Conscience... My dear friend...

Rome, 27th Nov 2011. I'm standing in one of the greatest cathedrals of the world, St Peters. The holy place for over 30% of worlds population. I'm standing in the midst of some of most spectacular pieces of art by masters like Michelangelo, Bernini etc. Hundreds of statues of saints and holy men, all around me, glaring down at me. I should have been absorbed by the sanctity of the place. I should have been amazed at the masterpieces of art and architecture. I should have been carried away into a peaceful trance by the melodious music of the organ. Why am I not feeling anything of these.

I had been to few of the holiest places, most scenic places, darkest places of Europe, in the last 2-3 months of my exchange program. Darkest places like Sachsenhausen where the Nazis and Communists slaughtered hundreds of thousands of innocents. The indifference to pain, pleasure or joy of the place has been puzzling me over the past few weeks. It is more of the scruples from the inside that is taking over the emotions of the exterior senses.

In the recent few years of my life, after I started differentiating between the good and the bad of the world, I came across many people/institutions which are on both sides of the wall. Through movies, books and travel, I came to know about many Mahatmas of the world, who with their uncompromising determination have changes the world in a way or the other. On the other end of the spectrum are cruel and brutal crimes committed by people, corruption, scandals, riots etc etc. Amazingly, only few of those poor souls have ever confessed or repented. Why.

As said by Mahatma Gandhi, "In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place." Beginning from the Magna-carta, the first ever document of modern law, to the most recent laws, conscience is one thing, which every human has to face one day or the other. "There is a higher court than courts of justice and that is the court of conscience. It supersedes all other court"; an other master quote by the Mahatma. Our conscience could be the supreme power inside us which could work wonders by taking us to greater heights, and it can also lead us into lonely and depressed phases of our lives.

How wonderful it is to have a clean conscience through out our lives; the wonders it can make with our lives, the peace it can bring into our lives, the beauty it can add to our lives...

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Can we measure life?

Can we measure life? What is a good life or what is bad? Can we rate life by the number of years a person lived? Or by the money he/she made? Or the number of educational degrees? Or the number of companies he started or the job he was in? Or the number of people he helped and the donations made? Or by the faith he had? Or is life completely meaningless? (Except when you are a Hitler or a Gandhi). I liked the way Morgan Freeman said in some movie, "You measure your life by the people measure their lives by you".

This weird question has been lingering in my mind for the past few days. One of the reasons I can think of is the kind of movies I have been watching lately, like 'The bucket list'. The second reason was my visit to the Chateau of Versailles where the Kings of France lived until the French revolution in 1789. And also, I believe any post of mine reflects my current mood (however hard I try to hide!). I am still not sure of the things I want to convey with this blog, so kindly bear with me.

Coming back to the topic, any type of search with strings like 'good life' or 'measuring life' or 'life' always yield at least a few results on 'how to make life successful'. One of these searches popped out the following interpretation of success, which I think is never taught anymore. Ralph Waldo Emerson defined success with these words: "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you lived. This is to have succeeded."

So what is a good life. One of the most common philosophies of life we observe these days is the 'life is a celebration' or 'the only chance to enjoy' philosophy. Work hard, party harder is the new mantra. A close friend of mine, who is absolutely happy with this philosophy, said that he is not going to change his lifestyle unless he is forced to. Yeah its true too. Why change if we are happy. I am not complaining but it still does not answer my question. Though these things are commonly seen these days, unfortunately, things like these are not taught in any schools. Few weeks back, a professor of ours had narrated a small story while ending his course. Though the story does not answer the question, it beautifully summarizes many issues in life.

"One day, an old professor of the School of Public Management in France, was invited to lecture on the topic of “Efficient Time Management” in front of a group of 15 executive managers representing the largest, most successful companies in America. The lecture was one in a series of 5 lectures conducted in one day, and the old professor was given 1 hour to lecture. Standing in front of this group of elite managers, who were willing to write down every word that would come out of the famous professor’s mouth, the professor slowly met eyes with each manager, one by one, and finally said, “we are going to conduct an experiment”.

