With a Good Book
===============================================
Sometime back I read a book entitled "Who Moved My Cheese" by Dr Spencer Johnson. It is a book on self-help obviously written to prescribe methods for developing personality. The author claims that unlike other authors he does not believe in burdening his readers with so many dos and don'ts. Instead he would ask people to buy the book and leave it on the shelf. Then the process of self-development would start automatically. How exactly would it happen? Even going through the whole of the book I could not find any tips. The author is probably up to making fool of the readers. But the bottom line proved me wrong: the book is said to be a blockbuster!
Now I'm faced with a similar question. I've a desk calender that has many of the educative and profound sayings of Mahatma Gandhi. I have been keeping it on my desk for last several months. But nothing in the shape of self-development has wafted out of it into my life. So let me do a little extra. I'm going to copy those sayings into my blog. Maybe, Dr. Spencer meant something like this. Keeping it on the shelf is also like posting it onto the blog.
Einstein on Gandhi:
================
Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.
I believe that Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all political men in our time.
We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil.
So said Gandhi:
=============
Harbour impurity of mind or body and you have untruth and violence in you.
There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no cause that I am prepared to kill for.
I want to find peace in the midst of turmoil, light in the midst of darkness, hope in despair...
To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect, and their oneness.
Love never claims, it ever gives.
In order to be truly useful, self-sacrifice has to be combined with purity of motive and true knowledge. Sacrifice without these two has been known to prove ruinous to society.
If we are to reach real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with the children.
Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes lawless and corrupt.
Satyagrah is a priceless weapon and those who wield it are strangers to disappointment or defeat.
The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within.
True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding out the true path for ourselves and in fearlessly following it.
A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.
He is not dependent on us...we are dependent on him.
He is not an interruption on work...he is the purpose of it.
He is not an outsider to our business, he is part of it.
We are not doing him a favour by serving him...
he is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do it.
Religion is more than life. Remember that his own religion is the trust to every man even if it stands low in the scales of philosophical comparison.
Use truth as your anvil, non-violence as your hammer - and anything that does not stand the test when it is brought to the anvil of truth and hammered with non-violence, reject it.
Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state. There is as little reason to deplore the one as there is to be pleased over the other.
Man never loses by trusting and the deceiver ever loses.
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
If not during my lifetime, I know that after my death, both Hindus and Musalmans will bear witness that I had never ceased to yearn sfter communal peace. My longing is to be able to cement the two, Hindus and Muslims, with my blood, if necessary.
A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion.
Men say I am a saint losing himself in politics. Fact is that I am a politician trying my hardest to become a saint.
A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, nothing else.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Our bodies are the real temples rather than buildings of stone. The best place for worship is in the open with the sky above as the canopy and mother earth below for the floor.
____________________________________________________
जब राज्य निरंकुश तथा भ्रष्ट हो जाता है तब सविनय अवज्ञा एक पवित्र कर्तव्य बन जाता है ।
स्वतंत्रता अपने साथ अनुशासन एबम नम्रता लिए रहती है ।
अहिंसा के उपासकों को केवल एक ही भय होता है और वह है इश्वर का ।
सही रास्ते का प्रथम सूत्र है सत्य बोलना, सत्य सोचना और सत्य ही करना ।
युद्धोन्मत दुनिया को शान्ति की कला सिखाना नारी का कम है ।
सेवा और त्याग-भावना की जीवित मूर्ति के रूप में मैंने नारी की पूजा की है ।
अधिकारी के सामने जो आदमी स्वेच्छापूर्वक खुले दिल से और फिर कभी न करने की प्रतीज्ञा के साथ अपना दोष स्वीकार कर लेता है वह शुद्धतम प्रायश्चित करता है ।
