Egonomics

Measurement of everything in life goes a long way in cutting our life to right proportions. That's why Mathematics, Economics, Statistics were born.If man were to not measure and limit his usage of everything under the sky, the world would have ended in 1202 and not 2012 as hoped( pessimist..i said!). Then,the human mind grew inquisitive and pain came to be measured in dols & knowledge in knols.

Then comes the most destructive of all emotions-THE EGO.Termed in Sanskrit as 'Aham'. Even the scriptures fueled ego with the term 'Aham Brahmasmi'(I am God).
Men(& women..yaawnn) who've managed to regulate and control their egos came up trumps and those who rode their ego ended in dumps. Living Examples? Boris Becker, Mike Tyson, Vinod Kambli,Azharuddin and their clan- the list is endless.Becker shook tennis courts,clay and lawn alike, and announced his arrival with a Wimbledon title; winning it at 16 made it even more special.Sachin and Kambli started together and the latter was thought of as a more talented lad.His back to back double tons against England and Zimbabwe gave him success that went to his head; success that he couldn't handle. And he ended up playing his last test at an age of 22. What Sachin did and how he handles success is a thing oft discussed and printed more than about those below poverty line.

We are often taught that ego is dangerous, ego causes rifts. That one must do away with ego and approach humanity with love,humility and compassion. But, isnt' confidence, a toned down version of ego? An egoless mind is one that takes success and defeat in the same spirit. What then, is the catalyst to perform better? With due respects, had Mother Teresa not made it a matter of her ego to alleviate all suffering from lepers on the street,MoC wouldn't have been doing what it is. If she had accepted the fact that lifting lepers and destitutes from corners of a filthy city was far from being simple, she woudn't have been beatified. Her humane touch sprung out of an unshakeable belief in her self.Martin Luther King Jr., demanded equal rights and commodities for blacks.That was his ego speaking. An ego that was directed well. An ego that brought equaliity.

The truth is, ego is good in varying proportions. One needs to use his supplies as needs arise. In a game of boxing or wrestling, where it's more of brawns, getting intimidated is half the battle lost. Boxers thumps their chest; pump their fists in air to cause an 'effect'.Sooner the opponent succumbs to the 'effect', the quicker his fall.Toughness has to be shown.Snakes are more afraid of humans.But a faint hiss is enough to send shivers down the spine and showers of brine.Belief and an out burst of ego has punched knockouts into the faces of most fearsome of fighters. Muhammad Ali won half his bouts claiming himself greater and tougher. And that showed in his assaults.

For me, either an overdose or the lack of ego made my life miserable.I often left my chances go, thinking I wasn't upto something. Had there been a whiff of ego(read confidence)that prodded me to make a second attempt, things could have been different. An ego, that can say " No one else deserves it more than you do" is over confidence. An ego that says " You deserve it as much as anyone does" goes a long way in helping one to cling on to that precipice of hope. (I am not quoting Sanjay Ramasamy or some Singhania here).

I've been a fan of Aussie grit and gumption all my life. They tend to think they deserve the best and as a matter of fact, they ARE and in every sport. It's their aham that tells them they deserve to be the best but the efforts they put in shows they think anyone else could be the best. It's their ability to draw that fine line between CAN and SHOULD that has seen their results sky rocket.

Ego must be preached, practised and checked. Our kids need to be told that they can earn their own bread and barley without having to give in to bribes. Their egos must tell them they are a class apart and dont need to survive on misdoings. But there is a danger of poisoning their minds and that is upto teachers to preach in right measures.

Few years ago, I came across a social scientist from Hyderabad who worked on a thesis to find the root cause of all evil in the world.He proved it was 'aham' that drove heads to megalomania.I personally feel it's not ego and greed that is the cause but the inability to keep them in check. Like they say "daag acche hain".

Nobel Prize for Egonomics, someone??

Corrigendum

The prodigy mentioned below is a PhD in Quantum Physics and not Life Sciences as mentioned below. Apologies.

Ghazini or a Gandhi

The title is not meant for any comparison as there can be none. A marauder and messiah can't be treated on the same plane. The whole idea to bring them inside the same text box is for a discussion on their motives. Ghazini attacked India seventeen times. It was his 'ambition' to plunder. Terming it an 'ambition' would be a huge understatement. Whether he saw a mission in attacking a foreign land and looting riches is unknown and hardly debated. Afghanistan was a barren land and he probably thought it in his kingdom's best interest to attack. Mission,interleaved between ideas of ambition,is not visible to the naked eye. And the same can be said the other way. When the missionaries first arrived in the west coast of India to 'alleviate the pain and suffering of the masses', a mission statement, their ambition of a mass conversion wasnt' understood by many and the states of Kerala and Goa stand testimony to it. Nevertheless, the states have the highest literacy rates in the country.

