Business to the Buddha

Tag: Rummuser

  • My Favorite Fictional Character







    Have you ever thought about fiction and reality? Fiction is something untrue, made-up or imaginary. How can I say that the Buddha or Krishna or Jesus was someone who actually walked the face of earth. Is it a possibility that these were imagination of someone? This thought puts me to another thought, what if I myself am is some imagination and a reality is somewhere, something else.

    Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world? Morpheus The Matrix

    What makes something real? Is it because I think, see, feel (perhaps smell or hear) and my mind makes me feel that this is something real because I can sense it? Or something is real because it exist without someone’s ability to sense it or no. Take an example of light – we cannot see light beyond a certain frequency range. Does it make the light non-existent?

    These questions remind me of a very interesting movie – The Matrix.

    “…The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… when you go to church… when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth…”

    I have had a couple of Morpheus in my life to teach me. I have written about almost everyone on this blog. I would want to be Morpheus too, for someone or few in future. I love the character of Morpheus from The Matrix the most. Morpheus is a believer, he courageous. The best part is, the kind of confidence Morpheus has in Neo, it makes me feel that I want to be Neo too. Laurence Fishburne played the role so well that I keep on watching his teachings (dialogs) whenever I feel I should. There are a lot of learnings in those dialogs – “Do not think you are, KNOW you are.” I have written on the movie (red pill) earlier too. I was so fascinated with the movie that I used to tell people that I am fine being a spot-boy for the movie – alas I am in India :(. The movie is so philosophical and spiritual to me that I repeatedly watch it.

    Instead of me talking (writing), I would want to share some videos of the movie (Youtube), not sure about the copyright permissions there.

    I see many of my teachers in Morpheus – they are indeed my Favorite (they are real) human beings, this blog post is dedicated to all of them. This was the title of this weeks Friday Loose Bloggers Consortium. Con You can read other LBC bloggers thoughts here – Rummuser and Shackman.

  • Gratitude







    This blog is dedicated to my adopted uncle – Mr Ramana Rajgopaul. Actually, he is kind enough to adopt me as RR-at-weddinghis nephew. Uncleji writes daily on his blog website – www.rummuser.com

    I got connected with uncleji in 2011, when inadvertently I reached his blog site, read blogs and read “about me” section. We started communication through mails and later over phone. I met him the same year and of course have been seeing him often. He has been a go to person for anything in my life starting 2011. I have requested for his guidance in personal, professional and virtual life (Facebook/twitter/blog). I think I had deleted a Facebook comment when he suggested negatively on the same.

    Our communication started with his about me sentence – “I stopped doing a long time ago.” and I asked him – this sounds like Ashtavakra Geeta and kind of meditation et al. So, we started talking about spirituality and in his humors he added every aspect of life – from sex to super-consciousness. He can turn any serious topic (life & death) to a joke and vice versa. I had been awestruck when he answered one of my questions with a Sanskrit Verse from some Veda! He did that occasionally. What surprises me is this – Remembering meanings of somethings, remembering context of few things and remembering many verse of Vedas and referring to it at right occasions (that too in the language) is unique. [actually he has good command on a lot of languages – starting English, Tamil to Sanskrit.]

    The most interesting thing about him is “everything”! He is playful, he is serious, he is well read and most interestingly he enjoys his life to the fullest. I am changed from 2011 to now. My friends and colleagues know me as “no nonsense guy”, however starting 2011 when I started meeting girls for my (arrange) marriage couple of girls told me that I have “good sense of humor” and I am “interesting”! I was shocked when I heard this for the first time. Later on when I heard this from a couple of other girls I said ok! there are two possibilities

    1. either that is a joke or
    2. I have, at last, learnt the trick 😉

    Generally, 2nd had been the case and credit goes to uncleji. In relation with marriage, most of my Lingayat bashing was shared with him, before it came on blogs. He was (and has been always) a great support during that time too. I bothered him a lot on (apparently) “my community”, where I don’t belong anyways.

