Thoughts and Deeds

Little Finger Shows the Way - Communication !

2009-02-15T22:57:00.000-08:00

Palmistry for self development - Understanding your communication through palmistry

Little Finger Shows the way ! Part I

In Palmistry the little finger represents communication . In this article we will see how we can use very simple tools in palm examination to understand and improve on our communication abilities .

Look at the little finger of your hand . Any hand will do . There are three phalanges . The first or the top phalange represents speech , voice and special qualities of voice . The second or the middle phalange represents the flow of speech , or knowledge from the speaker to the audience . The third or the base phalange represents the knowledge of the language or the base subject .

If the phalange looks strong , filled up , having less lines , good sponginess , long length and healthy look you have good potential and natural qualities in that department represented by that phalange . If the phalange looks weak , shrivelled , lean , short , anaemic , or in any other ways unattractive then you do not possess natural talent in that department and you will have to try harder to acquire the same .

Hands change ! You will see as you begin to get proficiency in communication skills , the little finger starts changing in its appearance. The phalanges bulk up , they even begin to grow ! Keep a record of your hands and you will see it yourself over a period of six months .

How do we use this knowledge ? Let us take the case of three school going children who have scored less in their standard ninth examination . The general suggestion to improve their performance would be to send them to coaching classes . Many times it is seen that extra coaching does not bring in the expected improvements .

Why ? Because the core issues have not been addressed .

Palmistry can help you at this stage for better analysis . Examine the little fingers of the three children . Suppose one has the first phalange weak , the second has second phalange weak and the third has the third phalange weak , only send the third student to extra coaching . Why ? This is because he is weak in subject knowledge and needs extra time and practice to pick up . The first student is weak in speech . He cannot speak about his problems in studies in a coherent manner or is not able to express himself fully in the given medium . This is the basic reason for his below par performance . Send him to language classes where he will get to learn the language intimately and will be able to express himself freely . The second student whose middle phalange is weak is lacking in confidence and flow . He is having self doubt about the knowledge he has and about himself and thus is not able to express himself in the examination . This is a case of self doubt . Enrol him in team games , drama or any such activity where he has to perform in front of the public . This will build confidence in him and his performance in the class will improve . If we work it out in this way all three students will have improved academic performances at the end of three months or so .

What are we doing ? We are addressing the core issue rather than looking at the symptoms alone and we are doing so using palm examination . How do we use it in practice ? Start observing the little fingers of the people around you and those whom you know well . Make note of your observations and correspondingly also note down their qualities in the three areas denoted . Soon you will be able to see the correspondence between their communication pattern and their little finger . Now you are ready to have a look at your own finger , draw your conclusions and be on the way to improvement !

Role Play -Blossoming of our talents !

2009-02-15T22:54:00.000-08:00

Many of us have heard the story of the postman who got the first prize of rs 1 crore in lottery .A reporter went to take his interview and asked " Please tell me what you are going to do with the prize money ."
The postman said " Well , distributing letters all day long was difficult. I used to go all over the place on my old bicycle and it was a very tiring job . Now I do not have to do all that .

" Then ? "
" Now I am going to buy a Mercedes car , and keep a driver ."
" Which all places are you going to visit ? "
" I will be distributing letters to the same area , to the same customers !"

We all think that this is funny . It is not . We keep thinking of the postman as doing his duty for earning his daily bread while he is thinking of his duty as his life role . On the stage of life he is enacting a role and everything he gets he sees as a prop to fulfil his role in a better or bigger fashion.

We too are playing out our life roles in different ways . Ask yourself , what will you do if you are given say 10 crore rupees . You are likely to come out with answers like " I will buy a flat /penthouse / farmhouse / Palace ! "
" I will take a family tour all over the world !"
" I will climb Mount Everest / Andes Mountain / Kalsubai / or Duke's Nose ."
" I will date Mallika Sherawat / Priyanka Chopra / Rakhi Sawant !"( You will be disappoined , not with the date , but they do not come so cheap and not to all and sundry , anyways )
" I will divorce my wife and run away from my secretary ! "
So many answers will come out . After all those are exhausted , think again , " What will you do ?" A true answer here will take you to your role in life .

This answer also will explain to you as to why Mehboob Khan did not stop making pictures after the legendary success of Mother India , or why Raj Kapoor kept taking more and more loan in his final years , or why Richard Branson keeps taking life risk after life risk , or why Jane Goodal leaving her cosy life in the USA went to live with the Gorillas in the jungles of Africa .

Some people come to know it early in life , some people come to know about it late in life , many of us never know it and most never even look for it . One of the ways of realising our role in life is our horoscope .

Life role is not a one time achievement . It is not something that you find and achieve . Even to know it you have to be ready . When your readiness increases so shall it slowly and steadily reveal itself to you .

We know of Mahatma Gandhi only as the great freedom fighter and father of nation and we are blissfully unaware of the THIRTY YEARS he spent looking for himself in South Africa . He was offerred a number of roles viz husband of Kasturba , Bania from Gujarat , England educated lawyer in South Africa , Father of Haridas Gandhi and so on and so forth . The role of his choosing emerged much later . Dada , a vagabond youngster from Naigaon who used to tease passerbys by mimicking their mannerisms , realised his role much later in life as Dada Kondke ,
a dashing cinema hero known for his dhishum dhishum roles found that he was a much better comedian and also discovered a new style of dancing - Master Bhagwan , an athlete who used to run very fast and did hardly anything else revealed his talent as the best fighting cricket captain of India Kapil Dev , when bullets were raining all around and hand grenades were making mincemeat of people , one person , otherwise ordinary , realised his life purpose and took five bullets in his body to keep the terrorist engaged - Tukaram Ombale . Many many examples can be given from day to day life .

