Lord Ganesh and Lord Kartikey story: Lessons or Morals for Kids

Once, Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartikeya had a race who can take three rounds of the world first would win. Lord Ganesha took 3 rounds of his parents, Lord Shiva and Paravati mata and won the race with his intelligence. The story can be shown to kids by clicking this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB-CRcY1bVw

This story has deeper meaning but for discussion with children, following paints can be taken: 

TAKE BLESSING OF YOUR PARENTS:

Always take blessings of your elders by touching their feet in the morning. Hard work of Lord Kartikeya was “0” in the story, that of Lord Ganesh “1”. So, if you take blessings of your elders, you add “1” to “0”; it becomes “10”.

LISTEN TO YOUR PARENTS:             

Now-a-days, you have so much knowledge that you might surpass your parents in operating gadgets, recharging the phone, explaining the how rain comes, or electricity is produced, etc. You might get a sense of pride and even think you are better than your parents.

However, you should never forget that you have the knowledge and your parents have wisdom. They have seen the world more than you, so NEVER THINK THAT YOU KNOW MORE THAN YOUR PARENTS.
1. You might know how to operate the laptop, ipads, or mobile, but when your parents say that you should not use these gadgets for more than one hour, you should listen to them. You might not get time to finish your homework or prepare for an exam next day.

2. You know how to switch on TV yourself as you grow bigger, but your parents know that if you see so much TV, it can be bad for your health and eyes.

3. Small kids: You might know how to put the gas/oven/microwave on, but never disregard when your parents say DO NOT try to use them without the supervision of adults.

4. Small kids: You might think you know to use scissor or knife, but never do it without the supervision of parents. Eg of kid who was trying to open a toy with the knife and he got hurt badly.

NEVER GIVE UP BEFORE TRYING:

Lord Ganesha could have given up before trying because his vahana was a mouse and that of Lord Kartikeya is peacock. But Lord Ganesha accepted the challenge and used his intelligence.

Same way, you can use your intelligence to solve difficult problems. But if you give up before trying you would never find a solution. This especially applies to maths questions. They might look complicated, but once you use your brains, you would know they are so easy to solve.

MAKE BEST OF WHAT YOU HAVE:

You always find the excuse of not finishing a project, by saying I don’t have a special pencil, wire or paper or for that matter any particular thing that your friend has and keep on troubling your parents to get that for you. Instead first think how can I make best of things I have right now.

Acknowledgement: I express my heartfelt gratitude to the group of enlightened group of Mahatmas called Jivanmuktas,  for bestowing me with the knowledge that I could write this article. Many thanks to the LORD for choosing me as an instrument to spread this knowledge.

E. Sreedharan is known as metro man of India after successfully completing Delhi Metro project at breakthrough speed and lowest possible costs. His biography just came out and is aptly named as KaramYogi. The epithet Karmayogi describes nothing more than the essence of his spirit. He has scaled the pinnacle in his professional career, discharged his duties towards his family and, above all, kept healthy habits and his integrity as a person— indeed, he is an amalgamation of actions and qualities that make for an impeccable human being. He has the weakest of the weak members of society factored in when he handles projects worth hundreds of crores. This is the reason why a large number of lay people rally proudly behind him as he stands tall, like Arjuna on the side of righteousness in the many battles of Kurukshetra. He would not hurt anyone with word or deed, and was a calming presence and a towering source of hope for many. He insists that all his accomplishments belong not to him, but to the common people who are the real stakeholders in all his endeavours. You could read the distilled essence of his life’s journey from the Yoga Vasishta Ramayan quote framed in his office: Karyam karomi, Na kinchit aham karomi (I perform the deed. But I am not the one who does it.)


