** Happy New Year : 2009 **

There are quite a lot of people who touched my life in the year 2008 and helped me in becoming a better person. I thank everyone of them ... Thanks, Thanks and Thanks a Lot.

I wish you and all your family members a very very happy, prosperous and a healthy New Year. May God Bless you with success & joy.

புத்தாண்டு நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

Moments of Bliss - 22 ::: "Being together...."

Dear Gowri
The past 24 hours was simply extra ordinary. It is not in with my usual carelessness, I had typed the title as "moments".....as I am getting more and more aware about the silliest things about me these days.
One aspect of wonderful time that we have in our lives - what ever way we choose to define it - is that you feel completely satisfied at the end of the nice time and never feel incomplete about the experience. I have heard people in spiritual realm talking about living totally and leaving the body at will when they feel like getting disembodied ; Tons of email forwards talk about living in present - reading and deleting of them without much of stir has become quite a habit. But when you get a hands on experience on a wonderful time that was consciously planned and executed but not over-planned to the extend of killing the spontaniety of the same..makes you feel closer to the ultimate truth about living.
Your visit to our home was so special for me - in particular as it is a quadrant II time that we have been planning for quite some time. Since Friday morning a sense of expectancy started welling up in my stomach (too much of space to accomodate an array of senses, right ?) and the way the 24 hours went off like few seconds make me really phylosophical and get connected with the bigger picture though outwardly I was behaving kiddish through out the day....to heighten the relaxation. After undergoing bouts of depression, I do also realise that this extra-level of jubiliation is not the way to be pursued in long run but still I am bit adamant at enjoying at full throttle...I am sorry, at full throat until I really turn wordless inside.
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev's one of the famous statement (or slogan ?) is " being together is the beginning - working together is the middle & dissolving together is the ultimate". Though I am not able to get the full grasp of the next two stages, past 24 hours was a sort of understanding about "Being Together".... !! Yes, when we are able to identify some one outside us so closely and accept them as a part of us, able to interact with them without any resistance or safety guards which normally take charge of most of our relationships, we are getting a glimpse of the first part of Sadhguru's statement '"being together"....It is all about few beings able to feel themselves together.
Ignorance is Bliss !! Yes, When I read the earlier statement, I am consciously deciding to be oblivious about the feelings of the "other" beings and how they feel with all my pranks. Some times, Yoga becomes too much of selfish affair.....if any spiritually evolved person is going to spit at my face (they will never do such things, right ?) that I got the whole point wrong......let me look into their eyes and tell them with conviction....."I was just making a statement about suchoo's yoga".......
Who knows, may be I am in the process of evolving a whole new path for pranks like me !!
Krishnaarpanam....
Suchoo

** Tamil Nadu (aka) Dharmasala **

It seems, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Karunanidhi has decided to take the State's financial status to the worst ever seen by any Indian State !! He keeps inventing new freebie schemes. Free TV, Free Land, Rice for Re.1 - those were his elections promises. He did not stop with that and is continuing this madness throughout his present tenure as Chief Minister. His latest is the Rs.2000/- as flood relief to the people of Tamil Nadu !! Those who did not even see a drop of water during the heavy rain last month are going to take the free gift of Rs.2000/- for nothing. Mr. Karunanidhi, did not stop his "tamasha" with that and his latest announcement is the biggest joke - "The government will distribute ingredients required to make 'sweet pongal' (chakarai pongal) for free to the people for the forthcoming 'Pongal' festival !! My God !!! When will all this madness stop ???

** Voting **

In India, even if just 50% of the people vote in general elections, it is considered as a very high voting percentage !! Isnt that a pity?? We need to find a way out of this mess. That, in my view, can be achieved if we make voting 'online' and make it possible for the people to vote through SMS!! It is not something that is impossible. Estonia has made 'online' voting possible way back in 2001 and is introducing voting through cell phones for their forthcoming Presidential elections. If the Estonians can - Why not India? With very high cell-phone penetration in India, the possibility of online/SMS voting should be taken up - atleast for a technical feasbility study. If we can operate our bank accounts (which is more precious than voting!) online - then, why not 'voting'?? If our voting system goes online, I am sure, we will see a higher percentage of voting, lesser queues at polling booths, choice of NRIs to vote .... the list of advantages keeps growing !!! Isnt that wonderful??

** Value of life ? **

In the past few days, two suicide incidents (amongst many) attracted my notice. A school going girl committed suicide as her bicycle was stolen (the bicycle was issued under the "Free bicycle to students" scheme by the Govt). In another incident, a lady took her own life for she lost Rs.500/- that her husband gave to her for safe custody !! I was overwhelmed with pity and thought on how so little means so much to a lot of people.

