For whose glory?

In the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade the last of the knights guarding the grail asks a very nice question to the people who are eager to lay their hands on the grail. "For whose glory are you seeking the grail; for his glory or yours?".

Software development every day poses this question to the software builder. The person creating the software trying to to show off his knowledge can create immensely complex piece or think what is needed by the end user and make the software that serves the end user needs.

Random thought: What is the value of a film star

If the movie makers can answer the simple question:
1. Do the people come to the movie to watch the star?

If answer is "it is less than 50% probable", then that star is really not a star. So it is better to check if that star is really worth the money.

Most of the times, people go to watch the movie & rarely a star.

Arishadvarga and path for evolution beyond

It is nice to gain more insight in to what actually will help me to become a better human being. I am supposed to have equanimity with control over kama, krodha, lobha, mada, moha, matsara. It means I retain the capacity to feel these emotions but not driven by these. Not being able to feel any emotion makes me inert. Inertness is not the goal of evolution.

The goal of evolution is to be fully functional with mindfulness. Once I manage the arishadvarga, & learn to be empathetic/loving, I have found what every seeker searches in life.

Insight is good, but practice is what makes a person. Long way to go for me to become a better human being.

Note:
Arishadvarga : 6 categories of enemies on the path of a person's evolution
Ari: Enemy
Varga: Category
Shat: 6

Kama : Desire
Krodha : Anger
Lobha : Greed
Mada : Arrogance
Moha : Attachment
Matsara : Jealousy

Alchemist/Steve Jobs - Achieving Excellence - What are common lessons?

The Alchemist:
•The story of a boy named Santiago. He starts off as a person who wanted to fulfill the wishes of his parents by becoming a priest. On realization of his yearning to see the world, he gets his father to agree to let him realize his wish to roam around. He becomes shepherd. Then dreams of a treasure in Egypt buried near the pyramids. He goes on the journey to find this treasure. Along this journey finds his true love, finds the teacher, learns about the oneness that manifests itself in multitude of forms, learns about letting go, and learns to listen to his heart. He in the process learns to become one with the universe and yet retain his individuality.
•The central message hence is about making the journey and along the way learning to let go of my fears, doing what gives one the happiness, and learning about the unity behind all diversity. This automatically lets the one to realize oneself.

Steve Jobs:
A person born to unwed mother, an adopted child, a college drop out (wanted to graduate in liberal arts), a person with tremendous sense of opportunity, drive to accomplish things, & finally a person with lots of luck. He is a vegetarian, been to India, believes in Zen Buddhism. His sense of aesthetics and minimalism have been the key driver for many usability improvements. He has founded 3 companies Apple, NeXT, & Pixar. He was thrown out of the company that he founded, & then returned to the same company to create iPod+iTunes, iMac, & iPhone.
Ill treated all most all of people worked with & lived with. Why people work with him?
What makes him tick despite idiosyncrasies?
All the people worth their salt really want to do is leave some legacy behind (other than their genes). It pleases them when somebody recognizes and challenges them to achieve what many think is impossible. Steve is the past master in it.
Life As He describes: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1422863/posts

What can we learn:

•The key to reaching the goal is moving towards the goal. It is moving in the right direction, but not how fast I move.
•The essence is in doing the things to realize the dreams rather than gaining knowledge about how to realize the dreams (The Englishman trying to master alchemy by reading, but not doing any experiments). Only action or movement takes me towards realizing my goal. (Steve trying to build a CPU without fan)
•Only when I learn to not let the thought of preserving what I already have hinder me, I will start to make progress in gaining something new. This is also the only way to realize my destiny or make progress. I have to move forward from the place where I am starting to walk. I can’t just desire to be in a new place without letting go of my previous place (Boy deciding to move from Oasis to seek his treasure near the Pyramids or for Steve Jobs - Abandoning Lisa, Getting kicked out of Apple etc., starting Pixar They say creative destruction. It is necessary.)
•Everything has a time and a place. I am so jaded by my preconceived notions that I hesitate to use the book as a pillow, but the boy just does that. So I need to see everything with a fresh perspective and see the utility value (Mac without floppy drives)
•I need to seek help when I don’t understand something. Once the help is there, I still need to make my decision (going to Gypsy and then going to Pyramids in search of treasure).
•In time of loss on the path to achieving a goal it is always important to consider how close I have come to achieving the goal rather than how far I am from the goal. I need to be constantly aware of the purpose I started with.
•Once I am able to unlock the message hidden in most simple things like grain of sand I will be able to comprehend whatever is considered the most complex.

