Accountability

When a person is paid for doing some work, it is expected that s/he will do the work. Isn't it? Not anymore.

Almost daily I see people blasting some courier people for not delivering their consignment or to credit card company for over charging or the telemarketing people who buzz us all the day for selling their products etc etc. Not only that, even in an MNC, their own employees are also treated in the same way by their support teams like HR, for example delayed payment, delayed bonus or settlement of bills etc. This doesn’t end here. Even the employees who serve some outer customer behave irresponsibly in delivering the service.

So this makes me think that just paying is not enough, you need to fight along with paying to get the work done. Just like in a democracy, only voting to elect the right government is not enough, we need to protest, write and shout to get the justice.

The accountability is getting reduced, because:

• 
  The number of job options available. If you commit a blunder in one company and get fired, there are other companies to hire you.
• 
  Lack of motivator and leader in the work place. This makes the work a burden and increases the probability of careless errors. We have more than enough number of managers but very few of them understand the need to motivate and unite the team.
• 
  Nature of the nation probably makes a difference. In countries like Japan or UK the situation will be different. Apparently they have more sense of responsibility.
  

There may be many more reasons, but the bottom line is, be prepared to fight and shout in addition to paying, to get the services (and your rights).

Self Respect

Self Respect or Self Esteem, what is that?? Easy question isn’t it? We all know what it means. It’s just respecting our identity and pride. It’s the understanding of what we are capable of and what we are not.
We, the educated people are supposed to be aware of this simple thing. But are we? All the time I see people buttering the boss for a promotion, a foreign country work assignment, a good salary hike etc. Almost all the time killing their SELF RESPECT. Is it necessary? Won’t these things come automatically to the deserving person? I strongly believe IT WILL.

The nature is balanced all the time, in all the aspects. Each particle is gravitationally balanced. From Newtonian physics we understand that in a force balanced system of objects if we displace even a single particle or object, the entire system will collapse. So, if we move a book from one place to another, all the other object movements (done by others) happen in such a way that it balances the system again. Similarly each person’s deeds good or bad are balanced all the time. At any given time, we only get what we deserve. I repeat, we get only what we deserve. No one can break the law of nature. So, first deserve and then desire. You will get it.

If we understand this fact, why do we sacrifice our self esteem trying to achieve something? Does it suit a graduate person to beg to his boss for a good pay hike? The market is open. If he doesn’t get what he deserves, he can change the company. Remember, a beggar never deserves anything.
Today I ask myself, “Do I really respect my self respect?” The answer will probably determine my career direction.

You ….. Liar….

Saturday, 15th April 2007
4:13 PM, Bangalore
You ….. Liar….

Many people tell lies in some situation or the other. The question is why do we lie? Or WHY DO I LIE? Is it a necessity or a habit? Many may argue, it becomes a necessity sometimes. For example, while bargaining at a shop, you may tend to tell a lie to the shopkeeper that the same thing is available at a lesser price in other shops. The logic is, since he is telling a lie to me by exaggerating the price; I have to do the same as a counter attack. Ok, accepted, but what about other situations? I think, most of the time we lie in order to gain something like respect, admiration, praise or some other favor which we do not deserve. A guy in the college boasting about his special talents to his classmates (mostly girls) or an interviewee bluffing about his abilities to the panel, there is a clear visible benefit expected.

We lie because we are not comfortable about telling what we actually possess. By boasting, the guy may get a GF or two and the candidate may get the job, but they actually do not have the talents they boasted. So there is a good chance of them being caught at a later stage. This ruins the relationships as the person no more remains trust worthy. Unearthed lies are the main cause of broken marriages (or relationships).

But there is a third category also. I have seen many people lying for no gain at all. These noble souls are slaves of habit. Whatever the situation may be, they will lie or exaggerate the fact.

Personally, I have never seen a person who lies a lot and still command a great respect from his/her peers. And I know a few people who do not lie (or do not appear to). All of them command a lot of respect from people. So I find lies and respect as inversely proportional to each other. It can’t be a coincidence; your own experiences will give a boost to this statement.

Prayer

The man of prayer will be at peace with himself and with the whole world.
-----M. K. Gandhi

It gives me strength. I get the realization of right and wrong during and after prayer. It teaches me how insignificant are the daily matters worrying about which I spend most of my time. I feel energized, charged up after each prayer. The mind is so balanced and calm. Creativity, for which I struggle during my busy times, comes by its own after prayer. Sometimes, in distracted frame of mind I tend to ignore prayers for a few days. Those days though I feel satisfied by comfortable life, the internal bliss remains absent.
And only when I again pray that I realize what was missing.

Many people directly link prayer with religion and they argue that religions are man made and have no meaning. I agree. I only say that prayer is just a communication between two existing things – mind and soul (or conscience or driving force or energy center). Believing in any religion is not at all a pre condition for prayer. It is a simple talk between the soul and the mind.

Many say language doesn’t matter in prayer. What is required is feeling. May be, I don’t know. What I know is each word of the following prayer hammers my mind and heart and that sheds away the dust and corrosion accumulated so far.

O Absolute energy! O Ultimate consciousness! Grant me the fearlessness to be myself. Grant me the knowledge to keep my body and mind healthy. Grant me the patience to understand, strength and courage to struggle. Grant me the wisdom to keep myself balanced even in harshest of situations and highest of rewards. Let every breath of my life be a learning and growth. The moment I stop growing and learning, let that moment be the end of my life.

