Simple!

rgsrinivasan · Jun 30, 2015

Just like every other day, it dawned and I did not associate any special meaning to it too. As it always happens, I saw the time and allowed my lazy self another ten minutes. There were a couple of meetings that day at work, which I labelled already as complex. Normally, such meetings go on in one of these two ways - either I would be completely a mute spectator, occasionally nodding to be interpreted as I agree, but actually to ward off my sleep or say no to everything with an explanation that would be boring even to myself. I started on time to the task at hand and accompanied my kid to his school.

There was a bit of a crowd and I saw the children coming out of one school bus. I love watching them. Its one of the simple pleasures that I get. Some kids were resigned to fate, a few were happy, some were running already and one lazily got down in the end. Then I turned to the notice board there, where a teacher was drawing something. Drawing is never my forte and I had an aversion to it since childhood. But that changed after seeing her draw. A straight line changed to a road, a slant line a mountain, a wavy line turned to be a water source and many small and big lines turned to trees and plants. Within a few minutes, I saw the complete picture and was awed. It looked like a perfect painting and she went on to colour that. With as few colours as possible, she made it look so nice. How many different kind of leaves can one draw in a picture? In the end, it looked so simple, yet very complex, with more details that I could not get in one glance. Yet, it sounded so easy.

A similar experience resulted in hearing the Carnatic music. I am a zero there, but was accustomed to hearing the students singing, while on my way to school during my childhood. Inspired by the chocolate that my sisters promised, I used to go to these classes, but anything beyond a certain point, I just gave up. But I regretted that many times later on. What started as simple "saraLi varisai" starting with the seven notes, soon transformed to songs and ragas and numerous others, which are beyond me. But I never give up at least in talking, so 'show' my knowledge in nodding expertly in discussions related to music.

The same applies to everything that we see around us, right? Right from the buildings that come up step by step from mere skeleton structures to the roads, to the cities, to the big trees, to learning anything new to even us. But what concerned me is that, after the slow and continuous transformation of things and even us, we no longer associate the element of simpleness in them mostly. We ourselves get carried away or awed and move away from it, instead of even giving it a try. I had this fact slapping me hard the other day when I tried to explain a language construct to my kid. We are using it daily and without even knowing at times, taking it for granted and brag about for being experts at it. But the real ones are those that could explain things simply and are not clouded.

How about the slokas, the ashtothras [108 names / qualities attributed to the lord, used in chants] or the sahasranamas [1008 names of the lords] or more? While we are naturally moved and awed as well hearing them and chanting some, we also see they are on a higher plane and can be explained in simpler terms step by step, taking one at a time. Its like seeing each and every priceless diamond in the diamond necklace, closer and trying to grasp what is beyond the obvious inference and that too, will be explained in simple terms by learned ones. Is it not? In fact, what about God? For all believers in any religion, haven't you heard or read already that He / She is the simplest you can ever experience?

And is this the simple reason why many do not even try seeking the divine?

iyerviji · Jun 30, 2015

It was interesting to read RGS dear about your narration of the painting, music, slokams etc. I enjoy listening to Rudram, Narayaneeyam, we are in a different world when we are there. Even music especially listening to great artists like MS etc. We forget our worries listening to the music. Recently when I had gone to Dubai my daughter and son in law gifted me Huawei touch phone which has all the faciltiies and they uploaded all divine songs in that. So when I enter the kitchen in the morning I turn that on and do my cooking, pooja etc.

shyamala1234 · Jun 30, 2015

Dear rgs,
Yes, I agree really big things are simple and yet we do not like them to be simple.
Yes, music starts with seven notes, language with alphabets and God is the simplest one...but do we like them to be like that? No! We make them complicated and then we get a feeling that we had worked very hard to get them, then only it satisfies us! Even leading life, how we should lead is quite simple but we do not want it to be like that. On the other day I was listening to a talk on T.V. He was explaining it is very easy to please God...we have to give him eight flowers. They are Ahimsha, no Kama, Krodha etc. No need to do elaborate and expensive pujas with gold and silver and elaborate mantras. It is easier to do pujas than following these traits. Simple and complex at the same time. Our mindset is fixed like that.
Last paragraph and last sentence are wonderful....sums up everything.
Thank you.
Syamala

jayasala42 · Jun 30, 2015

All big things are made from simple structures. Elders used to say" take care of pennies, pounds will take care of themselves.When I joined office we gotRs5 as increment and I opened an RD for Rs 5/ Every year I opened RD for the increment amount so that we could limit our expenditure with the old salary.Number 1oo is made of hundred ones.The simple saptha swaras with so much combinations get transformed into ocean of classical music.
A good interpretative snippet.
Little things are not really little.They form a fragment of great things.

