Hi!
'm sorry for being out of circulation & not having posted any updates. - It's not lazines or any lameduck excuse that kept me from doing duty! It was just that 'have been tied down from early morning till late night with programmes & preparation for the programmes.
Anyways ' will be back shortly & u'll can enjoy reading. Meanwhile you can have a look that i have been busy creating with some time that was a little spare -
http://www.kabeer.org/~kabeer/kabeer/index.php?title=Peoples_skills
Yes, this is our new website that is coming up - it's in the beta version still!
so do have a look & drop a line by telling me how you found it.
Take care,
Until next time,
Ciao & God Bless u'll.
A.S.Prasad
LULU PAGE
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
ME - DREAM !?,
"I'm a lucky man!" i would like to say. "I am allowed to do what I love to do!"
While some still don't really understand me, some are beginning to believe me.
Surely there are many ways to live fully and be happy on this earth; probably,i have found my own.
Of course i know i can't keep this up forever. One day i'll start slowing down, and then i'll begin to dispose of my things.
I have helped some of the people get settled overseas. But that's it,("My people are not rich, but they have enough to go on their own.")
"It's going to be in India" is all i'll say about my settling down.
It is going to be besides a flowing river with surrounding hills."It goes a long way, a little amount there. To enable people to accomplish things."
Well,early on realization came onto me. Realizing that what had to be done must be done between now & seventy one years of my life, things must change now.
My existence is to live that life - a life of Passion, Fulfillment,Free of Guilt & Having Contributed Successfully to the Well Being of my Fellow - Beings.
Now this is the truth.Take it or Leave It!
How many are lucky to get an Opportunity in Life to rework their contribution to Mankind & Life.
Very Few, in fact even of those who get it, many turn over, sleep it out & exclaim Ah! Good Dream.
Do You have the Courage to Dream, more still, Do You Have the Courage to Live Out Your Dreams.
Dream My Dear Readers, Dream On to Live Out Your Dreams.
for if Dreams Die Life is Nothing but a Broken wing'd Bird that Cannot Fly.
So, Sweet Dreams to YOU'LL.
& CIAO,
A.S.PRASAD.
While some still don't really understand me, some are beginning to believe me.
Surely there are many ways to live fully and be happy on this earth; probably,i have found my own.
Of course i know i can't keep this up forever. One day i'll start slowing down, and then i'll begin to dispose of my things.
I have helped some of the people get settled overseas. But that's it,("My people are not rich, but they have enough to go on their own.")
"It's going to be in India" is all i'll say about my settling down.
It is going to be besides a flowing river with surrounding hills."It goes a long way, a little amount there. To enable people to accomplish things."
Well,early on realization came onto me. Realizing that what had to be done must be done between now & seventy one years of my life, things must change now.
My existence is to live that life - a life of Passion, Fulfillment,Free of Guilt & Having Contributed Successfully to the Well Being of my Fellow - Beings.
Now this is the truth.Take it or Leave It!
How many are lucky to get an Opportunity in Life to rework their contribution to Mankind & Life.
Very Few, in fact even of those who get it, many turn over, sleep it out & exclaim Ah! Good Dream.
Do You have the Courage to Dream, more still, Do You Have the Courage to Live Out Your Dreams.
Dream My Dear Readers, Dream On to Live Out Your Dreams.
for if Dreams Die Life is Nothing but a Broken wing'd Bird that Cannot Fly.
So, Sweet Dreams to YOU'LL.
& CIAO,
A.S.PRASAD.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
MY CALL ....!
What is the Call i took? When did i take the Call? What made me take the Call? Where am I today? What is my Contribution?
Dear Reader,
Today, - Saturday night, as I sit down to write this blog there are no Blues, neither by the bay, nor jazz Blues nor with me.
True enough those Q’s I left you behind with about myself are very much on my brain.
Though it’s been a busy week what with running around to meet customers, day long meets & all that goes into keeping the business going including the pains, the sweat, the frustrations, the disappointments, the hurt, the tears, the dust , ah they were all there.
Yet, the answers to those, ‘Q’s, are here.
AH the CALL .
This was not some thing or some call that happened four score & twenty years ago, though I would have loved it to be & yes it would have made good reading.
It happened a few years back around 2000. I had just turned in my gloves as the president of an organization that was into facilitation & was thinking of what next to do?
Which new company to look for? What should I do now?
Where will the money come from to keep the wolf out of the house door?
They say that, 'there are moments in a man’s life when the tide comes in as a big wave & it is this tide he must ride –ride out to destinations seas unknown for it is at such moments that his future is rewritten & made.
Somewhere inside me a voice said, ‘Ships are not built to stay in but to sail the high seas’.
I knew then that I had to chart my own course from now on. There was to be no looking back.
So then & there in our own very Bangalore at Coffee house, i took the CALL, made the Decision, to start my own organization. It was then that I decided to get into the field of facilitation as a facilitator.
Here I said a silent prayer to god & thanked him & all my past organizations for giving me various opportunities at various times to do various things including training my potential second-in command & my juniors. The experience through those exposures was now going to come useful.
Mmm, ‘Very Brave’, said my management oriented brain used to think professionally.
Where is the money going to come from?.
Money, money, money everything needs money!
What did I go to B-school for?
And in all my programmes on entrepreneurship, I used to advocate, that to start a business you really do not need money always.
Well, now let me see what did I need?
So first, to come the inventory!
I was worth a home p.c, with an internet connection, a broken down printer, a mobile set, a telephone line, & a car with a driver.
Phew! I was a rich man, thanked God & all my friends, well-wishers known / unknown for their good & kind wishes.
Now what?
So sat down & thought...Realized I needed programmes to offer to my potential customers.
Now began the tough job of sitting in my seat & writing out programmes- you would actually have to believe - four hundred odd got created.
In the process what did I lose, what did gain?
My balance sheet at the end reflected me as berfit of most of my savings & richer by four hundred odd programmes & with six hungry mouths & stomachs to feed.
Whew a tough task indeed at hand?
The partner shouted, 'Give it all up,what has happened to you? You are mad, business is for those who have deep pockets, not for you. Here we are a middle class family & you go about dreaming of being a Gopinath & an Ambani.
Better mend your ways before it’s too late; Even Murthy would not have done such a foolish thing.
Who’s going to buy your programmes?
Somewhere I had read that, ‘a fool & his money are sure to part ways soon’.
Now neither, was I a fool, nor, was I with loaded with pots & bags of money. So the self was bitten bitterly bitten twice – once by the desire, the fire to start & create something on my own, & second by the partner’s stings.
They say, ‘once bitten always shy’, & here I was, a twice bitten fellow & no sign of being shy or remorse.
This was the passion, to create, to build, to be different and to use my education for a good cause of creating something rather than being a worker in an organization.
So the organization was born & christened as, ‘Peoples Skills’. It delivers programmes in soft skills for Corporates. Even college students have benefited from our programmes.
Today, as I look back, my decision has been sound, the journey tough, the roads bumpy, hit too many air- pockets, & the destination still far away to reach & land.
My A.T.C (My Conscience, God-my customers) is still guiding me & slowly, yet steadily drawing me to my destination port.
On landing, it will be a tough yet memorable flight; all the same it will be worth its while & with no regrets.
So dear reader those are my facts & thanks be to you & all those who supported, encouraged, motivated & even to those who gave me the brickbats for all that has helped.
Dear Reader,
Today, - Saturday night, as I sit down to write this blog there are no Blues, neither by the bay, nor jazz Blues nor with me.
True enough those Q’s I left you behind with about myself are very much on my brain.
Though it’s been a busy week what with running around to meet customers, day long meets & all that goes into keeping the business going including the pains, the sweat, the frustrations, the disappointments, the hurt, the tears, the dust , ah they were all there.
Yet, the answers to those, ‘Q’s, are here.
AH the CALL .
This was not some thing or some call that happened four score & twenty years ago, though I would have loved it to be & yes it would have made good reading.
It happened a few years back around 2000. I had just turned in my gloves as the president of an organization that was into facilitation & was thinking of what next to do?
Which new company to look for? What should I do now?
Where will the money come from to keep the wolf out of the house door?
They say that, 'there are moments in a man’s life when the tide comes in as a big wave & it is this tide he must ride –ride out to destinations seas unknown for it is at such moments that his future is rewritten & made.
Somewhere inside me a voice said, ‘Ships are not built to stay in but to sail the high seas’.
I knew then that I had to chart my own course from now on. There was to be no looking back.
So then & there in our own very Bangalore at Coffee house, i took the CALL, made the Decision, to start my own organization. It was then that I decided to get into the field of facilitation as a facilitator.
Here I said a silent prayer to god & thanked him & all my past organizations for giving me various opportunities at various times to do various things including training my potential second-in command & my juniors. The experience through those exposures was now going to come useful.
Mmm, ‘Very Brave’, said my management oriented brain used to think professionally.
Where is the money going to come from?.
Money, money, money everything needs money!
What did I go to B-school for?
And in all my programmes on entrepreneurship, I used to advocate, that to start a business you really do not need money always.
Well, now let me see what did I need?
So first, to come the inventory!
I was worth a home p.c, with an internet connection, a broken down printer, a mobile set, a telephone line, & a car with a driver.
Phew! I was a rich man, thanked God & all my friends, well-wishers known / unknown for their good & kind wishes.
Now what?
So sat down & thought...Realized I needed programmes to offer to my potential customers.
Now began the tough job of sitting in my seat & writing out programmes- you would actually have to believe - four hundred odd got created.
In the process what did I lose, what did gain?
My balance sheet at the end reflected me as berfit of most of my savings & richer by four hundred odd programmes & with six hungry mouths & stomachs to feed.
Whew a tough task indeed at hand?
The partner shouted, 'Give it all up,what has happened to you? You are mad, business is for those who have deep pockets, not for you. Here we are a middle class family & you go about dreaming of being a Gopinath & an Ambani.
Better mend your ways before it’s too late; Even Murthy would not have done such a foolish thing.
Who’s going to buy your programmes?
Somewhere I had read that, ‘a fool & his money are sure to part ways soon’.
Now neither, was I a fool, nor, was I with loaded with pots & bags of money. So the self was bitten bitterly bitten twice – once by the desire, the fire to start & create something on my own, & second by the partner’s stings.
They say, ‘once bitten always shy’, & here I was, a twice bitten fellow & no sign of being shy or remorse.
This was the passion, to create, to build, to be different and to use my education for a good cause of creating something rather than being a worker in an organization.
So the organization was born & christened as, ‘Peoples Skills’. It delivers programmes in soft skills for Corporates. Even college students have benefited from our programmes.
Today, as I look back, my decision has been sound, the journey tough, the roads bumpy, hit too many air- pockets, & the destination still far away to reach & land.
My A.T.C (My Conscience, God-my customers) is still guiding me & slowly, yet steadily drawing me to my destination port.
On landing, it will be a tough yet memorable flight; all the same it will be worth its while & with no regrets.
So dear reader those are my facts & thanks be to you & all those who supported, encouraged, motivated & even to those who gave me the brickbats for all that has helped.
Friday, May 23, 2008
A CLARION CALL
After posting the last post,i felt this writing of mine had for too long been dormant in me.So the flow-
It was Swami Vivekananda who once said,"As long as even a dog goes hungry in my beloved country,i shall consider all the education of my fellow people a waste."
It is indeed ,'A Sheer Waste.'
Today we have many engineers, doctors, lawyers, software professionals & more can added to the list of different types of professionals.
However they are all under the category of literate lot.
How many of today's youth are fired with the zeal, the fire within to start something on their own & create opportunities for a livelihood for their less fortunate fellow country menn.
A common sight that one sees is all the engineers want to get into a software company or a B.P.O. or a job that can give them a good salary & a comfortable work schedule.
Today even the 10th & 12th standard youth are picked up & get jobs in a B.P.O or a Call Center. If you can speak a few sentences in English then you are picked up, trained & put on the job.
Even the accent is taught.
Nothing wrong with this one would like to say. Sure, there is nothing wrong with it, however has anyone paused & thought of what is this leading to?
As a nation are we getting to be a nation of keyboard fluent people with a scarce usage of our cognitive abilities. Is this what our parents toiled for? Is this what our forefathers fought & sought Independence for?
Then we were better of as a colony of some crown.
Are we sure of this being what we need? Let me stay away from the nuances & definitions & classification of Needs, Wants & Desires. I willingly leave that to the pundits of Economics,Marketing & Management.
The objective of this note is not to digress.
It is to highlight the one fact that if even a 100 out of every 500 grads decide to start their own entreprise,then we would have taken the first steps in being a Globally Able Power.
What we need is a sincere determined relentless effort from our youth with the fire, zeal, burning desire & unending ambition to build, create & own a small unit of theirs. This will help many others be productive & generate employment.
In its train this will bring with it the ability of all my fellow Indians & India -our country to be capable of taking on the mightiest of all. We will stand able, capable, free & strong as a nation on the world platform.
A word of caution that goes out is that,'at no point is there an underestimation or derecognition of our present achievements & position'.
Let this be a,Clarion Call,to my fellow indians especially the Youth of India to pause, check themselves & be really deserving of called,'Educated'.
There are many in the corporate world who want to get out & do something for themselves & through their work for their fellow beings.
To them my my message is,'If You Strongly Sense & Feel the Need within You, then Take that Call Now, Do It Now'.
For if you remain fom taking that Call now, then You would never take it. You would always have the regret, the disatisfied feeling within you of having stopped from doing something on Your own
For myself - i can cross my heart like a true boy scout & say that,'i Have Taken the Call, Made My Decision to be Independent, Start Something on my own, Create my own Orgnization & thereby enable others.
Dear Reader, What about You? Where are You? How Long will it take You? Can You Go for It? Do You Want to Go for It.... Then Go for It.
Remember... Visionaries lay down & create paths for others to follow on.
