Hi Jayesh, This site has several interesting posts by you that were worth reading. In addition, I saw that a lot of the blog entries were dated 2009. What is the story of this site ?
Kailash Khandelwal – Business Owner, Astrology Expert, based in Atlanta, USA.
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I took up to serious writing around 2009. It’s then that I created a blog where I shared some personal experiences and learnings. I kept adding up articles whenever I could, but then there was long break from around early 2020 until 2023.
In January 2024, I decided to bring back this blog to life. It’s no longer limited to my experiences, it’s now about sharing the good things that I come across every day – typically books, articles, quotes – learnings that come in all forms.
When I started, the sole objective of writing this blog was to share with my children, Maahir who is turning 18 on 14th February, and Shourya, 14, what I learnt and experienced. It’s also my personal journal, notes to myself and allows me to look back, and at times relearn what may have been forgotten, the greatest beleif being that no matter what, Life is Beautiful.
Mom, Dad, Me, Purvi, Shourya, Maahir
Jayesh Tekchandaney
tekchandaney@gmail.com
12th February, 2024
PS – The colorful and vibrant Life is Beautiful that’s right on top of the page was created by Maahir in 2009, when he was 3 years old and Shourya was just born. It’s been 15 years since the blog was born.
I’ve often thought about what it is that makes people happy—what one has to do in order to achieve happiness.
1- First and foremost is good health. If you do not enjoy good health, you can never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will deduct something from your happiness.
2- Second, a healthy bank balance. It need not run into crores, but it should be enough to provide for comforts, and there should be something to spare for recreation—eating out, going to the movies, travel and holidays in the hills or by the sea. Shortage of money can be demoralising. Living on credit or borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one’s own eyes.
3- Third, your own home. Rented places can never give you the comfort or security of a home that is yours for keeps. If it has garden space, all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow and blossom, and cultivate a sense of kinship with them.
4- Fourth, an understanding companion, be it your spouse or a girlfriend or a best friend. If you have too many misunderstandings, it robs you of your peace of mind. It is better to accept the differences than to be quarrelling all the time.
5- Fifth, stop envying those who have done better than you in life—risen higher, made more money, or earned more fame. Envy can be corroding; avoid comparing yourself with others.
6- Sixth, do not allow people to descend on you for gossip. By the time you get rid of them, you will feel exhausted and poisoned by their gossip-mongering.
7- Seventh, cultivate a hobby or two that will fulfill you—gardening, reading, writing, painting, playing or listening to music. Going to clubs or parties to get free drinks, or to meet celebrities, is a criminal waste of time. It’s important to concentrate on something that keeps you occupied meaningfully.
8- Eighth, every morning and evening devote 20 minutes to meditation or introspection. In the mornings, 10 minutes should be spent in keeping the mind absolutely still, and five listing the things you have to do that day. In the evenings, five minutes should be set aside to keep the mind still and 10 to go over the tasks you had intended to do.
9- Ninth, don’t lose your temper. Try not to be short-tempered, or vengeful. Even when a friend has been rude, just move on.
10- Above all, when the time comes to go, one should go like a Person without any regret or grievance against anyone.
Life is not just about creating yourself. It is about finding your true self, each time you feel lost. It’s about learning to talk to the person in the mirror, and re-creating yourself every moment, through out this journey. Life is Beautiful. God Bless.
As I watched the Sun set this evening, what struck me was how the rising sun, which brings in so much warmth, energy and sunshine each morning; fades away into oblivion every evening, bringing in a sense of calm and tranquility. The setting sun goes down quietly, with the satisfaction of having completed a hard day’s work, allowing the night to take over ; with the confidence that it will rise again tomorrow, and take charge of a new day, starting afresh with a new beginning.
The experiences of life teach you more than anything else – about yourself, relationships, business, money, health, work, spirituality.