jayasala 42

Viswamitra · Jun 30, 2015

Dear RGS,

What a scintillating read this is! You have connected different starting from the teacher drawing a great painting from simply drawing lines and coloring this appropriately in the school to your experience of listening to music from construction of several ragas from the simple 7 notes to construction of a building from simple columns to explaining construction of sentences from simple words to chanting Slokas and utlimately feel connected to the Lord. I am glad your mind see the big picture of the beauty of a completed painting, melody of ragas, elegance of a building and connectivity of the Lord in chanting Slokas while simultaneously seeing the results are build through various simple processes.

Martin H. Fischer said, "knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification". A good teacher is one who simplifies the solution to a complex problem. Even in Six Sigma quality control, the important teaching is to increase the quality of the processes that would produce the best end product or service.

Thank you for presenting this wonderful post.

Viswa

rgsrinivasan · Jul 1, 2015

iyerviji said: ↑

It was interesting to read RGS dear about your narration of the painting, music, slokams etc. I enjoy listening to Rudram, Narayaneeyam, we are in a different world when we are there. Even music especially listening to great artists like MS etc. We forget our worries listening to the music. Recently when I had gone to Dubai my daughter and son in law gifted me Huawei touch phone which has all the faciltiies and they uploaded all divine songs in that. So when I enter the kitchen in the morning I turn that on and do my cooking, pooja etc.
Click to expand...

Very glad to receive your feedback as first again to my post Viji madam. Happy to see that you got a lovely gift that brings what you like more too.
As for myself, I find it hard to concentrate on tasks when I hear a sloka as my mind goes there. I like just to listen and do nothing more when songs are played in the house. And I somehow don't get used to headphones /walkman at all. -rgs

rgsrinivasan · Jul 1, 2015

shyamala1234 said: ↑

Dear rgs,
Yes, I agree really big things are simple and yet we do not like them to be simple.
Yes, music starts with seven notes, language with alphabets and God is the simplest one...but do we like them to be like that? No! We make them complicated and then we get a feeling that we had worked very hard to get them, then only it satisfies us! Even leading life, how we should lead is quite simple but we do not want it to be like that. On the other day I was listening to a talk on T.V. He was explaining it is very easy to please God...we have to give him eight flowers. They are Ahimsha, no Kama, Krodha etc. No need to do elaborate and expensive pujas with gold and silver and elaborate mantras. It is easier to do pujas than following these traits. Simple and complex at the same time. Our mindset is fixed like that.
Last paragraph and last sentence are wonderful....sums up everything.
Thank you.
Syamala
Click to expand...

You are right Syamala. I think the primary reason for that is our own ego and the feeling that we are way ahead of all these things. Unfortunately for us, even our behaviours are explained in simple terms. Its like this - from the centre of the ripple we progressively move outward till we are so far that we don't see the ripple at all, but feel proud that we've outgrown it.

Thanks for your feedback and happy to receive from you anytime. -rgs

rgsrinivasan · Jul 1, 2015

jayasala42 said: ↑

All big things are made from simple structures. Elders used to say" take care of pennies, pounds will take care of themselves.When I joined office we gotRs5 as increment and I opened an RD for Rs 5/ Every year I opened RD for the increment amount so that we could limit our expenditure with the old salary.Number 1oo is made of hundred ones.The simple saptha swaras with so much combinations get transformed into ocean of classical music.
A good interpretative snippet.
Little things are not really little.They form a fragment of great things.

jayasala 42
Click to expand...

Thanks Jayasala madam for your appreciation and for sharing a detail from your past. Yes, its generally a challenge to limit ourselves, knowing we can afford more. Today, at least, we are so used to, "No matter what I get, it won't be enough!".

I liked your last line more and just want to add - little or large - all these are relative. A little brick may look as a wall to the ant. Right? -rgs

jasmine25 · Jul 1, 2015

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Rgs yet another brilliant post from you :clap Whenever I read your snippets and poem all I could say is - You are a Kalarasigan You are enjoying the beauty of life thereby making us realise how beautiful this life is if one tries to get the pleasure my observing small little joy happening around him/her...[/FONT]