Hitanshu Gandhi's presentation on "Breaking The Ice" triggered a heated debate in the class of "Language and Communication" (3rd year, IIT Delhi). The girl students were particularly outraged by his suggestion, which according to them dehumanized girls - guys, go to Ansal Plaza, pick any girl and strike a chat with her. If she says 'No', hit on someone else.
His point was like this - effective communication greatly involves a skill that has to be acquired and developed. Today it may seem frivolous and flippant to you. But tomorrow you will feel for someone, seriously and sincerely, and it'd hurt you sorely if you miss her simply because you could not gather enough courage to come out of your shell to talk to her, or could not talk to her without being misunderstood. So it's vital for each one of us to get familiar with all the Don'ts of such intercourses before we face one. Go guys, break the ice, set yourself free from your self-imposed captivity, for learning communication is half about getting rid of useless inhibitions. For the rest of things, apply yourself.
Prof Srinivas backed him up simply for his heart, for his making himself vulnerable, which he maintained to be one of the touchstones of great communicators in the making.
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People are lonelier than we imagine they are. And if you care to look inside, you'll find out that the innermost regions of hearts are mostly desolate. Almost anyone that you see walking on road, no matter how rich or beautiful he/she may be, secretly but painfully longs for warmth and amae*. And in his/her heart, each one of us has always known this.
Then what are you waiting for? Break the ice which keeps you cold like dead meat. Let the sunshine of friendship spread its warmth through your arms. Don't be scared, and do remember that suffering is the privilege of the noble. Only the bravest of hearts are capable of making themselves vulnerable, if need be, to live their convictions.
And if you still can not, at least respect it; and if you ever happen to meet sunshine in your way, step ahead and embrace it. For you might realize later in life, that there is something sacred about sunshine.
* amae (Japanese) - a state of absolute acceptance by someone; a blissful dependence upon someone's love and benevolence; a feeling very much akin to what a child feels in presence of his/her mother.
His point was like this - effective communication greatly involves a skill that has to be acquired and developed. Today it may seem frivolous and flippant to you. But tomorrow you will feel for someone, seriously and sincerely, and it'd hurt you sorely if you miss her simply because you could not gather enough courage to come out of your shell to talk to her, or could not talk to her without being misunderstood. So it's vital for each one of us to get familiar with all the Don'ts of such intercourses before we face one. Go guys, break the ice, set yourself free from your self-imposed captivity, for learning communication is half about getting rid of useless inhibitions. For the rest of things, apply yourself.
Prof Srinivas backed him up simply for his heart, for his making himself vulnerable, which he maintained to be one of the touchstones of great communicators in the making.
********************
People are lonelier than we imagine they are. And if you care to look inside, you'll find out that the innermost regions of hearts are mostly desolate. Almost anyone that you see walking on road, no matter how rich or beautiful he/she may be, secretly but painfully longs for warmth and amae*. And in his/her heart, each one of us has always known this.
Then what are you waiting for? Break the ice which keeps you cold like dead meat. Let the sunshine of friendship spread its warmth through your arms. Don't be scared, and do remember that suffering is the privilege of the noble. Only the bravest of hearts are capable of making themselves vulnerable, if need be, to live their convictions.
And if you still can not, at least respect it; and if you ever happen to meet sunshine in your way, step ahead and embrace it. For you might realize later in life, that there is something sacred about sunshine.
* amae (Japanese) - a state of absolute acceptance by someone; a blissful dependence upon someone's love and benevolence; a feeling very much akin to what a child feels in presence of his/her mother.
10 comments:
wah wah
:)
Thank you. :)
And one point must be stressed here - using people, and making them a mere means to a selfish ends, is NOT suggested here. Such behavior is unethical as per Kantian as well as my personal belief system.
Rest everything holds. :)
I don't buy what the smart boy was trying to sell there, and the girls' outrage was not unjustified in the light of the point I have made above.
Rest everything holds. :)
Suffering, the privilege of the noble? It's everywhere. Wt's ur point?
Hitenshu was taken to hospital n found to be a complete moron!
Well, that's one of the things that can happen when you make yourself vulnerable. :D
You have added an element of comedy (or tragedy?) here. Though I was not ready for that, I enjoyed myself. :)
Point taken. But suffering as I perceive is a shade different from grief or pain. Plus I associate some higher value with it. In that sense, it is not everywhere.
For my mean and selfish reasons, I like you for reading my posts so carefully. :)
I still don't get what suffering means to u?
Hi Meenakshi. Where have you been all this while? Welcome back. :)
For me suffering involves a sense of purpose. When someone decides to do something and suffers trials and tribulations in his/her way, that's suffering. But he/she wouldn't suffer his/her parent's death. You don't suffer death; in these cases grief is involved, not suffering. Suffering is not for passive victims, it's for those who struggle in their way. That was the idea. Hope I made myself clear.
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