Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Life Rests on Subtler Substrata

In academic or life exams, it is in the subtle points, which we take for granted that we slip and fail. Watching out for those subtle points that we have a propensity to take for granted and spending time on them is a good strategy for getting good grades in exams and in life too. Vishnu Pendyala

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Need

Humanity transcends need. It is degrading to live by the need, of the need or for the need only. Need is short-term. Relationships built on need are short-lived as well. Need can be a motivator, an initiator, but never the end. Experiences and relationships should ideally be soul satisfying rather than satisfying bodily needs. Vishnu Pendyala

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Transformation into Pure Existence

Systematically replace impulse with discretion, taste with blandness, anger with determination, feelings with knowledge, and similarly calm all senses to be in control of yourself. Vishnu Pendyala

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Humanity Divided?

Caste, Creed, Religion, and all other man-made divisions have unfortunately become a fact of life, particularly since the trust, customs, and even genes have been so religiously preserved to not cross-pollinate and flourish across the boundaries. Fortunate are the ones who can transcend these boundaries and grow beyond the man-made limitations. Fortunate are the countries whose governments do as much possible to not let their populations be divided and in fact encourage unity by enacting anti-discrimination laws, affirmative action, and such. As said earlier, all divisions of humanity - region, religion, gender, are all meant to unite people. None to divide. - Vishnu Pendyala

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Management of External and Internal Stimuli

Like the tons of information that we wade through on the web to get what we want, the innumerable stimuli, thoughts and feelings have to be judiciously avoided to make time for what we really want from life. Vishnu Pendyala

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Only One

Non-duality is the Soul's Nature of Submission. There is only one God, one ‘Bhartha’, and one Leader to an aspiring soul. Denying it this fundamental intrinsic aspiration because of material considerations is an unforgivable crime on the self. Body obsession and excessive attachment to the world make one forget her true nature. Vishnu Pendyala

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Son

The sanskrit word for son, putra, derived from "Punnama Narakat Trayate" means one who saves (trayate) from hell (punnama naraka), even after father's death. It is a pity if the society, law, or the government supports a son or an unscrupulous mother who uses the son to show the father hell in this world itself, that too, to extort money. There are stories abound of such happenings.

A father names his son after the Sun God (Aditya), hoping he will demonstrate the same brilliant qualities of the Sun God and illuminate the world. But will the world help or even allow those hopes to be fulfilled? The following URL gives pointers to the story of one "Aditya": http://www.google.com/search?q=aditya+chandran Will the world learn anything from it?

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Pillars of Democracy

These days, it does not seem to be a question of who is culprit, who is victim, what is right, what is not and not even what is law and what is not. All that seems to matter is what is convenient to the government, who can put / yield to pressure, what is politically correct and such. Commoner has no where to go if the entities such as media and judiciary who are expected to check the executive wing of the government collude with it, instead. An opportunity then, is to form stronger networks of trusted friends and come to each other's rescue, raising a voice when needed.

"How strange that a culprit can walk away, but the victim is doubted, questioned, harassed and expected to prove his innocence!" "Corrupt officials are not condemned and the society’s silence implies it is fine with them." FYI... http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6032081.cms

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Humanity is beyond the Material World

Human relationships are at a much higher plane than the material world. Any attempt to model the relations with materialistic equations will result in short term gains at best and total isolation in the long run. Vishnu Pendyala

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Three-pronged Strategy for Life

Be strong - take everything else easy - believe in an almighty external force. Life involved you on one side and everything else on the other. Life is an interaction between these two entities. Certainly this is not fair - yes, life is not fair. So, the best approach to surviving this imbalance is to be strong - physically, mentally, doing whatever it takes to be able to handle tough situations. The next best is remove the prejudices and pent-up fears about the other side and taking the other side easy. Action = reaction, so take it easy and act less. The other side will automatically weaken their force on you. The third aspect is to have faith in an external force and believe that this almighty force will take care of you. Faith works wonders, beyond all rationale. Observe carefully and almost all of the successful approaches in this world fall into one of these 3 categories. Vishnu Pendyala

Friday, May 7, 2010

Thoughts and Senses are our Most Valued Tools

Knowing how and when to withdraw thoughts and senses from this material world is more important than engaging them, just like an army general handles his troops. Mahabharata teaches us what happened to Abhimanyu because he did not have this important skill and could not withdraw from the padmavyuham, when he had to. Vishnu Pendyala

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Expanding Lifespan

Getting consumed by happenings is the primary characteristic of mortals. Pursuing immortal, divine qualities like happiness, yoga, and purity prolongs life and reduces wear-and-tear on the body. Vishnu Pendyala

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Conscience

Conscience is the built-in correction mechanism in the righteously inclined. However, like all correction mechanisms, it can be manipulated and even destroyed by a corrupted value system and vices like arrogance and apathy. Vishnu Pendyala

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Thoughts and Senses are the Weapons of the Warriors that we are

Knowing how and when to withdraw thoughts and senses from this material world is more important than engaging them, just like it is important for an army general to know when and how to engage and disengage his troops. The Mahabharatha epic teaches us through Abhimanyu's war strategies that it could be fatal if one does not know how to withdraw, however mighty the person is. Vishnu Pendyala

Friday, March 12, 2010

Best State of Mind

The most gainful mind-set is internally the least agitative: anticipating, receptive, and surrendering. Most stable position of an object is that of least energy - on the ground. Vishnu Pendyala

Monday, March 1, 2010

The Ultimate Analytical Skill

The most needed analytical skill of detaching the thinker from the thought, the actor from the act, and the self from the selfish world is also the most difficult to acquire. Vishnu Pendyala

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Government is the Biggest Company

Citizens are shareholders of the company called government. Company has no meaning if it is not accountable to its shareholders or if the shareholders are disinterested in the company. Vishnu Pendyala

Monday, January 25, 2010

Government too should show tolerance

Governments should bring out the best persons out of their citizens and may sometimes have to ignore minor imperfections in doing so. Turning citizens into ex-convicts for petty reasons does not do well to anyone. There are better ways to teach civilized citizens to behave. Locking up top executives in jails may add to the lack of entrepreneurship and further impact the economy adversely. Tolerance is as much important to governments as it is to its citizens. - Vishnu Pendyala

Friday, January 15, 2010

Chasing the Tail

Life goes in a full circle: we spend all of it inculcating the same values such as living in the moment, forgetting and forgiving, love, happiness, clean conscience, innocence and peace that we were born with. Vishnu Pendyala