My Inspiration - Dr A P J Abdul Kalam

Remembering you fondly Dr A P J Abdul Kalam on the occasion of your birth anniversary. It is hard to believe that you are no more among us. You have been and will always be a huge source of inspiration for me. I consider myself fortunate that I got an opportunity to meet you in person when you were leading India's missile program.

Just today I was watching your interview on TV – every word that you spoke was so full of positive thoughts and vision for a bright future for our country that I found the enthusiasm to be rubbing on me as well. You were such a source of positive energy that I felt charged and inspired while watching you on TV.

Your life and writings will continue to inspire us in the years to come. Here is a collection of inspiring quotes from you:

1. You have to dream before your dreams can come true. 
2. Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep.
3. Don't take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.
4. This is my belief that through difficulties and problems God gives us the opportunity to grow. So when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the wreckage, you may find a golden opportunity hidden in the ruins.
5. Why be afraid of difficulties, sufferings and problems? When troubles come, try to understand the relevance of your sufferings. Adversity always presents opportunities for introspection.
6. God has not promised skies always blue, flower-strewn pathways All our life through; God has not promised Sun without rain, joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
7. Failure will never overtake me if my definition to succeed is strong enough.
8. Be active! Take on responsibility! Work for the things you believe in. If you do not, you are surrendering your fate to others.
9. Once your mind stretches to a new level it never goes back to its original dimension.
10. The sides of the mountain sustain life, not the peak. This is where things grow, experience is gained, and technologies are mastered. The importance of the peak lies only in the fact that it defines the sides.
11. If you want to leave your footprints on the sands of time, do not drag your feet.
12. He who knows others is learned, but the wise one is the one who knows himself. Learning without wisdom is of no use.
13. Within the mind are all the resources required for successful living. Ideas are present in the consciousness, which when released and given scope to grow and take shape, can lead to successful events.
14. My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people.

A Booster Dose of Positive Thinking

A positive attitude provides the essential fuel to keep you charged and ready to face everyday challenges in life. However, there are some really difficult times in every one’s life when he finds himself to be in an endless crisis. These are days when he feels so low that he does not even want to get out of the bed and face the world. Examples of such a crisis could be:  

• An important project at work runs into a crisis situation with no solution in sight.
• Business not going well – resulting in huge losses and financial disaster – have run out of money.
• Lost job and unable to find a new one.
• Serious health issues for self or a family member.
• Loss of someone close due to death.
• A difficult to resolve conflict in a close relationship.

Faced with such a crisis, one may think, "There is nothing I can look forward to. I am finished. The future is bleak. I find myself in a tight corner. What is there for me to feel positive about?"

Even the most hopeless situation can be turned around. Have heart from the fact that there are numerous stories of people who have faced such crisis situations and successfully come out of them. To handle our crisis successfully, we need to try our best and take positive action, but for that, we need to be in right frame of mind. It is necessary for us to keep a fighter’s spirit. However, the real challenge is – how do we keep high spirits in the midst of such a hopeless situation when we are feeling so dejected and worn out?

We need a lifeline, a booster dose of positive thinking to help us bail out from such a situation. The lifeline I am going to suggest is based on what Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Anyone can carry his burden, however heavy, until nightfall. Anyone can do his work, however hard, for one day. Anyone can live sweetly, patiently, lovingly, purely, until the sun goes down. And this is all that life really means.”

This booster dose is a program called “Just For Today”, using which we can charge our batteries daily with cheerful and constructive thinking, and get going with action.

Just For Today

• Just for today I will be happy. This assumes that what Abraham Lincoln said is true, that "most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Happiness is from within; it is not a matter of externals.
• Just for today I will try to adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my family, my business, and my luck as they come and fit myself to them.
• Just for today I will take care of my body. I will exercise it, care for it, nourish it, not abuse it nor neglect it, so that it will be a perfect machine for my bidding.
• Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.
• Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways: I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out. I will do at least two things I don't want to do, just for exercise.
• Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress as becomingly as possible, talk low, act courteously, be liberal with praise, criticize not at all, nor find fault with anything and not try to regulate nor improve anyone.
• Just for today I will try to live through this day only, not to tackle my whole life problem at once. I can do things for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep them up for a lifetime.
• Just for today I will have a schedule. I will write down what I expect to do every hour. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. It will eliminate two pests, hurry and indecision.
• Just for today I will have a quiet half-hour all by myself and relax. In this half-hour sometimes I will think of God, so as to get a little more perspective into my life.
• Just for today I will be unafraid, especially I will not be afraid to be happy, to enjoy what is beautiful, to love, and to believe that those I love, love me.

This program was originally written long ago by Sibyl F. Partridge, but I learned about it from Dale Carnegie's book. I have tried this program myself and found it to be very effective as a lifeline. 

An Inspiring Song

As a child, I had a 78 RPM vinyl disk with a non-filmi bhajan sung by Mukesh, that went like this.

नैतिकता की सुर सरिता में, जन जन मन पावन हो
संयममय जीवन हो

It was my favorite song, and I used to play it very often. However, with time, we lost our treasure of these Vinyl records and gradually I forgot the exact words of the songs as well, but it continued to haunt my memories over the years. I was thrilled when I could locate a youtube video that had a small fraction of this record. Listen to this video below and you will get a feel of the song.

Some more search on internet helped me assemble the lyrics of the song as well and I discovered that it is Anuvrat Geet by Acharya Tulsi. Here is the inspiring song that talks about self-discipline, good values, friendship, and principled living. I am also adding my interpretation of the meaning of this song below. (Warning - It may not be an accurate translation.) 


