Krishna on Knowledge

Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and even-mindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth -- all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance. The Geeta 13:8-12

On Experience

"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so" - Douglas Adams

"Experiences are savings which a miser puts aside. Wisdom is an inheritance which a wastrel cannot exhaust" - Karl Kraus

"Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment" - Fred Brooks

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely" - Auguste Rodin

"The only source of knowledge is experience" - Albert Einstein

Innocence is being a child, Experience is that child growing up, like Blake tells in Songs of Innocence and Experience.

On Fear

From SarvaShiva, Seattle

“What is needed, rather than running away or controlling or suppressing or any other resistance, is understanding fear; that means, watch it, learn about it, come directly into contact with it. We are to learn about fear, not how to escape from it” – J. Krishnamurti

And empirical knowledge, with all assumptions carefully removed, is the antidote to fear. Reality cannot be escaped but with knowledge translated into skills reality can be livable, even pleasurable, and us drivers not pawns.

Asking Americans ...

Did you buy American today? If so, that was the smart, patriotic deed of the day. Let's all repeat that again tomorrow to create jobs and rebuild our country and lives.

If not then when will you stop the practice that creates trade deficit and job erosion, decimates the manufacturing sector and innovation in America?

God bless America, and may you be a part of those blessings. Listen to Andy Grove, he tells the truth as is.

Krishna on Being Krishna

Courtesy SarvaShiva, Seattle 

“I am the Supersoul, O Arjuna, seated in the hearts of all living entities. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.”

“Of the Adityas I am Vishnu, of lights I am the radiant sun, of the Maruts I am Marici, and among the stars I am the moon.”

“Of the Vedas I am the Sama Veda; of the demigods I am Indra, the king of heaven; of the senses I am the mind; and in living beings I am the consciousness.”

“Of all the Rudras I am Lord Shiva, of the Yakshas and Rakshasas I am the Lord Kuvera, of the Vasus I am Agni, and of mountains I am Meru.”

“Of priests, O Arjuna, know Me to be the chief, Brihaspati. Of generals I am Kartikeya, and of bodies of water I am the ocean.”

“Of the great sages I am Bhrgu; of vibrations I am the transcendental Om. Of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names, and of immovable things I am the Himalayas.”

“Of all trees I am the banyan tree, and of the sages among the demigods I am Narada. Of the Gandharvas I am Citraratha, and among perfected beings I am the sage Kapila.”

“Of horses know Me to be Uccaihsrava, produced during the churning of the ocean for nectar. Of lordly elephants I am Airavata, and among men I am the monarch.”

“Of weapons I am the thunderbolt; among cows I am the Surabhi. Of causes for procreation I am Kandarpa, the god of love, and of serpents I am Vasuki.”

“Of the many-hooded Nagas I am Ananta, and among the aquatics I am the demigod Varuna. Of departed ancestors I am Aryama, and among the dispensers of law I am Yama, the lord of death.”

“Among the Daitya demons I am the devoted Prahlada, among subduers I am time, among beasts I am the lion, and among birds I am Garuda.”

“Of purifiers I am the wind, of the wielders of weapons I am Rama, of fishes I am the shark, and of flowing rivers I am the Ganges.”

“Of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle, O Arjuna. Of all sciences I am the spiritual science of the self, and among logicians I am the conclusive truth.”

“Of letters I am the letter A, and among compound words I am the dual compound. I am also inexhaustible time, and of creators I am Brahma.”

“I am all-devouring death, and I am the generating principle of all that is yet to be. Among women I am fame, fortune, fine speech, memory, intelligence, steadfastness and patience.”

“Of the hymns in the Sama Veda I am the Brihat-sama, and of poetry I am the Gayatri. Of months I am Margasirsa, and of seasons I am flower-bearing spring.”

“I am also the gambling of cheats, and of the splendid I am the splendor. I am victory, I am adventure, and I am the strength of the strong.”

“Of the descendants of Vrishni I am Vasudeva, and of the Pandavas I am Arjuna. Of the sages I am Vyasa, and among great thinkers I am Usana.”

“Among all means of suppressing lawlessness I am punishment, and of those who seek victory I am morality. Of secret things I am silence, and of the wise I am the wisdom.”

