Three things an adult can learn from a child

To be happy for no reason

To always be busy with something

And to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires ~ Paulo Coelho

Nurturing Creativity and the Gita

Frankly I have been appalled at the feedback I got for some of my doodling done in my free time out of interest. It was news to me that a piece of writing I write, or a picture I draw, or a video I put together out of love for my brother, all as a release of self expression could have an immense effect on the emotions of strangers and people close to me alike. Some of the feedback made me understand to a certain extent what this below quotation meant.

                             "The pen is mightier than the sword" ~  Edward Bulwer-Lytton


Comments like these also made me curious to drill in and research a little deeper to find out what exactly did the word "Creativity" mean.

"Superb vidya,U have a lot of creativity and humor in you" 
" You have got good talent, don't waste it" 
" You need to showcase your talents "
" You think different " or " You are different " ~ from conversations in projects/ social gatherings 
" You are damn good at this " 
 " I did feel a tear trickle down my cheek, but I felt some sort of unexplained positivity in me ". ~ comment from a blog post
" Good one. Had a good laugh. Now your mokai  poem touches a weak nerve somewhere "
" A very good strength of yours is that you think outside the box. You should never loose that ability"! ~ comment from my colleague during a review meeting

These are just some of the comments from friends, family and colleagues I have heard so far. They are all genuine and in a way they aim at motivating me/ driving me in making good use or expressing whatever people see in me as different or as talent. But there is a catch. What exactly does making good use mean. Or what exactly does it mean to "not waste it" . The last comment in particular from my colleague stressing upon to not loose this ability could in-fact put any sane person under pressure if not interpreted wisely.

It is indeed fascinating to read about the different schools of thought that associate creativity to different aspects of human life. A few causes that attribute to creativity are ( click on them if interested to read more )

1. Love
2. Mental Ilness
3. Being Left Handed
4. Forcing Creativity

Above all, it was very disturbing to come across a lot of negative attribution to creative types like writers , poets and artists to be stereo typed as depressed loners or romantics.

I agree that there is a fair chance of getting tired sometimes when so many ideas/ thoughts hit you and in not being able to have the energy or time to put all of it down to paper/fruition. Or even getting frustrated sometimes when a seemingly brilliant thought hits you at an inopportune moment only to loose the flow later when you have time to work on it. I am sure most of us would have felt this way at some point in time. But when this happens it is entirely up to us to either get overwhelmed and negative ....

or to be positive and create a phycological distance with these thoughts and handle them with a different perspective like how Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat Pray Love) narrates in this inspiring TED talk on nurturing creativity.

What touched me most about this video was her concluding sentences that goes something like this.

Don't be afraid! Don't be daunted! Just do your job, whatever that might be. If your job is to dance, do your dance. Continue to show up for your piece of it. If the divine cockeyed genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed for just one moment through your efforts then Ole. If not, do your dance anyhow. Ole to you nonethless.

I believe it and I feel like we must teach it. Ole to you nonetheless just for the shear human love and stubbornness to keep showing up. 

When I was hearing these sentences all that resonated in my mind was the Bhagavad Gita's concept of Karma Yoga and Lord Krishna's teachings. 

Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2

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

This is what I feel like telling the prolific and inspiring writer Elizabeth

A poor attempt at snow Krishna 

"This age old concept has already been taught in ancient India as well, it just needs to be spread and remembered at all times by all generations to come. And yeah, the divine cockeyed genius as you put it in my case has been and will always be the divine lotus eyed all-attractive, most beautiful Lord Krishna ;) ". 

Life Gyan ...

An inspiring quote on my blog :) !

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let us down, probably will. You'll have your heart broken and you'll break others' hearts. You'll fight with your best friend or maybe even fall in love with them, and you'll cry because time is flying by. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, forgive freely, and love like you've never been hurt. Life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, no second chances. you just have to live life to the fullest, tell someone what they mean to you and tell someone off, speak out, dance in the pouring rain, hold someone's hand, comfort a friend, fall asleep watching the sun come up, stay up late, be a flirt, and smile until your face hurts. Don't be afraid to take chances or fall in love and most of all, live in the moment because every second you spend angry or upset is a second of happiness you can never get back.

Dancing in the pouring rain, smiling until it hurts :) !

 

 

 

Plymouth musings ..

Day 1 - very first day of a going to be memorable road trip along Boston Area ( credits to an enthusiastic friend's attention to details :)

Today has been one of those rare days which begins with no big expectations and ends up making you feel so much wonder for the place you visited. The trip started with unexpected kindness from the enterprise rep who gave us a SUV upgrade for no charge in addition to waiving the additional driver fee .

