Programming of Life

Paramathma and Jeevathma is nothing but your Object-Oriented programming concept. Paramathma is your class (here you may also treat it as a super-class) and Jeevathma is the 'object' created from the Paramathma class. Thus all Jeevathma's share the properties of the Paramathma (without realization though, most of the times). And during the course of its life, after it is initialized, the Jeevathma acquires its own values, performs its functions, interacts with other Jeevathma's, also doing garbage collection when required and fulfills its purpose. And then it is destroyed. You see, science and religion are not far apart, as long as their objective is to seek the supreme truth.

The Corporate Rat Race

This is how most of the corporate ladders in today's industry (any industry for that matter) works. 

It all begins with this race from the day you join the organization. 

You start running this race through this tunnel. You are an elephant. 

You think you will run the race with all your might and power. Just when you think you are winning, the tunnel becomes smaller. 

You turn yourself into a lion to fit in. You think your roar and majesty will take you through. When you think you are winning, the tunnel is made smaller. 

You change into a fox to win the race with your shrewdness and cunning nature. When you think you are winning, the tunnel becomes smaller. 

You change into a cat to fit in. You are emotionless, and insensitive. You will do anything to go up the ladder. But when you think you are winning, the tunnel becomes small again. 

You change into a rat to fit in. You are ready to nibble at anything that the powers above you throws down at you. You just want to survive. 

Just when you think you are winning, the tunnel is made very small again. You turn yourself into a cockroach to fit through that tunnel. You may have by now reached the top rung of the ladder, but you still end up in the gutter with nothing but sh** all around you. 

That's probably when you wonder, 'Now, why did I run that race at all?'.

Random Streaks XXVII

You can learn a lesson from the roads. The roads are not always straight. They bend and turn, make a U-turn sometimes, but they get you to the destination eventually. If you drive straight always, you will never reach your destination, and also end up hitting a block. Same way, don't be stubbornly straightforward in life. Go with the bends and turns, be flexible. Important thing is to reach the destination.

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An idea originating in the mind, meeting the right neurons and germinating into action is the same as how a sperm fuses with the egg to produce an embryo. Every idea is therefore your brainchild. Value it.

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Most often problems happen in life when life itself is static. You draw a line, and aim to walk only over it. Any deviations upset you, hits your conscience. Instead draw the lines dynamically as you walk and that becomes your path. Your life becomes more comfortable. There are no rules. That is the only rule in life.

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'Know' and 'No'; two similar words, worlds apart. One signifies the acceptance into yourself. Other signifies the rejection/refusal from within. But both pass through the same brain passage.

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The pessimist starts the day with the worst/sad thought, hoping that nothing can go worse than what he has already thought of. It gives him solace. The optimist starts the day with the best/happiest thought, believing that nothing else can make him sad now. It gives him confidence. Doesn't matter if you are a pessimist or an optimist, as long as your day gets by as you want it.

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Most of the dark and hard truth about your life is revealed when you talk to yourself, alone and in silence. We are always true to our self.

