“Take twelve months and wash them clean of bitterness, greed, pedantry, and fear. Divide each month into thirty or thirty-one parts so that each part suffices for exactly one day. Fashion each day out of one part of work and two parts of joy and tranquility. Add three heaped tablespoons of optimism, a teaspoonful of tolerance, a grain of irony, and a pinch of tact. Pour over the whole a generous portion of love, garnish with a bouquet of small courtesies and serve daily with humor and a refreshing cup of tea.”
-Mrs.von Goethe, NewYear’s wish for her son
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
The Man in the arena
"...It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat..."
- Theodore Roosevelt, Citizenship in a Republic
Speech at the Sorbonne - Paris, France April 23, 1910
- Theodore Roosevelt, Citizenship in a Republic
Speech at the Sorbonne - Paris, France April 23, 1910
Thursday, May 21, 2009
You can't predict who will change the world
"...discoveries we claim come from research are themselves highly accidental. They are the result of undirected tinkering narrated after the fact, when it is dressed up as controlled research...
...America's primary export, it appears, is trial-and-error, and the innovative knowledge attained in such a way...
...American undirected free-enterprise works because it aggressively allows us to capture the randomness of the environment...
...Random tinkering is the path to success..."
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.
...America's primary export, it appears, is trial-and-error, and the innovative knowledge attained in such a way...
...American undirected free-enterprise works because it aggressively allows us to capture the randomness of the environment...
...Random tinkering is the path to success..."
- Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Reason and Passion
Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul.
If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas.
For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended is a flame that burns to its own destruction.
Therefore, let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing;
And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.
-Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas.
For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended is a flame that burns to its own destruction.
Therefore, let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing;
And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.
-Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
Monday, May 18, 2009
Five components of Obituary
1. What is the cause of death?
- Did the individual have an exciting, vibrant life that ended gracefully or lived life of a dead man/woman, in vain, counting days or something in between?
2. What did the individual do while alive?
- Being aspects - What roles/positions/recognitions held? and
- Doing aspects - What lasting contributions did the individual make? Built a lasting organization, built a dam, built schools, etc.
3. What impact did the individual have on the world while alive?
- Helped the world in anyway, hurt fewer than those helped or hurt the world mostly?
4. What legacy did the individual leave behind for the future?
- An example/message to follow/imitate/look upon/be inspired by or a mistake to avoid?
5. Who will mourn the death?
- No one or just the family, kith and kin, or a state or a country or an ethnicity or the entire world?
The totality of every life is viewed from these five angles. Heros, rebels, leaders, followers, peasants and everyone including you and I are weighted by this scale in the end.
- Did the individual have an exciting, vibrant life that ended gracefully or lived life of a dead man/woman, in vain, counting days or something in between?
2. What did the individual do while alive?
- Being aspects - What roles/positions/recognitions held? and
- Doing aspects - What lasting contributions did the individual make? Built a lasting organization, built a dam, built schools, etc.
3. What impact did the individual have on the world while alive?
- Helped the world in anyway, hurt fewer than those helped or hurt the world mostly?
4. What legacy did the individual leave behind for the future?
- An example/message to follow/imitate/look upon/be inspired by or a mistake to avoid?
5. Who will mourn the death?
- No one or just the family, kith and kin, or a state or a country or an ethnicity or the entire world?
The totality of every life is viewed from these five angles. Heros, rebels, leaders, followers, peasants and everyone including you and I are weighted by this scale in the end.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Adversity and "Alchemists"
Adversity is one of the most potent forces in life. It shapes your character, clarifies your priorities, and defines your path. It can also fuel your greatness.
- Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind person to have climbed the "Seven Summits," the tallest peak on every continent.
- Erik Weihenmayer, the only blind person to have climbed the "Seven Summits," the tallest peak on every continent.
Friday, May 15, 2009
The Dilemma
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your feelings is to risk rejection.
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.
-Source unknown
“This above all else: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as night follows day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
–William Shakespeare, Hamlet
“Be Who You Are and Say What You Feel Because Those Who Mind Don't Matter and Those Who Matter Don't Mind.”
-Dr. Seuss
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose your feelings is to risk rejection.
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.
-Source unknown
“This above all else: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as night follows day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
–William Shakespeare, Hamlet
“Be Who You Are and Say What You Feel Because Those Who Mind Don't Matter and Those Who Matter Don't Mind.”
-Dr. Seuss
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Is money the root of all evil...?
"Have you ever asked what is the root of money? Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce. Is this what you consider evil?"
