Simple Pleasures

Life is full of harmony and full of simple pleasures. Some days we are in tune in with it.

Well, today, I had a good lunch, good sleep in the afternoon - almost did not want to wake up. But had to. Well, that is what we call sweet sleep. Had a nice cup of hot tea. Had a quick shower and chanted for a little while. Watched a movie on HBO ( something I have not watched before) . Some movies just leave you feeling good and makes you smile and reminisce. This is one such movie. Its always nice to catch that movie on any weekend, when you least expect while surfing the channels. Well, I din't get the name of the movie, as it started and went on without breaks. :-)

Forgot to mention, swallowed few fresh breaths of air in between the tea and the movie some time. Perfect relaxed evening.

What else could you ask for? Normal simple life's pleasures ..what a blessing to have them and to have the ability to cherish them? Something I believe that runs in the family.

Ofcourse, in case we forget what a blessing it is to have a normal simple 'routine' day, Life has it's own ways of showcasing you and making you realize the importance of the same. Trust me when I say it. About time to enjoy the moments Life bestows us with.

The Promise - by Sri Sri

This poem of Guruji's is one of my all time favourites. Enjoy.

Jai Guru Dev.

If I had to promise you something, what would it be?

I can’t promise that you would always be comfortable…

Because comfort brings boredom and discomfort.

I can’t promise that all your desires will be fulfilled…

Because desires whether fulfilled or unfulfilled bring frustration.

I can’t promise that there will always be good times…

Because it is the tough times that make us appreciate joy.

I can’t promise that we will be rich or famous or powerful…

Because they can all be pathways to misery.

I can’t promise that we will always be together…

Because it is separation that makes togetherness so wonderful.

Yet if you are willing to walk with me, if you are willing to value love over everything else

I promise that this will be the most rich and fulfilling life possible.

I promise your life will be an eternal celebration,

I promise you I will cherish you more than a king cherishes his crown,

And I shall love you more than a mother loves her newborn.

If you are willing to walk into my arms,

If you are willing to live in my heart,

You will find the one you have waited forever….

You will meet yourself in my arms…

I promise.

You and me...

I saw Guruji in my dream last night. Sometimes I see Him in my dreams, but I do not remeber it very clearly. Last night it was so clear and I woke up with a smile. It feels wonderful. Thought will share my feeling in few words: probably prose and not a poem:-)

Hope you enjoy.
Jai Guru Dev!

You saw me and called me
You held me and kept me close
for few moments though it felt like
an eternity

whatever small botheration I had
I shared You listened and blessed
and I saw the burden lifting away
like a cloud lifted by the Sun

I woke up from the dream
fresh like a flower
with a smile on my face
and frangrance in my heart

my heart feels light like a feather
feels warm like a baby
dearly held by its mother
intimate with the whole universe

Its absolutely wonderful to be with You
let alone be in my dreams
but trust me when I say
each moment felt real more than reality

With Eyes Closed..

With eyes closed
I see You better
and I find You closer

With eyes closed
I see the whole creation
in its perfection

With eyes closed
I see there is no other
and merge into the One

Jai Guru Dev!

खूबसूरत है जिन्दगी !

मंजिले है बहुत

ख्वायिशें है बहुत

इनमे न खोजाना

खुद्को न खोजना


खुद को मिटाके

खुद को मिलना है

यही एक तमन्ना है

जिन्दगी जीने के लिए

Hari Om - Hurry Home

One of my favourite bhajans in Guruji's voice. Enjoy.

PM Triangle Useful in Buying a House?

Are the project management triangle and buying a house related? Yes, I would think so. Here is how. If you have not heard of the project management traingle, here is a brief summary:

Any project operates under the constraints of Scope (amount of work to be done), Cost (budget) and Schedule (timeline by which you need the project delivered). All these three interrelated. For instance, if all three of the constrains are dictated or fixed then project is bound to fail. So for instance, if you want to reduce the cost of the project you may need to reduce the scope. Alternatively if a project needs to be delivered under tight timelines (schedule), one needs to work on either reducing the scope or increasing the resources and there by the cost. This is quite a common constraint I have faced in software projects. Makes sense?

