Why Be Perfect?

JANINA GOMES





We all strive for excellence -whether it is sports or studies, we aim at being toppers. But it is impossible for everyone to become toppers. Excellence and perfection, however, are not the same thing. The quest for perfection brings some to a grinding halt. They become paralysed, unable to come up with a good performance because of their obsession with perfection.Those who achieve excellence are those who try , fail, then try again repeatedly till they finally succeed. We are meant to deliver the best we can. Perfection however, is mostly unachievable. I remember a boss who made people go round the bend aiming for perfection. It showed a lack of emotional maturity and did not yield good results. People were walking on eggshells.
To work towards excellence, we need to be relaxed. We need to enjoy what we are doing.Once we are filled with positive emotions and attitudes to our work, excellence becomes not only a goal but a by-product.
If we push children too much at an early age to excel, they no longer have time for play , creative expression or relaxation.At so young an age, they become ambitious and forgo many of the thrills of childhood, its carefree nature and enjoyment of life without great responsibilities. I watch birds quite often from my window. They fly in such a carefree manner. Had they the drive for perfection, they would never fly . So, enjoy what you are doing. In that way , you will achieve excellence.

Death Simply Helps Birth To Happen

Osho





Human beings are the only species that is not born complete, not born closed, not born like a thing; who is born like a process. Man is open. His being consists in becoming.That is the crisis. The more he becomes, the more he is.We cannot take ourselves for granted, otherwise we stagnate and vegetate. Life disappears. Life remains only when you are moving from one place to another place. Life is that movement between two places. You can't be alive at one place ­ that's the difference between a dead thing and a live phenomenon. A dead thing is static. The live thing not only moves, it also leaps, jumps. The dead thing remains always in the known. The live phenomenon goes on moving from the known towards the unknown. This is the crisis. You have to go on moving. Movement creates problems because movement means you have to go on dying to that which you know, to the past, which is familiar, comfortable, cosy. You have lived it, you have become skilful about it, you have learnt much about it; now there is no danger in it. It fits with you, you fit with it. But one has to move, go on the adventure ­ from the known to the unknown.
Your being wants to explore; it has an intrinsic discontent; i call it divine discontent. Whatsoever you have, whatsoever you are, you are finished with it; you want to have that which you don't have, and you want to be that which you are not. Man is constantly dying and constantly being born. In man death and birth are like two wings of a bird, complementary , helping each other. Death simply helps the birth to happen.It is like a gate: from one side it is entrance, from the other side it is exit.Or, it is like breathing: the same breath going inwards is called inhalation, and the same breath going outwards is called exhalation.
The mind wants to cling to the known and the familiar, naturally; mind is efficient with it. Somehow it has learnt it. And now suddenly you move. All that learning is lost, it will never again be relevant. In no other situation will it have any meaning. It can only have meaning with the situation in which you have lived.“Cling to it,“ the mind says. The being is like the sky ­ it cannot be contained by the mind that is too narrow. The being wants to go to the farthest corner of existence. The being is an adventure. The being wants to risk ­ this is the crisis.
And each person has to face this crisis. And there are two alternatives: out of fear you stop dying to the past and you become stuck, stagnant. People become pools instead of rivers. They go on shrinking, they never know the joy of flow.
You can remain secure and safe with the past. You can avoid the crisis: that's what millions of people have decided.But then they remain mediocre, then they only age, they don't grow. They are stuck. Their life becomes a wasteland and they never come to see the ocean.Only when you come to see the ocean and when you enter into the ocean do you know what bliss is.

