Frozen Parathas and Vairagya

I was chatting with a friend the other day, while she was munching on frozen parathas (that's not technically true. It was not frozen at the time of consumption.. भावनाओं को समझ लो :P). I amicably expressed my solidarity with her erstwhile pursuit by wishing she enjoy the parathas. I am very much in favor of the concept of the paratha, and have on various occasions, indulged in its consumption myself, achieving much joy on most such occasions.

It then occurred to me, that if I were chatting with a friend going on a drive, I would not wish him/her enjoy the fuel! Of course, in the case of the drive, the "fuel" is the paratha of the vehicle, not the person. The person has entered the deal for the joy of the ride. The person's paratha is the bellowing wind in their hair (unless they're bald :( ); the fresh new landscapes they encounter; the fascinating new people they meet; the exciting new activities they partake in; and of course, the novel culinary delights they get to gorge on (more parathas ;) :P ). The fuel is an essential facilitator for this wondrous pursuit. The vehicle itself, is an irremovable core necessity. We love and respect the vehicle with all our heart. We treat it like family. We take care of it. We  wash it regularly. We ensure the engine's health is good. We regularly change the break oil. We regularly tighten the odd bolt here and there. In return, the vehicle does the magical task of converting the stored chemical energy in the fuel into kinetic energy for us, and takes us places!


What is the paratha? Isn't it but fuel for our body? Are we our body or is our body our vehicle? Where are we driving to? What's the various sensory inputs we encounter? Are they nothing but fuel? Can the "body" really feel joy? What is the "joy" that we derive from eating the paratha? What is the "joy" that we get from looking at a beautiful sight? What is the "joy" that we get from a fragrant odour? What is the "joy" that we get from a soft pleasing touch? What indeed, is the "joy" we get from a mellifluous voice? Are they just the fuel, break oil, tires etc for our vehicle? Or is this really something different?

Is it appropriate to take the beauty out of everything that gives us pleasure in life and dismiss their indulgence as immature distractions? Maybe we can find a way to see the magic in the processes of the vehicle too. We don't really need to form an unhealthy attachment with the car wiper to love it for its existence and to take care of it most effectively. If we lose the wiper, we can still see the larger picture and find a way to go ahead on our pleasant journey. Because it is ultimately the driver who is capable of, and is responsible for the manifestation of the experience of the joy, that is, indeed, the ultimate ideal! 

The Chilla Experience

A couple of months back, I had undertaken what is called the “Chilla”, which involves a 40 day commitment under specific contexts and circumstance. It was one of the most momentous experiences for both, my musical journey, and the larger journey of life in general. I've been wanting to pen down my experiences of and around this, but it was very challenging to find words to describe such an experience. But after postponing it for 2 months, I'm now writing down whatever I can to share the essence of the 40-day journey. The written language is just too limited to do justice to the entire experience, but we try to make the best of what we have available.

A brief introduction to the idea of “Chilla” - It is an esoteric concept to say the least, and most of the people I've spoken to hadn't even heard of such a concept. The fundamental idea is for the practitioner to take 40 days away from all interactions with society, and immerse himself/ herself into a chosen practice with all their physical, mental and spiritual energy through a disciplined framework. It is difficult to say where this concept came from, but some believe that it originated in the Sufi spiritual tradition, where the saints would spend this time in deep meditation and contemplation, whilst abstaining from all human interaction. The idea captured the imagination of some serious practitioners of Indian Classical Music too, and I was introduced to the concept after reading of a senior musician who had undertaken this endeavour. The choice of duration to be 40 days makes physiological sense, as there are studies that indicate that neural patterns take that long to form, and constant focussed mental association for this duration enables very effective internal development. The idea of isolating oneself from all societal interactions makes sense, as it facilitates deeper levels of focus free from communication & societal responsibilities, enables at least a transient awareness of the futility of individual identity, and in turn, a complete involvement in the chosen practice.

