Saturday, September 27, 2008

Decision Making













A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the rest on the operational track.

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make.................
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Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child.You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us every day. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are.

The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

'Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right.'

Friday, September 26, 2008

My 15 Traits

1. I like to work independently
2. I value freedom in my life affairs
3. I crave recognition in life
4. I like to be creative in whatever work I do
5. I value close relationships highly
6. I believe in openness and candor
7. I am a very emotional person
8. I get angry very easily
9. I have a positive outlook in life
10. I wish to have fulfilling relationships in life
11. I am prone to bouts of depression
12. I am a very competitive person and like to take risks in life
13. I am a very energetic person
14. I am extroverted in nature
15. I am generally a very cheerful person

When Charismatic Leaders are at their worst (My Weaknesses)

• If we are in danger, we may brutally destroy everything that has not conformed to our will rather than surrender to anyone else
• We can be Vengeful, barbaric, murderous
• We develop delusional ideas about their power, invincibility, and ability to prevail
• We can have megalomania, feeling omnipotent, invulnerable. Recklessly over-extending self for something we want to do
• We will defy any attempt to control us and become completely ruthless, dictatorial-"might makes right."
• We become highly combative and intimidating to get our way: confrontational, belligerent, creating adversarial relationships
• For us everything is a test of wills, and we will not back down
• We use threats and reprisals to get obedience from others, to keep others off balance and insecure

When Charismatic Leaders are at their best (My Strengths)

• We become self-restrained and magnanimous, merciful and forbearing, mastering self through their self-surrender to a higher authority
• We are Courageous, willing to put self in serious jeopardy to achieve their vision and have a lasting influence
• We will probably achieve true heroism and historical greatness
• We are Self-assertive, self-confident, and strong: have learned to stand up for what they need and want
• We have a resourceful, "can do" attitude and passionate inner drive
• We are decisive, authoritative, and commanding: the natural leader others look up to
• We take initiative, make things happen: champion people, provider, protective, and honorable, carrying others with their strength

How do I deal with Negative Emotions

• I like to do what I want to do. If I am doing that I will surely be happy.
• I like to drift towards close people when I am feeling upset or angry. I like to be with them as I know they will be there for me when I require them and will take care of me. These are generally my very close friends.
• I like to listen to a multitude of music. It differs for different moods. When I am unhappy I like to listen to cheerful soft music. This makes me feel relaxed and keeps me composed.
• I also write songs when I am in a really bad mood. This diverts my mind from the reasons for my anger and keeps me occupied for sometime so that anger can ebb away.
• If I am very upset, I like to cry also. I feel that crying can be very helpful when we want to wash away our emotions. It gives us a very relaxed feeling like that of a dam which has burst and the water is now flowing serenely. It gives you the chance to objectively reflect on the immediate past.

Charismatic Leader - An Introduction

Leader, Protector, Challenger - Enneagram Eights are motivated by justice and the desire to be in the right. They worry about self-protection and control. They are natural leaders, who can be capable and passionate or dictatorially manipulative, ruthless, and willing to destroy anything in their way. Eights seek control over their own life and their own destiny and fear being harmed or controlled by others. The corresponding "deadly sin" of the Eight is Lust, while the Eight's "holy idea" or essence is Holy Truth. Under stress, Eights express qualities of the Five, and when flourishing, they express qualities of the Two.

THE CHALLENGER
Enneagram Type Eight

The Powerful, Dominating Type:
Self-Confident, Decisive, Willful, and Confrontational

Characteristics
• Passion: Lust
• Fixation: Vengeance
• Virtue: Innocence
• Holy Idea: Holy Truth
• Basic Fear: Of being harmed or controlled by others
• Basic Desire: To protect themselves (to be in control of their life and destiny)

Happiness Equation – What brings Happiness to me?

Happiness = (3P + 5E) * H10

Where,

P equals Personal characteristics such as outlook on life, resilience and adaptability.

E stands for Existence needs such as health, money and friends.

H is for Higher order needs like a sense of humour, ambitions and self esteem.

My happiness equation is like that because –


  1. I have a pretty high expectation that my future is very good and I will be able to adapt to any situation and challenge that is thrown at me. I will be strong in the face of any adversity that comes my way and will be able to succeed in spite of them. Doing this will make me happy thus I have multiplied P by 3. I would like to increase my happiness by 3 times when I am tempted by the above mentioned characteristics.


  1. E has a higher value for me in the happiness equation as I value my health and longetivity over a lot of other things. Money is also very very important to me and my personal state of happiness. The more the money, the higher is my happiness although this is to a certain extent. After that it becomes immaterial how much I have as whatever I have will be sufficient to satisfy me. Again my life very much revolves around friends. I will be dead if I don’t have friends or I am told to live a life alone. I want to have a large number of close friends with myself in my hour of need and also when I am happy. Due to all these reason I have multiplied my E by 5 as friends, money and long life will bring me greatest of pleasures, definitely more than the characteristics of P.


