Swami Vivekananda on Attachment: Be “unattached”; let things work; let brain centres work; work incessantly, but let not a ripple conquer the mind. To attain this unattachment is almost a life-work. Attachment comes only where we expect a return. If working like slaves results in selfishness and attachment, working as master of our own mind … Read more
I read this much-celebrated book ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’ by Timothy Ferriss lately. Perhaps it is intended for a younger audience but for me, a writer close to fifty after twenty five years of corporate life, most of the details in the book were too much work to read. I found only the last section … Read more
When I first started writing, more than the actual writing, I spent a lot of time on reading about writing. Later, after reading a lot about writing, I realised that my time is best spent in the actual writing, going forward. But at that point in time, when I was new to writing, publishing and … Read more
Swami Vivekananda on Misery: All thought of obtaining return for the work we do hinders our spiritual progress; nay, in the end it brings misery. Never will unhappiness or misery come through work done without attachment. Misery comes through attachment, not through work. As soon as we identify ourselves with the work we do, we … Read more
One of the striking features of Bheeshma’s life was that he had the benediction to choose his time of death. One might feel that this was a blessing, which in fact it was. But the other side of it also meant that unlike others who have to wait for death irrespective of what happens in … Read more
At 4 PM Sri heard the thud of the basketball on the external wall of his house, and it shook him. He tried to neglect it, but he couldn’t. He tried to focus on his work, but he couldn’t concentrate. The basketball thuds kept getting louder. The screams of the boys accompanied the thuds. The … Read more
Swami Vivekananda on Freedom Be at rest, be free, and work. This kind of freedom is a very hard thing to attain. Give up all fruits of work; do good for its own sake; then alone will come perfect non-attachment. The bonds of the heart will thus break, and we shall reap perfect freedom. Wherever … Read more
At the Rajasooya Yagna of Yudhishthira, there was a ritual to provide arghya to start the sacrifice. What that meant was that someone deserving had to be chosen, whose feet the king would wash, among other things, as a mark of obeisance and respect. Bheeshma along with Sahadeva suggested that Krishna be that person, as … Read more
Mrs R stepped out and, with her, followed the dog that she had named Dash because he ran so fast. Mrs R stepped out of the apartment gate. That is because she remembered that her son had told her that the community had prohibited feeding stray dogs within its compound. “Come Dash,” Mrs R said, … Read more