This is an audio recording of the blog, in case you prefer to listen.
Life sometimes throws us into walls that don’t crack. We feel only pain. In those moments, this pesky little thing called love shows up. Sometimes quiet, sometimes loud, often silly, but always steady. This blog is me showing up for Prachi.
Two Parallel Lives
My dear friend, Dr. Prachi Thakur, is living two lives at once. Like a pendulum that swings from the left to the right, she is swaying from happiness to sorrow, from joy to pain, from bliss to guilt, from planning for the future to dreading it.
One side has her father, her hero, Shyam uncle, battling stomach cancer, the kind that makes doctors look you in the eye and say, “There’s not much we can do now.” On the other side, she just started a new life with her husband.
How do you keep swinging without losing your footing? How do you crack Newton-Apple jokes while fundraising for your terminally ill father’s care? You do it by being Prachi.
The Secret Power of Humour (and LinkedIn 😆)
We met via the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator Program, an ambitious place where getting attention means someone else loses it. Prachi, Riddhi, Mrinal, Supriya, Rahul, and Jatin were not this (for me). We cared more about laughing with each other than growing on LinkedIn. We roasted ourselves and our creations. We have collaborated to make funny videos. Basically, we are all Chandler Bing. All the Chandlers found each other and laughed as much as they could along the way.
One day, Prachi said she was coming to meet me. I did not think she would come, but Prachi came. Lipstick on point, laughing all the way. We ate, we went around the city looking at Gujarati snack aisles, and we slithered on my cool stone tiles. I don’t know much about life, but I do know this: when you find someone who will chill on the floor with you, hold on tight and don’t let go.
Prachi, I am not sharing those photos here. I will burden you with that decision. #JustCreatorThings
Prachi is a survivor. When your life has been a fight, you learn to laugh and disassociate. That is how you keep going. The strength and sass you see come from her upbringing. It is a testament to what supportive parenting does to a person.
Like all dads, Shyam Uncle waited for his prize fighter to find her match, the son-in-law of his dreams. All this joy he had longed for finally arrived, and so did the damn cancer. It is trying to kill him, but Uncle is like, “Nope, we are not doing this today. I am soaking in the joy of the moment. I will keep living.” He hopes, so does his entire family. Life is carrying on as usual, with added visits to the Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai.
One side is grief. The other side is joy. People on both sides are smiling.
Now we Talk about Rhu-Rhu
I didn’t want to burden Prachi by attempting to make her laugh. I hate when people facing sadness have to put on a show to make the rest of us comfortable. But I reached out and eventually told her about rhubarb. Yes, the plant. Don’t judge me: I am a book editor and a nerd who also gardens. Yes, I am a proud cliché.
Home gardeners usually cover the rhubarb plant with a bucket when it is growing. Rhubarb grows sweeter in the dark. The bucket blocks out all the light, but Rhu-Rhu is determined to find the light. It believes in the presence of light, and this determination makes it grow taller. When the bucket is finally lifted, Rhu-Rhu shoots up: vibrant, red, and alive.
I think Prachi laughed when she said, “So, Rhu is like my soul plant.” I said, “Yup. Nutritious. Gorgeous. Thrives in darkness. Thrives in light. Turns into jams and pies. Can be poisonous if not prepared right.“
Honestly, it fits Prachi well. She is in her rhubarb era.
Why I am making You Read This
This blog isn’t just a tribute to our friendship. It’s a character certificate. It’s a public letter vouching for Prachi’s integrity, her strength, and her humanity.
Yes. She is real. Her father’s illness is real. Her pain is real. Her courage is unmatched. Her humour is on point. And her need is urgent and important.
Help!
If you have someone who makes you laugh or hold space for your mess, someone who lifts people up, now’s the moment to lift back. Donate.
I’ve donated and shared her fundraiser in every circle I know. If your budget allows, I’m asking you to do the same.
This damn disease takes so many from the world. Love deserves to win, damn it. I will hold on to my Rhu-Rhu, hoping these dark times will lead to something sweet when the bucket lifts. People rallying around this beautiful family is a joy to behold. When all else fails, the light, people, show up.
The world shall feel pain – 世界に痛みを, Sekai ni Itami o.
Pain from Naruto: Shippūden utters these words, ushers in unimaginable destruction to Konaha village, and changes my life forever. My teenage head unconsciously encounters the Buddhist philosophy of pain leading to enlightenment. Watching this anime is how I began my lifelong obsession of understanding philosophy.
The world of philosophical academia is intimidating. You require exceptional intellect to make sense of the treasure trove that lays open, awaiting your interest. You need to dedicate a lot of time and energy to have actual thoughts around these philosophical concepts you eventually acquire.
In contrast, take anime. There’s a simple premise, a relatable theme, an emotional tug, a journey, engaging conflicts, drama, multiple attempts at redefining the heart of the story, a set intention and obstacle, various shades of humour (something for everyone), a bag full of emotional trauma, scars and empathy, character diversity and dynamics, and fights with a stated purpose. Using emotional storytelling, the anime focuses on accessible and non-subtextual philosophy to build the story. If you watch it actively, you are captivated by this insatiable desire to know more. There are no good or bad characters – it is all left to the audience’s preferences. Their feelings are front and centre.
This is why I wanted to write about how anime uses great storytelling to trick us into consuming philosophy. Most of these stories don’t have the ideal happy endings. They have likeable characters we eventually relate to. Cowboy Bebop’s imperfect character Spike’s humanity becomes a motif for how we all try to unsuccessfully escape our pasts. We begin caring for Spike courtesy of his comedic persona and mysterious past. His emotional dilemmas become ours. The human condition activates itself because we all have a deep understanding of the struggles of being human.
Anime often uses Nihilistic storytelling by presenting honest, non-sugarcoated plots to tell the story of failure. They make a case for the real world where talent and connections aren’t always surpassed by hard work. Even though all dreams might not come true, the anime makes us continue to have faith in people and us having the courage to fail.
Mostly, good anime offers profundity. Using vivid imagery, they pose tough questions. In Monster, we question human nature – is it good or bad? We wonder, are all lives created to be equal? There are no general answers to these questions. The anime shows us both sides and the story stays with you. You draw your own conclusions. If that isn’t philosophising, I don’t know what is…
The anime and creators mentioned in this essay are:
Naruto: Shippūden, Code Geass, Cowboy Bebop, Monster, Bleach, Koe no Katachi, Kino’s Journey, Iwakura Lain, Ghost in a Shell, Satoshi Kon, Perfect blue, Paprika, Fullmetal Alchemist, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Violet Evergarden, Banana Fish, Steins;Gate, Berserk.
The philosophies and philosophers mentioned in this essay are:
Jeremy Bentham, Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill, Aristotle, Ethos-Pathos-Logos, Theories of social change, Haferkamp, Thomas Jefferson, Epicurean Hedonism, Intergenerational trauma, Existentialism, José Ortega y Gasset, Nietzsche, Übermensch, Glen Pettigrove, Socrates, Plato, Essential properties , Kierkegaard, George Berkeley, Idealism, Epistemology, Julien Offray de La Mettrie, Alan Turing, Imitation Game or the Turing Test, David Chalmers, p-zombies or philosophical zombies, Jean-Paul Sartre, Plato, Dualism, Donna Haraway, Cyborg Manifesto, War Theory, Thomas Hobbs, Structuralism, Amor fati, Plato’s theory of forms, Democritus, Hegel, Determinism, Principle of alternative possibilities, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, David Hume, Compatibilism.
On Ethos
Most forms of media consist of philosophical text or subtext in some form. Ethics is the most common theme explored. A lot of anime use utilitarianism. What is right? What is wrong? How do we determine right from wrong? Utilitarianism teaches us to differentiate between what’s right and wrong based on outcomes. If the outcome of having child/teenaged soldiers fighting wars is world peace, then the social structure is justified (Naruto, Inuyasha, too-many-to-type). Most shows depict utilitarianism in a good light – the hero’s journey.
The outlier is Code Geass. In order to unite the world, Lelouch does terrible things with the best intentions and eventually becomes a tyrant. The best intentions crumble to dust if they meet bad ethos (also, execution and policy). John Stuart Mill’s philosophy of maximising utility tells us how, “…people really desire happiness, and since each individual desires their own happiness, it must follow that all of us desire the happiness of everyone, contributing to a larger social utility.”
In upholding the collective will of creating happiness, Lelouch slips. To quote John Stuart Mill, “One person with a belief is equal to ninety-nine who have only interests.” He forms an oppressive government to create a better world. This pursuit of righteousness turns into a compulsion. The contradiction of making a collective decision based on personal values looks ugly. To paraphrase the theories of social change by Haferkamp: modern problems solved within the current power structure will become corrupted in spite of reform.
A quote comes to mind, “…the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”
Thomas Jefferson
Lelouch instigates reform to create a world fit for Nunnally, an obviously personal goal. Epicurean Hedonism simplifies things into two camps of pain (bad) and pleasure (good). This focus on securing Lelouch’s personal pleasure using mental gymnastics makes utilitarianism look bad. To counter Epicurean Hedonism, Jeremy Bentham tried using mathematics to introduce utility – before you make any choice, use the maths containing 8 variables to ensure your choice is free from the pursuit of pleasure. Who really has time for that? Pleasure is such an easy choice.
Naruto: Shippūden tried doing it too by making Sasuke Uchiha attempt to kill Naruto. Had Danzo not orchestrated the genocide of the Uchiha clan to prevent a coup d’état, the intergenerational trauma of Ashura’s and Indra’s descendants fighting each other to death could have been stopped. No great Ninja wars, no child soldiers. Most Shōnen anime create the hero’s journey using the guise of saving the world. Even when it is a journey of self-discovery, this ethos of saving the world justifies everything. We see the use of skilled character writing to depict the harsh realities of the world in an honest (and hopeful) way. As the order gently fades in the absence of chaos, as viewers, we begin experiencing empathy for detestable actions – they did it for a good cause. The anime successfully makes the story resonate by tapping into our existential fabric.
Existentialism deals with existence and human nature. It tells us how unique we are and that we have the ability to make choices. José Ortega y Gasset tells us how existentialism makes the human spirit wander. A future project – the dream life. We are always searching for something. It makes most of us anxious. If I give up the freedom to choose and instead stand for something (ideology, religion, et al.), I shall lead a stress-free life. (This is how vulnerable societies become susceptible to dictatorships.)
