Where to dump your trash?

Where to dump your trash?

It struck me when I noticed how tediously a colleague of mine was scribbling notes onto a writing pad during a lecture. He noted almost anything that the lecturer said. In normal course of things, most of us write down whatever we think is important; a habit sequent to how we are taught to learn at school.

I remember what the teacher used to say when I kept staring at the blackboard with a smiling face as if enjoying the melody of her voice:

"Write that down! It is important"

Then,in a flurry pens and notebooks would appear and the soft scratchy sounds of ball-pens moving upon paper would coalesce into a collective irritable sound that would die as abruptly as it had risen.

Coming back, we keep filling notebook after notebook with 'important' information and then we spend our time searching for the right notebook or probably preparing a record of what information is contained in which notebook.

Now, this guy he had noted everything on this writing pad and had forgotten to take the pad with him after the lecture. What was he doing? If he didn't have any intention of taking the pad or learning in the lecture then why did he take the pain of writing down everything?

I took the pad and walked out of the conference room. After a few brisk steps I managed to reach the guy and gave a soft tap on his shoulder, saying:

"Excuse me, sir, I think you left this behind"

He turned around and smiled:

"Thank you, but frankly, I don't need it anymore"

I was amazed at the confidence the guy had upon his memory and somehow without my saying it he understood that I was taken aback.

"Have you opened and seen what is written in the pad?"

I must confess I had not seen the writings inside the pad, so I flipped it open. It was filled with everything except anything related to the lecture. It contained names of celebrities, movies, prices, a few timings, car prices, loan interest rates offered by different banks, vegetable prices, cricket scores and a score of other things.

I said "There is nothing about the lecture in here"

"Exactly"he replied and walked off, with the smile still spread upon his face.

It then dawned upon me what he had been scribbling so furiously during the lecture. He had been writing down all the 'trash' in his head, the useless information.

"To fill a cup that is brimmed, one has empty the whole or a part of it."

The lecturer had said that line but I was too busy noting it down in my diary rather than putting it in my head. From that moment on, I pledged to dump my 'trash' where it belonged; on the writing pad!

Pillars of Life

Money? Power? Glory? Was that it? Was that all that Man wanted? Why did Man invent Money? What was the objective of acquiring Money?

Money was a brilliant idea; it brought everyone who had it onto a common platform. If one had money it no longer mattered which sect or sub-sect one belonged to. It was somewhat like socialism; at least the concept was. In today's society money is anything but the socialist platform that it was intended to be. Why would anyone want money? Comfort? Ease? Probably. Security? Exactly. Security is the obvious reason behind acquisition of wealth but, there is an obscure reason too; one that doesn't spring up at the first glance. It stands like a silent spectator alone in a corner whom most people miss in the first look. It is also somewhat concealed by the apparent reasons of assurance. What is the next level? After security, what? What would a man want after he has secured himself financially? To make others feel insecure? There is a word which expresses that urge to make others feel insecure; its' 'Power;'. Power is the next level; it is what a man wants once he is secure. But why would he want that? It is because his security is an indirect function of other people's insecurity. Money gives power; no doubts about that. If someone doubts that one can site examples of any Superpower in the world; all their success and debacles are tales of currency notes.

Power is two-faceted; it is like a coin with heads and tails. One face is security and the other is insecurity. It is the face of insecurity that a Superpower represents and sadly, there is no representation of the face of security. If power is imposed then it attaches itself with insecurity but if it is earned and not imposed then it is completely secure. Then, what is the way to becoming a Superpower? It is like being a king who is loved by his citizens and not feared by them. A king who is loved is a secure whereas a king who is feared is insecure.

A different approach reveals different reasons; the urge to impose power. The urge to impose power is enticing since it produces the desired effect instantaneously. Imposition creates fear which makes people feel insecure while the one imposing it experiences a false sense of security.

To understand this, we have to progress to the next level; a higher one. What comes after power? What would the most powerful man in the world want? Glory? That's it. Glory is what drives the richest men in the world. However, insecure power is not the way to glory. Why is that? It is because Glory is not individual; it is relative. It involves all the people who think about the Glorious individual. Glory is consequent to secure power. It is an acceptance by the people of the power of the powerful and diverges from the concept of fear. It's association with nobility distinguishes it from power.

