Square One - Coldplay

A great song. A curtained room in a sunny afternoon, you lying on the bed, the speakers blaring the song... Terrific... But then that is not what I intend to discuss...


Has been long since I wrote something. And I could not even find time to comment on your views on my last topic. It was interesting reading the entire list of comments one after the other. Seemed like we really were discussing something there... :)




There was something about Fb's last comment that reminded me of a discussion I once had with ... someone ... in the past that so very continuously betrays us and slips out of our mind. The topic of the discussion was a relatively simpler one. And I believe I have had a shorter version of the same discussion with Aggie.


The discussion started off with trifle school curriculum discussions and went on to the question that does "scientific development" really lead us anywhere? An absurd thought. But the more I think about it, the more I am sure that we are still where we started. Perhaps we never moved. Perhaps we are not even supposed to.
You could argue (as did my partner in discussion at the time) that in the past 'n' number of years the human life expectancy has gone up by an average of 20 years or so. We now live a longer life. True. But I say we live an unfortunate life. One that is continuously plagued my the fear of infection, disease, a social insecurity and a lot many more unwanted burdens. Result: we hardly "live" that long life. (I for sure am not very certain where the last few years of my life went!!)
Then you could say we are looking deeper into the atom every passing decade. Well, I say it would not have hurt us so if we had let an atom remain as indivisible as its name suggested. But then we owe electricity, computers and who could forget, mobile phones to this technology. Don't we?
Do we? I find the constant beeping and ringing of mobile phones a pain that has to borne with. I find more solace in playing football in a field than driving cars that I could never own on my desktop.


It is individual perception perhaps, but somewhere I do feel that we all could have lived as much a life roaming around naked, hunting for our food, not worrying about the deadly diseases and politics of the world, dying at an age of 40 ignorant about electrons shooting around in metal. But then I do not see myself doing it. Unfortunate as it seems, this life is as good as that.


And what has brought us to all this? The so very hailed human "thirst" for knowledge. Thirst.. Greed... it goes back to playing with the words. So what do we do about it, dear mortals?


Maybe the following will appeal to the saner humour that you possess somewhere in the back of your heads...


Calvin: "I'm a simple man, Hobbes."
Hobbes: "You?? Yesterday you wanted a nuclear powered car that could turn into a jet with laser-guided heat-seeking missiles!"
Calvin: "I'm a simple man with complex tastes."


Adolf Hitler, in his autobiography (an excellent but twisted piece of thought provoking literature) states something that I have always thought to be true:

Man must not fall into the error of thinking that he was ever meant to become lord and master of Nature. A lopsided education has helped to encourage that illusion. Man must realise that a fundamental law of necessity reigns throughout the whole realm of Nature and that his existence is subject to the law of eternal struggle and strife. (...) Man must also submit to the eternal principles of this supreme wisdom. He may try to understand them but he can never free himself from their sway.
(...)
Here as in elsewhere, one may defy Nature for a certain period of time; but sooner or later she will take her inexorable revenge. And when man realises the truth it is often too late.

Aham Brahmosmi ?

There seem to be few times that we pause to think of why we do what we do. Of course in the few moments of insight that we have every now and then, we seem to ponder on the purpose of it all (discussed in short in "Of Birth and Death and the Screw Up in Between"). But the moment passes and we go on about our mundane tasks. Living on the way we always have. Without any real concern as to where it might all lead us. But then is there a reason behind our actions?
If you think real hard, there is one basic principle driving each and every action that you take. A very simple reason too. The reason is the ever selfish nature of man. The few times that I have discussed the topic with a few friends of mine, I have received a very common reaction to he word 'selfish'. For the sake of completeness, let us define the word here although I am quite sure that all of us are well aware of the meaning. Looked up in http://dictionary.reference.com/ the word is defined as:

self·ish /ˈsɛlfɪʃ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronuncia[sel-fish]
–adjective

1.	devoted to or caring only for oneself; concerned primarily with one's own interests, benefits, welfare, etc., regardless of others.

2.	characterized by or manifesting concern or care only for oneself: selfish motives.

Custom has made us associate the word with a negative aspect of character. I beg of you to shun the custom for a few minutes and look at the word objectively. All it says is that selfishness means putting one's interests first. I would like to restate the reason of action:

The reason that we do anything is because of our selfish nature to remain happy.

