Wisdom Nuggets

Dear Readers,

The compilation of my First Book in the self help genre is in progress. The project tasks are getting stitched up with a book publisher.

As a kid, I was always inspired by my Dad who loves writing and used to literally print the words on paper with his immaculate handwriting. He put it to amazing use in his banking career. My dream of writing a book took shape during one of the visits with him to a mega bookstore in the business district of Bengaluru in 1995. A journey of keen observation, learning and assimilation started 25 years back.

Systematic blogging for more than 125 weeks has been the best primer for me to graduate to the next level. It was accelerated with your spontaneous appreciation and encouragement to bring out the best in me. Thank you for your time. I will keep you posted of the book launch shortly.

Shankar Balakrishnan

( Reading time : 3 minutes )

The scientific research in medical field has evolved organically over couple of centuries. Technological advances have complemented the development of medical practices and procedures, which has benefitted mankind tremendously. One of the greatest milestones in this arena is the discovery of Anesthesia.

Dr. William Morton, an Amercian dentist, was experimenting with ways to relieve pain during his dental practices. In October 1846, he successfully administered Ethyl ether as a general anesthetic in Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital. The surgery was demonstrated in front of the public to establish the efficacy of his discovery. The role of an anesthetic is to produce local or general loss of sensation including pain by acting on the peripheral nervous system. This induced unresponsive state is called Anesthesia.

There are 3 main players during a surgical procedure :

1. Surgeon, who performs the procedure
2. Patient, who needs to get well
3. Anesthesiologist, who administers the anesthetic

Mind/ Intellect is like a vast ocean with emotions/ thoughts rising and falling as waves continuously. By nature, it is extrovert seeking to experience emotions and gain knowledge in all domains. Our system can also get clogged with impurities, if we do not govern the types of inputs coming in from various sources and sense organs. There are many impostors who can enter and create havoc in our mind and intellect. One such common impostor is Anger. Anger happens when we have unrealistic expectations from the world around us and things do not go as we desired. Our mind and intellect is held captive by many other impostors like jealousy, greed, delusion and so on. They can drastically reduce our feeling or thinking efficiency. The quality of our lives takes a hit. Our Mind and Intellect is like the patient requiring a daily, surgical procedure to cleanse internally. We need to play the dual role of Doctor and Anesthesiologist while navigating tricky situations in our lives.

The best anesthetic to eliminate the suffering caused by anger is to have an attitude of preferences instead of rigid desires. Do your best and hope for the best results. If the outcome is favorable , be grateful to the team around you. If the outcome is not favorable, keep learning and move on.

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( Reading time : 3 minutes )

Generally, we associate sports with dynamic thinking, fast-paced action and thrilling finishes. However, there are some sports, which look deceptively simple from outside. Golf is one such sport, in which the general public feel that it is not attractive enough to watch and that the game does not need skills like agility, stamina and endurance.

On the contrary, Golf is such a wonderful sport, played on the lush green golf courses, perfectly nestled in the lap of Nature. A professional golfer requires a blend of peak physical fitness, mental alertness and strategic thinking to navigate the course successfully. Every golfer is ably supported by a caddy during the entire game. We are all familiar with the sight of a caddy carrying the golf bag. In a professional game, a caddy is a valuable teammate who can offer advice regarding the choice of golf clubs, reading a putt and assisting in shot selection. They also keep giving vital information about the golf course from the detailed yardage book, which they meticulously prepare before the start of a tournament. Imagine the plight of a golfer, who does not make use of the services of a well informed caddy and who tries to play it alone !

Life is also a fascinating sport like golf, which looks deceptively simple. We make it very complicated, with our own set of pre-conceived notions, judgments and interpretations. Fortunately, we have been gifted with two vital partners, who can work in tandem and makes our lives easier. They are the Human Mind and Intellect. Together, they perform the role of a ‘caddy’ in our lives. Our ‘caddy’ also gathers, processes and archives immense information, which are ready to use. If we ignore our well informed Mind and Intellect, our plight will be similar to that golfer, who does not care to utilise the caddy’s services properly.

