Guru - Beacon of Light

In Sanskrit, one of the words for teacher is 'Guru' which means 'the one who eliminates the darkness'. Darkness means ignorance. So, Guru is someone who eliminates darkness of ignorance by illuminating the light of knowledge.

When a brilliant human being emerges from the corners of the world and sheds light on whole humanity, attention goes to that human being. But behind every such luminary, there is a person that remains in the background but relishes in kindling and stoking the fire that keeps the luminary shining. The person is the mentor or Guru. The role of the Guru is not to attain glory for one's own self but to nurture the skill, talent and capacity of the protege or the disciple so that the latter can flourish. 

Obviously, for each plant to give great yield, the right seed has to be planted. The inherent capability and traits of the seed are the root of the yield and its quality. However, if only seeds were enough, no skillful farmer or gardener would be needed. But they are needed hard and are indispensable. The seed has to planted on the right patch of land in right season so that it can germinate. But the real story begins from there. The caring, nurturing and tending done by the farmer or gardener is the main factor in ensuring that the plant lives up to its potential and become productive to the highest possible degree. 

If the plant is a protege, the Guru is the tender or farmer or gardener who nurtures the protege so that his or her natural talent is polished and propped so that he or she can become the maximum that she is capable of. 

A guru is more than a person. It can just be a concept also. If Ekalavya of Mahabharat can become a dexterous archer by just practicing in front of the statue of Drona, the Guru, the guiding beacon of Guru can be impersonal as well. But the aura and the invisible energy that a concept of mentor or Guru provides a protege is of great value. 

Words of encouragement, balanced criticism, pointing out of the strengths and weaknesses, tips to improve, external view of the achievements and failures, motivation to learn from mistakes and rise after a fall, best practices, learnings from experiences of others and many more can be imparted upon the mentee by the mentor. Like a skillful artisan, a Guru polished the stone of the protege to crate a jewel. The jewel element is already inside the disciple but it looks like any other ordinary stone until the mentor polishes, cuts and shapes it so that the final product is a great gem. Being a good Guru is hence a work of art. An art of making fantastic human beings, an art of creating a brilliant beacon of light, an art of lighting a candle or lamp that can shed light around it and can light a million more lamps like it. 

Being Guru, as the Sanskrit root implies, is being able to create light and end the pervading darkness. Light of wisdom eliminating the darkness of ignorance. 

May the Guru and the concept of Guru endure. 

Thursday 25 April 2019 (12 Baishakh 2076)

MOM

Dusty road, vehicles whizzing by, creating plumes of dust and smoke. Squinted face and eyes, masked nose and mouth. Noise and nuisance. I was walking home along such a road this morning. I was in a hurry to reach home, change and rush towards office. A daily, mundane routine. 

As I was walking along, a young mom was carrying her cute child, may be a year old or so, and walking along. As is customary, she was carrying her child high on her bosom and the child was able to look around above the mom's shoulder. I could not fathom the gender of the very cute kid but I would vote for a girl. 

As every young child, she was looking around, trying to fathom the things and events around her. Same inquisitive eyes, blissful face and peaceful demeanor. No wonder every human being wants to be as happy and carefree as a kid. 

Then I started thinking about the young, doting mom who was trying to articulate names to her child so that she would be able to articulate the words back. The lady was around 25 (my guess) and was briskly walking with her precious bundle tidily tucked to her upper chest. 

How protected and peaceful a child feels in mother's arm. If there is divinity and if the divinity creates all things good and bad, love must be the best creation. Even among love of different kind, motherly love is at the pinnacle of the pyramid. It is deep. It is natural. It is instinctive. It is divine. It is beyond description. Sages over the ages have never tired sining praise of this love. Irrespective of religion, race, caste, culture, creed or color, love endures. No loves endures throughout and even across lifetime as much as motherly love. 

The selfless and blissful love that mom feels for her offspring transcends all other human feelings, of the mind or the heart. The total submission, devotion and trust that a child feels with her mother is also beyond comprehension. As a famous bollywood song of yesteryear said (of film Khamoshi), love is not to be named, comprehended or described, it is just to be experienced. 

There are many things that go beyond comprehension, measurement or description. They demand experience, submission and appreciation. Once such is love. Supreme among them is motherly love. A woman plays so many roles as does a man. That of a parent, sibling, child, friend, spouse and so on. But no relation can ever be as divine and deep as that between a mother and a child. No feeling of one human for another human can be as pure, selfless and divine as that of a mom for her child. If nothing else, it is for this reason only that every girl and woman is respectable. The day men realize 

this by their heart, may be that day woman would get her rightful place in society. 

Hail the mother. Hail the motherly love. 