The Money speech
from Atlast Shrugged by Ayn Rand
The Money speech
from Atlast Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Subjection and Election
"Subjection in minor affairs breaks out every day, and is felt by the whole community indiscriminately. It does not drive them to resistance, but it crosses them at every turn, till they are led to surrender the exercise of their will. Thus their spirit is gradually broken and their character enervated; whereas that obedience, which is exacted on a few important but rare occasions, only exhibits servitude at certain intervals and throws the burden of it upon a small number of men.
It is vain to summon a people, which has been so dependant on the central power, to choose from time to time the representatives of that power; this rare and brief exercise of their free choice, however, important it may be, will not prevent them from gradually losing the faculties of thinking, feeling and acting for themselves, and thus gradually falling below the level of humanity"
- Alexis de Tocquivelle, Democracy in America
It is vain to summon a people, which has been so dependant on the central power, to choose from time to time the representatives of that power; this rare and brief exercise of their free choice, however, important it may be, will not prevent them from gradually losing the faculties of thinking, feeling and acting for themselves, and thus gradually falling below the level of humanity"
- Alexis de Tocquivelle, Democracy in America
Friday, May 08, 2009
Speed of Progress/Change
I was taught that the way of progress is neither swift nor easy.
- Marie Curie
I agree with that assertion in general and believe that progress is slow and requires focused, intense work by an individual or a team of people.
In the Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell talks about change that is quick, dramatic and of epidemic proportions. That is completely contrary to the "slow theory"! Granted not all change is progress. But it is true that some of the changes do happen pretty quick, especially those which involve large number of people.
Another example is the cellphone adaption in India as shown in the chart. Are there different kinds of progress, some quick and some fast...?
Story of LinkedIn
"I had a plan. What's the minimum amount of time I can work for companies before starting out on my own? I had a check-off list: need experience designing, need experience in product management, need experience shipping product, need experience in building a team. I wanted to make sure I learned everything I needed."
How I did it: Reid Hoffman
How I did it: Reid Hoffman
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Differentiation and Integration
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
- Robert Heinlein
That is an interesting quote. But I find it difficult to agree that every single human being should be a generalist and be good at everything. Can really a jack of all trades be the master of all as well? That notion sort of trivialises the need for specialization and team work among specialists to accomplish tasks. It is true that more and more specialized tasks are eliminated by machines now. That only frees us to move ahead with finding new areas to specialize on rather than become generalists.
In an increasingly competitive world, individuals survive and thrive if and only if they have something unique to offer the world that others cannot. i.e. Specialization and differentiation is what makes the world grow in multiple dimensions simultaneously and allow us to exchange best value for value as individuals, as businesses in societies and across nations.
With the vastness of everything in the world and given the choice that an individual has today, even in theory it is impossible for someone to try to do more than a few things; let alone being good at them.
I think the value of integration remains in our ability to come together as specialists for the collective betterment of all of us. Not in trying to become self fullfilling individuals who can be good at everything. It is a romantic notion to imagine individuals as super heros and dismiss that specialization is for insects. It seems like an outdated view of life that has no relevance in the modern society.
"Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced."
-Swami Vivekananda
Now that is a powerful idea!
- Robert Heinlein
That is an interesting quote. But I find it difficult to agree that every single human being should be a generalist and be good at everything. Can really a jack of all trades be the master of all as well? That notion sort of trivialises the need for specialization and team work among specialists to accomplish tasks. It is true that more and more specialized tasks are eliminated by machines now. That only frees us to move ahead with finding new areas to specialize on rather than become generalists.
In an increasingly competitive world, individuals survive and thrive if and only if they have something unique to offer the world that others cannot. i.e. Specialization and differentiation is what makes the world grow in multiple dimensions simultaneously and allow us to exchange best value for value as individuals, as businesses in societies and across nations.
With the vastness of everything in the world and given the choice that an individual has today, even in theory it is impossible for someone to try to do more than a few things; let alone being good at them.
I think the value of integration remains in our ability to come together as specialists for the collective betterment of all of us. Not in trying to become self fullfilling individuals who can be good at everything. It is a romantic notion to imagine individuals as super heros and dismiss that specialization is for insects. It seems like an outdated view of life that has no relevance in the modern society.
"Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, that is way great spiritual giants are produced."
-Swami Vivekananda
Now that is a powerful idea!
Articulation is not accomplishment - Narayana Murthy
Q Talking about higher education... even the recommendations made to the Knowledge Commission have not been implemented? Why does this happen?
A "The Indian society is a society of ideas. It is a society that has revered talk. In this society, articulation is mistaken for accomplishment. We are quite satisfied with our voice, with our writings. This is not a society that is focussed on execution.