I have always believed that, Life is Beautiful and have realized that no one but you, yourself are responsible for bringing happiness to your life. Happy times may not be always, but you have to be patient and positive, and keep doing your part. At times, you have to let the storm pass by, and just lay low. Don’t try to brave the storm, but don’t give up either. Think with your head, but do not stop following your heart. The important thing is to learn to accept, because not everything is in your control.Circumstances change, people change. Nothing is constant.
You don’t need to be honest with anyone, but yourself. Define your own philosophy, values and principles – and live by them, without bothering or being worried about what others think, because we tend to be judgmental when it comes to others. We have our own perspectives, which are hard to change. Nobody is perfect. We are human, and make mistakes. We are not completely rational, or think only with the mind; we are largely ruled by our emotions. And while true happiness will always lie within, our emotions, feelings and consequently our behaviors are largely influenced and controlled by others – our near and dear ones. Do your part, on the responsibilities towards the family and society, work – because that is the role were chosen to play.
The only person who will be with you all your life, is you, and, you have to take care of yourself.
Sharing a good read, (partially edited) on Lord Krishna. It signifies the importance of living in harmony with the many contradictions of life.
He can play the flute and he can dance, and with the same ease he can fight his enemy in the battlefield with his chakra, his wheel-like weapon. He can play pranks with the girls of his village, running away with their clothes when they are bathing in the river, and he can also make the most profound statements like in the Gita. He can be a thief and a perfect together. Krishna is one person in so many diverse roles — and that is his grandeur, his glory. And this is the uniqueness of Krishna, his individuality.
Krishna is a blending of contradiction, a beautiful synthesis of all contradictions. These contradictions aren’t really contradictory. In fact, all of life’s truth is a blending, a synthesis of contradictions. The whole of life is based on contradictions, and there is no discordance in those contradictions; rather, there is full accord, absolute harmony among them.
We think peace and ‘disturbancer’ are two different things. But are they really different? Where does peace end and disturbance begin? In the dictionary, peace and disturbance, happiness and suffering, life and death, have opposite meanings, but in real life it is peace that turns into disturbance, happiness that turns into suffering, life that turns into death. Again, in real life, disorder turns into order, suffering into happiness and death into life. In real life, light turns into darkness, morning turns into evening and day into night and vice versa.In real life plus and minus are not opposites. In real life, all seeming opposites are complementary, an interplay of one and the same energy. If we can see through this eternal harmony of life, its supreme, sublime music, its significance, then alone can we understand Krishna. That is why we call him the complete incarnation. He is a complete symbolisation of life; he represents life totally.
Whenever someone is fulfilled, after he attains full flowering of life and being, he will necessarily become multidimensional, he will be many persons rolled into one. Whenever someone attains the totality of life, there will be a consistency in his inconsistencies, there will be a harmony in his contradictions. Whenever someone achieves the peak of life, the extremes of life will meet in him with perfect cohesion and unity. We may not see that unity because of our poor vision, but it is there.
With all these contradictions, there is only one Krishna, and that is his greatness and glory. His significance, his greatness lies in the fact that he is all things together, all things rolled into one, all contradictions living hand in hand, and there is a great harmony in all his contradictions.
Excerpts edited fromKrishna: The Man And His Philosophy,Osho Times International, courtesy Osho International Foundation,www.osho.com
“Leaders are readers, and readers are leaders,” echoed Vivek (in 2006), when I told him that I don’t read.
Today, not reading a book each day, matters as much as drinking water or having food. I read constantly, I read in the car, bus, train or the airplane, I read when I am waiting to meet a customer, I read when waiting at the airport, I read when others are watching TV, I read on vacations and business tours, I read before I sleep, I read while having my morning cup of tea, devouring new books and revisiting some that I have read before.
My book shelves at home and office keep over flowing, with the books that I continue to accumulate from book stores, from train stations, from airports, and from road side vendors. It’s hard for me not to stop by and oogle at books when I am around these places. Buying a book is a temptation I find hard to resist.
