Random Thought - II

“The most beautiful relation is that which has no labels attached and hence is simultaneously non-existent but all pervasive. It is free from all compulsions on behalf of either of the parties and mutual reciprocity is not bound by the definition and contours of the underlying tag. This is pure, sacrosanct, timeless and hence worth seeking” - Me

The Curious Case of Christine Chubbuck

Christine Chubbuck is not exactly a household name but has her name engraved in history as being the first news reporter who shot herself on the live TV in 1974.  On July 15^th, 1974, Christine was reading the morning news when she flipped the script page and with a slightest of hesitance began reading the following.

“In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts and in living colour We bring you another first.. An attempted suicide”

She gazed into the camera with eyes that were direct and challenging. From under the anchor’s desk, her right hand came out along with a 0.38 caliber revolver. Before any of the crew or the audience could understand what was unfolding in the anchor’s room, she placed the gun on the lower back of her head and pulled the trigger. A sudden lull, a puff of smoke and her dark brown hair flew as though they were caught in a sudden gust of wind. Exactly 14 hours after this incident, she was declared dead in the nearby hospital. The obvious question what had led a 29 year successful anchor to commit suicide. The prime reason explained afterwards was the extreme dearth of close friends and romantic attachments. In fact, it bothered her that at 29, she was still a virgin. Despite her best attempts she couldn’t register with people and hence was excessively depressed leading to loss of desire to live. This was later confirmed by her relatives and psychiatrist who had been giving her sessions since weeks before her death.

While she is not the remote case of depression due to lack of adequate social bonding but the pivotal question that needs to be addressed is the utility or futility of social bonds. A cliche statement pops up into my head almost instantaneously whenever I start pondering on this subject. “Man is a social animal”. There is no denying of the fact that we seek company but is that quest so paramount to life that failure in this regard could lead to giving up the gift of life. The discussion becomes even more riveting when viewed in the backdrop of the newly found obsession with individuality. On one hand, individuality provides freedom from the bondages of family and thus allows for independent decision making resulting in precise choices driven by individual notion of happiness but on the other hand, individuality also enhances the likelihood of despair, anguish and hopelessness which eventually saps up the desire to live.

Ironically, the ushering information age with the stated intent of aiding communication has reduced the intensity of the same and hence superficial communication rules the roast. Nowhere is it better at display than the social media sites and the underlying dynamics. People share a kind of love and hate relationship with these since they need to project a particular image of themselves but in the same endeavor they tend to lose themselves. While, these users may have a plethora of friends, but the meaningful conversations never happen due to lack of emotional connect and profound understanding of real self. The pivotal question that keeps on banging in my head through is that where is this addiction taking us?

The very individuality and age of technological supremacy which we are unconsciously celebrating and inheriting bothers me, in fact it rocks me to the core. In the name of progress, development and gushing age of artificial intelligence, it seems that we are becoming more robotic with every new invention since there is an increasing need to emulate an idolized self rather than make peace with the imperfect self. With feelings become more shallow and meaningless, would it be wrong to assume that perhaps we are the future robots. I mean just think about it, deduct those imperfect feelings, irrational actions and gestures and what remains is artificial intelligence. Well, I today realise that indeed “Man is a social animal” and perhaps we should continue to remain so for it might threaten the very existence of our species. Once again I stand at the crossroads asking the same question which I have asked myself umpteen times before

“Oh Man!! You truly are most superior species to inhibit this planet. You can overcome all other so called inferior species but can you overcome the damage you so intrinsically bring about on yourself”

I truly wonder!!