    Once I wrote to him this – earlier I didnt understand you because you were humorous and witty (used to take lot of time to understand the jokes) now you are talking more profound that I can understand. Though, I follow the “art of living” and Guruji says God loves fun, I am learning it with uncleji.

  • Reaction and response







    RR-at-weddingI have an adopted uncleji (Uncle – for Hindi is father’s brother) – Ramana Rajgopaul (picture on the left side). Question should not be asked whether I adopted him or he did, ;). What is important is he has been a great support to me always. He writes almost daily at www.rummuser.com the first question I asked him when I contacted him was is it Rum User or R-Musser or r-muser. A gratitude blog on him in future. Here is a story he shared with me recently.

    The cockroach theory for self development.

    At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady.  She started screaming out of fear.  With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.

    Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky.  The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but it landed on another lady in the group.  Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.

    The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.  In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.  The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt.  When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

    Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior?  If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?  He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

    It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.  I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.  It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.  More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.  Lessons learnt from the story:  I understood, I should not react in life.

    I should always respond.

    The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.  Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of.

    Reminds me of a story in the life of the Buddha. That story some time in future.

    Disclaimer – Author neither owns copyright on the photo of Mr Rajgopaul nor on the story.

  • The virtue of Truthfulness







    Rummuser, Ramana Rajagopaul, is my friend, mentor and uncleji. He recently felt that I should read a book and sent it to me. The book is titled – Yoga in day-to-day life. This book is published by Sri Ramkrishna Math. Still reading the book and thought to share a story of this book. Chapter 2 first para.

    The young Kauravas and Pandavas were learning their first lessons. The Acharya pronounced the vedic text: Satyam vada, dharmam chara, (सत्यम वदा , धर्मं चरा) “Speak the truth, follow the path of righteousness”, and asked the pupils to repeat.Every one repeated. The teacher asked them to memorize the text. Next day, he asked what they had learnt from previous day. All pronounced: Satyam vada, dharmam chara, except Yudhishthira. Surprised, the acharya asked why could he, the eldest and the brightest among the one hundred and give pupils, not learn such a simple lesson? What Yudhishthira said in reply was an indication of his future greatness as the exemplar par-excellence of truth. He plainly confessed that he had not yet learnt to speak the truth. Others might have memorized the few words, but that certainly was not the purport of this short but profound precept: Satyam vada – speak the truth. Unless one speak the truth in day-to-day life, what use was it merely memorize a few words?

    Do not we do this often in our life, present something heard somewhere as your opinion, thought or brain child. Perhaps this blog – where I am taking the story of Mahabharat (published in some book). Is it plagiarism? I think many things of Indian origin are beyond petty Intellectual Property Rights!

  • Generation running behind Technology







    Over the weekend I was talking to Rummuser uncleji. We were talking about many things one was – “uncleji you dont call me, its only me who calls you!”. So he said “Pravin  I am a generation old and for me internet, mobile etc are new age things and not necessary to communicate.” In fact he told me that he even receives inland letters from some of his friends. What? thats history right? But yes  STILL that is also a mode of communication.

    I happened to read the following, copied as image some time back (source unknown now). I was thinking that it is true, my father must be thinking, this is too much what these guys and the kids do. This is complex and where all would this technological running around go and end?

    Convergence of Social Tech
    Convergence of Social Tech

    The question I asked myself was is it generation, running behind the technology? That is Latest things and fashion introduced and the young one’s running behind them. Or is it Generation running behind, technology? That is generations left behind the technology evolution and just trying to catch up or sit and relax. Older people who use technology as and when required.

