The question of whether the chicken or the egg came first has been there forever. I don’t know whether it has an answer and I don’t have one either.

Taking the same sort of idea, you could also ask the question: which is first when planning a project - the what or the why. For that, I do have an answer and it’s one I share with Gary the Goals Guy who regularly speaks about it in his work.

The answer is that Why comes before What. Tony Robbins talks about having enough reasons behind your goal to make it happen. It’s true. With reasons that excite you and make you passionate, you become more alive to your goals.

Let’s take a metaphor. As many of my readers I know, I’m really into Forensic Science especially with my interest in genetics. Most people picture the TV program Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) when I bring this up. But that’s good for what I’m about to explain here; a metaphor for understanding the why and what idea which I heard from Gary.

Forensic experts get onto the crime scene. They can usually see what happened, but what they’re looking for to aid their research is motive. What was the motive behind the incident? It’s all about finding out why it happened, rather than what happened.

Let’s take Burma’s current peace protests and killing as another example. When it started, what came first from the monks: the act of walking non-violently, or the thought of ‘we need to get out there and walk non-violently and protest because our country needs us and we want to overthrow the military’? Indeed, the latter came first.

In the same sort of area, Mahatma Gandhi came up with his why before his what when he began his non-violent campaigns. First came the thinking, planning and understanding of what he was about to do. He knew the ‘why’. He knew it so much that he had hundreds of people following his words and action back then and millions still do today because of how strong his why was. The ‘what’ came second.

Why comes before what. Make it a priority in your projects too.

The one technique that has no side effects, can always stop others from responding and has the power to bring about change is non-violence. It is the act of refraining from violent thoughts, words and actions.

Who better to turn to for guidance on non-violence than Mahatma Gandhi. As Gandhi travelled the country mingling and speaking to the masses, he gave them this technique to which the British had no response. By abstaining from violence Gandhi wrested the moral advantage. He even managed to break the law and demonstrate injustice through living non-violence.

Since Gandhi, other major politicians have tried to use the technique of the non-violence in pursuit of their freedom. Martin Luther King, Jr said, “Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time.”

Most of us need to learn to use this technique in every day life. If you’re driving and some cuts you up, or tailgates, or nearly hits your car, that desire to get back at the person has now been instilled in most of us. How can you bring nonviolence into this situation?

It’s like you grip the wheel tighter about to swerve and take revenge, but all of a sudden something kicks in… call it a higher sense or something and it brings you to act non-violently. But you’ve still spoken and thought violently.

Use non-violence not just in your actions, but your thoughts and words too.

Turning to our own time, it was obvious to me, and to millions of other ordinary people, that the results of invading Iraq would be far more catastrophic than those of continuing to contain Saddam’s Baathist regime with sanctions and the ongoing United Nations inspections. But apparently that was not obvious to those who wielded power.

Perhaps the further away we are from the actual decision-making process the easier it is to think rationally without the reptilian brain-stem screaming that we must do something.

Non-violence works. You just need to observe your life from a distance to see it.

This morning, I was reading Jawarhalal Nehru’s speech on the granting of the country’s independence on August 15th, 1947. It seems to be more fitting today than ever before.

For aspiring writers and lifestyle designers, it is a beautifully written speech that teaches each one of the true meaning of vision. Jonathan Swift said, “Vision [is] the art of seeing things invisible.” It is the work of leaders. It is the careful planning of a very cool life.

A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long supressed, finds utterance.

The above sentence taken from the speech is brilliant for our spiritual lives too. When we open our eyes and ears to be more aware, more atoned to our environment and to ourselves, we will notice that we have grown a bit more out of our shell and we are more alive!

The power of commitment, desire and the people’s dedication to their country is portrayed in this sentence here:

Through good and ill fortune alike she has never lost sight of that quest or forgotten the ideals which gave her strength. We end today a period of ill fortune and India discovers herself again.

And to finish that paragraph, like a true leader and writer, Nehru goes on to add the excitement which is the vision:

The achievement we celebrate today is but a step, an opening of opportunity, to the greater triumphs and achievements that await us. Are we brave enough and wise enough to grasp this opportunity and accept the challenge of the future?

As a British Asian, I feel a sense of gratitude to our land of origin for the people who have lived centuries before independence and fought for the country’s freedom. It is something I feel more young people need to take note of. We cannot continue to take such things for granted. We have this freedom because of our ancestors, but now we need to accept that the “freedom and power bring responsibility”.

How did India do in the first two decades of it’s independence?

As I re-read the speech by Jawarhalal Nehru and in particular, the following paragraph, I began to wonder whether any real progress had been made between 1947 and 1967.

