The Lady of Lake Barapani

I remember this as if this happened just yesterday. Not many remember an incident that occurred such a long time ago. The minor flutter that it had created in the local media at that time has long receded from popular memory. But I was thick in the middle of it and feel that this truly is a story that needs to be told lest it be forgotten.

It is not often that one actually comes face to face with what can only be called a Ghost, stare at sure death or experience mind numbing fear that changes ones world view. Such a tale must be told if only for us to realize that there are still things for which we have no rational explanations.

But along with all that this is also heart-warming story of unity of different faiths that bears to be recounted and remembered.

The year was 1974, the Sankirtan movement of Lord Chaitanya had all but died in Shillong. Gone were the days when Bengalis and Kashis alike swayed in the divine beat of the Mahamantra as the Sankirtan processions swept through the beautiful lanes of this hill paradise. The refrain of Hari Bol that could once be heard everywhere in Shillong of my boyhood had been all but silenced.  The steady stream of money that flowed from the West, the strategic marketing of an all forgiving Saviour had turned many Khasis towards a new belief system, away from the simple path of Bhakti that only promised Krishna-Prem or Love of Krishna as the means and end. 

We were a motley bunch of 30-something self-proclaimed and wannabe intellectuals who were still holding out against what we could recognize as the turning of an innocent populace from the way of Bhakti to the way of plain material barter with Divine. As a group of Professors, Doctors, and small business owners we were committed continuing to chant Krishna's name with the firm belief that sooner or later the nectar filled name of Krishna (Madhumay Krishna Naam) would draw back all true seekers.

Those days I was a young Surgeon at the Shillong Civil Hospital. The state of Meghalaya had just been formed and since many of the senior doctors had chosen to move to Gauhati (that's how it was spelled those days), we were left in charge. I was the HOD of my dept. with all my residents being fresh graduate doctors. The hours were long, our duty cycles almost back-breaking but we took our charge as a command from the Lord. Was it not Swami Vivekananda who had said - Jive Prem Kore Jai Jon, Shai sabache Iswar - “It is verily he who has served Mankind, who has truly served the Divine.”

Before long the peddling of the Saviour had turned its attention to Assam. In front of every temple or Naam Ghar, overnight would mushroom a House of Healing or an Altar of My Lady of Unfathomable Grace. We took it upon us to frequent the Naamghars that were within our reach, on every possible occasion, in a bid to either promote or in some cases even restart the Kirtans. Such participation in the Kirtans for most of us would require a drive down from Shillong to the plains of Assam.

My encounter with The Lady of Lake Barapani happened during one of these trips.

***

It was late one August evening that I finished my last operation for the night. Since I was off-duty the next day I had promised to drop by to a Naamghar which was managed by the father of one of my erstwhile seniors.

Prabhu Achinta Kumar Sharma came from a long line of Shankardev Vaishnavites. After retiring from the Railways he had taken over the management of the Village Naamghar. He was a widely respected person and within the first hour of my first meeting I became a fan. What touched me was his devotion, knowledge, humility and sense of humour that comes so easily to the people of Assam. In his village too, lately people proclaiming Good News had started their foray.  We had re-doubled the effort from our side in ensuring that Naamghar remained a beacon of hope for all seekers.  Prabhu somehow had developed a tremendous fatherly affection for me and often would ask his son to send me for the Kirtans.

Today was one such occasion.

As I started my trusty Ambassador it was almost 10.30 at night.  A light drizzle had started. Still I expected to make good time and reach Gauhati in about 5 hours give or take. (It takes much less time these days).  I was famished but decided that rather than stopping for dinner at the hospital canteen, I would grab something at Nongpoh from some still-open eatery.  

By the time I reached the outskirts of Shillong the rain had become rather heavy.  For a moment I did contemplate whether I should turn back but continued onwards since few things were more rejuvenating and life affirming as a Kirtan session with Prabhu and his disciples. Since I had lost my father a few years back, I also craved the paternal affection that I received from him.  Of course there was Aparajita, his youngest daughter who had just completed her MSc in Botany. With her my budding friendship held the promise of something more in a not too distant a future.

At Mawlai the rain turned torrential, slowing me down to a Snail's pace. My car loudly protested the frequent braking and moving that I was forced to resort to. By the time I reached in the vicinity of the Umsaw Madan area near the Barapani Lake, my trusty Ambassador, a friend of so many journeys, sputtered to a complete uncharacteristic and unexpected stop.  Much as I tried I couldn't get the engine to restart. 

I was stranded in the middle of nowhere in a dark rainy night!

