Easy Money....

'Easy Money' is too dangerous! No one should fall a pray to it….It exists every where; it is part and parcel of our living!

I am some times under its influence either by force, from need, out of greed or due to ignorance! The earliest I come out of its clutches and keep a distance, the better!  It does irreparable damage and brings in untold misery!

Nature permits all actions in the world only under three conditions….

No 1 is ‘I take reasonably from the world only what I want’, 
No 2 is ‘I give back reasonably to the world the equivalent in return as Material/Service’ and
No 3 is 'I give back to the world  some extra up to a maximum of 25% of my earnings as Charity.' 

Any unbalance beyond a limit of this ‘Give’ and ‘Take’ is never respected by Nature! Further, the ‘Give’ and ‘Take’ should continuously and reasonably be performed in the fields where the law of land prevails to a large extent….

Generally, if this is followed safety is much ensured; no other activity which bypasses this is safe….And 'Easy Money' exactly overlooks all the three aspects and traps an individual for ever!

Standard known ways of earning  and spending are always the best methods available in the world. These do have legal and social approval. Further, even if anything goes wrong here which is rare, I am never,never,never.... questioned beyond!

Let us play safe and say 'Bye-Bye' to Easy money!

The Right Job....

A young man in a new job was  little  sad….To a sincere enquiry from a Well-wisher, he could no longer hold himself and said thus….

“Sir, I was doing a good job earlier and had taken up this new one as the present company is doing well and they offered me certain raise in my salary. Initially, I was very happy. All people around also told me that I had taken the right decision in this case.

But of late, I am getting a doubt whether I had taken the right decision….the reason being, the new job and the new boss are taking out my maximum time. The free time available earlier is a mirage now. With the result, I am unable to do any personal work or relax a little in a day. More over, in the new company, the philosophy is that all the personal works of an employee will be done by some Agencies who camp near the work area. That way, I do get many personal jobs done which hither to, I was doing myself. I am now forced to spend more money on these Services and thus left with lesser money than in the earlier job. Thus, by taking home less money with no time to relax, I am feeling sometimes for the mistake I had done in changing the job. Further, here the facilities are less and promotions are in the queue. That is why I am sad.  Also, I cannot go back to my earlier job again as it looks ridiculous and no one supports it.”

The Well-wisher listened to him patiently, looked at him and said, “Yes, Dear! I also do not recommend you to go back to your earlier job. It is actually a disaster in your career if you do so! Now let us look into this case a little in detail. You do not have the right concept of what a better job is! Is it getting more salary? Is it getting more ruling powers? Is it good environment around? Or is it something where you get some breathing time? If we look this way, the list may be endless, but all these are always of lesser importance compared to the certainty and career growth in job, both of which are once again interdependent. A job is basically doing a work making use of your skill in the best possible way and producing a superior product. Then the same will be kept in the market, and people who need it will fix a price for the same. That is exactly your worth, your Employer likes to pay you only that much and you should necessarily accept this. Your worth always depends on the quality, timely delivery, beating the competition and ultimately pleasing the customer. In no way it is to be seen anything less than this. In this process what money comes and goes is basically immaterial even though it appeals too much to me that I am getting less at the end of the day! Thus you grow continuously and all prospective Employers around you are aware of this. This recognition only caters for the continuity of your job and growth in job through out your active phase of life. You should mainly assess a job you like to take up only by considering these points. It is good that you have changed your job in the right time and every one around is aware of your ambition and push through nature in this context.”

While departing, the Well-wisher quipped with a smile….

It is good that three things are happening in your present work life….

1. You have no breathing time so that the idle mind is far away which otherwise will be a devil….
2. You do not have time for family so that the members of your family are with their sleeves up for facing life and thus soon are going to become highly capable….
3. Many around you are doing all your works sharing your earnings  and it means that you are able to provide employment to so many people around you and it is a proud situation that way!”

The young man was totally relaxed at this point of time with the clarification provided by the Well-wisher!

Prayerful Attitude....

Prayer to God is a must in my life and prayerful attitude should ever prevail in me!

Prayerful attitude is forgotten many times in a day as I lead my life through the interesting aspects of life coming up….But, the moment I remember the happening of this, it should come back in me through a belief and surrender that

Between a cup and a lip there are many slips…,
I am nothing in front of the vagaries of Nature…. and
My doings work out only if they are Okayed by the Lord….

Only when this is remembered in depth, the attitude is in the forefront!

The attitude in general….

Does good to me, does good to my next man and thus helps peace prevail in me and around!

Let me not say ‘NO’ to this attitude the moment I am aware of it and see that it is never a ritual or time bound action in my life!

Repentance in Life....

Repentance truly elevates a personality.

It may be perceived as  little different in modern times; but the underlying philosophy is the same!

Repentance should begin at the heart. It should be followed through a process of cleaning oneself, imposing certain mundane discipline and sincerely awaiting for the improvement!

