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.

Memory Loss



Few years back one of my friend’s mother was diagnosed to be suffering from cancer, and the doctor advised for chemotherapy.  The side-effect of this therapy is loss of hair. She lost completely her hair, and when she looked at the mirror she screamed. The worst and sad part of the entire situation was that she also suffers from memory loss. She forgets about the chemotherapy and also the fact that she has lost hair, so whenever she looks at the mirror; it becomes the first experience of seeing herself without hair, so she screams every time she looks at the mirror.

Human beings can get used to any unfortunate event; first time we think that it is the end of the world, but facing it again and again repeatedly, mind gets used to it and resilience is created, and eventually we learn to accept and bounce back. If one has lost the memory, then this mechanism of creating the resilience is lost, and the person goes through the trauma time and again. It is the saddest part of living – the denial of resilience, the inability to bounce back.

Resilience is the hall mark of a human being. The day we lose it we become a slave and a zombie; died but waiting for funeral. The first sign of slavery is the loss of creativity and repeating the same actions without any purpose and without any goal. Unfortunately we do encounter many people in this state of living; the funny thing is that they haven’t lost the memory. And it is truly sad when some young people living their life in this state of existence.

Rejection

It is a powerful emotion. It makes or breaks a person eventually. Unless one has learned to handle it in a matured manner, he or she is going to live in a constant state of turmoil and shock.

People disassociate with things, places and persons that do not meet their expectation. And it is called rejection and it is a fact of life. Like it or not, we can’t dissociate with this reality. Each one of us does it, either consciously or unconsciously.  The tragic condition of human being is that we want everyone to accept us unconditionally but we want to accept others conditionally.

The worst form of rejection is the rejection from the parents, that too from one’s own mother. The second most disturbing rejection during the period of adulthood is the romantic partner changing the partner; it literally shakes the self-worth of the one at the receiving end. Of-course something also gets dismantled (or dies), may be self-esteem or one’s integrity, in the person who rejects the other (in relationship).

But rejection in the professional life is very minor in comparison with the rejection involved in relationship. The job done by you is criticized or during your talk people are talking or you are not invited for an official party or you are just denied promotion. These are all minor events with little consequences, yet many take it as a life and death issue. Once you think it is big, and then it does become big. As Milton points out that mind is the place which creates heaven of hell and hell of heaven.

In relationship the rejection is connected with the person as we are, that is why it is painful. All one can do is – feel sorry for oneself and once you get bored with this, find a new person and move on.

In professional life the rejection is connected with action, so feeling sorry for oneself is a waste of time, treat it as a feedback and improve the performance. It means constantly upgrade yourself, if someone in the organization purposely puts you down and speaks ill about you then it is not a professional rejection, it is relationship related, so follow the previous paragraph.

The last two paragraphs deals with the matured way of handling rejections. If you find it very immatured, then I will take it as professional rejection and try to improve on it.

Ducks in Heaven

I read this story long ago, and I have conveniently forgotten the source. Since you also might have read it somewhere, I am not claiming for the copy right.

Raja and Henri were two great friends, but happened to be a mortal, so one day they both died. They died not in a road accident, but in the accident called old age. Both reached heaven, the caretaker of heaven welcomed them, and introduced them to all places of heaven.

Raja was amused to see hundreds of the little ducks roaming on the street in heaven. The caretaker looked at him and said,” Guys listen carefully, these little ducks are very dear to the owner of this place. If you step on any one of these ducks, you will be punished severely. The punishment is that you will be chained to a terrible looking and unattractive woman for whole day and night.”

Friends were happy since they have to be careful about only one simple rule – beware of ducks. But as destiny would have it, one fine morning Raja stepped on a duck, it quacked so loudly, and immediately two security officers picked him up and chained him to a lady who was terrifying. Henry felt sorry for his friend, and continued his sight seeing carefully. At that point of time, security men brought a most beautiful lady and chained her with Henry. Henry was perplexed, though he was happy with this turn of event, he said, “Officers, It is OK that I am chained with this lady, but, I did not step on any duck”. The security men looked at him and said, “Boy, this punishment is not for you, it is for her, it she who has stepped over a duck”

Whenever you get something you don’t deserve, keep in mind that there is some conspiracy against you. Don’t be naïve and start thanking gods and stars. It is time for you to be alert.