From under the table that stood between the professor and the listeners, the professor pulled out a big glass jar and gently placed it in front of him. Next, he pulled out from under the table a bag of stones, each the size of a tennis ball, and placed the stones one by one in the jar. He did so until there was no room to add another stone in the jar. Lifting his gaze to the managers, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?” The managers replied, “Yes”. The professor paused for a moment, and replied, “Really?”

Once again, he reached under the table and pulled out a bag full of pebbles. Carefully, the professor poured the pebbles in and slightly rattled the jar, allowing the pebbles to slip through the larger stones, until they settled at the bottom. Again, the professor lifted his gaze to his audience and asked, “Is the jar full?” At this point, the managers began to understand his intentions. One replied, “Apparently not!”

“Correct”, replied the old professor, now pulling out a bag of sand from under the table. Cautiously, the professor poured the sand into the jar. The sand filled up the spaces between the stones and the pebbles. Yet again, the professor asked, “Is the jar full?” Without hesitation, the entire group of students replied in unison, “NO!”

“Correct”, replied the professor. And as was expected by the students, the professor reached for the pitcher of water that was on the table, and poured water in the jar until it was absolutely full. The professor now lifted his gaze once again and asked, “What great truth can we surmise from this experiment?”

With his thoughts on the lecture topic, one manager quickly replied, “We learn that as full as our schedules may appear, if we only increase our effort, it is always possible to add more meetings and tasks”. “No”, replied the professor. The great truth that we can conclude from this experiment is: If we don’t put all the larger stones in the jar first, we will never be able to fit all of them later.

The auditorium fell silent, as every manager processed the significance of the professor’s words in their entirety. The old professor continued, “What are the large stones in your life? Health? Family? Friends? Your goals? Doing what you love? Fighting for a Cause? Taking time for yourself?” What we must remember is that it is most important to include the lager stones in our lives, because if we don’t do so, we are likely to miss out on life altogether. If we give priority to the smaller things in life (pebbles & sand), our lives will be filled up with less important things, leaving little or no time for the things in our lives that are most important to us. Because of this, never forget to ask yourself, What are the Large Stones in your Life? And once you identify them, be sure to put them first in your “Jar of Life”. With a warm wave of his hand, the professor bid farewell to the managers, and slowly walked out of the room. Take care of the large stones first – the things that REALLY matter. Set your priorities. The rest are just pebbles and sand. If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there will be no room left for the stones. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, you will never have room for things that are truly most important."

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The Quarter Life Crisis

Here you are, in your mid-20s - the best time of your life, at least that's what everyone says. Your 'I am independent' claim now has the legal stamp of economics; the college campus lingers in nostalgia; 'work hard, party harder' is the new mantra. But the euphoria is evaporating. The adrenaline rush leaves a hangover that seems impossible to shake off. Disillusionment looms large with a million-dollar question: What next? Welcome. You have just been hit by the quarter-life crisis. The transition from college to the real world sets the stage for the quarter-life crisis, hitting those in their early and mid-20s. Work, independence, new responsibilities, relationships hankering for "long-term commitment" and "meaningful" layers, all add to an anxiety not known until now. The phrase ‘quarter-life crisis’ gained currency in the West in 2001, when two twenty-somethings made a fortune writing on their peer’s crises in "Quarter life Crisis: The Unique Challenges of Life in your Twenties". This has become an unrecognized epidemic, sweeping an entire generation reared on an array of choices and rising expectations.

