Knowledge Windows
Hi Princess,
It's me again. I am doing good. Hope everything is perfect with you as well. For the past few days, I have been wondering what to write to you about. I think today, I will tell you about the importance of Knowledge. Yes I know, seems like a pretty broad topic, but allow me to explain.
For the past few months, I have been learning the Sitar and Violin. I recently bought a camera (Fuji XT-4) to pursue photography. I want to experiment with light, sound and also hopefully letters. My guru will give me extra classes in Sitar and I am very happy. For some reason, the violin remains in the shadows of the sitar. But, that's just gross injustice to such a beautiful instrument. I hope one day I devote equal energy to it as well. I have been thinking for the past few days, that what sets me apart is the ability to be a student of something and not just pursue it as a hobby. I have been reading books, watching videos, attending talks and workshops for the sitar. Be a student, and get to know everything about it. EVERY SINGLE THING. That's the true pursuit of knowledge. Let me give you one example in photography, everybody takes photos, but nobody wants to read Henri Cartier Bresson. I am also a student of cinema, though of late, I have been missing quite a few classes. I want to know everything about cinema, technical details, artistic details, directors, actors, scripts and everything. It is very important to study a subject from top to bottom and not be a charlatan. They say "Knowledge is power", this is what it means. Treat a topic like a fruit and take all the knowledge into your head, heart and soul.
I hope you find something which you LOVE TO STUDY and pursue it with a dogged determination. If not, come to me and I will help you find something.
Yours lovingly,
Dad
P.S - I am adding my own photos from now on. :p
Middle Class Stability and its effects
Hey darling,
It has been quite sometime since I wrote to you. I have been mostly busy with work and other things. I was wondering about this present stage in my life for the past couple of days. It's quite interesting to reflect on your life from time to time, especially looking at it from a neutral 3rd person point of view. I hope you pick up this habit.
I, like most middle class kids have grown up grinding and studying away for the past couple of years. It has been quite a rough ride, but it has been a journey of self-discovery. Maybe, I will tell you all about it sometime in the future. Right now, my life has attained stability, with a nice job and a cozy place to stay. I think I have been fighting for this for the past 8 years. I haven't figured everything out still. I still need to take better care of my health and finances. But, I think I will learn as I go along.
Attaining this stability has had effects of all kinds on me.
1. Picking up one/or maybe two (:P) musical instruments
2. Playing Tennis which I really enjoy ( I wish I could play more though)
3. Watching all the movies that I love on a gazillion platforms
4. Not thinking about money when going to the restaurant or supermarket (Love this one)
Apart from all of this, I can plan on trying something exorbitant ( Playing golf, going scuba diving, taking a private jet or a cruise). CRAZZYYY MEEE !!!!!!
Doing all of these activities has come from a creative burst of energy, which earlier would be devoted to studying for exams/interviews or doing projects. I think I am mentally in a much better place with lots of things to look forward to in the future. . I think I have found my passion as well (;D), but more on that later.
P.S - I will make you hear my atrocious musical instrument for sure.
Yours lovingly,
Dad
The lion is the king of the jungle. But, is it the happiest ?
Hi princess,
Every human being at some point of time in their lives, questions the meaning of happiness. So many brilliant thinkers, philosophers, artists, scientists and poets have constantly engaged with the question of "What it means to be happy? " If you are currently at the same stage, do NOT get anxious. Take a deep breath and read on.
Our modern society unable to comprehend the true meaning of happiness has designed several indirect or proxy ways to measure it. Wealth, fame and power are some of the yardsticks we choose to measure happiness. We are surrounded by advertisements telling us to buy that life insurance to lead a tension free life, to drink that can of coke to feel refreshed, to take a an exotic holiday, to buy that shiny car to experience pure control or even more ridiculously, to buy those elegant sanitation fittings to achieve some kind of harmony in life. All products and services give us temporary happiness and leave us wanting more of it. Although there is some correlation of happiness with these parameters, they do not tell the whole picture.
