Life-en-treats

Objective : To understand how deep-rooted gender stereotypes are and how they are naturalized through language Methodology : Story and discussion Material : Copy of the Surgeons story, writing material Time : 45 mins Activity : Read out the following story: One day a man goes to the circus with his son. On the way, whilst crossing the road, a car knocks down the boy. He has serious head injuries and needs to go to a hospital immediately. The man rushes the boy to the hospital and he lands up on the surgeon’s table. The surgeon takes one look at the boy and cries out “ I cannot operate on him! This is my son!” Discuss: Ask the group to give their immediate responses to the story. It is very likely that quite a few people who haven’t heard this story before will be not be able to arrive at the possibility of the surgeon being a women and therefore the boy’s mother. After arriving at the same facilitate a discussion on: 1.  Why we never thought that the surgeon might be a wom...

Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu Were crossing Hao river By the dam Chuang said: "See how free The fishes leap and dart: That is their happiness." "Hui replied: Since you are not a fish How do you know What makes fishes happy?" Chuang said: "Since you are not I How can you possibly know That I do not know What makes fishes happy?" Hui argued: "If I, not being you, Cannot know what you know It follows that you Not being a fish Cannot know what they know." Chuang said: "Wait a minute! Let us get back To the original question. What you asked me was 'How do you know What makes fishes happy? From the terms of your question You evidently know I know What makes fished happy. "I know the joy of fishes In the river Through my own joy, as I go walking Along the same river."

I remember the exact day in my childhood when I first began to experience karma. In this life, that is. Considering I can remember it, I must have been over 2 and half years of age at least. My hunch is that I was at least 6 or older. Children are exempt from the laws of karma until they are a bit older. Remember the story of a child that kills something in ignorance and then the parents perform a great penance and request that children be exempt from the laws of karma until they are old enough to understand right from wrong. I forget the source and other details of the story, argh! It was an evening and I was sitting in our hall, I remember exactly where, on the floor, near the settee. And I began to experience movements inside my head. It was an experience like none before. I scratched my head, it continued, I hit my head and it continued. Have you seen children shaking their head vigorously, by the way? So I asked my mother what it was. I told her it is as if there are ants insid...

Yesterday, I went to the Rajarajeshwari temple near Shanti theatre (close South End circle) in Bangalore. It is an old temple. There is usually a terrible rush during Rahu Kala, when women come and light lamps in inverted lemon peels serving as a diya/deepa, asking favours of the Goddess for the husbands and children. Yesterday was a Monday, so no such rush. Almost alone in the temple, apart from the poojaris, I got to read the ashtottara naamavali of the goddess (the 108 names). These 108 names are found for almost all gods; they sometimes contain in them the stories of the deities and praise them with a long list of adjectives. They also tell what the deities give us, like for example, sukha pradayini, giver of happiness and/or dushta dhvamsini, destroyer of the evil and so on. But yesterday's discovery was this; the ashtottara said, treta yuge seetayaay namah, dvapara yuge draupadyaay namah, kali yuge bharatyaay namah, one after another amidst the 108 names. Which means, we...

During the Dussera celebrations. A Kannada TV channel (I think it was TV 9) interviewed the current Wodeyar couple. The interviewer was probably keen on getting some patriotism out of the couple. She asked if all the celebrations/poojas were being done for oLitu of the nADu (good of state, and by god, she meant Karnataka state only!). To which, the Wodeyar queen replied by quoting a Sanskrit verse and said that it was for the good of mukkoti jeeva rashi , that is, every living thing of every kind everywhere in the world. The interviewer could not understand, digest the scale of these traditional Indian rituals performed by Kings and Queens for the well-being of everybody. She comforts herself by repeating, "Oh it is for the good of the state." How pathetic! The Wodeyar couple emphasized quite nicely that the traditional mantras were asking for the good of everybody, of the 14,000 types of living beings. How expansive our traditions have been, and lo what they have to be redu...

One may wonder very justifiably about the principles underlying the nature of the universe. But what is, is. Discovering the principles does not guarantee that we can change it. Read this excellent excerpt on curses from Roberto Callasso's Ka. Pg 321. More than love or war, what really set stories going were curses and, though these were of secondary importance, the vows and boons that often served to ease a curse. It wasn’t only men’s lives that teemed with curses but the god’s too. Destiny’s turning points, a little attention shows, occur at the moment when a great caster of curses –and they are generally brahmans, and in particular seers –pronouncers of fatal words. Whether anybody realizes a curse has been cast or not makes no difference at all. Sakuntala suffered the pain of lost love for many years as a result of a curse she was quite unaware of. For those who told these stories –Vyasa, for example, who was himself in a position to pronounce terrible curses –cursing was o...