But conveying to the world ‘The repentance in me’ should truly happen at a level of my own understanding of truth in life!

It is similar to the Great man's preaching the concept of loving the enemy through passive resistance….He said, “The best alternative for people who do not have the inner strength to show passive resistance is to fight out heroically and face the result! That would be the greatest way in the world rather than show pseudo passive resistance to escape from real fight!”

Thus, it is a great responsibility….If done this way, it is true repentance! Other ways are not safe!

An Insight....

The Great Philosopher had quickly earned the wrath of the His spouse and the king.  He was daunted daily by His spouse and the king was trying to fix Him up.  Finally, the king jailed him in a fabricated case and awarded Him the punishment of death.

On the day of execution of His death sentence, all His well wishers including His spouse were present. The king offered Him a bowl of poison to drink and a chance to fulfill His last wish.

The Great man smiled and said, “Please take away my spouse from here. If she stays longer, she will not allow me to drink this poison!”

The ways of living and expression of Great people in the world are always a wonder!  They are all the while friendly to the world but may be doing exactly the opposite of generally what the world thinks ‘The Right’.   This is where the beauty of life lies….

It is never our duty to rigidly follow a pattern and at the same time it is ever our duty not to relax even a little from the discipline!  Being continuously aware to a great extent where I am in this scenario itself is a Gift of God! 

The Great Saint guided people, “Be as hard as the rock but at the same time be as soft as the butter!”  So the ultimate guideline is, “I should do what I like the most; simultaneously I should do what brings in the greatest safety for me!”

Identifying this to the core itself is a Great Knowledge in this world!

Social Acceptance....

Social acceptance is a requirement in life; but, not always!   Meaning….In general, I cannot live happily in society without people around me ‘Okaying’ my doings!  Some explanation here….

My doings in life are either 

1) Out of law abiding interest or
2) Out of avoiding boycott in society or
3) Out of my whims and fancies or
4) Out of my own greed.... 

The first approach is 'All Welcome' and is a must that one follows always!
The second is the best approach if the first is upheld.
The third approach should follow only when the first and the second are taken care….
The fourth approach is never, never recommended….

The famous old story goes….

When a man prayed to God, God appeared to him and asked to choose a boon, out of his greed, the man thought, “Instead of asking wealth, I’ll ask two extra hands and one extra head so that with extra work and extra brain usage, I’ll be earning double throughout my life!” Accordingly, he asked the boon. God had given him the boon and he returned to the village with the ‘Extra’!  Seeing the man, the villagers thought that a demon had entered the village, and without a second thought they attacked him and ended him instantly!

That is why greed should always be ‘Out’ in life….

Lawful action is  always to be upheld even when the particular doing comes in the way of social acceptance…. That is ultimately safe for me…. 

But a parallel activity must follow immediately and continuously from my side as without a reasonable social acceptance, decent living becomes a sizable problem. That action is nothing but, lots of convincing, educating and discussing and ultimately proving the overall benefits of right action and bringing out the greater or major threats to one’s existence if that particular action is not done! That way, a lot is to be out as ‘True Effort’ from my side, till people around me are reasonably convinced of my doing. Further, as long as it is a law abiding requirement and the same is quoted / shown as the reason for my doing that way and as long as it is emphasized that it is a duty and no other way would be safe for anyone in the given situation, the pacifying works….

The ultimate of this, is nothing but reasonable peace around….

Better one make this discipline part of himself/herself!

The New Social Behavior....

A social behaviour depicted by the younger generation in the modern society is out of self protective tendency in particular and for maintenance of social order in general.

It is ever dynamic! People experiencing a generation Gap around should always make a note of it.

This particular social behaviour is out of new threats a young individual senses in his/her life….

He/she must

Necessarily interact in the new environment in the society,

Face bravely the new threats that exist and

Accordingly develop a new behavior to protect himself/herself….

And in all these behaviours, 10-20 percent spill over is to be allowed to cater for individual variations….

Then, is it not cruel to straight away to condemn the younger generation when their behaviours appear different?

Let me refrain from doing this and thus respect the new social behaviour and the associated good!

A Democratic Way....contd....

Democracy is a sacred concept.  All are equal and all have freedom of expression and protest. Everyone respects the same and welcome a lot all the while.

Hence a nefarious activity is never seen direct else people know that power is being misused….It goes on indirectly....Exploitation and corrupt practices thus continue to exist….

When the misuse continues this way, resentment develops among people and goes on simmering! When it reaches a level and public opinion and the press thus get more attention on the subject, suddenly  this activity is withdrawn and people are no more troubled. 

This immediately creates in all,  a feeling of great relief and it indirectly gives an impression of better ruling!   People forget the issue soon…. 

After a gap of certain time, the nefarious activity surfaces; the subject may be either old or new!  Thus continue exploitation and corrupt practices….The illegal network en cashes in steps....

