What do you do when you feel fed up and tired?

What do you do when you feel fed up and tired:

Just disappear from every thing, go some where alone and contemplate?

Put on some good music and dance?

Call up a friend and go out for dinner?

Pick up the tool box and get underneath you car?

Fix a drink and simply get drunk?

Shout, scream and throw tantrums at every thing that has bugged you that day?

Take it out on the loved ones at home, though they have done nothing to add to your woes?

Pull on your track suit and sweat it out in the gym?

Go with vengeance at everything that has challenged you and find solutions?

Aimlessly over work and become more confused and irritated?

Frankly, any of these and more could be done. A friend of mine once suggested that when ever faced with challenges, simply smile. Then you take down the issues one by one and prioritize them. Once you have done so, get on to them one by one.

In case your boss seems to have different priorities, settle with him first before you start.

There is simply no problem in this world that came without a solution. You simply have to have the patience to work the solution.  

Remember that God made the world only. Problems are made by man. They can be solved!     

What is Work?

What is work? Well, this appears to be a funny question in a world where we chase our CTC all the time. I have no answers. But, in case you have the time, please read on:

 On Work
 Kahlil Gibran

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons,
and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.
Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.
But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,
And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,
And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.

You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.
And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,
And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,
And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,
And all work is empty save when there is love;
And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And what is it to work with love?
It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart,
even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.
It is to build a house with affection,
even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.
It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy,
even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.
It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,
And to know that all the blessed dead
are standing about you and watching.

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, "He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil.
And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet."

But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;
And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.
And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

Kalil Gibran - On Marriage & Children

There are great philosophers around the world who have given gems of thought on many things concerning our lives. My favorite is Kalil Gibran and his greatest gems are:

On Marriage
 Kahlil Gibran

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.


Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.


Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

On Children
 Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

The Obvious Always Misses The Eye!

It appeared quite complicated and had bugged everyone in the establishment. Technical expertise was sought and detailed evaluation of every parameter was done. Short of replacing with a completely new one, every possible thing was changed. But it continued to persist, like what they say ‘an albatross around the neck’!

I am sorry. I don’t seem to have said what the issue was.

It was a bike that we had. Every time you started, an unusual sound of a vibration also started. Despite all the attempts described, the sound continued to the utter puzzlement of every one. So, one day, I decided that we must get to the bottom, come what may!

The bike was started and the sound also started. Switch off, I said, and start again. Well there it was. As I went around the bike wondering what it could be, something caught my eye.

Remove the number palate in the rear, I said. It was removed.

Start again!

The bike started and lo, behold, there was no vibrating sound.

Put it back, I said. And the sound came back!!

The rear right indicator was of metal casing and the way the number plate was placed, it grated against the indicator. The whole staff, including the qualified technician who was battling with the issue burst into laughter. The number plate was removed and re-fixed at a suitable place where it did not touch the indicator. The issue was over.

Did some one say “It is the obvious that always misses the eye?” 

To be Free!

It is actually difficult to say it in words. All that we keep searching for all the time is just to be free. Look around and you will know. We have tied our selves to so many things around us that some times one wonders whether we are free at all! Our job, our friends, our family, our dreams, our endeavors, our car, our money, our hobbies, our etc, our etc and our etc. Even Buddha who preached detachment died of his fondness for his meat. So was Alexander the Great, who died of his thirst for dominance of the orient. We all will, one day. But will we ever be free, in the real sense? In our life time, that is. To be free after you are dead actually has no meaning because you won’t know that you are free!

So, how do you become free when alive? MDQ, please! Am no great philosopher and therefore in any case can not give the answer. But I found the lyrics of a song from the movie, SHILOH, that I talked about in one of my prattling in this blog, some what close to an answer! Read on:   

I need to talk
I know it's late
There's something I've
Just got to say

We've been standing in the dark for so long
It's gonna break my heart to turn the light on

You are all I want
But all I want ain't what you need
If I can't be the one you want
Then all I want is to be free

Don't spare my heart
Please don't pretend
You know I'm right
This is the end
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/s/shiloh/all_i_want.html ]
It would hurt me less to just face the truth
That you don't really feel the way that I do

You are all I want
But all I want ain't what you need
If I can't be the one you want
Then all I want is to be free

Gotta get away
Gotta get away
Wanna stay
But I gotta get away

Not another day
Gotta make a change
Wanna stay
But I gotta get away, yeah yeah...

