Subjective reality

If I ask you a simple question, “From which direction the sun rises and sets”, you would think I am kidding. Even a small kid would answer that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

Now if I were to challenge your answer and give you a different answer, that the sunrises in the north and sets in the north in some part of the year and it rises in the south and sets in the south in the other part of the year, and sometimes it does not rise or set at all, you would probably think that I have lost my brains. Right?.  But this is the truth in an island called Tromso, located in Northern Norway. This is not a myth but a proven fact.

What we consider a fact is not necessarily a fact in every part of the world. It may be false.

We know the sun doesn’t move but our perception of its movements have become our reality and we live our lives accordingly.  Seeing the midnight sun and its impact on the local people really will turn one’s assumptions upside down. You realise that at the physical or metaphysical level, there is no “One Reality”.  For nearly six-billion people, the reality is that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but for a half-million people the sun rises and sets in the north or south. The minority reality may be experienced by only a few people, but it’s as real and valid as the majority  experience, however contrary, unreal or absurd  it may seem at first.

And that’s a message the majority community of any nation would do well to learn, understand and accept.  The minority experience is a reality.  Seemingly contrary multiple realities can and must coexist harmoniously in a country as they do in nature.

The development of human intelligence should not always be objective in nature, it has to be subjective, as well. This above illustration is a classic example of subjective reality. We often fail to see the larger picture. This holds true for different religions too, different communities, different economic classes, etc. 

Therefore every time there is a difference of thought or opinions, before blindly arguing to justifying our point, let us try to listen with empathy what the other person is trying to say and then decide. Let us learn to accept the fact that,  our life’s reality is limited to our perception and it is not the wholesome truth.

Galileo was killed for telling the world, that the earth was round like a ball, when the whole world was living by the assumption that the world was flat. Killing the person did not kill the truth. After a few years it was proved that the earth was round.

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan

Article Dated Dec 2007

                                              

Automation is the Future

“One machine can perform the work of a hundred human hands, but no machine can perform the work of one human brain”

In a country like India, where the population is very high there is a huge amount of uneducated man power. While the educated manpower get to reach the top positions, these uneducated manpower continue to remain as human machines. Infact, many of the  MNC are interested in capitalizing the potential of the uneducated manpower, available in these third world countries.

When I visited Finland, on the Rotary Group Study Exchange programme, I had the opportunity of visiting a number of industries. What was very striking to me the was the level of automation these companies have employed in the work place. When I looked at the production capacity of these units in relation to the manpower involved, I was thrilled. Big industries,  have just 20 to 30 employees. The simple reason is labour is not available. For instance, in a paper making factory, I saw robots at work. These manlike machines were carrying reels of paper from one point to another point and stacking it in allotted spaces. As simple as, the worker in the Indian factory who carries loads of material, from one point to another point.

For a moment I thought, what would be the fate of a country like India, if robots became so common that there will not be a need for uneducated man power.

What I then realized was that, as of today the economies of cost are not likely be in favour of these industries, but in the near future this may be the in thing. Let me explain. Assume, that the cost of a robot is 1 crore rupees. Now to make a investment of 1 crore in a robot, means that on a conservative basis the interest cost would be approx 12%, which means the cost of employing a robot will be Rs.12 lakhs per year. The uneducated manpower in India is roughly earning about Rs. 150/- per day which means it is just approx Rs.50,000/- per year. Where is Rs.50,000/- as compared to 12 lakhs. So, Robots are not a workable proposition.

Now assume that these robots are made available to industries by mass production at Rs. 5 lakhs per robot. Now the interest cost is Rs. 60,000/- per year. This would mean that the robot would become a more dependable work force for industries. They won’t get tired, they won’t form groups, they won’t fight for a increase in pay, they won’t talk and waste time, they will give you the maximum production you desire, there would be precision and therefore no quality problems, and endless benefits.

Today we talk about labour shortage everywhere. All of  a sudden we do not get labourers to perform the menial work like we got before. We see every industrialist brooding about this issue. In spite of the temptations, such as free food, free medical expenses, free education for children, free van pick up and drop, production linked incentive, in addition to the daily wages, there are no people to come and work.

