Krishna’s Teaching : “I did for you”

KrishnaSketch-ThoughtsJanmashtami is celebrated all over the world as the birth day of lord Krishna. Lord Krishna is known around the world as the preacher/messenger of love.
He has also given the idea about the way to lead the life which is documented as preaching to Arjun in the “Bhagvad Geeta”. There have been lots of incidences penned as small stories of Krishna to teach the common man about basics of life. One  such story is :
Once Krishna and Arjuna were walking towards a village. Arjuna was pestering Krishna, asking him why Karna should be considered an unparalleled Donor & not him ?
Krishna, turned two mountains into gold. Then said,  “Arjun, distribute these two gold mountains among villagers, but you must donate every bit of it “. Arjun went into the village, and proclaimed he was going to donate gold to every villager, and asked them to gather near the mountain. The villagers sang his praises and Arjun walked towards the mountains with a huffed up chest. For two days and two nights Arjun shoveled gold from the mountain and donated to each and every villager. The mountains did not diminish in the slightest.Most villagers came back and stood in queue within minutes. Now Arjun was exhausted, but not ready to let go of his  Ego, told Krishna he couldn’t go on any longer without rest.
Then Krishna called Karna and told him to donate every bit of the two gold mountains.
Karna called the  villagers,  and said “These two Gold mountains are yours. ” and walked away.Arjun sat dumbfounded. Why hadn’t this thought occurred to him?
Krishna smiled mischievously and told him “Arjun, subconsciously, you were attracted to the gold, you regretfully gave it away to each villager, giving them what you thought was a generous amount. Thus the size of your donation to each villager depended only on your imagination. You expected in your subconscious for people to praise you for your donation. Karna holds no such reservations. Look at him walking away after giving away a fortune, he doesn’t expect people to sing his praises, he doesn’t even care if people talk good or bad about him behind his back. That is the sign of a man already on the path of enlightenment”.
Giving with an Expectation of a Return in the form of a Compliment,Thanks or similar deed is not a Gift, then it becomes a Trade.
We all pretend to be “Karna” in our life but majority of us act as “Arjun “. We share, we do little good things for others but the continuity of that relation depends on the trade meaning the thought always comes up “I did so and so thing for him/her and s/he didn’t reciprocate the same when my time came” or “I did such and such thing for him/her and s/he did not even acknowledge it”, some people can go up to the extent of making other realize “I did it for you”. We forget that we don’t have to maintain the balance sheet of our karma as a trader , what we do or don’t do is between us and that supreme power . We might be just the chosen one by him to reach to desired person. The day we will learn this lesson we all will come to peace with our soul. “Give without  expecting anything in Return.”
There is a beautiful little teaching in the of form a story related to this
एक बार श्री कृष्ण से रुक्कमणि ने पूछा “प्रभु प्रेम का या दोस्ती का सही मतलब क्या है”? श्री कृष्ण ने चपलता से मुस्कुराते हुए कहा “जहां मतलब है वहाँ प्रेम या दोस्ती कैसी”
One day Rukamini (lord Krishna’s wife) asked him ” please tell me the true meaning of love and Friendship”
Krishna replied mischievously ” Where is love or friendship when it’s done with mean intentions” the idea behind this is that any friendship or relation that is based on the simple aspect of trade (mean) as to what I will get out of it is never a true relationship or friendship.
So the idea of “I did it for you ” itself means you are trading your deeds and it can become the cause of your own unhappiness or sorrow. Let’s do good and then forget ..
Jai shree Krishna

Craft your Present : My Hand painted Bottles

WD_8976

A New year, a new beginning, a fresh start , a clean canvas. If you were wondering why I kept “Craft your Present” title for my post, then I chose this topic as this is the first anniversary of my BLOG too. Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog.

Yes, the bottles are hand painted by me and no I have not done painting classes formally and its an art I developed lately only…but I love it. I love keeping myself busy it gives me that extra push which is much required.Yes I get tired too, sometimes even I feel I am dabbling in too many things or I am unable to be in charge of everything around me but then comes the voice in my head “This shall pass too” 🙂

We all carry some kind of baggage from our various relations(personal and professional) and our daily routines,just as these bottles come with different labels.Thinking them as useless once the juice out of it is gone we can either trash them or scrape them off ,clean it up, and use it fresh and make something beautiful or creative out of it. Same way you can be bogged down by your daily routine and find the daily routine monotonous or shake off the labels and explore your potentials.The point is to challenge yourself. An older friend of mine told me ” I like to be busy…Busy means Buzzing with Life. I would rather be busy than be free, twirling my thumbs and sitting idle doing nothing” and I could not agree with her more.

