Drop outs and Rich

I completed college (against my wish) this summer, it has been a long ride full of stupidity, sarcastic circumstances and numerous emotions.

In India, drop outs are treated as socially unacceptable or failures for the rest life. I personally have had a share of it for some time. Drop outs are like a stigma to society. People value college education over a kid's own will.And once you drop out, Suddenly you are the looser,the dumber among them.


So how important is college to success ?


Bill Gates
Ted turner
Walt Disney
Albert Einstein
Mark Twain
Steve Jobs
Benjamin Franklin
Thomas Edison
Paul Allen
Michael Dell
Richard Branson
Dhiru Bhai Ambani
Gautam Adani
and others.

I personally admire each of these individuals who are drop outs and yet very successful.

All i am saying is a education is much over rated.Students committing suicide just for a failure in some board exams is just a by-product of this conditioning by society.Education alone is not the only way to be successful, and certainly not a specific profession.
Taking into consideration the amount of money and time people spend on education WITHOUT their will, i would say its not worth it. I'm not against people who want to pursue professional courses , as they definitely require knowledge and skill level that you need to comprehend during those courses.
There is a lot of money flowing around the world every day, so decide if you not ending up with a degree or with a specific job does means the end of the road.There is abundant money for everyone, we are living in the richest times humans have ever lived.

Anticipation

He hangs around the same tree,
still waits for the dream,
the dream to come true,

He has always been a loner,
He has always been a dreamer,
People have a habit of moving ahead,
He has been left alone.

He is unable to move ahead,
for the dreams are rare,
and even rare are the people who follow them.

He dares to dream,
He dares to follow them,
Some say he is a fool,
Others say he is unreal.

He stares at the trees,
He observes the sea,
As hordes of people go by,
he observes it all,
unaware of his existence.

Every evening he goes back there,
back under the same tree,
dissolved in his dream,
with an anticipation of its manifestation.



© Amitabh Sharma

Into the Wild

I really don't know what to say after reading the book. This is the kind of people when they say go and reach out .Chris McCandless made me wonder if life and a career is something more than a philistine endeavour ?
I comprehend the spirit of adventure and secluded joy in barren lands.The way to live where you are not judged upon some partial standards of society.You do not care on other's reaction to what you do.This is as real and as natural you can get.But on the other hand ,Chris also realized "Happiness is only real when shared !".But I wonder how do sync your happiness with others.

Happiness to me could be being curious and learn new things.It can be me working as a volunteer for any social cause.But then, this kind of revelation is hardly shared by many or enjoyed for that fact. What is happiness, joy then ?

I would not know how others would define happiness, but i have been through lot of criticism and sharp accusations.And it's what's inside that made me stand out against them.There have been times when i found myself being laughed at by everyone around me.They say i am a fool with such ambitions and curiosity.Some say i am lazy others say I'm crazy, I guess i'll always be.
But the fact is it's what i believe.I don't let other's bullshit me on their ways of thinking. Isn't this life all about ? Finding and sculpting your own intellect and own freedom.Why should other's be allowed to adjudicate our deeds ? More importantly Why should I be affected by their responses to my actions.I'm not always correct on what i say, but then again this is my way .This is me being into the wilderness.By wilderness i mean out of our comfort zone.

Best MMORPG ever

Who am I ?

I live at the street light near the corner of your house. I work at the local store where you get your snacks from. I am all around you when you take a walk down the road.
I'm the vexing phenomena that is alive and growing all over India and other developing countries.But Alas! I'm something that is invisible to most of you.

You are so filled with your happy meals and cafe coffee day routines, that you hardly notice me eagerly looking at you from the other side of the glass.

I'm the one who offers you to clean the dirt off your car while you are at the traffic signal at prices cheaper than dirt. I'm the one who sells Maps and magazines at railways stations and bus stations, even though i do not know what they mean. I sleep without any food in my stomach at night, i carry my 2 year old younger brother on my waist to find some food and money to feed him.

The similarity between me and you ? You all believe in INDIA SHINING, INDIA GROWING. You all believe in sending rockets in space. I see you all, showing off your latest cell phones, one with that shiny flash and camera. I see your pretentious walk, I see you driving those big black cars. I see you shop for the festivals. I see you carry those shopping bags in diwali, filled with gifts & clothes. I see you buying your kids ice cream cones.

While you! You never see me. You extol me to get lost, if I come to ask for alms. You tell me that you don't have any money while still talking on your big bright phone. You tell me to go to someone else for help, as you don't have any money, even though you at the same time throw out a Rs 100 note to the shopkeeper for ice-creams chocolate.

You celebrate diwali. You celebrate Makarsankranti. You celebrate christmas. You celebrate New Year. Every day is a celebration for you.

