I tried this actually. I sat and meditated under the banyan tree, under the peepal tree, under the gulmohar tree, and even under the mango tree (I might have had more than one intention there, but thats not the point), and as you can see, I ain't got no understanding about the absolute truth of life. Yet.
I have learnt some stuff till now. Foremost of them is that my chances of getting uber-knowledge under a tree is as high as Quentin Tarantino making a romantic comedy. Its true however, that I have found small pieces of knowledge in the most unexpected places.
1. After watching a kick-ass dishum dishum movie, me and my friend were walking down Brigade Road (yeah, you know why) discussing the movie loudly, when suddenly out of the blue he says :
"You know what the sad thing about life is? The best moments don't last. You know, I wish it was like this movie. I wish I could go home and watch it over and over again somehow, just skipping the boring and the sad parts".
This coming from someone who thought James Hadley Chase is the best author in the world.
2. Teachers can be funny.
Once our lecturer said, 'I'll tell you a guys a joke today'
Once our lecturer said, 'I'll tell you a guys a joke today'
We eagerly anticipated the joke, to fake the laughter later.
'Which is more smart, a triangle or a square?'
'Triangle sir, it looks "sharp"'
'No pa. Ok, don't know aa? See the joke has a bit of tamil joke ok? Square I say, because it has naal-edgu. *Stupid smile* Did you fallow me? Yes now tell me, which is more smart now, square or an octagon?"
'Er, sqaure because it has naal-edgu, octogon has ent-edgu'?
'No pa, octogon. Octogon has EXTRA naal-edgu'
*Chorus of fake hahahah*
Yeah, they can be pretty stupid too.
This teacher, once told me, "Life is like a lathe machine. Your soul is the workpiece. Life holds you and spins you. You are the operator. You are always in control. Its your duty shape your soul, the way you want it to be"
Sorry for the mech fundae, but still pretty impressive I must say.
3. I am one of the people for whom nature calls pretty often.
I have missed several buses, several classes, and more recently, climax of movies because of The Call. Once while answering The Call in a public restroom, there it was written:
"The most difficult moments make you appreciate how beautiful your life is. Without the lower moments, you wouldn't be able to appreciate the height of your happier ones".
I found this hilarious, meaningful at the same time.
Maybe The Call makes people philosophical.
4. South Park rules!
I just used to watch it just for the humour. But the this speech by Kyle, changed my perception of South Park. This is Imaginationland part III episode, where the govt. decides to nuke 'Imaginationland' where all imaginary things created by humans live.
"I think they are real. They are all real. Think about it. Haven't Luke Skywalker and Santa Claus affected your life than most real people in this room? I mean, whether Jesus is real or not, he's had a bigger imapct on the world than any of us have.. and the same could be said for Bugs Bunny, Superman and Harry Potter. They've changed my life.. changed the way I act on the earth. Doesn't that make them kind of real? They might be imaginary, but they are more important than most of us here.. and they're all going to be around long after we are dead. So, in a way, those things are more real-er than any of us"
Applause.
A wise-guy named Sarvajna once said,
"Taking small bits of knowledge from everyone, Sarvajna has become a mountain of knowledge"
That, for me, is the only way to get enlightened. Don't waste your time under trees.
