OLD IN THIS CASE IS CERTAILNY GOLD!!!

Namasthe,

Somebody has rightly said "Character is what you are when nobody is watching you!" How true!!!
In this life, where we always try to project an image of ourselves, for convenience, this is one of the parameters to judge a truly moral person. Swami Vivekananda puts it very well when he says,

" Watch a man do his most common actions; Those are indeed the things which will tell you the real character of a great man."

Most of us have wrongly defined "Great" as "How famous we are", "How much wealth we have amassed" etc,etc, which is highly objective. But is this really "Great"?? If so, are these so called great men "HAPPY" with their position? For, is it not to make themselves happy, to satisfy an inner desire, that these men and women set out to achieve what they have. After all this struggle, do they have the conviction to stand up and say " I am a satisfied man/ woman today. I can now lead a life free of apprehensions."

Well, I am not sure that many would have the courage to say this. For, common experience will tell us that when our happiness "DEPENDS" on "SOMETHING", our being happy too is limited to the period of that "something" remaining intact. Most of us cling to "power, money, things" so on and so forth to make us happy. And NATURALLY, just take that away and we are back to square one. Any disagreement? Well, I assume not. For, a sincere analysis of our daily life will prove to us the relevance and the truth in these statements.

Well then what is the solution to this apparent mess? It is something which has been said by our sages, ages ago and has been echoed by every prophet in every age.
The only solution is to "RENOUNCE." This might sound philosophical and distant to most of us, but a logical analysis too will convey to us the same message. Renunciation need not mean that you "Give up the things", it only means that you are not controlled "by their presence or absence."
Of course in the initial stages, the former is necessary in letter and spirit.

This is what the Christ meant when he said "The kingdom of heaven is within you."
This is what the Buddha meant when he said "Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without."
This is what our sages meant when they said "Not by progeny, not by wealth, but by renunciation alone is immortality reached."

Well, a further continuation of this discussion in my next post.

Regards,
Anikethan.

WHY THE TITLE "REFLECTIONS"

Namasthe ,

Welcome to my first post. I will devote this to explaining "WHY" I chose the title "REFLECTIONS" and also the URL for my blog "reflecttogrow" (Reflect to Grow).

Being a student of Electrical and Electronics, one of the subjects I have read and enjoyed is Control Systems. For those of you who do not know, a Control System is basically, as the name suggests, an entity that monitors or controls a system. There are broadly 2 types of Control Systems. Open Loop and Closed Loop Systems. To minimize the technical details, it will suffice to say that I have been a great fan of Closed Loop Systems, for the simple reason that there is a FEEDBACK from the output to the input, thus giving the option of keeping the system stable, which is absent in an Open Loop System.

Now comes the relevance. I have been amazed to see the perfection to which God/nature (However you might wish to interpret), has designed these natural Control Systems around us. To take an example, right from a simple phenomenon of "movement" to the complex process of "growth" of a living being is a regulated process. An analysis of a few minutes will tell us that everything in nature is regulated and will also drive home the importance of it being so.

Swami Vivekananda very rightly said "Whatever you think, that you will be!"
A look at society in general (myself inclusive), is not very encouraging, for we rarely "Think". The word "Think", when taken in a deeper sense becomes "Reflect." This reflection in fact is the "feedback" that ensures that our system called "Life" remains stable. Man's quest for perfection is never ending. In a society where every solution to a problem is becoming "Object Oriented", people very easily forget that there is "THE SOLUTION", that can solve every problem but it is "Subject Oriented". No doubt it has been said rightly "Everything is in the Mind." No doubt it is necessary to improve our physical standards of living, but more important is to improve our "mental standard of living." And for this, constant "Reflection" is the first step.

This blog is one more step in my effort to improve my own "Mental Standard Of Living." But it always helps to have a tangible record of our thoughts, for this not only aids reflection but also serves as an indication to the path along which we are moving. Hence the blog and also the name.

I will post both technical and non technical things in this blog, for as of now, I need to grow on either planes.

I should be grateful for any criticism and shall respond to all of those that fall within my limits.

Regards,
Anikethan.