The monkey MIND!

 

Sunday April 06^th 2025         Day 23122

Our MIND could turn out to be our worst enemy!!

Any experience could leave an imprint on the MIND and establish deep rooted beliefs and thinking patterns. Many of these could prevent us from being level headed, could become major limiting factors and keep us away from tapping into our fullest potential.  

Take the case of a successful entrepreneur. Having been through the break off of one alliance proposal, does it leave that person with very poor trust levels on every subsequent proposal? Does it limit that person’s ability to move forward and embrace matrimony and live life to the fullest?

Take another situation. A person who has parents and family who are very overbearing and hence this person is not able to determine his own way forward. Has too many expectations from family members and hence the person stops thinking boldly for oneself.

How can people realise and become aware that they still have fullest control over their mental faculties and can determine their own paths forward? How can they take their learnings from past experiences, but still retain the ability to navigate their life forward?

Can they realise that they have to keep their own MIND away from monkeying around with their Life!

The week saw us stepping into the new fiscal year FY 2526. The Trump Tariff antics, with reciprocal tariffs on all countries announced on 02 April, are triggering global trade concerns and impacting the stock markets badly. Recession, uncertainty, inflation, and many other major concerns. Got to keep one’s MIND clear of all these global issues and focus on those aspects that are within one’s control. Be sensible with one’s investments, look for opportunities to help others even in this uncertain situation.

Am gearing up this week for a two-day session at Isha to assist an FPO draft its annual business plan. Also speaking at a Dindigul Engineering College to around 500 students at their Intercollegiate symposium. Sharing some thoughts on Life and Career choices, Entrepreneurship and tapping into their fullest potential. An opportunity to impress upon the FPO directors as well as the student community to tap into their fullest potential.  

Like any other “muscle”, the MIND too should be trained and perfected. Should be in our fullest control. Wielding a sharp knife while ensuring that its razor-sharp edge does not inflict any injuries on self or others, use it for what you want it to do and not have unintended consequences. Likewise ensuring that one’s MIND is a powerful ally in your LIFE and not hijacking one’s Life journey

Live Life To The Maximum!

Mind the MIND !

 

Sunday 30 March 2025                          Day 23115

 

We can dwell in the past …and use the memory capabilities of our MIND

We can travel into the future….and use the imagination capabilities of our MIND

What we truly have with us is only the present. And what we can have full control of us how we are …..our state of *being”, right now. Whatever we may be engaged in and doing now, it is our state of “being” that we should master our control over. Ekagrataa…single pointed focus. 

We will find ourselves in different situations as we meander through every day of our life. Each and every situation is an opportunity to learn and evolve. Our state of “being” in each of these situations will determine how we respond in that given situation. 

All of us desire change for the better. Which essentially means we want our situations to become more comfortable. We want the outcomes of each situation to be favorable. We can either focus on each of these different situations alone ….or, also do something to alter our state of “being” and the way we respond.

Imagine yourself as a circle. The many life situations that one is in are all sitting on the peripheral circumference.....so let us say there are 360 different situations that one finds themselves in. Yes, we have to address each and every one of these 360 situations. That is one trajectory.

The other approach is to address the center. At the center of the circle there is only one dot. Not 360. All the radii originate from this center and terminate at the peripheral 360 points. 

So, if we really address and tweak the center it is quite natural to expect that the tweak will radiate and impact each of the 360 points on the peripheral circumference. 

And by doing so, the subsequent situations that we find ourselves in, would also be determined. Like in a university or academic course, when you master a particular subject or topic, one is capable of taking on even more advanced concepts in that subject. One evolves in capabilities and expertise.

Addressing and tweaking the real CORE of oneself. 

A disciplined and focused CORE ....with specific attitudes.......(gratitude and forgiveness...)....a higher level of vibration and energy.......a daily focused dinacharya....... attending to your inner self and also to the body mind energy and emotion ...... 

Recognizing that at the very core, all pieces of creation are essentially the same....and pristine and pure....... Relishing that purity and strengthening that day by day ...moment by moment........

 

Live Life To The Maximum!

FPOs, Startup Incubators, Shaadi…

Sunday 23 March 2025                          Day 23108

Visited another Coimbatore based Incubator, supporting the Startup culture in diverse sectors, all focused on the UN SDGs. 

 

Assisting a youngster navigate through the arranged marriage process and understanding some strange nuances of this roller coaster ride. Quite fascinating that even today many arranged marriages survive and thrive, despite these odd nuances. How many such wild gambles pay off! Astonishing indeed. 

Working with FPOs in TN and KTK, reviewing operations and gearing up for the new fiscal year. Helping another Startup look at the past four years and then get ready to craft a Business Plan for the new fiscal starting on 01 April 2026. The stock market seems to be getting more bullish in the past week after many weeks of a bearish trend. Trump and his new MAGA actions have had some impact on the global stock markets. Let us see how FY 2526 shapes up in our country.

The week when T20 frenzy peaks….IPL 2025….IPL in its 18th year! Kick off on 22nd March. IPL.

A fantastic sports brand that celebrates international talent coming together as a team, bidding wars for top talent, quickfire version of cricket, swinging the bat from the very first ball…..120 balls a side. Maybe this year will see the 300 runs being breached by some side. Veterans and newbies rubbing shoulders, truly global learning opportunities. This form of Cricket focusses on scoring the maximum runs when your side bats first…..and then restricting the other side when it is their turn to swing the willow.

Helping a few youngsters, who are completely city bred and have no clue of agricultural practices, to develop their inherited agricultural land into a viable opportunity. Encouraging them to adopt regenerative farming practices from day 1. Will they appreciate the attitude of GIVING? Or will they be focused on “what can we get out of this”?

 

Motivating a few mid-level professionals to take fullest charge of their lives and work towards being the best version of themselves.

 

Live Life To The Maximum! 

