Balance Sheet of Life

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

Our Birth is our Opening Balance!
Our Death is our Closing Balance!
Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities
Our Creative Ideas are our Assets

Heart is our Current Asset
Soul is our Fixed Asset
Brain is our Fixed Deposit
Thinking is our Current Account

Achievements are our Capital
Character & Morals, our Stock-in-Trade
Friends are our General Reserves
Values & Behavior are our Goodwill

Patience is our Interest Earned
Love is our Dividend
Children are our Bonus Issues
Education is Brands / Patents

Knowledge is our Investment
Experience is our Premium Account
The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately.
The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award.

Some very Good and Very bad things …
The most destructive habit……. …….. …..Worry
The greatest Joy……… ……… ………… …Giving
The greatest loss…….. Loss of self-respect

The most satisfying work…….. …….Helping others
The ugliest personality trait……. … …..Selfishness
The most endangered species….. ….Dedicated leaders
Our greatest natural resource…. ………. …Our youth

The greatest ‘shot in the arm’…….. ..Encouragement
The greatest problem to overcome…. …….. …Fear
The most effective sleeping pill……. Peace of mind
The most crippling failure disease….. … …….Excuses

The most powerful force in life…….. ………… . Love
The most dangerous act…… ..A gossip
The world’s most incredible computer…. . ….The brain
The worst thing to be without….. ………… ….. Hope

The deadliest weapon…… …….. ……….The tongue
The two most power-filled words……. …….. ‘I Can’
The greatest asset……. ………. …….. ….Faith
The most worthless emotion … ……… ….Self- pity

The most beautiful attire…… ……… ……..SMILE!
The most prized possession.. …….. …..Integrity
The most powerful channel of communication. ……Religion

When you stop Dreaming, Hope ends;

When you stop Believing, Love ends;

When you stop Caring and Sharing, Friendship ends

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan

6th May 2012

Mumbai

Vicissitudes of Life

Ups and Downs – our lives are full of vicissitudes.

Positive or Negative ups and downs, but usually the word “vicissitude” has a negative, unfavourable connotation. The sufferings and hardship are usually captured in this word.

There is no life, whether rich or poor, that has always got only a smooth, unperturbed ride through time. Everyone goes through life’s ups and downs.

But there are only a few who face life’s vicissitudes with a reaction which deals with the hardship in a positive manner. Life’s “downs” have a big impact, no doubt. But they also teach us on how to conduct our life further, so the learning from a “down” is usually stronger than the learning from a “up”.

How to face life’s challenges and come through as a winner – that is the subject matter of many a self-help book. In the past, I had not developed the skill to react in a positive manner, but my wife and a couple of friends helped me to find my feet in dealing with the vicissitudes of life. Now, I take an analytical view of the negative situation on hand, and analyze the outcomes and the manner in which those outcomes could be converted for a positive benefit.

Let me tell you, it is not an easy task. One has to take a very Buddhist view with a calm demeanour, and not have any impatience in dealing with the problem which has caused disturbance. One has to identify the causes, and the reasons why things went undetected in advance. Given that we do not have the ability to foresee what is going to happen in the future, the only thing we can do is to stay prepared at all times, with skills that are necessary to deal with the issues when they indeed arise.

The big advantage of having faced similar, or even worse challenges in the past life, is that it instills an ability not to always expect a smooth ride. The problem with the current generation of youngsters is that they always expect a smooth ride in life – they have to learn from their parents that life is not indeed a smooth ride all the time. One has to get prepared and get ready.

Such a skill is unfortunately not taught in schools or colleges. It is critical to first calm oneself, if you are agitated nothing can be accomplished. Once the mind is calm, you are able to see things that normally you would not see. Just try to first reach calmness. Do not get angry or agitated.

That is the way we can move ahead in dealing with the vicissitudes of life. Be calm, and be positive.

Things will start moving in the right direction in your life. You will see it soon.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
31st March 2012
Mumbai

Just Look Up !

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

THE BUZZARD:

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is That a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a Run of 10 to 12 feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, It will not even
attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

THE BAT:

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

THE BUMBLEBEE:

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.. It
will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself..

