Blessing in Disguise

There was a time when I used to think most events in life are curses in disguise. They lure you with the promise of happiness but never give you enough and sometimes just result in the opposite.

Well, recently some events have changed my viewpoint. And ironically this has happened when faced with testing circumstances. I am beginning to feel that Life itself is a Blessing in Disguise. The disguise being this world of illusion (maya). We go through ups and downs, lows and highs but each event, each problem teaches us something new, makes us stronger. This experience and strength will stay with us forever while such events keep coming and going with time. On hindsight, we realize that the learning experience through such testing periods is much more enriching than the temporal pain or discomfort we have to face.

Whenever we come across a problem, if we take it as a challenge, an opportunity to improve, treat it as a blessing in disguise, not only will the complementary discomforts appear minor and manageable but we should be able to handle the problem better!

Is Ignorance Bliss?

When I was about 10 yrs old, the following was asked in the question-answer round of some international beauty pageant:
"Ignorance is Bliss" but "Knowledge is Power". How do you reconcile the two?

Various answers were put forth by the contestants like -
- They are two sides of the same coin
- In some cases you must be ignorant sometimes knowledge is more useful
- You should be ignorant about the bad/negative things
and so on...

Somehow none of these answers seemed convincing to me. And every now and then I have been perplexed wondering about the conflict between these two proverbs. I began to feel the proverb 'Ignorance is Bliss' is incomplete. Well, recently, I got my answer - the second half of this adage.

I came across the following words by Sri Sri Ravishankar on a forum:
"
Knowledge is a burden if it robs you of innocence
Knowledge is a burden if it makes you feel you are special
Knowledge is a burden if it gives you an idea that you are wise
Knowledge is a burden if it is not integrated into life
Knowledge is a burden if it does not bring you joy
Knowledge is a burden if it does not set you free
"
During my first read I could only appreciate the beauty and veracity of these words. And a second thought gave me my answer.

"Ignorance is Bliss when Knowledge is a Burden"

So simple yet so subtle....

Why blog now??

Well, I survived the blogging fever (a few months back almost every netizen I knew had a blog).. All this time, I conveniently ignored the advice of my brethren about the superb advantages of blogging.. I spent a 3 month long idyllic vacation "chilling" and "orkutting" and never got to creating a blog though it was always at the back of my mind!

So now, when I am loaded with work that is exponentially increasing.. when I barely get time for recreation.. why this blog? Well, the reason is that often thoughts (one may even call them ideas) arise and I feel I should keep this in mind.. I should remember this.. but I forget. And I am too lazy to write stuff down without a reason.. So this blog will be the archive of my *thoughts*.

Hence the name.. which has 2 interpretations: Thoughts from Suhrid (i.e. me) and Thoughts from a Good (Su) Heart (Hridaya).. So ideally to preserve both meanings I should call my blog "Thoughts from Su Hridaya of Suhrid".. But I think I will let it be a little obscure - just the way I am!

So what should one expect from this blog? Well, I dont know.. whatever I am capable of thinking.. :) But I dont think it will be an autobiography or a list of my daily activities.. (I don't think people care if I ate lunch at Wendy's or Taco Bell!) More likely, I will write about things/events/people that made me stop and think for a moment!

I hope it will be enjoyable and enriching for me as well as you. Please do leave comments even if it has to be "You Suck" :) The knowledge that someone took the time to read what I wrote itself will give me great satisfaction.