The idea of not even making eye contact with another person for 40 days, let alone remaining in total silence, was daunting to say the least. But I had been wanting to take this up for quite some time. On the more pragmatic end, my motivation to take this up was to engage in an intense practice routine and challenge myself to maintain self-discipline without any external motivation/ incentives. Maintaining discipline is easier within a community, as there is peer based motivation as well as awareness through training. Living in a Gurukul, where I have a class with my respected Gurus almost everyday and my fellow students are practicing regularly and intensely, it is not too difficult to push myself to be disciplined in my own practice. The motivation to be disciplined isn't too hard to find. However, being in an active community setup also brings a lot of distractions through non-practice related responsibilities, contrasting communication models and various logistical constraints. Life in the Gurukul is extremely rewarding and highly conducive to growth, not just Musical; and one cannot progress by living in isolation or running away from the “distractions” throughout. Taking up such an endeavour on occassion however, can potentially add great value to the individual, and also enable him/ her to better engage with regular life and maximise value-adding exchanges.

I was also strongly motivated to take up this endeavour for certain intangible, and rather inexprissible intents. Dhrupad Music, especially the framework in which my Gurus are training us, is an extensively spiritual pursuit. The brilliance of my Gurus' music shines forth through the state of mind, and the almost yogic coordination between their varoius internal and external faculties that they access. The training for this lies not in the activities themselves that one performs, but in the awareness & experiential knowledge that one develops, as one moves ahead in life. I wanted to take this opportunity to remain only with myself and my Riyaz throughout this period, and without getting ambitious, engage with myself in as undistracted and honest a setting as possible.

The experience was quite challenging. The intense mental involvement led to a lot of body heat, resulting in acidity, ulcers, incomplete sleep and joint pains. There were a couple of times when my voice just stopped functioning and I was very scared of having caused permanent damage to my vocal cords. Thankfully, on both occassions, I recovered in a day or 2. I was constantly tempted, more so when I had lost my voice, to skip certain practice sessions and just relax/ sleep. It was quite interesting to see the various logical arguments my mind would generate to convince me to relax the discipline. Given that there was absolutely no kind of monitoring, I had no external reason to continue waking up at 4.30 AM everyday and practicing till the night. It was an important lesson to me on the nature of the ego and its role in maintaining discipline. The ego generally becomes relevant only in the context of external interactions. I realized it is possible to manifest even internally, and the ego is probably the strongest accessible motivator for humans. This internal manifestation of ego was quite fascinating, as it then gave an insight into the self, independent of human identity – which the ego provides. It certainly cannot be categorized as exemplary spiritual realization. However, for me, it was a very deep insight into the inner human mechanisms, and its application in frameworks of discipline, love, compassion, creativity, anger, joy, depression, gratitude, fear and all the other emotional experiences we go through. In between alterations from heavy internal dialogue to deep silence, I'm happy I was not swayed and managed to maintain full discipline throughout. Even on those occasions when I lost my voice, I sat through every practice session as per schedule, running the practice mentally and humming along where possible. I most certainly reaped strong benefits from this, a lot of which I can probably still not even perceive. I cannot claim to have made exceptional musical progress, or to have understood “Bhairav”, my chosen Raga for this practice. I can however say with certainity that I managed to overcome major mental blocks/ barriers that were blocking my direct technical growth as well as creative growth. I am sure as time passes, I will continue to see more and more of what I actually did gain through these 40 days. 

A musician is made by an incredibly large amount of factors, not all of which are under his/ her own control. I got to see this clearly in the Chilla itself. So many people contributed immensely in making this possible. My parents who have always encouraged and supported me in whatever I have wanted to do, even if they couldn't relate to it themselves, and still doing all they could to help me. My Gurus for their extremely patient, yet dynamic and particularly skillful training, that they impart with such precision – encompassing the best Dhrupad training, both musically and otherwise. My incredibly kind hosts who took care of all my needs through these 40 days, and managed to devise a set up where everything could be managed without needing to meet or communicate with anyone throughout. My friends and well wishers for all their assistance and moral support, encouragement which helped in no small measure to push spirits high when needed. Technically good music comes through the rigours of disciplined practice. But the artistic brilliance that separates the geniuses from the merely "technically brilliant", comes from all other aspects of how the individual chooses to live his/her life.

