Treat time like a physical entity

What if your acquaintance comes over to your house uninvited, talks to you for hours thus hindering your personal work plans, and at the end of the conversation asks you to give him Rs.500 for his talk?

What if your company pays you well but asks you to give them Rs.2000 in return every day?

What if your boss always spoke highly of you and patted you on the back but asked you to hand over Rs.500 every time he does so?

You would obviously have an objection to parting with your money in the above scenarios, isn’t it? 

You would feel that you were being asked to part with your money in an unfair manner; the money that belongs to you and the others don’t have a claim upon.

It is because you attach more importance to a physical entity that you can see and count. You measure value based on something that you can see and count, and thus don’t want to part with it. You always want to save money. You don’t want anyone to cheat you off your money.

But why do you not treat Time in the same way? Is it because it is not a physical entity you can touch and hold? But remember, it is passing away from you every minute anyway.

When it comes to your time, the minutes that you have each day to live your life, know where to draw the line in sparing it for others. If you must do so, then ensure only quality time is spent and every minute counts.

You need the non-physical time to enjoy your ‘countable’ money.

Those who envy you lift you

If there are people who envy you, are jealous of you and always think about you that:

'He has no problem in life, he has so much money'

'He has no commitments, his life is so easy'

'He is always happy, must be having loads of money'

then you have to value these people. They are your well-wishers; the ones that always bless you by creating a positive law of attraction for you.

Imagine if someone keeps thinking that you are having a rich and happy life always. Then you will automatically get all these things by the law of attraction.

Sad is that person's life who has no one to envy him.

Middle class live in an illusion

The poor are ready to put in any effort and hard work to become rich because they otherwise have nothing to lose.

The rich put in their best efforts to stay rich because they have everything to lose.

It is the middle class that is forever trapped in the illusion of richness by the availability of instalments, loans and credit cards.

What if this is afterlife?

Our subconscious mind is a trickster. It tricks us into believing that we were born here, live here, then we die and go somewhere else, also called heaven and hell.

But what if we were born elsewhere, lived there, then died and came here. What if this was the heaven or hell? What if this was the afterlife?

If God was a programmer

If God was a programmer entrusted with the responsibility of creating the earth, heaven and hell.

Then he would not have wasted storage space in creating heaven and hell separately, because programmatically 'hell' is just the absence of heaven. so hell would be a 0 and heaven would be 1.

He would use one memory location with the variable name 'Earth', create an object called 'Humans', create a variable called 'Nature' in the constructor function, and then simply assign 0 (Hell) or 1 (Heaven) based on the variable 'Nature' of the object 'Humans'. The methods of the object 'Humans' would be the seven sins.

This is how God would create the Earth programmatically.

The one thing He missed to implement properly is Garbage Collection.

Greed is good. But desire is necessary.

"Greed is good". This is the famous line by the character Gordon Gecko in the movie 'Wall Street'. 

I don't say greed is good. But I would say desire is necessary.

And I would also say, contentedness will eventually stop progress in the world. And it would also not prepare you for the uncertainities of life, when you will need that something extra to handle the immediate necessities.

Imagine if everyone in the world were content with what they had. If the farmer was content with producing food grains sufficient for his family and did not want to produce more to sell for money. 

If no one wanted to manufacture anything for others and were happy with what met their immediate needs. The world would not have progressed.

When man discovered how to make fire, imagine if he was just content by using it for keeping himself warm instead of thinking up other uses for fire.

There is a very thin line between desire and content and very often we need to cross this line to move forward in life. Without desire, man will never aspire. 

Don't listen to what the wise men, philosopher and saints say about being content with what you have. Remember that 95% of such people are living off someone else's money and being fed by someone else.

So desire things in life, but don't be greedy. That is being contended. I want my 100% and am content with it. But if I want 150% then I am greedy.

Fear of failure is worse that failure itself

Most often, the possibility of not being able to replace something lost scares people more than the actual event of losing it. The negative thought about the future grips them more than the present day problem.

People don't want to lose money because they are afraid that they may not be able to earn it again.

People fear exams because they are afraid to study and take the exams again in the event that they fail in the current one. That creates a wave of negativity that impacts the present day events as well.

They try to save relationships because they know it cannot be replaced if lost. And it is also for this reason that people are able to walk out of a relationship because they feel a replacement is far easier than continuing the relationship.

