communication - its all in the mind

As I am writing this there are ideas in my mind which are taking the shape of words and being put here. Whoever is reading this will form his/her own ideas which may be the same or very different from what I intended. Sometimes we read too much into words and this affects our own thoughts and feelings (ego in short). We either get elated or totally upset independent of what was intended by the transmitter. As some one said we all live in our own worlds (in our minds)!

I am reminded of a scene from Beverly Hill Billies the movie. The Clampett family which has moved from a rural area to LA is on the freeway. A car filled with gangsters pulls along and one of them makes the "middle finger" sign irritated by their slow moving jalopy. Thinking this is the way folks greet each other in LA, granny smilingly responds back the same way. Angered the goons show their guns. Further encouraged, granny pulls out their shot gun. Panicking the gang speeds away from the scene. Only if you are familiar with the two contexts from which the participants in this scene come from you can fully enjoy the (mis)communication that is going on. It goes to show how much the context plays a role in any communication.

Recently I was watching a video of an informal session with Sri M (Mumtaz Ali Khan) which had come along with his autobiography "Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master". The author and his spiritual journey make an interesting read but that is a topic for another blog. One point "M" makes in the video which caught my attention was that all our thinking is dependent on a language. Or in other words we think using a language, without language there are no thoughts. Brain does work outside of this language boundary and it has to do with emotions and feelings. Something to ponder about.

whats in a name (mysore versus bangalore)

While most of the names of modern planned localities in Mysore can be found in Bangalore too like Jayanagar, Vijayanagar, JP Nagar, etc. (but B'lore does not seem to have a Siddarthanagar or Saraswatipuram) I am intrigued by some of the old traditional names (villages which have got swallowed by the growing city). Mysore is unique for its koppalus like Tonachi Koppalu, Manchegowdana Koppalu, Kumbara Koppalu and so on. Can't recollect any Koppal in Bangalore. Similarly Bangalore has its unique Kavals - Kaval Byrasandra, JB Kaval, VyaliKaval ...

Bangalore also has its share of palyas such as Malleshpalya, Murugeshpalya. Palyas seem to have crossed the religious divide with areas like Sultanpalya, Michaelpalya! Mysore has a few. I am aware of Nachanahalli Palya and Bandipalya.

The other USP of Mysore are the Mohallas of yore like KR, VV, NR, Fort, Devaraja Mohallas.

Bangalore has these fabricated names associating areas to the adjoining roads. Perhaps the burgeoning city made the authorities run out ideas? Some examples are W.O.C Layout (West of Chord Road), HRBR layout (Hennur Road - Banaswadi Road), HSR Layout (Hosur Road - Sarjapur Road). Have not come across them in Mysore yet.

Another speciality of Mysore are theme based naming of roads. For eg: Roads in Kuvempunagar are based on the poets compositions, while roads in Siddarthanagar are based on the values expounded by Buddha. While they sound nice it becomes a nightmare for one unfamiliar with the area to locate an address! The traditional main, cross co-ordinates give you some idea of where you are and where you may have to go but being in Vinaya Marga does not give you any clue on where you will get Moksha Marga! You will have to resort to the friendly neighborhood which still exists thankfully.

mysore gardens

Since I moved to Mysore one of my areas of interest is to see how Mysore is (still) different from Bangalore.

It is heartening to still see a few houses with expansive gardens but the numbers are diminishing by the day giving rise to apartments, malls and multiplexes. I guess no one can escape the wave of globalization (or being "bangalored" as the expression goes).

In the area that I stay which is one of the newer localities people have maximized their built-up space even in 40x60 plots (just as in B'lore) but the key difference is that they have still found a way to keeptheir gardens. The Mysore approach is to use the footpath space outside. You will invariably see flowering bushes, fruit trees like guava, sapota and even jackfruit in these footpath gardens but the common factor is coconut trees. I have even seen parts of MUDA areas which are earmarked for parks being used for these gardens! Since MCC has not yet discovered the "business" of concreting foot paths that has been going on in Bangalore, Mysoreans can have their homes as well as their gardens! I have no complaints with this externalization of gardens phenomenon though.

stopping by woods...

I had read this as part of my +2 English course. The last lines were on Nehru's desk.

....

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Another of my favorites from Robert Scot! The full poem.

The road not taken

This is the title of another of Robert Frost's poems another favorite of mine. I feel his poems reflect my mind exactly.

....

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

For the whole poem see here

vocation and avocation

It has been a year since I left my IT job. While my primary interest remains the environment space I am yet to find a full time "job" that fits the bill. Some of the organizations or individuals do it as a weekend activity since they are into regular jobs doing the weekdays. In some other cases their location or daily travel to the field can be a deterrent given my own constraints. Some are into deep research and hence I lack the credentials to contribute ... the list goes on.

I managed to do some teaching at an NGO for Master's degree students for a semester in two subjects - Project Management (given my IT background) and Sustainable Technologies (primarily due to my interest in this space). Apart from this my reading, gardening, thinking continue...

So in summary given my IT background there would be jobs available but I am not keen on them while the one the I am looking for in the Environment space may not be there / not available at this point!

In this context I am reminded of my favorite poet Robert Scott's poem "Two Tramps in Mud Time". I am reproducing the last two paragraphs which best explain my predicament. You can read the whole poem here.

....

And all their logic would fill my head:
As that I had no right to play
With what was another man's work for gain.
My right might be love but theirs was need.
And where the two exist in twain
Theirs was the better right--agreed.

But yield who will to their separation,
My object in living is to unite
My avocation and my vocation
As my two eyes make one in sight.
Only where love and need are one,
And the work is play for mortal stakes,
Is the deed ever really done
For Heaven and the future's sakes.

Made Snana & the power of the mind

No, I am not going into the debate of whether Made Snana should be banned etc... My observation is more on the power of the mind and how the context can change something from hated to desirable.

In a general context leftovers after eating food are considered "unclean". Many people may not even wash their own plates at home - there would be a housemaid who does the job.

But switch the context to the temple people because of their tradition, belief system are ready to roll over the leftovers on leaf plates eaten by some else!

So the same mind which considers one thing as unclean can see the same as a very religious and hence "pure" thing to do in another context.

On the topic of the power of the mind, my wife (who is a doctor) says that in psychiatry they are taught about women who are infertile but the desire of having a child is so strong that they get all the symptoms associated with pregnancy except that there is no child growing the womb.

It is said the mind can be your greatest friend or your greatest enemy.

No wonder most of our spiritual teaching focuses on the mind!

P.S. Happened to come across this interview with Deepak Chopra on NDTV after writing this piece which also touches upon the power of the mind.