My SOP for IIT Gandhinagar

Buddha said that “Our life is the creation of our mind.”

Everything that’s ever happened to you has happened inside your skull. - David McRaney.

These statements summarise our entire life and how it happens. When you learn yoga, you are invariably introduced to the mind, its intricacies and its innate strength. You may even get bewildered by its supernaturalistic power. Yoga says that the mind is past impressions. If you live out of your mind, it will replay the same installed programs and your future will look like your past. So, it was through my experience with yoga over the last 3 years that I became extremely interested in the human mind and its workings. That was the time when I was searching for my passion and wanted to devote myself to the study of things that I was passionate about.

The practise of mindfulness or awareness led me to the inner corridors of the mysteries of the human mind. The more I worked with computers, the more I fell in love with humans. Human beings are infinitely more interesting than computers and I became a social observer. The biggest and probably the only tool that we all have, in order to explore the world was ourselves - our minds - the experiences it created, the beliefs, thoughts, emotions and desires. I started observing myself and people around me and I was fascinated by our behaviour. Many a times we acted like pre-programmed machines. It was so difficult to change one’s patterns. We made irrational mistakes. We jumped to wrong conclusions. We worked in auto pilot. We had a set of cultural prejudices and biases. We created personalities and our actions reinforced our personality. We liked to be slotted and labelled and identified. We chased success and happiness without sometimes fully understanding what we mean by these terms. So human life looked like a well intended but badly mixed cocktail with the mind playing conman and deluding us.

For all the advances in technology it appeared to me that the human mind carried certain hard wired evolutionary baggages that were no longer valid in today’s modern world. I read about cognitive biases and the range of positive illusions created by the mind for the purpose of motivation, survival and emotional stability. These cognitive biases explained why some people were optimistic and more likely to succeed and how others were setting up for failure. I read about the stories that we constructed without evidence and how we based our beliefs on such poorly constructed narratives. I was interested in the works of Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert, Mc Combs professor Raj Raghunathan, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, positive psychology father Martin Seligman, psychotherapist Ernest Rossi and journalist psychologist David Mc Raney. I read a little about the subconcious mind and how we do so many actions unconsciously. That brought up questions like - how is the subconcious programmed in the first place. Once a wrong program is inserted, it would result in wrong actions, wouldn’t it? I became interested to know more about Freud’s studies on the subconcious mind as this programming seemed to be at the heart of many of our issues.

The most fascinating aspect of all was, how do we bring about change? The ability to change your mind, is the key to happiness. How then, do we debug the mind? Using the same mind, right? A tool debugging and auto correcting itself - is amazing. In our projects we have done live updates, where we load a new version of software while another is running and switch to it. It’s a very complex process even for a piece of software. In that sense I wondered how the contents of the mind were changed while the mind was in action. How do parts of it get reprogrammed? How is memory stored? How do we translate our memory into stories? The entire science of it - psychologically and neurobiologically was fascinating. As someone who has undergone the complex process of in-vitro-fertilization I know how impossible it is to replicate all the chemical signalling happening inside the human body for any single function. So, I am fully aware that today, it would be impossible to recreate the human mind. It may take us forever to discover the human mind - its organization, processes, biology and evolution in entirety and no single stream - philosophy or psychology or neuroscience can completely answer the puzzles of the mind. Even a combined approach such as cognitive science can only “hope” to answer and construct a better picture of the mind - its representational structures and computational algorithms and state machines.

So, over the last few years I have occupied myself with TED talks, open courseware from leading international colleges, book reviews and articles about psychology, neuroscience and philosophy. I maintain a blog where I collect articles related to these domains and create my own articles for my friends and family regarding interesting topics like happiness, our behavioural patterns and flaws, success, human values and art. I have a basic understanding of these domains and I hope to understand them systematically through a rigorous and well designed academic program. I aim to understand scientifically the functioning of the human mind and the causes of our behaviour, personality and biases. I hope to understand in depth about how we get programmed by nature and nurture, how to improve our pursuit happiness with higher degree of success and how we can aim to attain professor Mihaly’s states of “flow” for a more fulfulling life. These are the three core areas that I am most interested to pursue for research.

I also aim to understand how each of us represent the world, inside our heads. How do we perceive the world and what forms the reality for each of us? What is the underlying mechanism for human thoughts? How do we gain language expertise and problem solving skills? How do the maps in our heads look like? How can learning a complex language like Chinese increase one’s intelligence? Is there one universal reality? Can we scientifically answer concepts of karma or maya using science? Can we explore the intersection of ancient meditation techniques and modern neuroscience? If there has been found a correlation between transcendental mental states and gamma waves, can that we explored further? Can psychological phenomena be explained via neuroscience experiments? Can we reverse engineer the mind using cognitive science and bring about changes in the society and education system to improve human well being?