I am immensely fortunate to be training under respected Gundecha Brothers. In an age of fragmented families with siblings at each others' throats, fighting over mundane issues, here are 3 brothers all living together with their families and parents under the same roof in complete harmony. One can see what it means to “live” Dhrupad in their day to day lives. Through the Chilla, I got a deeper understanding of various things Gurujis have spoken on different occassions, in class or out. Everything seemed to make deeper sense in the context of the music practice; and interestingly, also in a broader sense of life itself. I am quite new to music, having had absolutely no association with any kind of music until 3 years ago. For me, every aspect of Dhrupad, be it the philosophy of Naad, Sur, Raga, Laya or anything else, relates to a philosophy of life itself. And I realized how rare it is to be with Gurus who impart the finest of musical training, and at the same time, facilitate realization of more subtle aspects of music & life.

This Chilla was definitely a major landmark along my artistic journey, and I look forward with all eagerness to go further along this path.

Skill vs Talent

"Skill is a hindrance. Looking good is a hindrance. Balance is a hindrance.
                                      You work hard to get skill so that you can efface it."

                                              -Kazuaki Tanahashi, "Brush Mind"

I never liked the concept of talent. Talent is usually associated with "gifts" from nature. The idea of people being "inherently good" at certain pursuits.
The reason I never liked it was because I always felt one's attention should not be on things beyond our control (if at all they exist. There are many contradicting studies about the existence of the concept of "inherent" talents), and only "skills" that have been earned through effort must be recognized and encouraged. There is a very obvious conundrum presented by such a stance. How does one differentiate between a "skill" and a "talent"?

That's not an easy question to answer. And in the context of categorization of external observations, probably not even one one worth pursuing. It however does have significant value in an introspective and/or educational context. Leading contemporary pedagogical studies strongly prescribe usage of praise as a motivational tool for "work put in/ efforts taken" vs "talent". As such advocates conclude, the former approach leads to proactive growth in the individual, while the latter leads to complacency. This does make sense, and is what led to my bias against the idea of "talent" in the first place.

We cannot deny differences in "inherent skills" of individuals. Such "talent" does certainly give a boost in the beginning. But eventually the playing ground evens itself out. Inherent talents are in themselves quite specific and limited, and need to be applied consistently to a relevant pursuit to grow into something meaningful. One could then quite justifiably argue that these "talents" are subsumed under the domain of "skill"; i.e. that which is cultivated through work and effort.

So is excellence all about cultivating "skills" then? Most certainly not. As a student of Music, I can say for sure that extensive practice alone is not what makes a brilliant musician. There is almost at least (oxymoron intentional :P ) just as much space for something very subjective and individual about those who have achieved brilliance in any field of Art. The line between distinctive practice methodologies and individual attitude/ subjective application is not very clear. Subjectivity is what elevates a technically correct piece of work to a work of brilliance. Is this "talent" then? Do we have no control over it?

Well, even if we concede that some of it is beyond our control and can only be attributed to Karma/ Luck (based on one's Theosophical bent of mind :P); there certainly is at least some portion of this "talent" that can be cultivated. Otherwise, a brilliant musician would not be a generally inspiring person to talk to. An exceptional painter would not be able to charm a lay person even without his paints & easel. A genius mathematician would not be able to trigger a quest for meaning through a general conversation. The very fact that pioneers of a specific domain move and inspire even in contexts unrelated to that domain shows that there is more than just skill in making them truly outstanding.

I'm extremely fortunate to be training in the Dhrupad form of Music under Gurus who are undoubtedly exceptionally "skilled" and also amazingly "talented" (Padma Shri Gundecha Brothers). In the 3 years I have spent with them, I have seen how their approach to living life in general itself is so inspiring, which certainly has some causal link to their music, that literally sparks of genius. They have undoubtedly toiled for thousands of hours to develop their skills. But that is only one part of what makes them so phenomenal. Explaining what this is, is almost impossible. One progresses along this elusive path through continuous exposure to the thoughts, philosophies and experiences of great artistes. Spending time in person with such people is ideal. My Gurus spent a large amount of time with their Ustads when they were learning (and a lot many other outstanding artists of all forms in their time), and are now passing on the same experience to their students. Their teaching is not solely focused on developing the skills of their students. Through life in the Gurukul, with its various tasks and challenges, living & learning amidst various contrasting individuals from very diverse backgrounds, they bring in a considered blend of focused music training, allied philosophies, experiential training in virtues like responsibility, commitment, discipline, empathy, compassion, leadership and facilitate a particularly holistic growth of each individual. Even though it may not seem so at the moment, every aspect of life in the Gurukul is actually a direct contribution to the growth of either the "skill" or the "talent" of the individual.

