by M B NIRMAL, EXNORA INTERNATIONAL

1. Live, Live with Prosperity Principled Simplicity M.B. Nirmal Founder & Leader : ExNoRa Management Trainer : Seventh Intelligence

2. Mr. Anandapadmanabhan was a born leader and was a living example for today's youth. He aspired and worked hard to change the life of today's youth, to make them more educated, prosperous, so that they become worthy citizens of tomorrow's India. He silently but meticulously taught among school children, that simplicity is the best virtue to excel in life. Though the God of death has being so cruel in taking away the life of our dear Anandapadmanabhan, he lives forever in our minds inspiring us to lead a life with simplicity. I dedicate this book with tears and fond remembrance, to the epitome of simplicity, my friend Anandapadmanabhan.

3. Title: Live, Live with Prosperity Principled simplicity Author: M.B. Nirmal Founder & Leader: ExNoRa Management Trainer : Seventh Intelligence Published by: Seventh Intelligence Publications 20, Giriappa Salai, T. Nagar, Chennai 600017 Tel: 91- 44- 2815 33 77/ 2475 95 77/ 98400 34 900. Email: mbnirmal@hotmail.com Original Tamil book titled, " வாழுங்கள் , வளத்துடன் வாழுங்கள் - இலட்சிய எளிமை " , of the same author Mr. M.B. Nirmal translated in English by 'REACH' J.Chandrasekaran

4. Forgetting gratitude is forbidden I owe my heartfelt thanks to those who helped in the original Tamil version: Mrs. Lavanya Senthilkumar, who designed this book, which is sure to create history, in the e-publishing format. 'Navalar', Poet, 'Anagai' Mr. N. Sivan @ Sivalingam, who is our ExNoRa Senator. He did proof reading and editing. Mr. Shagul, of MOFA Enterprises, who computerized and digitized the Tamil edition. Mr. N.P. Manohar and Mr. P.G. Ramnath of Classic Printers, who brought out the printed edition of the Tamil book.

5. I dedicate… I do not believe in the proverb, "to make or destroy, it is the woman's will". I respect womanhood. I believe in another proverb whole heartedly, which says, "Wife is the gift by the Almighty". There is a turning point in every man's life. His appearance, life style, thinking, dress code - all go for a change during his marriage, or soon after his marriage. The changes are of different types. A good wife reforms bad thugs. Good simpleton turning to bad habits after marriage is also common. There are instances, where one could not withstand the lavish life style of a spendthrift wife, making him earn money in unethical means. I remember an instance, when a bank officer, went to the jail to distribute sweets to the prisoners. He was shocked to see his dear friend, a Government official in higher position, among them! When asked about how he came here, he said that he resorted to earn ill-gotten money to buy silk saris for his wife! I, the author of this book, was simple ever since I grew up. After marriage, simplicity took strong roots in my family. My wife, a Postgraduate practicing medico, also practiced simplicity. At present, she is the Deputy Director of Madras Medical College. Nevertheless, she ever made her position or fame affect her path of simplicity. She naturally possesses simplicity as a jewel and her nature astonishes me! Most of the days she travels by public transport. She also buys the vegetables and groceries required on her way back home. She cleans the home, sweeps the floor without engaging any servants. She travels by II sleeper class only while traveling by train. She checks the price of any commodity before she buys and settles with the one with the lowest price tag. She never 'makes herself' up! Extravagance is never in her vocabulary. She also gets along with others with simplicity and straight forwardness. I dedicate this book to my wife who is the simplest and modest woman in my life. I am sure this book will bring happiness to countless people who will enjoy reading this book and absorb the contents to enrich themselves and their life. With love and gratitude. M. B. Nirmal Author

6. Live, Live in Prosperity Principled simplicity Simplicity as goal ExNoRa M.B. Nirmal Read this book once. Your live will change forever and rise higher!

7. Money that controls the world Even though there are many problems in the world, that varies from person to person, country to country, the most common problem every one has is, "MONEY" or the need for money . Money controls the world. Industries run, business persons compete with each other, fights for positions and going for a job - all are to generate money. Business is done for money. Some families strain relationship for dowry issues, ending up in want of money. Man robs to get money. Before the pyre's fire puts off, the heirs fight each other for want of a share in the wealth of the deceased soul, again for money.

8. M oney will plough down to the core of the earth Men and money What does money yield? For the poor, next to oxygen, money matters. Money gets them food, cloth and shelter. Money wipes away their sorrow. For middle class folk, just to maintain their 'middle class' status, they need money! If they have more money, they can buy a bigger house with more amenities. Can buy car; go abroad; pay 'capitation' fees for higher studies; even though prohibitive, can discreetly give dowry for a safe marriage for their daughters. Let them earn well, but they should also learn to control their expenses and desires. Otherwise, they will loose control over the swirl of greed and desire and will put them in a crisis. For the rich: Rich too worry about money. How to safe guard the hard-earned money? How to earn further ? On seeing some one richer, they yearn to beat them, by adding few more crores to their kitty . These are few worries they carry. This constant worry of making more and more money builds stress, which gives them immense pain, and invites all diseases. These 'rich' diseases carry those filthy rich people towards the ICU of a rich hospital. Then they eventually loose the body worth crores for ‘want of money’ or the ‘thought of money.’ Is there any connection between money and happiness? If some is to read what I said earlier, they will surely conclude that money is everything. But great souls, saints, philosophers, patriots, freedom fighters, social workers, nature lovers - all are in unison by thinking otherwise! "There is NO CONNECTION between money and merry. And absolutely no connection between money and mental peace," is what they say. Is this true? Here are two true illustrations: True incidents:

9. The poor rich man! I went to a rich man's house. His house is in Chennai main city which covers some acres together! There must be at least 15 rooms within his bungalow. Not less than five cars were lined in his portico. A large door at the reception, on opening carries a huge surprise . A big swimming pool awaits you, with a springboard on its bank. You can dive into the water and come out by the rising steps. Small trolleys carry food for guests. The food is driven to the guests' place, in these cars. They are converted to dining tables, in a moment! A big tennis court, grand wooden carvings, smooth silk carpets and many such jaw-dropping artifacts decorate the bungalow. This book would is not enough if I have to comment on everything I saw that day. The owner of the bungalow knows me well. When I went there, he was sitting in a sorrowful mood. I was with him for half an hour. By then, two doctors had already checked him and left. One was a cardiologist and the other a diabetes specialist. I remembered many say that this man can do anything with the money he possesses! What happened now? I slowly went near him and enquired, "I always get surprised by the wealth you have possessed, but now today, I feel very sorry for you. What's really your problem?" He replied, " I wish I lessen my burden by sharing my problems with some one else.' Having said that, he talked with me for about ten minutes.

11. The rich poor man! The same day evening, I had another experience altogether. The dhobi Dhanakoti, who lives near the slum next to my house, was sleeping peacefully. On hearing my vehicle's sound, he woke up, came running to open the gate of my house, to allow the vehicle in. I just enquired, “How’s life man?" He gleefully replied, “All in our family went to Muniandi Villas for sumptuous Biriyani, saw a MGR movie and are back home. Our day today went off happily!" Dhanakoti, his wife Mookayi, their children, all wash the clothes of their customer's outside their hut. They work hard throughout the day. They enjoy working hard. Their hard work had made their arms muscular and strong. Morning 8 to 2 noon they wash the clothes. Then they dry the clothes, have food, take some rest and after five in the evening they start pressing the clothes and give the pressed ones to the clients' houses and come back with the collected money. While on work, the tape recorder in their hut belts out cinema songs continuously. After 7 pm, they all squat before the black & white television and see all the programme non-stop. They laugh, clap hands and get so involved with the comedy scenes they see and are immersed into the scenes themselves! Every weekend they visit the Mari Amman temple. Being dhobis themselves, they always sport well-washed, white linen. They always live happily.

12. Measure of happiness If at all we try to measure the happiness, through some fictional 'happiness readometer", the mercury in it, would cross all barriers and burst itself out! If we use the same meter on the rich man, I referred earlier, the mercury would never rise to any level, and would stay put as if it is frozen forever!