Terrorism @ Hindus

Dear Gowri,
I intently went thru' the article posted by you "The Hindu Rate Of Wrath-By Francois Gautier" and found many of his points really interesting and logical. I fully appreciate and respect his views considering his credentials on the subject which he had recorded nicely in the earlier part of the article. It also coincides substantially your stance on many of your postings touching upon this subject. Further, I also got reminded the way I got "bitten up" on a particular occassion when I touched upon the innocently your pet subject "terrorism".....!! (see, old wounds never heal so easily)
Well, I was particularly touched by the sentence in the article "It is this Hinduness that makes the Indian Christian different from, say, a French Christian, or the Indian Muslim unlike a Saudi Muslim". Yes, I too feel that there is a touch of our invisible but strong culture in all our people...and some how I did not feel at home when you lashed the Muslim people of India in general. I also remember few of your statements earlier in this context that you did have lot of muslim friends and like them individually BUT it is the general psyche of the religion that you are not happy with......
I feel the reverse is much better a reality....We need to despise few individuals (most of the terrorist outfits operating in our country are 2 dozen people or so right ?) who create all confusions and tortures spoiling the basic points professed by Religions....what ever it might be.....!!
I am not getting into any arguements.....but just want to record what I got triggered about. with my limited exposure on this subject (and no "data" at all), this article posted by you gave me the clarity for my feeling which I could not identify myself.....and argue with you on the earlier occassion.....
Thanks // Suchoo
ps:- With my sentiments expressed to an average muslim (note...not my muslim friends alone), I still do not join our honourable prime minister when he seemingly boasted off to the western world that there is no single "Indian" muslim in Al Queda...though we boast of max number of muslims amongst all the countries....!! Some times people are dangerously biased....!

Making of Managers - 20 ::: Boss-ing OR "Leadership Styles"

Dear Gowri
It is time to record my amazement at different leadership styles that I have closely watched and the startling and wonderful person to whom I am reporting currently. He must be of my age but lot more wiser and matured than me (obviously, right ?) who has naturally put me in the attire of his shishyaa....
I did have a decent relationship with my earlier bosses too of this organisation. I liked and respected all of them but this person is too special. While, I get reminded few of my postings in my series about my earlier boss, believe me, if only I have time and energy there are tons to be posted on the style and specific learnings that I have gathered from this gentleman (with a trust that you have the time, energy and PATIENCE to read through).
This person operates at 12 sigma, on a energy high at any point of time, is so well mannered as if he has taken a vow that he will never hurt his reportees for any thing but still will get things done....and above all a good human being. I have heard lot of inspiring stories about him from his earlier reportees and in fact many of them appreciated me for the luck that I had to report to him.....when I joined this small group.
It was very difficult and painful for me to change myself on few of this person's expectations and I was quite stunned at few qualities that were not compatible to my earlier bosses. But slowly I started realizing his sense of reasoning and the methodical manner he thinks and feels.....gradually adapting myself to his needs and expectations.
Well, if only I work with this person - without any further confusions within my own mind - for a year or so, who knows I could become a different personality al together....lot more stronger and malleable at the same time...very much like him. Will try to cover some specific instances with this gentleman over a period of time.....which may perhaps throw some light on his speciality...and my admiration...
Well, am I getting into a new interpretation to this title which I already rephrased marginally to alter the meaning (from "Making of a manager".....to "Making of Managers"....).
It appears to me, from now on I should cover few specific facts and aspects of different schools of management and leadership styles. That will give a whole new meaning and purpose to this series...to make it a repository of experiences to record the ingredients which constitue "making of managers".......!!! Howz....that ???
suchoo

