A case of "Poojan Painter"

I have written this blog after a period of two-three months. An incident on Saturday triggered my thought process and in turn inspired me to write this blog "A Case of Poojan Painter".

At present, we are in process of getting our house done. Most of the things are done, however some painting and beautification is left out. It might get over soon. The story of Poojan Painter is linked with my house's interiors. The story goes like this..... On May the 18th, when I came back from my holidays, I went to have a look at my new house. Unfortunately a lot of work was pending. Hence, I called up our interior designers and they pushed the painters to the hilt to get the house spic, span and ready for the Pooja that was to be conducted on 23rd May 2010.
Our hero of the story "Poojan Painter" was shouted at by Interior Designers and that made him efficient and also inspired him to complete majority of the work in a nice way and within the given timeframe.

Post 23rd May...
After the Pooja was over and after the people appreciated Poojan's work, he urgently wanted to leave. The pressure created by the interior designers to finish the work before the pooja was not there and it was assumed by him that it was fine to do all hankypanky. One of the interior designer happened to go to the house a day after the pooja and pointed out some mistakes in "Poojan's" work. This created a big scene between Poojan and the Interior Designer. Hence, intentionally, Poojan spoilt the excellent work done by him earlier. He repainted some parts of the house so badly that the faults, that were once visible only to an expert eye of an interior designer started being visible to a layman like me. Poojan was very happy that he "got back" with vengence and had spoilt the party.
When I saw the outcome of the repainted house, I was extremely unhappy. I lost my cool and gave a negative feedback about Poojan, the same person whom I had admired a few days ago. I was not sure as to what made Poojan undo what he had done. After an hour of unhappiness, I went back home and enjoyed my life with my children.
In the evening I got my answer. I went to a spiritual gathering near my house. A swami delivered a lecture on " How to restructure life and create value".
In his lecture he mentioned" Everyone knows that German engineers are the best, but inspite of knowing that , few can replicate them. Do you know, Why?. " The reason is, German's, besides being precise and skilled are also taught from their early childhood to create a brand value. They are taught that whatever services or products they deliver are a reflection of their own self, and that, their work is an ambassador of their skill, commitment and ability as workers. More importantly it reflects collective quality and brand of their Nation. So nothing other than the very best can do for Germany and Germans. That is, German's deliver the best quality for thier own satisfaction (And Brand Name) and not to receive appreciation from others. So, a question came to my mind" Would Poojan have done this mischief if he were to use the same house. Perhaps not. Had he done it if he cared for his own brand value and that of the interior designer that he works for. Perhaps not.

That is what we need to learn from the Germans. We just cannot deliver inferior stuff citing reasons of unhappiness, grudge, lack of clarity, paucity of time, ego, lack of pressure from supervising authority etc. We have to deliver the best, because we wish to do it, not because someone else might reprimand us or appreciate us. Poojan is just a case in point, we all need to change. Unfortunately we are not taught to be proud of our own brand and the brand of our nation. Hence, internally and externally, "Made in India" is not same as "Made in Germany". We love our "Chalta Hai" attitude. We forget that whatever we do individually also gets magnified as a national behaviour and reflects our collective psyche....

The day we deliver the best goods and services for our own satisfaction, "Made in India" will also be same as "Made in Germany". We have to teach ourselves and our children that what we do individually, collectively translates into what we do as a nation. If we give our best, the country also does the best....
Hence, we need to restructure ourselves and start valuing our brand both individually and as a nation.....

Dont Swim.... Float

What should I do? I have a boring job that I need to do daily and I am not satisfied.
What should I do? I am unhappy about my personal life.
What should I do? This daily routine is killing me. I have no self motivation left.
What Should I do? My ambitions are dead, I just cant see the future. It is all blank.

Answer: Dont Swim... Float (Tairo mat, baaho). People who try to swim against the tide are often, tired people. You cannot change the direction of storm/wind, you have lie low for a while till favorable times reappear. Wait for the sunny day. It will come. It has to come....
No single person on earth has ever faced unending misery or unending happiness. Life is a mix of both.

