Children become lazy during holidays - they watch TV at odd hours late in the night - and get up late in the afternoons. Some of them who join summer camps learn to get up early in the morning - to motivate those who don't I wrote the following words:
YOU ARE LYING DOWN
I WANT YOU TO SIT UP
NOW THAT YOU ARE SITTING
I WANT YOU TO STAND UP
NOW THAT YOU ARE STANDING
I WANT YOU TO WALK
NOW THAT YOU ARE WALKING
I WANT YOU TO RUN
NOW THAT YOU ARE RUNNING
I WANT YOU TO FLY
NOW THAT YOU ARE FLYING
TAKE THE BALL AND DUNK!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
TAKE A LITMUS TEST! WHO IS BENEFITING FROM YOUR WORK? ARE YOU?
Just a few years ago, the job market went haywire - established organizations paid pea-nuts compared to the `large salaries' that new upstart companies of IT revolution paid. BPOs paid astronomical salaries for people who hardly merited a second glance as far as their qualifications were concerned.
AS THE MONEY CAME IN - AND THE JOB HOURS LEFT MENTAL AND PHYSICAL SCARS on the youth of our country - I kept thinking that something terrible had taken place. The first casualty was LOSS OF RESPECT for our elders. The very people who had financed their education and upbringing were victims of this thought `WHAT YOU COULDN'T EARN IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE-TIME- I EARN THAT MUCH IN A YEAR! This loss of respect was ignored by the victims too - for they too benefited in a `material' sense. But this benefit was short lived. The cultural heritage suffered enormously - girls could work in the nights - could stay over with friends during weekends - could `do' all that boys were doing. EQUALITY - even when not wanted.
The `peer pressure' came from all sides even though their own conscience didn't exactly agree. When all are blind, where is the necessity to see. The parents proudly told their nears and dears about the `modernization' of their children - the `imported' crazy society had finally found a way to be `FOREIGN'. Money earned was spent on artificially created desires - and in a very short time the `large' salaries started looking `small'.
The psychological make up of these zombies is bizarre. They are supposed to be the cream of our intelligentsia - YET THEY KNOW NOT THIS - WHO BENEFITS FROM THEIR WORK!
Our nation has suffered two thousand years of slavery - people had to travel to India to make them slaves. Now we go abroad to become cyber-slaves. The world's richest heritage has been torn to shreds - to be replaced by `zombies' living in concrete and glass caves.
I walked with my father to a garden near our home - with a fistful of grains to be given to ants. He explained to me that it was important to feed them because then our departed ancestors would not go hungry. IT WAS A LESSON THAT I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN.
Here, we two were trying to see that the BENEFIT OF OUR ACT reached our long dead ancestors - and I reflect this with today's culture of ME - ME - ME!
Take a litmus test. See, who benefits from your actions - you will be surprised to know that EVEN YOU YOURSELF DO NOT BENEFIT from your own actions - because you compete in a never ending rat race that has no finishing line.
You study because you want a job - you want a job because you need money - you need money because you want to live in style - you want to live in style BECAUSE YOU SEE OTHERS LIVE IN STYLE. Living in style ?????? And all the time the bar is being raised. So even when you are `reaching higher levels' - there is always another higher level. And what happens when you step off the highest point - YOU FALL TO THE BOTTOM or still worse YOU GO STRAIGHT UP!
TAKE A LITMUS TEST TODAY! ASK YOURSELF WHAT HAVE YOU RETURNED TO THE SOCIETY - which has given so much to you. What have you given to the parents that nurtured you - what have you given to the school that educated you - the friends that taught you the meaning of friendship - the locality that you grew up in - the country that gave you an opportunity to be its citizen.
