spark

Sometimes is the journey of our life; all we need is that spark. It can come from any source, the poem you read, people you met, observing nature, birds, animals, or reading an autobiography. It helps us to think and internalize ourselves and how we see ourselves or the world.

The world we are living in is painful. Negativity, miseries, war, and pain sell in the media or on Netflix. We, humans, are still animals within. We are tamed, domesticated by society. What we can and can’t do is constantly reminded of us by our parents, elders, and peers.

This spark is our gateway to what we want from our life. It is that light that governs us to move fiercely in the darkness. Keep looking for your spark and, life will transform.

Jugalbandi

I am just 10% through the book Jugalbandi by Vinay Sitapati. It gives the history and origin of the BJP and its association with RSS. It also talks about the togetherness as a team for Vajpayee and Advani.

A lot of us want to stay out of politics and, I respect it. What I liked reading about reminded me of the pair of founders sharing a complementary skillset and approach. The Jugalbandi among Charlie Munger – Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs, and Steve Wozniak. The list is endless.

Be in any part of business, politics, or a movement. This complimentary skillset makes an organization more strong and takes in the right direction.

mental models

We are living in a bubble. Social media has amplified a few folks and, they are peddling whatever they like. One of the recent bubbles is mental models, a mantra sold for success. We have millions of odd hours of Youtube videos teaching the same apart from puff science or social scientists minting money via selling their books.

All we are doing is reading the mental model of others and dreaming of being as successful as theirs. How much time do we spend on knowing ourselves, accepting as we are, our vulnerability, and working towards improving?

We all are different; psychologists call it individual difference. We need to spend time on self-inquiry with our soul. No book or reading others’ mental models will help.

The kind of shit going in the life of Gods like Elon or Naval or Charlie Munger differs from mere mortals. How can wasting hours on aping their mental model make my life better or take me out of the trash?

buy

Why do we buy a house? To live or to buy more unwanted, non-necessary items to crowd it? There has been more than one instance where friends mentioned to be about their expenses in settling. Who came up with this idea of hoarding: it was the rich and influential ones?

The consumerism treadmill teaches us to buy in bulk, but do we need it all? In the end, how many dresses do we have to wear in a day? This whole worldly possession we have crowded around: how much does it matter?

rituals

I keep hearing from our parents about all the rituals for our forefathers: feeding to the poor, giving alms for the departed soul. I hope it has some meaning.

The rational side of my brain keeps asking me about the authenticity of these rituals. Once a soul, it becomes part of the cosmos. Do they care about what their kids are doing?

What matters is now, who we are, how we treat others, how we lived our life.

Tamasha

Tamasha he to hai, sab jaan padte hai behrupiyee sabhi.
Tamasha he to hai, sabkuch chakachaundh ke andhkaar me simat sa zo gaya hai.

Jee rahe hain ek chaalchitra ke bhitar, baant rahe hai apni hunar ko gairo ki chaah ke liye.

Apne khud ki zindgi khud se itne duur jaan padte hai ki asliyat me khud bhi tamasa ban gaye ho zaise.

Hai kaun bacha iss tamashe ke chakakr me, bade bade batoorne me lage hai gairo kii tarifoo ko.

Khud ki khudi se yuun moohphri humne ki sahi-galat, iman-dharam, paap-punya sabko tamase ke mohtaaz bana baithe.

entrepreneurship

The romanticism of entrepreneurship is not needed. It is just another part people pursue. I understand media and authors portray a glorious picture of it. But in the end, it is just another route or journey.

For one success story, there are thousands of other failures. We don’t talk about them. The selective narration of success is used and reused as inspiration to condition the youths.

A very few talk or witness the everyday struggle of most entrepreneurs where they are constantly juggling across many tasks, managing the ego of their employees, customers, and other stakeholders. The media does not show you the falling personal relationships, deteriorating health, and everyday mental struggle of an average entrepreneur.

Confirmation bias laced with hero stories has resulted in every sophomore dreaming into the journey. In my view, entrepreneurship is just another way of earning and living. It does not require a celebrity status or god-level worship.

War

Whose war is it anyway?
War on independence, who are making free?
Who makes and loses out of any war?

We are lucky to be living a life with the basic necessities. Many others are not fortunate enough. They are just born in the country, color, race, or religion that makes them vulnerable.

War happens for the superiority of religion, land grab, establishing a puppet ruler, ethnic cleaning, or stealing oils and natural resources.

But who is making most of it? The arms manufacturers selling arms to both parties or the infrastructure companies who get reconstruction work afterwar, the country that gets to live with their army as peacekeepers?

Capitalism seeks consumers and a new market. The robber barons made the most out of American Unrest in the past. The history is just repeating: be it in Africa, Arab Nations, or elsewhere.

relevance

We all dislike media for being one-sided or for showing half-truth. At the same time, we secretly desire to be part of it. Humanity survived all these years because of desire and aspirations for a better future. We are constantly chasing the utopia.

With the advancement in technology and constant media gaze via various modes and platforms, a few have understood how important it is to be relevant. One of the modes of it is constantly in the eyes of the public, good or bad. A brand or an entrepreneur strives to be out there and not forgotten.

It is not something new; Pablo Picasso, Thomas Edison and, other creative geniuses did this. They fought, created controversy, and stayed in the news until they lived.

Someone has rightly said: any publicity is good publicity. After all, each of us wants to be heard and have an opinion. In the end, it is about staying relevant.

On Education

We grew up to an age where education had a final destination of becoming an engineer, doctor, Bank PO, or applying for BPSC or UPSC. Things have changed since then; many newer fields have emerged and, we have many paths to pursue our future careers.
I also had some of our friends sent to madrassa and ashrams. Most of their teaching comprised of reading holi texts. Some of them are a professor at a Sanskrit college and are living a good life. Some have become mahant at Vrindavan ashrams.

Will Durant’s falling leaves has a chapter on education where he talks about this. I liked what he had to say. Our education system aims to make us all zombies and find a job and earn. There is no more curiosity or mental growth path for the kids. Some of his advice might sound crazy but, I subscribe to it. Education should be holistic making an individual self-aware. For it to happen teaching history, philosophy, psychology is equally important.

Going by the current trend, kids are trained to become software developer while resting at mothers womb. In short, not much has changed.