Visionaries are Powerful People in themselves. It is not the physical that one is addressing here,- the internal .... mental, spiritual strength of the Soul that i am addressing here.
Creators, Visionaries are self - disciplined people.
The others have disciplined enforced on them.
So Take Your Call Now, Make That Decision Now!
Next Post.... What is the Call i took? When did i take the Call? What made me take the Call? Where am I today? What is my Contribution?
It was Swami Vivekananda who once said,"As long as even a dog goes hungry in my beloved country,i shall consider all the education of my fellow people a waste."
It is indeed ,'A Sheer Waste.'
Today we have many engineers, doctors, lawyers, software professionals & more can added to the list of different types of professionals.
However they are all under the category of literate lot.
How many of today's youth are fired with the zeal, the fire within to start something on their own & create opportunities for a livelihood for their less fortunate fellow country menn.
A common sight that one sees is all the engineers want to get into a software company or a B.P.O. or a job that can give them a good salary & a comfortable work schedule.
Today even the 10th & 12th standard youth are picked up & get jobs in a B.P.O or a Call Center. If you can speak a few sentences in English then you are picked up, trained & put on the job.
Even the accent is taught.
Nothing wrong with this one would like to say. Sure, there is nothing wrong with it, however has anyone paused & thought of what is this leading to?
As a nation are we getting to be a nation of keyboard fluent people with a scarce usage of our cognitive abilities. Is this what our parents toiled for? Is this what our forefathers fought & sought Independence for?
Then we were better of as a colony of some crown.
Are we sure of this being what we need? Let me stay away from the nuances & definitions & classification of Needs, Wants & Desires. I willingly leave that to the pundits of Economics,Marketing & Management.
The objective of this note is not to digress.
It is to highlight the one fact that if even a 100 out of every 500 grads decide to start their own entreprise,then we would have taken the first steps in being a Globally Able Power.
What we need is a sincere determined relentless effort from our youth with the fire, zeal, burning desire & unending ambition to build, create & own a small unit of theirs. This will help many others be productive & generate employment.
In its train this will bring with it the ability of all my fellow Indians & India -our country to be capable of taking on the mightiest of all. We will stand able, capable, free & strong as a nation on the world platform.
A word of caution that goes out is that,'at no point is there an underestimation or derecognition of our present achievements & position'.
Let this be a,Clarion Call,to my fellow indians especially the Youth of India to pause, check themselves & be really deserving of called,'Educated'.
There are many in the corporate world who want to get out & do something for themselves & through their work for their fellow beings.
To them my my message is,'If You Strongly Sense & Feel the Need within You, then Take that Call Now, Do It Now'.
For if you remain fom taking that Call now, then You would never take it. You would always have the regret, the disatisfied feeling within you of having stopped from doing something on Your own
For myself - i can cross my heart like a true boy scout & say that,'i Have Taken the Call, Made My Decision to be Independent, Start Something on my own, Create my own Orgnization & thereby enable others.
Dear Reader, What about You? Where are You? How Long will it take You? Can You Go for It? Do You Want to Go for It.... Then Go for It.
Remember... Visionaries lay down & create paths for others to follow on.
Visionaries are Powerful People in themselves. It is not the physical that one is addressing here,- the internal .... mental, spiritual strength of the Soul that i am addressing here.
Creators, Visionaries are self - disciplined people.
The others have disciplined enforced on them.
So Take Your Call Now, Make That Decision Now!
Next Post.... What is the Call i took? When did i take the Call? What made me take the Call? Where am I today? What is my Contribution?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
REAL PASSION
A crorepati who lives in a hut!
His story is an inspiration for millions. A self-made entrepreneur, his mission is to help the poor through job creation. E Sarathbabu hit the headlines after he rejected several high profile job offers from various MNCs after he passed out of IIM, Ahmedabad two years ago.
He instead started a catering business of his own, inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, worked as an ayah in an Anganvadi to educate him and his siblings. As a child, he also sold idlis in the slum where he lived. "We talk about India shining and India growing, but we should ensure that people do not die of hunger. We can be a developed country but we should not leave the poor people behind. I am worried for them because I know what hunger is and I still remember the days I was hungry," says Sarathbabu.
In August 2006, Sarathbabu's entrepreneurial dream came true with Foodking. He had no personal ambition but wanted to buy a house and a car for his mother. He has bought a car but is yet to buy a house for his mother. The "foodking" still lives in the same hut in Madipakkam in Chennai.
Today, Foodking has six units and 200 employees, and the turnover of the company is Rs.32 lakh a month. But it has not been a bed of roses for Sarathbabu. After struggling and making losses in the first year, he managed a turnaround in 2007.
How has his experience as a 'Foodking' been in the last two years? Sarathbabu shares the trial and tribulations of an exciting and challenging job in an interview with Shobha Warrier.
A tough beginning
As I am a first generation entrepreneur, the first year was very challenging. I had a loan of Rs 20 lakh by the end of first year. I had no experience in handling people in business, and it was difficult to identify the right people. Though I made losses in the first year, not even once did I regret my decision of not accepting the offers from MNCs and starting an enterprise of my own. I looked at my losses as a learning experience. I was confident that I would be successful one day.
Sleeping on the railway platform
My first unit was at IIM, Ahmedabad. When we started our second unit in October 2006, I thought now I would start making money. But I made losses of around Rs 2000 a day. A first generation entrepreneur cannot afford such a loss. But I worked really hard, working till 3 a.m. in the morning. What reduced my losses were the birthday party offers.
I started the third unit again in Ahmedabad but it also made losses. All my units were cafeteria and I understood then that the small cafeterias do not work; I needed huge volumes to work. My friends who were extremely supportive in the first year when things were difficult for me. I had taken loans from my IIM-A friends. They were earning very well.
In December 2006, an IIM Ahmedabad alumni event took place in Mumbai and I decided to go there mainly to get a contract. I was hopeful of getting it. I also knew that if I got the huge contract, I would come out of all the losses I had been incurring.
I booked my train ticket from Ahmedabad to Mumbai for Rs 300 and I had Rs 200 in my hand. As the meet went on till late at night, I could reach the station only at midnight. I missed the train. I decided to sit on the platform till the morning and travel by the next train in the morning. I didn't have the money to check into a hotel. I didn't want to disturb any of my friends so late at night.
It was an unforgettable night as I was even shoved off by policemen from the platform. It was quite insulting and embarrassing. After two hours, people started moving in, I also went in.
A man who sat next to me on the platform gave me a newspaper so that I could sleep. I spread the newspaper and slept on the platform! I sleep well. I got my ticket refund in the morning and went back to Ahmedabad. And, luck did not favour me, I didn't get the contract.
In March 2007, I got an offer to start a unit at BITS, Pilani (Sarathbabu was an alumnus of BITS, Pilani). That was the first medium break for me. For the first time, I started making profits there though the other units continued to make losses. The reason for our success at BITS, Pilani was the volume; there were more students and there was a need for a unit like ours while in Ahmedabad, they have at least a hundred options.
If I made Rs 5000 a day at Ahmedabad in two shifts, here I made Rs 15,000 a day. BITS, Pilani unit gave me the confidence to move on. Unless you make money, you can't be confident in business.
What changed my fortune
When all my friends who worked for various MNCs made good money every month and I made losses with my venture. But I kept telling myself, I am moving in the right direction to reach my ambition and vision. My dream was to provide employment and I was doing just that. I continued to work till 3 a.m. but I never felt tired.
Through BITS, Pilani, I got the BITS, Goa contract and that was the biggest break for me. It was not a cafeteria like the earlier ones but the dining hall that we got. We had to feed 1300 students. We started our operations in July 2007. At Rs 50, for 1300 students, our sales was Rs 65,000 per day. We soon started making a profit of Rs 10 to 15,000 a day. Around 60 to 70 people work there. I gave the charge of the Ahmedabad operations to one of my managers and moved to Goa.
I was still in debt by Rs 15-20 lakhs but I knew BITS, Goa would keep my dream alive. Within six months of starting our operations in Goa, I repaid all my debt.
I was called to give a speech at the SRM Deemed University. After the speech, I asked the Chancellor, can you give me an opportunity to serve in your campus? He said, "If not you, to whom will I give such an opportunity?" It's a food court but a big one, similar to the one at BITS, Pilani. There are around 17,000 students there.
Now, I have the BITS, Hyderabad contract, ready to start in July 2008. Other than the six units, I have approached a few more universities and corporate houses too. In the first year, I had made a loss of Rs 25 lakh. Right now, we have a turnover of Rs 32 lakh every month, which works out to 3.5 crore (Rs 35 million) a year.
I have hired about 200 people. Indirectly, we touch the lives of around 1000 people. By this year end, we will have 500 people working for us. Only 10% of my workers are educated, the rest are uneducated.
I want to make a change in their lives. If they have any problem, I will take care of it. We support the marriages and education of poor families. We are paying more to the employees as the company is doing well. Now that the foundation is strong, I plan to have ten units and a turnover of Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) turnover by next year
His advice: Never give up!
In the last two years, I have given more than 120 lectures in various institutions in India. When I got the first opportunity to speak, I thought God had given me an opportunity to encourage or inspire entrepreneurs. When youngsters tell me they are inspired, I feel good.
When you just dish out the theory, nobody believes you. But when you do it, they believe you. What I tell them is based on my own experiences.
When I thought of starting a company, I felt India needed 100 people like Narayana Murthy and Ambani. If 100 such people support 2 lakh people each, imagine how many Indians get supported.
Entrepreneurship is needed to uplift the poor. It is not easy to be an entrepreneur, especially a first generation entrepreneur.
There will be lots of challenges in the beginning but you should learn to look for the light at the end of the tunnel.
Never give up even if there are hurdles. There are many who give up within a week.
You need determination and a tough mind to cross the initial hurdles.
If you are starting without much money, you should not have any overhead expenses.
He still lives in the same hut
As I am in the food business, I know how much the price of every food item has gone up. Many people will languish in poverty because of inflation. Had my mother been working as an Anganvadi ayah today and earning Rs 1500, she would not have been able to feed us and educate us.
On the one side, we talk about India shining and India growing, but we should ensure that people do not die of hunger. We can be a developed country but we should not leave the poor people behind. I am worried for them because I know what hunger is and I still remember the days I was hungry. That is why I feel it is our responsibility to take care of them.
I wanted to buy a car and a house for my mother. I bought a car first, not a house. I still live in the same house, the same hut. I can build a house right now but I want my business to grow a little more. I feel good in the hut; that's where I get my energy, that's where I lived 25 years of my life. I want to remind myself that the money and fame should not take me away from what I want to achieve.
But within six months, I will build a good house for my mother. Her only advice to me is, don't waste money.
Till I was in the 10th, there was no electricity in my house. I had to sit near the kerosene lamp and concentrate hard. That's how I learnt to concentrate.
The two year journey has been very enriching. It seems like a 20-year journey for me. I was living every moment of the two years, from sleeping on the Mumbai railway station platform to this level.
Article taken from one of the yahoo groups
His story is an inspiration for millions. A self-made entrepreneur, his mission is to help the poor through job creation. E Sarathbabu hit the headlines after he rejected several high profile job offers from various MNCs after he passed out of IIM, Ahmedabad two years ago.
He instead started a catering business of his own, inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, worked as an ayah in an Anganvadi to educate him and his siblings. As a child, he also sold idlis in the slum where he lived. "We talk about India shining and India growing, but we should ensure that people do not die of hunger. We can be a developed country but we should not leave the poor people behind. I am worried for them because I know what hunger is and I still remember the days I was hungry," says Sarathbabu.
In August 2006, Sarathbabu's entrepreneurial dream came true with Foodking. He had no personal ambition but wanted to buy a house and a car for his mother. He has bought a car but is yet to buy a house for his mother. The "foodking" still lives in the same hut in Madipakkam in Chennai.
Today, Foodking has six units and 200 employees, and the turnover of the company is Rs.32 lakh a month. But it has not been a bed of roses for Sarathbabu. After struggling and making losses in the first year, he managed a turnaround in 2007.
How has his experience as a 'Foodking' been in the last two years? Sarathbabu shares the trial and tribulations of an exciting and challenging job in an interview with Shobha Warrier.
A tough beginning
As I am a first generation entrepreneur, the first year was very challenging. I had a loan of Rs 20 lakh by the end of first year. I had no experience in handling people in business, and it was difficult to identify the right people. Though I made losses in the first year, not even once did I regret my decision of not accepting the offers from MNCs and starting an enterprise of my own. I looked at my losses as a learning experience. I was confident that I would be successful one day.
Sleeping on the railway platform
My first unit was at IIM, Ahmedabad. When we started our second unit in October 2006, I thought now I would start making money. But I made losses of around Rs 2000 a day. A first generation entrepreneur cannot afford such a loss. But I worked really hard, working till 3 a.m. in the morning. What reduced my losses were the birthday party offers.
I started the third unit again in Ahmedabad but it also made losses. All my units were cafeteria and I understood then that the small cafeterias do not work; I needed huge volumes to work. My friends who were extremely supportive in the first year when things were difficult for me. I had taken loans from my IIM-A friends. They were earning very well.
In December 2006, an IIM Ahmedabad alumni event took place in Mumbai and I decided to go there mainly to get a contract. I was hopeful of getting it. I also knew that if I got the huge contract, I would come out of all the losses I had been incurring.
I booked my train ticket from Ahmedabad to Mumbai for Rs 300 and I had Rs 200 in my hand. As the meet went on till late at night, I could reach the station only at midnight. I missed the train. I decided to sit on the platform till the morning and travel by the next train in the morning. I didn't have the money to check into a hotel. I didn't want to disturb any of my friends so late at night.
It was an unforgettable night as I was even shoved off by policemen from the platform. It was quite insulting and embarrassing. After two hours, people started moving in, I also went in.