AS THE MONEY CAME IN - AND THE JOB HOURS LEFT MENTAL AND PHYSICAL SCARS on the youth of our country - I kept thinking that something terrible had taken place. The first casualty was LOSS OF RESPECT for our elders. The very people who had financed their education and upbringing were victims of this thought `WHAT YOU COULDN'T EARN IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE-TIME- I EARN THAT MUCH IN A YEAR! This loss of respect was ignored by the victims too - for they too benefited in a `material' sense. But this benefit was short lived. The cultural heritage suffered enormously - girls could work in the nights - could stay over with friends during weekends - could `do' all that boys were doing. EQUALITY - even when not wanted.
The `peer pressure' came from all sides even though their own conscience didn't exactly agree. When all are blind, where is the necessity to see. The parents proudly told their nears and dears about the `modernization' of their children - the `imported' crazy society had finally found a way to be `FOREIGN'. Money earned was spent on artificially created desires - and in a very short time the `large' salaries started looking `small'.
The psychological make up of these zombies is bizarre. They are supposed to be the cream of our intelligentsia - YET THEY KNOW NOT THIS - WHO BENEFITS FROM THEIR WORK!
Our nation has suffered two thousand years of slavery - people had to travel to India to make them slaves. Now we go abroad to become cyber-slaves. The world's richest heritage has been torn to shreds - to be replaced by `zombies' living in concrete and glass caves.
I walked with my father to a garden near our home - with a fistful of grains to be given to ants. He explained to me that it was important to feed them because then our departed ancestors would not go hungry. IT WAS A LESSON THAT I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN.
Here, we two were trying to see that the BENEFIT OF OUR ACT reached our long dead ancestors - and I reflect this with today's culture of ME - ME - ME!
Take a litmus test. See, who benefits from your actions - you will be surprised to know that EVEN YOU YOURSELF DO NOT BENEFIT from your own actions - because you compete in a never ending rat race that has no finishing line.
You study because you want a job - you want a job because you need money - you need money because you want to live in style - you want to live in style BECAUSE YOU SEE OTHERS LIVE IN STYLE. Living in style ?????? And all the time the bar is being raised. So even when you are `reaching higher levels' - there is always another higher level. And what happens when you step off the highest point - YOU FALL TO THE BOTTOM or still worse YOU GO STRAIGHT UP!
TAKE A LITMUS TEST TODAY! ASK YOURSELF WHAT HAVE YOU RETURNED TO THE SOCIETY - which has given so much to you. What have you given to the parents that nurtured you - what have you given to the school that educated you - the friends that taught you the meaning of friendship - the locality that you grew up in - the country that gave you an opportunity to be its citizen.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
IT IS TIME! TO BEGIN THE MARATHON JOURNEY! WANNA COME ALONG!
I shall venture on this marathon journey - blessed by my parents, friendly gestures by my friends and loved by my students. This journey is as much inward as much as it is outward. I shall carry the shooting post and the basketballs to small villages - maybe even hamlets that don't find their names on maps. I shall teach children {and others] to hold THE BALL, to dribble it and shoot it from impossible angles. I SHALL GO WHERE I AM CALLED and even where I am not. I shall promote basketball and a way of living that I have lived for the last 56 years. I SHALL NOT GIVE AN INCH IN THIS EFFORT and I am not expecting any pats on the back. IT IS TIME!
I have loved journies but this one is different. I want to share the fulfillment that I have got from my life and what better way than teaching the `divine dance' of a basketball player. Every time I hold the ball and enter the court a surreal joy pervades my soul. The God within me comes out and walks along with me. It is a bliss that I want every child of my country to have. I want to give them the values that I have imbibed while playing this game - gentle yet ferocious; smiling yet serious; giving while taking; friendly yet competitive - to bring the best out of myself and my opponent. I have never won from a lesser player - I have never given less than 200% to a better player - and even in losing I have won! This game has taught me compassion and kindness - IT HAS MADE ME HUMAN, in real terms. As I see values taking a nose-dive; as I see erosion of being humans - I embark on a MARATHON JOURNEY. It is for me as much as for the children that I wish to teach.
I have been admired by my colleagues - loved by my students - and this has made me believe that I have what is needed to be a good coach and a teacher. They were the ones who brought up `the best' in me. As I move away from them - I beckon them - COME ALONG!