Frankly, the problem is due to our caste system and the dominance of Brahmins in our society for long period. The Brahminical system said my job is to think of the higher worlds. My job is to think of connecting you people with God. I don't want to do anything that has a relationship with the real world.
Now that is a problem that has played havoc with the Indian culture. So, here in this culture, if you do anything with your hands, it is considered less honourable that anything to do with your brain.
Here everybody wants to be an engineer, nobody wants to be a technician. So when a society does not value implementation, execution, what happens is you create more and more reports and nothing gets done.
For example, (Reliance Industries Chairman) Mr Mukesh Ambani and I gave two reports on how to improve the higher education system: one to (then prime minister) Mr Vajpayee and one to Dr Manmohan Singh.
Second, there has been the Knowledge Commission. Nothing has happened. Third, in 1998 I was a member of the IT Task Force -- which was headed by Mr Jaswant Singh -- and that task force submitted its report somewhere in 1999 0r 2000.
Nine years and I don't think even one suggestion has been implemented. And we made 108 suggestions! So that is why I am not a big fan of ideas in India.
My brother-in-law is a famous professor of physics at Caltech and he tells me it is very easy to come out with an idea. But to validate that idea he and his doctoral students will have to work hard for six months, one year... sometimes two years. That takes 20 hours of work each day for two years. So it is important to come out with new ideas, but it is even more important to execute them.
We are not a nation of doers; we are a nation which believes that our articulation is our accomplishment."
http://specials.rediff.com/money/2009/apr/24slde8-narayana-murthy-interview-part-2.htm
The link above has invited 100s of comments on his views.
A "The Indian society is a society of ideas. It is a society that has revered talk. In this society, articulation is mistaken for accomplishment. We are quite satisfied with our voice, with our writings. This is not a society that is focussed on execution.
Frankly, the problem is due to our caste system and the dominance of Brahmins in our society for long period. The Brahminical system said my job is to think of the higher worlds. My job is to think of connecting you people with God. I don't want to do anything that has a relationship with the real world.
Now that is a problem that has played havoc with the Indian culture. So, here in this culture, if you do anything with your hands, it is considered less honourable that anything to do with your brain.
Here everybody wants to be an engineer, nobody wants to be a technician. So when a society does not value implementation, execution, what happens is you create more and more reports and nothing gets done.
For example, (Reliance Industries Chairman) Mr Mukesh Ambani and I gave two reports on how to improve the higher education system: one to (then prime minister) Mr Vajpayee and one to Dr Manmohan Singh.
Second, there has been the Knowledge Commission. Nothing has happened. Third, in 1998 I was a member of the IT Task Force -- which was headed by Mr Jaswant Singh -- and that task force submitted its report somewhere in 1999 0r 2000.
Nine years and I don't think even one suggestion has been implemented. And we made 108 suggestions! So that is why I am not a big fan of ideas in India.
My brother-in-law is a famous professor of physics at Caltech and he tells me it is very easy to come out with an idea. But to validate that idea he and his doctoral students will have to work hard for six months, one year... sometimes two years. That takes 20 hours of work each day for two years. So it is important to come out with new ideas, but it is even more important to execute them.
We are not a nation of doers; we are a nation which believes that our articulation is our accomplishment."
http://specials.rediff.com/money/2009/apr/24slde8-narayana-murthy-interview-part-2.htm
The link above has invited 100s of comments on his views.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Meeting Dr. Kalam!
Today, I met Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, the former President of India at North Eastern University(NEU) in Boston. He attended the Energy Expo at NEU. This is the second time I am meeting him in person. Back in 1992, he presided over the convocation at IIT Madras. That was the first time I met him. He was then the head of DRDO-India. 17 years has brought a lot of change in life. He went on to serve as the President of India and ascended to the peak of his reputation. It was a honour and privilege to listen and talk to him. He was kind enough to sign his book "Ignited Minds" for me. He talked about the importance of having a vision and leadership ability to bring the vision to reality. He recited the following poem and made the entire audience repeat after him.
If there is righteousness in the heart,
there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character,
there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home,
there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
there will be peace in the world.
and asked so where does one learn to be righteous?! It was funny to watch him give marks to the audience who answered. Some got 20, 30 and one guy shouted "Father" and he got 50. Then Dr. Kalam went on to answer the question himself.
"There are only three sources to learn righteousness.
1. Mother and
2. Father."
He immediately qualifed the two with the phrase "in a spiritual environment" and added
"3. Primary school teachers!"
He insisted that the people who have profound impact on every individual are the influencial teachers of early education. I couldn't agree more.
