Look at the beautiful sky; listen to the musical flow of the ocean; experience the breath of fresh air; smell the fragrance of earth when it gets wet in rain!
Nature is all around us - the humans! All five elements of nature - sky, earth, water, fire and air - are there to please us, feed us, save us!
What do we do as humans? We ill treat them; misuse them; arrogantly waste them; look at them myopically! And we think that we are very smart and intelligent humans!
We cut trees to make way
for roads, buildings, houses...and we want to live 'happily'; we want to drive 'smoothly'; we want shade, but not ready to share a bit of land for trees. We want to make money out of every bit of the tree - when it is alive or when it is cut!
We use water as if there is abundant available! Those who have money think that they can buy water forever. Those who don't have money already know how valuable water is. They know the simple truth that they cannot 'create' water! it is nature's gift to humans.
If there is no end to this human arrogance, nature will write obituary to human life on this planet! It is just a matter of time...
Just like many people, I too have come across several people in various walks of my life. There were some who sought some assistance from me. In my own humble way, I did whatever I could in situations of dire need. There were occasions when I didn't even blink once before extending help. It could be lending money, guiding them in their studies, praying for their well being and being there for their psychological support....nothing extraordinary!
During those moments, I did not think as if I was doing any great thing. As an acquaintance, I thought it was my basic duty to be of some help to another human being. Every time I did some help to someone I derived great sense of inner joy.
But I am amazed to see how some of those people change colors as chameleons. Forget about gratitude for the help they received; they do not even consider it as any help at all. Instead they consider it as their right to get assistance. I treated them with kid gloves and they hit me in my chest....
They choose to move as far away from me as possible and avoid. They unfriended me on Facebook; they change their mobile numbers...they move on and I stay on!
I wonder why should they need to run away from me....is it because they consider me as a nuisance, or do they feel obligated towards me or do they suffer from guilt every time they come in contact with me?
Whatever might be the reason, they have lost the courage to look into my eyes and speak...for this life time! If they have killed their guilt means they killed their conscience...
What are you without your conscience?
I felt sad...very sad when I first received the message....he is no more!
I was thinking of him and his life....felt heavy in my heart!
Turned philosophical internally...every life has to end!
Next day, I was on my way and it was providential that I faced the final procession of the person who left his physical body the previous day!
Once again, memories engulfed me...
But this time, I was not feeling sorrowful... I was thinking of the thousands of lives that were brought to life because of his life!
- He built a company that grew to become a $2bn plus company...
- He supported a foundation that provided livelihood to street children...
- He developed a team that brought in collaborations to feed and educate the poor....
- He inspired a team of medical doctors to come up with world-class medical facilities for new born infants...
- He engaged teams of researchers in their pursuit of a life long research to come up with new molecules...
It is an irony that a person who founded a global pharma company succumbed to cancer...but not before making a difference to thousands of lives...he will forever remain as a moving force behind several people that he touched through his life time.....he was (I hate using this past tense!) Dr K. Anji Reddy!
The below lines crossed deep in my heart...
"Don't worry about death, there is nothing you can do about it. Worry about life, to light many more lives"
I left home on a business travel about ten days ago...when I was leaving, I felt it to be too long a trip...away from family, away from known people, known food, known surroundings...I reluctantly pushed myself!
The beauty of life is in the way it absorbs you! It has the knack of taking you in to its stride and mesmerizing you with its warmth...
Once I was out, reached a place out side my country of residence, it hardly took a day for me to get absorbed into life's action! It has been so busy...my family, known people were then limited to an occasional phone call, an odd text message, and of course, the power of technology that keeps you connected all the time....I wonder what happened to that reluctance!!
Now the day has come when I need to conclude my business trip and head home. I just experienced a feeling that passed through me for a fraction of a second. The feeling that I am going to miss this place...that I stayed for ten days!
Is it what we call as 'maya'? Is this attachment not desirable?
Though we know they are passing clouds, why do we get attached? But, did it not comfort me to stay away from my other attachments?
Does it mean to say we get attached only to develop detachment from the earlier things? Intriguing....
I have come across this blog which I instantly found to be my liking. The new blog post , Why We Write, made me think on the same question. I could relate to that personally. Why do I write this blog? Why do I write anything?
Taking off from here, a larger question to ask is: Why do I do what I do?
The WHY is such an important and soul searching question which helps us to delve deeper and discover our inner self.
When I don't find an answer to my WHY, then I need to check if there is any purpose of my pursuit, whatever it might be! It could stir your soul.....leave you revealed...
- Do you recall how it felt when you helped an old woman with heavy luggage at a railway station or airport?
- How was the feeling when you stood up and offered your seat in a bus to a lady with kids?
- Do you remember those scores of students who surrounded with questions and sought your advice after your talk? How did it feel when you answered all those?
- How was the feeling of extending a hand to the person who fell off from a bike?
- What was the experience when you went to nearby old age home and served them with food?
As I recall, every such moment added a fresh meaning to my existence. I experienced pure joy of doing my bit to help others...
There was not even a momentary expectation of any returns from them. The joy diminishes and the grief starts only when you know them, and therefore expect a favor, gratitude etc. It hurts badly when you extend help to known people (and thereby expecting a sense of reverence or gratitude) and they do not acknowledge!
The beauty lies in doing your bit ...not even thinking what they will do in return!
Choose those people who are 'no body', offer your help and simply walk away!
We all heard the a general philosophy of life - "TAKE IT EASY".
Probably, it helped us a great deal when we are under immense stress and undue pressure. Like many, I also took myself easy and never looked at myself seriously. On a few occasions when something happened and when I inadvertently thought of the same, I got connected with my inner self. We all know it, right?
That 'buzz', that 'humming' inside ourselves... you know what I mean.... that inner voice started throwing up some thoughts and I dared to listen to them. And I became a student of myself and ME-AS-MY-TEACHER :-)
Listening to the inner teachings, I believe, will expand the depth and breadth of my insights and hopefully will help me grow into a better human being ....
