A slice of C Devidasan
A Kaleidoscope called Life Life is a mixture of magnificent colours. It is a mosaic of dreams, hopes, aspirations, desires galore, cascading pains, frustrations of Himalayan proportions, a herculean maze of emotions and endless saga of resilience and perseverance where we see fluttering wings of endless efforts of man to make it a success! Thought of sharing with you some things that are beyond of ‘local travel’ stories I am interested in. Have a look at them.
Empathetic Listening
Empathetic listening Empathetic listening is not an achievement, but an accomplishment of the highest order. It should be practiced always, though for coaching, mentoring and counselling, it becomes particularly a fine tool. Empathy is the corner stone from where ‘mindfulness’ percolates and Lord Buddha discovered Buddhism from it. In modernity, two post-doctoral students of Case Western University David Cooperider
and Suresh Srivastava discovered its immense strengths and called it “Appreciate Inquiry – AI” which went on to become one of the finest tools regularly used for building competencies in various fields including leadership development, team building and for building sustainable relationships. HR Personnel often use what is called BEI – Behavioural Event Interview—by asking questions like, “Can you tell me what was your happiest moment in life?” which invariably results in the person’s face lighting up. The answer gives great insights to the person’s inner core. Empathetic listening breeds what is called "Affinity" which brings people together and paves ways for collaborations instead of competitions and causes great many accomplishments! C Devidasan
Adieu! The beauty was immaculate and it resonated all around me with the lingering feeling of love. The fluttering breeze murmured into my ears that the maddeningly lustrous glow will come in to my wavering hands ready to envelope it passionately.
I found it difficult to look away and yearned that the magic would remain…..remain forever. I never realised that the crimson red could become so tantalizingly inviting, deliriously attractive and refreshingly over powering and yet I knew for sure that it would fade away shortly. The simmering waves seemed to absorb the youthful pinkish red as they danced around the seagulls trumpeting in the surfing water. Slowly I saw the crimson red turning bluish, then grayish, then blackish and the Sun embraced the horizon saying, “Adieu my friend, till we meet again!” Affectionately
Article
The Theory of Use It is our ability “to be useful” that makes us “sustain” and “wanted” in this world. If one is useful, he is wanted by his friends, employers, society, family and the world. On the other hand, if one is of “no use,” nobody would want him and he would cease to sustain. Throughout his life, man is in constant exploration to find out ways and means to be useful so that he is wanted….wanted in this world.
From childhood onwards, the education we do, the skill building exercises we undertake or the continued pursuit of knowledge acquisition and sharing at various levels of our life, are all part of mans’ efforts—knowingly or unknowingly, consciously or otherwise, to be useful and retain that ability to be useful. Nature has inbuilt, a grand design inside every individual who wants to be useful, to use that design and be useful. As a matter of truth, one can see nature also following this principle in every moment of our life---when our body becomes useless, you can see even nature discarding it! This is THE THEORY OF USE. Success: If one does not have the ability to be useful, success, simply cannot be achieved. As a matter of fact, the seeds of success are born from the desire, willingness, skills, competency and efforts to fulfil that desire to be useful. The degree of success therefore is squarely dependant on the degree of one’s ability to be useful. This simple aspect can be seen standing out, perhaps as the most strikingly illuminating factor in the professional world and forms the load bearing pillar of personal life. Happiness: Man, since time immemorial has been exploring the very ingredients that constitute happiness and one can see that he still is, relentlessly. Irrespective of the material gains, status, positions or recognition including all the accomplishments man may have got in his life, he can experience true happiness only and only if his actions are useful to the people around. Theory of use in the Self within: When one is unable to be useful to his own self, he loses ‘the purpose of life.’ This is because we live in different ‘lokas’ or worlds in different times even when we live in the same world! In the office, a man is in the professional world, in the house, he is in the world comprising his family. In the house itself, he keeps switching and if he is teaching his son, he moves on to a world where he resolves his son’s issues there and from there when he moves to spend time with his wife, he is in yet another world! When a loss in any of these world is perceived as ‘devastating,’ that could result in a total or partial loss of HOPE and this is the reason we come across people who have done exceedingly well in life sometimes taking their own life! In other words, he fails to be ‘useful’ to his own self and loses the purpose of life. Work: ‘Work’ per se does not exist, it needs to be created. For example, when a Sales man sells better or a cycle mechanic repairs a cycle, they are creating ‘work.’ Corporations are nothing but work created by someone. The single factor that creates work, is one’s ability to be useful! A cursory glance at the corporate sector would bring out several examples of how much theory of use is scrupulously followed there: The interviews for recruitment are simple exercises to know whether the qualifications, skills experience of the person could be ‘useful’ to the company.
The performance reviews are nothing but the evaluation of how much a person has been ‘useful’ to the company. The promotions therefore go to only who are useful to the company and the company itself would sustain and grow only if it is useful to those it is serving….and hence, trainings and skill building exercises to make it more ‘useful!’ Sustenance: The English expression, “Human came from the Sanskrit word, “Manushya” meaning, “That which evolves to create new!” This is because man is always constantly in a state of evolution to create “new” possibilities, new solutions, new situations, new circumstances whenever he faces any challenge of any nature be it is repairing a relationship breakdown, searching for sustaining his business, formulating new strategies, so on and so forth. Every new workable solution he derives indicate that he is being useful and hence he is able to sustain in this world. So, if there is any most sought after quality in any human, it is his ability to be useful! C Devidasan
Travel Diary
“When the Hills bloomed in Magic” : A Trip to Lansdowne, Garhwal It was from my wife Sujata, I first heard about “Lansdowne” a city named after the British Viceroy Lord Lansdowne that lay saddled in the middle of the Garhwal region on the foot hills of the great Himalayas, lying some 250 kms away from New Delhi.