When I was learning astrology in the initial stages , as I look back , everyone has used astrology as a prop to do better what they were doing before . Just like the postman . For example I was into training and development, I have developed new techniques for training and development using astrology , a colleague used to take tuitions for standard 4 th students , now she take astrology tuitions , one person used to make money by making fool of people , he now makes money by making fool of people using astrological terminology , one housewife used to be confused about her role as housewife , now she is as confused about her role as an astrologer . You get the point ?

If you go to an astrologer and ask him this question as to how you can know your life role you will get variety of answers . See your tenth lord , see the tenth from tenth , see the tenth lord in Navamsha , see the navansha location of your tenth lord , see the sub lord of the tenth house and its location , see the arudha of tenth house , see the lagna lord / lagna nakshatra lord / lagna sublord , see the fixed star near to lagna or tenth house . All these answers are perfectly useless ! The reason is the variety of choices available .This variety itself is beyond the imagination of any astrologer living or dead . For example just take three options as teaching , language and foreign . We are taking just one combination of one activity , one place and one commodity .These three give us six combinations . Teaching a foreign language , teaching a language in foreign place , teaching language to foreign people and so on . This is on the background of constantly changing scientific and commercial business environment . For example how many astrologers would have predicted a career for a person twentyfive years ago in the following areas - computers , event management , show business and call centers ? Today these careers are available in plenty and so many many people are employed in the same .

In a typical day we go through a number of life roles . We get up as husband , take child to school as father , go to station as commuter , get to the office as clerk , go to the panwala as consumer , with supplier as landlord , with customer as slave , with boss as yes man , with subordinates as no man , with temporary workers as boss , and come back to wife as lame sheep .Inside all these roles lies our real role unknown to us . Astrology can help us realise this role .

If we begin to understand the variety of our roles separate from ourselves , we will be in a position to play these roles better . Just the way an actor gets into the role and plays it . We keep confusing ourselves with our roles and creating chaos , confusion and frustration . Basic understanding of your horoscope will help you in this .

Forget the ascendant at the moment. This is the most difficult subjects to tackle so we will take it the last .

A circus is in town. the circus has a very successful grand clown who makes people laugh their guts out . The circus show is going on . The circus tent is full of people . Children have occupied all the front rows . Everyone is laughing heartily and fully concentrated on the clown's act . Just then another clown comes into the ring and whispers in the ears of grand crown " The tent is on fire . Big fire . In another five minutes the fire will reach here . " and he runs away .

What would you now do if you are the grand clown ?

Think with your heart and write down your answer before you read further .

The grand clown is a role that a human being is playing at that moment of time . In this role his job is to make people laugh with his comic acts . Now an emergency has come up . Should he come out of his chosen role as Grand Clown ? Should he try to go to the fire and try to douse the flame ? Should he tell people that the tent is on fire and they should leave as fast as possible ? Should he himself just run away ? What would you do ? Tell the true answer to yourself and then read on .

There is no one correct answer to this question. Different people in the role of different people will behave differently . Do not believe this ? During the 26/11 , each policeman behaved differently though all of them were in the same role . Some policemen ran away , some policemen went searching for the terrorists , some policemen ran away and then having second thoughts came back to fight , some policemen scurried for cover even with carbines in their hands while some policemen charged at the terrorists with just wooden battens . So many different patterns emerged out of the same situation . Is it any different from the pattern emerging out of the clown episode ?

What is your role ?
What is the aim of your role ?
What are the borderlines of your role ? The limits at which your role ends .
What do you need to do in your role to achieve the aim of the role ?

Our peoblems arise when one of the following happens .

We outlive our role .
We stretch our role to extremes .
We continue with our role when the role itself has vanished .
We are not ready for our role , not well equipped or well educated .
We have not mentally accepted our role .

Everyday since morning to evening we keep changing our roles going from one role into another , juggling these roles . Se the roles a typical working housewife plays during a typical day
Alarm clock
Break fast cook
Tiffin cook
laundryman ,
Ironing lady
cleaning woman
money lender
bus commuter
Train commuter
office worker
food consumer
shopper
vegetable buyer
bargainer
cook
teacher
supervisor
friend

Tower game

In this game played at Abhijit Training Academy , we had four groups of three adults each . Each group was given three roles to play . Manager , Supervisor and worker . The Manager was to decide what to do , the supervisor was to decide and tell how to do and the worker was to do . te task was to erect a tower from newspapers ,and sticking tape . The manager and supervisors were not to do any menial work while the worker was to only carry out the orders and only ask questions where he was not able to decide what to do . The participants who took part in the game were already sucessful in their eartly roles as teacher , trainer , stock broker , housewife , engineer etc . As the game progressed very interesting pattern emerged . Some managers were not interested in managing . They were interested in just standing around and watching .This despite the fact that they knew that they would be totally responsible for the outcome of the exercise . Some managers began to work like workers though this was against the rules . Some supervisors began to teach the managers how they should do their tasks . Why was this happening ?