A man who sat next to me on the platform gave me a newspaper so that I could sleep. I spread the newspaper and slept on the platform! I sleep well. I got my ticket refund in the morning and went back to Ahmedabad. And, luck did not favour me, I didn't get the contract.
In March 2007, I got an offer to start a unit at BITS, Pilani (Sarathbabu was an alumnus of BITS, Pilani). That was the first medium break for me. For the first time, I started making profits there though the other units continued to make losses. The reason for our success at BITS, Pilani was the volume; there were more students and there was a need for a unit like ours while in Ahmedabad, they have at least a hundred options.
If I made Rs 5000 a day at Ahmedabad in two shifts, here I made Rs 15,000 a day. BITS, Pilani unit gave me the confidence to move on. Unless you make money, you can't be confident in business.
What changed my fortune
When all my friends who worked for various MNCs made good money every month and I made losses with my venture. But I kept telling myself, I am moving in the right direction to reach my ambition and vision. My dream was to provide employment and I was doing just that. I continued to work till 3 a.m. but I never felt tired.
Through BITS, Pilani, I got the BITS, Goa contract and that was the biggest break for me. It was not a cafeteria like the earlier ones but the dining hall that we got. We had to feed 1300 students. We started our operations in July 2007. At Rs 50, for 1300 students, our sales was Rs 65,000 per day. We soon started making a profit of Rs 10 to 15,000 a day. Around 60 to 70 people work there. I gave the charge of the Ahmedabad operations to one of my managers and moved to Goa.
I was still in debt by Rs 15-20 lakhs but I knew BITS, Goa would keep my dream alive. Within six months of starting our operations in Goa, I repaid all my debt.
I was called to give a speech at the SRM Deemed University. After the speech, I asked the Chancellor, can you give me an opportunity to serve in your campus? He said, "If not you, to whom will I give such an opportunity?" It's a food court but a big one, similar to the one at BITS, Pilani. There are around 17,000 students there.
Now, I have the BITS, Hyderabad contract, ready to start in July 2008. Other than the six units, I have approached a few more universities and corporate houses too. In the first year, I had made a loss of Rs 25 lakh. Right now, we have a turnover of Rs 32 lakh every month, which works out to 3.5 crore (Rs 35 million) a year.
I have hired about 200 people. Indirectly, we touch the lives of around 1000 people. By this year end, we will have 500 people working for us. Only 10% of my workers are educated, the rest are uneducated.
I want to make a change in their lives. If they have any problem, I will take care of it. We support the marriages and education of poor families. We are paying more to the employees as the company is doing well. Now that the foundation is strong, I plan to have ten units and a turnover of Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) turnover by next year
His advice: Never give up!
In the last two years, I have given more than 120 lectures in various institutions in India. When I got the first opportunity to speak, I thought God had given me an opportunity to encourage or inspire entrepreneurs. When youngsters tell me they are inspired, I feel good.
When you just dish out the theory, nobody believes you. But when you do it, they believe you. What I tell them is based on my own experiences.
When I thought of starting a company, I felt India needed 100 people like Narayana Murthy and Ambani. If 100 such people support 2 lakh people each, imagine how many Indians get supported.
Entrepreneurship is needed to uplift the poor. It is not easy to be an entrepreneur, especially a first generation entrepreneur.
There will be lots of challenges in the beginning but you should learn to look for the light at the end of the tunnel.
Never give up even if there are hurdles. There are many who give up within a week.
You need determination and a tough mind to cross the initial hurdles.
If you are starting without much money, you should not have any overhead expenses.
He still lives in the same hut
As I am in the food business, I know how much the price of every food item has gone up. Many people will languish in poverty because of inflation. Had my mother been working as an Anganvadi ayah today and earning Rs 1500, she would not have been able to feed us and educate us.
On the one side, we talk about India shining and India growing, but we should ensure that people do not die of hunger. We can be a developed country but we should not leave the poor people behind. I am worried for them because I know what hunger is and I still remember the days I was hungry. That is why I feel it is our responsibility to take care of them.
I wanted to buy a car and a house for my mother. I bought a car first, not a house. I still live in the same house, the same hut. I can build a house right now but I want my business to grow a little more. I feel good in the hut; that's where I get my energy, that's where I lived 25 years of my life. I want to remind myself that the money and fame should not take me away from what I want to achieve.
But within six months, I will build a good house for my mother. Her only advice to me is, don't waste money.
Till I was in the 10th, there was no electricity in my house. I had to sit near the kerosene lamp and concentrate hard. That's how I learnt to concentrate.
The two year journey has been very enriching. It seems like a 20-year journey for me. I was living every moment of the two years, from sleeping on the Mumbai railway station platform to this level.
Article taken from one of the yahoo groups
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
ZEN STORIES
When Tired
A student once asked his teacher,
"Master, what is enlightenment?"
The master replied,
"When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep."
Empty Your Cup
A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master.
While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen.
The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring.
The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself.
"It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted.
"You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."
Moving Mind
Two men were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind.
"It's the wind that is really moving," stated the first one.
"No, it is the flag that is moving," contended the second.
A Zen master, who happened to be walking by, overheard the debate and interrupted them.
"Neither the flag nor the wind is moving," he said, "It is MIND that moves."
It Will Pass
A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible!
I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!".
"It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly.
A week later, the student came back to his teacher. "My meditation is wonderful!
I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!'
"It will pass," the teacher replied matter-of-factly.
Holy Man
Word spread across the countryside about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop the mountain.
A man from the village decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit him.
When he arrived at the house, he saw an old servant inside who greeting him at the door.
"I would like to see the wise Holy Man," he said to the servant.
The servant smiled and led him inside.
As they walked through the house, the man from the village looked eagerly around the house, anticipating his encounter with the Holy Man.
Before he knew it, he had been led to the back door and escorted outside. He stopped and turned to the servant,
"But I want to see the Holy Man!"
"You already have," said the old man. "Everyone you may meet in life, even if they appear plain and insignificant... see each of them as a wise Holy Man.
If you do this, then whatever problem you brought here today will be solved."
I Don't Know
The emperor, who was a devout Buddhist, invited a great Zen master to the Palace in order to ask him questions about Buddhism.
"What is the highest truth of the holy Buddhist doctrine?" the emperor inquired.
"Vast emptiness... and not a trace of holiness," the master replied.
"If there is no holiness," the emperor said, "then who or what are you?"
"I do not know," the master replied.
Is That So?
A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant.
Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father.
At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life.
When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?"
When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village.
They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.
For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told.
She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect.
The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby.
With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child.
Nature's Beauty
A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple.
He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master.
One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden.
He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves.
As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples.
When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. "Isn't it beautiful," he called out to the old master.
"Yes," replied the old man, "but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I'll put it right for you."
After hesitating, the priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down.
Slowly, the master walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it.
Leaves showered down all over the garden. "There," said the old man, "you can put me back now."
We'll See...
There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.
One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.
"Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.
"We'll see," the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.
"How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed.
"We'll see," replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg.
The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
"We'll see," answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army.
Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by.
The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
"We'll see" said the farmer.
The Nature of Things
Two monks were washing their bowls in the river when they noticed a scorpion that was drowning.
One monk immediately scooped it up and set it upon the bank.
In the process he was stung. He went back to washing his bowl and again the scorpion fell in.
The monk saved the scorpion and was again stung.
The other monk asked him, "Friend, why do you continue to save the scorpion when you know it's nature is to sting?"
"Because," the monk replied, "to save it is my nature."
Working Very Hard
A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system.
How long will it take me to master it."
The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years."
Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that.
I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to.
How long will it take then?"
The teacher thought for a moment,"20 years."
The Moon Cannot Be Stolen
A Zen Master lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain.
One evening, while he was away, a thief sneaked into the hut only to find there was nothing in it to steal.
The Zen Master returned and found him. "You have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty handed.
Please take my clothes as a gift."
The thief was bewildered, but he took the clothes and ran away.
The Master sat naked, watching the moon. "Poor fellow," he mused, " I wish I could give him this beautiful moon."
Transient
A famous spiritual teacher came to the front door of the King's palace.
None of the guards tried to stop him as he entered and made his way to where the King himself was sitting on his throne.
"What do you want?" asked the King, immediately recognizing the visitor.
"I would like a place to sleep in this inn," replied the teacher.
"But this is not an inn," said the King,
"It is my palace."
"May I ask who owned this palace before you?"
"My father. He is dead."
"And who owned it before him?"
"My grandfather. He too is dead."
"And this place where people live for a short time and then move on - did I hear you say that it is NOT an inn?"
Without Fear
During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and take control.
In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived - everyone except the Zen master.
Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man this master was.
When he wasn't treated with the deference and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general burst into anger.
"You fool," he shouted as he reached for his sword, "don't you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye!"
But despite the threat, the master seemed unmoved.
"And do you realize," the master replied calmly, "that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?"
Surprising the Master
The students in the monastery were in total awe of the elder monk, not because he was strict, but because nothing ever seemed to upset or ruffle him.
So they found him a bit unearthly and even frightening.
One day they decided to put him to a test.
A bunch of them very quietly hid in a dark corner of one of the hallways, and waited for the monk to walk by.
Within moments, the old man appeared, carrying a cup of hot tea.
Just as he passed by, the students all rushed out at him screaming as loud as they could.
But the monk showed no reaction whatsoever.
He peacefully made his way to a small table at the end of the hall, gently placed the cup down, and then, leaning against the wall, cried out with shock, "Ohhhhh!"
Knowing Fish
One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river.
"Look at the fish swimming about," said Chuang Tzu, "They are really enjoying themselves."
"You are not a fish," replied the friend, "So you can't truly know that they are enjoying themselves."
"You are not me," said Chuang Tzu. "So how do you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves?"
A student once asked his teacher,
"Master, what is enlightenment?"
The master replied,
"When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep."
Empty Your Cup
A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master.
While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen.
The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring.
The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself.
"It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted.
"You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."
Moving Mind
Two men were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind.
"It's the wind that is really moving," stated the first one.
"No, it is the flag that is moving," contended the second.
A Zen master, who happened to be walking by, overheard the debate and interrupted them.
"Neither the flag nor the wind is moving," he said, "It is MIND that moves."
It Will Pass
A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible!
I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!".
"It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly.
A week later, the student came back to his teacher. "My meditation is wonderful!
I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!'
"It will pass," the teacher replied matter-of-factly.
Holy Man
Word spread across the countryside about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop the mountain.
A man from the village decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit him.
When he arrived at the house, he saw an old servant inside who greeting him at the door.
"I would like to see the wise Holy Man," he said to the servant.
The servant smiled and led him inside.
As they walked through the house, the man from the village looked eagerly around the house, anticipating his encounter with the Holy Man.
Before he knew it, he had been led to the back door and escorted outside. He stopped and turned to the servant,
"But I want to see the Holy Man!"
"You already have," said the old man. "Everyone you may meet in life, even if they appear plain and insignificant... see each of them as a wise Holy Man.
If you do this, then whatever problem you brought here today will be solved."
I Don't Know
The emperor, who was a devout Buddhist, invited a great Zen master to the Palace in order to ask him questions about Buddhism.
"What is the highest truth of the holy Buddhist doctrine?" the emperor inquired.
"Vast emptiness... and not a trace of holiness," the master replied.
"If there is no holiness," the emperor said, "then who or what are you?"
"I do not know," the master replied.
Is That So?
A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant.
Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father.
At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life.
When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?"
When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village.
They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.
For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told.
She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect.
The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby.
With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child.
Nature's Beauty
A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple.
He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master.
One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden.
He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves.
As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples.
When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. "Isn't it beautiful," he called out to the old master.
"Yes," replied the old man, "but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I'll put it right for you."
After hesitating, the priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down.
Slowly, the master walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it.
Leaves showered down all over the garden. "There," said the old man, "you can put me back now."
We'll See...
There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years.
One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit.
"Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.
"We'll see," the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.
"How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed.
"We'll see," replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg.
The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
"We'll see," answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army.
Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by.
The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
"We'll see" said the farmer.
The Nature of Things
Two monks were washing their bowls in the river when they noticed a scorpion that was drowning.
One monk immediately scooped it up and set it upon the bank.
In the process he was stung. He went back to washing his bowl and again the scorpion fell in.
The monk saved the scorpion and was again stung.
The other monk asked him, "Friend, why do you continue to save the scorpion when you know it's nature is to sting?"
"Because," the monk replied, "to save it is my nature."
Working Very Hard
A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system.
How long will it take me to master it."
The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years."
Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that.
I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to.
How long will it take then?"
The teacher thought for a moment,"20 years."
The Moon Cannot Be Stolen
A Zen Master lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain.
One evening, while he was away, a thief sneaked into the hut only to find there was nothing in it to steal.
The Zen Master returned and found him. "You have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty handed.
Please take my clothes as a gift."
The thief was bewildered, but he took the clothes and ran away.
The Master sat naked, watching the moon. "Poor fellow," he mused, " I wish I could give him this beautiful moon."
Transient
A famous spiritual teacher came to the front door of the King's palace.
None of the guards tried to stop him as he entered and made his way to where the King himself was sitting on his throne.
"What do you want?" asked the King, immediately recognizing the visitor.
"I would like a place to sleep in this inn," replied the teacher.
"But this is not an inn," said the King,
"It is my palace."
"May I ask who owned this palace before you?"
"My father. He is dead."
"And who owned it before him?"
"My grandfather. He too is dead."
"And this place where people live for a short time and then move on - did I hear you say that it is NOT an inn?"
Without Fear
During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and take control.
In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived - everyone except the Zen master.
Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man this master was.
When he wasn't treated with the deference and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general burst into anger.
"You fool," he shouted as he reached for his sword, "don't you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye!"