I have loved journies but this one is different. I want to share the fulfillment that I have got from my life and what better way than teaching the `divine dance' of a basketball player. Every time I hold the ball and enter the court a surreal joy pervades my soul. The God within me comes out and walks along with me. It is a bliss that I want every child of my country to have. I want to give them the values that I have imbibed while playing this game - gentle yet ferocious; smiling yet serious; giving while taking; friendly yet competitive - to bring the best out of myself and my opponent. I have never won from a lesser player - I have never given less than 200% to a better player - and even in losing I have won! This game has taught me compassion and kindness - IT HAS MADE ME HUMAN, in real terms. As I see values taking a nose-dive; as I see erosion of being humans - I embark on a MARATHON JOURNEY. It is for me as much as for the children that I wish to teach.
I have been admired by my colleagues - loved by my students - and this has made me believe that I have what is needed to be a good coach and a teacher. They were the ones who brought up `the best' in me. As I move away from them - I beckon them - COME ALONG!
Monday, February 22, 2010
THE URGES ARE DEAD! NIRVANA HAS ARRIVED!
It has been a long journey - a journey that had no set paths. It was an exploration of my inner self. It wasn't easy - it wasn't meant to be. Now even the most difficult environments give me a wry smile. NOW I CAN TAKE IT!
The knowledge that I HAVE ARRIVED is very fulfilling. The desire to `give' or `take' is also dead. I shall do WHATEVER IS MOST ESSENTIAL and I shall discard all other actions. I also have a hope that one day I will not need to do anything at all, other than just move the body and use the mind in deep introspection.
I WANTED TO LIVE FULLY - I am sure I have lived it. I shall now act the role of being SUBHASH MAHAJAN. But I won't be myself. I shall not go anywhere - it is time to be everywhere. I shall be neutral in my emotions - I shall accept no joys nor any pain.
My detachment will move towards completion. Nirvana has arrived - my urges are dead!
The knowledge that I HAVE ARRIVED is very fulfilling. The desire to `give' or `take' is also dead. I shall do WHATEVER IS MOST ESSENTIAL and I shall discard all other actions. I also have a hope that one day I will not need to do anything at all, other than just move the body and use the mind in deep introspection.
I WANTED TO LIVE FULLY - I am sure I have lived it. I shall now act the role of being SUBHASH MAHAJAN. But I won't be myself. I shall not go anywhere - it is time to be everywhere. I shall be neutral in my emotions - I shall accept no joys nor any pain.
My detachment will move towards completion. Nirvana has arrived - my urges are dead!
I THINK IT IS TIME TO QUIT FACEBOOK AND ORKUT
Yesterday on 21th February, a momentous act took place. The installation of Vir Hanuman statue at SUMPOORNA was completed amidst almost two hundred people. As I returned to Bangalore - I was fulfilled with the `deepest joy' I have experienced in my life. My family, my colleagues in Optus, my basketball students and few friends participated in this function - and as I saw this gathering the thought came to me that I HAVE ACHIEVED WHATEVER I WANTED TO ACHIEVE in my life.
SO,WHY I WANT TO QUIT FACEBOOK AND ORKUT? I donot have the urge to `give' or `take' anything from anyone now. I joined these two to give me a forum to `release' my urges of wanting to do something for the young generation that visited these sites. The responses to my messages were always `trivial' - the desire to be meaningful automatically got reduced. I expected interaction - introspection - critical dialogue - I got none. I didn't like `virtual' responses. I donot want to be VIRTUAL.
Already, some of the responses I am getting are adding up. But my decision is based on my personal requirements. I intended to utilise my `internet' time for it to be useful to me. IT DIDN'T SERVE THAT PURPOSE. Writing my blogs would continue - those who want to interact or journey along are welcome to correspond through e-mail. I have not liked CHATTING too. We assume too much about each other - and we discard and accept friendships at a click of a button. We post beautiful photographs of ourselves - but I see no beauty. For a time, I wanted to make only girls as my friends - AND I SAW MYSELF AS A PREDATOR. Very easily, I saw the futility of such predatory action. Hunting a girl in real life is so much better. Not that I am a hunter. Virtual relationships have `no meaning' - my personal relationships are so much more meaningful.