What bad happens to us is usually far lesser in intensity compared to the negativity that our mind creates about it. But the good thing is that this negativity can be controlled and maybe even eliminated.

Have fear, but don't worry!

Fear creates worry. And worry adds to the fear.

However fear, if leveraged properly, can propel you forward. Fear creates an emotional pressure which will make us work better by using our resources judiciously. 

But worry will only clutter your mind and pull you back.

Have fear about life; but avoid worrying about life.

Life is a business

Consider life as a business. In business, money is your investment and your profit is also in the form of money. In life, time is your investment. And the profits you get can be tangible as well as intangible. 

In life too, you have on-going operations to keep things running (daily hygiene, food, exercise, etc) and you have projects (timed finite endeavours) to achieve your goals.

The triple constraints of project management are Project Cost, Project Time/Duration and Project Quality. If one is affected, the other two also get affected. In life the triple constraints are Wealth, Health and Happiness. If one gets affected, the other two also get affected.

Project or life, all constraints finally end up together.

When your quality of life goes down, Happiness goes down too.

When health goes down, your time goes down and cost you incur goes up. And when cost goes up, your Wealth goes down.

And when you have reached your goals in the business of life, you hand over your legacy and the fruits of your accomplishments to the next in level and you move on to a better place.

And when you are no good in the business of life, then God shuts down your business.

Just hopping lifetimes

People bid farewell to the mirage, the clothes, that is seen and perceived as reality. 

The reality that is unseen, and cannot be seen, has already been welcomed elsewhere by the supreme being, to begin yet another cycle of experiences and lessons called life. 

Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam, Punarapi janani jatare sayanam (in Engish: Be born again, die again, and yet again come into a mother's womb)

LIfe is just that small bit of time between the womb and the tomb. We just hop from one mother's womb to another, being forever in gratitude to various mothers across various lifetimes.

Religions must co-exist

All religions are equal. 

All religions were created by man, our ancestors, to create a discipline way of life for humanity.

Religions are like the five natural elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Sky.

These elements can only co-exist. They cannot dominate each other.

Fire cannot burn inside water. Water can be vaporized by fire. Earth cannot dominate the sky. Fire cannot exist without air. Earth can engulf water and fire. 

So these elements have to co-exist for their existence. 

Same way, religions can only co-exist. Any attempt to dominate only destroys each other.

Stages of Life

In life, be

playful in growing years,

fanciful in imagination,

truthful at work,

hopeful in marriage,

blissful in having children,

mirthful in friendship,

meaningful in your words,

faithful in prayers,

plentiful in blessings,

purposeful in living,

youthful in thoughts,

graceful in aging, and

peaceful in death.

One may ask, then what about those people who are unmarried or don't have children.

Well here's the best part for them. They still have lifelines Hope and Bliss intact that they can use elsewhere in life.

Save the planet to save yourselves

There have been five global level extinction events in the history of the planet so far. Each time, the planet has rebound back with life and growth. The planet did not just end.

So when humans say that they want to save the planet, I just laugh. Actually what they really mean to say is that they want to save themselves. The planet does not care whether you are alive or not. It wil find its way through the universe.

If water dries out, you die.

If there is no vegetation, you die.

If there is no clean air, you die.

If there is no food, you die.

If other animals die, you die.

So where does the part about us saving the planet come in? It's just that the humans are too egoistic and arrogant to accept that they actually want to save their sorry behind. They can't appear weak. Not even in front of nature. But all it takes is just one asteroid or ocean rising to end it all. We are a speck of dust. Let us be humble and respectful to Mother Nature. We are not keeping her alive. She is keeping us alive.

Leaf out of my life #1 - Dismissed!

This happened when I was in 6th standard. Our family had just shifted from Abu Dhabi and I was admitted in Jaigopal Garodia Vivekananda School. It was common for other subject teachers to take up the P.T class in order to complete their portions before the annual exams (wondering about India's dismal performances in the Olympics?). 

So one day the biology teacher informed us that she would continue the subject onto the next PT class as well. My friends around me started murmuring about how they could not play because of the teacher. I had a big mouth even back then. I went straight to the teacher and asked her why she was taking up our PT class for her subject when we were supposed to be out playing.

