You are Poor

When it comes to poor and poverty, you can call me an expert in this matter. How ? well I grew up in Bal Mandir, which is a children home. I was there for fourteen years; from the age three till seventeen. After my college my first job was in five star hotel, where I worked almost seven years. This contrast life allows me to pick poor by  their sights, behavior, manner and talk. I can sniff them from a distance.

If You want to shake of the poverty from your body then check the following ten qualities in you that makes  others it know what is your back ground. I am trying to list it in the most common behavior about poor people.

                                                                                                                                        Inferiority Complex : Although, this is that quality that can be found even with most successful and rich people but its rate. Inferiority complex exclusively belongs to poor people. when I attended a seminar one psychologist said 85% of the people suffers from inferiority complex  in every society. Then I can say that, those 85% sure belongs poor society.If you get over it you will be out from poor circle in your life. Remember that means success in your life.

Uncivilized :  Wild and primitive behavior is one such thing that you have to deal with when it comes to dealing with poor people. In the light  they may appear so timid and rigid to hide it, but slowly allow them to reveal their side you will be stunned. They cling so much with the old comfort zone  they refuse to change even for their own self.  In primitive society people do not care much about manners, hygiene, cleanliness and sanitation. Clean surrounding, hygienic food and sanitation is directly linked with self respect, happiness  and also long and healthy life. Its for us not for other yet its hard to see that how poor people are  tolerant for unclean and smelly environment in their surrounding.

Negative thinking :  one of the reason poor remains poor forever is because they are so negative thinking. Reading one swami helped me to understand why people think positive. He wrote people who suffers from low self-esteem can't think positive things in life. Changing your thinking from negative to positive is time consuming efforts and trust me, its not going to happen overnight. It takes years of reading and listening positive people. Have you read the book The power of positive thinking by Norman Peale ? This book will help you change your negative thinking into positive thinking.

Blaming it all on falling  sky above them :  Poor people invariably agrees with cynics who do not check facts but gives opinion out of fear of lack of knowledge. For them the sky is always falling and it falls on them who keep running with this fear. Have you heard of the saying, you attract fear towards you when you fear.

Superstitions :  If you see dictionary this means fear of unknown and unseen. This is the another exclusive right of poor people. They will do almost anything and everything including unthinkable due to superstition. In India every year thousands of children's life is cut short because there are people who still offer human lives to god hoping to please him or worship private parts of human in the name of God.

Cursing :  Poor people harbor so many negative thoughts and feelings and they are angry for this and that all the time. They are easily offended. To satisfy their hurt ego and mind they indulge in cursing. I am sure you watch Steve Harvey show he keep cussing and then there was a five year old girl who was in his show who kept him in her prayer. Steve Harvey may be rich now but its not hard to understand that he came from very poor family background. At least he honestly admits it in his shows and his cursing helps you to understand what he is saying. 

Have you ever paid close attention to the cursing ? this may give the one who curse an instant satisfaction of letting all out but that curse is so useless and it cant harm the one that is putting. its like burning if hate and hoping it will harm others.

Loudness : We all know some people who are loud, in opinion, when in anger, in dress ups, in hair style and body spray. Poor people disagrees in loud way, acts as victim, cry loud, complain loud and they fight loud. why cant they put forth their view point in polite manner ?   Polite what is that ? that is almost alien to 95% poor people. Those 5% of quite one will rise above poverty in due course of  time. All you have to do is, just keep on your watch list. why not you add yourself on that minority list !

Ganging up :  In 1950's society gang fight was normal but it seems the ganging up to fight purpose is yesteryear things. Today ganging up is something different, like bulling. There are some students who enjoy ragging in India and some victims of it. Forming a gang or leniency towards ganging up is a sign people are suffering from inferiority or superiority complex and they gain the power with their own small gang. Ganging up is a way to feel strong in front of opponent which is an animal instinct to face opponent. We are humans so, lets solve our problem as much as humanly possible.          

Crab Mentality  :  Poor are the people who instead of uplifting the others in the circle they like to pull people so that no one should be ahead from the slower crab. They are jealous if someone else will go ahead of them and this is totally against the rule open the door  for others so that you can enter in that door also. This is what many rich and successful people do.

Conspiracy theory believer : If you dig internet you will get plenty of conspiracy theory going on around us. One of the biggest conspiracy theory is that document made by Michael Moore. George Bush admin declare Gulf war against the Iraq was because he wanted to divert the mind of American to the Saddam, his oil rich nation. It was not for the people but for him and his family business. There are whole lot of people who will go hour and hour talking about such conspiracy theory but how many will look for the truth or move on in life for better.  Poor boy they have plenty of time for that baseless talk.   