Skill certainly arises out of the rigors of discipline and intense practice. Cultivating Talent probably calls for a very high level of honesty & awareness that demands immense courage. It is quite elusive, misleading and possibly hence, fascinating!


Ending with another quote from the same book as the opening line -

"Profundity and uniqueness: undeniable qualities of outstanding art. Profundity comes largely from discipline - learning techniques, copying ancient works, repeating the same things over and over. Uniqueness comes from freedom, which means to keep on learning from ourselves. discarding things we have learned from others. Here, classical pieces are not the ultimate goal; they are guideposts, sources of inspiration."

                                              -Kazuaki Tanahashi, "Brush Mind"

Evolution and Hairfall

Disclaimer 1: The phenomenon outlined here may or may not be based on credible science.. Feel free to accept or reject it based on the position of your hairline..
Disclaimer 2: Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks. Please read the offer document carefully before investing.

Those of you who have had the good fortune of seeing me; or more importantly - my shining scalp - in the near past know what has prompted the upcoming revelations...

Nature is without doubt a force greater than any than man can contemplate.. Evolution has taken single celled blobs of protoplasmic jelly and created the homo sapien... Of course, the breed is not uniformly evolved.. We have all encountered numerous homo sapiens less evolved than us.. Some of us have had the sense to meet more evolved members of the species too!

Is evolution subjective? I wish I had wings... Humans are considered higher up in the evolutionary ladder.. Why were the wings clipped off from the birds? Somewhere, few million years ago, creatures branched off into land/ sea/ air categories and evolved accordingly I guess... Sad na? Some of you are probably as sad about the remoteness of the chance of your grandchildren growing gills and surviving underwater... But come on.. Humans with wings would have been really cool!!!

What about non-physiological evolution? Physiological evolution happens in a very functional manner... If I try everyday to jump higher and higher, flap an imaginary set of wings, train my children to do the same, they train their children to do the same and so on.., maybe after a few lakh generations, my lineage will sprout functional wings!! Very nice description of evolution...

Don't mind the expletive usage.. 

Non-physiological evolution is more subjective.. The goal, or direction of evolution is not defined very clearly.. Which is why we have so many viewpoints, languages, religions, branches of science, sport, art & craft, countries etc... Makes life fun.. If we were all evolving uni-directionally, how boring would existence be! 

Point of this discussion is, no matter what the form of evolution, it is definitely a sign of a step forward.. Scientists claim the vermiform appendix will cease to exist in humans in some thousand generations' time... Evolution?! Yeah... :D

During the stone age, when humans were basically monkeys with straighter backs and less body hair, we lived out in the open, well exposed to the elements of nature... We needed that body hair!!! See, monkeys still have them.. They don't build houses with air-conditioning units etc... We don't.. Hence, unless you are related to Anil Kapoor, you have much lesser body hair than the common baboon... Evolution?! Yes!! Congrats... :D

Similarly, the hair on the head... Have you seen Robin Sharma's shining scalp? Now that is a sign of a truly evolved soul... Humans are slowly progressing towards this ideal, and hence, evolved souls experience the "problem" of hairfall... Blame society and its ignorance of true progress for the existence of Dr. Batra! The more your hairline has receded, the more evolved you are! Poor female homo sapiens have a longer way to go.. I hear of the existence of shampoos to stop hair breakage... Hair breakage is not a problem.. It is just an extra step that long-haired, yet evolved being must go through, before they start balding... So chill.. Society shall one day realize that bald is beautiful and treat us with the respect we deserve, for we are the next stage in human evolution! Not Professor X and his mutants.. It is us.. Silent bearers of universal truths, contained in our exposed scalps... 

Cheers!

The Purpose of Arts

I'd answered a question on Quora on this, and some people wanted me to post this on my blog too.. So here it is..

My Background:
I am currently a full time student of the Dhrupad form of Indian Classical Music (The oldest surviving form of Indian Music..). I live in a Gurukul run by the Gundecha Brothers, Padmashree Award winning artists (Padmashree is the 4th highest Civilian honor in India. It's quite a big deal!) learning from them in the traditional Guru-Shishya style of learning.

