Reflections of the past, and hopes for the future

In 48 hours time, I shall have left the comfort of adolesence and teenage years, to embark onto bigger things, as I shall be 20. As many of you know, this is no simple feat, that can be glossed over. Hence I have decided to reminisce the last 7 years and find out how much teenage life has shaped my thinking.

Going back six years, I can say that my teenage years have resulted in me becoming a more matured member of the human race, and that I am glad for all the situations, and emotions I encountered in the years 1999-2005/6. As I entered my teenage years, I was privileged to have my grandparents on their first trip to Australia. I still remember the gifts that received then. It was a spiritual book that traced the life of a saint through the himalayas. I did read it, and felt uplifted as a saint described his feelings on viewing mammoth mountains, and the source of the Ganges.

1999:My recollections of the year 1999 are both good and bad. The early part of the year was not without its hiccups in studies. I had not got the very best of reviews, and I knew that I had to work harder. As my year 7 teacher said in 1998 "I had to get out of my comfort zone". I realise the essence of his words, even today. I felt that at any given time, I was not willfully using my full resources. I *had* to be pushed into doing things, and only then would I achieve a degree of success. This habit of mine has not changed, and while at times it is a good had bit to have, I must try to get rid of it, as I attain a higher level of maturity. I also had my first taste of leadership that year, although the stint was less than successfull. I was ruled on two occasions where I had used my leadership. One was directly after the toss, where I wanted to bat, but then bowled due to the insistence of the coach, and the other was when I had asked for a 1st slip to be put in place, only to be overruled again. It turned out that being overruled did not matter, as we lost the game to keep our losing streak alive. A happy moment in that year was when I was adjudged as having the best video in the Oliphant Science Awards, and was awarded 1st prize in the Year 8-12 Video Section. Again in this case, it was more of a case of being *pushed* into doing things rather than taking initiative.

2000: The year 2K at first began rather awfully. I was in danger of losing my scholarship and had to correct that immediately. At this stage, I had already worked out my career options and plans, thanks to the friends I had made. While others of my age group were deciding on basic matters, I was proud, and rightly so, that I had made a decision to study certain degrees and hence had to work towards my goal. I knew from Year 7 that my interests in all things computing were not going to subside, and that a career in the IT industry was a real possibility. Year 8 enhanced this fact and Year 9 cemented it. To this end, I also believe that my class teacher had certainly helped, as he was from a science background, and explained the concepts of basic science and physics very lucidly. The year 2000 also bought with it my enthusiasm for debating, where, I had turned my habit of talking too much, into a strength of arguing a certain point. It was that debating which has held me in good stead, not only in arguements but also in other areas of my study. By debating, you analyse, and in an analysis, you are looking towards a macro and a micro view at the same time. Fruthermore the year was also good for me, in the sense that the P.hD my mother had been working for was finally submitted. However, there was a huge sense of loss, that my great-grandmother had passed away. However, I had thoroughly enjoyed the year, and was looking forward to more.

2001: The summer of 2000 was special in the sense that it was the first time, when we, as a whole family, had travelled to India, to celebrate various functions at home. During that time I was exposed to some new ancient Indian works, which I can happily say that I am in the process of reciting. It was a great trip, and although there are many incidents, I wish to retain the privacy of it. The year 2001, began on rather an ominous note of the tragedies ahead when an earthquake rocked the town of Bhuj in India. This was a terrible incident, more so because it occured on the same day as Indians celebrate the birth of the Republic (Janurary 26 1950). I was into my final three years of my schooling, and after a gap of three years, I knew that I had to write examinations once again. What I found amusing was the amount of "counselling" given to students who were writing their first exams. As a student who had endured the "stresses" of examinations, these were not new to me, and hence I had no trouble doing them well. September 11 2001, will be remembered world wide. I still nurture nothing but disdian for the Al-Qaeda group and its offshoots, particularly, being Indian, my country has faced such attacks, and still continues to do so. In the same breath, I salute all those who gave their lives in those terrorist attacks, and bore witness to mankind's biggest gift. The ability to suffer, so that others need not!

The summer of 2001, marked a very stressful and tough time for myself and my family. I had just finished my last year of Pulteney Grammar School, and I knew then that I was never going to return to its premises in any responsible capacity ever again. It was a strange, and nostalgic time for me, when I bid goodbye for the final time to many of my friends, where it would be unlikely to see them again. Although it is my good fortune I meet some of them regularly, the same cannot be said of my other friends.

