VANQUISH DISTURBANCES

“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness.”

As I was coming out of a home for the mentally challenged, and driving back home, my heart was heavy and grateful at the same time. I was thinking of the plight of the inmates, who were from all age groups, and their parents, who had to leave them there due to circumstances. They continue to live there till old age, as their parents are not ready to take them back. I profusely thanked God for all the blessings in my life. We cannot complain in life. We can only raise our hands in gratitude. There are so many in the world who are living a far lesser life than we can even imagine. Abject poverty, physically challenged, chronic ailments, abandoned, abused, homeless and much more. But I have seen so many rise up to great heights even from such an impoverished background.

I vividly recall the challenges faced by my mother in running the school. The school stands as a testimony to her perseverance, determination, and strong will. Today everything is history. But it was tough going through those experiences. You can go through anything in life if you can eventually become who you can. The school stands tall in all its glory. Today we have surged ahead in life and we are able to look back without any hurt. We can choose to forget our turbulent and painful past and start life afresh, we can make counter choices in life and move forward, we can reset our axis and start again, we can learn lessons from the mistakes we committed and begin new, we can try new ways to success, we can do so many things to get our life right. But in the case of these mentally challenged children, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

With abundance of resources at our disposal and a reservoir of knowledge that we can receive with the click of a button, with financial backing, and so many other facilities, nothing should be a challenge for students. Yet, I know of so many who are stressed and disturbed. All that is required is hard work, consistency, perseverance, patience, combined with a goal to reach the top. Yet, we have so many complaints in life, while it only takes a few more attempts to set things right. We are so upset when things don’t work in our favor, when someone else gets recognized, when sometimes our attempts fail, when we err in our judgement, when things don’t turn out the way we want. With our intelligence and capability, we can turn around things in our life. It is only a matter of time. Yet we lose our peace and happiness over trivial things.

Just be grateful for all your blessings in life. Every time there is a set back in life, raise your hands in gratitude that you were saved from a worse situation. God always gives you only how much you can handle. When it becomes more than you can handle, He becomes your strength. “Gratitude and disturbance cannot co-exist.” A grateful heart will never experience disturbances in life. Disturbances, if any, will only be for a very short time, as you would have mastered the art of bouncing back, with a grateful heart. Every day thank God for the countless blessings in your life. Write a gratitude journal without fail. You can vanquish all the disturbances in life. I do that every day, and I can say that it is magical.  Start today, experience the beauty of it, and share the secret with all your friends. I can already hear you say,” Yes, it works!”

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

 

LET’S CELEBRATE OUR TOGETHERNESS

“Celebration of love

Is relationship

Celebration of  blessings

is gratitude

Celebration of God

is faith

Celebration of life

Is TRUE LIVING - mahatria Ra

 It is an Indian tradition to celebrate special occasions. Religion has given us so many festivals that we celebrate with the family. It is an occasion for everyone to come together, wear new clothes, rejoice and have a happy meal together. Oneness is established and there is harmony in the family and in society. Spirituality says that happiness and celebrations, when experienced deeply, ushers in more such occasions in our life. That is why we should never miss on celebrations. In fact, life should be filled with moments of celebrations. In India, the birth of a child is a celebration, the cradle ceremony, the naming ceremony, the rice ceremony, turning one, puberty, thread ceremony, weddings, are all celebrated, and not to miss on the many different festivals. I remember the grandeur of celebrating Diwali in my childhood. We used to wait for the festival. We would join our cousins to celebrate the festival. There is so much science behind our religious practices. It aims at achieving a positive mind.

 Our school celebrates Guruvandanam every year in order to teach children to respect their teachers and also to create a bond between the teacher and the students. It is such a solemn occasion. Students prostrate at the feet of their teachers and seek their blessings. In order to bring in a feeling of gratitude and respect for the parents, the school decided to celebrate Mathru Pithru vandanam. We happily planned how to celebrate the occasion. Fostering a relationship of mutual love is very gratifying. But to our surprise, very few parents consented to participate in the celebration. We spoke to the students and motivated them to bring their parents for the celebration. We assume that children are either ego involved with their parents, or they are shy to do the rituals in public. The same students who whole-heartedly participated in the Guruvanadanam celebrations, are reluctant to bring their parents. This is a major concern. It is a wake-up call for us.

 Are we moving away from our tradition and mindlessly aping the West? It will be so beautiful if we can follow our practices and not give it up. We are rich in our tradition and culture.  That is our identity. If children grow up in an environment that is rich in its tradition, it will help them to strengthen relationships, build a bond and also create a sense of belongingness. We realized that these practices should begin when they are young so that it becomes a habit. Else, as teenagers they will be reluctant. Parents should hug their children enough, invest quality time with them and build a strong bond. Let us not relate to them only in terms of marks. The basis of relationship was emotions during our childhood. Today, the basis of relationship is information.