Moments of Bliss - 22 ::: On Training

Hi Gowri
I still remember the stupid wild imagination (more a slip out of my connecting abilities) about my career elevation launching me deeply into my training passion.......This dissappointment coupled with the shakiness (not shakeela...please note) at new profile at office did not push me down irretrievably, thank god.....!!
Yes, During the course of current week, there is going to be a function where all of our employees will gather and witness me getting recognized as a superstar in Training 2008 !! Yes, while there are going to be five of us (the communication trainers) amongst 27 are being recognized with a certificate and momento, my case is bit special......Let me give the facts and figures.
I hold the No.1 position in the hours of training clocking a whopping training hours of 67 hours !! (I took some additional initiatives over and above the basic modules....clocking 16 hours of Time management module - which is a 4 hours module completely handled by our HR team). You can apprecaite my jubilation if the next max Trainer stands at 38 hours....!!
Furthermore, the Satsifaction feedback data too proves that its not just the quantity I deserve to be at the top of the list...The overall average of feedback score is 4.49 while my individual score in the same accounts for 4.59......!! In this context, I do get reminded about few of my other initiatives at my workplace - like the presentation that I made to our senior management on ways and means of improving this corporate initiative (which of course did not receive more time and attention than the words of praise and empty promises) and the manner in which I had some mutual feedback sessions and built the network amongst the peer-trainers...
So this cute short posting (I mean short by my standards) is just to record my moment of bliss that will be experienced on coming thursday......well in advance.
Warm regards
Suchoo

Transcendance - 21 ::: Shock Absorbers

Dear Gowri

Yes....it is indeed quite some time I touched the pen (I am sorry the key board) to post my musings and with a lot of pride, humility and also relief I am touching the key board at the Brahma Muhoorath of today....which I hope will continue incessantly its second innings without any further hiccups....

Getting started on Nov 18th 2007, these series have done an extra ordinary service to me as a person....by patiently holding all my jubilations & frustrations and serve as a powerful ventillation possibility multiple times more effective than the hard copy diary that I used to scribble upon in earlier days. Before starting to write down today's musings, I opened all the three series and was amazed to see the total count of postings made...tirelessly....(think it is a wrong negative word though I prefer not to change it as....a total amount of 60 postings accounting to 124 pages of verbalization of thoughts and emotions is bit too much for some one who attends office for 50 hours per week !!

Glimpse of my latest postings before this one.....

Aug 23, 2008Making of Managers - 19 ::: Getting relieved with heavy heart but light mind !!!

Aug 23, 2008Moment of Bliss - 21 ::: Some thing too subtle.....!!

Aug 2, 2008 Transcendance – 20 "All in One".......

So, what happened between Aug 23rd until Dec 8th...is a million dollar question that I intend to refer to...in this posting under the head Transcendance with a wierd title which will be fully justified at the end of this musings.

Please refer to the title of the latest postings amongst the three above...Yes, it was under the heading "Making of Managers" which perhaps could give clue of the reason for going out of frequency in writing for such a long time. YES, I got relieved from the responsibilities from my earlier team and moved on to a project team in which the pre-requisites of skill sets as well as metrics of expectations were totally incompatible to me.

I was thru' and thru' a lover of expression and trigger by default. The new profile expected me to keep quite with a poker face and not many faces to look around except our small three member squad (unfortunately one of the two others around me is my boss). There were / are lot of instances where I am supposed to interact with senior management and constantly in touch with the management team which any one of my stature and age will cherish....not so easy and smooth for a person like me who love to be amongst young and enthusiastic minds which eagerly looked forward for all the psycological supports and recognitions that I lavishly was giving !!

Yes, being in a service Industry where customer is always seen as a king, I have a firm conviction that a new recruit to the team is my customer...>!! And I have experientially realized that if we do the right things in the first few weeks with a new comer, it impacts him in a huge manner and it is a great pleasure to watch him grow in confidence and spirit....and I was enjoying the interactions with my team members - both the shaky new recruits as well as the grateful senior members whom they become over a period of time. Please get me correct, I dont intend to picturize myself as a great philanthropist OR man who serves the masses but did all the experiments and cherished the experienced in my own personal interest. Yes, few aspects of such experimentation with people have a connection with few of my learnings at my YOGA school and there were occassions of me with moist eyes at office which I secretly wiped off without the person sitting next to me realized that I am getting abnormally touched by these experiences.

Now, coming back to the present assignment, I had to be over conscious and too limited in words and actions (you can guess the average size of my officially "personal" emails that I am used to.....though I do have a fan club for it.....and was constantly encouraged to give my thoughts) which was a big period of transformation to me. Few aspects of the new role needed some learnings too...which must be quite a normal process for any one who changes profile but the learning curve took slightly longer for me than the rest of "lesser mortals".....(yes, our ego never accepts that we are abnormal)

To add more misery, this profile change was also coupled with a geographical movement to a new location and I was honestly wondering if I got into something that could trouble every one around me....and if I am going to expose all of my negative qualities in ONE GO at the new profile and the new place....irritating every one around me.

