12 months ago, I was not the person I am. Neither did I want to be the person I have become. And this change is definitely not attributable to the “education” that I have received in the last few months. It is just that my experiences turned out to be very different from what I hoped they would be. And even when things turned out exactly how I wanted them to, most of these victories did not seem as dear as I had hoped they would be. The last year has been one of introspection – a lot of it. I will be the first to admit that not much good came of it. However, I find this form of intellectual masturbation satisfying in its own perverse way. No pun intended.
Let me try and pen down my take on a few things.
Family – As a silently rebellious teenager who wanted to get away as far as he could from home and family. My friends were my family and my family was a bunch of people who just didn’t get me. I find myself in very different shoes now. I have come to realize that my parents and my younger brother are the only people who have been eternally forgiving of all the crap I have pulled. My apathy and neglect towards them in my younger years never diminished their concern for me. Note to self: Family is very very important. Spend time with them. Do those small things which make them happy even if it cramps your style.
Job – If you are one of the smart ones, you are fucked. Once you figure out how to do your job well, the challenge ends there. It will be a matter of time before you are bored. Find a job that lets you try out different things or try doing things differently at your job. If you can’t do either, get out. You don’t want everyday to be a countdown towards the weekend, do you? And if you are not one of the smart ones then shut up and stop cribbing. You are lucky to have a job in the first place.
Love, Relationships and Women – Women have this funny effect of enhancing the intensity of your emotions. The highs in a relationship are incredibly high and the lows, incredibly low. Net, net you are neither better off nor worse off. So what’s the draw? I want to believe that the answer lies in the need to procreate billions of years of evolutionary biology but I am too much of a romantic to do that.
However, there are a few lessons I learnt along the way.
Money – Very intriguing concept. Forgive me my moment of indulgence but I believe I have a beautiful and elegant explanation as to why it is the most lusted after object of desire.
The lust for money is derived as it is the ONLY economic concept that does not lend itself to diminishing returns of utility. Every incremental rupee is always welcome. There are bigger, better, more expensive things to be bought and consumed.
That having been said, I myself am not immune to its charms. I believe money is important for a comfortable life. However, I hope I have the prudence to use it as a means to an end and not make it the end itself.
God – I believe in God. It is not terribly difficult for me to imagine a superhuman, supernatural force that is governing the universe. Religion, on the other hand, is a man-made construct created by certain classes of men to subjugate the others. Religion promotes fear, demands submission and does not lend itself to questioning. That’s not what God is. This space is too small for me to convey the essence of my arguments. This topic demands a dedicated post. I will write the same sometime in the near future.
Looking forward to the comments.
Very well written
I agree with everything you have written… some deep thoughts coming from practical experience
Comment by Rachit — March 22, 2010 @ 9:05 AM
Thanks
Comment by scourgeofgods — March 23, 2010 @ 4:24 AM
Very interesting.
One can perhaps fairly say that money is also the only economic concept that does not lend itself to increasing returns of utility.
Ummm… isn’t God really the core concept that does not lend itself to questioning? Actually, sacred is probably the defining characteristic of God. Would really love to see that dedicated post you have in mind. Also, have you read the god delusion?
Comment by anshul — March 22, 2010 @ 6:20 PM
Mate…Disagree with you on two counts…Money, if anything, has the property of increasing returns of utility. Simple thought experiment. Less(er) money buys a Maruti 800 (I am happy), more money buys a Lamborghini (I am super fucking thrilled!).
Secondly, saying “God” is unquestionable is literally playing into the hands of the infidels.
BTW I haven’t read the God Delusion. However, I did read the Selfish Gene by Dawkins and I found it to be a fascinating book. Have a few ideas on this. Will share via the next blog post. As usual, keep the comments coming.
Comment by scourgeofgods — March 23, 2010 @ 4:20 AM
Gaaa… now, you have totally lost me on money being the only part but whatever…
And bah!!! Au contraire, questioning God is what makes you an infidel.
Oh your next post will be a lot of fun. Haven’t flexed my god questioning muscles in a while.
Selfish gene is a lovely book. Would love to see your review of it. Love that mans take on evolution and God. And that’s the thing, you should totally read the God Delusion. In fact, if there is one book I would love to see your review of, that would be this.
