And I shook hands with HIM

His presence was enough to make the atmosphere electrifying. He was there, to bring smile on people's faces. He, was the one, who could change the thought-process of the world. He, was the one, in whom, men saw hope.

I wanted to meet him. I wanted him to know me. I wanted to bring revolution just like he did. I wanted to touch the hearts of people. I wanted to reach to the stars like him. I wanted to live up to the expectations. I wanted to be there for good. I wanted to smile like him. I suddenly realized, that I wanted to be...HIM.

His charisma was enigmatic and vibrant at the same time. No one could ever match him.His mere presence echoed in the surroundings. He waved his hands in front of the crowd. A huge roar of applause and waves was a return pleasantry from the crowd. He headed towards the stage. All the hearts were in sync. People had come together to applaud him. People had come to see their hero.

He moved towards the podium. He picked up the microphone and said a casual 'Hello everybody'. With this, loud screams of acceptance to his words was seen. Enthusiasm was better seen than described. He discussed about the future plans that he had in mind. People were just in love with him. Hope seeped in stronger as he went into deeper discussions with his ideas.

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Just then, he said how the youth should come ahead and support the cause, show their abilities. He pointed out issues that the youth could do. It was like, he was able to read our minds and not just blurt out a few learnt sentences. He was talking and talking. People were listening and listening. I already had idolized him, but his today's interaction made me think of him more than God. Suddenly, he walked towards the crowd section where I was, looked towards me, and said, "Why don't we ask one of the youth to come up on the stage and share his thoughts with us?" and signaled me to join HIM on stage. I don't know how out of lacs and lacs of people, thousands of youth standing by, HE chose ME to share my ideas. As I told before, I think he could read minds. And he might have read my mind. My idol was calling me, my GOD was calling me. In a fraction of a second, I hopped out from the crowd of extras and ordinary people to meet the extra-ordinary person and have a small chat with.

I discussed the issues with him and the audience. All agreed in oneness. I kept on shivering like anything but still made into being calm and composed outwards. Even he was listening to me in such a manner that he had already known what was I going to say and shook his head in acknowledgement every time what I mentioned.

After handing him the microphone back, I took a sigh of relief. Those were the most important 3 minutes of my whole life. And something happened, that I could have never imagined in my whole lifetime, that I saw happen.

He came towards me applauding...He was the chief minister of Gujarat...He was Narendra Modi...And I shook hands with HIM.

The power of forgiveness

As described in Jainism, the power of Kshama(forgiveness), let that forgiveness be extended to the beings all around you.

"Michchami Dukkadam" to you all.

Meaning of MICHCHAMI DUKKADAM:

Michchhami means to be fruitless (forgiven) and Dukkadam (Dushkrut)means bad deeds. I forgive (from the bottom of my heart without any reservation) all living beings (who may have caused me any pain and suffering either in this life or previous lives), and I beg (again from the bottom of my heart without any reservation) for the forgiveness from all living beings (no matter how small or big to whom I may have caused pain and suffering in this life or previous lives, knowingly or unknowingly, mentally, verbally or physically, or if I have asked or encouraged someone else to carry out such activities). (Let all creatures know that) I have a friendship with everybody and I have no revenge (animosity or enmity) toward anybody."

Why do we say "Michchhami Dukkadam"?

If we reflect back on ourselves we would realize that our mind is continuously busy either thinking on something which may be near to us or could even be as far away as the other end of the world, talking or doing physical activities. This thinking, our words or our physical activities would be reflection of our happiness, sorrow, anger, greed, jealousy, and egoism, etc. And, depending upon how we react to those, we attract various types of new karmas to our souls. No prudent person would like to attract bad karma and at certain stages any karma at all. It is not as easy as turning off a light switch but we have a choice to minimize our damage so that things would be more conducive for our social and spiritual uplift which should ultimately lead to salvation or liberation from this worldly life of any kind.

Contemplation

While we are in mood to be a better person we can do a little more contemplation and it would put on a different path.

Maitri Bhavana (Thinking of being a Friend), Pramod Bhavana (Thinking of Appreciation), Karuna Bhavana (Thinking of Compassion), Madhyastha Bhavana (Think to staying neutral or uninvolved).

The feeling of friendship brings love and respect for others. It also initiates a feeling of brotherhood among all and in turn leaves no room for harm or deceit with anybody. So by developing a friendship with all beings, we will avoid bad karma.

