LIFE LESSON IN QUOTES - UPRIGHT

 One must have noticed that the oft used pronoun is "you" especially to shift the onus from oneself. Therefore, the choice for the human trait desirable fell naturally onto "upright". Marcus Aurelius laid out the principle crisply:

A man should be upright, not be kept upright

To answer the question as to with dreams shattered whether one can be upright, Mehmet Murat Ildan said,

The greatest victory for man is 

not 

that his dreams were fulfilled

 but 

it is that to stand upright 

even 

when none of his dreams are fulfilled

As though to goad us to be upright Israelmore Ayivor decreed

The table that cannot stand upright

is

an insult to the carpenter who makes it

This makes it clear that we become responsible even for the acts of the persons whom we mentor

Confucius, the great teacher laid out the truth in saying

Man is born with uprightness.

If one loses it,

he will be lucky 

if he escapes with his life

Contrast these with the warning of Chanakya

Do not be very upright in your dealings

for you would see by going to the forest

that

straight trees are cut down

while

crooked ones are left standing

Thus, the value of being upright as well as its pitfalls if not being reasoned has been brought out by the wise men.

LIFE LESSON IN QUOTES - TRUST

 The A to Z series was left unfinished belying the trust of the readers. Therefore, the quality of trust is picked ahead of truth for the letter "T". Trust is a delicate and defining emotion. Many would have come across the expression - set a thief to catch a thief.  Henry L Simson gave a positive spin to it by stating as under:

The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him

Don Peppers gave another perspective to it by laying a new principle:

Being Trustworthy requires:

Doing the right thing 

 and

Doing things rights

Stephen Covey made Trust the foundation for any relationship in these words:

Trust is the glue of life.

It is the foundational principle that holds all relationships

John Pepper prescribed it as an antidote to fear in the following words:

Trust is the antidote that overcomes fear 

– and 

fear is the greatest inhibitor of all 

to a relationship that welcomes and nurtures new ideas

The charitable Warren Buffet placed trust on par with air while propounding:

Trust is like the air we breathe – 

when it’s present, nobody really notices; 

when it’s absent, everybody notices

It was Richard Fragerlin who hit the nail on the head by not making the cause or the process but the result in these words:

Trust isn’t what we do; it is what results from what we do.

Thus, what better way to regain the trust of readers than trusting them to overlook the long hibernation in posting on the A to Z series.

TRAIN TRAVEL - A TRAIN OF THOUGHTS

Life is a journey - travel it well. Easier said than done. Travel is not one of the most passionate things yours truly cherishes or relishes. However, if one must travel, train journeys are found to be better compared to other modes. Of late, a substantial portion of the existence being on trains brought back memories of the poem written by Robert Stevenson which we used to recite as children and reads as under:

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,

Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;

And charging along like troops in a battle,

All through the meadows the horses and cattle:

All of the sights of the hill and the plain

Fly as thick as driving rain;

And ever again, in the wink of an eye,

Painted stations whistle by.

Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,

All by himself and gathering brambles;

Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;

And there is the green for stringing the daisies!

Here is a cart run away in the road

Lumping along with man and load;

And here is a mill and there is a river:

Each a glimpse and gone for ever!

In many a journey, we do find young parents dealing with a moody kid wailing for attention. The best course was to just divert their attention to the landscape that is flying past them. Slightly older kids would argue that it was the train that was moving and not the landscape forgetting that they were in the midst of an emotional crisis. 

In another encounter, yours truly found a bunch of youngsters who were playing a present day game called "hand cricket" wherein the fingers used to fly at will but the arithmetic needed the calculator on the mobile. The dreary routine of travel was broken as in the case of the emotional child when yours truly volunteered to keep scores. The cautious players initially cross checked with the gadget and found that the new scorekeeper could be trusted. After one T20 was completed, the scorekeeper was given a certificate of appreciation for being able to add single digits upto 6 to the existing score. Thanking my stars as well as graciously accepting their felicitations, yours truly wished at least one of the mathematics teachers in the ten years of schooling and five years of college could have even made a fleeting reference to the mathematical ingenuity of this statistician. Unfortunately, they would only accept a Srinivasa Ramanujam as a disciple granting dismal scores for the "effortless (pun intended) performance". 

On another occasion, yours truly alighted at a station where the train halted for a crossing. Immediately, a simian propped himself to the doorway to remind his descendant that it was improper to alight at stations in between. The other two doorways of the compartment were also taken up by similar teachers who scornfully thrust a peanut or two into their mouths as well as used up some mineral water to the boot. The other train passed without much notice while this train intended to move. Paying obeisance to the Lord Hanuman and mentally apologizing for breaking the rules, yours truly boarded the next compartment only to see them effortlessly move out from the moving train. A truly moving lesson!

