How to establish spiritual optimism or access the real power of spirit.
Healthiest response to life is laughter from the heart
Establishing a roadmap to happiness within.
The Characterization of Mickey Fellows –
The idea behind Mickey Fellows was to lead towards the discovery that the real laughter comes from a deep abyss of abundance and authentic joy coming from the foundational level of the soul.
Deepak Chopra’sWhy is God laughing is the first book amongst the various bestsellers I have read by the author. It comes at a time in my life when I would soon be reaching the age of the protagonist, Mickey Fellows, chosen to highlight the point of Spiritual Optimism.
Rushed and panting for ambition, craving to live up to the maximum potential of our existence we often find ourselves drowning in our work, without realizing that in the context of peace and spirituality we were all wrong to begin with.
Chopra has interconnected the concept of Spiritual optimism with intense internal communication, with INTUITION and CREATIVITY.
Through his story of a highly ambitious comedian, disconnected not only with his family but also with himself, he symbolizes the ironies of being human – even the one who has willfully chosen ‘laughing’ as a full-time profession, cannot possess ultimate happiness and peace, unless his laugh is resonant with the laugh of the Divine or has germinated from a deeper seat of joy within.
Claim –
There is a feeling of wonderment when we see from the eyes of a mystic. For us the reality ends at the physical existence of things. When we associate things with meanings more than their physical possession, we expand the life’s capability of experiencing joy and with practice we make this meaning the very foundation of our existence.
Evidence –
Chopra endorses creativity to be the soul sister of intuition. He supports his statement by considering Einstein’s example, when the great scientist confessed that the thing that separated him from the atheists was that unlike him “they cannot hear the music of the spheres.” He would rely on his inner intuitive voice that made him take creative leaps to greatest scientific discoveries, rather than trudging the linear path of established facts.
He supports the belief that both science and spirituality are based on humans’ intuitive powers. Through Einstein’s example and the spiritual discoveries of the hero of his story, Mickey Fellows, he explains elaborately how our stay at the destination of authentic and ultimate joy is intense and long lasting and can be trudged by making these powers more easily accessible.
Theme review –
The lack of this accessibility can lead to inexplicable ironies and confusions to the extent that even a comedian by profession, is unable to laugh at himself and abstract more joy from his life than the others! It was only when he is able to shed various layers of pessimism including his ego and ingratitude, that he discovers true joy that comes from a deeper place within and stays longer.
When we listen in quietude to the world around, we encounter hidden messages and extract their meanings in the context of our reality. And it is in this state of mindfulness that ensues, that we take the clues and connect better with our intuition.
Symbolism –
The laughing of God –
Chopra indirectly points at a secret understanding of an existential truth, through the laughing of God; the very tittle of the book.
We might in the first instance, think of God when we hear of His laughter from Mickey’s dead father, as a megalomaniac selfish presence in the universe overlooking the world gone berserk. But here the God is a representation of coming of age as a human when we are able to laugh at the paradoxes, ironies and mysteries of our being, when we too like God get the secret that we are who we are sans our ego and without any fear. When we realise that we can shed the rind of our self-image and our delusionary apprehensions, we can connect with our true self.
Just like when we internally laugh at the innocent mistakes of a child, we would laugh at our ego. In fact, the laughing of God takes us to the understanding of the root cause of the tumult of issues the world is facing today – lack of connectivity with the self.
(Ego here refers to the self-image camouflaging our true self by our own judgement and analysis. True self is the field of possibility and creativity and the field of power. Chopra refers to it as field because the true self, he considers, is not localized within a human. It is a part of this universe and therefore, infinite.
He preaches that through self-awareness of our thoughts, feelings and behaviours, we can walk beyond the ego.)
The mentor – Francisco
How surreal it would be to have a mystical mentor like Mickey’s in one’s life; someone emerging maybe from an empty space between the stack of books in a library, or in the window behind while one combs her hair looking into the mirror?
Francisco is the exaggerated version of the role he plays, symbolizing the mystery of mentoring we all experience in bits and pieces, contributing to form a bigger meaning in the context of our individual life. He reminds us in milder patterns, the authentic coaching of values we might have received from someone known or anonymous, in the past, the teachings of whom have stayed with us in contingencies.
One day you find it difficult to trace the end of the thread. You can’t remember when you lost touch with them, like an old professor in college, but you might not need their guidance any more. The fact that they were ever present seems delusionary.
Coming back to the major takeaway of the story –
In Chopra’s own words –
“Intuition is a form of intelligence which is not based on logic or rationality. It is purely contextual, relational, holistic, eavesdrops into what’s happening in the universe that is relevant to you. It doesn’t have to do anything with winning or losing.”
Today we talk about the biggest issues in our society. We talk about terrorism and hatred. We try to figure out where we went wrong. But the matters keep intensifying, cutting into the social fabric like moths, not only affecting the intellectuals but also the young impressionable minds. How about going back to the basics, addressing the problem at the grass-root level, while the roots still emerge out of the ground and unify into individuality by way of something as simple as value education through storytelling?
The rustic character of Binya from Ruskin Bond’s ‘The Blue Umbrella’ with her adventurous pursuits and eventual triumph out of each predicament, narrated beautifully by the legendary author, makes it rich with values and bravery. This video talks about the character and her relationship with other elements in the story.
Transcript of the video –
How to Win Friends and Influence People like Binya
The Blue Umbrella – ByFriendsRuskin Bond.
Hi friends! Do you want to influence people and make friends just like our favourite character Binya from the story Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond?
I do.
Maybe we can take a leaf out of Binya’s character.