Copying texts for study doesn't violate copyright'

Abhinav Garg

New Delhi:





Single-Judge HC Bench To Decide On Purpose And Utility

Students in Delhi University and nearby can continue to buy photocopy material of international textbooks sold by shops such as Rameshwari Photocopy Service, for now. The Delhi high court on Friday ruled that copying extracts of original material, including of those brought out by international publishers, is exempt from copyright claim as long as it is justified by the purpose for which it is used.“Purpose“ and “utility“ of the photocopied material (content of the extract and needs of curriculum) decide if there has been any violation or there has been “fair use“, a bench of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Yogesh Khanna held, sending the suit filed by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and others against Rameshwari shop back to the single judge to conduct a trial on these parameters.
Batting for free knowledge as long as original work is not misused, the HC observed that “the law in India would not warrant an approach to answer the question by looking at whether the course pack has become a textbook, but by considering whether the inclusion of the copyrighted work in the course pack was justified by the purpose of the course pack i.e. for instructional use by the teacher to the class and this would warrant an analysis of the course pack with reference to the objective of the course, the course content and the list of suggested readings given by the teacher to the students.“
Friday's verdict means publishers will have to prove before the single judge that their original work is being copied and misused for commercial gain and not for use in course of instruction by teachers to pupils.
While restoring the suit lost by the publishers earlier, the division bench said it was “not inclined“ to grant interim stay to the foreign publishers but added that there are “triable issues“ involved in the lawsuit seeking to restrain the shop in the varsity campus from selling photocopies of textbooks.
To facilitate inquiry , the court ordered the photocopy shop to maintain a record of course packs photocopied by it and supplied to students and file a report in court every six months, disposing of the appeal filed by publishers and posting the matter for further proceedings before the single judge on January 4, 2017.
It also cited a 2012 report of a court-appointed local commissioner who found that entire textbooks had been copied and sold by the shopkeeper, not just extracts for course packs.
The publishers had appealed against the single judge or der allowing Rameshwari Photocopy Service to sell photocopies of their textbooks on the ground that copyright in literary works does not confer “absolute ownership“ to the authors.
But the larger bench diffe red, saying the legal issue revolves around interpretation of Section 52(1)(i) of the Copyright Act, 1957 as the photocopy shop and other defendants have admitted photocopying pages from the publications in different proportions.
It also disagreed with publishers' argument that DU is to be blamed for encouraging photocopy instead of stocking its library with purchased books. “Role of the university ends when its academic council lays down the course curriculum. Thereafter, the individual teacher or the teachers acting collectively for a particular degree course sit down and prescribe the relevant reading material to be read by the students keeping in view the objective of the course as per the curriculum,“ the HC noted.
“The next exercise done by the teacher or the teachers would require eclectic selection of reading material and this would be the copyrighted works. This would constitute the reading material for the pupils, to be used by the teacher in the class room in course of instruction,“ he added.

Source: Times of India, 10-12-2016

Journal of Community Practice

Vol. 24, Issue 1, 2016Table of Contents

From The Editors

Editorial Community Practice in Our Global Village Lorraine M. Gutiérrez, Anna M. Santiago & Tracy M. Soska Pages: 1-3 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Articles

Article Heritage and Community Regeneration in Northern Ireland: Finding Points of Coalescence in the Development Planning Process Rhonda Phillips & Jay Stein Pages: 4-17 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Article Surrounding Community Residents’ Expectations of HOPE VI for Their Community, Health and Physical Activity Akilah Dulin Keita, Lonnie Hannon, David Buys, Krista Casazza & Olivio Clay Pages: 18-37 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Article Sustainability Processes among Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Supportive Service Programs Emily A. Greenfield & Mandy E. Frantz Pages: 38-55 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Article Concern for Community: A Case Study of Cooperatives in Costa Rica Samantha Vo Pages: 56-76 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Article Attitudes Toward Advanced Licensing for Macro Social Work Practice Linda Plitt Donaldson, Sondra J. Fogel, Katharine Hill, Christina Erickson & Sarah Ferguson Pages: 77-93 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Commentary

Article commentary The Community Organisers Programme in England Robert Fisher & Kristin Dimberg Pages: 94-108 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Book Reviews

Book review Blee, K. M., Democracy in the Making: How Activist Groups Andrew Foell Pages: 109-111 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Book review Westoby, P. Theorising the Practice of Community Development: A South African Perspective Charles Hounmenou PhD Pages: 112-115 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Book review Tadele, G., & Kloos, H. (Eds.), Vulnerabilities, Impacts, and Responses to HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa Sandra Wexler PhD, ACSW Pages: 116-117 Published online: 25 Mar 2016