Oh yea! Everybody goes through this phase; some face this crisis for long and some for short phases. I recently read a post which goes like this, "At 27, Atul has the life dreams are made of: an MBA from a top management institute, out-of-turn raises every few months, whirlwind world tours on work and a stunner for his arm candy at corporate dos. Three job switches in the last nine months have landed this finance whiz in a top managerial position. But lately, he has been fighting gnawing self-doubts. “I make big bucks, but have no time to spend them. I don’t feel driven to achieve anything anymore… Should I have chosen another profession?” says the alpha achiever, who is also beginning to question his four-year-old relationship." Unfortunately the messages like these are increasing, its just that we don't always observe these in the bracket of quarter life crisis.

The statistics are startling. At any point of time, around one third of the population in the age group 18 - 28 suffer from this crisis. And though I could not get any statistics relevant to India, I definitely think that this number is much large, at least close to 60%. As part of international student exchange program, I am currently studying at a B School in France. When I talk to students here who are studying economics and come to B school, who leave engineering and come to B school; I could not stop myself from asking "whats the plan?", "what next?", may be owing to our system which mostly works on plans. I am amazed to find that no body here has a plan as such. They are studying here because they feel its good. The people here are not looking for easy money or good jobs and they are not afraid to live on little money and temporary jobs. People here are not scared of the future which sometimes pity the systems back home. Of course people here enjoy many privileges like small population, no or very less competition etc.; and in contrast the huge and ever increasing population in India, meagerly growing industrial opportunities, demanding education sector etc. might all become the reasons.

You are a software engineer, just out of college, living in a nice cool apartment with a peaceful white collar job. There is QLC here too, to switch jobs, not getting the deserved credit, give CAT or GMAT etc. In students, QLC is common in students of the best of B schools to students of a normal engineering college in a remote place. It is unfortunate that there is QLC in students as young as 7 - 8th standard which is being exploited by IIT coaching centres and intermediate colleges. QLC about relationships is more common too; some express it, some dont, but it is there.

“This crisis is a product of our times. Young people want to jump from one ladder to another, exhausting their goals very early on. They then begin to question everything about their lives.”, says Dr Amit Sen, a psychiatrist who sees children and young adults. The 20s are bringing with them a “nervous self-awareness,” says a 30-year-old lecturer at a leading DU college. “Students now indulge in a lot of self-questioning, which isn’t philosophical like -- ‘What’s my purpose in life’ — but, ‘Oh god, are my friends going to do better in life than me?’” Psychologist NK Chadha, head of DU’s department of adult, continuing education and extension, says, “Students choose careers depending on what pays more, and end up paying with their peace of mind.”

So my dear friends, you are not alone. Everyone around you is also going through the same confusion, anxiety and internal suffering. After all, there is no rule that there should be an answer to every "why"...

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Far from the madding crowd..

I remember studying in my primary school that over 70% of Indians live in villages. I had an opportunity to live in one of the typical villages, on the west coast of India, for around two months in this summer. It was Kharoi village in the Kutch district of Gujarat. Though I did live in a village, I had the privilege to live in a wonderful campus with lush green lawns, a lake and beautiful food and housing etc, the accommodation provided by the organisation where I was doing my summer internship.

My first realization was that villages are no more as shown in movies. Everything is available in a village starting from mobile connections to internet data cards. People own computers, digital TVs etc. etc. I understood why companies are gunning each other for the rural market share. The only difference is that people spend there for necessity than luxury. So if you want a tooth brush or a soap, be ready to get 2-3 types of tooth brushes, all costing less than 10 and for soaps you would get dettol or hammam or godrej No.1.

The most beautiful experience was the purity of the villages. The night sky is very clear and we can see the whole blanket of stars. I did not even realize that it has been years that stars in the night sky are no longer visible, thanks to the various types of pollution. The water in the lakes is pure. Its a beautiful sight, as depicted in many paintings and poems, to see many people walking to the lake early in the morning. Its even more beautiful when the lake is full of ducks and many other birds. The climate is remarkable. Even in Kutch, one of the most dry places in the country, and even in the peak of summer, there is a cool breeze by evening. Its a pity that these people and these places are made to suffer because of climate change caused by the luxuries of the urban world.