It just occurred to me the other day that this traingle applies to Buying a House or Apartment as well. Here is how it maps in my view:

Area(sft) of the house and the location - Scope
Budget you have for buying a house - Cost
Do you need a ready to occupy home or can you wait? - Timeline

Obviosuly if your timeline is immediate, you may need to shell few more rupees to purchase what you need. So the cost increases. On the contrary if you can wait for couple of years for completion, over all cost would come down. Other way to reduce the cost is by changing the scope: looking for a smaller area (sft) or a not so prime location. You see how these are realted? I found it quite interesting as this thought occurred to me. Hope you did too :-)

एक बार - श्री श्री

एक बार इन अखो में झांक कर तो देखो प्यार मिलता है की नहीं

एक बार कदम बढाकर तो देखो राह मिलते है की नहीं

एक बार हाथ बढाकर तो देखो काम होता है की नहीं

एक बार मुस्कुराके तो देखो पूरी दुनिया अपनाती है की नहीं

एक बार मेरा नाम लेके तो देखो जीवन सफल होता है की नहीं

-श्री श्री

God and Man

A conversation between man and God.. Enjoy :-)
Man: God..
God: Yes..
Man: Can I ask you something?
God: Ofcourse!
Man: What is for you a million years?
God: A second.
Man: And a million dollars?
God: A penny.
Man: God, can you give me a penny?
God: Wait a second.

Newton and Mind

See, even Calvin knows Newton's laws:-). Newton's first law of motion says "Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it". This is also called "Law of Inertia" .

It occurred to me that this law applies to our mind as well. Here is how..

Let's say we are used to a specific way of thinking, when we interact with some one or read some book it may create a new way of thinking. Isn't that so?

Now, external ( or internal?) force is always applied to our life whether we like it or not. It could be people, situations, circumstances around us. Pleasant and not so plesant surprises Life throws at us or throws us into. All these are probably changing the course of the mind and the direction, shaping it for facing yet another Life's challenge. 'Accelerate' Life that is.

Alright,so much for scribbling my thoughts. I am sure I did better than Calvin though :-) More later.

For Kids Only

The other day, I was talking to few kids and we shared some jokes and riddles. It reminded me of the jokes I used to enjoy as well. Could not help but share few of them here. May I caution you these are for kids only. You may want to answer step by step. I have given answers in comments in case you don't know them :-)
Here you go. Enjoy!




1. How do you get an elephant into the fridge?

2. One boat is carrying 99 people and the boat turns over upside down. How many people survive in the boat?

3 How do you get a giraffe into the fridge?

4. A hen goes near the truck and raises it's hand. Why?

5. The lion, the king of the jungle, decided to have a party. He invited all the animals in the jungle, and they all came except one. Which one?

Last Minute Stress ?

The other day I was in traffic near a signal, I could not help but notice, how everyone at the signal were just getting ready as though it's a race start just waiting for the gun shot to go in the air. I wondered, what they would do with the time saved (probably few minutes in this case) once they reach the destination. :-) . However it also occurred to me probably they were hurrying as they are already late to the office. Though I do not have any statistical evidence, my gut feel says probably more than 90% of us does things in the last minute. It could be reaching office, submiiting Income Tax returns, giving car for service, any thing.

Doing things in the last minute not only causes lot of stress to ourselves but also to people around us. Other than that one may face the crowd whenever one does things last minute. It could be long queues, long waiting times. One may end up shouting or getting angry at others, just because one is stressed about completing your task in last minute. I am sure one can think of lot of examples, if only one can pause and think for a second.

Now, one can feel happy that we have company, or chose to be different by organizing and planning for one self just a little. How can one organize better? It's been my observation that great gadgets does not necessarily make one a great organizer. Nowadays there are lot of features in the gadgets that could be used to organize our lives, both personal and proffessional. However it is more of a discipline and in one's nature to organize oneself. I have a friend who does not know how to operate a computer, but she is a great organizer. She just uses her single diary so efficiently to block her time, mark her calender and organize herself.

