The Teacher

Teacher: Mohan, why did not you come to school yesterday?

Mohan with teary eyes: Sir, my grandmother expired yesterday.

Teacher with smile: Hmm, you did not get any better excuse, I have heard same story from so many students. What do you think am I fool?

Class teacher took stick in his hand and ask Mohan to come forward. While beating, teacher said “promise you will never lie again”. Mohan got red rashes all over his palm.

After few days, Mohan came to school with his shaved head. Teacher asked Mohan to ridicule him “where all your hairs have gone boy?” Mohan was grim and replied with compassion, “Sir, I had told you that my granny is no more. This is one of the rituals of her last rights”.

Teacher’s eyes filled with tears. In front of entire class he asked Mohan to hold stick and punish him the way he had beaten Mohan few days ago.

Mohan said, Sir, you are my teacher how can a student punish you?

Teacher replied, you can, since today you are my teacher and I am your student. In fact, life is the greatest teacher and we all are students.

Self and Love

Nearly four hundred years ago, Tulsidaas had said “sur nar muni sab ki reeti, swarath lag kare sab preeti”. It means “Good people, common people, saint and others love another person because of their need/selfishness”. Each action of human race is born out of self. Love is the extension of self.

Self exists first, then other things. A person is going to work, to meet someone, calling someone, chatting with someone because he or she is getting something out of that relationship. Otherwise that relationship is no longer required. If you get better job, better home, better car, better person you will move to next one rather than sticking to old stuff. This is how the life is. At any rate it has to move in the direction of betterment.

Some people might not be agreeing on leaving the person and having better one, however this is the fact. Just think, the person you admire or love is collection of some habits (which comes from his background, education, culture etc.). You find those habits very alluring and attracted towards that person. But you never noticed that why did you find those habits alluring, because you compared that person with the known persons, and found that she or he fits into your life. So this is also the material process which involves comparison and the day you will find better version of similar habits you move on to the next one.

Only in one case you will never move on to the next person and that is when you are contented in yourself, and not looking for any kind of fulfillment from other person. Otherwise it will be entire life misery to fulfill your desire which depends on others.

Humans have created many names for self desire for various occasions. When you care yourself and don’t think much about others, they say it is selfishness. When you have enough and donate to others, they say it is charity and consider it is selfless act. When you compete with someone and win over, they say it is your right. When you sacrifice your pleasure and care for someone else they say it is love.

In the entire human act, self is involved everywhere. By sacrificing something for someone makes you feel good, that is why you do it, but we name it love and make it nobler and greater. However, if we see closely love is the greatest selfishness of the all selfish act of human being.

Self and love go hand in hand. Even when you say “I love you”, ‘I’ comes before you. ‘I’ exist before love. If there is any such person on this earth who is selfless, only his action can be pure action, not born of self. Only his or her love can be unconditional love.

Life

Man: What is life?

Philosopher: Please tell me who do you love most?

Man: My mother.

Philosopher: What is her age?

Man: Nearly 70

Philosopher: So she is going to die soon. Can you live without her?

Man: I do not know, but I think it will be very tough to live without her.

Philosopher: So, are you ready to die with her?

Man: I have wife, 2 children, relatives and friends. I have my own desire and goal. I think I have accountability towards them.

Philosopher: This is life. The force which drives you throughout the existence and keeps you alive is called life.

Unity in diversity

After landing at Toronto airport on 24^th of Nov-14, I took a taxi to Vaughan city. I started chatting with driver and came to know that he was from Pakistan; I was greeted by British receptionist at hotel. My room was decorated by Chinese and breakfast was served by an Italian. I was surprised not to find any Canadian till now, later I found that they all make Canada a country. Canadian history reveals that it started populating by British and French colonies in 18^th and 19^th century. Later people started coming to Canada those who mainly facing problem (Civil war, uncertainty in career, not have a better life etc.) in their own country. Canada welcomed all happily for its own growth.

India too welcomed (some came forcefully) world throughout centuries. From Aryan to Portuguese to Turk to Mongol to British, all came to India, some resided and some left. Whatever the reason (there are many ) is, India has failed to create a cosmopolitan culture. It is successful at some extent however in today’s scenario India needs to look beyond creed, cast and religion to achieve something higher.

Jawaharlal Nehru writes in his book “discovery of India” about ‘unity in diversity’, in which he describes Indian unity in diversity. Where there are more than thousand communal riots in a year, politics is based on regionalism and organizations/groups are based on cast, do we see any ‘unity in diversity’ in India today? In Canada, people are divided naturally by their ethnicity, language accent etc. however they have a common goal to have better life for themselves. This is what unites them. Actually Canadians are living life of unity in diversity. This is what India needs today most, we know that India has similar diversity of language, traditions, religion etc. however Indians must put all these divergence aside and work together for their betterment and for country’s growth.

