Wholehearted Tribute to Acharya Shri Mahapragya ji 🙏🙏🙌

With approaching  100th post here, and celebrating 100 years Birth Centenary of great Acharya Shri Mahapragya ji - can not have more beautiful coincidence and more beautiful reason to pay tribute to the great man, great saint of this century.

Acharya Shri Mahapragya ji was the tenth Guru of Jain Shwetambar Terapanth Sangh, born in a small village Tamkor in Rajasthan, inspired by the religious inclination and spirituality of his mother, decided to enter monk hood at the early age of ten. And from there onward started his journey of  enlightenment. He was fortunate to receive the guidance of Acharya Shri Tulsi which led to acceleration of his intellectual development.

His life was a great inspiration in every sense. One of the mantra of Mahapragya ji was 'Walk, Acquire, and Give' - also quoted by our former president Late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, who was also influenced by him. Walk signifying travel continuously, Acquire is to gain the knowledge and Give symbolizing giving and contributing whatever you can to the society. He was the greatest preacher of Ahimsa and throughout his life encouraged people to follow the path of Ahimsa. He was a firm believer that the root cause for all the problems prevailing in the world such as crime, poverty, pollution, war, etc. is brutal and violent thinking. The spark of  Ahimsa ignited by him speeded across the nation. Per him, Non Violence and Ahimsa would lead to world peace, all harmony, mental health therapy, and morals and can turn out to be life changer. Currently where the world is terrorized by the pandemic Coronavirus, Mahapragya ji had spoken about this in one of his speeches 50 years ago that if there will be so much of violence in the world, then the war will not happen through arms instead it will be from virus.

Acharya Shri came up with the solution of Ahimsa Yatra, and covered thousands of Kilometres journey on foot to advance the principle of Non Violence and Ahimsa.
His aura and persona was that of a great scholar but he never got a chance of attaining any formal education. He laid the foundation of courses like 'Science of Living'  which aimed at improved efficiency in studies and better  concentration and stress management. Also, Mahapragya ji was a proficient writer and has authored close to 300 books. His work dealt with meditation, spirituality, human psyche, Yog and Sadhna, Mantrasadhna, and much more. Also he had strong command on subjects like philosophy, economics, politics and that too has written with equal depth and power in these subjects as well. His vision could be seen by his work. He has also co-authored one book with former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam named as 'The Family and the Nation'. Mahapragya ji extensively believed in Preksha meditation, same can be read in many of his books, he firmly practiced meditation along with its different techniques.

Birth and Death are very normal, not in our control but what is vital is life. Life full of influence, service, sacrifice and meditation. And that is how Mahapragya ji's life was. All his teachings are still alive among us. Heartfelt homage to such Mahapurush Acharya Shri Mahapragya ji.

Below is the video showcasing our honorable Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, paying tribute to Acharya Mahapragya ji on his birth centenary.
Amidst all the tensions prevailing due to Indo China attack resulting into violence everywhere, the silent and balanced approach chosen by our PM to speak for the great saint Acharya Shri Mahapragya ji who showed and preached the path of Ahimsa and Non violence - is worth a praise and deserves a big salute.

P.S. This post is referential created with the help of few references and sources.

My first flurry :)

Building this post from my beautiful memories. An experience I wanted to jot down since quite some time. And let me tell you, the amount of joy and excitement I was infused with, at that time, I can still recollect it all. Seeing Snowfall, though might look to be minute wish, but was something that I had wanted and waited  to envisage since my childhood and finally got the opportunity (yes would call it a 'golden chance') on my U.S visit. Not just one extreme but many many in series. That's the glory of staying  in a State that is known to throw freeze warning off and on with the minimum temperature crossing  '-40 degrees centigrade'. Yes, that's true.

Well, let me quickly jump on to pour some words encompassing my lovely experience.

 Misty and frosty weather outside, one crazy  weekend to ease

Yearning for that wintry chill, wait of years to accomplish

Finally appeared tiny flakes dropping, draped in all white

In elation I leaped sneaking through the pane, staring with amaze

Rushed through my closet to cover with furry fleece and boots, not to forget gloves and hat

Straight ran down for wider view, spreading my arms to feel the delight

Tender and fluffy hail I started to play with, juggling the snowballs all with joy and thrill

Flurry it was such soft and cuddly, falling one by one to kiss the land gently

Loved the lasting of fall for the day whole, it was my first after all

Underneath the snowy sky, standing to capture the sight, craving for the perfect shot

Racked up  the courage to request the anonymous for few clicks, was something not to be missed 

Riding with glee and waiting for more, thinking of the magic of nature

Yes that was my encounter with blanket of snow, time now to head to dreams that come true..!!!

Human without Humanity???