That future is not one of ease or resting but of incessant striving so that we may fulfil the pledges we have so often taken and the one we shall take today. The service of India means the service of the millions who suffer. It means the ending of poverty and ignorance and disease and inequality of opportunity. The ambition of the greatest man of our generation has been to wipe every tear from every eye. That may be beyond us, but as long as there are tears and suffering, so long our work will not be over.

If we look at India today, there is still poverty. In fact, 70% of the population is poor. There is a lot of disease in the country and definitely a lack of equality with regards to the opportunities the country is presenting.

The public didn’t agree that “Mera Bharat Jawan“. In fact, the lack of faith and confidence of the general public and some politicians is what I believe made the first two decades quite lowkey.

But today, there is major progress. India herself is developing into a fine country that is to be one of the world’s largest economies and it is certainly today, living up to Nehru’s line:

We have to build the noble mansion of free India where all her children may dwell.

And to end this post, a worthwhile analysis of the years that lie in front of India is this important message:

To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard. All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.

Take a few minutes to read the full speech here.

In the 1980’s Rajiv Gandhi, when asked about his country, used to say, “Mera Bharat Mahan”, meaning ‘My India is Great’.

It didn’t make sense then to the public who watched. Yes, India gained it’s independence 60 years ago on 15th August, but most people felt it didn’t qualify for that statement. Independence was achieved. India was a new born baby and what the country needed back then were more of the general public to act as midwives to the country, in order to bring it up to become a great country.

But 60 years on, India is beginning to enter the consciousness of every man in a huge way. TIME magazine reported a massive special report on the last 60 years. You can read the full article here.

Here are some excerpts that particularly stand out to me:

Over the past few years the world’s biggest and rowdiest democracy has matched its political freedoms with economic ones, unleashing a torrent of growth and wealth creation that is transforming the lives of millions.

Twenty years ago the rest of the world saw India as a pauper. Now it is just as famous for its software engineers, Bollywood movie stars, literary giants and steel magnates.

The article is an exploration of a Malhotra family’s three generations and the struggles and times of joy they have all experienced.

India is not yet a country that can be considered a ‘developed’ country, but it is far from an ‘under-developed’ country too. The quote “Mera Bharat Mahan” certainly rings true today.

Not only is helping those who are suffering something we should all willingly do, I think it should also be seen as a duty. We are on this planet to give love and help one another. Jain scriptures say “parasparo graho jivanam” which means “souls render service to one another”.

Think about world suffering. The scale of the problem is massive. Much more than we can even bear to handle or think about without getting overwhelmed or distressed. At least, that’s how I feel. Unfortunately, the fact is, one person cannot help everyone as fast as is required. But everyone helping at least one person will easily solve the problems that exist. That is my plea for today’s post.

It is possible for you to help those who are suffering. Even if it’s just one person. And the time to act is not tomorrow, but today. The time is now.

What can you do to help those who are suffering? Here are a few ideas to get you going:

1. Donate a bag of shopping food once a week.
2. Visit your local prison and offer support to those prisoners who want it.
3. Spend an hour or two a week in conversation with those in pain at the hospital.
4. Donate your second hand clothes to charities that will send them directly to children  and adults in Africa, Asia and anywhere close to your heart. The way they cherish your clothes will touch you in a way never before.
5. The same for your textbooks, unwanted games and toys. Donate them.
6. Take on a fundraising activity to raise funds for your favoured charity.
7. Donate a year’s education for a child in India. Check out Nirvana School.
8. Travel to a developing country and teach at a local school.
9. On your next holiday, visit a village in poverty and donate pens, pencils and rubbers to the young children. Take some biscuits and your favourite chocolates too.
10. Offer to befriend a disabled child or adult for a one week period.
11. Volunteer your professional services for free to a charitable trust.

The list of things you can do is endless.

What motivates me to help those who are suffering is the fact that no-one deserves to be tortured. Whether left to live out on the streets or in the prisons, nobody deserves to be tortured. This acts as a strong emotional driver within me and urges me to do all I can to ease suffering and bring about peace and unity.

What have you done in the last 30 days to help someone who has been suffering? Comment on this post and let me know.

One social theory is that if we change the attitudes of the individual, society will change around it. In opposition, if we make changes in social circumstances, the individual will automatically change. Both have their pro’s and con’s. Sometimes one will work, and the other won’t. And other times the opposite will happen.

Lenin, in 1917, headed the idea of Communism, trying to bring change through altering the socio-political circumstances in Russia. The idea failed in 1989. The masses became disillusioned.