Earlier I used to have bouts of depression about which you are quite well aware.....I conveniently moved to a spell of never ending depression spell that is tantamount to a suicide....though not in literal sense. Couple of training sessions that was assigned to me during this three months period....was simply spoilt by me with my poor performance due to my form with all my self confidence and timing sense getting completely evaporated....(of course the last of the training session, I took it as a personal goal...and did a decent job after cheering me up with few self imposed resurrection techniques.....). My yoga practises not just got dwindled but touched a all time low that I missed even the meditation session successively for 2 - 3 days...and at a point of time, I could see that the people who are immediately around me were too much impacted by the shabbiness of my normal day.....!!

Helplessly, I visited an astrologer whom I trust (I picked him up amongst the top three in the panel of astrologers of our family) who is a no-nonsense man and who does not speak with flattery or ambiguity just to know if the shadow looming large on me is going to come to an end. It did not take him much time for calculating and confirming that me too is affected by Guru's position.....(along with millions of others who were found involved in Guru peyarchi Homams on saturday). I never thought my pranks on (late) Guru periappa can land me into his fury for such a long time...and beleive me was patiently waiting for Dec 6th. Out of sheer helplessness I was checking up with the astrologer if I should consider quitting the job (you are smiling now !!) but he told just to stay calm for next 2 / 3 months...until the fateful day of Dec 6th....!! Yes, this date means many things to many people, but I was living the past three months with a single pointed focus to some how survive....!! Nothing really helped...no mood to make any postings, no eagerness to talk to any one and above all, I even lost my basic interest in my muulaadhaara chakra (meaning food and sleep)....Week ends were becoming a night mare and week days becoming a longing phase for week ends.....!!

Well, I am not sure how many around us believe in astrology, the fact is that I do believe. While my beloved Sadhguru says in this context that "plantery positions do have influence on human beings...but it is possible for us to transcend them by keeping ourselves in proper shape by living with lot of awareness", I do not want to analyze myself much more than the crude truth that "I have not kept myself in shape". This does not any way mean that my graceful Guru will spit at my face and also that I do not deserve to worship him.....!! It is just an area of improvement for me like my absent mindedness, fondness for coffee and few other things......BUT do not strip me off from my Isha moorings.....May be the biggest of all my disqualifications could be that I no more wear a label of Isha Volunteer but thats not too relevant in this context. (But let me also candidly admit that if only I had engaged myself positively at volunteering, the total damage to my system that I self inflicted could have been cut down substantially...... hmmmm......)

Now, how do I end this posting......with a positive note with an additional obligation of justifying the title above....??

At office, I am slowly settling down and my new boss is beginning to see few of my strengths and I just got my first appreciation mail last week on some thing. I am getting into flurry of initiatives as my another team member is likely to get relieved to an overseas assignment...and my boss is realizing that my coming to shape is extremely crucial in the future scenario....(More than him, its me.....). Further, I am beginning to do the right things at home front too and getting the mental acceptance of the family members (excepting the little monster) on my moving out to a new location......Yes......As Guru moves on to the next stage in my astra map, I am too getting ready for a change which seems to be a positive one considering the the trend of my mood graph and the situation at office.

On Dec 6th, while I was standing still at a community hall in the busy W.Mambalam road where some pious group was performing a Guru Homam for hapless creatures like me...(I just accidentally noticed it and went inside), I really found myself rejunevated once again.....and was imagining how much relevant and needed are such solaces built in by my great grand fathers.....!! With technically no problem at all, I was able to land myself into so much of miseries, how much of mental turmoil will the people around me who have real problems / challenges in life ...having....in their hearts ? I got bit emotional and got into a reverential mood .....looking at the fire which shone bright and brilliantly.....surrounded by hundreds of people there....!!

Let this flame of fire which burns up any thing and every thing kill the last of the remnants of my silly thoughts and emotions.....!! Let me never stand in front of it like a beggar but become one myself.....giving light to poor souls around me...!! it is as though I derived a new meaning to my mission statement which I drafted 4 = 5 years back, I stumbled upon a new coinage of words "shock absorber".... With the mission statement written by me with lot of intense feelings safely relegated to a paper, this new word I am sure - is going to bring back lot of life to me and my mission statement.

I wish to become a shock absorber and support people around me when they need pyschological and emotional support. This new flash of thought came to me as I stood there in that marriage hall on saturday at 11 Am in the morning as I was craving at my heart for those nameless lots of people who are NOT out of their miseries while I am much better off....!! May be I can't do much physically to every one around, but why dont I make a beginning in this direction......?

This also means that I keep my body and mind in proper shape and never allow the luxury of "inertness" in my life once again.....Mr.Guru, try to visit my astra map once again in a wrong square.....You will have it.....!!