Leadership with H U M A N I T Y !

 

Sunday 16 March 2025                          

Day 23101

At any point in time, all of us are Leaders. We may lead our own Life, we may lead our small family, our work-team, a sports team, our society, our community and many more.

When you LEAD, you essentially have FOLLOWERS. Those on whom you have influence and impact. Leadership therefore is a tremendous responsibility and has to be handled with awareness and sensitivity.

As a Leader one may either choose to lead superficially, using one’s position, title and still have impact and influence. Alternately one can lead from one’s deepest core. From that space within you which houses your Purpose, your Ambitions, your Energy and your Values. Leading from one’s core essentially means leading without the power of position. This approach leads to a more sustained and impactful leadership.

Any interaction between two humans essentially means there is some transference of energies. In the performance of a leadership role too, there are transferences of energies. How enriching and efficient is the transference, does the impact and influence enable the other human to thrive and rise to his / her maximum potential, does the transference enrich and nurture the Leader as well positively?

When Leadership is deployed with awareness, sensitivity and consciousness, one is leveraging and tapping into one’s CORE, while constantly nurturing and strengthening it at the same time. And in doing so, one lives one’s own life to the maximum and also ensures that one’s impact and influence is far more effective.

The L.E.H Journey is what senior successful participants from the world of business embark upon, to take a pause and travel within themselves to explore their Core and Capacity and then design their own way forward. Enabling them to dream and aspire big. Help them see what is possible and also enhance the legacy that they can leave as humans and leaders.

The past week saw me travelling to Chandigarh between 11^th and 13^th March. The event was the L.E.H Change Partner’s Workshop, wherein I got enrolled as a L.E.H Change Partner to support the participants of the L.E.H Journeys. Got to interact with the cheerful L.E.H team, six other experienced Change Partners and five other aspiring Change Partners like me.

As we navigate through Life, we often get tempted to don masks and deploy leadership in a superficial manner. The effort is to open up an opportunity to lead from one’s core.

Essentially reminding ourselves that before we are leaders, we are humans. And as leaders, it is our responsibility to lead with Humanity.

 

Live Life To The Maximum!

Incubators and FPOs….Kerala and Karnataka

Sunday 09 March 2025                          

Day 23094

The past week was about visiting two neighboring states Kerala and Karnataka 

Travelled to Thrissur, Kerala for a meeting with KAU-R-ABI …an incubator focused on agri business. To assist NITI Aayog assess / review policies for Incubators. 

A vibrant agribusiness incubator, many enterprising women and men keen to create new businesses. 

A 3-day visit to Mysuru, Karnataka for meeting two FPOs. One in Nanjangud and another in Bettadapura. Understanding business opportunity in Banana + Coconut in Nanjangud and Ginger + Ragi in Bettadapura. 

Farmers struggling to get reasonable values for their produce. Staying focused on the farming activity and quite ignorant about the value chain, use cases and end market segments. Thereby staying vulnerable and under the dominance of traders. Scared and unwilling to try out newer approaches to develop more consistent and better revenue streams. 

The Isha coordinator who is aggressive, demanding. Needing inputs to develop solid reasonable Business Plans. Needs to develop the ability to work backwards from Market opportunities and not just focus on Product. 

The Isha CBBO teams needing quick wins and results to boost their confidence. 

Lots of fundamental tweaks needed to make these two FPOs move into a “winner’s mindset”. 

Live Life To The Maximum! 

Celebrating Life!

 Sunday 02 March 2025                          Day 23087

Mahashivaratri 2025   MSR Feb 26 2025.

Another glorious celebration at Isha this year. Between the last one and the one this year, Sadhguru had a health emergency, with anxiety in everyone's minds. He emerged well out of this emergency. And this year's MSR therefore was even more special. 

A night like none other. A clarion call to every human, irrespective of faith, caste, creed, to aspire to maximize one's potential. An opportunity to align with the natural upsurge of energy. Music, dance, meditation, satsang, through the night into the dawn of the next day. 

Unveiled the Miracle of Mind App. Taking meditativeness to the masses. Free to download. Easy 7 minutes meditation. 

Consecration of 3 million rudraksha beads for free distribution. A drop of spirituality for every human. 

A sea of humanity at the MSR grounds. Many more logged in online for the night long celebration. 

Honorable Home Minister Amit Shah ji graced the event as a special guest of honour. 

February makes way for the month of March. Good interaction with another Incubator at Tiruppur, focused on the Textiles and Apparels sector. Gearing up for another interaction with a Kerala based Incubator focused on the Agri Business sector. 

Tulsi seeds planted on 21st Feb, one variety Rama Tulsi sprouted in 5 days on 26th. The other variety Shyama Tulsi yet to sprout. Each species is unique even if they are close cousins. 

Patience will pay. Grace and Abundance is all around us. 

#LifeMaximum 

Day 23080…Amazing week indeed!

Sunday 23 Feb 2025 

Interesting week!

Engaging with an Incubator for the Defence Sector, CDIIC CODISSIA, for IIT GDC, to help Niti Aayog review and tweak policies for Incubators.

Working with the Directors of an FPO to fast-track the establishment of a Mini Tea Plant for Organic Orthodox Green Tea.

Judging four Tech startups from TN and Karnataka, with PALS (PAN IIT Alumni organisation) at an Engineering College in Erode

Mentoring a young individual who is navigating through the “arranged marriage” process. 

Coaching a Tech VP at. Japanese IT Consulting firm to manage his career transition planning 

Meeting a dear IIT-M batchmate and getting darshan and a hug from Amma Mata Amritanandamayi during her Coimbatore visit.

Meeting an enterprising first gen entrepreneur, also an IIT-M alumnus, who has just divested his entire stake in a high tech Pneumatic company to a global MNC. 

An emerging opportunity to Mentor a few professionals in the manufacturing plants of a French Glass manufacturer. 