I also did my BTech from IIT Bombay (passed out in 2013). Yes, I have made a HUGE shift in life. And NO, I did not have any background or prior training in music. I started as a hobby while in IIT, and now here I am.


Okay. Before going into the purpose of art, lets see what the purpose of anything we do is. A broad and universally applicable answer is happiness. We do what we do, because it makes us happy (or atleast we think it does/ will). This happiness could be associated with fame/ popularity for some, money, a huge house etc.., good relationship etc.. Different people have different things they associate with happiness and strive for. Having a tangible material goal is very good and necessary to keep one active and focused in life. But what is it that truly makes us happy?

When I got my JEE results, I was happy. Really happy... There have been many such instances in my life.. When I look back at these instances, after a while I realized that I was happy here, simply because the heat of the moment made me forget all reasons for unhappiness.. For example, when India won the cricket world cup in 2011, I was really happy. At that moment, my grades, pending assignments, arguments with a few people, worries about where my life was headed.. etc.. all dropped out of my head; and I was happy!

In a way, emotions are all relative. Conversely, it can be argued that during my really low moments, I forgot all the good things in life. My point is that, real happiness is not about feeling ecstatic about a certain event in life. Real happiness is in the ability to move beyond these plays of the mind, observe its ups and downs from afar, and live life as a game.. Enjoying every moment inspite of the circumstances.

The arts require the individual to do this exactly. The journey to becoming a true artist is scary. One must confront all his/ her inner demons as a sort of job requirement. When constantly finding ways to express yourself, your thoughts and emotions better, you automatically are on a journey to know yourself better.

In Indian Music, there are hundreds of Ragas (Anup Jalan's answer to Hindustani Classical Music: What is a Rāga? How do we distinguish between different Rāgas?) When I hear each of these different ragas, it has a different emotional effect on me. And the effect of each raga is different each time, depending on my prior mental state, the approach of the artist and other factors, like company, atmosphere etc.. I have never been able to satisfyingly identify or name the emotions that arise in me listening to any raga. I can just observe, and at times, immerse myself in it. The same happens to me even when I am doing my practice and singing myself.

What is happening is, I am being made aware of the different facets and depth of my being in the most objective manner possible. Emotions can be very very intricate at times, and difficult to quantify.. I am now accustomed to observing them, without the entrapping attachments that come with a personal involvement. This enables me to become aware of an existence of my self, beyond petty emotions, and become a true observer to all that is occurring in universe within my mind and without. This leads to the true happiness I spoke about earlier. 

This is also why artists are placed a notch above others, and are respected immensely. They bravely take out the time and efforts to master the grammar and language which they use to create the chosen form of art. And it is truly a form of service to themselves and society.

I urge all of you to engage in some artistic hobby or the other.. It's amazing!

The Habit of Excellence

"It's not that I am more intelligent. I'm just infinitely more curious,

 and stick with a problem much longer"

-Albert Einstein

One of the more profound things I have realized over the past few years of existing on this planet, is that intelligence is a habit; that is consciously and painstakingly developed. So is excellence of any other form. Be it mastery over an Art form, a branch of science, a sport... Anything...

Lets talk about the quote this post opened with. Einstein is undisputedly one of the most brilliant minds this planet has seen in recorded history. Yet, I believe this statement of his. His intellectual prowess was a choice he consciously made, and not a "gift from God" or any such other similar cause. Lets now describe what exactly this choice is, and how to go about making it.

The first step is to actually realize that intelligence (or any skill) is a choice. Many fail to pass this preliminary stage itself. It is convenient to dismiss off higher order skills as individual greatness. When my gurus (The Gundecha Brothers... I am learning the Dhrupad form of Indian Classical from them at their gurukul in Bhopal ) sing, I naturally tend to fall into a state of wonder at their sheer brilliance and mastery, and  I switch into a sort of "worship" (for want of a better word) mode.. It is very convenient to think of them as superior beings, probably granted a boon by some astral being. This is fine to a certain extent, but it is very important for me to remember that they were not musically gifted. Rather, they were gifted with sincerity, a capacity to persevere and keep moving in face of complete lack of motivation too.These gifts, they translated into the amazing musical ability they possess today, over a period of many years of dedicated effort and hard work. And these gifts that they have are ones that we all have access to. The problem is not in a person not being talented. The problem is in the definition of "talent" and a failure to see that the basic ingredients are present in all of us.

