Benefits of Failure

Like many people, I spend a good proportion of my time browsing the Internet. I visit CNN, Time of India and New York Times sites several times a day, besides Gmail, of course. Often, I hear a feeble voice asking me, "What the hell are your searching? Do you know it?" I hear the voice, ignore it and move on to the next destination in the cyberspace.

Today was no different. Not knowing what I was looking for and not finding anything interesting to read on my usual destinations, I happened to visit the Web site of TED. And there, I found a real gem. It's a commencement speech at the Harvard University by JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter series of novels. And she, successful as she has been, talks about something that we all want to run away from: failure.

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

God, me and our relationship

A friend of mine called me yesterday, and we had a long discussion about the most profound topic of all: existence of God. I have a few observations about my own connection with God:

1. Whenever I visit a temple, which is bit rare, I simply feel no connection with the statues there. Sometimes, I fail to recognize the various Gods housed in the temple.

Because of this lack of connection, I also don't feel like bowing down or folding my hands in front of those statues.

2. Having said that, I do remember thinking about God in certain specific situations. This has invaribaly happened in the hospital when one of my family members (mother, father, daughter, wife, etc.) is seriously sick and/or undergoing some kind of surgery. My interpretation of these instances is that when I am really, really desperate about something, I do turn to God.

3. Do I believe in the existence of God? Well, based on my actions, it seems, I am a believer, but only in certain specific situations. In normal day to day life, I don't think of God at all, and I don't worship.

4. I must add here that the reason for this strange relationship with God lies in my upbringing. I never saw my father and mother worshiping, except on festivals. We hardly visited temples though there was one nearby. I remember my mother telling once: "God lies in our deeds. Just do the right thing."

5. Finally, let me conclude with where I do see the glimpses of God: When I come face to face with a really innocent child, I do sometimes get this feeling that I am encountering God. So not only in a hospital, I do think of God when I am with an innocent child. The key word here is "innocent."

I had no plans of writing about God or anything today, but that's life: Unpredictable and mysterious.