          

It is not that these qualities can't be corrected but poor people feels at home with poor qualities. Only those who would like to rise above the poverty will shake these qualities off from them and move on to join the civilized people with better earning and life.

If you pay close attention to those who made their ways to better life it is only because they could leave behind the many qualities poor people clings so much. If you want to join the class of rich then shake it off from you at least 50% of the quality if not all that chains you with the poor class of people.     

          

Rings of Power

What is power and what makes a thing or a thought a powerful one in our society. Who is behind a thought, is there an institution or a person behind it ?  Lets try to understand the rings of power.

Sex : Sex is good for good and bad for bad people. To some sex is love to some sex is lust. To some sex is biological need, to some it's the only way that helps the universe get going. However, there are people among us who view sex as a power play tool.  There are people who believe more you have sex with more people longer you live in life. Is that true ? the existence of superior sex and inferior sex is based on this thought who is powerful on bed ? Who can dominate one another on bed ? Why two different sex can't co-exist under the same roof when they have to share just one bed ? The whole concept of sex should be on union not on fighting for power play.

Money : There is this famous saying, money is not god but is not less than God also. When it comes to money there are whole world divided in two groups, one worships money as if it's god; as it solves half the problem on earth and other group view it as root of all evil. How come one takes it as supreme power and another sees it as root of evil ?  instead of knowing the root of its cause, we have people who will run after money or and some plainly blames it for all the bad things that happens in our society.

Religion: The thought of God is very personal and it is all about faith. People are always seeking to be in the like minded circle. A reason to talk and share view and believes when it comes to God. people are divided in many groups of religions. And there are feelings of supremacy among the many types of religions. It's really interesting to watch two group when one religious group beliefs my religion is better than yours. Religion is a kind of groupism. More people have been killed in the name of religion than in wars.

Politics : Politics is absolutely for people who like the game of power, because for them it's a center of power. Some like to be in the opposition of power and like to challenge the people in power. Everyone choose the kind of party that represent their own thought pattern. Some stick with politics purely because they are afraid of being  left out.

Education : Education is answer to all kind of darkness. It is education which can give us freedom for all types of shackles. We have all kind of education center there are all kind of faculty nowadays that are being taught in schools and colleges. Some, some gives importance to science and technology and some give importance to art and literature, gives importance to spiritual study. Paranormal science is some interested and I went to study commerce even if I had keen  interest in psychology.

Entertainment/ businessmen / science and technology : celebration is one of the most important part  of our life. Under this we can put all forms of art, sports, music, dance, literature and other way to express us. Celebrities are viewed and respected like god in some society because they do not talk about the other power games but just teach us to express us freely. They teach us to let some of our emotions flow. Game help unite all community regardless of caste, creed and nationality, celebration is above all kind of groupism which breaks all barriers that is build around us by other power players. When one sings a song our emotion melts down, when we dance fear flies out from window, when we read some books it unclogs some of our brain nerves and connect us to that part of life where we have never been. All these makes us feel more normal and that is what the entertainment industry do. Business covers also science and technology not just the other business in our society.

Movie, television, singing, dancing, literature, sports, painting, sculpture and other arts. Some worship the art and some artist shines like a bright star.

Media [public communication] : There are intellect people in media who can help the mass to understand what is going around us, in the society we live. They tell us about the new books, new technology, new invention, new leader, new hero or the rising star in sports. They are the one who help us to understand the cult in religion. They help us to understand the corrupt politicians and how this powerful politician’s handsome son is in broil of sex scandal. Although, there are good journalist there are also some journalists who never get tired of talking negative things around us and they think busting scam is their main job. Luckily, in every society there are some journalists and intellectuals who show us the right path to future.

What is interesting is a politician needs a religious guru for guideline, a religions guru needs a politician to amend some bill for the better society. A journalist needs a politician’s help to  crack some news and a politicians always needs journalists to rise and shine in news. A businessman needs a powerful politicians to get some deal approved, and a spiritual guru to realize some problem in his life. A religious guru needs donation from a businessmen. Every education institution needs mass to come and study what they teach in their universities. Every star needs general public to come and enjoy his/her art or talent. Every man and woman need each others back to support each other and move on in life and create a new life. So, who is in the center of power of ring of power ?

Note : This article has already been published in Our Society in August 2016

Law of Karma - A Fool's Logic

Ancient Hindu religion proclaims the law of karma; we reap in this life the fruit of the actions of our past life. I read this line the book Learn to Live, Vol. 2 by a Swami Jagadatmananda which is translated by Dr. N. Thirumaleshwar Bhat.