Teacher

 

For a teacher to be a teacher, in my opinion, three qualities are necessary conditions and two more are sufficient conditions. (The phrase is borrowed from Aristotle, of course modified – means disfigured – beyond possible recognition and identification)

 Necessary conditions:

1. Passion for the subject he is teaching (or trying to teach)

2. Respect for oneself and students – I strongly believe that if one does not respect oneself, he can’t respect students. Respect for others devoid of respect for oneself is a display of inferiority complex, and it can’t be genuine, it will be superfluous. It is the slave’s respect for his master and waiting for the opportunity to putdown the master. 

3. Reasonable communication skill: reasonable flow of language, not having radically different pronunciation, not being too monotonous.


Sufficient conditions:
1.  A constant search for knowledge in the subject he is teaching

2.  Knowledge about students: what is their motivation, level of knowledge and their values, and what they like and interested and what puts them off instantly.

These are the qualities I have observed in teachers whom I respect. If a teacher fails to have even one from the necessary conditions, he disappears into oblivion. And they become the villains, since students inherently perceive themselves as innocent victims in the present educational system.

If sufficient conditions are also present in a teacher then he is seen larger than life (Salman Khan type, Khan in reel and not in real), otherwise he is tolerated and forgiven eventually.

If a teacher possess only the second point of the necessary conditions, and not having any other points then certainly students will give him the benefit of doubt. But I wonder why did he opt for teaching? May be it is a historical blunder, May be his vocation was designed by some unknown forces, May be it is time for him to consult either a psychiatrist or an astrologer.

I am looking for an astrologer, any recommendation?

Driving The Car

I stay at the main campus of Loyola University Maryland, but need to take a class at Columbia campus, approximately 45 minutes’ drive from the main campus. Good thing about USA is that cars are available easily, but drivers are not. Self-driving is what everyone does. XIMB has 6 vehicles and four drivers, here there are more than 30 cars but no drivers. And added to the dilemma is that there is no public transport to Columbia campus.

The department was very generous in arranging some faculties to give me the ride, then it becomes two people teaching one course. The other faculty’s time gets wasted and that does not look fair from any perspective. So the only reasonable option for me was to take the car, say a prayer and drive.

Sounds simple, but not that simple since it poses many problems:

1. Rules of driving are too different from India – we drive on the left, here people drive on the right and that does not look right, it confuses the mind and body in a mysterious way. Even in philosophy I like leftist philosophy, all of a sudden changing the side creates ethical dilemma. Since it is not a big deal making compromises as far as sides are concerned, and it is not the first time I make compromises, mentally I reprogrammed myself to accept the right side as the right side.

2. Prof.Harsha is my mentor and guide. His instruction number one was, “Do not change the lane, if you have to, then give signal and look through the side mirrors for other vehicles, then make the change”. That sounded too complicated, for a minitute I was confused whether I am driving a car or a rocket, so I decided not to change the lane, but it becomes too monotonous and I was afraid that I might go to sleep.

3. Honking is a national time-pass in India. While driving I have to press the honk, It serves two purposes – gives the vital information to other drivers that I am driving and also it reminds me that I am driving. But Prof.Harsha said that honkin is considered as a barbarian act and no one does it here unless there is a life threatening danger. Civilization is changing so fast, and I am still living in the Stone Age, need to catch up with it soon.

4. Whenever I miss the route, I stop the car on the roadside and ask for the way, once again it serves two purposes – it gives me the needed rest and interacting with other human beings rejuvenates my spirit and helps me to build network. But here at Baltimore, one sees only cars and trees, and I have not yet learned the language to communicate with them.

But despite all the above mentioned problems, I am going to drive and reach Columbia campus on coming Thursday. I do request your prayers not only for me but also for the people who will be driving at that point of time on that road.

American Beauty

The movie is situated around the life of present middle class Americans. But the message is universal and it is presented without any compromise.

The film brings home the eternal truth that looking closer at the ordinary things brings in the extraordinary experience. Meaning of relationship emerges in the acts of betrayals, and the essence of the life is tasted at the door steps of death.

‘Metanoia’ (change of heart) is the theme of the film. Each character is entangled in the given relationship and tolerates one another for the sake of social status. This film is not for a person who gets shocked seeing the reality in its original form without any makeup. Try to go beyond what you see on the screen. Music is top notch, and movie is filled with symbolism.

The feeling ‘rejection’ is dealt with authenticity. The extent it changes human behavior and to the extent one is willing to make sacrifice to prove to oneself that one is wanted are highlighted powerfully.