Who is a good organizer? I think, probably some one who could manage their time well, and do not feel at the end of the day that they left something just because they are acting on others whims and fancies all the time that somewhere they could not act on what was important and urgent to them. (can be applied to Life as well). This is a skill, that can be cultivated and improved if one is not endowed with it. Ofcousre only if one wishes to organize one self, that is.

There are lot of tools available for organizing on the net. However, one of the simple tools I like is having a list of items and prioritizing them. Urgent/ Important quadrant also is simple enough and serves a purpose. In case you have not seen it before, here is a link: http://www.orgcoach.net/timematrix.html

If one observes the pattern and breaks free from it, it's a liberating feeling.

Being Generous and Parero

It occurred to me that most of us spend lot of energy in bargaining on small items to save money, like vegetables, auto fare or a maid's salary. Now is it nice? 10 rupees more to an auto person or a vegetable vendor means a lot to them than what it means to us. I think being generous especially with these people is very important and it makes life easy for us as well as for them.

Now if that is not convincing, think of it this way. Have you heard of the Pareto principle: the 80 - 20 rule? Pareto noticed that 80% of Italy's wealth was owned by 20% of the population. It is used widely in software quality as well. 80% of the defects can be eliminated by addressing the 20% top causes in errors.
Now going by the same rule, 80% of the money we spend goes in 20% of the items ( like Home, Car, etc). This is my theory purely. So if you want to save money bargain on big items and with big vendors. Not on small items with small vendors. So if you bargain on the 20% of the items, you could be focussing on saving 80% of your money. How is that? Nice ?

Let's be Generous and magnanimous in Life for what goes around, comes around- multifold! :-)

Friends

Its an amazing feeling to be meeting old friends even if it is only for few moments. I happen to meet some of my close friends including couple of my friends from University in the past few months. Grateful, warm, light and being cared for - That is the only way I can explain the feeling whenever I am with them. Two of the friends I met almost after 10 years. Even then it was so easy and comfortable to connect.

You can practically talk about anything and laugh or reminisce about it. At one level there are lot of things that changes in each one's life. On the other hand they looked the same to me. Same was with them . Most of them said " You just look the same" :-). If you forgot yourself or some of your best qualities, probably it is a good idea to meet some old friends.

There is a comfort that comes with familiarity. To be able to enjoy it probably some gaps are okay. I guess one values it more as one grows in life. This is one of the treasures I have been given that I truly cherish.

Shiva Rathri

I got a call from my office just a day before Shiva Rathri to attend a meeting at Mumbai on Feb 12th. (The day of Shiva Rathri). I made some quick travel arrangements.

I felt like seeing Rudra Pooja. For a moment I thought I will carry the Rudra Pooja VCD with me so I can see it while I am travelling or after I reach Mimbai. However considering the way office presentation/ sessions are planned I thought it would be impossible. So I did not pack it for my travel.

I reached Mumbai around 1 pm. I worked on the presentation little bit more sent it across to my boss and started to the hotel where the session was happening. My session at the hotel was at 4pm. On my way to the hotel from the guest house I happen to see a banner of Art of Living annoucing Rudra Pooja at 6:30pm with Swami Sadyojathaji and Manikanthanji. I reached the hotel only to find out after an hour that my session was postponed to the next day morning and I could join the group for dinner at 8PM. I was so happy, immediately I called the directory to get the Art of Living number and figured the Rudra Pooja is happening just 5 min from the Hotel. Needless to say I went and attended the Rudra Pooja followed by few bhajans and went back to the Hotel for dinner.

Incidentally my colleagues sang Ram bhajans and Karnatic music as part of the informal gathering during dinner. Someone even recited poems on Self Introspection in Hindi (quite unusual for a corporate set up - don't you think?)

Now, Guruji says Nothing is a Coincidence Here :-)

Tree Workouts

Something interesting. A picture of the tree and two sign posts from the tree tops adventure in Capilano Suspension Bridge’s rain forest. Vancouver, BC. Went with parents in 2008.

Guruji's Message for the New Year - 2010

Wishing you all a wonderful new year filled with love and peace
Here is Gurujis message for the new year