Plymouth - A gentle introduction to American History

Me and my friend hurried from the airport to the hotel and bought tickets for the Ghost Lantern Tour at Plymouth. The tour is operated by Colonial Lantern company a pioneer in organizing a professionally guided tour narrating the history of this region. More info if interested at: http://lanterntours.com/ .

Frankly, I never knew such tours existed and though I was skeptical in the beginning ended up valuing being a part of the tour . I started the tour with another company and later joined back my friend and the Colonial Lantern  tour guide. Well, am not afraid to admit that I momentarily chickened out at the start of the tour deserting my friend to go by herself, only to join the tour again at a later stage with a brave spirit. I did create some excitement in the group of being "the missing person" in a middle of a cemetery late at night . 

The tour started at the foothill of burial hill.The burial ground founded in the 17 century which is the first Pilgrim burial ground.  This place is very rich in terms of American History and has been a witness of the Pilgrim's lives. The Pilgrims' story of seeking religious freedom has become a central theme of the history and culture of the United States. .Plymouth Colony (sometimes New Plymouth, or Plymouth Bay Colony) formed by Pilgrims was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town of Plymouth, Massachusetts.

                                                    The cemetery during the day 
The tour guide was enthusiastic and dramatic and did a wonderful job at creating a spooky environment/ mood to the audience. Since the group was large I guess I became brave enough to walk amidst the burial ground at night with a Lantern listening to hairy ghost stories. An experience which was truly one of a kind ! Beyond being mere ghost stories, must say this was a wonderful exposure to American History. As part of the tour we got a chance to see the burial ground of several notable Pilgrims and as well listen to many interesting stories such as those of Captain John Smith - the initial surveyor of Plymouth region for settlement.. Grueling stories around Kind Philips's war( one of the earliest Indian wars) in the middle of the night narrated passionately by a local tour guide walking down Leyden Street, (claimed to be the first street in Plymouth Colony).

                                           In the background, first church of Plymouth
A must visit for any one interested in American history etc.And yeah, the ghost tour would definitely be a A Walk to Remember !

Soul-Searching :) ..!

“My own brain is to me the most unaccountable of machinery - always buzzing, humming, soaring roaring diving, and then buried in mud. And why? What's this passion for?”

Today was a great start to the week. I got to attend a "Driving my Career" course I had signed up earlier and as part of the course I got to do an online assessment of my strengths. I was at first skeptical as to how a computer program can assess and analyze my strengths based on the choices I click for a series of multiple choice questions. I must say, I was amazed at how accurate the results were and it proved to be a good validation of the perception I had of myself. Am not sure though if the results were just a coincidence or whether the questionnaire was really an effective one :). 

I used to be this person who always thought that self improvement happens more by analyzing one's weaknesses and striving towards eliminating them. But attending this class made me see the other side/aspect of the coin. I am even tempted to call it the positive approach towards self improvement. Focusing on our strengths and working towards improving them and leveraging them even more at work/life in general makes us positively build upon our existing selves. An approach similar on the lines of this below quote

Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there.
- Marcus Aurelius

 

When you are looking in the mirror, you are looking at the problem. But, remember, you are also looking at the solution.

The online assessment amongst other things built up on my self awareness.

• It provided me with a brief shared description of my top 5 themes in rank order.
• A personalized strengths insights, which describes what makes me stand out from others with reference to the 5 themes.   

Below is some excerpts from the report. Am jotting this down here to make a journal of my strengths in this book of my life :)

Learner

People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

What makes you stand out?
Driven by your talents, you are a history buff — that is, someone ardently devoted to studying the past. You link people to events and trace timelines.It’s very likely that you frequently examine the factors leading up to an event. Therein you discover the reasons why things happened the way they did. A number of individuals and/or groups probably appreciate your logical thinking style. By nature, you might accept the challenge of understanding the detailed workings of complicated processes, mechanisms, or plans. To some extent, you enjoy examining mechanisms, processes, ideas, or regulations in detail. Perhaps you can picture in your mind how all of the pieces or steps link together. Instinctively, you customarily figure out what makes each person special. You talk to, observe, or study
individuals who produce nothing less than excellence to identify what inspires them. Unquestionably, you prefer to associate with those who share your passion for taking something good and making it better. Once you understand what drives a person, you can motivate him or her to transform whatever was made better into something utterly superb.Chances are good that you channel your efforts into the task at hand. You persevere until you have gained the knowledge and skills needed to attain a goal. You can toil for many hours to secure your objective. You probably work hardest and most productively at a particular time of day.