At the darker end of the spectrum, this lack of understanding manifests as a self-assumption of mediocrity and lack of enthusiasm to begin acquiring something new, or giving up what has been begun. Lighter shades of this phenomenon manifest as frustration, a sense of stagnation, lack of stability and focus, loosing the mind to distractions and so on in varying magnitudes.

To achieve excellence in any field, one must spend immense amounts of time with the pursuit, understanding it, communicating with it, analyzing it, and internalizing its characteristics to the extent where he/she begins to feel it strongly as a heightened sense of intuition. Classical musicians use the term "Riyaaz" to mean exactly this. While doing Riyaaz, I go through all that mentioned in the previous paragraph. The mind wanders, I get frustrated attempting to understand a particular task. All the frustration is on failing to do a particular task. I have seen that when I take a pause for a few moments, remind myself that I simply have to choose to do what I am trying to do, and then push through with systematic and preconceived effort, I manage what I am trying to do. The challenge is to keep reminding myself of this. It is not an easy task. My mind wanders when I do not fully make the choice to concentrate.

I have now begun to understand that excellence is just a choice. The next challenge is to start making that choice. This statement may seem very silly. After all, who would "not choose" to excel at something he/she could? If only things were that simple. Many times, we don't even want to do what we are doing. Another tendency is to settle for less than the best. Now if 70% truly and sincerely pleases you, it is fine. In fact, we pick up certain pursuits with no intent of mastering them, just as a hobby or to satisfy a mild curiosity. Here it is absolutely fine to settle for mediocrity. But otherwise, it will just not do. We need to decide to settle for nothing less that 100% and keep pushing until we get there.

Many factors influence the ability to make this decision and cultivate this habit we are discussing. The more prominent ones are the company one keeps and the lifestyle one lives. Whatever little I have managed to do in my life, I owe entirely to the support of an amazing set of friends and mentors I have been blessed with. So too do others claim, who have achieved in life. Good company keeps the mind from sinking into the many many traps that lie lurking within, and help one choose to aspire for the highest. Lifestyle enables one to execute this decision. Lifestyle, to me, is just a matter of balancing priorities. Giving due importance to physical fitness (includes exercising, diet control etc..), assigning time wisely to the various tasks that the individual is committed to, taking just enough (both too much and too little are very dangerous :P ) time to relax and charge oneself, basically to chill, and time to meditate (much needed relaxation for the mind).

With my limited, but growing understanding of life, this is the recipe to excellence I have come up with. The dish is still in its initial stages of preparation. I hope the output comes out really tasty... :D

Differential Calculus, Archery and HDTV

What is artistic beauty? The perspective of an engineer cum full time student of Indian Classical Music...

In differential calculus, we look at any quantifiable entity that has a direct or indirect relation to other quantifiable entities. Given an overall picture of the trend of this entity, we attempt to glean more information about it by performing the operations that are made available to us with a functional knowledge of Calculus. In differential calculus, given the profile of the basic entity under study as a function of another quantifiable entity, we attempt to obtain the rate of change of the entity with respect to the other.
In a linearly varying situation, it is fairly straightforward. But life is seldom linear. The basis of differential calculus is in splitting the whole picture into much smaller ones, and approximating each to be a linear scenario. If the interval taken is infinitely small, then the end points become adjacent and a linear approximation leans very very close to the actual situation.

What now? This understanding opens up a whole new galaxy of possibilities. With knowledge of certain elements, we can begin to uncover and understand a whole set of new elements, which could (and has..) lead to path breaking innovations in various fields. The quality of the output of any application of this principle of differential calculus depends on one thing. The size of the interval under consideration. The smaller the interval, the closer one gets to reality, and obtains a truer understanding of life as it is.