The employers who once felt like kings are now feeling so helpless without this much sought after work force. What we need to understand is we have to invest in automation in a big way. Even a country like China, which has a higher population than India, seems to have realized the fact, much earlier. Their factories today have enormous production capacity, not owing to its labour force, but owing to the high level of automation.

Let us wake up to the fact that , in India the transition of the physical workers to knowledge workers is on the rise and the availability of uneducated manpower is in a steady decline and unless we bring in more automation at our workplace, it is going to be difficult.

Start looking at the bigger picture. Automation is the future.

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan 
Article dated Nov'07

Sundays are Fundays

Sunday is a holiday, everywhere in the world, excepting for the Islamic countries, where Friday is a holiday.  This drives home a point that everywhere in the world, people have acknowledged the need for  ONE DAY break , at the end of  6 days of work.

Take a look, at what you do on Sundays. Do you catch up on some pending office work? Are your children busy catching up on their school work?  Is your wife busy, with her daily chores? If yes, then don’t you think you are wasting a  precious Sunday.

Sunday is a day of rest & recreation. Nothing more. A day to reward yourself for the good work you have put in throughout the week. A day to recharge your physical, mental and emotional batteries, to face the challenges of the week ahead.

Remember the proverb, “All work and no play makes jack a dull boy”. While a 24 x7 ATM is a brilliant idea, thinking about a human being as a 24 x 7 mechanism is really ridiculous.  So, next time your boss gives you a weekend assignment, tell him NO, even if the monetary rewards are tempting. The purpose of earning money is to enjoy your life, but what is more important  is,  you need to have time to enjoy the money you earn.

So, now on, when it is Sunday,  get up from your bed and shout out loud,  Eureka, today is a holiday. I am going to enjoy this day to the fullest. Think of creative ideas to make your Sunday’s interesting.  Spend more time in your shower.  Pamper yourself. Pack your bags and take your family on a one day picnic. Have a light heart, with a mood for fun and laughter.  Make it a “no rules day”.  Don’t catch your children wrong, and spoil their day. Don’t talk to them about school, exams, marks so on and so forth. Let your kids enjoy doing whatever they like to do. Allow them to get dirty in the garden. Say NO to  Computers, that has been a week long strain to your eye.  Instead, go watch the  latest kids movie in town, with your family.  Laugh loud  along with the kids, even if  you think the joke was too silly. Play a game of chess or checkers, with them. Allow them to win and make them feel proud. Lose a bet and buy them their favourite chocolate. Go to the beach or park.  Make sand castles and play with your children.  Take them  to a restaurant and let them choose from the menu.  Don’t say no to ice-cream. Just one day let them know that you are there fully, for them. The ideas are endless.  The Sunday can create the desired bonding your family needs. So don’t waste your Sundays working.

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan

Article dated Oct'07

WHAT IS YOUR HAPPINESS QUOTIENT

Recently, I have come across a very interesting website called www.tickle.com.  I encourage you to log on to this site and enroll yourself , and take a number of online tests, that can help you identify your personality, your instincts, and much more of yourself, which you are unconsciously  unaware of .  Anyone  interested in self development, will find this resource very valuable.

I recently took a test called the “Happiness Test” and this test revealed to me a new perception of Happiness. We all have different definition of happiness, and it is different from person to person. To some earning a lot of money is happiness; to some the love of their family members is happiness, to some their success in a chosen activity is happiness.  To me, the very purpose of life is itself to experience the many happy moments, this world has to offer. If there is no reason to be happy, then there is no purpose to be alive.

This test points out that the baseline of happiness is dependent on one of the seven factors, I have listed below:

1.      Contentment

2.      Confidence

3.      Personal Growth

4.      Relationship

5.      Gratitude

6.      Optimism

7.      Cheerfulness

This test revealed that my happiness factor was my Confidence. This was news to me.  But thinking about it, I feel it is true. It is not my success rate, but the confidence level I have in myself and my abilities, makes me a happy person. Therefore, irrespective of how many ever times I fail, as long as I have confidence that I will win, I will be happy. This also means, I would feel unhappy whenever I lose my confidence.

