Dog food: my present day good karma!

That's one of the two

This year, I seem to be in a mood to donate - add my drops of good deeds to the ocean of life. A possible trigger could have been a simple request of favor from God. However, if I was to sense my generic demeanor, I have been a relatively happy soul at work. I get up, get ready and do a job I love. It still doesn’t pay me as much as I would like it to, but I have been a much happier person since September 2010 (touch wood). Obviously this happier state of mind has inspired me to create a little more happiness around me. Happiness fuels happiness, positive energies fuel positive energies. Today in a more content state of mind, I am involved with what I wish to donate for. The past five months have seen these drops of good will favor Japan relief, ResQ shelter for Dogs and marriage of a single mother.

Now its one thing to give away a tiny portion of your salary towards causes than actually ‘feel’ like a reason for something good. So when I donated money to ResQ dogs shelter, I realized there was an additional extra mile I could walk. Each building in mumbai is home to stray dogs. I would say an average of 24 apartments houses 2 stray dogs (gut feel, no established statistics) and so did ours. Personally, I made a commitment to feed the two stray dogs outside of our apartment. And its probably been more than a month that I have been doing this. I bought two bowls for water and food respectively and ensure that before the food runs out of stock, I pay a visit to the Hypercity, Malad and stock it up.

This everyday service makes me feel good about myself. Simple baby steps that give me a great sense of satisfaction and a feeling that says "I am a reason for something good, something selfless." Selfless did I say? Well, probably not.

Now I haven’t done any study on Karma however the best I know of it is in the words of ‘What goes around comes around?’, ‘The more you give, the more you get’ or ‘Do your deeds without expectation of reaping the benefits’ (I wanted to say fruits!). Deep down at some subconscious level the philosophy of ‘Service to mankind is service to God’ connects with me a hundred percent. I don’t consciously plan temple visits across places to show my faith in the Almighty unless I sense a desire to visit a holy place of worship. However, if there’s a hopeless somebody who I can do good to, I would most likely take that opportunity to render help without expectation of a favor in return. That’s my sense of spirituality in the simplest of words - "Do good stuff". So, in my heart, the deed is not selfless but a selfish act so that my life weighs more on ‘good karma’. I am committed to this deed of everyday food and water to the two dogs until the time I continue to live where I do. The day I shift, I shall search for another good deed to pursue.

One day, I thought I would give a lesson to my nephew on ‘commitment’ but he’s too young to even comprehend the word. However, he is so high on energy that he always wants to be doing something. So among his cricket, infinite requests for outdoor games and complaints, he quite often fills up the bowl of water for the dogs. Last week, one day he served them both - food and drink. Of course, I was very pleasantly surprised. The best I may want of him is that he remembers this, takes his community living sessions in school seriously and grows up to be a good citizen of the global world. He’s only five and half years old, so still a long way to go.

I don’t exactly have a name for these two but this is not about love or affection; its basic humanity. The universe decided to put them outside the building and I decided to provide them with food and water. No drama, no affection but a very basic gesture of connect. I realize I can do a lot more than what I am currently doing (that’s a given). In the future, I hope to take on more deeds that sync with me on the ‘sense of purpose’ grounds.

In the last two weeks, I published a few articles of IBMers who make a better world by engaging in social activities for the less fortunate. A story speaks of a gentleman who volunteers at home shelter serving food to the homeless. He says in Netherlands (back to where he comes from) close to 50% of the population stays invested in social causes. Another story was of a French family who provides temporary home (place to stay) to heart transplant patients from countries that do not have access to high end medical treatments or surgeries. It does make me wonder though - do we Indians do enough for the communities we live in? Do we have a statistics? However, for some reason, I do believe the stories that make rounds in the newspapers - stories that say India’s “super wealthy” do little for the society than what they are actually capable of; Salman Khan being an outstanding exception. That said, a while back I came across a person who touched my soul. I am putting a video of him here.

https://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1378237514624&comments

I write this today because I am a believer that every small story has an ability to touch and inspire somebody. All of us possibly have it in us to do a little more good that we already do and we simply overlook it. It may be very trivial and absolutely insignificant but then you should watch Robert Patinson’s “Remember me” that gives a very important lesson:

“Whatever you will do in life will be insignificant, but its very important that you do it. Because nobody else will.”

Same is my story with the dogs - my very insignificant effort to add to the larger SUM of my good karma. Apart from me, I know a couple of girls from the building who feed them biscuits occasionally - however I only hope that pedigree dog food is making them more healthier than the biscuits. Although, those couple of girls do mix the ‘love’ recipe with the biscuits!

