The Biggest Realizations of the past few years

There are things we learn every single day. A new skill, a new recipe, a new style of negotiation, a new program. Something new, something we didn't know about. And we do this whether we like it or not. It's happening. 

And then, there are things we know already. This knowledge is not new - it's not something we didn't know about. In fact, it's so subtle, so simple, so easy-to-understand, it is so close to living itself that we aren't even conscious of its existence, let alone doing anything with this knowledge. It's so deeply embedded and inherent to our very existence. 

I started on a quest of this kind of innate self-knowledge 3.5 years ago not fully knowing what I was getting into. In the last 10 months, my quest has started showering me with the ultimate gift - many realizations. And hence also the strength to develop and nurture myself and contribute meaningfully to others. 

This post is about that which has connected me to my core, that which I didn't know I felt innately earlier, I knew innately, I was drawn to - but with innumerable experiences, guidance, pure love and friendships that have emerged, I have realized some of these things deeply enough - so that it’s not just intellectual knowledge anymore, not another phase of life - instead it’s a way of living. It’s my slow awakening to who I am. For this, I will be forever grateful to those, alive and in spirit, for what they have left behind for me, for their memory, their contribution will live forever inside me. None of these I accepted easily. The one thing I could not do was meek acceptance. The churning inside has initiated a whole new meaning to the spirit of inquiry – it’s all about questioning - questioning myself, others, what I see, experience, what others say, what they express. I have taken what I felt was right for me. What I have actually realized. 

Putting it mildly, these realizations have been powerful - powerful beyond measure. Their work is in the subtle spaces, undefinable, grey and fascinating! It’s like watching the dolphins on Discovery except you realize that you yourself are the dolphin swimming in the sea. You can genuinely feel and think and act based on these realizations. Their work happens in the subconscious, all the time and in absolutely any and all situations - handling an angry outburst, reaching a place 10 mins late, cutting vegetables, writing to a friend, worrying about calling another, potting a plant, cleaning a cupboard, giving something of deep personal value..... 

Intellectually, many of these could even seem simple common sense. It could also seem like a laundry list to some. But, to me, their work has been in the subtle, the inexplicable, their presence and absence visible only when you wish to see, only when the window to your heart is open. This is like walking on slippery waters or on the edge of a sword. Yet, learning to walk here is a quest of a lifetime.