Lelouch says this, “Since that day, I have lived a lie. The lie of living. My name, too, a lie. My personal history, a lie. Nothing but lies. I was sick to death of a world that couldn’t be changed. But, even in my lies, I couldn’t give up in despair.”
Taniguchi, Gorō, and Ichirō Ōkouchi. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, illustrated by Majiko!. Translated by Satsuki Yamashita, Vol. 1, Yen Press, 2008.
We feel his existential anxiety because we all unwillingly conform to society. He lies to everyone, including himself (just like we do). His future project becomes real. He realises how everyone simply wants to live a better than average life – the world didn’t really change. He falters, gives up his freedom and chooses a comfortable, decent life. He yearns to protect his comfort leading to tyranny. We understand him because we have all made these choices. The existential confrontation brought on by experiencing this empathy makes you look at your life and question it. We can do whatever we want because we are free – did we give up the freedom or did we choose our future project?
On Pathos
The most successful stories are those about emotions, feelings and value systems. The storytelling in Anime does this incredibly well.
Imagine this: someone told you there’s this town where killing is allowed. There are known serial killers living in the town. What assumptions would you make? Kino’s Journey poses this question in one of their episodes. They use our assumptions against us. Then, they add the cherry on top by coming back to this town in a future episode. I am not spoiling this story for the philosophy lesson. Forgive me!
Koe no Katachi’s take on forgiveness saved my life. I don’t say this lightly. When we choose to forgive, we are doing one of three things according to Glen Pettigrove: excusing, justifying or accepting. We either forgive without understanding or we hold on to the anger. In rare instances, we accept, change, and move on.
Ishida and Ueno create the dichotomy. Everyone bullied Shouko who internalises all the blame. Ishida faces the consequences of his actions and internalises the guilt. His ability to understand others is gone as he is holding on to the past. He withdraws from the world. Yuzuru loses her sense of self in an effort to make Shouko, her sister, come back to life. Every single character isn’t forgiving themself. In watching these dynamics play out, we realise how we are quick to forgive others but infinitesimally slow to forgive ourselves. When a character’s life teeters on the edge, we see them forgiving each other for the first time. Largely speaking, they all accept the change and move forward. Ueno doesn’t face the consequences of her actions as people create excuses for her. She doesn’t change and continues her violent streak.
In Bleach, when Aizen and Urahara converse, we see Nietzsche’s Übermensch on display (a perfect human designed per Christian ideals). He sneers at Urahara,
“That is a loser’s reasoning. A winner has to speak not of the world as it is, but of the world as it should be.”
Kubo, Tite. Bleach. Vol. 1, translated by Joe Yamazaki, VIZ Media, 2004.
Aizen is the Übermensch who is plotting to kill the Gods (the Spirit King). When a God falls, people break free from the chains of morality and define their own meaning of life. However, as the conversation progresses, we realise how when a God falls, people lose faith. In the absence of that God, people will seek someone to look up to. The lightbulb flickers – Aizen is trying to be that someone. The desire to create the world as it should be will always come from an inherently selfish place.
If I were to selfishly ask you to jump to your death, would you? A paradox of existentialism is presented in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Sartre tells us how there is nothing standing in the way of resuming our bad choices. We are free to plunge to our deaths. Yet, we are afraid to jump. This freedom to choose scares us. The structure that helps us make sense of the world also limits us.
Berserk sees us contemplating multiple philosophies. What is the most accurate representation of reality (Plato’s theory of forms)? When we say God, are we trying to rationalise unexplainable events to a superhuman agency (Democritus)? How can we say God is a being – they aren’t finite – they are the fullest form of reality (Hegel)? Why does darkness hold a mirror (Nietzsche)? Why have we learned to internalise our cruelty? Can we choose to be different?
Speaking of choices, if you had the choice to build a time machine and go back in time, would you? Time travel is one of those thought-provoking ways of questioning free will. Steins;Gate makes us question the notion of choices. Determinism tells us how everything occurs because of the past and laws of physics. Events happen because of causes and not choices. This is where the principle of alternative possibilities steps in. It states, “A person is morally responsible for what she has done only if she could have done otherwise.”
If we think about this metaphysically, determinism and freewill cannot coexist. Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz noted how God created the most perfect world possible – everything is predetermined. Compatibilism argues against this by noting how outcomes are predetermined, choices and will are not. David Hume explains further by explaining how the existence of desire implies humans are free and that their actions are their own. With every episode, we come face to face with the arrogance of human existence.
When forced to choose between saving Mayuri or Kurisu, Okabe is unable to choose. Kurisu chooses for him because in prioritising everyone’s happiness, Okabe made a zero-sum scenario whereas in prioritising the individual happiness of Okabe and Mayuri, Kurisu freely made her choice. Instead of being bogged down by choice, she chose freely.
On Logos
…and finally, logic.
Both Socrates and Plato philosophise about Essential properties – attributes that define an object. Everything in existence is given an essence before birth. If we follow the essence, we lead a meaningful life. Iwakura Lain questions these essential properties (just like Nietzsche and Kierkegaard).
A soul merges with the Wired (now called the world wide web). Then it attains enlightenment only to later commit a version of suicide. Ask yourself this: if a tree falls and you are not there to listen to it, did it really make a sound? That’s George Berkeley’s Idealism. As Lain navigates the Wired, a lot of other epistemological (justified belief and knowledge) questions come to mind.
Don’t we all exist in a database called peoples’ memories?
If nobody perceives our powers, are they real?
Is memory a mere record?
Are the Wired (Internet) and the real world interconnected?
Will exchanging our physical bodies for a wired persona have any impact?
Will I be me without my body?
Ghost in a Shell poses similar dilemmas. Watching a cyborg struggle with her identity, we ask ourselves: what makes someone human? My answer is how ‘humans’ treat each other.
Julien Offray de La Mettrie believed humans and machines are the same and that humans are a biological machine. David Chalmers introduces p-zombies or philosophical zombies. These entities lack consciousness and death. Alan Turing’s Imitation Game or the Turing Test aspires to separate the two. Should we? Are we creating zombies or cheap imitations of the human condition with technology?
Lain is confronted with Jean-Paul Sartre’s existentialism. Only she can determine who she is – real or not. In her final act, she does.Major Motoko Kusanagi, a ghost, has human and cyborg cells in her brain. She was modified as a child. Her greatest fear (embodied by the puppet-master) is the creation of a ghost without human cells. Plato’s dualism jumps out – can the mind and the self reside separately from the physical brain? Major’s journey takes us from her monism to dualism. She cares about what happens to her body initially but then she willingly lets it be destroyed. This is Hegelian dialectic. We see the flaw in both Turing’s and Mettrie’s interpretation.
The question shouldn’t be: Are they human?
It should be: Can one change their mind to define humanity themselves?
The show compels us to question our desire to label things – man/woman, cyborg/person, mind/soul, et al. Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto philosophies the ego of it all – we label things to protect our fragile selves.
A lot of realism is lost in anime. Satoshi Kon’s works use that to explore the duality in everything. Perfect blue sees Mima Kirigoe, a pop singer transitioning to an actor, essentially losing her mind. The version of her she portrays, the part of us we put online is how we want to be perceived by the world. That’s not who we really are. She loses her mind (so do we if we admit it to ourselves).
Similarly, Paprika unravels the human psyche with a heartwarming depth of empathy. Does it matter whether things are real (or not)?
Let’s change gears by talking about war in Fullmetal Alchemist. War Theory suggests 5 conditions:
The war must be led by a legally recognised authority.
The cause of the war must be just.
The war must be a last resort only after diplomacy has been exhausted.
There must be a reasonable chance of success.
Only sufficient force must be used.
We have read about enough wars to know how moral laws change during war. Are soldiers responsible for the carnage or is it those who give the orders?
As the plot progresses, we get these answers as we see the soldiers and the resistance stop rationalising their actions. Killing civilians becomes a strategy used by both sides. Even when the Homunculi caused the war, it was the humans who finished it. The violence within human nature glares at us. Thomas Hobbs comes to mind: Humans are violent by nature. Everyone who fought against human nature was defeated in the end.
Violet Evergarden made me shed a lot of water weight because I just wept. Seeing this war veteran struggle to acclimate in a world affected by war was gut-wrenching. Nietzsche’s idea of Amor fati comes to the rescue as the episodes roll by – we can overcome our past without erasure by relying on acceptance. Violet comes to terms with her reality by surrounding herself with perseverance.
If you have persevered all the way to the end, thank you for reading. Anime is a content delivery system. It is a multimedia format employed to tell a story. If you give it a chance, you shall see…
All content on this website, including blog posts, writing samples, and service descriptions, is the intellectual property of Binati Sheth and is protected by copyright law. Do not quote, reproduce, copy, or republish any part of this content without prior written permission. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
This is the tale of a human storyteller. A new Dave Chappelle special has dropped on Netflix and the twitterati are buzzing with outrage. Some want him cancelled. Some want the critics cancelled. The rest are busy living normal lives. Everyone knows about ‘The Closer’. As always, the arrow hit its target and as an artist working among an increasingly fragile audience, this one was magnificent. Dave Chappelle is a genius. Whether you like him or not (on account of his comedy and/or opinions), there is no denying the genius of this comic. He jokes about everyone and everything. To quote everyone, “Nobody is safe!”
What do people really expect when they go to a Chappelle show I wondered? I think I have an answer. Stories. People go for the story. Chappelle recites jokes but what he does so well is storytelling. He talks to his audience, even the ones watching on Netflix. He draws us in with a cult leader-esque persona. Chappelle talks softly, then screams, dances, and sings. He doesn’t force the audience to listen – he makes them want to listen. Like a skilled magician who changes cards with a sleight of hand, Chappelle uses storytelling to do the same with his audience’s thoughts.
Familiarity
He sings familiar songs or mutters popular catchphrases before he cracks the tough-to-digest jokes to engage the audience and ease them into the painful yet hard-hitting premise of the joke. These jokes are the pointers leading to a social premise.
Relatability
He talks about someone he knows (from high school, within his personal circle of friends and family, at the comedy store, from some random bar on the road, et cetera). He does this to draw the audience into his life, making them feel as if they are one of his people. People like to belong in a tribe (especially when it is the tribe of someone famous). He makes use of relatable tropes to bond with his audience. This conditioning makes the blow from the premise softer when it comes.
