Doodles of Inspiration: Subhorup Dasgupta

 Subhorup Dasgupta is a writer, artist and musician. He blogs over at Subho's Jejune Diet and The Operative Note. I am hooked on Subho's Jejune Diet which emphasizes the importance of what we feed on intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally.  As Subho explains "jejune means uninteresting, and much of personal growth work seems uninteresting, time consuming and perhaps painful. Why audit your values when you can pop Prozac instead? Yet, this Jejune Diet is perhaps the only thing that can spur us on to discover our true potential and "save the world" from the clutches of conspicuous over-consumption". Thank you Subho for taking time to do this interview! 

    1. Your favorite doodle of all time

From the book cover "When Your Granny was a Little Girl"

     2. How do you stay creative and mindful in your day-to-day life?   

      

     The greatest lessons in creativity and mindfulness for me have come from yoga and pranayama and the philosophy broadly referred to as Buddhism.

I try to treat each moment as a lifetime in itself. I work on keeping away from complaining or comparing as both of these take me away from what is in front of me in the present.

Allowing nature into your life in simple form such as plants and a birdbath not only lets you assume a partnership but also lets you share in their creativity and mindfulness. My greatest creative inspiration are toddlers. They are immersed in the present, and their entire existence is one of creativity and exploration. 

Daily life for urban dwellers is so hectic that all of these seemingly foolproof strategies often do not work. Our world attaches undue importance to success as an event. I have learned to treat failures as steps towards greater focus, as part of the process that success really is. I say to myself, so that is what happened, and return to my breath. 

My family and I share a joyous and creative relationship with tea. The act of procuring, preparing and imbibing tea can be a deeply spiritual one. I believe that the process of drinking tea is all about the transmission of the life, wisdom and insight of tea. Most fine teas are cultivars derived from tea shrubs that are sometimes hundred years old. Being present to the tea leaf as it brews and listening to what it has to say about life is truly a meditative experience.

3. Your favorite quote: 

"One should become the master of one's mind rather than let one's mind master him" - Nichiren Daishonin, 13th century Buddhist monk and commentator.

"What know you of ready?" - Yoda, Jedi Master

"What me worry? - Alfred E. Neuman, Philosopher and Cover Boy

4. How do you deal with overwhelming emotions (intense joy, sorrow, anger, indignation, etc)?
Short version: I do not deal. 

Longer version: To an extent it depends on the environment I am in. In a safe setting, e.g., with a close friend or a loved one, I often let it out. In my beginner understanding, intense feelings are pointers towards the correctness of my actions. While I would wish to remain centered and moderated, I try and see my reactions are part of the great drama of cause and effect. I use art, writing, and physical activity as ways to channelize my feelings. I have learned from experience that letting go of intense feelings because you intellectually think you should is often nothing more than stuffing your feelings. They invariably surface in some other, usually more uncontrollable form. Rather than seek a dispassionate equilibrium (which would be nice), I try and say, "wow, that was powerful," and see what I can do best with the power it came to me with. Again, in addition to writing or painting, working with nature and with children can be excellent ways to diffuse the disturbing intensity of such passion.

5. Tips for readers to stay creative and mindful in the face of stress on one hand and boredom on the other
Being creative does not necessarily mean painting or writing or taking great photographs. The greatest creative work is what we make of our time and our life. Treat each moment as a new beginning. Meet each person each time as if you are meeting them for the first time. Stay hungry. And stay foolish. There is nothing that kills creativity like being well fed and having all the answers. Look at the world around you with the eyes of a child who only has questions. Wear your robe loose. The quality of your life is determined by the quality of the questions you have. Choose your questions well. Remember that the only question worth asking usually is something like, "Why this Kolaveri, Di?"

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