'The Secret' : A Review

'The Secret' written by Rhonda Byrne in 2006 is a self help book which has been a roaring success with the book being translated into 44 languages and has sold well over 21 million copies all over the world; not to forget there is also a movie on it. It will serve you a dose of positive thinking which is so much needed in this world. So basically, it is based on the law of attraction and the effect of positive thinking.

It would be unfair to term this book as 'just a good' book. It is one such book that you want to buy and keep it with you rather than getting it issued from a library. Though I was bit surprised at some of the advice offered in the book.

What I learned from 'The Secret'

The following are a summary of points that I liked :

• If you focus on something with emotion, you will attract that thing to you.
• The law of attraction that determines the complete order of universe through the process of 'like attracts like'. It envisages that whatever thoughts we dwell on, we attract similar thoughts in our life.
• Positive and negative emotions both attract, but positive emotions are stronger. Gratitude and love are the strongest emotions.
• You should act in a way that is in congruence with with your desires, or else you can contradict your wishes.
• It doesn't matter if that emotion is positive or negative, you will still attract the thing you're concentrating on. If you focus on losing weight, you will attract weight. If you focus on winning sweepstakes, you will win more often.
• Time is an illusion, and the things you want – that perfect body, or whatever – you already have. So you should act as if you already have the things you desired, and you should be grateful for those things. 

What I didn't like about 'The Secret'

• The Secret says that nothing bad will happen to you unless you attract those things to you. But some terrible things happen to people that are out of their control. I don't believe that people attract those things to them.
• Sometimes, The Secret seems impractical and unrealistic. For example, it says that focusing on illness attracts illness to you, and that you should focus on being healthy and feeling great. That's fine, but it then says that if someone wants to talk about their illness, you should change the subject or walk away. We've all been comforted by discussing hurtful things with a loved one. To not be allowed to discuss or think about negative things at all seems unrealistic and downright mean.
• The Secret focuses a bit too much on wishing, and almost completely ignores doing.  

My Conclusions

I have only read the book and till date haven't yet watched the movie. These are my personal experiences from reading the book. The book is very helpful and it brought out a refreshing change of perception towards life in me. But some of the advice seemed over the top and unbelievable that I thought was too much philosophy.

But I've found myself talking and thinking about 'The Secret' quite a lot since I finished reading and I've have been less inclined to complain or focus on negative things.

I would suggest that the book is still worth a read. However don't be afraid to ignore the parts of 'The Secret' that don't appeal to you.

Siblings - Companions for life.

In the contemporary setting, when days and night blend into each other in an incongruent haze and the rush of things overpowers us, individuals do stop and think about great puzzle called life and relationships. One of the important relationship among many of those is that of siblings(including cousins as well). It's not the easiest job in the world being a sibling. We are often not wanted; occassionally pounded and most of the times taken for granted. From the time we see the light of the day, our brothers and sisters are our collaborators and co-conspirators(for mostly carrying out pranks) and our role models. They are our friends, protectors, goads, chocolate thieves, tormentors, counselors, sometimes sources of envy, objects of pride.

They teach us how to resolve conflicts and how to and how not to conduct friendships. Our spouses arrive comparatively late in our life; our parents eventually leave us. Our siblings may be the only people who qualify as partners for life. Those of us who are blessed with a younger sibling know what an irritating pest he/she can be. They are usurpers of love and attention, mamma and papa's favourite and nosey parkers who listen in on telephonic conversations. And for those who have the great elder sibling in our life know what it is. Parents' first love, know it all, moral police; they have many of us complaining to our parents that with them in the scene, life will always become as hands-me-down.

But the joys of having a sibling easily outnumber these minor or little bothers. With a blink of an eye we grow up, so with a sibling, the process becomes a lot more memorable; They become a witness to your past, a keeper of your secrets and a place of home with ever flowing love and affection. A sibling is that sign on the highway telling where we had decided to go and how to get there.
He/she may be sometimes your worst critic but he/she is always your fiercest protector. While there are some ceaseless and often merciless teasing but yet there is always a overriding concern for safety and well being. Also praying a prank is their exclusive right and there are no safe hiding places for anyone who dares to that.

They are the arms of comfort when we need it the most, the pillars of strength when we are down and out in life. They are all ears when we rant against the unfair ways of the world and many times bring us some memorable birthday gifts. The collection of memories with siblings and cousins bring stroke of laughter and sometimes tears when all reminiscences of the past are brought out, dusted in warmly lit rooms.

Brothers and Sisters. Cousins. Siblings. Emotional Attachments. Heartstrings. Love and care. The people who make our life. richer. better. amazing. And easier.!! 

Is Indian judicial system really aiding its citizens??