You are all I want
But all I want ain't what you need
If I can't be the one you want
Then all I want is to be free

Be free of your attachments. At least stop wanting from others. That way you will end up doing what you want and will be free from the anxiety of expecting something in return! That is what that mythological hero Krishna said:

“Karmanyevadisha ma  paleshu kadashana”

Life Is Larger Than You Think It Is!

A friend of mine dropped in just to say hello. It has been some time since we met and so we exchanged notes. Through out the conversation I saw that he was on some thing that we are all concerned about. That some thing any amount of which does not seem enough – moolah, money! He told me that he was into stocks, real estate, net trade, etc, etc. I asked him how much did he make in a year. Five million rupees, he said. Wow!

So he must be having a real ball in life. Think of all those wonderful things you can do with money. Go places, see movies, vacation on exotic islands, buy things and pamper your family. When I said this, his expression changed.

‘Listen, pal, I put in over 18 hours a day, including weekends. Yes, I do give my wife a lot of money and fill my children’s pockets with green backs (so to say). They do have a nice time. But I must work to make sure they do’, he said.

Got a point, you need to sacrifice a bit for the family. But do you really think they enjoy the benefits of your labor with you not around?

Hmm, I don’t know what you are hinting at?

I am not hinting at anything, pal, I just asked.

He was silent for quite sometime, thinking. Then he pulled out his mobile, called his wife and told her that he is canceling his trips for the weekend. Is it okey if she could pack for the weekend, get the car serviced so that they could go to the hill station nearby where she always wanted to go? And yes, can he talk to sonu, their seven year old?

I could actually hear Sonu jumping with excitement. Really, papa, we drive down with you? Can I please take my teddy along? What shall I wear? OK, will tell my music teacher that I am off with papa, so no classes this weekend, if you please.

When the call was over, his eyes were glossy. He hugged me as he left saying, ‘may be I will start earning a little less and live today than to burn out for a future that I do not know yet’.

Believe me; I have also felt that way many a times. Don’t know how you feel?

Some times, small things in life are larger than they look. Life, after all, is larger than you think it is!      

There Is No Price for Love!

I happened to watch a movie named SHILOH today. The story is about a boy who does every thing that he could and beyond for a dog that he loves so much! A dialogue from a vet who attends to the dog touched my heart:

“Sometimes, the greatest test of love is in how much you are willing to fight for it!”

Lovely lines and the man who wrote the story and dialogues must have written them from his heart. Everyday we tell someone sometime that we love them. We also keep declaring our love for something or other at all times – I love honesty, truth, friendship, the poor and down trodden, etc, etc. But at the end of the day, we mostly end up just mouthing these words without doing at least our bit, when situations so demand. Perhaps what we lack is courage and conviction that we must actually do some thing about what we say we love. No one man can change the world. But what we can is to do something that we can, to stand for what we love in our own little ways. I came across this story in one of the mails that a friend sent:

An old farmer had a brood of puppies and decided to put them on sale. “50 cents, for the cuddly little pups!” said his board nailed on to the fence at his farm. The next day, he found a little boy, his face pressed on to the fence, eagerly listening to the yelps of the young ones inside the kennel.

‘Want to see?’ asked the farmer. The kid’s eyes widened with excitement and head nodded with expectation.

‘Come on Dolly’, said the farmer, opening the door of the kennel. Out came the mother followed by her brood, yelping jumping and rolling down the ramp. Real joyful bundles of fur!

The kid kept watching, his eyes wide with joy and excitement. After the five – six of them rolled down, there came a whimper and struggle. Another pup appeared at the ramp. The kid kept looking. This one was not sure how to place his legs and in the clumsy attempt that he made, lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud.

‘Oh, poor darling’, said the farmer, helping the pup to stand on his legs. As he looked up, he saw the kid stretch his hands through the fence, beckoning the lame pup to come to him.

‘You wouldn’t want him’, exclaimed the old man, ‘he won’t be able to run like others!’

‘Neither can I’, said the kid pulling a sleeve of his pants revealing the artificial leg below. ‘I think we will make good company’!

The old man kept looking at the kid, his eyes misted. As he picked up the pup to give it to the kid, the kid stretched out his hand and said, ‘but I have only 30 cents?’

The old farmer gently pushed the kid’s hand back saying, “there is no money for love”    

There is NO PRICE TAG ON LOVE!