Glory is a state that has pre-requisites; the primary one being 'fearlessness'; fearlessness can only be achieved on account of security, so, ultimately we rest the World upon two pillars; security and insecurity. The journey of life is the distance between those two pillars. What one achieves at the end of life is just security; a safe haven where one knows that no matter what his mortal remains are only ashes and peace, nothing else. All other things are shed during the journey. But here comes an intriguing question; the question of creation. 

If all things are to be shed then what is the point in creating new ones? It is the answer to this question which accommodates a substantial understanding of life. The answer is in a simple question; what does one do when he is to trust someone he doesn't trust? Or, what does one do when he is to love somebody he doesn't love? One 'tests' him; that is what is to be done; then, based upon the reactions or actions of the person we re-analyze the person; we do the test again and again until we become certain of the trust or love. This is the principle of life, God wants to love everybody but our actions make us less dearer to him. God tests us to endear us to him. He tests us till he can completely trust us which is when our journey reaches its end. So coming to the point, what is wrong and right, or fear and intrepid, or glory and shame?

It's just this journey between the two pillars; security to insecurity that distances us from our objective while insecurity to security aligns us with our objective. The point of writing this is that the reader should take sometime and determine from which pillar to which pillar is he or she travelling.

And a few lines at the end; they are titled the Pillars of Life.

I stepped onto the sands like a storm,

a streak of sunlight molding the dawn,

with a Lion's heart and a falcon's eye,

I thought I could girdle the world in my dye.

I stretch, I conquer, I slay and I win,

victory seems like an amatory thing.

Slowly cracks surfaced from where Time would seep,

and I scuttled from promises that I could easily keep.

Imposition strikes a fear that is too deep,

my subjects fear me and that is the fruit which Time will reap.

People heed my advice so my ashes may rest,

Power is a desire and all desire is a false crest,

What rises to a storm settles like dust,

an Emperor is a victim of his own lust.

Glory rests in the arms of the noble,

not with plunderers who greedily ogle.

People who let ego nourish in their grith,

see themselves end as an untold, silent myth.

Take time and do what you must,

keep every promise that builds upon trust.

All conquest is vain,

it is the curse of those who have been slain.

People heed my advice so my ashes may rest,

Power is the allurement but Glory is the test.

Power succumbs while Glory evades,

harboring only those who stand tall in its scorching shade.

ESPRIT

Heard of the words eternal, unconquerable, infinite, unbounded?

I sometimes wonder from where Man would have got the idea for such words.

Probably from the thought there was something in this universe beyond his capacity? Something he couldnt hope to understand? Perhaps it was his excuse to satisfy himself of the way he dealt with the unknown phenomenon of the world:

"It is infinite." Simple and that is the end of it, no further explanation is required.

How exactly would that word have come into existence? I feel after numerous attempts and failures Man must have reconciled with his limitations and attached a label of inifnity with them. Though, we fail the actual purpose of this post if we conclude thus.

It is not his compromise with limitations but his zeal for knowledge which is the point. He knows there is something existing which he cannot understand still he accounts for it in his calculations hoping that someday his theories and efforts would bestow upon him an elucidation of the enigmatic universe. It is this relentless quest of his that impresses me the most. Now, Man is a composite creation; an assortment of the vagaries of nature. Which element of this composite creation is it that gives the creation this unrelenting zeal for conquering and modelling out everything?

The answer probably lies in the lines below:

I touched fear by glancing at shadows,

and quelled it by staring at them,

learnt to flounder by questioning what I know,

but let knowledge raze flounders before they could blend.

I smelt blood when I fell down,

but ego wiped that reek out,

I felt the pain surge inside,

but pretence calmly swallowed it down.

I felt hurt when someone close would let go,

expressing it needed more words than I know.

So, damn the heart I say,

move ahead and let the mind grow.

Mind is the key to all locks the future holds,

so just move along and let it grow.

I cry no tear,

I know no fear,

I feel no pain,

I hear no name,

I see the world,

and ride upon flames.

