Thought 173: Timely action is important

Take, for instance, a student who snoozes all through a semester. When the exams are only a few days away, he finds that he has a lot of work to do. Worry takes over at this stage. Worry does not allow him to concentrate on his studies even at this stage. This increases his worry even further. Expectedly, he does not do too well in the exams. This is a typical scenario when you become alive to events only when it is too late. Here, you are running your life - you are not managing it. You have lost control. You cannot prevent events happening when you come to know about them when it is too late. It is said that some people make things happen, some others watch things happening and the rest ask, "what happened?" You allow a situation to build progressively to a level, when you get frightened by it - and you become stunned into inaction. You allow a crisis to build up and then, feel overwhelmed by it; the Frankenstein syndrome. Human endeavor seems constantly involved in either committing a mistake or correcting a mistake. This is because people are either scared to think or they are plain lazy. The next thought is about “We are all transceivers”

Thought 172: This world is the greatest automated system (Continued)

This universe is the greatest automated system! Every thing happens automatically, in accordance with an absolutely impartial system of dispensation. Call this as divine dispensation or by any other name that you will, but it is automatic, impartial, universal and certain.

In any automated system, there is no room for inconsistency. The system cannot function automatically, if there is an inconsistency. It is impossible to conceive that a robot or computer, controlling a system, will act in one manner under a given set of circumstances at one time and will act differently to an identical set of circumstances at some other time. Systems with human intervention can be inconsistent but not automated systems. Unlike the human justice systems, in the divine justice system of the universe, there is no magistrate personally watching over each of our actions and dispensing justice. Every thing happens automatically, consistently and surely. No mistakes ever take place here. To err may be human - but the good lord does not make mistakes. He is perfect.

We live in a world that is governed by laws, which are not created by any one in this world. Action and the fruits of action - cause and effect - are governed by laws, which, we may attempt to understand, but never hope to change or modify. The author of these laws is Isvara (the lord who is also the author of this world). He processes all actions in accordance with his laws and delivers the result to us - also in accordance with his laws automatically. Although you have full choice in the action, you have none at all in the result - the result is governed by laws, over which you have no control.

The next thought is about “Timely action is important”

Thought 171: This world is the greatest automated system

The world is the greatest automated system. The basic principle governing this automation is the cause and effect principle. Cause and effect are not stand-alone systems. If one is present, the other is definitely there. When there is a cause, the effect is surely there – there can never be any effect without a cause. The effect happens automatically when the cause is there.

Every Karma (action) is the cause and every experience that you get in life is the effect of some Karma that you performed earlier. A Karma signifies not only your physical actions, but also your thinking and speaking. All of them produce results for you.

Every Karma produces a result for you - automatically. For instance, when you jump out of the window from the 10th floor of a building (without the aid of technology, of course), you get hurt (which is the effect) – and this is certain to happen every time you jump out of the window. The Karma is the cause and the result (effect) of this Karma is your getting hurt. The effect occurs automatically, when a cause exists.

This is not a rule made by any one here. We may try to understand this rule but can never hope to change or modify it in any way. When a Karma is performed, the fruits of Karma are inevitable and inescapable. Once you perform a Karma, you cannot refuse to receive its result. In fact once a Karma is performed, the result is automatically released – in the same way that a bullet is released as soon as you fire a rifle.

You are experiencing the results of your past Karmas now. Your present Karmas decide what you will get in the future. If you are having good life such as a good job, a lot of money, good spouse, good children, etc, it is the result of good Karmas performed by you earlier. If you want good results in future also, make sure that your present Karmas are also such that produce good results for you. Performing Karmas based on anger, hatred, jealousy, selfishness, arrogance, etc and expecting that you will get good results in future is a fallacy. It never happens.

The next thought is also about “This world is the greatest automated system (Continued)”

Thought 170: If you want to gain something, you must be prepared to lose something else.

