Business to the Buddha

Tag: Emotion

  • Random Act of Kindness







    I have started watching a SitCom – Dharma and Greg. In one episode Dharma (a strangely spiritual women), does Random Act of Kindness. She gets into trouble as a Policeman fines her. Well, I shall write on the serial sometime later. I thought to take up this point of “Random Act of Kindness” in this blog. I have written on Can money buy Happiness? earlier, however here is another take. Though, upto an extent yes Money can buy you happiness, yet beyond that threshold “value of money” does not add any “value” to one’s happiness – point of diminishing returns.

    Related blog – Just do it… ok try it

    I received this video from my brother on WhatsApp. I am sharing this video here, do watch, if you like do share as well. After watching this video you may say why do such thing? People will be “tempted to find such person” on daily basis! Just watch the video and feel free to share it, like it and write your opinion on the comments box below.

    If you want to check this video in Youtube

    It is my birthday today – 26th Sept. So instead of waiting till weekend (starting tomorrow), I thought that let me share this blog on my Birthday. Will you share some Random Act of Kindness with anyone? May be today? Not necessarily me [jokes apart].  Anyone who is in need.

  • Don’t be empathetic







    Do an experiment – do not empathize with people. I mean try this, when you are talking to someone or listening to someone just do not empathize. Just listen as if the other person is talking to a stone.Be completely disinterested. Than once the person is through with his/her blabbering just reflect, reflect that the person is/was in this mood or that mood. Continue doing this experiment for few other people. You would realize that this other people or persons are in some mood. You are just “a third party” “an observer”. In some time you would realize that people fall in different mood segments. Our mood changes and therefore we move from one segments to other.

    I was doing this research on relationship between Indian Classical Music and Yoga. In that research I came across music therapy and color system’s relations with it. Each color reflects a different emotion, Ragas do the same. Each Swar of Indian classical Music is associated with a Chakra in human body. These chakra’s have an associated color too. This research made me connect a couple of things. Approach note here. Ragas are called Colors of life that is emotions.

    Each color reflect an emotion, each one of us reflects an emotion. When you observe people disinterestedly (here I have called it without empathy) you would observe people are reflecting a particular emotion or color.

    Now look back – before that person came to you, were things different? Things were same – air was flowing, sun was shining, perhaps it is/was raining, birds chirping.  The nature did not differentiate before that person came to you and after that. It is only you who (if empathize with other person) change your mood. Observe around you the world is same whatever you think, feel or do. That is being consistent (in Hindi – eksar). Related blog – Swasthay – dwelling in oneself.

    We are like a Prism. A “consistent” sunlight falls on it and it scatter the color components of sunlight.

    http://chipl.edublogs.org/files/2010/11/Reverse-light-spectrum-yy6cje.jpg

    We also scatter our mood in surrounding. Otherwise place (space) is consistent. The color can be a rage – red color or a serenity – blue color. We should strive to be a “combination Prism” which reflect light without scattering it. (Image source)

    I say – be empathetic but do not get rundown by the emotions of others. That would be being Swasthay – dwelling in oneself.

    Disclaimer –
    1. The Author does not endorse “being non-empathetic”. The author is trying to make a point “assuming” if we do not empathize for this experimental purpose we would be able to understand that nature does not change if we are in one mood or the other. Nature is consistent with itself (as Sunlight). We are the Prism which reflect particular color of the consistent sunlight.
    2. Most importantly – author does not preach and does not believe he is someone who should preach.

  • Dichotomy on happiness…







    “There are some things money cannot buy…” I am not talking about Master Card! Generally speaking, I was thinking that there are many things money cannot buy. In fact, the Buddha left his whole empire! He too knew there are “somethings money cannot buy”. This is where I had two minds, and thought to share these thoughts and request for feedbacks.

    The first and foremost thing money cannot buy is LOVE, you are a better judge for this. Other important thing is happiness, in a spiritual context ‘bliss’.