13. The vision of truth On seeing two different families the same day, a great truth dawned upon me. Comparing these two families, I concluded that money and happiness have no connection. Money and Mental peace have no connection. Moreover, to top this all, I felt strongly, “Money and mental solace have no relationship at all!" These two instances made me do a thorough research. The result is what you see, this book. If one understands this book and its essence, the reader can get peace of mind, and happiness, forever. Money do gives comfort. However, it is only 90% a physical aberration. The mind never gets solace from money.

14. Earn Let more of money be there. If you can earn more money the righteous way, please go ahead. Earn as much as possible. Any earning member should follow a strict methodology. That is why I have this book before you. Not to stop you earning money. Let's come to that important methodology one has to follow, after earning hoards of money.

15. What can give you mental solace? There are many answers for the above question. But what stands out is just one reply, 'simplicity'. The more simple you live, the more happiness and mental solace, you achieve. This is hundred percent true. Even if you earn more money and possess more wealth, just desist and be simple. Earning money is not a crime. Nevertheless, forgetting simplicity is a huge mistake! When money beckons a man, we see that simplicity tends to leave him.

16. Great men are simple. Simple men turn great. The most renowned men in the world are all simple. List out the beacons who lead a great, yet simple life. They may be from different class, kind, clan and nationality. However, the common thread, which runs through all such names and personalities, is 'simplicity'. Here is a sample list: The great Gowthama was not famous as a Prince, but he became world famous, after he became 'Buddha', leading a simple life, renouncing the charm of being a prince. Same way, Jesus, Mohammed the prophet, Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Mother Teresa, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Vivekananda, Arutperum jyothi Ramalinga Adigal, Guru Nanak, Mahaveer, Leo Tolstoy, Bernard Shaw, Albert Einstein, Poet Subramania Bharathi, 'Iron Man' Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi, Thiruvalluvar, Tamil poetess Avvaiyaar, Rabindranath Tagore, Gopala Krishna Gokhale, Bala Gangadhara Tilak, Ramana, Arabindo, Raghavendra Swami, Swaminarayan, Dr. Ambedkar, C.Rajaji, Karma warrior Kamaraj, Kakkanji, Lalbahadur Sastri, Annadurai, the saint who ploughs through your mind, 'Live prosperously' Mahan. V ethathiri Maharishi,… and so on. If I again start listing such great souls of this soil, this book will be over flowing. Most of them listed here came from affluent background, but adorned simplicity. They never lived a pompous and rich life.

17. Gandhiji was from an affluent family and a Barrister from London. The world hails him for not for his Barrister Law degree, but for his simple life style, for living one among the masses, like a common person. He traveled the length and breadth of our country; saw the plight of many poor peasants wearing almost nothing except their loincloth. He too shed away lavish clothing and wore just a dhoti and a small towel on his frail shoulders. Even Winston Churchill ridiculed Gandhiji as, "Half naked fakir' from India. However, it was not the well-dressed suit attired Churchill, who won, but this so-called half naked man of India, Gandhiji! A small girl told her mother, " Ma, leave me for serving the Church. Let me become a nun!” Her mother refused saying, “You are still a small girl. Become 18 and then you can decide on your life path." After years, the girl, now a grown up woman, went to her mother again and retorted, "Ma, leave me now. I am 18. Let me become a nun." The mother with tears rolling down her eyes, allowed her daughter to join the monastery. What is shocking is the fact that, after this incidence, the mother and daughter never met again! The young nun, who reached the shores of Calcutta, saw the poor and downtrodden dying in the streets with no shelter, but for the sky as their roof. Many were dying due to hunger, in footpaths. She sheds tears for them. She goes to her seniors in the Church, asking them permission to serve the mankind instead of serving the Lord.

18. She is an Albanian by birth, and white skinned. Will the locals accept her? She immediately sheds away her nun robes and gowns, but wears simpler sari, the Indian attire. Do you know which sari she chose to wear? The one that is being worn by the sweepers of Calcutta, which just cost her Rs.2.00. She is none other than the famous Mother of deprived, down trodden and the beacon of hope of destitute, the founder of Missionaries of Charity, Mother Teresa. Is there any other better example of a Great person leading a simpler life, yet becoming famous? The then Chief Minister of Tripura, Mr. Nirupan Chakraborthy was a bachelor. After his tenure, he went to live in a small rented room, leaving away the posh Government Bungalow. Do you want to know what he carried along when he vacated the Government accommodation? A simple trunk containing three sets of dresses! The then Chief Minister of Kerala Namboodiripad, donated all his ancestral property to his party, before entering politics. The other Kerala Chief Minister Achyutha Menon was seen shopping like a commoner, the next day his tenure ended. Even minister A. K. Anthony is known for his simplicity even by his political oppositions. A member of the parliament, holding various ministerial posts in the erstwhile Madras state Shri. Kakkan was travelling by public bus. During his last years, he could not even afford a private hospital and stayed in the general ward of a Government Hospital.

19. Mr. Kamarajar, the 'King maker', who was known for his ability to select the Prime ministerial candidate of India, was then the chief minister of Tamilnadu. He did not own a small piece of land in this country, where we know that politicians who hold even the smallest of smaller posts, having Swiss accounts to save discreetly their ill-gotten money. Mr. Kamaraj did not even have a savings account in his name. Perarignar Anna, also an erstwhile Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is known for his great literary works, which were written by him squatting on plain floor. Rajaji was also known for his simplistic life style. Guljarilal Nanda, who was a minister for long period in the Central Ministry, struggled in his late years unable to pay his room rent. He used to stitch his torn cloth to wear them again. Is there anyone greater than these Great men I mentioned? Did the society boycott these men because they were simple? Even after their death, they are remembered forever, as an epitome of simplicity. So, shall we all agree that simplicity is not to be ridiculed but to be hailed? The recent incumbent president, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is a living example for this generation. Similar to him, is also the current Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh. Both of them lead a very simple life.

20. Advertisement Stunt and Show The politicians today, and even the Religious Heads advertise themselves. They keep themselves figuring in tall digital banners and posters competing with the skylines. Some of these even fall off and injure the common public who walk gazing at those monstrous cutouts! They encourage their so-called 'supporters' and acclaim many 'titles' to themselves as prefixes and suffices to their names. They celebrate their birthday with pomp and extravagance.

21. Raise that comes with simplicity The Great men we discussed earlier never did advertise themselves. There was neither internet nor websites during their days. No televisions or cell phones. In fact, there wasn’t that many publications or newspapers like what we read today. In spite of such short falls, they were famous. The whole world was familiar with these names. What gave them fame is their simple life style, their philosophy, their work and the path they lead. They not only preached simplicity but also lead by example.

22. Live, live happily There is a simple way to lead a happy life. That is to lead a simple life and to proclaim that simplicity will be the only motto to lead that life.

23. Principled simplicity is the only way to lead a happy life What is principled simplicity? What are the obstacles we face while observing principled simplicity? What is the real way to live a cherished and peaceful life? a If one understands the objective of principled simplicity and give shape to it, there cannot be a person better than you to lead the happier life. Again, what is this principled simplicity? a Before understanding this concept, it is important to understand that you will face a lot of obstacles while taking every effort to practice principled simplicity. In short, it is this 'society' which stops you practicing principled simplicity. We never see things in our own perspective. We always tend to handle any issue through the society's eye. What does the society think? "What will happen if 'x' thinks so, 'y' may blame me, how do I get fame and attention of the society or what will happen if the society shuns me for my deed .." and so on… a Therefore, by constantly thinking what the society thinks, we loose our own thinking, let our concerns to dilute and thought process to fade. We tend to bend ourselves to the thinking of the society and thus become a victim of borrowed opinion, resulting in tension and restlessness. a We blame the society and conduct ourselves, even though we do not like it. In fact, we tend to become spendthrifts blaming the society, only to suffer and bear the brunt.

24. Neighbour Syndrome Ninety percent of the population suffers from what is called as 'Neighbour syndrome'. Do you remember the famous Tamil cinema song, "Aduthaathu Ambujatha paartheyla? ( அடுத்தாத்து அம்புஜத்த பார்த்தேளா ?) This explicitly explains how the singer envies her neighbour. The very concern of what would be our neighbour’s opinion makes us do things incorrectly. And the funniest part is here? Just to grab the attention of our neighbour, to attract him or to overcome him in terms of others' attention, we tend to do things differently than what is really ours. The truth is that no neighbour has time to think of us, fathom or criticize us, leave alone adulating or finding fault with. So, first and foremost, we should come out of the lifeterm we impose on ourselves called as the 'neighbourhood syndrome'. Instead of living our fullest life for ourselves, we start living for the sake of entering our neighbour's heart or mind. In this context, neighbour means, the surroundings and the society too.

