Monday, 23 July 2018

Saturday, 3 March 2018

Is only one kind of I.Q. enough for a Fulfilled Human Life ?

As school kids we heard from a very young age, that we need to have very high I.Q. to excel in our studies, get good grades, get into good colleges and courses to become great professionals, be it doctors or engineers or any other profession. But never taught about the other important Intelligence Quotients which makes one rich and wealthy ; financially independent and ultimately also powerful??? While reading an interesting book, I could link the dots and that made the following analysis flash into my mind which am about to share. Lets look at each of the important Quotients in a sequence which supports the next level of upgrading self, for meeting that goal of becoming Rich & Famous & Powerful!

1) Intelligence Quotient

The first is Intelligence Quotient itself because this is an inborn talent which cannot be cultivated or acquired. If it is excellent one is able to learn with an open mind, absorb, upgrade oneself. You can implement and do whatever it takes, to change and  become a better version of yourself. You will know your strengths and weaknesses and exactly do whatever you need to do, to move on to the second most important quotient necessary to reach your dream destination of becoming rich and wealthy

2)  Knowledge I.Q.

Knowledge is  a skill that is acquired if one has good I.Q. It can be acquired with efforts and practice along with experiences gathered by trial and error methods. Knowledge is power because "if you are ignorant, its easy to be bullied. If you know what you're talking about you have a fighting chance." ( courtesy- Robert Kiyosaki - Rich Dad, Poor Dad) This one assists to develop the next one in the order for moving up the ladder of wealth and fortune.

3)Emotion Quotient

With knowledge as the base, an intelligent person knows how to reckon the aptitude of the people and harness it smartly for using their talents to dig continuous income-generating assets over a period of time. This quotient works in tandem with next one as we shall see.

3) Social I.Q.

Human being is a social animal and we need each others' assitance to function both personally and financially To be able to develop our assets , its important to learn how to manage the human resource very well be it for recreation, relaxation or business. Recreation and relaxation is as important as business  as we all know "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy ". So making strong and positive social relations helps making our axes sharper to cut more trees ( refering to children story of two woodcutters)
On business front, the best of Enterpreneurs have a wide reaching network and more than half their work gets done because of the contacts they have. In fact the retired Babus from Government are hired by corporates at handsome packages less because of their experience but mostly for their contacts in the various government departments and the various opportunities they open up for these corporates! With this quotient one can tap into various money-making business plans and march to next level.

4) Financial I.Q.

With all above quotients utilised at the right time and in a right way one can generate good money and attain Financial Freedom. But if one does not manage their finances well, they will always be  having more expenditures and more losses hence lesser profits instead of earning well or may even become a broke. Balancing the balance sheet  is indeed a skill that can be mastered by understanding the ecology of cash-flow as demonstrated by Robert Kiyosakis Board Game. T. Harv Eker teaches beautifully the art of Money management through his Six Jar System. This I.Q. helps in generating wealth and automatically brings along with a bonus called Power.

5) Power I.Q.

When  a person becomes super wealthy because of his Super Intelligence Quotient, Super Emotion I.Q. , Super Social I.Q. and Super Financial I.Q. money flows with ease and theres a surplus for many luxuries. The power of money can  make most impossible things possible in this materialistic and corruption-infected world. It ushers in him, the confidence next to only God and in the burning desire of achieving more and more Godliness, they want to keep generating more wealth and power. They can even effect change at the level of Government and Administrators of the Country to turn the tables in their favour w.r.t. Government policies and regulations and thus make more and more profits!

This is the sequence of  climbing the rungs of a ladder from Financial Independence to becoming Rich and Famous to becoming the Powerhouse of  Political clout!

Easier said than done, I am sure Mr Dhirubhai Ambani was one such great enterpreneur who was programmed since birth or childhood days with all these quotients and used them really well to his advantage. Hence he didnt require degrees or certificates or formal education to build an empire worth millions and billions although he was born in a hardworking labour class family. What Robert Kiyosaki said makes real sense : The Rich and Famous do not work for money, the money works for them!

