Exercise

Unusually to-day I woke up at 5.00 am for no rhyme or reason. Eyes just opened and neither due to a nightmare nor natural call. Since eyes can’t be trusted and they are the source of all temptation, I refused to get up. It is then that I realized that I am over-weight and I need to do something about it. My mind told me that doing exercise is not a bad idea; another part of my mind said that start from tomorrow. Somewhere I have read that tomorrow is an illusion, so I decided to start the exercise immediately. Got up, brushed the teeth and put on the shoe and started moving towards the Bhiju Pattnaik Park.

The park is reasonably well maintained and it has a track on which everyone was walking or jogging. I was tempted to start jogging but my mind told me ‘slow and steady wins the race’ hence decided to start with walking. The track is one kilometer long, mentally I had determined to make three rounds. Three is a lucky and auspicious number.

With much enthusiasm and excitement, I walked like a whirl-wind, overtaking many on the way and completed the first round rather quickly. By then my energy level was reduced to fifty percent and the speed started dwindling down. To my surprised I noticed that the people whom I had overtaken were now overtaking me. I wanted to increase the speed, but I remembered the famous dialogue of sharuk khan, “har ke jitne walo ko baazigar kehte hai”.  Losing small battles indeed helps us to win the war, so I allowed them to overtake me and maintained my rhythm with a brave face.  When I completed the second round, I was down to the last one percent of my energy.

I did not want to break the resolution of making three rounds and I continued with the third round. Now even the people who were far behind me also started overtaking me; surprisingly I did not feel bad (even to feel bad you need to have energy). I was totally indifferent and fully concentrated on reaching the entrance of the park. If I reach the entrance my third round would be completed. I kept on walking but the entrance was nowhere to be seen, I thought that someone has moved the entrance to a faraway place. It was like I was walking for eternity. After a very long time, finally I reached the entrance and I was thrilled.

Then I calculated how many calories I might have burned. If one walks for a kilometer it is possible that around 50 calories might have been used. That means I have burned 150 calories. I thought of going for one more round in order to make it 200 calories, but my mind advised me not to be greedy.

I was wearing XIMB T-shirt; one lady asked me whether I am studying at XIMB. I did not know what to say. Either she thought that I look young enough to be a student or she assumed that XIMB is an old-age home where adult education is being conducted. If the former is correct then she is suffering from ‘optical illusion’ and if the latter is true then it is an ‘information disaster’ and we need to go for the brand building exercise and not for morning walk.

Also mentally I noted not to wear XIMB T-shirt for morning walk (in any case, getting up at 5.00 am is  not going to take place in near future, because accidents take place only once a year or once in two year)

Driving Car in USA- III

Two months of driving gave me the necessary confidence on the road. One day one of my friends came to my residence. Since I had a class, I took him in the car to show him Loyola Columbia Campus.

This time I was overconfident. There was a tendency to show off – see how well I drive. Things were going fine, and we were chatting (may be chattering) continuously. After about 20 minutes, in the rear view I noticed the police jeep following our car. I was confused whether the police is following me or he is on a joy ride. Then the police man shouted on the speaker ‘park the car on the side’. It became clear that he is after me, but now the confusion was which side do I need to park – right or left. Sensing my confusion the police man shouted ‘park the car on the right side’.

Being a law abiding citizen of India (in USA Social Security Number, I am referred as the alien; since I liked the film ‘alien’, I was excited being called alien), I obeyed the instruction immediately (as if I had a choice). The one happy thought during that time was if police takes me to the station, then I have a valid reason to miss the class. And it was a small consolation.

I parked the car and the police man parked his vehicle 200 meters behind me. I opened the door to get out, the police man shouted ‘do not come out, and stay inside the car’. I shut the door (once again not much choice). The police man asked me to lower the window glass, and I did, then he asked me to show the license. To take out the license I had to stand up since it was at the back pocket of my pants. The car was small and I am big, yet he insisted me to stay inside. After some struggle I managed to pull out the license and gave it to him. He was surprised that I was using international driving license not the USA driving license. Then asked for the vehicle license, I said that the car belongs to the college and I just don’t know where it is. He was losing his temper. He said, “Do they (college administration) know that you are using international license?” They only provided me the license (it was a lie; I got it through the internet, at desperate situation one is forgiven for saying few lies).

