I AM: Chetan Bhagat

I am: Chetan Bhagat (TOI Photo) I am more of a spiritual person than religious. God, for me, is the inner voice within us, the higher power that we must all surrender to. The traditional interpretation of God as Ram or Sita or in temples is also important but being spiritual is more important to me. I think if you are not spiritual, you tend to reduce everything about God and religion to rituals and superstitions. I pray to God every day but I am not ritualistic in any sense, i don’t chant any specific mantra or pray in a specific manner. I just talk to God like I would to a friend. I tell Him about my day and thank Him for everything he has given me.

I don't consider things to be lucky or unlucky and don’t wear any amulets. The reason i stay away from such things is because once you start believing in these things you kind of become dependent on them, it becomes an obsessive compulsive disorder, so to say.

I believe whatever has happened to me in life is because of God's grace. I never expected my first book to do so well and I know deep down it wouldn't have become an all-time best seller without God's will.

My second book starts with a phone call from God. It's my way of telling my readers to listen to their inner voice, which for me is God. I believe nothing can go wrong in life if you follow your instincts and have faith in the ultimate Super Power.

However, one should not lose faith in God if things do go wrong. I often self-talk myself out of a crisis, visiting temples also helps but just forgetting about the future and living in the present works best for me.

I believe one should not take life too seriously. I am not a serious guy but I think I am quite sincere in everything that I do. Sincerity always pays. I tell my sons to believe in themselves and in God.

Believing in God makes you humble and keeps you grounded even in the face of adversity. If you want to make it big in life, you have got to have faith in God and trust His will. Believing in God only helps, it never hurts.

‘God is a convenient term’

Dr Devi Shetty works in His name to ensure a job well done Devi Shetty



I strongly believe in the presence of God, which you could call as a cosmic force, or anything else you can see. Nothing in this world can happen by accident. Someone has to be there to co-ordinate everything happening around us, good or bad, since every action has a reason irrespective of its consequence on our life and our happiness.

The human body is a marvellous creation and everything works with clock-like precision. One day, something happens and the body becomes limp and comes to a standstill. We pronounce the man dead. If you dissect the body and figure what was there before and what has gone away, makes all the difference between life and death.

We have no explanation, since everything that is supposed to be inside the body is inside it even after death. We have no explanation for this phenomenon, we have no explanation for a power, which controls the events of this world, and God is a convenient term to address this cosmic force.

In no other profession you have the unique opportunity to take someone to the brink of death and bring him or her back to life. Many times we come across patients who have absolutely no chance to live, because of the condition they suffer from, and walking out of the hospital in less than seven days hale and hearty! Sometimes patients, who had a strong possibility of survival following the operation, do not make it. What is the reason for this outcome? Are we in command? No, certainly not. As a surgeon, before I start the operation, I pray to God and do the operation in His name. Success and failure are not because of me. It may be through me. As one becomes more successful, one is surrounded by more uncertainties. When we take more responsibilities on our shoulders, we get more stressed. Instead, if we hand over all the responsibilities to Him and work in His name, we can do a wonderful job.

(Dr Devi Shetty is a well-known

cardiac surgeon)

Unto Him : Dr Devi Shetty

Paryushan Parva And The Festival Of Forgiveness

Paryushan is the most important Jain religious observance of the year. For both Shvetambars, who observe the festival over a period of eight days, and Digambars, for whom Paryushan Parva lasts 10 days, this is a time of intensive study, reflection and purification. It takes place in the middle of the rainy season, a time when Jain monks and nuns cease traveling and stay with a community and are available to them for instruction and guidance.

Paryushan means, literally, "abiding" or "coming together". It is also a time when the laity take on vows of study and fasting with a spiritual intensity similar to temporary monasticism. Paryushan concludes with a time of confession and forgiveness for the transgressions of the previous year.

The most important part of Paryushan is daily meditation and prayer, which provides an opportunity for looking within and towards the teachings of the Tirthankaras for guidance. Beginning on the fourth day of Paryushan, it is customary for Murtipujak Shvetambars to read from the Kalpa Sutra, a scripture which recounts the life of Mahavira — the 14 dreams of his mother before his birth, followed by the story of his birth, life and liberation. It also recounts the lives of other Tirthankaras and the rules of Paryushan.

The book of scripture would be carried ceremonially through the streets, water sprinkled in its path along the way, purifying the entire town. Jains often take time off from work during this period and eat a much simpler diet in addition to their normal vegetarian diet. They avoid potatoes, onions and garlic — the eating of which entails killing the entire plant.