“Furthermore, O Arjuna, I am the generating seed of all existences. There is no being—moving or nonmoving—that can exist without Me.” - the Geeta 10:20-39

On Change

"He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils; for time is the greatest innovator" - Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

"Life belongs to the living, and he who lives must be prepared for changes" - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)

"Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal" - Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
 
"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad" - C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)
 
"Change before you have to" - Jack Welch (1935)
 
“Surround yourself with people who are open to change. If you are always in the company of cynics, you will soon find yourself becoming like them. A cynic knows all the reasons why something cannot be done. Instead, spend time with people who have a "can-do" approach" - Azim Premji (1945)

For about 400 years its been agreed that change management is a good idea ... so what's new then, except the same old resistance?

Reason & Religion

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use" - Galileo Galilei

He stuck to his belief in Copernicanism supporting the heliocentric view despite bitter opposition from philosophers, astronomers and the Church, defying faith of his time.

Stephen Hawking said, "Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science".

We need Galileo, Gates, Jobs, (Ela) Bhatt, Mandela to inspire us to that higher place where human potential and innovation thrive, sitting cross legged chanting Om leads nowhere, neither does a jargon spewing Guru- successful life follows Galileo like pursuit of empirical knowledge.

Karma - Project Management of Life

Karma is, for all purposes, project management of life - project being all things we need to do, management being how. If we applied best business practices to our personal lives and relationships, relationship retention scores will improve, ROI on emotional investments will be high and chances of being happy for longer brighten, so it makes sense to act best at home and when off work than not.

Take those MBA, PMP, Black-belt skills and lessons to heart and build love and relationships on them as love and home don't deserve or need less than business. Education refines so seek refinement.

Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid, but know that that means prudently, sensitively, kindly bold or mighty forces could also crush. And since it's all here and now, the cause and effect as real as squandered or earned promotions and profits, be cognizant, manage expectations, and give more - just enough is not enough.

Advait in Leonardo da Vinci's words

"As every divided kingdom falls, so every mind divided between many studies confounds and saps itself” – Leonardo da Vinci

Hindus call it Advait, or non-duality – it simply means believe and pursue with conviction, one thing, one love, one pursuit at a time .

Faith

“A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything” – Nietzsche

So faith has to be yoked to ethical actions otherwise it’s worth nothing except pain to self and others.

Forever true

Courtesy SarvaShiva, Seattle 

“We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act” - Swami Vivekananda

What does it take to be happy

Loads of things, but it also takes being satisfied with what one has.

Today was a happy day for me.

Last night was -7, and by this morning the snow had piled deep around, and high on top of my car. There was no way to get out. I had to cancel my meetings, and was stuck in the house.

Its a temporary house. On the water with fantastic views of the bay and the mountains. And today it was also a house with no food, except for some almonds, raisins, Diet Coke and orange juice. The cheese that was there was mouldy, and the microwave would not work, so there was no scope of a quick cup of Earl Gray.

Since I was in Seattle over the weekend, and went straight to Vancouver from there I didn't have the time to go grocery shopping, so it was what it was.

The day went by fast, and beautifully. I ate drank what was there plus drank of the view and total silence broken by the sound of the waves and the rustle of the wind. Felt God like a tight hug, and found that I could be happy even when stranded in the snow, hungry.

Now if this were a routine it would be drudgery, but being stranded in life is only a part of life, so during those days being happy makes life enjoyable - because this day and bad days shall pass too - but how they're handled will have a lot to do with who I am and how I handle life. Ultimately it comes to making lemonade or crying over life's lemons.

Shall I die now so you don't have to read my blogs

I'm strapped here, not that I like being strapped here or anywhere - and there's no kinky connotation - being strapped is just not me. But I am strapped, tight, with little breathing room and space, and I know it's my doing since you did not strap me to this, and knowing you - okay some of you may get perverse, sadistic delight in strapping people to rail tracks in path of heavy, rumbling trains - you are not that, and before we go further, not that I can go anywhere since I am strapped remember, I am no masochist either strapping myself in uncomfortable, dangerous places - and remember this sadistic, masochistic inference is not about kinkiness it's about me being here and now in the path of something quite painful and scary.

Not that there is a real train - that's my imagery and since I am writing I think it's only fair that I get to choose my symbolism. As long as symbolism is accurate for were I to say I am lying here waiting for Madonna to mount me - I would get serious beating from Nidhi which would be less painful than being mounted by anyone as a married man must not be mounted by anyone except the wife and all his mountings and dis mountings should be limited to means of transportation.

Anyway here I am. Without cure. So the train is symbolic of time bearing down on me. Since I don't have the stuff to get what will help I try my will and creative self diagnostics and prayer.

But do Prayer, Will and Self efforts to cure oneself work?

Maybe, maybe not - but you see that I am trying. And I see that you are trying to help with warm blankets, and hugs and being there, but that makes my pain worst because I don't want to bring you down. You care for me, some of you love me, and all of you are having a crappy time because of me being strapped to this situation.