The police man was a good person, so he believed me. Then went to his vehicle and spoke to someone (might have been his superior). And I was looking for the vehicle license, and finally located it. I wanted to show it to him, and opened the door; again he shouted “stay inside”. I sat down, he came to me after five minutes and said, “This is a verbal warning, a sticker is missing on your license plate, inform the authorities to do the necessary thing, now you can proceed”. There was a great relief also some disappointment. I missed the chance of seeing the inside of American police station also now I have to take the class.

The police in USA seem to be obsessed with following procedures. For me it looked like OCD (obsessive-compulsive- disorder). I was wondering why do they need to follow elaborate procedure, then I realized that they are meticulous about procedures because they are afraid. Whereas our police in India is cool about procedures, because they are not afraid and are courageous. I think at home we are in safe hands guys.

My driving license is not a proper international license. What I have is the Indian driving license printed in the international license format. I became aware of this crucial fact only after the event. Internet guys have just bluffed me and in turn unknowingly I had bluffed the police man. Since, the police man was good, he overlooked the detail (even though he followed the procedure religiously). From the outlook of the license, he assumed that it is an international license.

My teaching assignment has come to an end. The fall semester is over. And it is time to come home. Thank god there is no more driving at USA.

Driving Car in USA- II

After taking necessary practice at driving, for the first time without anyone I drove the car to Loyola Columbia campus, 25 miles away from my residence. I was nervous and my mind put forward 100 things that can go wrong. Since there wasn’t any choice, I started the car. First few minutes passed without any untoward event.

Then came the first and terrible decision making process. I had to turn towards “83 South” but before that there is a turn “83 North”, I kept on telling ‘avoid 83 North’, when you are nervous you end up doing exactly what you want to avoid. That’s what exactly happened. Both the turns are on the right hand side, both are within the distance of 200 meters, and I was driving at 68 miles per hour. Mistakes take place, and mine was rather costly. I had taken not only a wrong turn but also was diametrically in the opposite direction.

Luckily I had GPS, who ever had invented this machine must have been a genius with human concern (might have studied rural management). I started following the directions that were given by GPS. It is not a dialogue, it was one way interaction, GPS kept on speaking – turn left, turn right and go straight for 2 miles. Of all the instructions, the words ‘go straight for 2 miles’ was the best, it sounded melodious since all I have to do was just pressing the accelerator. And I was moving in circles and it took 2 and half hours for me to reach my destination in the place of 45 minutes.

On that day I too understood one of mystery that always bothered me. Moses, the great leader of Israel, travelled 40 years to reach Israel from Egypt. If you look at the world map, it is so clear that the distance is not much, he should have reached within 6 to 9 months, even if you give the benefit of doubt in large quantity, he should not have taken more than a year. Then why did he take so long?

I think that he too might have taken the wrong turn that too diametrically opposite  turn just like me. And the GPS guide he had might have taken him in circles. If you keep on travelling in circles, then it will take not only 40 years, it can become endless.

Lesson number one I learned was that in nervousness and anxious moments think about what you have to do and not what you have to avoid.

Three idiots

First time I heard this story in one of the talk given by sadhguru (jaggi vasudev). Then heard and read the different versions of the same story in different sources.

There were three friends – Shankar, Ravi and Raju - working in a government office as clerks. Their office was on the third floor of the building. Since they were working in the same department, proximity bred companionship and companionship translated into friendship not out of choice, manily due to the lack of option (more like an arranged marriage). They had mastered the art of tolerating one another, and they could do things together. Years have passed without much ups and downs.

One day as usual, all three assembled during their lunch break with the tiffin boxes. Ravi opened his tiffin box and found three chappatis and potatoe curry. He stared at the chappati and said, “ Last 15 years, every day without fail, my wife gives me the same food for lunch. I am so angry, can’t she prepare some variety. If tomorrow also she gives me chappati and potatoe curry for lunch, then I will jump out through the window and kill myself”. Raju felt sorry for him and opened his tiffin box and found curd rice and lemon pickle. And he realized that he too has the same menu for last 15 years for lunch and he said, “Me too in the same boat, if tomorrow I get the same lunch, I too will jump through the window”. Shankar opened the box and he found lemon rice and mango pickle and said, “ my case is not different, 15 years same lemon rice for lunch, if it is repeated I will follow your way”.

