Inside And Outside And Gutei’s Finger : Two Teaching Stories By Vikram Karve
INSIDE and OUTSIDE
A Story
By
VIKRAM KARVE
Here is an apocryphal story I heard once:
A certain man made an appointment to see a counsellor.
He arrived at the psychotherapist’s office and said to him, “Sir, please help me. I always feel depressed. No matter what I do I still feel depressed. I just don’t know what to do.”
The counsellor looked at the depressed man and said to him, “Come with me to the window.”
The patient followed the therapist to the window. The counsellor pointed outside and said, “Do you see that tent over there in the distance? Well, there is a circus in town and it is really good. There are lots of acts to watch, especially the clown acts. And there is one clown in particular who is extremely Funny. He wears all sorts of costumes and masks and performs hilarious antics. He will make you rock with side-splitting laughter over and over again. Go and see that clown and I guarantee you that your depression will disappear.”
The depressed man turned to the counsellor with sad eyes and said, “Sir, I am that clown.”
Moral of the Story: The Inside and the Outside may be vastly different – deep inside things may not be as they seem from the outside.
Moral No. 2: Don’t wear a “mask” – it may affect your health in the long run.
THE ORIGINAL and THE IMITATOR
A Teaching Story – Gutei’s Finger
Retold By
VIKRAM KARVE
I always exhort my students to be original and not imitate (or plagiarize) especially while conducting dissertation studies, writing papers and research reports etc
In order to drive home this point I like to tell them one of my favourite teaching stories: GUTEI’S FINGER
Whenever anyone asked him about Zen, the great master Gutei would quietly raise one finger into the air.
A boy in the village began to imitate this behaviour.
Whenever he heard people talking about Gutei’s teachings, he would interrupt the discussion and raise his finger.
Gutei heard about the boy’s mischief.
When he saw him in the street, he seized him and cut off his finger.
The boy cried and began to run off, but Gutei called out to him.
When the boy turned to look, Gutei raised his finger into the air.
At that moment the boy became enlightened.
Do tell me if you liked this story…
VIKRAM KARVE
http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
vikramkarve@sify.com
About the Author
VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU and The Lawrence School Lovedale, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource and Training Manager by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book “Appetite for a Stroll”. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog – http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
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