170. An ideal mother doesn’t stop caring for her child even if he/she keeps on hurting her. That is true love. Similarly, if we really love someone we would care for such a one even if, in return, we get hurt and hatred.

- Sujit Mukerji

169. Curse the sin and not the sinner.

- Mahatma Gandhi

168. To lead a healthy life, our environment should be healthy and to keep our environment healthy, we should live a healthy life. We should keep our environment just the way we want our lives to be i.e., our environment depends on our actions and our actions depend on how we think.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

167. The environment of a place should be based on the purpose it is meant to serve.

- Sujit Mukerji

166. All the positive things can be traced back to a beneficial supportive role of a congenial environment and vice versa …

- Sujit Mukerji

165. A person can be judged by the environment he chooses.

- Sujit Mukerji

164. “Gautam Buddha left The Palace for Peace;

We leave Peace for The Palace.”

163. If we have any expectation, we can be sad;

If we just do the duties properly, we shall be glad …

- Sujit Mukerji

162. If we live for the self, we will be sad;

If we live for the others, we shall be glad …

- Sujit Mukerji

161. Even though our life is like that of a bus conductor, always traveling but nowhere to go, we must have a goal or else it will be next to impossible to pull on …

- Sujit Mukerji

160. Every person’s actions are motivated by his instincts, emotions, reasoning and, finally, spiritualism (if any) in that order. If we remember this, it would be so easy to interact with each other.

- Sujit Mukerji

159. A person is only a reflection of the environment in which he was born, brought up or has/had to spend his days. His behavioural pattern is nothing but his reaction to the environment and, over the years, such responses become his habits.

- Sujit Mukerji

158. The child only picks up what it experiences e.g., if the parents or the other elders it grows up with show selfish tendencies, then it is only natural for the child to emulate the behaviour. So, why blame it?

- Sujit Mukerji

157. The lessons of the past should be employed in the present for a better future.

- Sujit Mukerji

156. The many faces of lies can not face the one face of truth.

- Sujit Mukerji

155.  We must remember history – our own and others’ – if we want to make good progress and avoid repetition of mistakes.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

154. Optimism and positivism are two different things. Optimism means whatever happens or will happen is or will be good. Positive attitude means whatever happens or will happen, will also contain some good points. So, in positive attitude, the person looks only at the positive side but he knows it has a negative side too, which he ignores. In optimism, a person thinks there is nothing bad at all. Positive attitude not only encourages us but also helps us to be more practical and happy in our life. There might be many negative points but if we stick to those points, we would never be able to move ahead in life.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

153. The same things can be said in so many different ways with, obviously, so many different results. If we are careful enough, meeting our objectives would be a lot easier. A little tact can do wonders.

- Sujit Mukerji

152. It is indeed a formidable challenge to forgive people who create obstacles in our lives but it surely does help if we remind ourselves that to err is human and to forgive is divine. Besides, if we keep nurturing our grievances, our life will become all the more difficult for us.

In fact, our religious texts are replete with such glorious examples where the great people have gone to unimaginable extents to wash away the sins of the common folks.

Therefore, it is upon us to ensure peace in our lives.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

151. Think like a man of action and act like a man of thought.

– Henri L. Bergson

150. Since we are directly or indirectly dependent on the environment, shouldn’t it be our prime concern to make sure that it stays healthy? Shouldn’t we constantly strive hard to improve our attitude, behaviour and language?

- Sujit Mukerji

149. Some of us become so pre-occupied with ourselves that we tend to overlook the interests of our children. We even justify our actions and attitudes and say we are doing only what is required of us whereas it may be our own interests or the way we see things. Such an attitude drives us in a direction that proves detrimental to the balanced growth of the child’s persona.

- Sujit Mukerji

148. It is nothing but the sense of selfishness which makes us more right-conscious than duty-conscious.

- Sujit Mukerji

147. We must try to understand the difference between duty towards oneself and selfishness and try to safeguard ourselves against justifying our selfishness.

-  Sujit Mukerji

146. Whatever our nature (determined by the genetic factors), the habits (determined by the environmental factors) that we acquire act either as a bridle or as a driving force.