An Insane Teacher’s Dilemma

In a commercialized era of education, while teaching standards and commitment have progressively declined, but a rare breed of teachers serve as a last bastion of light, those who teach not for making a living but are rather driven by an insatiable hunger to teach and to infest the “civilized” with some virtues of freedom and sensitivity. The first breed of teachers constitutes of those who view it as a profession (noble or otherwise) and thus have their focus on remaining bounded within the ambit of curriculum with or without the intention of minting huge money in the process. It is the second breed of teachers, I want to dedicate this post to. This breed of teachers is impulsive, quintessential and non-pedantic by design and thus is not restricted within self-imposed boundaries and aim nothing less than a fundamental transformation along with passionate unhindered love for the subject. For this insane breed, there is a constant dilemma of how hard the students need to be pushed in the pursuit of that fundamental transformation. A precise and artistic depiction of this dilemma is presented in the movie “Whiplash”. The movie ends on a high note but not without raising its set of profound questions. Without providing answers, I want to raise certain pertinent questions.

1)    Merits and demerits of pushing students through punitive measures.

2)    The question of free will of students to be pushed little harder as at times it may be hard to distinguish between teacher’s will and student’s will.

3)    That precise mix of pressure and motivation that works wonders.

Unfortunately but at the same time fortunately, the pedantic literature does not offer precise answers for these. The contours of the precise mix become even hazier for art based teaching particularly those dealing with music, theatre and painting. This is primarily because there is a certain madness that would produce the next great artist and thus probably it makes sense to push the pupils harder so as to perpetually pose the fundamental question.

“How badly you want it. This is critical since success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. This is especially true for artistic pursuits where the essential difference between being on the stage and getting lost is essentially the amount of blood and sweat put in that isolated room which the audience is blissfully unaware off”.

Often the unrestrained love and passion of certain restrained soul, for their subject is described as perfectionism and unprofessional. My only response would be the famous saying “Everything is fair in love and war”. As a self-imposed protagonist of these insane people, I would like to say just one thing.

“Believe it or not, the world thrives and celebrates only and only insanity. Strange.. perhaps cocky.. not at all.. All the great artists Mozart, Picasso along with the modern day reformers such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates all possessed this insane passion about their respective fields. The only reason why we cannot replicate these great men of stature is their insanity and relentless passion..”.

The modern Indian education system is systematically and efficiently designed to curtail this passion that instills from the curious world of a child. The education system aims to embrace uniformity in production whereby the final output should aim for materialistic success and in the process end up being a poster-boy for consumerism. In such grave and despotic times, there are these lunatic teachers who aim to retain that innate passion. Let us celebrate them and their abstruse choices that aim at a turbulent merger between I, me and self at a spiritual level. Just some last words..

“While we may embrace majority as the rule of thumb to resolve disputes revolving politics to the most hackneyed subjects, but it is minority that actually matters to the world and takes humanity a step forward. We are incompetent as a species to worship majority because driven by that law of demand, we are somewhere fixated with a quintessential idea that everything desirable is invariably in short supply. It’s time we conserve and cultivate this insane breed of teachers and allow them to instill life into our souls. ”

The Epitome Dilemma

A familiar dilemma, that I have often experienced in my life which I would like to share is the Epitome Dilemma..A beautiful example of this has been illustrated in the book “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse. In this particular masterpiece, Siddhartha, the central character aims to seek salvation and thus wanders from one place to another before having a chance encounter with Lord Buddha. Siddhartha understands that Buddha has achieved that very thing which he has always wanted to achieve. He heard his teachings with immense patience but decided to move on since he believed that a profound experience such as salvation cannot be taught and hence needs to be experienced. In this context, comes the following statement.

“No teachings will entice me anymore, since this man's teachings have not enticed me.”

Siddhartha had touched the epitome with regards to teaching  and hence he knew that teachings would no longer satisfy him. In a way this was liberating, since it provided him with a clear vision of his path forward. On the other hand, it was onerous since reaching the pinnacle of a particular experience could amount to stagnancy and lead to a standstill for no superior experience exists. Thus, in my opinion, this leads to a dependency relation whereby due to dearth of superior options and apparent dissatisfaction with the lower options, there remains only one and one option i.e. the epitome. This phenomenon can be substantiated with the following examples.