There have been occasions when I thought of quitting - but I was like an addict. My de-addiction has taken place. Most of my students donot have access to computers. Those few, who have, are the ones I meet in the ground every day. So there is no need for these two forums for this purpose.
MAYBE, some day I will come back. Right now I am saying goodbye to FACEBOOK and ORKUT. For those who want to continue a meaningful relationship please use e-mail which I find much more meaningful. Mine is optus.blore@gmail.com.
SO,WHY I WANT TO QUIT FACEBOOK AND ORKUT? I donot have the urge to `give' or `take' anything from anyone now. I joined these two to give me a forum to `release' my urges of wanting to do something for the young generation that visited these sites. The responses to my messages were always `trivial' - the desire to be meaningful automatically got reduced. I expected interaction - introspection - critical dialogue - I got none. I didn't like `virtual' responses. I donot want to be VIRTUAL.
Already, some of the responses I am getting are adding up. But my decision is based on my personal requirements. I intended to utilise my `internet' time for it to be useful to me. IT DIDN'T SERVE THAT PURPOSE. Writing my blogs would continue - those who want to interact or journey along are welcome to correspond through e-mail. I have not liked CHATTING too. We assume too much about each other - and we discard and accept friendships at a click of a button. We post beautiful photographs of ourselves - but I see no beauty. For a time, I wanted to make only girls as my friends - AND I SAW MYSELF AS A PREDATOR. Very easily, I saw the futility of such predatory action. Hunting a girl in real life is so much better. Not that I am a hunter. Virtual relationships have `no meaning' - my personal relationships are so much more meaningful.
There have been occasions when I thought of quitting - but I was like an addict. My de-addiction has taken place. Most of my students donot have access to computers. Those few, who have, are the ones I meet in the ground every day. So there is no need for these two forums for this purpose.
MAYBE, some day I will come back. Right now I am saying goodbye to FACEBOOK and ORKUT. For those who want to continue a meaningful relationship please use e-mail which I find much more meaningful. Mine is optus.blore@gmail.com.
Monday, February 15, 2010
VIR HANUMAN TEMPLE AT SUMPOORNA - IDEAL ROLE MODEL FOR CHILDREN
When I set out to establish India's first residential rural basketball school at SUMPOORNA - I was able to play a `ROLE MODEL' to my young children students. Now I am growing older - the students look beyond me to get inspiration. They are also growing more wiser and stronger. So I look back at my childhood and remember the KUSHTI AKAHADAS where junior and senior wrestlers use to exercise. They were the gyms during those days. And in almost all the places - the inspiring ROLE MODEL was VIR HANUMAN.
So, as most of our SUMPOORNA students have evolved very high degree of discipline - it is time to give them the ideal role model - an entity that identifies itself with traditional Indian sports as also children.
SO I GIVE YOU THIS TEMPLE OF VIR HANUMAN. May HE bless with you character, wisdom and fulfill all your dreams. That my parents are here to help install the GOD's STATUE - is a great blessing for me personally and my family. COME JOIN ME ON ANY ONE OF THE DAYS AT SUMPOORNA - 19th - 20th or 21st Feburary - AND GET BLESSED! SUBHASH MAHAJAN - 98860 20145 - optus.blore@gmail.com
So, as most of our SUMPOORNA students have evolved very high degree of discipline - it is time to give them the ideal role model - an entity that identifies itself with traditional Indian sports as also children.
