Neti Panchatantra

"Fifty Sixty years ago, convincing parents to educate their kids was a challenge.They didn't know what education was. Even now it is difficult to convince them, they still don't know what it is! But they put in all their money into it. What will a parent not do for his kid's future? This  is why the coaching mills are surviving". dialogue by a characer-Dr Anjaneya Prasad.

Princes were educated by Vishnu Sharma, through Panchatantra.He tells them stories and talks about the economy at that time. Can we get someone like that, for this age? But how can we explain this complicated economy and that "career is something beyond a pay-cheque"? We explore these questions. Kids who can't do high school algebra, are made to clear the JEE. JEE is just a goal shaping a great journey.

It's a story of love, love between trust and confidence and love between idealism and benevolence. Its a war between leadership and dictatorship and its a war between positivism and negative attitude. A dictator is born out of negative thoughts and leadership emerges from positive thoughts.

The Characters

Confidence: Kicku is the male protagonist, with infectious enthusiasm and passion. His attitude and ability can only be compared to that of Lord Hanuman who brought the whole mountain, as he didnt know where Sanjeevani was. He believes that success is more of a journey than a destination. He realized that his real kick is in finding his kick, which is never stable. He loves his heart and so he does what he loves and also learns to love what he does.

Trust: The female protagonist is a medico. She had a self-centered life until a compulsory medical camp had completely transformed her. She tries to understand equality and tries to get  insights into economic equality. She resorts to Adam Smith for answers. Apart from this, she is known for her "namakkam theory".She tells people why trust is important and I think this dialogue sums that up.

"When miracles happen, we won't know. If we could, we wouldn't call that a miracle. We must have faith in architects of those miracles. Trust them and be a creator".

Benevolence: Devaki is a techie and has taken a year off to understand her goals. She is into social service. A person pure at heart can't be touched by anybody.  She believes people waste money, on what they don't need. This could be used to feed the needy and that's what she does, it does make a funny watch. The way she gets people to donate money/food, is entertaining part of this character. Inspired by a character in Sekhar Kammula's Dollardreams.

Perfectionism: Shamil wants everything in life to work ideally. He is inspired by Sekhar Kammula's Leader and a big fan of Rana Daggubati. He is a good teacher and is interested in exploring teaching techniques. Its not possible for everything to be ideal, but this never ending never attainable quest leads to human excellence, if led by a guru's wisdom.

Dr Vishnu Sharma: PhD from Stanford and permanent faculty at IAS Princeton. He has left all of that, in search of spirituality. He takes immense interest in philosophy too. He goes around giving talks, to share this excitement of rediscovering himself. He guides Shamil through this questions of ethics and whats right and whats not.

Dr Anjaneya Prasad: Double PhD in Theoretical Physics and Telugu. He had quit a research career to take up journalism. He had fought against corruption and politics. A symbol of courage, wisdom and his careers makes you feel that money is just a piece of paper. He is the human form of "Simhatatvam" he has everything in him, including the timing. However he is no longer following politics and has been concentrating on a bigger evil, the education business. He is Suryabhai's guru.

Suryabhai: A dictator who feels that its a power which can bring prosperity to this world. He feels freedom comes at the cost of public welfare. He is into coaching business and believes in "student export, money import". He believes in change through revolutions alone and is not patient enough to even consider evolution. Every revolutionary had one man cautioning him and here we have Dr Prasad guiding him. He is pro-capitalism and strongly against socialist thoughts. He says if a Leader could really emerge in a democracy, we wouldn't even need that leader.

Media Murthy: An alumni of IIT and IIM and a marketing genius. He consults for business and mostly coaching centers. He is famous for the rare ads he designs,he is mostly into campaign designing.

Neti Panchatantra is journey involving these guys, united by a common goal-the struggle for existence.


PS:

Trust makes nations developed and it is not that there is confidence in developed countries. Irrespective of who came first, a hen comes out of an egg.

Benevolence and Idealism are "never ending never attainable" quests, but it is this search of our soul within, which leads to human excellence.

Leadership: Hear your Soul

Why does Leadership crash? Are Leaders really self-less? Why do Leaders emerge from revolutions? Such questions immersed me into a journey of great thoughts.