Surprise
He uses the gift of ambiguity. Using reflective humour, Chappelle introduces the main premise of his special (which is often a social issue relating to race). He dodges the issue (mostly) by making things about himself (and not the issue per se). There is a shock value to his humour, a shock value that comes and slaps you in the face. These hard-hitting jokes encourage the audience to be human, even in the face of inhuman behaviour.
The Format
Chappelle says whatever he wants to say while saying he can’t say this out loud (making the appearance of the outrage around his humour and the cancel culture mob seem prophetic). He connects the outrage with empathy conveying the message of humanity to most people (who watch the whole thing). If you skim and scan though, you will only experience the outrage, you won’t notice the empathy, and the humanity of it all will be lost on you. If you watch a little clip, you will be triggered because the language he uses is fiery, sometimes incendiary.
Do you remember the jesters from a King’s Court from back in the day? Their job was to act silly, crack jokes and poke fun at the powerful people present in the court. Since time immemorial, comedians have been allowed to discuss and joke about subjects that are (morally) wrong and/or (socially) risqué in order to focus on the greater truths (whatever those are). Now though, comedians cannot say certain things. People pay money, go to shows or click on the shows and then, they call for it to be cancelled just because they didn’t like what they heard/saw.
To quote Chappelle himself,
“I don’t have to agree with all the art I consume, but it helps me understand how I actually feel about it.”
He is honest in a way that could get the audience to turn on him in a single instance. If he doesn’t handle the premise properly, people would do more than just boo him off the stage. The genius of Chappelle lies here. He uses outrage and empathy to draw his audiences in and he reminds them of their humanity and the humanity of the fellow man – everyone loves to laugh, especially during inappropriate moments.
I say, we let him do it for as long as he wants to. I say, we encourage more artists to be brave rather than constricted by some random dos and don’ts list made by people who do nothing but complain all day. If he does get cancelled, I guess it would be alright. To quote Chappelle for the last time, “It’s okay! My career ended many years ago.”
With that concluding note, let the begging commence. Let me know what you thought about this piece. While you do that, click on my other stuff as well alongside signing up for my cutesy, nerdy newsletter.
All content on this website, including blog posts, writing samples, and service descriptions, is the intellectual property of Binati Sheth and is protected by copyright law. Do not quote, reproduce, copy, or republish any part of this content without prior written permission. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
Mr. Darcy And His Charms – Why They Work On Audiences Across Generations (& Genders)
Audio Recording (if you like listening)
Jane Austen is an author who knows her readers as well as she knows her characters. Nothing proves my bold statement better than the character transformation and perception of Mr. Darcy from the delightful regency era romantic fiction, Pride and Prejudice. She takes us on a journey which progresses sluggishly and allows readers to be indoctrinated to the biases of the narrator. As well as see the world through the eyes of an individual from Meryton, a fictional town in 18th century England.
There is a short answer to this phenomenon and it is the holy trinity of looks (doesn’t look like an ogre), influence (wealthy, wise and knows the right people) and intentions (the prejudice came from social exposure whereas the pride came from assumptions – both of which he casts away without being urged to). Now, let’s get on to the long, long answer, shall we?
Confirmation Bias and Groupthink
As Darcy enters the room with his party, the unknown narrator triggers a confirmation bias in the minds of the readers by telling us the following about Darcy.
Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room by his fine, tall person, handsome features, noble mien, and the report which was in general circulation within five minutes after his entrance, of his having ten thousand a year. The gentlemen pronounced him to be a fine figure of a man, the ladies declared he was much handsomer than Mr. Bingley, and he was looked at with great admiration for about half the evening, fillhis manners gave a disgust which tamed the tide of his popularity; for he was discovered to be proud; to be above his company, and above being pleased; and not all his large estate in Derbyshire could then save him from having a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy to be compared with his friend.
People favour the information they trust. If someone trustworthy says something, like say the ultimate gossip of the city, we as a people have the tendency to believe them over the information available. Also, when in groups, especially in social settings, people have the tendency to think as a group rather than an individual. The phenomenon of groupthink strikes again to create a wonderful narrative discourse.
When Darcy enters the room with his party, Austen uses passive voice like a skilled surgeon to carve out intention and obstacle that goes on to define the plot of the book. Notice how people openly gawk at Darcy. They openly talk and gossip about him. The intensity of their speculation is so intense, Darcy goes from a fine figure of a man to a most forbidding, disagreeable countenance, and being unworthy within just five minutes.
He becomes the target of groupthink and we the reader readily agree with the busybodies from Meryton. We see Darcy as a proud, prejudiced and privileged young man who slights Lizzie with no regards to her feelings. We don’t even consider the fact that he might be shy or socially awkward or might have some neurodivergence issues. We also forget how he is a nobleman who is probably used to the mannerisms and decorum of noble society. Despite the fact that Lizzie eavesdrops on his private conversation where he insults her, we dislike him and pity her.
The Inciting Incident
As we all meet Darcy with that introduction, Lizzie (Elizabeth Bennet) is roaming around the room with her unconventional opinions and preferences. This is how she describes the world to us.
The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.
She is just as prejudiced and prideful as Darcy. But to us, she is a darling. The inciting incident occurs when Darcy shuns her beauty and grace. We feel for her instead of them both – the strong woman living in a world that won’t appreciate her independence of thought and the shy man reacting to the world honestly and earnestly. With this incident, the obstacle is presented (they are equally prideful and prejudiced) and the intention is set (how they overcome their pride and prejudice). The game of transformation is afoot.
Over and over, we are told and shown how different Lizzie is from her sisters who each represents the predominant shades of regency era women. Jane is the ideal woman who brings repute to the family. Mary is the rare and self-assured intellectual woman who remains haughty and single. Lydia and Kitty are young, gullible flirtatious women who bring dishonour to their families. Then there’s Elizabeth, Lizzie, the unconventional woman, one who is loved by her father and the most eligible man in town in spite of her wishes.
Lizzie is unconventional in that for once, we get a strong female character who doesn’t fit the stereotype. Unlike perfect, stubborn and judgmental feminine leads, written to imply strength of character, Lizzie is imperfect. The same applies to Darcy. He is a strong male character who doesn’t bow down to expectations. Darcy has flaws which he later remedies.
Adorably enough, Darcy makes fun of her for being ahead of her time and then goes and falls head over heels for her. He isn’t as pompous in his assumptions as Lizzie is but he is pompous enough to incense us. In fact, this inciting incident and Lizzie’s prejudice for Darcy is what makes her such an easy target for George Wickham’s lies.
Witty Banter between Lizzie and Mr. Darcy
This book is so witty. The accidental romantic tension between Darcy and Lizzie is palpable for the readers and the observers. With Darcy doing everything in his power to avoid Elizabeth and her attempting to do the same, whenever they meet, and they meet a lot, we see awkward sparks fly.
This banter transforms from spite to teasing to love as the plot progresses. Lizzie literally goes from, “anybody but you” to “you are the apple of my eye”.
When Darcy blurts out his proposal, in the heat of the moment, the subplot just nails him in the foot. Mr. Bingley and Jane are not going to be married and Lizzie is told how it was Darcy who caused this catastrophe.
She is angry. She is hurt. Yet, she goes from this:
From the very beginning— from the first moment, I may almost say— of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.
…to falling in love with the man because he remedied his mistake and dropped his heart at her feet, even if she were to stomp on it, again.
She literally goes from anybody but you to you dare insult my sweet bébé.
I love him. Indeed he has no improper pride. He is perfectly amiable. You do not know what he really is; then pray do not pain me by speaking of him in such terms.
This witty banter helps create the slow transformational burn which is the brilliance of Pride and Prejudice.
Possible Neurodivergence of Mr. Darcy
Even though Darcy’s story runs parallel to Lizzie’s, we are rarely given a glimpse at his internal struggles. We think he is a jerk. To me, he seems to have anti-social tendencies commonly showcased by shy introverts who happen to be on the spectrum. My friend, Mel Cyrille alerted me to this fact. These are individuals who dislike integrating and socialising with people they don’t know, despise physical contact with anyone besides friends and family, and are honest to a fault.
The narrator lets us into what Darcy’s persona might actually be with these words.
She began now to comprehend that he was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes. It was a union that must have been to the advantage of both: by her ease and liveliness, his mind might have been softened, his manners improved; and from his judgement, information, and knowledge of the world, she must have received benefit of greater importance.
Lizzie didn’t understand him. We failed to comprehend his discomfort with society. Then we learned about him through his actions. Like Lizzie and everyone else, we fell in love.
Historical Context
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
This line, which aged like milk, once again anchors your bias. You know you are being told the story of a time whose morality and standards are different from yours.
The historical context to Lizzie’s rejection of Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy is just surreal. Mr. Collins represents security whereas Mr. Darcy represents wealth, social supremacy and security. The fact that Lizzie rejects them both with no thought just shocks you because now, love is truly in play. Whatever happens here after will be about love. Isn’t that just adorable?
Mr. Darcy and his Wealth
Darcy makes £10,000 a year. We know this from his introduction. We also know he hails from a legacy family. He comes from a long line of landlords (ignore the implication of slavery in this context (Blackburn, 2011)).
During the regency era, gentlemen like Mr. Darcy made and maintained wealth via landholdings, inheritance, investments, dowry from marriage and social connections. He is the only son of his illustrious father and has zero obligations to society. He presents with no vices. He seems to have a lot of wealth and he doesn’t spend much in perpetuating outward appearances.
Darcy was used to people throwing themselves at him courtesy of his wealth and social standing. Every stranger who interacted with him had some ulterior motive. He notes this about women.
A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.
From this to marrying Lizzie, he makes a transformation. Lizzie obviously wouldn’t have any significant dowry to offer so for the purpose of this discussion, I won’t count dowry as a legitimate source of income for Darcy. Let us now inspect Darcy’s wealth.
Social Influence
The clue of this comes from his title. Victorian and Georgian England had a strict name etiquette. Titles, honour and respect were more important to people than anything else. First names were rarely used and when they were used, they implied deep intimacy or disrespect. In fact, Mister/Mistress is a rank below Baronet/Baroness. Mr. Darcy is therefore highly placed in society because everyone calls him Mister Darcy. Even his close friend, Mr. Bingley calls him Mr. Darcy.
