Stop and Listen

A man sat at a Metro Station on a cold January morning in
2007 and started to play the violin. He played six Bach pieces for about
45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated
that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes passed by and a middle aged man noticed there
was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds
and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar
tip: A woman threw the money in the till and without stopping,
continued to walk.
A few minutes later, a man leaned against the wall to listen
to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year old boy who stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pulled hard and the child
continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on.
In the 45 minutes that the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave money continued to walk at
their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.17.

When he finished playing and silence took over, no one
noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of
the greatest classical musicians in the world playing some of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

The musician did not play popular tunes whose familiarity
alone might have drawn interest. That was not the test. These were masterpieces that have endured for centuries on their brilliance alone, soaring
music befitting the grandeur of cathedrals and concert halls.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in
the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and the priorities of people.
The questions raised - In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour:
Do we perceive beauty?
Do we stop to appreciate it?
Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experiment could
be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made...
How many other things are we missing?

Stun

Education !

Education can be broadly classified into four, Namely ;

1. Useful Education

2. Useless Education

3. Dangerous Education

4. Nuisance Education

Lord Sree Rama possesed all the qualities ideally a man should be seeking for, his education not only helped himself but also played a massive role in the uplipftment of the society. He destroyed ferocious anti social element Ravana thereby portraying the fact that evil can be surpassed by good.

This type of education can be referred to as USEFUL EDUCATION.

When Arjuna was passing through a forest, he was awestruck by the immense skill of archery that was being displayed by an anonymous person, daresay adroit at disposal was as prolific as Arjuna's, who himself was gifted at archery. Out of sheer curiousity Arjuna confronted that person and asked "Sir, from which university are you ? Are you from NIT ? or BITS ? Oh you are from IIT?." Reply was rather prompt, he said "I am from Drona University". Arjuna was baffled, "Sir, I am from Drona university as well, I am stayinng at the hostel, but have never seen you there, how do i understand this anomaly?" The stranger said "I am a student of Drona's Correspondence Course". You might now conceive, who I am talking about, yes it is indeed Ekalavya.

Unfortunate blend of events made Ekalavya sacrifice his thumb for Dronacaharya as "Guru Dakshina", whatever might be the reasons, the education he arduously acquired came neither to his benifit or to others, this is nothing but USELESS EDUCATION.

Caste system was profoundly prevailing at the time with which this event is associated . A young and dynamic person blessed with immense talent was looking forward to an admission into a reputed university which was tenable considering his capabilities. Caste constraints lamentfully restricted his admission which left the lad only with a distress. While he was walking out of the university premises, he was approached by a clerk enquiring reason for the grief, after having learnt what the youngster said, he demanded certain amount which we now understand by the term "bribe" and suggested him to go to the village panchayat requesting them for a fake caste certificate at some definite price. The kid dutifully follwed everything of it and finally earned himself a seat in his dream university.

Two years have passed and as expected the boy turned out to be a topper in the university, suddenly things have taken an unexpected turn and college administration found out about the illegal methods he had employed to earn himself a seat and withount a second thought was thrown out of the university. The expelled student was struck with distraught and only hatred on the society was prevailing in the young mind, at this time of crisis he was offered a helping hand by an opportunist and now, his only aim is to RETURN THE FAVOR.

Karna became an accomplice of kouravas, he used his knowledge against the "Dharma" for the destruction of the society. Certainly the education he possed is DANGEROUS, better not have educated people at all than have those who go about tearing the society apart.

I do not want to discuss NUISANCE EDUCATION as I deem it unnecessary considering the readers that visit this blog.

What kind of education are you having ?

Stun