Day78 - Happiness is "being gently guided back on the right path"

My dearest friend Taruna Gupta has been an integral part of my life for over 23 years now. Our friendship has grown and so has the complete trust we share in each other.

Recently, on a chat, she asked me about my criteria for selecting my #100HappyDays moments. Instinctively I felt that here was a teacher who was trying to gently guide her student.

She had observed two glaring missing happy day moments that I had not posted. She was unsure if it was just a miss or if I genuinely did not intend to post these meeting with my dear friends on my challenge posts.

Instead of complaining or being upset, she put a simple question to me. Here was a lovely example of a guide pointing out correction of course but in a beautiful manner which made the learning all the more acceptable.

Life is a string of years lived one moment at a time and once the time has passed, it is very difficult to bring it back or to undo hurts, mistakes, speak unspoken words, communicate through the eyes or through silence. Hence, in my hope of doing justice to those two special moments of joy, I postponed my task of posting these cherished moments on the same day. Once the moment had gone, it never came back - such is the flow of life that "time and tide wait for none!"

Luckily for me, my mistake was noticed by Taruna and today I have another opportunity to learn my lesson and correct my errors. She gave me the precious lesson of "Living in the here and now!"

God bless you Taruna.

I am grateful to God for giving me so many gurus, guides, mentors and teachers in my life. They say "when the student is ready, the master appears." In my case, each moment of my life is a learning opportunity, each person I meet is a teacher, each interaction teaches me more about myself, the way of living, being open, letting go of my ego, connecting with the universe and communicating with my inner self.

Day81 - Happiness is "the presence of angels in the form of children in our lives"

I relate back to a recent conversation with a mother and teenage daughter who are very dear to me. In this instance, the child was protesting at being shouted upon and rebuked for a mistake. She agreed to being at fault but repeatedly insisted "instead of being harsh, you could have gently pointed out my fault and I would have understood".

The aggrieved mother had her own issues with the child being disobedient and reacting strongly. She related numerous instances of the child being careless and lazy in matters of studies and being very picky and choosy about food. I do know for a fact that they both share an incredible bond of true love and mutual trust.

In my observation, the pressures and stresses of life have actually hardened us all to a certain degree. We are often stressed out and under pressure, we end up taking out our frustrations on the easiest targets - our loved ones who often don't have a clue as to why they they are under attack all of a sudden. Young children, spouses, old parents and siblings fit the bill perfectly. In most cases, they put up with this injustice to a point and then they end up reacting in the same manner.

Children are the most precious gifts of God and he entrusts them to us to nurture and raise with pure love and utmost care. In return, children bring us all the joy and love that anyone could ever hope for. They fill our lives with treasures of crackling laughter, twinkling mischiefs, blissful hugs and soulful kisses. Their pure angelic souls reflect the presence of God amongst us. They show us what complete trust and true love we were all born with and are still capable of giving and receiving.

And then we happen to them!

From souls, they become names; from our good and bad virtues they become personalities; from society they get a religion, a caste, a status, a creed; from innocence they convert into egos; from being empty handed and naked at birth they get needs and desires and possessions.

Children are sensitive, delicate saplings that are planted in our lives. They absorb all their good and bad virtues by copying, reflecting and absorbing everything from the environment consisting of family, teachers, friends and society. It is us who are responsible for their successes, self confidence, attitude and behaviour. Conversely, they will equally absorb our egos, lies, frustrations, limitations, failures and fears. We mould them in our own reflections through genuine intent or by innocent, unintended behaviour, attitudes or actions.

So my checklist of items necessary to be imparted to children by way of self-practice consists of:

Values, Virtues, good manners, soft and sweet language, caring, compassion, consideration, sharing, respect, trust, pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, love, truthfulness, simplicity, peace, self realisation, spirit of service, godliness, lack of ego, treating everyone equally, sense of responsibility.......

Coming back to the little argument between our dear mother-daughter. It took me some time to patiently hear both sides of the argument from them and to replay the contrasting viewpoints to each of them gently and for them to resolve this disagreement. All it required was for both of them to calm down, express their own perspective and understand the perspective of the other.

The conversation ended with the mother spending many minutes proudly relating all the excellent virtues and numerous achievements of her daughter in studies, dancing, martial arts, roller skating, crafts, public speaking and sports. The young child was so happy to hear how proud her mother and promised to improve in her behaviour and eliminate the minor faults in her attitude.

It could have so easily escalated into a long drawn full-blown argument.

God bless them both and all parents and their lovely children.

Day74 - Happiness is "Starting a new journey"

Based on my post 

http://journeyofpurejoy.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/day70-happiness-is-saluting-dr-manmohan.html

on Dr Manmohan Singh, I got the following comment from a dear friend - 

"Did he serve the nation ?  Does allowing the biggest scams to happen under his nose mean serving the nation ? Did you mean serving Mrs G for 10 years and degrading the office of the PM?"

