1. Who Am I?

I'm Lakshya, a B.Tech. student

Who loves diving into STEM breakthroughs and reading stories that inspire me to create and think about future. Right now, my family, my dreams, and my push to improve daily define me the best. I've found I'm good at tackling tough situations and breaking down complex ideas simply, sometimes small talk trips me up when interests don't align. This has shown me the worth of real, meaningful connections.

I look up to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, whose contribution in India's freedom struggle embodies selfless service (seva)-an Indian value I hold close. I also admire Grigori Perelman, a mathematician who skipped fame to focus on his work. It's not an Indian story, but it provides the same value of putting impact over recognition. These examples shape me how I approach life-trying to contribute with purpose and stay grounded.

2. What's Broken Around Me?

I see people around me hiding behind polished social media masks, disconnected from their true selves what I like to call "The Body Operator Problem". These days, students feel isolated, elders go unheard, and workers face disrespect. This is because we have forgotten about our values and what are we as a person in this rush of life, almost 80% people don't have their life's limits, goals, and plans on paper. and they keep forgetting what they mean and what they are upto. These things happen to almost everyone and we ignore them. But, when they accumulate in our mind we reach for psychiatrists, but in my view, everything is in ourselves, we treat ourselves, psychiatrists can help us decode ourselves, but who missed the train of learning own-self in the first place?

3. What Can I Do?

Ever since I hit that free will in childhood, I started to wonder what is wrong? and why is wrong? how can I know if anything is wrong?

I got answer beautifully but very late since my search started, that by Marcus Aurelius (121 AD) quote "Evil: the same old thing. No matter what happens, keep this in mind: It's the same old thing, from one end of the world to the other. It fills the history books, ancient and modern, and the cities, and the houses too. Nothing new at all." and that summarizes everything for me, I'm in love with this quote to an extent.

‐ Well, that was out of context to the talk we were doing about people disconnect to own-self right? well it is connected in a hidden way let me help you get it to you

The Evil is the person inside ourselves who keeps saying to us one more time to the same damn old thing, that bother us and we are not able to let go of that. Quoting one more person here "Give them bread and circuses and they will never revolt." by Juvenal (80 AD)

That explains that why we get left behind because that's in human nature for centuries and it still holding true, It's still the same.

I've been working to bridge this gap and understanding it by being a good listener to the people around me. and understanding why people are this way, for example

When a friend's stressed, I don't jump in with advice-instead, I ask, "What's on your mind?" and just hear them out. Like when a classmate vented about exam pressure, I listened without interrupting, letting them unload. It's something I've gathered up since the search of my childhood question ‘Understanding What’s Wrong?’

4. What Did I Learn?

Listening like this has taught me there's no one-size-fits-all path to making a difference. Journaling has helped me sort out my own ideas which becomes messy if I don't vent them out, Meditation keeps me focused when I'm in a tense situation, and Staying Quiet lets me read situations better. When I listened to a friend wrestle with anxiety, I felt their relief afterward, and it hit me how much small acts matter.

It ties back to India's spirit and lessons from Netaji's story.

Even non-Indian stories, like Marcus Aurelius' focus on clarity, show me “disconnection often comes from not understanding ourselves or others”. Being a good listener has built bridges and sharpened how I see the world.

I also try to read as much as required (*not* read as much as possible) for me to just form my strong thinking and make my own successful system for me and later to teach them to people around me to make their own systems as no-one is perfect and as buddha said "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it, give it a critical thought and if it seems fine then follow it"

In the same ideas from thinkers like Marcus Aurelius, who stressed ‘Self-Improvement’, or Nietzsche's take on becoming an 'Übermensch', or Machiavelli’s selfish perspective of ‘Just Know How You Win’. These aren't Indian stories, but they offer the same value of understanding others deeply, which helps me connect better.

There is not a solid solution or answer to the problem, but we can build system that can help us tackle most of our life’s problems. And that’s beautiful thing about exploring our ideas and personalizing things for ourselves, without bound to a deadline or a full stop.

I think making difference in people’s social life which brings happiness connecting to our own people will be hugely beneficial for them to stay happy and make meaningful contributions to society