Sumit Gupta (aka sumit4all)

Flash The Fish – And The Search for The Big Ocean

Sumit Gupta — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:16:54 +0000

There lived a fish so wonderful in the ocean that the tales of its beauty has reached far far lands. Her name was Flash. It was vibrantly colored with a tail called the “half moon“. All the other fish were envious of Flash for its long finned tail and brilliant colors. Its “D” shaped tail with sharp and crisp edges form almost a 180 degree angle. Flash also had the proud heritage of belonging to a rare family of fish who could breathe directly from air (apart from water).

But Flash had a worry. She was worried about and constantly looking for this thing called the “ocean“. She had heard about it and how beautiful and vast it was, but she couldn’t find it. She wandered all around the water, looking beneath the rocks and beyond the danger area where predator fishes reside, but to no avail. Her life was perfect in so many ways, but yet the meaning of ocean eluded her, and that spoiled her days.

Flash The Fish and the Search for the Great Ocean

She looked worried and anxious at all times due to this never ending search, and it started to impact her beauty too.

Word came one day to Flash that there was a wise teacher who knew the secrets behind the elusive ocean that she had been looking for. Without wasting a second, Flash waded through the currents, had to cross some very narrow ridges between under-water rocks to finally reach the place where the teacher was. She had heard that this teacher understood the meaning of the “great ocean”.

Flash finally asked, “Teacher, what is the great ocean? Where can I find it? Please tell me the secret, please. I have looked all around but couldn’t find it.”

And the teacher simply laughed. His laughter had a sense of calmness that only someone wise can display. It seemed like a song in perfect melody. But he just laughed.

— End of Story –

Why do you think the teacher simply laughed? What was the secret? Did he knew about the vast ocean?

Perhaps it was because the fish was in the ocean and yet looking for it. Separate the fish from the water, and there is no possibility of life. The ocean was its life. But Flash just didn’t realize it, and wasted all its beauty and other unique traits in this mindless search for the elusive ocean.

When was the last time you wondered about the meaning of life? Or do you recall how many days have you sat and thought about the secret of life, and made plans about how to ‘crack’ it? How you have sought different ways to find this “answer”?

(Laughter) (Laughter)

No related posts.

मुझे तेरी जरुरत है – Mujhe Teri Jaroorat Hai

Sumit Gupta — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:53:27 +0000

तुझे देखा तो यह माना
की तू सोने की मूरत है
तुझे जाना तो यह पहचाना
कि तू कितनी खूबसूरत है

मैं तो हो गया हूँ घायल
जबसे देखी तेरी नजाकत है
तेरी निगाहों ने कर दिया है कायल
बस एक ये ही शिकायत है

देख के तेरा चेहरा इतना भोला
सूझे मुझे भी पल पल शरारत है
जिस रोग ने बना दिया मुझे दीवाना
वोह तेरी याद ए मोहब्बत है

इतना इंतज़ार न करवाओ
कि अभी दूर वो शुभ मुहूरत है
बस जल्दी से तुम आ जाओ
कि अब मुझे तेरी जरुरत है

यह आँखें तुझे ही ढूंढे माँ

बड़ा मज़ा आये मुझे – Bada Maja Aaye Mujhe

जाने क्यों – Jaane Kyu

जो ज़िन्दगी को जीना सीख ले – Jo Zindagi Ko Jeena Seekh Le

Four Paths we Should Follow but Not Go Too Far and Where to Draw the Line (The Balanced Man)

Sumit Gupta — Wed, 01 May 2013 05:30:16 +0000

There are some traits we should all have – like being helpful, confident, proud and humble, and enough has been written about them. What I want to touch upon in this article are some traits which we should aspire to have but not go too far in that aspiration either. It is very important to maintain the right balance in the extent to we have these traits. By focusing on these things in this article, the aim is only to become the best version of ourselves, and not to become better than anyone else.