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Associate all perishable and mortal things (fear, happiness, sadness, lust, anger, etc) with the body; associate all immortal and intellectual things (knowledge, realization, truth, spirituality, virtue, etc) with the soul. Then disassociate your soul from your body. That takes you to the highest state of enlightenment.
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Imbalance and In-balance; makes a world of a difference for one letter change.
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Some people give out the light, and some people live off the light. World always hangs in balance.
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The world functions in binary. Applies to everything including people. There are people who make decisions, and those who follow them. People who believe in God, and people who are atheists. People who like style, and those who like simplicity. It is usually the people in between these two sides who get eliminated first. Remember, you can escape a predator by running fast or sitting still and pretending to be dead, but never by moving slowly.
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The same escalator moves up and down. Just align your direction to the flow, and you will always be moving forward.
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Enlightenment from the wise will protect you from entrapment by the vice.
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When you are young and playful, you see all impossible dreams in bright vivid colors. But as you mature with life's experiences, you see reality in livid, black-and-white. Just two colors, encompassing everything in it. Binary nature of life.
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Cars have a reverse gear only to enable you to pull out of where you are parked and then move forward again. Likewise, in life, when you are caught into problems, take a step back in the right direction and then move forward. You cannot remain parked, or continue driving backwards.
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If you lose something, then you search for it in the place you lost it. But happiness is one thing that you can lose in one place, but still find it in some other place, and it is all the same.
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We are puppets in the hand of God. We have invisible strings attached to us which He holds in His hands to guide us and set our path in life. Just because we can reach up and catch hold of the string above our head does not mean we can control or manipulate it. Who holds the string is more important and powerful than who is bound to the other end of it.
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A good manager should manage activities and lead people. But many do it the other way around, becoming a boss instead, as to them people become only project resources to manage.
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Man wants to believe that God is always good, and can do only good. Man thinks that God is good to forgive all his sins. But does not think if he is good enough for God. But frankly, why would God save mankind? Won't God do a cost-benefit analysis of it as well? When disease goes beyond control, man is ready to have his own leg amputated. But God should save mankind, even if the race is going out of control. that is the hypocrisy of mankind's thinking.
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If you have observed, at the water tap that is slightly open, a water drop forms very slowly, and then when it has formed fully will suddenly drop down to the floor and splatter. Same way in life, problem may seem to be prevalent for a long time like the water drop taking its time to form, but when the time comes, the problem will also get solved quickly. You only plan several options to solve a problem, but you can never plan for the exact solution nor the time that solution will be obtained.
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If you don't feel anything in you, then you will fear nothing outside you.
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An uneventful is not a peaceful life. Peaceful life is where you feel moments of calm even in a storm!
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Being proactive in solving problems is like trying to get down from a train even before you have boarded it. Trying to solve problems while it happens is like getting down from a running train...in life, when faced with problems, take a step back, relax and then focus on the one thing that would either solve the problem or help you live with it. That will make living a lot more happier.
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Die to the past, be born again in the present, and live this moment. 
Don't change the order.
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The happiest way to live life is to live as a child who just grew old with time, not as an adult who never grew up at all.

Philosophy of Life is simple!

Philosophy of life is simple. 

If you sit patiently under the mango tree, a ripened mango is likely to fall into your hands. 

But wait, there's more. You have to first decide that you want a mango. 

That is called Goal. 

Then, you have to go to the mango tree, no matter how far it is. 

That is called Hard work. 

You have to take the quickest path to the tree. That is called Smart work. 

You have position yourself correctly under the tree, right under the mango. That is called Vision and Intelligence. 

You have to wait till the mango falls. That is called Perseverance. 

And the mango has to fall. That is called Luck. 

So, in life, all these will definitely have to come together to give you the fruit called Success.

Random Streaks XXVI

A country is not poor because it is filled with poverty and does not have any money. It becomes poor when many of its citizens shed their self-respect and take to begging and compromises. A country is only as poor as its citizen's self-respect, honesty, compassion and good beliefs.

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Today, in this mad rush world, people are competing with each other over the outcome of a competition but not over its means and preparation. People are competing for promotions to the next level in all walks of life, but not competing with each in their work and effort that makes them deserve the promotion in the first place.

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Philosophy can only be your means for accepting failures and disappointments in life, but never your excuse for not trying at all.