Likewise, it will be different for different people based on one of these seven happiness factors.

True happiness with yourself and your life comes from having a strong, balanced, consistently positive approach to yourself and your world. Psychologists claim, that Happiness is a state of mind, a life perception, and a series of good habits. This is good news. If happiness is a skill set, then you can learn to be happier. Some people seem to be born happy. This may be true. Or perhaps these "happier" people have simply already learned these happiness skills through their interactions, through reading, or by having a keen perception into human nature.

Finally, even happy people have down days. It's unrealistic to expect permanent, nonstop happiness. Such a thing doesn't exist in reality. However, you can learn to be more content with your life, confident in yourself, grateful for what you have, committed to your personal growth, full of laughter and good cheer, and optimistic. You can also learn to develop positive, supportive relationships with the people around you. In fact, by focusing yourself steadfastly on these seven areas, you can quite readily achieve them.

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan

Article Dated Sep 2007

Have Faith in your Children

On 12^th July 2007, a beautiful flower withered away from my family garden. I used to call this flower, Amma.  No matter what the age, what the health condition, a mother is always a mother and the loss of someone who has been with me right from my birth, is ofcourse painful. Though, it is true that anyone in this world is indispensable, yet there are a few relationships that are not replaceable and I think a mother is one.

I have a habit of trying to find and adopt atleast one good quality from my near and dear ones. When I think of my mother, I think the most important thing I wish to imbibe from her, is the faith she had in her children. I am sure this sharing of mine, will help other parents to get a perspective of this goodness of having faith in children

Right from my childhood, I have been a pride to her.  She delighted on the simplest of my achievements. She used to talk very proud of me to my relatives, her circle of friends and who ever she knows. She has never let me down on any occasion. Even when I failed in my 9^th Std examinations, due to my negligence in study, she did not scold me. She just told these words “Don’t lose heart”. To make sure that I am not mocked by others, she went about telling everybody that my son was detained, because he was having fever and he was  not able to write his exams. Why was there so much of protection? Why was I not punished?.  I used to think.

This unshakeable faith she had in me turned me a new leaf. I realized my fault. I felt so bad and guilty for having disappointed her. From then on, I concentrated well on my studies and made sure I was atleast in the top ten of my class, till I completed my post graduation. This was the magic of faith, she had on me. Faith turns aspirations to reality.

What I observe in many parent’s today is this lack of faith in their children.  We get easily upset over their children’s failures. We tend to lose confidence in their children’s ability.  We use wrong and negative words, thinking that we are correcting our children, without realizing that we are making things worse. I think it is time, we correct ourselves and behave as more responsible gardeners of our children.

Just like a plant needs good soil, water, and sunlight to grow, we have to nurture our children with the soil of positive thoughts, water them with abundant love, support them with the sunlight of  encouragement and appreciation.

 Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan
Article dated Aug'07

CHILDREN COME IN ALL SHAPES AND COLOURS

I was reading a article in the last month issue of “Frozen Thoughts” and it spoke about the different types of employees working in an organisation. As I was contemplating on the content, I related the same to the different types of students, which gave me some valuable insights which I would like to share.

Of the many factors, that decide the academic success of a student, what we can identify as two predominant traits are his INTELLIGENCE level and ENERGY/ MOTIVATION level. So, this gives way to a matrix which can be something like this:

Type 1:  High Intelligence + High Energy

= Brilliant Student

Type 2:  Low Intelligence + Low Energy 

= Dull Student

Type 3:  High Intelligence + Low Energy

 = Average Student

Type 4:  Low Intelligence + High Energy

 = Aggressive/ Adamant Student

Though we tend to believe that God created all equally, it is not true. We see difference in colour, character, and also the intelligence level. Psychologists classify children as Gifted hildren, Special Child and Normal Child.

The “Gifted child”  is a  quick learner as he has the ability to grasp and understand  concepts effortlessly.

The “Special child” needs special care, from the teachers and students, because they find it difficult to understand what is being taught to them. It is only by repetitive teaching, can these children understand the subject.