Gandhi was probably the first thinker who brought the two ideas together. Rather than change one of social circumstances only, why not change both? was the pattern of his thinking. He attempted to change social circumstances, and simultaneously change the attitudes of the individuals at the same time. His belief was that the individual and society are part and parcel of each other.

The bottom line, if any, is that it’s not only political parties and governments in the wrong. We, too, as individuals in society have a part to play. We cannot put blame entirely on someone else’s shoulder. We cannot expect society to first change and we will easily mold around it. Together, we have to change. We, as individuals, have to take the steps as well.

Starting with expressing and only coming from a place of true, unconditional love for everything, regardless of how much you like or dislike the person, item, place or being. We come from a place of love and we are going to return to a place of love. We have just been trapped and caught up in “blame-a-name” and “I’m-the-winner” games once we came out of our toddler years. We need to go back to our origin. It’s there we together both our shift and the nation’s shift can take place. Love is all that matters.

In 1929, when Dr W E B DuBois, leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People wrote to Gandhi to ask for a message to “the grandchildren of slaves”, Gandhi’s reply was:

“Let not the 12 million Negroes be ashamed of the fact that they are grandchildren of slaves. There is no dishonour in being slaves. There is dishonour in being slave-owners.”

Does it all come down to love and compassion? I believe so. Here are Arvind’s thoughts on bringing more compassion into our lives.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” - Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi taught that nonviolence begins with what we eat. Even when he came under heavy influence in Britain and Africa during his travels and education, he resisted with the strong belief instilled by his devoted mother that killing or eating animals is strictly prohibited.

The words above are more appropriate today than ever before. How can countries that slaughter animals uncontrollably in factories and slaughterhouses called themselves a GREAT nation? Most animals never even see the sun and just die piece by piece.

Remember this quote from Gandhi: “It ill becomes us to invoke in our daily prayers the blessings of God, the Compassionate, if we in turn will not practice elemental compassion toward our fellow creatures.”

One of the biggest teachings from the Jain faith, and also from Mahatma Gandhi is that of non-violence which takes form in our thoughts, words and actions. Most people believe that by not acting, we begin to live ahimsa in our life. By not reacting to terrorism for example, we are living ahimsa and fighting with non-violence.

In fact, this is wrong. Inaction is not Ahimsa. Gandhi said, “No one has attained his goal without action. Even men like Janaka (from the Gita) attained salvation through action. If even I were lazily to cease working, the world would perish. How much more necessary then for the people at large to engage in action?”

If, for example, you or your family are attacked and you live by the principle of ahimsa, staying back and letting what comes to you happen is not ahimsa. Applied to this context, Gandhi’s words show that the attacks cannot become an excuse for inaction. It is your prime duty to act and inaction cannot be an option.

Non-violent action is ahimsa. When you take action without the desire for it’s fruits, this is ahimsa. Here is a quote I found from the Gita to explain this. “In regard to every action one must know the result that is expected to follow, the means thereto, and the capacity for it. He who, being thus equipped, is without desire for the result, and is yet wholly engrossed in the due fulfilment of the task before him, is said to have renounced the fruit of his action.”

It was Mahatma Gandhi that came up with this timeless line: “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. What is this all about? It’s about taking personal responsibility in the world’s social limelight.

The term “Corporate Social Responsibility” is now becoming more and more evident in today’s world. Big companies such as Starbucks, Microsoft, Trump and many others are more and more turning to philanthropy and playing their responsible part in the world.

But as big as the corporations are, it’s not enough. At the rate the world is moving, we all need to step up a level. We need to turn to each one of us individually taking personal social responsibility for ourselves, the people around us and the environment. I define such person as someone who is socially responsible, and more often than not, recognizes that his behaviour affects others, and holds himself accountable for his actions.

Kudos to Arvind for bringing to me the term “personal social responsibility”. Arvind says, “PSR is all about doing to others what you would like others do to you.”

Here are a few tips to putting PSR into practice in your daily life:

• Become more aware — live your life with wider eyes and larger ears. When you focus your thinking and intentions on personal responsibility, you make new observations and make choices that lead to a more positive, socially aware outcome. Science has proven that every cause has an effect. Most people stay at the effect. Being socially responsible means you rest at the cause of everything.

• Practice random acts of PSR – Don’t wait for the opportunity to come to you. Create small-effort, huge-impact instances where you can demonstrate your social responsibility. Show appreciation and be grateful.

• Make it a daily habit — Yes, make your PSR acts random, but have them on a daily basis. Ensure when you write your to-do list or any kind of plan for the day, you plot in a random act between various timings.