The next day three friends sat down for the lunch. Ravi opened the box and found chappati and potatoe curry. He looked at his friends, got up and jumped through the window. Raju saw curd rice, got up and jumped through the window. In was now Shanker’s turn. As the fate would have it, he too had the same lemon rice, and he too jumped through the window.

Destiny is indeed cruel; when you want to die, you don’t and when you want to live, you get heart attack. The three friends were injured and broken few limps but did not die. They were admitted in the hospital. Their wives and relatives gathered in the hospital, and everyone was crying. Ravi’s wife was mumbling, “Had I known that my husband hated chappati so much, I would have prepared some other item for the lunch. All he had to do was informing me what he wants. Why did he do this to himself?” Raju’s wife muttered, “ I thought he likes curd rice, if he wanted different food he could have told me so”. But Shankar’s wife was totally perplexed and in a tone of disbelief said, “I do not cook anything in my house, it is my husband who prepares food, if he did not like lemon rice he should have prepared something else”.

Pain is totally different from suffering. The former is caused usually from outside and the latter is internal. Pain can be cured by medical treatment but suffering gets complicated with drugs. Pain is real whereas suffering is mind created illusion.

Public speaking

Phobia is defined as an irrational fear. Public speaking is the phobia suffered by majority of people in the world. Talking is something we all enjoy doing. Look at the people who gossip, how animated and involved they become. When we gossip, we get fully involved in the content, mind and emotions become one and we forget time.

Both the forms of speaking – gossiping and public speaking – are more or less same. There is an important content, flow of language and engaging the listener by captivating his or her attention. And there is only one minor difference and that is the number of people listening. In gossiping, the number is few and in public speaking it is many.

Then why are we afraid of one and attracted to the other? The primary function of our brain is to protect us and make sure that we survive well and produce children for the next generation. And our brain for most part got hard wired when we were living in the forest which was extremely hostile. Human being is a pack animal that we lived in group and went for hunting in a group and cultivated land in a group. So for an individual, his status in the group is utmost important. If he is ridiculed or laughed at, then his position in the group will be very lower and in that precarious situation he will neither get served best food available and he will be neglected by the women of the group. One needs to be in a higher status to attract opposite gender. If dogs are supposed to give a public speech, they also will go through the tension we go through because they are pack animal. But in case cats have to give public speech, they will be cool and chilled out since they live alone and not a pack animal so they give a damn what fellow cats think about him or her.

Since the mind is hard-wired to take care of our survival, it sees the public speaking may harm our status in the group. So it creates a picture of catastrophe when we need to speak in public. It projects that the situation is life and death. In the present world, even though, we know that we will not be thrown out of the society for messing up our speech, and also we know that most are sleeping or day dreaming when we speak, yet the primitive brain start controlling our behavior and we become anxious and depressed.

If you suffer from the phobia called public speaking, you are perfectly normal. It means that you do give lots of weight to other people’s opinion about you. There are few techniques in overcoming this phobia, but my question is why do you want to overcome? It is always good to have few phobias.

Women Executive

As an assignment, I asked my students to write a research paper conducting survey and collecting primary data collection. One group decided to collect data from women executives. And they were studying the educational level of personal and near and dear ones and its relationship with the leadership style. They used the standard SPSS program to arrive at the conclusion.

Finding 1:  High educational level of friends was highly correlated with transformational leadership style. And the regression analysis too pointed out that friends’ level of education influences the transformational leadership style of the person.

Finding 2: High educational level of the husband was correlated negatively with laissez-faire leadership style. Regression analysis too confirmed the similar relationship.

It means that if a woman executive has friends with high level of education, then they seem to influence the transformational leadership qualities in her. That is, they help her to develop positive behaviors of leadership. And if the husband’s educational level is high then he seems to be discouraging the laissez-faire leadership style. It means that he helps her to overcome her leadership weaknesses.

The common sense observation tells us that we feel comfortable with a person who helps us to grow in our strength, and feel bit uneasy and respectful towards the person who help us to overcome our weakness.

No wonder extra marital affairs are on rise in the modern world.

Suicide Bomber

Following are the behavioral characteristics of a suicide bomber on the day of his/her mission:

1. Fresh shave: male bombers take of their beard in order to blend with the crowd. Makes them less suspicious. The result is paler skin on the lower half of face since there is no recent exposure to the sun. (not applicable for female suicide bomber)
2. Inappropriate Dressing: It is a no brainer observation. To carry explosive, you can't wear tight dress like Salman Khan. It has to be loose and heavy. Ex. wearing rain coat when there is no sign of any rain etc..

