Impressions and expressions

Philosophy is somewhat boring, I agree! But often it provides us with some new perspectives that can help us live a better life. I was once reading the conversations between the philosopher Jiddu Krishnmurti and Prof. Anderson (these conversations were titled " A Wholly Different Way of Living ") and the following anecdote struck a chord: I [Jiddu Krishnamurti] talked to a monk once. He came to see me. He had a great many followers. And he was very well known. He said, I have taught my disciples, and he was very proud of having thousands of disciples. And he was saying, 'I have arrived because I have learned to control my senses, my body, my thoughts, my desires. I've held them as the Gita says: hold something, you are reigning, you are riding horse', you know, holding. He went on about it for some length. I said, 'Sir, what at the end of it? You have controlled. Where are you at the end of it?' He said, 'What are you asking, I have arriv...

Well, you hear routine words and phrases like "I love my wife", "We had a wonderful marriage" or "She is the light of my life". But then marriage is more than words with its own complexities and blessings. It is like the Soduku puzzle, exciting and interesting yet requiring some problem solving. So how do I feel about my one year of marriage? To tell you the truthful answer, it is filled with understanding, coupled with learning and ultimately very satisfying and enlightening. There are 2 theories regarding marriage. One says that you should marry someone like you to eliminate contradictions and create immediate rapport. The second theory says that you should find someone who is different from you so that the match compliments you and makes a perfect pair. In my experience, both theories are wrong. It matters little what the individual characteristics are as long as there is commitment, respect and love for each other and the relation. Haritha is very di...

Having worked closely with a social service organization called TMAD (To Make A Difference) in the past, I gained some insights and had a few thoughts on the management of small non-profits. It all boils down to some simple questions. Here are some of those questions Note: These are more applicable to small and budding social service orgs and not to big names like Red Cross. The question of collaboration: The other day, along with a group of friends, I met the famous Telugu lyricist “Sirivennela” who has some very interesting and valid views on society and volunteer organizations. Just before us, representatives from a social service org met him. He was referring to them and thinking aloud asked us – “Do you think that social service is new and people before you never thought about it? Why can’t you guys collaborate with the already established non-profits and collectively do better work?”. This is an important question. Many small social service orgs do not make ...

"Contribution" is a small word but has a beautiful meaning when we think about it. Peter Drucker, the management Guru, once wrote - "The crucial question is not, "How can I achieve?" but "What can I contribute". This is a profound statement, if we fully understand it. It asks us to replace the quest for success with the quest for contribution. It focuses on "what can be done", a question that leads to action. And importantly, it makes us to find our strengths and values, because our best contributions come when we execute from your strengths on things that we deeply value. The greatest and the most admired people were successful because they found out what they should contribute and focused on the right things during execution. Most of us are so lost in our day to day activities that we rarely stop and ask ourselves the question - "What should I contribute?” Even if we ask, we rarely act on our findings. This simple question, when appli...

What is this book Iacocca is the ex-CEO of Ford and ex-chairman of Chrysler. This autobiography describes his exciting career and gives insights into the internals of business world. I got this book from my wife who was an MBA student. She told me that it is a nice read and so I wanted to give it a try. I read this book while traveling in my office cab and completed it in around 3 months. This is one of the most vivid and interestingly written business books I ever read and is highly recommended. Organization of the book The book contains 3 sections. The first section describes the childhood and school days of Iacocca. The next 2 sections describe his career in Ford and Chrysler and form the meat of the book. In a very interesting way, the book describes his career in the Ford and his rise to the top. When he was fired from Ford, he joins Chrysler. A large chunk of the book deals with his efforts to save Chrysler and make it successful. What I liked about this book The first thing tha...

I never read "Paulo Coelho" but I was told a lot about his book "The Alchemist". I wanted to give it a try and read the whole book in around 2.5 hrs. It is a small book and you can easily finish it in a short time, like I did, but possibly it takes a lot more time to sink its message inside you. So what is this book all about? It is the story of a shepherd boy who follows his dreams and finally finds the treasure he dreamt of. The title "Alchemist" most probably refers to this boy because he finally realizes his destiny & discovers the "soul of the world". Book's central theme: Every one of us has a mission on earth, a destiny to reach. It is our only obligation on earth. If you listen to your heart, you will know your destiny. And if you really put your heart in realizing your destiny, the whole universe will conspire you to achieve it. The book says that there is something called "Beginner's luck" which offers initial sup...

The other day I was washing dishes at home (Bachelors like me need to take care of lots of things, you know!) and one acquaintance of mine suddenly offered help by saying "Hey! I can do the tax planning for you. Get me your pay-slip!". This chap is a CA by profession and so is definitely capable of helping but I wondered at the odd time of his question. May be I would have been more happy had he offered to wash some dishes! Anyways, I replied back saying "Thanks! But I don't think you can save much there". To which, he replied "Why? You can definitely save. How much is your HRA?" I said "I always show the *exact* rent which is Rs.1500/month this time". Then he immediately cried "Idiot" & continued by saying, "Idiot you are! You can easily save around 20K if you show more house rent than actual". When I replied that I knew about this saving, he stared at me unbelievably and said "Why do you want to give money to th...