“Life” The Greatest Teacher!!

By Bhuvi M

Though each day of life is special, then remembering everything on each day for an average human is practically impossible. Additionally celebration breaks monotony. Paying gratitude to all those for their role in our development and wellbeing is must. Hence we started the culture of marking days for all those special people, occasions and things; to remember them in our special ways.

Most of the countries in the world have their own dates for celebrating teachers. In India 5^th of September is marked to celebrate Teachers Day. The day is chosen well. It is the birthday of Dr. S. Radhakrishnan; eminent educator, academician & philosopher of our times and 2^nd President of the nation. All our growing up years we have been celebrating teachers day paying gratitude to educators. As grown up individuals, people remember their teachers with reverence sending out messages, praying for them, thanking them.

Of all these teachers we do forget paying gratitude to the greatest teacher “Life” which gives most vital teachings to all of us. Most of the lessons we learn is in practical situation. In ancient India Gurukuls (Teacher’s Family) existed for imparting education. The child was imparted lessons while living a life in a Gurukul. Gurus or teachers were ascetics and lived hardy life. Along the lessons, the child was also exposed practical living situations and its realities. Guru also exposed them to situations as of debates and negotiations while visiting any person of significance. The Gurukuls had their drawback too. Not all got an opportunity to be taught by a Guru. It was reserved significantly for higher class of society. One prominent example is mythological story of outstanding Eklavya.

The system of education changed and evolved with foreigners coming to India and thereafter on independence and with new policies. We have Madrasas to Convents; from Government Institutions to Public Schools; the exposure to practical situations has been limited rather negligible. The child gets not much of opportunity to learn and develop competencies much-needed to excel in real life situations. Even after completing formal situation it takes almost a decade of exposure to real life scenario that one learns to manage real life situations. Mostly from ones’ own experience, observation, ones’ own quest for learning and if lucky, one crosses path with some wise soul will guide. Life remains the only teacher all along the person’s journey. It throws the child in unexpected waters and to let them swim. In that situation some learn to dive, swim, float and some do get drowned.

Can we pledge on this Teachers Day to make the education system more realistic, life oriented based on developing capacity and competency to steer life well? It is long journey towards an optimal situation to evolve, it may take generations. We can contribute to it by taking one step at a time.

Wish Teachers Day to LIFE. Cheers to LIFE!!

Picture courtesy internet

O Loneliness

By Bhuvi M

I get up in the morning,

Alone in the bed;

I glance all around,

To find there is no one,

To say good day;

I pull myself to start afresh,

As I stride through,

The daily chores;

As I talk to myself,

Ahead the day seems bore.

 

I leave the house,

My heart ekes out,

With the loneliness,

Seeded deep within;

I walk to work slowly,

On the way I see,

People with smile,

Seemingly happy ways;

Are they all not,

Lone as always!!

Advice on Modern Parenting

Make The Ordinary Come Alive

“Do not ask your children

to strive for extraordinary lives.

Such striving may seem admirable,

but it is the way of foolishness.

Help them instead to find the wonder

and the marvel of an ordinary life.

Show them the joy of tasting

tomatoes, apples and pears.

Show them how to cry

when pets and people die.

Show them the infinite pleasure

in the touch of a hand.

And make the ordinary come alive for them.

The extraordinary will take care of itself.”

– William Martin, The Parent’s Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Parents

Tao Te Ching is Chinese classic text.

Adversity on Personality

“Adversity is like a strong wind. I don’t mean just that it holds us back from places we might otherwise go. It also tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that afterward we see ourselves as we really are, and not merely as we might like to be.”

– Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

Is Independence and Freedom the same?

By Bhuvi M

As 68^th Independence Day of India was approaching by, last few days, the words “Independence” and “Freedom” had been hitting my mind to make some reason. I thought; why are they coming to me again and again? What is the significance? I gathered they were reasoning with me about their individuality which was blurred because of often interchangeable use by common mass. When I gave it some conscious thought, I was able to figure out magnanimous difference between these two. I was astounded how easily they are substituted one for the other.

Soaring High with Freedom
Image credit Parul K.

So what is the difference I fathomed?

• Independence: is the physical or tangible form, like the country or person being independent. Where one is free to form rules, policy, govern and take decision. It is like being free body regulated within set of rules, practices and policies. These rules can be explicit or implicit, set by government or society or community or religion.
• Freedom: is of higher form of having liberty to make choices. It has an intangible element along with physical element. One has an option to think, speak, act as one wants. In true sense the mind is free. There is no fear in actual freedom. It is powerful, where one can express.

Freedom gives one with choice hence entrusts with power. It renders one fearless. Along with its virtues, freedom brings in enormous responsibility; responsibility to use discretion, to be wise while exercising power. The power gets centralized in the individual. It should not be mistaken with anarchy where it is freedom making one powerful without responsibility.

Such a humongous role can be managed by a very mature individual. To have discretion of making right choice requires wise personality. Maturity and wisdom can be innate qualities of an individual, though rare. Maturity mostly evolves with time, experience and conscious practice. Such mature individuals are rare to find. Hence people experiencing freedom too is a rare phenomenon. Now it would be clear why independence is being misconstrued as freedom.

I will love to relate Freedom to the poem written by Rabindranath Tagore and included in the collection Gitanjali

Where The Mind Is Without Fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Coming to the last question, whether Independence and Freedom can co-exist and how do they relate to each other. I would say that independence is subset of freedom. Freedom always has independence within its ambit, though vice versa may not be true. Some scholars can debate; both can exist without each other.  One can be independent but can’t be free. The reverse can be right too where one is free but not independent.

I leave this debate for the readers to think and respond!!

Accepting Oneself

“Whatever one thinks, says or does, the ultimate goal is always to feel good about oneself. The more you accept all aspects of your being, the more this goal is met with.”

Owning Yourself

“The best day of your life is the one on which you decide your life is your own. No apologies or excuses. No one to lean on, rely on, or blame. The gift is yours – it is an amazing journey – and you alone are responsible for the quality of it. This is the day your life really begins.”

– Bob Moawad

Mask & Impression..

“If the face you always show the world is a mask, someday there will be nothing beneath it. When you spend too much time concentrating on everyone else’s perception of you or who everyone else wants you to be, you eventually forget who you really are. So don’t fear the judgments of others; you know in your heart who you are and what’s true to you. You don’t have to be perfect to impress and inspire people. Let them be impressed and inspired by how you deal with your imperfections.”

– Bhuvi M, Tapestry of Life & Soul

Mirage of Life

By Bhuvi M

It seems to exist,
Evades you soon,
You try to chase,
It tries to fool.

Gives you hope,
To move ahead,
Shining jewel,
The end is dead.

Heart and mind,
Both trusts still,
Though soul sits,
On window sill.

Beautiful bird,
Just wants to fly,
To breathe at ease,
Up in the sky.

No bondage,
No feeling,
Neither crying,
Nor Pain.

Till born again,
Born again,
Elusive mirage,
Feel the pain.

Heart Reflections

“The type of human being we prefer reveals the contours of our heart.”

– José Ortega y Gasset