    Perhaps 30 years from now I would think the same manner. Technology would be even more evolved and kids of that generation would find it cool, ok and obvious. At times those kids would think – how our forefathers survived without such gadgets?
    I think if my father is thinking something about technology and how far would it go? He is right, there seems to be no end. Step back and ask yourself – do you need a tweeter or a facebook to have a “Social Network” or to be “socially connected”? Do you think you need a mobile to Communicate? Do you think you need a TV or movie for Entertainment? I dont intend to say that we dont need many things; the question is how much is needed? and when is it needed?

    World would keep on evolving but there would be something that wont change and time and again a few people would think about it. Should we just stop and look within now? Is not it enough of running around?


  • Chinu and the pebbles







    My little niece – Chinu – is about three years old. When I see her picking up small pebbles I remember my childhood. I used to do that – “Wow this stone is very smooth.” “That stone is of very different color”, I will keep this with me always, no one can find such beautiful stone anywhere.

    I used to pick up stones the way Chinu does now. Now, I am grown up (may be!) and now I care for different kind of stones :). As many of you must be doing now.

    When I compared Chinu’s activities with my current actions. I wonder my father, Saxena Sir (or Rajagopaul Uncleji) must be thinking – hey this kid (for them I may be still a kid) is growing up! One day he won’t care for all these stones!

    I am going to ask these elders of mine – what have they really earned in life? How do they measure success now? What they crave for now? And how do they feel about my or any young ambitious persons running around?

    I see Chinu and think of my childhood and my small world. What would it be when I’d be say 60. Sitting around and smiling or still running around for something else? I wonder!

    I wrote this blog in November, posting it now. Saxena Sir told me what I wrote in previous blog – Money worth earning! He taught not to even run behind earning satisfaction.

    Related blog –

    When will we stop?

  • Swasthay – dwelling in oneself







    “You have to move on from the posts, you dont hang around it – I was a post you have to move on now.” When Prof Lopez told me this in our last meeting at Dubai, I felt bad. He further added – “Once you pass standard 1st you move on to the 2nd and so on, right Pravin?” I had to complete my MBA and move on to a job an so on and so forth.  Slowly I moved on. Yet, recently I was going through the content of my MBA and came across some photos, class works etc and fallen back in time to relish my moment of that time. One of my friends commented on Facebbok – Movee oooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnn! Instead of moving on, I remembered the last sentence Prof Lopez told me – “Pravin, you have to move on.” I had created this blog title – Move on… on Dec 1st 2010 and came back in the drafts to complete it now.

    The other reason to complete this blog was my recent meeting with Mr Ramana Rajgopaul my blogger friend and uncleji, he blogs at www.rummuser.com. He is reading a book – How Much Is Enough?: Money and the Good Life and we discussed economics and greediness  etc. Really the question is right. How much is enough? We think of buying a small apartment, when we own one, we think of bigger one and then a bungalow, villa, a farm house do we stop there? No! then we need something more a big car or something else. Where is the end? Take an example of corruption in India, what these politicians do not have? They have all they might need, but no! They want more.

    This “move on” is literally turning into running, running behind something, at time running away from the real problem. We have so many gadgets and even though we are connected with so many unknown people through social media, we dont know the neighbor. I personally felt that I spend more time on internet compared to talking with people. In bus I am on the net, in train I am on the net, at home I am on the net! So, are we facing our problems (personal or social) or we are just avoiding and moving on, running from one thing to the other just to save ourselves from facing those problems?

    When Angulimala met the Buddha. Angulimala screamed at the Buddha to stop because he wanted to cut fingers of the Buddha. The Buddha turned and told Angulimala that he, the Buddha, had already stopped. He had stopped killing and harming and now it was time for him, Angulimala, to stop.

    Now is the turn for us to stop. When I say we should stop it means a strange stop – our mind should stop running, time and space would move, our mind should be at peace, quiet. That is the definition of Swasthay (swa + sthith) – dwelling in one’s own self.

    Related blogs

    You cannot drive car looking at the rear view mirror

    When will we stop? (on the movie Salam Bombay)

    Dichotomy on happiness…