3. The robotic walk: not because they are in ecstasy, but they are carrying extra 40 pounds of unaccustomed weight (explosives) and also they are drugged.

4. Irritable: not in a mood to appreciate people’s questions. They snap any remarks made by others

5. Sweating: due to heavy clothing and anxiety

6. Tics: kind of mild convulsion when they are not moving

7. Nervous behavior: doing same actions repeatedly and not being aware of it.

8. Breathing: Controlled breathing – rhythmic and forceful to suppress fear and panic

9. Stare rigidly ahead: not looking at any one, the idea is that if they see no one then none sees them.

10.Incantation of some formula (prayer like words – repeating few sentences inaudibly). Moving of lips, but no one understands what they are reciting

11.They carry a large bag. The detonator is too big and too heavy for a pocket, so they need a bag.

12.Hand is kept inside the bag: constantly holding on the button they have to press.

(By Lee Child, in “Gone Tomorrow”)

Note:

 ** Some students exhibit most or all these behavioural patterns during the final exam. Do not treat them as a suicide bomber.

 ** But if some one exhibit these patterns for a prolonged period of time, he may not be practising to become a suicide bomber, but most likely contemplating to commit suicide. Though you will be considered by that person as an intruder, you should take initiative to have conversation. Who knows, you might save that person's life.

The Quest

Wilber smith is a great writer of historical fiction. Many of his novels are spell binding with real characters and in an authentic background of events. History and culture are presented in a mesmerizing style.

“The Quest” is based in an ancient Egypt, it is in a mythological genre, it begins with a gripping story line but after 50 pages it becomes a great disappointment. In my opinion this is the worst novel by Wiber Smith.

Every event seems to be predictable. He has a taken an adult theme but handled it in a childish manner.  It is written in a pathetic linear style of storytelling.

It is thick novel nearly 900 pages, after reading the novel the first question comes to the mind is; what is wrong with me for reading this stupid fiction? And the second question: why on earth did I waste my money and time.

Wasting money alone or time alone is understandable. We do it quite often. But wasting money and time only morons will do it. I did feel like a moron.

My advice is very simple: if want to read it then borrow it from a simpleton who might have bought unknowingly ( you will waste only time), and in case you have bought it then give it to someone who has  irritated you in the past or give it to anyone  (every one is a potential irritator, so it does not matter).

Don’t buy and read; you will end up joining the gang of morons and end up cursing yourself for being literate.

Nuclear Attack

The commander was giving instruction to the members of his team regarding how to protect oneself from the enemy’s onslaught.

·   In case of Knife: if the enemy attacks you with knife, keep in mind that knife is just few inches long, so keeping away from him is important. Always focus on the metal, your eyes should never leave it, when he comes near, hold the wrist and press the nerve with all your might. The knife will fall down certainly.

·   In case of Hand Gun: the hand gun is light weighted, so the aim cannot be accurate. Keep 200 feet distance; hand gun will not harm you. If you are closer, then try to shield yourself with some metal.

·   In case of Machine Gun: the purpose of machine gun is to kill as many as possible. It is not for choosing some particular target. Keep yourself away from it by 100 feet and you are safe.

·   In case of Shot Gun: the shot guns are used by snipers. The purpose of shot gun is choosing the target and shooting him down from far away. The easy way to escape is keep moving in a zigzag manner, not being predictable in movements. Do not stay in one place longer than few seconds.

·  In case of Nuclear Attack: finally we have come to the big one. In case of nuclear attacks, all you have to do is just following few steps: stand on your feet, spread the legs as far away as possible, bent the heads forward and kiss the earth, and say good bye.

Now do you understand why I support nuclear power plant? Not because Abdul Kalam has given a clean chit. Because it is very easy to handle the nuclear explosion and we will get the chance to recite the famous dialogue of Dharmendra in Sholey: Ghave wallo, good bye…..

Why This Kolaveri?

A friend of mine – S.Ganesh – send the link to the song “Why this Kolaveri-di”, with an additional information that more than 2.7million people have viewed it on You Tube as of 23^rd of November, 2011.

I heard it and liked it for it's novelty and unique style. But its’ instant popularity among students and young people is rather surprising.