The more highly placed one is, the more success they can compound in the future. Darcy has this aspect of his life thoroughly sorted.
Inheritance
Mr. Darcy inherits his estate and a lot of land from his family. His annual income pales in comparison to the interest he probably earns from his net worth (generational wealth). The art exhibit and the massive library in his house implies how ostentatiously wealthy he is. He also doesn’t have to share his inheritance with anyone as he’s a sole proprietor.
Yearly Rent
On to his £10,000 a year, I think he makes so much more in rent alone.
According to Wickham, even with arrears (people are back on paying the rent sometimes so their final rent now becomes a liability), Darcy did indeed make 10,000 a year making his actual earning even higher. His servants claim him to be a benevolent landlord which becomes proof of the fact that he probably gave them time to pay their liabilities.
Combine the fact that when Pride and Prejudice was written (1797) and widely published (1812), rent paid on estates simply escalated as inflation increased (Mortimer-Lee, 1994). The family income of people who rented from landowners (gentry) went down courtesy of the inflated economy. The landowners took advantage of the time by increasing costs on everything. Between 1775-1815, estate owners’ income went up by a whopping 90% while the overall cost to run an estate went up by a measly 25-33% (Mortimer-Lee, 1994). Using a Historical Currency Converter, Darcy’s annual income would at least be £17,000 a year. By today’s standards, that is approximately £800,000 per year. If he were to put this money in a bank, at a 4% interest, he would multiply his wealth significantly.
Just think about this for a minute. This fancy dude was clearing £17,000 (present day £800,000) in just rent. That’s passive income goals. If he were alive in our era, he’d be asking us to subscribe to his YouTube channel and signup for his ‘How to get rich‘ course on SkillShare.
Investment
Darcy is a smart guy who reads a lot and writes long letters, goes on frequent travels and is well-respected by the gentry. He definitely had other sources of income, primarily investments. I don’t have any estimates for this because money from investments and an estate was recorded separately and the book doesn’t give us any information about the same.
The fact though remains. Darcy definitely had other investments, not just in land but also in ventures. He most definitely also had cheap labour (read: slaves) but given how we are gushing about the guy, we will ignore this implication willingly.
A Love-Hate Romance to Remember
Darcy gives Lizzie some cold, hard facts. He’s eventually proven to be right but she doesn’t want him to be right. We hate him for saying what he did. So does Lizzie. Then Darcy salvages the situation. The hate that has been building up begins to transform to love.
For me, this is the beauty of Pride and Prejudice. Unlike most love-hate romantic fiction where the transformation happens suddenly, hate suddenly transforms to love, Pride and Prejudice is the outlier. The love between Lizzie and Darcy doesn’t transform suddenly. There are no unreal reasons presented for the sake of plot. Their relationship progresses from disdain to hate to interest to love over three volumes at an incredibly slow pace (as is the case with most good love stories).
Mary Bennet tells us something important. What was perceived as rude, vanity was actually pride, a self-perception.
Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.
Lizzie jokes with Jane about her matrimonial decisions. She is actually determined to marry for love and she puts her ‘no’ when the money’s shows up, twice.
I am determined that only the deepest love will induce me into matrimony. So, I shall end an old maid, and teach your ten children to embroider cushions and play their instruments very ill.
The same applies to Mr. Darcy. He is honest to a fault. Even when he confesses to Lizzie, he mentions words like against my better judgementto state his honest state of mind (and heart).
In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will no longer be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.
In a world full of pretences and lies, people who tell the truth are refreshing, aren’t they! We love that about Lizzie. We eventually come to love that about Darcy.
Transformation of Mr. Darcy
The thing that makes Mr. Darcy the most likable is his transformation. From an insufferable brute that inserts his opinions into the subplot (Jane and Mr. Bingley) to becoming the empathetic man who puts the needs of our protagonist (Lizzie) before his own, Mr. Darcy’s transformation is a satisfying slow burn.
We have a biased impression of Darcy, which anchors in place given Mr. Wickham’s lies. We are convinced of Darcy’s villainy. He meddles between the budding romance of his closest friend. Then he proposes to Lizzie in a revolting way. He insults her family and their social behaviour, he hints at her standing in society, and he admits to feeling tortured by the prospect of being in love with her. To us, his impression now is that of a gentleman not worthy of the name.
Then Lizzie visits Darcy’s estate. She hears of his generosity (and observes his wealth). Mr. Darcy returns, wet and dishevelled from a random swim, and he treats Lizzie and her companions with the utmost respect. Lizzie contemplates a possible reconciliation with Darcy. However, Lydia runs away with Wickham. The direct and indirect implications of that choice put Lizzie in a turmoil.
Everything Darcy pointed about her family has come to pass. With what Lydia did, the social repute of her family was destined to be in tatters. The accidental chemistry she shared with Darcy would now be a thing of the past because he would never interact with someone from an unsuitable family. All of Lizzie’s hopes with Darcy were crushed.
A letter then arrives heralding Lydia and Wickham’s wedding. The elopement and the embarrassment it would have brought turned into jubilation. Lizzie’s worst scandal was handled by, she later finds out, Mr. Darcy. Where anybody else would have bailed, Darcy stepped in and did what Lizzie needed. He didn’t rescue her. He didn’t do this as some grand gesture. Darcy simply saw Lizzie and her pain. Then he did what Lizzie needed done. He didn’t make a fuss. He didn’t ask for anything. He just did what any loving partner would do.
His character simply transforms in our senses. This is also the moment where Lizzie sheds her own pride and prejudice. Together, they both transform each other for the better. The jerk is now the caring saviour. He also puts a cherry on top of this decedent literary-cake by undoing his biggest mistake by bringing Jane and Mr. Bingley together.
To conclude,
This story is incredibly satisfying. From being misanthropes who didn’t believe each other and the world around them to being two content people who look forward to exploring the world. We simply fall in love with the entire story and everyone in it.
Elizabeth’s individuality wins the proud and prejudiced man’s heart over his time’s social structure (which involved proprietary and hierarchy). The man’s candour and his ability to cast aside his prejudiced ways and pride to help the woman he loves wins us over. The transformation completes. Rather than the superficial love stories about appearances and wealth, this book presents intellectual attraction over a physical one, something rare, not just for the time but also holds the test of time.
They walked on, without knowing in what direction. There was too much to be thought, and felt, and said, for attention to any other objects…
All content on this website, including blog posts, writing samples, and service descriptions, is the intellectual property of Binati Sheth and is protected by copyright law. Do not quote, reproduce, copy, or republish any part of this content without prior written permission. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
I have been feeling low lately. Low would be an understatement but that’s how we will leave it right now. Then, I did something. Against my better judgement, which screamed at me, I re-watched Kimi no Na wa. Makoto Shinkai fantasy romance Your Name (君の名は, Kimi no Na wa) is a 2016 Japanese animated movie (anime) and it broke me.
I feel empty.
I feel…alone.
To quote Miyamizu Mitsuha (the female protagonist of the movie) and Tachibana Taki, (the male protagonist of the movie),
Once in a while when I wake up, I find myself crying. The dream I must have had I can never recall. But the sensation that I’ve lost something lingers for a long time after I wake up. I’m always searching for something, for someone. This feeling has possessed me I think from that day when the stars came falling. It was almost as if a scene from a dream. Nothing more, nothing less than a beautiful view.
I feel like I’m always searching for someone, or something.
…I’m not sure if I’m searching for a person or a place, or if I’m just searching for a job.
Ichikawa, M., Kawaguchi, N., Ota, K., Shinkai, M., Kamiki, R., Kamishiraishi, M., Narita, R., FUNimation Productions, Ltd., (2017). Kimi no na wa = Your name.
I really don’t know why I am writing this blog. Something just compelled me to start writing. All I know right now is this emptiness. It feels like it will devour me whole. I have tried musubi (gathering the threads and connecting with people through time). I have tried loving and accepting myself. I have tried a lot of things. Yet that emptiness lingers on, spreading a miasma of despair through my heart and then my mind.
Just like the main theme of this movie, the reasoning and the logic behind my state is enigmatic. It is beyond me. It eludes me. Where does this emptiness comes from?
Just like the protagonists of this movie, the desire to find that which I love is intangible. I know you feel it too sometimes; we all do. How can we not? We are all looking for love. A person. A feeling. A purpose of existence. Love. Not just love, understanding. That’s what broke me. I lack understanding. I don’t understand myself. I don’t understand the world around me. I just…don’t understand anymore. Why is it this hard?
Grandma Miyamizu Hitoha says this,
Treasure the experience. Dreams fade away after you wake up.
Ichikawa, M., Kawaguchi, N., Ota, K., Shinkai, M., Kamiki, R., Kamishiraishi, M., Narita, R., FUNimation Productions, Ltd., (2017). Kimi no na wa = Your name.
… and then she says this,
Past this point is kakuriyo; the underworld! In exchange for returning to this world, you must leave behind what is most important to you.
Ichikawa, M., Kawaguchi, N., Ota, K., Shinkai, M., Kamiki, R., Kamishiraishi, M., Narita, R., FUNimation Productions, Ltd., (2017). Kimi no na wa = Your name.
I have treasured my experiences as much as I can. I really did. Why then does it feel like the dreams faded away even before they showed up? Why am I such an aimless, rudderless boat, drifting in a river of mediocrity? I just… I just don’t know.
In spite of how much this movie made me cry, to the point where I couldn’t breathe for a bit, I recommend you watch it. Sometimes, you just have to let it all out. Sometimes, we all feel profoundly lonely and spend years seeking our better halves – jobs, people, purpose; it could be anything. Sometimes, we all feel broken, empty. It’s okay. Tonight, it was my turn to break and feel it all.
When Taki drinks the Kuchikamizake and we see what he sees, our hearts break. When Taki and Mitsuha meet on the edge of the mountain in tasogare-doki (twilight) and Taki writes what he does on Mitsuha’s hand, the words she really needed to hear, our hearts ache. Where is it? Where is that tether, that bond? Why can’t I find it? Why can’t I find any spiritual connection? What did I do wrong with my life, my choices? Why is my string of fate so utterly tattered rather than red and knotted to perfection? なんで?
Today was my late grandmother’s birthday. There’s so much I wanted to tell her, thank her for. I wished for one more moment with her but nothing came. Why isn’t my love transcending time, space and mortality, and allowing me to meet her where things blur? I know she is gone…but not truly gone (because I remember her). Why does it still hurt this much?