With so much happening around , looks like 2020 should already be termed as year of turmoil. So much negativity prevailing, every day we are waking up to some shocker or the other. Especially since when this Corona thing has started, it seems like world peace is alarmed. We are waking up to the news of increasing death toll across the globe, migrants battle,  forest fires, border tensions,  locusts attack, cyclone warnings, shaky earthquakes, riots, racism attacks, mass protests, mayhem, and what not- all leading to disaster. Still people are instilled with enough courage and hope that they can fight all this, adopting all safety measures they would emerge as true warriors, this pandemic is not as deadly as it was thought. Every one is running behind a crucial agenda of saving human lives and that's what we have been taught. The global economy coming to a standstill ,worldwide business facing crisis because they say life is of utmost importance, hence all infeasible efforts to save humans.

But, amongst all this, am just forced to question myself, will human count to any value without  littlest of humanity being left. Yes, and I think this is the ask of the hour and each one us should be posing to same quest from within our inner selves.

Woken up to the below piece of news today which totally led to a wave of utter shock, totally unbelievable and brutal act by  a group of monsters who call themselves humans

"A pregnant elephant was fed cracker stuffed pineapple by unidentified people in Kerala which exploded in her mouth, damaging her jaw and eventually took her life."

Just imagine the amount of grieving and pain the poor life had to undergo just because she was speechless, she was hungry, she was innocent, and after all she was just an animal??? Has Human  become this superior today that he can take life out of any living soul?? How can one even think of committing such a heinous crime?? At this point, can't visualize anything more inhumane and cruel that can happen.The act has surpassed all the limits of barbarism. Have we completely lost humanity?? Right to Education is being questionable when such heart wrenching incidents occur in the state that accounts for literacy rate of 93%, the state that is known as 'Gods own country'.  Sheer irony it is, all education and morals leading to such immorality. With the lack of empathy and kindness, nobody deserves to be called as human. There would be no purpose of saving population just for the sake. We have no right to hurt any existing life on this planet. These innocent souls have looked upon us since ages for food, shelter and all support we have provided to them. We can't lose that trust and let such ruthless incidents to happen.Search is still on for those heartless monsters, definitely they must be having the devil's horns on their heads. 

 Considered myself a thick-skinned but such horrified incident has perplexed me to vent the agony and unfortunately we do not have any solution. This is so much disturbing. Can just wish for the guilty to be punished soon with the worst possible way exposing to strictest of the laws. We can't let go such vicious crimes of betrayal. Justice needs to prevail at any cost.

Passion vs Profession??

This piece of mine can be treated as a random ranting or rambling . A general perception that led to the flow of series of thoughts.

'Engineer by chance and blogger by choice' - read a tagline or let me be true to you all, I somewhere feel this for me. And same could be story of many.

This is an age long battle, strongest of the dilemmas to follow passion or not, and seems to be a reality check now. Always there has been a thick line difference between passion and profession. But despite that many of us in fact most of us tend to give up our passion. And I completely follow it's one of the toughest choice indeed and thus has been a chapter for strong debate over years. We are bound to enfold our dreams knowingly or unknowingly. Because the fight always has been is what we love will not pay us as much.  So eventually one has to chose between passion and pay , pay to yield benefits that may support  good living. This leads to burial of innumerable dreams. But always we should not stand to blame anyone, as there might be valid set of logic behind this for most of the cases. Various factors contributing  the inclination towards booming professions and career options may include parental pressure, peer pressure, financial liabilities, responsibilities, late realization, and other related situations. Though 'pressure' is the only one here which might be dreadful. But, the end result is that the passion is crushed somewhere in the journey, journey in the pursuit of success. Though we may have to pay a heavy price and face endless struggle in the race of reaching new heights, and of course many fail in the same as well. The one question we need to ask ourselves is that is this the right parameter to measure success. How long one can sustain leaving behind the undone dreams and aimlessly running behind money. Though success thus achieved is capable of fulfilling the needs but the joy is very short-lived indeed. The contentment and the feeling of self accomplishment  achieved on pursuing passion is definitely incalculable. But pondering upon the factors that led to choose the career path can not be ignored even. If not always, many a times, the helplessness and compulsions traverse us to unusual path. And if that's the scenario, barring any sort of pressure, I personally don't think there's any wrong in choosing the way out  that would assist in paying the bills which in turn holds true essence for the survival. Keeping in mind that one is able to seek absorption in the chosen path thus possessing relevant skills which would be needed to be engrossed and achieve delight. In short all efforts to be made so that the interest keeps on dwelling. This may sound stupid though. Amongst all this, the point to be emphasized here is not to forget our passion, if within ourselves we hold perseverance to achieve big, we should be capable enough to keep that dream alive, though taking it as a parallel rather than mainstream job. So, to my belief it's never late to revive the lost passion, why letting it perish.

But yeah, highly fortunate are those who are privileged to make  worthy livings out of passion.

Taking best out of CORONA..!!!

With the ongoing pandemic Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) hard hitting the entire world, several critical steps are being taken by the governments of all the impacted nations to slow down and eventually stop the transmission of the virus. Few specific terms we've been prominently hearing now are Quarantine, Isolation, social distancing, Lock down, face masks, hand wash, etc. And  owing to the factors such as contagiousness of the infection ,no such treatment or vaccine being available as of now, the exponentially growing active cases, and increasing death tolls, it's really high time that people understand the severity and seriousness of the spread and strictly observe the prescribed guidelines.

