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Book Review: On Philosophising, Philosophers, Philosophy and New Vistas in Applied Philosophy, by Dr. Sharmila Jayant Virkar

A little bit of context before you begin reading this book review. I have recently enrolled for an MA in Philosophy at the University of Mumbai. Philosophy is something I have been getting interested in, over the past few years, as those of you who have been reading my blogs and Instagram posts would know. During the pandemic, I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do next, and this is what I eventually came up with. It has been a challenge, getting back into academics as a student at this age, especially in a subject I have no academic background in. However, it has also been very exciting, especially thanks to my wonderful classmates (who, surprisingly, are of all age-groups, including some quite near my own) and my teachers, who have been very supportive and understanding. How well I will do is something that remains to be seen, but so far, I am enjoying this new journey and look forward to where it leads. Now that you know the background , you probably get an idea of how

Faces in the Crowd - The Old Man at the Monastery

We were at the Rumtek Monastery, and we were enthusiastically discussing Tibetan Buddhism and life in Sikkim, with our guide, Monay. An old man standing by smilingly said something, and our guide laughed and translated – “So many questions you have!




That was so true. We did have innumerable questions, and it was good to see our guide answer us patiently. We told him to tell the old man that yes, we had many questions, we wanted to know more about the monastery. He smiled again, and the smile lit up his eyes, and his age lines seemed to smile too. I usually avoid clicking photos of people, but something about this old man made me want to click one of him, so I asked him, pointing to him, and then my camera. He nodded, and I clicked these two photos.



As we turned back, our guide told us that he was among the oldest inhabitants of the monastery, one who had been blessed by three Karmapas (the leader of this order)! He had been a child when his parents had brought him to seek the blessings of the 15th Karmapa who had arrived in Sikkim on a pilgrimage. When the 16th Karmapa arrived here in exile from Tibet, he joined the order, and in recent times, he has also been fortunate to live with the present Karmapa, the 17th.  He is now in his 90s according to our guide, and yet is active, both physically and mentally. He is truly blessed, isn’t he?



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Comments

  1. So true! He is blessed! He has a calming effect too. And content.
    Looks like he has 100s of stories within him, waiting to come out.

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    1. Yes, Nisha.. that calmness and contentment was the most striking thing about him. Unfortunately, he couldnt understand english or hindi, and apparently doesnt speak too much, or it would have been nice talking to him

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  2. There is something that makes me uncomfortable in the presence of most elderly people. It's like a feeling of a subtle guilt for being young and strong whereas they are not anymore. However, this old man doesn't project anything of this sort - he's young and strong in his own way.

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    Replies
    1. Thats an interesting thought, Antonina. I have never really felt uncomfortable around old people, but that is probably because i grew up in a house filled with them! our house, when I was growing up had, apart from my grandparents, scores of grand uncles and aunts, and i was close to all of them... and this old man actually reminded me of them...

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  3. Well, he just taught me - Wrinkles can't deter ur smile and spirit. If i ever visit this place, i m definitely going to look out for him. Amazing soul. God bless him!

    ReplyDelete

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