25. The social uneasiness How is our neighbour or the society responsible for us shedding the simple life and falling prey for a pompous life? Here are the reasons: Will the society think that we have become paupers, having lost all our wealth and property, if we lead a simple life? Will they call us a 'miser'? Will they declare us as ‘mad’? Such unwarranted thoughts engulf us, and we resort to get into a pompous life. Even if some one thinks like that, should we really worry about it? Shouldn’t we decide how we live or is it the neighbour or the society, which should decide our destiny? Those who ridicule us, will they take care of us in hard times? Will they come forward to pay off our loans? Will they partake in our sorrows and pains? Will they share our burden now or ever? ‘ It is not bad to be poor in wealth, but it is certainly bad to be poor in intellect’.

26. Prisoner of others' thoughts Both the neighbours indulge in wealth accumulation and are under stress, thinking that the other man would always think of us, the man next door! Both think that the other man is watching his movements closely, avoid face-to-face contact, do not talk with each other and spend their lives without fear, which is not worth undergoing. We loose ourselves, our self-esteem, are trapped and fail to come out openly with a clear thought and mind. We spend beyond our capacity to make the other man appreciate and feel envious about us. One day, we will be burying ourselves in deep depth of debt. It happens the same way in the other man's life too. This unaccounted life game becomes a threat to us; others feel hatred towards us and in fact avoid us. In front of our face, they hail us but behind our backs, they shun us. Some evil-minded enemies go to the extent of giving a complaint against us to the authorities, anonymously!

27. The movie, which detailed simplicity in an eloquent way The director with a sharp brain who has made many movies to evoke the intelligence of the society, by mixing both comedy and realism is none other than the Tamil Director K.Balachander. He not only made commercial movies, but also ensured that they carried social messages. Extravagance and its suffering were well documented in the Tamil movie 'Bama Vijayam'. The evils of being spending beyond ones limits is well explained interlaced with comedy, by showing how three middle class women fall prey to the glamour world and pretend to be rich, eventually suffering themselves due to their own plight. None can forget the song, 'Varavu ettanaa , selavu patthaNaa' ( வரவு எட்டணா , செலவு பத்தணா ) . A famous adage goes like this in Tamil, 'swell, suiting to the size of the finger', which implicitly means spend suiting to your income'. In the beginning chapters, I had explained very clearly how money is not important for happiness, by two live examples.

28. My parents were money-minting machines…! The true son makes his father proud By becoming a front-runner, in all claims... is the meaning of a couplet of Poet Valluvar who also says in the same breadth the duty of a father towards his son, in another one: Father does his true duty by making himself a role model to his son An industrialist father and a leading medico mother both work tirelessly and accumulate enormous wealth to their children, but they never spared time to spend with their children. They always worried about the future but forgot the present time. Out of the enormous interest they showed in making money not even an iota was showered on the children. The children themselves had to seek appointment of their father through his personal secretary! The children yearned for parental love and affection. Soon, both the sons got addicted to drugs and this went on undetected by their parents. The parents became money-minting machines but had no love. When drug addiction became too severe, the eldest son lost his life. The other son was saved miraculously by highest and most expensive medical care! We come across many such instances in our daily lives. There are women weeping for the plight of a child in the television serial, forgetting about their own kin! The adage ' father ' is equally important as that of being named as an ' industrialist '. Both have different work and different role to play. One complete man does both jobs correctly. If he fails in his dual role, life will fail him! The true incident mentioned above shows that he parents failed to understand the minds of the children, in spite of them being clever enough to accumulate so much wealth. Love and affection are also precious little things, which are essential in life.

29. Principled simplicity - a definition Another saying goes like this: ‘As a cat burnt itself with hot tongs trying to imitate the tiger stripes'. We should lead a life within our earning capacity and should not fall a prey to the pomp and show outside. On the contrary, we should observe how poor folk who earn less live comfortably than we do. 'I wept for a pair of shoes and stopped when I saw a lame man walk by' - is another proverb. This is what is aiming for simplicity. Decide from today, to lead a simple life.

30. Aim for natural happiness. The reason for you to lead a simple life is not that you do not have money, but because you have decided to live so. You are not broken. You are not a miser or insane. You observe simplicity as you have that as one of the aims in life. Simplicity is the path to happiness.

31. 'Badge' - a symbol A simple designer badge can demonstrate principled simplicity. This is how it looks: Principled simplicity This can be made in engraved letters either in metal or plastics and can be worn close to your heart on your shirt pocket. This can be any language denoting the initials of principled simplicity. You can wear a simple dhoti, or wear sandal slippers, but yet by seeing this badge on your shirt people will look upon you, not tease or ridicule you. They will understand that the simple life you have chosen is by choice and not by force or situation. Principled simplicity is not a banned word! Those who see you with this badge will not think bad about you, but will look upon you as a role model. Your value will raise amongst them. Your style will spread like the fragrance of an incense stick to others around.

32. No 'badge' needed … In fact, real masters with an aim of leading a simple life and who lead as an example, do not really need any badge. Their dress, their simple attire and their simple deeds are suffice to promote the idea and the person.

33. Badge needed… But let's think the other way. In case you are a simple man wearing this badge. Anyone new to this concept, will surely approach you out of curiosity. You can then start explaining the concept, the virtues of simplicity. So the message spreads fast. So please wear such badge whenever you go out. Spread simplicity, its virtues, advantages and all the goodness it brings along with it. Keep spreading the message. Do this NOW!

34. Hypnotizing and Subliminal Advertisements Many advertisements come in television which attracts us, changes us, make us mad, which conquer us, make us addicted. A finding from a Western research says that some advertisements are produced in such a way, that they go deep and get embedded into our minds. The characters, their dress, their style, conversation, dialogue delivery, background score, all keep aside your judgmental mind and start imposing the advertiser's ideas forcibly into your brain. What next? You become like a keyed toy, go and buy the said commodity or expensive thing without ever wanting it really. This is called 'subliminal'. Those who see advertisements daily and also follow them strictly are sure to become paupers and to the streets! Then their own life becomes fit to be a screen play for another television serial!

35. Just do a 'small survey' immediately Walk around your home with a paper and pen. Just jot down all the needy things based on their use to you. Do not leave anything in your house. Everything you see. Give 100 marks for those who are inseparable like gas, gas stove, light, fan etc. Give lesser marks for things which are sparingly used. You will be surprised that 90 % of the goods in your house being useless or in other words, which are sparingly used. You may find surprisingly certain unwanted things filling your almirah unopened! The unwanted stuff makes cockroaches dwell there. Most of those unwanted things would have been purchased using credit cards and the dues would also accumulate for nothing. More the interest in the bank, more goes up your blood pressure!

36. A simple method to suppress the ‘urge to buy’ Let bygones be bygones. Let the future be good. Do you feel like buying something you see at a friend’s place or see in an advertisement? Do you feel the rush to buy at any cost? You need to just do one thing. A self – test. Just for two minutes. Sit in a chair. Relax and lean back then ask yourself the following five questions and answer back yourself.

37. Those five questions: Question 1 : Is this thing very essential for me? Do I want it? If the answer is ‘no’, it’s OK. On the other hand, if the answer is ‘yes’, you are inviting trouble. Then go to the next question. Question 2 : Do I need it? If the answer is ‘no’ again, you are fine. If the answer is ‘yes’, it means you are in danger. Then go to the third question. Question 3 : Can I afford to buy it? Do I have the capacity to buy it? It is pertinent to know before you answer this question, that you have the money to buy that thing, well in your account. If you are going to get credit for the same, the credit should again be reasonable. Can you repay the credit card company in time? Ask this question too. If you have the capacity to re-pay the monthly installments, it is fine. If you get a big ‘NO’ as an answer for all the questions, it is great, you are free. But if you get a big ‘YES’ as an answer then YOU MUST go to answer question number four.

