Many of life's circumstances are created by three basic choices: the disciplines you choose to keep, the people you choose to be with, and the laws you choose to obey.
Charles Millhuff
No Bangalore trip is complete without a visit to Ramakrishna Ashram on Swami Vivekanand road (formerly Old Madras road). This time too, despite my hectic schedule, I visited the Ashram. It's always a pleasure to drowse oneself in the tranquility and piety of the place. I find it to be spiritually very vibrant.

This time too it was a joy to be there. It is a joy to read the words of Swami Vivekanand carved on the walls of the meditation hall. It's a joy to browse to the books in the bookshop. The library is also staffed with a lot of interesting books. (Somehow I have been to the library only once despite having visited the place so many times. May be because it's on the first floor and doesn't attract one's attention. And after browsing through the books in the bookstore on the groundfloor one doesn't feel the need to go the library).

There was one change in the Ashram this time. Two big statues of Swami Vivekanand and Shiva, respectively, have been errected just opposite the meditation hall. For some reason I didn't receive it positively. Somehow it seemed to have diluted the spiritual atmosphere of the place. The statue of Shiva immediately reminds one of Kemp Fort. No matter how beautiful the Shiva temple at Kemp Fort is, it is quite commerialised, and lacks the serenity of a temple. May be because of recall of Kemp Fort, or due to some other reason the statues seemed out of place at Ramakrishna Ashram. This new statue of Swami Vivekanand does not touch off spiritual thoughts as the one inside the meditation hall.

May be I didn't appreciate it just because it's a change from what I am used to. May be when I frequent it more I would start liking the statues. May be I just need some to get used to them. Let's see, I'll know later.

Assertiveness Training

Basic Human Rights

I attended a one day session on Assertiveness, on Tuesday. It was a useful programme. What I liked the most was the list of individual rights enumerated by the trainer (Hema Mani, HR head of SRM BU).

The list of goes as follows:

1. The right to choose
2. The right to “be” (yourself)
3. The right to be respected
4. The right to make mistakes
5. The right to say “NO”
6. The right to ask for what we want
7. The right to ask for what we need

There are other things from the training that I post can here, but these rules are the best.

My take on Lok Sabha 2005 results

Indian elections are like cricket match where the teams bat first and the winner is decided at the end by tossing a coin! BJP might have lost the toss and the match, but it has definitely scored more runs during its five years in power.

I believe it's better to perform well and lose, than to do badly and win. BJP's five years in power were the best years the country has had since independence. BJP leaders and supports should be happy about it rather than grieve over what happened. Indian elections are unpredictable. Sometimes you lose for no fault of yours. You just have to take it in stride. People will bring back BJP after they taste the deadly potion of Sonia and Leftists that they have cooked for themselves.

If a government of good people can lose because of anti-incumbency, one made up of clowns and bigots has no hopes of returning to power. Till then, though, the country will have to bear the brunt of it's follies.

Great parting words from a great leader!

"We have given up office, but not our responsibility to serve the nation. We have lost an election, but not our determination"

Great ending words from the greatest prime minister our country has ever had. An era has come to an end. Great Atal Bihari Vajpayee will never be the prime minister again. He will be replaced by an foreigner with no credentials. And with it begins another chapter of shame in the history of this great nation.

This day will go down as one of the most unhappy days of my life. I needed to hear these words to somewhat lift my fallen spirits - "We have lost an election, but not our determination". With determination, perseverence and wit, we will some day triumph and wipe out all these scars of shame.