Book - Freedom in Exile

Frankly speaking, it was the reputation of the protagonist, HH the XIV Dalai Lama (Lama Thondup turned Tenzin Gyatso) that cropped a desire to read this work. The day I spotted the book with my colleague RP Rao, without delay I acquired the reading rights.

The author though entitled to a lot of air, surprisingly and delightfully is more grounded than most of us. The simplicity and sincerity of his tone rivets you to the story. Added to this is the colourful culture and landscape of Tibet (Potala palace reinforces it). His hope and cultivated patience in the face of provocative oppression, in the interest of his land and people is the undercurrent in the later half of the book.

The unique beliefs, passion for religion, simple life of Tibetans enchant us consistently. This unfailingly leads us to empathize with the Tibetan cause.

Few learnings from this book for my benefit:

• For it is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.
• "Political power comes from the barrel of a gun"- Mao
• 'Man is ultimately responsible for his own destiny'- Marxism".
• There is a limit to what individuals can do but no limit to universal response
• When men become desperate they consult the Gods. And when Gods become desperate they tell lies.
• deed done with good motivation is a religious act
• Words were like rainbows - beautiful but without substance.
• Intense competitiveness and insecurity makes people to show their true feelings only to their cats and dogs.
• Skeptical mind can be positive if used as the basis for further enquiry.
• Religion to serve humanity without ignoring reality.
• Human behaviour and not human beings that makes them my enemy.
• Intellectually directed desire
• I am aware that not finding something does not mean that it does not exist. It only proves that the experiment was incapable of finding it. (If I have a non-metallic object in my pocket which is not picked up by a metal detector, it does not mean that my pocket is empty)
• Universal responsibility as Human beings
• No matter what part of the world we come from, fundamentally we are all the same human beings. We all seek happiness and try to avoid suffering.

For as long as space endures,

And for as long as living beings remain,

Until then may I, too, abide

To dispel the misery of the world.

Some more:

Milarepa, Norbulingka

Book - When Breath Becomes Air

You that seek what life is in death,

Now find it air that once was breath.

New names unknown, old names gone:

Till time end bodies, but souls none.

Reader! then make time, while you be,

But steps to your eternity.

- Baron Brooke Fulke Greville, Caelica 83

A story of life, a story of death and a story by someone who has seen them both from the threshold.

I was watching a youtube video of Dr. B.M.Hegde, a renowned veteran physician wherein he appreciated this book. I immediately amazoned it. There may be many books in this genre but this effort appears sincere and the pain deep. Well versed in the language of the tongue (literature) and the brain (neurosurgery) - a rare combination and also his education in reputed institutions - Yale, Stanford, Cambridge, takes you to deeper depths of existence very convincingly.

The central theme though is the impermanence of all our efforts and achievements (don't mistake it to insignificance) and the rapidity and uncertainty with which things transform. A guaranteed high flying career and dedication to humanity suddenly change gears and in a flash the hunter becomes the hunted. The sand in the hourglass has dramatically vanished and we are left dismayed by the vicissitudes of fate!

A few expressions from the author which I couldn't help but note down:

• what was falling on my retina was precious
• see what courage sounds like
• never tired of the freedom
• Books- finely ground lenses providing new views of the world
• literature provides best account of the life of the mind
• all disciplines create vocabulary and a set of tools for understanding human life
• moral speculation is puny compared to moral action
• the mannequins you pretend are real; the cadavers you pretend are fake
• putting lifestyle first is how you find a job-not calling
• boredom is awareness of time passing
• virtue required moral, emotional, mental and physical excellence
• technical excellence is a moral requirement
• you can never be good enough
• mercy trumps justice every time
• life is a linear sum of choices
• life is lived in the first twenty years the remaining is reflection
• you can't ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving
• Stages of grief- denial, anger, bargain, depression

Needless to say, I finished in the shortest time and gifted to my sister-in-law, a medical student.


Some more:
Religion Medici, William Osler, Shep nuland, slides than strides, Kaplan-Meier curve, Darwin & Nietzsche, The servant song