I quickly took a stock of my surroundings.  It was pitch dark everywhere outside broken occasionally by the flashes of lightning and the sound of thunder that inevitably followed.  There was not a single vehicle on the road from what I could see. The Barapani Lake which is normally a source of pleasure due to its beauty stretched on one side of the road like an ominous expanse of unknown dread. Its dark waters looked angry and agitated by the torrents of water that fell from the heavens. Everything else was just black. No moon, no stars, no people. I was alone submerged in an ocean of darkness, with my headlights making a feeble attempt stay lit.

Before long I too switched off my headlights to conserve my car battery.  The rain pounded heavily on my car roof making the sound like someone was incessantly beating a drum, while I sat kicking myself for having left Shillong in such an inclement weather.

It was about then that I saw her first.  For some reason my eye had strayed to my rear view mirror during the flash of a lightning.  On my back seat was sitting a lady with wearing a white sari and some kind of white head gear.  With complete deadpan eyes she was staring back right into my eyes through the mirror. My heart froze at the suddenness of her appearance. In the dying light of the lightning flash I looked back at the mirror to see that she was still staring at me. Without blinking.

I gathered by courage to turn on the cabin light overhead and looked back.

There was no one in the back seat.

I chuckled softly  to myself at how situations could even make doctors see things. As I mused on the workings of the brain and its relation to the elusive entity called Mind, I saw her again.  Another lightning flash. No mistaking this time, there was someone else in the car.  And she was staring at me like there is no tomorrow.  There was an unspoken message in that cold hard stare that I couldn't read.

I switched on the cabin light again. Again no one. I even peeped behind my seat to see if she had ducked. But no, there was no one in the car that I could see.  Though the weather had gotten quite chilly, I was literally sweating by then.

Without another minute's thought, I rushed outside into the torrential rains. I locked the car and started walking back fast towards Shillong.  In a few steps one of my shoe laces came undone.  As I bent down to tie it, my spine chilled when I realized the same entity who was with me in the car was standing right behind me!

***

I broke into a mad run on the dark road, unmindful of what I went. The only thought in my mind was that I had to get rid of the entity that was following me.  As I ran for dear life I could hear the foot falls of the entity as it kept pace behind me.  This went on for about 10-15 mins, though at that time it seemed like an eternity.  Finally I had to stop out of sheer exhaustion. I didn't know which way I had run or where my car was.  The ground was slushy under my feet so I definitely was not on the highway anymore and neither was the lake visible in my immediate vicinity.

Just then I saw what could be my salvation.  A dim flickering dot of a light at far distance at some height on a hillock. Never before had I have such a feeling relief. If only I could reach there I would be back in company of humans.

I knew not what lay in between me and that dot of light but I cared not. I leaped headlong toward that.  No sooner had I done so, I felt a wave of anger flowing at me from the entity behind.  Heaven's my witness but the roar of the thunder got louder, every two step I would slip and fall headlong into the slush, the trees around me were swaying wildly.  I could swear that there were hands trying to retrain me from moving ahead.

Suddenly it clicked to me, the famous lines from Hanuman Chalisa -

bhūta pishācha nikata nahi āvai।

mahābīra jaba nāma sunāvai॥

Evil spirits (bhūta) and meat-eating ghosts (pishācha) do not come near those chant the Mahāvira name of yours.

With every bit of piety I could summon in my state of utter terror I started chanting the hymn loudly. Lo and Behold, I actually felt the entity fall behind me.  I could still hear the swaying of trees and the noises but my progress towards the light was unhindered.

By now my eyes had adjusted to the darkness and I could make some sense of where I was going.

Before soon I came up a small clearing on which stood a small hut from whence the light emanated. As I neared the hut I could almost hear a wail of frustration all around me but still at some distance. My reverential prayers to Lord Hanuman, hadn’t left my lips even for a moment.

Desperately I went up and frantically knocked on the door of the hut…

(To be contd....)

Unfake Life

The biggest disservice that you can do to yourself is being a fake.

About 5000 years back there was a King in ancient India by the name of Paundraka who has convinced himself and some of his followers that he and not Vasudeva Krishna, was the real manifestation of the Supreme. Encouraged by foolish followers, he not only styled himself after Krishna, but apparently sent a messenger  with seriously insulting messages for Lord Krishna. When Krishna came after him instead of taking shelter in the Lord's infinite Mercy, the dullard attacked Him.  Of course, he lost his head in the bargain.  Being a fake didn't turn out a good thing for him after all.





An Unfake Life is the biggest gift you can give yourself for such a life is devoid of any foundational falsehoods. Indeed such a life and outlook becomes the very basis of any progress, material or spiritual that you may want to make in life.