The Mahaa Bhaarat battle was about to start. Arjuna’s chariot was placed between the two opposing armies. After seeing Bhishma, Drona and other close relatives and well-wishers, Arjuna became very despondent – and depressed. How could he kill such noble and venerable persons? If he does not kill them, he cannot win the war – claim his rightful kingdom, which Duryodhana annexed and would not give back without a fight. What should he do in such a situation?

The impending war taught Arjuna that in the relative world, any gain must also involve a loss. By fighting, he would gain his kingdom, but would lose his family. By fleeing the battlefield, he would save his loved ones, but he must sacrifice his fame, which he built up so painstakingly over a life time.

Such conflicting situations arise in every life.

For instance, I was offered an opportunity to become the deputy director of National Laboratory at Delhi in charge of electronic testing – a very prestigious office. At that time, my three sons, Srinath, Vijay and Rajanikanth, were studying engineering courses – at Mysore/Suratkal. Thammu (my foster son) was still in middle school and Sashi, my daughter, was in Intermediate class (12th standard) at Bangalore. Should I accept this offer and shift the last two children to Delhi at this stage?

I felt that shifting Sashi and Thammu to schools/colleges at Delhi was going to disrupt their education to some extent – apart from going too far away from Mysore and Suratkal, where the other children were studying. I felt that Srinath, Vijay and Rajanikanth needed me to be nearer – no more than a night’s journey away from their colleges.

I declined the offer, since I felt that the proper education of my children was a higher priority to me than the advancement of my career. Later, the same office was elevated as the Secretary General in the department of electronics in the government of India – a more prestigious post. However I never regretted my decision. I was also offered the top most place in the Institute of Packaging at Bombay – and I also declined it for the same reasons.

In general, if you want to gain something, you must be prepared to lose something else.

Either of the above conflicting options could be equally wrong or equally right. Since we know that every decision has consequences, we must be prepared for the consequences of either of the options. In such situations, we must be prepared to lose something, if our decision turns out to be wrong. A wavering mind never gains anything, other than unnecessary agony to self and others in the family. Be decisive and take responsibility for your decisions.

The next is about “This world is the greatest automated system”

Thought 169: Criticizing others is not good for you

Some people are in the habit of criticizing others - even for trifling mistakes. Criticizing with a view to finding fault is not good – it hurts the self-esteem of the other person. When a person is hurt, he never learns; he gets into the defensive mode.

Pointing out mistakes with the intention of making the person improve is OK, provided of course, the other person perceives it as such - positively. However, if he views it negatively, it would only result in eroding his self-esteem.

Most people, who are in the habit of criticizing even for small errors, never think of complimenting a person, even for jobs well done. If you do not compliment excellence, you should not comment on shoddiness also.

Never let go an opportunity to complement people for their accomplishments, however, trifling they are. There is nothing like a compliment to raise one’s self esteem.

The next thought is about “If you want to gain something, you must be prepared to lose something else”.

Thought 168: You be fair to the world but do not be disappointed if the world is not fair to you

You be fair to the world. Also, you teach the world to be fair to you – whenever you can do so. Even then, if the world is not fair towards you, do not feel disappointed. Mother Theresa never felt disappointed. “That is the nature of the world” says Swami Vivekananda. Many persons tried to reform the world. Although it is a very difficult task, they still tried. Swamiji says that it is like trying to straighten the tail of a dog. The moment you remove your hand from the tail, however, the tail becomes crooked as before. All the same, the Swamiji says “you must try to make this world a better place to live in; you must not give up your efforts because of the initial setbacks. Whether it is good for the world or not, it is certainly good for you - to try to reform the world. It makes you a better person”.

Remember, evil and good always coexisted in this world right from the beginning. Of course, ultimately, it is only the good, which will triumph; the villains get destroyed in the end by the efforts of the hero. Although initially, the evil may appear to have gained the upper hand, in the end, it always gets destroyed. If evil were to win in the end, who will prefer to be good in this world; every one wants to win! This is the history of the world – and the basic theme of every story in the world in every language. The villains get crushed in the end - and the hero emerges triumphantly somehow in the end.

The next thought is about “Criticizing others is not good for you”