    Sometime back I decided to leave a very lucrative offer the reason was I knew at my heart of my heart, I would not want to do this work and would not enjoy the work. The other option was – nothing! So, it was a tough decision to leave something (something immensely rewarding) for nothing. Recently, I met one of my friends (he knew my previous decision) his first and repeated question to me was – ‘Are you happy?’ And all the time my answer was – ‘YES, are not you happy with what you are doing?’ His response was with many riders – “yes for ‘X’ I am happy, but because of ‘Y’ I have some issues, you know this and you know that and this is what and whatever whatever etc”.

    I thought we take so many decisions “for” or “because of” some or the other things e.g. money. We tend to give drivers seat to our ‘mind’ for making criteria and decision too, while a rear seat to our ‘heart’. Relationship, emotions, all these relate to heart and we largely overlook these while making decision. However, being human we are driven largely by emotions and therefore there has to be a balance between rationality and emotion in decision making too.

    Then came the second perspective – if one wants to be happy no one can stop him/her from being happy. Happiness is a very personal matter. Two persons in similar circumstances could have different feelings (one ecstatic and other wretched). Peace of mind cannot be bought in the market, it has to be felt. If it has to be felt, why cannot one be peaceful while doing whatever he/she is doing? … So the dichotomy is – do we make decision based on few factors and that is the reason for us to be happy or we are happy because we want to be happy and irrespective of the decision we make or irrespective of what happens in our life.

    The question to ask is – happiness requires fulfillment of the CONDITIONS we create for being happy or it is a feeling irrespective of what happens in our life/to us? These conditions, to me, are never ending… as it happens to the squirrel in Ice Age-Trilogy and to Chaipau in Salaam Bombay“. Dichotomy of happiness is you decide on what you enjoy doing or you remain happy irrespective of the situation you are in….

    Related blogs – Cause…, the Middle Path, No judgement its all about perception and Balancing Act, When will we stop?

  • Business of religion!*







    The first message we heard in the class of Brand Management of Professor Ram Kumar, was “It is an eco-system…”. An entangled, closely knit or perhaps confusingly mingled ‘Eco-system’. Econ-system of brands, products, product variants (variants are very confusing, no doubt) and bombardment of marketing messages (communication). Here everyone wants to say that our product is the best using different channels and different language. Hum! it sounds very common, right? So common that we overlook it.

    In another class of Marketing we were asked which is the oldest business in the world, still running successfully? I (when I say ‘I’, literally I) responded ‘religion’. Every religious institution says our religion is better (perhaps the best) than others and is the only path for salvation. Walmart, Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Tata or Reliance might exist, or not, for 1000 years but for sure we will (and had) many religion for 1000’s of years and we will have them in future too. Why? Because – religious institution sells itself on emotions. Even without learning any Marketing concept, religious institutions learnt that emotions should be hit directly to let people decide emotionally and justify rationally.

    Let us talk about the channels they use. It is similar to what we learn in distribution channel or managing supply chain. ‘Retail store’ of Religion or distribution channels are found everywhere, and finances? Well there is no limit to it (find it for yourself – a recent News in an Indian Newspaper The Hindu or Google search for $ with any major religion of the world…). Every religion has a source of income this source of income germinates from the EMOTION we talked earlier about. Yet there is a lot to learn from religious institutions, learning the administration, Marketing and distribution channel and much more, is not that true?

    Personally, I am a strong believer that religion plays an important role in building and binding society. Religion is a path wherein you have to follow the traffic rules. If you do not follow the rules you are likely to meet with an accident. What is the question of saying rules of left hand drive better than right hand drive? The rules are there to avoid accidents and make the journey safer and easier. When I say ‘firm believer’ I mean the rules taught by the religion, and not the comparison of one to the other.

    Well, not only for business but also for being righteous person we can learn a lot from religion!

    * Conditioned applied – Thoughts presented here are my own and learnt from different sources, I do not intend to hurt any sentiment or question any religion.