Yoga
"Yogah Karma Sukaushalam" said Krishna. Skillful execution of the job at hand in itself is (Karma)Yoga. Divinity is that simple.
At the market in Secunderabad, there is this Pineapple vendor. If you are coming through the main market entrance, he is positioned right at the front. He greets every one who approaches him with a respectful 'Salaam Alaikum" and waits for the customer to either choose a fruit or ask him to choose one. He grudges neither option. He'd then ask if the customer would rather have the fruit cleaned and sliced. Invariably people answer in affirmative. What follows is usually a master piece of art. The man would put on a glove (which he washes every once in a while) and pick one of the two knives placed in a small bucket of water. He would then proceed to peel off the thorny skin and once done, wipe off any remnants. He would clean the knife, place it back in the bucket of water and pick up another one. In a demonstration of true skill, he conjures up a way to remove all the eyes from the fruit and makes multigonal (more than 10) slices of it. He would then ask the waiting customer to taste one slice and if not approved, would go over the whole routine with one more fruit.
It is a painstaking process. The first time around I got frustrated with the waiting because there were people in line to buy the fruit and the man had no sense of urgency to address all the customers. He would not even look up if people walk away to another vendor. When the transaction with one customer is complete, he'd resume the process in the exact same manner for the next one. Overtime, my irritation turned to curiosity and eventually to admiration. He has no airs about him. For him the best way to make people eat a pineapple is the only job at hand. Everything else was incidental, including the money. Once an old lady picked up a fruit and when it did not taste good, started blaming the man for selling bad stuff. He never offered her a different fruit (which he'd normally do if he picked the fruit) but offered her money back. When I asked him why he did that, he said "Allah makes people choose what they deserve. Who am I to change that?". Sometimes I wonder if he was a learned Sufi in his past life. But then how does it matter?
"Yogah Karma Sukaushalam". The man doesn't seem like a pineapple vendor anymore.
Over this past week, I have also seen some big names created and dusted as the election results were declared. What caught the attention was of course the murder of a young IPS officer in Madhyapradesh. Narendra Kumar was a young man with lots of passion. He wrote poetry and was determined to make good of the role destiny has provided him with. His pregnant wife at home, he was off to execute his job in the bad lands of the state. There are various stories as to how he was killed. They say Narendra chased the vehicle that was speeding away and tried to stop it. The driver mowed him down or both him and the driver got mowed down when the vehicle upturned (depending on who is giving the witness). Either which way, the man died.
"Yogah Karma Sukaushalam". Narendra's story did not get enough media because there were larger issues like politics and sports. But for sure looks like he managed to attain that which others will find tough.
Rahul Dravid was also an epitome of mastery at work, but there is enough written already. While he is not a great amongst these other masters I found, he is when compared to those lesser minds who are busy accumulating (me included) still.
Niren
At the market in Secunderabad, there is this Pineapple vendor. If you are coming through the main market entrance, he is positioned right at the front. He greets every one who approaches him with a respectful 'Salaam Alaikum" and waits for the customer to either choose a fruit or ask him to choose one. He grudges neither option. He'd then ask if the customer would rather have the fruit cleaned and sliced. Invariably people answer in affirmative. What follows is usually a master piece of art. The man would put on a glove (which he washes every once in a while) and pick one of the two knives placed in a small bucket of water. He would then proceed to peel off the thorny skin and once done, wipe off any remnants. He would clean the knife, place it back in the bucket of water and pick up another one. In a demonstration of true skill, he conjures up a way to remove all the eyes from the fruit and makes multigonal (more than 10) slices of it. He would then ask the waiting customer to taste one slice and if not approved, would go over the whole routine with one more fruit.
It is a painstaking process. The first time around I got frustrated with the waiting because there were people in line to buy the fruit and the man had no sense of urgency to address all the customers. He would not even look up if people walk away to another vendor. When the transaction with one customer is complete, he'd resume the process in the exact same manner for the next one. Overtime, my irritation turned to curiosity and eventually to admiration. He has no airs about him. For him the best way to make people eat a pineapple is the only job at hand. Everything else was incidental, including the money. Once an old lady picked up a fruit and when it did not taste good, started blaming the man for selling bad stuff. He never offered her a different fruit (which he'd normally do if he picked the fruit) but offered her money back. When I asked him why he did that, he said "Allah makes people choose what they deserve. Who am I to change that?". Sometimes I wonder if he was a learned Sufi in his past life. But then how does it matter?
"Yogah Karma Sukaushalam". The man doesn't seem like a pineapple vendor anymore.
Over this past week, I have also seen some big names created and dusted as the election results were declared. What caught the attention was of course the murder of a young IPS officer in Madhyapradesh. Narendra Kumar was a young man with lots of passion. He wrote poetry and was determined to make good of the role destiny has provided him with. His pregnant wife at home, he was off to execute his job in the bad lands of the state. There are various stories as to how he was killed. They say Narendra chased the vehicle that was speeding away and tried to stop it. The driver mowed him down or both him and the driver got mowed down when the vehicle upturned (depending on who is giving the witness). Either which way, the man died.
"Yogah Karma Sukaushalam". Narendra's story did not get enough media because there were larger issues like politics and sports. But for sure looks like he managed to attain that which others will find tough.
Rahul Dravid was also an epitome of mastery at work, but there is enough written already. While he is not a great amongst these other masters I found, he is when compared to those lesser minds who are busy accumulating (me included) still.
Niren
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