#603 Cheapness has no levels!

                                 Cheapness Has No Levels

Experienced something disgusting a few days back

Image Courtesy: Google 

People often believe that human behavior can be placed on a scale. We classify actions as good or bad, noble or selfish, ethical or unethical. We imagine that even among dishonest people, there are degrees of dishonesty; even among manipulative people, there are limits they will not cross. Experience, however, teaches a harsher lesson: cheapness has no levels.

Deception as a way of life

When a person chooses deception as a way of life, every boundary becomes negotiable. Truth becomes optional. Accountability becomes inconvenient. Morality becomes a costume worn only when it serves a purpose.

One of the most disturbing aspects of human behavior is not the act of wrongdoing itself, but the extraordinary effort some people invest in protecting themselves from the consequences of their actions. They construct elaborate narratives, create alternate identities, manipulate facts, and present carefully curated versions of themselves to the world. The objective is simple: maintain a respectable image while operating in a completely different manner behind closed doors.

Influence of the Digital World

The modern digital world has made this easier than ever. A person can hide behind anonymous accounts, fake profiles, and fabricated stories. They can provoke, harass, intimidate, and emotionally manipulate others while preserving complete deniability. If confronted, they retreat behind a wall of carefully prepared explanations. If exposed, they become the victim. If questioned, they claim misunderstanding. If evidence appears, they question the motives of the person presenting it.

What makes such behavior particularly fascinating is the contradiction it reveals. The same individual who privately engages in questionable conduct may publicly advertise integrity, professionalism, and ethical standards. Some even go so far as to issue public declarations about their values, creating an image of innocence before anyone has even accused them. It is a remarkable strategy: build the shield first, then claim persecution whenever someone points to the cracks.

Cheapness

This is where cheapness reveals its true nature. It is not measured by money, status, education, or professional achievements. A person may hold prestigious degrees, occupy respected positions, and receive public admiration, yet still display astonishing moral poverty. Academic excellence cannot compensate for ethical failure. Professional success cannot erase personal misconduct. Intelligence does not automatically produce character.

Perhaps the cheapest act of all is the victim card. It requires no courage, no self-reflection, and no accountability. It merely demands the ability to reverse the narrative. Suddenly, the person who caused harm becomes the injured party. The individual seeking answers becomes the aggressor. Facts become attacks. Accountability becomes harassment. Truth becomes an inconvenience.

History is full of examples of people who spent more energy protecting their image than improving their character. Their greatest fear was never being wrong; it was being seen as wrong. As a result, they built fortresses of excuses, denials, and carefully crafted public relations exercises.

Yet there is a fundamental flaw in every strategy built on deception. It assumes that perception is more important than reality. It assumes that if enough people believe a story, the truth ceases to exist. But reality has a stubborn quality. It does not disappear simply because someone writes a declaration, creates a policy, or publishes a statement. Facts remain facts.

 

Levels of Cheapness

Cheapness has no levels because once integrity is abandoned, there is no natural stopping point. The person who lies to avoid embarrassment may later lie to avoid consequences. The person who manipulates perceptions may later manipulate people. The person who hides behind false identities may eventually hide behind false narratives. The behavior evolves, but the principle remains the same: self-preservation at any cost.

In the end, character is not revealed by public statements. It is revealed by private actions. It is not measured by titles, achievements, or declarations of virtue. It is measured by what a person does when no audience is watching and no applause is available.

The truly unfortunate reality is that some people spend years building impressive careers while neglecting the far more difficult task of building integrity. And when integrity is absent, no amount of prestige can conceal the cheapness beneath the surface.

                             Cheapness has no levels. It only has opportunities.

Sometimes I feel grateful for difficult experiences because they reveal truths that might otherwise remain hidden. Encounters with people who choose anonymity over honesty often provide valuable lessons about character, boundaries, and self-respect. Looking back, I can only be thankful that certain realities became visible before they had the opportunity to shape my future.

What I find most surprising is that some individuals who maintain respectable public images are willing to behave very differently when protected by anonymity. Social media has made it possible for people to conceal their identities while engaging in conduct they would likely never display openly. The contrast between public reputation and private behavior can be striking.

Over time, I have developed little patience for those who rely on pseudonyms, fake profiles, or hidden identities to communicate in ways they would not dare to under their real names. Accountability begins with transparency. When a person chooses concealment over honesty, it often says more about their character than any public achievement ever could.

