Vinda Karindikar, the Jnanpith award winning Marathi poet, wrote a lovely verse
“Denarreani det zaave, Ghenearani ghet zaave…
Ghenearani gheta gheta… Denarraiche haat ghyave!”
The verse has a wonderful meaning that goes like this…
"May the donor continue his giving, May the recipient keep on receiving…
May the recipient eventually acquire the “Hands” of the donor!”
We receive so many gifts from so many people, each and every day. They are the ones who make life easier for us… the newspaper boy who wakes up before we do… the traffic cop who stands in the hot sun and facilitates the smooth flow of traffic… the farmer who toils to provide us with nutritious grain… the security officer who ensures our welfare… the garbage collector who ensures a healthy environment… the cobbler who mends our shoes… the cowherd who rears cows so that we can drink milk… these are faces of effort that make our day.
Rarely do we acknowledge the service and generosity of our benefactors… and when we do it is more often in words and sometimes in reciprocal actions. We must move beyond to emulating the attitude and actions of those who help us in a greater or lesser way. We must acquire the heart (spirit) and hands (actions) of those who help. May all of us become like Santa Claus who spreads happiness through not only decorative gifts of words born of love, but also through actions born of sincerity and sensitivity…
Keep smiling as the festival of Santa is here…
“Speak through action” to spread the cheer!
Regards
Pravin
Monday, December 25, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
THE JOY OF BEING FEARLESS
The young lawyer, Murlidhar walked the path of Mahatma Gandhi, Vinobha Bhave and Rabindranath Tagore. He organized lawyers to represent jailed leaders during Quit India Movement and for this, he was thrown into prison. In his village he began to eat with his servants and dug wells for the Dalits. He gave up his law practice, his involvement with his family estates and started a working place for inter-caste living and manual labour.
One rainy night, he saw a leper with rotting mass of flesh… with holes in place of a nose, without a trace of fingers and toes with worms and sores where there had been eye sockets. The " Abhay Sadhak" (seeker of fearlessness) - a title awarded by Mahatma Gandhi (because of his fearless stand against a Britisher's attitude towards an Indian bride in a train) fled! Later, feeling ashamed he returned, picked up the leper, gave him food and took care of him until he died.
Baba Amte has devoted his life to the care and rehabilitation of leprosy patients, even allowing his body to be used for experiments to grow leprosy germs. His dream for having a place that was full of joy established 'Anandwan' – an institution, recognised and respected around the world for dispelling prejudice against leprosy victims… where patients and volunteers work together in the "Shramik Vidyapeeth" (University of service). He launched the Bharat Jodo (Unite India) movement with the mission of establishing peace and raising environmental consciousness.
Born in a family of jagirdars, Baba Amte gave up on his riches and lucrative law practice… to earn the respect and recognition all over the world, by his actions… first to dispel his own prejudices and fears … and then later those in the minds of others. His words say it so well, "I have cured the leprosy of the body, now I must cure the leprosy of the mind." Fear has to be overcome first in the mind and the way to do it is take action instead of allowing our spoken apprehensions to halt our actions.
Fear takes a grip, makes us wince and flee
"Speak through action" to set yourself free!
RegardsPravin
18 December 2006, Goa
One rainy night, he saw a leper with rotting mass of flesh… with holes in place of a nose, without a trace of fingers and toes with worms and sores where there had been eye sockets. The " Abhay Sadhak" (seeker of fearlessness) - a title awarded by Mahatma Gandhi (because of his fearless stand against a Britisher's attitude towards an Indian bride in a train) fled! Later, feeling ashamed he returned, picked up the leper, gave him food and took care of him until he died.
Baba Amte has devoted his life to the care and rehabilitation of leprosy patients, even allowing his body to be used for experiments to grow leprosy germs. His dream for having a place that was full of joy established 'Anandwan' – an institution, recognised and respected around the world for dispelling prejudice against leprosy victims… where patients and volunteers work together in the "Shramik Vidyapeeth" (University of service). He launched the Bharat Jodo (Unite India) movement with the mission of establishing peace and raising environmental consciousness.
