Jingle jingle little bell
How I wonder, what you tell
But when you ring, we all know
School is over, its time to go!
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Elements
By the wilful fire are you forged
That creates through destruction
Or by the fluid water are you composed
That conquers all by yeilding
Or by the subtle air are you pervaded
That conducts thoughts with lightening speed
Or by the solid earth are you built
That is stable and long endured
That creates through destruction
Or by the fluid water are you composed
That conquers all by yeilding
Or by the subtle air are you pervaded
That conducts thoughts with lightening speed
Or by the solid earth are you built
That is stable and long endured
Escape from Reality
How can the dreamer escape from reality
If there is no reality to escape from
How can he spin creative yarns to weave joyful fantasies,
Without the loom of crushed hopes & thread of painful experiences
How sweet are the flights of imagination
Out from the mire of bitter sorrow
How inspiring is that world forged of wilful fire
Bringing warmth to a better tomorrow
If there is no reality to escape from
How can he spin creative yarns to weave joyful fantasies,
Without the loom of crushed hopes & thread of painful experiences
How sweet are the flights of imagination
Out from the mire of bitter sorrow
How inspiring is that world forged of wilful fire
Bringing warmth to a better tomorrow
Monday, September 26, 2011
Black Crow
Ka Ka black crow, Ange paar adho!
Yes sir, yes sir - three black crow
One will eat my cake,
One will eat my toast,
One will get shooed away
If it comes too close.
Yes sir, yes sir - three black crow
One will eat my cake,
One will eat my toast,
One will get shooed away
If it comes too close.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Universe has consciousness
Consciousness is different from matter & energy. It cannot be analyzed in terms of matter or energy. We are made up of matter, energy & consciousness. We can only be made up of what is there in the Universe. Nothing that is part of us can come about from nothing. So if we are made up of matter & energy which is from the Universe, even our consciousness would have come from the Universe i.e. Universe must have consciousness.
Knowing
Man (the subject) tries to know everything around him (the objects). But what is "knowing"? "Knowing" something could mean the following things
- what are the properties that distinguish that object, that make it a separate "object" worth study. For e.g. once you have studied and listed down properties of an animal say "deer", then there is no point studying other deers, in so far as to "know" the "deerness" part of them.
- "knowing" the properties helps one understand/know how that object would behave under different scenarios.
- it also helps to "know" where this object came from and where it is headed towards, as also why, how & when it came into being i.e. in case of an animal - its evolutionary cycle.
- based on all this "knowing" helps to categorize - the human way of systematizing knowledge e.g. so deers are mammals, of the class of vertebrates and so on...
- the human endeavor to "know" any object is generally to benefit from that knowledge. So "knowing" as a corollary may also extend to finding ways of putting this knowledge to practical use.
- what are the properties that distinguish that object, that make it a separate "object" worth study. For e.g. once you have studied and listed down properties of an animal say "deer", then there is no point studying other deers, in so far as to "know" the "deerness" part of them.
- "knowing" the properties helps one understand/know how that object would behave under different scenarios.
- it also helps to "know" where this object came from and where it is headed towards, as also why, how & when it came into being i.e. in case of an animal - its evolutionary cycle.
- based on all this "knowing" helps to categorize - the human way of systematizing knowledge e.g. so deers are mammals, of the class of vertebrates and so on...
- the human endeavor to "know" any object is generally to benefit from that knowledge. So "knowing" as a corollary may also extend to finding ways of putting this knowledge to practical use.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Isha Upanishad - stanza 1
ॐ ईशा वास्यमिदँ सर्वं यत्किञ्च जगत्यां जगत् ।
तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम् ।। १ ।।
îsHâ vâsyamidaM sarvaM yat kiñca jagatyâM jagat,
tena tyaktena bhuñjîthâ mâ gRidhaH kasya sviddhanam. 1.
ishaa - God, the Lord
vaasyam - clothed, enveloped, pervaded, dwelling
idam - this
sarvam - all
yatkincha (yat kim cha)- whatsoever ?
jagatyaam - in this world, on earth
jagat - world, moving, movable, earth
tena tyaktena -renouncing this, it (tyaktena means detaching or renouncing)
bhunjitha - enjoy (also mentioned as "protect" in some translations)
ma - dont
gridha - covet (wish to possess)
kasya - whose
svid - indeed, i wonder, do you think
dhanam - wealth
By the Lord is enveloped all that moves in the moving world.
By renouncing this, find your enjoyment.
Do not covet the possessions of others.