The next moment I found myself being dragged by my ears. She took me straight to the PT masters room. In those days, PT masters were the unofficial gundas of the school. If the teacher wanted a student to be beaten up, they outsourced that work to the PT master.

The teacher told him what I had asked her and the PT master, oblivious to the fact that it was his class for which I had spoken up, started punishing me. The imbecile flexed his muscles to beat up a 10 year old in front of a lady teacher. How manly! I spent the rest of the class kneeling down outside the classroom. Of course, not one of my 'friends' supported me.

That same year, I was given the TC (I was dismissed from the school). The principal called up my father to inform him about their decision. And the reason they gave was that I was indisciplined, asked a lot of questions and played a lot and they felt I might make the other students follow me in behavior. 

My father was a great man. He has scolded and thrashed me for my mistakes. But when the mistake was not mine and someone else was criticizing me unfairly, he fought against the entire world. He told them that if they could not control and groom a 10 year old who asked questions, then what was the point in running the school. 

He came back home, not one angry word. He told me all that transpired and said that he would get me admitted in another school. He then told me one thing: not to stop asking questions just because people didn't like it. I think I have been true to that so far even if he is no more with me to fight the world for me.

Yesterday was my father's 10th death anniversary. I am not 10 years away from him. I think I am just 10 years closer to meeting him again! We are just travelers in the road of life. Some walk ahead and reach their destination earlier. And then they shine a light for us to know the way.

The Flat-Earthers may be right!

There is a society called Flat Earthers consisting of members who actually believe that the Earth is flat, and not spherical. Let me tell you first, I am not one of them. And the Earth is actually oblate spheroid, not a perfect sphere, due to the rotation along the axis. 

But I am forced to rethink my beliefs because:

The world economy is going flat.

Relations between countries are going flat.

The global stock market is going flat.

Governments fall flat on their election promises.

Organisations claim that they are flat (though many of them are still secretly hierarchical) 

Work-life balance is going flat.

Cordiality and hospitality between people are going flat.

People are becoming more flat in their tone and enthusiasm towards each other.

Every working person wants to take a loan and purchase their own 'flat' which seems to be their primary purpose in life.

With so many 'flats' going on around, I am beginning to wonder if the Flat Earthers are actually onto something with their claims that we don't know about.

Seemingly, everything except the planet appears to be flat.

Smartphones

Our smartphones share a special relationship with us.

When the phone battery is down we put it on charge to extend its life.

When it is charged, we put the phone in-charge of our life.

At the end of the line...

Every person, at the end of their lifetime, will have learnt one and the only lesson that will evaluate their entire lives for them.

Whether you..

laugh or cry,

smile or frown,

accept or complain,

move on or stay sad,

help or trouble,

love or hate,

pass or fail,

study or cheat,

get rich or end up poor,

travel far or be a frog,

use time or waste time,

live up or give up,

time will still pass anyway; you can't change that. You can only change the quality of your time that will pass, based on your choices. 

At the end of life, this is what we either rejoice or regret the most. 

Your accomplishments are either none or done.

Leaf out of my life #2: Happiness in a bag of urine

It was on my birthday in 2008, when I received a call from RG Stone Hospital, Chennai. The doctor at the other end informed me that my father’s biopsy results had come out and he had 4th stage carcinoma in the left kidney. The only option in hand was to remove the cancerous kidney by surgery to save his life. There were complications in that though: his failing health, diabetes, BP, etc. But there was an even bigger concern for all of us. An earlier test had shown us clearly that it was only his left kidney, the cancerous one, which was fully formed since birth. The right one had not grown at all. It was only the size of a walnut or maybe slightly bigger. It was about 3-4 cms in size while a normal adult kidney should be 10-11 cms in size.

So it was his cancerous kidney that had been functioning properly all through his life. Removing it meant he would have to survive on dialysis only, as the right kidney cannot carry out any function. It was a hard decision but left with no other choice we decided to go in for the surgery.

The surgery was scheduled for 6 am. The night before the surgery I stayed with my dad in the hospital. It was a difficult night. There was a deep fear concerning the possibility that he may not survive the surgery. Even the anesthesiologist had a lot of concern because of my father’s twin problem of BP and diabetes.