Secondly, you have to leave it to God sometimes. We should realise that the life that we live today is nowhere near to what we had planned for ourselves. That means the direction of life is not in our hands. Had it been in our hands, we would have definitely opted for "the best" for us in all spheres of life. So, if it is not in our hands why waste time in changing the course. It is a wasteful and tiresome exercise.

Some people just dont understand this. They try their best to change the course of their life, with all their might. They get tired during the stormy days. Finally when the sunny day appears, which would have happened irrespective of the so called human effort, these people feel very happy. They start telling stories about how valiantly they fought the storm and finally came out of it(Just look around the bookshelves, you will find many bestsellers on this subject). How can you stop a storm if you did not start it in the first place?. The storm would have gone because no storm stays for an infinite period. Even if the person would have waited for the storm to go and fora sunny day to appear, the storm would have taken exactly the same time to subside. Just that the person in this case, would have come out of it much happier, less tired, wiser and more humble.

When I give this simple advice " Dont Swim... float", some active people come up with a counter argument. Will things come to me if I dont do anything... ?Well, experiment it yourself... Take a leave from your job/profession/business and dont do anything for a week. Sit down at one place in your house without moving an inch. Stop thinking about anything... that is absolutely anything... Come back to me after a week and tell me what happened. Did you succeed in your attempt to do nothing... that is not moving an inch and not having a single thought. If the answer is yes, you already know it works... If the answer is no.. you will realise how difficult it is to do nothing... It is the most difficult thing to do in life....

Just do not believe anyone.. Experiment it yourself. If not anything, it will give you a clearcut idea about your life and will clear a misconception.. either ways. You will come to know whether you are responsible of each happening in your life or "it just happens".

The personal experience/result of your experiment is eagerly awaited...

Economy

One day I saw a man watering dried leaves of a tree. He was doing so in a hope of bringing the tree back to life. I went to him and politely informed him " Dear Friend, if the root of a tree has dried up, you cannot bring it to life by watering its leaves. You have to water its roots.
Arent we doing the same thing to our economy. Everyone is trying to address the symptomatic cause of the issue. Giving stimulus, sops, reducing taxes to boost consumerism etc is similar to watering dried leaves. Infact, now is a time to relook at the way in which we look at our economy.
Should we still continue to tell our children to consume more goods, in a hope to revive economy? Should we still tell them to take loans and spend so that economy grows? Does economy actually grow that way? Are people more secure and happy, following that economic model?

We can look at an alternative thought process: an Indian way.
1) Spend less than you earn
2) Buy what you need and not what you want.
3) Simple living and high thinking is essential to happy living.
4) Save and invest for your future.
5) Irrespective of your economic status, be satisfied with what you have and thank god for whatever he/she has given you.
6) Reduce your needs and attachment after 50.

It is an alternative way of living, quite different from the western way but I am sure it will help sort many problems that the world faces today. That is what we call, watering the roots...

Bhim Shakuni Paradox

Bhim Shakuni (BS) Paradox.

The "Uttpatti" of this paradox can be attributed to Dr. Upendra Bhatt, my Uncle. This hilarious paradox is a comment on the existing socio- economic set up that we live in. The foundation of this paradox is based on a deep realisation that, at times, bad consequences that we face in life are on account of someone else's actions.

Well the story goes like this...
Bhim, the mighty Pandava, was a foodie, and loved to eat different types of food (that too in large quantities). Due to this habit, Bhim faced stomach upsets, and also had to visit the toilet lot many times. Bhim was faced with two options 1) To give up excessive eating 2) To sort out the issue of frequent visits to the toilet.

