Swami Sharanam...

Yesterday was a very eventful day of my life. The Bank where I work was to be handled by me alone. By 'alone" I mean that I had to handle all the branch related decisions all by my self and the stakes were huge. The mind was super occupied in the work, yet I was getting calls for arranging a wonderful workshop called Math-Magikk, that dispells all the fear regarding maths. By the time the banking hours ended, I was already jittery. All I needed was a sound sleep before I could venture into any further activity.

Even an hour of sleep had not sufficed the uneasy mind. So I decided to pack my armoury needed for seva and started organising the workshop. Atleast, I could distract my mind from itelf??!!?? The results were not as expected. Unfortunately the workshop had to be postponed due to insufficient participants! Quite annoyed by the outcome, I sat for meditation. By how could I meditate?? My mind was not ready to settle down. Was it not annoyed?? (BTW, Annoyed for what?? something so small!!) Then I decided to go to a place where my disturbed mind could meet its match. Aiyappa Bhajan Mandal!! I had initially decided to attend only half hour from 9:15pm to 9:45pm. But I finally left that place after having scrumptious prasadam dinner at 11pm. All was to be taken care by Aiyappa (Read Guruji). That night gave me answers to many doubts. After meditation I had read a knowl sheet on Shaucha and Aschaucha (Vol 1, page 38 New Edition), It was the most apt topic for me!!

Later at night I was made to realise that if I live life by being emotional then my life is bound to be miserable. One must not be emotional, instead one should be devotional. That will take care of all the miseries.

I had to write this down before I could forget what I realised!!

J G D

Till now...

Since I started understanding the dynamics of Art of Living as an art, I have deep respect and admiration towards guruji.

Till now... I always wanted (wished) to be like him. I was emulating his outward expression. What is more important is the inner dynamism and truthfulness (Sincerity).

Till now... I always used to think that I will talk less. But hardly did I ever realise that it is not the quantity of talk that's important, it is the quality. If the quality is high even a single word is enough. More the time I devote to fruitful seva, less is the need to talk.

Till now... I wanted to implement many knowledge points. But I do not know how many I have really even realised. Actually, to implement one has to stop planning, and just plunge.

Till now... I used to think that only by being swami or rishi or something of those kind, I will preogess in spirituality. But as the whole story of ashtavakra goes, it was the king who got enlightened, the very king who cannot giveup his duties, that very king could get enlightened and for that he did not have to give up his kingly responsibilities.


A person asked guruji how to make one's life satisfactory. HIS answer was, for that you need three factories. ICE Factory in mind, Sweet Factory on tongue, and compassion factory in heart.

Friends for hire

Social networking sites were built with the intention of connecting people across the globe. Most of my friends who now are staying in different states of India, some are in States (US), I could connect with them through orkut and face book. What an invention these social networking sites are?!?! I used to think. But today, due to networking at lightening speed, a people are glued to the internet and computer for most of their time. The habit of going out with friends (Hang outs) are becoming a rare phenomenon these days. Recently, I read an article saying that you can have friends for hire. I had never dreamed during my adult life that humans will have to "hire" a pal or buddy. 

Human beings are social animals. Social interaction is very natural. When two or more people come together, under normal circumstances, people start interacting. They may start with a simple HI ! But today if two or more people come together there is an ice-wall between them. Due to excessive use of computers and social interaction sites, humans have forgotten to greet fellow human beings with simple hi or how are you. 

Today, you can easily search for site that offer you friends on hire. They are also priced at competitive rates! But I always wonder how will it be possible for anyone, who have lost their socializing abilities to interact with their 'hired' friend? The core problem is inability to interact socially, not inability to find friends!

More over, friends hold a special place in human world! There are few things that you can share with your parents, your siblings, your children, your spouse. But what you share with your friends you cannot share it with others mentioned above! By hiring a person, you have bought their valuable time so that the hired pal can spend some time with you but have you gained that trust and confidence? Can you share the deepest desires feelings or other personal issues? Even if you share your secrets, there is a constant fear in the subconscious that secrets confided with the hired pal could be misused

If one decided not to share his personal feelings then what is the use of hiring a buddy? True buddies share all the happiness and sorrow with you. They are there with you in the times of trouble!