A short getaway to be with the cool nature embraced by the blue Pine and “Devatharu” trees amidst the chirping of birds and whispering winds excited her. As the car began to climb hills leaving behind the plains, we were welcomed by the majestic mountains covered by tall trees in full bloom with their golden yellow flowers all over and I was catapulted into a surrealistic world. I couldn’t help but to stop the car and drink the nectar of the radiant beauty the hills emitted for me to get drunk!
“The trees are known as “Sal” in Hindi and in our language, “Kantha” said a villager and I realized why it is known as “Kantha” because Kantha denotes, “that which illuminates!” Garhwal is known as “Dev Bhoomi” or the “Land of Gods” and the entire region is steeped in myths and legends. It is a land of great antiquity. “The great Indian epic Ramayana gives details of the King Bhagirath taking waters of Ganges down from the mighty Himalayas to the plains. The Mahabharata associates Garhwal with the romantic union of Dushyanta and Shakuntala, the latter having lived in the sage Knnav’s Ashram on the banks of the river Malini in Pauri Garhwal. The Pandavas, according to the epic were born and brought up in the lower Himalyan region, somewhere around Badri-Kedar foothills, and of course had the military training in
the valley of Doon under the Acharya Drona (where most fittingly, the modern India Military Academy came to be established!) The Pandavas are said to have ended their life on earth by ascending the slopes of a peak in western Garhwal called “Swarga Rohini” literally, “The ascend to the Heaven,” said the inscriptions in the “War Memorial Museum,” in the HQ, of Garhwal Rifles in Lansdowne and I read as if I was a famished child who did not get food for several days!
The folklore says that the region was originally known as “KaluDanda” or “Kalu-Grahi” thanks to two mystic saints “Kaluns” who appeared on the hills centuries ago. “Kalu” is “black” and “Danda or Grahi” is the abode or settlement/house. Kaluns therefore were black men and there is a temple called, “Kaleswar temple” on the hills to commemorate them. In 1887 the British named it “Landsdowne” and since then, it remained a military settlement largely. Lansdowne cannot boast of great monuments to offer to a tourist, but -- the divine scenic beauty, pristine nature, the amazing flora and fauna-- is sufficient to beat other hill stations black and blue with the blue Pine trees overlooking from the mountain tops to the great Himalayas!
I fell in love with the place and I am sure you too will, undoubtedly!! War Museum, St Mary’s Church built in 1895, Bhulla lake, Bhim Pokora, Hawa Ghar are however few attractions. On the highest point on the hill called “Tip-in-Top” resides “Gurkha Mess” which offers individual cottages to any soul who want to “getaway!” We also travelled thanks to my friend Dharmendra, to “Tarakeshwar Mahadev” temple, a temple dedicated to a saint who believed to have done penance at an altitude of 1800 ft some 32 kms away from Lansdowne in the dense jungle and I would like to call it an adventurous journey through the scary narrow and precariously dangerous roads that snaked through the high altitudes before we trekked into the jungle to see the shrine.
C Devidasan
Life’s Experiences
THE INN KEEPER. It has been more than 2000 years since the wise men were guided to a manger by a star in the sky where Mary had given birth to a boy by the name Jesus Christ, after she and Joseph were turned away by an inn keeper. In 1984, the great story of Jesus Christ was enacted in a school in New Delhi. Mary was in full pregnancy and along with Joseph she was pleading for a space in the inn to stay for the night. The role of the inn keeper was entrusted to a big fat student, specially selected for this purpose. He looked ferocious and cruel and was ready to turn Mary away.
Mary on her part looked completely drained, tired and fully vulnerable. The inn keeper refused her the room to stay. But she insisted again and again kneeling before him with tears in her eyes to show pity. Joseph too with folded hands requested for a room for the pregnant Mary.
The inn keeper looked puzzled…… Somewhere in his heart a small stream of kindness broke loose. He wanted to send her away, but could not. Finally he came a step forward, near to Mary, held her hands and asked her to rise and said in a wavering tone; “Yes Mary, you can stay in this inn for the night!” The crowd was stunned! This was not the story of Jesus Christ! It was now the turn of Mary and Joseph to look puzzled. They did not know what to do. The Principal of the School did not know what to do. However, after a while she got up, walked deliberately to the stage, picked up the mike and said: “My dear students, today is a very important day in my life. As I stand before you, I experience a deep sense of pride and fulfillment. Jesus Christ was the Messiah of Love, Compassion and peace. He lived spreading these ideals; and even while dying on the cross, taught us to be kind to others. I am happy because ‘the inn keeper’ has displayed that we are not indifferent to the difficulties of others; but indeed we care. He has displayed that you, the children have absorbed the values Jesus Christ has lived and died for. He has displayed that the Son of God has indeed been successful in his mission to earth 2000 years ago. Let the play be terminated, the purpose has been achieved.” C Devidasan
Training Have been a Behavioural Training expert | Speaker | Social Media innovator.
C Devidasan cdevidasan@gmail.com
Search for me on Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/Devidasan-Chathanadath Have over 1 million views on my posts Join me on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/devidasan.chathanadath/ The Speaking Tree of Times of India, the biggest newspaper in India https://www.speakingtree.in/devidasan-chathanadath Carving Talent, my Page | They contain all my HR activities, speeches, trainings, webinar, etc., etc. https://www.facebook.com/Carving-Talent-868105996608707 March 31, 2021