(http://www.san.beck.org/Upan3-Isha.html)
तेन त्यक्तेन भुञ्जीथा मा गृधः कस्यस्विद्धनम् ।। १ ।।
îsHâ vâsyamidaM sarvaM yat kiñca jagatyâM jagat,
tena tyaktena bhuñjîthâ mâ gRidhaH kasya sviddhanam. 1.
ishaa - God, the Lord
vaasyam - clothed, enveloped, pervaded, dwelling
idam - this
sarvam - all
yatkincha (yat kim cha)- whatsoever ?
jagatyaam - in this world, on earth
jagat - world, moving, movable, earth
tena tyaktena -renouncing this, it (tyaktena means detaching or renouncing)
bhunjitha - enjoy (also mentioned as "protect" in some translations)
ma - dont
gridha - covet (wish to possess)
kasya - whose
svid - indeed, i wonder, do you think
dhanam - wealth
By the Lord is enveloped all that moves in the moving world.
By renouncing this, find your enjoyment.
Do not covet the possessions of others.
(http://www.san.beck.org/Upan3-Isha.html)
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Matter of the matter
This matter doesn't matter, because
What matters is beyond matter, but
It is what Matters in this matter, and
It is what made this matter
rest may seem to matter,
but it doesn't matter to those
who understand the Matter of this matter.
What matters is beyond matter, but
It is what Matters in this matter, and
It is what made this matter
rest may seem to matter,
but it doesn't matter to those
who understand the Matter of this matter.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
The Ultimate Secret
Nature is composed of Matter, Energy and Information as its three basic parameters.
The ancients of India had divined as much, a truth at which now modern philosophers and scientists have arrived at.
One thing is established - life is not just some amalgamation of matter and energy - information is also an essential component. Otherwise any energy producing natural phenomenon may be said to constitute life for example the erupting of volcanoes, or earthquakes or even the mere lapping of waves on the sea-shore. Critical distinguishing feature of life is the passing on of information down generations of any species, through a genetic code. Evolution happens through the mechanism of passing information - information is the medium, language is just a sophisticated form of expressing information that we humans or probably highly evolved animals have developed.
Information is the software of life, much like matter and energy form the hardware. Without this software and hardware life wouldn't exist as we know it. Yet I feel life, its origin, it raison-d-etre is beyond explanation of matter, energy and even information. Information didn't produce consciousness - I think consciousness, which is evident in humans (while not evident in other life forms) is evident because of information, but that is not because of which it exists.
What then is the secret of this life, this consciousness? The ancient Indians had expended a great deal of reflection and intuition on these questions. First the reflective human thought that this body composed of matter is life, then dissatisfied, he thought the vital essence "prana" is life (which correlates with energy). But this too was not satisfactory. Then he thought manas (i.e. consciousness is life - remember, consciousness is evident to us through the medium of information and please dont confuse information with just language) must be the essence of life, but that was not found to be satisfactory. Beyond the manas lies intelligence (buddhi) and beyond it lies atma, the subject, the knower of all. That atma, which is no different than the Brahman which pervades all existence is the secret of life.
Frequently we find we have to go out of a parameter to understand a parameter. A parameter cannot explain itself in its own terms. First matter appeared to be the truth, but when we went to the layer of energy, we realized that matter is not the truth, but just an expression of it and so we went back layer by layer. Now from materialistic point of view, we can understand till the information layer. Humans have learnt abstract thinking through their evolution and this helps in this metaconceptions. Hence we can concieve the existence of consciousness. Yet for most of us looking from materialistic point of view, there seems a big barrier to go beyond, to understand that beyond. This is because we ourselves are in the layer of information. Hence while we can see below it energy and then matter, we cannot see above. We have to ascend above information. How to do that - I have no answer - still searching for it.
The ancients of India had divined as much, a truth at which now modern philosophers and scientists have arrived at.
One thing is established - life is not just some amalgamation of matter and energy - information is also an essential component. Otherwise any energy producing natural phenomenon may be said to constitute life for example the erupting of volcanoes, or earthquakes or even the mere lapping of waves on the sea-shore. Critical distinguishing feature of life is the passing on of information down generations of any species, through a genetic code. Evolution happens through the mechanism of passing information - information is the medium, language is just a sophisticated form of expressing information that we humans or probably highly evolved animals have developed.
Information is the software of life, much like matter and energy form the hardware. Without this software and hardware life wouldn't exist as we know it. Yet I feel life, its origin, it raison-d-etre is beyond explanation of matter, energy and even information. Information didn't produce consciousness - I think consciousness, which is evident in humans (while not evident in other life forms) is evident because of information, but that is not because of which it exists.