The three principles for an UNFAKE LIFE  are the following:

1. Be Genuine. Acceptance of ones own-self, weakness, warts and all is the first step towards improvement, towards progress.  
2. Unfake. If you catch yourself faking, just stop. Faking doesn't fool anyone else, it fools only yourself and that is never a good thing.
3. Strive. If you want to attain something, liberation, a position, a skill, respect or trust, you have to strive to be really worthy of it and work at achieving it. This can happen only if you have applied the first two principles. Only if you accept your station today, would you be able to chart the path to where you want to go to and make the journey.

Accept that you are mostly likely your biggest challenge. The second are people who love you, because in their affection, they see you as something bigger.  The third of course are people who have some axe to grind and fuel the illusion that you create around yourself.

Of course in your path to an UNFAKE LIFE,sometimes you will be misunderstood, questioned, made fun of. And while sometimes it may hurt you but if you keep true to the three principles provided above, you will emerge stronger.

Jai Shri Krishna.

See Also:
Krishna and the false Vasudeva:  http://krsnabook.com/ch66.html 

Om Sarashwatyai Namah -- Celebration of Ma Saraswati - The Giver of Knowlege

Knowledge or Wisdom, when the ancient seers of India envisioned her, appeared as a gushing, flow of live giving water, sometimes gurgling along as a gentle stream, sometimes thunderously rushing past breaking all barriers and obstacles. Forever mobile and changing. No doubt therefore Goddess of Knowledge was named after the most important river in the history of Indian history - The Saraswati, the cradle of Indian Civilization. 

Ma Sarasawati is the Goddess of Knowledge and Arts. Today is Saraswati Puja, the celebration and the special day of worship of the Ma Saraswati.

My association with Ma Saraswati has been from childhood through the Saraswati Puja which is a significant festival for the Bengalis like the rest of India. As kids my brother and I would run to Mom with our books, so that she could place them in front of the Divine Mother for some special grace to help with our studies.  Subjects that were specially hard to me such as trigonometry  or civics found special position in the Puja, because I was convinced that I could get through them only through the Mother's grace and blessings.  There also used to be the locality pujas which were organized mainly by older children under the watchful eyes of the grown ups. 

In our young Minds, Ma Saraswati, was this benevolent deity whose propitiation was necessary to do good in studies and pass exams. So with all the respect we could muster and with eyes firmly shut in apparent bhakti, all of us kids would try to outshout each other as we chanted her mantras, for who knows what amazing blessings were in store if you could just manage to get ourselves heard.  The most common mantra we chanted was this one:

सरस्वति महाभागे विद्ये कमललोचने ।
विद्यारूपे विशालाक्षि विद्यां देहि नमोस्तुते ॥

Meaning:
1: O Devi Saraswati, the most Auspicious Goddess of Knowledge with Lotus-like Eyes,
2: An Embodiment of Knowledge with Large Eyes, Kindly Bless me with Knowledge. I Salute you.

(Taken from this page)

Of course in reality, what Ma Saraswati represents is a knowledge that is far deeper. It the knowledge of the Self, a concept that forms the core of Indian philosophy.  The meaning of world, universe, multi-verse, life itself or whatever else that is perceived or is beyond is not be sough without, but within, either in terms of the relation between the Self and the Super-self or as an identification of the Self with the Super-self, depending upon the school of philosophy that you choose to follow. Ma Saraswati is therefore the giver of divine knowledge or I would argue the only knowledge for which the soul takes the human birth. She therefore is the patron of all Gyan yogis everywhere. For isn't it Knowledge, especially Brahma Gyan, in which resides our Salvation, our enlightenment and redemption?  I dare say, it does.  The name Sarawati itself pays homage to the Ma Saraswati's role in imparting knowledge of Self to her children.  In my own personal journey today Ma Saraswati is my refuge, my inspiration, my guide.

I am amazed at the genius of our ancient thinkers and rishis who could take such a subtle concept, and impart it a persona which could bring it within the grasp of the laity like us.

Today, as my son sang the hymn - Sri Vani  Kalyani during a special prayer of Ma Sarawati, I was also reminded that my Father, the great classical singer that he was, prayed to Ma as a Goddess of the arts as well. Swami Vivekanda invoked her before his famous speech in parliament of religions. Ma Saraswati has inspired numerous  creation of arts, as music, sculpture, paintings, verses and prose. One of my favourites is a piece created by the Japanese composer Kitaro..  I leave you with the melodious strains of the superb creation that must have been graced by Ma Saraswati's blessings to have come out so nicely.