My undergraduate degree in Computer Science and my 11 years of work experience in leading technology firms, more specifically, my work in data structures, algorithms, switching and routing protocols and state machines would enable me to easily follow some of the computation related courses. My passion for knowledge acquisition and commitment should help me transcend any shortcomings and lack of exposure to certain topics.

My aim in applying to this course is to gain a breadth of knowledge in my areas of interest from the best faculty in the country. I hope to gather a set of skills which can aid me for a deeper understanding of some areas. I understand that the breadth has to be supported by depth in the three specific areas I hope to do research in, and I hope that my professors at IIT Gandhinagar can guide me towards more focussed programs on completion of the degree - so that I can finally pursue research in one of these areas. I hope to finally pursue a doctoral programme which will enable me to become a teacher and an author. I hope to gain sufficient breadth and depth of knowledge in the intersection of philosophy, psychology and neuroscience which will enable me to write articles and books that can bring about small changes in our culture and education system because, despite so much advancements in all fields, most humans are unhappy. I strongly feel that the increasing emphasis on technological pursuits without enabling a human being with sufficient happiness, self introspection, sufficiency and sustenance tools will lead to increasing cases of mental disorders. Having lived in the US, I know firsthand how common mental disorders are and technology is not the answer to it and probably even worsens it. The time has finally arrived for a science that seeks to understand positive emotion, build strength and virtue, and provide guideposts for finding what Aristotle called the ‘good life’ - says professor Martin Seligman. So scientists and researchers have to address how to behold a positive, optimisitic and healthy mind. The result of our research should form the core of school curriculum and organizational policies. Even laymen should have access to tools for better mental health and mental life and this should be as widespread as mobile phones in India. Early in one’s life, one should be exposed to a sufficient set of tools and knowledge for better well being and success and happiness. The bigger scheme behind my pursuit of the degree is these somewhat unrealistic but yet possible to realize goals. The pursuit of better mental lives should become as common as the pursuit of health and wealth.

M.A in Philosophy

So, here's one of the few - aware choices that I've made - to study Philosophy.
When I joined Isha Yoga, I was reading Sadhguru's blogs. Most of the things made sense to me.
Somewhere, someone mentioned the vedas and vedantas in some spiritual link. I think it's from "Autobiography of a yogi". I made notes and picked up a few Vedanta books. They made even more sense to me. I have read quite a few books by Sadhguru and this Autobiography of a yogi, Vedanta Treatise and now Nithyananda's "Guaranteed Solutions".
Somehow they appeal to me more than fiction. Probably because I can read these, analyze it in my life's context, derive meaning and stay peaceful. Life has definitely become more relaxed and peaceful and my spouse can feel the effect too.

So, I wanted to know how I could pursue these interests as a formal course. I then landed up at M.A in Philosophy, which, atleast on paper, has everything that I am interested in.
I wish this is what I am really searching for.. and I hope I can even go as far as pursuing a PhD.
It would be so nice to own a Doctoral degree.

Though all this looks fine, if one wants to make a living by philosophy, I don't know if it can happen.
http://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/degree-subjects-your-options/301046-what-can-i-do-with-a-philosophy-degree

For once, I understand things better. Man has basic needs. Only when they are fulfilled, he has time for spirituality. So, he needs a job, which pays enough to meet his needs and take care of a family.
That is precisely why our families want us to do professional courses, which can be called a "profession". If you're an artist or into any form of art of courses like this - literature/ philosophy/ history - unless you get a teaching job or writer's job, you're doomed. You may sit in your sofa wondering how you'll pay your bills... and what would have happened if you'd done Engineering.
It's sad that some things have gained more importance and monetary worth than others. That's the world we live in and we should accept and work in tandem, to both achieve inner satisfaction as well as do something that can generate a livelihood.

Swaraj University

http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-new-school-of-thought/article5538472.ece

An Institude for ideas!

http://www.instituteofideas.com/about/index.html

Interesting thought! An institute for ideas and for debating complex social issues!

The academy is hosting events to:
simply cultivate ourselves with good books, good teachers and in good company. If you have ever thought, what a shame I never had time to study Aristotle, Machiavelli, Hegel or Hume, now’s your chance to better yourself. Whatever your age or education. IoI members come from all walks of life and will bring different perspectives and genuinely interdisciplinary insights.

Lovely isn't it? Something we should pick up here in India.