I had actually been expecting such questions even as I was writing the post. In fact, many times over the past few years, I have myself been mystified by the apparent inability of the Indian government to act decisively or to authoritatively stamp out elements of evil which were brazenly carrying out their plundering and loot of the country under the nose of the entire nation.

These then are very pertinent and relevant questions. So I have been pondering on these questions and trying to find some answers, some explanations and some clarification. The intent of this post is to bucket my investigation and analysis into 4 different segments/Posts - 

THE UGLY
THE BAD
THE GOOD
THE CONCLUSION

Collectively, I hope that these posts will present a lot of perspectives for me as well as  the reader. I also fear that instead of finding answers, I may end up with more questions. However, this journey is important and I must undertake it in order to reach the very depths of my subconscious self and probe/prod/cajole it to help me find the links or clues that are most important in unlocking these answers.

I will also request your help in my quest. Pls pool in your observations, experiences, reflections, thoughts, questions and recommendations to help raise awareness on the wrongs that we collectively need to make Right in order to bring back, harmony, peace and unity in our society.

I call this experience "The Quest"

Day70 - Happiness is "saluting Dr Manmohan Singh"

#100HappyDays/ Day70

Happiness is "standing alone and saluting the most brilliant, selfless, unassuming and hard working PM that our country has witnessed!"

I respect Dr Manmohan Singh a lot. He is the unsung hero of India's rise from an ordinary nation to a great one. He quietly architected the economic and financial journey of our country.

Today, he is the laughing stock for most Indians as they point accusing insults in his direction for everything wrong that has happened during his tenure. Unfortunately, public memory is short and Manmohan Singh isn't adept at playing his own trumpet.

History rarely understands, acknowledges or records greatness in real-time. There will definitely be a time in the future when this honest, unassuming, hard working and brilliant man will get his due respect and recognition.

Dr Manmohan Singh has been conveniently made a scrape goat by those who made him the PM while tying his hands behind his back, blindfolding him and conducting anarchy in the background. The nation could no longer accept the white evil being conducted by deceitful politicians and party leaders while keeping Dr Singh on the frontline to face the harsh questions by himself.

His problem was his overwhelming sense of responsibility and debt to the country - this probably stopped him from walking away. He is one of the most brilliant leaders that our nation has ever produced. Unfortunately, he didn't know politics.

India doesn't recognise this gem but his knowledge and abilities are well respected by some of the biggest world leaders. President Obama personally looked upto Dr Manmohan Singh as a financial guru and respects him deeply. Obama thanked him for "his critical role in transforming and deepening the U.S.-India strategic partnership and our cooperation on global challenges. In a personal call, Obama told Dr Singh that he was one of the few public leaders whom he "admired" and that he would "miss" working with him on "day-to-day basis."

I can only compare him with bhishma pitaamah... From mahabharat. Even though he knew that he was on the side of evil, he felt duty bound to do as much as he could for the country.... He was unable to prevent evil from being conducted... But he fought till the bitter end to work relentlessly for countering evil through his own hard work and determination.

Even at the very end, he has walked away with his head held high by not compromising on his personal integrity at any time. He generously gave the credit for all the good work and hard earned success of our motherland to others. He hasn't defended himself from criticism because he probably accepts in his sad heart, the responsibility for his inability to stop the rut of corruption and evil.

The Congress Party has got what it deserved... But Dr Singh isn't the person responsible for it's dramatic fall from grace - Although, he will probably be accused and left with the ultimate accountability for it.

God bless him. God bless India.

-------
A comment by a fellow admirer (Esha Agarwal) which I found quite well written:

"For me Mr Manmohan Singh as i always maintained is "Right man at wrong place". A brilliant scholar, eminent economist and strategist who paved India's way to growth and economic liberalization in 1991. His contribution, if we read his biography is far better than so many other incumbents of the PM position. He is a revered and respected personality amongst worlds leader, always known as "a man of uncommon decency and grace".

He is great man with so many laurels. All he was not was a "politician". Had he been a politician he wouldn't have been so disgraced during last 2-3 years. Had he been a politician like Mr Modi he would have counted his contributions at every nook and corner of the country.

Had he been a politician he wouldn't have been catapulted by by Madam High Command. Adiós Dear PM, please know that you are a resource for India and you have no right to waste your intellectual capital. Take rest and return back with your vigour to serve the nation in best possible way. :)"
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Day63 - Part2 - "Rules versus Humanity"

#100HappyDays/Day63 - Part2

Happiness is "Lovely real example of humanity overcoming restriction"

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=754190657945092&id=100000624947029

Rules vs Humanity

Let's begin with the perplexing and confounding conflict between humanity and restrictions!

By restrictions I refer to our own imposed rules or processes which are necessary to maintain the society in a civilised order.... Indeed without such rules and discipline, our society would break down into chaos and anarchy....

History records many instances of brutal and power based leaders, anarchists, dictators or rulers who sought and gained power through force, deceit or treachery. However, history also records the grim consequences and tragic end that most of these anti-freedom fundamentalists have had to face. The last century saw havoc being wrecked upon our world by two epic wars caused by maniacal power hungry rulers who knew no respect for humanity.

