Business to the Buddha

Tag: Purpose

  • Why would people remember you?

    My previous post was kind of misunderstood. Some friends messaged me about purpose and having no goal in life. My answer to that is We are trying to create a correlation between goal and people remembering you. The point I think is somewhat missed – the question was why would people remember you? I believe a person’s goals in life should not be inspired by a wish that people should/must remember you. I concluded my previous blog – the inspiration and remembrance is choice of other person not necessarily goal of a-person.

    A singer sings, because he has a good voice. People listen and appreciate the singer for his/her voice, probably for the music or lyrics etc. Does it mean the singer sings only for getting those appreciations? If yes, the goal of singer is very low, of course goal is certainly the choice of the singer but it does not mean that every singer will sing for appreciations or money or being remembered for. There were, are and will be many such talented people who would perform their talent for their owns satisfaction. Some will be remembered and many others will be forgotten. Does that make the forgotten talents any lesser talented?

    Personally speaking I have run around with a lot of lofty goals in life, I still have many. My opinion is that my personal goals are my inspirations and “personal”. If someone feels inspired by them, it is their choice. It is their prerogative as well as their own wish. Occasionally, I ended up with the endless need for the next goal and then the next one and so on. Result – it had been a hedonic treadmill run, faster you run it gets faster without any end in sight. I have written on these goals, running around and what next a couple of times earlier. Everything ends up for me on a very famous shloka of Bhagvat Geeta –
    कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
    मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥ २-४७
    Romans
    Karmanye vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana,
    Ma Karmaphalaheturbhurma Te Sangostvakarmani
    Meaning –
    You’ve a right to perform your prescribed action, but you’re not entitled to the fruits of your action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results your activities, and never be associated to not doing your duty.

    So effectively, one’s purpose of live or goal should be limited to the action. Others remembering you or validating “your purpose” is useless (as long as your purpose is not to kill others / infringe on other’s freedom). Further, when I connect these things to spirituality, even “wishing” something, somewhere gives at least a slightest hint of ego.

  • What will people remember you for?

    Almost every Sunday, I go for Art of living follow up. Here we do some yoga, pranayams and Sudarshan Kriya. Whenever someone asks me about Art of living and eventually Sudarshan Kriya, I say – “one must do Sudarshan Kriya at least once before dying”. It changes you from within. After the session, not just me but many people feel tranquility and peace of mind. Personally, I don’t even want to speak (even think) for some time at least. The experience is wonderful, being with one’s Self – with a capital S.

    So today too after the session I was in the same state. Our follow up teacher asked – “what would you want people to remember you for?” It was an interesting question. I had never given it a thought. Why would I want people to remember me? I gave an honest response – I never thought about it. Some responses were ‘I made people happy’, ‘for a peaceful life’ and ‘I did not bother people.’

    All these answers were good, but were not my answer. I thought a bit – should I be remembered for my thoughts, blog articles, being a successful professional / entrepreneur, a wonderful father etc. What would I want people to remember me for? No single option was resonating with me. At the same time, my mind was wandering in another direction too. Why would I want people to remember me? Does not it sound like having a bit of ego, if not very overt and prominent one?

    My answer was confusing; “I never gave it a thought”. As if I won’t die and people won’t get chance to remember me! But even if I die one day, why should anyone remember me?

    The teacher then said a wonderful line of the movie Kung Fu Panda – “Your story may not have such a happy beginning but that does not make you who you are, it is the rest of it- who you choose to be” The teacher concluded find purpose in your life.

    When the word purpose came on the fore, the only answer that resonated with me was – I want to be enlightened. The dilemma is – “I”, “want” and “remember” these things are kind of craving. Is not craving the thing that one has to drop? Even for that matter craving to be enlightened!

    At times such question seems futile. Though it doesn’t mean one has given up or there is no purpose in life. If life-journey of a-person’s life inspires / makes some other person remember that a-person, the inspiration and remembrance is choice of other person not necessarily goal of a-person.

  • Are You Enjoying What You Are Doing?







    I have been writing on Business to the Buddha for 6+ years, 325 or so blogs now. If you have read my previous posts and at times the title, you might have wondered, why such title? One reason you can read it on this link, and other is to look for a way how we can have a more inclusive, economically better and psychologically calmer society? The question of this post – “Are you enjoying what you are doing?” is directed towards that economics and psychological thought.

    What all do we do except our daily chores such as eating, sleeping etc? In those activities there are some mandatory activities and some forced and other times hobbies there are always choices and challenges. Some things we do not like doing yet we have to do, some times we like doing something but we have to postpone those. This is where many people think of such question.

