61) “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

When I reflect on my own life so far I feel that there are 2 main things - one, my own complain about why others are not behaving as they should behave and two ,others complaining about certain others not behaving as they should behave . We have complaints against our teachers , our parents , our relatives , our Political leaders ,our Cinema /Sport/Business Idols , our spiritual teachers etc etc .No doubt many of these complaints are valid and do have merit but how many of us are really working towards rectifying our own flaws ?  First of all many of us refuse to acknowledge that we do not have any flaws and even if we have we dismiss it as minor or give excuses that our flaws are due to the circumstances/pressures  in our own life etc etc But do we adopt the same rules when criticizing others ? Do we at least pause to  think what sort of circumstance or pressure is on the other person to behave as he/she is before commenting on him/her ?

I am not saying that Criticism is bad or should not be done . We all have a right to express our views frankly even if it means criticizing others but problem is that if we keep doing only this in our entire lifetime without taking time and energy to rectify our own faults / mistakes then our Criticism will look meaningless .

Here are some examples of how people behave in India :

a)I know of many Indian  people who talk ill of India as being dirty  and praise Singapore for its cleanliness but these people just throw their garbage bags from their Apartment balcony  from the third  floor on to the Garbage bins and 90% of the time their garbage bags will never fall in to the bin and will fall outside splashing the filth all around . Their excuse : The servant has not come to dispose the garbage and it is her duty to do it and also what does it matter if their garbage spills down when the whole city is dirty .

 b)There are some people who will cry foul when they see on TV reports of food grains lying in decay in Government Go downs but they will never bother to see how many of their food stuffs enter the garbage bins due to decay . They can save 25% of their food bills if they were wise enough in preventing decay of food stuffs . Their excuse : They have a hectic lifestyle and cant attend to these sort of minor wastage's and that these are inevitable in their life .

c) People complain about Politicians of using their influence to get various business deals etc but I know of many people who use influence at their own level to get admission for their Children in some schools ,collages , Corporate houses etc . Their excuse : Their children are worthy of the behind the scene admission process .

d)Then when it comes to Criticizing our sportsmen ,people say our Sportsmen lack Professionalism or Commitment to Excellence compared to those of American or Australian Sportsmen . Now how many of  Indians are professional in their work or have commitment to excellence in their profession or in  their own life ?  Their excuse : They have a hectic life  style  and hence cant focus on these things or their atmosphere is such that it does not encourage professionalism or excellence .

So like this it can go on .

Note : I was also a person who was one among the many Indians Criticizing India or Indians for what they lacked but then later on only I realized that I have only 3 Choices :

 1) Keep on Criticizing like this till the end of my life 

 2) Try to Change  Others to what I expect of them

 3)  Try to Be the change that you wish to see in the world.- the advice of Mahatma Gandhi

Choice -1 is what 90% of people do and it is a loosers choice and I dropped it .

 Choice -2 is what the balance 9% of try to do ,and some succeed to some extent ,but most of them end up dejected unable to change others and they end up bitter and I dropped that also .

 Choice-3 is what 1% of people attempt to do and they do it in silence and while it may not be tangible in results outside, but it is because of such people the world is still a sane place in spite of all its problems and I very much resonate with that Choice - 3 , the choice which Mahatma Gandhi gave as the Universal Mantra for the well being of the whole world .

If we want India to be like Singapore in Cleanliness, then  at least 1% of Indians  will have to be like Singaporeans in working towards this Cleanliness in their own apartment blocks first .

If we want India to be like America in Professionalism and Excellence then at least 1% of Indians will have to be like Americans in Professionalism and Excellence in their own personal life /professional life first before they start preaching it to others .

 Without 1% of a Country's population seriously committed to improving the standards of living /quality of life in their own personal / professional life first we cant bring about a major transformation in the Country just through Legislation or Government policies .We can keep on abusing Politicians ,Government etc but it is not going to help us .