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What (car) you drive may show the richness in your destiny. But what drives you shows the path to that destiny. Go after the real thing!
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Time and money are two complementing, yet opposing, things in your life. You cannot earn one just because you have the other with you.
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Strength is what you use to empower yourself, Power is what you mis(use) to overpower others.
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A Project Manager, passionate about his work, should not just be an 'expert' to his team, but also an experience for them. Expertise always comes out of experience, but never the other way around.
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One song you have heard and still remember, one that keeps ringing in your head no matter even if you are deaf, one song that put you to sleep, and the one that gives you the memories that blows your mind inside out, one that keeps you searching for the lost soul not wanting to accept the loss, one song that still links you to the only person who made you in this world...Mother's lullaby. There is no musician who has ever created a music note more sweeter than a lullaby to a child. If you keep your mom in your heart, it is like being inside her womb, because you are already inside her heart forever.
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People who see the faults in others are those who subconsciously believe they are imperfect too. People who have learnt to look past their own imperfections are those who can see the real beauty in others.
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Problems in life are like waves in an ocean. When they appear in front of us, they seem huge, waiting to drown us. But then when you actually start riding on them, you are not intimidated by it and you handle it. And when they pass, they are nowhere to be seen and you wonder why it was so intimidating at first.
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I will never fall down, is ego. 
No one can ever push me down, is pride. 
I will be the last one to fall down, is over-confidence. 
I will always get back up, is confidence. 
I will land on God's hands when I fall, is faith and obedience. 
You choose.
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When you reach a state of enlightenment that takes you beyond worldly pleasures, even the whole world makes you feel claustrophobic.
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The cleverest and shrewdest thing about Fate is that it let's you think that you control it, all your life.
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The light does not bring happiness. The darkness does not bring gloom. It is what you are up to that decides your thought. A student will find light to be his friend, while darkness is friend to a thief.
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Life and death are two constants in this universe. All disharmony and imbalance occur when those who have to live end up dying, and those who have to die end up living.
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There may be a million stars twinkling in the sky at night. But the one sun that shines in the day is what gives life to earth, even if you cannot directly look into it. It does not matter who is far away and looks beautiful, but what really matters is the one close to you, and who cares and gives you life. It could be a friend, an elder, a guru, a lover, a companion, anybody.
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Life's unpredictability is the constant thing I enjoy. When a wave drowns me, the next wave takes me up. So I wait for that.
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Prayers of a weak man

God's delays are not His denials. 

Dear God, I don't have to remind you that while you are infinitely immortal, I am only minutely mortal. 
I grow old every day. 
My strength leaves me slowly as I embrace my weakness. 
My body wishes to keep up with my mind, but my mind is instead slowing down to stay with my body. 
My desires crave for my attention, not knowing that I am unable to feed their hunger due to my own adversity. 
My dreams are hoping that one day they would come into my reality. But they know not that I am living a life of duality, one where I believe I am happy, and the one where no one sees me crying. 
God, your delays are only your timed denials that come out to me in installments, just like everything else in this mad world. 
Make me believe there is something to live for in this world.

When one does not have something...

When one does not have something that the other has, he aspires. 

When he has something that the other also has, he compares. 

When he has less of what the other has, he desires. 

When he cannot get what the other has, he conspires. 

When he appreciates what the other has achieved, he admires. 

When he achieves what the other does not have, he inspires.

IT industry is like the share market!

Working in a IT corporate is like investing in a share market, just that you invest your time in life here in the company. But there are no guaranteed returns. So, don't grumble. Remember, business is never fair. You put in all your personal time into work, sit night and day believing that end of it all, you will be recognized for all your hard work. But there are various factors that influence recognition. Even if no factor exists in your case, one will be invented if the situation demands it. Then you end up cribbing, full of heart burn, which affects your health and work. If you think you are a soldier and therefore loyal, you are down the road with fools in this world today. A soldier is meant to be a smart one, not one who is dead meat. Be a mercenary instead. You work for yourself and your family. Be loyal to yourself and to your family. Be loyal to your work, but don't attach yourself to the company or the people. or be prepared for disappointments. Every failure and disappointment is your motivation to elevate yourself to the next level, wherever that level is. Don't end up being a sitting duck that is only crying that the hunter is shooting the arrow at it. Flap your wings and learn to fly. It is never late. Don't confuse yourself between your inability to take action to change your life and loyalty. These are two different things.

How relationships work today?

How relationships work today? 

A man and a woman first get attracted and check out each other's physics.

Before they even start working on their chemistry, the woman most often (and sometimes even the man) checks out the maths in the other's bank passbook to calculate the success rate in economics. 

Then they check out each other's geography, and do a social study on each other's family after which they move on to biology. 

