Morning Walks

A thrilled child learning to ride a bicycle.... A vigilant father patting his son's back, asking him not to pay hid to the vehicle coming from behind and focus on the road ahead.

An elderly couple walking down the footpath...the lady following footsteps of her man ... the man, vigilant, concentrating on each step, making sure he doesn't land his foot wrong on a slippery surface... lady suddenly stops near attractive flowers .... the man stops, to her, tracing back 5-6 steps with a cloth bag to put the flowers she had plucked wearing an honest smile.

Visit to a Cemetery

I was at a funeral today.

The person who died was an elderly in his 90s and was bedridden since a couple of months. His son seemed strong, had no tears throughout the ritual and till the end of funeral. His grandson, a dentist by profession though was in tears the whole time.

May be that was because his upbringing was done by his grandparents and the memories flooding in his mind led way to those tears. I remember before he got bedridden, his grandson without a miss used to take him out for a walk.

The news of his extremely deteriorated health had reached his native village, and people were pouring in since a couple of days to see him.

People who speak at someone's funeral are either their son's friends and extended relatives(गावकी  in Marathi).

As per Hindu traditions, women are not allowed to witness the funeral ceremony at the cemetery. They have to say goodbye to the dead body after performing rites and letting the gents take the body to the cemetery. It is quite depressing to see people asking the family members to perform religious rituals and not to cry while doing so owing to bad omen. 

On the way to cemetery, I was walking among the relatives who had come from his native to. I could hear them talking about how his family had done everything in their power to take care of the man till his last breath. I could hear their plight, How they had to take unreserved seats on the way to Mumbai. May be people after all adore the start and end of your life. But people who adored and witnessed your start don't necessarily exist to witness your end unless of course you die an unnatural death. May be that is why No one talked about how the man took care of his family when he was the man of the house.

At the cemetery, to fasten the burning process, hydrogenated vegetable oil (Dalda) was poured all over the funeral pyre. As a routine job, the cemetery staff put it in appropriate places. When accompanied by enthusiastic helpers among the attendees, the staff has to loudly give them instructions on where to put and the right amount. How pained would it feel to listen to people saying those things loudly to the relatives? No one cares. 

In any case I feel, what is left of anyone is their daily routine. People who attentively gather for someone's funeral are the ones whose lives he/she had touched during his days routine.

A common man realizing his uncommonness.

When I advise something I don't follow, I am just a consolation... a mere onlooker , a bystander. I call myself a common man, always staying out of the uncertainties of life, living dead in a zombie state.

I compare my fortune with the world less fortunate and keep hugging my own, however dull it may be. Call it fate , and pretend to stay happy. I celebrate every festival like everyone does, mourn every mishap like everyone does. I have such a minute sense of being human that I am totally unaware of the uniqueness that nature has given me. I patch my mistakes , don't make up for them. I have temporary solution for permanent problems. I stay put easily. I either over-react or not react at all only to realize that both did not help.

One fine day, I read ideas that have been put into action, have been guiding the humans worldwide and have become part of history. A history, which ultimately is a deep rooted idea that's persistently put into each and every action with far-most struggle and sacrifice. A great sense of thanks and appreciation bulges in my heart. The people who did not know me have done so much for me to see this day.

Now , the choice is mine, I can either be a common man and matter no more, die a worm. Or take up an idea and let it flow with every action in my life persistently. Nature shall take its course naturally in both the cases.


- metta.

Why we SHOULD take up the Model Thinking Class

When you observe your thinking abstractly and objectively , you will see mathematical models working continuously in your mind , weighing the choices you have and don't have, choices you can and want to have. But if you feel its scope is only limited to YOUR rational thinking , and  YOUR actions , its time to come out of that blackbox. 

Heard of the recent exodus from Bangalore and other cities of migrants from the Northeast? They were reacting to threatening SMS messages warning of violent retaliation from Muslims.  Here is a link to an article on the topic. Read it carefully and understand how the author  reaches the conclusion using Model Thinking.

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/08/22/economics-journal-why-rumors-spread/

I know for some of you might be interested enough to continue reading further before clicking on the link above, so here is a short and sweet example : 

Let us consider a common real life situation :

You are standing at a Bus stop waiting for a bus . A private Jeep stops a few meters from the stop and the cleaner starts shouting the name of exact stop where you want to go. 

