Siddhartha to Buddha – Journey of a young man

Remember I told you that recently I brought a few books t read? Presently I am reading the book “Buddha – a story of enlightenment” by Deepak chopra. It’s a very good book and truly a page turner. I am happy I purchased that book.

I have always been attracted to Buddha and his teachings. In fact I still remember the first book I read on Buddha’s teachings when I was in 12th. His teachings are simple, practical and scholarly. It now feels good to read about how Siddhartha – the prince renounced everything and became a God.

Siddhartha was, like any one of us, a mortal when he was born. I am sure he felt all the emotions that we feel as humans. I am sure he was not a god from the word go. Definitely he might have had all the shortcomings that we have as humans as well. But then, what is it that made Siddhartha, a mere mortal to be included into the ranks of the god?

I think the reason why Siddhartha became Buddha was because he listened to his heart. He had the entire world at his feet. He was prince of a state. He was having riches that any of us would give our life to have. He was destined to be a great worrier to rule over the four corners of the world. But he renounced all that. And his renouncement was that of a highest kind. What’s the meaning of renouncing wealth if you are beggar? What’s the meaning of renouncing if you are already old and about to die? What’s the meaning of renouncing if you don’t of anyone who cares about you?

Siddhartha was bold enough to leave his wealth, crown and family members at a very young age and walk into the realm of the unknown. He followed his heart and set on a journey to find his destiny. It just takes a split second to think how difficult and courageous a decision he took at that young age.

No, I am not a Buddhist. No, I don’t plan to become a Buddhist in near future. But what I do like is a young man’s journey to know himself. I do like a person who fights against all odds to find his destiny. I do like a person who becomes a god from human with sheer will power. I do like a person who has nothing in his heart but love for his fellow creatures. I do like Buddha as a person. His life inspires me.

Through this Book I intend to walk with Buddha on his journey for enlightenment. I intend to at lest make a feeble attempt to know his joys, fears, loss and triumphs. Don’t worry! I will keep you posted about anything beautiful that I come across

 

Exams tomorrow..!!!

Yeah, yeah…I know – Exams tomorrow. Tomorrow will be my first MBA exam on “Introduction to management”. Next Sunday I have one more exam on “Managerial effectiveness” and my first semester exams will be over. Yesterday too I had taken study leave. Felt so good, being a student again – Wonderful.

Frankly speaking, I am surprised by own motivation to study. After all it’s been more then three years since I last studied for an exam. Studying has really not lost its charm as far as I am concerned. The discipline, concentration and the will power that it calls for to write an exam is really exiting. I have never been a brilliant student in college days. No topper or the most brilliant kid in school. I have always had to study hard even to get OK OK score. But still, somehow, I have always loved to study and be a student.

At the end of the day, I saw the book that I had finished. Could not believe I had finished such a big fat book. It also brought back memories of my Engineering college days. It also brought back memories of – believe it or not – my Mom.

It’s so easy to take things for granted. I still remember how supportive my mom used to be during my exam days. I used to get hourly tea. Just tell my mom when I have to get up and no matter how ungodly hour of the day it might be, Mom used to wake me up. Any disappointing performance in exam and my Mom would always be by my side to perk me up. She used to cook my favorite dishes so that I have my stomach full. I still remember her telling me – Eat fully and fill the answer paper fully. I can’t stop remembering her enthusiasm to see me doing my level best. Maybe, it’s because of her that I love being a student.

Now I am staying in a bachelor room. Got to go to office in the morning and make time for myself in the night to study. An hour of study will make you feel tired, because you don’t have even a table and chair to sit and study. No hourly tea now. If you have to study, you have to get up – nobody will wake you or remind you. Have food if you are hungry, else leave. One person perking you up is yourself. There are soo many things that we take for Granted.

Yes, I might be becoming a bit incoherent in writing. Yes, I might be becoming unnecessarily emotional. But, that’s Susheel for you.

Tomorrow is my exams – I love you and miss you, Mom

 

Corporate Mughal

Like any company, our company too serves a client. Recently the country technical head of our client was supposed to have a meeting in our office. Of course all the preparations were made for his visit. Relevant data was collected, presentations were made, mock meetings took place and managers were given a list of do’s and don’ts to be strictly adhered to in the meeting.

The day finally arrived. Our managers of course were in top form. They came out with their best dresses and put on their best smiles. No stone was left unturned to make the country head happy. What happened later was a perfect anti climax. The client came and took everybody left and right. The choosiest of offensive language that can be used in a corporate setting was used. He literally shook up everyone. He conveyed in clear terms that it is output that he wants – nothing more and nothing less. Not a single person could stand up and speak back, because of the position and power that he commanded.