It would be terribly hard to nail the fact in a customary way. A better option would be to look at the possible counter arguments.
The very first of them would be that not all our deeds are selfish. All of us occasionally lend a kind helping hand to the needy. But then my friend, it is just because the kind deed that you do makes you happy. Gives you a sense of self satisfaction. I could go around ignoring all the needy in the world but then i would suffer from a nagging conscience. The reason I give money to charity, the reason I work in NGO's, the reason I support PeTA, the reason I advocate vegetarianism, the reason for all I do is because I want to be satisfied that I did something "good". The reason is my satisfaction. MY. Selfish.
Selfish reasons were why taggy commented that my blogs were pseudo intellectual crap. Selfish reasons are why I am replying [:)] asking what determines intellect anyway?
Another very common example that I have faced of un-selfish gestures is that of a mother giving birth to a child. Rubbish I say. The reason that the mother is bringing the child to life is because she wants to be a mother. Or because she wishes to oblige the person who wants to be a father, or a grand-mom, or a grand-dad. In any case, I doubt she is doing it just because a non-existent foetus with non-existent feelings and wants, wishes to be born. All is done for selfish reasons. Even if I jump in front of a bus to save someone, and possibly lose my life in the process, I would do so because just before I make the leap, my mind would bear the fact that this act would be something that would keep me satisfied, would keep me happy.

Its all me. Starts with me, ends at me. So? What is the point of realising that homo-sapien is a selfish species? Probably none. But you could shun the hypocrisy and and lead a straighter life. One where you do everything to please yourself, without setting the false pretense of doing it for the sake of others. Without inhibitions of the views of the society. But then again, maybe it is the hypocrisy that keeps you happy. After all is not selfish happiness all that we are aiming for?
I would welcome any instance that any of you can think of that is un-selfish in your views. But pray do think hard as to what it is being done for. You will find out yourself that it is your own happiness that makes you do it. Nothing else.

Excerpts: Conversations with a Princess

The following are from a conversation with a childhood mate. Long lost, came in contact of recent, or rather she happened to find me of recent (I am really pathetic in the regard). For the sake of this post, we shall lovingly call her Princess. The following lines are all Princess' mind after she read my last post "Of Birth and Death and the Screw Up in Between"
My views wont follow. Its your homework exercise to think about the wonderfully brilliant questions that Princess has put forth. That being probably the only reason that I am sharing the conversation with you.

...

Princess: ...

well there are lots of questions tht arise inour mind i ask them to my closest resort...my parents

dont find there answers convincing enough at times but still respect them

then i move on to books....other ppl-monks, fathers,nuns

well they too fail to provide certain answers we look for....but lot of wht they say also makes sense

u r right again abt the fact tht we cant be unbiased....it is just too hard

though life seems meaningless lots of times(especially now.....when we look forward to alien but exciting path to the future)

now i have just given up thinking to much abt tht

wud be wrong to say tht i have completely given up....but then i am trying to believe tht this is just another

phase

in the end i knw we will all live the way our forefathers have been living

raising a family,being responsible towards a society n all of tht

it is only now tht our independence allows us to think the way we want to

years frm now we wud all turn the same or maybe a lil different as we are today

all mortals do so

->|kagE|<-: hmmm

Princess: though discussing abt this is oh so endless n with no boundries at all

n hence making it intriguing.....but over the ages the human race have continued asking the same question

over n over again

reaching to no particular conclusion whatsoever

at times i really wonder tht our so called power of rationality in thinking

actually makes us any different than other living beings on this planet

we still continue living for ourselves

just as all the other species do

try and make lives simpler for ourselves

our next generation

isnt tht exactly wht other living creatures do

in what way do we think human life is superior...i wonder

->|kagE|<-: hmmm.

.
.
.
->|kagE|<-: so what do you wan to discuss in particular?

Princess: i dont know actually...we never really

come to a conclusion anyways

->|kagE|<-: hmmm

Princess: but then at times you have these questions in mind

no answers at all

->|kagE|<-: let me ask you

Princess: frm anywhere

->|kagE|<-: is a conclusion necessary?

Princess: go ahead

i dont really know

if we know tht there is no end to it

why go on the path at all

->|kagE|<-: hmmmm

if you know where the path leads to

is it worth pursuing it?

Princess:but then i do agree tht the path also teaches you a lot more in bits n pieces

->|kagE|<-: is the path more important... or the unknown destination... or the hope that there exists a destination

??

Princess: dont we always feel secure abt the knwn then the unknwn

i have a feeling the hope

when u trek kms in the mountains....roads never knwn to u before

it is the hope of the destination tht drives you

the path teaches you a lot believe me

at times it even pulls u nack frm going on

u r just mesmerized by its sheer beauty

but the hope of the destination makes you move on

->|kagE|<-: ...

knowlege guarentees safety in the physical world out there

i dont deny that

only a few adventurous soul like to flirt with the danger in the unknown

but in thoughts... in your brain where you decide, where you are supreme... where is thge danger of unknown??

think about it

...

