What We Do?

Place: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

Match: India vs Australia

Brad Hogg took Sachin Tendulkar's wicket. At the end of the match Hogg gave that ball to "Sachin" for autograph. "Sachin" signed it with one beautiful sentence: "It will never happen again".

Till this second Hogg could not take his wicket for the second time. After this incident Brad Hogg and Sachin Tendulkar came face to face 21 times. But, he could never get the Master Blaster out.

This is how the status update of one of my connection on Linkedin looked like after the World Cup 2011 Quarter Final Match between: India and Australia.

A brief thought on this gave me a chance to interact with all of you on the title for this post.

Now, how can Sachin Tendulkar or for that matter Brad Hogg be related to: What We Do in our life. But, it is not just about our doing, but, also largely related to our behavior in this society.

Just think about it: Little Master signs a ball with a sentence and he gives his perfect to stick to whatever he had written on that ball.

This news or update might not be holding any truth (I didn’t even try to check about the same), but, at the same time we can just look at the career graph of Master Blaster and indeed he is an example of: Practice makes Man Perfect.

Now, ask yourself a question which forms a title for this post. I asked myself the same and came up with an interesting analysis of human behavior.

Take up an example:

2 friends: A and B. They are fast friends, let say from Graduation days. Now, comes the most hurtful day ever of any graduation student. In a day everything is finished after final examination. Each of them gets on to a different route in search of a destiny. Promises are made: Keep in touch, Stay in contact.

For next 6 months or say 1 year, the contact is kept, but, slowly the link starts weakening itself. A kind of Self Respect gets initiated in each of them which say: Why should I contact, and the count of: Who contacted first to the other one, starts.

Reading this might seem silly to each one of you, but, do agree with this: It happens or is it that we let it happen? Why we expect the other front to contact us at the first place, if we are only not ready to initiate?

There is a saying: Have new friends, but, not at the cost of old ones.

A proverb in hindi: Pyaar karna aasan hota hain, par usey nibhana bahut mushkil.

Sachin did love cricket, but, he didn’t stop at that. He did give everything to the game for last 22 years and is still striving hard to do the same.

Why it happens then with all of us: To make love with friends at the first place and at the time when we are supposed to give justice to the bond made, we just drop off the responsibility.

Again whatever I am saying herein is not applicable only to: Love or Relationships. Look at anything and you would find out that everything under the sun is bound with this.

When was the last time, you gave your perfect to something which was supposed to be done in a team, and didn’t crib about the partner involved in doing it with you?

We always ask someone else to be perfect, but, what about you being perfect at the first place. Do we ever ask our self a question before cribbing about someone: Have we given in our best to the job being done?

I would love to quote herein Peter F Drucker (Father of Management) from his article on “How to Make People Decisions” for HBR (Harvard Business Review) July – August, 1985 edition:

‘If I put a person into a job and he or she does not perform, I have made a mistake. I have no business blaming that person’.

This is my personal favorite, guiding me to try it hard each and every other day of life to be good, I don’t know how much successful I am in this, but, it is never bad to give it in a try.

The quote of Drucker is for professional life. Think of the same in your personal life in a different perspective: If you are not in contact of your very dear friend, for say last 5 years, then: Who is at fault?

I agree other side is at fault, but, at the same time we are also equal shareholder of the wrong done and not the only one side has to be held responsible. But, at the end of the day, it is very easy to crib about someone’s imperfection, than to introspect our own doing.

We can have numerous examples like Little Master, wherein, the commitment to something is not just for the sake of it, but, the responsibility is also carried upon shoulder.

To make it simpler and sound better the title of this post, let me describe you in brief: Want and Need.

Would like to point out the ‘Wants’ of human life, and it never has a red signal to it. A human being is always looking in for:

Good Parents; Good Relatives; Good Friends; Good Education; Good Job; Good Life Partner; Good Children; Good Government; Good System; Good Life and at last, we are so greedy that we want A Good Death also.

Now, how about thinking the other way round, or do we ever give it a try about the Need for us to be:

Good Child; Good Relative to someone; Good Friend of someone; Good Student; Good Employee; Good Life Partner of someone; Good Parent; Good Citizen; Being Good to our own Life and Death also.

As it is not in our control regards to, how one should behave with us, but, at least our own behavior should 

be in control of us.

Would like to share with you a story, by which I am very impressed, and will feel really blessed if someday in my life, I would be able to behave the same. This was narrated by: Prof. Ankita Batla, during one of our MBA Lectures in last trimester, for subject: Managing Mind, Body, and Soul.

A child, (we will call him: Ram), was very much fond of sweets, and used to munch upon them twice or thrice in a day. Ram’s mother was worried due to his habit, and always made an effort that he should be able to cope with his health and there should not be any ill effects of the same on her child. But, somehow she was unable to handle Ram’s habit, and day – by – day; she started getting tensed for his health.

Ram was ardent follower of Gandhiji. So, one fine day his mother thought of sharing the anxiety of hers with Mahatma. She did the same by going with her child to Mahatma’s Ashram in Sabarmati. After listening to her, Gandhiji didn’t comment on the same and asked her to come with child the next week.

She did come with her child the very next week, but, again after listening to her same anxiety, Gandhiji asked her to come the next week. This continued for nearly 6 weeks, but, as Ram’s mother was pretty much worried about his health, she would patiently listen to Mahatma’s words and return every next week.

In 7^th week, after listening to her problem, Mahatma asked Ram to sit near him, and told him in a very calm tone: “Ram, listen to me eating too much of sweets are not good for your health, so please refrain from them as much as possible”.

Hearing this, Ram’s mother was astonished, and in an enraged tone, she asked Mahatma: “What is this, you would have said the same to him, on the very 1^st day also, when I visited you with him for the same purpose. Why you kept calling us then every week, and that too after 6^th week, so plainly asking him to stop the sweets?”

On this Gandhiji answered: “My child, I was also very much fond of sweets the day when you came here for the 1^st time. At that time, I didn’t have any right to ask Ram, to stop eating sweets, as I was also doing the same. All these 6 weeks, I refrained from having sweets, and now I am very much confident that I can be away from the same, so I have got this right now only to ask the same to Ram”.

Ram’s mother had tears in her eyes for whatever she just listened from Mahatma, and touched his feet in gratitude.

Just give it a thought after reading this real life incident of Mahatma’s life, and question ourselves: Do we really stand in terms of: Integrity, Responsibility, and Commitment anywhere near to this great persona.

I have been writing articles/poems on various topics from last around 1 and a half year, but, at the same time a sense of responsibility is shouldered upon me, which sometimes ask me: Do you also stick to whatever written in these posts. As it goes very simple in learning curve of life: Practice as you Preach.

Answer this one now: Who is the best person in this world, who can judge you on your every right/wrong behavior and who can guide you on the right path, if and only if this is done without any biasing?

I am pretty much sure, for everyone it would be they only.

So, give it a try and start introspection of your own self, than someone else, and ask every other day of your life: Is it that I learnt/preached to someone, that I am practicing right now, and you will surely go into a deep thought of: What we do?