Path 1 – Be Proud and Confident but not Arrogant and Cocky

The balanced man is sure, secure and certain but never has an exaggerated sense of one’s own abilities. He doesn’t need to have a victim to become victorious. He knows his strengths and weaknesses well, and knows when to seek help. If he has a good idea, he shares it with the world rather than keeping it to himself. He takes action regularly towards his objective, and these actions doesn’t need to put anybody else down. He has ‘real’ confidence, which is authentic and genuine, and doesn’t let his insecurities translate into over-confidence. The balanced man understands this difference.

There is a fine line between being confident and being an asshole. There is nothing wrong in taking pride in your achievements, but it is also equally important to have a beginner’s mind when starting new projects. You need to acknowledge your successes, but should not use it as a tool to demand certain privileges for yourself.

Life is a Balancing Act

Path 2 – Be Nice but Not Let Others Take You for a Ride

Just as pride is important, humility is also a very important trait. It keeps us grounded and prevents us from flying based on past laurels. You know that you are skillful, but you also know what are your skill gaps and where you need to seek help. Apart from humility, another aspect of being nice is being patient and tolerant. We should be tolerant of the opinions and views of others, and patient with people and situations if we don’t get immediate results. The balanced man understands that his opinion is also an ‘opinion’, and other opinions are just as valid as his.

Having said that, we should never stretch ‘being nice’ too far that others start taking us for granted. There will be times when you have to put your foot down and remind people that there are lines which they should not cross. Again, this should not be done arrogantly or with a feeling of superiority but with calm and compassion towards others. The balanced man focuses on solutions to problems, and understands that sometimes a more aggressive approach might be what is required. You might need to step away from a job, stop talking to someone for a while, and so on. The balanced man is strong enough to face some short term pain and hurt but do the appropriate thing. The balanced man never loses himself to please others, or for being nice. He always knows his values and principles, and act with strength if the situation requires so.

Path 3 – Work Hard and with Dedication, but don’t let Anything Become an Obsession

We all admire the people who work with dedication, take on new challenges in life and have a great work ethic. But we also realize that these people don’t have a life outside of work and their work life balance is not that balanced. As with most things, there is a fine line here too, a line between dedication and obsession which the balanced man understands well.

The balanced man knows that life is like a wheel with many spokes, and work is only one of it. The other spokes are relationships, health, continuous learning, recreation, among others. The balanced man has goals and goes after them with planning, but doesn’t exhaust himself chasing more and more work. The balanced man knows the power of focus – they focus on work fully when they are at work, and to their family when they are at home. He doesn’t let one spill into another’s territory. He knows how to have an enriching and balanced life, and also understands that being obsessed towards any one aspect of life will have it consequences too.

Path 4 – Help Others but Don’t Patronize Others

The balanced man knows not only that helping others is a true way to give back to the world, but also that being helpful has its limits. We should know that if people need to learn and grow, they might be required to fail and learn their own lessons on their way. While one should always strive to encourage and plug any knowledge gaps, the balanced man realizes that doing the job for someone else is only going to make the other person weaker in the long run. Assistance is required sometimes, but people should have the freedom to make their own mistakes and learn from them.

By being too helpful, we start patronizing others. We start to give the message – “You are no good”. It is an insult to another human being, to his talent, and more importantly, to his ability to learn and adapt to the situation. That is making another inferior and taking false pride is our own superiority.

Having these four traits, but knowing where to draw the line is what will make you a Balanced Man.

The Car is Always Empty

Sumit Gupta — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:25:06 +0000

“Oh no, not again today. Why do these last minute tasks keep coming up at just the wrong time”, Vivek thought as he rushed out of his office in a hurry. The watch read 5:15 pm. “I might just escape the evening traffic.”, he murmured as he started his car.

He had traveled around 15 minutes and the traffic was smooth.

“So far so good”, he uttered as he approached a traffic signal, knowing that a real busy stretch was about to commence. He waited for the signal to turn green, which happened after around 90 seconds of waiting. But alas, even as the signal was green, the car in front of him didn’t move.

