Read from blogs - It's not yours

ஜென் குரு பான்காய் என்பவரிடம் அவர் சீடர் ஒருவர் வருத்தத்துடன் சொன்னார். “குருவே, என்னால் என் கோபத்தைக் கட்டுப்படுத்தவே முடியவில்லை. அதைப் போக்க நீங்கள் தான் எனக்கு ஒரு வழி சொல்ல வேண்டும்”

ஜென் குருக்கள் வித்தியாசமானவர்கள். அவர்கள் புனித நூல்களில் இருந்து மேற்கோள்கள் காட்டுவதோ, மணிக்கணக்காய் புத்தி சொல்வதோ இல்லை. பான்காய் சொன்னார். “உன்னுடைய கோபத்தை நீ கொஞ்சம் காட்டினால் அதைப் போக்க என்னால் வழி சொல்ல முடியும்”

சீடர் சொன்னார். “தற்சமயம் என்னிடம் கோபம் இல்லை. எனவே கோபத்தை என்னால் காட்ட முடியாது”

பான்காய் பொறுமையாகச் சொன்னார். “பரவாயில்லை. உன்னிடம் கோபம் இருக்கும் போது நீ அதை என்னிடம் கொண்டு வந்து காட்டுவாயாக”

சீடருக்கு ஒரே தர்மசங்கடம். கோபத்தை எப்படி ஒருவரிடம் கொண்டு போய் காட்ட முடியும்? திடீரென்று வந்து திடீரென்று போகும் கோபம் குருவிடம் வருகிற வரை இருக்குமா? அவன் தன் பிரச்னையைச் சொன்னான். “குருவே, கோபத்தை என்னால் கொண்டு வர முடியாது. கோபம் திடீரென்று ஏற்படுகிறது. அப்படி ஏற்படும் கோபம் உங்களிடம் வரும் வரை இருக்காது. காணாமல் போய் விடும்” 

பான்காய் சொன்னார். “அப்படியனால் அது உன்னுடைய கோபமாக இருக்க முடியாது. அது உன் உண்மையான இயல்பாக இருந்தால் அது உன்னிடம் எப்போதும் இருக்கும். அதை நீ எப்போது வேண்டுமானாலும் அடுத்தவருக்குக் காண்பிக்க முடியும். கோபம் நீ பிறந்த போது இல்லை. உன் பெற்றோர்கள் அதை உனக்குத் தரவில்லை. எனவே அது வெளியே இருந்து தான் உன்னிடம் வர வேண்டும். உன்னுடையதல்லாததை, வெளியே இருந்து வருவதை விரட்டியடிப்பதில் என்ன பிரச்னை இருக்கிறது? இனி அப்போது உன்னுள்ளே நுழைய முயன்றாலும் கவனமாக இருந்து அதைப் பிரம்பால் அடித்துத் துரத்து”

பான்காய் மிக அழகாக ஒரு பேருண்மையை இங்கே சுட்டிக் காட்டி இருக்கிறார். சீடர் ‘என் கோபத்தைப் போக்க வழி சொல்லுங்கள்’ என்று கேட்டதறகு ‘என் கோபம்’ என்று சொல்வதே தவறு என்று மிக அழகாகச் சொல்கிறார். பிரச்னையே கோபத்தை தன்னுடன் இணைத்து தன்னுடையதாக பாவிப்பதில் தான் உருவாகிறது என்று கூறுகிறார்.

பான்காய் சொல்வதை நாம் ஆழமாகப் பார்க்க வேண்டும். நாம் கோபத்துடன் பிறக்கவில்லை. நம் கை, கால்களைப் போல, கண் காது மூக்கு போல நாம் பிறக்கும் போதே அது தரப்பட்டதல்ல. நம் உறுப்பு போல அது நம்முடன் ஒட்டி நாம் பிறந்திருந்தால் அதை நம்மிடம் இருந்து பிரிப்பது இயலாது. உடன் பிறந்தவற்றைத் துண்டித்து எறிவது கஷ்டம். அது பிரிவதே உடலுக்கு ஆபத்து அல்லது ஊனம் என்பதே உண்மை. ஆனால் இடையில் வந்து போகிற உணர்ச்சிகளை எல்லாம் நம்முடையது என்று பாவிப்பதனால் தான் அதனால் நாம் பெரிதாகப் பாதிக்கப்படுகிறோம். 