PEOPLE:

In many ways, we are like the buzzard, the bat, and the bumblebee. We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up! That’s the answer, the escape route and the solution to any
problem! Just look up.

Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, But faith looks up!

Courtesy: Anu, my IIM-B Classmate

Have Confidence in Yourself and believe in the Solution !!

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
5th February 2012
Mumbai

Breathe well for effective decisions

It is important to inhale fresh air into your lungs while making decisions.

It sounds funny, but it is important to realize the need for our brains to get fresh oxygen while trying to think quickly on your feet.

In most circumstances, when under pressure, we stop breathing.

This is again funny to know, but it is true.

We do not actually breathe when we are super-excited, we stop breathing. This does not get us the oxygen that our lungs and our brain need. Our brain needs fresh oxygen all the time. So, we should never stop breathing.

Why do people stop inhaling air ? They get excited so often, that they forget to breathe in air. It is critical that people realize this, they actually don’t.

When the brain gets fresh air, it calms down. You are able to think clearly in the midst of all the chaos surrounding you. One is able to seek and get clarity. One is able to make the requisite decisions with no confusion. And, this is very important.

So, in a nutshell, it is very important for you to keep breathing and inhaling fresh air all the time. This has to be a constant exercise. If we keep doing this even unconsciously, it is going to prolong our lives. A well-oxygenated brain is going to be more useful and more productive. And, it is going to make better decisions, whether it is in business or personal life.

Just think about this one single point. You would be able to make better quality decisions when you are calmer. Breathing well leads to a calmer brain, more patience in listening and understanding contrarian views, and reduce our stress levels. So, what does all this result in ?

Very high-quality decisions which would help all people surrounding you.

So, let us breathe well and breathe consciously. It will help us enormously.

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
18th Sept 2011
Mumbai

Aamir Khan at Economic Times Award Function

The one actor that I have been impressed about in Bollywood is Aamir Khan.

Most actors are also-ran. May be around 3 to 4 actors are very good. A couple of them are really world class. Aamir Khan is probably a world-class actor.

Not just a Bollywood actor, but a guy with a real heart.

At the Economic Times Awards Function on Sunday, 10th January 2010, he was a special invitee. He made an excellent speech, which I am sure impacted the corporate chiefs in the room. The one predominant theme in his speech was the development of children. He said that most parents, almost all, ask their kids if they have done well in their school exams, if they have achieved #1 or #2 position. No parent ever asks their kids if they helped any other person that day. The other theme in his speech was “inclusive growth”. Aamir asked why should special-needs children be segregated from the normal children at school – why are we not allowing our kids to mix with disabled kids. Why are we not including all children in our developmental efforts ?

He also stated, in response to a question, that he focuses on his job whole-heartedly with passion. He does not bother whether his movie will be a box-office success. He loves a script and then plunges into movie-making. If his creativity and passion transforms a movie into a success story, so be it.

Aamir’s given topic was “Lateral Thinking”, and he joked that his not being able to speak on that topic, in itself, is lateral thinking ! It was a wonderful speech from an intellectual actor, with great concern for the society and children.

I was further impressed !

Listen to him at “Aamir Khan wows audience at ET Awards function”

and,

“Aamir Khan at ET Awards: This star touches a chord on earth”

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
10th January 2010
Mumbai

Optimism and Faith

Well one of those topics from old times………

Most people that we come across in life have no “glue”, meaning no fixed bearings. That would sometimes mean that people are “unfocused” with not much of mental energy to tackle life’s challenges.

I recently met one of my friends who has given up his corporate job. He was a bit unfocused in the beginning, not entirely prepared to face the challenges which pounce upon once there was no steady life. However, he overcame the hurdles by two things – Faith in himself and God ; and, sheer hard work in making things happen for himself.

He was optimistic about the future all the time. I guess that optimism was fueled by faith and self confidence. More than anything else, he had concentration, i.e., focus on what he wanted to achieve in life.

