Friday, September 10, 2010

Paradise on Earth

A kingdom so high in the skies, that its highest buildings were always covered in the mists.  A city governed by the righteous and noble. A small boy plays in the streets as he watches a procession move towards the centre of the city. A hundred organized soldiers of the kingdom walked in a formation and in the centre were a group of men. The boy had never seen anything like them, shabbily dressed and thin, their eyes livid with fear. The boy, all of 7 years, had grown seeing people who had always been content and happy. Well dressed and well endowed with everything required. A group of women close to the boy spoke pointing at these men. One of them called these men as thieves who lived in the mountains and this group has been evading capture for some time now. Why someone would steal from his people, the boy wondered. The procession came to a halt and a bugle sounded far away announcing the arrival of their king, Ram.

Ram usually dealt with all issues of the country in the presence of his countrymen. He trusted his men and they trusted him in return. Ram came down to the city centre. He was dressed just like the rest of the population, the only differentiating factor being his crown, that symbolized he was king of the land. He looked at the 4 men in their rags and crest fallen faces. They were around 30 years of age. Ram looked at them and asked, "Did you have food?”. Ram instructed the guards to give them some food and a place to stay. The men were shocked and hung their head in shame for having tried to steal from such a noble group of people. The men fell at Ram’s feet and seeked pardon and vowed to stay righteous and grateful always. Little did the young boy realize then that this group of reformed young men would become his nation’s greatest army strategists. Thus, Ram built his kingdom, not on rules but, on love, mercy and loyalty.





Sunday, September 5, 2010

Life Long Learning

Ramayana and Mahabharatha, two epic literary works from India. Two of the best institutions of learning in themselves. Both these, unfortunately though, have come to be regarded as solely Hinduism based.The battle fields of Ramayana and Mahabharatha have churned out few of the best lessons that today's generation can learn from. 

Every team/family has its own leader and their close associates. The associates believe in their leader and believe in the cause they stand for. They follow him and are sincere in their roles. This definitely does not mean that they are not as capable as their leader. There are people who are equally capable, if not more, who have chosen to follow their leader. After all, in Ramayan, when the famous Nagastra was fired and when Ram and Lakshman were both unconscious, it was their close associate Hanuman who enabled them to go on. He uprooted a small hill to make it happen. Hanuman believed in his leader, role model, lord and friend - Ram.  He stood for  the cause of his leader and followed him till the end and showed his capabilities as and when required.

The leaders of our teams and families sometimes let us stay at the helm and let us try our hand at making things happen and when we are in need of guidance, they are there to help us and lead us on. Just like Krishna was there for Arjun during the epic Mahabharatha battle at Kurukshetra. Similar instances have always been found everywhere. Our families and institutions have always been there to teach us and lead us. After a stage, they have let us lead and have played the role of our mentors. 

In the past 25 years, I  have been fortunate to have had the best of friends who stood by me, leaders who inspired me and mentors who believed in me and guided me. I would like to say Thank you for all those special people who have made a difference to my life. I am what I am today, because of you. Thank you! Looking forward to learning more from you all.