Restorative

People who are especially talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.

 

What makes you stand out?
Instinctively, you commonly reassure individuals that you notice, value, and appreciate them. You even think about how you can do a better job of showing them that they are truly deserving of your personal attention, interest, and time. It’s very likely that you naturally enjoy hearing what people have to say. You frequently evaluate your listening talents. In the process, you are apt to discover new ways to absorb a lot more information. Chances are good that you derive much joy from starting new projects, jobs, or courses of study. Before moving ahead, you automatically think about the things you need to upgrade, perfect, or do better.

Because of your strengths, you are honest with yourself about yourself. You can admit your shortcomings. You speak frankly about the areas where you need to do things better and more completely than you have done them in the past. By nature, you typically generate inventive ideas for new projects, especially those that require upgrading things. When you are challenged to be an innovative thinker, you feel valued.

Connectedness

People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

What makes you stand out?

Naturally, you accept individuals as they are, not as you want, wish, or expect them to be. You sense that a bond exists between and among all people. This bond extends across time and space, and includes people you know and people you will never meet. The apparent and subtle links among members of the human family influences many of your choices. It’s very likely that you sense you are not all alone in the world. You probably feel linked with every person and living thing. This openness explains why you invite a vast array of people to participate in conversations, activities, social events, or groups. Because of your strengths, you enter contests simply to have fun. In the process, you often find yourself part of something much larger such as building team spirit or raising funds for a worthy cause.

This sense of being linked to other people means a lot more to you than finishing first or claiming an award. Instinctively, you continually seek wisdom from people with whom you have intelligent conversations. You not only listen but also share your thoughts. In the process, you are likely to move beyond concrete facts. Your curiosity draws you to speculate — that is, reflect or wonder — about theories, ideas, or concepts. To keep your mind fresh, you frequently quiz individuals who are equally fascinated with the intangible and abstract aspects of life. Chances are good that you welcome all kinds of people into your circle of friends, family, or acquaintances. You have an ability to bond with individuals without expecting them to conform to your way of thinking, working, or living. You typically revel in the diversity of humankind. You refuse to bemoan the fact that every person, language, or culture is different. You have concluded that human beings are inextricably linked with one another as well as with everything in the cosmos — that is, the universe.

Intellection

People who are especially talented in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

What makes you stand out?

Instinctively, you relish conversations with people whose vocabulary is as sophisticated as their thinking. Discussing philosophies, theories, or concepts is exhilarating. You love to ask questions and be readily understood. As engaged as you are in the dialogue, you still make a point of pulling together insights so you can use this knowledge later. Chances are good that you have kept conversations centered on ideas since childhood. As a child, you likely listened carefully to discussions among adults. This approach allowed you to join in without rocking the boat — that is, without causing trouble where none was welcome. Today, you continue to listen intently to collect information before adding your ideas, contributing your insights offering your suggestions, or asking your questions. Because of your strengths, you regularly reflect on how you felt about your experiences as they occurred. You usually ponder how you felt afterward, too. Your emotional awareness sharpens your thinking. 

You are doubly blessed: You think with your head and feel with your heart. By nature, you prepare for important conversations or discussions by collecting lots of background information. It is not unusual for you to set aside at least five hours of quiet time each week to consider what you have discovered. You are likely to use this time to expand your thinking. A new piece of material can send you hunting for additional evidence to support your theories, concepts, or proposals. Driven by your talents, you usually are quiet during conversations, taking in everything that is said. You are particularly attentive when intelligent people toss about their ideas, theories, or concepts. Often you acquire more information and gain more insights than the speakers do. When you choose to expound on a topic that interests you or pose pertinent questions, many individuals listen carefully to every word you utter.

Responsibility 

 People who are especially talented in the Responsibility theme take psychological ownership of what they say they will do. They are committed to stable values such as honesty and loyalty. 

What makes you stand out?

By nature, you may want people to regard you as trustworthy, dependable, or reliable. Perhaps this yearning motivates you to do whatever you said you would do. It’s very likely that you conduct yourself in an exceptionally mature and orderly fashion even when your teammates, classmates, friends, coworkers, and colleagues are acting childish. Instinctively, you possess an inner drive to attain your high standards of excellence. Satisfying work and a passion for accountability fuel your zeal to do things very carefully. You want others to view you and your work favorably. Chances are good that you might be known as a reliable and dependable person. Perhaps you are motivated to work diligently. In some cases, you cannot rest until you have completed what you told someone you would do. 