Death may touch me,

but I cannot be captured,

I am you and I am me,

I am the freedom and I am the creed,

I surge and soar high above the seas.

No religion can cage me,

no sage can bind me,

only I, myself can find me.

Life is an eternal quest,

I myself am beyond conquest.

I am the celebration and the fight,

I am the creation and the light.

I am that immortal grit,

I am the Esprit.

The word 'Esprit' refers to the spiritual intellingence or liveliness of a human being. This is what in my opinion is responsible for the world as we see it. The world today is a consequence of numerous zealous endeavours which resulted in inventions and discoveries. All zeal is a consequence to this Esprit.

So here is cheers to the spiritual triumph of the Human Spirit for giving us all we have.

Thanks.

Not the same Underwear..

Not the same underwear?
Not the same underwear!
Not the same underwear.

One sentence with three different interpretations; a language surely is awry and beautiful. Moving on to the topic; not the same underwear is the first thought which occurred to me when I thought that man just cannot sustain. (Yes, you can blame me for thinking dirty.)

But proceeding with the thought:


The greatest blessing given by God to Man is that he cannot sustain. He cannot survive by being the same. My recollections of childhood (whatever is left of it) has certainly made me think about this. If man were to only sustain then he could not have been intelligent enough to evolve, but he has evolved. Sustaining is not about growth but about stopping at a point and endeavouring to remain in there.

Now Evolution; I think of one phrase whenever I see the word evolution:

"Evolution is permanent while those evolving are temporary."

What a catch! But what has evolution come to mean in our terms today; is it simply innovation and improvement with passing time or is it something more? Is evolution dependent upon something more obscure and profound?

The answer is probably 'Yes'. There is an obscurity about evolution which makes it what it is; improperly appreciated. The general tag associated with evolution is the 'It happens!' tag which deprives it of its true interpretation. Evolution never 'happens'; it is instigated, brought up, groomed and sustained by factors which are invisible to those who give it the 'It happens' tag.

In my opinion the most important factor in a process of evolution is 'Memory'. All of us enjoy our repective routines without feeling the need to appreciate the fact that we have a memory and can improve it. Can we even imagine a world where no man has a memory, the current situation would be reversed then; the problems would become solutions and solutions would become the problems.

On a serious note, without a memory the world would be nonexistent. There would not be any evolution because Man would not remember past experiences. There would not be no science or art for that matter, as all sciences require man to think while all arts demand that man be imginative. Both, thinking and imagination are virtues purely atrributed to memory. If one can't remember things then it is hard to expect someone to think or imagine. Imagine a situation, where every sunset would seem to be happening for the first time; every raindrop falling for the first time and every flower budding for the first time. Concepts like beauty and serenity would cease to bear any significance; in fact there would be a graver problem.

The problem of language; expression is a must for evolution, people unable to express themselves cannot evolve. It is the path to education, which is the road to an awakeing that is the first step towards freedom. Therefore, 'Memory' is the most generous blessing of God for his believers or an extremely pleasant coincidence for the atheists (they would never have been able to express the fact that they don't believe in the existence of God had it not been for their language, how frustrating for them! Morover, without a memory, they wouldnt remember that they are atheists, who or what is God and what they are supposed to do with Him).
So the primary factor for evolution is 'memory'. It is the de facto mechanism; it doesnt require our stamp of approval. It is a mechanism which simply works without fail, like our morning newspaper delivery system.

Memory is just something that instigates 'Evolution'; there are other things which bring it up and groom it; like thought and imagination. Though they are the consequences of memory but their contribution is not belittled by saying that. A point in the case is the 'Hen and Egg problem';it doesn't matter which came first, the egg or the hen, but both of them form equally significant links in the chain of sustenance. Other factors which sustain is the 'need' or in modern terms 'desires' (I was tempted to cast 'needs' and 'desires' as two separate factors but in these times Man is in a real confusion over segregating his needs and his desires; he has taken them to be one and the same thing which has made him materialistic in nature and forget the real essence of his existence). I have counted these factors in the same frame; they are quite related to each other (almost akin to a family). It our need that drives us towards supposedly improving everything around us (supposedly becasue we are not into creating but into consuming everything. Everything that we build doesnt give anything to the system; it only consumes energy and generates unbalance). It is 'need' which drove Newton to explore the nature of gravity upon seeing the Apple fall from a tree. 'Need' is often cast in a different garment called 'curiosity' or 'inquisitiveness' but they are a consequence of thought (as long as one doesn't think one cannot be inquisitive or curious)hence they have been clubbed with the 'thinking' factor which grooms evolution.