This made me think. How do people at the top of the food chain in corporate setting get there? What is it that separates them from the rest? What might be going on in their mind when there were in my stage of their carrier? Were they always brilliant? Were they born leaders or life’s experience thought them to become leaders? A torrent of question came flooding in my mind. The bottom line being – I too want to be in that position some day and command power – How do I do that?

I have always had my own set of corporate heroes. I have liked their tenacity and the fire in their belly to succeed and do something great. Some of my corporate heroes are – Steve Jobs (Apple), Jack Welch (GE), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Naryan Murthy (Infosys), Azim Premji (Wipro), Linus Trovolds (Linux), Richard Stallman (GNU)….etc. I am sure I will be writing a lot about these guys in my future posts. I have read one or the other book written by these people. I have always tried to find some common points in these kings which made them great. One thing of course is that they always knew they are here for something BIG. But there is also one Negative thing common in all these Guys (at least I think so) and that is – Neglect of personal life.

Steve Jobs at one point did not know what he was supposed to do and joined Hare Krishna movement and was a hippy for long time. Jack Welch’s wife divorced him because she thought he was not giving much of his time to family. Bill Gates was a college dropout. Azim permji took over the business because his brothers were not willing to take up the work. Linus Trovolds is considered by many to be too secretive and does not how to socialize with people. What I want to tell is, if you are on your way to greatness on the corporate world, somewhere down the lane, personal life takes a backseat (or at least that is what I feel).

Is it possible to be at the top of the food chain and still be a great family person? Is it possible to strike that perfect balance with work and life? Is it possible to be CEO of some company while being a faithful son, great brother, loving husband and a sincere friend to some human being? If the answer to these questions is YES – then that person is a true Corporate Moughal. And someday I would love to be a true corporate mughal

 

Gandhiji – My hero

Today is the Birthday of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, otherwise called as Mahatma Gandhi. I thought I will write down a few things about Mahatma in today’s post.

I have always admired Gandhiji. I prefer to call him as Gandhiji rather then Mahatma. This is because the title Mahatma makes him almost godlike and the expectation from him increases almost tenfold. What – I think – we should not forget is that Gandhiji was after all a human being. He was no demi God. He made his share of mistakes (like we all do). I see Gandhji’s life as a triumph of the human will. His life inspires me, and I am a great fan of his.

I am sure there will be a lot of people out there who will not agree to what I write. They will be people who criticize gandhiji, who feel that he was after all not as great as people project him to be. For them I have to say this – I respect your views; you have the freedom of your views. But in the similar way I have my freedom as well, and for me Gandhi is a Hero.

Now let me try and rationalize why I love Gandhiji. What is it in him that appeals to me? Why do I think he is great person? Well, one of the reasons for it I can say is I read his Autobiography – My experiments with truth – at a very early age (when I was in class eighth). This book of his has made a profound effect on how I see this person.

I learnt from this book that after all he was a human. He too has faced the same problem that we all faced. He too tried his hands on Beedi in his youth, he too used to lie like all of us do, he too felt angry like each and every one of us when we see injustice, he too used to spent his night with his wife when his father was n the deathbed ailing. He too felt strongly about what he believes in, and went all out to convince others when he felt that he was right. In short, he was very much human like you, me, or the person moving on the street.

If he had all the drawbacks like each and every one of us – what is it that made him Mahatma?? Why is it that even people around the world including Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther king Jr, Mother Teresa, Richard gere, Dalai Lama and countless other people around the world are charmed by him?? No, he did not have a great physique. No, he never used a gun. No, he was not a great orator. No, he was not rich. No, he was not an intellectual genius. He was a very common and passable Indian. No, he was no king. No, he was not vested with any power.

What is it then that made him such a phenomenon?? I personally feel the reason for this was that a common Indian man could connect himself with him. They could identify with what he said. They could easily walk his talk. That was possible because he did not tell people to go on war. He did not tell people to leave their near and dear ones and go into hiding. He did not ask for Blood – ours or our enemies.

Just take this small exercise frankly. Let’s say two different people come to you for a good cause. One of them asks you to take a gun and come along with him so that the root cause of the problem can be shot to death. The other person tells you to show small acts of defiance (like stop buying certain cloths, stop paying bills, stop using foreign materials etc) and assures you that doing so on a large scale will non violently kill the root cause of the problem. Whom will you follow??

He just asked people to be themselves. He asked them to assert themselves. He asked people to stand for what you felt was right. He walked with people. He lived the common man’s life. He was very Indian even in his stature. Indian people, by their very culture nature, could – as I previously said – connect to what he said. And it is this factor that made Gandhiji such a great person. He did not develop an Atom Bomb. He developed the concept of being yourself and nonviolently assert yourself for the cause of truth.

People will still raise 100 questions on gandhiji. Yes, maybe he might have been wrong at times. That’s because he was a human like each and every one of us. That is what makes Gandhiji such a phenomenon.

Gandhiji – you inspire me and you are my hero!!!!