APPROACHES IN RESEARCH

There are ways of making observations with objectivities. 

This can be applied to anything - a statement, a proverb, a definition, a fact, etc. 

You can derive information which is held by the simple-looking statement by a series of investigations of that statement.  You have to change your focus and stand-point and the angle of perspective.  There may be several focal points in a statement.  Your system of digging out facts from innocent looking statement demands concentration. 

I don’t think many of you would remember.....

Several years ago, may be thirty years plus - there was a TV series. 

This was called 'Colombo'.

The hero of the series was an investigator called Lt. Colombo.

He is an irritating character.  While watching him, you will get irritated.

But his capabilities and talent really lies in the manner in which he irritates the other characters with silly-sounding, annoying questions. He would ask many such questions.  While questioning, he would meddle with things which are in the room, hall, kitchen, etc.  After a long session of such questioning and meddling with things he would leave. Before reaching the door, he would turn around and ask some question which would seem trivial. 

He would go out.

Just as the other characters just try to take a break, pressing their fore-heads, etc, he would knock on the door.  When opened, he would ask another simple-looking, irritating, irrelevant looking question.

Well......

He did get at facts and deductions which other people missed.

If you really want to be a very good researcher, you have to be like Lt. Colombo on and off.

Then you can really see what others would miss. 

And you can derive many other details from simple statements and facts. 

May be I should give a few examples.....?

ON KEEPING THE MOUTH SHUT

There was a pond where many types of water dwelling creatures lived. 

Among these, there was a turtle. This turtle had befriended two storks(naarais). 

It so happened that an unusual draught happened. This was growing worse. Most of the creatures were moving. Others were dying out. 

The storks decided to migrate to somewhere where there was abundant water.

They tried to help the turtle to migrate with them.

So they devised a method by which the turtle can be safely transported to the new habitat.

They took a strong stick and asked the turtle to bite it in the middle. 

They told the turtle not to open its mouth no matter whatever happened until they reached the new pond. 

The turtle bit the stick. The storks bit the ends of the stick - each at each end, and......

Off they flew.

Up, up, and away.

As they flew, they passed a town.

The one of the townsmen chanced to look up.

He saw a most unusual sight. 

The turtle clinging its mouth to a stick which was carried by two flying storks!

He uttered a cry of astonishment and soon the whole town was agog and gaping skywards at the storks and the turtle.

The turtle heard the commotion below and turned its eyes downwards. 

It wanted to say, "Wow! All these people! Are they looking at us?"

When it started saying '"Wow", it started falling down.

By the time it finished saying "at us?", it crashed to the ground.

And ended inside a soup pot.

Unfolding more upon the topic 'Of Keeping the Mouth Shut'.......

We have some more stories.......

There were some boys who saw a big land turtle (aamai) trying to cross over to a pond. 

They had heard that turtle curry is a delicacy. So they tried to kill it by hammering it with stones and sticks. 

But the turtle pulled itself inside its shell and remained snugly inside. 

The boys just could not kill the turtle.

Just then a swamiji was being taken to Sorga Paradise in a vimana by the Devas.

He saw the plight of the boys and also the turtle.

"I am an impartial observer of the world and its goings on. I do not partake in any of the happenings. I am just like the drop of water over a lotus leaf.

As an impartial observer, my observation is this: 

the way of the world is that you can kill a turtle by turning it on its back. It will put out its legs and head and then will become vulnerable. Then it can be killed easily and cooked. 

But why should I tell this to the boys? Let me mind my own business."

The boys DID hear this and accordingly killed the turtle.

Immediately the Devas pushed the swamiji out of the vimana.

Headlong he crashed into Patala, the underworld.

There are still more stories to this effect.