That night, my father didn’t want to show his worries to me. And I didn’t want to cry in front of him. Both of us put up brave faces. We didn’t sleep that night. After a period of silence and small talk, my father finally decided to tell me something he felt was important. He told me to take care of my mom the same way I took care of him and to settle my sister (she was just 23 then) in life. It was then that I cried and asked him why he was saying these to me when he can do all these himself. He smiled and told me he just felt like saying, that’s all.

The nurses and attendants came by 5.30 am and took him to the operation theater. My father looked at all of us and waved his hands, smiling. We waved back, not knowing what to think. There were knots in our stomach.

After the operation was over, the doctor called me. I was trembling even to talk to him. He showed me the kidney that had been removed along with other adjacent flesh. He told me that my father was fine and would be transferred to the ward soon. I fell at his feet, thanking him profusely. Later, around 2 pm, they allowed us inside to visit him in the ward. My father was still dizzy from the anesthesia, but he was conscious and able to communicate with us by signs. 

The first thing that I did was to look under the bed at the urine bag that was attached. There was around 50 ml of urine in it. His right kidney, the deformed small one that we had written off, actually worked! IT HAD PRODUCED ALL THAT URINE! I had never ever imagined that I would be so happy about a urine bag with urine in it. We were so focused on the kidney that was cancerous and had to be removed, that we missed to see this little one that was doing its job silently, to the best of its ability. I cried again. I told about this to my father and he smiled. My mother and sister were elated; relieved to a great extent by this simple fact. For everyone else it was just urine. But for us, it meant a hope of survival.

It was not just an incident, but a lesson I can never forget in life. It’s so easy to write off something or somebody. But that does not change the fact about what they actually are and what they can achieve in life.

Life gives us all the lessons we need through such experiences. It is up to us to learn from it.

Leaf out of my life #3: The Red bull story

It was the year 2002. Back then I was a Director Lingo programmer in a UK-based company called Sherston Software. I was a very happy employee because it was a great place to work in and I just loved programming all the lovely educational titles that they conceptualized.

So, my good friend Vinay and I were working on a project for which we had to travel to the UK for gold release. Once we reached the alpha stage of any project, we traveled to the UK to work closely with the PMs and complete the project there. This practice actually expedited the development at that point of time.

So off we went to the UK in May of 2002 along with a couple of ladies who worked with us (their names are not revealed here). They were traveling for another project.

The office was in a beautiful quiet village called Sherston (hence Sherston Software) and our place of stay was just across the street from the office. Almost all of us spent a lot of time in office, on our own accord of course. Office was like our communication hub out there, if I might say so. Those were the days without the laptops. So we could access the net, call home, etc from the office only. Beyond that all, we just loved working there because the office environment itself was very inspiring. And we loved our work.

To cut the long story short, we faced a lot of programming challenges (which we loved of course) during the course of the project and the gold release date was approaching fast. So one such day, when we knew we had to burn the midnight oil to close many tasks, Vinay and I decided that we would stay up all night in the office and code. Of course this plan would also include listening to lovely music in the headphones, and sometimes on the speakers too (in fact, I vividly remember Vinay listening to Sanjay Maroo’s ‘Tu Hi Tu’ song at least a 100 times on repeat). But we were worried that we might fall asleep which would greatly hinder our coding work. We had a work plan and we wanted to finish work accordingly so that it could be reviewed next morning by our Programming Head.

We checked with our Programming Head about the possible beverage options to stay awake all night. He suggested coffee (Coffee was, and is always, the programmer’s best friend and weapon of choice, next to the keyboard of course) . But we knew that wouldn't be sufficient.

Then our Production Director walked in. We spoke to him about our thoughts after which he said ‘Yeah, there is something but I am not sure if I can suggest it to you guys’.

We persuaded him to tell us after which he said ‘You can try Red Bull. That will keep you awake.’

We were very happy to hear that, though we had never heard about Red Bull before. It could have very well been a bull’s you-know-what and we wouldn't know. We would have still drunk it. We were desperate. It was just the thing we needed. So we asked him where we could purchase a few cans. He said it would be available in a supermarket but that was some distance away from our place. He offered to drive us to the market and back. So we happily piled into his Nissan sports car (3000 cc) and he drove to the supermarket with an adrenaline rush. We felt that alone would have been sufficient to keep us awake all night as it would take a long time for the adrenaline to subside.