I read autobiographies, and biographies because I love to be in the company of great men and women who have inspired generations. I read business and management books so that I can implement the best practices at work. I love to read psychology and human behaviour, because I value people and beleive in building strong relationships. I read religion and study spirituality, to understand. I read because I like to lose myself in the book. I read because there’s always something new to learn. I read because the world is changing faster than I can imagine. I read because it inspires me to write.
Living a complete and balanced life depends on making good use of the knowledge that we accumulate. We are constantly and subconsciously guided by the information we consume.It is because of reading books, that I have been able to set and achieve goals that have made a positive difference in the multi-facated wheel of my life. It is the habit of reading that has transformed me, my life, my thoughts, my personality, my work, my relationships, my beliefs, my values and my choices.
Above all, I read because I wish and pray that Maahir and Shourya will read. My books will be the greatest wealth that my children will inherit.
The word “Guru” is derived from the root words “Gu”, which means darkness or ignorance, and “Ru”, which means light or knowledge The Guru is the one who guides us in our journey from darkness to light. The Guru is the experience of Truth (God).
I had always known about the ten Sikh Gurus, the first of whom was Guru Nanak, and the last Guru Gobind Singh. It was only recently, when I read the book “The Lives And Teachings of The Sikh Gurus”, by Harsh Dhillon, that I learned that there are not ten, but eleven Sikh Gurus, ten human and one eternal. The eleventh and eternal Guru of the Sikh religion is Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
I share this note on the eve of on Guru Nanak Jayanti, as an expression of the faith and belief in God that I have been blessed with after reading about the lives and teachings of the Sikh Gurus.
The story of the Sikh Gurus, is that of compassion, selfless service, valour and incomparable noble sacrifices. Each one of the ten human Gurus represents a divine attribute:
Ten-Sikh-Gurus
Guru Nanak – Humility
Guru Angad Dev- Obedience
Guru Amar Das — Equality
Guru Ram Das – Service
Guru Arjan Dev – Self-Sacrifice
Guru Hargobind – Justice
Guru Har Rai – Mercy
Guru Harkrishan – Purity
Guru Tegh Bahadur – Tranquillity
Guru Gobind Singh – Royal Courage
The history and the significance of the eleventh Guru, Sri Guru Granth Sahib is explained in the following text.
The first holy book of the Sikhs, now known as the Adi Granth, was complied on the behest of Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth Guru as an authentic collection of all the teachings and hymns composed by the first five Gurus. The hymns written in the Gurumukhi script, were composed for singing by the Sangat (religious gathering) and each Guru had indicated the Raag (musical tone) in which the composition was to be sung. The hymns in each Raag group were arranged in the chronological order of the Gurus. At the end of the book Guru Arjan Dev included the compositions of Hindu and Muslim saints such as Kabir, Ravidas, Namdev, Farid and others. The Granth was installed with great ceremony in the HarMandir Sahib, the holiest Sikh temple located in Amritsar. Later, Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, made the last addition to the Granth, including the 115 hymns written by Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Change of leadership always creates conflicts and disagreements. To avoid these wrangles and rivalries in the future, Guru Gobind Singh decided that after him there would be no Guru in flesh and blood. The tenth Guru announced, “Sabh Sikham kau hokum hai, Guru manyo Granth” (“We command all Sikhs to hold the Granth to be the Guru”). The holy book then became known as the Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
Sri Guru Granth Sahib
The Guru’s followers came to him to seek guidance in matters of religion and spirituality, and for advice regarding their day to day problems. All the teachings that the Sikhs needed would be got from the Granth which must be regarded as the permanent Guru; an unchangeable point on which they could focus their devotion and from which they could gain spiritual strength. For the day to day matters, the Sikhs could take help from the elected members of the community, known as the panth (panchayat). Guru Gobind Singh said, “Where there are five, there am I, where the five meet they are the holiest of the holy.”