In combination, these three things – Faith + Optimism/Self-Confidence + Focused Concentration – surely will lead one to achieve the desired things in one’s life. Unfocused, faithless and pessimistic people do not achieve much in life. They constantly crib about everything in life.

Well, that is the thought for this weekend, folks

Cheers,

Vijay Srinivasan
8th Nov 2009
Mumbai

Spiritual Challenge

Of late, I am getting challenged when I have a review with my Spirit.

People ask me often “Are you Religious” ? Sometimes, they say “You are an irreligious guy”. I skirt the answer, not knowing exactly how to handle such a question, or comment. I do not wish to appear like an atheist, as I am not really one – meaning I am not an ungodly person. I have written earlier on in my Blog about Religion, and about my distaste for diktats by gurus or rituals. I am not one for conducting meaningless rituals, simply because I do not understand these practices, and I have always questioned their impact. God is like Physics, or Quantum Mechanics. He is complex, and defies interpretation by we, ordinary mortals. I strongly believe that there is a Supernatural Spirit, which guides us in someway.

I am not one to buy any interpretation or explanation on religious matters. I have now read The Bible. Unfortunately, I have not read any Hindu Religious text, apart from commentaries. I read a few excerpts from The Quran. I think a lot more reading is required before I can claim to have reached an ability to deal with Spiritual Matters.

However, I introspect, and have difficulties when I realise that most people are carrying on without any spiritual connections of any sort. I am puzzled by the dominance of rituals and practices in all religions. A Spiritual Connection is like a Facebook Account. One has different “friendly connections” and Spirit is one of these connections. One sees what friends do, one updates what one does or looks forward to, and the Spirit conveys its messages to one.

Are we there in connecting with the Spirit ? I look around, see lots of people going on with their daily routine, and witness no such connection. One has to think of the Spirit all the time – it is an “all pervasive” connection with something which is beyond this world. I am sure that physicists and space researchers/astronomers get it. Not us, ordinary mortals, trying to figure it out all. We are materialistic – always looking for material experience or returns. We are never looking for “Spiritual Returns”.

I wonder at why people take the trouble to go to temples or churches, or any kind of place of worship. In my mind, such a visit is not required – it is not necessary at all. We are trying to do an artificial “facebook” at a temple, looking for similar people, and connections. Sometimes, it is hilarious to observe the kind of time spent at a temple discussing mundane matters.

The Spiritual Facebook is beyond the physical experience. One has to extend and expand one’s mind into the realm of the Super Natural – it takes focus and determined efforts to get there. I know of few people who have such connections. The ability to connect with the Spirit determines whether you are able to connect with the reality surrounding you in an equanimous manner. There is suffering all around us. Are we able to retain our sanity and determine what to do ?

Well, I wrote this in a quick effort to think through myself on the Spiritual impact in my life. I am sure that all of us have to make a sincere attempt to connect with our Spirit, which is waiting to counsel us and help us through life’s turmoils. Let us spend some time on this effort sincerely. You will come out refreshed and energized to tackle life’s challenges and improve the quality of life for people around you.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Cheeers,

Vijay Srinivasan
30th May 2009
Mumbai

Man’s Anchor

I had written several posts in the past on the impact of Religion on mankind (please choose “Religion” under Categories on the right-hand side column of my Home Page).

There has not been much activity on my religious front after I left Singapore. I still fondly recall my daily ruminations with DD, when both eagerly looked forward to the same. It has been a long while, but the spirit is all-pervasive. One can feel it all the time. For people like DD who have found their anchor, and established themselves firmly with the anchor’s help, there is a sea of stability. The calmness of the sea beckons people like these – and, I have known a series of such stable folks over time. To the best of my knowledge, they continue their journey, with a schedule and firmness that continues to bedazzle me.

I think that a person who could not bring himself to discover the anchor and its power is worthless in the spiritual world. He would be a loser if he focuses on the transient material world. There are far too many distractions anyway in a normal day’s life for anyone. Life rolls on, and things keep happening, and it is but natural to feel that one is a small though inevitable cog in the life’s ecosystem. The cog(s) fit into the life’s ever-circling wheel, and the life goes on……..sometimes not with much meaning or purpose. One does not take time to introspect one’s impact on the whole wheel itself – the entire life’s wheel, and the impact on others around. The anchor is surely missing for most people. I am not referring to the symbols of the anchor here, I am referring to the spiritual connection.

