The Interview

One interview didn't go very well. It happens sometimes.I learnt that I don't know certain things and I know certain things. And I can learn the things I don't know provided that my children need those things and I have the capability and the drive to learn and relearn. But in my mind there were questions.Does memorizing poems makes a good teacher? I can love and remember Frost's lines in a serious poem and can recite it, but I may not like an humble poem by Wordsworth. We don't live in the romantic era anymore. Our life is diversified. We can't cram our mind with not so necessary information. English has become functional. Our children need to know how to write a job application, how to dominate a group discussion, how to write compositions and e-mails. They can read and read and write and write and can become Arundhati Roys and Bikram Seths. They can get a Man-Booker prize some day. We need originality, we need expression, we need crisp and correct English. We don't need to know what is "mood". We need to know our moods and transform them into authentic writing and speaking. The world and our lives are changing. While retaining the value system, we need to move ahead. Rote learning has given place to comprehension and understanding. We cannot remain stagnant in nineteenth century.

Interviews are great teachers and eye openers. They teach us great spiritual lessons. If they make us feel disappointed, they teach us that expectations beget disappointments. We feel bad because we have nurtured a seed of EGO within us. And when this ego is hurt, we feel angry, shaken and frustrated with others. But the fault doesn't lie with others. It lies within our self. We have created a self image of ours and if this image is tarnished in any way, we are hurt. It tells that we have allowed our happiness and peace to be dependent upon others. This way we become slaves of outside agencies and allow them to hurt us.

The setbacks also tell us that life is a journey with ups and downs. It cannot always be a straight line. When we get happiness, we don't think how they came our way. Rather we smugly think that we are worth it. But when we meet failures on the way, we question, 'Why us?'Thus failures propel us to meditate on the truths of life and to learn to accept life both way.But we are so attached to our comforts, joys and successes that we cry havoc when we face defeat at times. We are unable to accept things and feel frustrated.

The solution lies within ourselves. We should make ourselves so strong that no external power can hurt us. We should be humble and should keep our expectations low. Besides, we should know what we really are and should not depend upon the opinions of other people to know what we are. When we have shed this dependency on external factors, we will be immune to pain and hurt. And we will be humble enough to forgive people and love everybody from our pure centre.

The world of knowledge is vast. We have so much to learn from others. I am happy that I could understand my problem immediately and purge my mind of negative thoughts so as to be humble and establish my faith in the almighty as I always do. I have learnt to be grateful to the people who let me know my weaknesses and my strengths. This understanding becomes our source of peace and contentment and our ultimate salvation.