Final lessons:

•We tend to believe life is all about
–Having, To Have – We do, To Do – We Live
•Called the To Have -> Do -> Be paradigm

•If we think a bit, it is about
–Being, For Being – Do X, Having is just a side effect
•Called the Being -> Doing -> Having paradigm

•Be -> Feel the passion & joy inside you.
•Be at peace with what you are & what you do.
•Enjoy what you do -> it seems & becomes effortless to you
•When it is effortless results will flow automatically

Trying to create something exceptional makes you/me/us exceptional


•As a company strive to build something extraordinarily good for the end consumer – Leadership in technology, market, & financial world are just the side effects of this.
•As a software engineer enjoy creating a flawless code (NO, flawless code is not an oxymoron J) or creating something simple, useful, usable, & beautiful. For that person, it will translate to better achievements in all other spheres. So ENJOY doing good work and take PRIDE in it.
•If I look at it from Indian perspective – Achieving perfection in performing one’s Dharma automatically leads to good results in the areas of artha, kama, moksha J.
•APART FROM THAT YOU NEED LUCK / GRACE of GOD – Some people have more of it.

Lessons about living - Finding the better half - Part III

Yes, I got married :-). For finding and once found

1. Your future dreams and common interests matter more than the similar background. - I used to be scared of pursuing girls who were from different regions or from different cultural background as I used to think cultural past would mar the future. Now I can certainly say, it is not the common cultural background, but it is the future dreams and common aspirtaions that matter more.
2. At least once in life we encounter one person who comes closest to our ideals. Then even if I don't say anything everything is known, but realizing that I have found that person and making the move is important. There is only one maxima in life's curve, all others are sub optimal solutions. Don't hesitate at that moment.
3. Don't marry if you don't believe that such thing can exist.
4. Once found listen, accommodate, understand, share with honesty, & talk.

Pandit Ravi Shankar & Tiger Woods :-)

My dear readers,

Compare the lives of Pandit Ravi Shankar & Tiger woods. Chuckle for yourselves. They are a study in contrast. So think, have fun, & learn the way to lead life.

sincerely,
AG

Lessons about living - Finding the better half - Part II

Found the one. Some things I forgot to write in the first part

1. Being with the person matters & not having the person.
2. Be ready to change / at least modify some behaviors.
3. Usually somehow God makes the paths of people who are supposed to be together cross. At that time we must understand - i used to ignore this. This does not mean i need to chase everybody, but i connect with some people better than others and i know it.
4. Look for happiness & everything else will follow. Don't look for material things and expect happiness to follow. It may happen, but it will always be better to use the principle of putting happiness first.
5. The fear about tomorrow simply evaporates when I am with the right person - yes reality may bite hard, but I don't feel helpless in facing that reality.
6. Mind and heart are two things. Use both. What comes first - no definitive answer. Whatever we choose; should appeal to both - it avoids internal conflict and confusion.

Wish you all a very joyous new year.

The power to choose

What makes us humans so unpredictable is our power to think, power to suppress our instincts, and power to choose. That makes us so different from all other animals and all interactions involving humans so much more complicated. Our emotions and our logic make our actions unpredictable. It is so contrary to our innate understanding :-).

Random thoughts

What makes me feel great is the spirit to fight relentlessly in the right way. Similary there is so much capacity in human heart to be selfless and do what is right. It is there in every human heart - some places more and some places less. Great things can be accomplished only when they make sense to the heart.

I don't know how many of you have watched a Mandarin movie called Hero - even though there may be very symbolic characteriztion, the sword fighting sequences and background music are etheral. The message "Everything under One Sky" is so simple and yet so profound. It talks about the unity of everything without saying as much. Once we realize this truth, I believe we will stop being "self centered" maniacs. Why do we need a sword? To establish peace. If everybody realizes that peace is the normal state, then suddenly there is no need for sword.

Ok, Ok - I understand. Life is unlike less than 2 hours movie, but there is quite a lot we can learn, if we are ready to listen.

Route Number 27

route number 27 is the shuttle that carried us back and forth between our home and the office. The beauty of shuttle lay in its travelers capability to make the best out of the long journey hours and have fun. There were conversations - meaningful and meaningless, there were laughters - many, there were sullen silences, celebrations and so on. It was world in itself. Everything put together it was fun and had great time.

So what I learnt - life is also a journey. We remember it through the conversations, celebrations, laughter and tears that we have. Without these there is nothing to remember about our journey of life - it will be monotonous like the sleep that I find myself in when I travel using the other route number.

Prayer

Oh, Great Spirit
Whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me, I am small and weak,
I need your strength and wisdom.

Let me walk in the beauty and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect things you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so I may understand the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.
Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and stright eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.

- Native American Prayer - Times of India, Sacred Space, 2009-11-30

Communicate :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy0HNWto0UY&feature=player_embedded

Assumption & Reality

The general assumption for a society to function normally is that "everybody is trying to do something that is right". Right here means doing the things that are in line with normally accepted human values - truth, justice, & compassion and not doing things that are utterly selfish and unlawful.