Princess: we all are adventurous at a certain point.....living by the sheer sponteinity of life.to be frank i still do

it

it is tht energy i derive frm unpredictibility tht keeps me going now

but then i also knw deep down tht this sheer unpredictibility isnt going to last very long

as lucrative as it may sound..."jo hoga dekha jayega"has always been in thtip of my tongue

but then how long?it is foolish to think tht we can de outcastes of the society

we are all going to live our life of responsibilities as we always have been

like every mortal does

to be truthful i am an antagonist

but maybe i'll turn into a believer soon

when u believe u just stop asking questions

on the other hand i may start believing becuz i have stopped recieving answers to my questions

each answer i recieve ends up sprouting another question

nothing ever keeps us completely satisfied....it is only human

and hence we pretend tht we are

it is very easy to give everything up to someone else

problems,sorrows,happiness

all the mysteries of life.....everything tht we wonder abt is laid down in front of wht we believe in

it usually fails to answer most questions....

thts when we approach the never ending vast ocean of life

where the questions still rise in form of waves or storms but they all die down

n we still go on living life

trying to find a purpose in everything we do

slowly we resort to goals

...achieveale ones

like trying to reach a shore

give our best to achieving it

tht drives us

gives us tht energy

thts why we keep living on

i wud like to quote a dialogue frm one of my favourite movies"....get busy living or get busy dying"

we all need a purpose to live

our goals provide the purpose

you accomplish them you move on to form newer goals

the day you think you are done achieving them

you rather dead than alive

at this point of our life we often think do we have a goal at all

trust me all it takes is a lil soul searching n we all find it

at least something tht provides just a wee bit meaning to our life

once we get hold of it....there is no looking back

we just continue moving on

i refrain frm believing in life after death or what lies beyond.....live the moment with the greatest zeal,energy and power as if tomorrow may never come

tomorrow is again a new day.....fresh

full of energy and vibe

The end...

Of Birth and Death and the Screw Up in Between

Hmmmm. Of recent I received a mail (electronic of-course) from an old friend (read on, the required quotes are provided, if you are intelligent enough to understand where). Another one of those few things that engage my brain in a series of thoughts. A day later, I decide to write this as both, my blog as well as a response to Shivank's views on "Purpose of Life".
That my friends is another classic question. Talked about oh so often and still in ways without any conclusion. The reason is simple enough. There is no conclusion.


What particularly troubled Shivank enough to actually start this process of thoughts was :
"I feel like I am unbiased all the time.... I don't think from a definite point of view.... which .... I hate in a sort of way.... I want to be biased to a certain side... but I just cant do it.... "
Unbiased thoughts. I have managed to meet very few persons who could be totally objective. I myself am objective. But never totally. I take sides. I always cheer the underdogs. Still I think objectively. Perhaps because I make myself do so. My friend is troubled over being totally objective. I wish to be totally unbiased.
.
.
.
Aren't we both biased? Shivank, you are biased towards the side of being biased. I am biased to being not biased. Weird? I suppose not. Because we are all biased. To one side or the other. The weak, the strong, the pretty ones, the not so pretty ones, the males, the females, the socialists, the communists, the capitalists, the democracy, the anarchy, The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, music, thrash, rock n' roll, blues, jazz, techno, blacks, whites, Bush, Osama, reservations, Congress, BJP, Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra, homosexuality, religion, God, Nature, the ones who think, the ones who don't and the ones in between... You are all biased dear mortals. Biased towards life itself.
The reason we appear to be unbiased at times is because we are biased towards a greater, more abstract topic. If you can't watch a game of football without cheering a side, you probably hold the game much higher than the competing teams. You don't feel bad about one losing is probably because you feel equally good about one having won. The game mattered more. If that did not make sense, it's probably because you are not Shivank [:P]


Moving on to another interesting topic that Shivank touched, after a brief mention of glasses being half empty or full, which actually made no sense to me, was the question of 'death':
"I was always intrigued by death.... and the reason of birth... when it all has to end anyways...."
Well, if you look at it 'objectively' now, birth is the simple process of copulation, followed by gestation, ending in the production of a new life form. Death is the simple end, or consumption of that life form. Leather, rubber, fabric, adhesive, metal put together in a factory leads to the production of shoes. Wearing them, using them, consuming them, eventually leads to the death of those shoes. Am I twisted in the head?
Let me ask you. Why is human birth and death the only talked about or thought about subject? Fine, for all you PeTA people out there, why is the death and birth of animals the only talked about subject? Ah... I forget. The theists, I rephrase, although you have got my point... Why is human and animal deaths and births the only popular topics in the regard?
The Greeks and Romans talked of human death. Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor, a stoic to certain extent, and the author of the must read "Meditations" writes in the same book :

...The body and its parts are a river, the soul is a dream and mist, life is warfare and a journey far from home, lasting reputation is oblivion...

