My stay in Jakarta was always fun. I still remember the thrilling moments of the last visit. May it be me standing in front of the ticketing supervisor at airport – looking with some strange expressions when she said “Sir, you do not have a valid ticket!” or may it be me sitting in a park with a tiger on my laps!! Whatever, it was always entertaining. Same is the case this time as well. But apart from it, there is more to learn. Interaction with varieties of people makes me think. This often throws to me some unending chain of questions. I am going to put something similar here as my first blog.
I had an interesting chat with one of my friends here. A few days back, he came back to apartment from some meeting with his boss and the client company’s managers. The meeting was all about the promotion of the new product. (Even I am working on somewhat similar project, so was a bit curious).
He mentioned about the meeting that everyone was only trying make own interest safe!! In the meeting his boss tried really hard to advertise the new product and convince client’s manager. What was the approach of client side’s manager? He was trying to understand how that product could put him in a better position in the company if he accepts the deal. What was my friend doing there?? Well, he was listening attentively most of the time and was just supposed to do nodding whenever his boss puts some new feature in front ambitiously. He was the tech-export, after all. The whole thing was going on with lots of boozes and lasted almost for 3-4 hours.
What was the objective behind these 3-4 hours? How to earn more money for self … not even for the company? This apparently doesn’t even sound odd. Let us not get in to the debate if this was right or wrong but it was enough to initiate a chain of questions for me. When it comes to money why do we often act such that it is THE ONLY objective in life?
Somehow everything has gone money oriented … for me as well, perhaps. Is that what we call professionalism? And most importantly is it really THE ONLY thing in life?
well, money is certainly a part of life … but now it is now becoming heart of life. Earning money used to be ‘one of the things’ which now is THE ONLY thing in life. Why do we feel really satisfied when we earn more money? Is there not anything beyond that? Yes, we do need money, but then one needs to have some goals for which money might be one of the resources. Somehow today we earn money to make ourselves capable of earning more money! Isn’t it?
Simple example … My friend got an offer from a company which was ready to pay him thrice as much as he was getting that time. Also there were experts ready to advise him then how to earn more. Isn’t it funny? There were experts to advise how to earn more money to the person who was going to earn anyway more! And there is a major sector of society which strives for earning; there is no one to guide them!!
Well, the experts came to him because he was ready to pay them for the advice. At times it sounds fair. But is it really? Should it not be need based rather than money-oriented? If I have a skill to make things better then should I not be using it for someone who really needs to make the things better? What is the point really in using it for someone who already has better things?
This is how chain of thoughts started… Let me continue further.
Somehow I am also a part of the same society and call the above mentioned tendency as the culture. I do salute the great souls like Shivaji Maharaj and Mahatma Gandhi who used there skills to understand people and show them the way of living and made the lives better. The people who earn revenue for social cause, appeal me a lot. I look at the organizations like CRY. These people are working for children. They are making business to return something back to society.
No arguments that one has social life as well as personal life and both of them have to be balanced. But then it has to be on both the sides.
Questions still continue…
What am I doing then? If I understand all this and really feel something then why am I not acting over it? Sitting in an AC room and commenting on social life doesn’t really reflect real urge for social work.
Sometimes I really wonder why each chain of questions ends up in maligning my own image in my mind! Anyway, the point here is about glamour. We have attached glamour to wrong things. Now all the consequences are reflection of that. Should we not give importance to the things that are really important?
We work for the team Dream India 2020. In fact, we are Team Dream India 2020. We are making an attempt to make a strong India by year 2020 with no odds. Though I am doing it, at some corner of the mind, it feels that I am not doing at the fullest. I, myself have not reached to the level what we talked about so far however I am leading towards it. This feeling certainly gives a bit of relief. But that is not an end. I know there is going to be a next incidence and the chain is going to start again! But this helps to improve. And I believe it helps to improve in positive direction. But it is also true that after certain stage in this questionnaire, I try to satisfy myself with some vague answers and try to run away! :-)
However working for social cause or making use of our skills to make the society better, is like a knowledge transfer that grows when spread. Similarly more we work for this cause; more energy we get. If we give your best, best of the best comes back to us.