He thought about it and concluded that option one was not feasible, hence the second option had to be excercised.
Bhim, besides being a foodie was also a great devotee of Hanumanji. So, to resolve the issue once and for all, he started penance on banks of river Yamuna. One day, Hanumanji, was very pleased with his penance and appeared before him. He told Bhim" Dear Bhim, you are a great devotee of mine, I shall grant you one boon". Bhim was extremely happy, to have appeased Hanumanji and was ready with his request. (Shakuni mama, was a great pain for Bhim. He used to manipulate Duryodhan against the Pandavas, much to Bhim's dislike. Bhim had decided to set the record straight, without Shakuni knowing about it.) So Bhim, asked Hanumanji to grant him the following wish " When I eat once, Shakuni mama should go to the toilet twice". This strange request amused Hanumanji, but he knew that a boon was a boon, and had to be granted. " Tathastu" said Hanumanji...

Oh... what a licence... You can act as you wish and someone else will pay for the consequence of your action. Bhim was delighted and it goes without saying, he created a smelly mess for Shakuni mama...

We have similar situations in our society, offices etc. The people who act and the ones who are accountable for the consequence of these actions, are often two different people. Action without fear of consequences. Rights without accountability. How often do we see people in offices, personal life etc, pay for someone else's actions...Many a times.

Besides, the people who eat the fruits and the ones who clear the shit are often, two different people. It is not uncommon for people to create a mess when they know that they are not the ones who will pay for it ...
Other aspect of this paradox is a comment on an unequal division of work( A more refined 80:20 principle). Bosses/family members give simple work and benefits to their favourites and ask the hardworking/asocial/disliked people to clear the shit. That is 20% people are cause for 80% shit and they get away with it. Whereas, few people are faced with an almost impossible task of cleaning up. Many a times they do not even know the source of the mess.

Unfortunately, a role reversal for Shakuni is not in within his control. Just internalise, have you been a Bhim or a Shakuni lately.... I see many heads nodding in approval...

Gross National Happiness

The world is moving from an " Aquarian" Age to a "Piscean" Age. It is high time that mankind too moves from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a tool to measure the true development of a nation. I am sure in years to come more people will accept this theory propounded by Bhutan and will be in harmony with their own self and nature. Now more nations than ever before, will value sustainable development, cultural integrity, ecosystem conservation, and good governance.

To start with definition of GNH - The concept of gross national happiness (GNH) was developed in an attempt to define an indicator that measures quality of life or social progress in more holistic and psychological terms than gross national product or GDP. As a chief economic indicator, GDP has numerous flaws long known to economists. GDP measures the amount of commerce in a country, but counts remedial and defensive expenditures (such as the costs of security, police, pollution clean up, etc.) as positive contributions to commerce. A better measure of economic well-being would deduct such costs, and add in other non-market benefits (such as volunteer work, unpaid domestic work, and unpriced ecosystem services) in arriving at an indicator of well-being. As economic development on the planet approaches or surpasses the limits of ecosystems to provide resources and absorb human effluents, calling into question the ability of the planet to continue to support civilization (per the arguments of Jared Diamond, among others), many people have called for getting "Beyond GDP" (the title of a recent EU conference) in order to measure progress not as the mere increase in commercial transations, nor as an increase in specifically economic well-being, but as an increase in general well-being as people themselves subjectively report it. GNH is a strong contributor to this movement to discard measurements of commercial transactions as a key indicator and to instead directly assess changes in the social and psychological well-being of populations.

The term was coined in 1972 byBhutan's formerKing Jigme Singye Wangchuck. He used the phrase to signal his commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan's unique culture based on Buddhist spiritual values. At first offered as a casual, offhand remark, the concept was taken seriously, as the Centre for Bhutan Studies, under the leadership of Kaarma Uru, developed a sophisticated survey instrument to measure the population's general level of well-being. The Canadian health epidemiologist Micheal Pennok had a major role in the design of the instrument, and uses (what he calls) a "de-Bhutanized" version of the survey in his work in Victoria, British Columbia.

