CHANGE

I remember an advertisement with a line ‘Zindgi main kuch to ho aisa jo ho ek jaisa’.

Change is inevitable. So, how to cope up with change? One way is to accept the change and move on with present.

Acceptance. But can acceptance come without understanding. Understanding, can we understand more than our experience.

What is change? When do you realize that something is changed? I think that feeling that something has changed breeds from lack of understanding.

Let me make an attempt to put it. Life is a flow; flow of time, flow of events. Daily we are going through this flow without complaining, sometimes happily also. As if, we are counting 1,2,3,4. But then one day it becomes 4,6,7,8, and it agitates us that something has changed.

Either 5 was never supposed to be there. Pattern was like 1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,11. Our understanding was wrong, and our wrong expectation leads us to see it as change.

Another view can be that at every point our actions are determining the next event. For example if we keep on adding 1 to every previous number we will get 1,2,3,4 and on. But at 4 we have added 2 to get 6.

We many times don’t understand the how our actions have made the change, because we don’t have that level of conscious alertness to understand complex effects of our actions.

Lastly, on another higher level, there is no pattern in flow. It is so random for our mind to understand. Only way to live without complaining about change is to surrender ourselves to present. Take responsibility for honesty in our actions, honesty of our intentions and leave results to greater forces of universe.

Weakness – Sensitivity – Expression

I wrote these words few days back. Now I am not able to recollect why? But I believe that if something I’ve thought sincerely then it should be in my mind somewhere. With this belief I’ve started that my mind would lead to that connection between these words, which made sense to me sometime back.

What is weakness? Dictionary says, “A particular part or quality of someone or something that is not good or effective”. In case of someone doing something, I would take it as inability of someone to perform something effectively is termed as weakness of someone in that something.

So, weakness is a degree of measurement of performance. But does performance is based on ability alone. Isn’t performance based on plethora of environmental and physiological factors?

Sensitivity: Dictionary says, “Ability to record small changes”.  I am inferring that sensitive persons absorb changes in environment around them more than others. Does inhaling of these external changes affect their performance? So, is performance of sensitive persons degrades not due to their inability, but due to their ability to decipher a little extra?

Expressions: In context of sensitive persons, they need to express more because they have absorb more to express. They need strong expressions because what minute things they have seen, are not seen by most. And above all, these people always check their expressions in consideration to others.

Sensitivity with discretion, action and courage will make rainbow in sky. Otherwise, like a cloud, it can make person rudderless at mercy of wind. It will make you hold much for long and far. 

Y Old stays

Often I’ve heard people saying that earlier time’s songs used to have a quality and meaning (no idea to which time frame reference is made). Of course it’s right. But does it mean that nowadays has no musical or lyrical quality. I doubt how to measure quality of two different art pieces.

Definitely, two art pieces can be compared on various aspects. Two art pieces might depict different views. But then who judges between different things which one is better. Everyone can. Yes, and everyone do.

So everyone judges with their own reason. But sometimes I too liked the older songs soulful and pleasing. So like everyone, I’ll put forth my reason. (I am not sure whether these are my reasons or I invented this reasons to sound reasonable.)

Moment – Mood: A lot depends on the state of mind at precise moment when musical waves through senses hit the mind. May it was tiredness, stress, or rashness of energy which lay easy ground for oldies to sooth your nerves and get title.

Newness – Uniqueness: Ground work might have been done in last few weeks, months or years. After a sweating session in hot sun even fan can give a chilling effect. On same lines, after same kind of music something new gives freshness and illusion of elevation.

Simplicity: I think I like old music because of their simplicity. I mean mostly at times one instrument is played or sometimes two. Rhythm is also mostly simple. When singer sings many times music stops. Whole structure of song is so simple that you can easily comprehend and sing along. I think the simplicity of these songs which gives feeling of understanding soothes you.

Aaah. Enough.

Critical Reasoning

There used to be a section for critical reasoning in MBA entrance exams. I used to think that this is a section where questions have options like only A is correct, Either A or B are correct, Both A and B are correct. This section is kept in exams because in some theories or somewhere someone believes that critical thinking is an essential quality, which leaders or managers should have.

What is critical thinking? Critical thinking is way of thinking in which you analyze negative aspects of a decision and eliminate those one by one. Sherlock Holmes’ famously used to say something on similar lines. Quote of Sherlock Homes: “How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” This kind of thinking is like a bottom to top approach. In which keep on eliminating to reach to conclusion.

Looking closely critical thinking at times directly comes in way of hope. Hope, which holds on single possibility of success in the pool of thousand possibilities of failure.

Critical thinking gives reality check. It makes your planning more realistic and less susceptible to failure. But does it not sound same as mediocrity. At execution stage, when critical thinking expand its span then execution contracts.

Critical thinking is like a defense it has to be coupled with hope, confidence and optimism to achieve.

Basic Instinct

No, this is not a movie review. This is inquiry of a low capacity mind; which being unable to chew full sentences feed on words. I was listening to a great writer at Hindu Lit Fest, 2013 and just two words set up my thought process. This is quality of writers; they can leave you thinking in uncharted territories.

What is Basic Instinct? Google tells me it is a movie. Wikipedia confirms this and adds that this movie has a sequel also.

What I was looking for, I found that under the heading Instinct in Wikipedia. Wiki says, “Instinct or innate behavior is the inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular complex behavior”.

Now question arises that whether this instinct is applicable at individual level or at class level. I think I will redefine my topic as Basic human instinct. This is described in behavioral sciences as - innate part of behavior that emerges in humans without any training or education.

Basic human instinct contains negative emotions like jealousy, greed, vanity etc. So, can we justify our actions as basic human instincts? It is not our fault if we feel jealous and harm someone. We are programmed to do so.

Here, I think the role of education comes in. Education should enable us to make conscious scrutiny of our actions. It should enable our conscious to overrule basic human instinct. 

UNITY BY DIVERSITY

I remember in school I was taught, ‘Bharat ki akhandata main uski shakti hai’, means India’s power is in its diversity. That time my intellect was not so alert to question this statement. It is hard to argue against something which is fed in your mind in childhood. Still we should make an attempt.

Let us first raise basic question. What is unity? If you think that everyone having same opinion, everyone wanting same thing and everyone having same perspective is unity, then India lacks unity. But this is too narrow view of unity. I would define unity as a feeling, a sense of brotherhood. Unity is not free of arguments and confrontations.

Having different opinions, arguments, efforts for cause one does believe in, are part of democracy and diversity. If one opposes us it does not mean that he hate us, it can be just that he has his own reasoning and belief. The unity comes after all arguments happen and decision is taken. Unity is something which binds people in spite of all this. For example unity comes when first we argue about caste based reservation. But once it is implicated we sent our children to same school and invite at our home their friends from other caste.

The beauty of unity is that it comes out openly at the time of adversity, may be that it why it is seen less and questioned many times. But the time of wars or time of natural disasters have shown again and again how people have stand by each other forgetting all their differences.

Some people due to diversity do treat others differently. And this behavior can go to extremes of being a threat to diversity. For this reason we should not consider diversity as threat. Human beings are capable of using same energy for both constructive and destructive purpose. Like nuclear energy, power of diversity can be used both ways.

If due to our inefficiency in administration we let diversity be one of the reason for unfair distribution of resources and treatment of human beings then indeed we will make diversity hamper our progress. In fact till now unity is the thing which has made us move forward with so much of diversity. If we would use our diversity to complement each other shortcoming, like moving surplus food from one area to deficit area, then it will make unity strong. If we use diversity as excuse of our inefficiency then it will destroy our unity.