussion on a winning note, lest we want to risk marital peace and bliss. And, let’s accept – our better halves are naturally wired to handle multiple tasks at the same time and are endowed with the gift of a superior sixth sense. Blessed, indeed, are those who realize this truth early in their married life.

The Master Plan

We all work according to a master plan, which governs everything in the universe. There is no room for coincidences or accidents in this master plan; otherwise there would be a universal disaster. Every action, however small, taken by anyone in the universe has to be an integral part of this master plan. Nature must provide all the right resources and talent needed to execute its master plan.

In the absence of any prior-knowledge about this master plan, we are forced to speculate and make our own little plans. All the plans made by all the people cannot succeed, as we are all sharing the same world and same resources. Different people make different demands (even conflicting) from the same world at the same time. Consequently, someone’s plan must fail, so that someone else’s plan can succeed according to the overall Master Plan. We are happy when we are able to execute our plans and take full credit for its success. However, when they don’t work out, we become stressed and blame our destiny. Little do we realize that whenever our plan worked, it simply coincided with the master plan. At other times, we were forced to take a detour from our plan due to the circumstances beyond our control. We must view such detours as Nature’s way of diverting us from a dangerous path chosen in our individual plans to a safer and better path meant for our long-term benefits. We have luxury of thinking various options before acting, but we shall ultimately choose only that option which is part of the master plan.

Every action of the master plan is for the good of the whole universe. It’s like the symphony playing at a grand scale. Individual instruments playing in this symphony might sound chaotic on their own at times, but the overall music is never out of tune or harmony. Similarly, certain actions, we are forced to take helplessly, might seem disastrous at that time. But, over a period, they turn out to be the building blocks of our future success – whether in building our personality or overcoming challenges. After all, every one of us is vital and indispensable for the running of the whole universe. Any faulty action by any individual will affect the whole universe. Hence, there is no room for fault to occur in the master plan.

When we are convinced of this reality, living becomes a joy. Our job simply becomes that of an actor who performs every act, revealed to him/her moment-to-moment, to the best of his/her ability and enjoys every moment of his performance. He, no doubt, plans to the best of his ability, but he is never obsessed with it and remains open to all the possibilities that every moment brings with it. Life, indeed, becomes interesting when one doesn’t know what’s going to happen in the next moment and curiously looks forward to every moment’s revelation. No doubt, he is happy when things happen as per his expectations, but he is happier when they don’t because then he knows that better things are in store for him according to the Master Plan.

We are here to learn and grow with every experience. No learning or growth is possible when everything goes according to our plans. That’s why nature throws challenges in our path, which we must learn to overcome. Greater the challenge, higher is the learning. Those who don’t learn, must repeat the same experience over and over again. The master plan ensures this for everybody.

Celebrating Womanhood

I believe that both men and women possess unique qualities that are fundamentally different, but wonderfully complementary. It is nature’s grand plan to maintain the difference between ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ so that the world can survive as a whole. However, women have always been termed a ‘weaker’ sex, which I strongly object to. Often, people say it is men who did most of the creative work in all walks of life and continue to do so, while creative women are far and few between. Perhaps, the centuries of such condemnation by men has now led women to claim their right of equality. But, we fail to see the reality. Creative urge is equally endowed in both men and women. Men go on fulfilling this urge through paintings, music, literature, science, and so on. Yet, even the most creative man dies feeling discontented with his creations. On the other hand, every woman is fully satisfied soon after giving birth to a child, bearing severest of the pain known to mankind. There cannot be any greater creation than creating a life. I salute every woman for this creative ability that no man can ever match.