Shivaji

I saw the most hyped movie in the country Shivaji- The boss. Various reasons as to why the movie is hyped-- Apart from its budget, its the actor, Superstar (that’s how he is called) Rajnikant who has been the cause of the hype. His fan following is more than any star in any field in the world. I was excited, booked tickets two weeks in advance. It was July 4- American Independence day and I was celebrating by watching Shivaji- The boss 

The movie went on well, at the end of it my friends who Had watched the movie twice and thrice curiously asked me- " how was it " and i said the most unexpected think- " it was OK, I think it’s a waste of lot of money if the dreams in the movie aren't realized by us ". Oh! What looks I had got- if looks could kill, I would have been dead by now.

That’s when I realized, it’s just a movie and each one of us has a different perspective to it. Something its worth watching a ten times and something " wow at 65 also he looks , so cool "and  a few odd ones like me think " there is a hidden message in the movie "

That night as i was lying down and saying my  prayers, a few realizations, a few questions hit me.

We respect perspectives ( at least try to ) which people have for  movie, then how come we don't respect people's perspective about life and are always judging their lives and talking about their rights and wrongs.

I understand like the movie our lives can  also be hyped, not for the money we have or the stories we right, but for what we are- The Super Star- The boss of our lives.

I know, its just a movie, but if a movie shows dreams realized, good heartiness and right doing then can't we also be a movie for somebody, working towards realizing our dreams and continuing to be good hearted and living right.

Three and half hours and we have a hangover of three days or 10 watches of the movie. Can't 30-40 years of our lives be such that somebody wants to relive or emulate us...

A movie does wonders to us, let our lives do wonders to this world. got to go, have to do my wonders in the world and be a Super Star of my life

STOP! Reading between lines

"She never calls, I am the one who calls her all the time and she always says I was thinking of you or I am missing you or I was going to call you..... " does she mean all this or she just says it to console me? Do I even matter to her? She sounds genuine… but… So many thoughts, so much of confusion, so much of agitation for one beautiful relationship. How wonderful it would be if I could stop reading between the lines. She said she misses me, maybe she does. I feel so special and loved, even though she didn't call. But if I start questioning every sentence of hers, I will en up spoiling everything. I love her, I want to call her, calling her makes me happy so why should I read between lines, question where no questions are required and mess up a meaningful friendship. In fact, can I not think, "wow, we are so spiritually aligned, she thinks of me at the same time I think of her?"

 The first day of the week and my boss screamed at me for something which had gone wrong on Friday and I like most people said, "he must have had an argument with his wife and he is taking it out on me." I now believe he has some past like enmity with me and will hinder my career growth. Oh, where all my mind takes me. How productive I could have been the whole day if I just appreciated him for holding on till Monday, so my weekend doesn't get spoiled thinking about the criticism. It was indeed such a thoughtful act, instead, thoughtlessly I spoiled my whole day, and several of my colleagues too because once again, I read between the lines where there was nothing to be read!

I read a beautiful story in Chicken Soup about a girl and boy who love each other. Neither has the courage to tell the other. Both read between lines, analyse, reach the conclusion that there is no hope. The boy marries his sister's friend whom he has no feelings for and the girl, her neighbor, and both have unsuccessful marriages. Twenty five years later, both single, meet at a re-union and realize the truth and get together. While the story made me smile, I wondered how sad it was twenty five years of bliss were compromised upon simply because neither was willing to face facts, both read between lines.

So much goes wrong when we read between lines, analyse stuff with half knowledge and no true facts. When I read between lines I lose my peace of mine. I create misunderstandings. I lose my spontaneity as I keep analyzing everything. I lose my focus from the actual issue. I stop seeking solutions and instead just keep myself lost in a world of questions and ambiguity. I can read so much between the lines, my imagination can take me as far as I want to go.