Om Sarashwatyai Namah

See Also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraswati

http://hinduism.about.com/od/hindugoddesses/p/saraswati.htm

Yearning, thy name is Radha

The historicity of Lord Krishna is a subject of active mainstream scholarship. That an amazing, unparalleled, magical being once walked on this earth a little over 5000 years ago, that there was in our midst an divine person who changed and directed the course of history and philosophy in his time and has inspired humanity as no one ever has since his advent  is no longer a question or matter that is doubt. The current human endeavour seems to be directed towards understanding and knowing this Supreme Hari better and finding his presence through scientific as well as spiritual means. Please see the reference section for a few excellent links on this topic.

However a question is that is sometimes asked is who is Radha, Krishna's eternal consort. Who is this devotee numero uno, only by whose graces may the Lord be attained. While the purans seem to attest Lady Satyabhama and Lady Rulmini as the principal wives of Lord Krishna, beyond his divine pasttime in the enchanted Vrindavan, why is it that Sri Radha, who the Lord is always pictured with in modern iconography, never mentioned?

Sri Radha, I believe is more than just one historical person who existed. She has become the personification of the yearning for the Lord that resides in heart and consciousness  of the devotee. As a historical person one may yet discover her in the magical forests of Vrindaban and one hopes that such a day dawns soon. But there is no doubt that a true devotee can feel her blessed presence in their hearts lighting up the path of para bhakti. She appears as guide, as a friend, as a mother who takes her children by their hands and guides them to their eternal destination - The Lotus feet of Lord Krishna, She is that cocoon of light and warmth that envelops the devotee in a motherly embrace when he looses his consciousness and identity into the infinite-ness of Hari naam, of Krishna naam.

But, most importantly and most often, she appears as a boundless yearning for Krishna, that sometimes breaches the embankments of the eye lids and flow out as streams of tears.

Recently an animated movie depicted the Radha bhava or Radha conciousness in a beautiful way. It showed the Lord as a child enchanting the whole of Vrindaban in his divine flute play, but when the music stopped it was only Radha who kept swaying as if to the tune of some unheard music. The Krishna music that she was dancing to came not from without, but from within which manifests as an unceasing stream of melody.  That truly is Radha's love and Radha's devotion.

No doubt Radha's name preceeds Krishna's when they are remembered together. It is always Radha-Krishna, Radha-Madhava, for Radha is indeed the true yearning for Krishna that leads a devotee to him.

Radhe, Radhe,

References:

http://decodehindumythology.blogspot.in/2012/02/krishna-history-behind.html
http://www.indianweekender.co.nz/Pages/ArticleDetails/51/1421/Comment/How-science-discovered-the-historical-Krishna
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dalNJ4luBws

Visionaries

Why is it that there are a few leaders who are able to galvanize and rally people for a greater cause, when many others who would have this moniker applied to them merely end up being pushy individuals that you would normally want to avoid.

The answer is in the simple word -- Vision.

Vision is a highly abused word, and it is thrown around in most humorous ways by people. The situation that I find most funny is when some clueless set of people sit around in board rooms to arrive some futuristic vision for an organization.  Each of the participant will typically say something heavy sounding about a future point in time, sometimes simply because they want to make their presence felt or because their boss is in the room as well. Sticky notes will be used in wild abandon, while boards messed up with an universe of unreadable doodles. Finally the fearless leader in the room shall stitch together a convoluted sentence using words from various sentence and voilà - A vision is ready. 

Something oozing with creative juices. Such as:

We are the best jacket makers, encouraging innovation and ensuring humane killing of animals whose hide we use, through six sigma quality processes , so that citizens of Timbaktoo feel impelled to buy these apprehending a global cooling at some distant time in future.

OR

We exist to leverage the synergies between the watch manufactures in North Antarctica and the igloo heating needs of Eskimos of the Arctic, while exhibiting our deeply felt social responsibility towards the bushmen of Kalahari by ensuring an constant supply of soda bottles to the inner reaches, through cost effective solar powered non polluting vehicles drawn by the penguins of Antarctica desirous to explore the new educational vistas that would be rendered open to them.

The reason that these Vision Statements don't work is because they mean nothing, paint no picture in front of our eyes. They are pasted in the walls of Corporates to be ignored until the next version of equally inane vision statements take their place to be ignore with equal gusto.

Recently I have been in a set of meetings that have been completely different. It started with a offsite at a nearby town for a couple of days and before long the entire group who were in the offsite were buzzing with excitement and activity.  It has been over a month since that and the excitement continues to grow and spread across to the entire org...

So what was different..

The difference was how our leader galvanized the whole team by painting a vision of future that we could connect to, at the very inception. Telling a story that was challenging but realistic. Something that would need an entire organization to rise together, move through a  trajectory to reach a promised future. A future that we could see and were excited about.  That was the secret sauce.

As I thought through this whole thing I released that this approach had worked for me in the past as well, Every time I was able to paint a vision of what the shape of future would be and provide a way to get there I was able to infuse energy into my team or my customers.  When people are excited by the vision of a future and see a way to get to it, they work like supermen to make that a reality.