Myview When education becomes a meaningless ritual

My grandfather’s formal school education ended after grade seven. That did not stop him from gaining a reputation as a formidable lawyer in the “princely state” of Sarangarh. This self-taught lawyer was also an equally formidable self-taught scholar of Indian philosophy. No wonder he had no notion of what knowledge was appropriate for what age. I was unilaterally commandeered by him as a student of philosophy, at the age of nine. My head would be ringing with the nuances of Advait Vedant when he would visit us.

I did not understand anything, and the limitation was entirely my own; he was ceaselessly energetic in lecturing me. But there was something like an Abhimanyu effect of all those lectures. Later in life when people talked of the same concepts, I grasped them much more easily than I thought I was capable of.

What I understood and enjoyed was how he made fun of priests and their rituals. This was between me and him, and not malicious. His point was always the same, that most priests do not understand a word of their own chants. And that even if they understand the words literally, their chants and rituals are devoid of any meaning whatsoever. Every once in a while he would trip up some priest by asking completely innocuous questions like why some mantra came before the other one or the connection between two concepts. And then he would laugh and wink at me. So, I grew up learning that what many people held most sacred was often the most empty of meaning.

Decades later, I became responsible for a global, high-precision engineering business. In that business the quality of the product was by far the most important requirement. We had clients, partners and suppliers across the world. Working with the engineering and manufacturing world in Japan was an immersion in a meditative experience. Refined minimalism of processes, simplicity of methods, unwavering discipline and focus, deep connectedness across, and the importance of taking time unhurried, that world was in calm and serene order. It also produced the highestquality products, consistently.

The world of Indian manufacturing had something that the Japanese did not. Any factory and manufacturing business worth its name would have a range of impressive certifications and systems. ISO, QS, Six Sigma were just the more common ones. And to back up all these there were reams of neatly written, well-thought-through documents. But quality in the products was either absent, or was the result of panicked firefighting.

The Japanese were mystified by this inexplicable contradiction, especially when compared with themselves. They had no certifications but had quality. Indian manufacturing had all the certifications but no quality. Certainly there was a range and there were shining exceptions, but they were just that. Most of us who were part of that world in India would hate to admit it but we had to, if we wanted some change.

It was the familiar world of priests. All the certifications and the manuals were like the mantras, and the systems were sacred. But they were completely devoid of meaning. Written by experts, understood by few, used by even fewer. With little or no connection to reality, basically written to impress, not to live. The priesthood of the quality teams would lead the empty rituals, and their lay followers, i.e. the rest of the teams, would chant along.

Let me add that there were forces gaining ground which were beginning to shake this empty ritualism, and I hope things have continued to improve in the past few years.

This evisceration of meaning from actions and their conversion to empty rituals seems a culture common in modern India. School education is afflicted by this at every level and on every dimension. Let’s take some of the most obvious and universally visible examples.

The class echoing multiplication tables is the prototypical filmic image of an Indian school, and there can be no better demonstration of the malady in schools. The children repeating those tables (more often than not) do not understand the meaning of multiplication, nor its relationship to life. The teacher does not even attempt to develop this understanding; her purpose is the flawless mantra-like repetition. The officials visit and inspect for the same. And this is part of the larger phenomenon of rote memorization being the primary pedagogical approach in our schools. The examinations only reinforce this emptiness.

The daily assembly, which is potentially a powerful process for social development of the students, is invariably ritualized to a prayer and a student reading news. The text books are crammed with information with an expectation of regurgitation after reading. We can go on.

Most of my columns are about people who are attempting good education, and this is the cultural tide that they swim against. Education is the making of meaning and the development of thinking individuals. This culture of meaningless ritualism is the antithesis of that. Our education itself has become a meaningless ritual.

Paradoxically the only social process for curing our culture of the malady of meaninglessness is good education. That is the wedge with which we can pry our culture open to embrace the making of meaning, and so that must be the focal point of our collective maximal force.