Wealth has a linear relationship with happiness, in the initial stages. But, after our basic needs as a person in a society are satisfied, I think it increasingly becomes less and less relevant. Fame may elevate our mental image of ourselves to great heights. But, when we come to realize that most of today's "fame" is fake, we see the impermanence of it all. As for power, Spiderman said it best " With great power, comes great responsibility."
We see so many powerful, famous and wealthy people lead unhappy lives, yet we do not learn. Do not be "forced into happiness" by seeing people get new jobs, getting degrees from the best places, or getting married or having children. There is no single key or definition of happiness, it depends on us and us alone. You define your own happiness.
The lion may be the king of the jungle, but is it the happiest? Maybe we are not lions, but tortoises or owls in the jungle of life. There are happy tortoises and owls and giraffes and so on. You do not need to be a lion to be happy.
I think whenever, you find questioning the meaning of happiness, do not look at the outside world. Ask yourself, ask inside. The world will give you all kinds of answers which won't make sense to you. But, your mind and your heart know the true answer already.
Yours lovingly,
Dad
P.S - You make me the happiest person on earth. :)
When Karma comes for you.
Hi princess,
It has been some time since I wrote to you. A few days ago it was Diwali, with lights and festivities all around. There were no such celebrations for me, but I enjoyed being part of the warmth all around. It has been an exhilarating week, with me discovering lots of important pieces of information about life. I discovered Buddhism and have never felt this happy or calm before. I just wanted to talk about one of the central features of Buddhism called Karma.
Modern young urban people often use the word karma in a very fancy way. You can see lots of Instagram and Facebook posts claiming "Karma is a bitch","Karma will get you". It seems as if there is so much hate and bile amongst us that Karma is some sort of vehicle for revenge. Karma is not merely a hashtag to be used against your fancy vacation photos or your stylish clothes. Karma is in the mind, your thoughts are also equally a part of karma. Your ill-will towards someone or hatred towards someone generates lots of negative karma for you. It is a very complex concept which is lucidly explained by Buddhist masters. Two points are very important in this regard.
Whenever someone hurts us, it is in fashion to say that Karma will get you. But, we say it in hatred and that itself generates bad karma for us.
Karma will come for us too. We should not complain then by saying "Why is this happening to me? , "What have I done ? " .My main point is you cannot expect Karma to work for someone you want and not for you. Karma is not your slave. It is a natural law.
Karma works for us too, and our bad karma will catch up with us sooner or later. It is of no use blaming others then. My best advice to you would be to introspect about all the instances in your life when you generated bad Karma. Instances, where you could have been more kind and compassionate. You will find a reason for your sadness and it will also take away your anger because you would have an answer to the question "Why is this happening to me? ".
I hope you this gives you peace and calm in times of distress.
Yours lovingly,
Dad
Hello little baby,
I start this blog today. Today is Ashtami. 28th September 2017. It's light, sound and celebration all around outside. There's an infectious wave of joy and cheerfulness all around, but sadly not me. I sit here in front of my laptop writing to you. I am writing to you because you are or should we say will be my bundle of joy and happiness. Also, one more thing, this blog is more of a stream of consciousness writing than a composed essay.
It's been a bad end to a good phase of my life sweetheart. It has been the best three years of my life followed by the worst. I am currently jobless and heartbroken. I have applied to so many jobs, but I got rejected in all of them. I have given up applying or even thinking about a job. It seems the universe is hell-bent on not giving me one. I see everybody getting jobs and going to great places. I sit here at home, doing nothing. It's just so pitiful, yes pitiful. I will take about the heartbreak in a later post.
Hope you never get sad and disappointed like me when searching for a job after you graduate. Just one tip, never leave all options and get stuck to one. Always make sure you have something in hand, even if you don't' want to do that particular type of work. And I hope, it will always work out for something good in the end.
Yours lovingly,
Dad