Coming back, we counted the major factors but what is the point? The point is there is 'change'; there is evolution which is the positive change and there is destruction which is the negative change. The universe is constantly changing, turning, moving, expanding and contracting. Its like changing clothes, no one can wear the same set forever; a change is needed. The Hen and Egg question (which one first came into existence) is that whether change is the father of memory or memory is the father of change.

Let me elaborate my point; change is a relativistic measure of the situation and conditions surrounding the observer. Now if we dont remember what our previous set of surroundings or situation was then how can we believe that there has been a change. So the siginifcance of memory in the assessment of change is indispensible. Coming to the other side, if there is no change then we cannot remember anything, because memorization is always referenced; the reference will always be the same if there is no change, hence no memorization can be done.
Its the Hen and Egg problem, which is one of the unsolved puzzles of nature. My point is not in creating a puzzle (there are already millions of them around) but in making people think before they start out cursing the change in their lives.

Change is constant and important.


The statement is correct but incomplete; it needs a bit more precision.



Change is constant, important, ceaseless and ubiquitous.


This I feel increases the applicability of the statement. The point in writing all this was just to make us stop and think before we curse the change that comes our way; to make us realize the importance of its presence and the monotonicity associated with its absence. Change is always there with everybody and everywhere and it is only upto us to sculpt the change into either an evolution or destruction.

Not the same underwear!

Remember the following sentence once whenever you slip into a new one.

Change is constant, important, ceaseless and ubiquitous.


Hope the article is able to 'change' somethings atleast (in a positive way).

Thanks.

The Devastating Brilliance of Man

I know the title is a bit catchy (and that is why I chose it). Anyway here goes, hope the readers get something meaningful out of this article which took about a month for compiling. Also, in my opinion it is satiricaly oriented but I simply couldn't help writing; I certainly had some questions if not their answers.

[
The will of women has been misconceived by man since time immemorial. By saying 'misconceived' we probably choose the wrong word; let me rephrase 'the will of Women has been 'languished' by Man forever. Women are born with a set of chores and expected to die with same set, and it is only up to their more sublimated and superior counterpart to extend the dynamism of life beyond the usual bounds.


The article may seem to develop along the lines of some Women's Liberation Movement but, I am not letting people get off so easily. This article is not about women but about Man and his so called Dynamism (Women are a subject which I accept, with considerable remorse though, is beyond my current intellectual ability) . The word 'Dynamism' means something which is possessed with an enormous amount of energy; kindly note this for I would be reverting back to it as we proceed.


Now getting to the main point; Why is the brilliance of Man devastating?




Taking the bull by the horns; compare ourselves to our counter-beings (that would be animals). What difference do you see?

The primary difference between animals and Man is the ability to think or in simple words, the degree of development of the mind. The thought process associated with the mind of a Man is so advanced that no animal can match or even hope to match it; but each rose had many thorns, as will soon be evident.


The presence of mind of Man has empowered him with a choice to think but in case of animals it is not so; both their degree and direction of thinking is limited. The power of thinking has enabled Man to doctor his surroundings to facilitate a change without changing himself; an animal on the other hand is incapable of doing so. 'Facilitate' doesn't imply the corresponding meaning correctly, the exact word is 'Counter'. Man gave this ability the fascinating name 'Technology' which evolved without any control and restriction. This change in surroundings is chiefly responsible for the current fiasco at our hands. Though the mind can affect a change in the environment but it is yet to develop to a stage where it can control the environment; this has unleashed an era of chaos where Man is unsure of which step to take and in what direction.

What is it about Man which has sealed his fate to an extent that he now finds it difficult to sustain? It is not that Man has thought too much, evolved too much and raced ahead. On the contrary it seems he has thought less, evolved more and raced far ahead. It is my personal opinion that Man has overshot the juncture of his refurbishment; the place where he was to pause, conceive and redecorate himself. He is past that point and now it would be unjust to expect him to come back and undo all his doings. But why refurbishment for Man? Isn't he the leader?

