PULLING HIS LIFE

 

                                          Courtesy : My Smartphone Samsung E7 with 13 M.P Camera

The man appearing in this photo is Suresh Mondal who hails from West Bengal and came to Delhi for survival. He chose rickshaw pulling as the best bet to earn those needy bucks.   When I took his service  to return home from  market during my stay at Delhi a few years ago ,  I was stirred to write his story.

When I conversed  with  Mondal, his smiling gesture gave me a hint that he might open up to share his life with me.  As expected, the whole ride was very pleasant as Suresh though with his wiry frame, peddled his way effortlessly with no strain.   When asked why he came to Delhi for this kind of manual labour, he said that he didn’t get employment throughout the year in his home district Malda, West Bengal which forced him to come to Delhi.  He further stated that he has some   land but not worth to be cultivated due to inadequate rains, coupled with insufficient irrigated water in the area.  

Suresh stands as a latest example of countless people who don't get adequate employment in their towns/villages  throughout the year.  How he manages his life with  a petty daily earnings of Rs.500/- is a million-dollar question.  Myself being fairly employed with five-digit salary in government service is taking a bated breath to manage my house-budget.  But countless manual labourers like Suresh  do manage their lives and we must learn so much from them.

When I dwelt on Suresh's life,  immediately my heart filled with gratitude  as  Almighty showered his blessings abundantly on me as  I was not given the role of Suresh to play.   When I listened to his story, it not only soothed my nerves but I became a little more compassionate and gave Rs.10/ -  extra to him in addition  to the fare bargained.  In a spur of moment, I further loosened my purse strings and gave a further of Rs.10/-   for contributing this story, which had multiplied his joy and he thanked me with a pristine smile.  

A THOUGHT ON THOUGHT

 Your thought is like a

 rainbow-colour bird
 perched on your hand.
Learn to be still, observe.
Take a silent gaze;
Then translate that experience into
 your signature style verse or prose .

Any disruption in stillness
 may cause the thought-bird fly away.
But, when you learn the stillness,
 more thought birds fly towards you,
 which means more fodder to churn

 of course naturally !

IMPORTANCE OF HANDWRITING

 

In my childhood, I used to change notebooks  with improved handwriting in a show off before my teachers  and peers.  That attitude remained well after high-school years and I used to carry rough notebook to college and took notes in that only to copy back in the concerned note book in leisure hours or at home.  Still I don't know why I get so much joy when I write on paper.  But after graduation and settling in life,  for more than a decade, I was out of sync with this forgotten passion, as handwriting was limited just for putting signature on salary rolls and bank transactions. Since I was not in creative mode,  I burned out with my go-office only  routine life style.

But  the year 2003 had brought some drastic change in my life style.  I became vexed with the  dry professional routine as my
learning curve was at its lowest ebb and my heart deeply craved to bring learning and creativity back to my life.

Suddenly, on one fine day, I was introduced to a book called
Tony Buzan's Mind Maps.  Tony Buzan is one of the leading authors on the brain and learning, and his concept called  mind maps helps to think on paper in a very logical sequence.  In the process of creating some personal mind maps, I put a dedicated notebook then (2003) and started filling the pages with mind maps of my desired subjects.  Since then, writing became part of my personal growth.  

On my study I have nice colour gel pens to use them alternatively  in my writings  not only to impress my mind  but whoever wish to see them.

Without knowing much about the neurological benefits of handwriting then, I just followed my heart.

In any
education system, handwriting has its own significance.  Mahatma Gandhi in his autobiography ' The Story of my Experiments with Truth says that ' I saw that bad handwriting should be regarded as a sign of an imperfect education.  He confessed that ' I tried to improve mine, but it was too late.  I could never repair the neglect of my youth.  He advises that ' let every young man and woman be warned by my example and understand that a good handwriting is a necessary part of education.  

Good Handwriting is a learned man's asset.  The end of formal education should not be a death knell for handwriting.  One must continue to be in touch with handwriting after formal education though it would be less needed. Recently I read a news item which says that in some professions like doctors, it kills their patients with their bad handwriting.  American National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine found that 7000 deaths a year globally could be traced back to bad handwriting.

Studies reveal that people who take notes on laptops as opposed to those who bring papers and pens to meetings show a lesser absorption of new information  (Source: India Today -English Magazine Sept, 21, 2015) Handwriting means greater brain activity than those typing it on a computer.

So the home point is , be in touch with handwriting which is associated with better cognitive abilities even at ripe age.  

SERENITY PRAYER

 

When you wake up in the morning, pray to the Almighty,  only peace and beyond that, ask nothing!  The reason is when you are in peace, you could handle any situation.  Peace means composure.

When I was in my 20s and freshly employed, my boss used to suggest me to pray God not  for abundant wealth,  but rather for a smooth flow of life.   Those eternal words of mid-90s  of my boss  who was an Army's colonel are still echoing in my ears.

One of my morning prayer doesn't put any wish list before God, but ask Him only one thing : Please don't snatch  peace from my life.  In fact, it is vital oxygen to my system.  Even not having it for a fraction of second, I feel deeply suffocated.  


There are so many unanswered questions.  If you see, you will find that not a single individual's pattern of life matches with you.  Some die in 20s, some others in 40s and some others remain up to their ripe-age.  


Constantly, we are caught in the game of uncertainties and don't know what happens next and what is in store for the next moment.   You don't even have a slight hint.  

In the process of understanding and controlling the wild mind, we need to pray. Therefore, the question of believer or non-believer doesn't arise.  Even if you are a hardcore atheist,  you must accept that one Supreme Force is working beyond the human realm.  Call it by any name.    But, I profoundly believe that we all must pray. Rather than adding your material wishes to that laundry list, simply do the following 'Serenity Prayer authored by the American theologian  Reinhold (1892-1971).  The
prayer covers everything, both your material and spiritual goals :

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference. 

It should be followed by this action  prescribed by  Swami Vivekananda :

Sit in a straight posture,
and the first thing to do is 
to send a current of holy thought
to all creation.
Mentally repeat,
''Let all beings be happy;
let all beings be peaceful;
let all beings be blissful.''
So do to the east, south, north and west.

The more you do that
the better you will feel yourself.

Prayer should be the background activity for every moment of your life. One can achieve progress only in small increments on daily basis. Mechanical way of wishing material prospects is the lowest form. We must raise with age.  All the civilizations of the world have made an institutional mechanism wherein  religions have some particular timings/days for prayers.  Whether you go to shrines or not, it doesn't matter but always feel your body as a temple of your Soul which is some way mystically connected with the Higher Self!