“What the …? What’s wrong with this …?”, he shouted as he rolled down his glass windows. “Why do people take their cars out if they don’t know how to drive?”, he said, his voice getting louder.

It has been 15 seconds now, and was only 30 seconds before the signal would turn red again. He honked, and then honked some more but to no effect. He decided it was time to give the driver an earful and got out of the car.

“Can’t you see the green signal in front? Will you bloody move……”, he stopped his angry tirade as he saw that the car in front of him had no driver in it and was empty. “Maybe it had broken down and the driver left it here to find help.”, he thought.

Realizing the futility of his honking and shouting now, he got back in his car, took a little reverse and then went around the car with no driver. He crossed the signal just as it turned red again. “What just happened?”, he said to himself as he drove off.

“If all it required was to take a little detour around the car in front of me, then why was I shouting and honking and getting angry, even when I know I am already running late.”

The Car is Always Empty

…. Silence …

“And where did my anger disappeared when I saw there was no driver. After that it was just common sense to drive off around the broken car. But where was that common sense before. How does it matter whether the car had a driver or not. I could have still drived off around it.”

This kept on puzzling him till he reached home an hour later. Later at night while having dinner, he suddenly shouted, “I got it. The car is always empty.” “Yes, it is always empty. Even if the driver is there, it is always empty”, he said it out aloud in excitement like he has just had an eureka moment.

Everyone around him on the dining table sat puzzled, wondering what has just happened to Vivek.

— End of Story –

Here is the thing – Whenever we encounter people and situations which don’t turn out as we ‘expect’ them to, we are finding an “empty car”, but we don’t always see it that way. We think that someone ‘else’ has spoiled our expectation when what is happening is normal, just plain normal life. We might judge them, curse them, and find other ways to justify ourself but the truth is that they are just living their lives as we are living ours, and they just happen to be ‘in our way’. Just like we also are in other’s ways multiple times a day.

This is a tough task, to separate the actions of the world from our judgement and ours always thinking mind, and see them just as they are. If we don’t get angry at the sun making us sweat, or the dust making us dirty, and we just do whatever is required, the similar is true for other empty cars too.

यह आँखें तुझे ही ढूंढे माँ

Sumit Gupta — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 08:30:30 +0000

सुबह सुबह जब आँख खुले
पल पल जब तक रात ढले
यह दिल तुझे ही महसूस करे माँ
और यह आँखें तुझे ही ढूंढें माँ

तेरी दांट मुझे अक्सर याद आये
प्रेम से पड़ी मार आज मुझे रुलाए
यह कान तेरी ही वाणी ढूंढे माँ
और यह आँखें तुझे ही ढूंढे माँ

तेरे हाथो का स्पर्श नहीं भूला मै
तेरी गोद की नींद नहीं भूला मै
यह मस्तक तेरा ही आँचल ढूंढे माँ
और यह आँखें तुझे ही ढूंढे माँ

तेरी ममता की चादर बहुत बड़ी है
तेरे प्यार की बोछार एक निरंतर झड़ी है
मेरा हर शब्द तुझे ही हर पल पुकारे माँ
और यह आँखें तुझे ही ढूंढे माँ

मुझे तेरी जरुरत है – Mujhe Teri Jaroorat Hai

माँ की हस्ती – Maa Ki Hasti (Who is a mother?)

बड़ा मज़ा आये मुझे – Bada Maja Aaye Mujhe

जो ज़िन्दगी को जीना सीख ले – Jo Zindagi Ko Jeena Seekh Le

जाने क्यों – Jaane Kyu

If You Can Do These Things, You’re a Winner

Sumit Gupta — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:57:02 +0000

How I describe a winner or success has changed tremendously in the last six to seven years. Very early in my career, I used to associate success and winning with results produced by the people involved, but the definition has changed tremendously now. Not that results and outcomes are not important, but I feel there is more than that to a person or team being called a winner.

