Life of Pi...Why...

Life of Pi….why Pi…because Pi denotes a never ending number…eternal…like  the cosmic energy…but he was not born Pi, in fact he had a name which everyone made fun of but he found a way to convert it to something interesting and meaningful. I guess this is the most important point this story makes  - to find something worthwhile in hopeless looking situations…that too not just some meaning but an attempt to make it eternal. 

That has always been the quest of man …to become eternal…immortal. In fact when he is a lone survivor in the vast sea he reminds us of the eternal man…Manu after the Jal pralay or may be Noah’s Arc….or is this Vishnu lying on Sheshnag in the Ksheer Saagar? All these images have a common thread- co-existence of all the elements of this universe – Man – animal- water- sky…they all must have gone through a period of turmoil but at the end they are all at peace with one another. This is the inherent nature of the universe…calm..shaant.  

We are all here to play our own roles. For few moments, when we are overpowered by the universal force, we experience our helplessness and the power of surrendering. Initially we struggle, then we surrender and enjoy the bliss and then  we are back to play our respective roles. Pi goes back to live with humans and Richard Parker goes back to where he belonged.

Like actors of a play who portray different roles on stage and in the green room they are all one and the same, interacting with each other, co-existing and as the show starts, they are back on the stage, again, playing the role assigned to them. The hero might slay the villain because that is what his role demands but back stage, when they remove their makeup they are just two beings with no labels. Trouble starts when we start stretching our labels after the show. Let us be sensitive enough to hear the bell as the show ends and take off our costumes and realize our true identities, realize our common connection with the universe, be at peace with ourselves, with each other and enjoy the calmness…shaanti….

On Amitabh’s 70th Birthday

This is not the first time someone has turned 70. This is not the first time a celebrity has turned 70. But it is definitely one of the rare occasions where a celebrity has turned 70 and has the same charisma if not more. There is not a dent in his popularity despite the entry of so many new, talented and successful competitors in his industry.

It’s not long back that we witnessed the demise of another super star Rajesh Khanna. May his soul rest in peace but this Rajesh Khanna who passed away, had no resemblance with the erstwhile super star. There was no spark left in his life, no fans, and no films, not even his family.

These two personalities have portrayed two aspects of life- One of being attached to the glory of a phase and perceiving image worship as personal worship. The fans who wrote letters in blood to the ‘super star’ were looking at an image, not a person.

When we are confused between the two, we perceive our ‘image’ as our ‘self’. When the image is hit by a change in trend or is overshadowed by another upcoming more attractive image, our self gets lost in the background. Our belief, in that image or ‘Maya’ and accepting it as truth or ‘Satya,’ leads us to the dark alleys of frustration and depression, often disguised as arrogance or indifference. Believing in that image bloats our ego and we assume ourselves as masters of our universe, only to be disillusioned and find ourselves deserted and forgotten.

It makes us ignore and undermine the not-so-glamourous aspects of our life like – Family. Because of the proximity, family may not look all that awestruck like the fans outside the house but family is the anchor of our life. If we throw away the anchors then life tosses us around as the storms hit.

There are two reasons for Amitabh’s success. One of them is- being grounded. Strong family values give you emotional strength. It’s not that he has not made any mistakes but he could realize them and had the courage to retrace his steps and also learnt from them.

Second reason why he is still a super star is because he kept on rediscovering himself and kept on adapting to the present moment. If we are stuck at a particular moment in our life and keep hanging on to that moment, we will be left behind as time will flow on. There was a time to be the angry young man, there was a time to be the romantic lead but that time has passed away now. Now it requires something else. Let’s accept it and accept it with pride and grace.

We all are super stars of our lives. Whether we will keep shining or will fade away soon will depend on whether we keep on changing and adapting or we are stuck at one phase. Life is change. Either we can change or we will be changed.

Nupur Jaiswal

Soft Skills Training

We provide Soft Skills training programs for corporate & educational institutes.
Please visit us at www.expandyourpossibilities.com

Is life like a train?