The Indian judicial system was constituted with much fanfare in 1950. But after 62 years is the system really helping our people? The answer I think is a big NO (to which most people would agree with me). Many cases are still pending and some of those involved in crime are roaming free after inconsequential inquiries. The system itself is very slow in deciding even the dates for a hearing in court. I can understand there may be a hell lot of work for the people working over there but why not constitute fast track courts for a better society and for a country with the second largest manpower supply to say that they are short of individuals is plain ridiculous.

It is a no hidden secret that if you have a strong political support or background you can survive in this country for infinite years even after committing an Rs 2000 crore scam or 4-5 murders. While the system has been partial to politicians and their cronies it has dealt its citizens with rough hands. The problem starts at the root level itself, the police react strongly or quickly only when there is media outburst or some political pressure. I fail to understand the slow actions of police or any other Government Agency for that matter against domestic violence and other heinous crimes. And the punishment for all these crimes isn't adequate to provide some sort of lessons to these animals who have been wrongly drafted into a human being's body. Even if they are caught, they are out on bail in a few days or weeks may be. The emotional pain and agony suffered by women because of an incompetent system is a depressing commentary on the state of affairs in our country. The recent Guwahati incident or the other incident in Noida a few months back have shown us that the females are still far from safety and the laws are not stringent enough to punish those devils.

Lets go back to recent history, A Raja, who was involved in a scam amounting to a figure that can't even be computed on a calculator, is enjoying his life after spending just 15 months in jail and there too he had access to TV, books and other things to just relax. It seemed as if he was relaxing there and not serving a punishment which was assumed by 1.2 billion of this country. He is out of the Jail, P Chidambaram is cleared of the charges against him and all the bigwigs who were engaged in 2G scam have also been granted bail. I bet there is a strong political influence in CBI and other such organisations otherwise the outcome of some of the cases would have been different.
Even a terrorist like Ajmal Kasab has not been hanged till death even after having more than enough evidence about his activities on November 26, 2008. He is pretty much safe here than even in his own country. I can't foresee a reason for him to stay alive; just kill him and telecast that thing live on TV. It would be a big relief for every Indian citizen. It would also send a strong message to our enigmatic and terrorist producing neighbour - Pakistan.

There have been many cases demanding justice and that justice has remained nothing more than a dream. What this judicial system has done is that it has made people lose any hope of justice and peace in their lives. They suffer and they continue to suffer and then they succumb to death. As, I have said earlier the solution is fast track courts and appointment of new individuals with a sense of integrity and honesty. Also the mindset of the bureaucrats has to change. If they discharge their duties effectively then I believe the situation will be different come next few years. The feelings of empathy and compassion towards the victims will also help to soothe their pain.

We all can only hope that may be some day this problem would cease to exist and a system that can be trusted blindly comes into existence.

What really matters in life (and what doesn't)

I am probably way too young to be talking about this but since last many months i have been observing many countless souls frustated or distressed by daily life and which made me think over on what really matters in life. There are happy and sad phases and that's part of life, accept it or not. But what really surprises me is the daily bitching about how monotonous or miserable one's life has become. You find people complaining about relationships, work, lack of parking space, other people's attitude, neighbour's bad habits, and the list is endless, some people are also stressed about how they are unable to install new version of Angry Birds. Are these things really worth stressing about? Here is what i conclude with:

What doesn't matter in life :

Life would be much better and satisfying if everyone could do away with (or at least de-prioritizing the following) two aspects:

 Material Possessions: 
 Many scholars, thinkers have time and again proved that material possessions are source of most of the stress we face in our daily lives. Modern technology (and compulsion to keep up with it) only makes it much worse than it actually is. Your car AC is not working, your phone screen got a crack or you are unable to install USB drivers. Possessions end up taking over your daily life and you don’t even realize that. Wouldn’t you be much happier and free if you need not bother about constant purchasing, maintaining and discarding of possessions? I’m not advocating complete asceticism but my point here is that it is OK to be still using Windows XP. It is OK to travel by bus. It is OK to be like a free bird without any heavy baggage of material possessions.

Ego:

Ego is the very stress creating factor in life. The compulsive drive to prove yourself right (and others wrong), the obsession with (financially) outdoing your peers, neighbours & friends, the fights over how the wall is painted with the wrong shade of blue. In long run, do these little ego fights really matter?. It is very hard to let go all these small things. May be some day we can hope to live a life without any ego or complications.

What does matter in life :

Experiences:

New and adventureous experiences add a dimension to life. Experiences excite, teach and rejuvenate you. Unlike material possessions, the memories, stories and photographs of these experiences will never fade away and certainly don’t require an upkeep. The best part about these experiences is that you get to meet many interesting people, some of whom can also become lifelong friends and partners.

Relationships and bondings:

Treasuring and maintaining the relationships that you have with your parents, siblings, friends, teachers, children and even neighbours is one of the most appeasing quality of life. Humans need humans to stay happy and sane. Doesn’t joy and happiness become real only if you have other people to share it with? You need people to share your experiences with.!