But what they often miss out is the moral science because of which they end up in a bitter relationship often. 

So, always study moral science first.

Random Streaks XXV

When a live person falls into the water, he/she sinks. But when the person is dead and the soul is gone, his/her body floats in the water. While there are scientific explanations for this, can we still infer that it is the soul that gives all the weight and strength to the body, and the body by itself does not matter when the soul is gone? The soul needs to be nurtured all our life, and the body only needs to be maintained during our lifetime to be a fit container for the soul.

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I have learnt that the secret to living a fulfilling life is to live it in binary. Binary is represented by 0 and 1 in mathematics. 0 represents nothing and 1 represents everything. In life, aim for everything in anything you want, or end up living with nothing at all. If you want a house, build the best house you can. If you love a woman, love her with all your heart to win her love or resign to the fact that you will never ever get her. Live with everything, or live with nothing. No fractional compromises between the 0 and 1. This is what binary teaches us in life.

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There is no limit to what we can become, from what we are, if we are willing to let go off what we want, and focus on what we need.
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The safest, most-cautious person is often the first person who gets killed in battle. Life is risky, so play by the rules of the game you are playing, not by your own set of perceived rules.
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We often stoop (slouching) in our posture. But when we just straighten our spine, lift our head and walk with head in the air, we realize we have gained a few inches of height we never even knew we already had. Same way in life, when you are feeling down and bent, just lift yourself with all strength and skill you have got, and walk with your head in the air. You will then gain the height in your stature in life. It is all in the attitude.
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A manager should be a good teacher because his/her team members are his/her students. They try to imitate the manager in their work because they believe that their managers are successful because of the way they operate. Thus managers have a bigger responsibility in molding the professional life of a team member.
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Cockroach has a better survival rate than the lion. But the lion dies in battle while the cockroach is beaten to death. What will you be?
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Man tries to distinguish himself from animals, calling himself superior. But the only difference between man and the other animals is that, man has learnt to survive by the power of his mental strength and capability. Animals have learnt to survive by the power of physical strength and capability. But when it comes to instinct, viciousness, stealth, deadliness and nature, all animals are almost the same, including man. But animals still remain honest.
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Not getting what you want in life is sadness, 
Not getting the chance to get what you want in life is misery, 
Letting go of the chance to get what you want in life is pathetic, 
But listening to the person who has done the immediate above is depressing.
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A common buzz word used in corporate today is 'pipeline'. Everything is on the pipeline - business, revenue, projects, facilities, infrastructure, food, thought process, ideas, innovation, even nature calls, etc, etc. If every pipeline that is spoken about is converted into real world pipes, corporate world would be a big plumbing mess in a stinking closet!
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Every day I exercised, the evil in my mind and body were exorcised!
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The fool looks at the light bulb to find out if it is switched off. 
The learned looks at the light switch to find out if the light is switched off.
The enlightened can tell if the light is switched off just by looking into the room even from far away. 
This room is your mind. 
Light is your knowledge and the darkness is your ignorance. 
Seek the light.
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Live life to the fullest. Close all items in your To Do list, so that it does not become your bucket list.
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When your going is good, you get chances. And when your going isn't good, your choices get you.
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The mistake that most teachers do today is trying to build discipline into the child's behavior instead of building it into the child's character. It's like trying to paint an old car to make it look brand new. What's inside will only drive it, not what it appears to be.
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What our parents teach us in life are formulas that build our character. We use our sixth sense to apply the correct formulas to our daily life situations that builds our behavior.
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Getting married is like wearing a contact lens. it does not always set in right at the beginning. You will then have to adjust it little by little till you feel comfortable. But in this time period there will be tears and irritation. But if you then handle it roughly it will tear and be gone forever. You cannot mend it. Sometimes, people do end up going in for a new pair of contacts altogether! Then it is the same story all over again.

My hate, my angel and my salvaged soul

I saw the world through my fiery eyes,
with hate burning in a red hot cauldron,
the soul was burnt, ignited by despise,
darkness flourished, with me as it's patron.

