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The
World Wisdom Review
The World Wisdom revieW
APRIL
2015 • Vol. 17 • No. 4
Head Office: FULL CIRCLE PublishiNg, J-40, Jorbagh lane, New Delhi - 110003 • Tel.: 24620063, 24621011 • Fax: 24645795 • PRICE: Rs. 5/-
Dear Readers,
I came across a lovely poster – one of those inspirational
ones that makes us stop in our tracks and read over more
than once. The poster is titled – It’s the little things that
count.
It lists 50 things that we can do – 1. Remember
their name. 2. Compliment them in public. 3. Pick
up the tab. 4. Share the credit. 5. Ask if they’re feeling
better. 6. Follow up on their purchase. 7. Give a firm
handshake. 8. Offer the last piece. 9. Lend an ear. 10. Come in under budget. 11. Confirm it’s a convenient
time to talk. 12. Bolster their confidence. 13. Pay it
forward. 14. Leave your door open. 15. Give up your
seat. 16. Show them the ropes. 17. Offer constructive
feedback. 18. Pass on something of interest. 19. Offer
an alternative solution. 20. Send a congratulatory note. 21. Provide an unsolicited recommendation. 22. Pick up
after yourself. 23. Return it on time. 24. Offer without
being asked. 25. Confirm the conversation. 26. Call
for no reason. 27. Remember your last conversation. 28. Make them look good. 29. Answer them promptly. 30. Do the unexpected. 31. Give your undivided attention. 32. Listen before talking. 33. Steer the conversation to
them. 34. Make it win-win. 35. Talk things through. 36. Remember special occasions. 37. Give without being
asked. 38. Keep your advice to yourself, unless asked. 39. Arrive early. 40. Accept their advice. 41. Meet them
half- way. 42. Don’t keep score. 43. Make them feel
special. 44. Tell it like it is. 45. Look at them when talking. 46. Exceed their expectations. 47. Show that you care. 48. Reach out if they’re in need. 49. Let them go first. 50. Ask if they need anything, to save them the trip.
I know that there are so many of these kinds out
there, and they are all full of wisdom and positivity, and
some of them make it all sound so easy and sometimes
we come across those that make us cringe because they
are so clichéd and then there are others that really make
us take a deep breath and catch our attention. Because
some word or message has a special significance in our
lives or a situation we are going through.
In my case in this list of 50 little things, the one that
really, really got me stuck was number 44: Tell it like it is.
It is the one of the hardest things for me to do personally.
To say things as they are (when they are not pleasant).
I can agonise over days and have sleepless nights, trying
to avoid difficult conversations, or just stating a fact that
isn’t all peaches and cream. And the few times that I am
able to muster up the courage to say things as they are,
then I will immediately follow it up with an apology or
some sort of excuse to back away.
The most recent example that prompted me to selfreflect on this even more was when an editor turned in
her work for a book assignment. I wasn’t happy with her
editing at all, and found it not up to the mark. Yet the
several times she came into the office, I would just smile
and go over her assignment with her, smoothening out the
errors that were overlooked, and going along as though
everything was in order.
I shared my dissatisfaction with my colleagues, my
friend, my sister – everyone else except her. Why? All
because I was fearful of saying something that would lead
to a confrontation, and hurt her feelings. I thought that
this approach would prevent any misunderstandings and
problems and that if I went along, correcting the mistakes
and not creating any ripples in the pond, all would be well.
As it happened, things turned out exactly the opposite
way. There were misunderstandings, and things did get
unpleasant. In the end I felt exhausted staying up late at
night, finishing the editor’s work, feeling resentful and
anxious, and then having to compensate her for her work
made it even worse. Looking back I could have avoided this situation just
by employing number 44.
For some people this would sound absurd, ‘What’s
the big deal?’ you might be thinking as you read this.
And just as this is a challenge for me, each of us has these
scary things we find so difficult to do, a number or many
numbers on a list, that cause us sleepless nights. Eventually
we have to get to that number and work at it.
I know that 44 will come at me many times, in many
forms and under different circumstances, and each time I
am going to try just a little bit more not to hide it under
a carpet and pretend all is well.
Editor
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A P R I L 2015 1
The World Wisdom revieW
Have you read
PASSIOn InDIA
The Story of the Spanish Princess of
Kapurthala
Javier Moro
Passion India by Javier Moro is set in the final
decades of the British Raj. It is the true rags-toriches story of Anita Delgado, an illiterate 16
year-old Spaniard, who was working as a dancer
in a Madrid nightclub when the Maharaja of
Kapurthala whisked her off to India to become his
fifth wife.