Comment by anshul — March 23, 2010 @ 5:05 PM
I’ve heard rave reviews about the book…Guess I will pick it up next…On an unrelated note, will call you sometime and let’s catch up
Comment by scourgeofgods — March 23, 2010 @ 5:35 PM
Yea.. Been meaning to call you for a while. Lets catch up sometime soon.
Comment by anshul — March 24, 2010 @ 12:52 AM
well said….sounds super sensible
…all of it!!!….that is the best part 
when ppl write abt their learnings from life…somewhere in between…they become too dramatic or too philosophical…but u’ve kept it simple and sensible
when i read this post….i smiled and learnt a few things
btw…’you can’t love(also like) someone you don’t respect’…..totally agree….
keep writing….
Comment by sravanthi — March 22, 2010 @ 8:16 PM
You have given me a major ego boost. Thank you!
Comment by scourgeofgods — March 23, 2010 @ 4:23 AM
Good one… Like your take on life!
Comment by Nithin — March 22, 2010 @ 11:56 PM
Thanks mate!
Comment by scourgeofgods — March 23, 2010 @ 4:25 AM
nee creation lo intha dharidram undi ani ippude telsindi
Comment by abbeyo — March 23, 2010 @ 2:18 AM
This is just the beginning. I am going to use my blog as the primary vehicle of my philosophy
Comment by scourgeofgods — March 23, 2010 @ 4:25 AM
Liked ur views…specially the part about money!
Comment by megha — March 23, 2010 @ 10:53 AM
Thanks
Comment by scourgeofgods — March 23, 2010 @ 5:50 PM
Very well written – snappy!Totally agree with you on the Job theory.
But I don’t agree with the God part and I don’t feel respect is more important than love. In fact there is no definition for respect as such – its a a form of gratitude and gratitude is the burden u want to get rid of….
Anyways… Baagundi
Comment by Aishwarya — March 23, 2010 @ 8:32 PM
Nice!
Completely agree about Family…I have the good fortune of having friends I can call family as well!
Loved the eloquent explanation about money!
God – Is that what u were mentioning on that comment? We should discuss it sometime..;) (WARNING: My beliefs may just make you wanna tell me ‘ENOUGH!’)
Love etc. etc. – I do think respect and love are equally important…
Nice read!!
Vinie.
Comment by Vineeta — March 31, 2010 @ 12:43 PM
Well what can I say…change sucksss (when it’s not for the better). From all my changing I find that it is comforting to know why the change is happening/has happened.
But it’s good to see that all your IM has lead to some ‘positive’ learnings.
Family does forgive it all. And they will always be around. Thankfully never been in a position where this funda has been tested and I hope never to be either but strangely enough I hear everyone say the same thing.
Hehe all those stupid people with job please follow Aruns advice.
I really have nothing much to say on the relationship bit except that it is evolutionary biology – humans are just hardwired for some things. Wanting people to change is one of those things too
Well money makes the world go around…and honestly the more you have of it the better it is. Hate 2 things people do. First is when they say ‘Money can’t buy everything’ and when you ask ‘what is it money can’t buy’ you get a ridiculoussss list of things that can’t be BOUGHT. And these people don’t realize that money can buy you the things that can get you closer to the things that can’t be bought. Second is people who down play the importance of money as if life will be just the same if they don’t have any. I’d love to see these same people turn poor and then talk about how unimportant money it.
Of course the tragedy of things is that money nearly always becomes the end because the end keeps getting postponed. Anyway I like the idea of money not having any diminishing marginal utility. I find it to be true too.
No comments on the God bit either.
Was interesting to see such an ‘open’ post. Keep writing
Comment by Deepali — April 1, 2010 @ 1:37 AM
@ Deeps – You are officially my most favorite commenter. You ACTUALLY took pains to read everything and penned down your thoughts in so much detail. I could never be so meticulous and/or sincere. Will try to be more like you when I comment on your blog
Comment by scourgeofgods — April 1, 2010 @ 4:17 AM
Eloquent…. Charming and very lucid…
Comment by Mary — April 11, 2010 @ 10:44 PM
btw.. forgot to mention earlier that this one is a nice write
Comment by Deepti — April 26, 2010 @ 3:31 PM