A little a day

As if answering my prayers, Maria has put up this wonderful quote:

We forget that every good that is worth possessing must be paid for in strokes of daily effort. We postpone and postpone, until those smiling possibilities are dead. Whereas ten minutes a day of poetry, of spiritual reading or meditation, and an hour or two a week at music, pictures, or philosophy, provided we began now and suffered no remission, would infallibly give us in due time the fulness of all we desire. By neglecting the necessary concrete labor, by sparing ourselves the little daily tax, we are positively digging the graves of our higher possibilities.

William James (January 11, 1842—August 26, 1910) in Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life’s Ideals

Distilling and Filtering what we read, to remain sane

Everyday I am inundated with blogs, news and articles and books on the internet. There is so much to read. Even if I devote all my time to reading, I cannot finish those books that I have shortlisted. I cannot see the top 100 movies. What to do?
This has put me in a fix. I now filter a lot. Then I filter even more... and I read some.
Sometimes I wonder, have I missed on something that was worth reading? Was there something out there that could have changed my life, that I missed? I used to attend every possible concert (without knowing anything abt music) and theatre in the hope that I will find my calling. Now, I go to very few ones - ones that I MAY enjoy.

What does one do when inundated with so much knowledge?
Linda Holmes seem to get a hang of my lament and wrote about it:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/04/21/135508305/the-sad-beautiful-fact-that-were-all-going-to-miss-almost-everything?sc=tw

I then jumped to:
http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/does-anyone-want-to-be-well-read

and from there to:
 http://jeromestueart.com/2011/04/17/the-nudge-the-monument-and-the-fan-base-thoughts-about-the-endurance-of-writers/

I picked one of the writers Paul Goodman and read a bit. He echoes education outside school.

"It is in the schools and from the mass media, rather than at home or from their friends, that the mass of our citizens in all classes learn that life is inevitably routine, depersonalized, venally graded; that it is best to toe the mark and shut up; that there is no place for spontaneity, open sexuality and free spirit. Trained in the schools they go on to the same quality of jobs, culture and politics. This is education, miseducation socializing to the national norms and regimenting to the nation's 'needs'".^[7]
Goodman thought that a person's most valuable educational experiences occur outside the school. Participation in the activities of society should be the chief means of learning. Instead of requiring students to succumb to the theoretical drudgery of textbook learning, Goodman recommends that education be transferred into factories, museums, parks, department stores, etc., where the students can actively participate in their education... The ideal schools would take the form of small discussion groups of no more than twenty individuals. As has been indicated, these groups would utilize any effective environment that would be relevant to the interest of the group. Such education would be necessarily non-compulsory, for any compulsion to attend places authority in an external body disassociated from the needs and aspirations of the students. Moreover, compulsion retards and impedes the students' ability to learn."^[7]

• "It is by losing ourselves in inquiry, creation & craft that we become something. Civilization is a continual gift of spirit: inventions, discoveries, insight, art. We are citizens, as Socrates would have said, & we have it available as our own. "

After all the confusion and disappointments and fears.. I have come to believe that books will find me.. authors who I'm destined to meet, will come knocking at my door or jump at my browser.

Should I read and re-read what I already have instead of buying new books?
Should I do a course on Literature and philosophy to discover these greats?
I'm confused. May these authors guide me in my quest.