Given below are key takeaways from his book;

God Helps us thru people, and we just have to hear them: God doesn't come in his personal form, but he helps us thru people around us or provides us guidance thru our inner conscious. When E. Sreedharan was re-building Pampan bridge, the largest sea link in India(before Worli sea link) that was ravaged by the cyclone. He was given an aggressive deadline of 3 months when the duration to procure 126 lost girders was more than six months under normal circumstance. At this time, the local fisherman came to him with news that they have found washed away girders not too far from the coastline.  He could see the god's will and went with them on an expedition to find them. Under shallow and a clear sea he could clearly see the girders and none of them were damaged. Locals fisherman overjoyed with their discovery and a possibility that they can help build the bridge faster helped find all of 126 of girders, which helped Sreedharan build the bridge in 46 days vs a very challenging target of 90 days.

Linking to higher purpose thru scriptures: In project delivery, Sreedharan would gift each officer at the executive level a copy of the Bhagavad Gita.  Sreedharan did not distribute the Gita to endorse a particular religion in his organisation. He cherished the work as the foundational document of management practices with which to run his organisation. There was no better way to convey the message of fulfilling one’s karma in order to be beneficial to society while also finding avenues to refresh oneself. The gift inspired its readers to brush all mounting troubles aside and immerse themselves in their duty. On Mondays, during the meeting of the department heads, the recitation of shlokas and discourse on them was a usual practice. Sreedharan had always believed in and championed the need to inculcate and reinforce such values in people, even during his school days.

Fight for your right: Its about the principles, when Sreedharan was on deputation under the shipping ministry as a CMD on deputation from the railways. Sreedharan joined the shipyard while he was a chief engineer in the Indian Railways. The rank of CMD was higher than that of a chief engineer in the railways. During the interview, Sreedharan was promised the salary of a CMD, which the Ministry reneged on as soon as he assumed the position. They let him know that their intent was to give him a salary commensurate with his position as a chief engineer of the railways. The broken promise and the attempts to justify his lower salary by a posting made by way of deputation had irked Sreedharan. It was not that he wanted money, but he would not shy away from fighting a battle that was righteous.

Dharma to him is being in the thick of action without concerning oneself with personal gains; it is about finding out what is best for the common good and submitting oneself to its fulfilment with great responsibility and excellence. He has rejected multiple offers from private sector firms to like to his principle of serving the society vs going for personal gains

God Help those who help themselves: Polish your professional skills and do not let it go out of date was his mantra. One such example is how he built his technical mastery, first by funding his trip to Japan to learn about metro,  when he was part of Kolkatta metro team. He would always know the rule of the book to ensure he can manage his adversaries with knowledge vs force.

Never Criticize: In 2013 when corrupt lobby wanted to oust Sreedharan from Kochi metro project. He had never uttered a word in public against his detractors. He would repeat his message firmly, as befitting a battle-wise warrior, in his inimitable style: he merely wanted to finish the project without delay and without corruption, simply for the benefit of the people. The plotters had nothing to do but to beat a retreat, admitting defeat. Those who wrote off Sreedharan as just another project manager or a civil engineer capable of executing big projects were handed a loud and clear message that his name had found its way into the hearts and minds of the people at large, and could not be dismissed.

Honesty: Mostly people define honest is to keep themselves away from the wrongdoing. But, according to Sreedharan, honesty is not a state where corruption is absent, but actively taking a stand to benefit the institution and society for the long term. He says, be honest in your private and public life in such a way that you don’t need to try hard to convince anybody.

Importance of Time and Decision making: Almost all project he lead were completed on time. He stuck to his policy of taking the rigorous decision at the right time. It did not matter if it was right or wrong; it was more important to be able to make a decision. Many a time, Sreedharan would thrust his nose into highly complex situations faced by his deputies to help them make timely decisions.

Trust your team; you would be paid in full: He spent the time to choose the right people, once in team was given full autonomy to take the decisions. No minutes were kept of the meetings as a proof of the trust to his people, which was visible by the commitment of the people


The learnings are endless, and he is a role model for all youngsters. I would encourage you to take a leap and buy a copy of his autobiography of this living legend 

4 life lesson from Rubik Cube- learn everyday

I bought my son a Rubic cube to take his time away from TV. After showing him how to make one side of the Rubik's cube, he asked me how to make all six sides of the cube. Voila!! I didn't know that! I decided to solve all six sides of Rubik cube myself. But to my surprise, it was not easy; It took me multiple attempts to get it right! In this process, I learned four valuable lessons that I am sharing with you:

1. Role Model: When we are playing a role of a leader in the organisation or as a parent at home, every new challenge is an opportunity to role model what we want them to do. We need to get out of preaching mentality and teach them with our actions. I always teach my son; everything can be learned if you put your heart, head and perseverance. This was my time to put these principles into action.