Let us take time to develop a meaningful relationship with our ‘caddy’. The more we are willing to listen to our ‘caddy’, the better will be our decisions and choices that we make in our lives.

( Reading time : 3 minutes )

Long time back, an interviewer asked Sanjeev Kapoor, India’s celebrity chef as to what was the best approach towards improving one’s culinary skills. Kapoor replied, by saying “If you understand the science behind cooking, then it becomes easier.” Yes, there is a lot of science involved in every aspect of cooking whether it is heating, steaming, boiling, cooling, soaking, straining, energy conversion, volume calculations and so on.

Each type of dish requires careful planning, which demands the highest level of patience from the Chef. The container has to be chosen according to the type and quantity of dishes which are getting prepared. Fire is the fuel whose energy makes the cooking possible. The ingredients used in the cooking process are the 3 forms of matter (solid, liquid and gas), which is cooked within the container. The outcome of a set of intricate processes are the lip smacking delicacies. The Chef plays the role of the enlivening ‘Awareness principle’. This process can become sacred, if the Chef can nourish the dishes with subtle thoughts of care and affection during the preparation.

Our wonderful Universe is governed by thousands of scientific laws and principles, which are constant. Every human being has to transact with the external world of objects and the internal world of emotions/ thoughts. Challenges come in varying degrees and intensities, which makes us wiser, provided we have the attitude to face them appropriately and learn from them. Each one of us is like a ‘Master Chef’ processing the complex inputs, streaming in through our sense organs. The world of objects, emotions and thoughts can be compared to the insentient ingredients used in a cooking process. A meaning is derived from them, the moment all these ingredients are processed internally by our Mind and Intellect.

The Universe is always beautiful and magnificent. As a ‘Master Chef’, we always have choices to exercise. The meaning which we derive, depends upon how we relate ourselves to every object, emotion or thought. The beauty and magnificence always lies in the eyes of the beholder only.

 

( Reading time : 3 minutes )

Simon Sinek is a British-born American author and motivational speaker. His best selling book ‘Start with Why’ describes a new perspective with the ideas stemming from 3 concentric circles. He introduces the concept of ‘Golden circle’ which acts as a keystone element in the success of great leaders and companies.

In his book, he quotes the example of  Apple to explain the phenomenal success and the leadership position sustained by them in a very short period of time. The 3 concentric circles, as applicable to Apple are:

1. ‘WHY’ (The Purpose) : We always go against the status quo, thinking differently.
2. ‘HOW’  (The Process) : We do this by designing and making simple, user-friendly products.
3. ‘WHAT’ (The Result) : The dazzling array of innovative features in their vast range of computing systems, music devices and smart phones.

He supports his research of successful companies with a classic quote “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe.” All start-ups start from the innermost Golden circle of ‘Why’. But, over a period of time, they get lost in ‘Hows’ and ‘Whats’ while the ‘Why’ becomes fuzzy. Great companies, consistently delivering in the long run, stay centered and operate from that Golden circle.

Whatever is relevant in the professional work arena can be mapped to our personal life. In the material world of attractions, our mind gets carried away easily by the novelty and variety of sensory experiences. The ‘Hows’ and ‘Whats’ are so powerful that we spend most of our waking time in pursuit of acquisitions. The possessions could be materialistic (objects) or intellectual (knowledge). Possessions per se are inert and cannot give happiness or cause sorrow. We enjoy or suffer because of the attitude with which we relate to our possessions. At some point in our lives, we get into a situation where we may possess everything externally but still experience a feeling of hollowness, internally. This is a clear symptom of fuzziness in our Golden circle.

We can breathe a fresh meaning into our personal lives, if every thought, word and action can emanate from a crystal clear ‘WHY’. We need to start investing quality time in that Golden circle.