One

Harshal: “Hey! How are you, dude?”

Mayur: “I am fine. Nothing much. Routine life. Sleep, wake up, eat, University, home, eat, sleep and the cycle goes on. What about you?”

Harshal: “I am completely bored with these vacations. Waiting for the start of the next sem or any intern call. One intern man! Just one intern….”

Mayur: “True yaar.. Ek intern! Bass. Ek intern ya ek job lag jaye to life set hain yaar!”

This was the conversation between me and my friend Harshal. At present, both of us are on the same boat, looking for interns and jobs. However, looking at the current economic scenario, getting a job is going to be a Herculean task.

As the above conversation ended, thoughts avalanched in my mind about the importance of the number ‘one’ in our life. One phone call with my friend made me to ponder upon so many things. Just as the above conversation ended, I imagined myself working at a very good position in a top technology company in US, earning handsomely. As soon as I imagined myself earning a handsome salary, I planned to go to India sometime. I immediately planned a Konkan bike trip to places which we had missed visiting in 2008 with my college friends. I planned to put all my finance knowledge into practice and explore and reap huge benefits from various investment options in US and in India. I even planned to start an NGO in partnership with those interested to educate poor people (because I want to educate poor children) I saw my NGO’s services being recognized by the PMC. My plans and thoughts just did not see an end. All that I could foresee was one thing happening after the other, until somewhere I came back into the reality. Reality: I still do not have a job in hand and do not know whether I will get one in US or not.

Everyone lives in the same manner in which I lived for those ‘happy’ moments after that ‘One’ call with a friend. Thoughts after thoughts after thoughts and it just didn’t end.  I guess, if Christopher Nolan decides to write a script on thoughts after thoughts after thoughts similar to a dream in a dream in a dream, he may never be able to end it. There, I started thinking about how a positive ‘one’ and the negative ‘one’ can significantly influence a human life, or many lives.

To start on a very basic note, one sperm is more than enough to fertilize an egg and make a woman start feeling like soon to be a mother. She will be the happiest woman on earth only because of that ‘one’ sperm which made her, feel good about herself.  This good news will elate everyone around her and the general mood will be joyous. On the contrary, one malignant cell can lead to life threatening cancer. It will divide so rapidly that by the time you realize the reason for the deterioration of your health, it would have very well caused adequate damage to end your life. So many expectations and desires come to an end with the end of a life. Isn’t it surprising to know that ‘one’ small entity can either start a life by multiplying itself or end a life by dividing itself?

Likewise, there are so many ‘one’ around us that play an influential role in our as well as others’ life. ‘One’ person’s grit to make his nation independent can inspire millions of people to join the freedom struggle. We all know that ‘One’ person’s Facebook post have inspired millions of Egyptians to gather at the Tahrir Square and unite to fight against their dictator.  Now, after dethroning their dictator, the Egyptians are living a happy life. This would not have been possible, but for that ‘one’ post, they are seeing a new life today. Would not anyone want to unite and become 'one' against the numerous evil forces present in our society today? Why would anyone not want to do that? How hard it is to unite? To cite a recent example of the effect of ‘one’: The US was downgraded sometime back from ‘AAA’ to ‘AA+’ credit rating. Stripping off ‘one’ A led to a loss of trillions of dollars around the world markets. God knows how long it will take to recover the lost money, if it is ever possible to repair the damage. But, such is the power of ‘one.’

When we look at our self (not in the mirror), we realize that we have been blessed with a life and our biggest gift is the ability to think and act, thanks to the God’s largesse. Our ‘one’ deed/thought can change many people around us for good, or for bad, which in turn will change others and it will go on and on. The dynamics of it can be very well related to the routine examples which we see around us. It is like a chain reaction. ‘One’ word of hope will give so much strength to a person who is struggling with various problems in his life that he will be always game to accept the challenges; a positive change. Whereas, ‘one’ insulting comment, ‘one’ unexpected failure or ‘one’ failed relationship can even drive a person to commit a suicide; a negative change.