The Parrot's Training - Rabindranath Tagore

The Parrot's Training

Rabindranath Tagore

ONCE UPON A time there was a bird. It was ignorant. It sang all right, but never recited scriptures. It hopped pretty frequently, but lacked manners. Said the Raja to himself: ‘Ignorance is costly in the long run. For fools consume as much food as their betters, and yet give nothing in return.’ He called his nephews to his presence and told them that the bird must have a sound schooling. The pundits were summoned, and at once went to the root of the matter. They decided that the ignorance of birds was due to their natural habit of living in poor nests. Therefore, according to the pundits, the first thing necessary for this bird's education was a suitable cage. The pundits had their rewards and went home happy. A golden cage was built with gorgeous decorations. Crowds came to see it from all parts of the world. 'Culture, captured and caged! ' exclaimed some, in a rapture of ecstasy, and burst into tears. Others remarked: 'Even if culture be missed, the cage will remain, to the end, a substantial fact. How fortunate for the bird!' The goldsmith filled his bag with money and lost no time in sailing homewards. The pundit sat down to educate the bird. With proper deliberation he took his pinch of snuff, as he said: 'Text-books can never be too many for our purpose!' The nephews brought together an enormous crowd of scribes. They copied from books, and copied from copies, till the manuscripts were piled up to an unreachable height. Men murmured in amazement: 'Oh, the tower of culture, egregiously high! The end of it lost in the clouds!' The scribes, with light hearts, hurried home, their pockets heavily laden. The nephews were furiously busy keeping the cage in proper trim. As their constant scrubbing and polishing went on, the people said with satisfaction: 'This is progress indeed!' Men were employed in large numbers, and supervisors were still more numerous. These, with their cousins of all different degrees of distance, built a palace for themselves and lived there happily ever after. Whatever may be its other deficiencies, the world is never in want of fault- finders; and they went about saying that every creature remotely connected with the cage flourished beyond words, excepting only the bird. When this remark reached the Raja's ears, he summoned his nephews before him and said: 'My dear nephews, what is this that we hear?' The nephews said in answer: 'Sire, let the testimony of the goldsmiths and the pundits, the scribes and the supervisors, be taken, if the truth is to be known. Food is scarce with the fault-finders, and that is why their tongues have gained in sharpness.' The explanation was so luminously satisfactory that the Raja decorated each one of his nephews with his own rare jewels. The Raja at length, being desirous of seeing with his own eyes how his Education Department busied itself with the little bird, made his appearance one day at the great Hall of Learning. From the gate rose the sounds of conch-shells and gongs, horns, bugles and trumpets, cymbals, drums and kettle-drums, tomtoms, tambourines, flutes, fifes, barrel-organs and bagpipes. The pundits began chanting mantras with their topmost voices, while the goldsmiths, scribes, supervisors, and their numberless cousins of all different degrees of distance, loudly raised a round of cheers. The nephews smiled and said: 'Sire, what do you think of it all?' The Raja said: ‘It does seem so fearfully like a sound principle of Education!’ Mightily pleased, the Raja was about to remount his elephant, when the fault-finder, from behind some bush, cried out: 'Maharaja, have you seen the bird?' ‘Indeed, I have not!’ exclaimed the Raja, ‘I completely forgot about the bird.’ Turning back, he asked the pundits about the method they followed in instructing the bird. It was shown to him. He was immensely impressed. The method was so stupendous that the bird looked ridiculously unimportant in comparison. The Raja was satisfied that there was no flaw in the arrangements. As for any complaint from the bird itself, that simply could not be expected. Its throat was so completely choked with the leaves from the books that it could neither whistle nor whisper. It sent a thrill through one's body to watch the process. This time, while remounting his elephant, the Raja ordered his State ear-puller to give a thorough good pull at both the ears of the fault-finder. The bird thus crawled on, duly and properly, to the safest verge of inanity. In fact, its progress was satisfactory in the extreme. Nevertheless, nature occasionally triumphed over training, and when the morning light peeped into the bird's cage it sometimes fluttered its wings in a reprehensible manner. And, though it is hard to believe, it pitifully pecked at its bars with its feeble beak. 'What impertinence!' growled the kotwal. The blacksmith, with his forge and hammer, took his place in the Raja's Department of Education. Oh, what resounding blows! The iron chain was soon completed, and the bird's wings were clipped. The Raja's brothers-in-law looked black, and shook their heads, saying: ‘These birds not only lack good sense, but also gratitude!’ With text-book in one hand and baton in the other, the pundits gave the poor bird what may fitly be called lessons! The kotwal was honoured with a title for his watchfulness, and the blacksmith for his skill in forging chains. The bird died. Nobody had the least notion how long ago this had happened. The fault- finder was the first man to spread the rumour. The Raja called his nephews and asked them. 'My dear nephews, what is this that we hear?' The nephews said: 'Sire, the bird's education has been completed.' 'Does it hop?' the Raja enquired. 'Never! 'said the nephews. 'Does it fly?' 'No.' 'Bring me the bird,' said the Raja. The bird was brought to him, guarded by the kotwal and the sepoys and the sowars. The Raja poked its body with his finger. Only its inner stuffing of book-leaves rustled. Outside the window, the murmur of the spring breeze amongst the newly budded asoka leaves made the April morning wistful.

7 Must-Read Books on Education

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/04/11/7-must-read-books-on-education/

There are many more ways to learn outside school than within

Here is a very very interesting article about learning that happens outside the school. For someone like me, who went through 21 years of school education which did nothing to fuel my curiosity or never helped me find my true passions, this was a godsend.
I loved reading the article.

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2013/05/13/dont-go-back-to-school-kio-stark/

School in the cloud - TED talk bt Sugata Mitra

Spouse sent me this link.
Wow, there were some revelations which brought tears to my eyes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3jYVe1RGaU