A friend of mine shared a story about a company that supplied fresh fish to food industry.The demand of fresh fish increased so much that the boats capturing them got bigger and the distance these boats traveled grew longer,resulting in long return time hence the Fish loosing their USP : The Freshness. The company decided to resolve the issue by putting freezer in the boats .Few months went by but the sale of the company started declining, research showed the customers were not liking the taste of frozen fishes.The company tried putting big water tanks on the boats and stuffing it with fresh fish fin to fin to make more profits. The food industry was not willing to pay the same price for their fish as the tired and dull fishes cramped in small place didn’t taste well. Today the company is flourishing and making money with one simple solution.They added small shark to each water tank, the challenge to save their lives kept the fishes active and fresh :-). I know like you, even I would be questioning the authenticity of the story. Point here is that we all sometimes feel dull and bored in this day to day routine of our pond of life. The way to keep it BUZZING is keep yourself busy.. add a little shark to your pond. Set some goals for yourself, challenge yourself, learn something new ,push yourself harder, not only these new challenges will keep you fresh and flourishing , but the satisfaction you will gain by achieving them and the examples you will set for people around you is beyond explanation.

Keep like minded people around you, Meet with one who will challenge you, push you, bring the best out of you (Mainly its all within you). Unravel the possibilities within you and get BUSY:BUZZING WITH LIFE.:-) and I promise once you start crafting your present you will be humming a happy tune at the end of the day.

UBUNTU- an Ideal philosophy

UBUNTUThose who are from the world of computers and have explored the world of computers through other venues of doors and yards and not just through the windows 🙂 must have definitely heard the word UBUNTU.Those who have not, let me give you a quick peek through your windows to other side of technology world.UBUNTU is an operating system developed under the leadership of Mark Shuttleworth who  gathered a small team of developers from one of the most established Linux projects — Debian — and set out to create an easy-to-use Linux desktop: Ubuntu.The need to develop it was to over the come the needs of free software for every day life of most computer users.

Am I here to give you a lesson on technology . No definitely not ..but yes I want to share the philosophy behind this technology.UBUNTU is a word derived from ancient African language which roughly means “I am what I am because of who we all are”. Keep Humanity above all.What was the motivation to name the system UBUNTU?? Well there is a story behind it . It’s believed that an Anthropologist was visiting Africa and he played a game with African tribal children. He placed a basket of candies and sweets about 100 meters away from the kids. He made them stand in a line for race and announced who ever reaches first to the basket will be the one can have all the candies and sweets. With the expectation of kids running and pushing to reach the basket first he whistled for the race to begin. To his amazement , there was no rush , no push, no running, instead he saw the group of kids walking hand in hand towards the basket. They all reached the basket at the same time, shared the sweets and candies among them and relished them.Those little kids not only knew the philosophy of UBUNTU , but the important part is they also knew to implement it in life.

One can not be happy when others around you are sad, one can not prosper on the expense of others.We can grow as an individual or as a society only when we learn the concept of Sharing. SHARE YOUR JOYS, SHARE YOUR SUCCESS, SHARE YOUR PROSPERITY,SHARE YOUR HAPPINESS,SHARE YOUR KNOWLEDGE…GROW TOGETHER ..since we are what we are because of others around us…

The anthropologist asked the kids why they did what they did and pat came the reply “UBUNTU”…I am because we are..

Lets lead the life with UBUNTU in our core …

Feherist (List)

दुश्मनों के नामों की क़तर-ब्योंत करने चले थे ,
गोया देखा तो दोस्तों की फ़ेहरिस्त छोटी हो गयी

प्रीती मिश्र तिवारी
१ सितम्बर २०१५

 

Was trying to eliminate few names of foe’s and realized while doing so the list of friends some how became shorter.

रंगत (Colors)

Rangatवाह री रंगत दुनिया तेरी,
गिरगिट रंग बदलते हैं अपने को बचाने खातिर
पत्ते रंग बदलते हैं ,मौसम की खातिर
नित नए रंग बदलते दिखते हैं इंसान जाने किस खातिर…
कल जो तने -तने से थे आज चाशनी से घुले जाते हैं जाने किस खातिर

प्रीती मिश्र तिवारी
१० जुलाई २०१५

Oh..the Colors (Colours for those who follow British English) of world , The colours in the world are so fascinating. The leaves change colours with effect of nature. Chameleons change colours to protect themselves. The scientific word for this habit of theirs is called “Adaptation”. Ever wondered what should be the changing colours/Behaviours of human be called.At a moment they are so close and so friendly then they become all arrogant and start ignoring and then all of sudden utterly sweet. The overdose of sweetness can make you sick. You start wondering “WHY”??