In my book, a person is a winner if he/she can do the below three things -

1. Push themselves beyond their current limits, day after day, week after week and month after month. They do this despite the pain, the struggle, the discomfort that this ‘pushing‘ will create.
2. Sacrifice doing something where immediate rewards are guaranteed and continue working in an area where he/she is not even sure whether the rewards will come or not, because of some goal one is pursuing, or some ideals or values that one believes in.
3. Does whatever he does with intensity. Intensity causes performance, not duration. Can you run for 15 min instead of a 1 hr walk? Can you treat every second of your time as your most valuable resource and give nothing less than your best? And it is not just in business, can you bring the same intensity and performance whether you are gardening, coding, or having a conversation.

The excellency of every art is its intensity, capable of making all disagreeable evaporate. John Keats

I rarely push myself to exhaustion. I know if I could just increase my intensity in doing certain tasks, I can cut the duration by as much as 50%. But there is a huge comfort zone where I am, and the mind’s job is to survive, and it will resist doing anything which means enduring discomfort. The mind tricks us into thinking we have hit our limits long before we actually do.

I believe there is no sure shot way to outstanding results, and it can never be guaranteed. But what we all can control is how much intensity we put in whatever we do. Intensity is when a double amputee climbs a mount everest, intensity is when a person with no arms can fly a plane (search for Jessica Cox), intensity is when a 90 year old runs a marathon, or when you see the paralympics. Everybody will give in to the temptation (to procrastinate, to give up too early) some times, but I have seen many people who have been working with intensity, and they are my real heroes, my real winners.

Five lessons I have learned from failure

There is Never Nothing Going On

Sumit Gupta — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 04:18:50 +0000

“Mummy”, screamed the child as he craved for some attention from his mother. He has finished his cookies and coffee sitting on a rooftop coffee shop, a favorite of her mother.

“What beta?”, asked his mother as she glanced at him, taking her eyes away from some office work she was just about to complete on her laptop.

“You are busy, and our coffee is finished too. What am I supposed to do?”, said the child, clearly getting bored.

“Just a minute beta. My work is just about to…” She was interrupted before she could complete the sentence.

“There is nothing going on.”

Realizing that her son won’t take it anymore, she closed her laptop, took one last sip from her coffee and asked – “Now tell me son, what’s the matter?”

“It is so boring here mummy. There is nothing going on, let us go home.”, screamed the boy again, attracting the attention of a few people sitting close by.

There is Never Nothing Going On

“Let me tell you something. There is never nothing going on. Just relax for a moment and observe the waiters serving coffee to customers, different set of people leaving and coming in the coffee shop. Also observe the moods of different people, some are happy, some are sad, and look over there – those set of people are certainly arguing about something. Look outside, there are trees of different types. Can you spot the birds sitting on the branches? If you listen, you can even hear their chirping.”

“So what mom?”, asked the boy.

“What I want to say beta is that there is never nothing going on. It is only we who stop listening or feeling. Feel the cool breeze as it comes every few minutes on this side of the cafe. Savor this moment for what it has to offer. And that is why I love coming here and spend some time just relaxing. Never say life is boring, because it isn’t.”

“Hmm.. I guess we get bored sometimes, but life isn’t.”, exclaimed the boy, looking a little perplexed and amused at the same time.

“Great then, let me complete my work now.” And she opened her laptop again.

This time, the boy went over to the road facing side of the roof. I guess he was observing and feeling all that is happening on the road below.

बड़ा मज़ा आये मुझे – Bada Maja Aaye Mujhe

Sumit Gupta — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 01:09:33 +0000

थोडा थोडा करके तुम्हे सताने में
बातों बातों में तुम्हे हँसाने में
आँखें झुकाके तुम्हारे शर्माने में
सामने हो तो घूर घूर के देखने में
और कभी कभी तुम्हारी डांट खाने में
बड़ा मज़ा आये मुझे यह सब करने में ।।

सुबह सुबह तुम्हारी आँवाज़ सुनने में
रात भर बात करके तुम्हे जगाने में
खो जाना तेरे धीरे धीरे मुस्काने में
पंगे लेके तुझे जान बूझकर रुठाने में
और फिर प्यार से तुझे मानाने में
बड़ा मज़ा आये मुझे यह सब करने में ।।