If tomorrow, I decide on a momentary whim to learn archery as a hobby, after a couple of weeks of training, I would probably be able to hit a target placed at reasonable distance. Friends having no exposure to archery would probably applaud my skills as an archer. But then, I would be hitting the center of the target if at all by just a lucky chance, and not by a manifestation of skill. But someone of the likes of Jayanta Talukdar (Indian Olympic Team- Archery) would fire arrow after arrow into the center of the target by intention. Even a small displacement in final position, or a slight offset in the delivery would not go unobserved. So too, would he draw appreciation from his friends and peers only at the highest levels of perfection.

Some of my friends, who are huge movie buffs, watch exclusively HD or Blu-Ray prints. They just cannot tolerate a low video quality. The resolution of their cognition instruments has increased by continuously being exposed to infinitesimal perfection in quality, that the flaws that may not be so obvious to the general observer get magnified.

Now, is this heightened sense of perception always good? On the face of it, it would appear not so. The other side of the ability to understand finer aspects of any activity is that its flaws, if any, get magnified. A well trained classical singer would not be able to enjoy a beautiful but not wholly perfect melody the same way I or a not so experienced musician would. So is it then a curse to develop a heightened sense of perception? Again, no. This sense enables the connoisseur to access previously unknown realms of joy and the level of immersion in the field tremendously increases. That's why the role of a "rasika" is sometimes treated almost as important as that of the performer in the Indian tradition. The rasika too has the same level of cognition abilities, and achieves the same spiritual state as that of the artist. He/ she just has not spent time in honing the instruments used to deliver the same material, the same way the artist has.

This heightened sense of perception, when restricted to strictly its own domain, could come with its disadvantages. But once it reaches a level so high that it begins to seep into the entire character of the person, one gets the ability to see beauty in the perfections as well as the imperfections of life. My gurus teach horribly out of tune (i'm sure that's how we sound to them :P) singers like me day after day and never get fed up or tired. They still show excited signs of appreciations at those moments when we manage a good delivery during our time with them. I know of highly skilled movie makers with an amazing repertoire of skills still sit back and enjoy a presentation of poor external qualities if the content has great inherent beauty. I've seen great artists enjoy music delivered with feeling even when not perfectly in tune. Their perception, once matured enough to capture the niceties of emotional appeal, can observe from afar the musical imperfections, but still appreciate the beauty in delivery and lyrical content. Artists of one genre after a certain stage begin to enjoy and appreciate art of any form.

In the long run, obtaining this heightened sense of perception, increasing the resolution of the cognition instruments pays off amazingly well. I've heard PhD students in my college share experiences of an increased sense of focus and ability to delve deeper into the intricacies of their field after having actively studied classical music. This makes perfect sense to me as one who is beginning to dive into the deep ocean of Dhrupad himself. This is probably why having an artistic hobby is highly recommended by experts :D

Jumping into a well...

When I was standing at the edge, with nothing to do but take the plunge, it was scary. I knew more or less what the experience was going to be like. I knew it could be done safely(I saw a person jump in before me)... But I was still apprehensive. The second time was a piece of cake.

In my childhood, owing to the nature of my dad's job, we would shift cities every 2-3 years and I would have to join a new school each time. The first day was scary in the same way. I knew more or less what school would be like, having been in one before too :P But it would still take a few days to be at ease. Venturing into the unknown, while always generating feelings of apprehension and fear, also gives a sense of excitement and enthusiasm. It keeps one alive and helps one live in the moment. I've gone through many such experiences of stepping into a dark room with a torch, fumbling until I find the light switch, yet its amazing how each new room comes with its own fresh thrill of excitement and apprehension. A new school and new residence (new social group, new place etc...) every 2-3 years, my time in Vijayawada for my JEE preparation (one of the tougher ordeals I've been through), my admission into IIT, travels and experiences acquired while volunteering with the Art Of Living Foundation, social and cultural activities in and out of campus through my college life, internships and summer travels in various cities of the country ranging from Kanyakumari to Jammu, including 2 Himalayan summits in between and various other instances.

In all of this, I've always had amazing people helping me through various stages and also a fair share of sour grapes, making each journey more interesting, challenging and more memorable.