Exploring opportunities with a Engineering University to mentor and coach their team focused on Innovation & Entrepreneurship. 

Mentoring a tech startup in the final weeks of their cohort, navigate their entrepreneurship journey in the domain of bioplastics to address the issues of single use plastic and non biodegradable packing for takeaway food businesses. Helping them tweak their storytelling skills as well for their program closure. 

Assisting a niece from the US, to visit Isha for the first time. 

Preventing a junior lady professional manager from being scammed by a Mysuru - Stockholm job offer! 

Preparing a big batch of Kada Prasad, Sourcing plant soil mix and good quality seeds + planting two types of Tulsi seeds. 

Eagerly gearing up for Maha Shivaratri 2025 on Feb 26th. 

Enough evidence of grace and abundance in full flow……enjoying every moment! 

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu !

#Grace    #Abundance   #LifeMaximum 

#Grace    #Abundance    #LifeMaximum

Crafting your own destiny

Sunday, 16 February 2025                            

Day 23073

Life has its twists & turns, ups & downs. That is what really makes this journey of Life so very exciting.

Every moment we face unique situations. Even if the situation looks very familiar and akin to something we may have experienced earlier, if we look deeply enough, something would have changed. The question to ask oneself is: Why is this situation repeating? What life lesson have I not learnt and mastered? If it is a very new and unique situation, then we should embrace the reality of this situation, look at how best to respond amongst the gazillion choices and then respond consciously. With a belief that every situation is a tremendous opportunity to evolve higher. 

Whatever curve-ball Life throws at you, all that we need to do is face it head-on. We may not be able to predict what lies around the corner of Time, but surely, we can control the way we perceive and process the situation, the way we respond to the situation. To that extent, we do have the ability to Craft our own Destiny. 

Whatever your current state is, you should be able to navigate a clear path to your desired future state. How would one do that? 

Craft your own Destiny

- Take complete charge. Take responsibility for where you are.  

- What is your present state, what is going on and where are you now? Your Point A. 

- Where do you dare to go to? Your Point B. 

- What will enable you to move from Point A to Point B? 

- Recognize your BELIEFs … what works, what is holding you back. 

- Eliminate the limiting beliefs, nurture and invigorate those that are powerful enablers. 

- Shift the paradigm. Rewire yourself. Align with the correct flow. 

- Create a new journey to Point B. 

- Strive towards it and as you head towards it, redefine your Point B and move your goalpost and repeat the process. 

Step by step, you design your Life. Designers think of the problems they wish to solve. They look at possible ideas / ways to solve it. Create experiments to validate / invalidate their assumptions and shortlist the possible ways to workable ones. Eliminate the bad ideas, eliminate the limiting beliefs. Reframe. Move forward. Constantly developing a pathway towards the solution. 

Likewise, you have to Live Life To The Maximum! Tap into your fullest potential. Develop a new pathway / pathways into your future. Create your future in the present! 

#LifeMaximum      

Flow…… Grace & Abundance

Sunday, 09 February 2025               

Day 23066

As we go from moment to moment, the recognition of the life-force or praana that flows through us is most relevant. That is the really subtle energy form that determines the existence of the life within. 

As any physics student will tell you….whenever something is “static” even if it has energy, it is just “Potential” energy. Only when it is mobile and it moves, does it morph into “Kinetic” energy. The sense of movement is vital and that is what we experience as “flow”. A stagnant pool of water v/s a flowing brook or stream will show Life in different forms. 

When the flow becomes easy and smooth, it gives a different experience, something like a laminar flow. If the flow is chaotic and unruly, it is a turbulent flow. Would we not want to experience life in a “grace”full and genteel manner? 

I start my day with this small reminder:

Grace & abundance are all around me. It is this grace & abundance that has made me what I am and it is with me right now

It is this grace & abundance that is helping me to connect with more beings and enabling me to help them Live Life To The Maximum!

And by doing so, I Live Life To The Maximum! 

Lokaa samastha sukhino bhavanthu 

And my first recitation each day is focussed on aligning with THE Flow…. Aligning my miniscule energy with that of the energy all around me.  

Sahana Vavatu, Shanti mantra from Taittiriya, Katha Upanishad and Shvetashvatara Upanishads.

ॐ सह नाववतु ।                                oṃ saha nāvavatu

सह नौ भुनक्तु ।                                  saha nau bhunaktu

सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।                            saha vīryaṃ karavāvahai

तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै।     tejasvi nāvadhītamastu mā vidviṣāvahai

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥                 oṃ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ

May the divine protect both of us. May the divine nourish both of us (with knowledge). May both of us make effort for the capacity (for knowledge to take place). May what is studied by us, be brilliantly clear. Let not have any misunderstanding. Let there be freedom from three possible obstacles (the forces over which we have no control, adhidaivika; from the beings around us, adhibhautika; or from factors centred on ourselves, adhyatmika.) 

Starting the day with kriyas to activate the flow and eliminate blockages in joints etc…limbering up with upayoga to kick-start the flow. Aligning my posture consciously throughout the day to: “maintain” the flow. 

Remember this always….Recognise that it is not YOU, It is the flow, you are just the medium, the pipe…the conduit…It is grace & abundance flowing thru you that makes your every moment. 

Live Life To The Maximum! 

Perceptions & Responses…..Part 2

Sunday, 02 February 2025 

Day 23059  

Perceptions & Responses…..Part 2

In the earlier post, dated 19th Jan, titled Perceptions & Responses, we talked about why it is vital that we strive to constantly enhance our “perceptions” and also, why we should ensure that our perceptions are always “as they truly are” and not corrupted by our past tendencies / vaasanaas. 

One has to make the constant effort to ensure that one is “conscious” of every moment and not living out life in a “compulsive” manner. This does take quite a bit of effort, but is a skill / awareness that one can slowly develop. Being regular in going to a state of deep meditation helps immensely. Meditation is not an activity that one does, but a state of being. So, in effect you don’t do meditation but you become meditative. 