2. Follow the guidelines even if you cannot understand them: Rubik cube can be solved with a combination of moves that you can understand and many algorithms that you do not understand. I followed many moves by memorising them, gradually the reason behind those moves unveiled to me. Isn't this applicable to many situations in our life? Many times in life we want to understand before we do anything, it works, but slows down our learning curve. On the other hand, if we follow the master/guru we learn at an accelerated pace, and as we transcend to a higher level of understanding, things start to make sense. I realised that learning begins when we surrender our ego. As they say, you cannot connect the dots moving forward you can only connect them moving backwards.

3. Perseverance is the key to success: I must admit that it was not easy to learn the cube even by looking at the videos. If you make one wrong move, you have to start again. These multiple iterations are frustrating, but with a perseverance of doing it again, and again I was finally able to solve it. It taught me that perseverance is more critical than overrated intellect. 

4. Reflect back: As I decided to share my experience in this blog, I learnt that reflection is important to learn in life. This small incident taught me so many things that I would have missed If I would not have taken the time to reflect back on the whole episode. For me personally,  taking time away from mobile/internet activity was an important step to start experiencing and enjoying life.

Well, every moment of our life teaches us something, we just have to open our eyes and grab the opportunity!!

Goodness is always responded by the Almighty!! 

Most of the times we think, how my small act of kindness is going to make any difference in this world, which seems to be in an abyss of selfishness. The story shared by my dear friend Amit, only strengthened my faith every act of kindness is responded by the almighty in special ways..


This is a story of three kind hearts: They found this newborn pup near the smoking zone of their company compound. The little one was trying to negotiate the scorching sunlight by hiding in the corner of a wall. When enquired, it was discovered that he was rescued from a pit by a housekeeping person. Separated from his mother, the poor creature had a rare chance of survival. 

The guys fed him with milk and placed him in a safer place to avoid direct sunlight, with a promise to come back in evening. They decided to carry him home and shelter him until he grows a little more and could walk of his own. However, in a rarest of feats; the mother dog arrives the moment these guys make an attempt to pick him up. (She came wandering there for food or may be in search of her lost piece of heart). The little one was elated, suddenly felt a surge in his energy and immediately jumped towards his mother and started cuddling and sucking milk. Probably the only thing he would have longed over all these hours.

Happy ending!! We come across many such situations everyday in our lives but with a little compassion, we can actually change somebody's life. We do our part and what we call as miracle, shall be automatically performed by the LORD!!

The story of three kind hearts, namely Kulbhushan, Vanshaj and Subhojit

Contributed by Amit Jain

Life is a puzzle!!!

Isn't life a puzzle that has to solved at every moment?

Yesterday, I bought a 3D puzzle for my 6-year-old, and it turned out to be a nightmare to resolve. The complete family tried to put the pieces of puzzles together. However, we were unsuccessful till the midnight and had to leave it.

Next morning, our son was not satisfied wanted to solve the puzzle, and the family came over to rescue! In the beginning, it looked impossible to solve, but as the each part joined, it fueled our enthusiasm and determination to complete it.

As we were in this process, a realization dawned on me, had I given up the first day thinking the puzzle to be unsolvable, could I ever have the satisfaction of meeting up this challenge? Don't we face situations in our life? Don't we give up early many times without putting our sincere effort?

The puzzles that our life throws up can be solved provided that we keep the constant effort and have a firm belief that it can be addressed, and the answers unveiled themselves. The puzzle could be a bad personal/professional relationship, a difficult subject or a business challenge!

