The sperm story :-)

Shit! I am a loser

I am so unlucky

Nothing works in my favour...

I am depressed, dejected, demoralized, dispirited blah blah..

All these thoughts bombard us at some point of time in our life... and it takes quite sometime to get over it. Some take days, weeks, months or even years to get over it.

But some (read wise people) take just seconds to get over it.

Now of course everyone wants to be the latter one. But how?

At that point of time we just have to remember the "Sperm Story" by Bawa :-)

How can you ever think that you are a loser? Your very existence proves that you have perhaps won one of the toughest battle on this planet. Think of it this way - There are more than 300 million sperm cells but only one lucky sperm finds its way to the egg. And you are that lucky one! There were 300 million more fighting for that position but YOU -- YES YOU made it!! Now this is more competitive than CAT/GMAT/ any other RAT RACE you can possibly think of!

You are Michael Phelps. You have won :-)

*Give a pat on your back*

love,

Siddharth

What makes me happy?

Is it the name or the fame or just the recognition that I seek?

Whatever it is, it all makes me so weak!

All this stardom, all this glory may look so exciting,

But the truth is there is so much of in-fighting!

And then I wonder, will this make me happy?

I run after dollars,

By acting like a sycophant to the white-collars.

I want to possess dollars more and more,

This after knowing that one day I will die,

Without taking even a penny up above so high!

And then I wonder, will this make me happy?

Girls, they are simply charming creatures!

Words simply fail to come, when one looks at their amazing features!

But then how long can I keep seeing them?

How long can I keep thinking of them?

And then I wonder, will this make me happy?

Sex is so much fun,

But it gives only a momentary pleasure,

Whereas the mind wants an unlimited treasure!

And then I wonder, will this make me happy?

Eating pizza and eating ham-burgers,

And the added fat which gives shivers.

Drinking Pepsi and drinking Coke,

Gives pleasure to the thirsty throat!

But what about the pesticides, are they a joke?

And then I wonder, will this make me happy?

Then I see this child wearing just a nappy,

And still looking so gay and happy!

The twinkle in his eyes,

The frequency with which it cries,

The way he laughs.

Even after seeing a couple of calves!

All this makes him so natural and cheerful,

With the world so problem-full!

And then I wonder, will this make me happy?

My heart couldn’t agree more.

And I realized that though I am grown-up man,

Being and living like a child,

Is my secret plan!

Stress-busters! : )

It is said that "Chocolates" work as amazing stress busters, but since excess of it results in cavities, an intelligent(?) person would look for something else! Something more profound...

The solution is amazingly very simple!

'Smokers and dopers' just need to undergo an Art of Living programme. They just need to learn how to de-stress themselves, and then they will find that this habit leaves them in no time. They need to learn some breathing techniques and should also learn meditation.

What about those who are reluctant to do the course, even after you have spoken about the benefits that the course has to offer?

You can take them to the nearest Archie's and ask them to choose a condolence card, the one which would be send to their family members! This won't only wake them up, but also shake them up!

And for the rest, who just smoke for sheer pleasure and who are indulged in this plain vanilla stupidity...Bawa has shared an awesome joke on his blog which goes like :

There was a conference where someone was presenting on habits to promote longevity and said if you want to live to be 90, you need to follow this lifestyle… someone in the audience shouted “who wants to be 90 anyways?!” the presenter promptly replied, someone who is 89!!

Love,

Siddharth

PS : Here is another brilliant comment by Shreyans bhaiya

Knowing something is not really understanding it. An immature mind lacks foresightedness, awareness and sensitivity. Even if a smoker knows the harmful effects of smoking he doesn't really understand it. 'Smoking is bad' is not his experience, for him smoking is joyful (but only seemingly) and by the time he really begins to see the damage done by smoking, he is probably addicted and has lost the sensitivity for a feeling of well being and health. No matter how much awareness about harmful effects of smoking is created, smokers will continue smoking. So what can be done? Well telling somebody not to smoke is of no use. Smokers should somehow be made to experience the joys of a healthy lifestyle which is instantly gratifying, something like Sudarshan Kriya. And a taste of health is enough for smokers to give up smoking, provided a little sensitivity is still left in 'em.

Bawa - a true inspiration...

With a post graduate in Mathematics from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Khurshed Batliwala, or “Bawa” as he is fondly known (a nick name that has stuck from his IIT days) is an extraordinary personality.

In his own words, he decided “it was better to teach people meditation and make them happy rather than teach them mathematics and make them miserable” and thus chose the unconventional and challenging career path as a faculty member of the Art of Living, sharing the vision of it’s founder, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, which is to see a smile on every face on the planet.

Under the guidance of Sri Sri, he and dinesh designed the YES!+ series of courses (Youth Empowerment and Skills). He inspires young people the world over to realize their self identified aspirations… empowering them to lead the lives they want to lead rather than getting stuck with the lives they have to lead!

Along with Dinesh he is the director of WAYE (World Alliance for Youth Empowerment) an NGO which addresses and provides sustainable workable solutions for the contemporary issues faced by young people of our times.