"Wherever he goes all others just follow"

It is just this perception of Man which is responsible for the au courant frenzy prevailing in the world. He has perceived himself to be past improvement and in his misconception created an artificial world which is now beginning to get the better of him. The motto 'Strive for Perfection' is a real killer; perfection is an idealist state which if attained would complicate things to the limits of intricacy. The problem is not in striving to be perfect, but in Man's voiding the fact that he is still not perfect. The fact that he is not perfect is an un-debatable piece of hard meat for him; in fact it is indigestable for him.

Every Man thinks he is the best; so whenever he meets a stranger he tries to force this fact home. It might not have been a problem if one man thought that he was the best, the problem arose when every Man started thinking the same. This nonacceptance took the shape of ego and has been at the root of some of the greatest human disasters in history.

Answer a simple question "If you were the most powerful man on Earth what would you do?" Do not think of it in terms of imposing your will upon others and thus fulfilling all your wishes, that will automatically follow once you possess power. It is imperative to find an answer to this question and unfortunately most of us fail to do so. It seems attractive, secure and all at first but thats just a part of the case; the real question is what does power have that is so attractive to people? The lust for power is not uncommon among men but an answer to this simple question is what is the most uncommon thing amongst them.

This lust for power is, in my opinion, a consequence of religion. Let us rephrase that. The lust for power is a result of people's habit of submission to a superior power i.e. God. It is this submission which sets the tongues wagging of those who are desirous of power. Everybody wants to be God and have that feeling of being incomparably superior; feel like God. It is an amusing yet obscure thought that Man's lust for power is a consequence of his own submission to God. I earlier spoke about the Dynamism of Man; it seems all his dynamism is extinguished when it comes to adjudging matters of supremacy; each wants to dominate the other. All problems are the result of this will for domination. The argument might seem flawed but the following illustration will make the proceedings a bit lucid.

Some of us who are reading this article would say "What crap.. I know better than that." This is the will of domination which I am referring to; we simply refuse to accept each other's viewpoints at the first instance. Our sphere of thought has some boundaries and once the argument exceeds these limits it becomes flawed, from our perspective.

The observation about women's will being languished was not a point in favor of Women's Liberation but a taunt on the unwillingness of Man to preclude the existence of change as a whole. The world is changing, and with it everything; but Man is still caught in his falsified concept of domination and supremacy. His overmastering desire for things like power, money, fame have led him to a precipice and if he doesn't take note, he is sure to fall off. It is a matter of the utmost urgency that Man modifies himself.

He (Man) can be seen slowly getting cornered, as all his options one after the other are gradually vanishing. The sources of energy, light, food, water and many other element of the support system of life are the 'options' that are being referred to. It wouldn't be a surprise if he finds himself in the desperate situation of a dog cornered by another pack of dogs in alien territory.

So what is the solution and what is the purpose of writing all this? The solution is so simple that Man has missed it altogether and been carried away by his mind. He is blinded by his lust for the Yin, i.e. the materialistic things to such an extent that he has forgotten the Yang, i.e. things which do not bear a materialistic form. Now, the balance between the Yin the Yang has been disturbed.

(The terms Yin and Yang are from Chinese Philosophy, which visualizes Qi, i.e. all the vital energy of the universe as Immaterial i.e. Yang and Blood as its Materialistic Counterpart i.e. Yin. It is this essential balance of Yin and Yang which is the basis for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and therapies like Acupuncture.)

Animals, supposedly the inferior beings, have found the solution and are already practicing it; they know that Nature is not something to be toyed with.

The purpose of writing all this is that we (at least those who have read this far) will give change at least a try rather than precluding it. Make yourself a part of nature rather than making nature a part of yourself, change the attitude towards social and global issues (like global warming), be concerned about what we as a generation will have to offer to the subsequent ones; there are numerous ways in which we need to change.

If man doesn't find ways of changing himself and thus avoiding a change in his environment, he is shoving himself into a black-hole, from which even light is unable to escape, let alone a Man!]

