Best of ___?

Best of Luck 

or

All The Best

Do I hear a "what's the difference?" ? 

Think about it. 

A guy (or a girl for that matter) is going to write an exam. Tell him 'Best of Luck' and it implies "you'd need all the luck that you can get to get through this one. I don't think you are good enough on your own to get through with it."

Tell him "All the Best" and you are just wishing that he turns out fine in all respects which implies that "I believe that you are good enough to get through this with your capabilities and may you fare well through this and through the path further ahead".

Most people don't realize the very subtle and yet significant difference between the two and, frankly, most don't care. But, it becomes significant when you say this to someone who realizes it. And, of course, the other way round works too. When someone who realizes this wishes others with these wishes, listen carefully and you'll know what he thinks about them.

Got a problem with this theory of mine. Then bring it on! ;-) 

ALL THE BEST!

Regards

Diff.Thinkr

A Breath of Fresh Air

Its been a long time since my last post. I've been trying to find the reason for this but still not so sure about it. But what prompted me to write this is a very timely poem sent by my English Teacher Vijayalakshmi, affectionately called Viji miss....

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul. 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann c.1920

I'm on the very brink of another phase of my life, college. I've been busy with a couple of huge projects the keystone of which is Coders On Cloud. But I must admit that a couple of thoughts have been in and around my head and raking it pretty well. One of the latest just happens to be about my image in the eyes of my fellow beings. I know this goes against all that I've ever written on this blog or elsewhere but I guess every once in a while a rock has to give way to bring a fresh breath of life to a sleeping cavern of treasures. This poem did just that and for that I'm speechlessly grateful to her.  

To be precise, these are the words that mean the most to me

If you compare yourself with others,

you may become vain or bitter,

for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;

it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

And I can truly and wholeheartedly vouch for the fact that those words are indeed true to the fullest. And now I'm as happy as ever to be me.

On a side note, I think it is high time for my "Most Influential" article and that will be up next.

Guru - The Forgotten Truths

Today, on my way home, thinking about some stuff, I struck upon an analogy that is so profound and meaningful and yet so unrealized.

Right: Reghuraman. Left: The King.
If I remember correctly, this scene comes towards the end.

Guru, meaning "teacher" in the deepest and truest sense, is the name of a movie in Malayalam . Until today, the film (which is a favorite of mine) was nothing more than an interesting story to me. But today, I realized how potent an idea it poses and frankly, I was absolutely amazed upon realizing it.

Here's a brief of the story ....

Read more »

The Paradox of Life

The Paradox of Life

The contemporary world races past at lightning speed with technological innovations being introduced by the second and markets suffering losses in billions of dollars by the minute. Men and women working frantically for a better job, greater status. Children studying for hours on end just to get that little extra mark to be on the top. The question arises, "Where are we racing to?"

In this apparent race of life, we tend to forget the more important aspects of life. Developments take place at any cost, even if it means cutting down your life supply, the trees or poisoning your own drink, the rivers. The magic of the nature that prevailed for billions of years are at a threat of destruction in a few decades. The beauty around us goes unnoticed, the language of nature forgotten and its lessons unheeded.

The concept of knowledge, wisdom and teaching also seems to have taken grievous turns. The world of a child seems to revolve around the marks he scores for a test or his ability to perfectly recall, word by word, the content of his textbooks. However, we forget that life is not about scores or text books but about living together and supplementing others as much as you can. After all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Emphasis on exams too has dealt a serious blow on the knowledge or rather wisdom gained by a student. The often hectic schedules of exams means that students are dragged along with the flow or dropped off. Those who do manage to hold on often are not able to grasp the concept or message conveyed completely and to contemplate on the same. Children are taught from as "exam point of view" and as this syllabus often has to be strictly adhered to, many of the doubts that come across a child's dynamic mind never find a window of opportunity to be expressed and are put off and so is his natural inquisitiveness.

