Keeping up with the Social Media

Technological advancements bring a host of plus and minus features. The social media has been one of the best gifts that bonds people  - What’sApp, Facebook or Twitter. You can greet friends or relatives on their birthday or wedding anniversary with least clue on when it falls.  Someone else does it for you. You just have to follow. If you are okay with being an also ran, that is. You can attend to all banking transactions in the comforts of home, requesting your spouse for a  cup of coffee - or, half-cup, if the eye-brows get raised - as you wait for an OTP. You need not depend on the black-and-yellow taxi chap’s mood to drive you to your destination. Ola and Uber fight it out who will carry you.  For electronics, furniture or any goods, you don’t have to earmark a day out; order them online, and at competitive prices.

Equally, selling old household goods is no longer a ‘project’. My earlier neighbour sold his car to a chap in UK in,  believe me, four hours from the time he gave the ad in Olx.  The buyer contacted him in five minutes, said the last four digits in the number plate were exactly the same as his own car and he was thus very much keen to buy it - what a dire necessity. He would transfer the money from UK to his driver’s account in Bangalore who would come in an hour, and if he technically approved the car he would pay and drive off with the vehicle. Which he did.  

Why go to neighbour? At home I disposed of household goods in a jiffy before moving here. The customer bought them lock, stock and barrel, to the extent that when the fully loaded vehicle left the complex, neighbors suspected I was relocating earlier than schedule. Yes, I had totally been disrobed. Even things that were close to my heart I found myself parting with them. He literally mesmerized me. The overriding consideration? He was a priest in Kukke Subramanya, and was getting married soon. He wanted to surprise his wife-to-be with a fully done up home as she stepped in. Who wouldn’t? And I couldn’t help doing my bit to it. As he bade farewell, he promised to arrange special darshan when we visited the temple. Now I plan to, but alas, I forget his name. Moral: Waqt se pehle aur Muqaddar se zyada kuchi nahin milega.

There is flip side too to these strides. If only I had responded to the congratulatory messages from Nigeria that I have won a lottery and asking me to give my account number to transfer the amount, I would have been penniless instead of the promised millionaire. Also, someone claiming to be from “LIC” calls me to say that some money still remains unclaimed, and asking for my account details to transfer. Mind is chanchal and they are hopeful we would submit one day, and they will have a field day.

Then the free flow of assorted Forwards - introspective, humorous, riddle- and mind-boggling kinds. Someone has sent this: “In the word scent, is s or c silent?” “If people evolve from monkeys, why are monkeys still around? “Why is there a D in fridge, but not in refrigerator?” Enough to scratch your mind for the rest of the day. 

This advisory, From 65 to Death, is still interesting. It prescribes how I should lead the rest of my life. It asserts that you have given your children the best of education. All that you do now is give a gentle push for them to sail on their own. You can’t row them to their destination. And don’t part with what little material assets you are still left with. Enjoy them to the brim. Wear the best of clothes, travel as much as you can, and in comfort; stay in the best hotels, don’t deny yourself anything…. In sharing the secret of his longevity, a 93-year old conveyed the same in 45-odd Do’s and Don’ts format. 

On the spiritual side, someone shared Shri Jagat Guru Adi Sankaracharya’s message on what Maturity is all about. It says, maturity is when you stop trying to change others; instead focus on changing yourself. Maturity is when you accept people as they are. Maturity is when you learn to “Let Go’… Wonder how Shri Jagat Guru guessed that centuries later a guy in Maple 3195 would badly need these very soul-awakening messages for midcourse corrections. 

V V Sundaram

Maple 3195

04 June 2017