Because of your strengths, you are naturally compelled to admit the truth. If someone asked you or told you to intentionally mislead someone, you would reply, “I cannot and I will not do that!” 

भक्ति ! Aka Devotion

Four posts have gone by and how can I resist my temptation to blog about Goddess Andal and her divine implorations to Lord Krishna in the form of tamil poetry. Goddess Andal is an epitome of "Bhakti". The ancient sage Narada from Hindu mythology defines Bhakti as "intense love" for God.

"My Lord, though endless pains afflict me, I will not cease to look for thy mercy." ~ Nammalvar

Though I am not sure how much justice I can do in attempting to describe one of the most extraordinary personalities in the Hindu culture, I am attempting here to give a very brief history borrowing text from several sources. This post is mainly about Goddess Andal who is the only female out of the 12 Alvar saints . Alvar saints in hindu tradition are known to travel from one holy place to another composing and singing poetry out of immense love/ bhakti for their divine beloved Lord Vishnu. Lord Krishna is one incarnation for Lord Vishnu and Goddess Andal's poetry portrays her immense love and yearning for Lord Krishna's divine union. Her compositions exemplify bridal mysticism and include the Tiruppavai and the Nacciyar-Tirumozhi which form part of the Nalayira‑Divyaprabandham. Here goes her simple romantic story.

A devout brahmin named Vishnucitta lived in Villiputtur. One morning, he discovered a cute baby girl with lovely curly hair lying under a tulasi plant in his flower garden. He named her Kothai which in tamil literally means one who has curly hair and 'Godha' in Sanskrit which means one who is dear to the Lord. Kothai grew up in an atmosphere of love and devotion.The love Vishnucitta had for his beloved Lord intensified further in his daughter, and before long she was passionately in love with Lord Krishna.

Entry Gate to Tulasi Maadam where Andal was found

Andal blossomed into a beautiful young woman as she came of marriageable age. When asked to marry, however, she stubbornly refused, saying that she would only agree to marry Sri Ranganatha, the Lord at the great temple town of Srirangam. Vishnucitta despaired, wondering what was to become of his daughter. One night, Lord Ranganatha appeared in his dream and asked that Andal be sent to Him in all her wedding finery. Simultaneously, the Lord appeared before the priests at Srirangam and asked them to prepare for the coming of Andal. Vishnucitta once again was filled with both joy and sadness; joy that his beloved daughter would attain her goal, but sadness
at losing her at the same time. He made all the wedding preparations and arranged for Andal's journey in a palanquin to Srirangam.

SriRangam Temple Gopuram

Andal waited with excited anticipation as the wedding party approached Lord Ranganatha's shrine. As they entered the temple, she jumped out of the palanquin, unable to restrain herself any longer. Running into the temple sanctum, she embraced Lord Ranganatha and disappeared in a blaze of glory, having joined her Lord. She was only fifteen at the time. 


                             Translation of the Thiruvaimozhi Paasuram sung in the below link


                                                Andal's Imploration - Click here to Listen :)

In the desire to have the darSanam of the lotus feet of my Lord who resides in SrI villiputtUr with its abundance of the gentle-walking annam birds playing all over, my two beautiful fish-shaped eyes are fighting with each other and refuse to close for sleep. Oh cuckoo! Please warble sweetly so that the perumAn who measured all the worlds will come here. If you do that for me, I will let you be friends with my beautiful pet parrot who has been brought up by me with great care and affection, by being fed delicious food and sweet milk.










                  My visit to Sri Villiputhur - birthplace of Goddess Andal yet again ( thanks to dad ) this weekend and the occasion of Krishna Jayanthi happening today ie. the birthday of Lord Krishna prompted me to write this post. Below is a picture taken at Sri Villiputtur Koyil Pravaham(temple premises). The painting on the wall is that of Lord Ranganatha. 

Reading and learning the life history of Andal and her pure love for god makes me reverberate on the meaning of love . These lines on genuine love from the book "The Road Less Traveled" by M.Scott Peck come to my mind at this point.

When I genuinely love I am extending myself, and when I am extending myself I am growing. The more I love, the longer I love, the larger I become. Genuine love is self-replenishing. The more I nurture the spiritual growth of others, the more my own spiritual growth is nurtured. I am a totally selfish human being. I never do something for somebody else but that I do it for myself.And as I grow through love, so grows my joy, even more present, even more constant. As John Denver sings:

Love is everywhere, I see it.

You are all that you can be, go on and be it.

Life is perfect, I believe it.

Come and play the game with me. 