Today I realise a powerful mind is one that is able to see relationships and people for what they are instead of cooking up stories about them in the mind. Analysis is with markets, with subjects, with data and books... not with human beings… with human beings its love, expressions, belief , faith, trust  and understanding. Trust is indeed the foundation of a relationship and if that I allow that itself to shake every second, how will I build the beautiful castle I want to with my loved ones? Even I was to put others aside, for my own peace and happiness its best that I stop reading between lines. I should learn to see things for what they are, and wherever things are not that clear, I should have the courage to ask the person involved to clarify for me. oh, how simple everything would be then.

Today I understand a beautiful paradox of life – when it's a matter of books, I should read between the lines to get a deeper meaning, a greater understanding. When it's a matter of people, I should drop the habit if I want to have beautiful, peaceful relationships. A quote says that assumptions are the termites of relationships? True, isnt it?

-Anita Pansari and Megha Bajaj

Small things matter BIG

"Drops of water form an Ocean", "Rome was not built in a day". "Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." I have heard many sentences of these kinds that try telling us something but its only now that I realize the importance and magnitude of each of these sentences.

I would always give up on very minute things. For instance, if I am unscrewing a earring and unable to, I would just give up. If my spellings went wrong in an email, I would always tell myself its okay as long as she understands the message, I would not bother about the way I carry myself and often look unkempt, and I would not bother to meditate everyday believing giving up some days, but doing it for the majority of days was absolutely all right.

One of those magical moments, when I sat on my bed, undoing a chain which had got badly knotted up, when my spiritual mentor, Rajan's words echoed in my ears, "Attitudes don't care where you shape them but once shaped they become a part of you." As I was about to give up, I told myself don't... if I give up on this, then won't it become a habit? A habit of giving up. A habit which will hurt me in a very big way in life because I will not give my best and think giving up is an all right practice – because my mind would tell me you give up all the time, why make it an exception this time? I realized, if I give up this little work right now, tomorrow I may be convinced to give up my dream , just because it looks a little difficult.

It's been proven scientifically that even if your spellings are incorrect and the first and the last alphabets are in their place, the word can be read by the human mind. However, we all know how frustrating it is to read anything which has many spelling errors. The mind gets tired, the individual gets frustrated and in all probability the communication you want to convey gets lost in the misspellings. Today I realize that its not as small as putting an extra 'e' here or a wrong 'o' there its an attitude of doing things in a hurried, un-careful way which could lead to big problems for me. Today it just looks like a few misspelled words to my best friend in a letter tomorrow it could be some serious errors in a report that I may have to present at work or an article I may have to write for a magazine and I may actually be judged wrongly for just a few misspelled words, which became a habit while writing mails to friends!

"Who is going to look at me?" Was a question constantly asked by me, when anybody would ask me to dress up a little neatly and nicely. Thank god! I have realised that small things, matter big. How can i dream of being a personality, till I don't learn the art of carrying myself well, how can I expect the whole world to see me someday as an example when today, I don't care about who is looking at me. I am not referring to being beautiful from the outside or be a stage model, but I am just referring to being neat, presentable. I always thought brains alone matter, but now I realize that for most people the first and lasting impression is going to be with the way I carry myself. And come to think of it, I would not like someone unkempt to be around me, so why would someone else like it? Now even when I am at home, or go down just to buy bread, I ensure that my hair is combed, my clothes are not dirty and I carry myself well. Its important to take care of these things now, before it becomes an attitude and I end up going even for an interview in a shabby way.

I complain if God gives me one thing but not another, and yet I realize I have been so casual in my own remembrance of God. When I am irregular in my practice of meditation its all right, but if God upsets my plans for something it is not so. Now I realize, that my attitude towards meditation is actually my message to Life that some days I want to feel the divine presence, other days I don't. It was somewhere a relationship of convenience, not of conviction. I am going to meditate regularly henceforth because I can not risk developing a wrong attitude towards God.

Thank you God, for reminding me that you exist, not in the big things alone, but in the small things. And if I get the small things right, chances are I will succeed in the big ones too. Thank you for reminding me that attitudes don't care where they are shaped, and often they are shaped in the little moments of my life, so I will be more careful. How true goes the popular quote, "Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things."

   Anita Pansari and Megha Bajaj