In Mourning

Today, the brave heart passed away.  

Today, I feel ashamed to be an Indian male.

Sister, may you rest in peace.

May your sacrifice wakes us up from our slumber and leads us to shed away our blindfolds and veils.

Pursuit of Excellence

How do we achieve personal excellence ? How do we raise the bar ? There are numerous means espoused by intellectuals that advocate a number of things and activities for this. However, the power and indeed the ability to excel and to evolve lies solely with us. Agreed, spiritual leaders, intellectuals can assist as facilitators but the ultimate capability lies within us - and remains often untapped.

No matter whether we are working or playing, we must ask ourselves - "Is it my best performance ?", "Is it the best that I can do at the moment and in the given circumstances ?"   If our answer is "Yes" - we are doing good. If the answer is "No", we must put in our best. Let me give an example from practical life to illustrate this point.  As I run a marathon, I must ask myself whether I am giving it everything that I have in me or not and if I feel that I still have a little reserve of energy in me, I must lengthen my strides and better my timing. This applies to all individuals -  the washer man cleaning the clothes, the student doing his homework, l - the chef making the food, the typist typing a document, an engineer constructing a dam, a painter painting the wall, a sculptor chiselling away a stone, a scientist making a missile, a bureaucrat analysing an issue, a soldier at a relief work or at the battlefield.

And here are the bonuses that come with it - we live in the moment, we are more focussed, we make an honest attempt at the task at hand and gradually push the frontiers of our perceived capabilities. This also gives us an inner happiness.