 As the world keeps evolving, every generation will be different from the previous generation. Lifestyle has changed, but timeless wisdom and values alone continue to be relevant. Love, respect, gratitude, unity, integrity, loyalty, trust, kindness, empathy, compassion, etc are a few of the values that have been handed over to us by generations. Let us not miss out on any of these, because, this is what contributes to the well-being of a family and the society at large. Let us connect with our children, let us bond. Else, there is an imminent danger of the society breaking into fragments. Celebrating our togetherness is called FAMILY!!!

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

 

EVERY DAY COUNTS

“Yesterday is gone,

Tomorrow has not yet come

We have only today

Let us begin.” – Mother Teresa

 In the morning assembly the “OnTime All the Time” and the “Eco Friendly class” certificates were distributed. The punctuality certificate is given to the class when all the students in that class come on time for the entire month. The clean classroom certificate is given only if the class is litter free throughout the month.  The class leaders came up with pride, and collected the certificate. A group photo was taken. When I addressed the students, I told them that our success depends on what we do on a daily basis. Only if all the students come on time on all the working days, will the class get the punctuality certificate. Only if all the classroom is found clean on all the days will the class get the eco-friendly certificate.

 That student, who has the discipline to do his daily studies will score high marks. The one who practices the sport every day will win the race. The one who is a voracious reader will expand his mind, enhance his vocabulary and develop good communication skill. The one who polishes his shoes every night and irons the uniform neatly, will not only be noticed for his smart turn out, but will also develop a good personality. The one who wakes up early every day will have enough time to come to school on time. The one who listens to the teacher in the class will be able to clear the doubts of his classmates and also score high marks. The one who excels in all of these will become the school leader!

 What you do on a daily basis becomes your habit. Greatness does not come from what you do once in a way. Repetition is the only way to become the master of your life. You should always aspire to be at your best. Don’t look at yourself as an ordinary person. Unless you work on yourself you will not know that you have the power to become extraordinary. Keep the student in you alive. At sixty, I am still a student. Growth happens only if we keep learning. I implement whatever my teacher teaches. Not because my teacher is watching me, but because I want to be worthy of my teacher. Not everyone is blessed with a good school and a great schooling. When you have it, don’t miss it. Everyone must choose one of the two pains; the pain of discipline or the pain of regret, choose wisely. One brings growth and success and the other pulls you down and makes you a failure. “Carpe Diem”- Seize the day. Make every day count!

“Before giving your time to anything

Ask yourself,” Is it worth my time?”

Because, where your time goes

There your future comes.” – mahatria Ra

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting

 

MY TAJ MAHAL MOMENT

 

There comes a moment in every person’s life when you would like to freeze the moment and relive it in your mind’s eye multiple times, and cherish it in your heart forever. Though I have travelled to different parts of the world, I always wished to see the Taj Mahal, one of the Wonders of the World. After several years, my desire was fulfilled. I cannot express the awe which I experienced when I saw the Taj Mahal. It was a jaw dropping experience. I was awestruck by its beauty and magnificence. Yeah, it is indeed an architectural marvel that we can boast of and also feel proud of. With bare minimum facilities, this iconic monument was built, as early as the seventeenth century. No wonder it took almost twenty-two years to complete it. It only goes to show that it takes its own time to create a Masterpiece. The workmanship is par excellence.  Most of our ancient temples are an architectural marvel.

Recently I had the privilege to witness a dance ballet that was conceptualized and narrated by an alumnus of the school. He has become such a popular figure in the country as a Vedic scholar and a multifaceted personality, and has a huge following. He was a much sought-after person that evening. People much older than him offered their respects to him and also wanted to click a selfie with him. It was so evident that he had won their hearts. His knowledge of the Vedas and Upanishads is so profound that he is highly regarded in his field. The national channels do not miss to invite him for his opinion if there is any controversy on Hinduism. In fact, the Prime Minister of the country follows him on X. I was enthralled by the mind-blowing performance of the dancers.

 The entire show took us to a different level altogether. At the end of it, when we stood up for the national anthem, I literally had tears of joy. It was my Taj Mahal moment, an Ahaa moment for me. I was reminiscing his childhood and the days he was home sick when he went to stay in the hostel to do his engineering, and the number of phone calls I have made to motivate him to continue his studies there. From where to where he had travelled in life. He was always a promising child, but today he has come a long way in his career and has created a niche for himself.

Just as how every parent derives immense joy on seeing the success of their child, I too experience inexplicable joy whenever I hear about the achievements of my students. What greater joy can we ask for than to see our children living a life of Purpose! All our efforts are towards that goal. Every parent would want their child to gift them such a moment. Children excelling in different areas is a blessing. In whatever you are good at, be useful to the world. There have been many Ahaa moments in my life. Just as how it took two decades to build the Taj Mahal, it takes time to reach where you want to reach. What is important is, to intensely attach yourself to the process of achieving your goal. “A woman rejoices at the birth of a son. But even more when he is praised” says Thirukkural. Can you be one such child? I am waiting for my next Ahaa moment!

“Existential glory is that all of us are equal at birth. Human glory lies in ensuring that we don’t die as equals.” – mahatria Ra

#Thoughtfulthursdays #nsn #nsnschool #mentoring #parenting