    Long back precisely in Oct 2011, I drafted a blog “Do what you love doing”. Somehow I never completed that article, parts of that are produced below –

    …On this point, I had contention recently in a professional set-up. I also believe that if one does what he/she enjoys doing lot of issues of his/her life could be solved. Take an example – in Mumbai average a person travels 2 1/2 hours per day, works for about 9-10 hours, sleeps say 7 1/2 hours and whatever time is left she/he either stays with family, goes to social gathering or does domestic works. If more than 1/2 time daily goes in office related activities, why not someone do something which is relevant to the interest of the individual? This choice of ‘doing something which is of interest’ has to be a mature and personal decision of a person…

    This was with reference to a reward program in a company. My point of view was very opposite of what many other employees of that company believed in- though the management was appreciative of my opinion. I understood later why employee-employer relations are the way they are in many companies. My observation is – in many cases, beyond money there is a drive that makes a person get up in morning at go to a job. Until one reaches that level of awareness, person looks forward to the last day of month when salary will be credited. If someone has passion and purpose one finds time, energy and resources to do that activity. When this happens a person truly enjoys what he/she is doing.

    This small point what Osho said – “If everybody learns this simple art of loving his work, whatever it is, enjoying it without asking for any recognition, we would have a more beautiful and celebrating world.” is very valid. If we would either start loving what we do, or we start doing what we love our economy and Human Development Index both will fare better.

    I raised this question to some of my email & blog friends, from that discussion the question became topic of Loose Bloggers Consortium. You can read thoughts of other two writers – Rummuser uncleji here and Shackman uncleji here.

    Image source – http://oshoinsight.com/tag/enjoy/

  • Everything is ephemeral







    Water was boiling, I stared at it for a while, brought sugar and tea powder. We make tea/coffee rarely at home, mostly on weekends. Soon I was adrift with many thoughts and boiling water started evaporating. I quickly added more water to the kettle, added sugar, tea powder and grated some ginger. Again the same oblivion cropped in. This time around the thoughts were about effervescent boiling water into steam vapors. So suddenly water was lost everything the kettle was empty. I could add more water here, how about us? We die!

    [Tweet “Whatever has a beginning has an end too.”]

    Drop meeting OceanOur life – similarly – is also ephemeral. You take a lot of time to understand and by the time you feel you are getting a hang of it, it is over! Wonder how many people even get to understand or even give it a try to understand. Though I am not an expert, but think about life. At times when I see no clue, it comes in mind as if the end (death) itself is the ultimate truth when everything of what we perceive as “reality” ends. Perhaps there is some meaning beyond these perceptions. When we hear enlightened masters, they say everything is “here and now”.

    When a person dies, does the world become useless for him/her or the person become worthless for the world? The question was weird going through this little mind. The other point in this small complicated thing was with so transitory life, we have so many things to be proud (arrogant) about. I ranked this, I did that great thing, increased revenue by X% and traveled around so many places. In fact the Indian postulate on life/death is, we come back – rebirth. That is even more interesting, convoluted and thinks of even higher mind.

    In all these thoughts, the tea was ready, thankfully this time around I was bit alert. I poured it in cups. We sat on the dinning table sipping our tea. You know this cup of tea will end soon. At times it happens such that by the time you are aware that this tea was awesome, it is over! Whatever has a beginning has an end too – the Buddha said it. It is true, be it being a Chairman of Tata Groups or a note of 500/1000 rupee in India. How long can one hold on to position? How long can the currency keep its value? Everything changes with time, some end some improve some extinct. Why worry? If things are improving why interfere? There were hiccups in Infosys recently, it looks like it is going back on track. One shouldn’t be too attached to anything. My water evaporated, my tea finished in some time. The currency notes of 500 and 1000 are out! Instead of attachment or being possessive one must know that things are evanescent, life is ephemeral, if something has a beginning, it surely will have an end too.

    [Tweet “Flow is the name of life, stagnation is end.”]

    Flow is the name of life, stagnation is end.

    All this rambling started with boiling water of tea, ended up at Tata group and currency notes of India. The tea was over, but thoughts were not. Though I could add water in my boiling kettle, whats the use of adding more water in our life?

    We witnessed end of currency notes, we see people dying, but unfortunately we keep on thinking that we are immortal. My question is, if we accepted that “I will die some day”, what next? What we should search for, what we should strive for? What is the quest? What is that, that keeps one up at the night, and pushes you out of bed every morning? What is that?

    Sadhguru on Things We must do every Morning