But despite the threat, the master seemed unmoved.
"And do you realize," the master replied calmly, "that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?"
Surprising the Master
The students in the monastery were in total awe of the elder monk, not because he was strict, but because nothing ever seemed to upset or ruffle him.
So they found him a bit unearthly and even frightening.
One day they decided to put him to a test.
A bunch of them very quietly hid in a dark corner of one of the hallways, and waited for the monk to walk by.
Within moments, the old man appeared, carrying a cup of hot tea.
Just as he passed by, the students all rushed out at him screaming as loud as they could.
But the monk showed no reaction whatsoever.
He peacefully made his way to a small table at the end of the hall, gently placed the cup down, and then, leaning against the wall, cried out with shock, "Ohhhhh!"
Knowing Fish
One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river.
"Look at the fish swimming about," said Chuang Tzu, "They are really enjoying themselves."
"You are not a fish," replied the friend, "So you can't truly know that they are enjoying themselves."
"You are not me," said Chuang Tzu. "So how do you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves?"
Monday, May 19, 2008
ZEN PHILOSOPHY
There exists a great interest in the West about Zen, particularly since World War II. Yet there seems to be a general haziness about the origin of Zen, what it believes, and the disciplines of Zen.
The fault is not entirely with the interested-but-uninitiated.
The fault lies also with Zen as a deliberately inscrutable teaching, made even more enigmatic by its interpreters, who spend many years writing innumerable books to explain what they insist is utterly inexplicable.
Their explanations are frequently interrupted to warn the reader that, in the words of Lao Tzu, "they who tell do not know; they who know do not tell."
Many people think of Zen as a Japanese development, manifest in their Noh plays, in their flower arrangements, in their dances, in their tea ceremonies, in their art, in their archery. And if they think so, they are within the area of the truth.
Some think of Zen as a Chinese interpretation of the Buddhist concept of the state of enlightenment, or of being "awakened," transported and adjusted to Japanese culture. That, too, is within the area of truth.
And then there are some who think that Zen Buddhism goes back to the days of the Buddha in India, when he began to expound Zen, wordlessly.
According to legend, when Buddha was growing old he convened his disciples for an important discourse.
And when they gathered and sat down silently, reverently waiting to hear their aging Master speak, the Buddha arose, came forward on the flower-decked platform, looked over his audience of disciples and monks, then bent down and picked up a flower which he raised to the level of his eyes.
Then, without uttering a word, he returned to his seat. His followers looked at each other in bewilderment, not understanding the meaning of his silence. Only the venerable Mahakasyapa serenely smiled at the Master.
And the Master smiled back at him and wordlessly bequeathed to him the spiritual meaning of his wordless sermon.
And that, according to legend, was the moment Zen was born.
Nearly a thousand years passed from the legendary encounter of the Buddha and the venerable Mahakasyapa until Zen, transmitted from generation to generation, reached Bodhi-Dharma, who introduced it to China.
And still another century passed before a Chinese philosopher and theologian, Hui-neng, who died in 713 A.D., established Zen as a sect of Buddhism.
In China, the mystic experience of the Buddha's enlightenment was influenced by the teachings of Lao Tzu. While the seed of Zen came from India, it grew in China and was transformed by Taoism. But it did not reach full flowering until it came, with Chinese Buddhism, to Japan.
In Japan, Zen was crystallized into a system, although its adherents insisted that it could not be taught, and argued that there could be no dependence on explanations, on sermonizing, or on any formal creed or ritual.
Since Zen was adopted and adapted in Japan, it has gone through a number of transformations. For historical reasons, and because of its presumable nihilistic implications, Zen became popular with the intellectual classes in Japan, and its following increased to nearly five million toward the end of the Second World War.
The name "Zen" is Japanese. It derives from the Chinese Chan'an-na, which is a corruption from the Buddhist Dhyana, meaning Meditation.
Zen means waking up to the present moment. That is, perceiving this moment exactly as it is, rather than through the filter of our ideas, opinions, etc. One way to practice this is to ask yourself a Big Question, such as "What am I?"
If you ask such a question strongly and sincerely, what appears is "Don't Know." This don't-know is before thinking. If you keep it moment to moment, then everything is clear. Then, each moment, whatever you're doing, just do it.
When you're sitting, just sit; when you're eating, just eat; and so on. According to Zen, existence is found in the silence of the mind (no-mind), beyond the chatter of our internal dialog.
Existence, from the Zen perspective is something that is only happening spontaneously, and it is not just our thoughts. All of life that we perceive is constantly in a state of change.
Every atom in the universe is somewhere different every millionth of a second.
What then is existence? Zen says that it is instantaneous. Since the earth is constantly moving, and our thoughts and our bodies are constantly in a process of fluctuation, then what we really are, can only be experienced in each moment.
Think of a view. Is it what it was a second ago, or what it is now? In fact the moment we say the word “view", the view has already changed into something new.
In fact, anything that we can explain, according to this viewpoint, must be past-tense.
Even if it’s about our most immediate feelings and thoughts, it is not the same experience the second after it passes through our minds. Researchers estimate that our minds perceive 12,000 separate impressions every second.
This is in terms of everything that we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel.
So, what is our reality really? Isn’t it always a very limited view of what we are even actually experiencing around us? And that which we are aware of, is only our own minute impression of the world itself.
Are any of our views then actually true in the absolute sense of the word, or are they all just our subjective impressions, based on an individual experience of what we are perceiving?
For example, a person may think that the Sun moves through their sky, and that the earth is stationary. Is this actually true? It may seem true for a person at the moment they make the observation, but how true is it from an absolute perspective of the universe? Can we even know what is the absolute perspective? In this example, from another perspective the earth appears to travel around the Sun.
Obviously, with this in mind, there are an infinite number of viewpoints possible at each moment, from an infinite number of perspectives; therefore there are an infinite number of existences, and in any absolute sense, existence itself is inexpressible. Can we actually experience existence then?
Perhaps from the Zen perspective the question is, "Why do we not experience it?"
Zen says that if we entertain no personal version of what we think existence is, in other words, if we hold no subjective interpretation of what existence is, at the moment we are free of any notion at all, we will experience existence instantaneously, spontaneously.
Do you see this point? Zen says that we don’t really experience existence, because we are too busy experiencing our own subjective, version of existence.
How then can we experience existence itself? If we don’t create existence, then existence simply IS. The problem is, that we are usually trying to create our own model of the world.
Whatever existence we create, it will be an extremely limited view, and that isn’t existence itself.
In Zen a less subjective awareness is cultivated through silent meditation, and contemplating on certain sentences, known as Koans.
A koan is defined in "The Three Pillars Of Zen" as, "Formulation, in baffling language, pointing to ultimate Truth.
Koans cannot be solved by recourse to a logical reasoning, but only awakening a deeper level of the mind beyond the discursive intellect."
An example of a Koan would be, “The sound of one hand clapping”, or perhaps you remember this one from grade school, “Does a tree that falls in the forest make a sound if there isn’t anyone there to hear it?," and so on.
Through these more abstract thoughts, the Zen student may find that they gradually suspend with their reasoning altogether (this is called no-mind), and this clears the way for an actual experience of existence itself.
Unanticipated, spontaneously, without warning, the student may suddenly experience that 'Peace' beyond thought, words, or description.
All that anyone can really say who has experienced this is, “All is one, and one is all”.
This is what Zen calls the experience of Nirvana, or Enlightenment.
There exists a great interest in the West about Zen, particularly since World War II. Yet there seems to be a general haziness about the origin of Zen, what it believes, and the disciplines of Zen.
The fault is not entirely with the interested-but-uninitiated.
The fault lies also with Zen as a deliberately inscrutable teaching, made even more enigmatic by its interpreters, who spend many years writing innumerable books to explain what they insist is utterly inexplicable.
Their explanations are frequently interrupted to warn the reader that, in the words of Lao Tzu, "they who tell do not know; they who know do not tell."
Many people think of Zen as a Japanese development, manifest in their Noh plays, in their flower arrangements, in their dances, in their tea ceremonies, in their art, in their archery. And if they think so, they are within the area of the truth.
Some think of Zen as a Chinese interpretation of the Buddhist concept of the state of enlightenment, or of being "awakened," transported and adjusted to Japanese culture. That, too, is within the area of truth.
And then there are some who think that Zen Buddhism goes back to the days of the Buddha in India, when he began to expound Zen, wordlessly.
According to legend, when Buddha was growing old he convened his disciples for an important discourse.
And when they gathered and sat down silently, reverently waiting to hear their aging Master speak, the Buddha arose, came forward on the flower-decked platform, looked over his audience of disciples and monks, then bent down and picked up a flower which he raised to the level of his eyes.
Then, without uttering a word, he returned to his seat. His followers looked at each other in bewilderment, not understanding the meaning of his silence. Only the venerable Mahakasyapa serenely smiled at the Master.
And the Master smiled back at him and wordlessly bequeathed to him the spiritual meaning of his wordless sermon.
And that, according to legend, was the moment Zen was born.
Nearly a thousand years passed from the legendary encounter of the Buddha and the venerable Mahakasyapa until Zen, transmitted from generation to generation, reached Bodhi-Dharma, who introduced it to China.
And still another century passed before a Chinese philosopher and theologian, Hui-neng, who died in 713 A.D., established Zen as a sect of Buddhism.
In China, the mystic experience of the Buddha's enlightenment was influenced by the teachings of Lao Tzu. While the seed of Zen came from India, it grew in China and was transformed by Taoism. But it did not reach full flowering until it came, with Chinese Buddhism, to Japan.
In Japan, Zen was crystallized into a system, although its adherents insisted that it could not be taught, and argued that there could be no dependence on explanations, on sermonizing, or on any formal creed or ritual.
Since Zen was adopted and adapted in Japan, it has gone through a number of transformations. For historical reasons, and because of its presumable nihilistic implications, Zen became popular with the intellectual classes in Japan, and its following increased to nearly five million toward the end of the Second World War.
The name "Zen" is Japanese. It derives from the Chinese Chan'an-na, which is a corruption from the Buddhist Dhyana, meaning Meditation.
Zen means waking up to the present moment. That is, perceiving this moment exactly as it is, rather than through the filter of our ideas, opinions, etc. One way to practice this is to ask yourself a Big Question, such as "What am I?"
If you ask such a question strongly and sincerely, what appears is "Don't Know." This don't-know is before thinking. If you keep it moment to moment, then everything is clear. Then, each moment, whatever you're doing, just do it.
When you're sitting, just sit; when you're eating, just eat; and so on. According to Zen, existence is found in the silence of the mind (no-mind), beyond the chatter of our internal dialog.
Existence, from the Zen perspective is something that is only happening spontaneously, and it is not just our thoughts. All of life that we perceive is constantly in a state of change.
Every atom in the universe is somewhere different every millionth of a second.
What then is existence? Zen says that it is instantaneous. Since the earth is constantly moving, and our thoughts and our bodies are constantly in a process of fluctuation, then what we really are, can only be experienced in each moment.
Think of a view. Is it what it was a second ago, or what it is now? In fact the moment we say the word “view", the view has already changed into something new.
In fact, anything that we can explain, according to this viewpoint, must be past-tense.
Even if it’s about our most immediate feelings and thoughts, it is not the same experience the second after it passes through our minds. Researchers estimate that our minds perceive 12,000 separate impressions every second.
This is in terms of everything that we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel.
So, what is our reality really? Isn’t it always a very limited view of what we are even actually experiencing around us? And that which we are aware of, is only our own minute impression of the world itself.
Are any of our views then actually true in the absolute sense of the word, or are they all just our subjective impressions, based on an individual experience of what we are perceiving?
For example, a person may think that the Sun moves through their sky, and that the earth is stationary. Is this actually true? It may seem true for a person at the moment they make the observation, but how true is it from an absolute perspective of the universe? Can we even know what is the absolute perspective? In this example, from another perspective the earth appears to travel around the Sun.
Obviously, with this in mind, there are an infinite number of viewpoints possible at each moment, from an infinite number of perspectives; therefore there are an infinite number of existences, and in any absolute sense, existence itself is inexpressible. Can we actually experience existence then?
Perhaps from the Zen perspective the question is, "Why do we not experience it?"
Zen says that if we entertain no personal version of what we think existence is, in other words, if we hold no subjective interpretation of what existence is, at the moment we are free of any notion at all, we will experience existence instantaneously, spontaneously.
Do you see this point? Zen says that we don’t really experience existence, because we are too busy experiencing our own subjective, version of existence.
How then can we experience existence itself? If we don’t create existence, then existence simply IS. The problem is, that we are usually trying to create our own model of the world.
Whatever existence we create, it will be an extremely limited view, and that isn’t existence itself.
In Zen a less subjective awareness is cultivated through silent meditation, and contemplating on certain sentences, known as Koans.
A koan is defined in "The Three Pillars Of Zen" as, "Formulation, in baffling language, pointing to ultimate Truth.
Koans cannot be solved by recourse to a logical reasoning, but only awakening a deeper level of the mind beyond the discursive intellect."
An example of a Koan would be, “The sound of one hand clapping”, or perhaps you remember this one from grade school, “Does a tree that falls in the forest make a sound if there isn’t anyone there to hear it?," and so on.
Through these more abstract thoughts, the Zen student may find that they gradually suspend with their reasoning altogether (this is called no-mind), and this clears the way for an actual experience of existence itself.
Unanticipated, spontaneously, without warning, the student may suddenly experience that 'Peace' beyond thought, words, or description.
All that anyone can really say who has experienced this is, “All is one, and one is all”.
This is what Zen calls the experience of Nirvana, or Enlightenment.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
A BRIEF HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
Here below is a brief history of Psychology.
It might Interest some of you dear readers;
* 1530:- PHLILP MELANCHTON used the term,"PSYCHOLOGY".
* 1850:- E.H.WEBER measured Sensory Experiences.