Some lessons are not learnt well. Yesterday, I was encountered with a similar scenario where the train ground to a halt. Nonchalantly, I walked to the door forgetting all the lessons learnt and alighted from the train. This time, an infant clung to me from the rear teaching me to balance myself without hurting her. On alighting, she waved a good bye as she was apparently not happy with the hustle and bustle with lot of restrictions within the compartment. The parents were anxiously inquiring my final destination but there was no letting go. Minutes later, it was time to board the train as the signal had turned amber. The infant protested my attempt to board the train. Paying little heed the train was boarded only to be punished for the defiance with a loud bawl with co- passengers counselling that infants should not be carried and alighted at interim stations. Apparently, the simian brothers of the earlier journey were giving me some karmic lessons for not having kept the word!!!

Yours truly now reminisced this oft quoted passage:

Life is like a train journey, with its stations, with changes of routes and with accidents!!!

We board this train when we are born and our parents are the ones who get our ticket!

We believe they will always travel with us. As time goes by, other passengers will board the train many of whom will be significant in and for the journey- our siblings, teachers, friends, spouse, children, mentors, mentees and many more

At some stations our parents and many others alight leaving us to continue our journey to our mysterious station. Many go unnoticed that even their seat vacancy is unnoticed. Some are replaced by others but there are a few whose vacuum lasts for the rest of the journey!!!

This train ride will also be a roller coaster of joys, sorrows, greetings, farewells, adieus, fantasies, expectations and disappointments!!!

A good journey is helping, loving, having a good relationship with all co passengers and making sure that we give our best to make each other's journey comfortable and memorable!!!

What a train of thoughts!!!

CHAKRAVYUHA OF THE COVID 19- A THOUGHT TO BREAK IT

 Strange are the ways in which circumstances pushes us to the roots. The unleashing of the havoc by the mystical virus named after the Corona of the Sun has done this over a year and still pushing us further to seek answers.

It is still the norm that people still resort to the different syrups that are made out of various herbs besides placing reliance on neem, turmeric, guduchi amongst others. Prayers of different hues rent the air. Despair is met with hope. Modern science meets traditional home remedies to provide succour to the ailing and their attendants. Then could their be a remedy for this dastardly virus which has fed into the very vitals of the bodies, the society, the economy and the humanity as a whole in our old tales. 

After all it is for nothing that it has been said that a diamond is to be cut by another diamond and a thorn in the flesh is to fleshed out by another thorn. Would Tanaji, the famed general of Shivaji have an answer to the strategies deployed by the virus? How would Charaka deal with this wheel of misfortune in which the humanity is clutched? Or would it require a Chanakya to advise the right course of action? 

As these thoughts took yours truly back in time, the evergreen epic of Mahabharata which has many problems with matching solutions, shades of perception, strategies and counsel struck a chord.

The epic which revolves around the magical number of eighteen is renowned for its eighteen day war. The eighteen day war is highlighted with different war formations but the one that stands out is the Chakravyuha. Chakravyuha is an impregnable formation which reminds one of the charismatic Abhimanyu, the desolate Arjuna, the gloating Kauravas and drives home the destructive havoc that a war can wreak on humanity. After all it was described by none other than Sri Krishna when his nephew was still in the womb. The formation was sculpted to perfection by the Guru Dronacharya, the one who won his place as Acharya by lifting a ball out of a well by piercing blades of grass into a rope.

Match it with the circular illustration of the Covid and this very destructive formation strikes you like a thunderbolt. Strangely it has an alternative name Padmavyuha also. So we could treat it like a flower but should not be attracted to it like a bee. Therefore, we need to keep it at bay by following hygienic methods.

The different rings of the chakravyuha are said to number seven. Then, let us prepare for seven mutations of the virus too. As it is we are seeing triple mutations. On this front, the need to checkmate the virus at its own game is the theme of this muse.

Let us now use concentric circles to defeat this deadly virus which is playing mutation games. One has to also learn the way in which Lord Vishnu played a trick on Kamsa in a number game. The seventh child of Devaki disappeared from the womb raising the question as to whether the next one was the eighth or the seventh child. in the same manner, it is necessary to isolate the variants so as to eradicate mutation.

Having learnt the lesson is not adequate. The actual learning is in the application. Let us take the states of West Bengal, Maharashtra and Delhi. Isolate them like the Kauravas isolated Arjuna to beat Abhimanyu. No travel from and to these States should be allowed for a period of 84 days. Even travel through these States should not be allowed thereby restricting the strain to its present territory.

In the meantime, all the surrounding States need to ensure 100% vaccination of all the border districts bordering these States. The Vaccination should have a healthy mix of Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik with a third share for each. This would ensure that there is some difference in the lines of defence of each set of immunised persons.

Parallely, the vaccination programmes of these States also needs to be a mix of multiple vaccine mixes. These territories should be earmarked along with the border districts of the neighbouring States for double or triple immunisation meaning that each recipient will get two doses of each vaccine over a period of 28 day intervals. This would mean different lines of defence created in the bodies of all these residents. This would mean day 1, 28,56,84, 112 and 140, The mix of the doses in the first phase will ensure that the programme is completed by day 140 which is nearly 5 months. Therefore, the period of isolation for these States and territories need to extend for a period of 5 months.