The participants were not able to keep away their day to day roles even for a few minutes . They were so stuck to their roles . The roles had become their second nature . Teachers in real life remained teachers in the game too . Managers in real life remained managers in the game . Workers in real life remained though they realised it was not taking them anywhere . They knew that they were going to lose the game but they were so synchronised with their real life roles that they could not tear themselves away . Herein lay the story of their success and their failure .

At one of the programs of Shake hands and Know , I shook hands with a person and told him that he was an administrative officer . He flatly denied that and said " You are wrong . I am a police officer . " After a few minutes however he scurried back to me and said " You are right . I work in the police department . But all the tasks I do are administrative in nature . " His primary role has been that of administrator as felt from the palm . Administrator was his core role while police officer was his more role .

In another programs , I shook hands and felt that the person had strong martial qualities . This would make him soldier , watchman , or union leader . The man claimed that he was a mere meek clerk in a nationalised bank . HIs friends however supplied the missing information that he was a non office holder de facto union leader who had faced a number of volatile and life threatening situations wiht a daring do few can match . Bank Clerk was his more role while fearless soldier was his core role .

For example the Indian Middle class is generally denoted as systems loving , rule abiding , education oriented lot . For many years we kept blaming our educational system as a system designed by the Britishers to create clerks . We blamed the stress on mathematics and English and the rote method of byhearting a number of things . We kept saying that this system teaches obedience rather than thinking which is so essential for success in the modern world . But with the advent of the computer age the world changed . The environment changed. Our more roles and shore roles suddenly changed and came in demand . Today Indian Programmers are in demand world over. No software company can do without the Indian programmers . All the programmers have come through the same educational system that everyone blamed . At the same time , the core value being one of slavery and followeship India does not have a single independent computer program to its credit . That is the importance of core role and how you take it . It is interesting here to note that Pakistan , Bangladesh and India inherited the same educational system and society from the times of the Britishers . Yet it is the Indian programmers who are in demand world overe and not Pakistanis and Bangladeshis . Can you now see the reasons now ?

What you see around you are all manifestations of the core role of yours. You get attracted to subject that interest you. The interests flow from the core role . You get job or you keep the job you do well . The job description in general flows out of the core role . Sooner or later in life you tend to gravitate towards your core role . This creates a comfort zone through which one tends to operate . This is like creating a cobweb around you which is impervious to outside influence . You get so much used to the style and ways that seem to flow from the core roles that you in your wildest imagination do not want to change them or trade them for something else . This ensures your level , your success , your failure , your limits in life . If you want to go beyond , you have to look within and change or modify some of the manifestations of the core values or change the environment where you are operating .

Please do not remain under the impression that a person has only one core role . There can be a number of core roles . We have to continuously keep looking inside and introspect to see and check the bank of our core roles .

The core roles are defined by our horoscope and remain fixed all through our life but due to the permutations and combinations thus made available these are the most difficult to pin down .Just think of it .. the horoscope at base level gives us nine planets , twelve signs , and twentyseven nakshatras thus 2916 ( two thousand nine hundred and sixteen ) combinations. This is the reason it is very difficult to find out the core role at one sitting . We need to allow the horoscope to blossom through the sequence of dashas and at each step having got the advantage of the hindight we can suggest a more and more accurate path - both outside towards the shore roles and inside towards core roles .The dashas give us more roles , The transits give us shore roles or temporal roles which are even short lived . The shore roles give us the opportunity to work inwards while working outside to understand and realise our more roles and then move further inwards to realise our core roles.

Through our life our core roles and more roles keep changing . In astrology it is called as Dasha . The dasha gives us further core roles which are powerful during a certain period .

Ways to understand our core roles

1. Astrology

Core roles Signs

1. Aries : Leader
2. Taurus : Follower
3. Gemini : Student
4. Cancer : Mother
5. Leo : Master
6. Virgo : Manager
7. Libra : Performer
8. Scorpio : Defender
9. Sagittarius : Teacher
10. Capricorn : Worker
11. Aquarius : Adviser
12. Pisces : Thinker

Core Roles Planets

1. Sun : Creating feeling of self
2. Moon : Feeling
3. Mercury : Communicating
4. Mars : taking action
5. Saturn : being cautious
6. Jupiter : Creating system of rules
7. Venus : appreciating and creating beauty through arts and skills
8. Rahu : Creating virtual smog
9. Ketu : Creating feeling of deficiency

You would have noticed that the roles assigned to signs are all nouns while roles assigned to planets are all verbs . Verbs denote actions while the signs denote the framework through which the action can take place . For example Ketu located in pisces will make a person think of his deficiency in thought process and thus urge him towards reducing his ignorance. Ketu being natural denoter of deficiency will not help gathering of knowledge but will help in eradicating ignorance.

We experience success in the areas where our core role is congruent or in line with the more role . We experience great success where the core role is congruent with our more role and the more role is congruent with the environment .

2. Psychodrama : The trainer gets a group of about 12- 15 people together . The people are divided into teams and are given some tasks to do which require team work . In general under moderate stress and interest people tend to behave through their core roles . In a 45 minute session many core roles begin to emerge or start becoming evident . The core role comes out through the behaviour of the person . Psychodrama raises the spontaneity in an adequate and functional manner. When one becomes spontaneous one forgets about the world around and goes to the role that he is most comfortable with . This role remains one and the same through variety of exercises undertaken . An experienced trainer is able to spot the roles and bring it to the notice of the participant . Then the participant himself can judge whether these core roles aer being helpful or harmful to him in his life either work life or family life or social life. If required the trainer / consellor can then help the participant to mould is core roles to suit the situation better .It is through psychodrama that a system can begin to become creative, life filled and develop new solutions to old and tired problems or adequate solutions to new situations .

