“Think positive dear” ……."Oh Mam., not again”

“Hai Mam” someone was saying this. I looked up wondering was it directed to me.

Oh ya! It is Ganesh….”Hay! It is a long time, how have you been?” I asked.

“Great Mam”

“What about you, mam?”

“I am also fine dear, so how come you have come to Vijay Mall, do you live nearby, where is your wife and children?”

“Oh Mam., I know teachers love to ask questions….I shall answer one by one. I live in Velachery , I came to Vijay mall to meet some of my clients . My family is fine and since this is an official trip, they are not with me today.”

“Have you met your clients, is your job over.”

“Yes mam do you have time, shall we have some coffee. Where is your husband Mam.”

“Oh! He wanted to watch the cricket match, so I came alone to get some groceries to replenish my kitchen. Come we will go the fourth floor and have coffee.”

Ganesh and I took the lift to the fourth floor.

Ganesh belong to the first batch of students whom I had the privilege to teach and to be their class teacher also. Ganesh, Rajiv, Kapali, Kumar, Asha, Chitra are all intelligent, inquisitive children noted to think out of the box and of course a very naughty batch.

Soon after my post graduate I joined this profession as a teacher and was wondering how I am going to handle these teenagers. Initially though I had pricks of flying rockets, later we learnt and rejoiced together. Anything first is special for each one of us; similarly Ganesh class is also special to me.

Occasionally these students call me or sent me New Year cards. It is been a long time I met Ganesh so I decided to spend some time with him. Anyway Nath is not going to miss me; he will be glued to cricket for another 3 hours.

Ganesh buys token for Rs.300, I ask him “why, we will just have coffee.”

He says “no Mam I am hungry. I would like to have some eateries”

 I said ok

He bought Pav bhajji for himself and I got a sev puri.for me from kailash Parwath.

We decided to get coffee later. We found an illuminated place to sit.

The place was not crowded as it was Wednesday-mid week.

“So Ganesh what are doing?”

“Mam I am a Company Secretary consultant, having a dozen clients, which gives me freedom and money. I have employed 10 assistants in my office at home in Velachery. My wife Divya is a home maker, daughter Sneha finished her 10^th and my son Hari is in the 7^th”

“What about you Mam? Are you still teaching, what sir is doing?”

“Now both I and Nath have voluntarily retired and enjoying life.”

“Mam remember our whole class attended your wedding. I can’t forget the food …….typical palghat samaiyal….the taste is still fresh in my mind even today.”

I laughed and look at him with my eyes open in awe.

“Yes, it’s like yesterday but three decades have passed, Ganesh. We have experienced many twists and turns, uphill and downhill and stillness in life. We have relished all this in these years. I am sure you also would have experienced it in your journey of life.”

“What is your daughter Sneha going to do, Company Secretary or Chartered Accountant or Engineering? Is she in state or CBSE?”

Ganesh replies, “it was so easy for my parents those days, They put me in a school (CBSE ) in LKG and I studied till 12^th in the same school. These days after 10 shifting from CBSE to State Board is an issue, choice of subject is so confusing. I am not sure yet, I want her to do Company Secretary because there are a lot of demand and job opportunities but it is for her to decide. Sneha is an empowered child Mam.”

“Oh! Ganesh don’t worry too much think positive.”

He screeched, I got a shock and coughed out some sev puri. I said “sorry….did I say anything wrong. Why are you so agitated?”

‘Mam not again, I don’t want to hear this phrase “think positive,”

“Why Ganesh, it is your thought that creates your action and success. Why are you getting so agitated?”

Ganesh sounded very irritated and expressed a new “dhrishyam” to this belief of “think positive”

He said:

“Mam I get very angry when anyone says think positive. I would like to explain to you why. After hearing me tell me if I am wrong. I will change my views on this. I will just take 15 minutes. “

“Ya, Ganesh let me hear your perspective on “think positive”

The way he spoke I realized the conflict on this was cluttering his brain.

He continued:

“Mam when I was your student 33 years back you never said “think positive” for any of my problems that I faced. You listened to my woes and endured my tantrums and advised to move on…in the right direction.”

“Did your parents or teacher tell you to always think positive? This phrase is a new concept, an imported jargon. I have a few questions, kindly ponder Mam and let me know your views after that:

·         Did Rama go to the forest because he did not ‘think positive?

·         Sita got married to Rama and got abducted because she did not think positive?

·         Bheeshma gave up all his earthly austerities because he did not think positive?

·         Did Gandhari close her eyes because she did not think positive?

·         Did Kunti marry Pandu and had to give up her royal privileges because she did not think positive?

·         Did Pandavas loiter in the forest most of their life because they did not think positive?

·         Draupathi had to share her time with 5 Pandavas because she did not think positive?

·         Did the Kurushetra War happen because Pandavas, Kauravas, Dhronacharya, Bheessma, Karna and the Lord Krishna did not think positive?

·         Was Mahabali a noble Asura king sent underground because he did not think positive?

·         And finally does the Bhagawath Geetha say anywhere , “Think Positive””

“Not at all, Mam. If you read these epics nowhere is this phrase “think positive” expressed at least to my knowledge? I feel this phrase is used to escape the reality of an event. Destiny can never be erased by this thought “Think Positive”

He continued: “Let me now give you some current events:

1.    The tsunami that happened in our Chennai city devastated many families; does that mean they did not think positive?

2.    The passengers of MH370/MH17 boarded the flight and went missing, drowned and charred, was it because they did not think positive.

3.    In the Uttarkhand floods, did the devotees travel from far and near without thinking positive

4.    The terrorist attack in the Taj and the Twin Towers. What about the people who lost their life just like that, were they not thinking positive?”

“Mam, sorry for being candid, but I am sure you are mature to understand my point; all your students are your children, I agree but you and sir was not blessed with a child, was it because both of you lack positivity. I have never seen you express your feelings at all.”

“Life is a cycle, mam, in the chakra of time you carry the karma of yours and your lineage. You are born with a balance sheet --- your/your family’s good karmas are your assets and your/your families bad karmas are your liability. You will have to rotate and revolve, you will have good times and bad times according to your karma. This is real. You cannot escape from these situations or its consequences. The thoughts of every human being are triggered always by external stimuli, sometime positive or sometimes negative, good or bad depending upon his/her knowledge, maturity, need, desire, environment, experiences, exposure and situations. “All is well” is only a momentary consolation. Instead of the phrase “think positive “we should practice to say “be happy.’”

“How can we be happy?”

“How I can keep my family happy, my parents, my extended family, my neighbors, my community, my society, my country and finally how my successive generation can be happy and healthy. Once everybody is happy positivity blooms and spreads the fragrance of love among all. Think always to be happy.mam.”

I was spell bound

“By the way eat your sev-puri  mam , I will get the coffee.”

I realized I just had little and quickly finished it and relished my coffee with a new enlightenment.

We parted deciding to meet frequently with his other class mates to have such thought provoking discussions.

As I was walking back home every word of Ganesh was reverberating in my ears. I became pensive and re-winded my childhood. I started thinking did my parents ever say “think positive” while bringing me up.

I realized No, never.

My dad’s slogan was:

“Just do your duty right and expect the unexpected.”

I had picked up this phrase, “think positive” jargon around 2000.

I understood that Ganesh is neither a pessimist or an optimist but a “Doer’

From now on I realized that:

“Be happy, do not think (+ or -), just do what is right and leave the result to God.”

Aim towards vyavasāyātmikā (resolute) buddhiḥ (intelligence).

Be happy!..@ps

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