By Bhaskar Banerjee

There are different ways of learning. One way is listening from the mind and to memorise. You have been taught how to listen through the mind, because your schools and colleges teach you how to cram. They give you a wrong notion – memory is knowledge .

Don’t become parrots. You read the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bible, Qur’an, Tao Te King, the Book of Talmud and then you start repeating. A slight change of tone, of emphasis, a slight change of a single comma, a full point, and all is lost. Listen to the meaning.

Listen to this:

A certain tough old sea captain bought a young parrot at a foreign port, being assured it was a marvellous learner and hung it on the bridge. Coming back through the Bay of Biscay, a fearful black cloud came over and the skipper remarked, “It’s gone bloody dark all at once!”

Soon after the cloud burst in a dreadful torrent and the captain said to the mate, “It’s bloody hissing down!” The storm got worse; the ship lurched and developed a leak, so one of the men called, “What shall we do to be saved?” He got the reply, “Pump, you lousy shower! Pump, you poxed-up beggars. Pump.”

The ship and all were lost. A wet, swearing, washed-up parrot alone survived and after some adventures finished up with a dear spinster, who was expecting the vicar. As a precaution she threw a cloth over the cage, so the vicar was greeted with. “It’s bloody dark all at once.” The old lady was livid and put the parrot at once under the cold-water tap, at which he shrieked, “It’s hissing down.”

“No. no, Miss Fantight. You mustn’t be so cruel to god’s creation. Rather bring him to church on the Sabbath and expose him to good influences.” This was done and the parrot behaved like an angel, even joining in the hymns. The vicar, beaming at his own success, rose to announce his text, “Brethren, today we ask: What shall we do to be saved?” And down the aisles rang the parrot’s clear tone, “Pump, you lousy shower. Pump, you poxed-up beggars. Pump.”

Repetition will create troubles for you. Listen to the meaning.
And there are different ways of learning. One way is listening from the mind; then you memorise.

You have been taught how to listen through the mind because all your schools, colleges, universities, teach you how to cram. They give you a wrong notion – as if memory is knowledge. Memory is not knowledge, memory is simply parroting. You will know the letter, you will know the word but it will be empty; inside there will be no significance, no meaning in it.

There is another way to listen and that is from the heart. Listen through the heart. Listen as if you were not listening to an argument but to a song. Listen as if you were not listening to a philosophy but to a poem. Listen as you listen to music. Feel the other as your lover. Then the letter will be there; it will be used as a vehicle but it will not be the real thing. The vehicle will be forgotten and the meaning will enter into your heart and will remain there. And it will change your being; it will change your vision of life.

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