After thorough research in Europe and India, the
author reveals with exciting details the secrets of
that relationship which culminated in one of the
biggest scandals ever to rock colonial society in
British India. This book takes us to the fabulous
world of the Maharajas, with their harems of the
Thousand and One nights, erotic parties, their
passion for jewellery, palaces, flamenco, horses
Rolls-Royces and tiger hunts...a world that was
about to change forever.
Published by Full Circle,
Passion India has been translated into seventeen languages
JavIEr Moro is a spanish writer and nephew of
Dominique lapierre. in 2011, he was awarded the
Premio Planeta award for his novel El imperio eres tu
(The Empire, it’s You), which is based on the life of
brazil’s first emperor Dom Pedro i (1798-1834). Most
recently, his book The Red Sari: A Dramatised Biography
of Sonia Gandhi has been released in india.
2
APRIL
2015
Book Month
of the
The World Wisdom revieW
Book of
the Month
An extract from the book
Vipassana
dD
Yesterday, I was apprehensive. Today, I
am oscillating between apprehension and
expectation. I feel cleansed as I take off my
adornments. Adornments and accouterments
take up too much mind space and waste time.
We lose ourselves under layers of appearance.
Vipassana
Society conditions us that way. I want the
The Journey of A
layers to be peeled away and I want to let
Thousand Steps
go of the many ideas and beliefs that are a
Pooja Lamba
result of my conditioning.
Cheema
I have knots in my stomach. I am poised
rs 299
at a threshold. never before have I gone to
this extent to purge my being of emotional
bonds. I would not have been able to do
this on my own. I thought I was too stoic
Tired of battling
and too resilient to need all this; even if I
melancholy and
often break with the overwhelming burden
regret and wanting
to find a purpose in
of pain. On the face of it, I still function as a
her directionless life, normal being; a mother and a wife; fulfilling
the author decides
my obligations. So, even as I break down
to go away to a
inside with the tumult of silent emotion, I
Vipassana ashram to
also laugh and revel. The dichotomy is me:
explore the depths
the being of contradiction; the spiritualist,
of her mind and
come away free
the realist, the aggressor, the pushover, the
of the emotional
sinner and the saint.
baggage that she
But I do not want to be a leaf in the wind
knows is impeding
any longer; adrift and ready to be swept in
her life. Aware of
any direction the winds chose to take me,
the rigours of this
even if it means the death of illusion and the
form of meditation,
she is nevertheless
fading away of the colours that have made up
unprepared for the
my life: the colours of autumn and spring,
frightening loneliness winter and even blazing summer, the colours
and solitude of the
of hope and of its death, the colours of joy
ashram, where
tainted with sorrow and of sorrow mingled
one is required to
meditate for ten and with hope, the bleak, dark colours of loss
a half hours every
of faith and hope; the grey of betrayal and
day for ten days in
deceit, the black of mourning and grieving.
complete silence.
And then the brighter colours: colours of
love and rejoicing, of birth and renewal.
Kahlil Gibran wrote, ‘Your pain is the
breaking of the shell that encloses your
understanding.’ I am going to be learning of
the impermanence of things and to be able
to feel like the calm centre in the middle of
the hurricane that is life and be unlike the
people around me, always on a mission to
achieve, without realizing that most of what
truly matters lies beyond the ambit of what
they hope to attain.
Such were my thoughts before I left
for Vipassana. On the day I was supposed
to leave, I was in a state of agitation. I
thought about my refuge, two hours away.
Twenty acres of refuge to heal, wander,
think, meditate and generally lose myself
in a trance, praying to God with the faint
smell of incense hovering in the air and the
image of Om in front of my closed eyes, as
I went deep into bhakti.
Positive thoughts give temporary sanity
and peace and a kind of resignation that
pain is inevitable; that there is a quiet,
necessary beauty to it; something that one
needs, to evolve into a better, wiser being,
like the breaking of the cocoon to release
the butterfly within. That is what we grow
up with: acceptance of pain, expectation of
pain and slow, painful healing of pain.
dD
As I write this at home on my first day
back, I think I hear the sounds of the little
bells of the pagoda. They hung like bunches
of grapes from the spires rising from the top
of the structure. The tinkling sounded like
a wind chime. The sound takes me back to
those environs of serenity and hope.
A P R I L 2015
3
The World Wisdom revieW
“Education is the ability to listen to almost
reading for the Month
What to Do About Your
Brain-Injured Child
Rishabhayan
The Story of the First King
Translated by Sudhamahi
Regunathan
The story of Tirthankara Rishabha has
travelled across generations of Jains.