Suchoo

** False propoganda on Hindu Terrorism **

The so called secularists of India have, at last, very eagerly pounced on a rare opportunity (Malegaon Blasts) and have gone on to meticulously brand it as "Hindu" Terrorism. I am of the view that this one mistake by one or two individuals should NOT be equated to the violence that the Muslim terrorists perpetrate across the whole world. Unfortunately, this is India and this sort of pseudo secularism is what most of the political parties in India thrive on, as it sells very easily and also gets votes. What else do these political parties want ??

Well, I read a nice piece of article on the subject - I am producing the same below.

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The Hindu Rate Of Wrath

-By Francois Gautier

Is there such a thing as 'Hindu terrorism', as the arrest of Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur for the recent Malegaon blasts may tend to prove? Well, I guess I was asked to write this column because I am one of that rare breed of foreign correspondents-a lover of Hindus! A born Frenchman, Catholic-educated and non-Hindu, I do hope I'll be given some credit for my opinions, which are not the product of my parents' ideas, my education or my atavism, but garnered from 25 years of reporting in South Asia (for Le Journal de Geneve and Le Figaro).

In the early 1980s, when I started freelancing in south India , doing photo features on kalaripayattu, the Ayyappa festival, or the Ayyanars, I slowly realised that the genius of this country lies in its Hindu ethos, in the true spirituality behind Hinduism.

The average Hindu you meet in a million villages possesses this simple, innate spirituality and accepts your diversity, whether you are Christian or Muslim, Jain or Arab, French or Chinese. It is this Hinduness that makes the Indian Christian different from, say, a French Christian, or the Indian Muslim unlike a Saudi Muslim.

I also learnt that Hindus not only believed that the divine could manifest itself at different times, under different names, using different scriptures (not to mention the wonderful avatar concept, the perfect answer to 21st century religious strife) but that they had also given refuge to persecuted minorities from across the world-Syrian Christians, Parsis, Jews, Armenians, and today, Tibetans.

In 3,500 years of existence, Hindus have never militarily invaded another country, never tried to impose their religion on others by force or induced conversions.

You cannot find anybody less fundamentalist than a Hindu in the world and it saddens me when I see the Indian and western press equating terrorist groups like SIMI, which blow up innocent civilians, with ordinary, angry Hindus who burn churches without killing anybody.

We know also that most of these communal incidents often involve persons from the same groups-often Dalits and tribals-some of who have converted to Christianity and others not.

However reprehensible the destruction of Babri Masjid, no Muslim was killed in the process; compare this to the 'vengeance' bombings of 1993 in Bombay , which wiped out hundreds of innocents, mostly Hindus. Yet the Babri Masjid destruction is often described by journalists as the more horrible act of the two. We also remember how Sharad Pawar, when he was chief minister of Maharashtra in 1993, lied about a bomb that was supposed to have gone off in a Muslim locality of Bombay .

I have never been politically correct, but have always written what I have discovered while reporting. Let me then be straightforward about this so-called Hindu terror.

Hindus, since the first Arab invasions, have been at the receiving end of terrorism, whether it was by Timur, who killed 1,00,000 Hindus in a single day in 1399, or by the Portuguese Inquisition which crucified Brahmins in Goa .

Today, Hindus are still being targeted: there were one million Hindus in the Kashmir valley in 1900; only a few hundred remain, the rest having fled in terror. Blasts after blasts have killed hundreds of innocent Hindus all over India in the last four years.

Hindus, the overwhelming majority community of this country, are being made fun of, are despised, are deprived of the most basic facilities for one of their most sacred pilgrimages in Amarnath while their government heavily sponsors the Haj. They see their brothers and sisters converted to Christianity through inducements and financial traps, see a harmless 84-year-old swami and a sadhvi brutally murdered. Their gods are blasphemed.

So sometimes, enough is enough. At some point, after years or even centuries of submitting like sheep to slaughter, Hindus-whom the Mahatma once gently called cowards-erupt in uncontrolled fury. And it hurts badly. It happened in Gujarat . It happened in Jammu , then in Kandhamal, Mangalore, and Malegaon . It may happen again elsewhere.


What should be understood is that this is a spontaneous revolution on the ground, by ordinary Hindus, without any planning from the political leadership. Therefore, the BJP, instead of acting embarrassed, should not disown those who choose other means to let their anguished voices be heard.

There are about a billion Hindus, one in every six persons on this planet. They form one of the most successful, law-abiding and integrated communities in the world today. Can you call them terrorists?

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(The writer is the editor-in-chief of the Paris-based La Revue de l'Inde.)

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