Anurag Behar is the chief executive officer of Azim Premji Foundation and leads sustainability initiatives for Wipro Ltd. He writes every fortnight on issues of ecology and education.

Source: Mintepaper, 8-12-2016

Not On A Friday

Assam government’s proposed diktat to madrasas is an unwise move.

Assam’s education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently objected to some madrasas in the state observing Friday as a holiday. He added that the government had taken note that “some madrasas in certain districts” are closed on Friday and this was against the law. If this practice was not immediately stopped, the government “will not refrain from suspending the headmasters of such institutions,” Sarma threatened. He went on to add that madrasas remain closed on Fridays in Pakistan and Bangladesh, and not in India. Indians, according to Sarma, observe a common weekly-off on Sunday; that should be adhered to by people of all faiths.

Sunday, however, is not a common weekly off in India for all organisations. No law of the country declares Sunday a holiday. In 2012, while replying to an RTI application, the department of personnel and training had stated, “As per records available in JCA section of the department of personnel and training, there is no information regarding declaration of Sunday as a holiday”. Order no 13/4/85-JCA of the department of personnel and training, dated May 21, 1985, which initiated the five-day week in civil administration offices, declares the working week from Monday to Friday, with Saturday being a holiday. Sunday is not declared an official holiday, even by this order. The reference here is to civil administration offices, schools are not covered under this announcement. At the School of Open Learning at the University of Delhi, for example, classes are held only on Saturdays and Sundays. As historian Jim Massellos writes, “it was the British administration that started the practice of Sunday as an off-day”. Sunday as a holiday has roots in the Christian traditions. It is not any more secular or less religious than Friday as the day of prayer for the Muslims.

Given the context of the Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016, Sarma’s reference to Bangladesh and Pakistan is provocative. His recent book, Anya ek drishtikon (A different perspective) describes a not so distant future where the ethnic Assamese community will be outnumbered by “illegal” Muslim migrants. Sarma produces unverified data to show how in a few districts of the state this fear is increasingly becoming a threat. Is it any surprise that the districts mentioned in Sarma’s book were picked out to drive home his point about holidays in madrasas?

It is not difficult to fathom why a reference was made only to Pakistan and Bangladesh. After all, Israel’s official working week stretches from Sunday to Thursday. Nepal has a working week that begins on Sunday and ends on Friday. Friday was an official holiday in Pakistan during General Zia-ul-Haq’s regime; but now Pakistan follows the Monday to Friday official working week.

Assam has seen volatile public debates on the Citizenship Amendment Bill. This proposed piece of legislation seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955 and pave the way for “illegal” Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, Christian, Buddhist and Jain migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan to be eligible for Indian citizenship. Muslims have been kept out from the proposed amendments. A reason that has often been cited for such discrimination is that “illegal” Muslim migrants are already a significant number in Assam.

The Right to Education Act — which after the ruling of the Kerala High Court in the Sobha George case, this year, is applicable to minority educational institutions — prohibits a state-aided minority educational institution from discriminating against any student on grounds of religion, race, caste, language in matters of admission. Articles 29 and 30 of the Constitution guarantee minorities rights to their culture. Sunday is not an officially-declared holiday in our country, as evidenced by government records. Arm-twisting government-aided madrasas to remain open on Friday and during the month of Ramzan is a violation of rights guaranteed by the Constitution. It is nobody’s case that Assam’s madrasas are in fine shape. Given Sarma’s track record, he is skilled enough to revive them. But forcing them to remain open on Fridays is not the right move.

The writer teaches political science at Zakir Hussain College, University of Delhi.

Source: Indian Express, 8-12-2016

How the word pollutes

In your homes, classrooms and workspaces, refrain from this “invisible” form of pollution.

When the word “pollution” is used, it normally conjures an image of oil spills in oceans, buildings covered in industrial dust and garbage spilling over on roads, often the plastic bag, a meal for roaming cattle. It is easy to see the devastation that pollution causes, and across society; there is more awareness to find solutions to remedy its harmful effects.