38. Question 4 : Can I lead my life without this? This is an IMPORTANT question. Most of the things in our homes are not essentials in our life. Still we accumulate them. We can easily say, ‘yes, this is not really an essential item in my life or life style’. You can avoid buying such things immediately. Nothing will change or life become abnormal if we stop buying that thing. If your answer for this question is again a big ‘no’ you are again saved, but if your answer is ‘yes’, you have to answer the final fifth question without fail and then may proceed with your purchase. Question5 : Can I postpone buying it? By asking this vital question, you may postpone the purchase if needed, may be you may cut down your desire of buying the product later, for ever, which does more good than harm in long run.

39. These 5 wonder questions: You will be surprised that after answering these vital wonder questions, you will end up, not buying many unwanted things. You will be a true man using your sixth sense, not getting carried away by advertisements. Your family welfare will be safe. Simple life style will engulf you and you will walk with a raised head ever. You will feel light – hearted. Savings will grow. All in your family together or alone can undertake these self – examination. Better to do as a group. Sixth ‘bonus’ question : Still is your desire to buy more is not doused? Then this sixth question which needs to penetrate your head and mind is: ‘ Does this affect the environment or will this purchase cause pollution?’

40. Good expense Do you know the best expenditure in the world? It is spending to save! Yes, this four lettered word ‘save’ saves you a lot. The more you spend on saving, the more you gain. Let others who are pompous and extravagant, weep around for their misfortune. We should remember a point. There are not less than 10 crore Indians living under the sky, as their roof. They live, eat, deliver children and die on footpaths. There are at least few crores of populace who starve without a square meal a day! Many die due to starvation. More than that, many tender hands of children toil and work hard in harsh conditions to support their family! There are so many underprivileged poor souls like the lame, blind, orphans, destitute, discarded, aged, suppressed, women who resort to run brothels for want of food, starvers who beg, those who do petty thefts as they do not know how to earn their bread, and so on. Is it right on our path to spend lavishly when our brethren are dying due to penury? Is it fair? It is not the gold plate or aluminum plate which satisfies our hunger. It is the food on the plate that fills our stomach.

41. Guilty conscience More than making us feel rich, extravagance makes us feel pompous. The very feeling that we are pompous will develop a guilty feeling in our mind and that also leads us to illness. Way to lead a simple life You want to lead an easy life? Be stronger yourself. Control the wavering mind. You want your life to be a smooth sail? Be tough to yourself. What a ostentatious nature? There is a Tamil saying, “ An overnight filthy rich, holds an umbrella even for a midnight moon!’. It is a fact that these ‘sudden rich and snobbish’ act worsens their normal life. A sudden rich man asked the guy at the watch show room, not about the life of the watch, or its technicalities, but “ Which is the most expensive watch in your showroom?”. He bought the costliest one. He did not buy for himself but insisted the sales man that none other than him should wear that particular branded watch, and must not be sold to any one else! “ As it is costlier, it shows more time than what is normal!!” is a joke remarked on this incident. How snobbish and arrogant these filthy sudden rich ones are!

42. Money intoxication! A rich man had three children, who studied in the same school, but he chose to send them to a near by school which was within two kilometer radius, by individual car for each child! Separate drivers for each vehicle and brought them back. Just near by is a slum area, where most children live in penury and most of them have no clothes to wear or proper food to eat. Can’t the rich man cut down on his expenses by sending all the three children to the school in one car? The money thus saved could have been used to provide education for all the downtrodden children in that slum. God will only bless those who live for others.

43. Fetish for imported goods There are many who boast of proclaiming, “I do not buy anything local. All foreign make only!’. However pretentious they are, can they remove the tag which is on them that they are only locals, i.e., Indians!

44. Buy only Swedeshi goods Many foreign goods, mostly unwanted goods, are adorning the shelves of our shops. If you are not ready to give up the snobbish attitude, so be it. At least listen to this simple advice. Do not buy foreign goods. Buy only Indian goods. That would indirectly benefit our brethren and give job opportunity to our own country men. Many houses will have their lights lit and we would save foreign exchange to our country. Our country will also prosper and grow.

45. Just see this imaginary situation You have two workers approaching you for help; a healthy cash-rich worker from abroad and the other a poor labourer from India. You need not help any of them. Just try to stick on to ‘Made in India’ tag. Just buy Indian goods. That’s enough. This would be the best favour one could do for saving the lives of the Indian worker. Take an oath, with immediate effect as “ I would buy only Indian goods”.

46. The extravagance that’s makes you loose your mind Let me narrate an interesting story to illustrate how obsessed we are with money and an extravagant life. A rich man gifted a dog to his son. The son and the dog became inseparable and were play mates. One day unfortunately the boy sees the dog motionless and still. He wept profusely and asked his father to get back the dog its life. The father tried to console his son but failed. He said he will buy a similar one, but the son was adamant and went on crying. The father changed the track and proclaimed, “See, let’s do one thing. We will have a grand burial for your pet dog. The body will be carried in a chariot bedecked with garlands, driven by horses. A band will lead the way. After burial, we will have a grand feast for all who attended the cremation. The boy’s face lit up! He was happy and was about to get ready for the ‘cremation’. Then, the unexpected happened! The dog, which was actually unconscious, leapt back to life! The boy had a rude shock! He was expecting a feast and not the dog back to life. He immediately yelled to his gardener. “Hey, kill that dog!” I need not elaborate any further on this story. We all live like this, mindlessly. We are possessed with extravagance. We avoid being simple and end up simply loosing all good things in life. At times we are forced to live so and when such an attitude dominates our mind, we are forced to become cruel against others too.

48. What does simplicity give us? Simplicity gives mental peace and solace. Simplicity gives fulfillment in life. Simplicity uplifts the standard of our life. Simple men are always held in high esteem in the society A well deserved peaceful life, less expenses, adores us. Savings always saves us. Simplicity brings us all together. If simplicity becomes a common goal for all, the other unwanted differences in caste, creed, money, economics, etc., all of them will take a back seat. Simplicity should be your breadth. If so, happiness will surrender at your feet. If not, you will be at the mercy of the demon called debt money. Most of the work we were once doing physically are now taken care of machines. All exercises are now gone. Grinding and pounding using hands, sweeping and cleaning the floor using wet cloth with our hands, use mug and bucket to bath, washing clothes by hand in a river bed, all have become bygones. The simpler exercises we do are now totally not practiced. We do not stand up to switch off a running television. We use remote control button! Only thing which you cannot operate using a remote control is your own brethren. We have invited body ache and pains by avoiding the smaller exercises we used to do once upon a time. What do we do to reduce the pain? We run to a gym. We pour money there and try out all kinds of exercises in all types of awkward looking machines! What a farce! Should we not feel ashamed of this? Exercise is the only thing which you should do yourself. You cannot assign that task to some one else. In short, we have reduced body motions by buying machines for every possible work. We have reduced normal exercises. We pay and join a gym! Then make the body sweat. What a shame! We waste money as well as time.

50. One logical question of yours You may ask, ‘if all start observing simplicity, will not the industry fall down? Will not many factories which produce goods for the buyers, close down? Many may lose jobs!’ – Yes this is a meaningful question. Simplicity does not mean being a miser. One should always buy what we consider is very essential and avoid buying non-essential things. The result is, essential goods production will go up. Production of unwanted things will go down. Industries would then resort to make only those commodity which are very essential to mankind and avoid doing lavish, unwanted, goods of extravagance.

51. What are essential goods? Food, water, shelter, clothes or dress, medicine and education are the essential needs of a man. If principled simplicity is observed by one and all sincerely, savings will grow; social awareness and work will improve, health standards will increase. Quality goods which are essential would be produced more and would also pave way for exports and earn foreign exchange for our country. Very few industry would loose business, but many new ones will spring up. By and large economy would not perish or diminish, but will cherish along with simple living. The natural resources are not omnipresent and immortal. We may usurp all of them one day. By practicing ‘principled simplicity’ one will be forced to use the natural resources only for producing essential goods. Depletion of nature will reduce. This is the best use and benefit for simple living. The money thus saved by living simple, can be utilized to serve the poor and needy.

53. Do not forget… ‘ We are spending and ending natural resources, but are hardly spending human resources properly’. Let’s learn and take an oath to increasingly use human resources and save natural resources. Let us follow ‘Principled Simplicity’ to achieve this. So, we now know, that production increases. We also know that those produce will be essential and useful. The investments would change from one industry to the other. Overall, a healthy world would beckon us.

