It is time to be "Haule Haule" !

"Haule haule" - I borrowed this adverb from a beautiful Hindi song from the famous Sharukh Khan movie "Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi". And the word "Haule haule" literally means "slowly slowly". The song as well as it's meaning is really captivating. I have embedded the Youtube link to the song at the bottom of this post. Though the song is mainly about the slow blooming of love between hero and heroine, I genuinely feel that, this "Haule haule attitude" is applicable to every phase of life !

If you look around, you will see that everything in nature happens in it's own pace. Blooming of a flower, growth of a tree, movement of a cloud...and it goes on! None of these are in a hurry. Everything in nature happens gracefully in it's own pace, without any hurry.

But being practical rather than being poetic, I agree that there is a difference. A cloud wandering over the sky has no deadline to meet. A flower is not expected to bloom before a given target date. Nature is their boss - A boss who never place deadlines before her subordinates, but allows everything to happen on it's own graceful pace. But we, the men and women of this planet who belongs to the most evolved species called Homo Sapiens unfortunately have other bosses. We have deadlines to meet. We have to run against time. We have business deals to close. So how can we bloom like a sprout or wander like a cloud?

Glad news is that, we can !
In your mind's eye, visualize a mythical war hero, who fight against evil demons . I like to put Valmiki's Sreeram as an example. During the war, he is surrounded by thousands of demons. But his peace of mind is not lost. He retains a smile of confidence in his face. Without any hurry, being sure of victory, he slays the demons one by one in a very playful manner. His grasp on the bow is steady and arrows shower from it artistically. Guys, how will it look like if you are able to solve your day to day problems and struggles like this? One by one, without any hurry. Aren't you tempted by that possibility?

First point I would like to put is that, being in a hurry or getting tensed never ever helps in solving any of your problems. Someone may argue that tension is good in critical moments and it helps them solve the problem at hand. I would disagree. The reason why they could solve the problem was because they took up the challenge wholeheartedly or they assumed 100% responsibility of the situation and acted upon it bravely. They did this because they understood that this is a critical moment and there is no escape. So facing the challenge wholeheartedly helps us solve our problems, but for doing this tension and hurry are not necessary. You can face any problem without hurry. Even if their is a deadline, accept the deadline with your heart and do your best for meeting the deadline. That's all you can do. And if you do that heroically (like the mythical hero we discussed above), the chance of failure is very less. And even if you fail to meet the deadline, it would be a graceful failure. If you had acted upon tension and hurry, the failure would have been more horrible.

Or let me put it also like this - You can be fast without being in a hurry!
How? Again go back to our mythical archer. It is said that old warriors could launch numerous number of arrows within a second. So our archer is indeed super-fast in his art of archery. But is he doing it in a hurry? No, he does it artistically. With the calm composure of a Yogi. This is a classic example of being fast without being in hurry.


Second point is that, we do not have as much problems as we fear. Most of our problems vanish with time, and we will actually have to face only a very few number of problems which we were afraid of initially. A funny quote by the Mark Twain illustrates this - "There has been much tragedy in my life and at least half of it actually happened." So, slowdown and observe your problems curiously, and most of them vanishes. And attack the remaining few like the victorious archer!

Now, let us come down to some practical tips on how to maintain this "Haule haule attitude" in our day to day life.
One technique is to be mindful of your breath during the time when you are not using your mind. For example, you have to attend a high-impact problem and you are just moving to office and you got into a traffic block, or let us say you reached the office building and you are now in the lift. Silently observe your natural breath. It is ok to have thoughts in your mind, but in the background keep this breath awareness. This will calm down your mind slowly. This mindful breathing is not only a simple technique for chilling down, but also it is the very basic of Buddhist mindfulness teachings.

Another technique is also the main teaching of Zen Buddhism - Mindfulness. I assert and re-assert that it is by no means a religious practice. It is a universal tool for the development of your body, mind and spirit. It simply means being fully aware of whatever you do. When you eat, feel it. Feel the taste, feel it filling your stomach. When you walk, feel the movement of your muscles. This way, your actions will become extra-efficient and artistic too !. Practice mindfulness one day, and you will see a different person in you. And you will even receive many subtler lessons which can not be mentioned in words!

Another technique for slowing down will be to remember something you love. About a relative or about a incident for which you are thankful etc.

Whatever be the means you use, refuse to get panicked - Refuse to hurry. And take your time. Then you will discover an inner space deep inside you, where lies solutions to your problems.

Now, just to complete the chilling effect - Embedded below is the youtube link to the full-song "Haule Haule".

Also I am giving below the English translation of first few lines! Chill down, take your time and celebrate life!

A Breeze Wafts Slowly
Medicines Work Slowly
Prayers Are Answered Slowly
The Moon Rises Slowly
A Veil Lifts Slowly
Intoxication Hits You Slowly
Have A Little Patience My Friend
Take A Deep Breath My Dear
Don't Worry So Much
Slowly Slowly You Will Fall In Love My Dear
Slowly Slowly You Will Fall In Love