I guess Uzumaki Naruto said it best,
It hurts when the person who gave you the best memories becomes a memory.
I get like this sometimes. Do you as well? Do you just absolutely shatter? I do. I shatter all the time. This feeling of not being enough just envelops me. It’s okay though because I am my own Tachibana Taki in that regard.
I wanted to tell you that… Wherever you may end up in this world, I will be searching for you. – Taki Tachibana
Ichikawa, M., Kawaguchi, N., Ota, K., Shinkai, M., Kamiki, R., Kamishiraishi, M., Narita, R., FUNimation Productions, Ltd., (2017). Kimi no na wa = Your name.
In the end…
I am still feeling low and I am still crying. Don’t worry, I will be alright. I hope you are alright as well. If you aren’t, know that you are not alone. Miles away, you have the company of this morose, twenty-something girl who is, as she types this, attempting to feel it all. Just like you, she is trying to fill herself with feelings; ‘full of pep’ as my adorable penpal calls it.
I have been feeling lower than I generally do and that is okay.
Everything will be alright eventually…right?
I don’t generally post my emotions online because emotions are fleeting. However, just this once, I did. You can also contact me, anytime. If you want to, feel free to check out my work.
All content on this website, including blog posts, writing samples, and service descriptions, is the intellectual property of Binati Sheth and is protected by copyright law. Do not quote, reproduce, copy, or republish any part of this content without prior written permission. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
How India and Japan have a history of material and philosophical trade on the most iconic trade route – The Silk Road.
Audioblog – Read while (or instead of) reading
The Silk Route was a term that came into the mainstream dialogue in the 19th century when German geographer Ferdinand Von Richthofen defined this ancient road winding through Asia. On account of the influence of Asian trade on International trade, it’s safe to state how the Silk Route was the most influential trade route in the history of mankind.
The route contains a complicated chain of roadways and seaways that connected the ancient world in a grand way. Humanity, traded goods, ideas, architecture, scientific discoveries, religious thoughts, philosophical musings, languages, spirituality, literature, artifacts, music, dance, food, drinks and cultural traditions moved through it for centuries. It also unfortunately aided conquests of plundering hordes, which either birthed empires, or sowed the seeds of destruction and destitution. It spanned over 7,000 kilometres and covered more than forty countries.
It was essentially a trade and diplomacy channel that ran through a network of land and water pathways spanning over China, Mediterranean countries, Near and Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and East Asia. It contained primary roads, like the Oasis Route (4,000 kilometres) which connected all the acrid and semi-acrid regions of Central Asia to establish the East-West trade connect. It also contained secondary routes, like the Steppe Route, which extended the Oasis Route northwards and connected the rest of the Route to the Southern Sea Route, which contained ports at the China Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. It simultaneously had alternative roads, which were shorter, but were riddled with bandits and criminals seeking refuge like the route which began at the southern edge of the Taklamakan desert. Most of these roads met at Kashgar (Kashi, far west China) making it an important trade centre.
The Japanese-Indian Connection
All these routes are important to the Indian-Japanese trade connect because Indian goods ended up being traded at the Chinese ports to the West or the city of Nara. Through a complicated road that ran through the Taklamakan desert, the Tien Shan and Kunlun Shan, the Pamirs, the Karakum and Kyzylkum desert, and the Hindu Kush, the travelling caravan could finally meet the oceans to reach Japan or the West. The countries definitely have a connection that runs deep.
UNESCO’s brief about the contribution of India and Japan to the Silk Route
Japan and India have always been welcoming countries. Japan was the eastern end of the Route. India was to the centre (geographically), and given its peninsular nature, it was connected to four separate corridors of the Route.
The route that connected both countries primarily was the Southern Sea Route, which started at the Southern coast of China in Kuangchou (Canton), then it rounded the Indo-China peninsula through the Malacca Straits, and it connected to India at the mouth of the Ganga. At the mouth of the Ganga, traders exchanged all that they could, picked people up (or dropped them off), and carried on towards Japan.
We know this because a Chinese (Tang dynasty) census conducted in 754 AD showed around five thousand foreigners living in Xian. These foreigners were Turks, Iranians, Indians, Japanese, Koreans and Malyas.
These foreigners were exiled aristocrats and army generals, healers, merchants, artisans, Buddhist monks, missionaries, scholars, musicians, dancers, artists, and refugees. As they moved around, they unconsciously spread the culture and tradable goods from all the different countries they visited.
As this economic and cultural pipeline deepened, Silk became the currency that prospered the Chinese economy. However, immigration across the Silk Route began suddenly. Silk tradesmen went to the Korean peninsula in 200BC, and they landed on Indian and Japanese shores in 300 AD. From then on, Asia became the place that traded Silk. In fact, the Romans knew of Asia as Seres or the Kingdom of Silks. Traders of other crafts also started immigrating in hopes of finding the next Silk.
At the beginning of the sixth century, the Japanese began immigrating to improve their overall skills and knowledge. Officials from the Royal Courts, students, and Buddhist monks went across Asia for training under the masters. The migration began from Osaka and evidence of this can be found in the archives of the monastery of Hōryū-ji (法隆寺)and the imperial treasure-trove of Shōsō-in (正倉院). Indian specialisation regarding trades like extracting poisons using medicinal plants, processing and dying cotton to make colourful fabrics, and Buddhism moved seamlessly from India to Japan. Kyōtarō Nishikawa’s book, ‘The Great Age of Japanese Buddhist Sculpture, AD 600-1300,’ paints a vivid picture about the positive relationship between the two countries.
Buddhism and how it links India and Japan
Buddhism, like most religions, attracted the wise, insightful people of each region it graced. Buddhist monks meticulously tabulated data while also facilitating translations for everyone willing to learn. They let people communicate with each other
The Kushan rulers of India were so fascinated by their Japanese counterparts that they wrote about the cultural relations they had with Japan fondly. They also fostered common cultural values to build up companionship with their new allies.
India is where Siddhartha Gautama (“the Buddha”) attained enlightenment. His disciples brought his teachings to China in the 1st century AD. These disciples also travelled to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, Xinjiang, China, Korea and Japan. Given their peaceful nature and message of love, they were allowed to build monasteries and pagodas in all the Silk Road towns.
A map showing the spread of Buddhism in the world.
The Buddhist monks who travelled extensively shared and imbibed cultures. They traded or gifted pieces of art, sculptures, figurines, and lots of literature to emperors, chieftains and religious heads.
When the Han Emperor Mingdi (漢明帝) dreamed of a golden figure in his dream, Chinese diplomat Zhang Qian had returned from Ta-hsia (大夏), with tales of a golden figure preaching in Tien-Chu (India). General Cai Yin was sent to Central Asia to learn more about the golden figure. Three years later, when he returned, China heard about Buddhism for the first time. Two Buddhist monks She-mo-teng and Chu-fa-lan accompanied the General on his way back to China. Buddhism spread through China like the fragrant wisps of an ethereal incense stick.
By the time 4th century rolled around, Buddhism had spread all across the Route courtesy of translation efforts by Translation Bureaus. Indian Buddhist monk Kumarajiva formed a team which translated some 98 works of Buddhism to Chinese and other languages.
These monks practiced Hinayana and Mahayana forms of Buddhism. It is the Mahayana form of Buddhism that links India and Japan. Mahayana literally translates to ‘a large vehicle.’ Mahayana Buddhism quickly replaced the Hinayana schools on the Silk Road because of how popular the doctrine became.
8th century cave mural of Guanyin and attendant bodhisattvas (Kansu province, China)
As the principal trade route in India passed through India’s premier education hub Taxila, onward to Central Asia, a lot of Indian culture and knowledge just transmitted everywhere. Some of these scholars sailed to Japan around 8th century via the port in the then capital of Japan, Nara.
Emperor Shōmu (聖武天皇) ruled over Japan in the 8th century. He believed in fostering new cultures. His royal court preserved every record and artifact meticulously, and they enabled the spread of Buddhism in Japan, a country that prayed to Shinto Gods.
Unlike the rest of the world, which adopted a new religion by discarding the religion they previously practiced, Japanese scholars incorporated Buddhism into their religious Shinto faith. In fact, they had an Indian monk Bodhisena (菩提僊那) perform the first Nichiren Eye-opening ceremony (開眼供養) of Lord Buddha at Tōdai-ji. Bodhisena was joined by various Chinese, Korean and Japanese monks in this sacred ceremony of painting Lord Buddha’s pupil.
The clue of our relationship lies in the artefacts and documents, meticulously protected at the Shosoin Repository by the members of Todaiji and the Imperial Household Agency. Todaiji’s architecture is modelled after Chinese architecture. Animal motifs not found in Japan like peacocks, elephants, tigers show up in the artefacts stored in the repository. Also, ivory, sandalwood, precious and semi-precious gemstones not native to Japan, but native to India can be found in the repository. Similarly, a silhouette of the Shinto deer, the symbol of the Kasuga Taisha (春日大社) can be found in records of Hinduism showing how the cultural significance of the deer and their status as sacred messengers carried into India and Central Asia.
A very visible symbol of Indo-Japan friendship is Daruma-san (達磨). This red and white stripped hollow doll, provides the patience and luck required to help achieve our goals. Historically, it was modelled after Bodhidharma, the Indian Zen-Buddhist monk. He was the third son of a Pallava king from Kanchipuram, India who brought the art of zen to all of Asia (around the 6th century). His words impressed the Emperor Shōmu and Empress Kōmyō so much that they lived by the principles he preached. In fact, they were the first Japanese royalty to retire from their royal duties to become a Buddhist monk and a Buddhist nun respectively. References to Bodhidharma and his disciples can be found across museums and temple archives in Japan.
Japan has such a welcoming spirit that they even welcomed Hinduism with open arms. Scholars from the Age of Kukai (774- 834AD – the founder of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism), report the origins of Ganesh worship in Japan since 806AD. In Japan, Lord Ganesh is Ganesha/Vinayaka/Kangiten (歓喜天, “God of Bliss) and like the Indian Ganesh, the Japanese Kangiten also offers good luck, love, enlightenment and worldly gains. We also find the idols of Benzaiten (Goddess Saraswati, 弁財天) and Bishamonten (Lord Kubera, 毘沙門天) in the temple at Daisyō-in. Similarly, the Indian God of death, Yamraj, became Yamantaka, something that death (Yama) feared.