54. Dear Parents… You teach your child how to read, write, compete, pray, conduct him or herself. Is that all needed for one to lead a complete life? Where will they live if the land, water and air they need, is under threat? There would be a huge shortage of natural resources in near future. Land, air and water would be polluted to unimaginable levels. (Join ExNoRa forums to save earth and control pollution) No money can save your future generation. Only principled simplicity can save their lives. You should follow that and teach your children and others too. Encourage your child to follow principled simplicity. Teach them the skills to adopt simplicity.

55. Old story and a new definition A king wanted to conduct a great yagna, a ceremony. He wished all his subjects participate in it and ordered each of them to donate one litre of milk for the ceremony. He was observing them with pride, obeying him, pouring litre after litre into the big vessel kept for that purpose. Later, when the king opened the vessel, he was shocked to see the vessel full of water! Each citizen though to himself, “ When others pour milk, what would happen if only I pour a litre of water as my contribution? It will get mixed and go unnoticed”. To everyone's surprise, all of them had cheated themselves and the king by pouring only water and no milk! We can take this story as an example for a different reason. Do not think, all should start leading a simple life. You start first. You be the leader. Do not wonder “ why should I bother or worry about extravagance? Why not others?” Rather, start leading a simpler life yourself. Think, “All good things begin with me.” Follow the beautiful philosophy of ‘principled simplicity’. I would remind you the words of Martin Luther King again… “ The problems we see around us are not caused by evil men. It is because of those good men who remain silent!”. Break that silence. Do social work. Give voice to the concerned .

56. Lavish Children We can understand the reason for why simple living is important, in a different way. If one understands, how extravagance spoils the minds of children, we will appreciate the need to live simpler. The reason to bring uniforms in schools is to avoid disparity. If one child wears a two thousand rupees worth dress and another child wearing a fifty rupees worth dress, parity crops up. The poor child will get affected mentally and psychologically and may feel depressed where as the rich ones may become arrogant and flashy. This in turn would affect the child’s morale and hence his/ her studies. Such differences may turn the child to a criminal too. Hence, uniforms were brought into practice at schools.

57. Uniformity in uniforms There is a big school campus named, ‘Church Park’ in the heart of Chennai city. It had three schools running within its campus, namely the Sacred Heart, St. Ursula's and St. Andrews. The first school is for the rich, whose children wore Pale Green uniform, the second school is for the middle class who wore light blue uniforms and the third one was run for the poor, whose children were identified by their brown uniform. But among the common public and between the children, the parity in uniforms showcased their economic status, thus bringing an upheaval in their minds and attitudes. The management came to know of this and made a good decision of changing the uniform for all the schools into dark green uniform, thus bringing the parity to an end. That year the school were able to see a marked change in their end results!

58. This? or That? People who have insufficient earnings and who aspire to live beyond their means should read this:

59. This or That? -Air conditioner - Fan - VCD -Tape recorder - Refrigerator - Earthen Pot - Swanky car - Motor cycle, cycle - Palatious bungalow - Simple flat When we buy those listed above on the left hand side, one eventually will get the following without asking for it: Loan burden above ones head Sleepless nights Hidden life fearing for the creditors Diseases due to mental pressure Cases in court When one tries to get all the good things in life, which are surely beyond his capacity, he is sure of inviting the problems mentioned above. Instead, if one lives with a contented life, with those shown in the right hand side of the comparison above, we can understand that one attains: Reasonable bank balance, Sound sleep Walking head held high Healthy mind, body and soul. So it is for you to decide which path you should tread.

60. The physical sweat is off and mental heat is on! A simple man, fell into the trap of lavishness. He bought all goods in his life in installments. TV, DVD, Fridge, Air conditioner, all except peace. He murmured later, “ I slept well without air conditioner before. Now, I have lost my sleep and have built mental pressure. My physical sweat is out but the internal mental heat is ON!” Those who sold to him waited for his installments , later only to know that this man had become insolvent !

61. Marriage and Pomp Thirumagal Marriage Scheme: Many who resort to simpler life, surprisingly try to show off their wealthiness, when it comes to the marriage of their daughter or son. A famous bank brought a scheme called ‘Thirumagal’ Marriage scheme in Tamilnadu. This acclaimed widespread appreciation among the masses. Once a girl child is born, a certain amount of fixed deposit or money to be paid in installments and that would earn a sizeable amount by the time the girl becomes grown up and become suitable for marriage, say at the age of twenty.

62. Thirumagal Marriage solvency scheme! Many whop resort to put their weight around a marriage and take loans and spend very much beyond their capability end up paying high interest to the lenders and become worried for their life! The girl who got married also spends sleepless nights, thinking of her unfortunate parents who had ended up in loans and are suffering for making her get married. Should one throw money this way just for ‘a day’s show?’. Cannot we think of conducting the marriage by simpler means? We should think seriously and stop this menace. We should act constructively.

63. A good change! Twenty years ago, marriages were conducted for five or three days at a stretch, ending up in feasting for all three times, all the days, wherein an enormous amount were spent on food and lavishing parties. Nowadays these system are gone and many conduct the reception function on the very same day evening of the marriage. This is an excellent ‘time and cost’ saving idea.

64. Unwanted pompous expenses Let us come back to discuss the marriage expenses. Normally in South India, the reception expenses are Bourne by the groom's family and the marriage expenses by the bride’s family. Most of the money is spent on clothes, jewellery, Marriage Hall rental, Decorations and food.

65. Wasted food is money that goes waste! Keep the expenses to prepare the food aside for this discussion. Think of those wasted or thrown out after the marriage feasts are over. You will be for a rude shock! There is always a maximum limit one can consume at a time. But we see in most cases, the marriage feast consists of varieties of food fed much beyond ones eating capacity. Eventually not all food that is served in eaten and they get thrown out in the dust bin. Many items would not be liked by you, but before you could spell it out or refuse, the item in question would have been served to you!

66. Food that gets wasted within the kitchen Worser situation, is when the food that gets cooked and not being served. That constitutes another 20- 50% food sometimes! One may predict for an example, say one thousand guests and prepare food accordingly. But due to unforeseen circumstances, only five hundred would have attended the feast. What happens? The remaining fifty percentage of the food goes unserved, and waste! One should remember that we cannot produce even one grain by any magic! We have to at least wait for full six months to get the crop of this grain!

67. Need of the hour: One schedule marriage Why cannot marriage become a one evening affair? Why can’t all the functions be conducted at one time, say either in the morning or in the evening? Many neighbouring states, Christians and many north Indians conduct marriages only in the evening. If we have to conduct only in the morning, why not conduct it in a temple, and have a feast during night elsewhere? Why to waste rental money hiring the mandaps or halls for two full days? Why should so much food go waste? How many poor citizens in our country go without food the whole day? How many sleep with a wet cloth on their belly to ward off hunger? Who is going to become angry on you if you do not spend on multi-period feasts? Those who over feed themselves in the marriages get stomach aches as they are full but in another corner, a hungry man also gets stomach ache as his stomach has not felt food for many days!

68. Here is an alternative If hospitality and serving others are your sole aim, then do this way. Just prepare more food on the marriage day and send them to orphanages, call poor people around and feed them sumptuously. Those deprived children will have at least some good food and also will whole heartedly bless those who fed them. The workers and cooks also get employment due to your generosity. The principled simplicity club members will surely help you to conduct such marriage feasts, if you approach us .

69. One feast which made one feel sad… I happened to attend a rich family marriage recently. The food was served in buffet style, the vessels with all delicacies were kept in rows one after the other both catering south Indian as well as Northern dishes. Guests were free to serve themselves, any quantity they want. After the food was over, all types of betel leaf ‘paan’ was served with the same vigour, as they served the food. The guests too were unrelenting. They made way for the paan to go in and had a gulp of that too. Alas, I could overhear two speaking to themselves: “ Should he show off his money this way?” There is a limit to be flashy. This limit got broke here in this dinner. The guests may feel that what happened was not fair in many counts… I would reinstate my opinion: Marriages should be conducted in a simple way.