For Sikhs, “Sri Guru Granth Sahib” is the living embodiment of the Guru, and is regarded with the utmost reverence and respect wherever it is found. The Sikhs bow to the Granth when they come into its presence. The sacred verses of Sri Guru Granth Sahib are called Gurbani. In all gurdwaras (place of religious worship of the Sikhs) and many Sikh homes, the Granth is read every day. No Sikh ceremony is regarded as complete unless it is performed in the presence of the Guru Granth Sahib. On a daily basis, Sikhs receive a hukam or divine order in the form of a hymn from the Guru Granth Sahib, either in a Gurdwara or at home. The hukam is the first hymn of the holy book from the left hand page when it is opened at random. Similarly, at the end of a service, after the ardas (Sikh prayer), the Adi Granth is opened at random and a portion is read. Many Sikhs do this daily, regarding the verses as words from God which they will find helpful during the day. This is called vak lao, taking advice.
On special occasions, the Granth Sahib is recited non-stop from cover to cover by a string of readers. This continuous reading of the Guru Granth Sahib is known as an akhand path. It is regarded as the highest and the noblest ceremony in the Sikh religion, and can be performed on any important occasion. It requires nearly 48 hours completing the continuous reading. A saptahak path is a daily reading of Guru Granth Sahib to be completed in seven days. It is sometimes undertaken in private homes as a mark of supplication on special occasions. A sehaj path is a reading of Guru Granth Sahib that can be completed at any length of period beyond seven days.
Guru Granth Sahib remains as a permanent unchangeable guide for all Sikhs as a living Guru or Teacher. It is a representation of the undaunted strength of the Sikh community. Guru Arjan Dev preferred a martyr’s death to saving his life through making alterations in the hymns as required by Emperor Jahangir. Anyone can open the pages of the Guru Granth Sahib and find strength and guidance through His Word: “The Guru is now always with me” (Guru Arjan, Raag Asa)
Written and Compiled by – Jayesh R. Tekchandaney, tekchandaney@gmail.com
Sources and Acknowledgements
“The Lives And Teachings of The Sikh Gurus”, by Harsh Dhillon
Introduction to Sikhism, http://fateh.sikhnet.com/s/SikhIntro
Sri Guru Granth Sahib, http://www.sikhismguide.org/granth.aspx
“If I have seen far, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of Giants”. God has been kind. I feel blessed to have been born in a wonderful and loving family; to have the best of education, and teachers who have touched moved and inspired; friends who have always stood by my side and encouraged; and colleagues who are supportive.
The one thing that has made a difference to my life, it is the habit of setting goals and an unwavering faith is Paul Meyer’s quote, “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire sincerely believe and enthusiastically act up on must inevitably come to pass.”
“Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire sincerely believe and enthusiastically act up on must inevitably come to pass.”
Life was pretty much usual and routine, until one evening in the year 2006, when I met up with my childhood buddy, Vivek Savla. Vivek attended a program on Leadership and Management, and shared with me his learning. He asked me what my goals were. The first thing that came to my mind was about our manufacturing business, and I told him that my goal was to achieve a certain number in business, work hard, to be the best in the field. What else? he asked. I said I wanted to be happy, have a great life, have lots of money, take care of the family. He looked up to me and said, who doesn’t want that? That’s not a goal. That’s wishful thinking.
Honestly, I was lost, I really didn’t know nor did I understand what my goals were. Like me, many of us don’t realize the importance of goals. We don’t have goals because we don’t know how to set them. Often, it is the fear of failure that stops us from setting our goals.
Imagine watching a football game, with 2 teams and 22 players on the field playing the game – a football game with no goal posts. Imagine leading a life, where each day all that we do is get up in the morning, have breakfast, go to work, come home, watch television and go to sleep; wishing and hoping that tomorrow things will get better for us. But that seldom happens, and will not until we take control of our lives and our goals. It was that evening with Vivek, that I learned the greatest lesson of my life – “Set Goals”.
