I write about stuff that interests me

  “All paths Arjuna, lead to me” The Bhagavad Gita is an inner dialogue between the ordinary human self (Arjuna) and the inner divine self (Krishna). As a non-religious person, I was useful for me to think of God as the innermost self to understand what the book was trying to say. In short, the purpose of life is to connect with this self. So, how can we do that? Meditate The untrained mind is restless and constantly wandering, finding ways to fulfil its desires. After one desire is fulfilled, it is replaced by another one. Many confuse the pursuit of desire as the pursuit of happiness and keep repeating the same cycle again and again. One must be careful as powerful compulsive desires can get the better of them, scattering their resolution the way a cloud is scattered by the wind. Therefore, one needs to learn to train the mind through meditation. It is believed in the depths of meditation, when the mind is made still, the inner self reveals itself i.e., you unite with Lor...

St. Petersburg, Russia during “Crime and Punishment” was stricken by poverty, abuse, alcoholism, and mistrust. Moral corruption seemed to run in the veins- the rich took advantage of the vulnerable, even when their situation didn’t demand them to. Raskolnikov, an ex-law student living in abject poverty, was burdened with the expectations of his mother and sister. Naturally, he hated his life and felt powerless. Fortunately, one day, he contemplates a miraculous solution to his problem- murder. If we brush off that murder is inherently wrong, Roskolnikov’s idea makes a lot of sense. The victim of his plans was to be an exploitative pawnbroker hated by everyone. As many of Roskolnikov’s problems could be solved by money, the valuables she possessed would bring greater utility in his hands. Moreover, it is necessary to break the law to bring about change in society. Revolutionary acts are radical by nature and usually oppose the existing laws and norms. In essence, the law was stopping th...

 "Passive forms of media aren’t supposed to make us happy and strong, they’re supposed to make money for someone."  Things to know ·        Flow is a state of complete immersion in the activity being performed where everything outside of it becomes irrelevant- one forgets about the frustrations and worries of daily life. During flow, the sense of time is messed up- hours can feel like minutes, and minutes like hours. A professional violinist forgets about the outside world and becomes one with their instrument while performing, they are experiencing flow. ·        Attention is a major resource of our mind. How we choose to use it determines our quality of life. In this book, psychic energy refers to attention. Pleasure and enjoyment are different Many people might have the mentality that they shouldn’t put effort into anything unless it brings forth any extrinsic rewards, like money and fame. Although pleasure c...

We experience reality from two perspectives. If I point to a dog and ask what that is, everyone will say that it’s a dog. But, the sight of the dog isn’t the only component of the experience. Two people looking at the same dog might have different emotional reactions to it. Maybe one of them loves dogs and might feel happy by the sight. The other person had got bitten by a dog, so they look at it with fear. In short, we constantly interpret the objective reality – according to our experience, wants and desires – that we experience, making it subjective. Meursault, the protagonist of “The Stranger” written by Albert Camus, doesn’t seem to experience reality subjectively. He perceives reality just as it is, without any interpretations. That’s why I think everything feels meaningless to him. The opening of the novel reads “Mother died today. Or maybe it was yesterday, I don't know.” Meursault isn’t affected much by the death of his mother, noting that nothing in his life had changed a...

The central ideas in the book are simple. The first is that we cannot eliminate poverty (as of yet), but that is no excuse for inaction. Poverty leads to a waste of life and talent, which is undesirable. Therefore, we should do whatever we can to reduce it. The second is that simple actions can have a sizeable impact. These actions include deworming children (makes them healthier), adding chlorine to water (prevents diarrhoea), providing adequate Iodine to pregnant women (creates healthier babies), using bed nets (prevents malaria), and many others. Unfortunately, easily preventable problems cause many deaths and misery. To discuss the content of the book, it is important to understand some concepts. A stable job differentiates the middle class from the poor. One is in a poverty trap if their future income is projected to be lower than their present income. This implies that one cannot get out of poverty themselves (hence, “trap”), and intervention is needed. How do the poor spend ...

  "Scientists have discovered a revolutionary new treatment that makes you live longer. It enhances your memory and makes you more creative. It makes you look more attractive. It keeps you slim and lowers food cravings. It protects you from cancer and dementia. It wards off colds and the flu. It lowers your risk of heart attacks and stroke, not to mention diabetes. You’ll even feel happier, less depressed, and less anxious. Are you interested?" The ad isn't about a miracle cure-all drug, but rather the scientifically proven benefits of a full night of sleep. How much should you sleep(optimal amount)? According to Matthew, it's 8 hours of sleep opportunity at night and 30-60 minutes nap in the day (before 3 PM). During the afternoon, it's natural to feel sleepy. If you have to give a presentation or any performance, better not schedule it in the afternoon. You might think that you're able to function properly by sleeping 6 hours. If you regularly sleep 8 hours ...

Important takeaways from "Psychology of money":  1) Financial success is a soft skill- how you behave is more important than what you know. Sadly, how we behave with money is shaped mostly by the time and place we're born in, making our intuition unreliable. Patience, frugality, and planning about the plan not going according to the plan are important qualities to have. 2) A good savings rate makes you wealthy, not a high income. If you already live a comfortable life, don't inflate your lifestyle when your income rises. Instead, save and invest the extra money. i) Have an emergency savings fund (EMS). When something unexpected happens (like corona), you're prepared and won't be forced to sell your assets prematurely. ii) EMS also lets you sleep properly at night. 3) Compounding is a powerful force in investing, so: i) Start as early as possible. If I put 3K into something with an average return of 8% at age 25, it will have grown to 6.477K by the time I’m 30....