जब आपको कभी किसी विरोध का सामना करना पड़े तो उसे प्रेम से कीजिए ।
मेरे सपनों का रामराज्य तो रजा और रंक दोनों के समान अधिकार को सुनिश्चित करता है ।
जो लोग स्वेच्छा से कष्टों से गुजरते हैं वे ख़ुद ऊँचे उठते हैं ।
साहस, सहिष्णुता, निर्भीकता और आत्मत्याग- ये गुण हमारे नेताओं में अपेक्षित है ।
मैं ऐसे भारत के लिए कोशिश करूँगा जिसमें गरीब आदमी भी यह महसूस कर सके की यह उसका देश है ।
अपने पड़ोसियों से यदि हमें प्रेम नहीं है तो कितना भी क्रन्तिकारी परिवर्तन हमारा कुछ भी भला नहीं कर सकता।
किसी देश की सुव्यवस्था की पहचान वहां रहने वाले लखपतियों की संख्या से नहीं बल्कि उसकी आम जनता में भुखमरी की अनुपस्थिति से होती है ।
सत्य को अपनी कसौटी बनाओ, अहिंसा को उसे परखने का हथियार और जो कुछ भी सत्य और अहिंसा की कसौटी पर खरा न उतरे उसे अस्वीकार कर दो ।
मैं ऐसे भारत के लिए कोशिश करूँगा जिसमें उंच-नीच का कोई भेद न हो और सब जातियां मिल-जुल कर रहती हो । सारी दुनिया से हमारा सम्बन्ध शान्ति और भाईचारे का होगा ।
राजनैतिक सत्ता कोई लक्ष्य नहीं, बल्कि लोगों को जीवन के हर एक क्षेत्र में अपनी स्थिति उत्तम बनने योग्य साधनों मै से एक है ।
सबको सन्मति दे भगवान ।
जाति मन पूछो, मत बोलो, मत सोचो ।
धर्म, मनुष्य को एक दुसरे से अलग कराने के लिए नहीं बल्कि उनको जोड़ने के लिए होता है ।
प्रार्थना, नम्रता की पुकार है । यह आत्म-शुद्धि और अन्तः खोज की गुहार है ।
ईश्वर और सत्य एक दूसरे से बदले जा सकते हैं ।
मैं इस पथ से परिचित हूँ । यह सीधा और संकरा है । यह तलवार की धार जैसा है । मुझे इस राह पर चलने में आनंद आता है ।
____________________________________________
By
A. N. Nanda
Muzaffarpur
01-09-2008
____________________________________________
Sometime back I read a book entitled "Who Moved My Cheese" by Dr Spencer Johnson. It is a book on self-help obviously written to prescribe methods for developing personality. The author claims that unlike other authors he does not believe in burdening his readers with so many dos and don'ts. Instead he would ask people to buy the book and leave it on the shelf. Then the process of self-development would start automatically. How exactly would it happen? Even going through the whole of the book I could not find any tips. The author is probably up to making fool of the readers. But the bottom line proved me wrong: the book is said to be a blockbuster!
Now I'm faced with a similar question. I've a desk calender that has many of the educative and profound sayings of Mahatma Gandhi. I have been keeping it on my desk for last several months. But nothing in the shape of self-development has wafted out of it into my life. So let me do a little extra. I'm going to copy those sayings into my blog. Maybe, Dr. Spencer meant something like this. Keeping it on the shelf is also like posting it onto the blog.
Einstein on Gandhi:
================
Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.
I believe that Gandhi's views were the most enlightened of all political men in our time.
We should strive to do things in his spirit: not to use violence in fighting for our cause, but by non-participation in anything you believe is evil.
So said Gandhi:
=============
Harbour impurity of mind or body and you have untruth and violence in you.
There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no cause that I am prepared to kill for.
I want to find peace in the midst of turmoil, light in the midst of darkness, hope in despair...
To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect, and their oneness.
Love never claims, it ever gives.
In order to be truly useful, self-sacrifice has to be combined with purity of motive and true knowledge. Sacrifice without these two has been known to prove ruinous to society.
If we are to reach real peace in this world, we shall have to begin with the children.
Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the State becomes lawless and corrupt.
Satyagrah is a priceless weapon and those who wield it are strangers to disappointment or defeat.
The spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within.
True morality consists not in following the beaten track, but in finding out the true path for ourselves and in fearlessly following it.
A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.
He is not dependent on us...we are dependent on him.
He is not an interruption on work...he is the purpose of it.
He is not an outsider to our business, he is part of it.
We are not doing him a favour by serving him...
he is doing us a favour by giving us the opportunity to do it.
Religion is more than life. Remember that his own religion is the trust to every man even if it stands low in the scales of philosophical comparison.
Use truth as your anvil, non-violence as your hammer - and anything that does not stand the test when it is brought to the anvil of truth and hammered with non-violence, reject it.