1)    In the winter of 2013, I had this pleasure of visiting Mount Abu with my friend. On this visit, I paid a visit to the much famed Dilwara Temple and I still fall awfully short of apt vocabulary for ably capturing the majestic architecture of that place. I honestly believe that it is the epitome of all Jain temples and while I am pleased at the opportunity of visiting this marvel, I am aware that henceforth, I will not be able to approach other Jain temples with the same degree of enthusiasm as before as subconsciously a comparison would always be drawn.

2)    In my family, I am aware of this member who waited for more than 40 years before she could find anyone who could understand her. Luckily, that person happens to be me. However, this realisation while having provided a closure to a quest that spanned more than four decades has actually complicated matters somewhat for her. This is primarily because with me in the equation now, she does not feel like talking too much to other relatives and thereby the relationship with me is strengthening while the ties with others are witnessing erosion. In the process, she is becoming so dependent on me that at times it feels scary to imagine her without me.

3)    Moving on to a fictitious example, Penny from the Big Bang Theory before dating Leonard the nerd dated good looking guys with no brains. However, ever since dating Leonard, Penny understood the importance of intellect and thus lost the ability of hanging out with her usual type. Thus, as the sitcom unfolds, Penny shares a love and hate relationship with Leonard where she can’t date other guys who are dumb but cannot find anyone who is intellectually more stimulating and hence eventually settles for Leonard.

The above stated instances make me wonder whether the introduction of better choices in our lives truly simplify our lives or make them infinitely more complex. While a superior choice may lead us to epitome of ecstasy but an obvious downside of this is that it enables us to lucidly view the sheer futility and incompleteness of the lesser options that may be available. Further, the living of a superior experience, that to on a consistent basis makes us so accustomed to the experience that inferior options gradually cease to exist. The existence of superior options may be dubious and at times elusive and hence essentially this narrows down our choice to a single choice – clearly a situation which may truly backfire. So next time, when you celebrate a superior experience do consider this downside of making inferior option hackneyed and irrelevant. However, the more fundamental question which remains unanswered if even if one grasps the epitome fallacy before making a choice, which choice should one make.. Frankly, I don’t know as there is a potential downside to either of the available options and thus it boils down to the given individual.

Random Thought -I

As per a survey by a reputed UK based agency, nearly 50% of the people read newspapers while consuming food (usually breakfast) or while sitting in the loo. Considering all the highlighted wrongs that are being committed around the world, I wonder do newspapers aid in digestion.. Are we so accustomed to these news that we don't even get perturbed by it and somewhere in the sub-conscious console ourselves about the apparent "happiness" from the stale and meaningless life we have. Are we so callous that we cannot even apparently sob at someone's loss who is not ours.. forget about doing something constructive.. I wonder is the divide between ours and theirs so strong.. Is humanity dead..

Generation Z – A plea to consider

Sometime back was browsing through the newspaper when this particular news article caught my eye. It was about Aarav, Akshay’s son who at a tender almost docile age (especially when interpreted from the perspective of Generation X and Y), is a columnist and also an entrepreneur. I cannot help myself being awed by the immense talent and insatiable hunger of this generation. Right from various reality shows that highlights their talent to sports and other fields, the showpieces of their excellence are spread everywhere. They are a beacon of hope judging by their immense potential and have the requisite ability to prove to be a game changer going forward. On the other hand, I see the gradually declining strength of morality and ethical values where individualism is no more a choice but a celebrated necessity. This “individualism” unfortunately has been perceived as an open license for achieving growth or success irrespective of the underlying mechanism for our current society puts a tremendous emphasis on intermingling success and satisfaction. While the Generation Z presents a hope, but it also paves way to a grave question with regards to where they are heading and what they have in store for their much hyped future. Powered by an overwhelming intellect (IQ) and internet as the knowledge powerhouse, it apparently seems like sky is the limit for these teens. But the pertinent and infinitely more relevant question is whether these energies are channelized towards the right direction.