* 1860:- G.T.FETCHNER proposed,"Psychophysics".
* 1875:- WILLIAM JAMES introduced,"Experimental Psychology".
* 1879:- WILHELM WUNDT established 1st Psychological Laboratory at Leipzeig,Germany.
* 1880:- STRUCTURALIST model formulated.
* 1883:- 1st American Psychology Lab established at John Hopkins University.
* 1886:- JOHN DEWEY published 1st Psychology Book in U.S.A.
* 1890:- WILLIAM JAMES published,"Prinicples of Psychology".
* 1892:- American Psychological Association (A.P.A) Founded.
* 1892:- SIR FRANCIS GALTON introduced individual differences and Statiscal Methods
* 1895:- R.B.CATTELL measured Vision,Hearing and Memory.
* 1895:- FUNCTIONALIST model was formulated.
* 1898:- E.B.TITCHNER introduced,"Introspection".
* 1900:- SIGMUND FREUD published,"Interpretation Of Dreams".
* 1906:- IVAN PAVLOV introduced,"Classical Conditioning".
* 1912:- MAX WERTHIEMER advocated,"Gestalt Psychology".
* 1913:- J.B.WATSON introduced," Behaviouristic View".
* 1914:- CARL JUNG breaks with Freud.
* 1920:- STRONG emphazied,"Intelligence Testing".
* 1924:- J.B. WTSON published,"Behaviourism".
* 1930:- JEAN PIAGET introduced,"Developmental Psychology".
* 1953:- B.F.SKINNER published,"Science and Human Behaviour".
* 1954:- ABRAHAM MASLOW published,"Motivation and Personality."
* 1957:- LEON FESTINGER introduced,"Cognitive Dissonance."
* 1968:- ATKINSON and SHIFFRIN introduced,"Influential Model of Memory."
* 1969:- Arguments regarding Genitical basis of I.Q. started.
* 1980:- JEAN PIAGET published," Developmental Aspects in Human Beings."
* 1985:- Increased emphasis on,"COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE."
* 1990:- RUVER BARON:- coined,"Emotional Intelligence."
* 1994:- DANIEL COLEMAN:- popularized,"Emotional Intelligence."
* 2000 and Beyond:- Emphasis on,"Multiculturalism and Diversity."
So 'm confident that this would help some of you in your understanding the development of Psychology as a science that is to be practised artfully (especially students of Psychology).
This is owing to the fact that we are interacting with living human beings & Human Behaviour is subject to many factors.
It might Interest some of you dear readers;
* 1530:- PHLILP MELANCHTON used the term,"PSYCHOLOGY".
* 1850:- E.H.WEBER measured Sensory Experiences.
* 1860:- G.T.FETCHNER proposed,"Psychophysics".
* 1875:- WILLIAM JAMES introduced,"Experimental Psychology".
* 1879:- WILHELM WUNDT established 1st Psychological Laboratory at Leipzeig,Germany.
* 1880:- STRUCTURALIST model formulated.
* 1883:- 1st American Psychology Lab established at John Hopkins University.
* 1886:- JOHN DEWEY published 1st Psychology Book in U.S.A.
* 1890:- WILLIAM JAMES published,"Prinicples of Psychology".
* 1892:- American Psychological Association (A.P.A) Founded.
* 1892:- SIR FRANCIS GALTON introduced individual differences and Statiscal Methods
* 1895:- R.B.CATTELL measured Vision,Hearing and Memory.
* 1895:- FUNCTIONALIST model was formulated.
* 1898:- E.B.TITCHNER introduced,"Introspection".
* 1900:- SIGMUND FREUD published,"Interpretation Of Dreams".
* 1906:- IVAN PAVLOV introduced,"Classical Conditioning".
* 1912:- MAX WERTHIEMER advocated,"Gestalt Psychology".
* 1913:- J.B.WATSON introduced," Behaviouristic View".
* 1914:- CARL JUNG breaks with Freud.
* 1920:- STRONG emphazied,"Intelligence Testing".
* 1924:- J.B. WTSON published,"Behaviourism".
* 1930:- JEAN PIAGET introduced,"Developmental Psychology".
* 1953:- B.F.SKINNER published,"Science and Human Behaviour".
* 1954:- ABRAHAM MASLOW published,"Motivation and Personality."
* 1957:- LEON FESTINGER introduced,"Cognitive Dissonance."
* 1968:- ATKINSON and SHIFFRIN introduced,"Influential Model of Memory."
* 1969:- Arguments regarding Genitical basis of I.Q. started.
* 1980:- JEAN PIAGET published," Developmental Aspects in Human Beings."
* 1985:- Increased emphasis on,"COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE."
* 1990:- RUVER BARON:- coined,"Emotional Intelligence."
* 1994:- DANIEL COLEMAN:- popularized,"Emotional Intelligence."
* 2000 and Beyond:- Emphasis on,"Multiculturalism and Diversity."
So 'm confident that this would help some of you in your understanding the development of Psychology as a science that is to be practised artfully (especially students of Psychology).
This is owing to the fact that we are interacting with living human beings & Human Behaviour is subject to many factors.
Friday, May 16, 2008
5 Q's
Many times in my life, whilst meandering through the passages of time, i have come across situations that left me speechless, helpless & often wondering,"What Now"?
It is at these moments, that i have recoursed to asking myself a set of 5 powerful questions.
Given below is a reproduction of the 5 questions.
Do go through them.
If you feel like sit down with a cup of tea or coffee or your favourite drink & ask yourself the same questions.
You may find it tough to answer them sincerely & sometimes even the response may be far from what you are actually seeking.
It is at such times that you need to get a hold over yourself, switch yourself to pause mode & reflect slowly, steadily yet surely .
The answers will come they will be slow, yet tough to face & accept.
Accept them - You must.
So read on & Happy Reflecting.
THE 5 Q’s of My Life
*What would the Child YOU once were think of the adult YOU have now become?
*How old would You be if you did not know how Old you are?
*What 3 things could You do over the next 30 days to raise YOUR Life to its next level of EXCELLENCE & FESTIVITY? [What is stopping YOU from doing it?,Who is Holding You back?]
*What do YOU want YOUR Life to look like in every area…..? {Career, Personal, Financial, Spiritual} 12 months / 24 months from now?
*What are the 5 things that make YOU most Happy?
With Best Wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
It is at these moments, that i have recoursed to asking myself a set of 5 powerful questions.
Given below is a reproduction of the 5 questions.
Do go through them.
If you feel like sit down with a cup of tea or coffee or your favourite drink & ask yourself the same questions.
You may find it tough to answer them sincerely & sometimes even the response may be far from what you are actually seeking.
It is at such times that you need to get a hold over yourself, switch yourself to pause mode & reflect slowly, steadily yet surely .
The answers will come they will be slow, yet tough to face & accept.
Accept them - You must.
So read on & Happy Reflecting.
THE 5 Q’s of My Life
*What would the Child YOU once were think of the adult YOU have now become?
*How old would You be if you did not know how Old you are?
*What 3 things could You do over the next 30 days to raise YOUR Life to its next level of EXCELLENCE & FESTIVITY? [What is stopping YOU from doing it?,Who is Holding You back?]
*What do YOU want YOUR Life to look like in every area…..? {Career, Personal, Financial, Spiritual} 12 months / 24 months from now?
*What are the 5 things that make YOU most Happy?
With Best Wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Lord Krishna. -The Apostle of Life Skills.
Lord Krishna :- The Apostle of Life Skills
Published in MBA Review, June 2006.
Lord Krishna is one of the greatest Management Gurus, whom we can emulate without second thought. He is the Mentor of Mentors, Coach of Coaches and Guru of all Motivational Gurus. He is the greatest life skills expert and demonstrated every skill in the court of Dhritharashtra during his diplomatic tour to Hasthinapuri (now Delhi), which was taken up only to avoid war between Kauravas and Pandavas.
His communication skills are evident in every word expressed in the Court of Kauravas. Lord Krishna during his Negotiations, to avoid war between Kauravas and Pandavas demonstrated perfect communication skills. As he doesn’t want to avoid war between them, he manipulated his words with diplomatic jargon and tried to instigate fear, motivation in Duryodhana by way of illustrating the greatness of Pandavas on and off the field of war.
Life-skills have been defined by the World Health Organisation as 'abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life' (WHO 1993).
We can see this ability abundant to face challenges of everyday life in Lord Krishna and this article is intended to analyse the same.
Happiness is the aim and ambition of any individual in this world. 'Whatever a person takes up in his life, it is to attain one and only objective – Happiness'; says Sigmund Freud, the Father of Psychology.
All religions and philosophies aim is to achieve happiness for mankind. Character only can give that kind of total happiness for mankind. Lord Krishna proved this in his life by becoming an ideal personality.
The preacher of the Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna’s life is an example, which reflected the power of character.
Lord Krishna is God for faithful devotees. He is a magician for non-believers. He is a romantic Hero for some and a great manipulator for many. He is the greatest Philosopher who has given the Gita to the mankind. For some, he is just a character in the Mahabharat of Sage Vyasa. Irrespective of any kind of faith and devotion, He is the Great Guru for Psychoanalysts and Psychologists. He is the first counseling psychologist.
He is a complete man. If we observe his life critically from all angles, we can have glimpses of this kind of characteristics in the life of Lord Krishna.
Lord Krishna is not so tall and handsome like Lord Rama. He does not have beautiful, expressive eyes. He is black in complexion. He faced many problems during his life. He never felt depressed. He has never given up. He always faced problems and got them solved. He faced problems with cheerful attitude. He stood beside his people like a rock. Reason – His total personality.
Some may argue that Sri Krishna is just another character in the epic Mahabharat, written by Sage Vyasa. Then, why this balanced approach towards life is not seen in the avatars of Rama, Parasurama and Vamana. Why Sage Vyasa didn’t create the characters of Brahma and Siva also in this mould? There may not be answer for this kind of questions. We may get the answer by thinking that every character will have its own characteristics. Whether Lord Krishna is there or not in the history of mankind, or he is just a character in Mahabharat, certainly he is the example of a complete man.
A True Disciple To A Great Guru!
Lord Krishna is the disciple of Sage Sandipani. After the completion of his education, he comes to know that the young son of his Guru Sandipani has met with an untimely death. Lord Krishna fought with Yama, the God of Death and brought back life to his Guru’s son and presented him as Guru Dakshina. How many disciples of this age are paying just fees for the survival of their Guru’s family? These are the days where people expect freebies even in education!
Eight Wives And Infinite Problems:-
Many feel that Lord Krishna means eight wives and his romance with them. He mesmerized people with his cheerful presence and playful attitude. His life started with problems. He was born in the prison. He was separated from his mother immediately after his birth. He suffered with ‘separation anxiety’ since his birth. He has spent his life in Brindavan with cowherds’ families, instead of enjoying pampered life in Madhura on the lap of his grand father Ugrasena. He never had great education also. His uncle Kamsa hatched many plans to kill Krishna in his childhood. Kamsa has sent demons every year to kill Krishna. Krishna, the kid could over come all these troubles with his determination. Due to deadly problems arising every moment, his friends also might have faced traumatic stress disorders. Many parents might have stopped their kids playing with Krishna, as it is dangerous. Krishna never bothered with this kind of problems. He has learnt many lessons of life playing on the shores of river Kalindi along with his friends. He has spent his childhood playing the divine flute and doing mischief with his friends.
A Friend In Need:-
Lord Krishna is a friend for needy indeed. He has helped his friend Kuchela (Sudama) to overcome his penury. He also helped Draupadi, the wife of Pandavas, who has immense faith in Krishna.
A Politician Par Excellence But Compassionate:-
Krishna fought with his uncle Kamsa and crowned his grand father as King. He got his parents released from prison and fulfilled his responsibility as a Son. Though he has an able army, he never tried to invade other kingdoms. But he never showed any compassion towards Kings like Jarasandha who declared war against him. He fled from the war field to avoid unnecessary loss of lives, and killed enemy without loss of single life.
Personified Love:-
Love is natural at a particular age. Many may dare to do anything to achieve their love. Krishna resorted to fight battle, to achieve his love Rukmini and became ideal for the world of lovers. Though there are legends that Lord Krishna has 16,000 Gopikas, he never tried to woo a single woman. He attracted them with his talkative talent. Nobody ever branded him as womanizer. He was always regarded as the personification of love and affection.
Emotionally Intelligent:-
He was not at all an arrogant and adamant husband. He was having highly adaptable and adjusting nature. Though Satyabhama kicked him with his leg, Krishna never got angry with him. Moreover, Krishna took Satyabhama’s feet in his hands and mellowed him down by saying whether hitting him injured his feet. He always stood as ideal husband and tried to balance his family life.
A Real Leader:-
Great physique is not the real asset for anybody. Character is the true asset for any individual. Krishna’s kingdom is very small in size and so his army. But King Duryodhana came down to ask for his help in the royal battle of Kurukshetra. Though Krishna said that the whole army is one side, and I will be helping one side, Arjuna selected Krishna, only because of his character.
A leader is not the one who walks, but the one who leads walking ahead of others.
A Great Warrior:-
He never fought. He is not having any powerful position. Even then everybody knows that Krishna lead the army of Pandavas. Just by having army, no one can win the battle. One needs to have war strategies and intelligence to assess the power of enemy. A leader of the army has to plan ahead of others and win battle with minimum loss of human life. Krishna succeeded in fulfilling this responsibility with all the ability it demands. That’s why he is the real and great leader.
A Great Communicator:-
When Krishna went to Hasthinapuri as an ambassador of Pandavas to express their piece of mind to King Dhritarashtra, his communication skills reached pinnacle as an avoider of war but not as an instigator of destruction. He pursued Kauravas to avoid war with Pandavas and urged them to do so by just giving them five towns to rule. When Kauravas refused to do so, he has analysed the strengths, opportunities of Pandavas, weaknesses and threats for Kauravas if they didn’t avoid war in the first place. Krishna always took responsibility for his acts, and helped Pandavas to overcome their problems and ultimately to win the war of Kurukshetra.