नैतिकता की सुर सरिता में, जन जन मन पावन हो
संयममय जीवन हो

May we adopt morality and good values to purify ourselves and live a life with Sanyam.


अपने से अपना अनुशासन संयम की परिभाषा,
वर्ण जाति या सम्प्रदाय से मुक्त धर्म की भाषा,
छोटे छोटे संकल्पों से मानस परिवर्तन हो
संयममय जीवन हो

Sanyam means self-control or self-discipline. It is a universal principle applicaple to everyone irrespective of his sect, caste or creed. May we exercise self-control and build willpower by making small resolves and keeping them.


मैत्री भाव हमारा सबसे प्रतिदिन बढता जाए
समता सह-अस्तित्व समन्वय-नीति सफलता पाए
शुद्ध साध्य् के लिये नियोजित मात्र शुद्ध साधन हो
संयममय जीवन हो

May we get more and more friendly with each other, following the values of equality, co-existence, and co-operation.
Since a noble cause does not justify unfair means to be employed, may we always employ just means for just ends.

 
विध्यार्थी या शि़क्षक हो मज़दूर और व्यापारी
नर हो नारी बने नीतिमय जीवनचर्या सारी
कथनी-करनी की समानता मे गतिशील चरन हो
संयममय जीवन हो

May everyone adopts a lifestyle based on principles and values. May we treat integrity as a key value to be pursued; do as we say and say as we do.


प्रभु बनकर के ही हम प्रभु की पूजा कर सकते हैं
प्रामाणिक बनकर ही संकट सागर तर सकते हैं
आज अहिंसा शौर्य वीर्य संयुत जीवन दर्शन हो
संयममय जीवन हो

What better way to worship God than to try to imbibe His qualities and follow the path shown by Him? We need to be authentic and genuine to squarely face the enormous challenges in life. May we adopt the right attitude with a perfect blend of courage and non-violence.


सुधरे व्यक्ति समाज व्यक्ति से राष्ट्र स्वयं सुधरेगा
तुलसी अणु का सिंहनाद सारे जग में प्रसरेगा
मानवीय आचार संहिता में अर्पित तन-मन हो
संयममय जीवन हो

If all of us work on improving ourselves, this will gradually lead to the improvement of the society, and then the whole world.
May we dedicate ourselves to the pursuit of a moral code of conduct with good values.

Here is another video of the same song sung by  Rajendra Jain:

Secret of Success

To be successful at anything, mere intent to do it is not adequate; it needs a lot more effort and hard work. I came across this beautiful article recently with simple and sound advice on what does it take to succeed in anything that you set out to do. I believe this advice can particularly help students in improving their odds of success at studies:  

किसी भी काम की सफलता के पीछे कई चीज़ों का सहारा होता है। केवल एक काम करने का फैसला कर लेना ही उसके परिणाम को सफलता के शिखर तक पहुंचाने के लिए कारगर साबित नहीं होता, बल्कि उसके साथ कई भाव जुड़े होते हैं। क्या हैं वे भाव जो बनाते हैं किसी काम को सफल :

काम पर ध्यान (Concentration)
यह देखना अहम है कि आप काम को कितने ध्यान से करते हैं और उसे किस रूप में बदलते हैं। सबसे जरूरी है, आप उस काम को करने के लिए अपने भीतर कितनी एकाग्रता लाते हैं क्योंकि एकाग्रता ऐसा पड़ाव है जो किसी भी काम को सफल या असफल बनाने के लिए जिम्मेदार होता है।

ठान लेने की आदत (Determination)
अगर आपकी एकाग्रता कम है, तो काम को असफल होने से कोई नही रोक सकता। अगर आप दुनिया-जहान को भूलकर अपने काम में डूबे हुए हैं, पूरी एकाग्रता के साथ उसे पूरा करने का निश्चय बनाए बैठे हैं तो एक अच्छा नतीजा आपको मिलेगा ही।

फोकस जरूरी (Focus)
अक्सर लोग काम करते समय यह नहीं समझ पाते कि इतना वक्त देने के बावजूद भी काम पूरा क्यों नहीं हो रहा है। इसका सबसे बड़ा कारण है फोकस की कमी। फर्ज कीजिए आप घर बैठे हैं और अचानक आपको ऑफिस का कोई अर्जेंट काम करना पड़े। घर में ढेर सारे रिश्तेदार भी आए हुए हैं। ऐसे में आप काम करने बैठ तो गए, लेकिन पूरा नहीं कर पा रहे हैं। यही काम अगर आप ऑफिस में बैठकर करते तो शायद 5 मिनट में खत्म हो जाता। ऐसा क्यों/ क्योंकि ऑफिस में पूरी तरह से फोकस होकर काम कर पाते हैं।

दिमाग रखें शांत (Quiet Mind)
कभी यह ना भूलें कि एकाग्रता आप तभी बनाए रख सकते हैं, जब आपका दिमाग शांत हो और किसी प्रकार की कोई परेशानी न हो। अगर आप किन्हीं कारणों से दुखी हैं, घर-परिवार की कोई परेशानी या फिर लाइफ पार्टनर के साथ हुआ मतभेद दिमाग में घूम रहा है तो आप काम नहीं कर पाएंगे। सबसे पहले आपको दिमाग शांत करने की जरूरत है। इसके लिए या तो आप उन मतभेदों को सुलझा लें या खुद ही दिमाग को इस प्रकार से स्थिर बनाएं कि आपका ध्यान उन बातों पर जा ही ना सके।