Science n Spirituality

Science n Spirituality -- Is there any conflict between these two? Many modern, science loving people around the world would argue that it is the science that gives us all that is needed in life. It is well proven. We believe in electromagnetic induction, because the fan revolves etcetera.

I take it inverse way. The phenomenon of electromagnetic induction was existing since the birth of the universe, Michel Faraday only discovered and named it. So far, man has discovered many principles/theories and it is continuously evolving. So we believe in science because we see the proofs in our daily life. Now consider this, try making blood and muscles out of rice, wheat, fish, egg and all the things we eat. Isn’t it amazing that this conversion has been taking place in our bodies since birth? How much do we understand about the science of this process? The ancient sages who discovered Yoga or Martial Arts, understood what posture would affect the body in what way, they experienced the tremendous benefits of breathing techniques, they found out the soothing and balancing effect of chanting of Oom on the brain, they discovered and practiced energy accumulation in human body and so on. Today many of these facts are proved by medical science. The Kirilian camera shows human aura. Those sages were spiritual. Don’t you think they were scientists too? Ok, let’s come to much recent past. Almost all major scientists Einstein, Marconi etc had spoken about spirituality. So I feel spirituality is also science, at a much higher level. One needs to raise his or her level to understand it.
I conclude it in this way. Both science and spirituality are searching TRUTH. But the difference is, science proves it and then believes it, but spirituality believes it and then proves it.

President of India

The news papers are speculating about the names of the next president of India. There were names of Mr. N. R. Narayanmurthy, Founder of Infosys Technologies, and the Bolywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan. In my openion, making a superstar president will not solve any purpose. What difference has Dr. Kalam made in the indian system during his tenure. He has no hands in policy making, removing corruption etc. He could not even hold the office of profit bill. I think he can best do teaching, research, writing books and inspiring youth rather than sitting in the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Similarly, I think IT secratory or IT minister will be a better suited role for Mr. Narayan Murthy rather than President. And Mr. Bachchan, let him make movies. I don't understand based on what leadership credentials his name is being considered for the post. It's funny. If glamour is the required criteria, I would suggest better names. Consider Mallika Sherawat PLEASE.

Inner Voice

Human conscience knows everything right. Whenever I attempt to do anything, I get a feeling whether it is right or wrong. It is wrong to compare human body with a machine. So human being cannot be treated like machines, they cannot work all good, expected thins all the time. But the ratio Good/Bad things done determines the personality.

There may be many people who don’t understand this distinction between good and bad all the time, but there are several, who, in spite of understanding it, still do the wrong deeds. That is because they have grown so sluggish, lazy and low of self respect that they often tend to go the easy, luxurious way. Once you get the habit of ignoring your conscience, you seldom do otherwise.

A hard working person is MUCH MORE satisfied than a lazy one.
Satisfaction gives happiness which is invaluable.
Work is offering to the divine.
Break the habit of ignoring your conscience.
Voice of your conscience is the voice of GOD.
Challenge yourself ALL THE TIME.
NEVER give up.

Today my conscience screams at me, “Enough, now if you are still reluctant to follow the above, you are a CRIMINAL and will remain the same forever.”
I feel filled with zeal and energy at the moment, but it should not be an impulsive one. Well, let’s see.

Random Thoughts

11th April 2007; 2:44 PM, SDC Bangalore

Just now I was going through an article in Wikipedia explaining the Chaos theory. I wonder, if there exists any such theory which can explain CHAOS, will it still remain chaos? I mean, that which can be explained by any fixed theory, how can it be a chaos? Human mind tries to explain ALL what happens around it. And most of the time the explanation is wrong. Any explanation is accepted only till it is not proven wrong and the pages of history have enough proof that many (or most) of the theories which were once laws, were proved to be erratic later. So, what is correct? What/Whom should I trust? Why is everything so complex? My mind gets confused when I ponder into all these thoughts. Then some inner voice consoles, asks me to stop analyzing superficially. Think, is it not EVERYTHING part of nature? Nature is not only all the greenery, the rivers, the birds and the likes. Am I not a part of nature? Isn't the stones, buildings, solid, liquid and gas, everything part of nature? So, how can the man GENERATE anything which is already not a part of nature? He can't. What man does is, mixing two or more things (or ideas) to generate a third thing or idea. The science we know, knows that "Energy/matter can not be created, nor it can be destroyed." So, we can not create or destroy even a single molecule. It is only the inter-conversion from one form to another. When a child is born, are not the elements of nature used for its birth and growth? Now, human mind tries to explain every happening of the nature and evolve laws for that. So we can say that every single particle of this universe is bounded by certain law. Man only tries to understand those laws. All the possible experimental data is already scattered in the nature since genesis. Man only reveals some of those data through experiments. Nature is outside us, nature is within us. Every thought is a part of nature. Every thought has as real existence as any other physical object. The science knows that energy can travel from one place to another in invisible form (telecom signals for example). Is not thought also a kind of energy which is invisible but does a lot of powerful things? The science knows that every single particle has immense energy trapped in it. So why won't thoughts contain energy?
So every thought contains REAL energy. Let's move on. Science tells that every cause has an effect and every effect has one or many after effects. So thoughts also should have their effects. Every thought has its effect. That is why the masters of Yoga and different Martial arts emphasize on purity of thought. James Allen, in his classic book "As A Man Thinketh", has also stressed on the importance of pure thoughts.
Enough of preaching. Let me practice purifying my thoughts now.


Sushil