Ability to keep yourself alert to what your Body is telling you, being conscious of what your Mind is engaged with are also essential to avoid being “compulsive”. 

Remind yourself always: I am not the Body, I am also not the Mind

The Body and the Mind are essentially accumulations. They are extremely useful tools for us to navigate Life. They should be seen as just that…plain tools. We need to keep them honed and fully capable at all times. But we also need to ensure that they do not become the Master! They are there to Serve. There is something else beyond the Body and beyond the Mind, that is the true Master. That is the real I, which is eternal and not restricted to this lifetime. Both the Body and the Mind cease to exist at the point of death. The real I, that is what is eternal and accompanies us on our journey beyond death. 

Once we start becoming more “conscious” and when our spine is at its peak capacity as an antenna, our perceptions will be richer and richer. 

And then we look at how we RESPOND! 

Response + Ability = RESPONSIBILITY. 

It is our RESPONSIBILITY to be able to respond in the proper manner. There is a gazillion different ways we could respond to every moment in our Life. How we chose to respond determines on what future karma we accumulate and what past karma we dissolve. Karma is not fatalistic. Karma is plain and simple “cause and effect”. Every response (action / thought / deed etc) that we create in every moment is the “cause”, & will have an “effect” for sure. 

The purpose of Life is (1) to have the richest of perceptions, & (2) to respond most consciously…. and by doing these we steadily and gradually dissolve our karmic balance and do not accumulate any further karmic balance. That is how we evolve. 

As a “seeker” I too am in the journey to enhance my perception and to ensure that I respond consciously! 

Live Life To The Maximum! 

Your own CONSTITUTION!

Sunday, 26 January 2025 Bharat’s 76th Republic Day

Our nation Bharat celebrates our 76th Republic Day today. This day in 1950 is when the Nation’s Constitution was adopted after we gained or Independence from the British on 15th Aug 1947. 

A CONSTITUTION is a set of fundamental Laws and Rules of how the Nation would be governed. It describes the different Institutions of or Nation, their inter-relationships. It also spells out the Rights as well as the Duties of the citizens. 

As an individual human being, each of us should have our own Constitution. A set of fundamental rules that should use to live our Life. Something that is unique to oneself. Drafted by oneself and adopted by oneself. How would we go about doing that? 

• Define what is important in your Life. 
• Establish clear-cut priorities. 
• Be aware and conscious of your Do’s & Don’ts.
• Be clear about how you will be at your peak energy levels always.
• Be disciplined about your daily schedules and your dinacharya.
• Allot time for all important aspects of your Life every week and every month. 
• Establish a clear pattern of giving back and nurturing to those in your circle of influence.
• Align yourself with the Universal energy and be genuinely grateful for the grace and abundance that flows through you.  
• Dare to reach out for and grab every moment, tap into your fullest potential.

Remember this always: Your brand persona is a clear reflection of your state of BEING. And your Constitution lays down the framework of how you should conduct your Life. How you can be conscious about your state of being at all times. 

Live Life To The Maximum!

Day 23052

Perceptions & Responses

Sunday, 19 January 2025

Day 23045

The splendor of Life is really in the infinitesimal moments that are woven together like beads on a long chain. Each bead is rich in content, helping us learn and evolve, making our Life truly joyful & magnificent, unique & full of immense possibilities. 

Any journey that we undertake would become very memorable if we absorb as much as we can during the course of the journey. The more we absorb, the more memorable the experience. Likewise in the journey of Life, how much we immerse ourselves into every moment, how much we assimilate, will determine the richness of our life. And in order to do we have to be able to “perceive” the varied hues of every moment, every little nuance. The richer our “perception” of every moment, richer our Life will be. 

We perceive every moment through the five sensory organs. Beyond these five senses, there could be other senses, which may not be fully developed in us. There are methods and means to develop these other senses, which are practiced by yogis. The pineal gland and the “third eye” is one such sense that lies dormant and needs to be awakened with kriyas. 

The two powerful faculties that Humans have, MEMORY (of the past) and IMAGINATION (of the future), need to be harnessed in a manner such that they do not mar the experience of the moment. Oftentimes we look at situations through the lens of or past experiences and that colours our perception. By doing so, we do not experience the moment AS IT IS, but in a distorted manner. The effort should be to experience moment AS IT REALLY IS. That is true INSIGHT. By doing so, we live life Consciously and not Compulsively. We should not let our past tendencies / vaasanaas to impact our present. Perceive things “as they truly are”.

The spine is the “axis mundi”, the “meru dhanda”. Akin to an antenna. The higher the receptivity of the spine, the better or perceptions are. How well we maintain the spine will determine the richness of or perceptions. Exercises and kriyas to maintain the spine in top condition is essential.  

And once we perceive, or ability to respond is truly unlimited. Conscious choice of our RESPONSEs will determine the outcomes. Living life consciously and not compulsively, will determine the rate at which past karma is obliterated and the accumulation of new karma. 

Life is just that: To enhance the richness of or perception and to ensure that we respond consciously. 

Always “Better Than Before”

 Sunday, 12 January 2025

Always “Better Than Before”? 

Constantly striving to be a BETTER HUMAN BEING!

That is the only true purpose of LIFE. 

To enhance my experience of LIFE in every small moment within the limited time that one has on this planet in this lifetime. 

The two dimensions of TIME & ENERGY are all that I need to focus upon. 

Recognizing that TIME is incessantly drifting away like the sand in the hour-glass, I have to be conscious of every single moment, because, it is not TIME that is slipping away but LIFE! That makes every moment of one’s day so very precious. 

