Pause and ponder - ' Exercise '

                             Pause and ponder - ' Exercise '            

                             

        An intelligent boy offered these interesting facts when his mother asked him to do physical exercises for a long healthy life.

• If walking is good for your health, the postman would be immortal meaning long life.
• A whale swims all day, only eats fish, drinks water, and is fat.
• A rabbit runs and hops and only lives 15 years.
• A tortoise doesn't run and does nothing, yet it lives for 450 years.

          And you , my dear mom ! Tell me to exercise ? I don't think so.

Keep the Lamp of knowedge always burning

                      Keep the Lamp of knowledge always burning


   One evening, a man saw a blind man carrying a lamp in his hand and going on the road. The man could not control his curiosity and asked the blind man, ' you cannot see the light, then why are you carrying the lamp in your hand, it is of no use to you ?' The blind man replied, ' Sir, this lamp is not for me, but for showing the light to people like you so that I don't get knocked down by them who might walk on the road without looking at others coming in front. It is for protecting myself, I am holding it.
The story is allegorical. The blind man carrying the lamp denotes the  man in modern in this technological world and the man on the road represents machines. To safeguard himself from the onslaught of machines, the man has to keep his learning constantly burning.
As Oscar Wilde said : " We live in age when unnecessary things are our only necessities."
You can't stop technology as the materialistic progress depends only on advancement of technology. You can't stop technology. The main question is whether people will be bystanders that get run over by it or move ahead with it with the lamp of learning. History has shown that whenever automation or technology took place, people took up the challenge , faced it and moved ahead with it.
Automatic machines, robots have come to stay. Technology is used to assist the work we perform and ease the rigors of our work so that we can spend more time and energy on other better fruitful works.
Generally the learner is motivated when the subject of his study gets social recognition. But advancement in technology and digitalization and automation is so fast that when by the student finishes his course in graduation and post graduation , his studies become redundant and do not have market value.
To avoid this, one has to have a continuous learning methods, keeping one's intellect sharp observing the technological advancement. He has to evaluate his skill and position. To survive the future, he must update and upgrade work talent.work culture will get better prominence. The objective of continuous learning brings an inner joy to face any type of challenge. Develope ability to see things from the opponent's point of view. This will drive away the unknown fear and give inner strength to improvement.
 Being ignorant is not so much a shame as to being unwilling to learn. Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. The enormous poet of human mind and brain can take you to anything if you use it properly. Thus one can bring dynamism in life which is a sign of a live.y human being. We are not machines. When faced with challenges, the survival instinct comes into play , exerting a predominance. Our inner skills and talents are kindled, making it more creative and innovative. Our mind will become clear and pleasant. Then our intellect gets sharpened and the element of fear goes away.
Thus men can never become redundant. Even many skills done with hands like carpentry, pottery, cooking and tailoring  , vocal, instrumental music and other crafts cannot be totally taken over by automation and digitalization but reskilling and continuous innovation learning has kept and can keep the skills ever green and valuable. Machines and robots can do stereotyped jobs. It is man's imagination, creativity and innovation that give life to these skills also.
Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, focus your energy on what you can create.
Machines can do mechanical jobs only. But the  judgement, dexterity of managing them, repairing them lies with men only.
Generally man has to be on the move always, for progress.
Even if you are on the right track, you would get run over if you just sit there in the same place.
We have to remember this,
" One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man".
New technologies will create a new frontier of jobs also. We should believe the change always comes bearing gifts. We should use this technological advancements in the form of machines and robots as stepping stones to lead us to something better. These challenges are gifts that force us to search for new avenues. But whatever be the thing, human being is the supreme and his place cannot be taken over by anything.
Stephen Hawking predicted the invention of " brain-computer interfaces," connecting human brains to the internet. But with innovation comes risk, he cautioned and we must ensure that our own human wisdom can outsmart the power of technology.
We should have faith in our wisdom, that is the real and greatest strength to overcome anything.
A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch, but on its own wings.
As rightly said by some one,
" During my 87 years  , I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think."
Furthermore, time is a circle. Things go back to the same starting point. This is seen in the fields of health, food and medicine.   Now a days Engulfed with technological advancements and being fed up with its side-effects, people are going back to old time-tested methods. Technology is advancing to tele-medicine, but still people love to have the touch of doctor only.
Similarly people will get bored with machines, yearning for human touch, will turn back to human beings only.
In the words of Albert Einstein: " I know not with what weapons world war third will be fought, but world war fourth will be fought with sticks and stones."

You are unique ! You are you only !

                                 You are unique ! You are you only !


       It is a human tendency to underrate oneself, comparing himself with others.

