Stick and Rise

-

Photo from Nainital with inspiring text

A few days ago when I received news that another college mate of mine ( a year junior to me) Avinash Chander had risen to the highest position in a most prestigious government organization of India ( the Defence Research and Development Organization), my mind went back to the professional career of some of my friends as well as mine. From amongst my friends those who joined an organization, national or international, corporate or governmental it was those who had stuck to a single organization who rose eventually to either very senior positions in these organizations or to their very top becoming famous not just in the countries they worked in but also around the world. We were all graduates of one of the prestigious schools of India, the IIT at Delhi.  I too have headed some organizations towards the end of my professional career but these are not very large ones. The main reason is that I have not stuck to any one organization, preferring instead to explore the world working in more than one university and my diverse interests concerned with spirituality and life while at times working as an independent professional.

When I was about to graduate from school, and later university, my father had repeatedly suggested that I choose an organization, first the army and later the civil services for a career following in the footsteps of some of my other relatives and ancestors who had excelled in their careers. I flatly refused and chose freedom instead, exploring the world and working as an academic in more than one university of more than one country while taking time off for Himalayan sojourns or writing a book, even a novel.

It is not suggested that merely sticking to one organization is a sufficient condition to rise to its senior most  positions or position. Much else, including diligent service is required. Instead, what is suggested is that it is a necessary condition for very many organizations. Had I too stuck to one, it is possible that I might have risen to its senior most level but one thing is for sure, in that case this blog would not have been possible because the diverse experience that made it possible would not have been there. Remaining at one place implies that we repeat the same moves over and over and over again rather than practice different strokes Not that there is anything wrong with that.That is a way to peace and stability for many. Our planet has been doing that with its orbit around the sun for endless years.

Now in retiring years, when I look back at life, I realize that there is one career I might have stuck to and enjoyed and that is the National Forest Service, because of in all my  activities, professional or otherwise, spending time in thickly forested areas of our planet has given me most peace and happiness as has planting trees and see them grow. If this is in the mountains it is even more delightful. As a forest service official it would have been a part of my job and I would have got paid to do it as well as had the vast government facilities and resources at my disposal for the purpose.

Well anyway next time around. That is why we need reincarnation :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

From Birds to Telepathy

-
Image
  Sparrow by  Laitche T he house that I live in presently was built in stages  beginning in 1991 during  vacations and sabbaticals in my career. By 1995, the ground floor of the house was more or less complete except for some finishing that continued later. In the center of the roof of the living room was a hole meant for a center light. To hide the protruding wires a small round plastic sheet covered it with another circular hole in the center of it for the light. A similar one existed in the front porch of the house. I lived in the house through most of 1995 with frequent visits of three or four days to Delhi. At this time a pair of house sparrows occupied the porch roof cavity and made it their home. There were no complaints about that since it was not intended to fix a light there in a hurry. Sparrows are cute little birds anyway and I often leave seeds out for them in the garden. Sometime later the female of the pair moved into the living room cavity and began
Read more

The Palash Tree - Magic of Medicinal Herbs and Flowers and Back Pain

-
Image
The Palash Tree Flower B efore modern medicines became prevalent, humans treated many ailments with flowers, leaves, roots and barks of plants and trees. Ayurveda,  an ancient Indian medicinal science, makes use of many herbs and plant materials without substantial extraction of active ingredients as modern medicine does. The idea is that additional compounds in a medicinal or edible plant is an organic whole and a part of life that supports other life.  The complimentary compounds appear to play a useful balancing role whereas individually extracted and isolated compounds can be harmful. A modern example in wide use as food is sugar, a pure chemical isolated from the juice of sugar cane. Indeed there is no food or herb that does not contain a compound or two that could be from mildly to extremely dangerous if isolated and consumed but is beneficial as a group with other compounds. That is the reason why alcohol distilled from a natural fermented fruit juice and then dilu
Read more

Spirituality and Evil

-
Image
Albert Einstein   " A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe,” a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The striving to free oneself from this delusion is the one issue of true religion. Not to nourish it but to try to overcome it is the way to reach the attainable measure of peace of mind.”   Albert Einstein I t is so much nicer to talk of beautiful things that exist on our lovely planet that it is really a pity that I had to write this post that touches on something that to me is evil. Nevertheless I have written it because if an evil is ignored it is difficult to eradicate it. The evil I am referring to is about the denial of freedom of belief and imposition of beliefs on people and that is something even the followers of the greatest of religions on earth have not been free of though they have done so much g
Read more