A Leader has a vision, driven by not necessarily money or fame. He motivates like minded people into what would intially be just his cause. People's time,money and effort go in. They follow him,expecting a fruit. Self-interest drives everyone. A Leader must know that and tame his self interest, but not too much to kill his originality.

The apparent need to consolidate his power and to keep his words, is the root cause of misdirected Leadership. False sense of reputation/image is dangerous. It takes experience and character, to rise beyond ego and pride.

Nobody is 'God' and it's okay to have flaws exposed. Facing criticism is quite essential. Iron has to be horribly smelted,to put to use. Best bet is to keep things funny. "If you wanna say something on my back, come to me I will tell you more". This realization kills ego and hence enlightens the soul within.

A Leader must know-"Vision not goals". Leader is one who evolves with time. Goals will either change or just remain goals. Vision guides against time. Goals just shape the journey. Success is more of a journey than a goal. Deep vision helps finding life in the journey and an answer within the question.

The Gita says, "be oblivious of victory and defeat". Vision is above everything and not mere exam grades or money. Work with hunger, but don't hope for result. Expectation is the root cause for resentment. Work and wait for a surprise, deserve but don't desire. Love your heart, keep giving it surprises.Disappoint the disappointment with your efforts.

"A Leader must be self-less"! Not a saint, devoid of wealth and materialistic needs. Selfless means learning to put people ahead of oneself, not to lose yourself. It also means taming of necessary evils like ego and pride within. It's the fire which keeps a train moving,but constrain it to the engine.

Purity is just one side of the Leadership story. Understanding the team is the other. That's impossible by bypassing talking. A Leader must interact and maintain transparency in the troop. People have given in everything, to get something. It is the Leader who must ensure justice to their efforts.

Mistakes happen and optimality is usually not a reality. The Leader must resolve them. This responsibility differentiates a  Leader from a follower. Problem solving is the joy of life. Would the world be so beautiful without a struggle for existence? The Leader absorbs the struggle and shows the beauty. It is easy to get carried away! Remember, Leader's job is not to be nice to people, it is to make them better.

I call this "Simhatatvam". Can you hear it? Discover yourself and listen to your inner voice! If it is all going right, this heavenly sound is comparable to no godly creation but the roaring of a Simham. Heard that? It is this Simham within, which gives a deaf ear to criticism. It provides strength for the struggle. Simhatatvam gets you respect, but beware! The wicked wolf ego lives by its grace. You are either a master or a slave, so tame them.

Inspiring Leadership can make wonders happen. It unites the faculties in people and converts resources into utility. True Leadership is a great feeling. You lose yourself and then find oneself at the "pinnacle of glory". Thank god there are worldly troubles, to return back safely!

Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum Lyrics Meaning

First on net. Please do comment mistakes/refinements so that I could update them. It will need collaborative effort to understand this master-piece of Sirivennela Seetharamashastry garu.

Movie: Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum(2012)
Song: Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum
Lyricist: Sirivennela Seetharamashastry
Story, Screenplay & Direction: Krish Jagarlamudi
Production: Rajiv Reddy and Sai Babu Jagarlamudi
Cast: Rana Daggubati, Nayanatara, Kota Srinivas Rao, L.B.Sriram, Raghubabu, Murali Sharma
Dialogue: Sai Madhav Burra
Music: Mani Sharma

It might be easily mistaken to be an old epic describing a war,
but it is the truth of our lives and this is the essence of the Gita.

Matsya Avataram
Disaster could surpass the sea's tide limit,
and sink the world, which has forgotten the roots of Dharma.
So, he instruced Satyavratha,
and helped in protecting of the world,
A fish showed the naval direction,
and this is the evidence of time's progress being anchored.

Kurma Avataram
The great duty to be performed was not bearable,
frustration of not getting the desired had been swept.
They tried and impatience,helpless swept through
 the patient turtle defeated the defeat.
This is the secret of the Milky Way

Adhivaraha Avataram
Those insane who created shivers,carried the earth and tried to immerse it into the cosmic seas,
were pierced through his tusks
And he blessed the resolute,
The two-tusked warrior's divine sound, the aadhi-varaha(board) form.