Binya is her cow’s favourite master, she is loved by everyone in the village, by her brother, and then eventually even by her biggest enemy Ram Bharosa!
Character Analysis – ‘Binya’ from Ruskin Bond’s The Blue Umbrella.
Children, it doesn’t matter what age you belong to, you may be this small or that big, but you can still influence people in your unique way.
Binya is a countryside girl living in the hills of Himachal Pradesh. She is 11 years old. She would feel nature closely, walk barefoot over the grass when she is out with her cows and feel the grass just as much as she would feel the rocky mountain path.
No matter how preoccupied she is with her daydreaming she would always keep an ear to the tinkling of the cow bells and would know their whereabouts.
Let’s analyze her character with every other element in the story.
Binya and her cows – She seems to take the responsibility of chaperoning the cows very seriously. She is empathetic towards the animals and the cows love their master as she would many times allow them to wander about in the open fields, and remain all by themselves. So the amazing relationship she has with her cows is that of trust, freedom, and empathy.
Binya’s relationship with the self – Children, our hero, Binya – finds happiness in her heart through simple acts of kindness and forgiveness. When she finds out that her flaunting of the pretty blue umbrella is making Ram Bharosa, the tea seller greedy enough to be wanting the umbrella at any cost she surrenders her treasured possession and allows Ram Bharosa to have it forever. Not because she is afraid of him, but because she pities him seeing that he is abandoned by the villagers for his wrong behavior and forgives him in her heart.
Everyone loves Binya, not because she wants everyone to love her, of course, we all do, but more than that because Binya is forgiving, compassionate and generous.
Binya ends her story with a beautiful note – ‘No possession is a bigger source of happiness than the beholding of a forgiving human heart!’
WATCH THIS LITTLE SHORT STORY OF LOVE, SWEETS AND GHOSTS, AND LEAVE YOUR CHILD MESMERISED IN WELCOMING THEIR GRANDPARENTS HOME!!
Remember those syrupy summer mornings, when Mom opened the curtains to the smiling sun and it struck us that it’s the last day of school, and the summer holidays desperately await us?
How we hopped out of the bed early (without mom needing to call), happy to adorn the uniform– for one last time of the session?
It’s that feeling when our mind blew bubbles of plans one after the other and sometimes, we got the news of granny visiting our place! The quintessential Indian granny – our ‘Nani-maa’ and her tales from the village! Her visit made it seem like the entire village is our guest!
Join Samaira and her day-dreaming of spending this quiet but enjoyable summer vacation; this time with Nani-maa in her courtyard! Enjoy this new story by Story Over my Pillow titled – ‘Nani-maa in the courtyard’, a short story in English for kids aged 4 to 7 years.
Order the digital transcripts (Only Story Over my Pillow Originals) of any two stories along with pictures in just ₹100!
Drop a message @sneharmonic on Instagram OR contact from the ‘About Me’ section of this blog, to claim your copy NOW.
Irony is when something is just the opposite of what is expected and is not an arrangement of two opposing words (Read oxymoron)
Difference between paradox and oxymoron –
Paradox is a statement of contradiction that can be true. While oxymoron is just a pairing of two opposite words to enhance reader experience.
Example of a paradox – ‘Standing is more tiring than walking.’ Although people usually consider walking as more tiring but this statement when applied in real life can prove to be true.
Difference between Paradox and Irony –
Both irony and paradox involve contrast or contradiction.
Irony is when there’s a difference in –
Expression and literal or apparent and intended meaning of the words (verbal irony)
Expectation and reality (situational irony)
difference in knowledge of audience and characters. (dramatic irony)
Paradox is where there’s contradiction in –
The statement itself or when the statement is counterintuitive.
For example, drinking a lot of water can make you thirsty. This statement is irresolvable and can be true. It is counter-intuitive and self-contradictory.
Also, ‘Less is more.’ This statement is self-contradictory but it is true that when people have less, they value it more!
Examples –
Irony due to Difference in expression of words and their literal meaning – (when apparent and intended meanings are different) –
The Unauthorized Autobiography (By Lemony Snicket)
“Today was a very cold and bitter day, as cold and bitter as a cup of hot chocolate; if the cup of hot chocolate had vinegar added to it and were placed in a refrigerator for several hours.”
In the first line the analogy seems awkward. It seems contradictory to the established facts – a cup of hot chocolate cannot be cold and bitter. But Snicket goes on to put it in perspective and we realise it was a humorous and ironical way (for which he is famous) of describing the day.
In the poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, written by Samuel Coleridge, Coleridge wrote:
“Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.”
This is an example of situational irony giving the piece a dramatic effect.
Irony is also present when one of the stakeholders in the occurrence of an event possesses more knowledge about it than the other. It is required to dig deeper on the part of the reader to get the intended message as a witness.
For example, when there’s a difference in the knowledge of audience and that of the character in a story (the character doesn’t know about the murder, the audience does), there’s a DRAMATIC irony.
Paradox involves irresolvable contradiction in a sentence.
Oscar Wilde is considered to be the master of paradoxes. His famous paradoxical usage goes – “I can resist everything except temptation”. When you can resist everything except temptation, you cannot really resist anything! That’s quite a paradox.
When I say – “I always lie.” Is this a paradox, irony or oxymoron?
Creative writing is much like performing an act on stage. You’re making things up. The difference lies in the fact that in the former all you have is words weaved on a contrasting backdrop. You create a world of illusion for your reader through a tapestry of words, making an appeal to their five senses of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing.
While the process of creative writing, is not defined; it varies from writer to writer, there are a few techniques to give your writings a boost in terms of reader engagement. (more…)