The Daishō-in or Daisyō-in (大聖院).
What now?
As Japan now invests 130 billion ($1.89 billion) in the ‘Look East’ policy of India to help develop the infrastructure of North-Eastern India under the “India-Japan Coordination Forum for Development of North East,” it just highlights how Japan has always been welcoming and helpful to those who seek their assistance. All we have to do is look around with open eyes and soak in the glory of the cultural juxtaposition provided by the glorious trade route that we dub the Silk Route.
I won a prize for this article. Unfortunately, the platform in question hasn’t survived the pandemic.
Prize notification
If you have any insights, information or opinions about this piece, feel free to let me know in the comments.
All content on this website, including blog posts, writing samples, and service descriptions, is the intellectual property of Binati Sheth and is protected by copyright law. Do not quote, reproduce, copy, or republish any part of this content without prior written permission. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
ML+AI Technology will write your blogs or stories. Or will they?
Audioblog – listen while (or instead of) reading
I know it sounds unbelievable to many. A software that creates an article on any topic? An AI writes articles? Stop misleading me Binati, you snobby gobshite. I promise, I am not. I mean, I am a gobshite but I am not misleading you. The video clearly shows one website working. You can go to the site to get proof yourself. Writing with the help of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) is here, much quicker than we anticipated (not really, we just have a MARVEL-ous perception of the diverse forms of ML+AI).
Over the years, while ghostwriting technical content, I have come across some trippy tech. Two things I heard that blew my writerly mind were self-writing AIs and conceptual plagiarism detectors. Yes, I am going to expand on both of these so stop rolling your eyes at me.
Self-Writing AI
I heard about self-writing AIs in 2016 when machines were being forced to read horrendous material and then, they had to write (by prediction) the next awful thing this author/scriptwriter would create. Examples would be: NaNoWriMo (Barber, 2019), 1 THE ROAD BY AN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK (Goodwin, 2017), Artificial Tim Denning (Roberts, n.d.), and many more. The results were hilarious. However, these showcased something. When enough data is fed into these systems, they could predict and replicate the writing style of a subject with palpable accuracy.
Look at your phone right now and text someone with predictive text (Henry, 2014) on. What you are experiencing is a device that learned your preferred words. This device you own has learned to autocorrect words to whatever it is you prefer to use. For instance, now when I try to type Shanti for ‘Om Shanti’, it autocorrects to Shanthi, my friend’s name because I say Shanthiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii way more than Shanti. The technology existed. What was missing was a need.
That’s where the writers from the KISS generation stepped in. KISS here refers to Keep-It-Simple-Silly and not the rock band. These are stalwarts of the content and eBook writing industry who primarily aspire to cash in on the trend to earn by writing and not write to educate/inspire/inform/entertain/express. They will google a topic smartly, not really confer with the development teams of the product/service they’re writing for, then get to writing; well rewriting.
Original ideas don’t always exist. I understand that. However, as responsible writers, we have to build on existing ideas by writing and not rewriting. The KISSes just ignored all of that for the greenback and started creating shoddy content that people paid for. Given how bad the content quality was, courtesy of the rewrites, every time a Search Engine updated, the Search Engine Optimisation of the blogs tanked.
Paying customers were back to square one in spite of paying the professionals. This frustration often presents itself via rants on social media and service review platforms. Observant coders noticed a problem and they devised a solution – an AI that rewrites original content for you.
Go check Shortly AI. It is a GPT-3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) API(Application Programming Interface). You get five free trials by signing up. Log in. Select what you want to write: a blog or a story. Then, input a brief. This is basic details about the blog/story you want to write. Set how much content you want created. Do you want it paragraph by paragraph or do you prefer the entire article written in one fall swoop? Click on Write for Me. Then wait.
A Screenshot for Shortly AI
You will see the plagiarism free, grammatically accurate content it creates by going through a crap tonne of pre-existing content on its own. It does this almost instantaneously. It is surreal. You might be baffled by this, probably a bit scared. You shouldn’t be. If you create quality content, no machine will be able to replace you because machines can recreate (right now). One of the things that makes us human, sentient is our ability to create. If you create, you will always be in vogue.
There’s WordLift as well; a tool which will optimise your content using an AI, something that will trawl through the cyber universe to determine the correct parameters. The need to hire SEO optimisers and overpriced agencies would be rendered moot.
Conceptual Plagiarism Detection
Another problem with bad writing is plagiarism. Some people change the voice of an article from passive to active, and that becomes the article. If conceptual plagiarism detectors existed, something like shameless rewrites of somebody else’s work would stop. A customer won’t be wasting their money on a hack job.
When I heard about plagiarism detection that went beyond the words, to say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. This is something I will purchase first hand (when it launches) because frankly, at this point, some people need to be exposed for the content thieves they are. There really is no pressing need to steal someone’s work and substitute that with better words.
Every content sharing platform is equipped with this ability to share links, cite sources and give credit to the original content. Instead of rewriting (smart plagiarism), people could cite (that will increase your SEO as well). Instead of rewriting, credit the original author for the source material. Then, agree and add to the content of your blog or your prospect’s blog.
Rudimentary conceptual plagiarism is already being detected as discovered by this study (Yu H., Huang C., Kong L., Sun X., Qi H., Han Z., 2020) that found an uptake in plagiarism detection by 56%. What this means is Google’s machine learning equipped algorithm is detecting some plagiarism which our standard plagiarism detectors are missing. This probably also explains why certain blogs suddenly develop an SEO problem whenever the search engine updates.
Word of free advice – when you commit to the grind and the hustle, what you miss out on is progress. You’ll get the views, the fame and maybe the money. But what about responsibility? No matter what Turdi-McTurdson says, it is never okay to willingly steal someone’s work and just do a rewrite because it is easy or because everyone does it. With plagiarism, it is binary. You either copy or you don’t. Don’t copy.
Should you be scared then?
I completely agree with TIC here when they say, “Right from conceptualisation to creation to fine-tuning to results, machine learning is involved at all stages of the modern content creation process. What’s important for the content writer is to remain in the driver’s seat and use machine learning tools to make content creation simpler, faster and better.” (TIC, n.d.)
These websites will become the latest tools in our arsenal. Let the AI write the articles. You can subscribe to these websites to up your content game by creating a legitimately kickass blog. Start by preparing a blog brief instead of a solid outline. Let one software fetch you the data. Let another optimise the entire thing for Search Engines. Then, you step in to humanise the content. Ultimately, to make a human buy things, you need to do human-esque things. You are absolutely not done content writing yet. You simply get to upscale your content in a simpler, more efficient way. What is scary about that?
Change is constant. With technology, change is imminent. You can whine or you can adapt. Choose to adapt, ya?
I would love to know your thoughts about this in the comments. Do you think a writing software ushers the metaphorical death of human content writers? Or do you agree with me?
Citations
Barber, G. (2019). Text-Savvy AI Is Here to Write Fiction. Retrieved from WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/nanogenmo-ai-novels-gpt2/
Goodwin, R. (2017). 1 THE ROAD BY AN ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK. Retrieved from Jbe Books: https://www.jbe-books.com/products/1-the-road-by-an-artificial-neural
Henry, A. (2014). How Predictive Keyboards Work (and How You Can Train Yours Better). Retrieved from life hacker: https://lifehacker.com/how-predictive-keyboards-work-and-how-you-can-train-yo-1643795640
Roberts, E. (n.d.). I Forced An AI To Read 80 Tim Denning Articles And It’s Now A Bad Inspirational Quote Machine. Retrieved from towards data science: https://towardsdatascience.com/i-forced-an-ai-to-read-80-tim-denning-articles-and-its-now-a-bad-inspirational-quote-machine-ea9805d73ddc
TIC. (n.d.). WILL MACHINE LEARNING KILL THE CONTENT WRITER? Retrieved from TIC Works: https://www.ticworks.com/blog/content-writer
Yu H., Huang C., Kong L., Sun X., Qi H., Han Z. (2020). Research on MLChecker Plagiarism Detection System. International Conference of Pioneering Computer Scientists, Engineers and Educators.
All content on this website, including blog posts, writing samples, and service descriptions, is the intellectual property of Binati Sheth and is protected by copyright law. Do not quote, reproduce, copy, or republish any part of this content without prior written permission. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
Writing fiction is a pipedream for many of us who become writers. We explore nonfiction to pay the bills but the main focus is to write fiction. The writing-for-the-wallet however takes over the writing-for-the-dreams. Fiction writing sadly becomes that thing we wanted to do but we didn’t know how, or we couldn’t complete what we started, or there wasn’t enough time, or … ifs, buts, what ifs simply dominate the narrative and sadly, fiction writing gets pushed in the corner.
Fear not my lovely scribe because Binati is here to quell your fear, obviously minus the abhorrent poetry she tends to write. Without further ado, let’s come to the point – Historical and Mythological stories. History is that which has happened. Mythology is that which influential people of history claim happened. The point being literally and/or figuratively, historical and mythological stories have a start, a middle and an end – the three basic building blocks of any story. As a writer trying to learn fiction, you can start here. Instead of getting overwhelmed by designing characters and charting a plot (that makes sense), you can take existing characters and plots, and explore the recesses of your sublime imagination.
Let me tell you the why first; why you should practice fiction writing using historical and mythological stories:
1. Reading enhances brain function
According to multiple studies exploring deep learning, skill acquisition, boosting creativity and such, reading is shown to increase myelin production which allows neural synapses to fire quicker. With a faster, more active neurochemistry, you will obviously create better. Also, history and mythology are interesting! Why not spend time reading, improving brain function and exploring stories from around the world!
2. History and mythology already consist of a winning idea
The stories became myths and legends for a reason – they contained within them a winning idea. A winning idea is a story people like to listen to over and over again. If you take these stories which are immortalised in the sands of time (for a reason), you already have a winning idea. All you need to add would be perspective and language.
3. The Characters are unforgettable by default
Historical and mythological characters have depth (often unexplored). They, by default have the necessary traits of a successful literary character; that’s why people remember them in the first place! With unforgettable characters of this sort, all you have to do is simply focus on the storytelling rather than character building.
4. You don’t have to needlessly explain things
Descriptions would be pointless because people already know the stories. The familiarity to the character already exists saving you precious time to tell a story instead. Instead of waxing poetic about the traits of a character, you can learn how they talk and make their actions show on the page. It would be a much better use of your practice time.