Acharya Mahapragya, the tenth Acharya of the Jain Swetambar Terapanth,
presents it to us in a composition of
2000 verses. Capturing the subtle
rs. 350
dilemmas of the human soul caught
in the mesh of existence, this translation offers the classic in
a contemporary idiom.
Ganesha Goes to Lunch
Glenn Doman
A landmark book, the author
brings real hope to children who
have been sentenced to a life of
institutional confinement. He explains
his philosophy and revolutionary
treatment of the brain rather than the
rs. 400
body, recounts his staff’s worldwide
research, breakthroughs and setbacks, and reveals their
lifesaving techniques and tools to measure - and ultimately
improve - mobility, language, manual, visual, auditory and
tactile development.
Live Without Anger
Classics From Mystic India
Dr PS Bawa
Kamla K Kapur
These are tales of ancient India, some
celebrated and well known, while
others are small, unnoticed gems.
The stories encapsulate some of
life’s essential truths. The collection
contains adaptations from the
Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas,
rs. 495
and Vedas stories, all illustrate the
great spiritual and practical themes of the human condition.
Shadow Boxing with the
Gods
The Story of Mankind’s Beliefs
Vijay N Shankar
This book deconstructs the beliefs
and theologies that have accompanied
mankind from the earliest times and
often controlled human destinies.
Today, more than ever before, we are
equipped with science, reason and
rs. 299
information, to embrace the spiritual
and the humane, while freeing ourselves from the clutches
of superstition and ignorance thus achieving a far deeper
understanding about our individual and collective existence.
4
APRIL
2015
rs. 395
understanding.
This book is recommended for those
seeking help with anger management.
It attempts to answer three very basic
questions: what is anger, why is it bad
and how do you manage it? A 360
degree approach based on LifeShastra
and 3P Concept: Philosophy,
Practicality and Physicality, has been
applied to give readers a thorough
An Insider’s View of
Emotional Traumas
How to Help or Seek Help
Dinesh Kumar
There is pitifully little awareness about
mental health issues in our country.
The truth is that many mental health
issues are transient. They fall into
the category of mental ‘sprains’ and
not ‘fractures’. This book deals with
rs. 249
subjects such as anxiety, depression,
marriage, suicide, child sexual abuse, adolescences and stress.
Based on actual case studies, the text is written in simple, lucid
language, devoid of technical jargon.
The World Wisdom revieW
anything without losing your temper or self-confidence.”
– Robert Frost
reading
Leadingship
Exploring the Essence of Leadership
Dynamics
Arnold Timmerman
This book bridges the gap between
spiritual self-inquiry and practical
personal and professional leadership
dynamics. Rather than giving
formularized answers and concepts,
it raises questions that allow the
rs. 125
reader to open up to a new leadership
paradigm that reaches beyond our old beliefs and structures.
It brings leadership back to its bare essence: non-personal
inspiration through authenticity and passion.
Crossing Over
From Mental Illness to Mental Wellness
Geetanjali Mehta
In this brave memoir, Geetanjali
Mehta sets out to offer a message of
hope and inspiration to people who
suffer from bipolar disorder, as well
as their families. Geetanjali was a
successful engineer and manager,
cruising along a terrific career that
rs. 350
came crashing down when she was
initially diagnosed. Her book is a heart-rending, frank and
fascinating insider’s look into the world of bipolar disorder.
Natural Kingdoms
Healing With Homeopathy
Dr Rajan Sankaran
Sometimes, a single pattern repeats
itself endlessly through every sphere
of an individual’s life, despite
their best efforts to change to? Dr
Sankaran explains that an individual’s
perception of stress is shaped by an
inner pattern, or song. Identifying
rs. 299
this fundamental connection enables
homeopaths to cure ailments at their root. Insightful,
accessible and lucid, natural Kingdoms tells the story of
the homeopathic process through the case studies of three
individuals.
for the
Month
Keys
The Secret to A Happy and RegretFree Life
Santosh Joshi
Each and every one of us deserves a
happy life. So what is keeping us from
achieving it? Most of us have been
hurt or burdened by the imperfect
past or are fearful of the uncertain
future. The author, life coach and
rs. 250
motivational speaker introduces the
HLP Principle that encourages us to live the present moment.
HLP stands for: Healing the past Living in the present and
Planning for the future.
