Be Positive and Spread Postivity

It has been quite a while( PHEW ! Almost 10 years) I stopped blogging as I got busy with the new opportunities/challenges life has in for me. A lot has changed in my life for good. I now have a lovey wife and adorable son who is already around 6 years old :) I am very grateful to God for giving me such a blessed life. Touch wood :) Now coming to the reason I started blogging again is as below.
I have been feeling for last some years, that there has been lot of negativity in the world due to increase in terrorism incidents, hate crimes, political mudslinging, TRUMP :), etc. However, I also see many good and positive activities, events, happenings that are either not reported or under-reported. I remember having a discussion with my lunch friends some years back on how the Media nowadays gives more importance to negative news and it is very difficult to find any positive news. This also creates a ripple effect on topics in our day-to-day discussions multiplying the negativity even more. This I feel is not good for our mental state and many a times bogs us down. We feel helpless and sad of not being able to change this state of affairs. How an individual cope with this and make a difference? The easy way out is to ignore and cut off the news from your life and concentrate on your family and personal career/interests. The other way is to fight with this negativity. How to do this? By being positive and spreading positivity. Making sure to greet your family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances with a happy face. Try to concentrate your topic of discussions on positive news and if possible improve upon your sense of humor :) Everyone craves for positivity and humor and want to be more with people that are full of these qualities. I had also an idea of an agency to collect and spread the good and positive activities, events, happenings. With this, I am sure the appetite of the people will shift towards positivity and being good. This I feel is the need of the hour. What do you think about this?

A Chat with God

Forwards have become the lifeline of the software professionals. It keeps us updated about the current affairs/trends, makes us laugh and some fwds really make us feel nice and happy. They break the monotonity of the work and make us feel refreshed/recharged. I came across a really nice piece of Fwd and i would like to share that with you all and also store it for lifetime in my blog :) Here it goes :

God : Hello. Did you call me?

Me: Called you? No.. who is this?

God : This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.

Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in
the midst of something..

God : What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.

Me: Don't know. But I cant find free time. Life has become hectic.
It's rush hour all the time.

God : Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you
results.Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.

Me: I understand. But I still cant figure out. By the way, I was not
expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.

God : Well I wanted to resolve your fight for time, by giving you some
clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you
are comfortable with.

Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?

God : Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it
complicated.

Me: why are we then constantly unhappy?

God : Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday.
You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit.
That's why you are not happy.

Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?

God : Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.

Me: But then, there is so much pain due to un! certaint y..

God : Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?

God : Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be
purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don't suffer
With that experience their life become better not bitter.

Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?

God : Yes. In every terms, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the
test first and the lessons afterwards.

Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why cant we be free
from problems?

God : Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons
(to) Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and
endurance, not when you are free from problems.

Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we
are heading.

God : If you look outside you will not know where you are heading.
Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes
provide sight. Heart provides insight.

Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the
right direction. What should I do?

God : Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a
measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying
than knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work
with the clock.

Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

God : Always lo! ok at ho w far you have come rather than how far you
have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

Me: What surprises you about people?

God : when they suffer they ask, "why me?" When they prosper, they
never ask "Why me" Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few
want to be on the side of the truth.

Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I cant get the answer.

God : Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be.
Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is
not a process of discovery but a process of creation.

Me: How can I get the best out of life?

God : Face your past without regret. Handle your present with
confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

God : There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.

Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat. I am so happy to start the New
Year with a new sense of inspiration.

God : Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don't believe your doubts
and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve.
Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

My Experiences in Job - Part 1

It has been long since I pen down anything on my blog. So many things have happened to me during this period. A new chapter in my life has begun with the joining of Infosys. I was sad that my student life is over. I can sincerely tell you that those were the best days of my life. But yes I was also excited about the corporate life that I was going to venture into.
There were many first that I went through – First day at office, First official email, First Project, First Client call, First Salary, First Flight, First river rafting experience and the list goes on and on. Excluding the last 4 weeks which has been quite hectic for me, it has been quite an exciting experience for me in Infy. I got into new relationships, made new friends, adopted a altogether new lifestyle. It has been fun filled experience. Also, I have also learned a lot during this period. It is true that there are many things that book cannot teach you and you have to go through that experience personally to learn. There are so many good and bad experiences that I had and there was great amount of learning that I made from them. I want to put down all those here and will be doing this as and when I get time. Sayonara  !!!

