Book Review of Fillipisms

Have you heard of the term Filipinism? The term refers to the practice of contextualizing thoughts, ideas, and experiences in a Philippine setting. These are words or phrases which are usually grammatically incorrect or are almost always the result of transliteration.

FILLIPISMS, on the other hand, is a word coined by the author to christen his unique and original maxims that are simple, pithy, full of puns, and metaphors, written mostly over the past several years but drawn from his three decades of experience as a police officer, and experience-based reflections. The author, Prateep Philip, has had two near-death experiences, surviving a drowning in the sea and a human bomb assassination of a former Prime Minster.

Take the concept of HAPPINESS. Prateep says- The secret of “comparison happiness” is that if you must compare, compare downwards, not sideways, or upwards. Therein lies a truth conveyed to us by many sages and men of wisdom over centuries. We often associate happiness with external factors and spend all our effort in the gratification of our senses. However, the happiness that is derived in this manner is only temporary and becomes intertwined with cycles of sorrow. True happiness can only emanate from a peaceful mind that is not dependent on any external agents and remains unperturbed in every situation. In Chapter II, Verse 70 of the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna says,

“aapurya-manam achala-prathistham

samudram apah pravishanti yadvat

tadvat-kama yam pravishanti sarve

sa shantim-apnoti na kama-kaami”

Translation:

“As the waters (of different rivers) enters the Great Ocean, which though full on all sides remains undisturbed, likewise a person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who runs after these desires and strives to satisfy such desires.”

The author has brought out the practical aspect vividly.

The Scripture says, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). During our life experiences, we have seen how those who benefit most are not the aggressive and the active kind but those who maintain their cool and flow along with the stream without causing any ripples. Prateep sums it up when he says- “The aggressive, proud, arrogant, wicked, perverse and foolish lose the world and only the meek are left to inherit it.” And he has a word of advice too- “Never mistake the gentleness and humility of the meek for weakness for they are just like a well-trained elephant waiting for the prod of the master.” Quite philosophical indeed! Does it remind you of Shakespeare, ‘Hell Hath No Fury Like a Woman Scorned’?

Prateep identifies two kinds of human emotions; ‘Leader’ emotions such as love, joy, peace, kindness, patience, trust, faith, and mercy; and ‘Bleader’ emotions such as hatred, anger, envy, pride, lust, and suspicion. An individual can choose whether he wants to be a leader or a bleader. While in an ideal world, all of us would like to be leaders, in the real world, human frailties and a sense of proportion compels some of the best amongst the homo sapiens to go for the bleader mode. Once you are born on this earth, happiness and suffering are an inalienable component of your existence. Therefore, profound is the maxim that says every time you suffer, make sure a bad part of you dies and a good part of you lives.

Oftentimes in a certain thought process, one has viewed humanity as being broadly divided amongst the Whites, the Blacks, the Yellow-skinned, and the Browns (those residing on the Indian subcontinent). The Author, on the other hand, divides humans into four categories: Negroid, Mongoloid, Caucasians, and Leaders. So where do the Indians fit in here? Since they are surely not in the first three categories mentioned, is there an implication, albeit unintentional, that they are all leaders? If that is so, Prateep says that- a. Leadership involves discipline; b. Discipline involves pain; c. Pain brings the joy of accomplishment. Therefore, he concludes that there is joy in pain. This is also the philosophy of Jain ascetics who bear the pain of renunciation and acquire the joy of moksha- liberation.

If we cannot speak the truth with love, speak it with humour, advises one maxim, and throughout the book, the author has provided several illustrations to support this suggestion. One such example- “Most people have a strong backup team behind them. They talk behind your back”. Another- “Each of us has a choice to be either a mess or a message”.

There is excellent advice for those with insufferable dispositions. The way to deceive pride, and to prevent prematurely reaching your level of inefficiency is to think of yourself as one level or several levels below your current position. If you are a shepherd, think of yourself as a sheep; if you are a king, think of yourself as a servant; if you are a General, think of yourself as a soldier; and if you are a professor, think of yourself as a lifelong student.

And there is guidance for those who seek power. It is said, “Power is poison”. Not true. Power is poison only if you use it for pelf, theft, and aggrandizement. If you use it sincerely and for the benefit of the weak, the vulnerable, and the people for whom and from whom it is derived, it is elixir, the life-enhancing nectar of life.

The volume contains 3333 ‘fillipisms’ covering a wide variety of subjects that affect human life and organizational culture. Divided into thirty-three chapters, some maxims do not seem to have been properly categorized, and the author has mentioned in the preface that the classification is not strict and many of the themes may have overlapped. That apart, the book can serve as a useful guide to the young in their formative years and to the elderly in their introspective mode. It carries the wisdom of our scriptures in general and the Bible in particular, and it often reminds you of the Gandhian philosophy as well. That is why the author has dedicated the book to the sages and the thinkers of yore.