- Sujit Mukerji

145. The first and the most important step towards success is the feeling that we can succeed.

– Nelson Boswell

144. Our brain has three levels – the lowermost controls the basic body functions and instincts, the next higher one controls the emotions while the highest one controls the cognitive functions or our reasoning ability. Spiritualism, the fourth aspect, has now attracted the scientists’ attention and they are trying to find out if it is the fourth level of development of our brain. Each level is governed by the next higher level. The lower two levels are, obviously, fully developed – our instincts and emotions are so well pronounced. The third level is, again obviously, still developing – we can be so unreasonable at times e.g. we have the tendency to judge others from our own points-of-view, expect others to be like us when we can not be like them, be egoistic, inter alia. The lower three levels are subject to logic.  The fourth faculty, that of spiritualism, is beyond worldliness, i.e. beyond logic. Once all this becomes clear, doesn’t it become a whole lot easier for us to comprehend the goings-on?

- Sujit Mukerji

143.  It has been scientifically well established, beyond even an iota of any doubt, that music definitely has a rejuvenating effect on all life forms. It has been described as the medicine of the troubled mind by Haddon. It has appropriately been defined as the speech of angels and, as observed, it has the charm to soothe even the savage beast. It is something that ‘all can hear but only the sensitive can feel’. When we are happy, we feel the sound of the rain as music to our ears. Music has no language. That means in whatever language it is it will have an appeal to the mind. It is amongst the most popular things since the ancient times.

At the end of a hard day’s work, the poor farmers or the labourers, after taking their meals, get together and sing songs to soothe themselves before going to bed. In the same way, rich people quite often listen to the music with the same intention to feel good. Thus, music is an essential ingredient for the ‘feel-good’ factor.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

142. Different people define democracy in different ways. Some great personalities, like Abraham Lincoln, defined it as government of, by and for the people whereas Aristotle defined it as a government of many and Lord Bryce defined it as a government in which the will of the majority of qualified citizens rest. The dictionary defines it as a form of government in which the people vote for their representatives to govern on their behalf. In the above lines the ways of defining democracy are different but the main idea is the same.

There was once a time when the world was unaware of the idea of democracy but now more than half of the independent countries in the world are democracies. However, the expansion of democracy has not been so smooth and, unfortunately, it still remains an unstable and uncertain achievement.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

141. That some can achieve success is a proof to all that others can achieve it as well.

—Abraham Lincoln

140. From a brush with thorns, comes the beautiful rose;

From a broken heart, comes powerful prose;

From a cramped cocoon, comes a butterfly new;

From a tough mountain climb, comes a breath-taking view …

139. Our personality is the cumulative effect of two factors – genetic and environmental. The genes determine our nature while the environment is instrumental in the formation of certain habits in us and, as we all know, habit is the second nature. So, that is how we learn to act and react. Our responses to situations, though similar in certain ways, are marked by their characteristic individuality.

- Sujit Mukerji

138. Life is the biggest teacher. Yet, we fail to learn our lessons properly. This is evidenced by the fact that the same experiences get repeated howsoever undesirable they may be. That calls for introspection, doesn’t it?

- Sujit Mukerji

137. No system can continue for ever. Certain weaknesses are noticed and then, in an attempt to strengthen a system, alterations and improvisations are made. A new system gets evolved. It is a continuing process. However, certain basic lacunas remain … and the imperfections continue … thus paving the way for further changes …

- Sujit Mukerji

136. Adventure adds spice to our life which is otherwise probably a monotonous experience. It inculcates in us the spirit to break free from the established norms and so long as it does not prove to be harmful in the ultimate analysis it is one of the most advisable things to do. One has to have a lot of self-confidence because adventure means taking risks. There can be a lot of things to learn in the process. One has to have a very clear mind in order to be able to take spot decisions. So, evidently, adventures are important in personality building as well because life means situations which call for presence of mind and sport decisions.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

135. Home and wisdom are interlinked in a way. As we know, charity begins at home. So, whatever we are doing is the result of how we were taught in our homes and, as far as wisdom is concerned, we know that the man is known by the company he keeps or gets. Therefore, the mentality of a person depends on what kind of training he is given at home, what kind of moral values he is taught, and so on. What man thinks, he becomes, Mahatma Gandhi said. The type of a man’s thought is influenced by his learning at home. A child spends the majority of his time in his home and so he does what he gets to see there.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

134. No one is perfect, everyone understands that. So, none can teach any one to be perfect.

- Sujit Mukerji

133. Ever since our earliest days, we are taught the various do’s and don’ts. In fact, more don’ts than do’s!

- Sujit Mukerji

132. Isn’t it ironic that, at times, we have a tendency, even consciously, to ignore an approach that could keep us away from negative eventualities?