70. A doctor’s great advice A doctor once told me, “One day marriage feast cuts down your life, by a day. Yes, of course! What is prepared to satiate only your taste buds end up in creating a commotion inside and would also invite all illness. The tongue may wager happily, but what about your heart, liver and digestive system? They may wail! The host spends a lot and the guest has no use of this lavish food, except for increasing his appetite and satisfy ones taste buds. Then why go for such unwanted lavishness? Here are few ideas to overcome this problem:

72. The problems which multiply Those who serve are in a hurry. They want to finish their task faster. They have every reason to hurry up things. The next batch of guests would be waiting for their turn to occupy the seats in the dining hall! Worse, they would stand behind the one who is eating. The guest while eating does not feel comfortable as he is put under pressure to finish fast. The food which turns up unused or untouched land in garbage fills. The flies and mosquitoes cover that area and we can see a bad smell or odour emanate from the waste food pile which also is a generator of all germs! One may even observe some slums near the marriage hall. The one who is over fed and the one who has not seen food at all, both suffer with stomach ache. This book finds a way out to eliminate both stomach aches, by the tool ‘principled simplicity’. Is that OK?

75. Scheme two : Try to get a three wheeler donated to your forum by any famous company. Preferably a motorized one; Keep the closed vessels in that vehicle while serving. After the marriage feast is over, the remains can be taken in the same vessels and be served to the needy.

77. Another extravagance… Other than food, people also spend a lot on marriage costumes and dresses, jewellery and attires. Most of them would not wear their marriage suit or special sari ever again in their life. Then why go for such costly dresses, which cannot be worn afterwards? After years, it would be only good enough to be given in exchange for buy stainless steel utensils! Should we really spend such huge amount of money for a dress which we would wear only once in life time? Is it not worthy to save the money which would go waste? All saved is as good as an earning, is it not?

78. Is it a poster or a marriage invitation??? There is one more unwanted expense in a marriage. The wedding cards. People resort to print very costly, lavish cards. Some we find of sizes more than a feet! People who receive develop an aversion to such a show and glamour. In our seventh intelligence symposiums and workshops, we display some twenty different invitations as exhibits. The biggest among them was almost one foot long and the single card cost was Rs.100/- several years ago. There was a tiny card among those exhibits too. This was just two inches long and two inches wide! When we asked most of the attendees to pick the card they liked most, almost 80% of them picked this smaller card. What we learnt from that was that pomp, glamour and size does not attract a reader, but simple and neat ones do attract readers! So here is a humble request we put forth: Please make simpler cards for marriages, birthdays or any other occasions. Avoid wasting paper. Trees are cut to make papers. We can save our mother earth from destruction. You please do not be instrumental for destructing the trees, indirectly. Use only recycled papers to print invitations. The most important view point. If you want to use the opportunity of a marriage to feed many? If so, then hire an economically priced chowltry or a hall, only to feed the poor. They all will eat and bless the married couple. You will also feel satisfied. Please do not forget that the best of donations is feeding the poor.

79. Do not gift cloth to those who already possess big ward robes People who find it difficult to choose what to wear from the best they have in their almirah which is full, need not be gifted clothes again. Instead, we can gift some cotton clothes to the needy and the deprived section of the society. Here is some food for thought. An elderly man advised a group of poor people, “Wash and wear even though it is a rag,”. Hesitantly a young woman came near him and enquired, “I agree, but what to wear when the rag is drying?” so, is the situation of many in our country. Better donate and make others donate too. Through ‘principled simplicity’ spread true love, spread humanity.

80. Wedding gift We do not go empty handed to a wedding. Also, we do not come back empty handed. But let’s plan the gifts, both ways. The gift should be a memorable, not just a ritualistic one. There is a system in the Western countries. Those who intend to gift, openly inform the wedding couple about the budget they plan to gift and would enquire what the couple intend to buy with that. Then they jointly decide the best usable gift which makes both the giver and the beneficiary happy. We can also follow that. Many give similar items as wedding gifts. There is no use of such items. The only use is, we again tend to give away one among those received, as a wedding gift to someone else! Like, money, there are many useless gift articles which make circles among marriages. If you feel your gift should be useful, simply why not gift a cheque to the couple? If you want a fancy gift, you may give a ‘gift cheque’ that are available in all banks, printed with floral decorations.

81. Gift the gifts as service to God A well known philanthropist, Mr. N.K.T. Muthu was known for his charitable attitude. People were surprised that when his son got married, he never mentioned in the wedding card that gifts need be avoided. So they had no other way, but to carry expensive gifts to the marriage. To the surprise of all, there was a small counter near the marriage dais. It was marked as ‘Helping hands’ the name of a well known orphanage. All who went to the marriage with gifts, were guided straight to that counter and the volunteers there happily received the gifts as donation! The donors now knew where the gifts were going. They felt blessed and happy. So were the marriage couple, their relatives and last but not the least, were the beneficiaries, of the ‘Helping hands’ orphanage.

82. Here is Vellore Srinivasan’s excellent gift scheme Vellore Srinivasan is one among the youth as dreamt by Swami Vivekananda. If we get another ninety nine Srinivasans, I am sure India will attain the Numero Uno status amongst all nations! Go to the city of Vellore, in India, to know more about this young gentleman, Srinivasan. You will be surprised, seeing him. This best task master, the right brained Srinivasan has implemented one of the best wedding gifts scheme, I have ever seen. The male calves are shunned by the owners, as they do not yield milk. These are sold to butchers for meat. Srinivasan and his men adopt such hapless calves and breed them in their farm. The green waste and leaves thrown from hotels and restaurants, hostels are collected as fodder to these calves. The calves excrete cow dung. The cow dung in turn is converted to bio-manure and bio- fertilizer! So, by usefully converting all discards – the calf, the wasteland and the excreta as bio-manures, he conserves the environment and also saves the lives of the calves. What a noble and innovative thought! The master mind to adopt the calves is one Mr. Satheesh, who follows the principles of the great Saint Ramalinga Adigal, who preached, “See the Great light, through love” i.e., Love is God. These lucky calves do face death one day, naturally with age and not by butchery.

83. A very unique wedding gift You can donate funds to Vellore Exnora, in India to save the calves. To adopt one such calf, you need to pay Rs. 500/- and another Rs.500/- for the maintenance of the calf, totaling to Rs.1000/- The cheques can be drawn in favour of: Exnora Green Cross – Vellore, #16, Sainathapuram Natesa Mudaliar Street, Vellore. Tamilnadu, India. The donors can also give a certificate appreciating the wedding couple as follows: Groom: Bride: Date: Day: Place: We wish the couple a happy married life. Let the almighty shower the choicest blessings on them. On behalf of this lovely couple, we announce through this appreciation certificate, that we have donated Rs. One thousand favouring Exnora Green Cross, Vellore, to save the lives of male calves they adopt and rear. (signed) The donor’s name This certificate can be presented to the couple on stage.

84. Save trees as wedding gift On similar lines, ExNoRa also has a Save tree scheme as a wedding gift. We in ExNoRa encourage planting trees as a grand scheme. In last two hundred years, we have lost more than 90% of the trees we had. To compensate the loss, each one of us should plant at least one tree a day! As mentioned earlier, money towards tree planting can be donated to ExNoRa and the certificate in that effect be given to the married couple, as follows: Groom: Bride: Date: Day: Place: We wish the couple a happy married life. Let the almighty shower the choicest blessings on them. On behalf of this lovely couple, we announce through this appreciation certificate, that we have donated Rs. ______ favouring ExNoRa for their ‘ Save Trees project”. (signed) The donor’s name This certificate can be presented to the couple on stage. Those who wish to sponsor or donate for this ‘Save Trees’ project, can contact: The General Secretary, Exnora international #20, Giriappa Street T. Nagar, Chennai 600017 Tel: 91-44- 2475 9477/ 2815 3377 Such certificates can be also be framed and gifted.

85. The couple themselves can support such causes The couple themselves can support both the schemes mentioned above. They can announce those who intend to gift, about these schemes and encourage donors to support ExNoRa and give the certificates to them as gift, which they would cherish for ever. How happy they may feel when they recollect that they could collect a sizeable amount towards conservation of nature and animals? The donors’ name can also be announced in public system so that this good message spreads far and wide.