India is in a state of flux especially as individuality is slowly and surely permeating through the traditional fabric of collectivism. Generation Z powered by this western force is propelling itself towards the fulfillment of materialistic goals and ambitions. However, one cannot help thinking about the moral and spiritual goals for which even the West has always looked at the East. We may admire the creative mind of Steve jobs but we cannot afford to do so without appreciating the role that his stay in India played in this endeavor. The 21^st century India is a dangerous place especially for the generation Z which is blissfully unaware of the traditional fabric and is increasingly driven by materialistic desires. The so called independence achieved at a early age often serves as a rational argument for weakening family ties but one cannot resist asking the merits of independence. This is primarily because of our over reliance on technology and the material gains it is often used for. However, in the false notion of independence, these are increasingly becoming distant from fellow human beings and well humanity has become old fashioned so to say.

We may constantly harp about the demographic dividend we enjoy as a nation but as a dedicated citizen of my nation, honestly I have cry of anguish. The generation Z is being brought up in a society which apparently makes huge noises about individual freedom right from food choices to sexual preferences but is seemingly so indifferent to the real issues. Let’s take a look at some of these issues.

1)    Right from the PM to any elite, one buzz word that is omnipresent is women empowerment. Seriously, women empowerment in nation where 50% of the females get married below the age of 18. Without education and essential life skills, how do we ensure empowerment of women. I will narrate the Indian way. First, cripple them for life by discriminating them from birth (even before birth), not providing them education, exposing them to physical, mental and sexual abuse in a manner that it gets engrained into their heads and getting them married before they achieve adulthood. Then, the government and society(through NGO’s) step in by offering crutches in the form of SHG, farm employment and all those fucking yojanas named after you know who. Please spare a second and pardon my ignorance but enlighten me is this women empowerment.

2)    A recent survey estimated that more than 50% of the rapes happen when women go to relieve themselves in nearby fields. While this is a known fact, but this has been often linked with need for sanitation. But pardon my ignorance, are males in this country so desperate. While we may evoke passion regards “ethical” treatment of cow and we being the descendents of “Lord Ram” but i wonder how come no one talks about these issues in open. Our “culture” is maligned in by Valentines Day while words like prostitution, sex, menstrual cycle still remain a taboo but our great culture “RAMRAJ” is positively served with souls who rape hapless women going about their daily chores.

3)    We live in an information era where we are aware of every minute happening at the click of the button. While it is supposed to make us more informed, but this has robbed us of our sensitivity and today other people’s sufferings have become news. Recently, I read about this girl from Bihar who went to the hospital due to some illness and was raped by the doctor and two constables. To make matters worse, they kept on blackmailing her for one year for money. Finally, the girl somehow managed to gain enough courage to tell her parents about the horrendous incident. Luckily the parents were supportive and hence the matter ended up to court where more than 1 year has passed and the prosecutor (who happens to be a female) advises the victim to withdraw the case as the chances of justice are very slim. Besides, the family for the last one year has been living in constant threat from various quarters. The girl frustrated from the whole episode decides to commit suicide. Her last words “ I will not get justice and I cannot move forward”.

Reactions:

·      Is desh ka kuch nahi ho sakta..

·      Poor girl..

·      Koi option nahi tha ladki ke pass.

·      Corrupt judiciary..Corrupt country

·      Subah subah depressing news mat sunao..

·      Zamana bahut kharab ho gaya hai..

·      Ye sab to common hai..

Surprise. Surprise.. – Not even a single tear for the parents for the girl.. Not even an intent to improve things.. Beta badey hoke kya banega.. Engineer or Doctor.. Mommiee uhh..Social worker.. Are you mad? How will you earn a living.. Tumhari shaadi kaise hogi.. How would you feed your kids..

My question:

1)    How would you ensure that your sisters and loved one are safe (By keeping them indoor after 6pm.. By telling them what to wear and what not)

2)    How would you ensure that some mishap does not happen with your wife?

3)    How would you ensure that your kid is not molested?