Goals give a sense of meaning and purpose to our life. Goal setting, along with careful planning provides a sense of direction to keep us focused on what we want and to work towards its achievement.
Our life has many facets – all of these can be classified in 6 major areas; personal, professional, spiritual, physical and mental, family and social, financial. For a meaningful and successful life, we should set goals in all of these areas.
For example, my personal goal is be a bestselling author, a motivational speaker, and coach. My professional goal is to take our company to a leadership position in the field of mixing equipment in India and across the world. My spiritual goal is to remain calm and My Goals – 2015 at all times; my physical goal to maintain health and fitness levels so that I can run the marathon at any given time;, my social goal is to touch, move and inspire all those who look up to me and to make a positive difference to their lives by sharing my blessings. To be honest, my reason for me sharing this with you today is to work towards achieving my personal and social goals.
Written goals are the seedbeds of accomplishment. The important thing while setting goals is that you need to write them, because writing your goals forces you to crystallize and clarify your thinking. It is said that the human mind has more than 60,000 thoughts each days. Writing down the thoughts which matter, helps you focus on what is necessary and keeps you on course. Written goals form the basis of measuring progress. Written goals produce motivation. Written goals form the basis of an action plan. Above all, written goals stimulate visualization.
Goals to me are SMART dreams. By SMART, we me Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound. A goal has be specific, it has to be clearly defined. A goal has to be quantifiable – something that can be measured, it has to be achievable and attainable within a lifetime, it has to be realistic – something that can be experienced in reality. Above all, the goal is a dream with a deadline for achievement. It is time bound.
How then do you set goals and write them? When you begin to set goals, write down your dream list. A dream list will have everything that you wanted to have – a loving family, a big house, promotion at work, more money; a dream list will have everything you would like to do – grow you business to the next level, enjoy a vacation at your favorite destination. Just write down everything that you would like to have and do, as if there are no limitations at all.
Once you have written your dream list, you need to write them down as your SMART goals.
For example, my dream is to have a BMW car. But my SMART goal is “To drive my own BMW, 5 Series, White Color, by December 22, 2017”. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound.
I am often asked, “If it was so easy, why don’t most people achieve their goals?”
The answer to this question is explained in my favorite quote, by Paul Meyer, “Whatever you vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act up on must inevitably come to pass.”
The starting point of attainment of all goals is having an ardent desire. Your desire for the goal must be so intense that it will energize you to take action. It will give you the inner strength and drive to overcome any obstacle that lies between you and your goal.
The greatest obstacle that lies between you and your goals, is your lack of self belief. For achieving your goals, you need to believe in yourself and in your abilities. To overcome the negative thoughts and emotions that may crop in, you need to take complete responsibility for your situation. Once you accept total responsibility for your life, there are no limits on what you can be, do or have. Every step that your take with responsibility towards your goals builds your belief that you can set and achieve even bigger goals in the future.
Often people set goals, but don’t achieve them. This is because they don’t take the action required to achieve to goals. The most important aspect of achieving your goals is taking action, with enthusiasm. Having set your goals, you need to create an action plan for their achievement. You need to prioritize your goals, make a list of all tasks that have to be completed for accomplishing the goal, schedule time and set deadlines, create measures and standards to track progress, build the competency and skills required for achieving the goals, exercise self-discipline, identify obstacles and their possible solutions, identify people, groups and organizations who can help you in achieving your goals. Work hard to achieve your goals. There is no substitute to hard work. Action with Passion, Patience and Persistence is the key to achieving your goals.
My personal experience is that when you are absolutely clear about your goal, you do not even need to know where and how to achieve it. By simply deciding what you want, you will begin to get attracted towards your goal and your goal begins to move towards you.
Set Goals and take charge of your life. I’ll be happy to have achieved my goal through your’s.
God Bless