I did not want to write this but I could not help. Mathematically, human life can take up any value in the closed interval -1 to +1 i.e. [-1, +1]. Those who opt for ‘-1’ are similar to that malignant cancer cell which deteriorates your health. Over the period of time, they will lose love and support of people around them. They will hardly see any light of the day. In the end, they will be big failure. Those who opt for ‘0’ will remain where they are. Stagnancy will be an integral part of their life. But, those who opt for ‘+1’ will be doing the best job not only for themselves, but for others as well. They will be inspiring millions to live a good life. They will be at the forefront in spreading joy around them. People have been able to do it and hence, we are seeing some really beautiful things around us. Will anyone not want to choose the right ‘one’ (aspect) and see some good changes around them? Withal, ‘One’ is indeed the numero uno. 

Karmanye Vadhikaraste

It must be sometime in 1990s when the epic ‘Mahabharata’, directed by Ravi Chopra, was broadcast on the national television every Sunday at 9am. I vividly remember the TV series used to start with the following verse:

‘Karmanye Vadhikaraste Ma Phaleshu Kadachana,

Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani’ ( 2:47, Srimad Bhagwad Gita)

Never ever in that tender age of 8-10 years, I had imagined that the above mentioned verse was the essence of the ‘Holy Gita’; the greatest spiritual book the world has ever known. It was in 9^th grade when I learnt Sanskrit in my school but I had no inspiration to find out at least the figurative meaning of the above verse. But after some experiences over the past 3 years, I somewhat realized the meaning of the above verse, though not completely yet.

Google the meaning and you will find out that the above verse means:

‘You have a right to perform your prescribed action, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your action. Never consider yourself the cause of the results of your activities, and never be associated to not doing your duty.’

But, Google does not dictate what learning experiences we should have, even though we are entirely dependent on it for many things. Looking at our habitual dependency on the ‘search engine’, I am sure some people would have even searched for ‘happiness’ on it. Would Google have displayed ‘Page Not Found’ to them?

I always wondered, do we really act according to the above philosophy?  Do we ever do something without expecting an outcome? Do we ever stop cursing ourselves for a bad result? (Unless we run out of people to blame.)

The answer to all the above questions is NO. We do not. We never do. All our actions are guided by ulterior motives or we are forced to act/ do something because of certain unforeseen circumstances. We expect a lot from what we do. We expect to get a good job after the degree, an appraisal for a decent performance, a pat on the back for performing well in a game and the list of expectations goes on. We fail to realize that our expectations stem up from our desires. Desire is a root cause of all evils. Desire, can drive a man insane. If a person does anything with an expectation in his mind, he will just not enjoy his work. In the end, if his expectations are not met, he will be totally disheartened. That may be because his expectations were not realistic. Under the influence of a strong desire of a favorable outcome, he relinquishes the happiness, which in other case he would have got while performing his action. I feel, happiness is a path function. In simple words, happiness can be experienced along the path of your daily routine.

I know few people who are so annoyed with their work that they find it a burden to go to their work. I have been through such a phase. Having secured a job in one of the leading steel producers of India, I had expected a very good job profile. But, on the very first day of my work, I realized that my profile was not what I had expected. I was extremely frustrated with my choice of the company and cursed myself for appearing for the interview. To give an example, I had to sweep the floor with a dirty broom, which I had not expected at all. It was during this time, when I realized that I was unhappy because my expectations from the job were not fulfilled.

When I used to look at my colleagues, I wondered how and why these guys were so happy while working at a place where a 200 ton ladle is moving above your head,  possibility of sustaining serious injuries from the Hot Metal at any instant and so many of such depressing things. Gradually, I realized that they did not expect much from the work. They never came to work thinking it as a liability, but as a duty. They completely overlooked the depressing factors as if they didn’t exist and enjoyed those 8 hours. Eventually, I started aligning myself with their attitude. With dedicated practice, I could do that. I sensed the change in me when I realized that I had started enjoying my work, no matter what it was. I had stopped focusing on the result and  started taking sincere efforts to pursue happiness in any trivial thing I could find.

It is so simple to implement the above. Have no expectations from anything. But, hardly are we able to do so. That is because we are programmed to expect. Overcoming this tendency needs a lot of practice and patience. Initially, it is very difficult. But, having experienced it, I am sure this will be the easiest & loveliest thing one will ever do in life. Having done that, I am also sure that one will experience mental peace. Wouldn’t anyone love that?

Finally, I would like to say one must hope for the best in whatever he does. He should give his best efforts in it. Just do not expect anything. There is a very thin line between a hope and an expectation. One must be really careful to not to cross that line and jump into an infinite loop of expectations. But, hope is a good thing. No doubt, Andy Dufresne had realized this and had rightly said,

‘Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.’