Hence the new world order which arose at the end of WW-II is one largely based on democracy. It is a combination of laws, rules, rights and secularism which form the bedrock of democracy and allow humanity to exist, express, co-habitate, learn and grow. And freedom is the birthright of every living being. All great societies that are currently in existence or that have existed have been formed upon the principles and values of equality, justice and freedom.

So rules are necessary to create discipline and maintain order .... Just as education is necessary to advance our individual knowledge/wisdom as well as that of the collective society. The entire basis of the current world structure is based on economic/military/ or scientific might of nations

So why is then any conflict of interest, motive or intent for anyone to follow rules? Why would an official responsible for enforcing rules ever be expected to bend, twist, ignore or worse still, break these very rules? And how does humanity come into the picture?

Sadly, we come across umpteen instances of corruption which are instigated both by affluent citizens or law enforcement officials leading to violation of the rules or laws of the land. In severe cases, the officials or governments themselves are culpable of such acts of transgressions on large scale basis.

As described beautifully by respected spiritual healer Amyn Dahya through two stark illustrations, it is not by breaking or ignoring rules or laws... But by going deep within the soul and finding the right path to addressing any given exceptional situation within the rules and setting a brilliant example for everyone to learn from.

It also is a reflection of the the sheer thoughtfulness and amazing insight of the respected Amyn to share this incidence with his own beautiful perspective on how "Rules are made for men (humanity) and not vice versa!"

We all come across situations each day when we have to make choices in situations that appear complicated. The absolute right path is not clearly evident and we need to make decisions based on our judgement. We may have the guidance of processes or regulations to help us decide, however in many situations, we need to trust our gut or instinct and act accordingly.

Here is where humanity comes to into play. The recognition that "One size fits all" may not always apply is the starting point of arriving at the right choice or action.

Or as the bible puts simply "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself"

Day54 - Happiness is "Lovely childhood memories"

"Sweet innocence" .... Simple description of the best phase of life - childhood. This is when we are the closest to our real inner selves. When our objective in life is to be and make others happy..... To enjoy each moment... To wake up as early as possible and never want to sleep....stress at most is limited to losing a kite to the friend staying in the neighbourhood....wants are limited to number of coloured marbles that we own....dreams are all about having a puppy.

A walk down the memory lane of early days of life must surely conjure up a number of lovely and tender memories for all of us.... For me, it seems like ages have passed.... I miss all those joyful moments of pranks and naughty tricks....simple bliss of summer vacations....gully cricket....hide-n-seek....colours and water balloons of Holi and early morning crackers of Diwali. I yearn for my childhood friends who have scattered all across the world and some have sadly passed on to other lifetimes.

As children, our foremost priority in life was to grow up and become adults.... Which is such an irony... We used to feel that our elders are poking fun of us for wanting us to enjoy the best phase of lives...little did we know that they were serious. Looking back now, those were the carefree days when life was full of innocence and merriment....as a child my biggest reason to grow up was to avoid having to ever appear in an exam!! Never imagined that those cute exams once ever few months on a paper would be replaced with the daily surprise tests of life with real challenges and serious consequences.

Life has indeed moved on to the fast lane. Childhood and innocence are shrinking in terms of time and quality... Parents are now completing their unfinished studies while spending evenings and weekends trying to learn and then teach the subjects to kids who have just completed long days at school followed by extra tuition and now have homework and assignments. If that's not enough, there's cricket, swimming, karate, music, dance, gymnastics or foreign language coaching.

"Abhimanyu" was indeed lucky to have learnt the secret of breaking into the chakravyuh (battle formation) while still in the womb of his mother. If he had been born in today's times, he wouldn't have had a spare minute to learn this great skill after birth.

So I dedicate today's happy moments to the wonderful memories of a blessed childhood to:
- The love and care of the best parents and family I could ever ask for
- The most wonderful teachers who blessed me with their selfless gift of knowledge and wisdom
- The lifelong friends that I made even before I knew what the spelling of "friendship" was
- The innocent infatuations complete with Bollywood songs for company
- Naughty pranks played on unsuspecting friends
- Proudly declaring that my ambition in life was to become a"Sweeper".... Having been duly coached by my elder brother that this was the most respectable profession

Looking back at those special memories, I cannot help but be grateful to god for having blessed me with a wonderful life. Pure happiness and pure bliss!

I will end this nostalgic blog with a poem that I used to proudly recite in front of dear ones.... Again a tribute to my elder brother's convincing capabilities!

The Nonsense Poem

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Donkeys and Mules.

I stand before you,
To stand behind you.

To tell you something,
I know nothing about.

One fine morning,
In the middle of the night,
Two dead men got up to fight.

With their swords in their hands,
They shot at each other.

Two deaf policemen,
Heard the noise,
And came to shoot the two dead boys.

If my tale you don't believe,
Ask the blind man.... He saw it all!