What prompted me to write this,is a recent report about the youngest PhD in the country. He made clear his ambition to win the coveted Nobel Prize. He is a student of life sciences. If the Nobel committee were to decide that the prize be awarded to the most minimal of works, this chap would have been content receiving the award. There seems to be a lack of mission in his ambition- a mission to eradicate the world of the deadliest parasites; to rid human races of genetic anomalies. Ambition sounds good.It gives the necessary propulsion to better OUR lives. But it takes a vision of a mission to better the lives of species around us.In cricketing parlance, when Laxman, Dravid or Steve Waugh bats, it is a clear case of a mission--to steer the team clear of follow ons and embarrassments. When its Sehwag or Yuvaraj, it's a case of ambition--to notch up as many sixes and enjoy the hits. While it is purely entertaining to watch them bat, their fancies may cost the team of bigger glories.


When the Mahatma entered freedom struggle, it was his mission of not just independence from the Goras but also from the clutches of casteism, fundamentalism and other social evils. His mission took him much farther than he would have imagined and touched lives to stir up a similar storm in the minds of the masses. His was no ambition to rule India or be a President; his was no ambition to win the Bharat Ratna or the Nobel Peace prize. This thought stems from the fact he roamed the streets of Pakistan on Aug 15th,pacifying people when the nation was split into better and battered halves. At the same time Nehru stopped at India's independence. Yes, he did have a mission later;of industrialisation and modernisation that have been foundations of the present India. And thus began loot by a family that would rule the country in family successions.

We are now a country of ambitious people. To be a CEO by 35, to start a company, to buy atleast 10 acres of land by end of the year etc.,are current occupations of our mind.The real kick of achieving an ambition is when there are multiple souls benefiting.Infosys is one such success story in that league. Another is the missionaries of charity and the Bill-Melinda Gates foundation. Do we lack a mission in our ambition? For the better, it is time to boost our ambitions with a dash of mission.

P.S: I am neither ambitious nor successful.You are free to dismiss this post as utter trash but I would like to see it in the comments section. It is my mission to improve upon my thoughts.

Why-Fi :-Nothing wireless about it

Going back two weeks in time, I woke up to the horror of learning about an Iranian woman saved from getting stoned to death. Her crime,adultery. International outcries against such fatwas being meted out in pseudo-democratic nation were successful in saving her from the stones. But, she will serve out a life sentence that will prove to be a journey from a horny bed to a thorny one.In adultery, both the erring partners have an equal share.Sadly, only the fairer sex is unfairly made to atone for it for the simple reason of being a weaker sex.

Indian society, per se, sees adultery as a sin and a social boycott is always in the coming. The question remains whether anyone has bothered to get to the cause of such an act. Lust, say some. But, isn't it as human as love? Love is divine, lust is bovine,argue a few. But does love thrive entirely without lust? Bhagawad Gita preaches that one who conquers the senses conquers the world and merges with the divine. The same Gita acknowledges, that all senses, are a part of the Super Personality of Godhead.Why then, is lust seen with a red glass? The female, especially in India, is known to treat her husband as the master( I could change my opinion soon), as God and Parmeshwar. But, don't we blame God when he fails to deliver our materialistic wish-list? Only when there are gaping holes in a relationship can one see the first signs of a drift. A lack of proper understanding, a complementation of each other's weaknesses and unsatiating thirst for perfection often drive one to search for alternate fuel.It's foolish to believe that fidelity has sky as the limit.

Karan Johar's KANK tanked, owing to pressure from the Mahila sangh groups that argued, it 'Kould' trigger it off in India and a day would come when adultery would seem a perfect solution for failed marriages. Many put painstaking efforts to save their marriage and often end up paying for a lost battle.Instead, they tend to thrive on a monthly income and motley partner.

Someone ,wise like me, said, Love is like a bird. Set it free. If it comes back to you, its yours; if not, it never was. For people, who are entangled in a wireless(read 3G) world, love is never in the air. Air is now filled with Electro Magnetics. Then you might well say, Why-fi: Why the fidelity?

All this, after watching Raavan....agar pati ho Dev, tho biwi ho jaaye brave!!