In Other Words
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar’s poetry speaks of the urban milieu that envelops him. Helplessness, hunger and homelessness,
crowds and solitude, filth and crime,
fame and obscurity, rock-strewn footpaths and glass-studded skyscrapers:
this cosmopolitan world he inhabits
seeps into the tone and tenor of his
rs 399
writing. The themes he speaks of are
universal, yet the timbre of Akhtar’s poetry is unique; it is not
the echo of other voices.
Eat Right 4 Your Type
Dr Peter J D’Adamo with
Catherine Whitney
Your blood type reflects your internal
chemistry and actually determines
the way you absorb nutrients. The
foods you absorb well and how your
body handles stress differ with each
blood type and plays a key part in
losing weight, avoiding disease and
rs. 650
promoting fitness and longevity.
Based on that knowledge, this book provides a set of blood
type-specific diets to help you learn how to combine the foods
that are right for you, to ensure physical and mental wellbeing, whilst helping guarantee weight loss.
A P R I L 2015 5
The World Wisdom revieW
nOTES On THE BHAGVAD GITA
Swami nikhilananda Saraswati, Chinmaya Mission
Contd...
8. Sthairyam is steadfastness on the path and
steadfastness to the goal, hence commitment to
attaining it. not leaving the path till the Supreme
is attained. Even in relationships, the course is often
unsteady. This is experienced even in marriages.
Unsteadiness creeps in and one may dither or flounder
on the path. The path to moksha is verily a relationship
with the Lord that is being forged. A small difficulty is
enough for the seeker to despair and give up. Steadiness
is very essential. One should be absolutely steady on
the path of moksha. It might take time. It does not
matter. One should not be impatient or deterred by
difficulties. Whatever time it takes, whatever effort it
requires or whatever obstacle shows up on the path,
one should walk steadily. One should not look for
another path or goal.
9. Atmavinigraha – Self-control. This is control over
the body, the mind, the senses. We should have control
over them. Some people do not have control over their
tongue. They have no control over speech and eating.
The tongue is very powerful. Swami Vivekanandaji
used to say that only if we can conquer our tongue
with ease, we can conquer the whole world easily too.
We should have control over our thinking. Sometimes
you see that in a discussion among friends, the topic
changes and they move to another topic and do not
even realise this. By the end of the conversation, it
has moved all over the world. There should be control
in group discussions. One should keep the discussion
confined to the topic. That is atmavinigraha. Control
over our thinking, feelings, senses is important. It is
said about Bhagavan Shri Rama that He would not
take even one step without proper understanding.
For this, one must control then guide one’s mind
and senses.
10. Vairagya: The whole world is the object of our
senses. Our house, wealth, people are all objects of
our senses. They are all a combination of shabda,
sparsh, rupa, rasa and gandha. The whole world is a
combination and permutation of these five senses.
6
APRIL
2015
Vairagya means to have no like or dislike for anything.
There should be no bhogavritti. There should be
detachment from the world. By ‘detachment’ is
meant the world should not be our goal and we keep
doing whatever is required to fulfil our kartavya, our
duty.
(Recall our earlier definitions.) The focus of life
is not world – which is kshetra; but it should be on
the kshetrajna. Unless we detach from the world we
cannot attach to the Self. So, be in the world but
remain detached, apart from it. It is like a ship; it is
in the waters, and to move in the waters successfully,
it should not sink in the water, it should not allow
the water to enter inside. Then it remains steady
above the waters.
Likewise, if the world start entering our system
then we can’t move ahead in this world where we
have to be. So don’t let the world disturb you; neither
get attached to it nor get repelled from it. Just swim
around in it.
A Mahatma once gave the example of surfing in
the sea. He said, ‘you have to stand on the surfing
board, then rise with the rising wave, fall with the
falling wave. But in both situations, be on top of the
wave!’ When we go to someone’s house as a guest,
we appreciate and use his possessions. But when we
leave, we do not carry his stuff with us! We know
that it does not belong to us. I am here temporarily. I
cannot take anything with me while going. Similarly,
we have come into this world knowing that it does
not belong to us. We should just enjoy the scene.
This is called vairagyam. Vairagya is not hatred
for the world. Vairagya means neither like nor dislike.
One is free. The world belongs to Bhagavan, I just
have to do my duties and leave peacefully in the midst
of the play of things and people.
Swami Nikhilananda Saraswati will give discourses
in English on Bhagavad Gita - Chapter III, from 1st
July, 2014 to 7th July, 2014 from 6.30 pm to 8.00 pm
at Chinmaya Mission, 89, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110
003. All are welcome to attend.