One of my favorite quotes is from the movie The Journey, directed by Harish Saluja: Life Gets in the Way of Art. Every year I warn my graduate students in the Creative Writing program at the University of Houston to be prepared for unexpected busyness that will sabotage our writing. Well, humblingly, that's what has been happening to me this summer, with a son getting ready to leave for college, and another one learning to drive, and one of them joining a breakdance group, and both of them deciding to play the guitar . . . . You get the idea.
Anyway, as I've been helping my son practice driving (a character-building experience for us both), I've been musing on the similarities between being a good driver and living a spiritual life.
In Chapter 12 of the Bhagavat Gita, Krishna says, (my loose translation from the Sanskrit), "a person who does not make others anxious, nor allows anyone to cause anxiety in him, is a true devotee, dear to me." Isn't that at the heart of good driving?
How about the realization that if I hurt you, I can't escape getting hurt myself? That my good is bound up in your good? "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (Matthew 7:12)
And when I remind my son to not go too fast on the freeway, nor too slow, and to stay in one of the lanes in the center, I'm reminded, literally, of the Buddhist practice of majjhimā paṭipadā, following the middle path.
I've been noticing a number of parallels between good writing practices and living the spiritual life, too. I'll discuss those another time.
Meanwhile, comments, anyone?
Anyway, as I've been helping my son practice driving (a character-building experience for us both), I've been musing on the similarities between being a good driver and living a spiritual life.
In Chapter 12 of the Bhagavat Gita, Krishna says, (my loose translation from the Sanskrit), "a person who does not make others anxious, nor allows anyone to cause anxiety in him, is a true devotee, dear to me." Isn't that at the heart of good driving?
How about the realization that if I hurt you, I can't escape getting hurt myself? That my good is bound up in your good? "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (Matthew 7:12)
And when I remind my son to not go too fast on the freeway, nor too slow, and to stay in one of the lanes in the center, I'm reminded, literally, of the Buddhist practice of majjhimā paṭipadā, following the middle path.
I've been noticing a number of parallels between good writing practices and living the spiritual life, too. I'll discuss those another time.
Meanwhile, comments, anyone?
Wow. I never would have thought of it that way but I definitely see your points.
Wow, amazing take on things. Your musings have left me thinking. Marvelous at the way you think.
Amazing how karma always turns full circle. Always.
I found a lesson in Romeo x Juliet the other day that seems to me very like a spiritual way of thinking... it may sound a little silly but it´s about how Juliet forgives Romeo for killing her cousin. I thought about how Jesus also loved something so much that he never thought of revenge or held a grudge. He chose to love - so much- that such things didn´t matter. After reading I thought: I also want to love so much, that all the things that hurt me or bother me wouldn´t matter or affect how I react to them. I´m glad Mrs. Divakaruni is back.
I envy you your ability to retain your spiritual eye while teaching your kid how to drive. my kid just got her learners' permit and i perch in the not-driver seat chewing my nails and screeching in my mind, while trying to maintain a smile, and my kid trying to reassure me that i will, most probably, survive the ride to the grocery store and to relax.
maybe i SHOULD keep my Gita with me; only right now, i am reading the ramayana, the part where sita is screeching and begging but is dragged along helplessly by forces and destinies much stronger than her.
My sixteen-year-old daughter is also learning to drive, and I have found the experience very humbling indeed. One must really let go and trust. I hope that you will be willing to share your thoughts on driving, or anything else, and read from your new novel at the international literary conference that I'm organizing for July 201O in San Diego. I have sent you an email invitation to you that I hope your received. Our conference Web site may be found at: http://cwwn.sdsu.edu
Krishna did make a career of creating anxiety didn't he :-)? It was for a good cause. I will not argue though with my perfect man. Perfection comes through the grating and grinding of our personalities - the process called "living". The end result will make us all dear to His heart.
I am sure that whatever you do or say when your son drives, it will be right. You will be the same mother who hovered over him while he learned to walk. Only now, you shout out protest instead of moving the danger out of his way. Good luck!
Chitra, I have been following your writing since I saw your picture a couple years ago in Writer's Digest. I've also been trying to find a way to contact you. You are just too famous for all us old friends from the past. LOL Just kidding. But you are hard to find other than your books. I love the way you write. And even after all these years, when I read your writing, I hear it in your voice. Hoping you remember me. Would love to chat with you again sometime and get caught up.