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KAALI PEELI AND KAALI DAL

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E at fresh food... I agree. Eat simple food... I agree. Eat in moderation... I agree. Eat with a happy and grateful heart... I agree totally. But then, can you and I eat ‘fresh food’ always, considering the hectic pace of our lives? Frankly, we cannot. Many of us have to accept this reality... That, eating happily with a grateful heart is more important than eating freshly-cooked food... Frankly, we are all on a space mission... We have to choose between the Moon and the Sausages... E very migrant, who comes to big cities like Mumbai - with no money, friends or connections, but only a dream – has lots of struggle stories to share later when they succeed in in life. But, these struggle stories, invariably, inspire other strugglers, and not the children of those telling the ‘stay-hungry, stay-foolish’ stories... One such young kid I came across yesterday. He wasn’t ready to eat the tiffin packed and sent by his mother... “I eat only fresh”... The tiffin went back home, go...
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A WEEK BEFORE HIS BIRTHDAY

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“There are two great days in a person’s life:        the day we are born, and the day we discover why.”       William Barclay   “S ir it’s going to be my 40 th b’day,” messaged Shripad, last night, “Will you write a blog on me?” This soon-to-be-40 boy (He is still a ‘boy’ for me) never ceases to amuse me... Shripad is going to be 40 on this October, 16... and, the countdown has already   begun! In fact, the count down, every year, begins when October 2 approaches... Early in the morning, on 2 nd October, Shripad calls up to greet me: “Happy b’day Bapu.” It’s going to be eighteen years, now... Shripad was in TY B’Com. He was brought to me by his parents. “Sir, he is a ‘special child’; he has some learning and coping disabilities... But, he refuses to be treated as a ‘disabled’ or a ‘special’ child... He wants to be treated like everyone else.” Well, I have written so many times about Shripad... He had...
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WHEN YOU HEAR THE HEALING

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  “A clear mind heals everything  that needs to be healed.” Byron Katie   I think, Gratitude, Grace, Prayer, Blessing, Peace, Healing and many such words have entered our lexicon mechanically – yes, just like that. To be frank, you and I very, very rarely feel their profound meaning when we voice them, several times a day... The reason for that - again, I think – is, that we rarely get into a silence before we voice these words... Only in silence we can really feel the profound meaning of such words – Gratitude, Grace, Prayer, Blessing, Peace, Healing and many such... T wo days ago, I was waiting outside the Cath lab of Parel’s Gleneagles Hospital (earlier known as Global Hospital). My wife was taken inside for the angioplasty of her left coronary artery (LCA) which had ninety percent blockages. Just a month ago, she had under gone the angioplasty of her right coronary artery (RCA) which had hundred percent blockages. The long passage of that waiting area had ma...
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WHAT YOU DO MAKES A DIFFERENCE

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  “What you do makes a difference; and, you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Jane Goodall   J ane Goodall passed away (this October, 1) living an eventful life for close to 91 years. In my view, what is the most inspiring thing for us to see is: She lived a life as young, curious, and passionate as she had decided to live it when she was barely a 10-year-old… For those who aren’t familiar with this amazing woman, I say this: There is loads of material on her life’s work with chimpanzees in African forests (Tanzania) – books, magazine articles, videos, speeches, TV appearances, award shows and much more – that, I have no intention to write, here, anything biographical about this legend… My intention of mentioning Dr. Jane Goodall, who spent her entire life dedicating her life around animals – especially chimpanzees – is to remind ourselves, that our work has an impact on others… That means, what work you and I do – all our lives – can be...
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RAM AND RAVAN ARE THE DAILY REALITIES OF LIFE

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“May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.” George Carlin   T oday, we talk a lot about Good over Evil . Lord Ram’s triumphant victory over Ravan is what we celebrate, today. Well, to many of us, it’s symbolic… Ram and Ravan, we believe, lived on this earth thousands of years ago. But, the idea of Good and Evil still lives in this world, today… And, importantly, it lives within our hearts, right here, right now… Yes, it’s a constant personal battle you and I have to engage in… It never ends. I think, that’s why we celebrate Dussehra – to remind ourselves to stay vigilant… To choose Good over Evil in every step we take… It’s a tough choice… but, the right one to make… Incidentally, today is, also, Gandhi Jayanti … Bapu ’s last words keep haunting us: “ Hey Ram !” E ach one of us has spent these ten days in his or her own way… My colleague, a college Professor, has lived on only water – no food at all – only water… and, he has walked barefo...
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HUMILITY IS ROYALTY WITHOUT A CROWN

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  “On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own buttocks.” Michel de Montaigne   A ttentive listening has another name: Humility. Putting it in another way, we cannot pay complete attention, unless we listen with a desire to learn… and, for that, we need to drop our guards, our defenses, our judgements. In fact, the thought, that ‘We know’ blocks us from absorbing the good lessons from others… Often, we listen with an intention to defend our positions… We are ready with our responses even before the other person has completed his statements… We are busy judging the other person… We are busy proving our knowledge… We seem to get a strange kick in being right… “I will not utter a word unless you look up and listen to me completely,” I said, once again, this morning, to couple of my students, “Your eyes listen better than your ears do.” From my decades of teaching experience, I have realized this: Attentive listening stems from our desire to le...
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MAY LOVE BE THE LAST SONG THAT YOU SING

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  “Everybody is talented; \because, everybody who is human has something to express.” Brenda Ueland   T he quote above makes me reflect… “Everybody who is human has something to express.” Hence, it says, “Everybody is talented.” Now, is that really true? To think, that God hasn’t created any human without this incessant desire to ‘express is what ‘belief’ is all about… Yes, there is something special preloaded when God sends us into the world. He knows about it; but, very often, we don’t. And, to me, waking up to our special gifts preloaded by God – is our enlightenment… I did not know, that my special gift from God was to teach and write. But, I remember how restless I was to express myself in some form or the other. When I was a little boy, I found great joy in drawing and colouring… I remember spending hours trying to express something through this medium. But, soon, it died down… Sports, dancing, singing, acting – I never came anywhere close to these form...
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TOGETHER, OUR DIFFERENCES MAKE A MASTERPIECE

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  “We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools.” Martin Luther King Jr.   W e cannot be aware of everything and everyone around us… Some things and some people – yes, we, always, can. Like, if I told you about the language and culture I grew up with, the food habits, the worship and customs I was accustomed to, the local music that I adored – yes, you may not be aware of any of these. Likewise, I may not be aware of yours. So, in a way, our respective exposure will, always, be limited… Even with all the social media explosion on our faces every second of the day, and even if you and I do a hundred round trips around the globe, let me tell you this: we wouldn’t be able to know it all… Every corner of our own country is blessed with its own music, culture, cuisine, clothes, language, worship and unique tradition and custom. And, to say, that my country should have a single language, single deity, single food and attire – come on, it’s beyond...
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THE WILD, WAYSIDE FLOWERS
There is, always, something extra-ordinary in the wild, wayside flowers...