Some startling differences are people in villages have lot of time. They don't have 9 to 9 jobs or late night meetings or weekend works. They have all the time in the world and sights of 2-3 people sitting on the verandahs of their houses chit chatting the whole day is very common. Also, there are a few people who worked in the nearest towns or nearby villages, who leave early and come late.

People there are healthy. These are the people who are still obeying the laws of the nature w.r.t. to our bodies. They don't hit the gym or follow a diet. Their lifestyle by nature is free of all the junk food. Their day to day physical work gives them the much needed exercise.

People are caring and friendly. This is shown in many movies and it was so good to experience it. People show lot of concern and offer a lot of help if you tell them that you are not from the village. And it doubles if you say that you are not from Gujarat.

Last and the most important, people are happy. With the least of the resources, very little options, people are content and happy. Of course there are a few people who aspire to go to the city, who want to become rich; majority of them cherish their current lifestyle and are absolutely satisfied.

So to all those people who are scared of a rural stint, there is no reason to be apprehensive. All you need is some good food and some good transport to reach the nearest city or town, and you can be sure of an experience of a life time.

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What is wrong with the US..?

I am from a state where there is at least one child from every home who studies in Texas, California, Kansas, Virginia, Newyork and so on.. Believe me, there is a temple at around 40KM from Hyderabad which is called visa temple. People go there with their passports so that their visa interview is successful. Not only in my State, many people dream of studying in US, working in US, living in US. People keep talking about I20s, H1s, B1s all the time. My intention is not to sound condescending at all. There was a time when I gave my GMAT and Toefl and had almost packed my bags before I dropped the plans. Studying or working in US has become on of the major goals of many people across the world. Its not wrong at all considering the promise of prosperity, freedom and novelty in the US. Thus starts the American dream for many.

After all, US is a great nation. America was the first nation to bring the concept of freedom to this Earth. The great American revolution gave rise to a 'free nation' resulting in a series of social, political, and intellectual transformations in early American society and government, collectively referred to as the American Enlightenment. They bravely rejected the age old British ideas and ideologies and were the first people is embrace 'liberalism'. They made a moral decision that slavery was wrong and a nation cannot be half free. America were the first to implement right to vote and right to employment for women. They defeated totalitarianism and won a war in the Pacific and the Atlantic simultaneously. They cured some fearsome diseases like Polio. They pioneered the industrial revolution. The merits are absolutely flawless, making the US an inspiration for many developing nations.

But there are a few issues which were stuck in my mind for the last few weeks. The first is the the recent recession. I remember reading that the cause of recession were the vast number of housing loans and the causes of the recession were so complex and nobody had absolutely any idea. But the recent movie "Inside job" (A must watch if you haven't) clearly shows that everybody knew sensed recession as early as late 2006. Many bigshots like the heads of all major banks, heads of federal agencies of US like the head of the federal reserve, federal bank and many more were involved. The painful part was that sheer greed of a few people in US caused a catastrphy throughout the world. Millions of people were literally thrown out of their homes. Europe spearheaded in implementing regulations on many financial instruments and though the US itself was one of the worstly affected countries, it did not implement any regulations on the financial derivatives markets, which was the main cause of the recession. We do not even know if US has taken any measures for to stop another financial melt down. Does it make US greater that any other country of the world?