You are in a dilemma whether to take lift in the Jeep. In the meantime, one person gets into the vehicle. You rethink your decision. The cleaner shouts again.

Another person gets in. You change your mind and get into the bus. 

Are you the only person who took that split second decision? Well , probably not. What happened with you would have probably had happened 

with the other people who got in before / after you.

What your brain did there is mathematically described as the Standing Ovation Model. A more direct example of it would be a theater full of people where the probability of maximum people standing to appreciate the stage performance is directly proportional to the no of people standing in the first few rows. Otherwise , why do you think celebrities often go to the theater and sit on first row on First Day First Show ?

Continuing with our bus example ... So exactly what kept you initially from taking lift in the Jeep ? Probably you were thinking :

• Bloody private drivers , I 'd rather use the government bus service. Why pay him? <=> Is it in my set of principles to take the lift? (YES/NO)
• Everyone has their own way of earning , why blame the poor. 
• Is the driver / cleaner genuine ? (not drunk , not a kidnapper ... categorization )  (YES/NO)
• Is the vehicle in good condition ? (YES/NO)
• just get in .. who knows when the bus will come. ( Even if your mind made it sound cool at the end , you still change your mind weighing all factors TOGETHER, right? )

This is the Decision Tree Model in your mind. Where every branch had an associated weight.

So, are you interested in more of this stuff ? Do take up the online course on "Model Thinking" by prof. Scott E. Page  by visiting : 

https://www.coursera.org/course/modelthinking 

The course is split over weeks, so working professionals can take it up too. Complete the assignments and get a free certificate of completion from foreign university. The course is light-weight and interesting as it goes across all domains, from day to day life to technology , finance and bureaucracy. 

Buddha hi Buddha hai

Lyrics of the song Buddha hi Buddha hai :

 
बुद्ध हि  बुद्ध है, बुद्ध हि  बुद्ध है
हर जगह , हर समय वो सिद्ध है वो सिद्ध है || (२)

मन मे तुम्हारे बसता वो गुणवान है
सम्यक शिक्षा से करता जो शीलवान है

अहिंसा की ताकत से जो बलवान है वो बुद्ध है ||

स्वयं पर स्वयं तू ध्यान कर ,
हलचल ह्रीदय की स्पन्दानो को जान कर
नित्य नियंत्रण से खुदकी  पेहेचान कर
पायेगा जाब तू विजय स्वार्थ पर
विकृती पर तू निरंतर मात कर
ध्रीढ  निश्चय से  जब चित्त तेरा शुद्ध है तू बुद्ध है ||


परिवर्तन हि है ये जीवन का नियम
क्यो न हो ये धर्म का भी अधिनियम,
मैत्री प्रग्या शील हो जिसमे
सदैव तन मन पर सय्यम
कर पूजा सदगुनो  की ए नादान
ईश्वर क्या बने , तू पहले बन इन्सान
कार्म्कांडो से नाही मिलता भगवान
चमत्कार नाही दुनिया मे तू मान
मानव सेवा हि तुझसे नितीबद्ध है तू बुद्ध है ||



जब चाले हिंसा हि आंधी
निर्लज्ज उठाये पापो का तुफान
ले चला जगात को विनाश के पथ पर
बेधुंद अहंकारी बना इन्सान
देखो उसे धून्डो उसे पाओ उसे , अंतर मन मे , जन मन तन मे
दीपक शांती का , करूणा का वो सागर  , प्रग्या कि जो मूर्ती, दिव्या भाग्याशील नगर
देखो उसे धून्डो उसे पाओ उसे  , यस जगात का ,
इस धारा का वो मार्गादाता  श्रेष्ठ है , वो बुद्ध है ||

[LOTD] Passion vs Compassion

After taking up the job in pune , doing Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai on weekends provides me an opportunity to meet different people.

To summarize the experience, I have realized that in order not to hurt their ego , you have to be compassionate. A response purely based on passion either reflects your own ego or hurts that of the other person.

MVC Public Service Announcement #6 : Modularity