Narasimha Avataram
Where?
Why did your Hari hide? of fear!
Ask him to come out
Can he face me and win? By strengthening?
Ask the land on which you are standing
Ask the life in your pulse
Ask the warmth of your blood
Ask the air in your breath
Ask the sky under your step
Join the man and the hari in you
And show that you are the narahari

Unmattha mathanga bangikathu kakavikathi
Hantru sankrathanee krudanee veedanee jagathi
Ahamu radhamai yethike avanikidhe asali nihathi
Aakatayula nihati anivaryamavu niyathi
Shitha hasthi hatha mastha kaarinaka savakaasiyo...
Kroorasi krosi hruthadaya damstula dosi masi cheya mahitha yagnam

This paragraph is about Hiranyakashyapa. His ego had surpassed limits and he began to question the existence of god.

This is the real death for those who ego becomes a chariot and searches the whole earth
Ignorant fools death can't be avoided, its decided.
This is the mahitha yagnam(mahitha means) to burn the cruel,mercy-less evils to ashes.

Vamana(Trivikrama) Avataram
The universe is Immeasurable,Unexpectable,Clear,Endless
A small form of vishwam is this human form
Our half knowledge mirages it to be a dwarf form
Trivikrama had conquered the three worlds with three steps

Whatever is happening is the lord's divine drama
Whatever is happening is the lord's divine drama

Bhargava(Parashurama) Avataram
Sins had grown as a tree, unbearable for the earth
And didn't let the dharmagyanis grow
The lord had become Parashurama..Bayadha-bheema
He remains as the idol of Dharma's existence
Bhargava is Kshatriya Brahmana(Shrotriya)

Sri Rama Avataram
Devoid of glory, devoid of magic,
In a believable manner, without any secrets,
he was born as a human and he lived as a human.
To remain as a jewel in history of the earth,
is possible, and to prove this the lord came down to the earth as Rama.

Sri Krishna Avataram
These many roles these many characters.
The gnana(knowledge)-darpanam(mirror) to introduce you to yourself,
is only krishnavataram, ever since the origin of this universe.

The Ashta Siddhis and the Viswaroopam in you
Animada,Mahimaga,Garimaga,Lakhimaga,Praptiga
Pragamyavartiga,Eesatvamuga,Vasistvamuga

• Aṇimā: reducing one's body even to the size of an atom
• Mahima: expanding one's body to an infinitely large size
• Garima: becoming infinitely heavy
• Laghima: becoming almost weightless
• Prāpti: having unrestricted access to all places
• Prākāmya: realizing whatever one desires
• Iṣṭva: possessing absolute lordship
• Vaśtva: the power to subjugate all

When you recognize these eight siddhis in you,
You will see viswaroopam in your very own roopam

Lose vision over others(stop bothering about others),
Bow down, join your hand and become the student,
you are your own guru, who will end your curiosity.

Vandhe krishnam jagadgurum
Vandhe krishnam jagadgurum
Krishnam vandhe jagadgurum
Krishnam vandhe jagadgurum
Vandhe krishnam jagadgurum
Vandhe krishnam jagadgurum
Krishnam vandhe jagadgurum
Krishnam vandhe jagadgurum
KRISHNAM VANDHE JAGADGURUM

I would post word by word meanings soon. Special thanks to Sharath Chandra for help with some tough words.

Entrepreneurship

I was trying to put some thoughts together.But they just didnt appear to fall into the right place, until I had read "The Mind of the Market" by Michael Shermer. There is a chapter on "Don't think evil", the difference between Google and Enron. It talks about the secret of Google success-"work atmosphere" and the reason for Enron's collapse "corruption and internal degradation due to points system".

A business survives strategizes on (i)a share of a huge market (ii) unique selling proposition. We always went after the second one. We believed that we are unique and are doing something to shatter the earth. Our biggest resource was the team, people who wanted to do something different. People driven by passion coming together towards the mission with a well defined vision. Sometimes the goals were a little too abstract and people were not quite content with the output.

Ideas emerge in two ways-revolution and evolution. I had always believed in revolutions. Works get finished smoothly and rather quickly in that mode. However, the aftermath of revolutions is quite nasty. People somehow got into it looking for something and if they don't get what they wanted, it goes horribly wrong. This is because revolutions are always absorbing and people hate that. Hardwork for nothing is definitely painful. Revolutions create great leaders when succesful, but they also defame the guy.