Maybe some of you (with sharp cutters) will say "Whoa, get up, here are box cutters with which I cut you, now go do something. You're bruised, and weary, and need some rehab time, during which you will not be pretty or strong, but you will heal", and the other set will say, "But now you're not what you were or I thought you were, so how do I handle the battered you? I am not for a jalopy as my ride is a fast BMW" And I am in between. Used to being a Mercedes 500 I am now a dilapidated Yugo rusting by the minute, so not am sure whether to do what.

But one thing I know - there's only one thing that can and will help and I can't have it and you can''t get it for me. So instead of me wasting away and wasting your time why don't we all have a big, happy party and then I let myself go, and you let me go too.

Hoping my prayers and will will reign supreme over this ass-hole situation is fine and dandy but it's not an empirical plan, it's only hope, and why hope when you can do something more with your time - not that I mind your time - I love it for that's my sustenance and all I have, but I am strapped, you needn't be, so go on have a great time, and when you vote vote yes on euthanasia.

And on the subject of trains here's one about mine:

In the shuffling madness
Of the locomotive breath,
Runs the all-time loser,
Headlong to his death.
He feels the piston scraping -- Steam breaking on his brow
Old charlie stole the handle
and the train wont stop going
No way to slow down.

He sees his children jumping off
At the stations -- one by one.
His woman and his best friend -- In bed and having fun.
He's crawling down the corridor
On his hands and knees
Old charlie stole the handle
and The train wont stop going
No way to slow down.

He hears the silence howling -- Catches angels as they fall.
And the all-time winner
Has got him by the balls.
He picks up Gideon's Bible -- Open at page one
Old charlie stole the handle
and The train wont stop going
No way to slow down.

When I was a kid I dreamt - especially around exams (not rectal, stupid, like finals) - I was missing the train. Now I can't get on it and I can't get out of it's way - so about time I start dreaming about cars.

Qutaroporte is quite nice. Vrooooooom ........... Hey darlin' get out of my dreams, get into my car - no no don't because this isn't a dream its real and I am really strapped.

Life is a .....

The year is almost over.

Leaves that change color have turned, brown, gold, orange, rust, red. One's that don't are still clinging wetly in wet rains to their trees and the one's that couldn't hang on lie in heaps on parked cars and streets, creating an organic slush of dead life form, on which cars and people skid and slip.

Today was my last day in our Vancouver flat that looks into neighbors windows and between buildings at docked boats and a bit of the seawall. It was walking distance to Stanley Park and Robson so Nidhi and I used to walk everyday for an hour or more - stopping for Gelato, Boba Tea, Chocolate Fondue or at times a Blizzard at DQ, after dinner.

That is where we first met, and first lived after getting married so the place has symbolic, sentimental value, hence the mention. Even though Vancouver is expensive, offers limited shipping and dining choices, it will always be Nidhi's and my first home, so will always occupy a significant place where happy memories live.

Helena and Jill helped finish off what Tony, Steve and I had started last week. They packed and loaded the car and now it's time to cross the border with Nidhi's knives, and cutlery, and appliances, and pots and pans and clothes and books and DVDs - things that make for life.

When I hear her tossing and turning in the middle of the night, or going to the loo, or when she wakes up before me talking to her Mom, its not an annoying disturbance - like it used to be in single days, wanting my silent, stillness - I feel grateful that I get to hear these sounds that denote family and togetherness and wish that I never have to live with silences again.

Tonight or tomorrow we will find a place to put our DVDs and Books and connect our TV and DVD player and make a home for next few months until life unveils its plans for the next year. Even though the house is right on the water, in which mountain reflections swim along with the ducks, it's not dramatic because the bay is so placid - so no big, loud, crashing waves or thundering winds. Just an isolated calm, in which one can find or lose God.

Were work not such a stress perhaps the house would feel happier. Losing $1,000 out of pocket per day is taking its toll on humor and optimism. We still haven't let go any staff nor cut benefits, but its time now for radical reinventions. With each passing day (at work) something dies without something being born, so I feel there's a sum total of loss here which needs to be reversed lest it becomes irreversible

I need to find a technology partner to create the web interface, now, so that Nidhi and I can live happily till I live and when I am done I wait for her to join me when she is done her part here.

As Arthur says "ask the universe". I am asking, humbly and hopefully for a technology partner who will share the vision and the want to create a $100 million company. The company is important because that realizes my innate potential but more important because it gives me the space and the time and the security to love.