Frog in the well

Love for a city, or a country or religion or for that matter for any damn thing is made up of the same stuff as selfishness. If I say that I want all wealth and power, and I praise myself as the best guy in the world then I will be perceived as a selfish person, and people will have qualm in judging me negatively. But if I want the same thing for my country then I will seen as patriotic. If I want the same thing for my religion then I will be admired and labeled as a true devotee.

Look carefully, whether I want something for myself, or my country or my religion or my caste, what unifies all these proclamation is ‘MY’. I am totally preoccupied with myself only. Once I create or attach myself to a tiny part of the universe, I become a divisive element. ‘That is the root cause of all conflicts and violence’ says J.Krishnamurthy. Within us we create the division; ‘MY’ versus ‘Others’. What is inside gets realized in the outside. And unless we unify the world within oneself, we cannot even think of peace and harmony.

Why do I want to hang around with some artificial group called religion or country or city or caste etc..? I think it is fear. Fear of being alone, fear of being sensible, and fear of being normal. We love madness, misery, and muddying oneself. Human mind is so great and its power is beyond measure that it can contain the whole universe, but invariably we limit our self to a tiny, insignificant part or aspect of the mind created superficiality.

Short sightedness, narrow mindedness, and lack of openness limit our horizon and all possibilities. As a result we live life like a frog in the well. What is amazing is that the well is filled with dirt. Erick Berne is accurate in his observation of human condition; We live like a person in the cess-pool, dirty water is up to his lips yet shouting ‘I am comfortable, just do not make waves’.

Election 2011 – Tamil Nadu

 

Everyone writes political commentary, so why should I be left behind? In any case no one is able to read the collective mind of the people, let me add my opinion to increase the existing confusion and madness. One more drop will not cause any tsunami.

MGR during his time was criticized by educated public of winning the elections through gimmicks; giving midday meal to school children, and distributing pension and cloths for old people living in the villages.  If this over enlightened view were to be true reason for MGR’s unprecedented victory (his party, as long as he was alive, was never defeated in the assembly elections), then Mr.Karnanidhi too should not have been defeated at the election 2011. Mr.Karnanidhi, did successfully implemented the free gifts he promised to the people and he promised more in this election. Then how come people emphatically rejected him?

Is it corruption? MGR too was accused of corruption, and Ms.Jayalalitha was the first politician to bring glamour into corruption. And Mr.Karnanidhi (original inventor of corruption) took the corruption to another level altogether in his fifth term. You and I are not better in any way; we too give bribe if not in a big way, certainly when it comes to getting reservation in train or in getting license. Corruption is not new, our conscience is already numbed enough to tolerate any amount of corruption in private and public life.

The beauty of corruption during MGR’s regime was that ordinary people either did not believe or they were happy about it. Their reasoning was that MGR does not have any children, therefore all the money he makes legally or illegally, will be distribute to people only. Literally they saw Robin Hood in MGR when he was accused of corruption.

When MGR implemented schemes and distributed free things to poor people, it was perceived by the people positively and they attributed it to his love for them and his generosity. Mr.Karananidhi distributed free television and other things not only for the poor but also to the middle class people. Technically more people received benefits from him than MGR. But people perceived him to be a cunning politician and he is distributing not out of love but only for votes.

In case of Ms.Jeyalalitha people have shown benefit of doubt for two reasons; she still is seen as successor of MGR, and there is no viable alternation. May be the third reason is that she too like MGR without any children. How much one has to make money for his or her old age security?  Our greed goes beyond imagination because we want store money for our children and children’s children. So people must have construed that she will be better than him. May be we should make a law that only person with no children is qualified to occupy the powerful posts in the country. Then certainly I also will have a chance of becoming CM if not PM.

COLD FEET

There was a sensitive issue; it was more like catch 22 situation. If you do, you are damned; if you don’t, you are damned. All of us were hesitating to go ahead with the newly formulated policy. One of my friend who  is known for putting forward his ideas with courage and without fear was irritated with the hesitation shown by many, and said,” we show cold feet when it comes to implementation, we do not have the courage to bite the bullet”.

Hearing that statement some of us started justifying and explaining the hesitation. Quite few were apologetic and covering it up with words like that it is not hesitation but self reflection. But I was rather uncomfortable.

We are having cold feet at the last minute, because the decision is going to affect quite many people. And there is no doubt on that. According to me, having cold feet at this point of time is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign sensibility. Only machines do not suffer from cold feet syndrome. Among human beings, likes of Jake Welch and Hitler did not show cold feet. The former dismissed more than 100000 employees as soon as he took over as CEO of GE, and the latter killed more than 6 million Jews. If you ask their wives they would say without any hesitation that both were monsters.

Having cold feet because it affects people is a good sign; there is no need to be apologetic for our strength. Hesitation is the warning signal that we need to reflect more and we are acting against some of our cherished values. Too much of a certainty is a result of fanaticism and the inability to look at the whole picture. As for as biting the bullet is concerned; why to bite a bullet when there are chicken legs and mutton chops are available? Why do you encourage suicidal tendencies?

Some said we need to be consistent, but what they forget is that consistency is the virtue of donkeys; human beings think dynamically and constantly evaluate their actions.

Then, how did we solve the problem? As usual, we appointed a committee to look into the matter deeply.

Predicament and Problem

Most of us unnecessarily complicate our life by treating a predicament as a problem. The difference is real and crucial. Since both disturb the mind, we treat them similarly and get depressed needlessly.

By definition, a problem is the one which has a solution. If there is no solution, then it is not a problem, it is predicament. If we do not solve the problem, we will be in trouble. If we try to solve a predicament, then we will be in misery.

Declaring ‘nothing can be solved’ is fatalism and a sign of laziness. Proclaiming ‘nothing is impossible’ is outright stupidity and a sign of mental disorder.