Born in a family of jagirdars, Baba Amte gave up on his riches and lucrative law practice… to earn the respect and recognition all over the world, by his actions… first to dispel his own prejudices and fears … and then later those in the minds of others. His words say it so well, "I have cured the leprosy of the body, now I must cure the leprosy of the mind." Fear has to be overcome first in the mind and the way to do it is take action instead of allowing our spoken apprehensions to halt our actions.
Fear takes a grip, makes us wince and flee
"Speak through action" to set yourself free!
RegardsPravin
18 December 2006, Goa
Monday, December 11, 2006
Despite Babasaheb!
"Ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is a battle for freedom. It is a battle for the reclamation of human personality." - Dr BR Ambedkar
Consider why so many - sometimes up to a million - human beings come to observe his death anniversary each year at a function not organised by any political party or forum. For them, undertaking this journey means both hardship and hunger. And yet they make the trip — driven by their emotions and drawn by the hope of a noble vision as yet unfulfilled - a casteless world!
No other national leader commands this respect 50 years after his death, let alone when alive. Consider why are there more statues of Babasaheb Ambedkar in India's villages than those of any other leader. His statues are not government installed (like those of many others); the poor put them up at their own expense. Whether in Tamil Nadu or Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra or Orissa, his portraits can be found in the humblest of huts.
Bhimrao Raoji Ambedkar with a Ph.D from Columbia University returned to lead what is today the greatest battle for human dignity on planet earth. He could have launched a violent struggle for freedom. Instead he asked his people to find dignity, strength and prosperity by converting to Buddhism and its tenets of rationalism and humanism. 50 years after his death, Ambedkar’s vision of a radical, non-violent revolution for reclaiming the human personality remains far from being accomplished. And the reasons lie with the rest of us. We speak about equality yet we do not practice it.
One of Goa’s most dynamic Dalit personalities is Dadu Mandrekar – a man of many talents like poetry, science enthusiast, photographer, environment, adventure, trekking, etc. He once went to lunch on being invited a friend, only to realise that he was being asked to fulfill a role laid in the scriptures that a “low caste” had to be fed. This has not been an isolated incident for Dadu and Dadu is not an isolated case for Dalits. Self proclaimed progressive persons see proactive Dalits as only representatives of their communities, not as part of society. The talk is alright, the walk is all wrong.
So what if you talk about equality and humanism on my face?
“speak through action” to be part of a casteless human race!
Regards
Pravin
11 December 2006, Goa.
Consider why so many - sometimes up to a million - human beings come to observe his death anniversary each year at a function not organised by any political party or forum. For them, undertaking this journey means both hardship and hunger. And yet they make the trip — driven by their emotions and drawn by the hope of a noble vision as yet unfulfilled - a casteless world!
No other national leader commands this respect 50 years after his death, let alone when alive. Consider why are there more statues of Babasaheb Ambedkar in India's villages than those of any other leader. His statues are not government installed (like those of many others); the poor put them up at their own expense. Whether in Tamil Nadu or Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra or Orissa, his portraits can be found in the humblest of huts.
Bhimrao Raoji Ambedkar with a Ph.D from Columbia University returned to lead what is today the greatest battle for human dignity on planet earth. He could have launched a violent struggle for freedom. Instead he asked his people to find dignity, strength and prosperity by converting to Buddhism and its tenets of rationalism and humanism. 50 years after his death, Ambedkar’s vision of a radical, non-violent revolution for reclaiming the human personality remains far from being accomplished. And the reasons lie with the rest of us. We speak about equality yet we do not practice it.
