Life Lessons from a 70+ Lawyer
July 9, 2018
We are Enjoying Life Together
November 9, 2018
My name is Naresh Chandra Agnihotri. I am 85 year old active person who believes that age is just a number. I do most of my work by myself and believe in living life king size.
I was born in Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh in 1932 and moved to Allahabad in 1945 from where I studied from matriculation till M.A. After doing M.A. in Economics from Allahabad University in 1956, I started to work as Labour Officer for U.P. State Government. Despite my transferable job and hectic work schedule, I continued with higher studies and managed to do my second masters (M.A. in Sociology), followed by LLB from Agra University in 1965. Shortly after this I was selected by the U.P. State Government as Industrial Relation Officer at Kanpur where I served for 20 years and there after I was given charge of Personnel Administration Legal Affairs from where I retired in 1992 and settled in Lucknow. Presently I am staying with my son in Noida.
My Inspirations
My mother has been the biggest inspiration in my life, she always inspired me to be a good human being and help others. She inculcated in me the habit of reading religious scriptures and Hanuman Chalisa, this strengthened my faith in God. This also gave me the strength to avoid shortcuts and always do the right thing even during difficult situations in life.
My wife was also a source of inspiration and support she was very intelligent and had a very strong sense of intuition. Once my father was very ill and my wife saw a dream in which he was calling us. She shared this with me and we immediately left for Saharanpur. When we arrived home, my father mentioned that he was thinking about us and was hoping that we would visit him. Family was always the top priority for my wife; she took good care of all family members, including my parents. Like my mother, by her actions, she too inspired me to be a good human being.
My Family
I faced lots of hardship during my childhood as our financial condition was not very good but due to my parents blessings and my hard work I settled well in my life and also helped my four siblings who are younger to me in settling down. When I joined my first job I was getting a salary of Rs.200 which was a good amount at that time. I use to give half of my salary to my father that time to run the family.
I was very close to my wife who is no more. I have two children, a daughter and a son. Both are well educated and well settled with their respective family. My daughter is settled in Pune with her family and I live with my son in Noida now and keep visiting my daughter whenever I feel like meeting her and her family.
Interest & Hobbies
I like reading and writing. I keep myself busy by reading books and literature of interest. I am also in the process of writing my autobiography, which is about my life journey and experiences. Earlier I use to wear all types of dresses, both western and ethnic, but now I am more fond of wearing white kurta and pyjama. You will always see me in this attire.
Fitness Mantra
I don’t consider myself old as I am leading an active life. I keep myself involved in some work and don’t consider any work to be menial.
Since my young age, I have lead a disciplined life and focussed on my physical fitness. When I was in Allahabad I use to get up early and exercise regularly.
To keep myself physically and mentally fit, even at this age I get up at 05:00 am every day and go for a walk, after that I do yoga and some light exercises. I also go for evening walk and do all my work by myself.
According to me, positive thinking is very important for leading a healthy life. I read about Lord Rama, Lord Krishna and Gautam Buddha in detail and learned that one must lead an unbiased life and have no ill will for anyone. I try to follow this philosophy in life, however at times even I am affected by unpleasantness and rude behaviour of others, but then I think that I cannot control someone else but surely can control my reactions, this way I do not allow someone else to take controls over my emotions. All this has helped me in keeping my thoughts affirmative and controlling my negative thoughts.
I strongly believe that positive thinking leads to better health and well-being. Negative emotions such as hate, anger and jealousy harms oneself more than the one whom those thoughts are targeted. It takes a long time to regain the positive thoughts after we have instilled negative thoughts inside us, however one must keep persisting towards positive living even in tough situations.
My Message
I always tell my friends and relatives that one must always keep oneself involved and active in some meaningful activity. Do not hurt anyone, try to help others in whatever way possible.
One must focus on their deeds (karma) and not expect much in return. Many people think that once their children will grow up they will take good care of them. Instead of thinking this way, parents must focus on providing the right environment at home and inculcate in them strong moral and ethical values, this will make them mature and help them in becoming good human being and a responsible citizen.
Based on my 85+ years of experience in life my special message to younger generation is – “Do your work with full sincerity and dedication. Don’t take short cuts in life. Always be humble and do not let ego control you. Take good care of your mind and body. If you follow these steps then nothing can stop you from becoming successful in life”.