Small Vices In Great Characters:-
It is natural that great characters will always flourish with small vices. Even Krishna is also not an exception to this rule. Krishna throws a bait to Karna to join Pandavas and marry Draupadi. He only knows on why he did like this. Karna refused politely to budge at the behest of Krishna. Even then, Krishna may have tried to expose the greatness of Karna to the world.
When Arjuna was jumping with joy after killing Karna, Krishna warned him on behaving in such a manner. This shows his respect towards a great warrior and ideal friend like Karna. If Karna is personified charity, though he is with his enemy, Krishna realized the greatness of Karna, and treated him with high regard. That is the greatness of Krishna and this reflects his unique character.
Nobody is perfect, even Lord Krishna. He also acted like human being in many situations. To help and uplift mankind without any selfish motive, one can lie here and there and can manipulate if the situation demands. Krishna took some decisions only to prove this point. That is why Lord Krishna is complete man and an apostle of life skills.
To succeed in professional or personal life, one has to learn and try to emulate Lord Krishna to become a complete man.
With Best Wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
Published in MBA Review, June 2006.
Lord Krishna is one of the greatest Management Gurus, whom we can emulate without second thought. He is the Mentor of Mentors, Coach of Coaches and Guru of all Motivational Gurus. He is the greatest life skills expert and demonstrated every skill in the court of Dhritharashtra during his diplomatic tour to Hasthinapuri (now Delhi), which was taken up only to avoid war between Kauravas and Pandavas.
His communication skills are evident in every word expressed in the Court of Kauravas. Lord Krishna during his Negotiations, to avoid war between Kauravas and Pandavas demonstrated perfect communication skills. As he doesn’t want to avoid war between them, he manipulated his words with diplomatic jargon and tried to instigate fear, motivation in Duryodhana by way of illustrating the greatness of Pandavas on and off the field of war.
Life-skills have been defined by the World Health Organisation as 'abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life' (WHO 1993).
We can see this ability abundant to face challenges of everyday life in Lord Krishna and this article is intended to analyse the same.
Happiness is the aim and ambition of any individual in this world. 'Whatever a person takes up in his life, it is to attain one and only objective – Happiness'; says Sigmund Freud, the Father of Psychology.
All religions and philosophies aim is to achieve happiness for mankind. Character only can give that kind of total happiness for mankind. Lord Krishna proved this in his life by becoming an ideal personality.
The preacher of the Bhagwad Gita, Lord Krishna’s life is an example, which reflected the power of character.
Lord Krishna is God for faithful devotees. He is a magician for non-believers. He is a romantic Hero for some and a great manipulator for many. He is the greatest Philosopher who has given the Gita to the mankind. For some, he is just a character in the Mahabharat of Sage Vyasa. Irrespective of any kind of faith and devotion, He is the Great Guru for Psychoanalysts and Psychologists. He is the first counseling psychologist.
He is a complete man. If we observe his life critically from all angles, we can have glimpses of this kind of characteristics in the life of Lord Krishna.
Lord Krishna is not so tall and handsome like Lord Rama. He does not have beautiful, expressive eyes. He is black in complexion. He faced many problems during his life. He never felt depressed. He has never given up. He always faced problems and got them solved. He faced problems with cheerful attitude. He stood beside his people like a rock. Reason – His total personality.
Some may argue that Sri Krishna is just another character in the epic Mahabharat, written by Sage Vyasa. Then, why this balanced approach towards life is not seen in the avatars of Rama, Parasurama and Vamana. Why Sage Vyasa didn’t create the characters of Brahma and Siva also in this mould? There may not be answer for this kind of questions. We may get the answer by thinking that every character will have its own characteristics. Whether Lord Krishna is there or not in the history of mankind, or he is just a character in Mahabharat, certainly he is the example of a complete man.
A True Disciple To A Great Guru!
Lord Krishna is the disciple of Sage Sandipani. After the completion of his education, he comes to know that the young son of his Guru Sandipani has met with an untimely death. Lord Krishna fought with Yama, the God of Death and brought back life to his Guru’s son and presented him as Guru Dakshina. How many disciples of this age are paying just fees for the survival of their Guru’s family? These are the days where people expect freebies even in education!
Eight Wives And Infinite Problems:-
Many feel that Lord Krishna means eight wives and his romance with them. He mesmerized people with his cheerful presence and playful attitude. His life started with problems. He was born in the prison. He was separated from his mother immediately after his birth. He suffered with ‘separation anxiety’ since his birth. He has spent his life in Brindavan with cowherds’ families, instead of enjoying pampered life in Madhura on the lap of his grand father Ugrasena. He never had great education also. His uncle Kamsa hatched many plans to kill Krishna in his childhood. Kamsa has sent demons every year to kill Krishna. Krishna, the kid could over come all these troubles with his determination. Due to deadly problems arising every moment, his friends also might have faced traumatic stress disorders. Many parents might have stopped their kids playing with Krishna, as it is dangerous. Krishna never bothered with this kind of problems. He has learnt many lessons of life playing on the shores of river Kalindi along with his friends. He has spent his childhood playing the divine flute and doing mischief with his friends.
A Friend In Need:-
Lord Krishna is a friend for needy indeed. He has helped his friend Kuchela (Sudama) to overcome his penury. He also helped Draupadi, the wife of Pandavas, who has immense faith in Krishna.
A Politician Par Excellence But Compassionate:-
Krishna fought with his uncle Kamsa and crowned his grand father as King. He got his parents released from prison and fulfilled his responsibility as a Son. Though he has an able army, he never tried to invade other kingdoms. But he never showed any compassion towards Kings like Jarasandha who declared war against him. He fled from the war field to avoid unnecessary loss of lives, and killed enemy without loss of single life.
Personified Love:-
Love is natural at a particular age. Many may dare to do anything to achieve their love. Krishna resorted to fight battle, to achieve his love Rukmini and became ideal for the world of lovers. Though there are legends that Lord Krishna has 16,000 Gopikas, he never tried to woo a single woman. He attracted them with his talkative talent. Nobody ever branded him as womanizer. He was always regarded as the personification of love and affection.
Emotionally Intelligent:-
He was not at all an arrogant and adamant husband. He was having highly adaptable and adjusting nature. Though Satyabhama kicked him with his leg, Krishna never got angry with him. Moreover, Krishna took Satyabhama’s feet in his hands and mellowed him down by saying whether hitting him injured his feet. He always stood as ideal husband and tried to balance his family life.
A Real Leader:-
Great physique is not the real asset for anybody. Character is the true asset for any individual. Krishna’s kingdom is very small in size and so his army. But King Duryodhana came down to ask for his help in the royal battle of Kurukshetra. Though Krishna said that the whole army is one side, and I will be helping one side, Arjuna selected Krishna, only because of his character.
A leader is not the one who walks, but the one who leads walking ahead of others.
A Great Warrior:-
He never fought. He is not having any powerful position. Even then everybody knows that Krishna lead the army of Pandavas. Just by having army, no one can win the battle. One needs to have war strategies and intelligence to assess the power of enemy. A leader of the army has to plan ahead of others and win battle with minimum loss of human life. Krishna succeeded in fulfilling this responsibility with all the ability it demands. That’s why he is the real and great leader.
A Great Communicator:-
When Krishna went to Hasthinapuri as an ambassador of Pandavas to express their piece of mind to King Dhritarashtra, his communication skills reached pinnacle as an avoider of war but not as an instigator of destruction. He pursued Kauravas to avoid war with Pandavas and urged them to do so by just giving them five towns to rule. When Kauravas refused to do so, he has analysed the strengths, opportunities of Pandavas, weaknesses and threats for Kauravas if they didn’t avoid war in the first place. Krishna always took responsibility for his acts, and helped Pandavas to overcome their problems and ultimately to win the war of Kurukshetra.
Small Vices In Great Characters:-
It is natural that great characters will always flourish with small vices. Even Krishna is also not an exception to this rule. Krishna throws a bait to Karna to join Pandavas and marry Draupadi. He only knows on why he did like this. Karna refused politely to budge at the behest of Krishna. Even then, Krishna may have tried to expose the greatness of Karna to the world.
When Arjuna was jumping with joy after killing Karna, Krishna warned him on behaving in such a manner. This shows his respect towards a great warrior and ideal friend like Karna. If Karna is personified charity, though he is with his enemy, Krishna realized the greatness of Karna, and treated him with high regard. That is the greatness of Krishna and this reflects his unique character.
Nobody is perfect, even Lord Krishna. He also acted like human being in many situations. To help and uplift mankind without any selfish motive, one can lie here and there and can manipulate if the situation demands. Krishna took some decisions only to prove this point. That is why Lord Krishna is complete man and an apostle of life skills.
To succeed in professional or personal life, one has to learn and try to emulate Lord Krishna to become a complete man.
With Best Wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
HUMAN RELATIONS
Human relations has always been a matter of concern with people whether in their personal lives or work life.
It is a pleasure to share as bullet points a summary of the 20 greatest ideas in human relations.
So, Enjoy Your read & see if you can be better in your existing human relations.
SUMMARY OF THE TWENTY GREATEST IDEAS IN HUMAN RELATIONS
Compiled and Edited By Bill McGinnis
P. O. Box 2543, Alexandria, Virginia, 22301, U. S. A.
1. Be as interested in the other person's happiness and
well-being as you are in your own.
2. Neutralize all hostile emotions you may feel toward the
other person.
3. Treat the other person the way you would like to be
treated. (The Golden Rule)
Specifically . . .
4. Smile and be friendly.
5. Be courteous.
6. Be truthful, without giving offense.
7. Remember the other person's name, and use it
frequently.
8. Don't argue.
9. Find areas of agreement.
10. Don't criticize.
11. Show honest appreciation.
12. Try the other person's point of view.
13. Give full attention to the other person when he
is talking.
14. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
15. Admit you may be wrong.
16. Let the other person do most of the talking.
17. Let the other person talk about himself.
18. Let the other person take some credit.
19. Let the other person save face.
20. Hold the other person, and yourself, to high and
noble standards.
No copyright claimed. This document is in the Public Domain.
It is a pleasure to share as bullet points a summary of the 20 greatest ideas in human relations.
So, Enjoy Your read & see if you can be better in your existing human relations.
SUMMARY OF THE TWENTY GREATEST IDEAS IN HUMAN RELATIONS
Compiled and Edited By Bill McGinnis
P. O. Box 2543, Alexandria, Virginia, 22301, U. S. A.
1. Be as interested in the other person's happiness and
well-being as you are in your own.
2. Neutralize all hostile emotions you may feel toward the
other person.
3. Treat the other person the way you would like to be
treated. (The Golden Rule)
Specifically . . .
4. Smile and be friendly.
5. Be courteous.
6. Be truthful, without giving offense.
7. Remember the other person's name, and use it
frequently.
8. Don't argue.
9. Find areas of agreement.
10. Don't criticize.
11. Show honest appreciation.
12. Try the other person's point of view.
13. Give full attention to the other person when he
is talking.
14. Talk in terms of the other person's interests.
15. Admit you may be wrong.
16. Let the other person do most of the talking.
17. Let the other person talk about himself.
18. Let the other person take some credit.
19. Let the other person save face.
20. Hold the other person, and yourself, to high and
noble standards.
No copyright claimed. This document is in the Public Domain.
7 Laws of Salem.
KURT HAHN's SUGGESTIONS . - Seven Laws of Salem - Kurt Hahn James Neill.
* Give children the opportunity for self-discovery.
[Give them a chance to discover themselves.]
* Make the children meet with triumph and defeat.
[See to it that they experience both success and defeat.]
* Give the children the opportunity of self-effacement in the common cause.
[See to it that they have the chance to forget themselves in the pursuit of a common cause.]
* Provide periods of silence.
[See to it that there are periods of silence.]
* Train the imagination.
[Train the imagination, the ability to participate and plan.]
* Make games important but not predominant.
[Take sports and games seriously, but only as part of the whole.]
* Free the sons of the wealthy and powerful from the enervating sense of privilege.
[Free them of the rich and influential parents and from the paralysing influence of wealth and privelege.]
* Give children the opportunity for self-discovery.
[Give them a chance to discover themselves.]
* Make the children meet with triumph and defeat.
[See to it that they experience both success and defeat.]
* Give the children the opportunity of self-effacement in the common cause.
[See to it that they have the chance to forget themselves in the pursuit of a common cause.]
* Provide periods of silence.
[See to it that there are periods of silence.]
* Train the imagination.
[Train the imagination, the ability to participate and plan.]
* Make games important but not predominant.
[Take sports and games seriously, but only as part of the whole.]
* Free the sons of the wealthy and powerful from the enervating sense of privilege.
[Free them of the rich and influential parents and from the paralysing influence of wealth and privelege.]
Antidotes to the decline of Modern Youth.
4 Antidotes to the Decline of Modern Youth.
- Kurt Hahn.
Fitness Training (e.g., to compete with one's self in physical fitness; in so doing, train the discipline and determination of the mind through the body).
Projects (e.g., involving crafts and manual skills).
Expeditions (e.g., via sea or land, to engage in long, challenging endurance tasks).
Rescue Service (e.g., Surf lifesaving, Fire fighting, First aid).
Participate in all these regularly & begin leading a healthy fulfilled life everyway all the time.
- Kurt Hahn.
Fitness Training (e.g., to compete with one's self in physical fitness; in so doing, train the discipline and determination of the mind through the body).
Projects (e.g., involving crafts and manual skills).
Expeditions (e.g., via sea or land, to engage in long, challenging endurance tasks).
Rescue Service (e.g., Surf lifesaving, Fire fighting, First aid).