I am sure we all experience such things around us and to many it bothers too.Think deeply is it the people that bother you, is it their actions that bother you or is it the “WHY” within you that bothers you. Well, the honest answer to it is , its the WHY’s that bother us. I was hearing a religious discourse and it made sense that it’s the “Why’s” within us that give us trouble.

We all experience our shares of happiness and sorrows and its the sorrows when we ask questions like “Why me” ?? or “Why this happened to me”?? Instead of wondering on “why’s” sit back and think “Can you control this situation?” If the answer is yes work towards it. If the answer is no then “WHY” to worry on something that you don’t have control on? The Why’s happen because we are unable to “ACCEPT” what is happening be it events in your life or people in your life. When you know you don’t have any control on either of these , you learn to accept it and as soon as you learn to ACCEPT this fact you are at peace with yourself.

 

Tangled (कश्मकश )

Tangled is the word I chose for this topic, I could have very well chosen Dilemma but I feel its more of a situation where we are always tangled between past and future…when we were young , we all wanted to grow up fast and be independent, at this stage when we are grown up and all independent, we cherish the past and wish may be those days lasted a little longer … I see my kids and hear them saying “when I grow up “and then I talk with my school friends and all feel “those were the days” ..so I guess at every stage of life we are tangled between past and future hence the topic “Tangled” 🙂

Like all the other things even Technology has its Pros and cons.. I love the fact that I am in touch with all my school/college friends and all my extended family members. Time and other constraints do not make it possible to be in touch with them through calls and all but its nice to know about their kids and families and about them too .In most of all our chats we do reminiscence our good old childhood memories, but if I rewind back we all were in a rush to grow up , even now when we are grown up and all independent we still toil and work hard for future..the irony is Future is unknown..we all make plans for 10 years down the lane ..when we don’t know what is going to actually happen tomorrow. Planning or thinking for future is not bad..Don’t get me wrong there..I am on the same boat too , but all I am saying is not at the expense of our present /today. I guess we all are somewhere or other missing out on enjoying our present in rushing towards future and reminiscing over the past..Let’s make the most of our present and teach our kids too to enjoy what is in their hands right now…

 

ये कैसी कश्मकश ये कैसी जददोजहद ,
बचपन था तो बड़े हो जाने की होड़ ,
बड़े हुए तो बचपन को पीछे छोड़ आने का अफ़सोस
कल को पाने की होड़ थी , कल के छूट जाने का अफसोस था
इस आपाधापी में कब आज फिसल गया हाथों से ये पता ही नहीं चला

प्रीति मिश्र तिवारी
७-७-२०१५

 

Tangled

नादान – Naive

कितने नादान थे की ज़िन्दगी की फितरत किताबों से सीखने चले थे
गोया कुछ चेहरे ऐसे  मिले जिन्होंने ज़िन्दगी के माने सिखा दिए
कुछ चेहरे ऐसे भी जिन्होंने ज़िन्दगी के कायदे सिखा  दिए
और कुछ मसखरे  ऐसे भी मिले जिन्होने ज़िन्दगी के सबक  सीखा दिए—प्रीति मिश्र तिवारी

How naive was I that I tried to learn the Nature of Life through Books As it was..met few faces who taught the meaning of life…met few who taught even the rules of life..Naivealso met a few jokers who taught the lessons for life .

“पिता” (Dad)

आम नहीं वो बहुत ख़ास है
बारिश में भीगी मिट्टी सा मधुर अहसास है ,
खुशनसीब हैं वो जिनके पिता उनके पास हैं
“पिता” शब्द जिसमे जीवन का सार है
वो जो तुम्हारे जीवन की नींव का आधार है
बिना कहे बरसे वो ऐसा निश्छल प्यार है
जो तुम्हारे जीवन का अनजान सम्बल है
बूझोगे ना , अंतर में छिपा वो आत्मबल है
मान भी है मनुहार भी है
रूठने और मनाने का व्यापार भी है
ज़ाहिर ना करे लफ़्ज़ों से बस छलके आँखों से,
बस ऐसा पिता का प्यार ही है।