- Sujit Mukerji

131. Money makes the mare go. Money has also been described as a necessary evil as nothing can be procured without money. On one side, it is the root cause of many evils. It can even ruin our life. On the other side, it can make our life so much better. In other words, it can either make or break our life. It is upon us whether we want to have it in our control or let it destroy us. Acquiring money is so difficult. With all-round developments, many things are becoming necessary. We should use money to meet our needs and stop it from promoting greed. We must, however, ensure that what we describe as our need can be justified in every way.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

130. History is the study of the past. In other words, history is ‘his story’. History means the written record of events of the distant past. By studying history, we get to know about our country and the world. To know and understand our society, culture and our world, we have to know the history.

History teaches us how the terrible wars of the past have lead to havoc and destruction. It inspires us with the life-stories of great people. It motivates with lessons of human values from the teachings of great personalities like, Gautam Buddha, Swami Vivekananda, Guru Nanak, Mahatma Gandhi etc.

History teaches us about the culture of the people of various countries and civilizations. This helps us to understand and respect all societies and cultures. Thus, history teaches us to be true citizens of the world.

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

129.  Cleanliness ensures good health. For best results, it should be amongst our topmost priorities. A clean mind leads to a clean life. Clean thoughts guarantee healthy interactions and good performances. Likewise, a clean body makes its own contributions. A clean environment can improve everything so effectively and obviously lead to a definite freshness which is so likeable. Since we know God is present everywhere, we should ensure that cleanliness is also present everywhere. The best way to stay clean is firstly, to never let anything become dirty and secondly, to constantly keep working at keeping everything clean. Thus, we can say, cleanliness is godliness …

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

128. All mornings are like paintings. We need a little inspiration to get us going and a little smile to brighten it up …

127. A morning is a wonderful blessing, either cloudy or sunny. It stands for hope, giving us another start of what we call – life …

126. The shortest and sweetest definition of success – when the signature becomes an autograph …

125. THE TWO FACES OF ADVERTISEMENTS

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

In today’s age of economic progress, consumerism and commercialism, dissemination of information amongst the target segments of society has become an essential implement. Advertisement is a very potent means to serve the purpose of creating awareness. It is done through various media. Proponents of advertisements are of the firm view that it is not just the means to promote commerce and consumerism but its larger purpose is the welfare of mankind, generally speaking.

Advertisements are nothing but dream sellers, as the cliché goes. Advertisements are classified into four categories i.e. commercial, social, political and educational. Educational advertisements should have been under social advertisements. But, unfortunately, education has now become a commercial commodity. Therefore, its advertisement is self-motivated and can be misleading.

Now comes the commercial advertisement. The commercial advertisements are based on the selfish motives of the advertisers or the product managers. They are focused on their profits no matter what effect the advertisements or the products have on the common people.

Political advertisements too are, most of the times, misleading as every party makes high promises but fail to fulfill them when the time comes.

Social advertisement is the only one which can be helpful and are not misleading, e.g., the advertisements that condemn the practice of female foeticide and infanticide.

Thus, by this, it can be concluded that except social advertisements, all other types of advertisements are misleading.

At last, it should be kept in mind that nothing is totally bad or good.

124. BLAME GAME – AN ACT OF SHAME

(MODIFYING #28)

-- daughter, Josheca Mukerji

I have often wondered why many of us blame our luck or any other factor for not being able to achieve what we want. I believe, God has endowed us with certain potentials which we tend to leave latent in us. If we can be enterprising enough to exploit our hidden potentials to the full, we might not perhaps need to blame our luck so often, as the likelihood of our meeting with success gets increased manifold.

When we realize that we have done nothing worthy, we start blaming others, our own luck or even God for our failures. We should not waste our time and energy like that. In fact, we must take inspiration from those who have really used their talents. Like, Graham Bell, who has furthered the horizon of our wisdom by inventing the telephone. He not only made his but also others’ life easy. Pathetically, despite the availability of such important facilities as telephone, even electricity, which have become our basic needs today, when we fail to give our best, we again blame it on the lack of certain other facilities. As Sachin Tendulkar said, “Only losers give excuses”. So, by giving excuses, we establish ourselves as losers.

So, there is no doubt that we can get right results only if and when we use what God has given us properly. That would be our best tribute to Him.

123. When we become weary of our ‘meaningless’ toil and signs of suffering come into our faces, then we proclaim that suffering is a beauty for in suffering alone lies our meaning …

122. Faith makes all things possible.

Hope makes all things work.

Love makes all things beautiful.

121. Should we become sad if anyone doesn’t recognize our worth? Shouldn’t we rather concentrate in increasing our capabilities and doing justice to whatever we undertake to do?