When one is constantly aware of one’s mortality, it serves to propel you forward. In the scriptures there is a word “DWIJA”. Which really means “twice-born”. Once when you are physically born and come out of your mother’s womb. And the second time is when you really become aware of your mortality! Being aware of one’s mortality is not morbidity, it is the true reality. 

Someone said, “You Live Only Once”…. Actually, it should be “You Die Only Once”. You LIVE EVERY MOMENT!

So, while TIME will slip away every moment and take us that much closer to our end, the only effort that I really need to make is to ensure that my ENERGY is at its most vibrant levels. That way, I can enhance my experience of every moment to the highest levels. Enhance my perception of this magnificent LIFE all around me. Why search for another heaven, and that too after my death, when what we have on this planet is just that? 

And by doing so, I can really make my life, “Better Than Before”. In management terms this is akin to the Continuous Improvement / KAIZEN principle. 

So, whenever someone asks me “How are you?”, I should be able to confidently state “Always Better Than Before”! 

That can be a worthwhile metric / reminder to see if I am true to my goal of “Live Life To The Maximum”. 

Can we see the forest inside every seed?

Sunday, 05 January 2025

Can we see the forest inside every seed? 

Every piece of creation that we see on the planet (and many species that have not survived) have unique traits and characteristics. 

There are things that worms and insects do, that humans cannot! The eagle soars and the shark dives deep, we humans cannot do so on our own unless we leverage some technology. 

Yet every human has immense potential! 

How did our journey start? Once upon a time, a sperm and an egg met up in a womb! One “successful” sperm that out-swam a gazillion other sperms, managed to reach its destination. That sperm was a winner and that union of a sperm and an egg, is where we started!  So right from the moment of conception we are born winners! 

While the mother provided the safe ecosystem of her womb, there was a natural intelligence that took charge. As the woman went about her daily chores, the intelligence within nurtured the sperm-egg pair and gradually over a period of around nine months, it manufactured a tiny little human baby! Skeleton, tissues, blood and other fluids, organs and glands, limbs and hand, fingers and toes! 

Isn’t that just immensely remarkable!  Such is the magnificence of LIFE! 

And as we journey forth from our moment of Birth to our certain Death, we probably have a period of around 30000 – 35000 days on the planet. 

How well we celebrate and rejoice in this short journey of LIFE is all that we have to focus upon! 

We board a train / plane and at the destination we disembark / deboard. We enter a school or university and after the full syllabus/ course is completed we graduate and exit. Each of these are examples of many smaller journeys that we take up in or wider journey of LIFE. How well we conduct ourselves and how immensely we relish each of these smaller journeys determines how enriched our Life would be. Each of us would “participate” in these journeys to different levels of involvement. And that is what makes each of our LIFE journeys so unique. 

Let us metaphorically compare a HUMAN to a SEED. 

Every SEED has a hidden FOREST within.....and not all seeds go onto the full journey from a simple seed to...sapling...plant...tree....many fruits….each with multitude seeds.....each of which in turn can repeat this cycle and thereby become a forest. That is the hidden POTENTIAL within the seed. 

Likewise every human has immense potential within....not many can claim to tap into their fullest potential before their time runs out. 

Make an effort...Live Life To The Maximum ! .... Maximize your potential for the well-being of the planet and its beings.

Have a wonderful 2025! 

Celebrate LIFE !

 In 2023 I did not sustain my intent to write daily notes! 

It did not happen in the whole of 2024 either. But now as 2024 nears its end, am prompted to re-start this effort once again. Instead of the ambitious Daily Notes, why not make it a 52-day effort and write notes on every Sunday of 2025! That is the effort that I shall pursue in 2025. 

But before I start this off on the first Sunday of 2025, let me pen a note for 2024 at least! 

So here goes>>>>>>>>

Celebrate LIFE !

The last Sunday of 2024 is here and in two days’ time we will gear up to welcome 2025 ! 

Birthdays, Anniversaries, New Years and various festivals etc are moments of celebration indeed. 

But Dil Maange More! 

Why celebrate just once a year? Can we not have "Har Roz Tyohaar" or "Har Pal Tyohaar". Can we not 

Live Life To The Maximum! 

Birth and Death are the beginning and ending of Life. 

The seasons Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter also represent the waxing and waning of Life. 

The lunar cycles with the waxing and waning of the moon are also similar representations. 

Likewise, Sunrise and Sunset, Day and Night are the microcosm of Life. Each day that we are fortunate to be alive, is nothing but a representation of Life itself. This LIFE is just a brief journey of around 30000 to 35000 days, maybe some of us would have a few more days beyond that. Celebrate each day ! 

And while you are at it, make the world a better place for yourself and also for every other person and creature on the planet. 

And within each living moment the breath itself is a representation of LIFE. Presence of breath is an indicator of LIFE. The inhalation is akin to birth and the exhalation is akin to death. When a newborn child comes out of the womb, it takes its first inhalation......and when life passes out of our body, it does so, with an exhalation. 

For moving away from COMPULSION to CONSCIOUSNESS, the breath is a powerful tool. The four stages of breath: Pooraka (inhalation), Kumbhaka (fullness of breath), Rechaka (Exhalation) & finally, Shoonyaka (Emptiness of breath), when done with deep awareness, helps strengthen our deepest core. 

Celebrate every breath, every day, every month and every year ! Celebrate every moment indeed ! 

Have a blissful and wonderful year ahead in 2025, filled with amazing moments. 

Live Life To The Maximum ! 

29 December 2024

Day 23024

Celebrate Every Day !

Celebrate Every Day !

Saturday 02 April 2022: DAY 22022 for me.

Saturday 02 April 2022. The start of the Hindu New Year 2079 as per Vikram Samvat. We humans may use many different calendars to mark the passage of time. And celebrate many different days as their own individual New Year day. The folks in Andhra & Telengana, Maharshtra, Kashmir, and the Sindhis celebrate today as Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Navreh, Cheti Chand etc. And many others will celebrate it later this month as Bihu, Vishu, Puthandu etc.