Karma is a psychological law and acts primarily in the psychological realm, the physical circumstances being merely the means whereby the psychological purpose is fulfilled. What the entity is today is the result of what is has been in days and experiences ages and eons past. For life is continuous and weather it is manifested in materiality or in other realms of consciousness. It is necessary for its enforcement. Edgar Cayce.

I myself grew up under Hindu philosophical believe, which strongly believes in law of karma than other religious groups. Karma law nail hammers in your mind, your sufferings, success, failure, your present condition [good or bad], your relationship with people around you depends entirely on your previous life results. Ever since I was so young; I have been hearing it all. My young mind soaked up the karma concepts like a blotting paper. Hindu philosophy also tells you everything is predetermined and nothing can be changed or hoped for. Having been raised in Bal Mandir which is an orphanage; do I have to tell you how much I abhorred this philosophy, which tells me why I am in this condition and denies me all the good things in life; especially money, success and everything that comes with it.  

As I grew more, I become an avid reader; who was in search of why of perplexing questions in life. Then, I found some really good books that do have power to shape our minds at any age which also offers some answer to our perplexing questions and what we should do about it. Needless to tell you, I started reading these books again and again, especially by world famous religious leaders from both side of the world. I mean Christian as well as Hindu, also those who are not religious not even remotely interested in God yet they are hugely successful in life. Then it started making sense to me, some may say it that was the eye opening moment in my life. One of the best part of the study was gaining some intrinsic knowledge which I learned only after reading those who were not Hindu nor they were religious but yet advocating prosperity, success and money in life. Reading books like Rich Dad Poor Dad, Think and Grow rich, A Brief History of Time, Magic of Big Thinking, The power of Positive Thinking and The Fourth Dimension drastically changed my whole thinking after that, no need to tell you those books acted like a thought cleanser for me. 

How I wish, I had read these books long time back, when I was still a teenager; because just because I know, things do not change dramatically around me nor I will be able to change things drastically; just because I now have understood and gained confidence. It really takes time to choose one for us, especially the one that will prove to be good in long run of life. We as an average people do get lost when we hear 'respected people' or 'so called expert' in the subject matter. There are times we as an adult have to choose one like whom to believe a Pastor like Dr Norman Vincent Peale from the west or a Swami from the east. It is up to us to choose one from Yogananda or Dr Yonggi Cho. It is up to us to choose, one from two viewpoints, as both sides do have valid reasons to say or believe what they say. Both have a lifetime of experience to say or preach what they believe. There comes a time in our life, we just pick one and move on rather than get lost in what we could not understand or that make any sense to us.  

It sure will not be easy to choose one, especially when you see you are the only one who is siding the other side of the tide. I may be minority in this society but this is a right of all to hope for better life and to work for it. It is also our right to understand, why should I be deprived of all the good things in life ? Why some get it and why some do not !   

Why leave everything in the hand of Karma, when we have human brains to solve the problems. Let me quote Pastor Norman Vincent Peale here; it's from his very famous book the power of positive thinking. "Its pity that people should let themselves be defeated by problems, cares and difficulties of human existence and it is also quite unnecessary. In saying this, I certainly do not ignore or minimize the hardships and tragedies of the world, but neither do I allow them to dominate." Here in another line without terming it Karma he is talking about strongly against the law of karma, "you can permit obstacles to control your mind to the point where they are uppermost and this becomes the dominating factors in your thought pattern."  

If you read this book you will know that he believes in life after death, deathless life and infinite life. Yet he did not believe that karma should be blamed or given credits for all your good work or effort you put or should put in life. He is one of the most respected religious leaders of the past century and if you read his book The Power of Positive Thinking, you will understand why he is so respected around the world; not just in the Christians diasporas but outside of the circle also.  

A fool do not know nor want to know that law of Karma is retirement from even trying to understand true human potential and power of our brain. It's also lazy mind saying rather than trying to understand real answer that troubles us. It's a viewpoint of those who do not see the world with 360 degree but super confidence with 180 degree view of the subject matter. Law of karma do not tell us the story of those who got it without caring what was buried in the past but tries of offer you vague answer of question that bugs us in life. Did you read in Edgar Casey saying Karma is 'psychological realm?' No doubt, there will be people who will believe him and some will go on with Pastor[s] who leaves you with a thought to ponder over, why allow obstacles dominate your thought ?