Participate in all these regularly & begin leading a healthy fulfilled life everyway all the time.
6 Declines of Modern Youth.
6 Declines of Modern Youth- Kurt Hahn
- Kurt Hahn James Neill.
Decline of Fitness due to modern methods of locomotion [moving about];
Decline of Initiative and Enterprise due to the widespread disease of spectatoritis;
Decline of Memory and Imagination due to the confused restlessness of modern life;
Decline of Skill and Care due to the weakened tradition of craftsmanship;
Decline of Self-discipline due to the ever-present availability of stimulants and tranquilizers;
And worst of all:
Decline of Compassion due to the unseemly haste with which modern life is conducted or as William Temple called “spiritual death”.
- Kurt Hahn James Neill.
Decline of Fitness due to modern methods of locomotion [moving about];
Decline of Initiative and Enterprise due to the widespread disease of spectatoritis;
Decline of Memory and Imagination due to the confused restlessness of modern life;
Decline of Skill and Care due to the weakened tradition of craftsmanship;
Decline of Self-discipline due to the ever-present availability of stimulants and tranquilizers;
And worst of all:
Decline of Compassion due to the unseemly haste with which modern life is conducted or as William Temple called “spiritual death”.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
10 EXPEDITIONARY PRINICPLES.
Ten Expeditionary Learning Principles
(based on the ideas of Kurt Hahn & other educational leaders)Note Courtesy - James Neill
Last updated:- 09 Mar 2005.
Expeditionary Learning has its own principles. It was James Neill who formed them and gave them to the modern day world as the,'Ten Expeditioinary Priniciples'.
These 10 principles, which seek to describe a caring, adventurous school culture and approach to learning, were drawn from the ideas of Kurt Hahn and other education leaders for use in Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) schools.
[1]The primacy of self-discovery
[2]The having of wonderful ideas
[3]The responsibility for learning
[4]Empathy and caring
[5]Success and failure
[6]Collaboration and competition
[7]Diversity and inclusion
[8]The natural world
[9]Solitude and reflection
[10]Service and compassion.
With Best Wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
(based on the ideas of Kurt Hahn & other educational leaders)Note Courtesy - James Neill
Last updated:- 09 Mar 2005.
Expeditionary Learning has its own principles. It was James Neill who formed them and gave them to the modern day world as the,'Ten Expeditioinary Priniciples'.
These 10 principles, which seek to describe a caring, adventurous school culture and approach to learning, were drawn from the ideas of Kurt Hahn and other education leaders for use in Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound (ELOB) schools.
[1]The primacy of self-discovery
[2]The having of wonderful ideas
[3]The responsibility for learning
[4]Empathy and caring
[5]Success and failure
[6]Collaboration and competition
[7]Diversity and inclusion
[8]The natural world
[9]Solitude and reflection
[10]Service and compassion.
With Best Wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
OUTWARD BOUND - Development.
The Development of Outward Bound.
"Outward Bound was founded in the tumultuous waters of the North Sea during World War II,to provide young sailors with the experiences and skills necessary to survive at sea." (http://www.outwardbound.com/history.html)
The first Outward Bound program was inspired by Dr. Kurt Hahn, a German educator, who responded to the needs of Lawrence Holt, head of the Blue Funnel Shipping Line, a merchant shipping company.
Holt's problem was this -- during World War II, young merchant seaman were not surviving as well as their older counterparts in lifeboat situations, after their ships had been torpedoed by German U-boats.
Hahn figured he knew why -- that the younger sailors had not enough life experience.
What's more, the old sailors had been brought up in an age of sail, and learnt lots of practical skills and dealt with difficult situations before, giving them more confidence and ability to cope with demanding challenges.
The early Outward Bound programs were conducted in Aberdovey, Wales, with sea-based theme, & also including land expeditions.
The young seamen, and then other young men from around the UK, were assigned to the Outward Bound program for 26 days - the period of time between their pay checks.
Kurt Hahn's Philosophy:-
Dr. Kurt Hahn was in his late 40's when Outward Bound was started and he brought considerable philosophy and energy from his earlier, longitudinal educational experiments with Salem Schule in Germany,Gordonstoun School in Scotland and
the County Badge Scheme (now the Duke of Edinburgh's Award).
Outward Bound was a novel chance for Hahn to experiment with his ideas about education, by trying out an intensive, "shot-in-the-arm" type of program.
The idea behind the design of Outward Bound courses is that by creating a series of intense, mini-life experiences, young people's self-belief and capacity to cope with life could be enhanced.
The early evidence was that the Outward Bound experiments seemed to work -- the sailors survived better).
Hahn insisted that there was nothing original about his methods.
He claimed that he simply took the good ideas that were already out there and put to them to work within his compelling educational experiments.
Hahn's philosophy revolved around the importance of helping students to discover their true capabilities by impelling them into experiences that would help them to find their greater capacities.
For Hahn, it was the educator's responsibility to impel and to support the student. Hahn was stern with his teachers and instructors -- for any student to fail to reach his/her potential was a failure of the teacher, not of the student.
From here came about the Coining of the term, "Outward Bound"
"Outward Bound" was the name chosen by Holt.
At first Hahn did not like the idea, but later conceded that the name had been well chosen.
"Outward Bound" is a nautical term used to refer to the flag Papa, flown on a ship when it was ready to leave port.
It was a signal to the sailors that it was time to return to ship if the "Outward Bound" flag was flying.
"Outward Bound" literally refers to the moment a ship leave's harbor.
This symbology remains important in Outward Bound, and participants on courses in many Outward Bound schools today receive a pin lapel of the flag papa.
Growth & Development of Outward Bound:-
The Outward Bound experiment spawned not only the development of up to 40 Outward Bound schools around the world following World War II , but the organization also helped to foster a new industry or field -- outdoor education (or adventure education).
Within the field outdoor education, Outward Bound is acknowledged as being the significant catalyst for other famous outdoor education programs, including:-
the National Outdoor Leadership School (originally to train potential Outward Bound instructors in the USA),
Project Adventure (an effort to bring Outward Bound principles into high schools) (for children from stanadrds / class eight & above).
With Best Wishes,
Happy Outbounding,
or Happy Sailing,
Tally Ho!
A.S.Prasad.
"Outward Bound was founded in the tumultuous waters of the North Sea during World War II,to provide young sailors with the experiences and skills necessary to survive at sea." (http://www.outwardbound.com/history.html)
The first Outward Bound program was inspired by Dr. Kurt Hahn, a German educator, who responded to the needs of Lawrence Holt, head of the Blue Funnel Shipping Line, a merchant shipping company.
Holt's problem was this -- during World War II, young merchant seaman were not surviving as well as their older counterparts in lifeboat situations, after their ships had been torpedoed by German U-boats.
Hahn figured he knew why -- that the younger sailors had not enough life experience.
What's more, the old sailors had been brought up in an age of sail, and learnt lots of practical skills and dealt with difficult situations before, giving them more confidence and ability to cope with demanding challenges.
The early Outward Bound programs were conducted in Aberdovey, Wales, with sea-based theme, & also including land expeditions.
The young seamen, and then other young men from around the UK, were assigned to the Outward Bound program for 26 days - the period of time between their pay checks.
Kurt Hahn's Philosophy:-
Dr. Kurt Hahn was in his late 40's when Outward Bound was started and he brought considerable philosophy and energy from his earlier, longitudinal educational experiments with Salem Schule in Germany,Gordonstoun School in Scotland and
the County Badge Scheme (now the Duke of Edinburgh's Award).
Outward Bound was a novel chance for Hahn to experiment with his ideas about education, by trying out an intensive, "shot-in-the-arm" type of program.
The idea behind the design of Outward Bound courses is that by creating a series of intense, mini-life experiences, young people's self-belief and capacity to cope with life could be enhanced.
The early evidence was that the Outward Bound experiments seemed to work -- the sailors survived better).
Hahn insisted that there was nothing original about his methods.
He claimed that he simply took the good ideas that were already out there and put to them to work within his compelling educational experiments.
Hahn's philosophy revolved around the importance of helping students to discover their true capabilities by impelling them into experiences that would help them to find their greater capacities.
For Hahn, it was the educator's responsibility to impel and to support the student. Hahn was stern with his teachers and instructors -- for any student to fail to reach his/her potential was a failure of the teacher, not of the student.
From here came about the Coining of the term, "Outward Bound"
"Outward Bound" was the name chosen by Holt.
At first Hahn did not like the idea, but later conceded that the name had been well chosen.
"Outward Bound" is a nautical term used to refer to the flag Papa, flown on a ship when it was ready to leave port.
It was a signal to the sailors that it was time to return to ship if the "Outward Bound" flag was flying.
"Outward Bound" literally refers to the moment a ship leave's harbor.
This symbology remains important in Outward Bound, and participants on courses in many Outward Bound schools today receive a pin lapel of the flag papa.
Growth & Development of Outward Bound:-
The Outward Bound experiment spawned not only the development of up to 40 Outward Bound schools around the world following World War II , but the organization also helped to foster a new industry or field -- outdoor education (or adventure education).
Within the field outdoor education, Outward Bound is acknowledged as being the significant catalyst for other famous outdoor education programs, including:-
the National Outdoor Leadership School (originally to train potential Outward Bound instructors in the USA),
Project Adventure (an effort to bring Outward Bound principles into high schools) (for children from stanadrds / class eight & above).
With Best Wishes,
Happy Outbounding,
or Happy Sailing,
Tally Ho!
A.S.Prasad.
OUTWARD BOUND LEARNING - A Note
OBL-HISTORY!OUTWARD BOUND LEARNING ,or OUTWARD BOUND TRAINING,whatever one chooses to call it by,the concept of Outward Bound Learning has been in existence in our history and mythology.
In simple terms it means taking the classroom outdoors,and education,learning being activity based and shared.
Lord Krishna was educated in Sandeepani.In the Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Pandavas and Kauravas were educated by their gurus in the wilderness on an experiential mode.this was in their ashrams.The Gurukula system of education was similar to today's,'Outward Bound Education',system.The pilgrimages that were and are undertaken to places like Sabarimala,Vaishno Devi, Badrinath, Kedarnath, can be looked at as,'Out Bound Experience'.
Groups travelled together,lived together,and ate together.Their experience of good times and bad times together led to better and increased levels of understanding of the self and others.It enhanced the ability to push oneself beyond perceived,or, known, unknown, boundaries of tolerance and patience to fellow human beings,heightens sensitivity and brings about harmony.
While we have been informally practicing Outward Bound Learning throughout ages in our country,we have not come across any document that articulates this aspect in the context of learning.
In 1930's, a German educational psychologist, Kurt Hahn was commissioned by a shipping company called Blue Line Shipping Company for a given task.
The objective was to study and create a module to help the merchant sailors learn how to survive when encountered by natural or man-made crisis,e.g.getting caught in between battleships,typhoons etc.
Kurt Hahn after studying the problem,formulated a training program that ran for a month.This training program was for the crew of Blue Line Shipping Company and was found to be successful in meeting the objective.
Kurt Hahn then termed this process,"Outward Bound".
This symbolized the fact that,the sailors lifted anchors {Weigh Anchor] from the safety of the harbour and sailed into uncharted territories of the high seas with renewed levels of confidence to handle situations.
In contemporary India, the progress of OBL has been slightly different.First a few well-equipped people took groups to the wilderness for adventure training which resulted in self-rejuvenation and some amount of self learning.
From here, it is today seen as Learning by Self,or,Rediscovering Oneself.This is all thanks to the numerous activities that have been formulated and synchronized with management lessons.
Sometimes it is that rarely found sense which is plain simple CommonSense.
Today we at People's Skills India Pvt.Ltd,uphold the fact that all and the best of Learning & Knowledge is most well imbibed by a person in,'OutBound Learning',or,OutBound Training Programmes'.
Our facilitators are well seasoned,experienced and passionate about their deliveries on the programmes.
This along with their qualifications only makes them and our organization to link up as the Excellent Partner for all your Outward Bound Learning/Training Programmes.
IT IS IN YOUR MOMENTS OF DECISION THAT YOUR DESTINY IS MADE - Anthony Robins.
With Best Wishes,
A.S.PRASAD.
In simple terms it means taking the classroom outdoors,and education,learning being activity based and shared.
Lord Krishna was educated in Sandeepani.In the Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Pandavas and Kauravas were educated by their gurus in the wilderness on an experiential mode.this was in their ashrams.The Gurukula system of education was similar to today's,'Outward Bound Education',system.The pilgrimages that were and are undertaken to places like Sabarimala,Vaishno Devi, Badrinath, Kedarnath, can be looked at as,'Out Bound Experience'.
Groups travelled together,lived together,and ate together.Their experience of good times and bad times together led to better and increased levels of understanding of the self and others.It enhanced the ability to push oneself beyond perceived,or, known, unknown, boundaries of tolerance and patience to fellow human beings,heightens sensitivity and brings about harmony.
While we have been informally practicing Outward Bound Learning throughout ages in our country,we have not come across any document that articulates this aspect in the context of learning.
In 1930's, a German educational psychologist, Kurt Hahn was commissioned by a shipping company called Blue Line Shipping Company for a given task.
The objective was to study and create a module to help the merchant sailors learn how to survive when encountered by natural or man-made crisis,e.g.getting caught in between battleships,typhoons etc.
Kurt Hahn after studying the problem,formulated a training program that ran for a month.This training program was for the crew of Blue Line Shipping Company and was found to be successful in meeting the objective.
Kurt Hahn then termed this process,"Outward Bound".
This symbolized the fact that,the sailors lifted anchors {Weigh Anchor] from the safety of the harbour and sailed into uncharted territories of the high seas with renewed levels of confidence to handle situations.
In contemporary India, the progress of OBL has been slightly different.First a few well-equipped people took groups to the wilderness for adventure training which resulted in self-rejuvenation and some amount of self learning.