3. Sports : Games is a way of psychodrama . Win , loss , elation , suspense and surprise depression , frustration , joy , sorrow , competition all are represented in the games . The more physical the game the more the element of drama . Even the style of playing the game arises out of your core role and environment . For example most Indian batsmen will duck a bouncer while most West Indian Batsmen will try to hook the bouncer . This despite the fact that India has very few fast bowlers having good bouncers in their arsenal while the West Indies have a number of deadly bouncers .

Conclusion :

Life is interplay of the entity that is you and the environment that is the surrounding situation. You have a core role , many more roles and many many more shore roles through which you go through your life . Your core role remains constant through which you tend to deal with life situations or carry out your outer or more and shore roles . You tend to respond to life around you , your tasks through your core role only. This may be beneficial sometimes and problematic otherwise . If you correctly realise the role you are playing and behave as per the need of the role , you go a long way towards success and satisfaction. Deciding and defining the core role has to be done over a period of time as the number of variables involved are too numerous . This is an ongoing task which is similar to blossoming of a flower .

We experience success in the areas where our core role is congruent or in line with the more role . We experience great success where the core role is congruent with our more role and the more role is congruent with the environment .

Process and Result

2007-11-12T21:44:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends ,

I had gone to a factory of a multinational company . I was being shown around the factory by the manager there . The factory was huge , and large tracts were left open for vehicular movement inside the production shed . The flooring was shining epoxy finish and one cleaner was cleaning it .

He had a large cloth with him . He would dip that cloth in a bucket of water , squeeze it , mount it on a flat edged mop and then move the mop on the floor . He would go say tem paces in a straight line , then turn around , keeping the mop pressed to the ground and come back to the starting point , then mover again . This was a serpentine movement . Thus continuing , he
would clean up a patch of floor and then move to the next . The cleaner was doing his job in very dedicated manner and with full concentration .

I asked the supervisor , if the cleaner was making any mistake . The supervisor watched and immediately pointed out that dustmarks were getting left on the ground , even at the end of the first turning while the cleaner was dipping the cloth at the end of seven rounds . This meant that the six rounds that were being taken were a waste . The floor was remaining dirty . The supervisor asked the cleaner to change the water , clean the cloth and come back again to clean the same area .

The point to ponder was , why the worker was making the mistake ?

On probing I realised that the worker had been explained the process . This is the way it is to be done. But not the result ! This is what is to be the result was not being told .

Does that need to be told ? Yes , as per the Japanese system of 5 S in force in the said company it needs to be told , The result is to be shown first and then the process that achieves the result .

Regards ,

Anand

Passengers and Cotravellers Part II

2007-11-12T21:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends ,
This is a sequel to my earlier article Passengers and Cotravellers which can be read at the following address . http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Ghurye1.html .
I was travelling in Delhi by road . I noticed that a pair , a girl and a boy were riding a bike . The boy was driving while the girl was riding piillion . Generally there are two distinct styles of riding pillion One where the pillion rider sits horse saddle style with one leg on each side of the bike and holds the mid section of the rider or the side bars of the bike for support . Second where the pillon sits with both legs on one side of the bike completely square with the rider. In this case the pillion hols the midsection of the rider with right hand and the carrier of the bike by the left hand for support .

In case of horse saddle style , the rider and the pillion work as one uinit , moving together with the bike . In the square style , when the rider brakes , the pillion tends to push against the back of the rider . The rider and the pillion are distinct entities in this case . The rider is free of the pillion .The first position is better than the second in that both are movingin unison and the rider has better judgement while riding . In the second case , majority of the weight is on one side and the rider has to compensate for the same . He has to be especially careful while taking turns and negotiating potholes . A big jerk to the motorcycle and the pillion can just slide off the seat . This position is suited for short distance low speed city travel and when the pillion rider is wearing a saree or lungi or sarong . ( A dress in which legs cannot be put on either side of the bike )
The pair which I saw was different .

The pillion lady was sitting with both her legs on one side of the bike , her shoulders were parallel to those of the rider , she was sitting quite close to the rider and holding him across the shoulders. This means her body was twisted at the waist and already some of her seat was off the sitting . Let us see the drawbacks of this style . In this case the chances of the pillion sliding off the seat are much higher than the earlier two cases . She is already in a sliding position . Secondly , if she slides or if her position becomes unstable due to some reason , she is certain to pull the rider alongwith her . Lastly with her head on the shoulder of the rider , she is providing additional distraction . This can be called as the negative passenger .

We have seen in the earlier article - the cotravellers are active passengers joined to the rider by an invisible bond . Their aim is to travel , and travel together . The general destination being the same the individual destinations may be different . Still travelling itself is a common passion and is one of the many things which are common. Cotravellers all travel together . The boundaries of the groups are not closed but open and inviting. Anyone can join in and join hands . They prepare their food together , share their resources , share their experiences , learn from each other , and enjoy themselves heartily . If it is cold , they huddle together , if it is hot they fan each other . If they see the scenery from the windows , they enjoy it , and also show it to others , and also want to know how the others see the scenery . They have belongings , only to make the combined travel easier , bearable , and not for taking along , not for possession and not for being proud of . These are utilities , to be used , nurtured and then passed along , cherishing only the relationships with the fellow cotravellers . It is difficult to be a cotraveller , but once you are one , it is immensely enjoyable.