We admire the success of our friends, spiritual leaders. One of the most destructive forces in our lives is jealousy. However, friendship combined by admiration, destroys jealousy. As jealousy subsides, negative impulses are turned into positive ones, and in time, you will be at peace.

Instead of succeeding, many of our friends may be getting into trouble for things they should not be doing, and even those who are successful may be accumulating vices such as greed and ego. If such is the case then, they are not on the right path, and may they are weak, helpless, and in distress. At a time like this, you should show compassion towards them instead of being disgusted towards them or hating them. Show them a right path with patience, tolerance, and forgiveness and offer them the needed support. In this way, not only will you be avoiding bad karma, but so will your friends.

Life appears to be nothing but involvement. Sometimes life works out favourable and sometimes it does not. So when the things dont workout, instead of getting disappointed, angry, or more involved, think that I did my best to resolve the situation. If someone does not want to understand, then leave him/her alone without getting further involved. You should simply hope that one of these days, he/she may understand and change. By doing this, you will remain in equanimity, instead of provoking turmoil in your mind. When your mind stays neutral and uninvolved it keeps karma away.

If there is a goal, then there will be an achievement.

"Michchhami Dukkadam"

Aisa Des Hai Mera

I can never resist myself from standing in attention (obviously, in respect) by just listening to the melodious tune of "Vande Mataram".Or for that matter, any song that induces patriotism in it.

I really (and proudly) want to thank my school for inculcating this (and many other) values in me. No doubt, at least, all DSRVians might agree to this fact.

But just standing in respect for patriotic songs is not enough (though I do not oppose that, my heartfelt appreciation for those who respect). It should be a bit more than that.

As I am writing this note, I have so much thoughts in my mind, thoughts I want to think more, thoughts I want to share, thoughts I want to discuss, thoughts I want people to hear, thoughts I want to be enacted upon.......

Only the feeling of the vast problems our mother country is facing sends chilling vibes down my spine: terrorism (though a global threat, no less for India); anti-social activities (ya I have seen 'Once upon a time in Mumbaai'); unemployment (if not seen, see 'Roti Kapda aur Makaan'); poverty; wastage of resources like foodgrains and oil (recent news); and the continuously worsening political scenario of the country.....the list goes on and on.

But yes, I do want to mention the brighter side of our 63 years of independent India too. India is seen as the rising superpower in the near decade, Indians are reaching top positions in companies across the world, economic growth of India is fantastic, India government has its strong say on the nuclear disarmament in the United Nations..........this list is also increasing. Every feather on the hat has its own value for the country.

We all know the great Albert Einstein. Few people knew his inspiration. The words of the most intelligent man in the world "We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could have been made!" are no less than an achievement for us.

So, I hope that we dont let Einstein's words fail for more centuries to come and the country establishes itself better than ever. With these beautiful thoughts for the beautiful country, I sign off wishing you all Jai Hind....Vande Mataram...Do progress in life.....All of You....All the Best.....Vebs

My first BLOG

Well...This is a tribute to one of the most experienced phases of my (still..more to be experienced) life.
The starting two years of junior college after the brilliant success in school. We get to make new friends, no uniform or dress code (like in schools),we become free birds. No perfect schedule, no singing of "Vande Mataram" and "Jana Gana Mana", bunking lectures to watch movies, paying helluva of money to the ever growing population of coaching classes, preparing for engineering entrance exams.
Period.


Life really becomes confused in this transition phase. Our line of thinking changes from of a child to of an adult. From students, we become adults who are supposedly mature and responsible in life. Adults want to go ahead in life. A child wants to stay where he/she is and enjoy the moment. I personally have been a witness to how my mindset towards life changes. In school, i used to be pretty much sincere, hard-working and focused. I was that type of child who always wanted to see my parents getting happy for my results. Friendship was not at all my priority in that time. I preferred solitude over chatting with friends (yeah, even in school.......all who know me from school days can vouch for that. But now...I have become more of the friendlier species than ever...Hard work is important...but smart work is a better option. There are many other things in life that we need to see rather than just books, work, money and sincerity. No no...I am not saying that just leave them....but give some space to other things in life such as leisure, friends. The things which I have written in this note...some might agree, many might not agree...everyone has an opinion on a particular issue.It is just that I vented out my feelings to you guys about my experiences in life and the observations. All the best everyone.Thanks to all who have been a part of my life....