In todays world what is actually needed is human values. Working and being with machines, we too have become inhuman and do inhumane deeds. Human beings are to be loved and other objects are to be used. But today we use human beings and love objects. That's where the problem creeps in!

Don't you agree??

Part Time Sleaze?

Since May 27, I have been aggressively hunting for a job with a suitable profile for my highly qualified status. Not that I am getting no calls for interviews, but the jobs being offered are not suitable for my profile. So meanwhile, I started hunting for part time jobs so that till I land on the desired job of Equity analyst, I get a chance to monetize my vacant time. Thus started the procedure of charting out a fresh CV that spoke more on my writing talents. I was keen on fielding jobs related to content writing. It has been two weeks since I started on this new venture. Half of the jobs I applied do not exist in reality. Those that exist want the candidate to work full time. Salary is so low that even peanuts seem to be a luxury product.

I also looked up part time jobs in classifieds and newspapers that announce vacancies. I was not a bit surprised that all the part time jobs in newspapers and online classifieds are 100% bogus. If the salaries they quote in the news ads were really true then why would people travel in the crowded trains and buses to earn half the amount they quote?? One ad claimed that their "Victim" could earn INR.50,000/- pm!!

Hey friends and readers, I have researched thoroughly what I am writing on! All the jobs that talk about work from home, doing envelope stuffing, craft assembly, or other tasks where you are (supposedly) paid by a company as an employee are all frauds. I have come across two sites that will describe in detail how those frauds work! http://bit.ly/9LPy1T   and http://bit.ly/beuMXL

Not every part time job is a scam, but today the situation in India is such that one is ready to work full time for a part time wages. Then why would an employer think of hiring a part time worker?

In universities abroad, students cannot afford the accommodation, medical expenses and tuition fees, so the student goes for the part time work at libraries, does medical billing work, or other small jobs. But in India, a student becomes suspicious hearing the part time job! In India, most of the part time job offers are con-jobs a way of defrauding and cheating people of money! It is nice to earn while you learn but there are better ways to do it!

More articles on jobs that can be done to afford your education, and entertainment expenses soon.

Money Mantra - Part I of IV

Last week I was shopping for new clothes with my friend. I was done with my shopping but my friend could not get clothes that suited his taste. So as we moved through the market, I observed an attitude of people, a behaviour that moved in patterns. I saw something very interesting!

On the basis of observation I categorised people in three names. They are:
Poor-person consciousness(PPC) These people need not be actually poor. Their bank account may have Lakhs of rupees but it does not matter. Such people will always hunt for price list first. Then they look at the cheapest price. These people are least bothered about quality. They just want that product at cheapest possible price. One thing that must must not be forgotten and that is PPC is just a attitude of mind and it can change anytime. Here the main issue is the people with PPC will ask the price of the product. Hearing the price the person compares it with the amount in their wallet or in bank account. If it is not affordable then the person with PPC will ask for products of lower price range. They are ready to compromise on the quality front.

Rich-person Consciousness (RPC) These people need not be rich actually! I know that there may be confusion in your mind. PPC's may not be poor and RPC need not be rich. That's simply because here I am not talking about the financial status of the person concerned. It's the mental attitude that we are focusing on!

A RPC will go to a shop and straight away buy a product with the quoted price. Person may bargain a little bit but will buy with no questions asked. It does not mean that the purchasing will be over in few minutes. The person may spend as much time in the shop till the person finds the product that he or she needs. The person may be buying from his own money or borrowed money but is not disturbed by the price tag. Most of these people have someone else to fund their purchases! These are Care-Free buyers

Wealthy-person Consciousness (WPC) These type of people CAN be rich or poor. The essential difference is a person with WPC will seek a product he or she wants. If the price is with in the budget then fine, else the person will stat thinking how to get more funds to afford the product? That's what make these type of people outstanding. Such people are rare in life. Most of the time you will get to see people with PPC or RPC. People with WPC have a spirit of an entrepreneur. They will not settle for less but will work out a way to afford what they want. They will spend in the cycle of 60-30-10!

What is 60-30-10? Well, wait for next blog on the spending cycles.

This is the part one of the four parts series of Money Mantra!
O.A.K.