They say "team is beyond the people". We get carried away by this thought, we go in rather too deeply. I would also like to point out that "team emerges from the people". Contingencies shape outcomes in life and people influence the organization. Real success of an organization comes when several brains work on the task in sync, when you empower people. These thoughts made me stop following Indian test team, they day VVS Laxman had got insulted. That's how I value individuals now. Steve Jobs said "Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have. When Apple came up with the Mac, IBM was spending at least 100 times more on R&D. It's not about money. It's about the people you have, how you're led, and how much you get it."

I remember telling this to few of my friends. The reason we chose you in my team is that you have the skills. I don't buy the idea of rat-race and competition. If someone tells me that I can get a better person. I would tell him that you are our "aadmi" and hence better than the best. Every body is unique and the output is an emergent property and not by individual skills. We want a team of friends not a list of stars. Paper strength is just an illusion.

A Leader is one who reinvents himself from time to time. In these few weeks, I invested my time in studying "people" and "money". They are the pillars of any organization. People, movies,books,ideas reinforced the need to be "nice" to people.

I believe I always had the sincerity and it was only the attitude which created issues. I just wanted to convey my thoughts with you to regain your trust. I would like to be a leader and not a manager. I am interested in innovation and not in business. I am interested in something beyond money and power, in seeing my vision come true. My only aim in life is to follow my heart, learn on the way and do some "good" things along. The confidence and the attitude is what gave me all I have, but it also strains relationships and I believe talking will help amend that.

Dear Dosthulu

Read this, I said. Actually, an SMS said "wl cal u tonite". The call may have been vague too, if at all I did call. So I decided to put this here, something I wanted to tell to two kinds of people.Those who like me and those who hate me, basically those who care.

Some people say I am energetic, some call it over-enthu. What ever it may be, I got into a lot of things. Made lots of friends and some of them admire me, it feels good. I had caused pain to some. That's not nice, isn't it! To add salt to the wounds, the helplessness and the frantic attempts to restore their faith in me. But now I realize, nothing works better than talking, talking face to face.

Transparency and openness are more important than they appear to be. If there is something nice or bad about me, please do tell. You know, I can take insults!(if you don't agree, tell that too). If there is something nice..then too yaar (naaku pogadtalu chaala ishtamga :P). Tell me on the face dude, chalta hain! That's way way better than losing you. Mari antha ledu ani telusugani..edo chepesenu anthe..

If you are planning to say "emaindi bhaiyya" or "em kavali bey". Well this is how my opinion changed.

"Visiting cards, contact numbers never go waste, evadu avasaram epudu padtunde chepalem"
"Be nice, it feels good...Karmani eva Adhikare aste tho full sync animata" 

So stop doubting the intentions now, I can't explain any further. Altruistic feelings coming out you know!

You can't hate me, I know I am not that bad, or am I? I don't see anger in your words, I see caution. Am I am a good guy, not sure! But I know, I irritated you with my attitude. Neetho cheppali ani anipinchindi..Nuvvu great babai..antha ayina ardamcheskunav...(and that's why you cared to read this!). I did learn from your words, just that my internal ego in me didn't let me convey that. I realize it's time to suppress that. Nenu chupali anukunadi dhookudu, kani adi balupu kinda kanipinchi undachu lekapote balupe avachu....odileya mama

Simple, if something is wrong, do tell. It doesn't appear, but I do listen. Consensus and Instinct shape the outcome. Nenu kelakani vadu undadu ani telsuga. Boring kada, but I wanted to write this down for you. Comedy kya, then thats nice..pani ayipoyindiga....punch unte baundediemo... emaina thatinapudu cheptale

My real strength in life are the people and their faith in me. There are two truths from Economics I strongly believe in.

"There is nothing truer than the assertion that there is no free lunch"
"Nations with trust are developed nations and its not that trust emerges in developed nations".