Along with developing all the above Quotients, if one develops the last and most important one, they will not only reap the benefits in this world but even beyond this one, after departing from this  material world.

6) Spiritual I.Q.

With acquiring both money and power its like walking on the edge of a sword. One wrong step and you can tip the balance to get hurt in return. If one falls in bad company with extra luxuries at your beck and call, one's negativities can get amplified and cause only misery.
I have heartfelt admiration and love for Japanese culture and learnt that they acknowledge these three Powers as important for all-round growth of a human being:

Sword, Jewel and Mirror. 

Sword is akin to the Power which we already discussed. My mentor  Emeritus Dir. Prof. Dr. K. C. Mohanty  Sir always used to say that "Power grows in the barrel of the Gun". No wonder so many countries like U.S., Russia, China, North Korea and many others are persistently trying to develop their miltary strength to have a strong stand and dictate terms in International Politics.

Jewel meaning He who has Gold makes the rules  because with gold comes the purchasing power and  hence everyone is in a rat race to make some gold all their lives.

Mirror means Self-knowledge which is actually the most treasured  by Japanese culture out of all the three Powers. By developing spiritual I.Q. one knows oneself very well and understands deeply that any amount of wealth amassed in this world is going to be left behind just like Alexander, the Great had to. So while you become Rich & Famous & Powerful, one must keep reminding themselves -"Memento Mori" and live life in a way that they can do good for and serve as many as they can and give back to the weaklings and underprivileged in the society.  This ensures an overall balance in the cycle of  existence  and helps a human being attain the four  proper goals of a human life i.e. Dharma, Arth, Kama, Moksha.

All the teachings in ancient Gurukuls of India where Rishi - Munis used to train the many princes of various kingdoms during their boarding stay , would focus on development of all the above Quotients to reach the four proper goals mentioned & that is real holistic teaching. The real art of living life is by Streamlining and uniting the Mind, Body, Energy and Emotions to realise the purpose of existence and focus on achieving those Goals !

- Dr Racchana Fadia
Meraki



Thursday, 15 February 2018

I made my choice… Have you made yours yet ???

In the last few years havent we all noticed a paradigm shift in behavior of people around us? Their acts of loving and giving has become full of limitations and hesitations or even become calculated and superficial. So many people we deal with everyday seem to be retracted in some kind of shell. As if they are scared to let loose… to love freely… to give generously…. to trust openly…They seem to be enveloped in some kind of guilt or shall I say some kind of fear…of getting manipulated and hurt. They seem like they don’t want to trust anyone because they have themselves been through some real bitter experiences in the past and now dont trust anyone because they are scared to get hurt again. So they build a solid wall around them and their willingness to look beyond this wall is marred by the continuous chain reaction of such experiences. Nor do they allow anyone to cross it, simply because they are trying to defend themselves. In recent times this behavior has been given a new terminology, as in, being more “Practical”. They think they are strong enough to face it all alone and kind of become stone hearted but in the heart of heart they fail to realise that they have become embittered in the process of becoming stone-strong!  Due to the baggage of past hurtful experiences or because of prejudices or wrong perceptions they may loose out on some really genuine people who are pure souls. Be it modernisation , growing inflation, mall culture setting in, needs becoming greeds, or politicians providing for only themselves or simply the culture of epitomizing wealth over wisdom, there is growing discontent and it reflects in the personal and professional lives of the people. Havent we heard this phrase “ Big Bad World” so often from so many around us?