That’s about it. In today’s date looks like dog food is my good karma and I feel good about doing my insignificant bit for a more humane world.

Mamochka diwas and Kodai vacation

I had a lesson in Bal Bharati text, in high or secondary school about a Russian little girl who got lost and couldn’t find her mom. When asked by the villagers, she said “My mother is the most beautiful woman in the world”. The story then progresses on how the villagers find her lost mother and to their surprise, (at face value) her mother is probably one of the least beautiful women to encounter. Moral of the story: Mothers are probably the most beautiful and phenomenal species created by God. Well, most of them. 

Until a few years ago, I was in complete awe of my mom. She and my grandmother are the two superpowers who have defined my core. The parts of me that are all nice and accomplished is a result of their investment in me. There is probably no payback to motherhood. No matter what I do or achieve, it shall never equate to their investment. The only payback may come in later lives if they reincarnate as my twin daughters and I hope I am the same good person that I am today. So, I shall let the universe make decisions on payback and in the meantime I shall try and be the best possible son I can be.

Now I believe, the dynamics of a relationship changes with time - but when it comes to mothers - do these dynamics go out of the window? Over the last decade and plus,  where her kids have become independent and started living by themselves - she still inquires about what we eat, or when did I get back home from a late night party or shares her philosophies even when not welcomed! Its probably her mother instinct to be in touch with our lives. On the other hand, I rarely ask her about her daily diets - I expect her to eat healthy, be healthy - that’s the first thing a person should do with their hard earned money! Why earn it otherwise? That’s my philosophy.

In today’s date, the complete awe has more turned into love and hate. I mean there are times I wished she was a lot chilled - like not asking me an infinite amount of questions, not listening to what I have to say and re-asking them; or not worrying about when I drive down alone to Pune or late nights, among others. However, I have to live with the fact that some things shall never change. I mean, she’s grown to be a person that she is for the past 58 years and I can probably only hope to see incremental developments in personality; not radical. So I learn to live with those questions and be responsive of them to the best of my abilities. Some days I need to protest in loud lectures so that there is peace and quiet and no ‘small talk’. She then probably learns a little of how to be around her son who enjoys ‘solitude’ more than small talk. With dads, I believe its all a lot easier since they are not very bothered of what their kids have been up to! Is that true, I wonder ?

So, if this was any other relationship I would written off the “need for regular dialogue” as a deal breaker. Fortunately, for me, in today’s date I can’t throw it away. I quite often threaten my parents to behave themselves else... the repercussions shall be severe. I am of the strong opinion, if parents need to be tamed and made well understood, such threats are crucial for a relationship. However, in all honesty, I doubt how seriously it affects them!

So that’s that. In all this love-hate drama, I make an effort to be a tad better son. So this year in March, I took mom on a vacation with me to Kodai. This vacation was an attempt to help her have a good time, some peace time, some ‘her’ time - away from everyday life.

And I hope she did. She’s one woman who’s kept the child alive in her (that is when she is done with worrying and caring about her entire family); how tangy flavors excite her taste buds, or her undying love for (fragrant) flowers much like kids for ice-creams or chocolates and her super enthusiasm to learn about technology (for her its mostly restricted to computers, television sets and camera). So on this journey, I gave her my digicam (Canon 120 IXUS) and some photography tips. At first she totally failed me as a mentor, but later got better at the game. I taught her about people profiles and how every individual when clicked from certain angles can make a picture perfect portrait. Apart from people portraits that she tried working on me, she also got involved in the scenic beauty of Kodai. Below are some pictures taken from her camera.

Kodai is beautiful. Inspite of the March summer in most of India, Kodai weather had a chill effect - it was absolutely soothing and peaceful. I could take a walk at 3:00 a.m. in the afternoon and still feel fresh in the open. The gardens and lakes stand out in beauty,  the waterfalls and pine trees make a perfect get away in the woods and the sunrise by the hotel balcony with a 6:00 a.m. room service coffee takes customer delight to a whole new level. I would visit this place once again - probably when gardens are full bloom and the weather even more intoxicating !

Today, on Mamochka diwas (mother’s day), with all my heart I am very thankful for the mother I have: a believer that education is the most important asset to give a child, a cook whose food is relished by her kids and their friends, a banker who ran the household and raised two kids to support and fend for themselves, a woman who loves flowers, shopping and has Rekha as her most favorite actress.  And most of all for birthing me with a substantial lot of HAIR. I doubt, I get that from my dad. These days she's also an amateur photography enthusiast! God Bless her with great health and many many satisfying years of life!