RICHES

Man must be thrifty in order to be generous. Thrift does not end with itself, but extends its benefits to others. It founds hospitals, endows charities, establishes colleges and extends educational influences.

The duty of helping the helpless is one that speaks trumpet-tongued; but especially to those who profess love to God and goodwill to men. Its a duty that belongs to men as individuals, and as members of the social body.

And ironically, It is not necessary that men should be rich to help others.
Nothing is so much overestimated as the power of money. Some people have an idolatrous worship of money. The Greeks had their Golden Jupiter. The lowest human nature loves money, possessions and asks the silly questions - What is he worth? If you say there is a thoroughly good, benevolent, virtuous man! no body will even notice. But if you say "There is a man worth a million of money!" he will be stared at till out of sight.

Men go on toiling and moiling, eager to be richer; desperately struggling as if against poverty, at the same time that they are surrounded by abundance. They scrape and scrape and add penny to penny, and sometimes do shabby things in order to make a little more profit; though they may have accumulated far more than they can actually enjoy. And still they go on worrying, themselves incessantly in the endeavor to grasp at an additional increase of superfluity.

Perhaps such men have not enjoyed the advantage of education in early life. They have no taste for books. They have nothing to think of but money, and what will make of money. They have no faith, but in riches. They keep their children under restriction, and bring them up with a servile education.

At length an accumulation of wealth comes into the hands of children. They have before been restricted i their expenses; and they now become lavish. They have been educated in no better taste. They spend extravagantly. They will not be drudges in their business as their fathers were. They will spend so fast and so much that by the time the 3rd generation comes up there is no wealth left.

English proverb says - Twice clogs, once boots. The first generation wore clogs and accumulated wealth, his rich son wore boots and spent it all, and thus the third generation took up clogs again.

What a miserable end.

A man that makes nothing but money is a poor man.

Self Conquest

"A man's own character is the arbiter of his fortune." - SYRUS

An old Hindu proverb says, "There is nothing noble in being superior to some other man. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self".
Most of us are aware of this, and are foreever striving to improve ouselves, to correct our faults, control our habits, and make the most of our abilities.

But Self Descipline is not easy. Self Conquest, as every philosopher from Plato to William James has emphasized, is the greatest victory of all. "I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man I have ever met!" said David Moody, the famous evangelist.

The greatest test of a man's character is how he takes charge of his own life. No man need stay the way he is.The mold of a man's fortune, the shape of his life and destiny are in his own hands.

Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, as we all know; and Polonius' advice to Laertes one of the best quotations from it. The father's percepts to his son are so wise and penetrating that even when taken out from context of play, they stand by themselves, vital and complete. Sincerity is inherent in every line. There is almost a spiritual quality to those words.

This above all, to thine own self be true.

Religion or Symbols

Every religion has 3 aspects - values, symbols and practices.

There is diversity in the practices and symbols, whereas the values are common to all religions. The growth of fanaticism, fundamentalism and intolerance in the world today, is because people are only stuck in practices, symbols and customs. They forget about the values - human values.

The dress code of any religion is a symbol. If one does not follow the dress code, but follows the values, Is he / she less religious than the one who is wearing long robes and beads, or carries sticks or swords.

No. Religion is not symbols or practices alone. Don't take me wrong. I am not preaching not to follow symbols or practices. My case here is different.

Don't get stuck in Beard and Salwars and caps and robes. Practice the values first and you will find an automatic desire to follow the symbols and practices. The religion then would be much more fun and act as a guide to live life, rather than a thing to be feared.

Invictus

Arguably the best-remembered work of William Ernest Henley is the poem "Invictus", written in 1875. It is said that this was written as a demonstration of his resilience following the amputation of his foot due to tubercular infection.

This passionate and defiant poem was the source of energy and motivation to Nelson Mandela, who read this for 27 years from his tiny prison, and then freed South Africa. He used this poem to inspire SA Rughby team to become world champions.


INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

All the best folks...

Let Go

There was joy and there were tears.

My son, daughter and son were going back to boarding school at Nainital after spending 4 days with us for Diwali vacations. Our daughter has been in Boarding school for 5 years now and son for 4 years. The railway station with its crowd and teeming travellers was hardly the place to burst into tears, so I fought for self control. I tried to be angry at the crowd, traffic and dirty station. Like any good Indian I was happy that my children study in good Boarding schools, but my pride was tempered with the prospect of empty nest and loneliness that accompanies it.

The train had arrived. There was time for but a final hug. Anmol sensed the tears before she saw them. Ok Dad Take care. We will meet up soon in Muscat. Its just one month for Winter Vacations. And more over I will call you on Wednesday evenings.

In the last 5 years children have grown up from kids to young adults. I am happy at there personality and traits development.

I let the tears flow as I travelled back on the Metro to home that night. Moist eyed, I clibed up the stairs to my flat. No more blaring music, Play Station sounds, no sudden requests for Paranthas or milkshake, no more incessant stream of kids from the nieghborhood, or the pleasant sound of young laughter.

Its been 5 years that we are going through this ritual. We still shed our tears when saying good bye to our kids. Missing them is part of parenthood.

But then, so is letting go.

On that note, I was listening to the classic english number today, and posted the song on my facebook :

You can let go now Daddy,
you can let go
Oh, I think I am ready,
To do this on my own
It's still a little bit scary
But I want you to know
I'll be Okay now daddy,
You can let go.

Family First

I want to talk to you about family: your and mine.

I know and feel that as parents, you and I share some very important priorities. Just like you, I love my family more than anything in this world and I want us all to be safe, healthy, happy and prosperous in everything we do, both within our family and as we go out in the world.

As parents it is our job to be aware of of everything that can even potentially impact our families.

People enter into our family's world from all walks of life: teachers, coaches, extended families, school bullies, powerful peers and others. Some are well intentioned and some not. These people have priorities and values that may be different from our own and they can tremendously affect how our children think, feel and behave now, as well as who they become as adults. Bombardment from a massive and slick media can undermine morals and values in even the strongest of families if purposeful care is not taken to control and counteract this messages.

As parents, we are certainly not the only influences in our children's lives, so we absolutely must make sure that we are the best amd most persuasive infuence in our children's life.

Family is more important today than in past generations and its erosion is unacceptable.

Purpose of Life

Mona, My wife's younger sister and a very loveable person in our family, wrote to me yesterday. The question she asked is asked by less than .01% people (and no one at her age). Lucky for her she did asked. It made me do some study and some introspection.

I read a book recently written by Mitch Albom titled "Tuesdays with Morrie". Its a story of an old college professor (Morrie)in his last days, a young man (Mitch)who was once his student, and life's greatest lesson. I love this book as it is a true story that leaves you with a great understanding of the question that less than .01% even think about. "What is the purpose of life?"

Morrie the old professor says : "So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."

"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let is come in. Let it come in. We think we don't deserve love, we think if we let it come in, we'll become too soft. But a wise man name Levine said it just right. Love is the only rational act.

I reflect on my life and see that above is so true and real. Each word cause confrontation. For me the most difficult one is to let love come in. Any way that's my jorney.

I thank Mona for making pick up the lost thread again. This is such a profound conversation to dwell into. While life is empty and meaningless, it doesn't take to be rocket scientist or a great saint to provide formula of life. Just by dwelling into conversation opens up a new realm of possibilities.

Untill next time...