AN ESSENTIAL ACTIVITY IN YOUR DAILY LIFE

 Decluttering your mind

Cleaning and disposing of unwanted things from our workspace and living space is an essential activity in our daily life, as it gives us renewed energy. We often declutter our cupboards, worktable, bedroom, kitchen etc. Removing unwanted and undesirable stuff delivers a positive vibe to the space and persons alike.

In recent times, most people indeed have an increased awareness on the significance of decluttering their physical surroundings. However, decluttering of one’s mind is more important than all this. When negative emotions such as anger, hatred, fear, sadness, frustration etc. loom large; one does not find peace of mind. These emotions frequently haunt and create blocks in the mind, thus affecting the performance of an individual in private and public life.

When there is a severe block in a blood vessel to the heart, doctors may advise for surgical interventions or angioplasty. Unfortunately, there are no ‘plasty’ procedures available to clear mental blocks. Cleansing and blockage removal of the mind can be done only through self-effort or self-consent. Self-awareness is the first step towards it. Once we feel the necessity to do so, we will be able to do it. Unless we declutter our mind once in a while, there will be a lot of garbage of thoughts that could lead to a cancerous condition of the mind. It will tax one’s happiness and impact productivity in life. 

A child’s mind is said to be like a clean slate. As he or she grows, there will be both positive and negative writings on it. If the mind is trained to forget and forgo toxic thoughts and emotions, without letting them accumulate, then that child will be able to maintain a clean and healthy mind. There may be some thwarted feelings and negative energy in the mind; a process called sublimation, the draining out of such emotions into socially acceptable channels could help in such cases. This enables one to handle both intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships in a better way. This is also reflected in actions and appearances as well.

BOOK OF FABLES AND FOLKTALES

 Panchatantra

Panchatantra was originally written in Sanskrit language by the Hindu scholar Pandit Vishnu Sharma about 2500 years ago. It is a collection of fables and folktales. It gives an insight into the human behaviour through animal characters. Vishnu Sharma thought that humans could understand their shortcomings, if presented in an entertaining and humorous manner. So he chose animals in his fables as main characters which was his medium to convey the message.

There are tales of greed, deceit, treachery, stupidity, anger and wit. His stories are subtle in implying the morals behind them without directly mentioning them. The stories are presented in a simple manner.

Vishnu Sharma was a 3rd century Sanskrit scholar who lived in Varanasi. He was the Guru of the Prince of Kashi. He wrote Panchatantra to teach political science to his royal disciples.

King Sudarshan of Mahilaropya of Southern India had three dull sons.He decided to appoint Vishnu Sharma as an instructor for his sons. The King promised to give hundred villages and abundant gold to Vishnu Sharma if he could make good administrators out of his sons. Vishnu Sharma was very old at that time and he politely refused the gifts. He promised the King that he would turn the princes into able administrators within six months.

Vishnu Sharma realized that it was a difficult task to teach the princes through conventional means. So he started composing many short captivating animal stories with a message in each story. He grouped them in five parts called Tantras, hence the name Panchatantra. After hearing the stories the princes became really knowledgeable and good administrators.

Panchatantra became very popular all over the world. It reached Europe in the 11^th century. By the 16th century, it was translated in Greek, German, Italian, Spanish, Latin and other Slavic languages. It’s been translated and circulated all over the world for its precious teachings.

MEET THE SCIENTIST

 Albert Einstein

I am Albert Einstein, a scientist. I was born on March 14, 1879 in Germany. I spent most of my childhood in Munich, Germany. My father had an electronics company and I learned a lot about science and electronics from him. I loved maths and science and wanted to pursue those subjects in school. But I did not finish school in Germany, but went to Switzerland for my studies. I had a sister named Maja.

Did you know that I had speech problems when I was a child? And my parents were worried that I was not very smart. I also failed my entrance exam for college. After schooling and college I wanted to become a professor but did not get that job for a long time. So, I worked in the patent office for my monthly income.

Later, I immigrated to the United States in 1933. This was because I had to flee Europe as the Nazis did not like me since I was Jewish. If I had stayed in Germany I would not have been able to get any suitable job. At one point the Nazis had even put a bounty on my head. After I went to USA I got citizenship there and was safe from Nazis.

Do you know what scientific achievements I have done when I was alive? No? Then let me tell you. I am most famous for my Theory of Relativity. This theory changed much in the way scientists looked at the world of physics. The Theory of Relativity explains how time and distance changes due to the relative or different speed of the object and the observer. It is also the foundation for many modern inventions like the nuclear bomb and nuclear energy. One equation from the theory is a formula called E=mc². This formula explains how energy (E) is related to mass (m). In this formula, "c" is the speed of light and is a constant. It is assumed to be the fastest speed possible in the universe.

I have other exciting discoveries also. In 1905, I came up with the concept that light is made up of particles called photons. My scientist friends did not agree but later experiments showed this was true. This discovery led to many branches of science and I was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. In 1940, Word War II was going on. So, I auctioned off my hand written version of my Theory of Relativity for 6 million dollars to help with the war effort. Finally, I died on 18 April 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey. 

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑨𝑵𝑺𝑲𝑹𝑰𝑻 𝑬𝑭𝑭𝑬𝑪𝑻

                          

India’s ancient heritage of chanting mantras has been appreciated time and again by various scholars across the globe. It has been found that memorising Vedic mantras can increase the size of our brain and enhance our problem solving and cognitive skills!

The influence of the West and pressure of learning foreign languages, for suitable career options, have made Sanskrit quite old fashioned despite its immense potential.

James Hatrzell, a neuroscientist, conducted research on 21 Pandits who regularly chanted Sanskrit mantras. Similar study was conducted by AIIMS on Gayatri Mantra. The conclusions were startling! The MRI test results confirmed a 10% increase in grey matter across both cerebral hemispheres.