Like many pschyological and social indicators, GNH is somewhat easier to state than to define with mathematical precision. Nonetheless, it serves as a unifying vision for Bhutan's five-year planning process and all the derived planning documents that guide the economic and development plans of the country. Proposed policies in Bhutan must pass a GNH review based on a GNH impact statement that is similar in nature to the Environmental Impact Statement required for development in the U.S.

While conventional development models stress economic growth as the ultimate objective, the concept of GNH is based on the premise that some forms of economic development are "uneconomic", a concept that is advanced by the nascent field of ecological economics. Such development costs more in loss of ecosystem services, and in the imposition of "urban disamenities," than it produces as a positive contribution to well-being. (The difficulty, of course, is that for many forms of development, the gains are taken privately, while the costs the development imposes are born generally and publicly.)

The Bhutanese grounding in Buddhist ideals suggests that beneficial development of human society takes place when material and spiritual development occur side by side to complement and reinforce each other. The four pillars of GNH are the promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural enviornment, and establishment of good governance. At this level of generality, the concept of GNH is transcultural--a nation need not be Buddhist in order to value sustainable development, cultural integrity, ecosystem conservation, and good governance.

Facade in Sansara

We as human beings want others to perceive us as good, amicable, social, just, honest, intelligent, hardworking, trustworthy, capable etc. In Sansara, knowingly or unknowingly we create a facade so that people believe, that, we are better than what we actually are. This need for facade is so important to us that we do not realise that have actually created it. We want others to have a "good impression" about us. To propagate the importance of this thought process, we have also coined a phrase " First impression is the last impression". Generations after generations are taught the benefits of facade.

We wear nice clothes, jewellery, smile, shoes etc to impress others. Again, the subconscious want is to make others believe that we are better than what we actually are. This habit has got ingrained so deeply, that a mere thought that we are deceiving others by creating a facade, puts us on a defensive mode. We just do not accept this allegation of facade/deception.

I would like to ask one question. Would we dress, behave and act in the same way if we are alone in a room. We are taught to give good opinion about others in public(the same people whom we detest in private). We smile at people we hate (under the garb of being polite and well mannered). In fact, this is what is expected out of us.

Infact, the idea of deception and facade has been made essential to Sansara.
However, most people go about their entire life living in this deception and are perhaps happy about it. Some others realise it and get fed up with it and leave Sansara. Few just complaint about it and find solace in friends who are little less deceptive than an average Sansari.
So, does moving away from Sansara mean moving away from your home, marriage, kids, education, job, society etc. The Answer is a big NO. Moving away from Sansara means moving away from the deception. Moving away from the need and want of facade(The want that people should think high of us or that we should be appreciated, respected etc).

In fact the first step to sprituality is to realise that facade and deception exists in Sansara and it is time to move away from it. It is an internal urge to know oneself (including ones own faults). A spiritual man gets upset if people perceive him to be better than what he actually is(A feeling that is exactly opposite to a Sansari's feeling). Hence, the movement from Sansara is a mental movement from deception/facade to openess. From mental impurity to purity. It should not always be perceived as a movement from house to a cave.

"Once you start finding more faults in yourself than in others you should realise that the spiritual journey has begun."

Consumer OR Consumed

It is widely believed that, in this age of consumerism, each one of us is a consumer. Infact, such a belief is taught in all Marketing classes around the world. When I thought about it, I was almost convinced. I consume many products like food, toothpaste, soap etc. However when I thought a little deeper, I realised that each one of us is also "the consumed".
We are consumed by others for their physical, emotional, academic, spiritual and other needs. When one talks of being a consumer one perceives oneself to be in control of things. One who can make all choices. The one who has the discretion to consume selectively whatever is available, as per one's needs. However as I mentioned earlier we also "the consumed". Hence we are being consumed by others as per their discretion, and as per their needs and requirement.
I just wanted to leave an idea with you'll to ponder upon. Are you a consumer or "the consumed".