This slang was popularized by the comedian Vadivelu. But none seems to give credit to him. May be because everyone knows it, why to waste time?

Carl Jung talks about the concept ‘synchronicity’. It basically means that simultaneously without any planning, number of factors come together and create a new phenomenon, and nothing can stop its’ popularity.

I was just thinking about what are the factors which contributed to the instant success of this song?

1. The tune is very simple, almost like a nursery rhyme, repeating the same word or similar words rhythmically.The music appeals to the emotional brains rather than the neo-cortex.

2. Since the song is not based on complex ragas, anyone can sing it easily without much strain. Since one can’t be worse than the singer of the song, it boosts ones confidence.

3. The lyrics of the song belong to the genre called ‘tragic comedy’ or dark humor. It appeals to the dark side in us.

4. It is a song of an underdog, and we like to be identified with underdogs. Unconsciously many of us feel that we are all underdogs and the world is not being just to us.

5. It portrays girls in a negative light. If you look into the history of music, any song that degrades woman is instantly appealing to men’s psyche. And it gets instant popularity. 

Male chauvinism gets manifested either directly or indirectly. If a man says that women are weak and inferior, they need to be protected and controlled, then it is called direct male chauvinism. Till 1950s, what manifested in the society was direct male chauvinism. But after that it became very subtle and indirect. 

Now one can’t say that women are weak and get away with it, so attack has to be indirect. Men are portrayed as victim of women. Many marriage jokes belong to this category. Girls are shown as cunning and opt for better choice by leaving high and dry the previous person, whereas the boy, gets into drinking and dies in love. 

This song is indirect manifestation of male chauvinism and there is no wonder it is popular among men both young and old.

But, what I can’t understand is how come Suriti Hassan and Aishwarya Dhanus enjoy the song immensely? Both were mesmerized with the song which attacks them and indirectly promotes male chauvinism. 

May be they are saints, they take insults and appreciation in the same way or they must be masochists who derive pleasure from pain.

Rajni Mania

When I was a student of 6^thstd, Rajni entered the film world as a villain then progressed to the role of a hero. He somehow captured the imagination of boys of my age group. Those who were studying plus two and above were die-hard fans of Kamalahassan.

Rajni’s style was unconventional: toss  the cigarette and light it in an outrageous way, comb the hair with fingers and never with a comb, not wearing washed shirts, keep shaking hands and legs for no reason at all (similar to epileptic attack), and when you speak to others always look sideways in the vertical dimension. I and my friends were mesmerized by these antics. We imitated those behavioral challenges religiously. And people called us mavericks or mad (in today’s time they would have called as mentally challenged, in fact it was very challenging mentally). We were not discouraged by their comments instead we felt honored since our hero was also addressed as mad maverick.

Rajni was diametrically opposite to Kamal. Kamal was very fair looking guy, and he can dance and act but always was running after heroine (both on and off the reel). Rajni was dark complex, and he couldn’t dance even to save his life, and he was running after only villains, of course to beat them up. When kamal’s fans criticized rajni’s dance movement, we pointed out that dancing is not men’s profession. And in fight sequence, Kamal was pathetic and Rajni was too convincing. And in every movie Rajni either will die or go to jail at the end of the film. The sight of Rajni being hand gulfed or dyeing was exhilarating.

As long as I stayed in my native town, I was a dedicated follower of Rajni. People used to call me Rajni and I was almost forgetting my original name. Life was full of adventure. But then every good thing must come to an end, I moved out of my town for higher studies (not for Phd, just for Eleventh std). Thereafter, my association with Rajni came to an end.

I just don’t know what magic Rajni did; people who called us mad have become Rajni fans when returned after few years to my home town. Rajni too has changed a lot today; he puts on lots of makeup, he dances reasonable well, runs after heroine (sometimes more than one), performs comedy and above all, he neither dies nor goes to jail at the end of the film. It is so disappointing, No wonder that I do not like to be called as a Rajni fan. Yet there is some soft corner for him, and for the sake of old time, I continue watch his movies in theater.

Now he has fans even in Japan, watch the video below:

illusion

Richard bach with the book ‘Jonathan seagull’ reached the cult status. Then he came up with his second title “Illusion”. This too became a best seller. What I liked most was the parable with which the book begins.

“Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river. “The current of the river swept silently over them all - young and old, rich and poor, good and evil, the current going its own way, knowing only its own crystal self.  

“Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging were their way of life, and resisting the current what each had learned from birth.  

“But one creature said at last, ‘I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go, and let it take me where it will. Clinging, I shall die of boredom.’  

“The other creatures laughed and said, ‘Fool! Let go, and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed across the rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom!’

“But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go, and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks.  “Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again, the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more.  

“And the creatures downstream, to whom he was a stranger, cried, ‘See a miracle! A creature likes ourselves, yet he flies! See the Messiah, come to save us all!’  

“And the one carried in the current said, ‘I am no more Messiah than you. The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure.’

“But they cried the more, ‘Saviour!’ all the while clinging to the rocks, and when they looked again he was gone, and they were left alone making legends of a Saviour.”

It is not that we do not know what we are or what we want. Problem is that we know it too well. What we lack is the courage to believe in it and make it real. Just like those creatures we too wait for some leader to save us and to establish corrupt free world, thus we live in our self-created illusion and become shadow of our own shadow.

Translation

Computer translation is not a new phenomenon. In one such effort, computer experts were creating a program which will translate sentences from English to Russian and also from Russian to English. When the program was ready, they wanted to test it. They picked up the bible phrase, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” and made the computer to translate it to Russian and then back to English. The final result was, “Meat has gone bad, but the liquor is still fine”.

So we can conclude that the computer programmers are vegetarians and also love drinks. (Looks like that the computer translation is better than the human interpretation)

Taxi Driver

Expert taxi drivers invariably do this. As they reach the taxi stand, they switch off the engine and reach the stand with the current momentum, tactfully stirring through the traffic.

Teachers start the course with much enthusiasm, thinking new batch of students can be formed and changed for the better. Convinced of the importance of the subject they teach, they prepare, at times over prepare for the class. Revising the materials and adding new topics, they want to bring revolution through their teaching. But in the midway through the course, they do make some compromise, they forget about any revolution; and the aim becomes to finish the course successfully (whatever it means I am not sure). But as the course is nearing the end, like the taxi driver, they too switch off the mind and use the existing momentum to complete the course.

But in case of students, they follow the reverse order. Till the end, they keep the mind switched off, as the course is getting over and the examination comes near (usually it means previous night) they look for the key to switch on the engine. Most of the time, most of them manage to pull it off. They reach the destination by hook or crook.  

 Why do teachers and students approach the course in opposite direction: The former is charged with energy in the beginning and the latter is full of energy only towards the end? This phenomenon can’t be explained by psychology; rather economics can throw some light. The teacher gets paid for reading the books whereas students pay to read the books. You can’t expect a person to spend money and energy at the same time, double spending is too taxing.

Pirates of the Caribbean: the curse of the black pearl

The movie belongs to the mythological genre. Myths are not factual but they are real. It does not deal with facts but it deals with truth. Myths bring out the deeper meaning and the collective archetypes controlling us.

Let me just highlight two myths which are prominently present in the movie.

Myth 1: Girls in general love bad guys. And it usually applies to good looking girls. Elizebeth Swann loves the pirate William Turner and not the well groomed and high achiever Norrington. Historically there are many examples, in recent history – Manthagini’s relationship with Dawood, one law student (girl) who played a key role in the escape of Charles Chopraj etc. Now the million dollar question: Why do beautiful girls get attracted to rogues and gangsters? May be they are more interesting? The good guys are boring and monotonous. May be the risks involved? May be the raw energy they exhibit? Or May be the need for protection? When we were living in the forest, It is the macho man (usually bad guys, good guys go to library not to gym) who could protect women from others . The same instinct might be active in this phenomenon too. There is no conclusive answer; if you are not a rogue and have a girl friend, then you need to live in the constant fear of losing her. The tragedy is that good girls like bad guys and bad girls also like bad guys (Femininist should not take it seriously, take it as a joke - may be a sick joke). Or the other simple solution is that good guys must become priests (There are many ashrams in the country)

Myth 2: The curse of Aztec gold. It is the myth about greed and the effect of greed then the greed to overcome the greed. The curse of Aztec gold is insightful. You can buy anything you want – food, drink, and women – but can’t drive pleasure from any of those. Nothing can kill you, though you can kill anyone, in brief you have ultimate power but you can’t taste the fruit of the victory.

