Sometimes, learning happens thus…

Parenting is a university. Life takes us through different learning stages. We study in school, then we graduate to college. We do our degrees in various disciples and then when we think we know it all, we become parents.

Maybe this is God’s way of telling us that we don’t know anything yet! What we have seen thus far was just the tip of an iceberg. The great Tamil poet Avaiyaar once said that what we know is just a handful of sand grains, while what we do not know is the sand grains in the entire world.

On one occasion, especially, I experienced this. It left me humbled.

My son was in his Senior Kinder Garden, when one day his teacher asked me to meet her. When I met her, her face was grim and she showed me his dictation paper. He had scored a zero.

In spite of teaching him repeatedly, he did not seem to understand. His teacher  was concerned that he was not able to internalize what was being taught, as he had scored a nil in recitation too!

I assured her that I would look into the matter and ensure that he does not repeat it. I did not want to talk to my son about it as he was only 5 years old and had a life time ahead to learn spellings. Yet, as a parent, I was nervous. I had chosen a system for my son and it was my duty to ensure that he survived in that system.

For the first time, the pressure of parenting got the better of me. I was never a pushy parent and my daughter did well in school. Though she never topped the class, I was happy the way she grew up. I insisted on an overall development rather than lop-sided achievements.

The snake that ate the dragon that killed the snake!

 

As I sat with my son that evening, I could not focus on what he was doing and he used the chance to scribble on the freshly painted wall! He drew a giraffe and called out to me to have a look. I was amazed. It felt like the eyes of the giraffe were following me.

What is the difference between drawing and writing?

 

I gently started talking to him. I told him that he had not written his test well and had given a blank sheet to the teacher.

“But, Amma, she never asked me to draw anything,” he said, innocence filling the room.

In a flash, I told him to draw ‘F’ on the wall. He drew it perfectly. Then I gave him a few three letter words to draw on the wall and he ‘drew’ them perfectly!

Relief poured out of my eyes as tears as I hugged my son and told him that if someone asked him to write something, he had to draw it!

The doers work and the thinkers solve

The bonsai ashram near Mysore beckoned the weekend bikers. Vivek and Aryan geared up to visit the place that they had heard of but never seen.

“Vivek, are you done with your packing?” asked Aryan. “I filled the man machine with her favourite brand of coke,” Aryan chuckled, referring to the previous occasion, when their bike had halted mid-way for want of fuel!

“I am waiting to hit the road,” an impatient Vivek said, before rushing outdoors!

The two friends chatted all the way from Bangalore to Mysore. They liked seeing places and meeting people. They felt it taught them a lot about their neighbourhood and made them more tolerant.

The Kishkinda Moolika Ashram was the brain child of His Holiness Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Swamiji. The art of Bonsai is believed to have originated in a small Chinese village and this particular Bonsai ashram began in 1966.

The art of Bonsai is believed to have originated in China...

 When Vivek and Aryan reached the ashram a breath taking view greeted them. After their first round of inspection they sat down in a quiet corner of the garden. Vivek was particularly attracted by one Swamiji who was giving instructions to people who worked in the ashram.

He called one person and told him that he had a problem with one of the grass patch and asked him to solve the problem after analysing the issue.

He then called another person and told him to work the grass so it looks perfect!

...the patch of grass at both places seemed to be the same!

Though he pointed in two different directions, the patch of grass at both places seemed the same. Intrigued, Vivek walked slowly to the Swamiji and asked him what the difference was in the two jobs.

The Swamiji looked at Vivek and smiled gently.

“I see that you noticed. You are a keen observer! The job is the same, but the people are different,” he explained.

"If you know how to change your instruction to suit the person, any job becomes simple," the Swamiji said, before he continued. 

“Some people view every job as a challenge. To them you must make it appear as a problem. Some people are scared of problems. To them you must make it sound like a work. The doers work to complete a job, while the thinkers solve problems on the way towards achieving their goals. Even if the goals are the same, different people like to take different paths,” concluded the wise man.