  1. What brings me the greatest pleasure above anything else is my personal growth, my ambitions and the visualization of myself seeing them happening in my dreams and to a certain extent in front of my eyes. I probably am one of the most ambitious people around. I want everything I this world to be mine. Although I realize that for that to happen, I will need to work hard and I am prepared to do that. My need for recognition in this world is very high. I want to be recognized as one of the great people in the modern times and all my actions are self directed towards that course. Again humour is extremely important in my life as that is what enriches my life. Because I am so ambitious, I can get depressed or angry very easily. To not let this happen, I rely on humour to make myself smile and keep myself happy. Due to these reasons I have given H the most weightage, it is an exponential weightage as for every combination of P and E combined as mentioned above I want my life to be enriched by H ten times over exponentially. Only then will I be happy probably.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Miles to go before i Sleep...

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This road between Bhubaneshwar and Puri was one of the most beautiful roads i have seen. An everlasting avenue which actually reminds you of the great poem "Miles to go before i sleep...."

Natural Pearls

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The pictures of these pearls were taken on an island on Chilka Lake in the Orissa state of India. There was a quaint temple on the island and some people were selling these pearls next to it. Infact, you could choose the oysters and they would break it open in front of you to show you the pearl. It was your lucky day, if you got a perfect one!!

Puri in the Evening

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This is a picture of the Puri beach and no, i have not used any lenses or editing tools to capture this image. It is exactly the way my camera caught the image. Infact, its actually extremely beautiful...You should go see it with your own eyes...

Making Waves

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The great Chilka Lake - Trust me...Its huge!!

That's an Irrawaddy Dolphin - Chilka Lake

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A very rare sight indeed, by some accounts only 50 of them are still left in India's Chilka lake.
For more information, click on the link...

The Sea & The Sky - Without Boundaries

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The Sea and the Sky converge together at the horizon in this amazing palette of colours.
Nature...the more you read it...the more it makes you wonder and the more it makes you fall in Love with it!!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Embers

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Have you ever wondered how the word fire is at the heart of every revolution or great change that happens among us. Even water can be fiery...
Think about the fact that without the so called fire in your heart, there would be no evolution at all. We would always remain content with whatever we have and change would just not exist...

Vibrant Gujarat in XL

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The wall in GH1: 413

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Look at the quote on the wall:

"Nothing exists except atoms and empty space; everything else is opinion"
Democritus - Greek philosopher (460 BC - 370 BC)

Serenity closer Home - Dimna & Dalma before sunrise

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Conversations with an Autodriver/ God

A couple of days back, while coming back late from dinner, i had to take one of those nefarious Bangalore autos. Anyways, to cut to the point the driver tried a semblance of conversation while i gave him the cold shoulder not because i am like that but because i was too tired by that point of time. When we reached home he asked for Rs 75 as the fare and i gave him a Rs 100 note.

I am not sure why but i suddenly asked him how does he manage to drive the auto in the night if he also drives it in the day. He told me then that he has a daughter's wedding coming up in a months time and he wants to give her the beast possible wedding he could afford. I just returned the change back to him that moment saying that celebrate your daughter's wedding well. He seemed genuinely surprised and after thanking me, left the place.

I came upstairs and a nagging thought was there in my mind, why didn't i give him some more money in case i wanted to help him. Strangely i think i should not have paid him more as the money i give him should not be looked at as alms. I think that would have hurt his ego since this guy is trying to earn an honest income by working hard.

This kind of hit home in a different way. Just think doesn't god also work in the same way. If we work hard, we get the fruits of our labor and some time luck just grants us a bit more. It most often doesn't grant us something very extravagant or something that we don't deserve. At least i would like to believe so.

I am not sure but i think this was God's way of telling me that Dude...stop cribbing...u can get all that you want...just start walking towards it....

Friday, September 12, 2008

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Play of Light...

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The 'most' Important drink ;-)



Pure Liquid - Gold !!
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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Someone's famous words...My Belief

  • With reasonable men I will reason; with humane men I will plea; but to tyrants I will give no quarter, nor waste arguments where they will certainly be lost.
  • I am in earnest; I will not equivocate; I will not excuse; I will not retreat a single inch; and I will be heard.
  • That which is not just is not law.

William Lloyd Garrison
US abolitionist & editor (1805 - 1879)

It's all a Joke-'er'!!

"Do I really look like a man with a plan, Harvey? I don't have a plan. The mob has plans, the cops have plans. You know what I am, Harvey? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. I just *do* things. I'm a wrench in the gears. I *hate* plans. Yours, theirs, everyone's. Maroni has plans. Gordon has plans. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I am not a schemer. I show schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. So when I say that what happened to you and your girlfriend wasn't personal, you know I'm telling the truth. It's a schemer who put you where you are. You were a schemer. You had plans. Look where it got you. I just did what I do best-I took your plan and turned it on itself. Look what I have done to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple bullets. Nobody panics when the expected people get killed. Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plans are horrifying. If I tell the press that tomorrow a gangbanger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will get blown up, nobody panics. But when I say one little old mayor will die, everyone loses their minds! Introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I am an agent of chaos. And you know the thing about chaos, Harvey? It's fair.

” The Joker in "The Dark Knight"

Monday, September 8, 2008

Time defined !!

We choose starting points, when in truth every moment exists in the context of every single moment throughout time that precedes and follows it. Time is a tapestry with neither beginning nor end. We like to think stories start at a single point, but in truth, its all one eternal tale....

- The Sadhu, Gotham Chopra - Virgin Comics