प्रीती मिश्र तिवारी
१७-जून -२०१५

 

Father…
He is not common but very special,
a soothing feeling like the wet soil after fresh rain
Lucky are those who have their Dad’s by their side
“DAD” the word that’s essence of one’s life
He is the love that showers without saying
He is the support that’s always there
He is the hidden strength within you , many of you may not even realize
He praises,  he pleases, he takes pride in you
He does the business of sulking and coaxing too
all because he loves and treasures you…
Mostly not expressed thorugh words but expresssed through eyes and deeds..
That’s how a Dad’s Love is Percieved…..Preeti Mishra Tiwari
17 – Jun – 2015

Papa, Dad, Father,Pita, so many different words for one relation. I guess one of the most underrated and least expressed relations but a beautiful source of unconditional love and strength.Most of the time whatever a Dad does is considered a part of his duty. We always see nice articles and poems on Mom’s and their sacrifices and efforts they put for us but hardly for dad’s. So this poem is dedicated to my Dad. my kid’s dad , my brother who is a wonderful and fantastic dad and to all the wonderful Dad’s out there (biological or not(I don’t want to use the word step) and those who fill the responsibilities of a dad ) those who act as pillar of strength, a guiding light and role model to their Son’s, Those who act as a knight in shining armor and are first love of their daughters, those who teach the first lesson of love,care,share and trust to their kids by loving, caring, and respecting their partners …YOU MAKE OUR WORLD BEAUTIFUL …..

विनम्र निवेदन (Humble Request)

शिकायत नहीं विनम्र निवेदन है उनसे ,
जो बात बात में झूठ कह जाते हैं ,
उदाहरण दस में खरीदी वस्तु का दाम सौ बतलाते हैं,
नादान नहीं समझते वो , वस्तु का दाम बढ़ाने में खुद अपना दाम घटाते हैं
चुप रह जाती हूँ झूठ पे उनके , औ वो खुश हो जाते हैं “इम्प्रैशन” जमा लिया मुझपे ,
मैं उनकी ऐसी  छोटी सोच पे मन ही मन हंस जाती हूँ ,
हैरान भी होती हूँ कई बार , क्यों बुनते हैं ये छोटे छोटे झूठ के ताने,
क्यों इतना दिमाग लगाते हैं , या फितरत ही है इनकी ऐसी ,
बिन सोचे समझे बस यूँ ही झूठ कह जाते हैं
खुद अपने शब्दों से अपना छीछालेदर कर जाते हैं ,
आगे दिखने की होड़ में अपने को और नीचे गिरा जाते हैं ,
छोटी छोटी बातों में झूठ बुने चले जाते हैं
सत्यवादी इस युग में हो , इतनी आशावादी भी नहीं,
निरा कारण झूठ जो बोले , उसकी हिमायतदार भी नहीं
एक निवेदन है इनसे बस , कहती नहीं पर समझ जाती हूँ
सो मत बोलो झूठ जहां उसकी दरकार नहीं

प्रीती मिश्र तिवारी
२७ जून २०१५

The above poem is not a complaint but a humble request to all those people who lie for little or no reasons. I am sure we all come across instances when people lie and you can actually see through that they are lying :-). What do you do in such situations ?? Do you point out to them then and there that they are lying, do you keep quiet and just listen to their fabricated so called truth? How it impacts you when you come across people who regularly lie ?? Do you stop believing in them completely..like just get entertained with their talks without putting even 2 cents of thoughts to it? Do you start to maintain a distance from them?
I wonder why people lie so much…I mean you keep personal stuff to yourself totally understandable. I understand that no body speaks 100% truth all the time that is also understandable.. but what is the use of lying for all the little tit-bits of life? What does one achieve out of it? I have seen people lying about petty issues like they bought a stuff from somewhere (low end shops) and then will name a Big brand shop and say they got it from there. One time a friend told me they have bought a furniture set for $16000 and later it was known it was bought for $3000 :-). People going some where and lying about it, telling you that they called you but actually never did , telling you that life is so busy they don’t get a break , haven’t been out in a while and you keep seeing their party pictures tagged by other friends on Facebook. I wonder sometime is it the complex they have that they feel the need to lie in certain situations, or its just their habit it comes out even before they can think of. Do such people ever realize that their lies are very well understood by others.
My humble request to such people is please don’t fabricate stuff on petty issues cause just because some one is not questioning it does not mean that they are accepting your false stories… you are just making a mockery of yourself with all your lies.
I am not asking for the ideal world or human beings that are always full of ideal qualities, but I am also not in favor of lying unnecessarily, Please don’t lie where it is not required… Your lies project you only in a different way…
Be honest and be in peace 🙂

Dilemmas of an NRI….

