Introduction: During my childhood, being the only child, I often had to find ways to entertain myself—mostly through the boundless imagination of a child. It could be hitting a ball against a wall or creating stories of kings and wars on my stone slate with chalk, using matchstick figures to represent kings, commanders, and queens. Sometimes, I would just get lost in a happy, imaginative story or anything that captured my interest at the moment. Many times, I would mimic an entire play all to myself! I don’t remember ever being bored as a child.
Flexibility and Joy: If I were with a friend, I would play with them like any other child, but I was always flexible, ready to Mould myself to whatever the moment required. This ability to find joy in the little things, to immerse myself in simple pleasures, was a constant source of happiness and contentment.
Shifting Focus: As I grew up, this state of joy started changing. I began to look for company to seek joy—my dependency on others for happiness increased because I was no longer finding joy in the little things as I used to. After I completed my education in Civil Engineering, took up a career, and had a family, my focus changed completely. It seemed that my entire life would go into honing my skills as a Hydrologist or Water Resources Engineer. But by becoming an engineer, one doesn’t cease to be a human being.
Maternal Uncle’s Perspective: My maternal uncle, who taught English at Delhi College of Engineering, firmly believed that engineers don’t understand the difference between men and machines and often don’t care about how hurtful a response could be. I always disagreed with him. The entire class of engineers should not be typecast as heartless robots just because of the behaviour of a few! P This also highlights his frustration with not being able to grow in accordance with his capacity in his career as a humanities teacher, at an institution where humanities are not taken seriously. Perhaps, this is why institutions like the Art of Living and the Isha Foundation run courses to bring about inner transformation in humans to learn to be joyful.
Personal Transformation: Despite facing my share of turmoil in life, I never felt the need for undergoing a formal transformation. I firmly believe that a human being can slowly but surely transform themselves into a happier person. As a student, I was profoundly influenced by Swami Vivekananda. I was particularly intrigued by his quote, “An intelligent man is one who does the work in which he is not interested,” which addresses the virtue of performing one’s duties without attachment or passion, highlighting the importance of detachment and perseverance. This quote is part of his broader teachings on work and detachment found in his lectures and writings on Karma Yoga, which he delivered during his time in the United States, particularly around 1895-1896.
Philosophical Insight: The Bhagavad Gita says:
ज्ञानेन तु तदज्ञानं येषां नाशितमात्मनः।
तेषामादित्यवज्ज्ञानं प्रकाशयति तत्परम्॥ (6.7)
Transliteration:
Jnanena tu tad ajnanam yesham nashitam atmanah,
Tesham adityavaj jnanam prakashayati tat param.
Translation: For those whose ignorance is destroyed by knowledge of the self, like the sun, that knowledge reveals the Supreme.
Explanation: This verse highlights the joy that comes from self-awareness and inner knowledge. When we understand ourselves and our true nature, we begin to see the beauty and joy in the little things around us. The light of knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance, allowing us to find happiness in simple moments and small pleasures.
Finding Purpose: After several years of worrying about trivial issues of career, office politics, and others, I found solace in working for a development agency with a clear focus on providing water and sanitation to poor villagers and watershed schemes in backward areas. During this part of my career, the requirement for engineering skills became much simpler, but understanding humanity became more profound. The simple joy of seeing smiles on the faces of village people on receiving their water supply scheme gave me more satisfaction than the technical pursuits of planning big projects that my previous work profile entailed. In one of the conferences, when I met a friend from my previous organization, he asked, “What are you doing these days?” My response was, “You plan big things and I implement small things!”
Rediscovering Childhood Joy: I diligently carried out my karma in all my jobs and continue to do so as an independent consultant, albeit on my own terms. But my focus now is on rediscovering my childhood joy by returning to my world of imagination and creativity through writing novels, stories, and other books for my young friends from two generations—the young people and the youngsters. In doing so, I keep trying to improve myself, undeterred by thoughts of sales, popularity, or marketing. It is the joy of writing and attempting to do something for my young friends that brings me the greatest pleasure
Conclusion: Join me in my joy!
Inspire Positivity 