I did find my anchor sometime ago. It has been a journey like none other. It is not a tourist’s journey to uncover scenic spots. While one day I plan to share the discovery process, I am surprised at many friends’ symbolic connection with the anchor. To me, it does not appear to be that solid a connection. A discourse on life’s meanings hardly has takers, except for select Yahoo Groups, while a symbolic event gets people in droves. Are these people searching for a higher meaning in life, and their respective anchor(s) ? Not so sure. We can keep guessing for ever.

Some of my earlier postings are recounted here – my ideas remain the same, except for the addition of a firm anchor in place created over time !

“Repurposing Life”
“Something Bigger than Man”
“Challenges of Soul-less Existence”
“Why Creationism Could Have Been Part of an Order”

More postings are distributed across my Blog. This is a serious topic worthy of introspection, even for the anointed ones. Sometimes we have to look inward and think. That helps make a better human being of oneself.

Cheers and Happy Good Friday, and Happy Holi,

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
Mumbai
21 March 2008

Mindset

Courtesy : My Classmate Sanjay Mahajan from the IIMB 1985-87 Batch

An example of the Mindset/ Perception which requires to be changed :

As I was passing the elephants, I suddenly stopped,
confused by the fact that these huge creatures were
being held by only a small rope tied to their front
leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the
elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes
they were tied to but for some reason, they did not.

I saw a trainer near by and asked why these beautiful,
magnificent animals just stood there and made no
attempt to get away.

“Well,” he said, “when they are very young and much
smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at
that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up,
they are conditioned to believe they cannot break
away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so
they never try to break free.”

I was amazed. These animals could at any time break
free from their bonds but because they believed they
couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

It’s Called Mindset

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life
hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something,
simply because we failed at it once before?

IMPOSSIBLE IS POSSIBLE IF THE MINDSET AND PERCEPTION GET CHANGED WITH
PROPER MOTIVATION

Courtesy : My Classmate Sanjay Mahajan from the IIMB 1985-87 Batch

Have a Wonderful Week Ahead,

Cheers

Vijay Srinivasan
30 September 2007
Mumbai

The Senseless Murders at Virginia Tech

All of you might have seen the coverage of the murders at Virginia Tech. What kind of deranged mind can cause such calamity ?

Young students and professors died in this rampage by the South Korean student who was discovered to be of unstable mind nearly a year and a half ago. No action was taken by the University or Police, and look at the result. Combine a lousy insulted mind with free gun availability in the U.S., and there you go…..senseless grief is the result.

I look around the Eastern Educational Institutions – including the ones in India. We do not normally see security guards – they are there but you do not feel their presence. We do not see murderers amongst students. The Culture plays a large part, Parents play an even larger role. Societal value systems impinge on each and everyone, and religion does play a role. All these combine to form a safety net. Even if some lone ranger goes berserk because his beau has chosen somebody else at college, it has limited impact affecting two or three people. Nobody takes a gun and vents his frustrations by shooting innocent people and fellow students. Not that guns are not available – in a place like Delhi or Mumbai guns should be available, but the student community is mercifully not influenced by the same.

Movies corrupt, and the South Korean murderer was indeed affected by a filmy video. All in all, this episode and similar ones (mostly in the U.S. which seems to hold more or less exclusive rights to such incidents of rampage) cause untold grief to everyone affected and should lead to strict gun control laws and a ban of gun sale to students. It should also lead to airport style security checks and metal detectors at the entrance to all university buildings in the U.S.

Increasingly, U.S. has no choice but to carry out psycho-profiling of all candidates, and conduct annual mental health checks for all students.

Serious time for America to rethink, and for George W Bush to focus upon. U.S. universities are more important than the Iraqi (or Iranian) battlefields – they are important and critical not only to the United States of America, but to the entire world.

Best Regards

Vijay Srinivasan
23 April 2007
Mumbai