Klosed for renovation

Tears circled in my eyes as I watched a hopeless Maradona trying to console his wards while trying to come to terms with this ignominous loss.Germans proved that they engineer great collapses apart from world class cars. Their defence was impeccable and attack had all teeth baying for blood. Diego's boys gave their life for attack but forgot to sniff their own backyard. Germans let loose their wolves and so came the goals. Mueller'e header seemed like a flash in the pan but Klose made sure those flashes set fire.His two pushes to the goal post seemed effortless and broke a million hearts.On the other hand,Messi's shots found the spectators. The Germans pushed, pulled and held him back with all the force in the world and now, Messi shall rest in pieces. Maradona would have joined the 'Kaiser' in being the world' only two players to have skippered and coached a team to World Cup glory. But, he was a better captain,perhaps. The match was so close that it was just a case of 'ifs' and ' if only's left for the blue white stripes.

The presence of German Chancellor , Angela Merkel, added special flavour to the German victory.Though, this one will not influence German voters in the coming polls.

Despite a 4-0 scoreline, Germans exposed a few chinks in their armour and will find David Villa aiming those in the upcoming semi final clash. But, the same score says Achtung Baby. So better watch out. I hope Diego is retained for the 2014 WC He will need another term to earn his stripes.Then,my kid will be a fan too.

Freeze the flash

Ever wondered how Benzene got its structure? How was Pencillin discovered? Blackle that and come back to this blog.There is supposedly a difference between Discovery and Invention and the latter signifies original thinking and struggle. People have been awarded Nobels and Abels for path breaking and path making discoveries. Were they a result of a flash of brilliance that was held on? Many times people quote " I stumbled upon this, "it occurred to me that.." to refer to their findings. How many ideas might have crossed their minds prior to these findings, is a calculation not even the brightest of minds can fathom,but certainly, they might have felt miserable to let those flashes die out. Perhaps, a better war plan to dethrone he English had crossed Mangal Pandey's volatile head during the first war of independence and he just let it pass. We would have been 90 years older as an independent state.

Umpteen times, while travelling alone in a bus, or in a queue for paying bills, ideas gather storm in our minds when it is calm, like a lull before the kill. Referring to a coca-cola ad featuring Kalki Koechlin and Imran Khan, this thought would have occurred to most us looking at a cola ad on the hoarding and a suave chick sitting at a seat beside you. This is where ad men bring to life, the mundane aspects of life and add zing to it.The thought of carrying a mobile music player might have occurred to Ilayaraja eons back and thus would have born an idea for an I-Paad( 'I sing' in Tamil).

I am a very bad reverse engineer. May be thats why I topped my BE class ...in reverse. Great ideas and acts have rarely taken off in my case but I have this worm bugging me to reverse engineer every brilliant thought and try guessing the thought process. This can be absolute fun and sometimes pump up enormous confidence in an individual.

I managed to hold onto an idea for this blog and here it is!!! Something's striking?? ..catch it!!!!!!!

la mano de Dios--the hand of God

Whenever the Argentines took field, I felt a gush of emotions run through me from post to post. Every shot to the goal post, every miss and every goal are met with aahs and oohs albeit I being the lone man watching it.I was probably an Argentine in my last birth..or may be a dog..or an owl..or just Amoeba!

I have been following football since 1994, from the time we played football cards in the school bus, those cards that came with the World Cup gum. I had some understanding of Mardadona's game and was keen to watch him play. When he was accused of drug abuse, I was crestfallen and feared I might never see him play. Since then, any report about him was followed with a hope to see him back only to be disappointed reading that he had cocaine in an rehab in Cuba.

Learning that he would coach, this World Cup meant much more to me than ever. Never have I so fervently prayed that Buenos Aires see this team lift and kiss the cup. Watching Messi play, it does look like Diego has gone nowhere. His magical left foot tackles remind those cosmic flashes of brilliance seen not so long ago in Maradona.Expectedly, the team is sending the Jabulani into the net and causing the opposition to fret. Maradona's passion is such, he must be itching to take a shot at the ball and am sure even at this age, will put most of the stars to shame.

Other players who make it to my list of all time favourites--Dennis Bergkamp, Roberto Baggio, Romario, Roberto Carlos, Messi, Zizou and Oliver Kahn. Though none of them is playing now, I wish to see their videos again and relive the magic of the world's most beautiful game. The magic still lives on in the form of the Diego Armando Maradona.