>Silence is golden

>

Isn’t it?

>Afternoon chat with Ripple

>Had a pre-lunch chat with Ripple. Thought I’ll share…

 me: Thought I’ll checkout on the web what all digital cameras are available.
  There are hundreds of them there.
  I just got overwhelemed.
 Ripple: woh to hai..
 me: Reminded me of the age we live in.
  Now I know why people were happier and merrier in old times
  And why stress is problem #1 today.
 Ripple: haan.. ab to agar bread bhi khareedni ho to tension ho jaati hai..
  kaun sa lein..
 me: Earlier, if they wanted to buy a digital camera, they won’t have to decide which one.
  Ripple: so I can justify my impulsive buying in some way
 me: This whole concept of ‘Customer is the king’ seems to be the moth eating away an entire generation.
  Ripple: haan.. par isi blind consumerism se hi .. economy badhegi ..
  aur hamein milega.. false sense of happiness and security
 
  isko rok nahi sakte..
  apne aap ko is-se alag karne ki thodi koshish kar sakte hain..
 me: We’ll also get sense of sadness (uska camera mere camera se bada kaise?) and sense of insecurity (if I don’t keep up with the pace, I’ll not be able to maintain my lifestyle).
  Ripple: isiliye false sense …
  jab tak maine uska camera nahi dekha..
  tab tak to bahut khushi hogi..
 
  aur sirf uska camera mere se achchha kaise nahi..
  “hain !! uske paas bhi yahi Camera ?!!”
 
 me:
 Ripple: “sabke paas yahi camera, badalna padega!!”
 me: ha ha ha!!
  Interesting thing is that this behaviour is not new.
  In Vendantic philosophy, precisely this is what has been called Maya.
  What we have today is just a bigger form of the same thing.
  Ripple: haan..aaj camera aur gaadi hai..
  pehele tha.. “arey unke ghar mein roz parathe bante hai !!”
  “hamare ghar mein sirf roti”
  me: ya fir, unke ghar mein to doodh ki nadi bahti hai.
  aur roj roti per dher sara ghee laga ker khate hain.
 Ripple: heirarchy of needs
  ek poori kar .. doosri khadi ho jaati hai..
  me: I think it is more like a web than heirarchy
 Ripple: web kaise ? do u have choices when u satisfy one..
  it just goes up..
  me: If you look at it price-wise, it goes up.
  Because the price goes up.
  If you remove the price factor, it is just a web.
  If you have a digital camera, you need a computer.
  If you have a computer, you’ll have mp3 which means you need to have broadbandn
 Ripple: not just price.. once I satisfy my physical needs.. I start looking at spiritual needs
 me: satisfy physical needs?
  Can you do that?
 Ripple: pet bhara ho.. neend poori hui ho.. a/c laga ho..
  to soch us plane mein chali jati hai..
  jaise abhi ..hamare saath ho raha hai..
  waise abhi bhookh lag rahi hai.
  )
  me: Precisely.
 Ripple: chalna hai Anadhra meals khaane
  ?
 me: Physical needs (or sense-pleasures as they are called), can be satisfied only for a moment.
 Ripple: physical comfort I should say then
  me: But comfort also doesn’t have limit.
  You have a house, you want a bigger one.
  You have a car, you want one with power-steering and AC.
  If you have that too, you want the one with bigger seats.
  There is really no end.
  All satisfaction of senses is momentary.
  Ripple: yes we doo need that …but there are times with most people when they say.. this is it for the time being..
 me: Yes. And it is only a matter of how long that ‘time being’ is.
 Ripple: yes..
  me: In my case, I have found that ‘the time being’ was always far shorter than I initially expected it to be.
 
 Ripple: chalna hai khaane .. Bharati ya Bhagini
  ?
  me: Chalo. Chalte hain.
  Neeche milo.
 Ripple: okay….

>More on Job Satisfaction

>One of the most prevalent disease today is job dis-satisfaction. Almost all people I happen to know are suffering from the same. I don’t know a single friend whose immunity system has not been defeated by this virus (a virus of the mind).

How does this virus work?

First, it introduces a notion in your mind that working hard is the most important thing in your life.
Then it links the concept of ‘working hard’ with ‘naukri’ (i.e. job).
Then it extends the logic to long working hours in the job (after all, how can you be working hard if you don’t spend lots of hours in the office).

Now, the effect starts.

First, you get into the loop. You start spending a lot of time in the office.
Then you don’t get time to do anything outside your office.
[Your personality has several facets and each and every part of it craves for expression.]
Then you don’t find time to express your personality (in a complete and meaningful way).
Then the part of your personality that does not get expression gets dis-satisfied.
Then your mind gets into a fuzzy state where you say that you are not satisfied with your job and you start looking for a change. This fuzzy state causes boredom, depression and sometimes even frustration.

Why do I call it a virus? Because it spreads. See…

First you realize that you are not satisfied with your job.
Then you want to pull yourself out of this loop.
But then you realize that so many of your friends/peers are making a lot more money that you do. They live in a bigger house, drive a bigger car, have more servants, party late AND WORK LONG HOURS.
Then this whole system sucks you in.
And you exert a similar effect on those around you.

So, it spreads.

Cure? There is no known cure as yet. Because there does not exist a job where all the facets of your personality will find a meaningful expression. Nor is there a possibility for the same.

However, in alternative medicine, some trials are on. In philosophical branch that favours spritiualism, there is a procedure of producing contentment in the mind that completely and directly annihiliates this virus. Some people are in the trial phase and some success has been reported.

>Hampi

>Went to Hampi 2 weeks back. Awesome place.

Click here for the photographs.