Greener Pastures - II

The truth is, it takes just one thing to give it all up and go where your mind works best. Or your heart, as the case may be. That one thing is what made the missionaries give up EVERYTHING they have and go to strange places, learn extremely difficult local dialects, start schools and colleges, educate people who otherwise couldn't quite count on the government for their emancipation. That one thing is what made Mother Teresa a symbol of love. That one thing that made an IIT topper throw it all away to the winds and take up poetry. It's called Faith.

Faith in oneself, faith in the grand scheme of things, faith in the power of one's thought or heart. There can be no better yardstick to measure and decide between various choices (occupational and life's ) that surround us.

Which is why "Greener Pastures" is a very relative word.As relative a concept as Faith is. Greener Pasture just means "better option" to a lot of people. Financially "better", spiritually, emotionally, technically better. For some Greener Pasture would be a place or a job that shows them a lot of green and all the "respect" that comes with being rich . My college principal, s.y.k ( read whatever you want into that word. every pun is intended ) is the first person that comes to my mind. He looks like Yamaraja, but wants to be Kubera. Then there are some for whom Greener pasture would be choice that kept everyone happy ( my mother, who was a rank holder in math, didn't pursue an MSc because she HAD to take a up a job then.She is still a BSc grad. And has forgotten about MSc now. Most importantly, she has no regrets). And for others, Greener pastures would be a choice that kept their soul happy.
It takes a considerable amount of introspection for the average Joe to figure out priorities, unless one is born at a prodigy level in some field of interest. Not many even know where they want to go.

This kind of mass migration one gets to see in Bangalore, where people do engineering in hordes just because every third house has someone doing that too.They don't even look at other fields. Many are not even aware of them. I see people in second semester asking me what books to buy to "clear" campus recruitments aptitude tests, and should they get their passport done now only so that it won't be a problem in 7th semester when they write their GRE. I mean...that's heights of following the crowd. People who are not even in a position to choose their electives ready to spend 10 lakhs just because every third person in college is doing that. Society does not expect everyone to do their MS in the US. Society expects everyone to make their own decisions and understand their own scope of interest after a point in life. That's till they become sensible enough to take their own decisions. Until then, Society's guidelines are there as ideals, to make certain things inacceptable and taboo so that a young mind doesnt' fall prey to influences that prevent their development. Now those ideals of independant,clear thinking, studying well so that your brain gets developed , keeping mind occupied with knowledge so that ego or insecurities don't have place to bloat up or dominate, et al , have been translated as " getting into engineering, becoming an IT professional, or becoming a doctor."

In between all this , the basic idea of human existance is lost. The only thing that man does that other denizens of this planet don't is to constantly evolve. That urge to reach better levels of thought and action is , these days, largely channelised towards going to tuitions ( for god's sake.. for how long in life will someone else guide them by the finger!!!), buying notes that "paper-setters " refer, calculating how much more they need to get in the third sessional to get an average of 23.5, which is what they need to get if their aggregate for that year has to be more than 76.7 percent, which is what they need to get an overall aggregate of 80%. And this is not the only recursion in their lives. Recursion exists in their very thought processes. Most of them have never had a single independent, emotionless,purely intellectual thought. Most thoughts are mere reactions, even planning is a mere reaction.

I myself at the end of my 10th standard, had too many interests, and didnt know which one to take up. I liked English, Hindi and History as much as I liked Math and Physics, and had read up way more on Genetics and Cell Biology, than was prescribed in the syllabus. All I knew was that I don't like Chemistry. So science was my major in higher secondary ( logic? you can always come "down" to arts in your Degree, but the system doesn't let you go "up" to science.)
My decision making skills didn't exactly improve in the next two years and I was again at crossroads
This time too, I had too many places to step into, and my feet weren't too strong on the ground because I just couldn't decide which ground to stand on. Needless to say, sound advice from my well meaning parents swept me off my feet, or rather, gave my feet direction. Engineering it was, that too Electronics, because of the impending dotcom crash. No clue of scope, No clue of implications.

Had I known engineering was meant to be a basic degree that gives you 7 to 8 spoonfuls of subjects in a semester, with no time to take in the taste of each, I would have stuck to BSc. I am fundamentally a details person. So degrees like Engg where there's too much to take and too little time, I would never be able to do things with the level of detail that I am used to. Today, as I apply to Universities and write my Statement of Purpose, I know that the time I took after my B.E, to decide my future course, has been immensely valuable in helping me determining my basic desires, my stengths, weaknesses, my core fundamentals and my set of rules of the game.

To some it seemed like a long time, but to me, it was an independant decision I took about my life. And if it doesn't match up to someone else's list of "ideal plans in life", not a problem.It wasn't meant to, anyway. Will post about my post-engg, pre-MS time later. For now, it has helped me define my limits and my limitlessness. It's about the realization that no matter what you face ( good, bad, ugly, pretty), it is important to have some quality control rules in life and live up to those at any given second. I have found my set of rules.

The point is, there're some who've found their faith, there's some who're yet to. There're others who don't want to let down someone else's faith. But in the end, what matters is quality. It's about the only thing to strive for in any walk of life.

Eagles' song :
So put me on a highway
And show me a sign
And take it to the limit one more time