No one perhaps realized this better than Lord Krishna. If you analyze Mahabharata purely from a management and leadership perspective it is clear that it is the victory of a Vision of righteousness painted by the Lord against a utter lack of that in the side of Kauravas. This vision made the Pandava army perform like super warrior and vanquish a much larger army of Kauravas. Lord Krishna no doubt was the biggest visionary that ever set foot of earth but then he is "Bhagavan Himself". Every step of his life as documented and known to us shows Vision and purpose to uplift and free mankind. 

Netaji Subhash Bose is another person in recent history who led with Vision and captured India and the world's imagination . Jamshedji Tata, Bill and Dave and many others have similarly been visionaries, the path set by whom still act as a inspiration to many.

So...  As a leader if you ever get to a situation where you see confused expression in the faces of your people, a reluctance to follow you, Ask yourselves the following questions..

• Do I know whether I want to lead my people?  Is it a destination that is worthy?
• Do they understand the vision? Does it paint a picture for them when the close their eyes?
• Can I show them a map of getting there that they would believe?
• Are they inspired at the thought of this journey

If the answer of even a single question is a NO, your vision is still not a mature one and home work is in order.  If all answers are YES but you still have confused looks it is likely that you would need to communicate better..

However, if you are lucky to reach a point where your team resonates with with picture you paint for them, give yourself a light pat on back, you could have well be on your way to becoming a visionary...

Is Spiritual Evolution the Key to our Survival?

Do we exist because the Universe exists or does it exist because we do? Before you deride the question for its overbearing pomposity, consider this age old question – If there were none one to comprehend this wondrous, complex and infinite universe, would it have mattered if it existed or not?

Science theorizes that there could be other universes where the “environmental conditions” (such as the mass of a Hydrogen atom or the measure of electron volt or some such other constant that leaps out at you whenever you open a physics book) are ever so slightly different. But even that slight difference makes life as we understand it impossible there. So the Galaxies, the nebulae, or whatever else one may find in those universes may spin, dance or fox-trot around till end of time without having truly existed, since no sentient eyes falls on them, no intelligent mind wonders at the creation.

Undervaluing our place in the Universe

So far as we can conclusively tell in this infinite universe, it is only our planet, that life and the capacity to look up at the night and wonder who stuck those millions of twinkling candles up in the sky, exists. The capacity to feel inspired by beauty exists, the capacity to hold another in an embrace of pure love exists, and the capacity to bow down head in reverence to the enormity of creation and its creator exists.

How lightly and with how much disdain then do we take our charge? Ceaseless fighting, Greed for material wealth and hurting the nature which gave us all have marked human kind since the time a misfit ape decided that it could look further if it stood on its hind legs.  And unless the little Gray or Green men show up in their saucers one fine morning, Folks, we are it. We are the finest creation of Universe as far as we know, since only we know it is there.

In my naivety I often asked some rather childish questions:

Should life not be spent in pursuit of knowledge? Would greed for knowledge not be more fulfilling than making money by Spot fixing. Should the aim of birth not be to seek a personal bond and intimacy with the creator? Would that not be a more worthy goal then trying make others follow some dogma that I call my religion and blowing them up when they brandish their own dogma. Most of all is it not our right to be at peace and leave others at peace as we try to establish our relationship with this universe?

For a long time I truly believed that all that was missing today was someone to point out to people engaged in warmongering, corruption, or religious intolerance, the wonder that is our Cosmos, the fragility of nature and the uniqueness of mother earth. All people needed to see was Carl Sagan’s touching piece on the  pale blue dot that our planet is or listen to the thought provoking Rabindra Sangeet – Tahare Aaarati Kore.  With proliferation of the Internet, youtube and inspiration seemed just a click away.

But that didn’t quite work out that way, did it? No Siree.

The Greedy Gene

Actually asking us humans to give up Greed is asking us to go against our basic instinct, the behavior encoded in our DNA. Evolution happened through eons of hoarding, consumption and gene propagation. After all, the theory of the survival of the fittest doesn’t have self denial, altruism or generosity as the highly sought after virtues.

Even today, in our basic nature, we are no different from the apes that we descended from. We are cruel, territorial, greedy, and xenophobic. We socialize, live in groups, love our young, and communicate.  We terrorize those weaker than us and run away from those that are stronger. We do everything that an ape with a bigger brain would do.

But exactly because of the fact we have a bigger brain, we can’t remain apes. If we do we shall finish ourselves and perhaps with us, the only planet where life exists. And that sure would be a shame.

That’s where a need for Spirituality and a Spiritual Evolution comes in. Not just as means establishing a connection with the divine, but also as a way of surviving as a species. As a mean of making sure this earth remains.

