True to one's salt

Being true to his salt.

Loyalty and Honesty are words that are getting rather mauled up in the present age. Whatever happened to the established norms of loyalty and undiluted honesty because one had partaken “salt” from parents, families, friends and employers? Once we had taken the gift of sharing their “salt” we were bound to repay in kind; the elders gave us protection and the younger ones by service.

How principles, attitudes & mentality have changed. My younger brother who is not blood related, but I have been adopted as an elder brother so the tie is as strong, is a gold smith. He was doing very well with over 20 workers under his care. He is from the villages of Bengal and his workers mostly hail from there. My brother used to take orders from shops, execute them and that was that. It was simple, good honest work if you can ever think of a goldsmith as completely honest. But today, twenty years on, he has closed down his workshop. Why? Because the workers tend to run away with the material given to them for executing orders; 20 years ago this happened once in a blue moon, now it is rare to find a worker who would most probably not do it.

A young man from the forgotten corners of Bihar came in touch with me. He was good at computers repair and maintenance and kept my system in good form all the time. He wanted a credit card but did not have a permanent address so he asked me permission to show himself as living with me as a tenant. He got his credit card and for five years things were well. In the mean while the bank offered him enhanced credit of 150.000 rupees. He got tempted and used it up. In the meanwhile the boy got diagnosed with renal failure. His income came to nil. I had no inkling of it. When the bankers started chasing him for payment, then I learnt of what was happening. I asked the banker on what grounds had they given this guy so much credit? I told them I was just an address to receive his mails as he is always in the field and all correspondence is sent by special courier that requires the presence of somebody to receive. I have no idea about anything else. Now as far as I know, the boy has run back to his home somewhere in Bihar.

I feel that too much is being given too fast to people who have not been adequately “character wise” formed to receive the bounties. We have unleashed motorcycles and cars on the roads. Other facilities like mobile phones etc should have given mobility and communication ease to all. It has. Now the thieves and scoundrels are having a field day. Many who would have been otherwise too afraid to do anything but be decent citizens are now inspired by the gangsterism they see around them are taking it on as a profession. Even decent citizens let themselves go as you can see in road rage cases.

In contrast my mother tells me of a story from her childhood. The accountant who was responsible for collecting taxes used to go about alone in the horse buggy with another man. One evening it was getting late and the accountant was getting jittery as they would have to pass through a lonely stretch which was known for its dacoits. He kept on telling the driver to hurry and go faster but the other guy was just not paying heed. The poor accountant became certain that his time had come and he would suffer for ever in purgatory for letting his master down. Right in the middle of nowhere the buggy came to a stop. The accountant hollered to his companion that he was being untrue to his salt and what a mean fate has brought them together. The other guy just got down, gave a shout or two and soon there were men surrounding them. The accountant was shaking like a jelly. Guess what the driver did? He asked two of the men to accompany them till the town as there was a huge amount of cash to be protected! And they all reached home safely.

Another story my mother relates is about a raid by dacoits at her sister’s in-laws. The youngest child bride came weeping to the chief of the dacoits imploring him “Uncle, please do not take my things. My mother in law will kill me”. His response was
“Well now that you have called me uncle I am duty bound to protect you. Don’t worry”. He then told his lieutenants to leave anything belonging to this child bride alone and while leaving admonished the mother in law – “If, even a hair of this girl is ever harmed, I shall come back and settle scores!”

This was what it meant to be true to his salt and one’s own.

Shopping for color

My artist friends and I have got together to launch this Shop to promote our work.
Please visit this link.
http://sites.google.com/site/artnershipshop/
Give us your opinion/suggestions and critique.
ALSO: most important please pass this link to all your friends and contacts so that we get a wider exposure. We shall be very grateful.
The site is being updated continuously.

Listening to the Universe

Listening to the Universe.


This conversation started when I posted the paragraph below on my group site:
Ever been on the verge of finishing a jigsaw puzzle only to discover the last piece has gone missing? And remember how frustrating it feels to not find it after hours of searching, only to discover it a day later hiding under the sofa's dust ruffle? A small but possibly life-changing piece of your own personal puzzle will fall into place, but only when you're not hunting for it. Don't try and force this; it'll happen quite nicely on its own.


Thanks & Regards
PK :

Cora:
Then what about age old wisdom 'seek and ye shall find'.

Aren’t all of life's paybacks about how much of a doer than a bystander you are?

PK:
There is a time for action and repose.
Time for reaching out and time for assimilation.
Let the Universe also be a partner in your life.

Cora:
What’s more gratifying? Putting your wits to test and figuring out the last jigsaw piece or stumbling across it?

You’ve hit a spot I’ve been exploring for months. Do the universe and its energies actually connive to assist you in your quest?