We, or rather he, bought about eight cans of Red Bull, a pound each. 

Before leaving us with the cans, the Production Director told us ‘Just one Red Bull should keep you awake. If you have two, then you will feel a little funny. If you have more, you will get weird. So be careful with it’.

We nodded our heads, though we had no idea how a Red Bull would taste or react. He also said that it was used by youngsters in discotheques to keep dancing all night. That sounded good though we just wanted to code.

He left us with his word of advice after which we had the office to ourselves. We settled down to work. After maybe an hour we felt a little tired, or we imagined so, and decided to drink up a can each. And so we did. Another hour went by, and we had another can each. By then we were a little geared up already, pumping our hands in the air listening to the music and working on the codes (believe me, we could program even while listening to music or drama. We didn’t allow the two sides of the brain to interrupt each other).

Another hour went by and I suggested to Vinay about having another can. He objected to it because the Production Director had specifically warned us about having more than two cans. Being the curious fool that I was, I still went ahead and drank up my third can. I still didn't feel too awake. And so, after another hour, I drank up the fourth! So the tally was: Vinay had 2, and I had 4. I don't remember what happened to the other two cans.

By then it was almost morning and our Programming Head came in early. We told him about the progress we had made and he made some suggestions. We went home to freshen up a bit and eat something. Once done, we were back in office working away at our codes. This is when the strange things started to happen.

We were becoming more and more active, and less and less tired. We were on an overdrive. That day went by and the night came, and we were still working. We didn't feel sleepy at all. We worked through the night and the next morning we again reported to our Programming Head. We couldn't tell him that we were unable to sleep because we felt he might get all upset about it (unlike the majority of Indian companies, they really cared when you didn't have your needed rest).

Time went by this way, and it was the third straight day Vinay and I had worked without feeling sleepy or tired. We were worried about it, but still thrilled all the same. Red Bull was like this miracle-medicine that could buy us time by eliminating sleep!

By around 4.30 pm in the evening on the 3rd day, during a conversation with a group of colleagues there, it came to light that we hadn't had a wink of sleep in three days. All of them around us were appalled to hear about it. They literally pushed us out of the office, asked us to go home and rest well. They said they were more concerned about our well-being and didn't want us to work on the project putting our health at risk. So we promised them that we would go home and rest well. We left office at 5 pm and headed home.

Back home, we headed to our rooms on the attic. I didn’t change out of my formals straightaway. I sat on the bed a while thinking about all that had happened and about the project as well. Then I thought I would just lie down for a few minutes. I hadn't even removed my shoes. So with my shoes on, formals on, belt on, I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. This was at 5.30 in the evening. I woke up at 12 pm the next afternoon! My body was shivering, like it was a combustion engine starting up. I came down the stairs and saw the rest of them having lunch in the kitchen. Vinay said he had woken up just a short while back. And I had slept for almost 17 hours straight!

Not a bad gamble when you could stay awake for almost 72 hours straight. But then I promised myself that I would never do it again, a promise that I broke soon though.

After all this had happened, much later in 2007 (when I was in Satyam), I once again had to stay up all night to complete a proposal. I tried the Red Bull idea, though I just had one this time. But it did not have the same effect. I fell asleep by 5 pm in the morning, though I managed to complete the proposal by then. Either the Red Bulls available here don’t pack the same punch as the ones we had in the UK, or my body was not able to tolerate any more Red Bull-shit. This question remains unanswered to this day.

Leaf out of my life #4 - I am the AC mechanic

Somehow my land-line number is associated with an AC service company. People who call me tell me that they got the number from JustDial. This has been going on for almost an year now. I have been wanting to call up JustDial and get this sorted out but somehow miss to do it one way or the other.

After a few times, I started to amuse myself with these calls. It gives me an opportunity to have fun talking to total strangers without the risk of revealing myself (so cheeky of me!). It helps me observe the telephone etiquette of people as well. Very few people who call me actually ask me if it is the AC service company first. The rest just start the conversation directly.

Here are some of the actual conversations that I've had with people in the last one year. So after I pick up the phone, people start off directly this way:

Instance #1:

Person on the other end: I want to service my AC. Can I get it done?