Education

Every year hundred of thousands young educated people leave the country. Nepal now have become a manufacturing labor nation  for the developed or semi developed nations. Statistic shows that Nepal has 71% literacy rate and we all know many graduate people are working as a laborer in rich nations. No doubt, they are the one who are most frustrated bunch of the society. Does Education mean to mass produce laborer for other nation ? Why their education allows them to demand for workers and  ours education qualifies us to fill the form and cross our fingers.

Before the economic boom in India, a famous TV hos Shekhar Suman quipped about major hotels in India having doorman who hold a graduate certificate in their arms. If the owner or operation manager wanted to know, "why the lights on[ even on daytime ] ?" the door men then would respond its Thomas Alba Edison sir ! Does getting graduate certificate mean  to go and stand on the door all day long ?   Watching Satyamev Jayate also tells us there are some vegetable hawkers who are holding a graduate certificate. Should we go to school and college for yeas to do a job that requires no education ? If it does not change your life style or make you rich enough then is that education is needed anymore ?

Education is light. Education is power. Education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world. This very famous last line is said by Nelson Mandela.  These are some very powerful lines you must have heard more than once in your life. This reminded me of Baburam Bhattarai, one of our politician. He once was a key person in Maobadi party, but now he has his own party. 

During the Maobadi people's war time its cadet were involved in blasting many government offices, police & army posts in remote parts of the country and killing innocent civilians who never did any harm to them. All they wanted to do is to inject terror and fear in the mind of public. During the ten years so called people's war, the destruction of national properties amounted in billions of Rs, killing more than 13,000 lives. This however do not include the people who left the country in search of job or better life, stolen properties and emotional drain of people of my country. That war only pushed back the entire nation for more than 25 years. 

After they came in full political power, once some mabobadi top heads were on TV to discus the cost of hydro power that was going on and that would have done good for this nation in the long run. Hissila Yami, wife of Baburam Bhattarai was also on the show along with others to say that we pay unnecessarily huge money to those who got contract and they hire people who are more expensive than our local people, who are affordable. Thus incurring more cost and they take the bigger pie of the nations investment. Hearing this, the contracting company which was from America, broke the contract immediately from the hydro project. That single contract costed nation billions of Rs, as it was a long term development plan for the nation. As asserted by another officer working on this project on live national TV to discuss further about the topic of corruption they felt that was going on in that project. The officer sarcastically thanked Yami, who was holding a position of some minister at time, saying they got it the way they wanted it, only it costed nation multi billion Rs in loss because of the broken contract. This again pushed back the development process not just the electricity. Remember Hissila Yami served long time of her career as a lecturer in a college before hiding in the jungle.

What is my point here is Baburam Bhattarai was gold medalist in his student life. He topped the board exam in SLC - School Leaving Certificate. He also topped his college. Maobadi was very much similar to the revolutionary movement in Peru some calls this Shining Path of Peru. That again was ignited by another super bright but very frustrated student. Its only that the fate of Peru's peoples war and its leader and Nepal's people's war leaders is vast different. Peru's leader were strategically nullified, that's what I remember reading in one of Reader's Digest long time back. Does not this mean frustrated educated people if they team up with the man like Prachanda cost nation multi billions dollar. We sure have the biggest percentage of people who are highly educated equally frustrated to their career most. 

Pushpa Kamal Dahal a.k.a. Prachanda is the man behind the revolt that engulfed the nation in the name of people's war. I remember watching Bijay Kumar, the famous and  very outspoken TV journalist once asked him during one of his interview, there are so many people in your party who only reads and they don't do anything. In another of his interview I remember Bijay Kumar finding the man very 'carismatic'.

Any person who is educated has learned to get whatever they want in life without violating the rights of others. It seems that Bijay Kumar never came across the book Think and grow Rich to find those  lines by Napoleon Hill. It also seems Baburam and his well educated circle of intellect never came across the book named Rich Dad Poor Dad to find the lines like, getting a good education making good grades no longer ensures success. Still parents tells their children go to school and get good grades to get good job. The world around us has changed but the advice has not, by Sharon Letchrer.  It seems none of those highly educated people ever had time to read and understand people like Jhamak, a physically challenged woman who writes in her autobiography, effect of education should be seen in your manner and life style as well as in thinking; mere gaining certificate is not sufficient.

We all know the importance of education. l remember reading an article in a college book named, the Gold Flax, compiled by Moti Nissani and Shreedhar Lohani. In one article, why you must go to college; the writer argues so many things and one particular issue is, if you lie on the operation table the chances are high you wont get killed if you are collegge educated. When I read that, I was thinking did not they get higher percentage in school and college than me !  

"That is why it is foolish to simply say to a child, get a good education", writes Robert Kiyosaki in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad. Now, I would like to leave you with just one thought about this subject, education is the foundation of all success.