So many questions, were still unanswered,
on everything I thought, that still mattered,
Frantically looked for God, seeking his address,
hoping He would come, there were wounds to redress.

With glazed eyes, I looked for God within,
But instead I found the devil in me,
He was living off my hate, as my closest kin,
I was too blind to act which I could see.

Then came down the beautiful angel,
exuberant in her divine glow,
she reached down, and touched me,
for the first time, I felt my blood flow.

Whispering softly in my muted ear, she called me,
said my chariot was waiting,
the light flicked on, things were clear,
my life was not to be wasted in hating.

The soul was torn with it's fabric damaged,
but my heart was beating, cells breathing,
her love was the elixir, soul was salvaged,
fire stopped burning, anger was not seething.

I had found my peace, in my special place,
by my angel's side, bathed in her grace,
I was stronger, my mind out of the maze,
Smile was beautiful, life's back on my face.

Subjects and your life

Philosophy is like the father; at young age we think we don't need it because it is boring. But as we mature with age, we realize how relevant it is for our life and cannot stop thinking about it even for a day. 

Science is like the mother; introduces us to our living reality, makes us curious, teaches us the way of life; is no-nonsense and precise with no room for ambiguity; we find it complicated sometimes but once we start understanding it, we find it the most sensible thing. 

History is like the grandparents; we learn things from the bygone days; to know more about our ancestry and the glory of our family's past. Interesting even if old. 

Geography is like the wife/girl-friend. She can take you places in life; but it all comes with a price as well. And the places can be good and bad! It may be beautiful gardens or muddy, thorny roads. 

Commerce is like the brother. Precise, calculative and with finite limits. Everything is proportioned and partitioned. To be respected, but studied carefully. 

English is like your uncles and aunts. It can be as interesting as non-detail or as boring as literature. It is all in your perception. But essential for the spice of life. 

Art (music, painting, etc) are like your friends. They give you the creativity and variety in life. Without them, your life has no color. 

Physical education is like your enemy. It keeps you on your toes, keeps you fit so that you are mentally and physically strong and can face anything in life. 

Moral Science is like God. Nobody cares much for this subject while at school. But as you mature, you will learn this subject even without studying. 

Now in the above statements, who am I missing? I have not written about the sister. You know why? Because the sister is one relation that encompasses all the people above is a highly pure and divine relationship. She is one person who cares. She can be loving like a mother, teach like a father, be fun like a friend and what not. 

Love them, protect them, respect them.

Random Streaks XXIV

Beauty of life lies in the fact that you can never fully understand it. There is always something new coming around the corner and you never run out of expectations and excitement.

How to measure growth in a corporate based on the software that you use? This may be mostly applicable to most of us. :-) This is just for fun. 

If you are using Microsoft Word more often, then you are likely to be at an employee/developer level; 

If you are using Microsoft Excel and/or MS-Project more often, then you are likely to be at mid-level manager level i.e. tactical management person; 

If you are using MS PowerPoint more often, then you are likely to be at upper management (delivery management) or business management level i.e. strategic decision making person; 

If you are not using any of the above software, but only go through the documents created by others using this software to gather data that is stored safely in a pile of email, then you are at senior management level and above. 

So if you know what software you use often, you will know where you stand. :-)

Managers who energize their team members by being an example are leaders
Managers who suck the energy out of the team are bleeders
And they who mentor more such managers are breeders
Living off the hard work of their team, such managers are feeders
To remove such managers from the system what we need are weeders.

Problems in life are like the threading in a car tyre with its ups and downs. Without it, there is no grip at all.

We have advanced so much in technology and science. Our cities and villages are connected. Almost all households have latest gadgets. We have imported cars plying on our roads. We have discos, clubs and what not. Yet I cant understand why there is a power cut almost always when it rains. Electricity is generated from water. So does the power go off out of respect for the water when it rains?

Whats the difference between a leader and a terrorist? A leader raises his hand in his own defence and raises his voice in the defence of others. A terrorist does it the other way around.