The other troubling issue is the environmental issues. Many of us think Indian cities are dirty compared to the clean and polished streets of the US. But US is not so clean after all. The per-capita carbon emission in the US is around 18 compared to 5.6 of the entire developed world. India's is around 1.2 making India a lot cleaner than the US. The auto emission standards of the US are still around Euro 2 when the entire Europe is following Euro 5. Luckily when the states of US like California started taking the initiative and implemented high efficiency standards for the US, the automakers like Ford, GM and Chrysler sued the state that they cannot sell their vehicles in those states. These so called mighty auto makers haven't recognized the fact that these inefficient vehicle manufacturing have made them impotent to sell their cars in many European nations, which was the main reason for their bankruptcy protection in 2008. In a country where there are over 750 cars to every 1000 people, shouldn't there by high efficiency standards? Moreover, US and Australia are the only two developed nations which haven't complied with the Kyoto protocol, which is aimed at fighting climate change.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Are they really to end the tyranny and to end the terrorism? The tragic 9/11 attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon, are they really by terrorists. These were some of the many questions raised by the conspiracy theories. After watching so many movies and also some facts about what the US is capable of, the answer to most of these conspiracy theories seems possible. May be US needed constant supply of oil at very cheap rates for the next 50 - 100 years or may be they wanted to maintain the supremacy on the world. We never know.

Uncle Sam, are you listening?

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An Entrepreneur..

"Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won't, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can't" - An entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of a new enterprise, venture or idea and is accountable for the inherent risks and outcomes. This is the wikipedia definition of entrepreneur. Though the word 'Entrepreneur' seems a little heavy in itself, most of us dream of starting something of our own at some point in our lives. But in a society like ours, there is very little chance that this wild dream of ours ever comes true. But yes, there are people who go ahead and realize their dreams. I had a wonderful opportunity of working with one of them, Mr Sanjay Singh, an IIM Ahmedabad alumnus, founder and Director of Swas healthcare. This post summarizes the things I learned working with him and also from his interviews with the media. I have found them very interesting and also very essential for any budding entrepreneur.

For an entrepreneur, it is always necessary to have a reason other money to get him going. There might be times when the cash flow turns dry and the future seems dim. But as long as we stand on our cause and motivation, it is the only thing which gets us going. Mr. Sanjay also says that keeping an eye on cash flows is always important. Saving a few bucks whenever possible comes handy in rough times.

My second learning is start quick and dirty, don't wait for a perfect business model. This is very important as we learn more working than contemplating an ideal solution. Also it has the capacity to give us an early mover advantage in this competitive world.

"Watch, listen and learn. You can't do everything yourself. Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity" - Donald Trump. This quote says it all. My biggest learning is to keep our eyes open. Sometimes people on the ground knows what works the best and what not. Hence to be receptive to ideas and also change is an absolute necessity for success.

"Choose a job you like and you never have to work a day in your life". This is the biggest motivation of all. In an interview with the media, Mr. Sanjay said "When I see our patients making the journey from “hope in eyes” to “smiling faces” it gives us immense strength to continue our efforts in spite of all hurdles". So it all boils down to our own happiness and satisfaction in starting our own venture.

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Health Naturally..

"If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want."

I still remember how much I hated Mr. Manthena Satyanarayana for his shows on TV everyday in the mornings. I woke up to his voice every day I was in Guntur and may be I hated him for this reason alone. My mom was a sincere follower of his shows and she tried to preach a few of his points to me and my brother, but always in vain. He had a huge fan base for his shows on natural medicine, mostly housewives. I never thought I would land up in a Naturopathy chain of hospitals for my summer internship and in fact become a fan of naturopathy. My last 45 days at a peaceful village in Gujarat have been a great learning in every way. The beautiful part is my experience with naturopathy. Please read the entire post as it is really useful for us, especially in this polluted world.

As our technology and development advance, enormous problems with respect to environmental pollution and the general quality of life continues to grow. We live in a world where stress, pressure, competition are inevitable. These have paved the way to irregular and irresponsible eating habits, lack of physical exercise, dependence on medication and many other unhealthy living habits. The fast lives, ever growing pollution has added to the above and is the main reasons for our immunity breakdown, making us vulnerable to many diseases. This lifestyle of ours is the root cause of many common chronic illnesses like Hypertension, Diabetes, Obesity, Heart diseases and all kinds of arthritis. As put by the World health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.