I may be wrong but this is my thinking that we all have come to this plane of existence for some learning to advance our souls and no two individuals have the same beginning or the same objectives in current lives. So drawing inspiration from great personalities is one thing but comparing our lives with that of any other individual from same family or same institution or same age or same profession or otherwise will be just trying to hamper our personal growth. Perceptions can be deceitful so many times …Just because someone appears to be staying in a fabulous place doesn’t mean they are free of any financial issues or just because someone is smiling and laughing a lot doesn’t mean they are truly happy! The best example : Marylyn Monroe was photographed as being in the happiest moods just days before she committed suicide but no one could tell she was under immense depression during that period…because people wear masks while they are out in the society. Even feeling jealous of others possessions or achievements is so foolish because we can never guage what battles others are fighting in their personal lives.

Being hurt and then passing on that hurt in our behaviour/ dealings with other person makes this a vicious chain reaction and I have myself been a victim of this. At first I felt dejected at the thought that my goodness and good intentions were rewarded with the practicality by others and I kept interrogating myself if I am wrong in whatever I do, in being helpful, thoughtful, taking people at face-value, going out of the way to help, being respectful, being honest, frank, upright, upfront and straighforward. I wondered whether becoming practical and manipulative is the only way to get what you want in life? Whether giving importance only to financial status is more important while dealing with people? What the bloody hell is wrong with me? I felt horribly guilty that I have been fooled so many times and getting hurt in the bargain. Enough is enough I thought!

I had only two choices in those low moments of self analysis : 
A > I must either harbour resentment for all these experiences and become ‘stone-hearted’ or practical to be precise and deal with everyone from the brain (like as strangers) give tit for tat
   
Or

B> to simply disallow the hurt to enter my conscience and affect any negative change in my behavior and choose to spread love and kindness in this very short life….. .

I then remembered Mother Teresa’s following words of boundless wisdom :

“People may be often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find Happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

Finally, I made a choice : Come what may! I will not let these bitter experiences take me away from my God. I may distance myself from those who wish to harm me or hurt me but always continue to serve selflessly and give pure unadulterated love to all those around me.

 After all. Lord Buddha said

 “ Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule” and “Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.”

I read or heard this somewhere which made so much sense to me

Life is defined by the choices we make , so make the right ones
If you have to choose between being kind and being right, choose being kind, and you will be always right.

Just like my Mentor, Late Dir. Prof. Dr K. C. Mohanty Sir always used to say :

Love Repays, Hatred Rebounds!

Finally ….I have made my choice, to be out of this Negative Chain Reaction.... Forever and for Good...

Have you made yours yet ???


                                                                                   - Dr Racchana D Fadia

Saturday, 27 January 2018

Sanjay Leela Bhansali - A Power Brand

It is simply amazing to see my amazing India in so many amazing shades of bright and dark!

At one end we have super intelligent brains brimming with their talents and creativity whereas on the other end we still have people who fight on trivialities like religion and casteism.

A few days back there was a widespread furore over the story of this movie made by the one of the ace directors : Sanjay Leela Bhansali. I am personally a fan of SLB for his creativity and perfection in making traditional / epic films, detailing every aspect of the particular culture / bygone eras and taking us through a colourful journey of fantasy with utmost entertainment.

So this new movie made by him was planned to be oroginally named as "Padmavati" and is supposed to be based on the real life story of the outstandingly beautiful and brave Rajput Queen Padmavati of Chittorgadh in Rajasthan. But some local group in Rajasthan lashed out at the movie accusing it to be distorted from real history. So they went all out to stage protests against the release of the movie. The makers of the movie were therefore forced to change the title and cut out the “I” in the spelling – renamed as PADMAVAT and it seems that even some scenes of the movie were changed. Not only that, it is declared to be fictitious in the preamble of the movie. Still the strong possibilities of damaging acts by these local groups made the moviemakers to seek for special police protection in cinema theatres. No wonder we witnessed a Police inspector in his uniform entering at the beginning and leaving after the end ; with all of us in the cinema hall  to ensure everyones safety. To my honest opinion, I found it very much in sync with the real history as narrated by one of the guides when I had visited Chittorgadh a couple of years back. Anyways, the reason of so much of drama around the release of movie still remains elusive.

