Spark - Chetan Bhagat

speech given at the orientation program for the new batch of MBA studentsSymbiosis, Pune, July 24, 2008

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life.

Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.

Imagine the spark to be a lamp’s flame. The first aspect is nurturing – to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

You must have read some quotes – Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark – don’t take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said – don’t be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals.

I’ve told you three things – reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

OSHO - The Root Problem of All Problems

The root problem of all problems is mind itself. The first thing to be understood is what this mind is, of what stuff it is made; whether it is an entity or just a process; whether it is substantial, or just dreamlike. And unless you know the nature of the mind, you will not be able to solve any problems of your life.

You may try hard, but if you try to solve single, individual problems, you are bound to be a failure -- that is absolutely certain -- because in fact no individual problem exists: mind is the problem. If you solve this problem or that, it won't help because the root remains untouched.

It is just like cutting branches of a tree, pruning the leaves, and not uprooting it. New leaves will come, new branches will sprout -- even more than before; pruning helps a tree to become thicker. Unless you know how to uproot it, your fight is baseless, it is foolish. You will destroy yourself, not the tree.

In fighting you will waste your energy, time, life, and the tree will go on becoming more and more strong, far thicker and dense. And you will be surprised what is happening: you are doing so much hard work, trying to solve this problem and that, and they go on growing, increasing. Even if one problem is solved, suddenly ten problems take its place.

Don't try to solve individual, single problems -- there are none: mind itself is the problem. But mind is hidden underground; that's why I call it the root, it is not apparent. Whenever you come across a problem the problem is above ground, you can see it -- that's why you are deceived by it.

Always remember, the visible is never the root; the root always remains invisible, the root is always hidden. Never fight with the visible; otherwise you will fight with shadows. You may waste yourself, but there cannot be any transformation in your life, the same problems will crop up again and again and again. You can observe your own life and you will see what I mean. I am not talking about any theory about the mind, just the "facticity" of it. This is the fact: mind has to be solved.

Somnath Temple

According to Hindu mythology, Somnath Temple was first built with gold by Moon God, with silver by Ravana, with sandalwood by Lord Krishna, and with stone by Bhimdeva (Solanki Ruler of Gujarat; Solanki was one of the 5 Rajput kingdoms in India).
The following extract is from “Wonders of Things Created, and marvels of Things Existing” by Asaru-L- Bilad, a 13th century Arab geographer. It contains the following description of Somnath temple:

“Somnath: celebrated city of India, situated on the shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnath. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below, or to suspend it from above. It was held in the highest honor among the Hindus, and whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Musulman or an infidel.

The edifice was built upon fifty-six pillars of teak, covered with lead. The shrine of the idol was dark. hut was lighted by jeweled chandeliers of great value. Near it was a chain of gold weighing 200 mans. When a portion (watch) of the night closed, this chain used to be shaken like bells to rouse a fresh lot of Brahmins to perform worship.There were many idols of gold and silver and vessels set with jewels, all of which had been sent there by the greatest personages in India. The value of the things found in the temples of the idols exceeded twenty thousand dinars.

The construction of the present temple in Junagadh district began in 1947. It is the seventh temple built to commemorate the glory of Lord Somnath who is said to have known as Bhairaveshwar in the Satya Yug, Shravanikeshwar in Treta Yug and Shrigaleshwar in Dwapar Yug.

The first temple of Somnath is said to have existed before the beginning of the common era.

