Lessons from the IIC lecture of Devdutt Pattanaik

[Got he opportunity to listen to mythologist, writer & illustrator Sri Devdutt Pattanaik on 21 March at IIC and here are some interesting concepts he spoke. I have added three from my side]

1. West v/s East: The notion of equality & justice are originated from western philosophy. Hence their way of defining equality and justice will be different from our ways. In our philosophy, we believe in the concept of Karma. So, when we see rich and poor, we think that is the result of Karma. But Western people think that as injustice. 

Snap from IIC

2. Line v/s Cycle: Indian philosophy is cyclic in nature, whereas western philosophy is linear. We believe if we do good work in this life, by Karma, we will get good life in next birth. We keep repeating this in cycle. Europeans didn’t think in rebirth/cycle. Like the BAITORONI river in Hindu mythology, Greek people also have a river (name I forgot). But they can cross the river only once (liner again), but Hindu mythology says we cross BAITORONI multiple times (cycle).

3. Culture disassociates us: There are two things – culture (or mythology or diversity) and humanness. Culture disassociates people, which humanness unites. Whenever we see someone, there will be diversity in terms of dress/food/thought, but when we think about the basic human nature such as breath, love, birth, die- we all are the same. So, never try for absolute truth- it will lead to chaos. Her truth and my truth will always differ.

4. Greek vs Indus: Greek gods/mythology/literature is always about individual, such as a masculine man wants to control the world- it is focused on an individual. But Hindu mythology such as Ramayana or Mahabharata is family centric. All members of the family takes part (Ekta Kapoor got inspiration from this – we love family sop-operas). Also, their Gods are always afraid that human might take over them, in the the way they (the Gods) defeated the Titans and took control. Hence, they will keep punishing/diverting the human. The gods can make anyone pregent by their will’; In Mahabharata too, the concept is there. But here Kunti requested God to make her pregnant, not the other way around.

5. Asuras are ambitious: If you really look at how Indian mythology has portrayed Asuras and Devatas, Asuras are dynamic, wants to uproot the Devtas from heaven and hence more ambitious. On the other hand, Devatas are perfect example of help takers (from Vishnu/Shiva). Also, asuras are painted black to such an extent that, we painted Krishna as blue, not as black to confused with asuras.

[Now, three from my side]

6. No absolutism: The commissioning of three women fighter pilots for the first time in Indian Air Force drew many accolades from across the spectrum. The names of these women would be written in Indian Air Force history forever. The only question that has been hovering in my brain- was it their talent, or luck or connection? I have almost come to this conclusion that things are never the way it appears from a distant far. What would be the most ideal scenario in this example- there were fierce multiple competitions among all the women trainees; the three selected ones not only be vetted by the jury but also by the competing fellow trainees. But is that possible? Is there any screening methodology in the world that is beyond criticism and can judge two equally competent human being? The answer is no. Hence to facilitate the selection other factors start playing a role such as relative, anecdotal evidence, officer’s recommendation, media’s likability and so on. This happens in every aspect of job recruitment, university admission, personal relationship selection, life of a celebrity. We are always made to live on a false world. Hence, there is always a slightly different version of truth. So, never believe anything on face value. There is strategic misrepresentation:)

7. Danger of being in border line with a political party: Is there any danger of being in a border line with a political party, just as I am in a border line with bureaucracy? The biggest example is Prashant Kishor and the way BJP treated him after the national election. He was a shadow figure and there was no formal way to prove his contribution for the campaign, and this borderline situation is dangerous. Compared to the party cadre and the party’s internal campaign team (however inefficient that be), the fate of outside consultants are very very limited. Hence, Prashant was thrown out. But what about Raghuram Rajan, Arvind Subramanium etc? I guess the problem is with age. At an age of 37 (as Prashant is), there is a perception problem how useful that person would be. Hence, Prashant was not inducted into any good position even though he was truthful to BJP. This betrayal of a political party is dangerous. So, the best strategy may be to have a publicly accepted executive position (if not joining the party) in your mid-year and sail through. The other strategy is to build your profile via PhD and outside-India assignment and then negotiate to come back in a good position, which is deemed as acceptable even by political parties. This Prashant Kishor story is an eye-opener for me. But the future must be observed to draw firm conclusion.

8. Corruption thought: The children of corrupt parents- their life, thoughts and what can society expect from them- I think they constitute an interesting cohort in the humankind. There are two possible extremities- how’d a corrupt parents deal with an honest child and vice versa and how a corrupt parents deal with equally corrupt mindset children. Here by 'parents', I have considered both, as any parent who is corrupt will eventually mean both as I don’t think a spouse won’t know about other’s corrupt activity; and if not she/he is carrying a slavery and not a marriage. And, by corrupt I mean the corrupt by majority of public perception; in India, this is not at all possible to get a corrupt convicted easily. I wish I could be wrong and in that case there would have no need of this thought, as criminal’s children constitute a separate cohort already. 

Bit abstract thought, let me stop here for today.