Naturopathy is a system of medicine that focuses on natural remedies and the body's vital ability to heal and maintain itself. Naturopathy believes that our body has the innate capability to cure itself from any chronic disease but that capacity is reduced because of various factors like pollution, our lifestyle etc. Hence naturopathic treatment means to put ourselves back in order the nature force of life i.e. Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, and Mind to gain perfect health. Naturopathy makes use of simple therapies to balance these forces and achieve healthy body and mind.

Naturopathic treatments include dietary changes, exercise, bodywork and natural remedies that support the body’s capacity to heal. It is the most profound medical science that goes deeper and heals from within. It removes dependence from external sources and puts your health back in your hands. Let us consider an example to understand the treatments better. Diabetes is a common chronic ailment. Modern medicine prescribes artificial insulin intake and also many pills to support the same. But naturopathy believes that simple changes in diet, exercise and yoga gives long term relief from diabetes. Naturopathic treatments include dietary changes through which intake of natural insulin is enhanced. Simple yoga asanas exercises like brisk walking are advised to stimulate pancreas and spleen, thus increasing the production of insulin in the body. Thus by addressing the root cause of the ailment, naturopathy is a competent system of medicine.

Naturopathy believes that “Sickness is the vengeance of nature for the violation of her laws”. Naturopathic medicine is defined by principles rather than by methods or modalities. Above all, it honors the body’s innate wisdom to heal. Naturopathy follows five pronged approach to achieve complete good health and wellbeing.

1. Healthy Environment: As a Danish proverb goes “fresh air impoverishes the doctor”. Healthy environment reduces various carcinogenic chemicals and hence prevents many chronic diseases like Cancer etc. A week away from the polluted urban environment at a clean and green environment works wonders on the human body. Hence they even advise to maintain ferns and potted plants in the living room as they increase the oxygen level in the room, which is vital for the well being of various internal organs.



2. Detoxification: Detoxification diets were created with the main purpose of freeing the body of stored toxins. Controlled fasting days along with a healthy diet will also help get rid of some excess weight. Diets of this kind may be very beneficial as they may constitute a great starter for a healthy way of life on condition that they are not abused. Also, there are many detoxification techniques in yoga and Ayurveda, which completely make our body toxin free.
   
   
3. Alkaline diet: An alkaline diet lifestyle will make you feel alive and vital; improve concentration, mental and physical stamina and overall self-esteem. The benefits of alkaline diet also include weight loss, better sleep. Also, it completely reduces acidity of blood which is the main root cause of many diseases. It also increases anti-ageing as the life of body cells is prolonged.



4. Naturopathic and Ayurveda treatments: External treatments like hydrotherapy, massages etc. relieve you from symptomatic relief. It increases the elasticity of nerves, which reduces the burden on heart. This also increases the efficiency of blood flow throughout the body, which helps in increasing the efficiency of many internal organs. Ayurveda emphasizes preventative & healing therapies along with various methods of purification & rejuvenation. Ayurveda is more than a mere healing system; it’s a science & art of appropriate living that helps to achieve longevity. It can guide every individual in the proper choice of diet, living habits & exercise to restore balance in the body, mind & consciousness, thus preventing disease from gaining a foothold in the system.
   
   
   
   
5. Meditation and Yoga: Meditation and yoga help in complete relaxation of body and mind. Yoga is not merely a set of asanas & breathing exercises- Pranayama, which helps in maintaining healthy body. It extends the beneficial effects on mental, emotional, social, as well as spiritual level of our being. Thus yoga gives us a complete healthy way of life. Yoga also improves the blood circulation, movements of various joints etc. It also solves the problems of constipation and insomnia, burns calories and lowers blood sugar levels. “Meditation is a delightful and spontaneous thing to do. It is the continual act of making friends with yourself".

After staying here for over a month now and witnessing how naturopathy is able to cure some of the most chronic diseases, I sincerely suggest you to spread the word. Also, naturopathy has preventive healthcare remedies, which include few diet tips and yoga, and is the best preventive healthcare across all the systems of medicine.

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