1. Better and right understanding of the self helps in better and right understanding of all that is part of the world, the planet. Like the centre of a cycle wheel doesn’t actually move compared to the rim, I can identify the deep core of my being while going through experiences and life. So, move from the rim to centre. (Neeraj sir) 
2. Respect is in me. It's not out there. It's not transactional. It can neither be given nor taken. (Vinish ji) 
3. Right understanding comes when its aligned with natural laws and universal justice. (Vinish ji) 
4. Each person acts in accordance to his / her own understanding - har ek apni samajh ke satya se kaam karta hai. Aur har ek ki samajh ka satya alag hai. (Jayesh bhai) 
5. Chintaa nahi karna hai, chintan karna hai. [Don't worry. Reflect.] (Jayesh bhai) 
6. Hum sab ek hain – seeing all in one and one in all (Jayesh bhai, Vinish ji) 
7. There is ALWAYS a higher middle path. But to find that elusive road is hard work. (Buddha) 
8. Life is suffering. Suffering is due to attachment. No attachment = No suffering. Yet, all suffering is not bad. Most is worthwhile. (Buddha, Self) 
9. Nothing lasts forever. The only truth is impermanence. (Buddha) 
10. Carrots and marbles can never do what true love and real understanding can. (Self) 
11. Focused consistent effort and non-attachment to results. (Gita) 
12. 4Rs - refuse, reduce, re-use, recycle. Recycle is last. Refuse is first. Keep things in perspective. Avoid accumulation. Nurture. (Ravi bhaiya) 
13. See with the I, not with the eye - see things for what they are not what they appear to be (Vinish ji) 
14. Seeing is not believing. One can count the seeds in an orange but not the oranges in a seed. (Amma, Vinish ji and Ravi bhaiya) 
15. Beliefs are not facts. Never mix the two. Discern clearly. (Stephen Covey, Kanishka Sinha, Vinish ji) 
16. Choose an unwavering belief that the others intention is good. Create trustworthiness. Create trust. Competency is another matter. Recognize and change general tendency to judge ourselves by intention but others by their behaviour/competence. (Vinish ji) 
17. Going from right intellectual evaluation and understanding of something to actually developing and practicing it as a good habit is an obstacle course in self-realization. (Self, Kanishka Sinha) 
18. I will always choose to look for and seek potential, yet I will not be blind to the flaws. Balance. Faith. (Appa, Shaheen) 
19. Being conscious about a growth mindset (Surya, Shaheen and of course, Carol Dweck :) 
20. In the cycle of life - of birth, life, death and rebirth - the only baggage I can carry is good karma and positive vibrations. So I must develop the strength to make that matter. (Self) 
21. Sirf hamara dhyaan jaata hai to hum mitti se mobile bana dete hain! So a big realization is life is less about what I believe and more about being mindful at all times, paying attention in the here and now and basically, choosing to notice. At every moment. (Vinish ji) 
22. Life = Interdependence (Life, Stephen Covey, Nipun bhai) 
23. Gratitude for what is – for ALL the effort, love, action and thought that went into putting before me every grain of rice and every ounce of air and every photon of sunlight (Nipun bhai, Jayesh bhai) 
24. True giving happens when I give of myself and when there is nothing left to take – the mind-set of abundance ((Nipun bhai, Jayesh bhai) 
25. Life is not in 0 and 1, black and white, right and wrong. Its beauty is in its many shades of grey. (Life) 
26. Realism is not separated from idealism. Realism is tending towards idealism. To be one or the other is to either lose hope or to live in hope alone. Neither seems wise. Balance does. (Sapna) 
27. There’s a difference between dreams and strategies. Dreams are to be kept alive. Strategies change. (Sapna) 
28. Thinking Globally. Acting locally. (Jayesh bhai) 
29. Enterprise = Need (Idea) + Value (Innovation) + Sustenance (Humanizing) [Neeraj sir] 
30. There is no heat without fire. And no fire without friction. Embrace friction. (Neeraj sir) 
31. I recognize the power of words and the economy and mindfulness in their use (Neeraj sir) 
32. Life is one indivisible whole. (Gandhi) 
33. Body, Mind, Heart and Spirit -> Need, Skills, Service (Passion), Joy (Meaning) [P.Kaipa, Covey] 
34. Ask myself: Am I being the horse? Or am I being the cart? (Well try to be the horse mostly!) (The Morpheus) 
35. ‘isms’ and extremes are like Menaka – attractive but deceptive. Pick out the best flowers in each plant and try to create a garland with love. But accept the dried and the prickly ones as much. (Ravi bhaiya) 
36. I have the courage to accept failure. But am learning to embrace it graciously. Learn and let go to the point of stillness. When the heart is quiet and centred. (Prasad Kaipa) 
37. Every 6 months, I will do something that I wouldn’t do otherwise. (Prasad Kaipa) 
38. Consumption to Contribution. Transaction to Trust. Scarcity to Abundance. Isolation to Community. I to We. (My Appa and Amma, Nipun bhai, Jayesh bhai, Anuj, Bhavna, Amruta, Harsh, Vinish ji, Stephen Covey, Ravi bhaiya, Gandhi, Kishan) 
39. Action in inaction and Inaction in Action (Gita, Vinoba Bhave) 
40. First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. (Gandhi) 
41. But for the good leader, when his work is done, when his aims fulfilled, people will say we did it ourselves. (Lao Tzu) 
42. Seven social sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, and worship without sacrifice (Gandhi) 
43. Today I know that physical training should have as much place in the curriculum as mental training. (Gandhi) Do something that involves nurturing. (Vinish ji) 
44. Waste = A resource – but in the wrong place. (Vinish ji) 
45. It is now my opinion that in all Indian curricula of higher education there should be a place for Hindi, Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic and English, besides of course the vernacular (Gandhi) 
46. Infinite patience (Amma Appa, Surya, Sheetal, Jayesh bhai, Anar ben)
47. 'Take the example of a house. You want to enter the house, but it has high walls around it. You go to the wall and fight to get past it. You cannot. What happens? Your head is broken. But if you find a small door, you can get into the house and go wherever you want. Hut you have to find the door. Like that, when I meet a landlord he has many faults and shortcomings, and his egotism is like a wall. But he has a little door, a little goodness in his heart. When you are prepared to find the door, you rise above your own egotism and you enter his life. Don't worry about his faults, find the door. If sometimes I cannot find the door it is my fault: my fault that I am banging my head against his shortcomings.' (Vinoba bhave, Jayesh bhai)