In between these two classification comes the “Normal child”, which is of concern to us today. They are like the seed with potential to grow to a big tree, but because they do not get the special care that a special child gets or the appreciation that a gifted child gets, they get stranded on being a average child.

The responsibility of bringing out the best in a average child largely depends upon his/ her teachers and parents.

The general mentality of the parent, who has a average child is that they are comfortable with the performance of their children and they are indifferent towards their performance. For example, if the child has shown some small improvement in his marks, he is not appreciated. He is always compared with the brilliant students and made to feel that his small achievements are not praise worthy. Similarly, when his performance goes down, they do not take it seriously. They just tell him to do well next time. There is no special care given to make him improve on his weak subjects.

Similarly with the teachers, the reason why an average child is no ones child is because of the lack of involving them. Let as assume a class of 30. In this class the top ten performers are called the brilliant children and the last ten are called the dull students. The brilliant children are asked to take part in all the programmes and activities representing the school. The school is interested that it should win more prizes and awards to gain public honour, and therefore have the team consisting of the brilliant children. As far as the dull children, they are generally not interested in participating. But it is the average child who aspires to participate, but is not given a chance. This attitude of the teacher demotivates the child. He starts feeling inferior to others and he himself puts up a mental block, that he has not talents.

In a world of today, success is not defined by the academic performance of the student. What the corporate world is looking for today, is street smart executives who have a flair in communication and a indomitable spirit.

We have a role to play in shaping up the generation of tomorrow. Let us look with new eyes, to the average child and create a better world for him. This we can achieve only by involvement, motivation and appreciation.

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan

Article Dated July 2007

EMPATHY THROUGH EXPERIENCE

Empathy as easily defined is “the ability to look at a situation from another person’s point of view”. Though easily said, off late I came to realize that empathy does not come so easily. It is only by undergoing the experience does real empathy come.

I was in China, a few days ago. Being a vegetarian, I found it extremely difficult to manage my food. But somehow God seemed to remember my childhood prayer, which I used to say “Oh God, give me my daily bread” and was kind enough to help me find some bread, here and there which helped me to survive in this land where not only the language was foreign but also the concept of vegetarianism was foreign.

Having had my own share of trouble finding vegetarian food, I had to travel to some smaller towns of interior china to visit a few factories. Even before I started the trip, I was mentally prepared to fast, in case I don’t get any vegetarian food. But still, as a courtesy when my business associates took me for lunch to a typical Chinese restaurant, I did not refuse the invitation. I just informed that I don’t take meat and that I need only vegetables. They seemed to respect my sentiments and ordered some vegetarian dishes for me. They also ordered for themselves some dishes, and we were waiting for the food to arrive. After sometime, 10 to 12 big bowls of different food preparations arrived. As I was not aware which were vegetarian and which were non-vegetarian, I asked my host and he explained each dish. One of the dishes was Snake with green vegetables. The moment I heard that, I felt a shiver down my spine. I am dead scared of snakes and the very thought of snakes disturbs me, but here I was with a group of snake eaters. Though inside my mind, I was sending positive messages that I should act composed, I could not. I was not able to eat any food thereafter. I am sure my host must have felt offended, by my behaviour. For them eating snake is a very common thing, but to me it was an altogether an undesirable experience. Even after we left the restaurant that thought was haunting my mind, for quiet a long time.

I related this incident, to some of my own behaviour, during my college days.  I have a very close, friend, who is a Jain. Jains as you are aware are ardent vegetarians. Whenever we used to go to a Veg – Non Veg restaurant he would say, “I am not coming in; you go have food and come. I will wait outside”. I used to feel that he is acting too fussy. I used to feel what is wrong in him coming inside and sitting with us. He can just come in and give company, even if he does not eat anything. This incident made me realize how he must have felt, during such situations. Probably, he might have felt the same way; I felt when the people around me ate snake.  I always had the confidence, that I understood my friend very well, but now I realize that I did not understand his true feelings.

Just to stress my point, empathy would be more genuine when experienced than just saying these nice sounding words,    “I understand how you feel”.

Happy Reading,

D. Senthil Kannan

Article Dated Jun 2007