A passenger is a passive cotraveller . He does not take any active interest in the travel . His aim is to reach the destination only . He does not add any imporvement to the process , not does he try to make the process more effective or efficient . He is like a person who has hired a taxi . With hiring the taxi his responsibility is finished . He now indulges in his favourite past times , till he is told that the destination has arrived .
A third category is now getting added with the negative passive cotraveller . This cotraveller increases the burden on the system without adding any advantage. It increases the load on the system , at the same time making the system unstable and to some extent dangerous . A negative passenger is a potential danger to the system and needs to be taken off at the earliest opportunity .

We are cotravellers sometime , passengers sometime , negative passengers sometime and riders sometime. the success lies in increasing the durations of riding and being cotravellers and reducing the instances of being passengers and ridding off the negative passengers .

Regards ,

Anand

Particle Board

2007-06-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

Dear All ,

A bank near by my residence is undergoing interior renovation . The whole
place is messed up with wires strewn all over , false ceiling hanging down ,
electricians , carpenters , and plumbers vying for space with bank employees
and customers .

The raw material to be used for interiors is all over the place . The
carpenters are using teak wood , plywood , veneer and what surprised me most
was that they were using particle board .

Indian carpenters hate to use particle board . Abroad especially for low
price ready made furniture , particle board is the way to go. It is the
foremost sign of screwdriver technology . The medium has moderate strength ,
is homogenous in structure , easy to cut and come ready with both sides
coated . Particle boards are machine made by compacting wood particles
alongwith some bonding agent . Thus it has an even texture and easy to cut
and takes screws in any direction .

In ready made knock down furniture you will get the finished product diagram
, plates cut to size and shape and instructions on how to put it all
together using just a screwdriver . You have to follow the instructions ,
put it all together and screw it tight. a cupboard , or a computer trolley
or a study table is virtually twenty minute job . Not only that it can be
dissembled , packed , and carted away just as easily .

This is precisely the reason that the Indian carpenter hates it. There is
not much to do , repairs are also not necessary and if something breaks it
can just be replaced as easily by the owner himself . The carpenter becomes
redundant . Putting up the particle board furniture takes much less time
thus reducing the labor charges . Overall price is low , so commission
payments are low . Particle boards come in different colors precoated thus
sunmica coating is not necessary and also we can fix any wall paper to it .
The carpenters skills one by one are sacrificed on the altar of readymade .
The particle board had not entered India till now due to the stiff
resistance and reluctance of the carpenter lobby . Now that I see carpenters
themselves using it , they are resigned to the fate and globalization has
been ushered in .

Generally people talk about the percolation of internet , mobile telephones
, malls , cable TV , reduced air fares as examples of globalization
penetration . But I believe that rather than the battle of the elites , the
battle of the mind is crucial . The lower rungs of the society are seen to
be more resistant to change as in the short term their livelihood is under
threat . This is one of the reasons why grocers oppose Reliance Fresh
outlets , shopkeepers do not want malls nearby and car mechanics talk
disparagingly of the new models on the road and farmers oppose corporate
farming . When the lower rungs begin to accept changes and begin to change
then the change is truly in and will stay .

In any job , be it computerization , change of policy , change of timings
only when the working class , or the proletariat accepts it , it is there to
stay .

Jyotish as a tool of Destiny Management

2007-06-06T11:44:00.000-07:00

Jyotish - A tool of Destiny Management Part 1

Destiny means the course of events that is predetermined or determined in
advance and management means the judicious use of means to accomplish an end
. ( The Merriam Webster Dictionary ) . In simple words Destiny Management
means the ability to use the events around us to best of our advantage . An
example will make the matters even more easy to understand .

Just imagine you are standing in a city bus . The bus is very crowded . A beautiful lady is standing next to you . You are enjoying her nearness and the chameli fragrance she is wearing . Every pothole in the road is creating nice and cosy sensations in your body . You are trying to stand as spaciously as possible and you are increasing your body girth and presentation . You are wondering if you can ask her for coming over for dinner and would she oblige if you do . You are daydreaming of the various possibilities that may emerge in terms you and this angel .

Suddenly you hear the heroine of your dreams , the lady in question , utter strange gurgling sounds . You look up and see that her face is contorted , body is rtwisted and she is frantically tying to reach for the window .

You instinctively know what is happening and suddenly you begin to abhor the very presence you were adoring a moment ago . You try to squeeze the entire inflated body of yours into the smallest area possible , you try to push your way into the crowd so as to levae maximum distance between the angel and yourself and you wonder about the future of your nike shoes , spotless blue jeans and excel white shirt . You dream about the contents of dinner
she may have had !

What is happening to you is destiny , what you do about it is destiny management .

Just consider , if you behave benevolently , sacrifice your white handkerchief to stem the tide , use your wide chest to arrest the showers , allow your trousers for wiping dirty hands , and your shoulder for her tired head to rest , the dinner you were daydreaming about may become a reality .

The destiny is not in your hands , but what you do once the destiny delivers , may influence the future course of action .

The destiny is a package of events , and the future is a package of probabilities . The variety of tools of destiny management are , not necessarily in any order , location , education, surroundings , government , intelligence , coalition , association , partnership , specialized
knowledge , data analysis and so on .

