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Showing posts with label Rabindranath Tagore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rabindranath Tagore. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

A simple, fervent prayer for my Republic!

A simple, fervent prayer for my Republic!


Where the mind is without fear,
Where women are not abused (physically and emotionally) but are respected and empowered,
Where garbage is responsibly disposed and recycled,
Where people obey traffic rules - wear seatbelts, helmets, give way to pedestrians, don't honk and don't speak on their mobile phones while driving,
Where people don't drink and drive
Where people don't watch pirated movies,
Where people know their own elected representatives (panchayat members, councillors, MLAs, MPs) by first name, have access to their mobile numbers and demand accountability,
Where human Life, and sentiment, is valued more than community, caste and religion,
Where clean professionals like you and me are willing to enter the mainstream of governance - executive, judiciary and legislature,
Where eco-consciousness is a responsibility and not just an idea,
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into that very practical, possible, realistic realm, O! Mother India, may you arise!


* If you like it, please feel free to fill in the blanks by adding your aspirations to the prayer as comments to this post
** With much respect and heartfelt gratitude to Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi and to all those who soldier on, dutifully, despite the odds, so that we can post "Happy Republic Day" on social media today!

*** I don't know the name of any of my elected representatives and I know that's a crying shame!

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Zen and the Art of Celebrating Life

Don't grieve anything. Celebrate everything. Success. Failure. Defeat. Crisis. Tragedy. Joy. Sorrow. Everything!

Celebrating when we are successful or happy, we all know how to do it and do it very well. But celebrating failure and defeat? Well, you first overcome the initial sense of shock and surprise from each setback in your Life and replace it with celebration. How can we celebrate a loss __ of something, someone __ you may well wonder. Here’s the nub - you don't (have to) celebrate the loss itself. But you can always celebrate the times you had with that something, that someone. You can celebrate the learning that you are now being subjected to through experiencing this loss. You can celebrate the opportunity called this moment.

Harnish Patel, 35, was among the victims of the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai. A British-Indian, he was on a backpacking trip to India and was at the Leopold Cafe that evening when the terrorists struck. At least three bullets passed through his legs and chest, skimming past his bones and major organs. 7 years ago Harnish was lying in the ICU of Mumbai's Jaslok Hospital with tubes sticking through his legs and chest, not knowing if he would ever walk again. But with determination and grit, Patel, who narrowly escaped death, has not just overcome his injuries but also astounded doctors, family and friends by running in a marathon and joining the British Royal Navy. Just four years after the gruesome attack that left him debilitated, he was the flag-bearer for England in the team-welcome and victory ceremonies for the London 2012 Olympics! Simple learning: do you think Patel would have even gotten out of his hospital bed had he stayed grieving?


Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore (1861~1914), has said, “If you cry that the sun has gone out of your Life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.” To grieve is to see Life through a myopic perspective. To celebrate Life is to see it on a 70mm or an IMAX canvas! When you zoom out and see your Life from a higher plane, you see each event as a blessing!