NRI….Non Resident Indians…

Dilemmas of NRI’s (BIRDS MAKING NEST AWAY FROM their NEST) …

This post is not just about Indians living abroad, but about all those people who migrate to new places from their homeland. I wrote NRI because I am one of them. After living for so long away from INDIA and having met so many like me from different parts of WORLD, I know this article holds true for all of us.

No matter whats our skin color, hair color or what language we speak, Our HEARTS beat the same way, they display the same EMOTIONS, cause at the end of the day we are all HUMANS.

NRI – The NON RESIDENT INDIANS . For some a dream come true status and for some a matter of destiny. I guess for those whom its a dream come true (I mean a choice made consciously) the dilemma may not be there or just a few. However for all others it starts as soon as they land in a land far away from homeland.

I still remember the day when my plane took off from Mumbai airport. As it sped on the run away & gradually took off late in the darkness of night… I could see the buildings lit with lights…, cars ,queens necklace…all getting smaller & smaller… I could feel my heart wrenching, a lump in my throat and tears rushing in to my eyes ready to roll down my cheeks…. I felt a BIG part of me is left behind and right that moment the thought came ..not sure for how long or if I ever will be back to call it HOME again.

Well I don’t know if all go through the same emotions but I know majority of us start thinking about homeland as soon as we land on a Foreign land( without knowing that we will start calling this land as our HOMEAND few years down the lane). Firstly we all struggle with establishing ourselves ,career wise, culture wise to the new land. Once achieved this the BIG question arises….should we go back ,should we stay back…what’s the best time to go back, How old should be the kids for easy transition..all these questions run as Bollywood movies black & white flashback in our mind. For a long time this continues to be the topic amongst the family get together’s or casual meets over a cup of tea.

Is there a certain concrete answer to it ??? I am afraid no… there is no firm YES or NO to it. As we all are unique and different individuals in our own way so are our situations. Our Family situations and needs will be different, our career goals are different , our financial securities are different and so are our PRIORITIES. I can tell you one thing no situation is a win win situation, they all have their own pros & cons. I have met some friends who stayed for few years & then just left (Some planned for couple of years & left, some who just left like that) , some who went back & came back , some who did this back & forth couple of times (and I am not exaggerating) , have met seniors who have told , we regret we could not go at the right time , if you even think about it then go at the right time. RIGHT TIME …what is a right time…or should I say is there a RIGHT time ??? Answer to it is there is no time such as RIGHT TIME… you make your decisions as RIGHT DECISIONS and then you call that time as RIGHT TIME.

My point is keep your priorities clear and enjoy your present . Life has its UPS and DOWNS. Please do not compare..else you will always be tensed and you will never make up your mind , you will always be in DILEMMA.I Wish LIFE was as simple as 2 + 2 = 4 . Alas, its not, but isn’t that the beauty of it.

I read a post about a person who hadn’t been to her parents for last 10 years (I am sure there must have been some valid reasons for it) she missed them desperately she wanted to go badly…she did go FINALLY ..one day …after receiving a CALL (that we all dread for) . I just wish she could have taken that one decision… when she could have enjoyed the twinkle in those waiting eyes, that warm HUG she was desperately desiring for , “come my sweetie” that lovely voice she was longing to hear for… We all go through such thoughts …WHEN , HOW …there is no perfect answer to it.Sometimes putting too much BRAIN is not worth ..LISTEN to your HEART. Sometimes it gives you right guidance too.

I hear the discussions EDUCATION is better here or there. As parents we all want best for our kids, our parents did for us too right ?? We Studied in our HOMELAND’s but are making successful career here equally competent with kids who studies here right. We have seen people who studied here and are making marks in other countries. Discussions about the families , facilities, earnings…the point is there no END to these discussions. There is no fixed formula for it , there is no firm yes or no. The point is be HAPPY where ever you are, make that call ..listen to your HEART, we all get ONE LIFE. Do not spend it in regretting instead LIVE IT enjoying with what you have and what you do. We all are our own MASTERS. As long as you are happy from within, you will enjoy wherever you live and it will be your HOME SWEET HOME.