86. Saplings in place of coconut Instead of coconuts being given as a thanks giving gift, in marriages, one can give away tree or plant saplings to the guests. Tree saplings are ones like mango, neem and coconut, but plant saplings are those like vegetable plants, ornamental plants which can be grown in limited space like flats, apartments, etc. (To get the full details of all plants read my book “Enjoy and make other happy) Keep four colours of recycled bags: Green: Sapling that can be grown in homes Blue: Saplings suitable for planting on common places, road side etc. Yellow: Vegetable saplings that can be grown in pots and indoors Purple: Ornamental plant saplings that can be grown indoors. We can ask the guests to choose among these types. The bag will have the details of how to plant and maintain the sapling. These saplings mostly are economical than the coconuts we normally give away for guests who attend marriages. How many marriages are happening around! How many attend these marriages. Imagine that all of them resort to such useful cause, the whole world would turn into a garden! Instead of blindly following rituals and system for the sake of doing, just think and act sensibly and work for the upliftment of the society and save nature.

87. Other miscellaneous expenses in a marriage Dresses, music party, decorations etc. Alternate for the dress People spend lavishly for dresses. Simple yet elegant dress can be worn. Dresses which reflect Indian culture and add a respect to the attired can be tried. The marriage hall, big musical band procession, the crackers, car, marriage vessels, high voltage arc lights, aren't they rented? If some one want a posh dress or a floral gear, they can rent such dresses too! The decorations and embellishments can also be simpler. The money thus saved can be spent on gifting uniforms for poor children. The money we normally spend for the grooms wedding coat and suit can accommodate the expenses of almost fifty school uniforms! May be if you have a budget of ten lakhs for a marriage, you may end up spending only three lakhs by following the simpler way.

89. Principled Simplicity statement Those who conduct a marriage in a simple and an economic manner, need not bother about what the world tells at them. May be you can print on the card with the heading, “Principled Simple Marriage” . The banner which displays the wedding couple name can also bear a tag line below as, “ Principled Simple marriage”

91. Use and get the benefits New Year Greetings and Principled Simplicity Did you receive lots of cards from your friends and relatives this new year? Please keep them safe. At the end of the year. Sign on it and mark, “Dear _____, I was remembering you and your kind gesture throughout this year, wishes for the new year!” Send it back to the same friend! It will be an unique remembrance and he will surely not think that you are a miser. It saves money, and prevents trees being cut to make paper. In fact, the friend/ relative will respect you much beyond than what was expected from them, as you have remembered them throughout the year. May be he will follow suit and send you the same old card again, the next year. By doing so, you both save trees, yet cherish and nurture friendship or relationship.

92. Which is the best? Threatening pomp of the filthy rich I happened to go the bungalow of a very rich man. His house was decorated with the best of carpets, tiles, paints, furniture, chandeliers, etc. But I observed cob-webs around, dust and some food plates thrown beside the costliest sofas around. I felt that even though this man wanted to display his wealth, he could not maintain and keep the premises clean.

93. Soothing simplicity The very next week I happened to go to an ex-hockey player, an Anglo-Indian gentleman at Perambur. His house was small, with modest decoration and furnishings. But the walls were white and clean. There was this writing , “GOD IS LOVE” hanging on the wall. Apart from wooden chairs, a simple wooden bench adorned the corner space of the hall, which was covered with an embroidered linen, clean and pressed. To my surprise, the bench had a small bottle atop, with some clean water and a money plant grown in it! In the centre, they had a small table, which again was covered with a decorative cloth, again topped up with a small bouquet of fresh pretty flowers and grass kept in a jar. Normal bamboos and cane twigs had been converted to decorative pieces which hung on the walls. These I was told were hand made by the lady of the house!

94. This or that? I just could not hold myself comparing these two houses. The few minutes I sat in the bungalow mentioned earlier, made me feel like hell and lasting, but here in this ex-player’s house, the full hour I sat just went of like a minute! The house etched a permanent memory as a fresh and an happy habitat in my mind forever! You can also compare these two houses. You do not need money, to have a serene and soothing atmosphere and decoration. What one need is a clean and calm environment. Just pouring in money cannot decorate your house, If it is maintained improperly and kept untidy, the house will be a hell. But a simple ten rupee worth vase or an artifact which can make the house a wonderland, but only if we keep it right and clean. Simple and elegant are the key words. Do not envy your neighbour or do not get competing with him in accumulating wealth. You should also not be the example for other money mongers or extravagant persons. May be think otherwise. You and your neighbour, both can read this book on ‘principled simplicity’, discuss and adopt this method for a simple and elegant life. Compete in saving. Live and let live together. Succeeding this success, spread the word around your place, your village or area. Develop the methodology to improve the standards of our fellow brethren and try to save nature and its constituents for our future generation. Live and while leaving, leave behind such healthy environment for the future. Start this journey of living the life with vigor armed with the strategy of ‘principled simplicity’ . Come on! Soon!

95. Principled Simplicity What should we do next? Hope you have completed reading this book on ‘principled simplicity’. Extravagance or simplicity – which one to choose? I know your mind is wavering, but it is normal. Without a judge to hear both the sides of the debate, I know your heart must be parted with two opinions. If the man and the woman in a family are of opposite nature, one a spendthrift and the other a simple one, there is surely bound to be a rift and sparks. I have tried to put my best thoughts forward through this book, with suitable examples and anecdotes to make all in a family adopt the ‘principled simplicity’. In what ever angle we see life or a situation, we are clear that simplicity scores over all other phenomena and is a must for all to adopt.

96. If we follow that Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory! Victory! Follows us. Yes. Nine victories are scored over by just using the mantra of success. These nine are: Victory to the environment Victory for the restoration of natural resources Victory to a planned and economic life Victory for savings Victory to your own ‘money purse’! Victory to the serene and calm hearts Victory to the health of all concerned Victory for the family welfare Above all, those who adopt ‘principled simplicity’ can live without fear and guilt .

97. What you need to just do is to, become a ‘principled simplicity’ immediately. And become the spokesperson for this model too. Share the ideas and stories illustrated in this book with all and everyone. Wherever you go, become a symbol of simplicity. Speak in gatherings, schools and colleges and among friends, relatives on this subject. Buy and gift this book to as many as you can. Try to add this into the syllabus of schools. It is beneficial to adopt this strategy. Your family can also adopt and benefit. Be patient enough to educate others on this policy. Teach them simplicity with smile. Start the ‘principled simplicity forum’ in your place and work cohesively with others to reach more milestones. The ‘principled simplicity’ badge should be worn always and every where we go. Not only wear but preach it to others. At least four to five persons should become a simplicist like you after each passing day.

98. The ‘principled simplicity forum or club This club should be started in each and very hamlet, village, town and city. The members would be called as ‘principled simplicists’. Their messages spread to all working offices, public places, industries, schools and colleges. The message should spread among all habitats.

99. The in-charge The principled simplicity forum or club will have office bearers to have account of all work done and money involved. This is mandatory. Leader Deputy leader Secretary Joint Secretary Treasurer Director – Public relations and communications Director – Branches in offices - establishment Director – Branches in educational institutions – establishment Director – Public service Director – Simplicity – Strategy Research Director – Civic ExNoRa growth

102. Report Monthly Action Report should be submitted to the H.O regularly. We all should join hands, practice ‘Principled Simplicity’ and make our heritage and culture driven lives a good one, everlasting one, so that we give back our motherland what she deserves best. Those who want the badges for becoming a member in ‘Principled simplicity forum’ can contact the ExNoRa head office in the following address: Principled Simplicity Forum C/o. ExNoRa International 20, Giriappa Road, T. Nagar Chennai 6000 017 Tel: 91- 44 – 2815 3377, 2475 9477. Email: mbnirmal@hotmail.com, mbnirmal@yahoo.com

103. Some quotable quotes Hey those who crib and wander in search of money What use it has after the spirit leaves your mortal body? -Avvayar (tamil poetess of sangam age) Do have money making as your motto. Spend money to gather goodness. -Oliver Wendell Holmes Money can buy the skin, not the pulp. It can fetch money but cannot fetch hunger; can buy medicines, not cure; will gather men to share, not friends; will get workers, not faithfulness; will get amusing days but not eternal peace and happiness. -Henrique Ibson The greedy never possess money. The spendthrift looses money faster than anything else -Ben Johnson Business can bring money; but friendship never brings it -Jane Austin To be clean, compact and true, we do not need money. Do not spend your efforts on earning money, but for yearning service to nation Coins and currency are not real money. Work is wealth. The one who has energy to work is really the rich one. -Mahatma Gandhi