An interesting pattern emerges when such behavior is questioned. Rather than addressing the concerns directly, some people prefer silence, avoidance, or the support of others to shield themselves from accountability.

While every person is entitled to their privacy, accountability ultimately remains a personal responsibility.

If the purpose of such conduct was to demonstrate success, influence, or superiority, it achieves precisely the opposite. Achievements, titles, and professional accomplishments are meaningful only when accompanied by integrity.

Without integrity, even the most impressive résumé appears incomplete.
I sincerely hope that anyone who engages in such conduct reflects upon the impact of their actions and chooses a better path. Respect, honesty, and accountability remain far more valuable than any temporary comfort provided by anonymity.

As for me, I believe that facts eventually speak for themselves. When necessary, appropriate channels exist to address misconduct, and evidence has a way of becoming relevant at the right time. Until then, I remain focused on truth, self-respect, and moving forward.

May God save them if they attempt to harass anyone next time. 

I hope to expose the truth one day, as I have retained ample evidence. If required, I will pursue the matter through the appropriate cybercrime and legal channels.

For now, continue to hide behind anonymity if you wish. A masked identity may conceal a face, but it cannot conceal responsibility forever.

I sincerely hope no other woman has to endure the same kind of behaviour in the future.
 

SWETA SARANGI

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

11-06-2026

#602 Some Realisations!!

Some Realisations

Sharing my experiences of a spiritual journey!

I am a spiritual person. I have been practicing spiritual modalities for the last few years, especially during the first lockdown in 2020. This may be because I felt completely lost and hopeless then, despite having everything in my life.

I was in my top-notch phase.

After COVID-19 hit and everyone started getting quarantined, reality hit hard. I started getting anxious about the future and started questioning my existence and the purpose of life.

A question was quite prominent, which occupied my mind for a long time: WHO AM I?

To find an answer to this question, I would watch multiple videos by preachers and spiritual gurus from different religions. In the end, I would never get a satisfactory answer because they used to answer from their perspective, which never matched mine.

In 2021, a series of events happened that broke me completely and transformed me into a different individual.

I never imagined that I would lose everything at one go: my career, health, peace of mind, and most importantly, my grandmother, with whom I was so deeply attached.

I went into isolation, and this seemed to be a spiral loop of what-ifs, buts, and innumerable questions and scenarios that would haunt me badly at night and snatch away my sleeping hours.

The wound of betrayal and grief was so deep that it would leave me perplexed. I was numb emotionally. It was really strange for me to find that no amount of anything would make me happy then. I was the same girl who would be happy over small things in my childhood days. This continued for days, and later turned to months.

I had no option and left with no energy to cope with these negative thoughts. I managed to come out of the spiral loop after a few months.

When I think about those days, I feel grateful for people who stood beside me unconditionally.

Fast-forwarded to 2026,

I am in my healing journey and path of rediscovery. I joined a program called Inner Engineering on February 15 (during Mahashivratri) by Sadhguru of the Isha Foundation, Coimbatore, in an online mode. I always wanted to attend this program.

I came across the videos of Sadhguru during my M.Tech. days in 2017. I was always drawn to his ideologies, which target the youth of the nation by discussing ideas rationally.

Recently, I have been attending the modules of the courses through lecture videos from the official website. I am going to share my experiences from the program, though I have not completed all the 6 steps.

Realisation 1

In one module, Sadhguru asked the participants to do meditation by closing his/her eyes. Then he instructed them to chant, “I am not my body. I am not my mind” for a few minutes repeatedly.

I started feeling a sense of detachment. If I am neither my body nor my mind, why should I feel anxious or negative about anything? Nothing should bother me at all, not people, society, or situation. It is a better practice to feel calm during a tough time.

Realisation 2

In another module, Sadhguru has asked the participants to close their eyes and be grateful for a few things in their lives. He started giving instructions accordingly.

·      3 most important people in life: Father, Mother, and Sister

·  3 People important to you from your neighbourhood: My paternal uncle, My neighbour Granny, and her cute little 4-year-old grandchild

·      3 People whom you have never met yet but have a positive effect on you: Person1, Person2, Person3

·      3 Animals for whom you feel connected and affectionate: Cows, kittens, and Pigens, whom I feed every morning.

·      3 Plants/Trees you are grateful for: Rose plant(I like red colour roses, which symbolise love), Banana plant of my courtyard, Coconut tree

·      3 non-living things: My laptop (my saviour), my fridge (for storing food), and the kitchen gas where I cook

·      3 Celestial bodies you are grateful for: Sun, Moon, and Earth

After practicing gratitude, I became calmer and more composed.