இது கோபத்திற்கு மட்டுமல்ல நம்மை அலைக்கழிக்கும் வெறுப்பு, பொறாமை, வருத்தம் போன்ற எல்லா உணர்ச்சிகளுக்கும் பொருந்தும். இது போன்ற உணர்ச்சிகள் எல்லாம் துன்பத்தைப் பெருக்குபவை. அவற்றை நம்முடையதாக பாவிக்கும் போது, அவற்றை நம்மை அறியாமல் வளர்த்து வலுவாக்குகிறோம். அவை வலிமையாகும் போது அதன் விளைவுகளும் வலிமையாக நம்மைத் தாக்குகின்றன. அந்தத் தாக்குதலால் பாதிக்கப்படும் போது நாம் மூன்று உண்மைகளை நினைவில் வைத்தால் அவற்றின் பிடியில் இருந்து விலகி விடுதலையாகலாம். 

1. இந்த உணர்ச்சிகள் என்றுமே என்னுடைய மன அமைதிக்கோ, மகிழ்ச்சிக்கோ வழி வகுப்பதில்லை. மாறாக இவை கவலைக்கும், துக்கத்திற்குமே வழி வகுக்கக் கூடியவை.

2. இந்த உணர்ச்சிகள் தவறான அபிப்பிராயங்களாலும், கணிப்புகளாலும் ஏற்படுபவை. இவை என்னிடம் வர முயற்சிக்கும் உணர்ச்சிகள். ஆனால் இவை என்னுடையவை அல்ல. 

3. இவற்றை என்னுடையவை என்று நான் அங்கீகரித்தால் ஒழிய, அப்படி நினைத்து பற்றிக் கொண்டிருந்தால் ஒழிய இவை என்னைப் பாதிக்க முடியாது. 

இந்த உணர்ச்சிகளை பான்காய் கூறுவது போல புறத்தில் இருந்து வருபவை என்று உணருங்கள். இதற்கெல்லாம் கோபப்பட வேண்டும், இதையெல்லாம் வெறுக்க வேண்டும், இதற்கெல்லாம் பொறாமைப் பட வேண்டும் என்று நாம் யாரோ போட்ட பாதையில் போக வேண்டியதில்லை. அதை நம் பாதையாக முட்டாள்தனமாய் ஆக்கிக் கொள்ள வேண்டியதில்லை. நாம் அப்படி போய் அவதிப்பட வேண்டியதில்லை. 

இது போன்ற உணர்ச்சிகள் வரும் போது எச்சரிக்கையாகவும் கவனமாகவும் இருங்கள். அவை வரும் போது வாசலிலேயே தடுத்து நிறுத்தி விடுங்கள். உங்களுக்குள்ளே விடாதீர்கள். “எனக்கு இயல்பானவன் போன்ற தோற்றத்தில் வந்தாலும் நீ அன்னியன். என்னுடையவன் அல்ல. எனவே போய் விடு” என்று அனுப்பி விடுங்கள். 

இந்த உணர்ச்சிகளை உங்களுடையது என்று நீங்களாகப் பற்றிக் கொண்டு இருந்தால் மட்டுமே உங்களுக்கு தீய பாதிப்புகள் ஏற்படும். அவற்றை உங்களுடையது அல்ல என்று கை விட்டு விடுங்கள். உதறித் தள்ளி விடுங்கள். அவை உங்களை கஷ்டப்படுத்துவது தானாக முடிந்து விடும்.

From studying under the streetlights to CEO of a US firm

Here is the rags-to-riches story of an extremely talented boy from a small village in Tamil Nadu who has risen to be the chief executive officer of a company in Seattle, USA.

It is also the story of how Kalyana Raman Srinivasan, who was so indigent that he had to study under a streetlight, but then managed to score excellent marks, rose in life and became today's Kal Raman.

At every turn in his life, he took the difficult path and it turned out to be the right one and in the right direction. His rise to the top is more dramatic than a thriller. Today, he is a very successful entrepreneur and the founder-CEO of GlobalScholar.

Read his extraordinary story of triumph and determination . . .

Difficult childhood

Kal Raman was born and brought up in a small village called Mannarakoil in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. It was a comfortable normal middle class life for him and his siblings as his father was a Tahasildar there.

But the sudden death of his father at the age of 45 changed everything overnight.

Kal was 15 then. "My mother got a pension of Rs 420 a month and you can imagine how tough it is to educate four children and feed five mouths with Rs 420?"