The second temple, built by the Yadava kings of Vallabhi in Gujarat, replaced the first one on the same site around 649.
In 725 Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind, sent his armies to destroy the second temple. The Pratihara king Nagabhata II constructed the third temple in 815, a large structure of red sandstone.
In 1024 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud Ghazni who raided the temple from across the Thar Desert.
The temple was rebuilt by the Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa and the Solanki king Bhima of Gujarat (Anhilwara) or Patan between 1026 and 1042.
The wooden structure was replaced by Kumarpal (r.1143-72), who built the temple of stone.
In 1296 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Sultan Allauddin Khilji's army.
The temple was rebuilt by Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra in 1308 A.D. and the Linga was installed by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351 A.D.
In 1375 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I, the Sultan of Gujarat. About 1400 A.D. it was reconstructed by the local public.
In 1451 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud Begda, the Sultan of Gujarat. It was reconstructed again.
In 1701 A.D., the temple was once again destroyed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb built a mosque on the site of the Somnath temple, using some columns from the temple, whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible.
Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore rebuilt the temple in 1783 A.D at a site adjacent to the ruined temple which was already converted to a mosque.
The Deputy Prime Minister of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel came to Junagadh on November 12, 1947 to direct the occupation of the state by the Indian army and at the same time ordered the reconstruction of the Somanath temple.
In May 1951, Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India, invited by K M Munshi, performed the installation ceremony for the temple.Rajendra Prasad said in his address ""The Somnath temple signifies that the power of reconstruction is always greater than the power of destruction".
The present temple was built by the Shree Somnath Trust which looks after the entire complex of Shree Somnath and its environs

சிவவாக்கியர்

சிவவாக்கியர் என்பவர் ஒரு சித்தர். பதினெண் சித்தர்களில் ஒருவராக இவர் எண்ணப்படுகிறார். அவர் எந்நாட்டைச் சேர்ந்தவர் என்பதற்கு ஆதாரங்கள் அறியக் கிடைக்கவில்லை. அவர் தமிழ் நாட்டைச் சேர்ந்தவர் என்னும் கருத்து பரவலாக உள்ளது. சித்தர் பாடல்கள் திரட்டில் இவருடைய பாடல்களே மிக அதிகம் என்போரும் உண்டு. இவரைப் பற்றிய குறிப்புகள் அபிதான சிந்தாமணியிலும் தி.வி. சாம்பசிவம் பிள்ளை அவர்கள் எழுதிய தமிழ்-ஆங்கில மருத்துவ அகராதியிலும் உள்ளன. ஆனால் இவை இரண்டும் முற்றிலும் வேறுபடுகின்றன என்பதாலும் இக்கதைகளுக்குத் தக்க ஆதாரங்கள் ஏதும் இல்லை என்பதாலும், இவர் இயற்றிய பாடல்களை மட்டும் போற்றுகின்றனர்.

அவர் வாழ்ந்த காலமும் தெளிவாய்த் தெரியவில்லை. அவரது காலம், கி.பி.9ஆம் நூற்றாண்டாக இருக்கலாம் எனவும், அவரின் செய்யுள் நடை பலவிடங்களில் திருமூலரை ஒத்துள்ளது எனவும் திரு.டி.எஸ்.கந்தசாமி முதலியார் கூறியுள்ளார். இல்லையில்லை அவர், கி.பி.10ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் வாழ்ந்தவர். அவரின் செய்யுள் நடை பலவிடங்களில் திருமழிசை ஆழ்வாரை ஒத்துள்ளதுந ஆகவே, அவரும் திருமழிசை ஆழ்வாரும் ஒன்றே என விவாதிப்பவரும் உண்டு.

சமணம், பௌத்தம், சைவம், மாலியம்(வைணவம்) ஆகிய சமயங்களை ஆழ அகழ்ந்தறிந்து தம் பாக்களில் பிழிந்து தந்துள்ளார். இவருடைய பாக்களில் ஒரு வித துள்ளல் ஓசையும், ஞானக் கருத்துக்களும், கேள்விகளும்(வினாக்களும்) இருப்பது சிறப்பு. எடுத்துக்காட்டாக, புறவழிபாடாக கடவுள் வழிபாடு செய்பவர்களைப் பார்த்து அடுக்கடுக்காய் வினாக்கள் தொடுக்கின்றார்.

"கோயிலாவ தேதடா குளங்களாவ தேதடா

கோயிலும் குளங்களும் கும்பிடும் குலாமரே

கோயிலும் மனத்துளே குளங்களு மனத்துளே

ஆவது மழிவது மில்லையில்லை யில்லையே"

“நட்டகல்லை தெய்வமென்று நாலுபுட்பம் சாத்தியே

சுற்றிவந்து முணமுணன்று சொல்லும் மந்திரம் ஏதடா

நட்டகல்லும் பேசுமோ நாதன் உள்ளிருக்கையில்

சுட்ட சட்டி சட்டுவம் கறிச்சுவை அறியுமோ"