Thursday 25 April 2019 (12 Baishakh 2076)

शास्त्रलाई शस्त्र नबनाउँ

आज बिहानै घरायसी कामको समयमा पनि केहि सुन्ने बानी अनुरुप युट्युबमा उपनिषद गङ्गा अन्तरगत अष्टावक्रको कथा हेर्दै थिएं । राजा जनकको दरबारका नामी पण्डित आचार्य बन्दी संग जो कोही ज्ञानीहरू डराउँथे । उनि नामी पण्डित त छँदै थिए, शास्त्रार्थमा पनि निपूण थिए । त्यसमाथि पनि उनलाई आफ्नो क्षमतामा यति विश्वास र घमण्ड थियो कि उनिसंग शास्त्रार्थ गरी पराजित हुनेले जलसमाधि लिनुपर्ने शर्त पनि थियो । यसै शर्तमा पराजित भै धेरै पण्डितहरूले आचार्य बन्दीको शर्त अनुसार जनसमाधि लिएर ज्यान गुमाइ सकेका थिए । 

बाल ब्रह्मचारी अष्टावक्र पनि आचार्य बन्दी संग शास्त्रार्थ गर्ने उद्देश्यले जनकको दरबारमा आएका थिए । संयोगले अष्टावक्रका पिता पनि बन्दी संगे पराजित भएर परलोक गएका थिए र यसरी आफ्ना पिताको मृत्युको कारण बनेका घमण्डी बन्दीलाई पाठ सिकाउनु पनि अष्टावक्रको लक्ष्य थियो । 

शुरुमा त स्वाभाविक मानवीय घमण्ड, राजाको कर्मचारी हुं भन्ने दम्भ तथा बालगुरु अष्टावक्रको आठ ठाउँमा बङ्गिएको कुरूप शरीर को कारणले द्वारपालले नै उनलाई दरबार प्रवेश गर्न दिएको थिएन । पछि अष्टावक्रको तर्क तथा सो सुनेका राजा जनकको हस्तक्षेपले उनि दरबार प्रवेश गरे । प्रवेश गर्नासाथ उनले आचार्य बन्दीसंँग शास्त्रार्थ गर्न चाहेको बताए । 

हेर्दा कृषकाय, बक्र शरीर र बालपन को काँचो उमेरका अष्टावक्रलाई कसैले विश्वास गरेनन् र पूरा सभा नै उनको खिल्ली उडाएर हाँस्यो । तर बालगुरू अष्टावक्रको शरीर मात्र बाङ्गिएको थियो । ज्ञान त उनको बेजोड नै थियो र त्यसमाथि आत्मविश्वास र उत्साह पनि । राजा जनकले सबैको तर्फबाट माफी माग्नुका साथै बन्दीले पनि अष्टावक्रको शास्त्रार्थ गर्ने इच्छा पूरा गर्नु पर्‍यो । 

शास्त्रार्थ शुरु भयो । बेजोडको प्रश्न, प्रतिप्रश्न, तर्क, विवेचना सहित धेरै समय चलेको बहश पश्चात अन्तत: नामी मानिएका आचार्य बन्दीले कुरूप, अपाङ्ग बाल ब्रह्मचारी अष्टावक्रसंग हार मान्नु पर्‍यो । शर्त उनको आफ्नै थियो । आचार्य बन्दी अष्टावक्रलाई बिजयी मान्दै जलसमाधी लिन तयार भए । 

तर अष्टाबक्र हिंसामा उत्सुक थिएनन् । उनलाई कसैको ज्यान लिनु थिएन । उनले बन्दीलाई जलसमाधी लिनु नपर्ने बताए । घमण्ड चूर भएका बन्दीको ज्यान त बच्यो तर उनले हरेक पल आफ्नो कारणले ज्यान गुमाएका विद्वानहरूको स्मरण गर्दै र आफ्नो ज्यानमारा घमण्डको आगोमा जीवनभर पिल्सिंदै बाच्नुपर्ने भयो । उनकै शब्दमा यो उनको लागि जलसमाधी भन्दा पनि ठूलो सजाय भयो । 

पटक पटक आफ्नो शास्त्रको ज्ञानलाई अरुको ज्यान लिने शस्त्रको रूपमा प्रयोग गरेका बन्दीले शास्त्रलाई जनकल्याणमा प्रयोग गर्नुपर्ने शिक्षा पाए । जान्नेले आफ्नो ज्ञानको उपयोग द्वारा अरुलाई दु:ख दिने हो भने त्यस्तो ज्ञान त अज्ञान भन्दा पनि निकृष्ट हुन्छ । 