तुम्हारे हाथो से पचरंगा आचार चखने में
बहुत इंतज़ार के बाद तुमसे मिलने में
बहाने बना कर तुम्हे अपने पास रखने में
मिलने के बाद तुम्हे जाने ना देने में
और छोटी छोटी बातो पे तुमसे लड़ने में
बड़ा मज़ा आये मुझे यह सब करने में ।।

साथ मिलकर अपने भाई बहनों को छेड़ने में
तुम्हारे लिए शरारत भरी शायरी लिखने में
अपनी पुरानी बीती यादें तुमसे बाटने में
तुम्हारी बातें सुनके तुम्हे समझने में
और पल पल तुम्हे अपने करीब लाने में
बड़ा मज़ा आये मुझे यह सब करने में ।।

Bada Maja Aaye Mujhe

Letting my Poetry Take Its Own Path

Sumit Gupta — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 03:33:30 +0000

It has been more than three years that I have been writing regularly on this site. I have written articles, poetry and lately short stories. How I write my articles and poetry differs greatly. Let me explain – with articles I normally research about a topic to get some real data and facts before sitting down to pen down my opinion. I normally have a list of topics at hand, which I slowly expand into bullet points and later into a full article. This is a very top to bottom process – something well thought about and planned.

However, how I write poetry is very different from what I described above. If article writing is a top to bottom process, then poetry is a bottom to top process. If article writing is planned, then writing poetry is spontaneous. The articles comes from the head and heart, while the poems originate from the soul. The articles are meant to be read, understood and analyzed, while the poems are just meant to be felt.

I don’t plan and write poetry. I don’t have a list of topics on which I have to write a poem. Instead, poetry writing feels like someone else is writing through me. It seems like I am just the medium and the words just come out automatically when I am in the ‘zone‘. After finishing a poem, sometimes I myself can’t believe I have written it. It is like I am a mirror reflecting the emotions in words which I absorb from the world as it is.

Poetry for me is just an arrangement of words such that it touches the heart and soul of the reader

When I write a poem, I feel a unique connection to the world. It is like I am painting a picture, but with words instead. It takes me into a new trance of consciousness where the possibilities are endless, and life is full of joy – even if the poem is about sad and tragic state of affairs. I feel poetry puts us all in touch with the most innocent child in us, and we are always going to need it.

I have not learned or studied about poetry ever. Poetry for me is a way of expressing my mood and emotions at that point. Depending on whether I am sad, romantic or nostalgic, my poems come out as reflecting the same. Even the subjects of the poem vary. I have written poems about corruption, politics, love, society, my mother, best friends, life depending upon the prevalent topic in my life at that time.

So my poetry takes its own path, independent of what I want to write. And I want to let it be that way. With poetry, I am willing to go where the flow takes me, without offering much resistance of my own. I am going to accept and write poetry about whatever life throws at me, rather than choosing a subject(s) and try to mold my poetry about it. Poetry also helps me to see things which are serious in a lighter vein. Life may be messy, chaotic, painful, sad at times and joyful, lovely, charming and completely perfect at other times. But the world as a whole is beautiful, and there is beauty all around us, if we can look at it that way.

The Final Act

Sumit Gupta — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 02:52:07 +0000

I have tried to scream, and to yell
Tried every way I could react,
But can you hear me? No one can tell..
How could this be the final act?

Sometimes I feel mad
So hard was the impact,
I sometimes wonder and feel sad
Is this curtains on the final act?

Motherhood

Suddenly I had to say Goodbye
It all seems so abstract
The only question I ask is – WHY
But no answers after the final act..

I think I lost a part of me,
As I no longer feel intact !
She must have completed her duty,
Without notice she scripted her final act !

Life only moves in one direction,
That is the only true fact !
I guess I have only one option,
To start afresh after her final act!!

Still 5 more Lessons of Wisdom from the Peaceful Warrior