5. The Structure of the Story already exists
Structure of any fictional or real-life story lies in two things.
What your character is doing?
Where is your character going?
With historical stories, you know what the character is doing and where they ultimately ended up. Instead of charting their path, you get to tell a story about it.
Now, let us move on to the how; how can you practice fiction writing using historical and mythological stories:
6. Use your POV to trigger you reader’s mind
Every individual on this earth has a unique POV i.e. point-of-view. This POV is what enables us to tell diverse stories containing one or more of the three types of stories we tell, namely:
Rags to riches
Boy meets girl
Man learns a lesson
You can take any or many historical and mythological characters and weave a narrative around that. Your POV is not just limited to perspective; it also includes genres. A historical character can land in a time loop for instance. A mythological character can suddenly become human. Your storytelling canvas is as blank as it could be in spite of the popularity of the character/s you choose.
7. Intentions and Obstacles of the Character can be fictionalised to a specific genre
As stated previously, you already know the intentions of the characters. You also know the roadblocks they encountered. Every story told requires an intension and an obstacle. Intension is the strength and purpose you give to your character/s. Obstacle is a weakness (or many) that your character/s has to overcome. The intentions could tie into their original stories. The obstacles however are where you can let your imagination run wild. Bring in multiple genres – magical realism, fantasy, sci-fi, etc.
8. Use the known idea and work your perspective into the narrative
You can make the mundane feel exotic by the power of storytelling. If I were to make a God order something on Amazon without having any legal address or human money, the story becomes hilariously entertaining by default. Simply use the existing narrative and twist it to suit your storytelling needs.
9. Make the audience a component of your work
People already know the stories. They know who the historical/mythological characters are. They probably also know the story arcs. They are invested in those stories already. All you have to do is make them a component of your narration of story. You can do this by challenging their perception, introducing an unreliable narrator, drawing a parallel (without explicitly stating so), shattering expectations, et al. I can go on and on. In doing so, you will make the reader think of the magic words, “Oh! What happens next…”
10. Try mirroring which is imitate the history/mythology
If the idea of retelling a story irks you, try mirroring instead. Mirror the story from history or mythology into a story containing new characters. Don’t tell your readers who you are mirroring. Let them make the connections and let their minds explode. Mirrored characters provide this surreal depth which might make your newer characters seem more relatable.
11. History/mythology is condensed (and open sourced). Try expanding the stories, the facts to create fiction.
History and mythology aren’t copyrighted. You can use them however you please. They are also incredibly condensed because of how many stories there are to tell. Like peeling the layers of an onion, pull apart these condensed stories at their seams. Explore their depth. Analyse what they are trying to say beyond the literal. Research the scenarios around the time these stories were told for the first time. Expand that which was compressed courtesy of the limitations of their time.
12. Write (and increase) what you know
Research. You have plenty to research with these characters, their stories, their locations, and their motivations. If you like these stories already, you can write them because you already know them. Write what you know. Then with the help of search engines and open sourced literature, delve into the research rabbit hole to discover the land of the compressed. Start expanding. Start writing.
13. Make the story accessible to the morality of the present
Stories from the past rarely stand the test of time in terms of morality. Or do they? See what your research uncovers and either use the morality of the present to retell stories from days gone by or question the current perception of the past by showcasing the realities of the past to the present. There are just so many possibilities here.
14. Characters with a likability problem can be made accessible; more sympathetic
Unlikable characters are interesting to write because while the intention maybe singular, the obstacles might not be. Instead of telling the story of the hero, try telling the stories of the other characters. You might find some amazing stories staring at you in the face, hidden in plain sight.
15. People read fiction to read about people; imperfect people
What history and mythology inevitable shows us is imperfect people who found perfect, fitting endings. You have the best people for a story. You simply have to shine the light on their human elements making them relatable, accessible and likable.
So, that is all I have to offer with this one. I will see you soon with more writing advice. If you have any ‘writing advice’ requests, tell me (in the comment section). Did you find these fifteen blahs helpful?
All content on this website, including blog posts, writing samples, and service descriptions, is the intellectual property of Binati Sheth and is protected by copyright law. Do not quote, reproduce, copy, or republish any part of this content without prior written permission. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
I am not going to summarise this book verbatim because I want you to read and experience this book in its entirety. Trust me (and the many uber successful people) who recommend this book wholeheartedly, okay? That said, this blog is a book summary of sorts.
If you are someone who doesn’t want to read the blog (or the book), you can check this recorded (live) summary.
Whose autobiography is it?
Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda is the autobiography of the writer who is a yogi in the truest sense of the word. His spiritual arrival was prophesied by many saints and sages before his birth. He was born in India as Mukunda Lal Ghosh to a wealthy, spiritual Bengali (Hindu) family which couldn’t keep up with their energetic child’s inquisitive, spiritual mind. He was such a curious action taker, even before he became an adult, he found many spiritual gurus, often by running away from home. Gurus all around him were awestruck by this child’s aura.
As Mukunda grew up, he made Lahiri Mahasaya’s (Paramguru of Yogananda/ Yogiraj/ Kashibaba prophecy come true by becoming a Paramhansa, the supreme swan i.e. the enlightened one. He lived with his family, found a guru (Swami Sri Yukteswar), became an ascetic, became a teacher and popularised the Kriya Yoga meditation around the world. Like a fragrant flower that is beautiful, smells divine and brightens our day, his teachings spread far and wide, and left a pleasant aroma behind.
Why should you read this autobiography?
I get it. Why bother with reading about some monk who teaches you yoga, something you can learn from celebrities or influencers online in a visual format?
To that, I say, he doesn’t teach yoga in this book. He teaches us how to be a yogi, an enlightened being. This book questions our perception of reality and shatters it in many places by showing us how reality works (in the karmic way). By showing us his enlightenment process, his spiritual journey, this Indian storyteller shows you the brilliance of ancient wisdom in its simplistic complexity.
He combines the materialism of the West with the ancient wisdom of the East to create a tutorial of sorts to achieve God-tier realisation. He truly shreds the reader’s beliefs of reality in the best way possible.
This book is what you get when someone takes ancient knowledge, removes the distractions and just writes a simple book. You get family, society and the self – what’s not to like about that?
Additionally, he highlights the importance of a holistic education system, something he launched back in the 1940s, something that is required in the present. He talks about amalgamating contemporary education practices (your syllabus, competitive exams and what not) with spiritual practices and yoga. It’s an older yet refreshing take on an education.
The Summary
This man who brought yoga to the West tells us his story, his teachings and his experiences with this book.
He lived with a large family with a heartful mother and a disciplinarian father alongside eight siblings. The family were ardent followers of Lahiri Mahasaya. As he searched for heartfelt spirituality (and failed), something happened – his mother passed away. Before she did though, she communicated with him via the astral plain telling him about her incoming death. Even his own mother got a gift from the divine, a silver (astrophysical) amulet for her beloved Mukunda.
His belief strengthens and he begins the process of escaping to the Himalayas. In doing so, he met many sages who left an impression on him. Then he got caught and was forcefully taken home. There’s a hilarious cat and mouse sequence with his brother Ananta and him which continues again and again.
Then at age seventeen, Mukunda finds his guru, the revered Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri at the Benares market. Unlike the general loving tone of most gurus, Swami Yukteshwar was often cold to Mukunda. However, as their true relationship began lifetimes ago, Mukunda learned from the firm yet loving teaching style of his guruji. It was Sri Yukteshwar who forced Mukunda to go to college (Serampore College) in spite of the complaints of the young sage. His training to become the yogic teacher to the West began.
Under Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri tutelage, Mukunda gets initiated into Kriya Yoga. He finishes his education and departs for the West (specifically the United States), where he stays for most of his life. Over the course of many years and insightful lectures, he launches the Self-Realization Fellowship, something that’s active to this day.
Having transcended from being Mukunda to becoming Yogananda, he meets many spiritual, religious, political, social and civil rights leaders around the world. He practiced religious tolerance on account of his enlightened actualisation of spirituality – the existence of three realms.
The Physical Realm (where our gross body does gross things)
The Astral Realm (where our mind escapes to when one has a heightened level of consciousness)
The Causal Body (the ultimate thought form of your being, soul)
He explains many more complex principles which are better read than summarised (because the summaries will sound crazy).
What I took away from the book
I took quite a few things from this book.
Faith
As an atheist, faith was missing from my life (or so I thought). While reading this book, I realised how I do have faith in things – words, intention and the human spirit.
Self-Realization
The body, mind and soul are united in the one supreme being. In the book, the supreme being is God. You don’t have to seek him/her/it/::insert pronoun of choice::. We simply need to enhance our ability to see, to know.
Happiness is a choice – make it
To quote, “You have come to earth to entertain and to be entertained.”
Yogananda, . Autobiography of a Yogi. Los Angeles, Calif: Self-Realization Fellowship, 2006.
The world and the people in it are beautiful. Stop focusing on the bad stuff all the time and stop to smell the roses once in a while. Choose to be happy.
If you’re happy, you will make others happy. That’s how it is. If you are in a cesspit of misery, that’s what you will attract and you don’t want that.
Divine Love
Unlike the reel version of love, practice the real, unconditional divine love. Love without conditions. Don’t let change, change your love. Pure love will benefit you immensely.
Live and Act with Purpose
Become perceptive. Become conscious. Feel your body, mind and soul separate via deep meditation. It sounds stupid, I know, but I have personally experienced the positive effects of normal meditation. I am guessing deep meditation definitely wouldn’t hurt so worth a shot, right?
He says, “Since you alone are responsible for your thoughts, only you can change them.”
Yogananda, . Autobiography of a Yogi. Los Angeles, Calif: Self-Realization Fellowship, 2006.
Serve
Serve people around you with purpose. Become a magnet that attracts the best things – unselfishness, putting others first, exist to serve. Serve without the intention of getting anything back.
The Law of Success: Using the Power of Spirit to Create Health, Prosperity, and Happiness
The Power of Thought
Your thoughts will shape you.
To quote, “The body is literally manufactured and sustained by mind.”
Yogananda, . Autobiography of a Yogi. Los Angeles, Calif: Self-Realization Fellowship, 2006.
Maintain a positive mind to succeed. Make peace with a negative mind to dwell in mediocrity. Even if you are plagued with a negative mindset, explore it. In the recesses of your darkness, you will see the light via the power of will.