In a world of shrinking attention spans, where we are flooded with information daily, and children display a range of attention deficit disorders, ancient Indian wisdom has much to offer. Even introducing small amounts of chanting and recitation could have an amazing effect on our brains.

The Gayatri Mantra is a part of regular prayer in many schools. If children are made to chant it for 5-10 minutes a day, their problem solving and stress-bearing capacity can be increased considerably. And, in this way, we can preserve our ancient heritage too!

ENTREPRENEUR AND BUSINESSMAN

 Is ‘entrepreneur’ another word for ‘businessman’?

No, although both are self-employed and carry out business activity, there is a fine line separating the two.

A businessman treads a well-defined path by setting up a business with an existing idea offering products to the customers.

A businessman may start a new business or he/she may inherit one and take it forward. Typically, he will opt for a business where he thinks he can make good profit. However, as there will be existing players, he often faces tough competition. For example, Mukesh Ambani is a businessman.

An entrepreneur on the other hand is a person who charts out his/her own path by starting an enterprise with a fresh idea or concept, to solve a problem or meet a latent need.

An entrepreneur is usually a creative, innovative person who is willing to take significant risks. He conceives a unique idea and translates it into reality knowing well that it may or may not succeed. His company is known as a ‘start-up’. If his idea works, an entrepreneur may eventually become a businessman and others may follow him. But he will always remain a pioneer or market leader.

For example, entrepreneur Garret Camp came up with a unique concept of an on-demand car service that is available via a mobile phone application. He co-founded a company called Uber, which became popular in a short time, Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google) and Bill Gates (Microsoft) are all examples of successful entrepreneurs.

STORY

The Erect Green Doctor

                                           

Krishn was a farmer. One year, due to good weather and ample rain, Krishn harvested a large quantity of crops and vegetables. He was also able to sell a large quantity in the market. Sakshi, his wife, was very happy.

“Keep the extra money in a big pot,” advised Sakshi. “Bury it under the Ashoka tree on our farm. This savings will be of help to us on a needy day.”

Krishn did as told. Time passed. There came a day when Krishn urgently needed money. He ran to the Ashoka tree and dug the mud beneath it. He found the pot, but there was no money in it!

“It’s empty!” shouted Krishn.

 “We have been robbed!” wailed Sakshi. “Let’s go to the king. He will find the thief for us and severely punish the paise-chor!”

So they went to the palace and met the king. The king summoned his wisest minister.

“Maharaj!” said Veerabhadra, as he bowed to his king.

“Veerabhadra!” said the king. “Find the chor and bring him to me!”

“Krishnji, who are your closest friends?” asked Veerabhadra.

“Mohan, Vishal and Raju,” replied Krishn.

Mohan, Vishal and Raju were summoned to the court.

“Maharaj!” said Mohan, Vishal and Raju as they bowed to the king.

“Did you steal Krishn’s pot of money from underneath the Ashoka tree?” asked Veerabhadra.

“No!” said Mohan. “I was in Jammu for the last three months!”

“No!” denied Vishal. “I was busy working full-time at the hospital. I had no time to go to Krishn’s farm.”

“No!” shouted Raju. “I had a skin problem, so I did not go to meet Krishn. I was scared it would be infectious.”

“Are you taking any medical treatment for it?” asked Veerabhadra.

“Yes!” replied Raju. “I am now much better. Nature has some wonderful medicines!”

Veerabhadra bowed to the king.“Maharaj!” said Veerabhadra. “I know who stole Krishn’s pot of money!”

“It is not me!” shouted Mohan,Vishal and Raju, simultaneously.

“He is the thief!” said Veerabhadra, pointing a finger at Raju.

“I am not the thief!” shouted Raju. “I was suffering from an itchy skin problem. I never met anybody!”

“Did you go to a doctor?”

“No! I used the ……I used…...” Raju did not complete the sentence.

“Maharaj!” said Veerabhadra. “Raju was using leaves and crushed flowers of Krishn’sAshoka tree to cure his itchy skin problem. Everyone knows that these cure dermatitis, psoriasis, eczema, and scabies. They remove the toxins from the body and purify the blood. Raju saw Krishn bury the pot. He heard him tell Sakshi that their money was in a safe place!”

Raju fell down on his knees. “Forgive me Maharaj!” sobbed Raju. “I will never steal money again!”

“Give your friend all the money you stole from him,” said the king, in a stern voice. “I do not want to see your face in my court again.”

Krishn and Sakshi were very happy. They had found their pot of gold. Veerabhadra too was very happy. The king had rewarded him with ten gold coins!

KINDNESS WINS HEARTS

                               

Once, an emperor heard of a rebellion in a remote part of his kingdom. He gathered his soldiers and went to the area to destroy his enemies. The people of the region, frightened by the might of his army, put up a red flag of surrender. Then the emperor gave them all gifts and turned his horse around to go home.

 His soldiers were perplexed and asked, “Your highness, what’s happening, we have come to destroy these enemies?”

The emperor replied, “We have. By our kindness we have destroyed their destructive intentions and turned our enemies into friends”.

“Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the dumb can understand”, explained the philosopher Seneca. The world is today badly in need of kindness. We hear and read about lots of unpleasant happenings from newspapers, television and other sources. Many of these occur because of the lack of love, kindness and concern for others.

In life we can often opt to win or destroy the hearts of others; make their hearts throb out of joy or break out of grief. It is entirely up to us to make others as well as ourselves happy.

Let us not avoid any occasion to express or show kindness and love. Always remember that kindness makes us feel good; it softens our hearts and brightens our world as well as the world of others. Last but not least, let us not forget the great saying that kindness makes you the most beautiful person in the world, no matter what you look like.