This is the irony of life. The movie is the analogy of power and greed. If you are obsessed with them, then life becomes a curse. Immortality is not a blessing it is a curse. The purpose of life is death; it means that the glory and crescendo of life is death.

Greed and desire for ultimate power kill life and death with one shot, leaving you to survive in eternal boredom. Boredom is the result of losing the ability to enjoy things which excited you once upon a time. Only the memory of the past happiness lingers around, and the ability to experience the reality is vanished into the thin air.

Misery without the memory of happiness will not be miserable at all. What makes the misery more miserable is the fact the other poor mortals are happy and I have lost it even though I have everything.

Rainy Season

In India, it does not rain randomly. It has more or less fixed time and duration. Rainy season lasts two or three months in a year and it is a fair deal. We know it is rain’s time, so we are mentally prepared to face him, we carry umbrella to shield us.

But in Baltimore, the rain has no discipline at all, it rains whenever and wherever it wants. No fixed time, and no fixed duration. And there is no one to control him even with the superpower status. Since rooms are sound proof, you don’t even know whether it is raining or not. You claim down from the second floor carrying lab top and books and when you open the door it is raining. It is then you realize that you have forgotten to take the umbrella. You curse yourself, rain and the entire environment. All cheerful morning gets mortgaged into the gloomy mood. The next day you claim down well prepared to encounter the rain, but there is a bright sun light laughing at your face, mocking at you. The damn rain is a master bluffer in Baltimore.

In life there are so many things which are unpredictable, for example death; everyone knows that it will come definitely and without fail but no one is sure when and where. But everyone has accepted it as an existential nightmare, though not fully reconciled, learned to live with it by ignoring it totally. In this life, which is filled with extreme anomalies, expecting rain to follow some kind of schedule or time table is a reasonable thing. Or is it  too big a favor that gods can’t grand it to poor mortals?

Idealism

Good, not so good, bad, not so bad, in my opinion everyone is an idealist, only degree and intensity varies. People may get disturbed witnessing ideal behavior exhibited by others but do not hate them for that. On a scale of idealism, we can roughly fix the humanity in four distinct places.

Corrupt Idealists (on a scale of 10, around .0002): They believe in idealism at the same time strongly believe that it never works. So all they look for is the short cuts to money, fame and for other necessities of survival needs. They have totally forgotten their desire to be an idealist.

Pragmatic Idealists (on a scale of 10, around 2 or 3): They live by idealism as long as it does not demand serious sacrifices. They follow the rules, if it causes too much of inconvenience then they do not mind overlooking the rules. Art of compromise is essential for them to live in this world.

Vulnerable Idealists (on a scale of 10, around 5 or 6): They speak idealism and live by it. They make sure that everyone knows that they are idealists. They insist that everyone should live an ideal life, and then only the world will be a better place. When they need to pay price for their high moral stand, they do pay it but not happy about it. As a result they may get depressed and frustrated in the longer run of life, in case they are allowed to live longer.

Ideal Idealists (on a scale of 10, around 8 or 9): Their idealism is rooted on and emerges from their experience. For them it is a way of life. They share their wisdom but do not force it on others. They also pay the price but willingly and happily. Socrateses and Bhagat singhs of the world belong to this group, that is the reason Socrates could treat poison as cold drink and swallow it painlessly, and Bhagat singh could kiss the rope on which he was going to be hanged.

I personally feel sympathy for the third group, good guys basically, awareness of idealism mostly at the cognitive level, added to that their innocence and ignorance get mixed up in a complicated manner. They want to change the world in their life time itself; as a result they live in a perpetual turbulence.

Steve Jobs - A Tribute (From a e-mail forward)

Rigidity

Atheist: according to your bible, the earth might have been created by God around 10 thousand years ago. But today scientists have unearthed bones which are few million years old. Don’t you think what is in the bible is nothing but an elaborated story?

Priest:  Yes, God created the earth only 10 thousand years ago and at that time he also buried bones which are million years old in order to confuse people like you.

And Tony Demello makes an observation at the end of this story, “When a reality clash with rigidity, the loser is the reality”.

Being stubborn and rigid has its own advantages. You can answer any question without using much of brain cells and nothing will confuse you in interpreting the life and history, it will free you from all kinds of stress and tension. It is the people who live with you will suffer from blood pressure and loss of sleep. Rigidity also gives certainty. Without any qualm of conscience, you can do anything and justify it effortlessly. And when too much of confusion is in the world and people are clueless about what to do, you will emerge as a natural leader.