Birth and death are not two different states, but they are different aspects of the same state. There is as little reason to deplore the one as there is to be pleased over the other.
Man never loses by trusting and the deceiver ever loses.
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
If not during my lifetime, I know that after my death, both Hindus and Musalmans will bear witness that I had never ceased to yearn sfter communal peace. My longing is to be able to cement the two, Hindus and Muslims, with my blood, if necessary.
A religion that takes no account of practical affairs and does not help to solve them is no religion.
Men say I am a saint losing himself in politics. Fact is that I am a politician trying my hardest to become a saint.
A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, nothing else.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Our bodies are the real temples rather than buildings of stone. The best place for worship is in the open with the sky above as the canopy and mother earth below for the floor.
____________________________________________________
जब राज्य निरंकुश तथा भ्रष्ट हो जाता है तब सविनय अवज्ञा एक पवित्र कर्तव्य बन जाता है ।
स्वतंत्रता अपने साथ अनुशासन एबम नम्रता लिए रहती है ।
अहिंसा के उपासकों को केवल एक ही भय होता है और वह है इश्वर का ।
सही रास्ते का प्रथम सूत्र है सत्य बोलना, सत्य सोचना और सत्य ही करना ।
युद्धोन्मत दुनिया को शान्ति की कला सिखाना नारी का कम है ।
सेवा और त्याग-भावना की जीवित मूर्ति के रूप में मैंने नारी की पूजा की है ।
अधिकारी के सामने जो आदमी स्वेच्छापूर्वक खुले दिल से और फिर कभी न करने की प्रतीज्ञा के साथ अपना दोष स्वीकार कर लेता है वह शुद्धतम प्रायश्चित करता है ।
जब आपको कभी किसी विरोध का सामना करना पड़े तो उसे प्रेम से कीजिए ।
मेरे सपनों का रामराज्य तो रजा और रंक दोनों के समान अधिकार को सुनिश्चित करता है ।
जो लोग स्वेच्छा से कष्टों से गुजरते हैं वे ख़ुद ऊँचे उठते हैं ।
साहस, सहिष्णुता, निर्भीकता और आत्मत्याग- ये गुण हमारे नेताओं में अपेक्षित है ।
मैं ऐसे भारत के लिए कोशिश करूँगा जिसमें गरीब आदमी भी यह महसूस कर सके की यह उसका देश है ।
अपने पड़ोसियों से यदि हमें प्रेम नहीं है तो कितना भी क्रन्तिकारी परिवर्तन हमारा कुछ भी भला नहीं कर सकता।
किसी देश की सुव्यवस्था की पहचान वहां रहने वाले लखपतियों की संख्या से नहीं बल्कि उसकी आम जनता में भुखमरी की अनुपस्थिति से होती है ।
सत्य को अपनी कसौटी बनाओ, अहिंसा को उसे परखने का हथियार और जो कुछ भी सत्य और अहिंसा की कसौटी पर खरा न उतरे उसे अस्वीकार कर दो ।
मैं ऐसे भारत के लिए कोशिश करूँगा जिसमें उंच-नीच का कोई भेद न हो और सब जातियां मिल-जुल कर रहती हो । सारी दुनिया से हमारा सम्बन्ध शान्ति और भाईचारे का होगा ।
राजनैतिक सत्ता कोई लक्ष्य नहीं, बल्कि लोगों को जीवन के हर एक क्षेत्र में अपनी स्थिति उत्तम बनने योग्य साधनों मै से एक है ।
सबको सन्मति दे भगवान ।
जाति मन पूछो, मत बोलो, मत सोचो ।
धर्म, मनुष्य को एक दुसरे से अलग कराने के लिए नहीं बल्कि उनको जोड़ने के लिए होता है ।
प्रार्थना, नम्रता की पुकार है । यह आत्म-शुद्धि और अन्तः खोज की गुहार है ।
ईश्वर और सत्य एक दूसरे से बदले जा सकते हैं ।
मैं इस पथ से परिचित हूँ । यह सीधा और संकरा है । यह तलवार की धार जैसा है । मुझे इस राह पर चलने में आनंद आता है ।
____________________________________________
By
A. N. Nanda
Muzaffarpur
01-09-2008
____________________________________________
Labels: Inspiration
posted by The Unadorned | 9:39 AM
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