Younger children are often made 'disciplined'. Certainly, a basic concept of courteousness is essential but beyond that, if a child is bound by customs and 'civility', his natural infinite curiosity on everything will be extinguished. As somebody said, "the greatest achievement of man would be to keep his childish curiosities throughout life" and certainly such and man is sure to succeed in any field that he lays his hands on.

Another related unapparent "flaw" present today, as expressed by the "revolutionary" new teacher in the movie, "Dead Poet's Society" is the "Dangers of Conformity" referring to the tendency of men to 'go with the flow'. Nobody questions the system, until an observer often from outside the system questions it. Once in the flow, one is either unaware of its flaws or are reluctant to express them for fear of retribution and this is one of the reasons for corruption, inefficiency and often unjustifiable traditions. The great men that we often recall from the history and praise have all gone "against the flow". They dared to think beyond what was taught to them and dared to talk about it. Every single famous personality of the past brought to our by few moments of recollection would have at least one revolutionary deed or a concept ,completely unimaginable at the time, to present to the world in their quiver. From the times of Plato and Archimedes to Albert Einstein, Mother Theresa and Abraham Lincon, the examples are numerous. They all have realized that what one is told or taught in not always true or right. The mistakes of the past must not be carried on must be mended. And the first step to that is to find out what is to be mended and this can only be achieved by questioning that which is known.

These concepts have often caught the imagination of many great poets, an example of people who did not forget to take their imagination when they embarked on the journey of life. "The road less travelled by" in the the poem "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost talks about the same. It may be harder to trudge along the road less traveled but would give one the satisfaction of fulfilling desires and trusting oneself and of course of doing something different form the monotony of the ages.

This leads us to another often mistaken and controversial concept, Success. The question, what is success would probably yield as many different answers as the number of people it is asked to but most of them would probably hint that a good job, high status, wealth and fame as their idea of success. And this is what many educationists are trying for their 'disciples' to achieve. However, in my opinion, as is of many others, success should not be attributed to wealth but to satisfaction, the satisfaction that you have done what seems right to you and that you ave contributed to the world. This view of success not only stops you from trampling over others in the frantic race to the mirage but also gives you a particularly pleasant peace of mind and contentment.

To the question," What is the solution to all these problems?", the only apparent answer is to be aware of what one is doing as the saying goes"Look before you Leap". Think for oneself about what others have said, oppose what is not right, learn from the nature, choose your own path, if need be make one, and above all , Think Anew!

______________________________________________________________

PS. If you find any mistakes,spellings or otherwise, please do tell me.Also, feel free to critisie any point I may have put forward or have omitted.Hope you like it.If you do please tell others about it too.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you might find the essay has many already mentioned points........ and this post being my longest is long overdue......

An open mind

I felt like writing this because I have been fighting with someone over how I should be doing a part of my project..........

How important is it to have an open mind?
If you ask me ,I would say pretty important.

Why?

It is only with a wide open mind that you can take in new thoughts.As someone famous said ( I dont remember who)..........."You can only fill an empty cup."or in other words......"You can only enter a room with open doors" (Of course, there are other ways).So ,if you keep your mind closed how would new ideas be able to enter or emerge?

Keep your mind open,to all things,filter it out to what you feel is right and you only as much.I mentioned 'what you feel is right' because thinking for yourself is another part of opening your mind.In our present educational system,we are not making a "Thinking Population" rather a "Taking Population".We students are made to gulp down loads of texbooks ;) and put it down on an 'exam' paper.

What do we gain from it ?

For most people,this means that the science you study today will be history tomorrow ;)
so what are we doing wrong?

I would blame more of it on our teachers and parents than on our curriculum. Even when textbooks prescribe practical or activity based learning , in this fast paced and 'competitive' world of ours ,everyone is more interested in completing the portins no matter how and somehow get "very high marks",no matter the cost,even at the cost of the childs future.
The child may get the "very high marks" the others are expecting of him but the question to be raised is

"Did HE gain anything susbtantial OTHER than the high marks?"

With that thought I leave you...........

Remember ,each one of us have to change before wecan change the society