"So, which is the best way to do a job," Vivek wanted to know.

"In completing a job, you need the same amount of physical and mental ability. Whether you are a thinker or a doer there has to be a seamless coordination between the mind and the body," replied the Swamiji, wisdom resounding in every word of his!

On their way back Vivek narrated the story to Aryan.

“Don’t you think we can successfully apply this lesson in office,” Aryan seemed thrilled!

“Every travel teaches us a unique lesson. I wish I could travel every day,” sighed Vivek.

If you know how to change your instruction to suit the doer, any job becomes simple!

“I am predominantly a doer and need work to keep me busy. So I have no complaints,” Aryan chuckled into Vivek’s ears.

The Dynamic Destiny

Vivek and Aryan set out on their two wheeled wonder! 

For five years now the machine had been a trustworthy companion to both of them. They had decided to hit the roads that would take them to a stress-free destination.

The twosome 'vroomed' past the green trees...

Their chalked path from Bangalore to Waynad was a scenic one and both of them were looking forward to this much needed break.

As their ‘vrooming’ friend took to the road and glided as smoothly as a hot knife on butter, Vivek and Aryan began relaxing. The green trees around seemed to be in an equal hurry, though in the opposite direction!

“The work schedule takes a toll on our health, don’t you think so?” asked Aryan leaning closer to Vivek.

“I have decided not to think about office for the next two days,” Vivek seemed to have taken his idea of a break too seriously!

The twosome hit the long and tree lined highway. Suddenly their motorbike came to a grudging halt.

The friends got off the machine and began inspecting it.

“What happened?” Aryan asked.

“Maybe the bike wanted a break too,” quipped Vivek.

“Vivek, I think we both forgot about the existence of a petrol tank in two wheelers,” Aryan commented.

The friends looked at each other helplessly.

“Let us park by the side and wait for some passing vehicle. There are a lot of generous tourists these days. In the meantime, I don’t mind a story,” Aryan cheered his sullen-looking friend. They sat with their backs resting against the green mountains behind!

The green mountains behind De-stressed the friends...

Vivek needed no invitation to break into a story.

“Aryan, I have been thinking about the fate of destiny,” began his wise friend.

“The fate of destiny?” Aryan was getting confused.

“After scripting the one millionth version of a person’s destiny, God looked towards his juniors and asked them this question. He wanted to know what his juniors thought about the fate of destiny. They too were confused like you just were,” laughed Vivek.

“One of his juniors attempted an answer to God’s question. “God, destiny is what happened in the past. The fate of destiny, therefore cannot be changed,” he said.

“God, destiny is what happened the way it happened. It happens for a reason. Therefore the fate of destiny is nothing but the reason,” a second junior clarified.

God was beginning to enjoy the discussion. After many brain-storming iterations, God pointed to two people who were stranded on a highway. He told his juniors that the fate of destiny is linked to the action of every life on earth.

“We only keep these links refreshed! Our duty is to keep checking every action that happens and correct the already placed links to accommodate the change,” God tried explaining.

“God, why did you point to the two young people, stranded on the highway? Is there some connection?” asked one of God’s juniors.

“Had one of them remembered to fill the petrol tank, the destiny of the third person on a motorbike would have been different,” God explained.

“Destiny, therefore is dynamic,” chuckled God!”

As Vivek concluded, another motorbike tourist pulled his machine to the side to help his co-travelers.

As the third biker helped the duo with their much needed bike food, he was curious to know about the two.

As the threesome reached the nearest petrol pump, they had exchanged quite a bit of information about each other.

“When you reach Bangalore on Monday, please feel free to visit our office. Given your credentials, it may not be difficult for you to get a job in our organisation,” Vivek shook hands with the stranger who stopped by to help them.

After they parted ways, Vivek and Aryan, resumed their journey, towards their dynamic destiny!