My Mother & Godly Thoughts :)

“My Mother” is the most precious thing I feel the Almighty has gifted me. She has been my role model right from my childhood days. She has every quality that I would aspire for. Although her life has been not very easy but she always makes sure that we (Me and my younger brother) get the best. It is hard to believe that there can be person that loves you so much selflessly.
I personally feel that Child – parent relationship is the most revered relationship. I would like to say that everybody in this world is selfish and is concerned about him/her. If you don’t agree with me, then do a test. Take a group photo in which you are also there and see whom do you search for, when you see the photo. It will be definitely “yourself”. Many of the relationships we make are again based on that. But, Child – parent relationship is something very different. It is quite strange to see when one becomes a parent then all of a sudden the child becomes everything. It becomes more important than you. You make sure that the child gets the best. One important fact though not quite related to the topic is that Human child is the weakest child in the whole universe and if left on its own, will die. So, GOD has rightly given that feeling into the parents so that the child survives.
I was quite lucky to be close to GOD and GODLY thoughts right from my childhood as my Mother was a very religious lady. I started chanting bhajans at an early age of 6 yrs and was exposed to “GURU VAANI”. Again, this also helped me in my inclination towards music and singing.
Initially I was not very much aware of the positive effects it had on my behavior, attitude and thinking process. But now I honestly feel very lucky about it. Especially with the type of lifestyle that people have now. It naturally induces stress in life and this thing immensely helps. I have personally felt it. All this keep you calm and composed in every situation. You never get angry. There is feeling of love and affection for everybody around. You make more friends and there is a genuine love for all which makes living a great experience.
The best thing about our “GURUJI” is that he does not ask you to do yagya, puja and all outside world things. He wants you to connect internally. The real fun and bliss is when there is an internal connection with the almighty. Like in any relationship, when there is real love and affection, you enjoy the relationship the most. Same is true with GOD. If you are truly devoted to him, you will enjoy it. The Good thing about the relationship is that he does not ask you anything. It’s very much like the child-parent relationship. Just like we enjoyed our childhood days because we knew that Mother is always there to take care of us. We do not have to bother about anything. Similarly we should become child again in front of GOD (the parent of all) and leave all our worries, stress and tensions. He will definitely take care of it if we believe in him completely. Although on the face, my thoughts may be looking utopian but believe me it helps in getting away with the much disastrous stress and make life worth living.

"A LETTER FROM GOD"

Forwarding mails or Popularly called Spamming :) has been one of the biggest menace of the internet revolution. It eats away billions of productive time and money. But sometime these mails have a message which really touches your heart. This mail was one with really touched me. I would like the share with you all :)

=====A LETTER FROM GOD=====
As you got up this morning, I watched you, and hoped you would talk to me, even if it was just a few words, asking my opinion or thanking me for something good that happened in your life yesterday. But I noticed you were too busy, trying to find the right outfit to wear.

When you ran around the house getting ready, I knew there would be a few minutes for you to stop and say hello, but you were to busy.

At one point you had to wait fifteen minutes with nothing to do except sit in a chair. Then I saw you spring to your feet. I thought you wanted to talk to me but you ran to the phone and called a friend to get the latest gossip instead.

I watched patiently all day long. With all our activities I guess you were too busy to say anything to me.

I noticed that before lunch you looked around, maybe you felt embarrassed to talk to me, that is why you didn't bow your head. You glanced three or four tables over and you noticed some of your friends talking to me briefly before they ate, but you didn't.

That's okay. There is still more time left, and I hope that you will talk to me yet.

You went home and it seems as if you had lots of things to do. After a few of them were done, you turned on the TV. I don't know if you like TV or not, just about anything goes there and you spend a lot of time each day in front of it not thinking about anything, just enjoying the show. I waited patiently again as you watched the TV and ate your meal, but again you didn't talk to me.

Bedtime I guess you felt too tired. After you said goodnight to your family you plopped into bed and fell asleep in no time.

That's okay because you may not realize that I am always there for you.