So bottom line : “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma Gandhi

60)  On being "Effective " and "Art of Living"

 Recently I saw the tamil Movie "Nanban( friend )" which is the Hindi remake of the movie "3 Idiots " and that movie talks about how youngsters are treated like machines in colleges and how due to pressure from parents and teachers youngsters are forced to take up things that does not resonate with their heart and end up as failures in life ( in totality ) though they may be successful in their jobs etc . I do not want to put forth a new theory of how schools and collages are to be or advice others how to be . All I am interested now in how effective as a Human being I am and what are the tools I need to equip myself with to be a more effective human being .  The word "Effective" may denote different meanings to different people and each one will have their own interpretation to what 'effective" means .For me I define "Effectiveness " with regard to how much smooth and productive I am with regard to people with  whom I deal in my day to day life - my close family members , my close students , my closest friends and other general people with whom I have to deal with life on functional basis like in banks ,shops ,  during travel etc etc . Do these people feel comfortable with me or my behavior ? Do I radiate peace , happiness , harmony in their presence ?  Do they feel empowered or dis empowered in my presence or in my actions .These are the questions I ask myself daily . I believe in quality rather than quantity . One of the reasons why I take fewer students for my Yoga is I know for certain that my quality will get diluted when I take more students . For me Yoga is not just on the mat daily for 1 hr or when I teach but it extends all throughout the day 24 hrs , 7 days a week and 365 days a year .I do not know what Enlightenment or Moksha or Nirvana or Samadhi  is . Each scripture has its own definition for the same and I am sorry I do not want to vomit what those scriptures say .I am committed only to improving my own personal effectiveness daily and I consider that art of living to be the greatest of arts and I want to live my life in this true spirit of effectiveness and I know I am not perfect and do have lot of areas to be improved and fine tuned but willing to put my effort ,time and energy in the same .

I conclude here with a quite of J.Krishnamurti on "Art of Living " .

"The Art of living is far greater than any other art . We never have spent perhaps a day or two , or a month to find out what is the art of living . There is an art of living . One has spent years and years to become a scientist ; you go to monasteries and spend all your life there ; or you spend your whole life earning a livelihood which is a vocation of limitation . To become a surgeon , a doctor , we spend ten to fourteen years and we never learn or even spend a day to find out what is the art of living ."

59)Spondylitis striking India’s young
http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report_spondylitis-striking-indias-young_1647866

Shweta Arya was 29 when she first had a back problem. Ignored initially, her pain spread upwards and aggravated to a level where she was not even able to move her neck.

"Employed with an infrastructure consultancy, I used to work on a laptop with a bent neck," she said. Arya is one of the many young people suffering from spondylitis (a form of arthritis that affects your spine).

Doctors say a sharp increase has been noted in the number of young patients falling prey to spondylitis. Long working hours on the computer, a desk job, lack of physical activity, consumption of junk food and obesity are a grim reality today, and so are increasing back problems and spondylitis.

However, alarmingly the age factor with regards to spondylitis has come down by five years at least says spine surgeon, Dr Subir Jhaveri. "Current age group is between 25-40 years which is five years younger as compared to earlier times."

Orthopaedic and joint surgeon, Sterling Hospital, Dr Rikin Shah,says the popular term used for such pains is 'occupational and habitual hazards'.

"Youngsters in the age bracket of 25-40 years working in banks, corporate sector especially BPOs and KPOs are the ones who are most affected. Of the 10 patients I attend to, at least six complain of work related pains, especially back, neck and numbness in upper limbs which could lead to spondylitis in the future," says Dr Shah.

Nearly 40% patients who come to Dr Shah on a monthly basis are working professionals who are spondylitis patients.

Spine surgeon with Shalby Hospitals, Dr Pravin Saxena, saidshoulder, head and neck pains have become a common sight in the city.

“First, patients complain of shoulder pain which is followed by spasm in the neck or stiffness. I treat three to four patients a week for these problems.”

— With inputs from agencies
Published: Thursday, Feb 9, 2012, 14:31 IST
By Kinjal Desai | Place: Ahmedabad | Agency: DNA