And these practices never, never end in the so called democratic rule unless honesty exists to a reasonable extent with the powerful groups!

It is worth doing!

Two young adults were living together in a place for a long time. The life was smooth for both of them and quite interesting. They were almost thick bosom friends. They used to join and do many things together….

One day, one of the friends heard from a well-wisher that everything was ‘Not Ok’ with his bosom friend. To a further question, the well wisher told that his friend was of dubious character. He would speak something but would do another. In fact, he was assessed by the well-wisher as a man of no ethics and of background not worth mentioning.

The young man was sad. He felt miserable at that moment and could not decide anything on what to think or do next…

He suddenly remembered one of his close relatives, an elderly gentleman who was the best advisor in trivial situations of life as he had helped many that way and decided to take his advice in this case.

Accordingly, on one of his holidays, he visited the elderly gentleman, narrated his conflict in that situation and sincerely sought his advice on what to do next!

The elderly man heard him patiently, looked at him and said, “Is there a doubt here in the course of action? A weed is to be removed else its wild growth will spoil the prospective crop! There is no friendship with a man of cheap ethics. It may look hurting him but better this be done earlier. No pardoning and no delay in this decision are recommended.”

To the man looking still not clear, the elderly smiled and told further thus….

“Look! My dear, life may look all right now. The association with this friend in coming days brings in lots of problems for you and for people around you. You should keep friendship with good people. They are real assets. With people of bad ethics and lawlessness category, you run into many problems. The vicious circles encompass so much later and it would be difficult to come out. Sometimes we may be used as pawns if the bad man is powerful. The best thing is by hook or crook; keep off from such friendships. You are safe!”

While departing, the elderly gentleman whispered in his ears, “If required pay some money and get rid of him. No second thoughts are required here…. It is worth doing!”

The Help Outs....

Always earn the ‘good will’ through small contributions....by giving away the 'help outs'!

It is worth doing in life….

Let us keep aside the ‘Ego.’

It does the damage….

It eternally mars the relationships!

Egoistic feeling in me is mostly time bound; its impact goes in time….

So continuation of good behaviour even by force is a big asset….

It can be practised….Soon this becomes one’s habit….And habits die hard….

Let us get into this at any cost!

* A Marvelous Technology!

I visited an ATM Booth of a Standard Bank in the city…. Wanted to draw some cash with the Bank's ATM Card, but the ATM refused to proceed with my Card even after a few trials…. I was thinking that it was a fault with my Card.... But when another gentleman next to me too tried to operate the Machine and failed, I had my own doubts about the Machine itself.... But meanwhile, the third person in the queue used his ‘Another Bank’s ATM Card’, it worked and he got his cash!   For a while, we were at a loss to know why it happened so.... 

But after a few minutes, I came out of the ATM Booth thinking of going to the Bank next door and draw the cash required from the Bank's Counter as the same was urgently required....

Meanwhile, the next old gentleman in the queue entered the ATM Booth to try his luck and it appeared  he too had the same problem….Next to him, an young man joined him inside the Booth to help him out but for a while nothing seemed working.... Instantly, I had the second thoughts of just waiting there for a few minutes with a hope that the situation may improve…. At that point of time, the desperate old gentleman inside the Booth was trying to come out....

Suddenly to the surprise of every one, the door got locked…. The old man tried a few times to open the same from inside with the switch provided for that purpose, but it did not work.... Next, he pulled the door hard and that was found to be of no use…. By that time, the young man inside joined him in this task but both together too could do nothing.... I quickly tried pushing the door from outside, but no way…. It appeared that the door was firmly locked!

At that point of time, the old gentleman inside signaled to me to insert my Card in the front 'Card Slot' so that the door could open…. I tried, but that too was of no use….The two people thus got locked up inside for a while....

Instantly, I started moving towards the Bank to take their help in opening the door…. At that moment, another young man came forward, tried his Card in the outside slot.... That's all.... It worked instantly, he could open the door and the two men were out to the relief of all....

And in the melee,  as I peeped at the young man Card who instantly became the Savior there no doubt, I found that it was the work of 'Another Bank’s ATM Card' again!

Government, Politics and Living....A democratic Way....contd....

All democratic regimes in the world eternally have a problem…..

We propose that all are equal and standard living is the right of every one.   In that context, we will propose theories, make rules, allow debates and finalize stringent laws!

Behind all, the wise know that these are not effective in implementation as self interests predominantly prevail. They always proceed with a doubt….In that context only, all faithful democratic systems on priority propose effective method of not making one person or one group a powerful entity. 

So, the fight is always between ending injustice and corruption in ruling thus being able to provide decent living to citizens simultaneously not allowing one or one group with vested interests exercise singular power as the same can never be granted under democratic principles!

We may have to yield one side but good democratic systems will always support no exercise of singular power!