What I found interesting was that he extended my understanding of Character and Destiny as stated in my previous posts by identifying the root cause of those qualities. That leap makes it possible to derive a set of actionable steps to influence character building and thus facilitate grass root transformation in the fabric of a nation.
If there is righteousness in the heart,
there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character,
there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home,
there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation,
there will be peace in the world.
and asked so where does one learn to be righteous?! It was funny to watch him give marks to the audience who answered. Some got 20, 30 and one guy shouted "Father" and he got 50. Then Dr. Kalam went on to answer the question himself.
"There are only three sources to learn righteousness.
1. Mother and
2. Father."
He immediately qualifed the two with the phrase "in a spiritual environment" and added
"3. Primary school teachers!"
He insisted that the people who have profound impact on every individual are the influencial teachers of early education. I couldn't agree more.
What I found interesting was that he extended my understanding of Character and Destiny as stated in my previous posts by identifying the root cause of those qualities. That leap makes it possible to derive a set of actionable steps to influence character building and thus facilitate grass root transformation in the fabric of a nation.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Danish and Dutch...Did you know?
Danish is the language spoken in Denmark. Dutch is the language spoken in The Netherlands.
Netherlands is sometimes (falsely) referred to as Holland (which really is just a part of The Netherlands).
Netherlands is sometimes (falsely) referred to as Holland (which really is just a part of The Netherlands).
Sunday, April 05, 2009
I am human
This is a review of the Tamil movie “Naan Kadavul” (Translation: I am God) by director Bala. This movie seems to have made significant impact on many people and the reviews have generally been in praise of the subject matter of the movie, the protagonist and the director. If you have not seen the movie you may not want to proceed further with this review since it may spoil the story line for you.
For some time I was reluctant to watch this movie since I only expected a sad and dismal movie from this director on some off beat subject. His previous movies, although were commercially successful and won several awards from Indian agencies handled odd subjects and generally portrayed a tragic view of life in an extremely violent manner, all disguised in the name of reality. I brought myself to watch this movie when a chance came by recently. It just reinforced my view of the director’s mindset.
This is a disturbing movie, to say the least, with a cannibalistic psycho sanyasi as the protagonist who comes to clash with the life of helpless, handicapped beggars forced into begging by ruthless exploiters. The beggar leader in the name of offering protection to the beggars’ savings and begging zones, in the absence of any systemic protection for such people, violently ill treats those folks. The cruelty of this exploiter who networks across state borders to buy and sell orphaned children, handicap them and force them into begging is mind boggling. It also reinforces the slum dog millionaire view of the Indian begging situation.
The hero sanyasi is an arrogant, kanja doping young man who was abandoned by his parents when he was young because few astrologers deemed him to be bad luck to his family. He grows up on the cremation grounds of Kasi and was taught that he is part of Siva, the God of destruction in the Hindu mythology. So he grows without understanding any human value or emotion or respect for life.
The movie shows the sad life style of the subjects in gory detail and climaxes with a bizarre “deliverance” of a pathetic blind beggar girl who is violated by her master. The movie doesn’t fail to glorify the psycho who thinks he can kill anyone and remains above the man made laws. The authorities who are there to protect the innocent victims are in cahoots with the beggar leader and are afraid that the sanyasi will “curse” them. So they let him go scot free.
The movie is probably not intended to have any message. However, if you think through the story line a bit, it expresses a half baked understanding of Hindu mythology. The title claims that the Sanyasi declares himself as God and plays the role of the Destroyer to liberate a suffering soul from her earthly life and destroys the evil that causes the suffering. So the title is justified to that extent. However, isn’t the intent of the destroyer also the renewal of life? Per Hinduism, Brahma creates and Vishu grows. Siva completes the cycle by destroying and enabling creation and growth to sustain endlessly. Destruction is never for the sake of just that; violent destruction that doesn’t end anything or enable creating anything. It is here a gap arises in the perhaps unintended message of the movie. Of course an explanation can be offered in terms of Karma of the ‘ill fated’ individuals. This has been the foundation of all problems in India historically. Everything is “understood” and felt pity about, but nothing is done since it is deemed that destiny governs the life of the suffering and some lone hero will come to rescue them. This movie goes down the same beaten path to glorify life of an outcast who in the name of “helping poor souls” kills them without any remorse.
There is no denying of the injustice and the mysticism in the world. I am not sure if it is art to express the failed life of a likely mentally disturbed and disillusioned individual who dwells on death and killing people. The sadness of the story line and the brutality depicted is unprecedented. It is as if the movie is intended to raise your feeling of disgust and make you feel depressed as an after effect. There is little entertainment value in the movie.