For example if we want to live a good life , we move into a good neighborhood , look for a better paying job , admit children to reputed schools , send them to good coaching classes and so on . We are systematically increasing our chances of getting better standard of living . When we are looking for a house , we go through the newspaper advertisements , go to the location to se the work in progress , check the reputation of the builder , check the documentation of the society or the location , make payment by cheque , in short , we limit the chances that we may be
shortchanged .

Jyotish is also one such tool that can be used for destiny management. It can be used in three ways ; to reinterpret history , to assess the present and to forecast the probable future scenario.

Part 2

To reinterpret history : A student from standard six has been brought to you He is a poor performer . His grades in school show that . His parents are worried about him . They do not know what is going wrong . Astrological analysis of his chart may be used to see variety of aspects of his personality in order to interpret his performance till date . A weak mercury
will point to poor memory and understanding , a weak Jupiter may indicate poor system of studies , a weak Saturn will show that the boy is lazy and not working hard enough , a poor Sun will show that the self esteem of the boy is very low and due to which he is not studying , a weak moon will indicate that the boy is fickle minded and cannot concentrate well . We can check these reasons by discussing with the students and his parents and depending on the reason found to be correct proper remedial measures may be applied .

To assess the present : The horoscope shows the birth time blue print and the possible timeline . With interaction with the person we can gauge the process of growth which he has undergone . Thus we can get a progressed horoscope . This will give us what was the nature of the person at the time of birth and how it has got modified during the process of growth . Thus we have both nature and nurture parameters . Now we know the person in holistic perspective. We know where he is , how he is and thus think in terms of the various possibilities open to him . For example a boy is born in very poor family and has taken education till graduation with great trouble . Now just now he has secured a good job . In addition he is getting a chance to study
further for post graduation . But doing post graduation will mean not getting paid for further period of time though the chances of better employment at the end of post graduation are high . What to do ? Given the process of growth , he will be more inclined to go for the job and settle
down . By looking at the horoscope we can assess the potential of the person and also assess the time line and advice him accordingly whether he should go for higher education or not at that point in time .

To forecast the probable future scenario : In the earlier exercises we have looked at the nature and the nurture , that is qualities at the time of birth , and the progressed horoscope till the time the person comes to meet you . To forecast the probable future scenario , one has to assess the
business environment or the mundane and then try to fit the individual in the larger scheme of things .For example if a person comes to ask you if he should go nto restaurant business , you will see if he has the inherent qualities required to succeed in the trade , if he has gathered experience on the way , and if he has the capacity to raise the finance and sustain it . In addition we will need to see the dashas in his horoscope and the place he wants to start his business in whether the favourable scenario is going to last for sufficient time for him to be able to reap the benefits of actions . On assessing the trends on individual as well as mundane parameters we
will be able to guide him to look for favourable milestone achievements as well as danger signals in his path of business growth and take appropriate action.

In this way Jyotish can be used to understand inherent qualities of the person , his interactions with the people around him , his potentials and his career path and thus his destiny and can be used as a multipronged tool for destiny management.

Valley Crossing at Panchgani

2007-06-06T11:40:00.000-07:00

Keep It Simple , Sweetheart

2007-01-04T22:12:00.000-08:00

Keep It Simple , Sweetheart !

I remember an incident from my trainee days . I was discussing with the personnel manager about an assignment that was about to conclude . He suggested , " Why don't you just invite my secretary inside sothat she can take dictation while we discuss . We then will correct on the soft copy itself and submit our report . " So I went outside . It was time for a break and I saw her sipping tea . I told her to come inside after she finished tea.I came inside and sat down . We began to discuss. Ten minutes passed , fifteen passed , there was no sign of the secretary . The personnel manager looked at me and I looked at him . He suddenly asked ( knowing me as he did ) " What did you tell her ? "

" When you have completed consuming the nourishment from the container , please make it convenient to present yourself at the manager's desk . "

Keep It Simple , Sweetheart !

Intereting website for Car drivers !

2006-12-31T21:55:00.000-08:00

Car Carma

When bad things happen to good drivers, is your "Astrological Sign" to blame?
Car Carma describes the influence your astrological sign has over your driving.

Have a look at this interesting website at

http://insurancehotline.com/a10.html

Astrology - The Music of Life

2006-12-12T02:34:00.000-08:00

Astrology - The Music of Life

Before you read any further please do this. Sit comfortably in a straight
chair . Uncross your legs . Keep your purse , bag , etc away . Put off that
TV . Take three deep breaths . In - out , in - out , in - out . Relax
completely . Hold the wrist of your left hand in the palm of your right hand
. Feel your pulse. Wait till you feel that dhak dhak dhak . Listen to it .
This is your natural rhythm . This is your natural theka on which your life
is running . This is your nadi . ( Do you see now why we give so much
importance to Nadi dosha in marriage ? )

Now comes more difficult part . Try to feel the blood flowing in your
arteries and veins . You may have to try several times to achieve this .
This flow is the swaras of life . Based on the rhythm , the swaras flow
through the body . Any problem in the swaras will lead to change in rhythm
or vice versa . Now do you see the importance of Mangal Dosha in marriage
matching ?

Astrology is intimately related with music . The mutual relationships are
too bold to be ignored. We will discuss some of the connections in this
small article .