On the personal front, I had received a terrible news that my grandfather, who I still say is the most energetic out of all of us, had to undergo a bypass surgery. Although there had been radical improvements in medicine over the years, all major surgeries carry an amount of risk. It was a very tough time for us and for a certain period in 2001-2002, there was a time when I wanted to be a doctor, after watching what my grandfather underwent. However, ther was even more bad news, as my house was burgled. It was both a dissappointment and a godsend at this juncture of time. I realised once again the futility of worldly possesions, and the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, where the Lord, explains that time is perpetual and that nothing can be taken for granted.

2002: Leaving the trials and tribulations of 2001 behind, I embarked on the final two years of my schooling at a new school, Eynesbury College. It was meant to be the time when things started to heat up. However, I had not noticed it, and hence did not work hard enough towards it. This was also the time when I had first got a mobile phone. After months of pretending I would never need one, I have found that mobile phones, like cigarettes are an addiction. They are very hard to leave, once one uses them. I compare mobiles to diabetes. When managed, they are easy to live with. The year also introduced me to the future institution where I would start my degree. As part of my work experience, I had decided to work for a week at the University of South Australia. At that time, during the dot-com boom, UniSA, was and still is, at Mawson Lakes, an area touted as an IT destination in South Australia. After once again focussing my ambitions on IT, after a brief flirt with medicine, I had the pleasure of visiting a university, which at that time was technologically advanced (in some areas it still is). However, it was during this year that my subject selections for future study came into play. After much consideration, I had decided to drop chemistry, and take up IT and English as a Second Language (due to a loophole in the system, which has now been closed). Although, it is still debatable whether they were the correct choices, I still stick to them even today.

2003: This was the do-or-die year for me. On January 1 2003, I woke up thinking that this was going to be the year, which would ultimately decide my fate. During the past 3 years I had made up my mind that I was going to be a Bachelor of Engineering, specializing in Computer Systems Engineering. However, what was not certain was the University I wished to join. It was also evident that just joining a university was not enough. I had to secure higher marks, so that my life post-enrolment would be smooth. Moreover, I also had to follow the precedent of my Indian peers, who had achieved high results. There was a lot going for me, and somehow, I did feel the pressure in the final stages of the year. However, there was a lot of happy moments throughout the year. My grandparents had come for the second time to Australia, to provide me with support during my final years of matriculation, and also to oversee the house warming of our newly constructed house, 9 years after settling in Australia. My grandparents provided me with much needed support. I can say that the reason why I did not experience any of the stress related to year 12, and its implications was due to the fact that I had two extra pillars of strength, namely my grandfather and my grandmother, who had helped me. There was a time when I didn't care what my marks was, because I was being treated to three excellent square meals a day, courtesy of my grandmother's culinary skills. In the end, Year 12, was all that I knew it would be. I do realise that if I worked harder, I would have achieved a score nearing the 99.95 TER. However, did I really need to achieve it? In the middle of Year 12, I knew so much about my post-matriculation plans, that I was in the danger of looking too ahead into the future. However, I never was trapped due to the above mentioned reasons. Although my score of 94 was not the best, I have no regrets, except that I could have or should have rather, worked harder.

From the years 2003 onwards, my life has changed tremendously. As I stepped into the University of South Australia at the beginning of 2004, I did not realise the difference between school and university would be that great. However, that being said, I found it quite easy to adjust to University teaching methods, thanks to the two years I had spent at Eynesbury College. From 2003 onwards, I have slowly realised that whatever I do from now on, directly affects my future. This has in a sense brought some responsibility to my shoulders, and in self-introspection, I feel that I am ready for such responsibility. 2004, was also the year in which I had experienced my first interview for my application for the UniSA/BAE systems scholarship, which I have been awarded. I am thankful for both the University of South Australia, and BAE systems for awarding me the prize and pray that I shall not lose the trust they have placed in me by awarding me the scholarship. The years 2003-2006 have been quite the same, with no major incidents that I can say have changed me. My visits to India have only reinforced into my head that my future belongs in my motherland, and eventually, I shall settle there.