What then is the secret of this life, this consciousness? The ancient Indians had expended a great deal of reflection and intuition on these questions. First the reflective human thought that this body composed of matter is life, then dissatisfied, he thought the vital essence "prana" is life (which correlates with energy). But this too was not satisfactory. Then he thought manas (i.e. consciousness is life - remember, consciousness is evident to us through the medium of information and please dont confuse information with just language) must be the essence of life, but that was not found to be satisfactory. Beyond the manas lies intelligence (buddhi) and beyond it lies atma, the subject, the knower of all. That atma, which is no different than the Brahman which pervades all existence is the secret of life.
Frequently we find we have to go out of a parameter to understand a parameter. A parameter cannot explain itself in its own terms. First matter appeared to be the truth, but when we went to the layer of energy, we realized that matter is not the truth, but just an expression of it and so we went back layer by layer. Now from materialistic point of view, we can understand till the information layer. Humans have learnt abstract thinking through their evolution and this helps in this metaconceptions. Hence we can concieve the existence of consciousness. Yet for most of us looking from materialistic point of view, there seems a big barrier to go beyond, to understand that beyond. This is because we ourselves are in the layer of information. Hence while we can see below it energy and then matter, we cannot see above. We have to ascend above information. How to do that - I have no answer - still searching for it.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Stability and Intensity
Stability (Samatha) - the well shielded lamp, whose flame wont get extinguished and Intensity (Vipasyana) - the intense flame that gives enough light to study the mural in dark (self or selflessness)
These are the two important parameters of meditative state.
These are the two important parameters of meditative state.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
No Fear
"The whole secret of existence is to have no fear. Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one. Only the moment you reject all help are you freed."
- I found this line on this website regarding meditation.
http://www.clear-mind-meditation-techniques.com/benefits-of-meditation.html
I liked it because it reflects exactly what my mindset and philosophy of life is these days.
- I found this line on this website regarding meditation.
http://www.clear-mind-meditation-techniques.com/benefits-of-meditation.html
I liked it because it reflects exactly what my mindset and philosophy of life is these days.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Evolution of Mind
Evolution is a continuous struggle to operate more effectively as an organism in a given environment.
If you look at how human beings evolved from microscopic unicellular creatures, you can see that there has always been a struggle to overcome one's basic tendencies to develop responses that can help manage the environment better. That's how we started walking up on two legs, developed opposable thumbs, developed a huge brain, and the sense of self - consciousness.
If you think that evolution is over and that man has reached the peak or apex of what he can be, then you are far from truth. We are still struggling - but what is it that the modern man is struggling against. When I say "modern" over here - its in evolutionary sense, not in our socio-political sense. The man who shifted from being a hunter-gatherer to a farmer some 10000 years ago is as modern for me as man of the twenty first century Anno Domini.
The modern stimulant for evolution is this brilliant evolutionary product called mind and specifically consciousness. The human mind is the "tool" that brings both the best and worst in us. But to understand how the mind can be so significant and how its shaping this evolutionary struggle of present, we have to go back to the origins to understand why the mind came into being in the first place - why did organisms that have a mind, mind about having a mind!
As organisms developed from their hoary unicellular origin, most probably symbiotically becoming more complex organisms - they required a system to manage their interrelationships better and work for the overall good. Every cell struggles to survive and thus the organism which is a complex system of multitudes of such cells reflects but this behavior. Every organismic system is intended to maintain homeostasis i.e. stability and integrity of the system vis-a-vis the environment, metabolism i.e. the process of transforming matter into energy to keep the cell up and running.
As Antonio Damasio has explained in his book "Joy Sorrow and the Feeling Brain" - in more evolved organisms like primates, emotions and feelings developed as a mental heuristic to respond better to the collective survival will of the organism.
On one hand is this existing natural tendency to preserve one's life and promote its well being which in modern sense makes us go after material possessions, to maintain and safeguard them - while at the same time this sense gives rise to fear and anxiety in the brain with regards to losing these material possessions and this fear and anxiety counter-acts the sense of well being, so that we are back to square one.
Also the increasing drive towards material possessions gives progressively lesser and lesser pleasure and one requires more possessions for same amount of pleasure - its akin to addiction to cigarette or drugs - more and more of these give progressively lesser pleasure than earlier.
What we find in society is two extremes so to say - there are on one hand people who go after material possessions and are always ridden with fear and anxiety and also guilt, in case these are ill-gotten possessions. On the other hand there are the abstainers, the ascetics who are so spiritual that they have forsaken all responsibilities of life and expectations. Now if the second category of people are ascetics who have renounced world and gone in some secluded ashram, then perhaps their way of life is in tune with their environment. But most of us are not ready to sacrifice a lot and yet we want a life of happiness, well-being and freedom from anxiety while being in the midst of this world and its chaos. How to manage that - that is the modern evolutionary struggle.