Ending this post with a birthday wish to Lord Krishna on his birthday today ..

Happy birthday Krishna ! Hope you had a blast ;)          
                                                - As Always 
                                                 Love Vidya ....

दया ! Aka Compassion

I am writing this blog post based on an experience I encountered this thursday. This week had been pretty rough and hectic and I started to a class at Stanford after work with unusually less amounts of enthusiasm. There was an assignment due that day as well that I was supposed to turn in as a hard copy. I managed to quickly cram up and do the assignment and send it as an email attachment instead adding an apologetic explanation on how the printer at work gave off on me unexpectedly.

This post is mainly about the course instructor and to give some background on her I would describe her as a pretty fair lady in her early forties. Their was an unusual calm and quietude around her and I liked her style of teaching right from class one. Later I came to know that she had acquired this calm aura by meditating for an hour each twice a day over a period of one year. Unfortunately this class had been canceled for the last two weeks as her dad had passed away and she had to be with her family in Colorado. I had been preoccupied with thoughts and events happening in my life and had quite forgotten about this incident of hers while heading to class. I entered the classroom which was dimly lit than usual(which I thought created a soothing atmosphere) and all the students were sitting in a circle around her. I couldn't help but observe a certain inner strength she was displaying despite her loss and admired the way she was putting up a brave front and attempting to teach the class.

Must say, this particular class was very different from any I had attended as a student in my life.  She would discuss some course material but for brief moments helplessly go back in time and narrate what she remembered about her dad or what had happened the last 2 weeks in her life and feel guilty about digressing the class at the same time. It was evident that this was the first loss of a parent she was having to deal with. I was observing passively for the most part of the class as I saw other students trying to give her suggestions on what books or materials she could read to help cope better. It was a 2 hour class and the class went on like this with her attempts to forget talking about the loss and stick to the course content. With an urge to try to make her feel better, at around 8 o clock I managed to interrupt and come up with this suggestion to the class. I was not sure if I was doing the right thing but I thought it was worth a shot.  I asked her (if she was comfortable with) to just talk about her emotions and feelings instead of trying to stick to the agenda of the class. Empathy was one of the topics that was discussed as part of this course and I added that this would in-fact be a good practical session for all of us with regard to learning on how to empathize with one another. The entire class and she in fact was taken aback a bit by this suggestion of the mine( the youngest student in the class). She thought for a moment and replied after a pause "in fact that would be a great idea".

She admitted that she was feeling very vulnerable and bit awkward by so much attention from all of us who were strangers to her but I could see she was gradually opening up and was becoming more comfortable. I was glad to see that after 20 minutes or so she was able to focus and conduct the class with some cheer. Towards the end of the class she opened up and told us that she had lost her teaching job as well which made me realize that it was more than one loss that she was having to cope up with at present.

After the class a couple of students stayed back and I was glad I was one of those. She was narrating to us how she was trying to put together a website and resume and how she was attempting to look for work. She also narrated how people around her had been kind and sympathetic towards her offering her food, kind words, neighbors placing flowers at her door step etc these last few days. She further opened up and told us about her 80 year old mom dealing with a terminal illness whom she admitted in a nursery after her father's demise. I was standing next to her all along listening silently. I could sense her inner grief though I knew I could not fully understand what she was going through at that moment. Some students offered her constructive suggestions on how she could improve her job search via linked in etc. One of the students asked if she had doubts continuing her life. I felt terribly bad that she was asked such a question.

All I could manage to do was in the end reach out to her and while holding her hand for a couple of minutes muster these words softly looking into her moist eyes " I know this is not easy, but time will heal and the good times you had with your dad will always be alive in your memory and I know you are aware of the dreams and hopes your father had for you to live up to" .

I am not sure if my words made her feel better, but for some unexplainable reason, I could feel more peace and calm within myself. Suddenly all the problems I thought I had in my life seemed to become minuscule. This incident also makes me look forward to the quality real time I can have with my dad when I visit him this time to an even more greater extent :).

It is surprising and fascinating to see how by attempting to help others we in fact really help ourselves indirectly. These below sentences I read elsewhere come to my mind now.  

"It's liberating to realize that our problems are in fact our richest sources for rising to this ultimate virtue of compassion. Indeed some of the very wounding experiences in our lives prompts us to bringing compassion towards the sufferings and joys of others" .

Though I was sorry all this has happened to the course instructor, I was glad in a way that I was there at class that day and was able to listen to her as it made me resonate on the truth of this quote from Dalai Lama  


If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. 
If you want to be happy, practice compassion.