The 21 day imposed lock down might seem to be burdensome to many, agreed that we are not used to confine ourselves into restricted boundaries, but this is the ask of the hour and the only solution at the moment to break the infection chain and defeat this deadly virus , also proclaimed by the experts.

Just wondering that if this lock down period and self isolation can be utilized in introspection and sharing the thought process on some of the areas. Also the intent lies in reflecting positivity. Penning down the few thoughts here.

• Advice to use face masks - It's recommended that person infected with COVID-19 should wear masks to prevent spreading it to someone else. If we try to dig into Jainism, will learn that the Jain saints cover their mouth with a mesh/cloth/mask aka Muhapatti (mouth cloth) with an intent to avoid inhaling and killing of insects or any living being through the process of breathing. This also prevents any harm done to the microbes. So, I believe that  a certain part of our culture is already compliant to what the whole world is being advised to observe today.

• Maintaining Social Distancing - this being one of the major factor in order to prevent the spread of COVID. If we take a step back and take a look at our Indian tradition, when there wasn't any western impact, the only way of greeting was a 'Namaste' - with joining hands -which has been adopted by the globe today thus ditching handshakes and hugs.  Also, recently read somewhere that  "When we put our hands together and hold it close to the heart, it stimulates the heart 'chakra'. The 'Namaste mudra' benefits the thoracic region, including the immunity of the lungs", thus with 'Namaste' going viral, definitely it's a sense of pride for us.

• Appreciating the front line workforce - 'Stay at Home' has become worldwide motto. But there is a force that is available to work and serve to keep the things going in such trying times. Be it the healthcare professionals like doctors, paramedical staff, nurses, technicians, pharmacists, etc., or policemen , civil servants, delivery persons, grocery workers, sanitary workers, media and many more. They all tend to provide essential services and act as first respondents, thus are lifelines in this situation. They truly deserve huge gratitude and heartfelt thanks with immense appreciation.
• Work From Home - with this lock down, Work from Home/Work at Home feature has emerged as a mandate and not a choice anymore. Many sectors, though observing this for the very first time. This would definitely change the way we have operated , from traditional way of working to getting connected virtually will definitely change everyone's perspective, taking us a step ahead towards globalization, it has much more to offer beyond increased flexibility and productivity.
• Innovation at its best - with surge in the count of COVID-19 cases, there has been an increase in the need for  isolation facilities - Indian Railways have come up with an inventive solution to meet this demand. Rail coaches to be converted into quarantine hubs - this would definitely prove to be a resourceful solution that was utmost required in this situation.

• Changing attitude - Have observed that people are becoming more empathetic towards each other, be it neighbors or family and friends. They are coming forward extending  concern and help in best possible ways during this  stressful situation which in turn is a very positive sign. This quality was gradually shrinking amidst our busy lives.
• Opportunity for Indian market - COVID-19 has vastly impacted the global economy and has created a huge void by disrupting the supply chain network. With China's production activities getting disturbed -this may create a set of new opportunities for manufacturers  and industrialists esp. Indian market to attract foreign business and investments.

Thus, the list can go on and on with more thoughts to ponder upon. But seems to be good for now. Help the nation fighting this invisible virus by Staying at Home. Unleash your potential, explore your talent, know your inner self, incline towards spiritual devotion, be a supporting hand for family, and most importantly Stay healthy and Take care!

Had an urge to post something..and after turning on the thinking cap for some time, thought of putting up few lines that I had penned sometime back for my Great Grand Father - who has been a true source of inspiration for our entire clan. Though he may not be present among us, but he is the one power that has tied his generations with an intense bond.
Though these are very generic lines but these words are so true that they make me proud - proud to be part of his generation, offers a great learning and motivates me till depth whenever I listen about his stories -be it his business vision or his personal accomplishments.
Had written these lines for the website that is being designed to depict the business goals and lists all the trading firms that are being operated by his multi generation family as of today spread across different parts of the nation.

Shri Pem Chand Ji Baid – an iconic figure from the history of Baid Genealogy, a man with eminent characteristics, conferred with enormous sanity and intelligence.

He was the man bestowed with immense wisdom and intellect. Countless incidents we have heard of, where he exhibited super heroic strength during the times of struggle, always standing as a backbone for family.

Always showcasing patience, he had a very composed personality. All his success stories till date imbibes into the growing minds of his fourth generation of kids, implanting a spark of inspiration. Showering love and affection in abundance was one of his distinct qualities that would be adored by generations.

A flourishing empire enriched with values of harmony and peace is something he always envisioned of. He was the one who valued other members opinion before taking any business decision, and thus gave every one an equal in depth opportunity to think independently. His philosophy and intelligence reflected through the strong business sense he carried. As an outcome we can see that it’s all due to the great learning from him which has let his generations uplift the pillars of success thriving in this world with a weave of skills and competency.

To us, he truly is the man behind the growth of ‘Baid Lineage’. He indeed was a person with silver in his hair and gold in his heart.