It is all about celebration and the marking of the passage of Time.

For Life is so precious and absolutely worthy of celebration today and every single day!! When the sun appears to come up over the eastern horizon on account of the spinning of planet Earth, a new day dawns. There is an ebb and flow in life, as there is in every inhalation & exhalation, as there is in every sunrise and sunset. And every new day is one of hope, opportunities and new experiences & relationships.

Likewise all of us tend to celebrate the day of our birth in any calendar as our Birthday. Many of us have an English birthday and a Star birthday. A once-a-year celebration of the fact that we came into this life on that day and are alive to celebrate it every year.

So why celebrate only on a New Year Day or a Birthday, once a year? Why not every day?

I chose to measure my life in Days and celebrate each day as a new day! Grateful that I have the breath in me for one more day!

So today is DAY 22022 for me on planet Earth in this lifetime.

02-04-2022 is 22022. 02 April 2022: Day 22022 for Shriram Parameswaran

I may surely have added a lot of value to those I have had the opportunity to interact with, in these 22022 days. I surely hope to continue to do my best to add value in the remaining days of my Life.

Live Life To The Maximum

#lifemaximum

www.lifemaximum.in

Ps: I use the Days Calculator on www.timeanddate.com to keep track of the number of Days.

a few words that I penned today....

 

A rare drop ...then a trickle.....a stream, a river and probably a deluge

Steadily becoming proximal in degrees of connectedness

Instances of humankind dropping their mortal coil

Irrespective of age, gender and general physical health

Bringing with it a numbness and a drought of tears

Each death, merely another statistic, a meaningless count

Social distancing, WFH, virtual meetings etc is already in our vocabulary and now it is digital condolences

Repeated reminders of our definite mortality, the drifting away of our allotted time

Reminding us to strive even harder urgently, at spreading hope, support and whatever we can

To the mass of humanity that we may not today include as our own

While we cocoon ourselves in our private sanitized, secured spaces and fortify with vaccinations

Thinking first of me and mine alone, self-preservation foremost?

Will this insulation be any consolation for those at the frontlines battling out and for those already afflicted, those who have lost livelihood and lives of their dearest

Self-preservation first, letting the frontliners battle it out? Is that the only way or is there another?

Statistics and theories of waves, mutants and vectors, encourage us to shrink further into our shells?

When life is always about expansion and inclusion, is this virus being allowed to reverse our purpose?

Time for all of us, not just the trained and prepped healthcare system, to do our bit to overcome this pandemic

If not for anything but solely because it is upon us and it is our karma. 

Our body: a chemical soup......and an immense possibility of LIFE !

Our body has its own inherent capabilities to generate different chemicals that are required to be in appropriate proportions. There are many chemical factories i.e glands within us, which do these jobs of production. 

Whenever any of these capabilities becomes deficient (underactive or overactive) is when we face illnesses. Eg insulin, thyroxine, adrenalin, testosterone, oestrogen etc And then we address those illnesses by simply taking medicines which are nothing but chemicals to either address the deficiency or to kickstart the internal factories to produce the right chemicals, thereby supplementing the chemical soup that is inside us. These may appear to be quick fixes or short term interventions. However if we live life consciously and manage our lifestyle better, we can keep our internal chemical factories humming innoerfect rhythm and harmony.

There is obviously a strong connect between our body and our mind. All actions and thoughts that we engage in, directly result in the appropriate chemical secretions into the blood stream and result in various after effects. Simple examples are : When we have a sudden scare or fright, our body releases adrenaline in an instant and our heart rate goes up, enabling the after effect of fight or flight. When one sees an erotic image or scene, appropriate hormones get released resulting in male erections and female vaginal lubrication.

So there is a direct correlation between our thoughts & acts and the constitution bof the chemical soup inside us. This being the case, if we can consciously engage in specific acts and thoughts that would enable the release of the relevant chemicals that generate positive effects on us as a human being.

D.O.S.E ...i.e Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins are the wellness / happiness chemicals. We need to have these in the appropriate D.O.S.E within us. And if these are in sufficient quantities, then each of us will have an overall elevated level of wellness within us and would also automatically spread this wellness around us.

The image above in this page and this YouTube link : https://youtu.be/ldPuBk7a9V4
.....and also this post I found on the internet....

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/hacking-into-your-happy-c_b_6007660......which clearly states that "Dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins are the quartet responsible for our happiness. Many events can trigger these neurotransmitters, but rather than being in the passenger seat, there are ways we can intentionally cause them to flow."

.......all these guide us to the appropriate actions that we could do consciously to ensure the right dose of D.O.S.E.


Likewise the internal "life-energy" also determines how we conduct our life. The quality / nature of our internal life-energy and where is based within the body determine the conduct of our life. Vice versa how we conduct nour life also determines the nature of our life-energy. The chakras (there are supposed to be 114 chakras for a human ...112 within us and two around us. And of the 112 within us the main ones that are commonly referred to are the seven chakras.....Mooladhara, Swadishthana, Manipooraka, Anahatha, Vishuddhi, Ajna and Sahasrara) and the physical structure of the body (skeleton and organs etc) are depicted in this image and also in these write-ups.

https://kinesiology.co.uk/life-force-energy-and-chakras/

https://www.expressionsofspirit.com/yoga/chakras.htm


One can consciously determine and alter the state of our life-energy by appropriate practices, our lifestyle etc. All yogic masters teach us various kriyas and sadhanas (loosely translated as actions and tools) that help us enhanvebour life-energy.

Having been given the gift of a human life, we can consciously exercise our free will to determine the true impact that this lifetime has on us as individuals and also on the rest of humanity and the planet. We can and should determine what footprints 👣👣👣 each of us leaves on the sands of time.