For Shvetambars, the final day of Paryushan is Samvastsari Pratikraman, the annual confession. The ritual of asking forgiveness from the teacher is widened in scope to include family and friends and, finally, all living beings. The culmination of confession is receiving forgiveness from all living beings and also granting forgiveness to all. This ritual of forgiveness is sometimes called the rite of "universal friendship". The spirit of the day is contained in this verse: "I grant forgiveness to all living beings, May all living beings grant me forgiveness; My friendship is with all living beings, My enmity is totally non-existent. Let there be peace, harmony and prosperity for all".

One cannot consume any fruits or even a grain in our upvaas, informs Nun Mallipragya. But how does one live without food? Elaborates Poonam Choraria, who has fasted for 31 days at a stretch: "We live in a sea of energy. Our bodies gain energy indirectly from the food we eat, while we gain direct energy from the cosmic energy that flows into us through the medulla oblongata at the bottom of the brain. But this kind of acceptance of energy depends upon our mental set-up. The greater the will, the greater would be the flow of energy."

Penance is given high importance to purify one's soul. In the time cycle, Lord Rishabh started the penance for one year at a stretch. The same tradition is followed even today. During the process of penance, all the accumulated toxins in the cells of the body over a period of time start to melt away. Since the body's energies are concentrated in cleaning and detoxification during the fasting process, rest becomes a necessary adjunct. The body parts are recharged and relaxed. This minimises physical ailments, increases strength and keeps body, mind and the hormonal balance in check.

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Don't be complacent, keep growing

Complacency is a dangerous adversary, it's not in-your-face and yet very destructive. History is replete with instances of powerful companies becoming insolvent and successful dynamic individuals biting the dust simply because they were complacent in their success. Successful entities have to make a conscious effort to view their success in perspective. It's important never to forget the struggle that led to that success. Create new frontiers - there is no end to improvement and expansion.

When a person begins his/her career, then he is filled with a desire to make a mark, to grow through the ranks, accumulate wealth and gain recognition. Once all these goals have been achieved, it often happens that the person runs out of steam in terms of motivation and new goals. New goals can transcend personal desires and encompass the family, organisation and society as a whole. For an organisation, constant innovation is the only attribute that allows it to stay ahead of the competition. Being over cautious is as detrimental as being reckless. Remember the adages, 'He who hesitates is lost' and 'Look before you leap'.

They may seem contradictory but the secret is treading the middle ground. Complacency always leads to recklessness; a person is so confident of things falling into place and going off well that he/she does not evaluate and react appropriately to different situations. It's important to believe in yourself and supplement that with judicious thought and action. A useful tool to overcome complacency is to consider each situation from a desperate viewpoint. Think of how you would assess and respond to the situation if you had inadequate resources and were desperate to overcome the situation in your favour. There is no room for complacency in such a hypothetical situation and you will find yourself shrugging off complacency and acting with the urgency required.

What is maturity?

Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle differences without violence or destruction. Maturity is patience. It is the willingness to pass up immediate pleasure in favor of the long-term gain.
Maturity is perseverance, the ability to sweat out a project or a situation in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging set-backs. Maturity is the capacity to face unpleasantness and frustration, discomfort and defeat, without complaint or collapse. Maturity is humility. It is being big enough to say, "I was wrong." And, when right, the mature person need not
experience the satisfaction of saying, "I told you so."

Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stand by it. The immature spend their lives exploring endless possibilities; then they do nothing.

Maturity means dependability, keeping one's word, coming through in a crisis. The immature are masters of the alibi. They are the confused and the disorganized. Their lives are a maze of broken promises, former friends, unfinished business, and good intentions that somehow never materialize.

Maturity is the art of living in peace with that which we cannot change, the courage to change that which should be changed -- and the wisdom to know the difference.

The Way To Gain Anything Is To Try And Lose It!