Many a times a question to which most astrologers answer either negatively
or apologetically is " How can the entire population of the world be divided
into just twelve signs ? So is Sunsign Astrology not bogus ? " Wrong
question , wrong answer . It is not division , but integration . How can all
singers from Tansen to Lata Mangeshkar , and Baiju Bawara to Himesh Reshmiya
and Mohammed Rafi to Shamshad Begum , sing in only seven swaras ? Twelve
signs is not the end of the zodiac or culmination of astrology - it is the
beginning . Why humans , the seven swaras encompass the entire universe .
Animals , things , trees , leaves , clouds , storms , rains , heat . cold ,
each and every one has its own rhythm , own swara . What do you feel the
rishabh in music refers to ?

Furthermore , if we want to divide anything however big , massive or
numerous , we can always create our divisional parameters and divide as
nicely as we divide a pizza . for example , for public toilets , the whole
population of the universe is divided into male and female , for movie goers
the entire population can be divided into the people who have seen Dhoom 2
and the people who have not seen Dhoom 2 , for ticket checkers the entire
population can be divided into people who have tickets and people who do not
have tickets , Take any division and you will see that you will be able to
fit the entire population neatly into whatever categories you design . Why
single out the sun sign astrology ?

Take any musical instrument - Bansuri , Veena , Mridamg , Violin , Guitar .
You can categorise it in three major categories as . Percussion
instruments - like Mridang , Bongo , Conga , Tablaa , Khanjiri . Wire
Instruments like Sitar , Veena , Violin , Tambora , Guitar and wind
instruments like Bansuri , tutari , clarinet . . Does not matter what
instrument , the way an instrument is generally judged is it basic frequency
or pitch , its timbre or tone and its amplitude or volume . Indeed these are
the basic characteristics for sound of any kind - instrumental , vocal or
otherwise . The moment you choose a particular instrument these qualities
are fixed . The moment you choose a physical body these qualities are fixed
for you . We may call it strengths and weakness , characteristics or
tendencies . We come into this world with these as fixed attributes . Then
the music of life begins .

One of the basic tenets of music is that anything and anybody can create
music . Anybody can sing and anybody can sing well . Of course some groups
may not feel that that particular music is upto the mark but it is their
consideration . There will always be matching music somewhere in the
universe . Secondly if we proceed with our natural rhythm , we conserve our
energy and work in most energy efficient manner . Have you seen a gazelle
running so effortlessly ? It is running in its natural rhythm . Any
instrument can theoretically play any sound or any note . But it will play
the sound or the notes which are natural to it very well . For example
bansuri with its high pitched sound , is more suitable for outdoor
performance. Tabla with its tempered scale and droning sound is more
suitable for indoor performance. And so on . In the same way in case of
Jatak the jatak is more suitable for certain life purposes than other.
Helping him to find his life purpose given his strengths and weaknesses and
the environment he comes from is the primary objective of the astrologer .
You thought it right . This is the 1 5 9 or Dharma trikona analysis in
astrology . This is the same way a music teacher will help a student to play
his instrument well , find tunes which gel with his instrument and try to
provide the best environment which is complementary to his instrument .

Furthermore , how well you play your instrument depends of your resources ,
efforts , family support , commitment , continuous practice , your musical
group , your determination and your traditions . Those steeped in astrology
will easily decipher that this is the explanation of how the twelve
astrological houses temper , guide and enhance or otherwise the effects of
any of your efforts . Bansuri with its high pitched sound was largely a folk
music instrument and was used only in open air performances . Its length was
also generally limited to 18 inches . Pandit Pannalal Ghosh through his
relentless research increased the length of bansuri to upto 32 inches ,
increased the diameter of the bansuri and thus increased its tonal quality
or timber Now you Bansri has become one of the most popular instrument in
classical as well as cine music . You decide on your own whether you want to
play your bansuri at leisure sometimes at home , or sell bansuri outside the
temple of Ganapatipule or really put efforts and become a world class
bansuri player . It is upto you .

Ragas are set patterns which sound nice to the ears of a particular
generation .With practice you can get command on one or more ragas and your
audience is guaranteed . This is similar to the various professions we have
in our society where employment is guaranteed . If you choose a profession
you like and the one that gels with your instrument , you will enjoy what
you are doing thus deriving satisfaction out of it and at the same time
will do it very well paving the way of success . This in astrology will be
called as the blossoming of a horoscope .

In summary we can say that a horoscope is basically like a musical
instrument which is given to you . It is fixed in its frequency , amplitude
and timber but within which range infinite variations , and combinations are
possible . How well you play it depends on you , and the better you play
the music the better are your chances for success and satisfaction .

Ah Technology

2006-09-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

Ah Technology

Ah technology ....

Today I went to pay the telephone bill.

There are many ways to pay the bill even when you go to the company office itself. You can hand over the cheque , you can hand over the cash , you can deposit the cheque in a drop box or you can put the cheque in cheque accepting machine where you get immediate receipt .

The cheque accepting machine is the latest gadget on the line and so some people were keen on using it . Besides to hand over cheque there was a long long queue .

One person came up and asked the other guy as to how to use the machine . The other person told him to just put the cheque in the slit and the machine would accept it . Our man put the cheque in the slit , and viola , in went the cheque and out came the receipt . Wow , what technology ! The depositor exclaimed as he collected the receipt and turned to go . " Now no need to wait in a queue ! "

I was not very convinced .

I asked him " How did the machine come to know your telephone number ? " Three or four bystanders informed me that it was all latest technology . The machine did it all .