Recently, I shifted to Bhopal to study Classical Music at a gurukul in Bhopal. It being a completely new city (its more of a large town actually :P) to me, my initiation into the "Bhopali way of life" was made much easier by Rini (friend and co meditator from IIT) and her family. My life in Bhopal started amazingly with a superb Mrityunjaya Homa early in the morning at her home, followed by a short and sweet satsang. Then after a day of chilling, I visited my home for the next phase of my life, a small ashram-like setting seemingly in a different planet, far far away from the entropy of the city with almost no physical connectivity to the outer world. Though I was a bit apprehensive about the complete lack of external connectivity, I was looking forward to start my musical journey. After visiting a friend in Indore for a couple of days before my gurus could arrive, I returned to the Gurukul and it began...

Lunch with God!!!

Hi all :D
I got this beautiful story as a forward and just had to share it here... We don't realize the importance of the little things in life. They make life worth living and true joy can be found in these little things :) The story goes:

A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was going to be a long journey, so he packed few packets of wafers and a few bottles of juice and set out. When he had gone few blocks away, he met an elderly man. The man was sitting on a bench in a park, feeding some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his backpack to have a drink, when he noticed that the man appeared a bit hungry. So he offered him a wafer. The man accepted it gratefully and smiled at the boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again. So he offered him some juice. Again the man smiled at him. The little boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating, drinking and smiling, but never said a word. Soon it become late and the boy realized he had to get home. So he packed his stuff and got up to leave. But before he could go many steps away, he turned, ran back to the man and gave him a hug... The man gave him his biggest smile ever. Later, when his mother opened the door to his bell, she was surprised by the look of joy on his face and asked him, "What have you been doing to make you so happy?". He replied, " I had lunch with God today!". Before his mother could respond, he added "You know, God has the most beautiful smile ever!".

Meanwhile, the elderly man, also radiant with joy entered his house. His surprised son asked him, "Dad what did you do today that made you so happy?". The man replied, "I had wafers and juice with God today!" Before his son could respond, he added "You know God is much younger than I expected!"

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch,

a smile,

a kind word,

a listening ear,

an honest compliment,

or the smallest act of caring,

all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

People come into our lives for a reason,

a season,

or a lifetime.

Faith... ??

Faith has always been a topic of conflict. Faith, by definition means accepting something without knowing all the facts about it. Its about belief & trust. We all have faith at various levels... Faith on our parents, friends, politicians (yeah right... :P ), doctor (if not, better change your doctor.. :P ), God (unless you're an atheist.. ), the architect and masons who built the building you're in right now (if not, RUN!!! ) etc... etc...
The most conflicting aspect of faith is faith in God or the unseen power. I for one am not an atheist & believe in God. To me, faith in the divine is knowing that life is a game... Chill maaro yaar; everything is being taken care of :) There is an up for every down. "Its the darkest before dawn"... etc... I feel having faith in the divine does not weaken you. It in fact empowers you to see things as a game; look at your problems as challenges and gives you the energy & enthusiasm to tackle them head on. I got this story in a forward. Wanted to share it... Many of you might have already read it... Here it goes anyways :

A business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you,” he said. After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.”

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

“I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the un-cashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

One year later, he returned to the park with the un-cashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.”And she led the old man away.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

All the best for all your endeavors... Have fun and enjoy life :)

The Old Carpenter

I came across this short story by Swami Vivekananda.... It was amazing & I just had to share it here. Thanks to Chaitali Joshi for sending me the link to IIT Madras' Vivekananda Study Circle which you should all check out btw... http://www.vsc.iitm.ac.in/
The story goes:

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his
employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building
business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his
extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire.
They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good
worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor.
The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart
was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used
inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house,
the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter.
"This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."
What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house,
he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had
built none too well. So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way,
reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best.
At important points we do not give the job our best effort.
Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created
and find that we are now living in the house we have built.
If we had realized that we would have done it differently.
Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house.
Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall.
Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build.
Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be
lived graciously and with dignity.
The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it- yourself project."
Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes
and the choices you make today.

I guess we can all relate to this story at various levels. We have this amazing habit of doing something halfheartedly & then regretting/cursing ourselves after... This is probably one of the biggest impediments to us achieving happiness in life. We must give our 100% in everything we do. Then the results wont matter at all then. I guess moving under the assumption that all our duties are going to contribute to the building of our own house would take us a long way forward...
I'd like to conclude in Swami Vivekananda's own words, "Come up O lions, and shake off the delusion that you are sheep; you are soul immortal, spirits free and eternal "