Me: Yeah, go ahead. No need to ask me for permission. It's your AC after all. By the way, it is the wrong number.

Instance #2:

Person on the other end: I have two window ACs and one split AC.

Me: Superb. Thanks for sharing this intimate fact. I have a couple of split ACs myself. By the way, it is the wrong number.

Instance #3:

Person on the other end: I need an AC service. When can you come?

Me: I can come anytime. But before that please call the AC mechanic also. I don't know how to open the AC. I am not a mechanic, sorry to say.

Instance #4:

Person on the other end: I live in Korattur. How much will you charge to come there?

Me: Just petrol charge. But why should I come there? I don't even know you.

Person on the other end: You do AC service right?

Me: You should have asked that first, right? Don't give your address to strangers.

Instance #5:

Person on the other end: My AC is not working for the last two days. Don't know what really happened.

Me: My sincere condolences for your AC. May God give you the strength to move on and bear this loss. Get another AC. Better still, get the right number for the AC mechanic.

Instance #6:

Person on the other end: Sir, I have a window AC but it is not giving sufficient cooling. What can I do?

Me: Get it serviced by a good AC mechanic.

Person on the other end: That's why I called you.

Me: I am sorry sir, but I am not a good mechanic. I am the worst. I passed the diploma by paying a bribe. So don't get it serviced by me. And don't tell what I said to anyone else. It will affect my business. 

Instance #7:

Person on the other end: Sir, can you come this afternoon to service my AC?

Me: I can't.

Person on the other end: How about tomorrow?

Me: I cannot come at all.

Person on the other end: Why?

Me: Because I am not an AC mechanic.

Person on the other end: But Just-Dial shows your number only?

Me: I know they have a lot of trust in me, but they need to be practical also. I don't know how to service the AC. Please tell them that. Please tell them softly as they may break down due to emotion.

Writing and programming are not that different!

Writing a story and a program code is not that different from each other. In fact I would say that authors actually use object oriented programming to create a story.

So the Author of the story would be the 'Class'.

The characters of the story will be the 'Objects' of the class 'Author'. This is because the characters originate from within the mind of the author.

Each object i.e. character will have its own behavior (properties) and mannerism of doing things (which would be the Methods).

These characters would display all properties according to object oriented programming concept.

For example, they would display Polymorphism, where a character would behave differently in different situations. 

The characters would display Encapsulation. All their knowledge and the logic to apply that knowledge to situations are encapsulated within the brain. They would move the story forward accordingly.

The characters would display Abstraction wherein they would not convey everything that is on their mind and instead only show what they want to show. It is those abstract gray areas that the author will have these characters have.

They would display Inheritance wherein the characters would influence another character, transferring some of the mannerisms and behavior as the story moves along.

The best thing I love about both programming and writing is: both need logic to create the intended flow.

Project Management & Life

What is a Project? it is a unique, temporary endeavor that has a definite start and finish date, and intended to create a specific result which could be a product or service. 

What better example of a project than life itself. Life is a temporary thing with a definite start and finish, and it carries a specific purpose to accomplish something by the end of it.

In this case, you can say that God initiated the project called Life.

Now what is an Operation?

Operation is an on-going repetitive process or activity that is intended to sustain the functions of an organization. 

In case of Life, our activities such as eating, sleeping, breathing, etc are all part of an operation to sustain life.

And again in Life, along with the operations mentioned above, we also initiate many sub-projects to move life forward. 

Examples of projects within the Life project are studies, marriage, work, etc. These are project because they have a start and finish, and it is unique to your life.

And again within these sub-projects, you have sub-operations such as studying every day to get a degree, going to office and doing your duty to do your job well, etc.

So you have projects and operations in multi-layers; just that the top project called Life was initiated by the unseen force called God; so technically he is the sponsor of the project. You go to him for authorization and the funds to run the project of life.

Within the your project, you are the manager of it, and you have various teams and functions with whom you interact. Your project of Life is influenced by various external factors such as Environment, Politics, Infrastructure, Economy, Commerce, etc.

So you see, the whole business of life is a project run by God. So technically He owns us, you could say.

However it is unclear if we, in God's project of life, are the end product, or the means to the accomplishment of a service intended by Him. I doubt we are the end product, looking at the way we are functioning and impacting the world right now. I guess we are a by-product in His series of experiments.