One of Goa’s most dynamic Dalit personalities is Dadu Mandrekar – a man of many talents like poetry, science enthusiast, photographer, environment, adventure, trekking, etc. He once went to lunch on being invited a friend, only to realise that he was being asked to fulfill a role laid in the scriptures that a “low caste” had to be fed. This has not been an isolated incident for Dadu and Dadu is not an isolated case for Dalits. Self proclaimed progressive persons see proactive Dalits as only representatives of their communities, not as part of society. The talk is alright, the walk is all wrong.
So what if you talk about equality and humanism on my face?
“speak through action” to be part of a casteless human race!
Regards
Pravin
11 December 2006, Goa.
Monday, December 4, 2006
SHUT UP! (4 Dec 2006)
SHUT UP!
“If you want to be understood...Listen”
(Tagline of Babel – closing film of IFFI 2006)
In Jamie Sam's "Earth Medicine", the animals gathered to sort out the problems caused by the latest migrations of their northern neighbours that were affecting their food supply. While some were chattering away, others would intervene to make suggestions and offer solutions. Only the bear had not said a thing. Finally, asked why he was so silent, the bear replied, "I'm listening and learning. I don't need to talk; I already know what I know."
We spend a large portion of our waking hours conversing and listening… more of the former and less of the latter. In fact we are conditioned to believe that effective speaking leads to success. But the reality remains that good listening skills are the pre-requisite to good communication skills and subsequent successes. It is pertinent to note that good listening is victim to not only external disturbances but also to internal “noise”. We must learn to shut up this “noise”.
A good listener will not be one who swears that he is one. Rather a listener will display tolerance, patience and an open mind. At its best listening involves understanding the information, understanding the emotions, checking our understanding, seeing it from the person's viewpoint, without necessarily agreeing. We must learn to “shut up” our prejudices and seek to understand afresh, each time.
In our quest to escape the omni-present “misunderstanding”, we seek to explain, educate and emphasise our position. However, we need to listen and understand, before we can be understood. For others too are like us… we may be equipped to hear, but we may not have learned to listen…
Learn to listen … and listen to learn
“Shut up” and “speak through action”!
Regards
Pravin
4 December 2006, Goa.
“If you want to be understood...Listen”
(Tagline of Babel – closing film of IFFI 2006)
In Jamie Sam's "Earth Medicine", the animals gathered to sort out the problems caused by the latest migrations of their northern neighbours that were affecting their food supply. While some were chattering away, others would intervene to make suggestions and offer solutions. Only the bear had not said a thing. Finally, asked why he was so silent, the bear replied, "I'm listening and learning. I don't need to talk; I already know what I know."
We spend a large portion of our waking hours conversing and listening… more of the former and less of the latter. In fact we are conditioned to believe that effective speaking leads to success. But the reality remains that good listening skills are the pre-requisite to good communication skills and subsequent successes. It is pertinent to note that good listening is victim to not only external disturbances but also to internal “noise”. We must learn to shut up this “noise”.
A good listener will not be one who swears that he is one. Rather a listener will display tolerance, patience and an open mind. At its best listening involves understanding the information, understanding the emotions, checking our understanding, seeing it from the person's viewpoint, without necessarily agreeing. We must learn to “shut up” our prejudices and seek to understand afresh, each time.
In our quest to escape the omni-present “misunderstanding”, we seek to explain, educate and emphasise our position. However, we need to listen and understand, before we can be understood. For others too are like us… we may be equipped to hear, but we may not have learned to listen…
Learn to listen … and listen to learn
“Shut up” and “speak through action”!
Regards
Pravin
4 December 2006, Goa.
Monday, November 27, 2006
THE BUSINESS OF MIRACLES(27 Nov 2006)
My favourite icebreaker as a trainer is to perform a magic trick and then lead a discussion to understand the logic behind the magic. Magic seems simple when explained and the problem lies that most of us want somebody else to explain it. And we swallow any such explanation as long as it “seems convincing”. But if magic is about “doing”, so is the logic behind it. More often than not, we do not apply even, the basic principles of our education, to understand the unexplained.
