Socrates is challenging us: a life without self-reflection and explorCommunity of practiceation is not worth living. Can we reflect and explore: how we would be happy in our work; how our relationships would become enduring sources of happiness; how we would live a life of integrity, not doing wrong, unethical, and illegal things. Are we doing deals, or building up people? Can we spend 15 minutes a day, everyday, reading, thinking, and writing why we are doing whatever we are doing? Is it in sync with our very reason for existence? Can we get our purpose thought through and articulated? Sooner, even if it is revised often as we flow in life. How do we allocate our time, energy, and talent, in our lives, to the aspects that matter the most? Can we be reasonably long-term oriented for this? Can we transcend instant results, instant gratification?
Can we visualize possibilities? Can we realize these possibilities? Can we work with our team(s) towards these? A culture that builds being together, working together, supporting one another, picking up the batons, et al. Can we nurture this? Can we let ‘just this once’ not take charge of our way? If we agree to values and non-negotiables, can we stick all the time, 100%? Can we feel good about ourselves, and have humble eagerness? Can we worry about our influence to help in bettering lives rather than our individual prominence? Can we plan and work to end our lives in joy, not otherwise?
Six decades took me to several schools, Gurukulams, and Gorky’s ‘My Universities’. Home. The school in Gundrampally. Residential school, Sarval. The first Gurukulam in the country started by state in the post-independence era, thanks to PV Narasimha Rao sir. Residential Junior College, Nagarjuna Sagar, on the banks of River Krishna. National Institute of Technology, earlier called Regional Engineering College, Warangal. Reflection and exploration peaked. Institute of Rural Management, Anand, National Dairy Development Board, Collectives. A direction was being confirmed. Tribal communities, Girijan Corporation et al. Commons, Tree growers. Participation, Outreach. Payback, Naandi. Self-help movement – identity, solidarity, capacity, rights, well-being, and freedom – that takes people to take charge of their destinies. Women, Disabled, Elders, and Marginal Communities. Livelihoods, Akshara and its portfolio of livelihoods collectives, livelihoods support organizations, enterprises, and individuals. National Institute of Rural Development and its students. National Rural Livelihoods Mission. Natural Farming. Maybe more are waiting. Swaadhyaay, Sahaadhyaayees, Aachaaryas, and students have ensured that we remain on course. Firmly, feet on ground, not deterred from being useful. We get going forward, with hope, faith, promise, love, and coexistence.
Blessed to be in these gurukulams. Blessed to be with Gurus, friends who put more faith in us, much more than we could imagine. They made all the difference, to come this far. And a long way to go. Paths need to be discovered. Vehicles need to be figured out. Skills need to be refreshed, Tools need to be sharpened. Maps need to be redrawn. Time, energy, talent, competencies, networks, and resources need to be pulled up from within, mobilized from without, organized, and allocated. Can we do this?
Can we have a new gurukulam(s) that pools up gurus, builds more gurus, and gives deeksha to all who are ready to respond to a collective call for localized, customized, communitized n-living?
Yes, we can. If we coexist, if we co-reflect, explore, flow. In N? abhyaasayoga for 7L.
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