Essential Lessons of Life

On an average we spend about 20 years in education collecting many information which has very limited shelf life and practical application for progressing materially and otherwise. The primary purpose of education is "Qualification" as once Rajneesh said "All 'Qualified' people need not be 'Educated'. As we saw people like 'Ramakrishna Paramahansa' were not 'Qualified' but 'Educated'!!

One very critical lesson 'How to live life' was not covered in any education pursuits. Here is a story told by Adi Sankara:

"A learned scholar was sitting in a boat crossing a river which was rowed by an uneducated villager. The scholar wanted to show off his literacy asked the boatman "Have you read Ramayana?" The boatman said 'No' for which the scholar said "you have wasted half of your life". Then the scholar asked "Have you read Bhagwad Gita" for which the boatman replied 'No'. The scholar arrogantly said "Then you have wasted three fourth of your life".

Before the scholar could ask the next question, the boatman asked the scholar "Can I ask you a question?" The scholar proudly said "Yes go ahead". The boatman asked "Swami, have you ever learned swimming?" 

The scholar replied "No, but why are you asking this question?" The boatman said, "You have wasted whole of your life by not learning swimming because this boat was leaking since sometime and going to sink. I will swim & save myself and God bless you with all your knowledge."

This story illustrates the point that "We collect many information through education and misunderstand that they are knowledge - 'Education & knowledge are not one and the same". If information is knowledge then Google is the most knowledgeable entity in the universe".

There are vast majority of lessons we should have been learned from parents & teachers which are essential for Life like the boatman said in the story above. I have compiled few that came to my mind for which you may like to add many. I welcome you to add that comes to your mind. We will discuss each one of them in detail later:

Here is the list of key lessons of life:
1. Has anyone taught us 'How to eat without creating noise from our mouth?
2. Has anyone taught us how to keep our voice low in a public place?
3. Has anyone taught us how to listen when someone talk?
4. Has anyone taught us how to avoid interrupting when someone is talking to us and wait for our turn?
5. Has anyone taught us how to behave responsibly in a public place?
6. Has anyone taught us how to use public properties in a responsible way?
7. Has anyone taught us what punctuality means and how it affects our image & commitment?
8. Has anyone taught us how to walk in the walkway without dashing and or crossing the person coming in front of us?
9. Has anyone taught us how we should stand in Q without grabbing others opportunity?
10. Has anyone taught us how to move in an orderly manner when you board or getting down from a plane or bus without pushing others?
11. Has anyone taught us how to manage our body odour which can cause embarrassment to others around?
12. Has anyone taught us how to react to Toilet noises?
13. Has anyone taught us how to develop conversation with a stranger?
14. Has anyone taught us how to behave during a picnic?
15. Has anyone taught us How to dress for a given occasion?
16. Has anyone taught us how to start & finish a telephone call?
17. Has anyone taught us how to let wind in public both ways - up & down?
18. Has anyone taught us how & why to keep the toilet clean after use in a plane for the use of the other person?
19. Has anyone taught us the importance of not littering the public place?
20. Has anyone taught us about personal hygiene? Say keeping nails short and clean?
21. Has anyone taught us about shaving & grooming ourselves and its importance?
22. Has anyone taught us what are the dress codes- formal, informal, semi formal or casuals means and chose for the occasion?
23. Has anyone taught us when to wear suite and when to wear blazer?
24. Has anyone taught us what is the colour combination of your belt & shoes?
25. Has anyone taught us how to restrain our greed for food and its implication on our personality?
26. Has anyone taught us how to avoid wasting food?
27. Has anyone taught us how to build relationship?
28. Has anyone taught us how much distance to keep while talking to someone?
29. Has anyone taught us what is argument and and how to avoid it?
30. Has anyone taught us how to show respect to our elders and seniors?
31. Has anyone taught us the 'How to stay calm & composed?'
32. Has anyone taught us how to keep up our commitment & while missing it how it affects our image?
33. Has anyone taught us 'How to be compassionate to animals'?
34. Has anyone taught us how not to rush into the elevator and getting out like a local train?
35. Has anyone taught us how to be courteous to other people in the elevator after selecting our floor?
36. Has anyone taught us when to make eye contact and why not to satire ?
37. Has anyone taught us how to greet someone or shake hands?
38. Has anyone taught us how to start a conversation with a 'small talk'?
39. Has anyone taught us how to balance 'talking & listening' during any conversation?
40. Has anyone taught us how to stop boring the other person with too much of 'me & my problems?'
41. Has anyone taught us how to make any conversation mutually interesting?
42. Has anyone taught us how to stop this 'Me first' attitude to grab all opportunity for ourselves?
43. Has anyone taught us how to show some kind gestures when someone need help? Eg. Helping someone struggling to lift their luggage in the plane?
44. Has anyone taught us 'how & when to smile?
45. Has anyone taught us how to be humble?
46. Has anyone taught us how softly speak without shouting?
47. Has anyone taught us 'why not to violate traffic discipline'?
48. Has anyone taught us how & why to share while eating?
49. Has anyone taught us 'how to recognise our own foolish paradigms & unlearn at appropriate time in life?
50. Has anyone taught us 'how to be happy for no reason?'
51. Has anyone taught us how to recognise our negative thoughts and expel them?
52. Has anyone taught us how to handle 'put downs' & 'bullying' by some one without sulking?
53. Has anyone taught us how to watch our 'negative attitude' and make course corrections?
54. Has anyone taught us about the ill effects of anger and how to control it?
55. Has anyone taught us how to handle fear response and overcome it?
56. Has anyone taught us what is stress and how to minimise it?
57. Has anyone taught us how to forgive and forget when someone hurts you?
58. Has anyone taught us the ill effects of harbouring hatred upon others?
59. Has anyone taught us the ill effects of jealousy & greed and how to handle them?
60. Has anyone taught us the effects of anxiety & worry and how to banish them?
61. Has anyone taught us how to handle difference in opinions to sustain relationship?
62. Has anyone taught us what is gratitude and how to express it?
63. Has anyone taught us what is 'Love' and how it has to be expressed & be unconditional?
64. Has anyone taught us what is self esteem and how it affects our personality?
65. Has anyone taught us what's the source of motivation and how to be intrinsically motivated?
66. Has anyone taught us 'what are mental blocks in us and how to overcome them?
67. Has anyone taught us what's meditation & how it can transform our well being?
68. Has anyone taught us about the universal connectivity and the presence of a supernatural entity?
69. Has anyone taught us when to trust & when to suspect?
70. Has anyone taught us where to be serious & when to be playful.
71. Has anyone taught us the the futility of material pursuit for happiness?
72. Has anyone taught us how to be playful at work and have fun when we play?
73. Has anyone taught us what is death and how to embrace it gracefully?
74. Has anyone taught us how to be a good team player?
75. Has anyone taught us what's leadership & how to develop the qualities of a leader?

With whole of my heart
NC