And it has only few minor disadvantages. Since you can see things only in black and white, your life will be colorless and dull. When you see people living life to its fullness, you will unconsciously burn with jealousy but consciously will be busy condemning them. You will become the source of division and destruction eventually. Anger will be your dominant emotion; you will live like an angry young man and die as a frustrated old man.

Columbus Day

Once, uncle Raj met one of his nephews after few years of time and said to him, “Oh, Henry you have changed a lot. You were so thin, now you are so fat; you were very fair, now you are dark; you were so tall, now you are so short.” exasperated nephew corrected him saying, “ Uncle I am not Henry, I am John.” His uncle without bating his eyelids replied, “Oh my God, you changed your name too.”

On this day, when Columbus is remembered for his discovery of America, the story above mentioned flashed through my mind. Because something similar might have taken place when Columbus encountered the chief of Native American:

Columbus: Oh my God, you people were brownish, now you look redish; you guys were wearing cotton and silk, now you are wearing leather outfits; you were thin, now full of muscles; you Indians have changed a lot.

Chief: Sorry man, we are not Indians, we are Americans

Columbus: You people changed your name too, remember that you should not cut off from your original name, and so let’s call you Red Indians.

It is said that the map Columbus used was filled with major errors, yet he could land on America due to his determination and perseverance. So the lesson is If you persevere with hope, even a wrong map can lead you to right destination, in his case better destination.

If you look long enough and hard enough you will find what you look for otherwise don't worry, your mind will create one for you, which means the history will hail you either as a great visionary or a mad man with guts (both names are worth possessing).

And the story of Columbus reaffirms one more truth: the perception is the reality. New way to Indies was his dream; so according to him new people have to be Indians, red or blue did not matter. 

Fr. Peter Hans Kolvenbach

He was the top man for Jesuits for more than 20 years. He is a man of deep spirituality, though the position he occupied was for life time, he stepped down citing his ill health and the need for young leadership for Jesuits.

Once a journalist asked him about his experience of working at Syria, since the government is very suspicious of priests. How did he manage to survive in a country that is not so friendly? Fr.Kolvenbach recollected his pleasant memories of the country and then finally said, “Ya, sometime it is challenging. The Government used to send spies to monitor us and report about what we preach during the mass, but it was not a big problem since we know exactly who the spies were”.

The journalist was surprised and questioned, “Do you mean to say that you had ‘counter spy system’ to identify the spies?” Fr.Kolvenbach replied, “No, nothing of that sort, usually people sleep during the sermon or when we preach, only the spies listen to it intently, from this we come to know who the spies were.”

Though I have never said it, intuitively I have always known that it is the good and innocent students who sleep in my class.

Consistency

Few of my friends have pointed out that I am not consistent in my arguments and explanations. And they are absolutely correct.

Not contradicting one’s own statements is the hall mark of a rational mind. Non-contradiction is the basis of western philosophy, and it was promoted by none other than Aristotle.

Niels Bohr could defend quantum physics from the onslaught of Einstein only by repeatedly reminding him that he is developing the new science based on the theory of relativity, and it is Einstein who is responsible for this mind numbing theory called  relativity.

In fact, a person who is consistent is seen as a genuine and honest person. ‘Man of integrity’ is the label he gets. 


Immanuel Kant is the epitome of consistency; in every aspect of his life we see nothing but orderliness and consistency. And Kant was a professor. No wonder, we the faculty repeat the same thing year after year inside the class rooms.

I am an expert at repetition. Repeating the same lessons and same jokes is becoming a second nature to me. The funny thing is that every time when I tell a joke, I laugh loudly even if students are serious and quite.

That is the reason; I contradict my own statements outside the class room. In fact, for me there isn’t much difference between consistency and the state of boredom. Repeating same things in different words or same ideas in different format drives me crazy. To keep myself normal I need to keep contradicting. 


I agree with the gentlemen (I think it is B.Shaw, but not sure) who said, “Consistency is a virtue of donkey.” I change my arguments not because that I am not a donkey and that I have stumbled upon new facts or I have become wiser, I change for the sake of changing, to avoid boredom. If my logic does not make sense, just relax.