Spiritual Evolution as the way of Survival

Spirituality in my books is the ability to be more than what our DNA would allow us to be. It more than just praying to God seeking boons. That, btw, is nothing bad. Many up us do it. I too pray to my Lord Krishna constantly and I know He listens.

Spirituality is being able to establish a connection with the divine and thereby raise oneself to a higher plane of consciousness. Being able to break the shackles of the instincts encoded in our Gene. As a Hindu, Spirituality is the path that leads me to Moksha. Spirituality is not about denying anger, greed, or envy. We are humans and it is in our nature to feel these emotions time to time. However spirituality is about being able to keep a check on these and not let them dictate our actions. It is strengthening our spirit so that it can win the battle with the Gene. With that comes Spiritual Evolution, a subject that has been spoken about in great lengths by seers including Rishi Aurobindo.

The DNA cries – Hoard, the Spirit counters - Share, the world survives. The DNA cries – Compete, the Spirit counters – Collaborate, the world becomes a happier place. The DNA cries – My Way, the Spirit Counters, All paths lead to the same goal, Joto mat tato path, the world doesn’t descend to a fiery hell of people fighting to impose their dogma.

But the question of course is will we wake up? Will we feed our spirit to strengthen it? Important questions, since our existence as a species depends on it.  Even acknowledging these questions is a big step towards the Spiritual Evolution, for by that act we start thinking of the interests of entire humankind and not just ourselves.

The first step towards believing in – Loka Samatha SukhinoBhavantu.

A Collective Leap

Spiritual Evolution can’t be something that happens to a few individuals or even a group. It is something that has to happen to the whole species for it to make any sense. We have had Spiritual Giants like Ramakrishna, Chaitanya, Buddha and Vivekananda who have come unto us. We  For a while the lucky people in the proximity were raised up, but soon after they departed the world went back to its old ways. We need something a little longer lasting to fight our DNA until Spirituality becomes part of our DNA, like using tools have become.

What is that cosmic event that would nudge our species towards such an evolution? Will there even be one? Or will the Spiritual Evolution see us being replaced by a more advanced species?

I don’t think we know the answer yet, this is a play that still has to be played out.

For my part I repose my faith fully in Lord Krishna.

Krishna Listens..

Thank you Lord Krishna. I have always known that you listen to prayers. Time and again you have shown the even though you are the Master of all creation, you in your Divine grace allow yourself to be held in the heart of your devotees. You are all that is real, all that is constant, all that is worthy of being pursued in this human life. I bow down to you.

He Krishna
Kruna Sindhu
Dino Bandhu
Vishwa Pate
Gopesha Gopikakanta
Radhakanta
Namostote.

The Power of Teamwork

Lessons in life come to you from places you least expect.

On the first weekend of February this year, my son, Rudraditya participated in a Taekwondo tournament, his first ever, and got a silver medal. Taekwondo is a martial art originating in Korea. It combines combat techniques, self-defense, sport, exercise, and in some cases meditation and philosophy. Pretty excited about it, he was too.  Wouldn’t take the medal off the rest of the day and would show it to everyone that we came across. I was however a little less excited than would be expected. Aditya had done remarkably well in the more difficult wooden block breaking part of the tournament and will little or no practice managed even to break a wooden block with a kick. But when it came to the comparatively easier act of demonstrating taekwondo steps, he missed a few, which cost him the gold.

Finally against my better judgment I told him that he could have won gold if he had focused more. He and a friend of his who was also there at that instant cried out in near unison – But our teacher tells winning is not important participation is.  They then went back to playing, paying no heed to the speechless dad, with a gaping open mouth, staring in their wake.

I was truly rendered speechless. For I realized the enormity of the mistake that I was making – Not only had I come really close to depriving my son of the joy of the moment, but what was even worse, that I was projecting a rat mentality onto him that I always boasted of being free of.  Luckily he turned out to be way smarter than his old man. And there by hung a tale.

If I have learnt one thing over the years is that success in any endeavor comes not so much from patchy flashes of brilliance as it does to deep and sustained commitment from a team. Flashes of brilliance and inspiration have their place no doubt, for they act as flares that suddenly light up the path ahead and momentarily afford us a glimpse of what lies ahead. However to make progress in that path what is needed is a team that commits itself to the journey and bring their diverse skills together for a common cherished goal. Committed participation in my vocabulary is synonymous to teamwork and endeavors from the simplest to the greatest have succeeded primarily because of committed participation. And a true leader is one who understands the secret of making teamwork happen. The profile of a true leader is not one who looks to slave drive people but one who brings about self-realization to individuals in the team. Realization about their own uniqueness and talents. Realization about the importance of the work they do and that others in the team do. They push people, but not get people to stumble but to excel. Finally a true leader gets people to collaborate. They are often fun folks to be around.