Back to SLB , he has made three movies with the same starcast of Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh till date. In the first movie Goliyon ki Rasleela both are shown as love-birds from the same background but divided by their own people. In Bajirao Mastani, Deepika was the Muslim lover and second wife of Hindu Peshwa acted by Ranveer Singh and both were again separated by their own people. In Padmavat, however, the tables turn with Deepika  acting as the Hindu Rajput Queen who detests the Muslim ruler Khilji acted by Ranveer Singh in a villanous role who ends up separating her from her loved ones. For a change, its nice to see them enacting characters which differ from their real life equation and relationship. Good to have Challenging Roleplays with Changing times.

On another note, Due to some other engagements throughout the weekend I went for the early morning show at 8am but even at such an early hour it was total housefull. Not a single seat vacant. This sends a strong message across the industry ; that Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a strong Power Brand in Indian Film World just like Amitabh Bacchan, Rajnikanth, Aamir Khan and Prabhas (Bahubali fame). Be it creative masterpiece of SLB or the publicity received due to the protests or the eagerness of people to look back into history , whatever be the reasons; we all love watching the master craft of this creative and gifted director , a very few of his kinds in the industry who can project the events in history on screen with unmatched liveliness.

Hope to watch more of  SLBs artistic creation in future!



Thursday, 11 January 2018

Are You Detached OR Attached ???

If you have ever taken some interest either in spiritual talks or delved deeply into it, you would have definitely confronted these two words sometime or the other --> "Detached or Atttached" ....Ever wondered about the difference between these two Antonyms in the realm of Spirituality?

While pondering on some personal matters, after some interrogation and analysis, I could simplify this for myself -

While fulfilling one's duties if a person X is attached to the other person Y, then its but natural for X to have a sense of expectation from Y ...it may be an expectation of
1) Appreciation or
2) Obedience or
3) Acknowledgement or maybe even
3) Reciprocation.
But in the process, due to whatever  circumstances, if these expectations are not met from Y then X either gets too hurt, becomes bitter or sceptical or self centered or lose faith in that relationship altogether.

On the other hand when Mr Z carries out his duty while being detached he will not expect any emotion or favour from any other person in return. The duty  is carried out with the feeling of self-satistaction. It is irrespective of the positive or negative response from the other person, hence any kind of reaction from others will be unable to affect Mr Z who is a freebird -- free from the prison of attachment and expectations. Consequently, Z gets rewarded with peace and tranquility forever. Such a person is self-motivated, unstoppable, innovative, independent, persistent and determined in the efforts.

Detachment teaches one to be independent, whereas Attachment makes one dependent and vulnerable!

Detachment makes it easier to say "Goodbye" to both the Pleasant and Unpleasant memories/ things/ people/ experiences. It makes one more understanding, forgiving, accomodating, accepting, and adjusting. Whereas Attachment makes you do exactly the opposite of that - it makes one cling on to the above and may lead to fear, anger, irritability, hatred, jealousy, illwill, animosity, unhealthhy competition and such negative mindsets.

Detached people are immune to hurt whereas Attached people are more prone to pain, despair and depression. Detached people can bounce back very easily and quickly from the adversities in life whereas Attached people get easily depressed and stuck into their life's lows and uncertainties or live in the fear of the future

Detached people are non-judgemental of people and situations around them; they refrain from playing the blame game.. but Attachment makes one judge others around them for various reasons and blaming comes easily to them!

Detachment makes one stress free as they always hope for the best but are prepared for the worst whereas Attachment can lead to psychological stress and prejudices because of their inability to let-go.

Between 'Attached' to 'Detached' lies a wide spectrum which has combination of varying degrees. A person may be attached to one thing and detached to another. Similarly it may even be circumstantial or keep oscillating... until strong will power overtakes the wavering and feeble mind!

All-in-all, I strongly feel,
Performing Duty with Detachment is the only ultimate pathway to self - realisation and evolution of the psyche to get liberated from the entangling bonds of the world !

                                                                                   - Dr Racchana D Fadia