The Meaning of Human Life By Yayati Desai (MHRD Semester I, Div A, DHRD, VNSGU)

Transcription

1 The Monthly Newsletter of the Department of Human Resource Development Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat August, 2014 Vol. 4, No. 8 The Meaning of Human Life By Yayati Desai (MHRD Semester I, Div A, DHRD, VNSGU) It s not about Fame. It s not just about Money. It s not about Power. It s not about that particular car or that bungalow; it s not about the materialistic things. We have believed that materialistic success is the only way that will give us fulfillment. We re always in a state of lack - I don t have this, I don t have that. We re always complaining. Have we got this amazing human life to do all this? Most people have got it wrong in this matter. We re looking outside of us for the meaning of life. There has not been a single individual in the entire history of humanity who has found the meaning of life seeking outside. So what is the meaning of Life? And where do we find it? If not outside then where is it? I d quote Hermann Hesse, a German Poet & novelist, he says, There is no reality except the one contained within us. Yes the answer lies within US. The ancient Greek philosophers noticed that all living creatures are designed to pursue a certain goal. We have an end goal and as Aristotle says, that goal is HAPPINESS! So how do we find meaning in our Lives? You start by asking some really important questions: Who Am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? What is my purpose? Probably there in no single Correct path to get these answers but the moment you start holding these questions in your consciousness the answer comes from within. The path will be shown to you. It s like sowing a seed in the soil. Once the seed is sown, the universe takes care of it - the seed sprouts by itself. Same way our consciousness is a fertile soil sow the questions there and the answer will come step by step with time. Secondly, it s time to get over the petty issues of life. One day, each one of you will become history that s for sure. Look and reflect in your life - what you have been doing. Are you still entangled in the petty fights, ego issues, who said what and all those utter nonsense? You have been doing this from years - blaming, cribbing, gossiping, bitching and God knows what not all this has only made you more miserable, more chaotic - the peace has disappeared and there is no meaning in your life. It s time to leave these childish activities 1

2 because as Buddha says, the problem is you think you have time! You find meaning when you do something that is bigger and beyond yourself. It means getting involved in a cause which breaks the selfish glass you carry around yourself. One of the guys I truly adore is Anthony Robbins. He says there are 6 human needs we all have: 1. Certainty assurance you can avoid pain & gain pleasure 2. Variety We always want something fresh and new, we need change from the mundane 3. Love / Connection we want to feel a strong feeling of connection with someone or something 4. Significance feeling important, unique, special & needed 5. Growth 6. Contribution Now the first four needs are physical needs and psychological needs. But the last two needs are the spiritual needs. The need to continuously grow and contribute. I can tell you from experience that the effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is. Because everything you gain in life will rot and fall apart and all that will be left of you will be what were in your heart. That's why, you see all Great Teachers who visited this planet only preached, taught and worked for uplifting humanity. May it be Christ, Buddha, Mahavir, Zarathustra, Socrates, Lao Tzu and many more - all taught and worked to help the ones in need in different ways. See what the likes of Bill Gates and Warren Buffet did they donated huge shares of their wealth to philanthropy - they realized what truly matters. Here I d like to give example of Les Brown, who is a world famous motivational speaker. While he was in the 4 th grade he was labeled EMR educable mentally retarded. But he did not believe what he was being told. He believed someone s opinion of yours does not become your reality. He found his life purpose - to motivate people, and he forged ahead in life like gushing water in the ocean. I would summarize by saying that we are here for 3 basic reasons: 1. To Learn: Consider the whole earth as one training school. 2. To Enjoy: We re here to experience the beauty of creation, the beauty of nature and that is fun. We re here to express our creativity and that too is fun. Spend time in nature; though you won t get wi fi connection, but definitely you ll find a better connection with yourself. Start doing things that really matter to you, things that you truly love doing. In the end, life is short and spending it doing what you love, makes it worthwhile. 3. To teach: Once we find meaning, we help others do the same and make this world a better place to live in. 2

3 Shunryu Suzuki, a Zen Master says The most important thing in life is to find out what is the most important thing. So I d like to end with asking all of you here WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR YOU? Department News Elocution Competition Department organized an elocution competition for all the students on 14 th August, Total 22 students from all the semesters participated in this competition. They spoke on various topics like, Inflation, How to Stop Rapes? War: Good or Bad? What is the Meaning of Human Life? etc. Dr. Akash Acharya of the Center for Social Studies and Mr. Mayur Bardolia, who is a visiting faculty in the department, were invited judges of this competition. At the end of two hours competition three students were given prizes. Their names are as following: 1) 1 st Prize Ms. Yasmin Soni 2) 2 nd Prize Ms. Honey Goklani 3) 3 rd Prize Mr. Yayati Desai Elocution Competition Photos 3

4 One Day Workshop on Growth Path- Road Ahead: It Is All About Habits A workshop on Growth Path- Road Ahead was organized by the Department of Human Resource Development in collaboration with National HRD Network South Gujarat chapter on August 22, Mr. Himanshu Bhatt, President, National HRD Network South Gujarat, conducted the entire workshop from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. The focus of this workshop was to mould the attitude of the students towards the pursuit for excellence. He made efforts to explain the students how knowingly or unknowingly we have developed certain habits. He explained with examples, some good habits that should be inculcated and some bad habits, that should be got rid of in order to be successful professionals. He emphasized on inculcating good habits like self renewal, introspection, innovation, effectiveness, detailing, speed, excellence, accountability, care etc. He further explained the stages of executive job, the mantras for professionals, the admired professionals conduct, enemies of career progression, the unprofessional conduct, characteristics of good leaders and what next generation wants from their leaders. The workshop comprised lectures, presentations and group activities. One-Week International Faculty Development Program on Research Methodology and Quantitative Analysis using SPSS A Faculty Development Program (FDP) on Research Methodology and Quantitative Analysis using SPSS was organized by the Department of Human Resource Development, Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat in collaboration with SPSS South Asia Pvt. Ltd. during August 4 9, A total of 35 teachers and research scholars from various parts of India and abroad participated in this FDP. Advanced topics of statistical analysis like MANOVA, ANCOVA, MANCOVA, Direct Marketing, Neural Network, Missing Values, Multiple Imputation, Time Series Analysis, ARIMA Modeling, Survival Analysis etc. were covered during this FDP. Photos of FDP Program Dr Vivek Belhekar from Mumbai University conducted sessions on MANOVA, ANCOVA and MANCOVA. Dr Jignasu Yagnik from Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Gandhinagar conducted sessions on Survival Analysis, Cluster Analysis and Conjoint Analysis. Mr Kumar Gaurav from SPSS South Asia Pvt. Ltd. explained the use and benefits of SPSS and gave a hands-on experience on some intricate topics like Direct Marketing, Neural Network, Multiple Imputation etc. Dr Ashok Shanubhogue and Mr 4

5 Dharmesh Raykundaliya from Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar explained the use and discussed the interpretation of results of t-tests, One-Way, Two-Way and Three-Way ANOVA. All the sessions had components of hand-on experience and practice. The participants of this FDP put in, on an average 10 hours of hard work, every day, on learning and practice. The credit for smooth conduct of this FDP goes to University officials and Department staff members. Editorial Team Dr. Madhusudan Raj (Chief Editor) Student Team Ms. Foram Shukla Ms. Mitali Pandya Mr. Yayati Desai Disclaimer The views expressed in this newsletter articles are not necessarily those of the department, university or the newsletter editorial team. Neither department nor its editorial team or the university will be liable for any damage or injury whatsoever which results from the use of this newsletter. All other usual disclaimers apply. Submit Your Articles or Write to Us 5