104. The money angel had made many a millionaires and had spoilt many more. - Robert Smith Some men sometimes make fake money. At times, some fake money makes fake men. - Sydney Harris Inspite of knowing money can beget many things, if one averts money, it is equivalent to like emptiness. To avoid real needs is weakness. Those who value money correctly and are always be ready to spend it on their duty, kindness, donation, is truly ethical. - Senankur If you know how to use money, it is your slave. Otherwise, you become its slave. - Horus To buy anything close to our soul, we need no money - Henry David Thoreau The difference between the respect we give to the one who had made himself a true man and to the other who had just made himself a rich man is very wide and incomparable - Diana Maria Mulak

110. Other thought provoking books authored by M. B. Nirmal Title Language Price (Rs) Failures as stepping stones Tamil 35/- Say and win Tamil 50/- Change and do change Tamil 25/- Raise and make others rise! Tamil 25/- Enjoy and make other enjoy Tamil 40/- ( A book on all plants, trees) Take bribe – on – on and on…! Tamil 30/- Kill, kill… do away with bribery Tamil 30/- Sarvasakthee Tamil 40/- 7 th intelligence prayer Tamil 25/- Maa (religious tolerance) Tamil 30/- Live, live in abundance Tamil 30/- Experiences abroad- Hongkong Tamil 35/- To live safe… Tamil 30/- Walking body exercise Tamil 30/- New horizon, new earth (social investment) Tamil 30/- Problems are gifts Tamil 30/- Water wealth Tamil 20/- Principled simplicity English 10/- Model area English 50/- Model home English 30/- Veg-edge English 25/-

111. Audios: 1. Relax Tamil 60/- * 2. Relax English 60/- * 3. Health English 60/- * 4. Health Tamil 60/- * 5. Combined study (for students) English 60/- Available with explanatory notes. Magazines appreciate this effort. Medical Practitioners Recommend; The Sick get cured by listening. Note: Wholesalers and retailers get discount on the above prices

112. ORDER FORM Please send the following book/ books to my address: My name: My address: My contact details: My email: I have enclosed the DD/cheque for amount Rs._________ towards purchase of the above books. Signature To Seventh Sense Publications 20, Giriappa Road, T. Nagar Chennai 6000 17. Tel: 91-44-28153377/2475 9477

113. The forums Mr. M.B. Nirmal had started ExNoRa International ExNoRa is appreciated by all media as the fastest growing service organization. Has got the United nations award (UNCHS). Every one in their respective area keep their surroundings clean, organic wastes are converted to fuel. Paper recycling, planting trees, making pavement gardens, living safe, waste water management, stopping pollution at all levels, bringing together all NGO s are the various facets of this organization. Apart from this, the organization involves, old persons, women and children into its services and uplifts every society. Students are taught exclusively on environmental science. Due to the relentless efforts of ExNoRa for all these years, many ugly ducklings have become swans (Many worst areas have become a paradise).

114. Fifth Pillar If we conduct a survey among Indians, on which one is to be opposed the one which will score above others is ‘bribery’. The reason for our country to lag behind many smaller nations is its corruption index. Had the money received been accounted for, India would have surely become a super power by now. So, this forum was created to raise awareness and encourage participation to eliminate bribe from our system and hence called as ‘Fifth Pillar’. Rules are made by the first pillar, i.e., the Parliament The rules are implemented and are brought to action by the offices, i.e., administration, officers in the Government offices. They are the second pillar. The Judiciary oversees as to whether the law is maintained in all aspects. It constitutes the third pillar. The watch dog for all the above is the fourth pillar which is the press and media. Do the constitution by which this country is built like a fortress, need a fifth pillar? Yes, it is essential. If any of the above pillar develops cracks, we add a support and that will be this fifth pillar, run by the people. This is the bribery abolition forum wing of ExNoRa. The best of all forums would be the one which runs with volunteers. This service is done without expecting any returns. The reason for the British to go out of our country was Gandhiji’s selfless service and a silent war against Lordship. It was sacrifice and service to the society that raked the relentless workers of our homeland to fight together against the evil forces. And then we got independence. This independence created the four pillars for the society. The aim is to set up voluntary organizations in each hamlet, fight against the bribery of this country and develop a transparent nation. So, was formed this fifth pillar.

115. Maa Motherhood surpasses religion, caste, creed and animosity between men. Mother’s love is the greatest of all love. Some men too possess heart of a mother. So to inculcate mother’s heart among our people, Maa was started. None are enemies to others. Some environmental irregularities, degradation of the system, diseases, violence, are few of the common enemy we should fight against. Mankind will survive if love pervades all. So join ‘Maa’ to spread the message of kindness and love. We need patriotism : If all have the heart of a mother, we can spread harmony among ourselves. Hatred will perish. Relentless Patriotism is the need of the hour. We all should give priority to patriotism; love for our country. We should all keep aside our divisions based on caste, creed and religion and join hands for a peace loving, uniform nation, with patriotic fervour and heads held high.

116. Sarvasakthee The worst enemy in any home is liquor. We see toddy shops and liquor bars every where around. Brainless poor folk and even the wealthy rich can be seen on roads, after consuming liquor. Many women loose their mangal sutra and peace because of their husbands turning drunkards. These men resort to many evildoings as liquor blurs their mind and vision. Their future and that of their children has become a big question mark. Women and families affected by this menace can join hands and can save themselves from this economical crisis and can live as a cohesive unit. They can formulate strategies to eliminate liquor from their husbands’ lives. So this alcoholic anonymous group is called as Sarvasakthee

117. Principled simplicity In today’s modern world, what people have almost forgot, is simplicity. India’s leaders, many of them have lead the country because of their clear vision and simplicity. Gandhiji, Vivekananda, Mother Teresa and many others are luminaries who lead their life with simplicity and became the torch bearers of this nation. Many illegal acts like murder, dowry practice and thefts are caused because of greed and desire. Just for the sake of what ones neighbour thinks, man resorts to buy all unwanted things. He ends up buying beyond his capacity and gets life time imprisonment in debts and legal notices. Just to maintain a pseudo-status in the society, people spend beyond their limits. To stop this and make people lead a principled simple life, this forum was started. If men wear badges marked as ‘Principled Simplicity’, none would resort to ridicule him, rather try to follow him. He would become the epitome of simplicity and straight forwardness. He is not a miser, but a wise spender. He is not insane, but intelligent. There are many who have joined this forum to lead a simple life and also spread the message to others.

118. Students Power forum Students power is like a silent dynamo. If students unite, the country would unite. The society can be chiseled to a beautiful icon only if the students turn themselves as chisels to the cause. Students power forum should be started in each schools and colleges. Each student to strive to keep his surroundings clean and tidy by joining hands with Civic ExNoRa groups near by. All the above forums can cumulatively form a stronger, richer and ethical society. Those who wish to join these forums can contact: M.B.Nirmal Founder, Chief – ExNoRa International Trainer – Seventh Intelligence 20,Giriappa Road, T. Nagar, Chennai 600017. India. Tel: 91- 44- 2815 33 77/ 2475 95 77/ 98400 34 900. Email: mbnirmal@hotmail.com, mbnirmal@yahoo.com, mbnirmal@gmail.com

119. Details to be furnished: Name: Educational Qualifications/Division: Address: Contact number/s: email: To date:__________ Mr.M.B.Nirmal Founder, Chief – Exnora International Trainer – Seventh Intelligence 20,Giriappa Road, T. Nagar, Chennai 600017. Dear Sir, I wish to join and know more about the below mentioned forums. Kindly guide me to know how to join your forums as a volunteer. Tick what is appropriate (√) ( ) Civic ExNoRa ( ) Fifth Pillar ( ) Youth ExNoRa ( ) Sarvasakthee ( ) Principled Simplicity ( ) Veg-Edge ( ) ExNoRa Innovators Club ( ) Maa ( ) Students Power forum ( ) ‘I’ Club I am eagerly awaiting your response in this regard. Thanking you Yours truly, (Signature)