Dear GenZ

A discontented Gen Y soul makes a passionate appeal to please consider the above matters and other related issues which are a zillion times more pressing than temples, religious choices, sexual preferences and more important that when Salman would get married and who is dating Katrina. I am a fan of your infinite ability, desire, insatiable hunger and your potential to be a torch bearer for not my beloved nation but for mankind. You have lesser shackles, you are indeed free and hence I have high aspirations banking on your responsible shoulders. Believe me no money or fame can ever match that smile you manage to bring on someone’ face. Our country is bleeding and I know you can provide feasible answers to these issues. Hope you seize this moment to pave a path that you truly deserve. And please do not wait till that ill-fated next news which is a tragedy involving your beloved ones. 

The need for eternal truth

At times we come across some movies that alter the way you perceive life. One such movie that i happened to view recently is “The Man from Earth”. The movie essentially resolves around a character that is a college professor and at his farewell discloses to his fellow professors that he is a 14,000 year old cave man. Amazed by this “weird” but fascinating confession, his colleagues who hailed from streams such as biology, history, philosophy, scientology started quizzing him to verify his claim. However, the beauty and bane of such a claim is that the part supported by historical data can be assumed to be the obvious truth and the part not supported by historic data can be assumed to be false. Thus, the fascinated audience cannot dispute the testimony but simultaneously could not agree with the same.

However, considering the impossibility of the story, they decide to continue with it to kill the otherwise humdrum and the conversation takes an unexpected turn when it is asked if the character has been a significant religious figure in the past. Initially reluctant to answer and rightly so considering the audacity of the answer that followed, the central character finally unveils that he was Jesus and the religion contours that exist in the present day are not only starkly different from those intended but are preposterous to say the least. He discloses how a simple teaching actually developed into a new religion called as Christianity with a plethora of wrong activities and misinterpretations. He claims to give a new version of “The Old Testament” in just ten sentences which essentially actually captured the soul of the religion. Over and above, the various ceremonies and rituals are just reckless embellishments added to serve all ulterior motives besides salvation. However, this idea that there present religion is at best “a grand and ineffective embellishment of the “external truth” was not acceptable to the people present especially to the scientologists as surely the idea of God is assumed to be so fundamental to the existence of the world that it is not even open to a honest reconsideration. So strong was the reaction against this move that the central character had to eventually admit that we was lying and trying to fool around.

The above episode paves way for a more fundamental question with regards to the need and presence of an eternal truth. Most human beings have this inevitable need of an eternal truth or belief about which their life evolves. This eternal truth could be in the form of religion, existence of life in the other world, existence of a particular relation for lifetime be it our lover, parents, friends, siblings etc. We all are aware about this fundamental essence of life that the only constant thing in life is change. While most of us know this, but the bigger and most pertinent question is whether we mentally are willing to embrace change and be receptive to the fundamental idea that so called “absolute and eternal truth” is essentially transient in nature and hence evolutionary. I strongly believe that, except the obvious facts which are irrefutable, all others are either opinions or judgments and the element of truthfulness imparted to these are not intrinsic but rather stems from the intensity of belief with which one wants to believe in these. An interesting element here is that a plethora of times (both consciously and unconsciously), the so called eternal truth more than our belief stems from our deep-rooted need to build our lives around a static platform which is immortal. Often, we don’t realise it but in our most testing times we turn to these so called “eternal truths” which provide solace to out disturbed souls and provide us comfort against suffering. This “eternal truth” helps in allowing us to make a sense of this chaotic world which otherwise is perhaps meaningless but our perception essentially transforms this into a cause and effect relationship.

I wonder what is so naive or preposterous of this idea that essentially any belief is true only till the time it seems true and probably there is no eternal truth because of the intrinsic hollowness of every belief. I believe it allows us to be free and better embrace the “meaningless” nature of life and enhance adaptability of life. Let us stop making sense of life as it is or has been or for that matter will be but start living it completely without prejudice, meaning and fear of what beholds the future. Unfortunately, we spend so much time making sense of life as per our eternal truth and framing responses that at times may digress us from our own self-imposed and must celebrated objectives. It’s high time that we realise that there is no eternal truth and perhaps its time for us to be more open, less scared and embrace the fact that there are a zillion versions of truth as it is a fig of our imagination hence each one of us is equally correct and equally wrong.