All we need to do is to hang out there, have a belief the solution is there and keep trying a different solution. As the pieces come together as they always do, we can realize the power of grit and determination.

Intellect is always overrated, but it the ability to hang on when the failure stares at us that defines who we are!! Capacity to say to yourself that "I will find the solution" is what separate the leaders from the followers.

How does Bhagavad Gita daily reading help improving our lives?

“We all know what is the right things are (like getting up early, exercise, helping other in need, controlling our anger etc..) but, still we are not able to do it. Then how does reading scriptures help us actually to execute our chores diligently at the first place itself?”

This question was asked by a friend. Though I have been reading Srimad Bhagavad-Gita for three years now, and it has helped to transform myself, but I was not clear how? Hence, I thought it would be wise to pen down my thoughts based on the contemplation of my spiritual journey. This question can be answered in many ways, but I would take the intellectual path that might apply to all scriptures not only Gita.

Bhagavad Gita is an Instruction manual of life.  Just as instruction manual helps us to make the maximum from a gadget/instrument, Bhagvad Gita helps us understand the most advance gadget, human body. Our body works at 5 different levels that include senses, mind, intellect, soul and supersoul influenced by the three modes of nature. It is a science of realization, validated by our personal experiences. Once, we know why, we can move on to how, that is stepwise implementation.

What is stepwise implementation? A thousand mile journey starts with a single step. Similarly, the journey of our transformation begins with baby steps. The successive chapters of Srimad Bhagavad Gita helps us to embark on this journey in a following step-wise manner

• Self-awareness:  Chapter 1 unveils the conflict in our mind by sharing the example of confused Arjun. The war of thoughts has become  an integral part of our life that we are not aware the state of “thoughtlessness” is possible.
• Sankhaya Yoga: In chapter 2 itself, Lord Krishna makes Arjuna aware of eternal nature of soul that seems unrealistic to understand for Arjuna like most of us.
• Karam yoga: To make it simple, Krishna shares the stepwise process starting from Karam yoga, which means selfless action. We can launch the journey of Karam Yoga by doing one selfless act a week. Practice and regularity in reading the scriptures will make selfless thoughts part of our routines. Gradually thoughts becomes words, words become actions and actions become habits.
• Gyan Yoga: As we do more selfless actions and taste the nectar of giving, we would understand the real meaning of life is in giving vs. accumulating, this is known as transcendental knowledge (chapter 4).
• Karam Sanyas Yoga: The selfless action with knowledge naturally leads to next step as we dovetail our action to the will of the Lord (Chapter5). 
• Dhyan Yoga: Once we reach this state, meditation (Chapter 6) is possible and we can move to deeper and subtle topics. 
• Bhakti Yoga: The second part of BG from chapter 7 to 12 that shares the power and opulence of Supreme Lord which culminates in Bhakti Yoga(Chapter 12).
• Sanyas Yoga: The last 6 chapters take to the journey of the relationship of our self with the Supreme Lord, which culminates in the perfection of renunciation (chapter 18). This calls for control of our mind. But, how to control our mind? It is a million dollar question, and the biggest impediment to doing all the right things we want implement in our life. As we know we cannot run a marathon without preparation; similarly mind control is like our training to run a full marathon.   In Chapter 17, Krishna explains control of the mind is the last steps in the hierarchy of control for senses. This first step is to start our control by having the right quantity and quality of food (Tapas of taste), then having right amount of physical service(Tapas of body), the moving to have the right control on speech(Tapas of speech). As we get mastery over the lower level of senses, mind control is possible. 

All said and done. I must emphasise that Scriptures are the means, not the end. As our Vedas repeatedly say neti neti, means “not this, not this”. Just as map helps us in avoiding danger and reach our destination faster; similarly, scriptures are realised knowledge passed over many generations to help us accelerate our spiritual growth. Similarly, just as map is a guide but not the terrain, scriptures provide guidance but we have to make efforts to tread this path with determination and faith.

Countless have taken this stepwise implementation of scriptures in past, though spanned over lifetimes. All we need is begin this journey with faith and keep our efforts going.