One realisation hit me very hard that the relatives, my bosses, and colleagues have no place in my life. They don’t even exist in the list of 21 things, which comprises both living and non-living beings. Why should I even keep them in my thoughts at all??

My world has really shrunk to a few people, and I am really grateful that I have meaningful people in my life.

No crowd, no dramas.

Some realisations hit late but hard enough to leave imprints in your heart forever.

Thank you, Sadhguru, for such amazing realisations, and I look forward to sharing more such experiences until I complete the program!!

 

Sweta Sarangi

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
27–03–2026

 

#601 I am an asset to myself!

I Am An Asset To Myself!!

I don’t need anyone’s approval!

 

What is an asset??

According to the Oxford Dictionary, an asset is a person or thing that is useful to someone or something.

Please read it again. The definition itself associates an asset with a person or thing.

Is it true always?

What if you are not accepted by someone? Will you still be considered an asset?

Have you ever asked yourself these questions? If yes, you are not alone in this journey. If not, let’s explore what it exactly means.

Labels

As human beings, we often tag ourselves with certain labels. Those labels may be due to the remarks of your parents, teachers, friends, colleagues, boss, life partners, or anyone residing in your surroundings. Sometimes our past experiences, achievements, or current situations also create imaginary labels in our heads.

Those labels can be both positive and negative. How to check that?? Very easy. The remarks you get from your critics may not always be in your favour. Those can drain your energy, hence negative remarks. Some remarks can make you feel elevated and happy inside. Those are positive remarks.

What if you are not accepted by someone? Will you still be considered an asset?

My answer is YES.

No one is ever born on this earth without a purpose.

No one has the power to make you think that you don’t have any purpose in your life.

Most of the time, we as human beings seek validation in a relationship. The relationship does not always need to be romantic. It can be anything like parent-child, teacher-student, uncle-niece, and so on. When we are not seen, heard, or appreciated in that way, we feel devalued and not worthy of love.

When we try to attach our self-worth to another person’s perspective of us, we lose our originality. The authentic self is lost because it is dependent on someone else’s way of seeing you through their lens.

Apparently, we fall into the trap of appreciation and validation, which can sometimes be daunting as well. Of course, others’ perspective of framing opinion on you is neither in your control nor your responsibility to change.

What can we change then?

We can definitely change the way we think about ourselves, irrespective of others’ opinions. That’s what self-worth is. The more you are aware of your self-worth, the more you can remain calm and composed in any situation because you know that others’ opinions of you are not going to affect you or disturb your mental state in any way.

Working on yourself and your goal is the most difficult thing in the world because it comes with the acceptance that you acknowledge your flaws and you want to improve.

One thing I realise over the years: it requires a lot of patience and courage to change something within you that is stopping you from moving forward.

When you work on yourself with dedication, you start seeing the results. The results may not come overnight, but yes, it comes with some time.

Then confidence builds up within you, and you try to become aware of your self-worth. This awareness helps you set some boundaries between people in a healthy manner.

By following some healing modalities and manifestation rituals over the years, I feel calmness and stability within me. The courage to not accept the opinions of others about you is my takeaway from these daily practices.

Now, the reality has shifted for me, and I am starting to see the people the way they are.

No overthinking, no drama to change their perspective about me.

And this has given me the freedom to live my life on my own terms.

I’m embracing self-love.

I’m showing gratitude towards the adversities that happened in the past.

These compelled me to change something within me, and I could see the transformation.

I am in such a state of mind that I don’t really care whether I’m an asset or a liability in anyone’s life.

I’m an asset to myself. That’s enough for me to end my day.

 

SWETA SARANGI

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

26–05–2026 

#600 13 Years of Blogging!

 

13 Years of Blogging!

And the journey continues

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

My blog has completed its 13th year of existence, and I am so happy about it.

When I started writing and publishing on this blog, I had never imagined that it would continue for so long!

I just took the first step 13 years ago, during my undergraduate years, and the steps of the ladder kept unveiling one after the other as I continued my journey of writing.

I can’t believe my blog is as old as someone who was born in 2013 and would be 13 years old now.

---

Photo by Aliena Roos on Unsplash

My life has been evolving ever since. Blogging was a way of documenting the experiences of my life. I believed that it would give me a chance to look into the circumstances of life more deeply and reflect on the lessons learned from it.

Even though I have not been so regular on my blog lately, I keep writing offline and online on other platforms like a ritual, because writing is like breathing to me.