Back at Blogging

Last blog was supposed to be my last blog. But I think that loss of words was just a phase I was undergoing in my life. I was not dejected or depressed. Nor was I heart-broken or anything remorseful. It was the silence of contentment. These are the moments one should cherish in life full 'coz they rarely come in one's life!

Well I plan to change the Blog Title. OffShoot sounds too off.. So I decided to shoot it!! Maybe I even keep it.. till I find a better words. In the case of Blog Title... I am really at loss of words!

All the time, I was writing this blog for others to read. Well, I now have to say that from now on, I am going to write articles only for my personal leisure and relaxation. Kinda Personal Diary, but readable by people! I am not interested in increasing readership base of my blog. This blog will just be a space where I will be expressing my thought in words. That's all.



P.S. Now a days I am keen on tracking the stock market. So do expect more articles on economics!

My Final Words

Well friends this is my last post on blogspot.com.

Actually I am at loss of words. I changed my blogs appearance change the theme on which my blog was based. I changed almost every aspect of my style of blogging. Now I feel that I have written enough.

I may start blogging in future, if i get something to write on more frequently. Till then ..Taadaaaa...

Dog who loves protesting

The Guardian newspapers covered a story which says that there is a dog in Greece that has been attending all the street protests since past two years! And it was seen again the the recent protest that Greek people did against the austerity drive formulated by the govt. of Greece.

Check it out at this link 
The page will open to a slide-show, or you can manually go through the 14 pics of the dog. That dogs really having a day!

Most odd places to sleep

This is a link from Reuters which is a slide-show of people sleeping in odd places.

Click or copy paste this link. 
http://www.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=USRTR2D0HW#a=1

Courtesy: Reuters

Newton said, "I am Pascal."

Once Einstein and Newton were playing hide and seek. Einstein was the seeker. Newton did not hide instead he stood on a square of exactly 1 square meter. Einstein then found him. Newton said, "no, you did not find me. I, newton, am standing over 1 square meter area. so newton upon 1 sq m = N/Sq.m = Pascal. I am Pascal!!! he heee heee

Breaking News: Ooops! it's all broken...

Breaking News is the 21st century lexicon. I did one hour research on the web about how this word first came to use. The CNN guys started it to get peoples attention to a really bad news. In the initial days of its usage, the word would flash once or twice a week when a plane would crash or a commercial complex would catch fire. Mostly these types of news would be freshly baked ones.

Now a days, most loved word in the red background flashes even during 5am and this news would mostly be 2 to 3 days old!! On one of the channel, They were showing videos from youtube.com and the breaking news flashed below the screen. I read the flashing message. It said that the news channel had discovered that a dog could sing with the master playing piano. I was aghast with all that was going on. I don't know what to call it? Plagiarism or fools play? Something that's on a video channel that they download and show it publicly claiming that they have covered the news. Gosh! when will the media industry report real news.

Who's really bothered to know about the minister dozing off in some miscellaneous conference meet, or about some movie celerity sneezing or if they run out of their news reserves then topics of dysfunctional male are discussed! The 9pm debates are the most wackiest and most craziest show on earth. The bi-spectacle guy or dame willfully and intentionally pours oil in the fire and this keeps their pockets warm!! What a way to earn a living?? My question is "Will debates solve the burning topics of Naxalism, Rising Food Inflation, Soaring Mercury in Summer, Water Woes? and lots of unsolved and neglected issues."

Come on! It's high time now. Stop the silly things. Media industry is one of the power pillars of a nation. With power comes responsibility. Remember spider-man saying this in his movie? It is very much critical how wisely this power is put to beneficial use!

May god bless us all and help us lead in right direction. Amen.

If padavas had facebook account!!!

Click the image to get a clearer view.Pandavas existed 5000 years back from today! Please read Indian history named Mahabharata for more details.

"Bolt"ed Pug

Since long time I wanted to watch this movie called BOLT. Hmm... for my friends in stock markets, the word may remind them of "Bse OnLine Trading a.k.a. BOLT. But this bolt is the name of an animated movie of a dog who works in a movie industry; a la Hollywood! but is absolutely oblivious of it's existence. Since young age the dog is made to believe that it has super powers and that it can save the world from green eyed criminals! But an accident happens and the dog is delivered to NY city. From East coast to West coast the dog travels, realizing on it's way back home that he's not any kind of super dog!! But also realize that one does not need super powers to save one he loves!