English is a strange language. If 'some' indicates less of something, and 'full' indicates fullness of something, then why is 'awesome' an appreciative word and 'awful' a derogatory word?

Dogs running around...a cow enters the street. The dogs start barking at the cow to drive the cow out. Dog is thinking...this is my street and I rule. Man stands watching all of it, laughing to himself, thinking 'the poor dog does not realize that man is the one who dominates this world and powerful than any other being'.. and God stands silently, smiling at man and thinking the same thing.

Knowing how to live, and knowing how to 'not die' are two very different areas of knowledge in life. We must learn both.

In life, don't measure the value of something by how much it would cost to replace it. This way, everything you have will become priceless and unique.

There are always a thousand excuses to not do something in life. But there is almost always only one reason to do something about it.

At young age, our hair is black which indicates that our mind is like the black hole, receptive to take in any knowledge that we put into it. As we grow older and our grey cells increase, it is also indicated by the increase in grey hair as well. We have to age gracefully.

No wonder the brain is called the central nervous system. It is where all the nervousness in life start. Rather trust the heart and your decisions will be honest even if not always right.

Survival of the Fittest may have been the mechanism by which all species on this planet may have survived and evolved. But when it comes to sustenance of life, especially for humans, it is the Support of the Fittest which will help sustain life. The wealthy supports the poor, the strong supports the weak, the literate supports the illiterate, healthy supports the unhealthy. This helps mankind's thinking to evolve to a higher level and elevate mankind as the most successful species to have walked this earth.

Messages in social media

Messages posted in the social forum and weapons used in warfare are not far apart when you compare them. 

Some messages are like hand grenades. They explode to convey the message as soon as impact happens (that is, when they are read). 

Some messages are like laughing gas grenades; they make you laugh uncontrollably even though you don't fully understand it. 

Some messages are like tear gas grenades; it brings you to tears. 

Some messages are like landmines; posted long ago and forgotten until someone steps onto it. 

Some messages are like biological weapons; so contagious that you will share it with others soon as you come in contact with it. 

Some messages do not convey anything until detonated; they are detonated rather by the comments and criticism from the readers, which is when the message makes real sense. 

Some messages are decoys; aimed to place words into the reader's mind which they will end up typing something which puts them at unease. 

And some messages will only make a lot of noise to gain attention; but they are nothing but methane (go figure. ;-))

God and the Devil

You need the devil in you (your ego, anger, desire, etc) to make you push your limits of capability. And the God in you (principles, discipline, hard work, honesty, love, affection, compassion, etc) to keep you within safe boundaries of your limits, so that you don't lose control of your life. The Devil pushes you upward from the bottom. God pulls you up from the top. Therefore, God is always above the Devil, but you need both in balance to lead a full contended life. So how about saints who are not impacted at all by Devil (that is, worldly desires). Do they never lead a contented life? Well, they do. They are already in the same plane or level as God. So there are no ups and downs in the fight between passion and principle for them. They are in balance, from the inside.

World without war, just a dream!

Everyone wants this world to be a pleasant place to be. A world without fights, without war, without poverty. The question is not whether such a world can exist or not? But the question is, is such a world really a good place to be? I doubt it. If there were no crimes, many people such as police, lawyers, judges, etc would be out of jobs. If there were no thieves, locks and doors would no longer be manufactured. If wives and husbands never had fights, lawyers would never make money out of their divorce. If everyone was healthy, medical companies and hospitals would be out of business. If every child could learn on their own because they were very intelligent, there would be no teachers. If everyone had everything in abundance, man would lose the zeal to aspire. The truth is, we all need each other, no matter whether we play the role of a bad guy or a good guy. If everything was good, there would be no failures, no one would be an underdog to give this world stories of valor and triumph. No one would be an inspiration or a role model because they never struggled against odds. There would be no one for us to cheer and encourage. Existence and experience of 'bad' is what creates the anticipation of 'good' which is what gives us hope in life. Remember, even the great Sun that gives us the light of life is hidden from us every night only to come back to light up our day. But when the Sun sets, God gives us the beautiful view of the Moon which we will miss if there was no darkness at all.