When a person truly immerses with the life force, he becomes incapable of hating others. He becomes so sensitive that he understands not only what is conveyed but also the silence that accompanies.

It is a strange love story, which breaks every rule and formula of love stories ever told.

Homesickness

 It is surprising that one would feel homesick even at the age of 46, even though there is nothing called ‘home’ for me. I go and do what I am expected to do where ever I am asked to go and do. Then how can I experience the so called homesick at the land of opportunity?

I am not doing anything different here at Baltimore. It is the same routine: prepare for the class, sit in the office, sleep in the room etc…, nothing is radically different from my usual routine. Yet there is a sense of uneasiness. It is not boredom for sure, since too many things to do and time flies. Boredom is a result of not knowing what to do and doing what one is not interested enough. So what I experience is not boredom but homesick.

Homesickness has nothing to do with home or sickness; it just means missing the familiar surroundings. Once you are transported to a new atmosphere, away from the familiar things, you get either excited or petrified or disoriented. If the new surroundings overwhelms you positively then you get excited, in case it overwhelms negatively then you get frightened. When it fails to overwhelm you one way or the other, you get disoriented. And you call it homesickness. Even though we know that home is the breeding ground for so many mental sicknesses (it is supposed to be a joke, morbid kind of humor, nevertheless a humor. Do not take it literally and run away from home).

We are not afraid of unknown. How can one be afraid of unknown? What we are afraid of is leaving the familiar. Known things even if they are painful, give us a sense of security; this is the secret of a successful marriage and loyal workers of an organization.

 Whereas the unfamiliar reality disorients the mind and the mind is ready for blogging.

Occupational Hazard

The phrase “once a cop, always a cop” never made much sense to me. Slowly I am awakening to the reality that this phrase does have some important point to make. Mind gets accustomed to think in a certain way, and it fails to look at reality in any other way

That’s what happens when one is an OB professor. You end up looking at everything from OB perspective and also converting every subject as a derivative of OB. It does not matter whether it is business ethics, international business or emerging market, everything looks like OB.

Whether it is corruption or marital problem, economic crisis or religious fanaticism, your analysis and conclusions are based only on OB concepts. Eyes see nothing more and mind remembers nothing else, you end up with one way track. I became aware of this illness only after making an attempt to teach International Business. After the class, I was just reflecting what the hell I was teaching. To my horror I realized that it was just another class from OB.

Either I am an expert or just a bluff master. History will make the final judgment (as if history has no other business to do except passing judgements). I think it is high time that I stop teaching OB and forget about Freud and his gang. And venture into some other subject altogether.

Anna Hazare : A Threat To Human Nature

Human Brain is created in such a way that it follows faithfully the principle called conservation of energy. It operates in the dictum of the film ‘Kamine’: Zindhagi me dho raaste hai; ek short cut, doosra hai chota short cut (In life there are two ways: one is short cut and the other is a ‘small short cut’).

And the source of all corruption is nothing but people taking short cuts. Short cut tells us the way to reach the destination without spending much effort. Students cheat in the exam not because they are bad but because it takes them to their goal of getting better marks in an easiest way. People take bribe or give bribe because it helps them to achieve what they want in the shortest period of time. And the brain is designed to operate in this manner.

And now Anna Hazare wants to disturb this million year old brain technology. Religions too preach similar things only, it wants human beings to take longest possible way, that is main reason people run away from religion or they convert the religion into some series of repetitive rituals.

In fact, if you cut off the enlightened beings out of our consideration, there are only two kinds of human beings; one type is corrupt because they had chance to get corrupted and the other type is the good human beings  because they had no chance to do anything bad.

The above mentioned classification is not my original idea. Years ago when I used to read Tamil novels, I came across a navel about a radical feminist, in which the main character will often repeat the punch dialogue, “There are only two kinds of men, first one is rapists the second good men. Rapists are rapists because they had the chance and the good ones are good because they had no chance.”

So basically what Anna Hazare is doing is the work of Sisyphus. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was condemned to push a boulder up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. Fighting against the corruption is a similar activity, you push up a roller stone to the peak of a mountain, once you leave your grip, and it will roll down again. Many heroes have done similar things in the past, they were fighting against the base human nature only to realize that the stone has eventually reaches the bottom of the mountain.

Imagine the fight against corruption succeeds and it succeeds in removing corruption from the human psyche, then we will no longer be human beings, we will become something beyond comprehension. That is the reason I say that Anna Hazare is dangerous to human nature.