There are also “invisible” forms of pollution. This type of pollution weaves its way into our homes, classrooms and workspaces in an insidious manner. Its tentacles spread in a million different directions and its effects are long lasting and venomous. Yet, because it seems so natural, we indulge in it, without any real awareness. “Word” pollution and the various ways we contribute to it, is an eye-opener on how prevalent it is.

Power of words

Words contain within them, an enormous power. Many of us might remember words that inspired us in the form of books which shaped our foundation and opened us to new ways of seeing the world. You might have a favourite poem or an excerpt of prose that gives you strength in times of crisis. It could be a conversation that you had with a friend, teacher, family member or colleague, whose concern was couched in words that had the power to heal.

In the same way, we can feel the way our body responds, when we hear words that come from anger, jealousy and resentment. One of my students shared how she would still recall the words used by her former teacher that undermined her confidence and caused her to doubt her abilities. She said it took her years to face those words and gather courage to see that the words came from a place of ignorance. Like any tool, words can be both beneficial and harmful, depending on how and why we use them.

Silent killer

Most of us have indulged in some form of gossip and enjoyed it immensely. At first glance, it might seem harmless or we can even deceive ourselves into believing that we are trying to “help” someone by indulging in it. Whatever form it takes, gossip is the energy we spend discussing, analysing and making judgements about someone else’s life.

As a teacher, I have seen the ill effects of gossip both in the classroom and the staffroom. When Lavanya(name changed) who was normally a bubbly teenager, suddenly became withdrawn, we were concerned. She was someone who loved to participate in all aspects of school life but she started frequently missing classes and skipping school. When we called her in to speak to us, we found that she had been the subject of rumours in the classroom, initiated by students who felt resentful of her popularity. Some of them had started to gossip about her on Social media and, the cyber bullying in some ways was uglier than the classroom events.

The scars caused by this took a long time to heal and, through support from her teachers, Lavanya found ways to strengthen herself. Those who had indulged in it admitted that they never knew that something that was meant to be harmless had gone out of control.

That is the nature of gossip. It is a form of energy that can find expression through destructive means. The solution is to really see within oneself the reasons why one is addicted to talking about other people. It could be that our minds are bored and looking for excitement. Perhaps, it is the thrill of talking about someone’s life in a demeaning manner so that we feel superior.

A colleague who used to constantly talk about other people found one day, that she herself was the subject of staffroom conversation. The best way to curb its effects, is to be more aware. The next time one gossips, become aware of what it does to you and others, and see if it is really worth contributing to word pollution.

To meet someone who rarely complains is a rarity — an uncle who passed away in his nineties was one such gem. While he would narrate his various experiences, it was always from a place of true acceptance. The words he used in conversations reflected this. It never slipped into any form of blame. He saw them as events and always said that people could only act according to their level of development. When we complain constantly about people, we pollute our ideas about them. We see people as a complaint and thus cannot see any other facets of their life or personality.

Many years ago, an experience brought this into focus. While working under a colleague who was extremely demanding and erratic, we found ourselves complaining about her. In a way, discussing her became a way of bonding for the rest of our group. Not once did we think of taking any action, such as bringing it to her attention or letting someone higher up know.

Our complaining was a way by which we avoided responsibility. The work environment was toxic as the energy was always negative and in hindsight, she probably sensed this and became more aggressive. Many years after I had left the organisation, it came to our notice that she had been suffering for years from a serious medical ailment that probably contributed to her behaviour. It made all our complaints pale in comparison and a sheer waste of time.

No bans

Unlike other forms of pollution, we do not need any external bans or regulations. We do not even need to police other people. Gently observing ourselves will be a reminder of the effects of word pollution.

In all the roles you play — student, teacher, employee, a member of society — the quality of your genuine interaction will be a shining example of living life in a word pollution-free zone.

Enjoy your own journey as you explore ways to make your life word pollution, free.

If this article speaks to you, do write to lifeplus590@gmail.com

Source: The Hindu, 7-12-2016