A myriad personality, Bawa is committed to utilizing every moment of his time in enriching the lives of people around. A day spent with him could make you have a taste of the most amazing meals (that he has cooked in a jiffy), to listening to beautiful western classical music pieces (that he picks up effortlessly on his piano), to playing the most interesting board games (which he picks up from various parts of the world during his travel) to even discovering the magic of mathematics that you perhaps never knew existed. He enjoys movies with happy endings and is partial to theatre, comedies and musicals being his favourites.

Unlike most of us, Bawa is never satisfied by mere learning and mastering of a skill, he does not rest till he has taught others to master it too. Sometimes you will be laughing uncontrollably at his jokes and wit, othertimes just wondering at his practical wisdom and knowledge.

Apart from conducting youth workshops as an Art of Living senior faculty member, Bawa also conducts interesting workshops such as the Mathemagic, which makes maths fun and interesting, the financial literacy workshop, a seminar on unconventional concepts on money management and wealth generation, and an introductory workshop on western classical music appreciation. He has recently even put together a workshop to teach people how to cook and enjoy the experience!

He is a complete technology geek, and he brings to the table a smooth blend of cutting edge technology and deep knowledge of Indian spirituality and traditions. His passions include computer games, long walks, good food and caring about the environment and animals.

He loves reading and writing, and to everybody’s delight his love for writing has translated to blogging through which it has become easy for all his fans to be updated with the latest in his (and Dinesh’s) life, not to mention, have glimpses of his amazing sense of humour, get to learn beautiful interpretations of mythological stories from different religions (He is a Parsi and his blog includes some beautiful insights into his religion), recreate his recipes, and read wonderful stories, jokes and anecdotes.

It has been said that as a child we are born innocent but in the process of growing up somewhere we lose our naturalness and innocence at the cost of becoming intelligent. In Bawa you find a unique coexistence of both, a sharp intellect and a heady sense of fun with a child’s innocence and warmth.

The last lecture

"The last lecture" is a superb heart touching book written by Randy Pausch,a married father of three who is dying from pancreatic cancer. I am quite impressed by the amazing undying enthusiasm that Randy had!

In September 2007, Randy gave a final lecture to his students at Carnegie Mellon University. A video of the original lecture quickly spread across the internet and has been view over a million times.You can check out the video at www.thelastlecture.com

Some excerpts from this book :

'We cannot change the cards we are dealt,just how we play the hand'

The brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

Phrase whatever you could in a positive light. When the professor asked, "How long before i die" the doctor answered,"You probably have three to six month of good health."

Luck is indeed where preparation meets opportunity.

Its not hard you hit. Its how hard you get it...and keep moving forward.

take out some time, go to crosswords and buy this FANTASTIC book :)The trouble with books, especially good books, is that they take so long to write and just a few hours to read…

Happy Reading!

Love,

Siddharth

Time matters...

Time must be explicitly managed,like money : Don't invest time in irrelevant details.

You can always change your plan, but only if you have one.

Ask yourself : Are you spending your time on the right things? You may have causes, goal,interests. Ask yourself are they even worth pursuing?

Develop a good filing system. "Filing things in alphabetical order is better than running around and saying, 'I know it was blue and I know i was eating something when i had it.'"

Rethink the telephone : Develop your own techniques!

Courtesy:The Last Lecture :)

Corruption - An insidious menace

Here's an article which i wrote for the Viewspaper,an online youth magazine.

The dictionary meaning of corruption is lack of integrity or honesty, but for a layman it simply means bribing the government officers to get their work done. It is a rampant issue in India and it is not only confined to politicians and bureaucrats alone but it is very much prevalent in all the levels of the society.

There is massive amount of corruption in India. According to Comptroller and Auditor Generals report, an official government agency, For the year 2007-08 , the Union Government made a provision for transfer of central plan assistance of Rs 51259.85 crore directly to state/district level autonomous bodies, authorities societies etc for implementation of centrally sponsored schemes. These have not been spent fully by the implementing agencies and lie unspent in their accounts. Since India is one the most corrupt countries of the world (It was ranked 74th on the corruption index) it goes on to say that the Indians are dishonest, the degree of which varies from individual to individual. Most of them are involved in corrupt practices in one way or the other, either due to greed or so-called compulsion.

I have no guilt in admitting the fact that once I had to bribe the public officer. I had no choice but to bribe him, in order to get my work done. But later I realized that I always blame the government machinery for the ever-growing corruption in our country, but have never even bothered to ponder upon the fact that it is I who is encouraging corruption in our country. Because people like me easily give in to the demands of the public officers, to get the work done that our country is still one of the most corrupt countries. Agreed that corruption exists because of lack of accountability, transparency and also because of several loopholes in our judicial system but the role of a common citizen can’t be neglected in order to tackle this menace. The Government of our country should take a cue from China, where a Government servant was given a death sentence because he was found to indulge in corruption. Also the role of The Right to Information Act is very much essential in making the Government officers more accountable.

We have a long way to go to make our nation a corruption free country! :)