Ages in Life

Growing old in life is not just about the number of years that keep going up. Life itself goes through various stages, and through various 'ages' as below. 

Young age (younger years spent under watchful eyes of parents) 

Tutelage (spent under watchful eyes of guru, learning new things) 

Teenage (rebel years) 

Assuage (efforts to gain favorable inclinations in job &society, satisfy the inner thirst) 

High wage (continuous effort to increase financial levels) 

Marriage (set up family) 

Damage (children :-)) 

Middle age (mid-life crisis) 

Mortgage (spend beyond means; take loans) 

Old age (evening of life; may also be spent in old age homes)

Homage (winding up of life; wreaths; rites) 

Almost all of us go through these 'ages' in life.

Tomorrow's Outlook for the Working Professinal

What is the outlook for tomorrow? Simply, what is the future for the working professionals in the world today, and especially in India?

The professionals today slog away their life at office, to survive through all the mayhem and chaos called advancement and competition. Running the rather inelegant rat race everyday for the better part of their youthful life in the dream of building a better future, they often don't stop to think about what the future actually holds for them.

Yesterday, I was having a discussion with my good friends and colleagues about a thought that has been bothering me for quite some time now. I started off my lunch time discussion with the question - 

When is the first set of software professionals in India due for retirement?

While it may seem like a silly question, I feel it is quite important to ask. Though the roots of the present IT industry in India took form as early as 1968 with the formation of Tata Consultancy Services, the software industry as we know it today started taking shape in the early nineties. The emails that we send out in hundreds everyday began as services only in 1991 by VSNL. Having said this, the first lot of software industry professionals, even those who have been in the line since the 1990s, will be retiring in the next five years and thereon. Now let us suppose that the average person in India lives to an age of 80, what with the advancements in the field of medicine. So, by what means does a retired IT professional survive from the age of 58 to 80? We do not know yet, because we do not yet have a proper sample population of people who have retired from the industry and survived the post-retirement phase, thus providing the experiential data.

In the days of our father and fore-fathers, government jobs were the sought after positions, while a section of people worked for private companies that dealt with different sectors like pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, insurance, banking, manufacturing, etc. I am talking about the time before the IT boom. The average middle class man lived a simple life with fewer commitments, a slow yet steady money saving mechanism and fewer wants. It was the time before EMIs, housing loans, car loans, etc. The time before mobile bills, internet bills, etc. The biggest expenses were that of building a house and conducting the marriage of a girl. Those were days when foreign travel and lifestyle was even forbidden or viewed with displeasure, citing religious and cultural reasons. While the charm of the west was always there, the lust for the west had not caught up with us. In such times, a man could serve a company with a straight record of 20+ years and gain the benefits of pension, provident fund and gratuity. Beyond retirement, he still had a financial security and the amount he received as pension was sufficient to fulfil his lifestyle needs for the rest of his natural life.

Today the scenario has changed. The number of years that a person ends up paying a housing loan is often longer than his professional life! People pay large sums as EMIs every month for the next 20-odd years so that they can own a piece of land or a flat in the city. Investments are made, more for a tax relief than with the future in mind. Monthly budgeting is slowly becoming a redundant activity, as it often ends up as dejection, when comparing it with the actual expenses at the end of the month. Saving money every month becomes a struggle with all the commitments that loom before us. The consumer price index (CPI), which is basically a measure of the change in price level of consumer goods and services, stands at 126 today. It is expected to hit 158 by 2020. The inflation rate in 1996 was 10.41%. The inflation rate in 2015 was 6.32%, hitting a high of 11.17% in 2012. Still, considering the prices of commodities and services today, a 6.32% is still high when you consider the continuously rising population in the country today thus increasing the demand for the commodities. 