Hope this piece of writing is able to initiate a positive change amongst the readers.

Thanks.

The Chalice of Life.

Most of us lead our lives as it comes by, nothing to do with the why and what of things; things that keep falling like cobblestones on the path of life. Ever since I was mature enough to ponder about simple things, I realized that some of the most decisive moments of our life pass by unnoticed, mingled with a stratum that lay beneath the usual layer of life(which stands for the eat, drink and be merry and the Shahrukh Khan Happy go Lucky attitude types). Whatever happened has happened because of some reason; it’s not just like that. Every tear that has kissed the cheek and every smile that has graced the lips has a reason.

Here I would like to say that

“All dishes are served equally; none favorably and none unduly.”

There is no one who has got more than his share of happiness, or more than his share of tears. Consequently, everything happening around us is or at least can be attributed to reason.

So, as Mr. Sherlock Holmes used to say:

“Watson, the point is a simple one.”

Think about where you are going, what you are doing, which path you are taking and most importantly why you are taking it. Reasoning is a powerful means of analyzing and evaluating our status in the voyage of life, so I suggest we use it as much as we can. The habit of reasoning is immensely useful in making decisions in our lives but, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, it is not the final achievement. There comes a point in life of every man or woman, where all the reasoning fails; the reasons seem nothing more than footsteps to the final pedestal. We must not forget though, that we need these steps to reach the final pedestal.

The ultimate thought that might tingle or incite you is called the Chalice of Life. It is an afterthought to every thought that the mind is capable of thinking; it comes at a point when the mind has lost its power of reason and has surrendered in favor of divinity. It is what you have earned in your life.

The Chalice is a continuum of oneness which cannot be differentiated with the tools which have been developed using intellect alone; it goes beyond our current methods and understanding.

This passage from the Upanishads (one of my favorite ones because of its all encompassing meaning) amply illustrates this point:

"There the eye goes not,
Speech goes not, nor the mind.
We know not, we understand not
How one would teach it."

The Upanishads tell that a true experience of reality transcends all intellect, thinking or sensory perception:

"What is soundless, touchless, formless, imperishable,
Likewise tasteless, constant, odorless,
Without beginning, without end, higher than the great,
stable--
By discerning That, one is liberated from the mouth of death."


Also about the continuum of oneness:

“Where there is duality, only there one can see another; only there one can smell another; only there one can taste another.. But where everything has become just the self, then whereby and whom can one see?”

It is this experience of Oneness that is the Chalice of Life.

In the following lines I have thought of some questions that have been bothering me for quite some time. Some have answers I know of, some have answers that I am unaware of and some are unanswerable. I have made an attempt to drive home the point that reason is our torchlight while walking through the unevenly lit chambers of life. The Chalice of Life however, remains something which is unexpressable and unimaginable; it can only be attained and felt, not given or expressed.

Hope all these lines written by me make for some good reading:


What is spirit and what is thought?
Is life a cellar or is it a loft?
Thought is a consequence, Life is the question,
and spirit is the answer.

What is dull and what is bright?
What is day and what is night?
It may be dark, it maybe daylight,
but its only what you see through your eyes.

What is loss and what is gain?
What is pleasure and what is pain?
Pleasure is the loss and pain is the gain.
But time preaches that ‘All is the same’.

What is conquered and what is lost?
What is costly and what is not?
Conquered is whatever is not lost,
Costly is little more than you have got.

What is sin and what is sacred?
Is it love or is it hatred?
Sin is whatever circumvents belief,
Love and hatred are names for relief.

What is hurt and what is a tear?
What is far and what is near?
Hurt is what induces a tear,
Far is what once was near.

So many questions and so less answers,
Life is the stage and we are the dancers.
Questions will remain only the answers will change.
The past is lost; the present is gone, only the future remains.
Reason is not the finale; thought is not the verge,
Death is only the edge,
Realization is the suffix,
Then what is the crux?
The answer is the Chalice,
And the universe is the palace.

It is beyond what all words can speak,
And afar from whatever the eyes can see.
It is something beneath the depths of oceans and seas,
Unknown, unconquered and mysterious it will be,
Forever, like our own distant dreams.



Thanks.