To live happily ever after …

In my journey of  self improvement, I have read several articles, books, blogs, and watched videos from various motivational speakers, life coaches and self-help Gurus. The purpose and vision of these speakers/Gurus is  to help individuals to improve the quality of their life. Many of these speakers teach techniques of human psychology and emotions, meditation, yoga, Neuro-linguistic programming, hypnosis, Reiki, Chakra healing etc. for life improvement. These techniques mastered by different individuals have reported the life changing benefits. The majority of the speakers has established profit based business organizations and charge hefty fees for retreats or seminars. I am happy that their efforts are directed towards alleviating suffering of people and focus on their life improvement.

I  was also interested in attending various courses and retreats. I was not able to afford any of these course fees at this point of time in my life. So I started taking baby steps by reading various websites during the initial phase of my journey. With the internet, inspirational blogs websites have  helped to reach the mass faster. I surfed several blogs of young and vibrant motivational thinkers who are helping thousands of people with their inspiring positive articles and free ebooks. Some of them have charged a small amount for books, tapes and online courses. 

I always wondered about this million dollar profession of motivational and inspirational coaching business.  Is it possible that all these motivational speakers come together and start giving the courses/lectures for free?  Can it happen that more people can afford these courses?  Is it possible that instead of coaching CEO's and managing directors, some speaker/Guru can pick a  beggar or poor person  and help them learn the powers of their mind by teaching the techniques in a free course.  Will the world become positive if many individuals will start sharing their life changing positive experiences for free with everyone? I am still in search of the answers to the above unanswered questions.

In my search of free meditation retreat, I came across Vipassana meditation founded by S.N. Goyenka. It  is a non-profit organization and does not charge even a penny for the full ten day retreat. It works solely on the voluntary basis. I am astonished to see the way this organization is managed.  I have shared the details about my Vipassana experience on this blog.

Recently, I came to know about Sandeep Maheshwari, a motivational speaker from India. I got answers to some of the unanswered questions. He is conducting the free motivational seminars throughout India. I have been following his video seminars on the YouTube. His language is very simple. I am surprised to find that he organizes these seminars for free. He has uploaded all the videos and he sends softcopy of his videos for free.  I realized that it's not a profession for him but its passion to share his learnings and life improving strategies with people.

When I started thinking about this write up, I was discussing with my friend that how to end this article. He told me the story of the Linux, an open source software developed by Linus Torvalds and the GNU Project started by Richard Stallman. The open source movement is an incredible example which has demonstrated that how global volunteer (free service) collaboration has taken the Linux/GNU to the integral part of everyday life. It's really an amazing, inspiring  and world changing story.

Linux and the GNU open source movement have shown a volunteer-driven phenomenon which has impacted globally. I am confident now that free -motivational seminar's  like Sandeep Maheshwari  and free retreats of mediation offered by Vipassana is going to be a global phenomena of the future to make this world a better place to live happily ever after …

 "If— by Rudyard Kipling". Poems & Poets. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 15 July 2013.

If you can keep your head when all about you
  Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
  But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
  Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
  And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
  If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
  And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
  Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
  And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
  And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
  And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
  To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
  Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
  Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
  If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
  With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
  And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!^[5

Three key stories of my life - Part II

Second funny key lost incident happened again at  IITBombay. There is a well known joke about Ph. D. means permanently head damage. I was doing my Ph.D. I proved many times that it really affected my brain. :) Every day I was working late night in the lab. I was going back to the hostel around 2 AM. We had one single big key for the lab door. We had one place where after opening the lab one has to keep the key. We have to submit that key at the end of the day.

After I had nice dinner at the hostel mess, I went to lab around 8 PM. I started my work. Another lab mate came and she started her work too. I was little tired that other lab mate was not authorized to use the lab alone. I requested her to return to hostel with me. I noticed that lab key is not at the usual place. We started searching the key. She asked me that whether I opened the lab. I was not able to remember anything. I thought that I opened the lab after dinner. Then I recalled that another lab mate was also there when I came to the lab. We did not have a mobile phone that time. I was required to make a call to his hostel. The security guard would life the phone and he has to announce through the personal announcement system his name and room number. It was a godly hour, so the announcement was banned. I requested that guard to go to his floor and get him to phone. He was a nice guy. When I talked with my friend, he was in sleep mode. He did not give me a proper answer. It did not help me. I went to the hostel and I got a small door lock from the hostel. We locked it and went to the hostel.

I spent a sleepless night. I was afraid of scolding from my supervisor. Obviously, my friends would have topic to tease me saying that my head is permanently damaged. I went to lab around 7 am. I again searched the key. The other lab mate whom I called in the night came to lab around 8 am. He asked me that whether I was able to find the key. I was thinking to go to the security office and inform them about lost keys. Suddenly, my lab mate stared saying sorry. I did not realize that what happened. He said that when he tried to take something from his jeans pocket, he found that key. My memory came back and I remembered that when I went after dinner to the lab. He was doing his work. So it was obvious that he lost the key. I carried unnecessary burden in the night.

Now when I meet that friend and remember this incident, we laugh aloud. In reality, it was the worst day for me. How small things affect us? Now I feel that I should have handled that situation differently. There is nothing to worry about it. Indeed, these incidence make you realize that what worry can do to you. It was a wonderful time of my life where I worried about small things. I never cared for BIG worries. This was the second almost lost key incident. During my PhD, I lost almost 8  keys and I broke six locks of my hostel room. I can write a thesis about it. I will summarize key lost series in the third chapter.