I am not sure when this journey would end and I could finally get over this chain of questions. Well … this adds one more question to the unending chain! :-)
8 comments:
You seem to be gathering a lot of thoughts in one go... interesting! Meeting different people really raises a lot of questions. Sometimes about them, sometimes about self. I have never been able to find out what I want out of this whole business called as life. True - most people do find satisfaction in earning more money, rather than in spending it in right way and using it as a tool to live life. It’s really a great to see what you guys are doing for DI2020. Looking at it, one will not find it very difficult to believe that there are good, devoted people in this world and good things do happen. Your desire to get more n more into this is what takes to do better. A day will come when India will be strong, and you will be really glad to know that you were a part of it. I think you will find some satisfaction that time…
A good blog indeed, I must say.
Hmm.. I guess a better channel for ideas. Thanks for the inspiration! :-D
yes yes!
a good write up...
but i see sandy's comments more practical...
reading urs rohya for some reason i felt that u do not know what to do of the money u earn and that u lack a goal... yes there is that 2020 goal but then i again get confused at ur confusion about why ppl are after money.
i read somewhere that "if someone says money cannot buy happiness then they do not know where to shop for it".
please please do not associate money with only the meterialistic things u see around. i staunchly believe that what ever good u want to do for the society wud be well supported if u haev money to spare. and do not thing about some of the greedy ppl around..one has to get such questions when one sees ppl who are crazy after money and litereally do not know what to do with it. they are blind folded hungry dogs... i am glad u are not one of them and have been successful and will be in doing ur part for the betterment of the society...with ur actuive participation and of course money.
and if u still want to know what to do with the money u r earning my ICICI account no. is *********. feel free to drop in whatever u feel is excess with u. :)
Keep Walking and waking ppl up! :)
cheers,
ABC
Conscience kills by strangling.
Starts off with money being the "." and then ends up with social service. Loads of ideas or i might say thoughts scattered. a good read but then...a good read :)
Way to go Rohya!! Lage raho!! :) :)
Hey Rohit,
Interesting way of saying things without really saying anything. Dude! I could not understand where to begin and end. Its a bit confusing as the idea which bothers you or the concept which is unacceptable is not quite clear. You cannot work on a solution if the problem definition does not exist! Right?
So my dear friend, chill out relax, work on something which you like, which makes you happy (not money) and try not to change your job a million times like most other software engineers in India who are running after better position/ money / perks /.....
India - time and again has been labelled as the most rapidly upcoming and amazing economy of the world. But we are still getting there, we are not there yet. Your question should be: Will we ever get there?
The answer would be: MAYBE.
Let me talk about just one aspect of things: Employee turnover and motivation. People jump jobs and change them 3 times a year (specially in the software industry) coz of money / position. THis in turn makes the employment in India not so attractive as companies (MNC's) incur more training costs and employees become expensive by the day. SO one day the software guys in India will earn the same as the guys in the US and then the question will arise, why send all the work to India, why not do it here in the US? It costs the same and we have a lot of Indians and Americans and Chinese and others who could do it.
Are we not working against our own betterment? I think that is a thought to ponder upon.
And you know what: you can make this better by not changing your job too often once you find something you like.
Give India the advantage it has and let it RISE as it rightfully deserves.
Peace
The other Rohit Bhosale from Kolhapur ;-)
Rohit,
The squandering thoughts about money are not necessarily about the money but the purpose. Every human being constantly tries to bind any task to the purpose / outcome. And note that its relative, environmental, societal and last but not the least geographical too recently. Purpose can be tied to the money, power, success, comparison, popularity etc etc which will vary person to person. Out of which the basic nature of the status quo accountability is always comparative / relative. Note that there is a king in every animal living on the earth based on the prowess commonly agreed by that community. May it be elephants, monkeys, lion, or any other animal. Because of the exemplary power of BRAIN given by GOD, we tend to DEFINE the prowess every day. Whereas all other animals have not indulged in changing definition of the prowess. That prowess is defined relatively by every generation based on what they see, feel, read and experience. And then they easily come to conclusion that its nothing but the money which drives them. Charity, social responsibility are always secondary to average human being. Note that every animal in this world has to be selfish to identify the true purpose of the existence. Those (99.99% of the world) who run behind money will always end with sadness until they realize that the money is not the only thing. But to come to that conclusion, they need to experience the wealth as per their desire. Note that buffet, gates, murthy started philanthrophy when they were one of the richest persons on the earth. As we know there are three kinds of people in the world: 1. Who don't learn based on their mistakes ( sheeps or some animals) 2. who learn from their mistakes ( most of the human beings) 3. who learn from others' mistakes.
Note that our saints / some great people like swami vivekananda, ramkrishna paramhansa come under third category. We, the earthy people come under second category.
So its upto you under which category you want to fit in.
Best Wishes:
Your college friend
good one college friend :-)
That was quite soemthing!
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