    Once a man was feeling himself inferior to others and wanted to know his worth. He went to a saint and presented his problem. The saint smiled and placing a beautiful red gem in his hands, asked him to go to different people and ascertain its value from them, without selling the gem. First the man  went to a big fruit seller of the market who looking at the gem, was ready to him one dozen of apples as its value. Then he went to a  potato merchant who was prepared to give him a big bag of potatoes in exchange for it. Next when he showed the gem to a oil merchant and the merchant was ready to offer him a big barrel of oil for that. Then he went to a goldsmith who ascertained the value of the gem for fifty thousand gold coins. Atlast he went to a specialist dealing in gems who said that the gem was invaluable and the entire world could not be equal to its worth. The man returned and reported the details to the saint. Then the saint smiled and said, ' you are this invaluable gem ! Understand, no one could rate your value. Each one rated its value according to his ability and his limited knowledge. The variations in the price itself point out the limitations of the valuevers and not the value of the gem. So each of us created by God is invaluable. We should realise this and not fall into the whims of others but do something meaningful in life befitting us.

You are unique. Generally it is a tendency among the people to compare themselves with others. The very nature of this creation is diversity. The purpose is to enjoy and identify, and experience unity in diversity. Comparison is impossible among things of different nature. Salt has its value and sugar has its own. Among the flowers also colors, shape, scents and blooming according to season are unique in themselves. It is the same case with animals, birds, trees, stones and everything in creation. The uniqueness of each thing makes it a valuable one and incomparable. No one is superior to another or inferior to another. It is a man made division, with his limited understanding, he compares and degrades the beauty and value of the entire diversity. Comparison is possible among the equals having the same characteristics. If someone likes salt dishes to sweet ones, the liking is subjective, individualistic and not general. Becuase of this , sweet does not lose its value. Similarly imperfections are bound to be there but they don't take away the value of the things. A person may be very kind but not good looking or may be poor but hardworking. Value him as he is. If everything is same or similar, man will get bored with monotany and the world. The diversity of the objects attracts him and keeps him engaged to discover and to do something worthwhile in life. The very purpose of creation of this world is to make man realise that the very same divine thread is woven into all objects including humanbeing who is also a part of the creation like a garland with the same single thread passing through different kinds of flowers .
It is the ignorant people who set values on the basis of status, power, wealth and other things earned again with the help of Nature only compare and differentiate human beings. These are external man-made artificial creations. The problem is everybody wants to be somebody else, nobody wants to grow. The best solution or remedy is to believe in yourself. The more you believe in yourself, the more you could trust yourself, the more you trust yourself, the less you will compare yourself to others and try to imitate them.
Don't compare yourself with anyone in the world. If you do so, you are insulting yourself. As Swamy Vivekananda said,
 " The greatest sin is to think yourself weak."
You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are . You are you .
  Don't associate with men who belittle you or do not respect you. Seek the company of the good. Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you will start having positive results.
Continuously nourish your subconscious mind with noble thoughts, it will enrich your life and you will learn to live within yourself. You will find a source inside you which will always spring up a whole world of mysterious ,noble thoughts and spiritual riches beyond imagination.
Then the clarity of vision and a pure conscience and powerful mind will become your best friends. It is said, " We are not sent into the world to do anything into which we cannot put ourselselves."
Thus everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life. He has to discover and fulfil it. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated.
All scriptures teach us that we should believe in ourselves, the energy and vitality is deep within us. And man can redeem himself by himself only and not by any one else.
Our existence has a purpose, a cause to pursue and a goal to achieve. If we have this conviction, our life will be joyous and meaningful. We are only responsible for the quality of our life and no use blaming on anything, circumstance or anyone. As rightly said,
For anything and everything,
" If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you,
 If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you."
Be a friend to yourself. You should love yourself. That will take away the inferiority complex.
Do not imitate others and never fall into the hands of others who want to change you according to their mould. Use every opportunity to improve yourself to get the best out you.
Never underestimate your worth and your role in the world. Realize your potential nobody else will.
" We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart of  which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities."
Make yourself powerful. Discover the eternal divine potential in you.
You don't need companions from outside. Vision or goal, determination, perseverance,hope and your pure conscience  , all these your companions are in you and always with you.  With these faithful companions of yours, you will discover and land into the mines of eternal riches. Worldly success will not will not remain a goal but it will come as a byproduct.
You are divine. Whenever we  irrespective of being poor or rich, get joy from any experience either
from music, painting, watching a play or any absorbing soulful activity, that joy arises from somewhere deep within us. That is we our inner self. We are the joy.

 To sum up in the words of Rumi,
" You were born with potential. You were born with goodness and trust. You were born with ideas and dreams. You were born with greatness. You were born with wings. You are not meant for crawling. So don't. You have wings. Learn to use them and fly."

This is the ultimate goal of life which every human being is blessed with. He should make his life to realize this blessing conferred him and make use of it making his life equally a blessed one.