ज्ञानको माध्यमबाट जगतको कल्याण भएन र हानी मात्र भयो भने त त्यस्तो ज्ञानभन्दा जडता र अज्ञान नै बेस हुन्छ । आफ्नो वा अरुको जोसुकैको पनि अहित गर्ने ज्ञान त गलत प्रभाव गर्ने औषधी भन्दा पनि हानिकारक हुन्छ । ज्ञान र विद्याको परिणाम कल्याणमुखी नभए निरर्थक हुन्छ । त्यसैगरी ज्ञान र विवेक भनेको कसैको पेवा होइन र ज्ञानी हुनलाई सुन्दर, वलिष्ठ र शक्तिशाली पनि हुनु पर्दैन । आधुनिक दृष्टान्तको रूपमा गत साल दिवंगत भइका बेलायती बैज्ञानिक स्टिफन हकिङ्गलाइ पनि लिन सकिन्छ । उनि पनि आधुनिक अष्टावक्र भन्दा कम होइनन् । ज्ञानी हुनको लागि शारिरिक वलिष्ठता तथा राजनैतिक सामर्थ्य  आवश्यक छैन । ज्ञानको दियो जस्तोसुकै अध्यारो कुनामा र प्रतिकुल परिस्थितिमा पनि बल्न सक्छ । साथै यस्तो दिव्य वस्तुलाई शस्त्र, परपीडन र हानीको साधनको रूपमा प्रयोग गर्नु पनि ज्ञानको उपहास गर्नु हो । अष्टावक्रले दिन खोजेको शिक्षा पनि यही थियो । 

मङ्गलबार ३ बैशाख २०७६ (१६ अप्रिल २०१९)

Envy in the Age of Social Network

Referred to by a colleague, I read an article in Guardian news portal about the age of envy. The topic gave me a good jolt as it articulated a lot of feelings and emotions I have myself felt many times. Envy is a natural tendency, not just among humans but also in animals to some extent and there is also some sort of competition for food, shelter, mating and area of influence. If there is competition, there is the prospect of 'have's' and 'have not's' among the lot. When such disparity becomes inevitable, envy is a natural emotion. 

When a colleague gets a promotion or a foreign trip or a mere complement from the boss, I feel a pang inside me. Though that vanishes after I cajole myself with one reminder of altruism or two, the first split second reaction is always of a bitter pang inside of me. That split second can last longer at times or can vanish immediately at others. But irrespective of the length of the stay, it is the first emotional reaction almost every time someone I know achieves something that I do not. Why not me? Where did I go wrong? What did he or she do to deserve it? He or she is not that superior to me but, still, why? Why is that guy getting such a nice car while I have to stumble to and from the office in overcrowded buses with pushy people stepping on and muddying my shoes? 

This overpowering feeling motivates me to stay away from social networks and elite gatherings. Is my salary higher or lower? Are my kids more or less smart? Is my spouse more or less active and attractive? Is my office more or less reputed? Is my phone more or less sophisticated? These comparisons and the consequences of those comparisons are always clouding my thoughts. I cannot be better in all respects. In fact, there are people I know very well that are so far ahead in one or more of those aspects compared to me? Not that I am not trying or being wasteful. Not because I am lazy or uneducated or devoid of opportunities. Not because I was the victim of conspiracy or situation that hindered me. Being better in every respect is simply not possible. I know that but still every time I see a photo of a colleague on a sophisticated place, every time I hear that somebody's kids are going to a better school or got a better opportunity, every time I see someone being happy with their spouse or friends, I feel a pang. After that initial pang, I generally end up successfully convincing myself that I am doing good in my own place and situation. 

Generally, that convincing becomes powerful not because I find myself well positioned but I convince myself that there are other people I know who are much worse off and after all being wherever I am is not that bad. Hence, my self-appeasing argument rests not on being happy about my own situation in absolute terms but by making myself better positioned than those who are worse off. It is like making someone else worse to make myself look good. That is capricious to some extent. But a worldly being with high aspirations and limited capabilities like me does not have much else to my disposal. 

Moya Sarner, the author of the Guardian article calls it comparison disorder. He cites various researches and experts to show that this phenomena of people comparing themselves to others and being unhappy is being exacerbated particularly by the age of hyper-connectivity and social networks. Those who pose and post usually do their best to polish and promote their persona, often to an unrealistic degree of loftiness, all to have maximum impact on the viewer. Such accentuation of wealth, beauty and sophistication is often so high that the image being projected tends to show a level much higher and farther from the actual situation of the person being depicted. This is creating psychological problem to the viewer as well as the poser. The viewer problem is already described above. But, as narrated so well in the same article, the psychological problem is profound also on he poser. The person starts comparing his or her real life with the situation projected on the image. This leads to comparison syndrome within the single persona of the poser. Comparison between the real self and the projected self. The real self wants to be as good as the projected self. When real self cannot, there is increasing disillusionment between the two persona of the same person. 

So, not good to be indulging too much online and getting affected by what others have achieved. May be they are in a different situation. Even if they are achieving that much, it is not at our cost. And, more importantly, there might be much more who would love to be where we are. Introspection, sanity and prudence are valuable in the modern age to minimize impact of comparison disorder.

09:25 PM  14 April 2019 (1 Baishakh 2076 - New Year Day)