However perhaps the biggest characteristic of a winning team, leader included, is a belief in the higher goal, being charged with a vision, a purpose. History stands witness how our freedom was won by sustained and committed participation of the common man who worked as a team for a good that was way greater than individual aspirations. Similarly the grandeur of the pyramids, the breathtaking beauty of the Khajuraho temples or mesmerizing charm of the Taj would have never come to being without teamwork.

Each of these wonders needed a long term vision on part of everyone who was involved, needed courage, a willingness to put in time, learn and finally contribute to the common cause. It needed hard work.

The lesson that I now think my little Aditya learnt that day, and taught me as a bonus, was the power of committed participation. On the larger scheme of things a Gold medal wouldn’t have made an iota of more difference. For what he had learnt that day was the joy of participation in a team sport, where no doubt individuals get applauded for doing well, but the overall team score depends on how everyone in the team performs. The short huddle that all the kids, between six and ten years, got to after the tournament, in their cute childlike way to scream in delight, show each other their medals and prizes and promises made to practice more for the next tournament has set the base for long term success.

For it is always Teamwork that succeeds…

Recently I wrote this for the monthly newsletter at work and thought it should show up in my blog as well...  :)

Satyameva Jayate

The climactic battle between Rama and Ravana in the epic Ramayana makes for an engaging read. The demon army of Ravana lay vanquished, his allies dead. But Ravana, the biggest and baddest gangsta of ‘em all keeps fighting with all his might. And what a fight he gives for he is well versed in the ways of warfare. The monkey army, even the mighty Hanuman accompanied by Laxman, Vivhishan (Ravana’s brother who switched sides and came over to the winning camp), watch in awe as Rama, having gotten better for Ravana, sends a well aimed arrow which severs his head. But the cries of victory are cut short for Ravana magically sprouts another head in place of the one cut off and fights on. This happens a number of times more until the novelty kind of wears off and Rama wonders how he would ever get rid of this goon who seems to have an unlimited supply of heads. Then Vivhishan whispers a secret to Rama – A pot of the nectar of immortality, Amrit, lies in the navel of Ravana which is the secret of his immortality. Rama then shoots at the navel with his deadly arrows. Lo and Behold, the demon king finally falls. Diwali signifies the return of the triumphant Rama to his home Ayodhya accompanied by Sita, Laxman and Hanuman.

 

I used to find this story fascinating as a kid, whenever my brother and I would get an elder to tell the story we would listen with rapt attention. The glow of victory that Rama, Laxman and Hanuman felt would rub off a little on us and make us feel like little victors ourselves who had defeated an evil king. This must have been one reason the epic was written on the first place, to identify with the forces of good that battle evil. But like most stories in the Epic, this episode has layers of symbolism and lessons which is fascinating to explore. And make no mistake this episode has lessons for us that we could really use just about now.

For are we not faced with Ravanas in current age and day? 

Yes we are. Today’s Ravana appear to us in many shapes and forms - Corrupt Governments, unethical businesses abusive husbands, children who don’t care for their aged parents, godmen in the unholy business of making a quick buck in the name of god, religious fanatics, dishonest officials and so many things else. I don’t know, guys, I sometimes get an overwhelming feeling that there are some posteriors out there that are in dire need of some foot contact. 

But is the solution taking the evil head-on and try the bang the living wits out of it? 

Those among us who are brave enough take up a battle against certain wrongs do so, such as Anna Hazare fights on against the Corruption in Government. However for every politician that people like him succeed in getting defeated, maybe another equally corrupt takes place exactly as every dishonest official who is removed could be replace by one who is a bigger rogue. Just as the never ending heads of Ravana. 

So could the way evil is vanquished lie hidden in the story that the epic tells? 

The most effective way to vanquish something is to remove the source of that thing’s sustenance. Denying water shall kill a sapling, denying a float will cause a piece of iron to sink. Naval represents symbolically sustenance, because of the umbilical cord that ends there when a child is in the womb. So what Vivishan’s advice implies is remove the power that sustains the many heads of Ravana and you get rid of ‘em all. Easy Peasy. 

The street side goon, the eve-teaser preys on the sheer cowardice of people on the street, the unwillingness to get into trouble. The corrupt politicians thrive on our identification with their community, caste or whatever other narrow prism we use; instead of judging them by what they stand for or have achieved. The corrupt officials in most cases is sustained by our greed or laziness or a desire to stay ahead whatever be the means. Once these vermin are created they establish themselves and prey on people’s helplessness. 