One such Bolt I have seen is the Vodafone doggy "Pug". It used to follow the little kid (later the cute li'll girl) where ever it went. It also used to do menial work for the girl; bringing lost socks, licking stamps etc. Then came the most happening event in the world of sports... IPL!!! It was to become a phenomenon in Indian Telivision. TRPs shooted through the roof. Vodafone thought to capitalise on this opportunity and introduced ZooZoo.

Thus ZooZoo was born. ZooZoo is a semi alien semi-human character living in an earth-like place ( lot of which is left to the viewer's imagination).These are very very simple beings who are very expressive. They laugh aloud , cry loud and still have a child like simplicity around them.

Well, Zoo Zoos became most adorable cute little beings and people started fan-clubs  in facebook and other social networking sites. Vodefone then had a wicked thought (well, this I really dunno!! It's my guess!!) It decided to do away with little pug and welcomed zoozoo! What happened to the pug...

Well here's the pic a paparazzi managed to capture!!

Poor pug, since then has Bolted it self from the whole world to avoid shame...

Images: CreativeCraft, Flickr

The Welder Scrolls

The power sector in India is facing a unique crisis. It is not the shortage of raw materials that bugs them nor do the labor go on mass unrest but the acute shortage of high pressure welders. These "torchbearers" are not the local local types who fix the window grills of your house. These fellas are rigorously trained from quality institutes, like Welding Research Institute of Tiruchi run by BHEL. The welding trainees are given first hand experience as a part of training program. These welders have to work in high pressure environment. Basically, there are two categories of welders; Structural (Basic) Welders and the High-Pressure welders. The basic welders get enough work in the cities and do not prefer to go to project sites.The high "profile" welders who are willing to come choose to fly abroad as the moolah is more attractive there. Typically, a welder gets Basic salary of Rs.30,000 a month and is paid Rs. 1,000 per joints welded. In a month, welder would work on 30 to 40 joints, there by earning Rs. 70,000 in a month! The Emirates pay them twice to trice the payment they would receive here. European countries pay almost four times the money.

The production and erection of a thermal power station boiler is a welding intensive affair. There are some 30,000 joints to be welded. As we advance technologically, we would need ultra super critical technology, for which the boilers need to be built at very high pressures of at least 300 bars (and above). To explain it in layman's terms, the pressure cooker in the kitchen when in full steam has a pressure of 1.5 bars. Opening it while in full pressure would be a explosive affair and a visit to ICU is certain.

The work at site is also not a pleasant job. Welders work at the height of more than 100 feet with scorching sun over their head. They have to work very accurately as a little negligence would lead to loss in billions and priceless lives of the power station workers would be at stake!

The shortage of welders is like "pinching where it hurts the most" because Eleventh plan looks forwards to add about 55,000 MW of power compared to 22,000 MW in Tenth Plan! And Twelfth Plan targets to add up extra 86,500 MW!!! The dearth of welders could prove quite detrimental to power sector.

Unless some action is taken fast, the immediate future of Indian power sector might be like the proverbial battle that was lost for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Courtesy: BL060410. Images from google images

Back from a long vacation...

Four months is a really long vacation, and after coming back I feel like I was sent to exile to offline kingdom. Returning back to the cyber kingdom is such a blissful experience!
This blog will undergo a second wave of change from now on!
Most of my friends are in YES!+ (Art of Living Foundation's youth wing) and look forward to read any guru stories, or related posts. Well, there are lots of blogs and sites that posts pages and pages of deep knowledge, transient information, and even useless stupid crap. It's just a search and click away!! I need to post something very different on my blog!! That's what I thought...

So the two major changes in my blog will be:

• Opening up the comments feature thereby allowing readers to post comments.
• Writing on topics which are commonly neglected by the layman, but have a substantial impact on mankind!

The posts may be posted at  irregular intervals as the new "kinda" posts will require some research. I would like to bring one point to everybody's attention that all the views expressed would be very very personal. I have no intention in hurting people's sentiments and feelings, however, what is written would be based on solid facts, for sure!!

--O.A.K.