At the end of the day, when my head feels a bit heavy or uncertainties intimidate me, I find my solace in writing. It’s as if an old dear friend of mine is fondly listening to me.

---

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash

A lot has happened over these 13 years, from completing graduation, Master’s, living and working in different cities, forming new connections, getting married, to living an immigrant life in different countries. 

Life showed its different shades while I tried to understand its unsaid rules.

Frequent relocations made me believe that the entire world is my home, and I should try to bloom wherever I am planted.

Amidst all the chaos and uncertainties, one thing remained constant over the years, that’s my inclination towards writing. 

I write a blog anniversary post every year to reflect on my writing journey and life. I find it an honest way to honour the silent companion that has been sticking to me for years through my thick and thin, my dear blog.

My blog is as dear to me as my diary, and my fondness for it has only grown over the years. It’s a public version of my diary, with certain constraints that I manage.

---

Through my blog, I explored different forms of writing, from poetry, essays, short stories, to personal narratives. With each form of writing, I was trying to make myself more comfortable with the unexplored.

I participated in different writing competitions and won some prizes, which made me believe that my words resonated with the jury.

My inspiration for writing doesn’t always come from writing challenges; it comes from observing my life minutely on an everyday basis. That’s because every day carries with it a unique lesson that should not be missed.

---

Photo by Peter Mammitzsch on Unsplash

I’ve been more frequent on Medium than here because I felt that my writing needed readership, and I enjoyed interacting with fellow writers and building connections.

I realised that I neither have enough time nor energy to advertise my blogs on different blogging platforms as I used to do earlier. So, I switched to a more interactive platform.

I thank all my readers who read my scribbles in the form of articles, stories, and poetry, and share their comments.

I have some writing goals I am not actively pursuing, but I visualize finishing them soon.

---

Photo by Todd Trapani on Unsplash

I will write anyway,
Whether I’m happy or sad,
Living in my own country,
Or leading an immigrant life.

 

I will write anyway,
When the days seemed very heavy,
Pushing me to an abyss or
As smooth as a slice of butter.

 

I will write anyway,
When the sun shines brightly,
Scorching heat parching my soul or
Surviving in minus degrees!

 

I will write anyway,
While looking through the window,
Observing the nature and
Admiring the elements of it.

 

I will write anyway,
Observing my surrounding
For the characters that form
Muses of my stories or poetry.

 

I will write anyway,
While welcoming members into
My family or bidding goodbye
To the parting ones.

 

I will write anyway,
For cherishing the memories
Of bygone days, while
Feeling grateful for them.

 

I will write anyway,
Knowing the fact that
Growing old is inevitable and
The ultimate truth to accept.

 

I will write anyway,
Even when no one is reading it
For all I know, it’s a 
Concoction for my soul.

 

I will write anyway,
For I’ve got a life to live,
Just one life and a thousand dreams
To accomplish in a lifetime.

©All Rights Reserved!
Swati Sarangi
28.03.2026
You can support my work through Buy me a Coffee.

 

#599 Different Question Papers

 Different Question Papers

Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash

I have given many exams, either as a student or as an aspirant, in my life. One thing that I learned from it is that I lost fear of facing them because I followed certain principles and stuck to them till the end.

From an early age, I’ve never lived to impress anyone. So, that never put any pressure on me to go against my principles, which always carried honesty. Think of it as a hereditary trait.

I have always stood against any form of cheating, even if it meant failing in the exam. There had been many instances, especially during midterms during my college days, when almost the entire class would copy and score a decent score when I would struggle to reach that score. All of us knew that we lacked guidance and resources to learn that subject, but I believed that if I put effort into understanding the subject, I could score well.

A poorly performed answer sheet of mine didn’t make me sad, for two reasons. First, I wanted to evaluate my understanding of that subject, which could help me improve. Second, it showed my honesty and level of preparation.

I knew that if I went for shortcuts like copying or resorting to illegal means to score, I might altogether lose the ability to learn. That’s the reason why I could appear for some competitive exams and cleared some rounds, while many of my friends, who relied on scoring through cheating, didn’t dare to even sit for those exams.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint, and shortcuts are like easy choices, like cheap dopamines offered to us in the form of distractions by social media.

---

Copying during an exam was possible when the question paper was the same, but what about the biggest exam called life, where all of us have been given entirely different question papers? Even your sibling has a different question paper from yours.