The past 7 years have certainly brought about in me more changes. As with any teenager, I have made monumental errors in judgement, yet I have learnt from them, and I am thankful for learning from them. My teenage years, have given me maturity, and a sense of accomplishment at helping out friends, family. Indeed, I feel happy when I volunteer, or when I am in the company of friends and family. This is one thing that I have learnt throughout my life, and has only been cemented in my teenage years. I shall continue this as I enter the 2nd decade of my life. My friends and family form my foundation, and I always try not to hurt them in any endeavour I pursue. I take this platform to apoligise to all my friends and family to sincerely apologise if my behaviour was unbecoming at any time. Over the past weeks, I have been listening to the Siksha Valli section of the Taittiriya Upanishad of which the meaning is found in another post in my blog, namely here. The last verses of this section is an instruction of a student as he leaves the vedic gurukul to begin his life. Although I am not embarking on such a great step, and hopefully will not for another 2-4 years, I nevertheless find it quite poignant to read the verses. From my understanding (or rather my imagination), the student would have been around my age at such a time, and, hence in a strange way, the instruction also applies to me. I can only hope and pray to the Lord Almighty that I follow the "instructions" as much as I possibly can.

Lastly, I thank everyone who have befriended, and put trust and faith in me, and hope that it continues for eternity!!

JAI HIND!!!!

A Convocation address in Ancient India

Chapter XI—Exhortation to the Departing Student
1

Having taught the Vedas, the teacher thus instructs the pupil:
Speak the truth. Practise dharma. Do not neglect the study of the Vedas. Having brought to the teacher the gift desired by him, enter the householder's life and see that the line of progeny is not cut off. Do not swerve from the truth. Do not swerve from dharma. Do not neglect personal welfare. Do not neglect prosperity. Do not neglect the study and teaching of the Vedas.

2

Do not neglect your duties to the gods and the Manes. Treat your mother as God. Treat your father as God. Treat your teacher as God. Treat your guest as God. Whatever deeds are faultless, these are to be performed—not others. Whatever good works have been performed by us, those should be performed by you—not others.

3

Those brahmins who are superior to us—you should comfort them by giving them seats.
Whatever is to be given should be given with faith, not without faith—according to one’s plenty, with modesty, with fear, with sympathy.

4

Now, if there arises in your mind any doubt concerning any act, or any doubt concerning conduct, you should conduct yourself in such matters as brahmins would conduct themselves—brahmins who are competent to judge, who of their own accord are devoted to good deed and are not urged to their performance by others, and who are not too severe, but are lovers of dharma.
Now, with regards to persons spoken against, you should conduct yourself in such a way as brahmins would conduct themselves—brahmins who are competent to judge, who of their own accord are devoted to good deeds and are not urged to their performance by others, and who are not too severe, but are lovers of dharma.
This is the rule. This is the teaching. This is the secret wisdom of the Vedas. This is the command of God.
This you should observe. This alone should be observed.



Please see the link here for the above. Note that I have only given part of the Siksha Valli of the Taittirya Upanishad. The above address has the Upanishad in its entirety.

The end of the first quarter

Well the first quarter of this year has finished. By that I mean to say, my first term of 6 weeks at uni had come to an end around the same time last week. It all seemed like yesterday when I had stepped onto the hallowed turf of University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, to become a student once again, and undertake the joys, sorrows and challenges involved in being a pupil.

I must say that while the work has been quite demanding, it has also been equally exciting. This year, I am beginning to have more than just glimpses into how the world behaves after one graduates from university. This is because in this, my 3rd year, we are obligated, nay, expected to take care of our responsibilites not only as learners but also as part of the future generation which shall govern the world. This therefore means for any answer to a problem, we must look internally, then look externally. Only then if we are unsuccessful, do we ask for help or assistance.

During the past two years, I had often wondered where all this learning would go, when I read about advances in technology, and many a time I asked myself "Am I doomed to only learn about equipment or techniques which are going to be obselete?" During this year, especially in the first 6 weeks, I have found things which made me realise where exactly the two years of learning fit into the "grand scheme of things". I only hope that the remainder of this semester and year is the same.

I have seen that in these 4 weeks, I have been to uni longer than I necessarily need to be. I ascribe partly of that with my timetable, which has given me two whole days without any lessons. This freedom has instilled in me a sense of responsibility, knowing that from now onwards, I am only the Kartr and the Bhoktr (doer and enjoyer) of my actions, within the purview of my studies. I also ascribe my new found "love" towards University as being due to my enjoyment in learning more about my subjects.

However, I must apologise to all readers, and all my family (immediate and extended) and my friends, who have not heard from me during these weeks. A simple excuse such as "I was busy" cannot, should not, and will not suffice. Only a complete apology may be close, and hence I unconditionally apologise towards me behaviour in the maintenance of communcation between you all. I will once again endeavour to make regular posts.

In conclusion, I have thoroughly enjoyed the past 6 weeks, and am awaiting/dreading the next 7 odd weeks of the semester. I await them because of my experience in the past 6 weeks, yet I dread them due to the fact that I will be required to write exams!!!

Jai Hind!!!