In the meantime high risk areas in States such as Karnataka, Kerala, TamilNadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telengana also need to be approached with a similar strategy. Ideally the vaccination should move from InterState bordering districts inward closing the areas of defence for the virus and ensuring that the brakes are applied on the virus spiralling its way forward in geometric progressions.

The strategy having been devised the deployment of resources. The quantum of vaccines required for such a strategy with an additional 50% marked for other regions need to be factored in. For this purpose, the already vaccinated need not be excluded as it will provide for a further impetus in the programme. The programme needs to be devolved to election booth levels to accelerate the process.

The contingency plan for post 84 days should be that any incoming trains should necessitate that the travellers have completed 2 days of a single vaccine and it should be declared at the time of booking. On alighting a dose of another vaccine needs to be administered requiring them to take a second dose after 28 days. This would mean that the travellers also have a second line of defence. International travellers who will be allowed only after the period of 140 days should at least have a two layer defence and should be administered a third layer of vaccine.

To promote this end, compulsory licencing of the three vaccines available in India is required. All pharma companies in India should be asked to join the programme and manufacture a particular quota of all the three vaccines. Aids granted by countries like USA, UK etc should include other vaccines which will enhance the permutations by which the three vaccine formula can work. 

This is a thought which needs to be vetted by the scientific community and if approved needs to be implemented at rocket speed.

LIFE LESSON IN QUOTES - SINCERE

The letter S in a life lesson is normally picked for success. But yours truly has a humble opinion that sincerity is one of the key steps that makes one's life successful in one's own eyes if not in the world's eyes.

In fact, Oscar Wilde cautioned us,

" A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, 

and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal"

However, Charles Dickens held out for the other view in these words

" There is no substitute for thoroughgoing, ardent 

and sincere earnestness"

However, Mehmet Murat made it even more simpler by saying

" Paradise can take the form of anything! 

It can take the form of a flower 

or 

it can be a word 

or 

it can just be a sincere smile"

Ralph Waldo Emerson pointed out 

" Sincerity is the luxury allowed, like diadems and authority,

 only to the highest rank. 

Every man alone is sincere. 

At the entrance of a second man, hypocrisy begins"

But the resolute belief is in the words of Jean Giraudoux

LIFE LESSON IN QUOTES -RESOLUTE

Life is a struggle say some and Life is a journey say others. In either case one requires the unwavering, determined and focussed approach to it. Thus, resolute becomes the next in this series of life lesson in quotes.

Minisinoo distinguished defiance from being resolute in these words,

" Being defiant is a two year old 

who 

doesn't want to go to bed when he's tired. 

Being resolute is standing one's ground 

in the 

face of opposition. 

It's a man's virtue and not a toddler's vice"

Goethe proclaimed,

" He who is firm and resolute in will molds the world to himself"

Eugene S Wilson wrote,

" Only the curious will learn 

and 

only the resolute overcome the obstacles to learning, 

The quest quotient has always excited me 

more than

 the intelligence quotient"

Do these words not remind us of the epochal Karna and Ekalavya of times immemorial from the Mahabharata scripted by Ved Vyasa?

Cicero said,

" It is the character of a brave and resolute person

 not to be

 ruffled by adversity, and not to desert their post"

Theodore Roosevelt said,

" It is only through labour and painful effort, 

by grim energy and resolute courage,

 that we move on to better things"

These could be summed up best in the words of iconic Napoleon Bonaparte which reads 

Thus, Resolute forms the chapter for R in the A to Z series on life lesson in quotes.

LIFE LESSON IN QUOTES - QUESTION

A teacher once told us that life is a difficult exam and each one has a different question paper. Therefore, copying others answers would not help.

Albert Einstein decreed 

" Learn from yesterday. 

Live for today.

 Hope for tomorrow. 

The important thing is not to stop questioning"

And as the saying goes "Charity begins at home", one has to start questioning oneself.

Tennessee Williams said,

" Life is an unanswered question,

 but

 let's still believe in the dignity 

and 

importance of the question"

Criss Jami laid it bare by saying

" Friends ask you questions; 

enemies question you"

Lloyd Alexander hit the nail on the head in these words

" We learn more by 

looking for the answer

 to 

a question and not finding it 

than 

we do from learning the answer itself"

In the epic Ramayana, Valmiki puts us in a quandary by stating

" We have no right to ask when a sorrow comes 

'Why did this happen to me?' 

unless 

we ask 

the same question for every joy that comes our way"

Shannon Alder simplified the concept in these words

" Life is as simple as these three questions. 

What do I want?  

Why do I want? 

How will I achieve it?"

Richard Norton exemplified the role of questions in these words,

" Questions open a space in your mind 

that allow 

better answers to breathe"

Manoj Arora clarified the role of questions as under

" Doubts are good.

 Confusion is excellent.

 Questions are awesome. 

All these are attempts to expand the wisdom of mind"

In the words of Gary Keller,

" Life is a question and how we live it is our answer" 

Thus, the questions which form the fulcrum of our very existence forms the next life lesson in this series A to Z and as Gary Keller puts it we need to live out the answer.