I find his description of life as a constantly consumed substance more to my liking than other 'divine' descriptions. Why are we alive at all if it has to end? Think objectively again and you have the answer.
And what do we do throughout this pointless life, that shouldn't exist in the first place: whatever keeps you happy and alive dear, whatever (a point that will be further explored in a later post).


"I might think a bit more than them.... not necessarily in the right direction....."
There is no 'right direction' to thought. There is conventional, there's unconventional. That is all there is to it.


What I think of you, Shivank, is ... I choose to be biased to being unbiased about your philosophical ventures. Though I seriously doubt the 'state' in which you philosophised. And yes, you surprised me [:)]


That was all that was to his letter, although an equally interesting response followed by his 'Mamashri'. I'll save that for some time later. It deals with karma, which I think would complement another topic I had in mind.
I end this topic with another Marcus Aurelius, bear with the lengthy beauty of it:

Hippocrates cured many illness - and then fell ill and died. The Chaldaeans predicted the death of many others; in due course their own hour arrived. Alexander, Pompey, Caesar - who utterly destroyed so many cities, cut down so many thousand foot and horse in battle - they too departed this life. Heraclitus often told us the world would end in fire. But it was moisture that carried him off; he died smeared with cowshit. Democritus was killed by ordinary vermin, Socrates by the human kind.
And?
You boarded, you set sail, you've made the passage. Time to disembark. If it's for another life, well, there's nowhere without gods on that side either. If to nothingness, then you no longer have to put up with pain and pleasure, or go on dancing attendance on this battered crate, your body - so inferior to that which serves it.
One is mind and spirit, the other earth and garbage.

From Hamlet 3/1

Here I comment on a post by a friend of mine. Devashish. Having read this post by him is not a pre-requisite, but it will definitely help you to understand this post better. Find it at http://dev-s8n.blogspot.com/ titled "Stay low..."


What really got me thinking in this post was the pure abstract nature of it. On the face of it, it might look as a simple question asking "Do I talk to my girl or not?" Look deeper. It is the classic question that Shakespeare put forth in Hamlet :


To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;


Think it about it. Ah... That was too quick. Once more. Deeply ponder on its meaning. What Shakespeare (perhaps) meant was whether it is better to live or die. I expand the question. Is it better to do? Devashish states "For the ones who don't give a fuck what others think about them, life's just too smooth." Is passivity a better approach to life?


? That is the question indeed.
I am a passive being. I am the one who doesn't "give a fuck what others think about them". But is my life "just too smooth"? I wonder.
Haven't we all wondered and cribbed about how outrageously unfair this world is to us (possibly during a daru-party!)? And did we all not sulk the very next day (probable hangovers?)? Or were we even aware of that unjust world? Did we prance about in the gay meadows with our mates, loving the sight of the morning sun, appreciating the beautiful flowers, the towering trees? Or was it that we were sulking in the depressing weather, the suffocating pressure of performing, the rash pace at which the world moved?


What was the point of that para? Exactly. We did none of it. We lived our lives the way we lived it the day before, and the day before that, and the one before that. We crib, we cry, we abuse, but we go on living the same way that we did. That is called passivity in life. Life in itself is passive. The only reason you survive life is that it's passive. The minute it changes in an overwhelming fashion, be it "good" or "bad", you are unable to handle it. That is when you quit living.
But you on the other hand my friend, are dynamic. You couldn't survive being passive. Its a pain to go on living without having something new to do, or look forward to. Unbearably painful.

Now getting back to the question of "Is passivity a better approach to life?". I would say it really doesn't matter. No matter whether you choose to be passive or active, you are striving to be a dynamic person. And you end up with a passive life in all. Crib all you want, cry all you might like. You end up in the same position as I do. I will live through as any phases of joy and sorrow as will you, as will Osama, as will Bill Gates, even your hateful neighbour. So live through it my brothers and sisters, life's too short to think of it. Let the thinking be dumped on the shoulders of the unfortunates like me.

Here i would like to end with a joke that I came across in a movie - Annie Hall:


Two elderly women were sitting in a restaurant having food. One said: The food here tastes so bad! To which the other replied: I know! And in such small portions too!


Well that's exactly what life is like. Full of pains and unhappiness and over too soon...

Definition

• Uno: The idiotic address of the page was due to the lack of available addresses. A flustered mind hardly stops to think of sanity.

• Dos: The name of the blog is a reflection of my state of mind at probably all times. Also it happens to be a song that I like a lot. And for those who haven't heard the epic song by Zep ............................... I really pity your sorry existences.

• Tres: The use of Mexican in the indexing is for pure fokiaap. Don't bother to figure that out.

• Quadro: The blog will deal with heavy stuff. Philosophical in nature. Please refrain from reading if you don't understand. Music will also be discussed at times. So do your homework on certain artists that I like.