From here, it is today seen as Learning by Self,or,Rediscovering Oneself.This is all thanks to the numerous activities that have been formulated and synchronized with management lessons.
Sometimes it is that rarely found sense which is plain simple CommonSense.
Today we at People's Skills India Pvt.Ltd,uphold the fact that all and the best of Learning & Knowledge is most well imbibed by a person in,'OutBound Learning',or,OutBound Training Programmes'.
Our facilitators are well seasoned,experienced and passionate about their deliveries on the programmes.
This along with their qualifications only makes them and our organization to link up as the Excellent Partner for all your Outward Bound Learning/Training Programmes.
IT IS IN YOUR MOMENTS OF DECISION THAT YOUR DESTINY IS MADE - Anthony Robins.
With Best Wishes,
A.S.PRASAD.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
CHANGE MGT.
Hi Everyone,
Given below is my ppt on,'Change Mgt',in word format.
Hope you enjoy it as much as i enjoyed it whilst creating it a few years ago.
With Best Wishes & Regards,
A.S.Prasad.
Change Mgt -
I am as provocative as Hell - Tom Peter's.
Change Mgt-
Create the Future , Do Not Predict It.
Change Mgt - Map Your Value Chain.
Change Mgt -Define Your Company’s I T core competence .
Change Mgt -
• Vision without Action is a Dream,
• Action without Vision, is a Waste of Time,
• Action with Vision is the Difference.
Change Mgt -
• Core Competencies must go to the Net -> Everything Else goes to Outsourcing.
Change Mgt- Think Personalization .
Change Mgt -
• The 4 A’s :-
• Anytime ,
• Anywhere ,
• Always ,
• All the Time .
Change Mgt -
• Simplicity & Speed ,
• Courage -> [ R A W -> W A R ],
• At the Height of Success Break Your Business .
Change Mgt -
• Speed ,
• Global View ,
• Imperative of Cost Minimization .
Change Mgt -
• C E O ->
• Head of Globalization ,
• Chief Web Officer ,
• Knowledge Driver ,
• Customer Relationships Head ,
• All Perspective .
Change Mgt -
• 3 Imperatives;
• Speed,
• Stretch Goals,
• Passion.
Change Mgt -
Have More Internal Combustion.
Change Mgt -
Key Drivers;
Increased Availability of Quality Manpower,
Knowledge of Globalization,
Moving up the Value Chain,
Building Product Passion.
Change Mgt -
• Knowledge,
• Creativity,
• Imagination,
• Intelligence.
Change Mgt -
• Having Passion for your job is a paid holiday.
• Bring in Transparency,
• Good Governance,
• Make it,
• All Accessible.
Change Mgt -
• Start with a Visionary preferably a school drop- out,
• Season with Brash Ideas,
• Add a dash of Venture Capital,
• Cook at a high Pressure & taste .
• For fine finish add some I P O. ->e.g. bill Gates.
Change Mgt -
• If You Resist the Change, You will Die;
• If You Flow with the Change, You will Survive;
• If You Initiate Change, You will Prosper.
Change Mgt -
• Global Village -> In our own Backyard worldly Pleasures,
• Generation,” X “, Language Fusion-> Hinglish, Woman Power, the e-consumer, Pester Power, Communication Technology ->
india ->Global.
Change Mgt -
• Key Mantra’s:-
• Invest in Innovation,
• Have & Live the Service Attitude,
• Embrace Change,
• Merchandise.
Given below is my ppt on,'Change Mgt',in word format.
Hope you enjoy it as much as i enjoyed it whilst creating it a few years ago.
With Best Wishes & Regards,
A.S.Prasad.
Change Mgt -
I am as provocative as Hell - Tom Peter's.
Change Mgt-
Create the Future , Do Not Predict It.
Change Mgt - Map Your Value Chain.
Change Mgt -Define Your Company’s I T core competence .
Change Mgt -
• Vision without Action is a Dream,
• Action without Vision, is a Waste of Time,
• Action with Vision is the Difference.
Change Mgt -
• Core Competencies must go to the Net -> Everything Else goes to Outsourcing.
Change Mgt- Think Personalization .
Change Mgt -
• The 4 A’s :-
• Anytime ,
• Anywhere ,
• Always ,
• All the Time .
Change Mgt -
• Simplicity & Speed ,
• Courage -> [ R A W -> W A R ],
• At the Height of Success Break Your Business .
Change Mgt -
• Speed ,
• Global View ,
• Imperative of Cost Minimization .
Change Mgt -
• C E O ->
• Head of Globalization ,
• Chief Web Officer ,
• Knowledge Driver ,
• Customer Relationships Head ,
• All Perspective .
Change Mgt -
• 3 Imperatives;
• Speed,
• Stretch Goals,
• Passion.
Change Mgt -
Have More Internal Combustion.
Change Mgt -
Key Drivers;
Increased Availability of Quality Manpower,
Knowledge of Globalization,
Moving up the Value Chain,
Building Product Passion.
Change Mgt -
• Knowledge,
• Creativity,
• Imagination,
• Intelligence.
Change Mgt -
• Having Passion for your job is a paid holiday.
• Bring in Transparency,
• Good Governance,
• Make it,
• All Accessible.
Change Mgt -
• Start with a Visionary preferably a school drop- out,
• Season with Brash Ideas,
• Add a dash of Venture Capital,
• Cook at a high Pressure & taste .
• For fine finish add some I P O. ->e.g. bill Gates.
Change Mgt -
• If You Resist the Change, You will Die;
• If You Flow with the Change, You will Survive;
• If You Initiate Change, You will Prosper.
Change Mgt -
• Global Village -> In our own Backyard worldly Pleasures,
• Generation,” X “, Language Fusion-> Hinglish, Woman Power, the e-consumer, Pester Power, Communication Technology ->
india ->Global.
Change Mgt -
• Key Mantra’s:-
• Invest in Innovation,
• Have & Live the Service Attitude,
• Embrace Change,
• Merchandise.
Knowledge - Wisdom
The doorstep to the temple of Knowledge & Wisdom is the Acceptance of Our Own Ignorance -
This a line that appears on my organization's website in the home page.
Indeed this is the truth,the base of all;Learning,Sharing of Knowledge & Wisdom.
How many of us would earnestly be able to cross their hearts & affirm their beleif in the above words.
Infact many if not the majority of our fellow brethren would shy away from it if not being far from it.
One needs to understand & accept that for any Effective Learning to occur - one needs to be honest yet earnest, in as much as one needs to be disciplined in one's humility & faith/confidence & belief.
It is a pleasure to share a true incident on the above lines as;
"A student monk once appeared before a Great Master & said
"I wish to learn.Will you teach me"?
"I do not think that you know how to learn", said the Master.
"Can you teach me how to learn"?
"Can you learn how to let me teach"?
To his bewildered disciples the Master later said:-"Teaching only takes place when Learning does.
Learning only takes place when You Teach something to Yourself:"
Or in simpler words...You can take a horse to the water......... but cannot make it drink!
We also have the fact that,'The Teacher Appears only when the Student is Ready'.
My belief & practice of the same is best seen in my programmes & interactions.
Your comments/ thoughts as a response are welcome.
With best wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
This a line that appears on my organization's website in the home page.
Indeed this is the truth,the base of all;Learning,Sharing of Knowledge & Wisdom.
How many of us would earnestly be able to cross their hearts & affirm their beleif in the above words.
Infact many if not the majority of our fellow brethren would shy away from it if not being far from it.
One needs to understand & accept that for any Effective Learning to occur - one needs to be honest yet earnest, in as much as one needs to be disciplined in one's humility & faith/confidence & belief.
It is a pleasure to share a true incident on the above lines as;
"A student monk once appeared before a Great Master & said
"I wish to learn.Will you teach me"?
"I do not think that you know how to learn", said the Master.
"Can you teach me how to learn"?
"Can you learn how to let me teach"?
To his bewildered disciples the Master later said:-"Teaching only takes place when Learning does.
Learning only takes place when You Teach something to Yourself:"
Or in simpler words...You can take a horse to the water......... but cannot make it drink!
We also have the fact that,'The Teacher Appears only when the Student is Ready'.
My belief & practice of the same is best seen in my programmes & interactions.
Your comments/ thoughts as a response are welcome.
With best wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
Friday, May 9, 2008
IDOL to INSPIRE
Hi ,
A desire to,'Excel',is what drives me. Some of you might have seen it in our interactions, others may have felt / sensed it.
However this is far from being idle. There has been an idol all through my life. Begining with my late father it is now, Mr.Ram Charan.
To many of you who have a,'Q', as to,'who is Ram or Ram Charan', please be rest assured that one is far from talking of the famous Telugu film actor, who goes by the same name, & one is still far away from the other noted,Ram Charan, who is famous for his contributions to the economies of a few S.E Asian nations interactions.
So, the gentleman i'm speaking about is a simple man who is,Fortune 500's hot consultant today.
To give you an insight into the man it is a pleasure to share a link with you;
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/04/30/8405482/index.htm
Pls do go through it, read,chew,abosrb / soak it all in & do revert with your thoughts on that to me as your comments / response.
He inspires me & drives me even today to emulate him at best.
Awaiting your responses/coments,
with Best wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
A desire to,'Excel',is what drives me. Some of you might have seen it in our interactions, others may have felt / sensed it.
However this is far from being idle. There has been an idol all through my life. Begining with my late father it is now, Mr.Ram Charan.
To many of you who have a,'Q', as to,'who is Ram or Ram Charan', please be rest assured that one is far from talking of the famous Telugu film actor, who goes by the same name, & one is still far away from the other noted,Ram Charan, who is famous for his contributions to the economies of a few S.E Asian nations interactions.
So, the gentleman i'm speaking about is a simple man who is,Fortune 500's hot consultant today.
To give you an insight into the man it is a pleasure to share a link with you;
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/04/30/8405482/index.htm
Pls do go through it, read,chew,abosrb / soak it all in & do revert with your thoughts on that to me as your comments / response.
He inspires me & drives me even today to emulate him at best.
Awaiting your responses/coments,
with Best wishes,
A.S.Prasad.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Hi! - Introduction of self.
Hi,
This is A.S.Prasad.
Here are a few details about me to let you get a peep into me.
My Birthday:-April 22.
I like having friends,activity partners & am into serious business networking
Some more insights about me:-
'm a dynamic person who is fond of the wild outdoors.
A Mgt post grad,besides being a Psychologist,an NLP practitioner,Transactional Hypnotherapist.
Have been a project guide @ IIM-A.
Besides this,am also certified in MultiModal Trnsportation from NIPM - Chennai.This is a UNCTAD sponsored / recognized certification.
My organization & my colleagues conduct Mgt,OBL & Adventure programmes for corporates, students & families.
A Passion to Excel is what fuels me.
Spiritual but not religious
Fashion:- Classic,Contemporary
Free of addictions & am a total vegetarian.
Webpage:- http://picasaweb.google.com/peoplesskills , www.peoplesskills.com
My Passions:-
To Excel, Wild Life parks of East Africa - Wild Animals there. FACILITATION,THEATRE
My faourite Sports:- HOCKEY, CAR RALLY.
My choice of Books:- MGT, PSYCHOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY.
My idol in my field as a management consultant; Mr.Ram Charan.
My choice of music covers:- WESTERN CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL,COUNTRY, SOUTH INDIAN CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL.- Artistes; Kenny.G, SusanRay, Yanni, PaulAnka, Neil Diamond, Jim Reeves, Simon & Garfunkel, BoneyM, Ilayaraja, Bethoven, Mozart, Zubin Mehta & the Philarmonic Orchestras he conducts, Yehudi Mehnuin, Choir Music, Christmas Carols.
My movies:- ENGLISH, HINDI-ART.
Cuisines:- WESTERN CONTINENTAL VEG CUISINE
Live in city:- Bangalore / Mumbai
Located in the state of Karnataka - India.
So friends this is an introductory blog about myself.
This is A.S.Prasad.
Here are a few details about me to let you get a peep into me.
My Birthday:-April 22.
I like having friends,activity partners & am into serious business networking
Some more insights about me:-
'm a dynamic person who is fond of the wild outdoors.
A Mgt post grad,besides being a Psychologist,an NLP practitioner,Transactional Hypnotherapist.
Have been a project guide @ IIM-A.
Besides this,am also certified in MultiModal Trnsportation from NIPM - Chennai.This is a UNCTAD sponsored / recognized certification.
My organization & my colleagues conduct Mgt,OBL & Adventure programmes for corporates, students & families.
A Passion to Excel is what fuels me.
Spiritual but not religious
Fashion:- Classic,Contemporary
Free of addictions & am a total vegetarian.
Webpage:- http://picasaweb.google.com/peoplesskills , www.peoplesskills.com
My Passions:-
To Excel, Wild Life parks of East Africa - Wild Animals there. FACILITATION,THEATRE
My faourite Sports:- HOCKEY, CAR RALLY.
My choice of Books:- MGT, PSYCHOLOGY, PHILOSOPHY.
My idol in my field as a management consultant; Mr.Ram Charan.
My choice of music covers:- WESTERN CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL,COUNTRY, SOUTH INDIAN CLASSICAL INSTRUMENTAL.- Artistes; Kenny.G, SusanRay, Yanni, PaulAnka, Neil Diamond, Jim Reeves, Simon & Garfunkel, BoneyM, Ilayaraja, Bethoven, Mozart, Zubin Mehta & the Philarmonic Orchestras he conducts, Yehudi Mehnuin, Choir Music, Christmas Carols.
My movies:- ENGLISH, HINDI-ART.
Cuisines:- WESTERN CONTINENTAL VEG CUISINE
Live in city:- Bangalore / Mumbai
Located in the state of Karnataka - India.
So friends this is an introductory blog about myself.
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