I was still confused .

I asked the person to show me the receipt which he proudly did . I indeed saw a telephone number mentioned on it . I read out the number and asked him if it belonged to him . Our man paled ! It was not his number ! Then he panicked .

Just then a lady came with a telephone technician in tow. The lady was in high spirits and through her gestures and expressions we came to know that the machine had been repeatedly rejecting her cheque . So she had gone and commissioned the technician . I read out the number on the receipt and asked her if the number belonged to her . It did .

The machine had accepted her bill and was awaiting for the cheque to be inserted , when our good samaritan turned up and on advice deposited *his*cheque and paid the lady's bill .

Wow , technology !

Thoughts and Deeds

2006-09-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Thoughts and Deeds
If you are not part of the solution ........

Recently I went to get my bike repaired . As the mechanic diagnosed the trouble and opened up the bike we talked. He lamented that the number of people coming to get their bikes repaired had reduced considerably . People liked newer bikes , they do not want to get their old bikes repaired and use . They want everything new . Etc etc . He lamented .

While servicing he opened up a circuit box. This box did the following things . Horn , lights on and off , lights high beam and low beam ,dipper . He noticed that the spring of the horn button had become weak . He said that the switch would need to be replaced . The switch cost about Rs 100 ( good round sum ) . I asked if he could replace the Rs 2 worth of spring , the switch would be as good as new. He replied that that cannot be done and threw the switch in the dustbin . Replaced it with a new switch .

At one level he is identifying behaviours of which he is a victim , while at other level , he is perpetrating the very same behaviour ....

Thailand , Thaksin and the Coup

2006-09-23T13:22:00.000-07:00

Thaksin , Thailand and the Coup - A behavioural perspective

Last week there was yet another military coup in Thailand and the democratically elected government led by Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra was summarily dismissed. Thailand is not new to military coups . Last time when there was a military coup , the people reacted very angrily and there were violent protests all over the place . The coup failed and in time a popular government had to be installed . This time around there was absolutely no reaction from people to the coup that happened . Reaction if any was that life returned to normal after one day .

I believe the reason for this lie in the behavioral area .

Dr. Thaksin has many firsts to his credit . He is the first trader /entrepreneur prime minister of Thailand . Till then all the prime ministers were either lawyers , noblemen, or Army Generals. He is highly educated. He is a billionaire . He tried to run the country like a corporate entity . He was a man in a hurry and would push his agenda through like a juggernaut.

At times he snubbed Prem Tinsulokananda , a one time prime minister of Thailand and currently the chief advisor to H. M . King of Thailand . This was seen as extreme rudeness which did not go down well with the proletariat and the bourgeoisie .In Thai culture showing public dissent and public anger is considered to be signs of weak persona and are also considered to be prime insults . Thaksin overdid this . He virtually stepped on many toes in trying to get his way .

His swift reaction to insurgency in the border areas was seen as being too brutal a reprisal . This did not go down well with the peace loving urban Thais . Again in Thai culture there is a concept of " taking care " , The big brother takes care of the younger brother . It means something like covering up for younger brothers follies . This means avoidance of any kind of punishment . If you give punishment , the younger brother is vindicated and does not any more think of the folly he has committed . If the elder brother takes care of him then by rule the younger is indebted to him for covering up for him . A punishing boss is not respected , a compassionate boss is . Thaksin was not seen as being compassionate.

Lastly H.M. the King would not get drawn into any kind of public debate or dialogue.But indirectly he does give out signals about his displeasures - these signals Thaksin decided to ignore . This did not go down well in the public eye .Thus the public though not against Thaksin per se , would still have liked to see Thaksin punished / reprimanded / shown his place in some way or other . Just the way people are happy to see the wings of a high flier being clipped or he being put into his place .

As result of all these factors , the public reaction to the coup was minimal.I also believe that Thaksin had seen the writing on the wall . Quite some time back he sold all his telecom stake to a Singapore based company , and none of his family members were in Thailand at the time of the coup .

By the way , Thaksin is bang in the midst of his Sadesati .

If elections are to be held in the next year , if Thaksin's party does not win hands down , it will at least manage to be the biggest party in the country .

Glass Half Full or Half Empty ? A different Perspective

2006-09-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

Is the Glas half empty or Half full ? a New look at an old adage .....

Is the glass half empty or half full ? Many a times this question is asked to bring out the contrast between the negative way of thinking and the positive way of thinking .

A negative thinker will be sad to see that the glass is half empty so whatever the nourishment that the glass once held , half has ben drained away . He will look at the empty party and shed tears .

His counterpart , the positive thinker will look at the same glass and will be overjoyed to note that it is half full . He will be thankful to get the half glass of nourishment .

Plethora of trainers , motivators , and gurus subtly or bluntly suggest that the latter type of thinking is better than the former and that approach so called as positive approach needs to be followed .

Herein lies the catch !

Neither of the two is holistic thinking . Each one is only looking at a part of the reality and that is why prone to vacillation between joy and sorrow , positive and negative , plus and minus . We are not looking at reality in holistic fashion. Both the fellows are attaching importance only to the liquid in the glass and are not giving any consideration to the air in the other half of the glass . In reality the glass is always full as it cannot remain empty . A glass is empty space and on earth it is filled in with air if nothing else . We are discarding the air , such a important ingredient in our life , from the equation . When we begin to consider it , only then our thinking will tend to become holistic and meaningful in the given circumstances .