Thus, people end up making all sorts of choices such as

- living on-site in a developed nation, earning money, building foreign exchange, purchasing property and living of the savings after retirement

- trying to climb up the corporate ladder as soon as possible to earn more, saving more, purchasing a property and living of the savings after retirement

- starting a self-employment initiative while still in a job, earning a little more, saving a little more, purchasing a property and living of the savings after retirement

- simply, forgetting about the future, and just enjoying the present moment in life (which is not recommended considering the volatile socio-economic environment that prevails today)

No matter how much of foreign exchange you stock up in the bank or how much investment you make in a property, it still does not prepare you entirely for the future. It gives you no guarantee that it would alone suffice, for you to live your regular lifestyle after retirement and until death. The saving you have will have to cover for your personal expenses, medical expenses, child education expenses, luxuries and other financial commitments. With the growing rate of inflation, the rising population, the depletion of natural resources, the increasing demands for daily commodities, and the ever-present contingencies, your personal savings are always at threat of depletion.

Next, Child education. 

Now that alone is a big scary beast to deal with. My parents finished their entire schooling at a cost with which I am only able to buy a book today. And I finished my entire year’ studies at a cost with which I can buy only a book today. Capitation fee was not a concept in the days of my schooling. There was only a small amount collected called Building Funds. Today, you need to be prepared to spend a fortune on your child's education, right from play school to high school. Parents want their children to study engineering so that they can get a good job in a multinational IT company! I see people holding degrees in advanced sciences and technologies crunching away numbers and text in an IT company. No one really does anything that is actually related to their education. The moment education and employment are differed in their purpose, there begins a professional journey that is probably driven more by wants and commitments than by passion.

So we actually have a young population that has studied for a field, but works in another field, holds no other professional survival skills, and is probably least prepared to handle the post-retirement phase except blindly relying on their investments and immovable assets.

Moreover, most of the younger population today get married in their early or late 30s, waiting till they ‘settle down’ in their careers. Then they have children in their late 30s or early 40s because that seems to be the obvious next step and also because of societal and family pressures. But what they may not yet realize is that their children will be at an age for higher studies or marriage by the time they are approaching retirement. India being the land of traditions, and with children depending on their parents even till the age of 25, what is the reprieve for those parents (us in the next 10-15 years) who also have to ensure a better future for their children even if they have retired? It does seem today that most of them do not know if they really want a child or not, and simply go ahead with it because the society demands so. They do not know if they will be prepared for it financially, and think they can simply take it as it comes.

So, if our savings alone will not be sufficient to ensure our survival for the 30-odd years post retirement, what else can we do? Can we take up another job post-retirement? Well, that really depends on how much ego you are ready to let go, and how much trust your would-be employer is ready to place on you. At 58, is a person really physically and mentally prepared to take up a job to meet his/her expenses? Even if one was ready, there is still the younger generation to compete with, a generation that is young and driven by the mad rage and desire to win the rat race. 

Every year, the number of students completing studies and getting ready for a job is higher than the number of people retiring from the private sector, especially the IT sector. So companies always replace old blood with young ones for obvious reasons. This being the case, the chances that one would find a suitable long-term employment at 58, post-retirement, does not look bright.

With increasing inflation, the buying power of people gradually reduces as their financial future is always at risk and remains in focus. Eventually, people are going to want to hold on to their money more and more. So any ideas to make money by avenues such as renting out a property may not really bear fruition as far as securing your financial future is concerned. The rent that you may receive is more needed for the maintenance of the house than your daily needs. These being the case, a rent from the property will alone not suffice to sustain your lifestyle.

It does seem like the entire world economy is like a water bubble, ready to burst any time, what with the increasing world population, collapses in the banking sector, devaluation of gold and rates, growing terrorism and many other factors. We even do not know if the assets we hold will have the same value twenty years from now. We are trying to live in ignorant bliss within this bubble, believing that today is a good day and tomorrow would be good too.

But we never really have a confident answer to the questions – how will I survive after retirement at 58? Will my personal savings last?

But one sincere thing that we can do for ourselves - Always keep the future in your mind, think about it. 

Plan for the future as much as you can.

Save whatever you can.

Take wise decisions relating to finances, property and personal life.

Remember, your retirement date will come sooner than you think.