Hi life changed dramatically after his father's death. The family moved from the rented house to a hut that had no proper water supply or electricity. Kal Raman remembers, "All of us used to study under the streetlight and, thank god, the streetlights used to work those days! MGR (M G Ramachandran) was the chief minister then. We had to sell the plates to buy rice to eat and my mother used to give us rice in our hands. That bad was our situation."

But his mother, who had studied till the 8th standard, was very particular that her children studied. "All our relatives wanted my elder brother to stop studying and take up the small job offered by the government but my mother wanted him to continue studying."

"Then they wanted me to learn typewriting and shorthand so that I could get some job after the 10th  standard. But mother said, 'My children are going to get the best education I can offer. Education is our salvation.' She was my hero for her vision and she still is my hero."

What kept the family going? "We were sad but because we accepted our fate, we were at peace with whatever that happened to us. We knew our father would not come back to lift us up from poverty. We also knew our salvation was a long way away."

He didn't know why he used to tell his mother, "One day I will give you so much money that you will not know what to do with it!" Years later, he did exactly that!

First turning point in life

Kal Raman believes that God played a hand in all the major turning points in his life. The first turning point in life was after his 12th standard. He got good marks in both the engineering and medicine entrance exams, and for engineering, he got admission at the Anna University in Chennai while for medicine, it was in the Tirunelveli Medical College.

"While going in the bus with my mother to join the medical college, I told her, "If I join for medicine here, the high probability is that my life may begin and end in Tirunelveli. I really want to see the world.' She agreed with my decision to go to Chennai and join Anna University and study Electrical Engineering and Electronics."

So, he stepped into a new world outside Tirunelveli, and that was Chennai. Though he had got merit scholarship and a lot of good people helped him pay the initial fee, the scholarship amount never used to reach him regularly or on time.

"The mess fee was Rs 250 a month and I used to be a defaulter in the mess at least six months in a year. Till you pay the mess fee, you cannot eat in the mess. So, I used to live on day scholars' lunch boxes and also use to fast. That is when I learnt to fast ! I must say a lot of friends helped me with money and food."

Scarcity of money was so bad that he had no money to buy food just before the final semester exams. When he gave his final semester exams, he had not eaten for a day-and-a-half. "After finishing the exam, I almost fainted."

The day after the exams came all the scholarship money that was due and it was around Rs 5,000. "So, I went home a rich man and that helped us repay some loans."

First job

Like opting for Chennai and joining Anna University instead of a college in Tirunelveli, Kal Raman took another risk with his first job also. His first job was with Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE), and he had a choice of joining either Chennai or Mumbai.

Although he knew nobody in Mumbai, he chose the capital of Maharashtra.

He remembered the first day. "It was interesting. With bag and baggage, I went to the TCE office after taking a shower at the railway station as I had no money to go to any hotel. After the first introduction at the office, the manager noticed that I was wearing slippers to the office. He called me and said, "I don't care which college you are coming from but this is not acceptable. You should come in shoes tomorrow."

I said I couldn't come in shoes the next day and this the manager construed as arrogance. "How could you talk like this?" he asked me. I said, "Sir, it is not that I don't want to, but I can't afford to buy shoes. Only after I get my first pay cheque, can I buy shoes. Sir, I request you not to terminate my job because of this. I and my family need this job."

Shocked to hear the explanation, the manager asked, "Where are you staying?" and the reply was, "Dadar Railway Station."

So distressed was the manager to hear Kal speak that he immediately released a month's salary in advance and also arranged for him to be at his friend's place till he could find a place to stay.

"He bought me a pair of shoes and those were my first shoes. The next day, I sent Rs 1,500 from the advance to my mother."

From electrical engineering to programming

Kal's rise in career was meteoric in a short span of time. Within a month, he got a chance to move to Bengaluru (then Bangalore) and also to programming.

Soon, he was in Chennai with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Within a few months, he was sent to Edinburgh, UK.

From Edinburgh, his next stop was the United States. In 1992, he went to the US as an entry level contractor with Wal-Mart. In two years, he was a director running a division.

When he left Wal-Mart after six years, he was a man running the information systems for the International Division of the retail giant.

In 1998, he joined drugstore.com Online Pharmacy as the chief information officer and in 2001 at the age of 30, he was the CEO of the company.

He was at the right place at the right time. "God was there at every step guiding me to take the right decisions. I was also willing to take risks and tread new paths," Kal says.

Starting GlobalScholar

Philanthropist Mike Milken who had donated more than a billion dollars to education, wanted to use technology so that high quality education was accessible to ordinary people.

