THIS MOMENT IS MY LIFE

Airavat was a white elephant in the jungle and because of his princely colors he was the king of the area. One day there was a fire in the forest which started eating away most of the life within. The King Airavat had to save his subjects who were panicking. Not knowing what to do, he plunged into the fire and tried to stamp the fire out. Alas, he could not understand the enormity of the situation and was burnt to death.

Born again as a white elephant because of his good intentions in his earlier life, Airavat again became the king of the forest. This time with experience from his last birth, he thought of creating a space in the center of the forest so that his subjects can escape another forest fire. He went out in a rampage stamping on trees and cleared a huge circular area in the middle of the forest. One day there was a forest fire and this time all the animals gathered in the field. There was no place left for more, but since all had arrived Airavat was happy that he could save his subjects.

Standing endlessly for the fire to douse, his rear left leg started itching. So he lifted his right back leg to scrub. He started to re position his leg but saw a rabbit that was sitting on a cow’s back has comfortably placed itself in the place where his fourth leg was standing. Like a true King, he decided to stand on three legs and let the rabbit be in comfort.

After the fire was over, all the animals left the field and dispersed. Airavat, whose leg had developed cramps due to prolonged un-grounded, found that the same has become stiff? He could no longer bring it down. He had to live rest of the life with only three legs on the ground.

Because of his good deed and the act of saving so many animals Airavat was born as a human in his next birth. The human called Dinesh. That’s me.

Dinesh has had a wonderful upbringing and now has grown up as a leader of the family. He is always surrounded by a thought: should I Live to Earn or Should I Earn to live.

If I decide to LIVE to EARN I am always in a fight about how much to earn. No amount of earning will satisfy me as I do not know how long I am going to live.

If I decide to EARN to LIVE I will be little happy for I may have some solace in the fact that I have money to spend in hand. But then again I will not know how much to earn for I do not know how much I will live.

The fact that I am neither able to understand how much to earn for I do not know how much I will live I am eternally suffering, for I am not able to earn nor am I able to live without suffering.

In the life span of all the three lives of the same Soul described here, we can understand that good deeds are the fruit of a better next life. Yet if you see in none of the three lives there is any happiness without suffering.

Is suffering the only way to live?

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars. Says Khalil Gibran

Suffering, failure, loneliness, sorrow, discouragement, and death will be part of your journey, but the Kingdom of God will conquer all these horrors. No evil can resist grace forever. Says Brennan Manning

I am not afraid of death for I know what I am here for, nor am I afraid of suffering. I am here to carve my name on hearts, I have decided to live. Live to leave a legacy which will be etched into the minds of others and the stories they would share about me.

GRUMBLING IS THE DEATH OF LOVE

Those who incessantly laughs in the street, you may commonly hear grumbling in their closet..

1. We welcomed the Mughals who plundered us.

2. We were greedy to welcome the Britishers who stayed back with their business and let them rule us

3. We accepted the change of power and finally gave our self a constitution to proclaim India as a Republic

4. We were happy when we saw things happening for our Nation which we never could imagine

5. We became pessimists when a population as big as ours struggled to get recognition in Sports, Science, and may be tried to ape others in order to create an aura of technological modernity

6. We let politics and Corruption enter our homes and were happy to get things with pride when we got it by paying a bribe.

7. We participated in communal debates and tried to boil to froth in order to prove some nonsense.

Today we have a debate over everything, we are so knowledgeable that we can talk and take sides on any topic sans any worth. Be it politics, foreign affairs, A movie just released or even how we should be caring and rearing our children.

Evolution is a fact of life and at no stage will I be satisfied with the present..

Should I be cribbing what we could have had or should I be working for the things I need to create as per my acquired wisdom. I have been on this soiled ground for half a century and have identified so many course correction my Nation needs to make, Others need to correct or I need to change.....yet I may or may not find happiness. 

I will be in a state of conundrum, unless I chose to accept and live in the present.  There will always be challenges, yet life finds a way to bring cheer!

NATURE IS THE BEST TEACHER 

( Pic by DKB at Athirapally Falls )

WHY IS THERE ANY SUFFERING

Humans are the divine species

I don't believe it even in pieces 

Birds seem to be the angels 

For they die only when in tangles

Why is there any suffering 

Why are there no means of curing

Why is it that we know there is hell

Why cant we have the heavens until it swells

All these appear to me a joke 

Every thing is a farce, Ah! someone please poke

Love, passion, godliness, divinity, paradise et al!

Just another side of a coin until you know what's fatal

Pic : DKB

ASSUME : to accept something as true without question or proof.

True sadness is when someone still thinks you’re the same person after all these years. They brand you because of their own ego, fear and lack of spirituality.  This is especially true of the people you have grown up with, our cousins, our peers from college and to an extent childhood friends. They take it for granted by assuming you are the same as they used to know you before.

Why do People assume:
We all have to operate on assumptions to a point in the formation of our opinions. But past a certain point its lazy mindedness. As people get experience in life, they start to feel as though they've got everything figured out and they start to rely more on their assumptions than on new information. It's akin to thinking. “I'm experienced in life, I've seen it all. I'm smart.”

Why does assumption start:
I personally believe it is a short cut to avoid a conversation? Sometimes you will not like to speak with someone and yet will have to deal with him/her for some reason, so, for less important things you start assuming the outcome of a question in your mind and take it for given. Knowing the risk of such assumption is not going to be fatal.

There are in life we come across people who know it all kinds. Friends and relatives start assuming they already know about events that may be news to them and stop sharing it with such people believing it to be a waste of time. However it may not be the case.

Consequences of Assuming:
Assumptions are generally biased. You tend to believe the way your mind will have you believe and become distant from actual reality. Though now days a professional assumption of data is challenged by co workers in order to correct the thought process, personal life assumptions are dangerous. Assuming in interpersonal behavior can be misunderstood and detrimental to cordiality

Coming back to my opening paragraph, I have observed in relations with family and friends there is a huge element of assumption that keeps a person unhappy. A simple enquiry is many times avoided because of biased assumption.

Have you ever tried to explain something so seemingly simple, to someone and they just don’t understand it no matter what? It can be frustrating, sure. But chances are you assumed they knew more about the topic than they actually did.

The right approach would’ve been to ask a few questions beforehand to gauge your audience’s level of knowledge on the topic. Then you give your explanation, shaping the conversation around their knowledge.


When we stop assuming or judging people:
It can change the way you view someone or treat them in your life. Having a different perspective can aid you into being the help that someone might desperately need. Whether that be an ear to listen to, a distraction for them, or even to have one person who will not place labels, judgments, stereotypes, or biases against them can make more of an impact than you think. That person could be on the edge of a breakdown, overdosing, or even considering suicide. Life is so precious. As people, we need to do a better job at taking care of one another. Everything we do or say has a positive or negative impact on the people around us, whether we know them or not. Please choose to be a positive impact.

I may sometimes ask you an inappropriate question for I never Assume :-)