🙏🙏🙏 Namaskarams 🙏🙏🙏

Shriram Parameswaran
13 Aug 2020

Brevity of life... yet with immense fragrance...

Had penned these few lines earlier this week, at the spur of the moment.....when a cousin in Mumbai shared photos of many BrahmaKamals blooming in her home........ 

And today as a BrahmaKamal blooms in our own small garden, am sharing these words again.

Read on..…...

In the darkest depths of the silent midnight hours
They bloom magnificent these fragile white flowers

Weaving a mystical, magical, virginal tale of promise
Demanding an alert vigil from us, lest the moment we miss

Pristine bridal white and with a fragrance so subtle
They leave a message for all, without any hustle and bustle

Our BEING on this planet, our home, is indeed very brief
Our LIVING can be silent and powerful, spreading joy abundant, never causing grief

Life is akin to that very brief moment of a small part of a dark night
And in that brevity we can play our role well, that is our birth-right

And before the new day dawns, the blooms they shrivel and close.....a withering remnant, quite easily missed, forgotten & ignored ..............................
But with the silent knowledge that fragrance is to be shared, not to selfishly hoard

May our brief lives be equally wondrous
And as we breathe out our last, there is no other judge, but us.

अदवन्तेचेति न्यायः

अदवन्तेचेति न्यायः

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖒𝖆𝖝𝖎𝖒 𝖔𝖋 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖊𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖊𝖓𝖉.

 

𝕴𝖋 𝖆𝖓𝖞𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖆 𝖇𝖊𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌, 𝖎𝖙 𝖒𝖚𝖘𝖙 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖆𝖓 𝖊𝖓𝖉;

𝖆𝖓𝖉

𝖎𝖋 𝖎𝖙 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖆 𝖇𝖊𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖆𝖓 𝖊𝖓𝖉, 𝖎𝖙 𝖍𝖆𝖘 𝖆 𝖒𝖎𝖉𝖉𝖑𝖊 𝖆𝖑𝖘𝖔.

 

Palakkad Iyers migration in the years immediately after India's Independence

21st June 2020 was Father’s Day. And a few of us cousins were reminiscing through WhatsApp messages, about our fathers. A band of five Palakkad Iyer brothers (Irinjalakkuda, Thrissur origin) who decided to shift base out of Kerala to Bombay in the early 1950s, in search of a new life.

In their own way our fathers, our heroes, lived life king size in Irinjalakuda, a town in the Thrissur district famous for the Koodalmanikam temple. Our Thaatha was a kind hearted and loving soul who practised law. They lived in a big house near the temple. Their origins were however from Thaikatusherry near Ollur, which is also in Thrissur district. Our great grandfather had lot of land where he did krishi.  

After their basic education in Kerala, armed with shorthand-typing skills, many such Palakkad Iyer men set off towards Bombay to find jobs in the corporate world (and many to Delhi as well to seek employment as Government clerks and officers). That generation of males demonstrated the courage of moving out from Kerala. And their spouses took on the challenge of adapting to an alien state.... new language, lack of joint family support system, culture etc. Hats off to these bravehearts.

The small Palakkad Iyer community in Bombay of that time (1930-1950 I guess?) probably did offer a semblance of a supporting ecosystem for such "migrants". E.g the mess facilities at Matunga etc. They migrated out of Kerala in a steady trickle. The earlier set of migrants settling in and then calling for the next batch to move out. Completing their education under the streetlights of Bombay (not Mumbai), adapting to life in a different State, maintaining cultural roots and network (music, dance, religious rituals, sourcing and making South Indian specialities like vadu maangai, karuvadaams, maahaani, veppilakatti, nenthram chips.....), providing the best that they could afford in terms of education for their kids, supporting each other and the newer set of migrants from their Kerala brethren.....such was their life. Single pointed focus: get a job, steady income, save and secure a good education for their children, support the next batch of migrants.

They must have deprived themselves of many of their own needs, saved money for basics and a few luxuries and provided us with a cocoon of comfort. I remember the movies at Aurora theatre (Tarzan was my favourite), trips to Shanmukhananda hall for music-dance and more so for their samosa, bonda delights,  Phantom and Chandamama, surprises in the form of salted peanuts in pudiyas, potato wafers, Bhel Puri etc bought for us on the way back home from office in the Bombay local trains. And the specials in terms of novels...Sudden, Perry Mason, ViewMaster slides etc.

We are a generation of Palakkad Iyers, born in the decades immediately around India's Independence. Fortified with aracchuvitta sambhaar and mologootal, mezhukkuvaratti and podimas, karuvadaams and parikka vetthal and the special Paal payasams and nei payasams. Education and moral values were our guiding principles.

It is that pioneering spirit of our fathers, supported ably by our mothers, their moving away from Kerala, that provided for all of us a platform and foundation to set up our lives. We were enabled a pursuit of good quality education extending to post graduation and beyond in many parts of India and overseas too.

Our childhood i.e 1960-1980 gave us unique experiences. I remember the foodgrain shortage times when dad and I used to go early morning by train to Ambernath to buy good rice directly from farmers  to supplement ration store supplies. Playing goti (marbles), rubber ball cricket, lagori, borrowing novels from libraries, like Famous Five, Secret Seven, James Hadley Chase etc. Playing indoor games like cards and carrom in the stairwell of the buildings. Going to Madhu Book Store in Matunga for notebooks and textbooks, fixing brown cover and labels to books, exchanging labels with others. Sharing textbooks as a pass-me-down from older cousins to younger ones.

And the blanking out of window panes with paper for the night "lights-out" when the siren blew and the skies lit up with anti-aircraft trace flares.

The summer holiday train rides to Kerala and back was indeed a major highlight....and filled with such joy....today's kids do not even know what a “hold-all” is!!! Packing food for the long train journey in three tiered tiffin dabbas, playing games in the train, climbing up to the middle and top berth in the third class compartment!!! Enjoying the ride through the dark tunnels, enduring the black soot and dust of the coal fired steam engine. Or taking a quick shower at Arakkonam station.

