The Wise in Disguise

A famous Indian singer (Sonu Nigam) did an interesting social experiment back in the year 2004. He dressed up like a beggar and started singing his most famous song while sitting alongside the busy street. Few passers-by admired him and even dropped a few pennies. Few stayed for a while to listen to the song. However, many just passed by and didn’t even notice it.

This experiment has profound insights. The lyrics, song, and singer are the same. Many music fans in the crowd would buy a ticket at a hefty price to enjoy the same song in an open theater. Just notice, it’s not the song & its melody which makes people happy. So what’s the matter here?  The unequivocal truth is that we are all conditioned and programmed at a subconscious level to enjoy things only in certain formats, with certain people, and under certain circumstances. This is an unnoticeable but significant problem as it shrinks down the window of joy and fun.

What shapes this internal programming? With some reading, I came across two primary factors

The first one is the continuous bombardment of the same information from society, relatives, and social media. It’s the same effect used by advertisement agencies to dictate our likes and dislikes. We are programmed to feel happy only when we eat a certain brand of chocolate or visit a certain place. We are programmed to feel healthy only when we use a certain brand of edible oil and even a toothbrush!  

The second factor is our own experience. We have a good memory of that something made us happy in the past. We continue to cling to the same object to replicate the same joyful experience. 

The time, objects & circumstances by default don’t have any joy in them. It’s our conscious intervention that converts time into a cherished moment, objects into utilities, and circumstances into magical opportunities. The great leader of the Indian independence movement, Lokmanya Tilak, wrote Gita-Rahasya, a 400-page script in his own handwriting while he was imprisoned at the Mandalay Jail.  Isaac Newton had to come back home from university due to the plague pandemic. At home, he experimented with many things and established the theory of calculus, the optics of prism, and the fundamental concept of Gravity. Those are remarkable achievements before Isaac Newton was called Sir.

On the other side, sensing important signals can have profound consequences.

Here is a small excerpt from the news published in 2011. This is about how a Pet Dog saved the life of his owner, an old woman when the Tsunami hit Japan.

As soon as Akanuma opened the door of her home in Miyako, Babu (the pet dog), started heading for a nearby hill — the opposite direction from the one the pair usually took on their morning walk. Akanuma didn’t question her pet’s instincts. And it’s a good thing she didn’t: Minutes after climbing the hill, a devastating tsunami slammed into the town, flattening the district of Taro-Kawamukai where they lived about 200 yards from the coast.

More than anything, the easier and more accessible sources of wisdom are the people around us.

There is a well-known story about a Hungarian Doctor – Ignaz Semmelweis in 1846. He started his new job as a physician in a maternity clinic in Vienna. At the time, the maternity ward was hit by a mysterious illness that was killing alarming levels of new mothers. Ignaz was the first to investigate the cause and theorized a simple solution to Doctors’ “Wash Your Hands Before Surgery”. Unfortunately, his theory was criticized by doctors and rejected. It’s only after a few years, medical scientists across the world came out with “Germ Theory” to prove and spread the same solution proposed by Ignaz Semmelweis.

The wise & learned may not be always well-known celebrity figures or renowned experts.  They could be simple, ordinary people around us carrying their own experiences. They are often ignored because they don’t carry designated titles, educational certificates, or fancy brands.  Kids don’t listen to the most valuable advice from their parents, the supervisor may ignore the suggestion from an operator, and officials may not take early warnings seriously prior to the spreading of the pandemic for the same reason.

This can happen when people aspire for only the best, world-class, and authoritative, and dismally, the real intended value takes the back seat.

Truly, the great leaders, athletes, filmmakers, entrepreneurs, authors, doctors, scientists, and engineers don’t claim to be from the best schools, best cities, best homes, and best environments. 

As it happens, most of the time good itself is good enough.  Chasing and insisting only on specific forms, brands, and showcases is a costly and unsatisfying affair. This being said, there is no surprise when close to 70% of millennials – a young population today are increasingly impacted by a serious widespread psychological disorder called FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), which is making them more anxious, negative, and even depressed.

In a nutshell, joy, learning, and wisdom potentially lie in everything around us. What we need is the ability to sense, listen, resonate, and engage them to create new and unfamiliar experiences.  We need to consciously deprogram ourselves to enjoy only certain things and only in certain formats. This is one sure way to enjoy the song as move along the busy streets of life.

I want to conclude with a beautiful letter and a message written by a father to his son

Dear Son,

I want to share a few things & memories with you.  

Just remember. We took you to Disney land first time when you were a small kid.

You were nervous looking at those Disney characters. You were convinced that they will run behind you, stretch you from all sides and even jump on your head!

Your mother told you then “They won’t hurt you. They are wise people in disguise”

Soon after, those characters came to you. They made you laugh, and jump. You also shook hands with them.

Well, now I see, you are growing fast in your fame, power, and wealth.  I want you to remember, You can buy a variety of shoes but don’t miss out on the joy of walking barefoot on the ground.  You can use exotic perfumes but don’t miss out on the fragrance of jasmine outside the gate. You may taste continental dishes but don’t miss out on the homemade curry.  You may dance to the beats of trending songs but don’t miss out on the soothing raga on the radio. You can create sound plans to accomplish your big goals or solve the toughest challenge but never miss out to shake hands and laugh with those wise in disguise just around you.

Your Father – A grown old man

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