Life, an expression

Why do I write? Because I want to share something, why I want to share something, because I have something in my heart, in my mind which just wants to come out, and it wants to reveal itself. Does it really matter how many people read it, yes somewhat, but somewhere deep down actually it does not matter. Expression is mandatory, response is optional. Saying is an expression, writing is an expression, playing is an expression, singing, crying, chiding, loving are expressions. Each and every action of life is an expression. Life consists of expressions, nothing else. When you say someone ‘I love you’ you express yourself. When you say someone ‘you are cheater’ you express yourself. Science, literature, art, war, peace are expressions of life.

When you express something (irrespective of good and evil), your life goes one step ahead. You must say whatsoever you want to say. If you want to say something unexpected to your father, you should say it. If you decide not to say then sooner or later these unsaid thoughts will reveal itself in form of emotional burst. Hiding any kind of thought is unnatural. When any thought comes naturally and we find it in favor of someone, we say and praise that person. However we do not say anything which we think it can hurt someone. We do not say anything bad to anyone since this is what we have been told or we think so. Sometimes we do not say because we find that it might risk our relation, our promotion, our image (the most ridiculous). Expressing any kind of thought is the only way to improve something. Concealing can only make things worse.

Only expression causes a revolt, a change. Change for what, change for betterment. But how much change an expression can bring in your life is depend on you and the way you express it. When Gandhi-ji was pushed out of train in South Africa he could have slapped train ticket examiner, however he chose to express himself in different manner to root out racial discrimination.

Many times when you want to say something bad and you express it, you feel better, why so, because you do not hinder flow of life by revealing yourself. Even when you criticize someone in his/her absence you feel good, believe me if you have enough courage to say in front of him/her you are going to live best moment of your life.

When life does not find itself to reveal the way it wants to reveal, it takes another path which we call negativity. Some expression might risk your relation/job however you must say it, otherwise in lack of expression it causes emotional burst and depression. Not expressing yourself can cause more harm to you than expressing yourself. 

We have grown up

In childhood, I remember that one of my cousins was not ready to share his chocolates with one of his neighbour’s child. His father insisted a lot to share however he did not. His father ignored this situation by saying that they are children, when they grow up, they will understand.

And now they have grown up, but still do not share chocolates. So they do not share what should not be shared for their own benefits. In corporate, multinational companies and in other such offices, if you are new comer in team then it becomes herculean task to get any real knowledge transfer. Sometimes they show off to helping you since there might be some processes for knowledge transfer within team; however they are not ready to really share you the stuff.

Since there is only single cake, the more you are competent the more you will get of it. Some of you might not be agreeing with me on my last sentence, and you should not be since this is not always true, of course flattery, buttering and favours have its own role in your career.

They do not share knowledge properly since they feel insecure. Can you achieve anything great, grand without others contribution? The laptop, mobile, aeroplane, trains etc. which you are using is made and developed by groups not by a single man. You might get more appraisals in your annual performance by whatsoever reason; however, you can achieve more by sharing and working together. If your team achieves more, automatically you will achieve more (there might be differences in personal achievements within team). Now the question is, are you ready to share, help your team members when they are not? A collapsing system breaks the one who tries to stop it first. The company, the team, the society you are functioning in, needs competition to continue itself. To achieve anything extraordinary you must share.

In childhood, you wanted to have a cycle, today you need a car. You wanted to have a small kid’s house to play; today you need your own home. You wanted to be monitor of your class, today you want to be manager of your team. I really do not find any difference from childhood to adulthood desire. However sometimes it seems that childhood was better, do not know for what reason but it might be because of ignorance. I wonder if there is any real change in human nature.

Metaphor and reality

When I was in 11^th standard, there was a chapter in physics ‘potential and current ’. Physics teacher started teaching about ‘current’ and defined it as ‘flow of electrons’. One curious student asked how electrons flow in a wire. Teacher gave an example of water flowing into pipe. Student understood, satisfied and sat down. Few weeks later, when that student was doing some electrical fitting at his home he cuts a wire to tie into another one, and suddenly he realized that if current flows like water into a pipe, and if I cut a wire, flowing electrons must come out as water comes out of pipe. However it did not happen and never will.

Now the question is why teacher gave an example of water flowing into pipe. The reason is someone can understand something only in the language which is already known by him. It has been great practice from ancient time. But the reality is, there is never ever any example which can depict reality as it is. Anything which needs to be understood must be understood as it is not with any example whatsoever. Examples play a great role to understand anything, it can succeed to make you understand most of the thing of any topic, and however it will never ever provide the exact real understanding.

This is what happened at ancient time and gave rise to mythology. Since teachers, sages used examples to convey their messages. They used languages which were known to people at that time. As times passes, examples converted into stories, assumptions, and epitomes. This is clearly we can see in today’s world where people are very much indulge in symbols. They worship symbols and treat those as reality.

There are many instances where we cannot go ahead without metaphors. Literature has great deal with it. Without metaphors literature might not be complete. however while teaching , telling , discussing we must admit and keep it in mind that just to understand examples are being used, however these are not the reality and never can be. This is what we can give to out next generation to make them aware of what they are learning and not trapped with merely symbols and metaphors.