This assumption that people will do what is right is being put under severe test in emerging economies like our country. It is becoming extremely difficult for the people who "trust" and work according to the "right" set of values as the existing reality is diametrically opposite to what they assume to be reality.

Kung Fu Panda Continued ...

What does it take to become successful apart from raw talent (I believe this must be there)?

Patience - There will be no result over night
Courage - Needed to take risks
Confidence - Self belief when entire world is saying it is not possible
Discipline - To consistently work systematically to attain your dream
Compassion - To stay human, to stay humble, to be able to understand, and to be understood

All put together should be directed towards attaining happiness/perfection (This is the quest).

Again got the opportunity to watch the "The secrets of the Fabulous Five" in sister's home :-).

Simple Truth

One day, I was expressing my displeasure about the hustle & bustle of city life and how I planned to go back to my village one fine day. My friend, I am pretty sure who hasn't read any philosophy, asked me a simple question - where does the calm that you are chasing lie? I had to answer it is within me. Then she asked "what are you going away from?".

So all the journeys intended to find clam, peace, & happiness must start within oneself. External entities can facilitate seeking the answer, but are not the answer.

Lessons about life - finding the other half :-)

Alright, this is one other area where I have learnt few things in life.

As I am neither for nor against, and as I did make a late attempt, and as I made mistakes, I will simply write about what I learnt:

1. Know what you want in life, know your priorities. Also realize in life things are not always sequential, many things have to happen in parallel. Can't keep thinking C after B after A all the time.
2. Have a list of mandatory things that you are looking for.
3. Be ready to choose.
4. There is no ideal one, grab the first one who is at least above 70 % of what you expect. School and college time - may be good to find the right one. Keep in touch. Once you have organized your life as an adult may be you realize they are the best. There is no way to find out unless you talk.
5. Let go of your ego, talk if things are not looking up, don't make hasty decisions.
6. If you make a mistake, as soon as you realize, go back and check - may be you are lucky.
7. Don't think too much about the future - understand life is transient. In the long run all of us are dead. Being happy while we live is what matters.

If you are planning to look, if you are thinking whether you have stomach to jump on to the merry-go-around, a read of the above will help. So have fun.

One more thought from my corporate life about Hiring

Hm, as a person I learn by reflecting on my past actions and analyzing their results. I was actually building a team more than 2 years ago. I selected some good people, who are better than most of the people present in the organization. As I was also new to the organization I hadn't realized that. We agreed on certain salary for these people, based on the "bands" the people were being hired into and also on their past salaries.

One year down the line we realized that for most of the team mates, the salaries should be higher, but with the recession we were not allowed to make any change to the salary.

So what is the learning from this episode:

When hiring
1. Always assess the person's capability
2. Benchmark the the person's capability against the capabilities of existing set of people.
3. Then fix the salary using this benchmark rather than using the past salary and the band in to which the person has to be hired as the benchmark.

This would ensure that person gets a fair pay, gets in to appropriate band and even if person compares his/her salary the reason for discontent would be very less.

Where have all the people with evolved thinking gone?

Again in some dinner time discussion about what does it mean to be being cultured and what is not, we ended up with the following thoughts.

In today's India, among the people, we find people for whom the modernity means having various gadgets and aping the western clothes and the way of living. Then we also find people to whom being cultured means being ritualistic and going around to places of worship and following arcane rules to live life by. Even though the preceding sentences do not mean that most of these people are devoid of real understanding of the word refinement as a human being, mostly I find that they haven't thought what does it actually mean to be a human being.

I believe if each of us understands that the goal of life is to live with joy and move away from being self centred, performing actions that are right, we have again started on the path of evolution.

Seeking completeness

Unless i am challenged realy hard, we don't think too much about the thing. Even though I can not find the elusive soulmate, at least I can think hard why I need to find one / don't need to find one.

The "Eureka" thought is each is searching for the completeness (unity) one way or the other. As I wrote earlier, we can create that by acquiring something that is missing or completely annhilating the already existing entity. For us humans it is very hard to let go and relatively easy to acquire. Even nature has made the task of finding completeness acquisition oriented.

May be if we are able to find that elusive person/soulmate, may be we will find the path to reach that completeness/happinees.

Enthusiasm for living (Jeevanotsaha)

I and my mom were discussing "what makes a person look beautiful?". It's definitely the internal joy that person has and the happiness the person radiates. What makes a person radiate this happiness? It definitely is the person's enthusiasm for living.
A person who is enthusiastic about living will cope with setbacks and still maintain a smile in the eyes and on the lips.