Chapter 28

.... If what prudence dictates, conscience does not accept, misery will result.


.... Neither be a spendthrift and be in doldrums later in life, nor be stingy and leave things for others to splash.

.... In marital life "sari sari" is the right attitude to see more and more anniversaries.

.... Weakness in body and forgetfulness are natural signs of old age ,and should not be resented. Only if youthful instincts sprout, this will be a cause for concern.

.... Bad habits are easy to acquire but difficult to give up. Good habits are difficult to acquire but wear out easily. Lopsided leverage. Who is to blame?

.... Dedication, delegation, discretion and diplomacy may be some of the vital ingredients in the field of administration.

.... Most unlawful things are executed behind doors. The converse is not true.

.... It is unfortunate to see third rate scoundrels dying in ripe old age, whereas their life should have been cut short long long ago, by orders of court, accident, natural calamity, or any other deserving manner.     

.... Pain and pleasure may be said to be inescapable conditions in life. This may be sound philosophy, but brings no solace to the man writhing in pain.

.... Often pain is an offshoot of pleasure overindulged in.

.... Deep rooted trees, from the distant past, are mercilessly felled to make way for wide roads to meet increased traffic needs of the distant future.

.... Injustice is not of recent origin as some are apt to believe. It has been there from time immemorial.

.... Senior citizens are like idling petrol engines, but without any hope for revival of activity.

....Decisions taken on ethical grounds are sometimes under compulsion to be modified on financial consideration.

.... Everyman learns from his experience or at least is expected to do so. But the wise learn from the experience of others.

.... Identical views on many subjects is a prerequisite for comradery. Widely different views, give wide scope for growing animosity. These reactions are more prominent in marital relationships.

.... Belief belittles reason. Belies reason. Bypasses reason. Beyond reason.

.... Life is like a machine. You have to solve problems as and when they occur. No manual. No authorised workshop of the Creator. No guarantee.
     No insurance.

.... People travel in opposite directions in a road but do not bump on each other. They follow the rules. Same in life too. The preferred road to salvation can be different. But the journey can be smooth for  everybody (but for fanatics).

.... Thick forest. Pitch darkness. Blinding rain. Biting cold. None in sight. A lion roars. Reason absconds. Faith descends and appeals as never before. And say, it is all a dream.. you wake up. Faith absconds .Reason descends!

....Rhyme may be weak in reason, or may be even against reason, but has impact. Can carry the day with most people.

.... When you talk of somebody, usually you dont tell all that you know of him, but tell only what all you consider safe or proper to disclose. Hallmark of decency.

.... If you tell something to a man with a free mind, and without consideration of prudence, you must be prepared for his passing on the info on a wide scale, getting you the desired or detrimental publicity.

.... God exists no doubt. But suffering also exists. Their coexistence is a mystery and tragedy, tonnes of philosophy notwithstanding. What is needed is not a learned explanation for the suffering, but an unconditional and absolute freedom from it under all circumstances for all living beings. The very word suffering or pain should not appear in the dictionary. That failing, there can be no solace from any belief system. Having been delivered on earth, without request ,consent or knowledge, such expectation will be quite natural pertinent and perfectly justified, and by no means arrogant or unwarranted.

....There is a vast difference between the dead of night and light from the sun being hidden by a passing cloud. Check up this when next your spirits are down. May be the cloud will pass.

.... You check out of hotel on payment of dues. You are chucked out if you fail to pay.

.... A person in a vulnerable position will always be alert and defensive, and cannot digest remarks made in good humour.

.... If you are interested in knowing the financial prospects of a good friend, close relative or dependant, that is legitimate concern. If he be just a neighbour or stranger altogether, that is idle curiosity.

.... Faith without effort is like engine without fuel.

.... A person who condemns all foresight of problems as negative thinking is sure hurtling towards disaster, sooner or later.

.... What you earn or what you spend does not count in life, as much as the difference between the two, which makes all the difference in life.

.... Considered advice has come to mean considering whether the advice will be accepted or not by the other party(knowing full well what he is made up of) and not considering all the circumstances relevant to the situation. Telling effect of changing times.

....Only one thing is guaranteed in life. .And that is that there is no guarantee for anything in life.

.... Man proposes. Nobody knows who disposes.

....Those whom gods love die young, it is said. A corollary is that those whom gods do not love live long.

.... Readership for a book can swell or sink, depending on the equation between the mind of the writer and the taste of the reader.

....democracy involves a process in which (mostly) people who are not interested in public welfare, or competent to get things done, are elected to power, by people of the same calibre, while the rest watch it like a film.

....Midleclass stand off and watch politics like a film. Naturally the show ends as a tragedy.

.... Money gets votes. Votes get power. Power gets money. A vicious circle..

.... In politics, honesty, capacity, knowledge, qualification, practical experience, public interest, sacrificial temperament, real concern for the needy have all no place. Have cash and rhetoric? Then jump into fray. Then sky is the limit.

....Many apps are free. In some cases, they will land you in hell. That is also free!

....For some, sympathy is solace. For some others it is an irritant.

....Some succumb to the course of visiting misfortune at very first sight. Some others face nonchalantly, strive, survive and thrive. Quality of material.

....Good and great ideas will not spread like forest fire.

.... The bulk of readers want to lighten the burden in the brain, and not to saddle it with additional load.

....Ideas may remain unsold till discovery of their worth, or till eternity as destined.

.... The nature of a book decides the extent of reception from the readers. The lighter the vein, the larger the readership.

.... Spreading an idea is also marketing. But with a difference. The idea is not to please the customer but to enlighten him.

.... A doctor prescribes what the patient's body needs and not what the patient likes to have. This applies to writers also when it comes to expression of ideas. He writes what, he thinks, the society needs to know and not what the society likes to read.

.... People who are now pretty old were once young. But the young were not old at anytime before. Herein lies the plus point of experience. Of course, allowance has to be made for technological advances over the years, but still some life experiences are valid for all times.