PK:
The Universe would if it could.
It is gratifying for the ego to think that it is the doer.

But the ego would not achieve much if the universe did not help and was not working in the background. Most often we are so busy interfering that the poor Universe is not able to help even it wants to.

Just ask this question?

How much of your life has been due to your own effort - your birth, your name, choice of place, brothers/sisters, friends, choice of opportunities etc. Things are already laid out to a plan. You have the choice to say yes or no at every moment. That's all.

Cora & PK together:
I give my answer along side yours below:



Cora: I’ve always been a believer in atheism. Thus there is no room for luck, fate, fortune, destiny, superstition, religion, god in my scheme of things.

PK: Fine let's base our conversation on this belief. But then why block or limit yourself by any belief? A belief maybe true or not; so let's go by our experiences. Let us say you get introduced to somebody at the office - then you meet the person again. Out of the blue an offer of promotion and change is made which is to your liking. Now this situation is not of your making although your charm and attitudes would have been greatly the elements that made it happen.
How would you explain the chance meeting?

Cora: So what I'm trying to say is that much of what happens in anyone's life is pretty much either their own doing (being lazy or arrogant), or someone else's action (being opportunistic or large-hearted) or has a scientific explanation to it (drought, famine, etc)

PK: These are definitely very important factors and behind all action taken or not taken. But where did the situation come from in the first place wherein these factors came into play?

Cora: When I started hearing about the universe's energies i didn't find any scientific evaluation for this theory nor any human contribution and hence my line of questioning.

PK: Science? Its purview is limited to the material world? How can it explain everything? That would make every scientist into an absolute Brahma!



Cora:
If we go by this example, then the answer for me is rather simple.

The person joined my company out of his/her willingness or someone else's decision (i strongly believe that when people say 'I didn't decide about it, things just fell into place" it means that someone else has acted for you)

The 'chance' meeting is 2 people's intentions and efforts to meet. Here again I could've chosen to avoid meeting the person due to other issues at hand. By choosing to meet this 'influential' person and appearing interested and enthusiastic I have favored a good result for myself. Thankfully for me the other person has also accepted it in the same attitude and reciprocated positively. Let’s accept it, unless there is a vested interest from either parties, promotions and moves don't come around at the drop of a hat. So it comes to conclude that all things that happen are on accord of your doing or someone else's or scientific. There’s no such thing as the 'chance' meeting or the 'favorable' time.

Situations come from thought and action leading to more thought and action and situations.

If science or man or nature doesn't have an answer to the theory of universal energy, then i think what we mean is the collective energy of human thought and action.

Brahma and science, at the end of the day, are man's discoveries, one to bow before and the other to rule with.

PK:
If you are comfortable with this then it is quite the right explanation

Cora:
Can you site a personal example where you believe you or anyone around had no hand in the situation that came upon you?

PK:
It is how you take it. There is always a chain of action and reaction that can be traced in every event. It is how you interpret it; which depends on your beliefs.
People believed the earth is flat or the earth is the centre of the solar system etc. Fine. It did not change anything.
All actions and results are not immediate and therefore not obvious. The human mind tends to see only the obvious.
But when gratitude seeps into your character, you become more generous in your thinking. You see a bigger and vaster field of action.
As for examples, it would be difficult to show you the Universe at work because you would find excuses and reasons not to see it in your present frame of mind.

Let me give you some instances anyway:
I was living alone. No telephone. No servants. One day I suddenly get 104 fever and am absolutely incapacitated. I did not have the ready cash to go to a doctor in hand (these were the times when there were no ATMs or mobiles)... I was there, in bed and asking for the Universe to work it out. A friend, whom I knew only randomly and who had never visited me before, appeared in his car, took me to a doctor, took care of all the money part, brought me back and went away. He has never visited me again.

Once I was just recovering from a bout of food poisoning. I desired to eat a rassagolla. The feeling just happened to be there. A friend came by with rassagollas. Just like that.

I attribute it to the Universe. You can attribute the incidences to your own logic. I don’t think it matters one way or the other to the Universe.


Cora:
I'm undergoing a life-altering phase right now. No amount of thought and action seems to help. I would like to explore if I sit back and let the universe take over, will things be sorted out. It’s that missing piece of the puzzle that I'm desperately hunting for.

Needless to say I do not hold your thought responsible if this doesn't turn out true for me. Like you said it could just be a matter of core belief.

Thanks a ton, for this perspective Pradeep. I do hope someday I can see the world through your shades too. Cause though I can't fully accept it right now, it does seem quite enlightening.


PK:
First feel grateful for all the positive things you have.
Then stop to rest for a while in the pursuance of your goals.
To listen to the Universe, Silence is needed.
The din in your head has to be quietened.