True charity emanates from sound judgment of the intellect rather than a weak emotion of the mind. In its purest form, charity has the distinction of benefiting the receiver as well as the donor.
Victor Hugo in his novel ‘Les Miserables’ highlights the benefaction that charity brings to the receiver. A convict had escaped from prison and sought shelter for the night. The priest obliged, gave him supper and a bed to sleep. In the middle of the night he decamped with the silver plates of the house. The next morning the police who had caught him brought him in. The priest feigned surprise and asked the policeman: “Why did you harass him? I gifted the plates to him last night.” The policeman apologised and left. The convict was astounded. To crown it all, the priest picked up two solid silver candlestick stands from his desk and gave them to the convict with these words: Remember, life is to give, not to take. The convict took them and departed. Thence, he was transformed. Living a life of service and sacrifice. Such would be the outcome of true charity.
Likewise, the donor is blessed with the effect of charity. Charity is a synonym for prosperity. So is sacrifice for success. Swami Rama Tirtha proclaims: The way to gain anything is to lose it. The more you run after wealth, the more it recedes. You crave for it, and it eludes you. Leave it alone, and it follows you. Work earnestly, dispassionately; the reward of work shall court you.
The phenomenon of colours illustrates this law of life. Light is constituted of seven colours. When an object is bathed in light the seven colours impinge upon it. An object appears blue when it actually gives away blue and takes in the other six. It appears in the colour it parts with. An object gains the colour it gives away! You gain what you give away, what you sacrifice. Not what you take. Develop the spirit of dispassion, renunciation in life. You turn pure, divine. And when you amass wealth you turn impure, demonic. Oliver Goldsmith wrote: Where wealth accumulates, men decay.
Social service is indeed a noble trait. But these scattered units can in no way solve the problem of poverty and misery in the world. Hence the world needs not just bouts of social service but education and dissemination of social consciousness among people. That one should empathise, share and live in harmony with fellow beings. The idea of social consciousness needs to be introduced at the level of primary schools for children to grow with that concept. And gradually inculcated in families at home. With the dawn of social consciousness the mist of social service disappears. Every individual becomes a social worker.
Just imagine a country devoid of literacy barring a group of literates. The residual literates have to choose one of two options: Each of them starts teaching people individually. Or start schools for teachers’ training. And these teachers in turn produce more teachers.
The former method can provide only a limited satisfaction for educating a few pockets in the country while the latter can gradually cover the entire country and solve the problem of illiteracy.
Similarly, social workers and their social work can only create pockets of relief while the perennial problem of poverty and misery persists. The problem can be solved only through mass education and dissemination of social consciousness. Vedanta, the ancient philosophy of India, educates and inculcates this spirit of social consciousness in human beings.

Two important verses from Bhagavad Gita explained

The reason for all the chaos is not the outcome of doings of unintelligent or unemotional people. The real hindrance to happiness is that we have forgotten how to live content with what we have.
Contentment is like a precious pearl. Whoever procures it at the expense of 10,000 desires makes a wise and happy purchase. In the Kathopanishad Yama tells Nachiketa that both the preferable and the pleasurable approach man. The intelligent one examines both and separates them and prefers the preferable to the pleasurable, whereas the ignorant selects the pleasurable that chains him to unlimited desires.
Gautama Buddha in his four noble truths declares that there is suffering and misery in life and the direct cause of it is desire or craving. Desire works in one of two ways. Once a particular desire is born there are only two possibilities: either desire is not fulfilled or it is fulfilled.
If our kama or desire is not fulfilled, we’re angry. When anger or krodha takes over, frustration comes and then we feel frustrated. Matsarya or jealousy makes us feel terrible when, for instance, someone known to us has something that we don’t have. If our kama is fulfilled, then there is the emotion of pride or mada for having what others do not have. This pride makes us feel that we are unique and all that we have is ours. It makes us forget that all the things of the world belong to Providence. When we attain what we seek, we develop an attachment for them. This is called moha.
Moha or attachment makes us greedy and this is called lobha. In an effort to fulfil greed one often tends to take refuge in untruth and unlawfulness. People with passionate qualities are never satisfied with their position or possessions — they always seek to accumulate more and more and enjoy flaunting what they have. In this way they lose the power of thought and power of emotion which are the two important parts for the integral way of living.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks Krishna what impels a person to commit sin against his will. Krishna replies that desire and anger, born of passionate quality, are enemies that eat our atman. They obfuscate wisdom like smoke covers fire. They have their presence in the sense, mind and intelligence. By covering our wisdom they delude the soul, hence one should control them from the beginning. They are destroyers of wisdom.
The Self is greater than intelligence, which in turn is greater than mind. The mind is greater than senses which are greater than material objects. Krishna tells Arjuna that by knowing the One beyond intelligence, that is, the Self, desire is killed and so anger vanishes.
Aristotle says, “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is over self.” Desire is unquenchable. Once desire is born, it knows not how to die. Desire, when transformed into aspiration, helps life soar into the highest liberation, and supreme salvation does not seem so out of reach, after all.
All people desire what they believe will make them happy. If a person is fully content with Self, we can only conclude that he is engaged with another, more eternal state of happiness that is called Bliss.