Will is the Dynamo
Just thoughts won’t do anything. You need action as well. Combine positive thoughts with action and your dynamo will power through any kind of darkness and despair.
You Are in Charge of Your Destiny
In My Sassy Girl, a movie, there’s a lovely quote, “Destiny is the bridge you build to the one you love.”
My Sassy Girl. Dir. Yann Samuell. Vertigo Entertainment,2008.
Your mind is in your control. Everything good, bad and neutral happens when you control your mind to a certain path. If you create this path and guide your mind towards the good, the healthy, the successful, the loving, you have achieved your destiny.
Use your will to guide you here. A strong, unbreakable will which won’t bend to any external stimuli will help you shape your destiny.
Fear will exhaust your Energy
Fear paralyses the electrical activity within your body. It will literally drain you. You will be weakened. Your body will be put on alert. That results in unnecessary energy wasted which impacts your internal organs.
Fear is one thing you have to give up on to succeed because it inhibits you in every way possible.
Use Failure as Fodder to Succeed
When you fail, and you will, use it as an opportunity to learn. Learn from your failure.
What did you do well?
What can you improve?
What was a crock of shit and should be dumped forever?
Learn, unlearn, move on.
Self-Analysis
You need to be accountable to your own self. Introspect in front of your soul mirror. Analyse your mind. Diagnose your spirit and will. Ask yourself some important questions.
Who am I?
Who do I want to become?
What is stopping me?
Analyse yourself.
Take Initiative
When you say, “I will do this for you,” you are taking initiative. Your inner creative is reaching out and asking you to create. Act on this. It will let you learn new things every single day. It will attract amazing opportunities over and over again.
Find God in all Men
Don’t be an asshole. Be nice to people. Don’t judge anyone. Be sceptical but not cynical. Self-examine over overtly judgemental.
Develop Habits to Control your Life
Habits help a lot. Having a daily routine will help you hasten your success. A habit will save you mental energy. Energy you waste making choices can now be used to think creatively. Have holistic habits.
Power of Divine Will
Divine will, luck, whatever you want to call it, this doesn’t have any boundaries. This is the realm of possibilities, miracles and discoveries. This is the power that runs the world. Have faith.
The Ocean of Abundance
The world is an ocean of infinite possibilities. It is abundant. To receive from this abundance, we have to learn to ask, to become confident. Cast the scarcity and the limitation mindset aside. Have confidence in your abilities and the Divine – you will succeed.
Practice meditation to see and seek from the ocean of abundance.
The Way of Meditation
Concentrate.
Meditate.
Two words are all you need to truly succeed. Meditation and concentration have become the buzzwords of the coaching/mentoring industry for a reason. They really work.
Concentrate on self. Then meditate.
Concentrate on your craft. Meditate in the form of deep work.
Concentrate on your relationships. Meditate in the state of true happiness.
We are solution oriented. That’s what separates mankind from animal-kind. Go into the recesses of your mind via concentrated meditation and figure it out.
The ultimate measure of Success is Happiness
To quote, “The power of unfulfilled desires is the root of all man’s slavery”
Yogananda, . Autobiography of a Yogi. Los Angeles, Calif: Self-Realization Fellowship, 2006.
Just ask yourself what success is. Ultimately, it comes to being happy.
Let God’s Power Drive you
Unleash the power within you. God (or whatever you prefer) will provide more. Personally, I prefer nature. Nature keeps giving us things even if we take and take from it. God/Nature, they are the power you possess. Release this power and more will come.
Become one with the elements or whatever you prefer. The solutions to all your problems lie right there in front of you, all around you. Just look.
To conclude,
I recommend you read the book at least once. Ideally, you want to read this book over and over again. It is complex. It is simple. It has certain issues like putting too much trust in the divine, a possible risk of paedophilia exposure, and religious indoctrination. I am going to trust you to be an adult here and think critically and learn from the best this book has to offer.
If you liked this book summary, you might like other. Find them here.
Also, let me know how you liked the book once you read it.
All content on this website, including blog posts, writing samples, and service descriptions, is the intellectual property of Binati Sheth and is protected by copyright law. Do not quote, reproduce, copy, or republish any part of this content without prior written permission. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited and may result in legal action. For permissions or inquiries, please contact: [email protected]
You are going about your daily life. The routine keeps you happy and healthy. The financials are sorted. You are living the good life. Yet, something seems to be missing. Introducing, theme based community events! Community events are, as the title suggests, events scheduled for a set time around a community. For instance, if you are a member of the inking community, you can ink and think for thirty days. These help you practice your thing alongside people driven by passion around the same profession and/or hobby.
Here are nine reasons why I think community events are the coolest things ever!
1. Misery loves Company
Community events involve a community. Small, medium or large, this will be a group of people who really care about doing something specific. You like writing prompt based micro fiction for thirty days straight? Fictember got you covered. Whether you know how to write micro fiction isn’t relevant. The only thing that matters is you want to do something. You won’t be miserable alone. Someone will be there to help you out, whenever you need them to. You won’t be alone.
2. There’s strength in Numbers
You won’t be in it all by your lonesome. Unlike the twig that snaps with a little pressure, human beings need groups, a bundle of twigs that won’t snap no matter how much you try. Community events draw out the twee-s from the entire world. These puffins get together around their passion projects and simply create. Whether it is coders coding or gamers gaming, these events do make our emotional core stronger.
3. Creative Collaboration by Participation
Collaboration has become a buzzword in professional media circles for a reason. It works. When you collaborate, you feed off each other’s energies. Instead of contemplating things while swimming in the miserable soup of you psyche, you can collaborate with someone. This someone will find you via these community events. They might be like you or completely unlike you. Together though, you guys could create magic. I created two books with people I found via a LinkedIn event.
4. Building an Action driven Community
The potatoes you find via these community events will be willing to potate with you around the niche that brought you together. You have an action driven community at your disposal for advice, support and critical appreciation. That is literally, figuratively and metaphorically amazing!
5. Finding mentors becomes easy
People with experience often join community events to see whether they still got it. Instead of spending hours looking for mentors, you can simply participate in such events. Collaborate to create along the way. You will definitely find people who will rise above the crowd courtesy of skills and experience. If you participated earnestly, you can simply approach them with a mentorship request. Mostly, you will get a yes!
6. Networking of the best kind
You can do a brute force networking attack on Social and Professional Media platforms. I would rather just do this instead – participate and vibe with the adorable fritters of any community I get involved with. This would lead to networking with intention. It will also give you an opportunity to customise your networking messaging.
7. Constructive Feedback from people who walked the talk
You will see three common types at these community events. It here refers to what the community event is about (writing, reading, painting, coding, building, et al.).
Those who love it.
Those who want to try it.
Those who want to see it.
All of these individuals will have the intention. They will also have some degree of experience. So, when they criticise your work, it will be constructive; helpful.
8. You have fun in Groups
Life really isn’t hard, if you’ve got some adorable snoots to bop. Things are fun when you do them in groups. The sprints that happen during NaNoWriMo are insanely productive and fun writing exercise. Why? Mostly because people sprint together and have fun on the way.
9. Something to look forward to
NaNoWriMo, Inktober, Huevember – these are three events I do regularly. Fictember is something I started on LinkedIn. I know these events will happen irrespective of my participation. If I am blocked creatively, these events provide ample incentive to unblock. You can give this a shot. Trust me, it is worth it.
Let me now show you the results of my community events.
NaNoWriMo
NaNoWriMo is the National Novel Writing Month of November. Every year, people pledge a set amount of words and then they just get to writing. The general figure is 50,000 words in 30 days. I have done NaNoWriMo twice and I got one book out of them (which I successfully pitched to an agent). Hear my experience.
NaNoWriMo Experience
Fictember
Fictember is something I started with a friend on LinkedIn. The nonfiction to fiction transition is hard for writers like me. So, I asked the community and they participated. We got together and wrote prompt based micro fiction for thirty days. It was challenging and it was fun. You can join Fictember as well.
On a rather gloomy day of September in 2020, as I contemplated the upcoming doom which is Preptober (preparation of NaNoWriMo), I just felt overwhelmed. I didn’t know what I wanted to write. My personal life was a bit of a mess. My professional life was painfully normal. I was just overwhelmed. There is no better way to describe it.
Then came the magical unicorn which survives on the tears of photoshop and crushed dreams. Instagram promoted an inking event – Inktober. Inktober is a prompt based inking challenge which runs throughout the year (Inktober52) or you can participate in it for an entire month (Inktober Classic). This is where you make one drawing per week throughout the year or you ink continuously for all the thirty one days of October. No matter what you choose, you are only allowed to use ink.
Now I am an ambitious racoon. Instead of foraging through the forests, I always choose to dive head first into a pile of trash. I therefore chose to torture myself by preparing for NaNoWriMo November and by inking prompt based drawings for thirty-one odious days.
That wasn’t all. On top of the prompts for Inktober 2020, I decided to be an over-smart masochist and aspired to link all the 31 prompts to writing. To simplify, I chose to make thirty one drawings using just ink and paper. These drawings were not going to be random doodles. They were all going to follow Inktober’s assigned themes and I was going to link them all to writing.
Inktober 2020
I am happy to report how I succeeded. I succeeded so well, I am going to do the same for Inktober 2021.
You are probably wondering why I am telling you this! It’s simple – I just want you to know how trying different things that seem like torture could actually turn out to be the thing that brings you peace. In the extremely busy, chaotic lives most of us lead these days, we often forget that us humans, we are not born with a manual. We are blank slates. We figure things out as we go along the path of life. If you don’t try the thing due to any excuse, well, you’re missing out.
Also, I wanted to brag a little. The sentiment being, “Oh look what I did!” This pompous puffin who couldn’t draw a straight line used outrageously expensive ink and some weirdly angled ink pen to ink writing theme doodles for an entire month while working, studying and going through life as is. If this lazy cat can do it, so could you.
Fun fact: This is my first ever blog. I have never written about personal experiences because I thought personal is, well, personal. Going by that lovely logic, I have been sitting on so many personal stories of joy, sorrow and extreme mundanity, I could talk your ears off. Who knows, maybe I will!
If you want to know whether I become someone who overshares in the upcoming future, sign up for my newsletter using the link below. Also, let me know what you want me to try next!
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