A Drop of Water !

It was 6 in the morning, on a wintry Bangalore day. I was on my irregular morning walk, through the narrow streets of Benniganahalli, off Old Madras Road. As I moved past the government residential quarters in nearby CV Raman Nagar, I saw the water tank overflow and spill over into the street below. I walked on.

6:45 am. I was on my return. Passing the quarters again, I looked up and was aghast to see the tank still overflowing. I wanted to stop it. There were two guards near the gate and I approached them. They did listen to my concern and said they would look for the person responsible, to stop the pump. That was as much as I could go. I did not belong to that residential colony.

For many people, water is an infinite resource, that can be used lavishly. There is a lot of effort behind each drop of water; as you can see from the hydrological cycle (see figure below).

In addition to this, there are processes of absorption and transpiration in trees and plants, and the movement of running water as it percolates through the ground strata to meet ground water reserves. All these are processes that happen before each drop of pure water falls from the clouds.

But isn't water an inanimate object, formed by an automatic natural process, and can't we use it as we like ? The best and most vital things in life are all free-air, water, and the earth we stand on. We human beings are also a part of nature. Nature is not complete without us. We cannot stand apart from it, and are subject to the forces of nature like all other creatures. The recent Tsunamis and earthquakes are reminders of man's punitive stature before the stupendous forces of nature.

Great scientists like Isaac Newton have recognized this. He famously said: I am just like a small child playing with a few grains of sand on the infinite seashore. He knew what he had discovered about natural laws was just a very tiny part of the real thing.

If we can accept our stand relative to the grand Cosmos, it will be easy to be humble. A humble mind will always think twice before spending any resource.

How to conserve Water

There are many ways in which we can conserve water. For instance, dish-washing after kneading dough at home. We knead the dough in a bowl. Afterwards, if we keep it aside without washing off immediately, the dough sticking to the vessel dries up and is harder to remove. Then you need to fill the vessel to the brim with water and let it soak, to clean. If you had cleaned it out while still fresh, you could have saved at least 3 liters of water, for an average bowl.

Mighty Water

Here is a real story from Japan showing what potential a drop of water has! Tetsui was the disciple of a Zen master. He performed various chores as part of his responsibilities at his monastery. They involved watering the garden. One day, after finishing watering, he saw that there was a little water at the bottom of the bucket. He upturned the bucket and emptied it on the ground. Unseen by him, the master of the monastery who had been watching him all along, shouted: How dare you waste that water!

Tetsui's mind opened inwards and he experienced the truth. It was after this incident that he came to be known as Tetsui. It means ‘a drop of water.’

(Image courtesy: Wikipedia)

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Why Focus ?

If you were a soldier and you had only one shot at your target, and if your life depended on it, you would realize how vital it is to have concentration. An archer must concentrate, if he is to hit the target. Scientists must focus their thoughts, in order to uncover the mysteries of nature. Students need to focus to study effectively, to imbibe their study material.The deeper your focus and attention, the more effective and long-lasting results you can achieve.

Lack of Focus can result in mishaps of all kinds. Many accidents occur because of this. Relations can be harmed if people are not mindful of what they think, do and speak. Being aware of our thoughts and words, is being focused on the well being of our relationship.

In short, bad and ineffective actions of every kind are a natural result of lack of Focus. Focus here also connotes mindfulness, awareness, and concentration.

Focus is not a stressed out state. People try to maintain concentration under stress -this happens in critical situations. For instance, students cramming on the night prior to exams. Fighters engaged in a duel to death. The persons are in a state of focus mostly out of fear-for survival-but it is very stressful and exhausts. Such kind of situations do not occur everyday. We need to practice maintaining focus in a relaxed state of mind. Such a training benefits us during emergencies also. Emergencies cease to be emergencies then.

It is the Relaxed and focused state of mind that we need to be in. How to be in Relaxed focus ? It is a matter of daily practice, 24 hours a day.

Do we need to practice so much ? Actually it is not a matter of practicing a lot. It is just practising this moment.  If you practice this moment, it will take care of the coming moments, days, months and years.

So, yes, take a deep breath, relax. Watch your breath flow in an out. And swing into action.

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The One Factor That Can Sustain Relationships

In one word, it is Introspection. Holding a mirror to yourself, to see your actions, words, and thoughts, as others see and experience them.

In relationships, people point to each other :"it is his/her fault ! She/he is responsible ! He doesn't do it right! She is always complaining !" In all likelihood, we will be having our own hideous sides that we cherish. We never think of casting a glance at how it may be affecting others. Even in this age of education, elders who  may be post graduate, still abuse their adolescent younger generation.

We are conditioned to look outside us for the cause and the solution. Of course, we can never be the problem. I find I have a strong tendency to blame the outside world for the way things are. It never occurs to me that I may be, in some way, contributing to the situation.

I complain about the banana peel lying on the road; but I never thought of cleaning it up myself. (Gandhi: Be the change you want to see)

People accuse their partners of behavioral problems, yet turn a blind eye to the secret sins that they themselves commit. It is impossible to accuse others when one is aware of his own shortcomings. There would be no time-one would be too busy working on himself.

So the next time you find yourself pointing your finger at your partner, look closely at your hand. See ? Your  three fingers are pointing back at you. There is something to be set right first, my friend.

Note: I am not implying that one should take all injustices lying down. Correcting others is more easier when you do it with consideration and love-just as you would like to be corrected. One needs to practice separating the action from the person. And if we find ourselves losing our emotional balance at others' faults, perhaps that is where we should start-being aware of our own feelings ! This works like pricking a balloon-it takes the sting out of your emotional turmoil. Keep at it and you can see the difference, slowly.

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