Signing off as Toastmaster President

Dear Marines,

Today marks the end of my tenure as the president of the Marine Toastmasters Club. Joining the Marines was the single most life-changing event that happened in my life.  It wouldn't be an overstatement if I say toastmasters has helped me in not just leadership and communication but in all walks of my life. So it was my absolute honour and privilege that I got the opportunity to serve and contribute to the club which made me who I'm today.

All that we achieved as a club in the last one year wouldn't have been possible without the support of all the members of the club and the hard work and grit of my exco team VPE Haaziq Jaleel, VPM Keerththan Srikumar, VPPR Safra Anver, Secretary Bimsara Jayawardene, Treasurer Inaam Mahmoor, Sergeant-at-arms Vithushan Manoharan.

I couldn't have asked for a better exco team than what I got. We had a lot of challenges because we were the first exco to navigate an entire year with covid. Many from the exco went through tough phases in their personal lives, yet they didn't use that as an excuse to shy away from the commitment they took upon themselves. That for me is the best leadership trait. I am thankful that I got an exco that puts club before anything. 

Jef Prages was such a cool Area Director to work with, he was very supportive and gave me absolute freedom and backed me and the club whenever we need him with his usual swag. I would also like to thank Division Director DTM Manik and District director DTM Munawwara and their whole team for all the support.

Thank you DTM Sarma Mahalingam for all your encouraging words and guidance since the day we met. You are such an inspiration we all as young toastmasters look up to. Your words of appreciation and encouragement are something I treasure very much to this day.

My mentors Safra, Bimsara and Shobija are not just my toastmaster mentors but they are my go-to people before I make any major decisions in life. Thank you for never giving up on me and for keep pushing me harder and harder in both toastmasters and personal life.

As a club, we shot for the moon and achieved almost everything we planned for. Yes, we did miss out on a few ambitious goals. But as a leader, one key thing I understood is our efforts and processes is what matters the most not just the results. So we shouldn't be afraid to continue setting very ambitious goals. 

I'm signing off as a president, extremely proud of what we all have achieved as a club in the last year. With Haaziq Jaleel as the incoming president and the wonderful exco team he has, I'm sure the future of Marines are in good hands and the next exco will take us to even greater heights.

For the one last time, this is your president. Over and out!

Kumaran Kugathasan

President - Marine Toastmasters Club

2020/2021

I believe in God, just not yours

"Why don't you believe in God?" is a question I keep getting a lot when people somehow find out that I don't believe in God. I think this article will serve as an answer to all those queries. When I say I don't believe in God, I just mean I don't believe in a personal intervening God that most people believe in. The whole concept in which a God is portrayed as a compassionate almighty looking over all of us. As someone who listens to our prayers and has the power to intervene or alter our life. That is the sort of God I don't believe in.

I align myself with the philosophical teachings of Advaita Vedanta, one of the most studied and most influential schools of classical Indian thought. I view God as an impersonal pure consciousness that is all that exists. We are just a mere projection within that consciousness and our goal is to gain self-knowledge and a complete understanding of the nature of that consciousness. Since we are all part of God, when I pray to God, I am knowingly praying to myself. Since I know praying to myself won't help me fix anything, it makes absolute sense to neither pray nor worship.

Figure 1 - Quote by Swami Vivekananda

But, I do understand some people need a personal intervening god because it is a lot easier to believe someone is watching over them and God will help them overcome difficult situations in life. That belief and prayers give them a lot of hope and courage to be good and fight against difficult situations life throws. They are just putting an inaccurate but functional image or mask on God.

My mom is a great example of this, she lost both her parents when she was a child, she went through poverty in her childhood, she got married to my father who hailed from a big extended family with six siblings and took care of all the responsibilities as the first daughter-in-law, my elder sister is an intellectually disabled child who requires constant parental attention hence my mom sacrificed all joys of her life to this day to take care of my sister. My mom's life was full of never-ending struggles and it is the faith in God that gives her hope and courage to face them. She never felt alone because she believes God is looking after her. 

So, I respect the sentiments of people who believe in God. God is their support system. I don't want to preach my philosophy to them when I don't know whether they are strong enough to function without the support system. What is the purpose of proving them the truth if it is going to just make one's life only more miserable and pointless? 

I think the absolute surrender without any ego is only possible for people who have absolute belief in God or for people who are madly in love with someone. So the people who are absolute believers are indeed blessed in a way. I just have my way and you have yours, so let's just agree to disagree. 

Magical Fusion

A song becomes heavenly when classical music and lyrical depth fuse in synergy with the phonetic beauty of Tamil. This 80 seconds song is sung by a hermit who was about to self immolate himself. So the music keeps getting intense and when the song ends you can feel the intensity of the fire raging. It is fascinating how just music can evoke the feeling of the burning inferno within just 80 seconds.

Beauty of Poetry

I randomly saw the below pic and out of nowhere a poem from "Abhirami Anthadhi" popped up in my mind. That is the beauty of poetry. Sometimes, a poem may not strike the right chord when you read it, so you just forgot about it. But one day when you come across a situation that captures the essence of the poem you read, the poem just pops out of nowhere and you will be awestruck to realise the deep emotions it evokes within you. You can't express that feeling in words. Just sheer ecstasy !!!

இடங்கொண்டு விம்மி இணை கொண்டு இறுகி இளகி முத்து

வடங்கொண்ட கொங்கை மலை கொண்டு இறைவர் வலிய நெஞ்சை நடங்கொண்ட கொள்கை நலம் கொண்ட நாயகி நல் அரவின்

படம் கொண்ட அல்குல் பனி மொழி வேதப் பரிபுரையே. 

- அபிராமி அந்தாதி 42

பொருள் - அனைத்து நலங்களும் பெற்று வேதங்களின் முதலும் சிறப்புமாக விளங்கும் தலைவியே! நல்ல பாம்பின் படம் போன்ற அலகுல், அழகிய முத்து மாலை படர்ந்த இறுக்கமாகவும் மென்மையாகவும் ஒன்றுக்கொன்று இணையான குன்று போல் பருத்திருக்கும் முலைகள், குளிர வைக்கும் இனிய குரல், இவற்றைக் கொண்டு, கல் போன்ற இறுக்கமான மனமுடைய சிவனையும் மயக்கி உன் எண்ணம் போல் ஆட்டி வைக்கும் குணமுடையவளாக விளங்குகிறாய்.