At the risk of making a motherhood statement, let me say that I believe that the only way to make these modern day Ravana’s go away would be to make it not worthwhile to be what they are. If a politican knows that if he is perceived corrupt, inapt or a rogue he has no chance of getting back to the seat of power regardless of whether he is a lingyat, muslim, dalit, upper caste or whatever else, we would have killed one Ravana. And if every Roadside Romeo had the threat of public thrashing followed by a stint in jail, we would have removed our fear that sustains them. Losing our superstitions would take steam out of many of the fake God-men who claim to be miracle workers. 

The change has to start with us. 

And that’s where we have to face our biggest Ravana. Facing our demons If I look inside, I see a scaring looking Ravana inside me as well. This Ravana is greedy and provides substance to all corrupt people who are in the society, this Ravana is a coward and provides sustenance to the all kinds of anti socials. Worst of all this bugger is lazy, smug, self satisfied, brimming with advice for things that he wants others to do while he continues in his own wallowing in darkness. He is the reason why the society as a whole gets flushed down the drain pipe. 

Killing that Ravana by denying the Greed, Anger, Desire, Laziness that feeds and sustains him be really the true Satyamava Jayate.

Wish my family and friends a happy new year and perpetual victory over all Evil.

Jai Shri Ram.

Missed Connection - Part III

Story So Far:
Missed Connection - Part I
Missed Connection - Part II

Have you ever been to a new place that seemed oddly familiar? An uncanny feeling that you had been there before but still couldn’t remember when.  My brain was still very wooly. The drug had clearly not worn off. But in the very dimly and flickeringly lit room, as I slowly cast my eyes around to acquit myself with my surroundings, as I saw every new thing, it seemed I have always known it would be there. It is difficult to explain, it is almost like a cloth being pulled over from a collection of your childhood toys. Until the cloth is removed you don’t know what is underneath, but as progressively the cloth is pulled back what is slowly revealed you know intimately.  

The statue of Buddha on the right side of the big hall, just by the side of the big wooden crucifix hanging on the wall, wasn’t it always so? The small wooden table where a few candles flickered disturbed by the draft as I entered, a blazing fireside on the other side with the seating area, the stairway on the far side from where I stood.  Why did this place look so familiar? Why?

As my eyes slowly got accustomed to the dark, my heart froze.

There were a number of people in the room.  Standing silently, without word, without movement.

The door behind me closed and I felt Alexendra go past me and melt into the crowd.  I couldn’t see any faces only dark outlines.

On some invisible command, they seemed to start moving toward me all at once. I estimated that there were perhaps twelve to fifteen people. Slowly, noiseless moving toward me.

 

A few hands reached out toward me as I broke into a cold sweat. It was perhaps the most terrifying moment of my adult life.

“Otto.”  A disembodied voice seemed to come out from the group. “You are here. Finally”. 

As the hands touched me I realized one of them was Alexendra’s.  She moved to my left side and put her hand around my waist. Another man took hold of my right elbow.  Slowly they propelled me towards the stairs.

“We knew you would return”. Suddenly they whole crowd noiselessly fell behind me as Alexndra and the man on my right slowly took me up the stairs.

I stammered, “Wha..What is the meaning of this?”.  

My voice sounded different. Deeper, gruff.   With sudden sense of shock, I realized that I had just responded back in German!   A language that I had never learnt.  

How?

The staircase felt familiar. As if climbing them was something I did everyday.  Even in darkness I could anticipate the spacing and when the flight ended.

On top of the stairs there was a small landing that led to a corridor that ran perpendicular to it. One both sides there appeared to be rooms, but only one of the doors was open and some light came out. I was taken toward that. 

The party including Alexendra stopped near the door and pushed me inside.

This room was better lit but still with candles. Thankfully there were many of them. Inside the room was a big bed. Again that strange feeling that I was in a place that was very familiar. Was I going mad? Was this some crazy dream?

I moved forward slowly toward the bed. In it lay a lady, at least mid-fifties, perhaps more. Clearly ill.

And then  I saw her face.  Beautiful, pale and tear streaked. I screamed in the same voice that was not mine. “Mein Gott! Helen!” 

I can never explain how or why. I just knew that I was looking at Helen Schnee.  Wife of SS-Obersturmbannführer  Otto Schnee.

No.  

There was Something more.  Something deeper.   

  

I was no longer the person who had entered the mansion.  I had turned into someone else....

I was Otto Schnee and woman that I beheld was my wife!!!

Even as I gazed at Helen, the thought that crowded my mind was of Alexandra. 

 

Alexandra - the love of our lives.  Our darling daughter.  

I was lost.  She had found me and brought me back home.

An involuntary gasp escape my lips as I feel violently shaken from behind...