Milken convinced Kal to join him. That was the time Kal was building schools in his village for poor students.

In October 2007, GlobalScholar was launched targetting both teachers and students by acquiring four companies -- National Scholar (USA), Classof1 (India), Excelsior (USA), and Ex-Logica (USA) -- that were into education.

"Three months after the launch, I travelled all over the US, India, Singapore and China talking to teachers and companies and the public. I found that the only way to impact education was by impressing teachers. The biggest scarcity in the world is good teachers. We decided to help teachers with teaching practices and kids, learning practices."

Kal Raman decided to concentrate on the US market as the US is more advanced in using technology. "They are also willing to pay money for technology. At present, schools buy the material which can be used by teachers, students and parents."

Today, they have 200 people working for GlobalScholar in Chennai and 150 in the US. The study material is prepared in the Chennai office.

The company that was started with $50 million will have in excess of $32 million and will generate $5 million of profits. In 2008, the turnover of the company was Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) and in 2009, it was Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million). In the current year it will be 150-160 crore (Rs 1.5-1.6 billion).

"GlobalScholar is growing at 200 per cent every year. We have 1,000 schools and 10 million students, which is one out of 10 kids in the US, using our study material. This is almost 18 per cent of the US population. We are the fastest growing education company in the US."

GlobalScholar will soon introduce a pilot project in India and China. In the course of all this, Kalyana Raman became Kal Raman. "The country gave me everything and took half my name."

Giving back to society

Kal Raman is in India now for the Kumbhabhishekam of the temple at his village Mannarkoil. "It is taking place after 500 years. It is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of work. I have spent more than one and a half crore rupees (Rs 15 million) to renovate the temple and do the Kumbhabhishekam. More than anything else, I have given jobs to all my friends in the village who are masons and carpenters."

Other than this, he has also adopted all the orphanages around his village and he takes care of around 2,000 kids, some of whom are physically handicapped.

"I feel if I can educate these children, eventually we can make a difference in the society. We also help 100 children in their higher education. Around my village, everyone knows that if a kid who studies well cannot afford to pay fees, he has to only come to my house; his education will be taken care of."

"I do not do this as charity; its my responsibility. I am giving something back to the society that fed me, taught me, and took care of me and gave me hopes. "

Interesting Technology Facts

v The first e-mail was sent over the Internet in 1971.

v Bluetooth, is named after a tenth-century king of Denmark and Norway, Harald Bluetooth. Harald was known for uniting various warring tribes in Denmark and Norway, as the technology is intended to unite various other technologies.

v Google receives more than 200 million search queries a day, more than half of which come from outside the United States. Peak traffic hours to google.com are between 6 a.m. and noon PST, when more than 2,000 search queries are answered a second. In 2006, this was

2.7 Million Per day. To whom were these questions addressed Before Google? Think...

v Compact discs read from the inside to the outside edge, the reverse of how a record works.

v ENIAC, the first electronic computer, appeared 50 years ago. The original ENIAC was about 80 feet long, weighed 30 tons, and had 17,000 tubes. By comparison, a desktop computer today can store a million times more information than an ENIAC, and 50,000 times faster.

v The Top 10 in-demand IT jobs in 2010.... does not even exist in 2004.

v The No.1 Ranked country in Broadband Internet Penetration is Bermuda, 19th is US & 22 is Japan.

v The first Commercial SMS sent was in December 1992.Today the no. of text messages sent and received everyday exceeds the total population of the planet.

v Years it took to reach Market Audience of 50 million:

Radio - 38 years, TV-13 years, Internet 4 Years, IPod 3 years, Facebook 2 years.

v The no. of Internet Devices in 1984 was 1000, in 1992 was 10 Lakh, in 2008 1 billion

v Bill Gates' house was designed using a Macintosh computer.

v The first domain name ever registered was Symbolics.com.

v During Bill Clinton's entire eight year presidency, he only sent two e-mails. One was to John Glenn when he was aboard the space shuttle, and the other was a test of the e-mail system.

v Hewlett Packard was started at a garage in Palo Alto in 1939

v The QWERTY keyboard layout is 129 years old.

v The first Internet Service Provider was CompuServe, established in 1969 which is now under AOL.

v What does 50 G.B of storage really mean? It means we can stack 3 piles of single spaced type written pages taller than the Eiffel tower and data to support this information is about 50 gigabytes.

v The code name for the 12 engineers who designed the IBM pc was :- 'The dirty dozen'.