Evolution of Society : Warrier's Collage 19092020

Posted by : M G Warrier Warrier's Collage 19092020 : Evolution of Society Chinmayananda speaks : https://youtu.be/o5mcp7aJEqU Bhagavad-Gita 2.62,63 (Thinking of objects, attachment to them is formed in a man. From attachment longing, and from longing anger grows. From anger comes delusion, and from delusion loss of memory. From loss of memory comes the ruin of discrimination, and from the ruin of discrimination he perishes.) A Interaction R Jayakumar " What's is Jupiter... I am taken by surprise to know that Panchapagesan Sir is crossing ninety years. I have read many of his short and sweet responses in group discussions. Most of his responses end with the words ' Be Well '. He has furnished facscinating information about our Solar system. I remember very little of the geography learnt during the school days. His achievement includes release of his own book on stars and planets, to celebrate his eightieth birthday in the year 2010. It is a great feeling for me to be in the group of very scholarly persons associated with Collage. My respect and good wishes to Panchapagesan Sir." (Collage joins in wishing "Aayurarogyasaukhyam" to Shri V T Panchapagesan) AA Current Affairs 6.6 million : Estimated job-loss https://m.economictimes.com/news/economy/indicators/6-6-mn-white-collar-professional-jobs-lost-during-may-august-cmie/articleshow/78162428.cms In India. B Debate Debate : Challenges and choices in life Reshmy Warrier "I remember for my MBA entrance, I was faced with a debate topic for our GD, "Management of natural resources is not less important than the governance of Indian Economy". Looking back, I was caught in such a rubik's cube. I didn't get the reason for comparison. Of course both were important and it could well be the governance that leads to better management. So it wasn't quite a 'for' or 'against'. I'm sure my fellow aspirants on the table were as lost on figuring out the beginning or the end of the very topic itself. Today, I marvel at the brain that thought of such a topic. Throw them a googly that they can't for the life of them figure. Little did I realize that the topic in itself was the challenge or a teaser of things to come. In life, and in career, you are often thrown googlies like this. Your presence of mind, your adaptability and your sense of humour are oft put to test. Business and life problems often have no straight answer. That day I saw people adapt so differently. In the eagerness to get selected, some of them simply outshouted everyone. Who cares what?! Some spoke up without substance, but in such a matter of fact bluff manner. Some quieter ones couldn't get a word in. This is a memory from 2 decades ago, so not quite exact on specifics and who said what. Like my dad says in jest, if you can't manage to answer, at least manage to confuse your audience. ( Last Century the trick worked. Now needs improvisation, perhaps. Allow me to quote a few lines from the book "Who Moved My Interest Rate?" by former RBI Governor Dr D Subbarao : "I appeared before the civil services interview board way back in 1972. I wrote in my application that I was in IIT Debating Team. 'What was the latest topic you debated on ?" A member asked me. That happened to be : "Man is condemned to be free", a statement from the existentialist philosophy of Jean Paul Sartre. The Interview Board members pushed me into interpreting that statement. Here is a precis of what I told them. At the heart of the existentialist philosophy is the premise that all existence is absurd. Life has no meaning and death is the ultimate absurdity. But in the course of this absurd existence, man is forced to make choices, even if those choices may be about absurd issues. But man abhors this freedom of choice, a condition called existential angst'. Until we reach a time when most of our life lies behind us, we second-guess ourselves interminably. 'What if I had done this?' 'What if I had done that?' 'Could I have learnt from what others before me have done?' But that is futile endeavour. It is just not possible to pass on the burden of decision-making to someone else, nor is it possible to learn from other's experiences. Every man has to make choices by falling back on his own experience. In short man is condemned to be free." Subbarao goes on to conclude that "If there was another chance (to work as governor), I could fall back on this experience to do things differently. But then, there are no second chances in life" We face such dilemmas (While in RBI, Dr Subbarao used the word "trilemma", I remember!) from cradle to the final stages in life. Such thoughts were shared by me in a different context two days back : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/warriersviews/theft-a-lie-and-a-friendship-26147/ Life goes on-Warrier) C Evolution of Society 1) Social life in Ancient India https://www.historydiscussion.net/history-of-india/ancient-india/social-life-of-people-in-ancient-india/6269#:~:text=The%20Ancient%20Indian%20society%20was,Brahman%2C%20and%20Rajanya%20and%20Vis. Interesting insights 2) Evolution of Human Society https://www.dawn.com/news/733889/evolution-of-human-society Collage visits Quran to get a different view. Returns back with a parallel view. 3) Evolution of Human Behaviour https://www.verywellmind.com/evolutionary-psychology-2671587 Just for introducing the subject, which is vast. D Readers Write 1) V Babusenan Sangham Poets Of the 500 Sangham poets who contributed to that special genre of poetry, none would have insisted that he or she would write only 'Akam' poems or 'Puram' poems. There were many poets like Kapilar and Avvaiyaar who were at home in both. The 'love' poems and 'other than love' poems classification is the work of editors, which itself is unique. In the 'Akam' poems of love, there is no question of Romeo or Juliet or Ramanan or Chandrika. Love or lack of it is important, but, for that, He and She will do. No proper names. The other Dramatis Personae are Her Friend, Her Foster Mother, Passers-by and Concubine. Love's nature varies according to the geographical condition of the land where He or She is. Love everywhere generally being the same, the point is that the imagery used to express the condition of the lovers concerned should have a relation to the nature of the land where they are. For the poem's sake, the whole Tamil landscape is divided into five types: Kurinchi (mountains), Mullai (forest, pasture), Marutham (countryside), Neytal (seashore) and Palai,(wasteland). Thus a Palai-based love song is not expected to contain images of Jack-fruit or lotus-filled ponds. This landscape division in Akam poetry is known as 'Thina'. We know that, in classical music, ragas are related to the time of day or night. For example, the Carnatic raga Bhoopalam is related to the dawn. Something like that is there in Akam poems. The content of each poem should bear a logical relationship with the time and situation. This is called 'Thura'. (All these are clearly laid down in Tolkaappiyam.) These are also unique features of Sangham poetry. In an earlier narrative, I had mentioned that 'Kuruntokai' is a collection of 400 shortest love poems. From this, to illustrate, I shall quote two poems-one from 'Kurinchi thina' and another from 'Neytal thina'. Kapilar is the poet of the first poem. The lover visits his beloved every night, but has not so far expressed his willingness to marry her. She is very anxious. So is her maid who talks to him about this by hints during one such nocturnal visits. That is the 'Thura' of the poem. Obviously the time is night. Now the poem: *" O man of the mountain slopes where the Jack fruit tree has fruit almost on its roots with the small live bamboo for its fences, Be of good thoughts and think of marriage. No one knows of her state. She is like those other trees on the slopes, their giant jacks hanging from slender boughs: her breath is short, and her love great beyond bearing." The poet of the second poem is Aiyoor Mutavan. Its 'Thina' is 'Neytal'. It is day time. She and her maid are waiting in the rendezvous for him. But He doesn't turn up at the appointed time. That is the 'Thura.' This is the poem: *"The sands are like heaped-up moonlight Right next to it stands all by itself, As if all night were crammed into it, The cool dense shade of a flowering grove of the dark Punnai. Our man has not come back. Only our brothers' fishing boats will return from their hunt of many kinds of fish." Let us apply the Staaleepulaaka nyaaya(a few grains of rice showing the state of the cooking rice in the pot) and stop the discussion here. N.V.Krishna Warrier, the great scholar-cum-poet and founder of the Kerala Language Institute, once reminded Keralites that Sangham poetry, being common heritage, it was their duty to try to know at least something of it. I did try to know something of it, and a part of the little I learned, I have passed on to my friends of Shri Warrier's Collage. *A.K. Ramanujan's translation." (Many Thanks. The series was appreciated by many readers-Collage has not shared all responses) 2) Intelligence and Wisdom* This is so so good ... I had never known these profound distinctions between *Intelligence* and *Wisdom* BBC Worth reading on ... 1. Intelligence leads to arguments. Wisdom leads to settlements. 2. Intelligence is power of will. Wisdom is power OVER will. 3. Intelligence is heat, it burns. Wisdom is warmth, it comforts. 4. Intelligence is pursuit of knowledge, it tires the seeker. Wisdom is pursuit of truth, it inspires the seeker. 