I sell those small earthen lamps that my mother made for diwali. I'm the kid you buy your kites from on Makarsankrati. I run around the roads fighting with other kids to get hold of as many kites as i can, so that i can sell it to some sahabji like you for some small money which can help me fill my stomach for that day atleast. Your kid wishes gifts from santa on christmas, while i'm the kid that is told to stay off the stage where santa lets kid come upto him and ask for their gifts.
I do not know what Children's day is ? I work every day of the year.

I do not know what festivals are for. All i know is that i get to work extra hard on that day. I try to impress you, i try to sell anything i have that day. But you never stop amusing me. You always abuse your power. Even though i make only 2 Rs on 20 kites, you want to me to sell those kites at only Rs 1 profit. Well you are the lucky one, you don't know what it feels on having an empty stomach since last night.So have it your way.
I don't know much about this world. My world starts with me going out for food and coming home with or without food.

I'm so small , that you can kick me off your way and your mind. You got better things to think about, like what to wear tomorrow ? Where to go on weekends ?

I'm nothing from your ken. I represent nothing from your perception. It's just that every 5th kid in here is me. I know you are a busy person, and that you don't have any time for all such things. I have just one request. Please sir, if next time you see me around you, please do not throw me out of your way, do not ignore me.

I am Child Labour.

Please do not encourage child labour.

Religion in a Sadhu's terms.

Religion ? Wikipedia defines religion as

A religion is a set of common beliefs and practices generally held by a group of people, often codified as prayer, ritual, and religious law. Religion also encompasses ancestral or cultural traditions, writings, history, and mythology, as well as personal faith and mystic experience. The term "religion" refers to both the personal practices related to communal faith and to group rituals and communication stemming from shared conviction.




















I usually avoid temples for reasons i am not sure many people would like, one of them being people themselves. Temples were supposed to be a place of peace and serenity where one would come up, find peace within himself, practice his religion . But today everywhere i go i see these huge temples with grandeur matching that of a king's palace. Lush white marble floors, huge ceilings sculpted into unique designs. golden offerings. People turn up into these temples in specific days , views which i do not yet adhere to. So basically its like Thursday for a specific god , and saturday for another god. Temple authorities also have made sure to abuse this thing to every scrutiny, by which i mean the temple works over time on those special days in a week where they keep open even after midnight. People come all dressed up, offer money to god ( which in turn goes to temple authorities), they would stand in queues for hours just to get an glimpse of the same god who would have no worshiper on next day . I find all this really troublesome.

To me religion has been an elusive obvious. More i read more i question. Usually i just throw my questions about religion to shastry and books. I was walking down the road today, and came across this small temple just on the opposite side of this huge Temple with all the lightings that would rival a power house. Funny thing no one cared to come up across the road to this temple. The temple across the road had was about the 3/4th the size of my computer desk. Yeah thats all of it. And it had a sadhu ( priest) sitting in it and offering prayers. Funny thing, i found serenity in such a small temple that i couldn't find in those once in a week visit temple routines. I was really curious about the temple, so i started asking the sadhu about it. He told me stories about the god for which the temple was built and the reason for all those flags outside the temple. He told me he was 85 years old, his name was maganbhai and that he had been in this temple for past 15 years of so, sitting their all day from early morning to evening , after that he would leave to sleep at his son's place and he would be back early morning.

After few minutes of conversation, i popped my question on religion and life to him . What he answered was one of the most clear definitions of life and religion i ever got from someone.

Although he referred to this in terms of Hinduism, i believe it shouldn't be any different to any other religion or atheism.

He said Life and Religion go hand in hand , he said religion is nothing but 3 words that you should follow upon in your life

1) Neeti ( Your strategy for life, your thinking).
2) Dharma (Your faith in your religion, stick to your rules).
3) Punya ( Helping others in need).





















He said,
Never let your thinking about yourself, your faith get corrupt. Stick to what you think is right and not what your priests say is right (which is pretty popular in this part of world).

Dharma, he explained is various practices that retain your belief in God and a deep trust in yourself. Its a way of living your life and sticking to your rules as shastry once said to me.

Punya, the sadhu said is helping others in need. He said money was never a help and would never be. He told me this story from hindu mythology about a king Karana.

"The king was a very generous person, and that anyone needy who would come to his door. His alms would include gold and all the material wealth he had. In the end when the king went up to the god, the king was really hungry and asked the god for some alms. The god in turn gave him gold. To this the king was really turned off, and started whining about how he would give alms of gold which no one other even had a heart to give. The god in turn replied that this all your alms, you never gave anyone any food or cloth or shelter. "

My point, in all that the sadhu said, is that Alms and donations should never consist of money. Food and cloth are the bare essentials and that you should stick to it. He also mentioned about gau dhan and some other stuff.

All his teachings brought some more light in my way of thinking about religion and life. I now understand that you don't need to stick to any specific rules, gods or priests. It's all about your inner values and not what is written in a book. I would post the photo of that small temple i get a hold of a cam.