This was for me in you... "Prapancham neelo unnadani cheppey daaka aa nijam telusu kova,Telistey prathee chota ninnu nuvve kalusukoni palakarinchukova..." It took a cost to learn, that manushule shashvatam.....My belief Jagadgurum.. My quest Jaganmaitri


Inka enti....Kummedam ok na ...:) Telusuga manam kicklo RaviTeja typu, ee sad stories tragedies rayatam mana valna kaadu babu...

PS: Language not important, emotion important.

Happy Birthday Krish Jagarlamudi

"I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates"- Steve Jobs

I don't know what I could trade! I seem to owe a lot to this man. Tomorrow(10/11/12) is his 36th birthday. Happy Birthday Krish Jagarlamudi. 24 hours seem too less to celebrate your birthday, and so we fans shall begin the festivities a little earlier!



On Life
"Nenu Prapanchanni Choosanu..Paris..London..Ekkada inta daridram choodaledu;
Prapancham Kadu Pradeshalu Choosavu..
Car Windowslonunchi kadu..
baitiki vachchi choodu prapanchanni.."

I have seen the world. I have not seen this much poverty anywhere.
You have seen places, not the world.
Come out and see the world,  not through the car window.

Fate
"Adhrushtam addam thirigithe aratipandu thinna pannu iruguddhi"
When your fate is bad even a banana can break your teeth.

Caste
"Ee prapanchamlo rende castelu ra.. unnollu lenollu."
In this world, there are two castes, the rich and the poor.

Girl Child
"Aadapilla Batuku Kannillamayam boss. Anduke bhummeeda mudontulu neelle"
Girls' lives are full of tears, thats why three fourth's of earth is covered with water.

Poor People's Lives"Illu kattevadiki illu untundha? choppulu kutte vadiki choppulu untaya? maa brathukulu kuda anthe saaru"
Will a mason have a house? Will a cobbler have shoes? Our lives are also that sir

Money
"Thammudu.. manushulu nakili notlani thayaru chestharu..kani notlu nakili manushulani thayaruchesthayi.."
Brother people create fake notes...but currency also creates fake people"

Fools
"Aambothuki mundhu nadavakudadhu kommuddhi, gadidhaku venaka nadavakudadhu thannuddhi..nee lanti vedavalaku yeh vaipu nadavakudadhu."
Don't walk infront of a bull, it will attack. Don't walk behind a donkey, it will kick. Don't walk with a fool.



He taught me a great lesson in life. Sharwanand tells naxalites, "I am filthy rich and I couldn't see the world. I thought life was about me. So are you! You have guns and hence power and you can't see the world. Come out and see the world."

Pride is one of the most dangerous things, it makes you too self-obsessed. See the world and realize that Life is Beautiful! Thank you Krish :)

Branding yourself

Lots of enthusiastic ..what to say fellow entrepreneurs, volunteers, artists etc ask me a few doubts, which I think are related to marketing. Anybody aiming to showcase their creativity will find this useful. I am writing this article as another student, who had recently(3yrs) into events and branding.

There are many talented "artists" aspiring to showcase their skill to the world. However, most of them lack adequate skills to market their talent. Marketing is often confused with selling, it could be actually called the process which avoids the need to sell your product.

It is quite important to let others know about what you are working on. This could help you find collaborators. I had formed most of my team through facebook updates about the work we have been doing. People want to associate with like minded individuals.

Now, once you agree that you need to let the world know. You must be having long-term plans, principles and there is a way in which you visualize the offering. It is quite important to try to explain this to others, it helps in refining the description. You should develop good descriptions, diagrams and analogies. This can help people in connecting with your dream.

A picture is worth a million words. Try to upload relevant pictures and videos to describe your activities and goals. The choice of medium is quite crucial too. Facebook can help you in letting people know that you are into "something". Those interested in your activities, could be diverted to a website and those who observe you closely could follow your blog.

It takes time for the brand to develop. However, one must make steady progress. Someone had said that "not advertising" is like staring at a women in dark, without letting her know. If you were to convince someone into dealing with you, it is quite important to establish a good atmosphere before the negotiations. Branding and reaching out can help you in this regard.

I emphasize again that this is not supposed to be an expert opinion of any kind. I wrote this to share what I felt, had worked in my favor. I hope to keep updating this post with more thoughts I come across.