5. Intelligence is holding on. Wisdom is letting go. 6. Intelligence leads you. Wisdom guides you. 7. An intelligent man thinks he knows everything. A wise man knows that there is still something to learn. 8. An intelligent man always tries to prove his point. A wise man knows there really is no point. 9. An intelligent man freely gives unsolicited advice. A wise man keeps his counsel until all options are considered. 10. An intelligent man understands what is being said. A wise man understands what is left unsaid. 11. An intelligent man speaks when he has to say something. A wise man speaks when he has something to say. 12. An intelligent man sees everything as relative. A wise man sees everything as related. 13. An intelligent man tries to control the mass flow. A wise man navigates the mass flow. 14. An intelligent man preaches. A wise man reaches. Intelligence is good but wisdom achieves better results. ☘ (*Forward received from Dr T V Surendran, Mananthavady. No wonder, while world is after Artificial Intelligence (AI), people are not talking about Artificial Wisdom-Collage) E Blogs and Links Music and brain https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/eduscribble/the-tranquil-effect-of-music-on-brain-26149/ From the lullabies to "AUM", music reins the universe. F Leisure a) Proverbs forwarded by PKK Nair 1.Swedish proverb: The pillow is the best advisor. Meaning: Sleep over a problem and see how you feel in the morning. 2. Kenyan proverb: When elephants fight, it is the grass that gets hurt. Meaning: Fights of the powerful hurt only the little guys. 3. Ancient Roman proverb: Hunger is the best sauce. Meaning: Everything tastes better when you are hungry. 4. Japanese proverb: A frog in a well does not know the great sea. Meaning: There is more going on than you know, try and see the big picture. 5. Turkish proverb: If the world flooded, it would not matter to the duck. Meaning: Things that are bad for you, aren’t always bad for everyone. 6. Filipino proverb: Leave it to the batman. Meaning: Some problems require superheroes to solve. 7. Russian proverb: To live with the wolves, you have to howl like a wolf. Meaning: In dangerous situations, try and blend in. 8. French proverb: A hungry stomach has no ears. Meaning: You can’t concentrate without food in your tum tum. 9. Kenyan proverb: Slippery ground does not recognise a king. Meaning: Even the most powerful people are just human deep down. 10. Gaelic proverb: A cat in mittens won’t catch mice. Meaning: Being careful and polite doesn’t always get things done. 🙏🌹🙏 b) Change in attitude* I asked one of my friends who has crossed 50 & is heading to 60. What sort of change he is feeling in him? He sent me the following very interesting lines, which i would like to share with you all..... 1) After loving my parents, my siblings, my spouse, my children, my friends, now I have started loving myself. 2) I just realised that I am not “Atlas”. The world does not rest on my shoulders. 3) I now stopped bargaining with vegetables & fruits vendors. After all, a few Rupees more is not going to burn a hole in my pocket but it might help the poor fellow save for his daughter’s school fees. 4) I pay the taxi driver without waiting for the change. The extra money might bring a smile on his face. After all he is toiling much harder for a living than me 5) I stopped telling the elderly that they've already narrated that story many times. After all, the story makes them walk down the memory lane & relive the past. 6) I have learnt not to correct people even when I know they are wrong. After all, the onus of making everyone perfect is not on me. Peace is more precious than perfection. 7) I give compliments freely & generously. After all it's a mood enhancer not only for the recipient, but also for me 8) I have learnt not to bother about a crease or a spot on my clothes. After all, personality speaks louder than appearances. 9) I walk away from people who don't value me. After all, they might not know my worth, but I do. 10) I remain cool when someone plays dirty politics to outrun me in the rat race. After all, I am not a rat & neither am I in any race. 11) I am learning not to be embarrassed by my emotions. After all, it's my emotions that make me human. 12) I have learnt that its better to drop the ego than to break a relationship. After all, my ego will keep me aloof whereas with relationships I will never be alone*. 13) I have learnt to live each day as if it's the last. After all, it might be the last. 14) I am doing what makes me happy. After all, I am responsible for my happiness, and I owe it to me. ☘ 🥒 I decided to send this to many, because why do we have to wait for so long, why can't we practice this at any stage and age in life. Best wishes for all my grown-up friends.😊😊 *Forward received from S Venugopal, Chennai