hang there... i got it.. i got it...

If you did not read the earlier blog, i guess this blog will not be much of a read either... but well.. here goes. It’s funny that when I am down and searching for answers everything seems to leap in front of me and throw me lessons. While searching for something else I found the wisdom of Oogway from Kung Fu Panda and while on my reader feeds, I found the lessons from Greece, thanks to Devdutt. A crisis is a dam good opportunity to waste and similarly so is a mental mess up. Here are the two pieces of wisdom I just came across and gave me some light. I see answers to the dilemma from my earlier post. This is the one from Devdutt – “In Greek metaphysics, there are two principles. One is called the Thanatos principle and the other is called the Eros principle. Thanatos means the death-principle while Eros means the life-principle. We are governed by death-principle or the life-principle. When we believe that the next flyover is going to make life only worse (by destroying heritage buildings, by destroying mangrove forests, by destroying familiar slums) then we are stricken by Thanatos. We believing that doom is near. However, when we believe that the next flyover is going to make life better then we are under the influence of Eros. We believe that life is getting better. Who speaks the truth? Is it Eros or is it Thanatos? Thanatos is the grim reaper. He kills and destroys every day. So if we look at him, we are convinced that the world is coming to an end. Eros is the cherubic archer, striking people with love, desire and inspiration. He is constantly turning us one, giving us hope. If we look at him, life is always getting better. Thanatos is looking at life as half empty while Eros is looking at life half full. Thanatos always frowns. Eros always grins. Are we frowners or smilers? Greeks believed there was only one life. And so life was seen as either Tragedy or Comedy. Thanatos sponsored Tragedy, Eros sponsored Comedy. Tragedy was about looking at the flyovers and feeling helpless that we have no say in the matter. Comedy is looking at the flyovers and realizing with delight how foolish man is to believe this will really change anything. Thanatos makes us the victim. Eros makes us the hero. Since Indians believed in rebirth, they modified the Greek ideas a bit. Indian thought says two things. Firstly, Thanatos and Eros are points of view and not reality. Every human being will look at the same situation differently. Secondly, all things are temporary and so we will move cyclically from Thanatos to Eros, from being victim to hero, and then back again. It will happen again and again and there is no stopping it. Scams will come and go, corrupt politicians will come and go, idealists will come and go, and life will move on. Thus Thanatos and Eros are delusions, maya, delusions we cannot live without.” And here is the stuff from Oogway Oogway: My friend, the panda will never fulfill his destiny, nor you yours until you let go of the illusion of control. Shifu: Illusion? Oogway: Yes. [points at peach tree] Oogway: Look at this tree, Shifu: I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time. Shifu: But there are things we *can* control: I can control when the fruit will fall, I can control where to plant the seed: that is no illusion, Master! Oogway: Ah, yes. But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach. Shifu: But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung! Oogway: Maybe it can, if you are willing to guide, to nurture it, to believe in it. Shifu: But how? How? I need your help, master. Oogway: No, you just need to believe. Promise me, Shifu, promise me you will believe. I BELIEVE!

open up

These days I have been reading about the kahp panchyat and how these administrative groups believe in regressive methods and are equally notorious as the Taliban. Any of these right wingers really get my goat. After all these ears we still remain enemies of love. The khap panchayat send out lynch orders for those marrying within the ‘gothra’ (sub sect). They try and control so many elements of life. It is so completely anal. But if I were to think a bit more, just about 15 years ago I had to face resistance from my would be in laws while getting married. Not that it was in any way so severe. They are pretty sweet and they were pretty willing to listen but the fact that they had to be convinced to start with is the point of contention. I am not so sure if my side of the family would have been as amiable if Jasmine had been a Muslim or a Christian. I duuno why would you have issues on this to start with? Why would love marriage be such a dam taboo? In fact one of the things that I am planning to do is go for the queer march on 16th august. I want jispa to know pretty early that she can choose her life partner and it surely can be any sect or sex. I would want her to know that love is truly blind.
The fun would happen in parenting if she gets a doper or a complete nincompoop home. Now that’s going to be one test for me as a father. Rest I am pretty ok with.
I guess the thing is to be a bit open in life. Its tricky but necessary to isolate the cause form the symptom. Yesterday was on case in point. Jasmine’s borther comes home from a prayer meet for a 4 teenagers who died while picnicking at one of Mumbai’s beaches. They had just about gone into the water (knee deep) when they were pulled by the currents. He came in exclaiming “I have decided, no more going to the beach. It is too dangerous”. As he looked at me I knew it would be slightly controversial but I had to reply “more people die in swimming pools than off beaches!” I remembered reading something in freakonomics on more people in US die of swimming pools in homes than guns kept at home (or something like that). My next line was also my favorite line which I use all the time “more people die crossing the road than while on a picnic”. He looked at me. A few invaluable moments of silence and reflection. “beaches are not any more dangerous than roads, but the problem is going in the water in monsoon. The currents are dangerous and are likely to sweep you off. So don’t stop living. Enjoy your beaches but exercise caution and use your brains. It is visibly rough in the monsoon. Stay clear. In calm waters, enjoy”. Tinggg….The score reads one nil.
On right wing fundamentalism – I also read that thanks to their male fixations the sex ratio is getting adversely affected. Wow. There is no better way to finish a race than to somehow produce only males. I could not have given them a better path to self annihilation. The words of Master Oogway from the movie Kung fu panda come to mind “One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it”

Yes. Master Oogway is one of favorite characters ever. Here is a snapshot of his immense wisdom.