When ever I am traveling by train, I feel as if life is also like a train.

When you enter the train you do not know who your co-passengers are going to be. When you come in this world then also you do not know who will the people around you. But you can choose to be friends with them or spend the entire journey without uttering a word. But imaging if suddenly there was a crisis, what will happen, will you be able to still remain quiet? You will be forced to interact in moments of crisis. Then why not talk to them now, when there is no crisis. We should not always wait for some crisis for talking to fellow men and women. Even peace is a good time to talk to people.

Sitting in a train, it is fun to look outside. Each moment new scenes, new places, new people keep on passing by. You have an opportunity to enjoy watching them but if you choose to shut down your window, it’s all dark for you. The scenes are still there, people are still there, places are still there but you have chosen not to see them, not to enjoy them. May be you are enjoying your darkness or the limited view that you have now with a shut window. But you must take a glimpse of the outside world before reaching to any conclusion. You must know what you are choosing over what.

In an unreserved compartment, people are always divided into two sections – one who are outside the compartment on the platform, trying to get in and others who are in the compartment resenting the new crowd. Once the outsiders come inside, they become the insiders and start resenting those who are still the outsiders. In life also there is always a resistance for new things, new ideas, new concepts etc. Those who are new today and struggling to get recognition and get their place under the sun, become the resisting force tomorrow. Each generation faces a generation gap with the next generation. They behave as if they are sitting inside a train while others are on the platform, struggling to get in and displace them or replace them or may be misplace them.

But then that is life. Lets enjoy it.

Nupur Jaiswal
Personality Development & SOft Skills Trainer

Is life about trading?

Some people get upset when they do not get expected returns of their good deeds or favors done to others. They start feeling that life is not fair; they are not getting their dues. They are the ones who are taking all the pains to make other people happy. In return to this, they must get something back from those people – appreciation, thanks, favour, something……Their good act should not be ignored. If it is so, then what is the fun in doing good for others. They believe in give and take. This is treating life as a trade junction.

My viewpoint is that life indeed is a trade junction but it is a huge trade junction. There are too many windows all around. You have to make deposit at one window and get the payments from some other window. You need not enquire, from which window. When your turn will come, you will be called up and given your dues. The junction takes care of that. You need not worry about it. Just count how much you have deposited. Do not wait in front of the same window for getting a payment.

Do good for others and move on. What you do for someone will come back to you from some one else. You do not know from whom, from where. Why worry? The universe will take care of that.

Nupur Jaiswal
Soft Skills & Personal Development Trainer

Is Life a journey?

Life is a journey and to have a good and enjoyable journey one must know three things:-
1. What is my destination?
2. Are my headlights strong enough for me to see the next 100 meters?
3. What to do when I am at crossroads?

Unless we know our destination, we will have a nice time on the road and reach nowhere. And the beauty of the trip will be that we will not know whether we have reached where we wanted to or not. We will not know whether to be happy or not? It is as good as getting lost.

But we need not spend an entire lifetime just planning our route. Then we can never get started. As long as we are sure about next 100 meters, we are ok. As long as we know the final destination, the route will unfold itself.

When we are at the crossroads and not sure about the correct turn – we have two choices, either ask someone who has been on this route before or take a chance and lose the track. We can do any of the two. It depends on the gravity of the destination whether we can take a chance or not. If we rushing to the hospital with our child who is fighting for life, we cannot afford not to take the right direction even if it means asking several times on the way.

How serious you are about your life and what do you plan to do is a choice.
After all it’s your life.

Is Life a Video ?

Some people think life is a video player and they keep on searching for the rewind and fast forward buttons. When they can not find it, they say, this is a useless equipment and become disgusted.
Life is just like a video player but it has just one button – Record. Our each moment, each day gets recorded here and stays here for ever. If we look back at our lives and can see our own recordings, how are we going to react to it? The fact is that we can not change what ever has already been recorded. We can only change our act in the forthcoming episodes. Then what are we waiting for?
Lets get started…….Lights……..Camera……….Action…………..!!!!!!!!!