Importance of books

Books are such an important part of life. While the importance of books in transmitting knowledge across generations is obvious, books have a very important role to play in helping one with deal with himself and the complex environment around him. It is through books that one interacts with like minded people across generations and overcomes despair and gains hope. It is through books that one learns that there have been others in the past who have dealt with some of the most difficult problems that he has been burdened with and this provides him with a ray of hope that he too can overcome. It is by reading the lives of other people that one realizes that it is not just he who has had to make tough choices.

Human beings come in a lot of different flavours. A situation which might seem complex and nerve wrecking for one could be a run of the mill event for another. A situation which could bring extreme joy and happiness for one could leave another untouched. With such a variety of people, it is often difficult to find another person who has a similar mindset and who would be able to relate to the complexities that you percieve. And this is where books gain a lot of importance. When one has the habit of reading books and of being aware of the world which has gone by through the medium of books, he has done a huge favour upon himself where he now has access to the minds of people across generations.

Imagine not having read I wandered lonely as a cloud by Wordsworth and missing out on the rich imagination with which the author alleviates his own loneliness by drawing inspiration and energy from nature. Imagine not having read Let me not to the marriage of true minds… by Shakespeare and missing out on the lovely depiction of pure love! Imagine not having read the travails and self doubt of Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings when he moves through Mordor to destroy the one ring and how relevant it is in our day to day life when we have to constantly face questions from our inner selves when dealing with the world around us.

I could go one with thousands of other such examples. There is a wealth of knowledge and wisdom out there if only we know how to use it!

of human bondage

At one point of time, more than ten years ago, I had asked a very close pal of mine if it was ever possible that one could be as besotted with another person the way Phillip is with Mildred in the novel 'Of Human Bondage' by Somerset Maugham. She seemed to think that it was possible and I had my own doubts then.

When I re-think about this, I now tend to agree that it is possible that one person can yearn for another person's company so much that it ends up becoming a bondage. Such a yearning demeans the person and prevents him from being himself. Does this arise from lack of self-confidence? Or is it because the person is inherently timid and fearful of the external world that he needs a crutch to hang on to? This is looking at the issue from a pessimistic point of view.

The more complimentary view of this would be that a person keeps wanting another's company because he feels incomplete by himself. This view of the whole issue interests me thoroughly. Being incomplete - is it how God made man? Are we made to constantly yearn for something all our life and seek out something to keep us going? This other something could take any shape and form - it could be a yearning for wealth, fame, power, companionship, love...

What if man were inherently not like this? If one were to be completely content in oneself, wouldn't that lead to end of the human race?

Jealousy

Jealousy is a very debilitating feeling. It really saps the energy out of you and leaves you with a vaccuum. Why is one jealous? It seems to me that it is closely tied in with the one being insecure about something at that point of time of life. This insecurity is expressed in a very negative manner as possessiveness or jealousy.

How does one deal with jealousy? Most of the times, it is sufficient for me to take a step back and let the logical part of the brain to analyse the matter on hand and deal with the complex emotions in my head. This analysis of the situation lets the rational part of my brain tell the stupid part of my brain that it is being stupid about the situation and that it should go easy and that things will sort out by themselves if left alone.

However, there are times when the stupid part of the brain is adamant. It does not want to listen to logic and just keeps pushing and prodding and becomes a huge nuisance! What do you do in such cases? Try a diversionary tactic?

Purpose of life

These are some questions which I have been asking myself since I was fifteen years old and for which I thought I had the answers. What is the purpose of life? What are we born in this world for? Are we here to do some pre-determined thing? Should we achieve something before we leave this world?

These questions started framing in my mind in my teens and I really spent a whole lot of time thinking about them while in college. After a whole lot of reading and a whole lot of introspection and rationilizing, I came to the view that there is no such predefined objective for which man gets born on the earth and it is upto each one to arrive at a set of things to do for himself.