Last week, TV channels zoomed onto the birthday celebrations of an old man in a saffron robe being wheeled out for the adoration of teeming devotees. The discussion centred on the same old stuff: the claim to be God, the assassination attempts, the legion of celebrity devotees and, the sordid controversy about the old boy’s behaviour with little boys. Then, there’s the business of the ‘miracles’: the materialising of rings, expensive watches, sacred ash and the odd locket. It is pertinent to note that every single ‘miracle’ can easily be duplicated by even a moderately-skilled magician or a student of science. Very few people will question the cruel irony where the rich receive riches (gold rings, branded watches, etc) and the poor are gifted dust (holy ash).
The objection to any self-styled God-man’s ‘miracles’ is fundamental. If they claim cosmic ability to change destiny and to heal the human body, then why don’t they just heal themselves, or change the script for suicidal farmers? The counter-argument about he-does-so-much-charity does not condone the assumption of divinity. Religious philanthropy is not novel. For instance the Ramakrishna Mission does much, yet none of its monks claims to be God. And they don’t need to produce Omega watches out of thin air. They are too busy helping the poor.
And so are the real “miracle-men” like Baba Amte, Anna Hazare and other dynamic citizens who are taking on the challenges head-on. If India has to be a truly developed nation, we need less of god-men who only indulge in sham speech and more of good men who initiate appropriate actions. The business of miracles is enchantingly deceptive as it makes us shift the onus of responsibility from ourselves to the mystic. But the business of proactive action is the one that shall salvage our situation.
Behind every magical miracle there lies logic of reason …
Let’s apply our education to “speak through action”!
Regards
Pravin
27 November 2006, Goa.
Last week, TV channels zoomed onto the birthday celebrations of an old man in a saffron robe being wheeled out for the adoration of teeming devotees. The discussion centred on the same old stuff: the claim to be God, the assassination attempts, the legion of celebrity devotees and, the sordid controversy about the old boy’s behaviour with little boys. Then, there’s the business of the ‘miracles’: the materialising of rings, expensive watches, sacred ash and the odd locket. It is pertinent to note that every single ‘miracle’ can easily be duplicated by even a moderately-skilled magician or a student of science. Very few people will question the cruel irony where the rich receive riches (gold rings, branded watches, etc) and the poor are gifted dust (holy ash).
The objection to any self-styled God-man’s ‘miracles’ is fundamental. If they claim cosmic ability to change destiny and to heal the human body, then why don’t they just heal themselves, or change the script for suicidal farmers? The counter-argument about he-does-so-much-charity does not condone the assumption of divinity. Religious philanthropy is not novel. For instance the Ramakrishna Mission does much, yet none of its monks claims to be God. And they don’t need to produce Omega watches out of thin air. They are too busy helping the poor.
And so are the real “miracle-men” like Baba Amte, Anna Hazare and other dynamic citizens who are taking on the challenges head-on. If India has to be a truly developed nation, we need less of god-men who only indulge in sham speech and more of good men who initiate appropriate actions. The business of miracles is enchantingly deceptive as it makes us shift the onus of responsibility from ourselves to the mystic. But the business of proactive action is the one that shall salvage our situation.
Behind every magical miracle there lies logic of reason …
Let’s apply our education to “speak through action”!
Regards
Pravin
27 November 2006, Goa.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
now Monday Muse will be archived here
The Monday Muse series
- a Motivational e-Mail send on every Monday to over 1000 persons -
was started on the first Monday of 2004.
It is dedicated to the theme of the National President of Junior Chamber International- India (JCI-India) - a "worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs."
the themes have been as follows:
2004 - “Touch to Transform”
2005 - “We are the Future”
2006 – “Speak Through Action"
- a Motivational e-Mail send on every Monday to over 1000 persons -
was started on the first Monday of 2004.
It is dedicated to the theme of the National President of Junior Chamber International- India (JCI-India) - a "worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs."
the themes have been as follows:
2004 - “Touch to Transform”
2005 - “We are the Future”
2006 – “Speak Through Action"
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