I've got patience, more than you will ever know. I even want to teach you how to be patient with others as well.

I love you so much that I wait everyday for a nod, prayer or thought, or a thankful part of your heart. It is hard to have a one-sided conversation.

Well, you are getting up once again. Once again I will wait, with nothing but love for you. Hoping that today you will give me some time. Have a nice day!

Your friend, GOD

Exams !!! How to crack it :)

Yesterday was the last exam of my study life. Exams have been a part and parcel of my life right from my school days till being a MBA. i have an uncanny habit of performing well in the exams . i remember my colleagues used to ask me how do u do so well in the exams and what is the funda of getting good grades/marks in exams ?
i really dont have an answer for this. i remember exams time have always been tough time for me. i have always been an one-day player. slogging out in the last night before the exams. i get impressed by people who used to read regularly and i always thought of replicating the same but no success as of now :)
But i certainly will tell some of the factors that really helped me scoring well in the exams:
1- Getting up early on the day of the exam and doing revision of all that u have read ( i remember my mom used to wake me up at 4 am during my school days. i developed this habit from then. it was fun waking up so early then sleep for 5-10 mins in between which always got elongated to half an hour - 1 hr :) also i and my younger brother used to cherish the movements of my sister who used to sleep while studying and then mom's advice to go and wash ur face :)i have done enough of that in my MBA tenure and quite successfully :)
2- Try to cover most of the course, may be not very thoroughly. i had this habit of not leaving anything untouched. maybe u can say that my risk profile is less ( MBA jargons :D ) Mind u, i am telling all this to score well. Knowledge wise i will always say go deep into the subject matter. i enjoyed some of the subjects during my engineering and it is a great feeling knowing more than what other knows. MBA's hectic schedule never allowed me in getting deeper understanding of any subject.
3- How you approach the questions is also i feel can be very vital. always start with the ones u are comfortable with. this will give you immense confidence. i always used to keep a tab on time while answering. i used to divide the total marks with the total time which gave me the no. of marks i need to attend in say an hour or so. and by attempting the easier and the ones i am comfortable answering, i always used to outperform on time :) this way the pressure never used to build up and i was able to complete my paper in time with enuf time for a recheck.
4- Keep a pencil,rubber always with you. it helps in answering multiple choice questions and questions you are not sure of .
5- To remove the anxiety of big exams ( CAT, XAT, FMS..) just before the exam, i used to dream about myself working hard for the exam and beleiving that i am fully prepared for it and i have given my best and now its all on the almighty.
This releieves the anxiety quite a lot.
6 - Try to attempt all the questions and never leave one. Time management is again the key here. it may happen that you know a lot about some question but that does not mean that u will write in lots. assign an approx. time to all and keep checking whether you are going in line with the time assigned.
7- Attending classes regularly and making class notes are of big help during the preparation for the exam. i would specially suggest my MBA folks that with so much less time and so much to do, good class notes can crash the preapration time required considerably.
8- Group study helps as the recall and understanding is better.

These are some of the tips ( tested quite lot of time ) which i have been following all thru my study life. i always wanted to share my experiences and wisdom :) i have got thru writing exams ( i have written a tonne of them ).Hope this may be of some help to the ones still not graduated.

All the best to the juniors for the Bani's paper

Have a nice day :)

Status Messages :)

I have developed a habit of looking out for Status messages and Mind U !! many of them are really very interesting and have a mesage behind it.
Sharing some of them which i collected :)

The essence of true friendship is to make allowance for another's little lapses...

Spend Today as if it were Your Last...

And on the 8th day GOD created me...

We can do anything we want as long as we stick to it long enough..

Alcohol doesn't solve any problem, but then neither does milk...

Ambition Never Comes to an End...

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, it's what you are
expected to give..which is everything...

EVIL is just spelled LIVE backwards..are we living then ??

True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing...

Its so much more simpler to hate ppl for their shortcoming than to make an effort to like them for what they are...

You don't get to choose how you're going to die. Or when. You can only decide how you're going to live now...

All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible...

Love is born of faith, Lives on hope, And dies of charity...

and the list goes on.. Keep checking them :)

Have a nice day :D