SO I GIVE YOU THIS TEMPLE OF VIR HANUMAN. May HE bless with you character, wisdom and fulfill all your dreams. That my parents are here to help install the GOD's STATUE - is a great blessing for me personally and my family. COME JOIN ME ON ANY ONE OF THE DAYS AT SUMPOORNA - 19th - 20th or 21st Feburary - AND GET BLESSED! SUBHASH MAHAJAN - 98860 20145 - optus.blore@gmail.com
Sunday, February 7, 2010
I WANT TO SEE BASKETBALL POST IN EVERY VILLAGE OF INDIA!
I belong to a generation when the game was GOLI or GULLI DANDA. We played with rare passion - it was no holds barred `concentration' of the highest order. And as we developed extra- ordinary mental and physical faculties - we found to our surprise that we excelled in everything we took up! It wasn't `games' for us - it was a WAY TO LIVE!
Today I LIVE to play basketball and play basketball to LIVE [joyfully}!
I want to give this joy to every Indian CHILD. I want to see a basketball post in every village. My roots are firmly in the rural India. Today, I live 90 Kms away from Bangalore in a remote village and nurture SUMPOORNA BASKETBALL SCHOOL. As I sow the seeds of learning of this great game among thousands of children - I wrestle with thoughts of how to IMPORVE BASKETBALL AS A SPORT IN INDIA!
I search for colleagues, players, coaches, promoters as I make this historic journey. This journey will last me for my entire life time. I know I will succeed because INDIA has never failed in what it has set out to do - and we are A BILLION STRONG! Does `joy' pump through your veins when you dribble the ball - COME, LET US GIVE THIS JOY TO EACH AND EVERY CHILD.
You remember your child hood - your first coach, or a senior player who held your arms and taught you - how to shoot or how to dribble. CAN YOU EVERY REPAY THAT PERSON! The journey of your life with BASKETBALL has been enriched - isn't is time that you gave back to the game. I WILL HELP YOU START! Come and visit our project SUMPOORNA - PROMOTING BASKETBALL - young children await you! Remember, this battle is not mine alone - it is of every INDIAN who loves basketball.
YES, there are others who are doing the same job. HATS OFF TO THEM! We wish them well, but we need thousands of such organizations - and there is no better person than you AS AN ACTIVE BASKETBALL PLAYER to help the cause. PICK UP ONE WEEK, TWO WEEKS, ONE MONTH in every year - we shall depute you to this noble cause of promoting basketball. Returns are extra-ordinary! A LARGE SMILE ON FACE OF EVERY INDIAN CHILD!
Today I LIVE to play basketball and play basketball to LIVE [joyfully}!
I want to give this joy to every Indian CHILD. I want to see a basketball post in every village. My roots are firmly in the rural India. Today, I live 90 Kms away from Bangalore in a remote village and nurture SUMPOORNA BASKETBALL SCHOOL. As I sow the seeds of learning of this great game among thousands of children - I wrestle with thoughts of how to IMPORVE BASKETBALL AS A SPORT IN INDIA!
I search for colleagues, players, coaches, promoters as I make this historic journey. This journey will last me for my entire life time. I know I will succeed because INDIA has never failed in what it has set out to do - and we are A BILLION STRONG! Does `joy' pump through your veins when you dribble the ball - COME, LET US GIVE THIS JOY TO EACH AND EVERY CHILD.
You remember your child hood - your first coach, or a senior player who held your arms and taught you - how to shoot or how to dribble. CAN YOU EVERY REPAY THAT PERSON! The journey of your life with BASKETBALL has been enriched - isn't is time that you gave back to the game. I WILL HELP YOU START! Come and visit our project SUMPOORNA - PROMOTING BASKETBALL - young children await you! Remember, this battle is not mine alone - it is of every INDIAN who loves basketball.
YES, there are others who are doing the same job. HATS OFF TO THEM! We wish them well, but we need thousands of such organizations - and there is no better person than you AS AN ACTIVE BASKETBALL PLAYER to help the cause. PICK UP ONE WEEK, TWO WEEKS, ONE MONTH in every year - we shall depute you to this noble cause of promoting basketball. Returns are extra-ordinary! A LARGE SMILE ON FACE OF EVERY INDIAN CHILD!
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