Bheebatsa, Aniruddh and the Puppies are working for their course project in which they have to design, simulate and build a small robotic system which can track and follow a specified patch. So, the path is specified and the robotic system is given and the students have to mess with the controls of the robotic system to make it follow the path. The course grade is solely dependent on the performance in the project which is due in a month’s time. The instructor for the course is extremely strict and expects a lot from the students. He knows that the project is hard but not impossible to solve. The goal of this project is to improve the understanding and learning of the students.
It is evening, everybody is home and the first thing Hill Puppy does is to update his facebook status, ‘Hill Puppy is working on Path tracking Robot project. Hill Puppy is excited.’ Red Puppy is little better he has uploaded the pictures of the robot and updated his status ‘Will be busy working on this project for the next month.’ Bheebatsa has liked a page titled ‘Path tracking robots then and now.’ But Mad Puppy is unperturbed, he knows what he wants and he knows that it would be impossible for him to finish the project so he has given up and is quietly browsing for some cool ‘consumer electronic’ products to look cool. He has a hunch that Hill and Red Puppy will eventually given up but still ‘Likes’ their status messages which they are happy to acknowledge along-with many other comments and ‘likes’ they got for their posts.
Aniruddh is also unperturbed he knows the project may be tough and he might not be able to finish it even if he tries hard. But he is willing to work on it since he will be learning a lot in the process irrespective of the result which is very important. He is also willing to sacrifice his little enjoyments for a bigger and better goal. He plans to work for 4-5 hrs a day sincerely on the project and plans to keep his mind active rest of the time in some creative pursuits where he gets to use his brain instead of brawn. Two weeks into the project and Red Puppy is finding it hard, Hill Puppy had already given up last week and is with Mad Puppy now at ‘Bar and Lounge’ (Facebook update). Red Puppy cannot resist his temptation any longer he drops the course in a fit of rage ‘impulsively’ and leaves to join the friends at ‘Bar & Lounge’.
Bheebatsa is left alone without his friends, his competitive instinct has prevented him from dropping the course but he too is having a hard time and he desperately needs help. He cannot ask his instructor because he is scared that the instructor may find out that he does not know anything. In order to ask some intelligent questions he must know something and in order to know something he must take Aniruddh’s help which he is unwilling to take. He feels ashamed to go to him when he is in trouble since he spent all his good times with the Puppies and now when he is in real trouble they are gone. He finally realizes that it is better to be ashamed a little now than being ashamed a lot later when he will fail the course. So, he goes to Aniruddh for his help and they start discussing about the project and Bheebatsa is beginning to understand it (to his great surprise). By the end of the discussion which just took an hour he has a fair idea on what he needs to do.
Understanding the philosophy or a concept is just the beginning, implementing the same concept is whole new ball game and requires great CONCENTRATION. So, Bheebatsa with his Chaotic Mind is finding it extremely hard to concentrate on his project, he has disabled all internet, he has disabled his phone, he has stopped talking to people and he is even going to the library spending 7-8 hrs on the project. Like a man who wants to develop a six-pack abs avoids all kinds of fatty, spicy and tasty food; a man who wants develop a brain-pack should avoid all kinds of spicy things on the internet that slow down and rob the Concentration. Even after all these sacrifices he is still having unresolved issues but he sticks to the strict routine for the final two weeks. Aniruddh on the other hand has been managing his time creatively without any fuss and he too sticks to his routine, finally they both submit their projects. Like they say in Indian colleges ‘Aniruddh got FULL output and Bheebatsa got PARTIAL output’ but the instructor is happy with their performances and both of them get an A grade. The Puppies have also managed to get an A grade but in an easier course and they are Happy. Bheebatsa is very happy with the result and really loves the fact that he too can accomplish his GOAL when he makes a dedicated effort. He now feels that if he started early he could have achieved full output as well but forgets that soon enough. Aniruddh too is happy with his result, about all the things he could learn and happy that he could be of some help to his friend Bheebatsa. Mad Puppy ends up purchasing a cool Path tracking Robot and has made a video of him playing with the robot and of course he has uploaded it on Facebook and it is rage among all his internet friends. His other facebook friends just think he is a genius and this make Red and Hill Puppy very happy and proud of him. Everybody seems to be happy and proud of their achievements (even the Puppies) except now Bheebatsa wants to hang-out with Aniruddh instead of the Puppies which they don’t like; not one bit.
There are three aspects in all of us the creative aspect (The Good), competitive aspect (The Bad) and the consumeristic aspect (The Ugly). We rarely make use of the creative aspect but people who use it go on to become great leaders who can change the world (they give more to the world and take less), then come the competitors who looking at the creative leaders crave for the same success and adulation and compete hard to rise up the ladder (they give and take in equal amounts). Finally the consumers arrive and they end up either reading about the creative leaders or end up buying the products that the competitive guys market or both; either way they are the ones who are exploited (they take more and give less).
Each of you is uniquely positioned to reach the top and you and only you can find the path which leads to the GOAL, then only you can track the path, but you have to mess with the controls in your mind to make your life (Robot) follow the path. Your intuition is your instructor which can guide you and which will ultimately grade (judge) you. Remember you are not a robot who dances to Life’s tunes; you are the one who can make life (Robot) dance to your tunes and this you can if you control your mind. Please have a GOAL and please have good control over mind to reach your GOAL this is more important than anything else.
