How did the British – a small island nation with a limited population – conquer half the world? This article will attempt to explain one of the psychological factors underlying their success. It is a continuation of my previous blog below: There were other factors of course. The scientific inventions in the west that gave […]
Author Archives: nikhilmg
The Ultimate Self Help Tip
There are some sentences from Shakespeare (Hamlet) that are justly celebrated as some of the most meaningful sentences ever written in any language. They are: Forget the first quote above. That is beyond the scope of this article and possibly beyond the scope of my intellect. Focus on the second (To thine own self etc). […]
Pros and Cons of Being Childlike
The Bible advises us to be as a child if you wish to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I have a history of being childlike. Just about anyone could make a fool of me (ever since I was young) and I was and am very easily influenced. Careerwise also, a Chartered Accountant is supposed to […]
What does being Fair mean?
The golden rule states: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I was thinking of some events that happened in the mid 2000s. Due to certain events I did not want to have anything to do with some people and their friends and acquaintances. They complained that although I may have […]
How to be Blissful
I am writing about some high philosophy concepts that you will probably not understand unless you have some background in Advaita Vedanta. Be warned. Yesterday I was meditating and I felt blissful. This is not usual for me. Mostly I am caught up in my mind and trying to concentrate. But yesterday I felt bliss […]
Downside of being United
I’ll start with a quote from Bertrand Russell: The power of the State may be brought to bear, as it often is in England, through public opinion rather than through the laws. By oratory and the influence of the Press, public opinion is largely created by the State, and a tyrannous public opinion is as […]
I am not I
I am not I. I am studying Advaita Vedanta. It is a radical school of spirituality that challenges us to question and reverse our most basic assumptions. It is not for everybody but if you are an intellectual sort of person (like I am) you may find it not only interesting but also useful. One […]
The Dharma is Subtle
The Dharma is subtle. This is a famous statement from the Mahabharata. It is attributed to the elder statesman of the Kauravas, Bhishma. You must be aware of the context or background story. Draupadi is being undressed in public by Dushasana after the Pandavas (specifically Yudhisthira) lost her to the Kauravas (Shakuni) in a game […]
Digesting Intellectual Concepts
One of my nieces asked me why I hadn’t written a blog post for more than a month. It is nice to know that at least one person is looking forward to my blog. The reason is that this blog is mostly about my experiences and the insights that I have gleaned from them. It […]
Train yourself to be Intelligent
This article is about what constitutes intelligence. I have a very simple and basic answer to this question. Intelligence is being able to understand – at all points in time – the situation that you are facing both internally and externally There is a Tibetan saying: If you are too clever you might miss the […]