When you hear from your friend 'I became a Monk' š®
Tarak Ram
August 5, 2024
Hello Everyone,
How is your week?
I would really love to hear how your week went and what things you are working on; if possible, letās catch up sometime online and share your thoughts.
This week, I had some wild thoughts and learned a few lessons, such as that I should care for myself first rather than anyone else and Iām sadly saying that Iām not spending much time with my family. It has been more than two months since I met my parents, even though itās just a 5-hour journey, still I am not able to go and spend some time with them.
Iām just thinking on paperāam I really busy or just acting like I am busy?
Highlights of this week š«
This week I didnāt have much to say but yeah, it was good:
- Watched cartoons after a long time.
- Started reading three books this week. I donāt know if Iāll get bored, so Iām switching to another book, but yeah, they are really good.
- Got the opportunity for the podcasts where guests would pay some money to be on my podcast.
- Moved to a hostel; now I have more free time to work on things that matter.
- Called most of my friends.
Learnings of the Week š±
Three days back, I got a call from an unknown number. If you ask my friends, they will say I never pick up calls from unknown numbers, even if they call five times. But I lifted that call.
I didnāt hear any āhelloā from the other side, so I started the conversation: Who is this? He said his name was ā*******ā; I felt happy that it was my friend, and he called me after a long time. I just started, What the heck are you doing, man? Where are you?
He said he was in Kasi. I thought he was on a tour since he does pooja a lot, so he went for darshan. I asked again, What are you doing, man? He said he was doing meditation. I laughed, Not now, man, what are you working on? He said again he was doing meditation.
His voice was low, and I could feel that he was too low and kind of in a problem. Suddenly, I asked if everything was okay. He said he needed 500 rupees. I said, Okay, Iāll send it, but are you okay? And what are you doing in Kasi?
He again said he was doing meditation and that they would give him free food at the ashram. At that moment, I was shocked.
A year back, he called me and said, Tarak, there are no jobs, and I donāt know what to do. He said he was going for some work that was not at all related to his studies, but he kept going. I donāt know what happened, but after one year, I got a call, and he said he was in Kasi and had become a monk.
I asked one thing: Why didnāt you call me before making the decision? Iām here, man. Recently, I even hired a random person and am paying an 18k salary. If you needed help, I would have definitely helped.
Life is all about making decisions, and I told him, If you make a decision, you shouldnāt feel regret in the future.
I asked him, What about your mom and dad? He said, My brother will take care.
Of course, man, he will take careā¦ but after 10 years, your brother will get married, have two kids, and enjoy life. If you see that, I donāt know about you, but I would feel regret because we only live about 60 years, and we should explore and experience everything as much as we can.
I asked him, Is there any problemā¦ are you suffering from something or what? But I didnāt get any reply from him.
Generally, people donāt make this kind of decision without a strong reason behind it, but yeah, I donāt know that.
I couldnāt stop thinking about him since weāve been in college together for three years.
I respect his decision because I know he is not a dumb person to make silly decisions. There might be a strong reason, but yeah, we have to try our best to solve the issue. He should have called me back then, or even I should have called him so that this wouldnāt have happened.
I feel really bad about myself because I was so busy acting like I didnāt even have time to call my friends and ask what they were doing.
This is not the right way. Everyone has time, and no one is busy all day. I dedicate about three hours to this newsletter every weekāmaybe I can cut 30 minutes and call him. Itās all about priorities, and after knowing that I couldnāt help him when he was in need, I feel so bad.
One of the biggest lessons of this weekāand it will be remembered for a long timeāis to please call your friends and family and maintain healthy relationships. Because in this business world, they are genuine people who donāt expect anything from you.
It feels kind of strange because a few of my classmates have gotten married, had kids, secured good jobs, pursued masterās degrees, or are just roaming here and there. Life is moving so fastā¦ canāt we slow it down and experience it?
People are so obsessed with chasing money that they forget to ask this one simple question: Whatās the point of life, and why am I here? Is it just to run for money, earn crores, and die? Or to experience and enjoy life?
At the end of the day, itās all about your storyā¦ When you are old and telling stories to your grandchildren, they wonāt care if you say, I earned 100 crores of rupees. But they will listen when you tell them about the silly things you did in college or the strange and funny experiences you had with your friends. Those are the memories that money canāt buy.
It was really good, man. I thought Iād write something small, but it ended up like thisā¦ I feel so present at this moment, motivated, and reminiscing about old memories. I wish I had a few more years of childhoodāwhere I used to watch Tom & Jerry (I still watch now), play Hide and Seek, and Cricket. I donāt know how this newsletter is helping you, but it helps me a lot.
Let me know if it really helps you š
My 3 Favourite Quotes š
If you are not happy, then you are not living the life that you want.
Myself > Family > Money > Other things
Sometimes, real happiness occurs while collecting things, not holding them.
The only request that I have is: If this newsletter is helpful to you and you are learning something from it, please share it with your friends and family. Iām genuinely putting a lot of effort here š
If you have anything to say personally, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn or Instagram; I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for reading š this far. If you found it helpful, share it with your friends and ask them to subscribe :)
Okay then, see ya later, my friend.
Tarak Ram