Prasanta Behera Blog

Last Friday, as I was biking back to home in the hot afternoon, the water bottle was too tight to pull while biking and so I stopped, wrestled with the bottle and finally started taking few sips. Two older ladies were talking and departing on their different path with coffee in hand. One of them while walking by near me said, " I am sure you have stories to tell ".  I was surprised  ... but few good neurons were working well and so I replied her back, " We all have stories to tell ". She smiled and went her way. Not sure why she said that to me .. but is was quite an interesting comment / thought. Isn't this true? We all have stores to tell; stories of success,  stories of pain, stores of failures (if we are brave enough), stories of love, stories of kindness ... stories are like beads which string our life. Not only us, human have stories, even the Sky has a story to tell... ==================================================== The illimitable sky high abov...

Machu-Pichu was in my bucket list and finally got a chance to visit it two weeks ago. Beside the mountain, the story of Incas has been fascinating me since I read Jared Diamond's book "Collapse".  I learnt a lot more during this trip than before. Humans migrated to Peru some 8000 years ago and started it has a rich history even before Incas such as Nazca (400 BC - 600 BC who created the mysterious Nazca lines. The Incas started from lake Titicaca (near Puno) in 12th century and slowly migrated to Cusco building smaller cities along the 400 mile journey over 200 years. They established the Inca empire in 14th century and made Cusco the capital - a beautiful city 12,000 feet above sea level. The Empire lasted for 94 years until the Castilians  (Spain was not a country then) arrived. The Incas thought Viracocha (the Inca Creator God) has come back to save them (as promised in the legend). This false assumption and the simplicity caused the demise.  Few hundred Cast...

A very nice short story to reflect upon .. Enjoy! =================================== A Samurai who was known for his nobility and honesty, went to visit a Zen monk to ask him for his advice. When the monk had finished his prayers, the Samurai asked, Why do I feel so inferior? – I have faced death many times, have defended those who are weak. “Nevertheless, upon seeing you meditating, I felt that my life had absolutely no importance whatsoever. The samurai spent the whole day sitting in the temple gardens, watching the people go in and out in search of advice. He saw how the monk received them all with the same patience and the same illuminated smile on his face. At nightfall, when everyone had gone, he demanded: Now can you teach me? The master invited him in and lead him to his room. The full moon shone in the sky, and the atmosphere was one of profound tranquility. Do you see the moon, how beautiful it is? It will cross the entire firmament, and tomorrow the sun will shine on...

Here is a beautiful poem Rabindranath Tagore. Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them.   Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it. Let me not look for allies in life’s battlefield, but to my own strength. Let me not crave in anxious fear to be saved, but hope for the patience to win my freedom. Grant that I may not be a coward, feeling Your mercy in my success alone; But let me find the grasp of Your hand in my failure.

I found these in some blog and they are inspiring. Hoping that you will enjoy too! Enjoy reading! ======================= FALL AND RISE: Today, when I slipped on the wet tile floor a boy in a wheelchair caught me before I slammed my head on the ground. He said, “Believe it or not, that’s almost exactly how I injured my back 3 years ago. A FATHERS ADVICE: Today, my father told me, “Just go for it and give it a try! You don’t have to be a professional to build a successful product. Amateurs started Google and Apple. Professionals built the Titanic. THE POWER OF UNIQUENESS: Today, I asked my mentor – a very successful business man in his 70’s – what his top 3 tips are for success. He smiled and said, “Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing. LOOKING BACK: Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I’m working on for my Psychology class. When I asked her to define s...