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Disorientation...that's what happened to Arjun when he entered the battle field, a battle for which he was assiduously preparing for over 12 years like a Hyderabadi student for IIT JEE who faints on seeing the physics question paper. Krishna taught him the core concepts of Gita for half an hour but the pep talk only half convinces him. Ultimately Krishna had to show off his Cosmic Figure seeing which Arjun relapses once again and pleads that enough is enough and he better fight it out rather than endure that cosmic thing.
That is also what happened to the troop of monkeys who went south in search of Sita when they suddenly saw the overwhelming sea. All of them sit down stunned till Jambavan recovers and pumps up Hanuman praising his prowess sky-high. Hanuman had this innate modesty about him that he forgets his own powers till someone reminds him...like Battling Billson in Ukridge.
All sudden religious convictions are initially disorienting, like that of St Paul who was persecuting early Christian believers till he suddenly saw a blinding flash of light in the form of the resurrected Jesus. After losing his eyesight for three days his sight was restored and he went on to become the foremost proponent of Christianity and codified and wrote up the Gospel.
Something similar happened to Vivekananda who was a mild non-believer when he met Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who touched Vivekananda on his head and converted him with his disorienting magical touch.
Something similar happened to Constable Dobbs in The Mating Season of PGW. Here is how he reports it to his Justice of the Peace:
"It's with ref to my having seen the light, sir...And I'll tell you how it came about, sir. On the evening of the twenty-third inst, well, to-night, as a matter of fact...I was proceeding about my duties, chasing a marauder up a tree, when I was unexpectedly struck by a thunderbolt."
...It is a different matter that Dobbs was actually hit on his head from behind by Jeeves with the blackjack belonging to Master Thomas, which Jeeves had pocketed by stealth.
Quiet middle-aged people who travel abroad to strange countries and civilizations also feel disoriented, like DB told me what happened to him when he went to Mexico from KGP at the age of 40.
Normal folks also get disoriented when they meet geniuses for the first time. This is what happened to Hardy when he read all those strange theorems and conjectures sent by Ramanujan.
Certainly it happened to me when I first met my Guide SDM...a highly disoriented character himself, apart from being a genius. It took all of two years for me to come to terms with his strange ways...and that too since I decided to deconstruct him come what may.
Moving to this chaotic metropolis called Hyderabad at 62 after 40 staid years spent in the campus of IIT KGP was extremely disorienting to me. I didn't know how to cross the road safely...I still don't.
I am sure death is going to be quite a disorienting experience after all these years here down below. I have decided to take my Aadhar Card with me, who knows?
Birth also was an extremely disorienting affair to me since I recall it vividly like Salvador Dali...as reported by Thurber:
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Disorientation...that's what happened to Arjun when he entered the battle field, a battle for which he was assiduously preparing for over 12 years like a Hyderabadi student for IIT JEE who faints on seeing the physics question paper. Krishna taught him the core concepts of Gita for half an hour but the pep talk only half convinces him. Ultimately Krishna had to show off his Cosmic Figure seeing which Arjun relapses once again and pleads that enough is enough and he better fight it out rather than endure that cosmic thing.
That is also what happened to the troop of monkeys who went south in search of Sita when they suddenly saw the overwhelming sea. All of them sit down stunned till Jambavan recovers and pumps up Hanuman praising his prowess sky-high. Hanuman had this innate modesty about him that he forgets his own powers till someone reminds him...like Battling Billson in Ukridge.
All sudden religious convictions are initially disorienting, like that of St Paul who was persecuting early Christian believers till he suddenly saw a blinding flash of light in the form of the resurrected Jesus. After losing his eyesight for three days his sight was restored and he went on to become the foremost proponent of Christianity and codified and wrote up the Gospel.
Something similar happened to Vivekananda who was a mild non-believer when he met Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who touched Vivekananda on his head and converted him with his disorienting magical touch.
Something similar happened to Constable Dobbs in The Mating Season of PGW. Here is how he reports it to his Justice of the Peace:
"It's with ref to my having seen the light, sir...And I'll tell you how it came about, sir. On the evening of the twenty-third inst, well, to-night, as a matter of fact...I was proceeding about my duties, chasing a marauder up a tree, when I was unexpectedly struck by a thunderbolt."
...It is a different matter that Dobbs was actually hit on his head from behind by Jeeves with the blackjack belonging to Master Thomas, which Jeeves had pocketed by stealth.
Quiet middle-aged people who travel abroad to strange countries and civilizations also feel disoriented, like DB told me what happened to him when he went to Mexico from KGP at the age of 40.
Normal folks also get disoriented when they meet geniuses for the first time. This is what happened to Hardy when he read all those strange theorems and conjectures sent by Ramanujan.
Certainly it happened to me when I first met my Guide SDM...a highly disoriented character himself, apart from being a genius. It took all of two years for me to come to terms with his strange ways...and that too since I decided to deconstruct him come what may.
Moving to this chaotic metropolis called Hyderabad at 62 after 40 staid years spent in the campus of IIT KGP was extremely disorienting to me. I didn't know how to cross the road safely...I still don't.
I am sure death is going to be quite a disorienting experience after all these years here down below. I have decided to take my Aadhar Card with me, who knows?
Birth also was an extremely disorienting affair to me since I recall it vividly like Salvador Dali...as reported by Thurber:
"Let me be the first to admit the naked truth about me is to the naked truth about Salvador Dali as an old ukelele in the attic is to a piano in a tree, and I mean a piano with breasts. Senor Dali has the jump on me from the beginning. He remembers and describes in detail what it was like in the womb. My own earliest memory is of accompanying my father to a polling booth in Columbus, Ohio, where he voted for McKinley."
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