But do not be afraid, Sisyphuses will never succeed. 

The Almighty Complex

Diego Maradona was expelled from the world cup foot ball tournament in the year 1994. He failed a drug test which uncovered ephedrine. Maradona is a legend and played in four world cup tournaments (1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994). After reaching the cult status, he was forced to leave the field in tears.

The billion dollar question is; how can an experienced player of his stature do this kind of stupid blunder? He was fully aware of the tests conducted before and after every match, then what gave him the confidence that he can beat the system?

Psychologists along with the rest of the human race could not explain this behavior of Maradona, so they invented a new term ‘almighty complex’. It simply means that the individual who is very successful or who is an over-achiever, starts behaving like God. Mainly because people around him start treating with great reverence and respect; they literally start calling him God of this or that  (recently after the success of Delhi Belly, Amir Khan was called as God of Bollywood, even though he rejected the statement, his psyche might have soared high, If his ego is not contained, you can start expecting flops from him soon).

The history is full of examples. Napoleon’s monumental defeat at waterloo battle; every general advised him that it was suicidal, but his series of victories against many surrounding nations made him to feel that he can’t be defeated and he became deaf to all sound advises. Hitler after escaping from nearly 42 attempts on his life, started thinking that he is God and he can take on Russia and Britain at the same time.

Too much of anything is not good for health, and it applies even to success. With success we get surrounded by people with no sense of honor and they continue to massage our ego endlessly. Even if we are cautious in the beginning, we get carried away eventually. Occasional failures and timely betrayals are must for us to be rooted on the ground and to remind us that we are just mortals.

Since almighty complex leads us to ultimate disaster, one should pray for failures too.

One Man Army

After the First World War, C.G.Jung observed a unique pattern among his mentally disturbed patients. Most of his patients were having a frightening dream, in which a white terrifying figure emerges from nowhere. Jung latter interpreted, that the collective consciousness of Germans was expecting for a messiah, to redeem them from the shame of defeat. And Germany had their messiah in the form of Hitler.

Expecting for a leader to set things right is almost present in every culture. Jews still expect for a messiah and in Indian culture too, we expect God to take avatar to take care of evil doer. Amitabh Bhachchan in the role of Angry young man fulfilled our frustration in 1980s.

Leaders acting like a one man army creates catharsis in our mind. But it has more negative outcomes than positive. Invariably it becomes a one man show, the rest get reduced to mere spectators. In a way helplessness sets in among followers. Hero worship and sycophancy are displayed on daily basis. The organization or the nation will be equated with the leader (remember the late 1970s slogan: Indra is India and India is Indra).

This is neither good for the follower nor for the leader. It kills the motivation and creativity in the followers and creates illusionary glory in the mind of the leader. The leader hears echo of his own words in the form of advice. No one can differ from the leader; if one dares he will be declared as evil and betrayer of hope. Invariably he becomes an outcast. 


Leader will end up having neither friends nor enemies. In this atmosphere the leader invariably blunders and brings down the organization and the subjects to shame and misery.

Greeks were aware of this phenomenon and created a kind of parliamentary system to rule the nation. One man show is still prevalent in our organizations and nation. Still waiting for someone to eradicate corruption and bring forth prosperity for all. Hope, one day we will get rid of one man show dominating in our collective consciousness.

Misunderstanding

An agriculture professor was giving a lecture on fertilizer and manure. At the end of the lecture, one student stood up and addressed the professor, “I fully agree with your statement that old cow dung is the best manure for plants. Kindly tell me, how old the cow must me?”

People have tremendous capacity to misunderstand. At times I used wonder that people must be consciously developing their capacity to misunderstand others. I also have come across students waiting to confuse the teachers.

But sometimes it is the teacher who has the last word. Once a professor who was expert on Gold Fish was lecturing on ‘the history and geography of Gold Fish’, when the hour long lecture finally got over, one student raised her hand and asked the question, “How will you identify whether a gold fish is male or female?” The professor answered promptly, “It is very simple; male gold fish will eat male worm and the female gold fish will eat female worm” The student did not give up, and asked, “ How will you identify whether a worm is male or female?”. The professor looked at her and said, “ I am an expert on Gold Fish, you must ask this question to the expert on worms”.

Misunderstanding others deliberately is a skill; you can use it effectively to confuse others. But if you misunderstand always without fail, then you should seriously contemplate on taking sanyas, because others will take advantage of your innocence.