The context is unusual, the story is disturbing, the message whether intended or unintended is confused and there is little entertainment value. So what is it that I don’t find in this movie that people are gloating about? If you thought this is a great movie, won’t you let me know please…?!
For some time I was reluctant to watch this movie since I only expected a sad and dismal movie from this director on some off beat subject. His previous movies, although were commercially successful and won several awards from Indian agencies handled odd subjects and generally portrayed a tragic view of life in an extremely violent manner, all disguised in the name of reality. I brought myself to watch this movie when a chance came by recently. It just reinforced my view of the director’s mindset.
This is a disturbing movie, to say the least, with a cannibalistic psycho sanyasi as the protagonist who comes to clash with the life of helpless, handicapped beggars forced into begging by ruthless exploiters. The beggar leader in the name of offering protection to the beggars’ savings and begging zones, in the absence of any systemic protection for such people, violently ill treats those folks. The cruelty of this exploiter who networks across state borders to buy and sell orphaned children, handicap them and force them into begging is mind boggling. It also reinforces the slum dog millionaire view of the Indian begging situation.
The hero sanyasi is an arrogant, kanja doping young man who was abandoned by his parents when he was young because few astrologers deemed him to be bad luck to his family. He grows up on the cremation grounds of Kasi and was taught that he is part of Siva, the God of destruction in the Hindu mythology. So he grows without understanding any human value or emotion or respect for life.
The movie shows the sad life style of the subjects in gory detail and climaxes with a bizarre “deliverance” of a pathetic blind beggar girl who is violated by her master. The movie doesn’t fail to glorify the psycho who thinks he can kill anyone and remains above the man made laws. The authorities who are there to protect the innocent victims are in cahoots with the beggar leader and are afraid that the sanyasi will “curse” them. So they let him go scot free.
The movie is probably not intended to have any message. However, if you think through the story line a bit, it expresses a half baked understanding of Hindu mythology. The title claims that the Sanyasi declares himself as God and plays the role of the Destroyer to liberate a suffering soul from her earthly life and destroys the evil that causes the suffering. So the title is justified to that extent. However, isn’t the intent of the destroyer also the renewal of life? Per Hinduism, Brahma creates and Vishu grows. Siva completes the cycle by destroying and enabling creation and growth to sustain endlessly. Destruction is never for the sake of just that; violent destruction that doesn’t end anything or enable creating anything. It is here a gap arises in the perhaps unintended message of the movie. Of course an explanation can be offered in terms of Karma of the ‘ill fated’ individuals. This has been the foundation of all problems in India historically. Everything is “understood” and felt pity about, but nothing is done since it is deemed that destiny governs the life of the suffering and some lone hero will come to rescue them. This movie goes down the same beaten path to glorify life of an outcast who in the name of “helping poor souls” kills them without any remorse.
There is no denying of the injustice and the mysticism in the world. I am not sure if it is art to express the failed life of a likely mentally disturbed and disillusioned individual who dwells on death and killing people. The sadness of the story line and the brutality depicted is unprecedented. It is as if the movie is intended to raise your feeling of disgust and make you feel depressed as an after effect. There is little entertainment value in the movie.
The context is unusual, the story is disturbing, the message whether intended or unintended is confused and there is little entertainment value. So what is it that I don’t find in this movie that people are gloating about? If you thought this is a great movie, won’t you let me know please…?!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Habits, Character and Destiny!
"Vellathanayathu malar neetham manthartham
ullatha nayathu uyarvu."
- from Thirukural by Thiru Valluvar
Loosely translated it means,
"Height of a flower (lotus) is decided by the depth of the water
People's greatness is decided by their virtuous character."
Its amazing how Valluvar did not mention talent, intelligence, hard work, courage, charity, education, wealth or any other quality as the deciding factor for one's greatness in life. He singled out the Character as the quality that determines the height of achievements.
This idea seems to have been broken down further in the West.
Watch your thoughts, for they become words
Watch your words, for they become actions
Watch your actions, for they become habits
Watch your habits, for they become character
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny
-unknown
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race"
- Calvin Coolidge
ullatha nayathu uyarvu."
- from Thirukural by Thiru Valluvar
Loosely translated it means,
"Height of a flower (lotus) is decided by the depth of the water
People's greatness is decided by their virtuous character."
Its amazing how Valluvar did not mention talent, intelligence, hard work, courage, charity, education, wealth or any other quality as the deciding factor for one's greatness in life. He singled out the Character as the quality that determines the height of achievements.
This idea seems to have been broken down further in the West.
Watch your thoughts, for they become words
Watch your words, for they become actions
Watch your actions, for they become habits
Watch your habits, for they become character
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny
-unknown
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race"
- Calvin Coolidge
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