Many of these memories will fade away with our generation. Our kids would not even be able to fathom these experiences.

Our kids face a brave new world confidently today. Now the migration is not from Kerala to Maharashtra, but to lands in different continents. Global citizens they are.

All thanks to our Palakkad Iyer fathers and mothers who dared to make a new life in Bombay.

The four yugas

Sadhguru explains the science behind the cycle of four yugas, calculates the timeline since the beginning of the Kali Yuga after the Kurukshetra War.

Did you know that Kali yuga has already ended, and a new era of enhanced perception is about to begin? Sadhguru explains how Krishna foresaw a great period of spiritual growth and enhanced human intelligence 5000 years before its advent.
Kali Yuga– When Did it End and What Lies Ahead?

We are in Dwapara Yuga now. In the year 2082, we will complete Dwapara Yuga and move on to Treta Yuga. (Many of us may not be around then in the present life form).

And what are the implications for Human Consciousness?

Read Sadhguru's explanation:

 https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/kali-yuga-end-lies-ahead

An Opportunity to Reinvent Your Destiny !

Every moment and every situation offers each of us a New Opportunity. So does Covid19 !  For Business enterprises and Entrepreneurs, here is a great Opportunity to Reinvent Your Destiny.

An opportunity to reinvent ourselves: Yes, the Universe could have used the medium of the Corona Virus to shake us off our stupor. This is a great opportunity indeed. These are great times for turning inward, re-assessing and re-purposing your own life, reinventing one’s own destiny.

New Paradigms, New Realities: Many paradigms would get transformed in an elastic manner and bounce back to the old pattern in a few weeks or few months. Many paradigms would get transformed in a plastic manner and get tweaked to a different permanent-set. Many paradigms would get completely shattered in a brittle manner and just disappear. New paradigms could manifest themselves, thereby offering us newer situations either as opportunities or as challenges. All said, the world as we know it before Covid19 and the world after Covid19 would be two distinct realities. One that we may not be able to fathom clearly today, but one that we can clearly gear up for.

The virus does not recognize boundaries and passports, does not discriminate based on gender, faith, political ideology, economic status or any other criteria. In that sense it is truly a great leveler. It serves a greater purpose of helping erase these human-made discriminators from our minds. The mightiest armies are impotent against this virus, the most reputed management consulting firms and visionaries could not predict this event. Now, as always, these same armies, consultants, visionaries will gear themselves up and help us recover and flourish. This planet Earth that we call home and the Humanity that is the most evolved species on Earth, will both survive this pandemic. We will get ushered into a new reality.

Gearing, Coping & Thriving: There could be a lull till demand really picks up for your business or till your supply-chain and operational processes gear up to a full flow. What should Business enterprises and Entrepreneurs do immediately and for the next few months, till a semblance of a new normalcy gets established? How do we cope in the short term and thrive in the long term?

And these were my ideas:

A. Alternate Imperative Actions: Set into motion many alternate actions that your enterprise really needs. Re-direct your organisational energy and resources to aspects that you may have postponed on account of the earlier routine rush. Re-assessing your inventory model, House-keeping activities, Re-designing process flows etc.

B. Boost Team Morale: Your biggest resource is your team and they will look up to you for a sense of direction, a sense of support and encouragement. They will need your help to make sense of the many uncertainties and grapple with their anxieties. Talk to them virtually, engage with them, communicate on emails and messaging apps frequently and in an articulate manner. Help them appreciate the new opportunities that could emerge. Generate and sustain hope. Be their guiding beacon.

C. Conserve Cash & Resources: As we are in an uncertain time-line, it makes sense to conserve all your vital resources and deploy them in a very discretionary manner. Do not attempt this alone. Engage with your teams and stakeholders to determine how the organisation could tighten its belts but still survive and be ready to thrive. Nurture the essentials, do away with the nice-to-haves.

D. Drive digital discipline: We were already riding a digital wave. It just got more massive. Work-from-home, virtual meetings, e-learning webinars, e-communiques, digital supply chains and digital marketplaces etc demand that each functional aspect be revisited to adopt a digital methodology. In doing so, you have to put in place solid governance mechanisms and checks-balances to drive discipline into the digital workplace. Because, the existing governance mechanisms may not be completely adequate in the digital workplace.

E. Engage with your Stakeholders: Maintain and reinvigorate your connect with all the stakeholders. Investors, Suppliers of Products and Services, Channel partners, Customers / Buyers, End Users. Have a keen perception to assess what has changed in their domains. Your organisation too has to factor these changes into your work-flow. A proactive outreach now will help build and nurture a stronger relationship with all stakeholders. If you RESPOND to them now, you will not need to REACT to them later.

F. Find New Opportunities: It surely is not all doom-and-gloom. A new horizon beckons. It will bring newer opportunities. Learn to read the tea leaves that lie in your market-place tea cup. Seek these out now and make your organisation more agile to these newer opportunities. Seek out new opportunities, gear up the organisation, breast the new tape!

G. Govern and Manage with a newer Consciousness: This is the cliched “last- but-not-the-least”. In fact, in my humble opinion, the Virus has a greater purpose of awakening each of us to a higher frequency. Making us more aware and conscious. Help us realize that we are “of-the-planet” and also “for-the-planet”. See how your business can align with the larger purpose of serving the wellness of humanity and wellness of our home Planet Earth. Yoga is about realizing the concept of Union. The union between the self and the larger whole: The Universe. We all are and shall always be a part of the Universe. Re-look and re-design your governance and management practices with a newer Consciousness. As Peter Block says: Choose Stewardship over Leadership, Choose Service over Self-Interest.

_/\_ Namaste _/\_

Shriram Parameswaran
LifeMaximum

05th April 2020
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India