For example, when a computer is not working, it is a problem because it can be solved. But if you do not like a professor’s teaching, it is not a problem, it is a predicament. If you try to solve it, you will jeopardize your situation. In the corporate, your boss is a predicament not a problem. If you try to correct him, you will cut a sorry face. Your children are not problems, they are predicament. But in case of wife or girl friends, jury is still out. Are they problem or predicament? Mystery continues…

(Written from men’s perspective, for women’s perspective change the words wife with husband and girl friend with boy friend).

Misogynist

Misogynist is a person who hates women because they are women. That person can be either man or woman. In fact there are some women who do not like to hang around with other women, the most common reason they give is that woman talk only trivial issues like shopping, cloths etc., therefore they declare that hanging around men is intellectually stimulating. And of course there are some men who prefer to keep away for various reasons, mostly imaginary sometimes factual.

Is misogyny a normal or abnormal or super normal phenomenon? Why am I writing on this topic at this point of time? Reason is simple; some students of mine seem to perceive myself as a misogynistic person. Is it a compliment or criticism? I am of a opinion that if someone perceives something about you, at least shades of those qualities must be present in you. Though perceptual errors frequently occur in our interactions, one should take feedback and make serious reflections.

It cannot be a compliment even for a priest, since hatred of anything or anybody eventually brings forth callous effect for everyone. Siddha philosophers are known for teaching that down fall for a man is due to three factors: woman, wealth and land. Attachment to any one of the three can effectively destroy the peace of mind. One should not confuse between hatred and overcoming attachment. In fact if you hate, you are more attached to that person but inversely. Freedom and hatred are opposing phenomena.

In my case, my sisters too have pointed out that I am misogynist. But you know sisters can’t be trusted for their opion; if you refuse to do shopping for them or refuse to take them for movie, they would name you as a misogynist.

But, I have a compelling evidence to prove that I am not misogynistic: during my school days I was one of the committed member of a fan club dedicated also addicted to silk smitha.

Super Brain Yoga

School days were filled with fun and punishment. Studying text book was not the least in my list of activities; it was out of the list. And I am truly surprised that I could be more or less always within 10^th rank throughout the school experience.

There weren’t a day when I was not punished. That time teachers were all powerful, Supreme Court was yet to give the enlightened verdict that physical punishment should not be administered in the school. Hope similar verdict will be pronounced for parents too.

The regular punishment was “holding the earlobes with fingers and sitting down and standing up’. There is a special word for it in Tamil.  And I used to get this punishment without fail. Almost it had become a habit, on the days when I did not get this punishment, I used to feel incomplete. I don’t think I have ever forgiven for it. But when I heard about ‘super brain yoga’, my attitude towards them changed completely. What these guys teach in the name of ‘super brain yoga’ is nothing but the punishment I underwent regularly on school days. This explains how I could do rather well in the school. In fact, it looks like that my teachers were conducting super brain yoga without charging anything.
Have patient and watch this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p876UDB8EN4

Entry of a character

My friends now and then, send poems and write ups in Tamil. The poems by Manushyaputhiran are very unique. I know nothing about poems; even I could understand and appreciate his poems. It is simple yet powerful, more like Einstein’s equation. I have tried to translate it into English, I know it is a poor translation; it might have killed the soul and the style of the poem. But something is better than nothing. Real expert (poet) will one day translate it beautifully, till then tolerate this translation.

Entry of a character

Today morning

At eight thirty sharp

A character from a story

Invaded my life

Have I written the sentence correctly?

It seems to be perfect.

I am not a story teller

And there are no stories about me either

The character, having nowhere to go

Intruded my life

Narrating my favorite story

Of my favorite author

I enquired, “Coming from there”

The character vehemently denied

Then named another author

That writer is known for

Killing all characters in the middle

Thus I discovered

The character is bluffing.

‘I have a name’

Proclaimed the character.

But, I refused to believe that name

No writer worth his name

Ever names with that kind of name

In this business

It is religiously practiced.

But

I had no doubt whatsoever

In believing

The character is indeed a character.

The character sat on the chair

Just like a character

Its opening sentence

Just like a character

It touched our hearts

At right place, at right time

Just like a character

Out of curiosity, I asked

Why are you wearing scrambled dress?

It narrated a story.

Where are the missing pages of your diary?

It narrated another story

Why are you uneasy, constantly watching your back?

It narrated the strangest of all stories

But for the question:

Where are you from?

Silence, deafening silence

Silence of a character

disturbs our being more than its words.

Conversing with the character

Is mind numbing

It converts everything into a story

I volunteered to take the character to my friend

It was terrified to meet him

Who contaminates all with his emotions

And begged me, not to bother.

Changed the topic and asked

Why did you step out of the story?

With a melancholic voice

It replied

Misery of a half-baked character

Can’t be understood by a reader.

The character speaks

Looking into my eyes

Never have I looked at the eyes of a human

Avoiding eyes liberates me

From the burden of responsibilities

But, in case of the character

It is impossible to avoid its eyes

Many a times its eyes resemble ours

Or else reminds some unforgettable eyes of our life.

Terminating a character in a book

Is so easy

Close the book, the character ends

Moving away from a character in a drama

Is too easy

Screen falls, the character dies

Destroying a character in a movie

Is also easy

Lights on, the character evaporates

But the character entering in life

Dissipates all cherished regulations

Every tiny act

Every momentary thought

Transformed into a fiction

The way we expel a person

One can’t expel the character

The way we reject the love

One can’t ignore its presence

With the remorseful heart

Enquired the possibility of sharing

One life

Between the person and the character.

The character replied

At no point of time

No character ever becomes a person

But

Is it not possible for every person

To become a character one day?

It is then, I began to understand

The meaning of its entry into my life.