- Sujit Mukerji

120.  Religion, to me, is nothing but our duties towards our responsibilities. Our responsibilities comprise anything or anyone in our charge in the order of their appearance. We must understand our priorities correctly. Thus, our responsibilities as per the order of their appearances are as follows –

(a) To keep the Soul alive: Its presence can be realized whenever we do something wrong and keep feeling uneasy till we set it right. ‘Pricks of the Conscience’, as they say. Believers describe Soul (Atma) as part of God (Param-atma) and Conscience as the Voice of God. Agnostics, however, wouldn’t subscribe to any such concept. Nevertheless, they too feel uneasy when they do something wrong and keep feeling so as long as they do not set the things right. So, our first priority should, therefore, be to keep this Guiding Spirit alive. That will automatically ensure the ultimate good. Hence, this is our first responsibility.

(b) To keep the Mind under control: The mind is selfish. It is primarily concerned with our present feelings, whatever the ultimate results. We are advised to make our Mind our slave rather than become its slave because, as I have observed so many times, the Mind can be the best of friends and the worst of foes. Thus, with the help of our intellect and will-power, we must strive to keep our Mind in our control and make it function in accordance with the vibes of the Soul to ensure the ultimate good. This, therefore, becomes our second responsibility.

(c) To keep the body fit: A healthy lifestyle, regular physical exercises … This is our third responsibility.

(d) To enhance our capabilities: Our potentials and recourses are mostly un- or under-utilized. Shouldn’t we use them to the full? This is our fourth responsibility.

(e) To live a worthy life: As has been rightly observed, life itself has no meaning in it. It is an opportunity to create a meaning … Don’t we owe it to ourselves to live a more positive, meaningful life? Thus, this becomes our fifth responsibility.

(f) To take good care of the family: Shouldn’t we strive continuously, in every conceivable way, to ensure the ultimate good in the family? Thus, this is our sixth responsibility.

(g) To improve the environment: A better environment is more helpful for our growth. So, this is our seventh responsibility.

(h) To improve the circumstances: It is an uphill task, no doubt, but can a laid-back attitude make our life interesting or even give us any hope for a better future? This, therefore, is our eighth responsibility.

(i) To respect our home: Shouldn’t our home be the one place we should respect, in fact worship, the most? After all, our home is the place where we learn to prepare ourselves to face the world outside. Our home is the place which gives us shelter and security when we need it most. Our home is the place to which we return when we are tired. Our home is the place which gives us enough time and space to relax, think, rejuvenate ourselves … In short, our home is the place where we want to return, again and again. Our home is where our heart lives. This is our ninth responsibility.

(j) To ensure a better life for our children: Our children didn’t ask to be born. We bring them to this world for our own reasons. Our duty towards them is not limited to providing them just with material resources. In fact, more important is that first we learn to think properly – if we are not happy, we are not thinking properly – and then teach our progeny the same. ‘Examples are better than precepts’ or ‘Actions speak louder than words’. We must show rather than just say. If we can learn and teach that proper management of the Self is the key to success and, therefore, a satisfying life, our job will be done.  This is our tenth responsibility.

 The list can go on. Next in order would be – our neighborhood, the less privileged, relatives (decided by God or chance), friends (chosen by the self), society, country, humanity, other living creatures and non-living things …

- Sujit Mukerji

119. Anything can be possible. So, why not

(a) be prepared i.e. take all necessary actions and precautions? Isn’t it better to be safe than sorry?

(b) keep trying for a better result?

- Sujit Mukerji

118. If complaining can help resolve a problem, then it is justified. Otherwise, isn’t it a futile exercise … a waste? After all, there can be only three types of responses to our complaints:

(a) Our well-wishers become sad,

(b) The ‘not-concerned’ become irritated and

(c) Our ill-wishers become happy.

Do we really want such responses?

- Sujit Mukerji

117.  Blaming is a negative action. It has its negative results. However, it has a positive side too! Whenever I am blamed, I do some re-thinking and become wiser and more cautious. I’ve learned to consider and treat all my negative experiences as tests of my intelligence, wisdom, correctness, goodness, patience, tolerance or, in short, my positive side. Blessings in disguise, as they say! Such experiences are opportunities for me to prepare myself in such a way as never to let them repeat themselves.

So, as a doer, I should not blame or, in fact, take any negative action against anyone or anything with a malicious motive. Blaming with malice simply cannot have any positive result whatsoever. It can only lead to more negativity. However, if the motive is benevolent, blaming or any other negative action can be justified if done with respect and politeness etc.

As a receiver, I should treat all my negative experiences as opportunities to learn and improve myself.

- Sujit Mukerji

116. We never get what we like. We never like what we get. Still, we live, love and hope that some day we will get what we like or like what we get. That’s life …