Each question paper is unique, and the circumstances that we face in our lives are the questions to be attempted. How we react to those circumstances is our response or answer to the questions.

Here’s an analogy that my mind has found:

Exam → Life
Questions Paper → Challenges
Questions → Circumstances 
Answers → Reactions

Where the result of this exam is decided by the teacher, the one who has designed this question paper. He/She must be higher in the hierarchy of knowledge or experience than us; that’s what makes him/her eligible to set the question paper.

Unlike the exam of college exams, the one who cheats fails in this exam because he is unaware of the fact that everyone’s question paper is different.

The level of difficulty of the questions is the same for everyone, but it appears to be difficult or easy to others based on their perception.

---

Many people think that their life has been full of difficulties or challenges, while others’ pains are manageable for them, but they’re completely unaware of the silent battles that everyone is fighting each day.

While comparing their lives with others, people think that others are in a better position than they are, but while comparing the pain, it’s the opposite thinking; they think they’ve endured more pain in their lives than others.

Let’s talk about the reality. There’s no one whose life is devoid of challenges. All of us have challenges in our lives, and they might not be the same for everyone. One might face financial problems, while others might be unlucky in terms of getting favorable outcomes, and the third person might be dealing with some health issues. Imagine the level of comfort that you can offer to others by showing a bit of empathy instead of thinking that you have won greater battles in your life than they!

The level of difficulty of challenges that one faces in their life increases with age and experience. She/he grows through these difficulties and finds a coping mechanism in the process of facing them.

---

Comparison is the thief of joy — Theodore Roosevelt

The only comparison that can lead us anywhere is comparing with yesterday’s self.

We should ask ourselves, “Am I better than yesterday?” If the answer comes out in affirmation, then you’re on the right track.

©All Rights Reserved!
 Swati Sarangi,
23.09.2025
You can support my work through Buy me a Coffee.

 

#598 Room No - 432

 Room No - 432

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Unsplash

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon 2025 

It was the day of campus placement, and just like every final year student, Saloni reached the college Auditorium hall in time to attend the sessions of placement drive.

Her diligent preparation made her confident in her knowledge and skill. She could answer every question asked to her satisfactorily.

As expected, when she found her name in the list of selected candidates at the end of the day, she called her parents first to share this news, and all of them were over the moon!

---

There came the day of leaving the city and moving to her workplace. With a heavy heart for leaving her parents and a lot of excitement about her future, Saloni bade goodbye to her parents until they met the next time.

Everything seemed so alluring to her as she looked through the window of her moving cab when it crossed innumerable branded outlets of apparel or footwear.

After around 45 minutes, the cab dropped her in front of a giant gate that was supposed to be her destination. She was amused to witness the largest training center of IT, where she would be enrolled.

Inside that giant gate, beautiful and sophisticated tall buildings lurked. Such a scene was enough to uplift her spirit and trust in her future, which seemed so promising.

---

After completing all the formalities of joining, she was allotted a room, which was a room on the 4th floor, room 432. She tried to recall the familiarity of that number, and to her surprise, her spiritual self recognized it as the frequency of Om.

She perceived it as a sign from the Universe to welcome her into this new venture in her life. The cozy interior of the room gave her a homely feeling. “Wow! A home away from home”, she exclaimed with joy.

---

As the days progressed, so did the stress of the training. She tried to cope with the tasks and assignments that would make her return to her room exhausted until she fully collapsed onto her bed.

Every night, she would feel her roommate entering the room around 11 pm and leave the room early morning. It didn’t create any kind of suspicion in her as the trainees were allowed to use the resources of the training center till midnight.

Upon special requests, some of the training centers would open an hour earlier than usual to prepare for the training exams. So, leaving room early wasn’t something she found unusual in the case of her roommate.

So, Saloni never got a chance to communicate with her roommate. Days passed, and she got even busier with the preparation of the final test. On being requested by her batchmates to know about her roommate, she waited for her during the weekends, but she didn’t come.

Saloni thought that her roommate must be a localite, leaving nearby, who might be visiting her family during weekends.

---

It was the last day of the training session, and job locations were allotted to the trainees. It was the last time the trainees of a batch saw each other; they may or may not have met in the same office.

Saloni wanted to meet her roommate once before leaving the training. She enquired at the administrative block. What shocked her the most was the reply of the guy at the administrative block, who, after searching on his computer, said that room  432 was just assigned to Saloni and no one else.

©All Rights Reserved!
 Swati Sarangi
 12.10.2025

You can support my work through Buy me a Coffee.