If you look at how human beings evolved from microscopic unicellular creatures, you can see that there has always been a struggle to overcome one's basic tendencies to develop responses that can help manage the environment better. That's how we started walking up on two legs, developed opposable thumbs, developed a huge brain, and the sense of self - consciousness.
If you think that evolution is over and that man has reached the peak or apex of what he can be, then you are far from truth. We are still struggling - but what is it that the modern man is struggling against. When I say "modern" over here - its in evolutionary sense, not in our socio-political sense. The man who shifted from being a hunter-gatherer to a farmer some 10000 years ago is as modern for me as man of the twenty first century Anno Domini.
The modern stimulant for evolution is this brilliant evolutionary product called mind and specifically consciousness. The human mind is the "tool" that brings both the best and worst in us. But to understand how the mind can be so significant and how its shaping this evolutionary struggle of present, we have to go back to the origins to understand why the mind came into being in the first place - why did organisms that have a mind, mind about having a mind!
As organisms developed from their hoary unicellular origin, most probably symbiotically becoming more complex organisms - they required a system to manage their interrelationships better and work for the overall good. Every cell struggles to survive and thus the organism which is a complex system of multitudes of such cells reflects but this behavior. Every organismic system is intended to maintain homeostasis i.e. stability and integrity of the system vis-a-vis the environment, metabolism i.e. the process of transforming matter into energy to keep the cell up and running.
As Antonio Damasio has explained in his book "Joy Sorrow and the Feeling Brain" - in more evolved organisms like primates, emotions and feelings developed as a mental heuristic to respond better to the collective survival will of the organism.
On one hand is this existing natural tendency to preserve one's life and promote its well being which in modern sense makes us go after material possessions, to maintain and safeguard them - while at the same time this sense gives rise to fear and anxiety in the brain with regards to losing these material possessions and this fear and anxiety counter-acts the sense of well being, so that we are back to square one.
Also the increasing drive towards material possessions gives progressively lesser and lesser pleasure and one requires more possessions for same amount of pleasure - its akin to addiction to cigarette or drugs - more and more of these give progressively lesser pleasure than earlier.
What we find in society is two extremes so to say - there are on one hand people who go after material possessions and are always ridden with fear and anxiety and also guilt, in case these are ill-gotten possessions. On the other hand there are the abstainers, the ascetics who are so spiritual that they have forsaken all responsibilities of life and expectations. Now if the second category of people are ascetics who have renounced world and gone in some secluded ashram, then perhaps their way of life is in tune with their environment. But most of us are not ready to sacrifice a lot and yet we want a life of happiness, well-being and freedom from anxiety while being in the midst of this world and its chaos. How to manage that - that is the modern evolutionary struggle.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
State of Fear
Our being is roiled with so many fears, day in and day out
big fears and small fears - from fears of one's job, status, even life to trivial ones like fear of approaching an annoyed friend or lover, fear of speaking to someone about something, fear of doing something new. Why do we have to fear so much? What are all these fears for? Can we not be rid of these fears for good!
The concept of God is to help man's ascent from the depths of fear, where he is bound by a tangled web of morbid feelings. The atheists must definitely be a courageous lot for they risk living without a belief in God...for most others such lack of faith will surely turn their heads to madness (I don't know of other types, but definitely a Scorpio man or woman who is an atheist definitely risks a lot for Scorpios have such intense feelings of all types including fear and they are such a suspicious, fearful lot!)
The first thing about fear one should realize is that it is but a reactive mental process - a feeling aimed to ensure an organism's survival, but conversely an organism which spends most of its lifetime in fear, be it externally or internally induced, only manages to diminish its lifespan considerably. The key to a long-lasting, healthy and fulfilling life (and all these three are inter-related) is to live a joyful life with very minimal and only necessary fear, only when absolutely required. Its like a bitter pill one takes when sick and if one has to take a bitter pill every other day, then it just goes on to show that one leads a sickly life and no pill can help such a person.
One should understand that fear, at its basic level is just an interplay of chemicals in our brain ensuring a certain mapping or linkages between neurons - it is not something very big or insurmountable - its in your brain and it can be surmounted.
Whenever you are fearful and you know consciously that it is just one of those irritating, irrational fears (most fears are like that only) - then just tell yourself -
Do not be fearful, Do not struggle
Let it go, let it leave out as you exhale breath
Calm down, relax, close your eyes
Stretch your lips as if you are smiling
Mentally imagine yourself smiling.
You inhale fresh air and smile grows more prominent
Now there's a shine on your face, you are positively beaming
Feel the joy as you inhale the fresh air
Feel the relaxation as you exhale
Its wonderful, its serene
Be joyful, be calm, be at peace
big fears and small fears - from fears of one's job, status, even life to trivial ones like fear of approaching an annoyed friend or lover, fear of speaking to someone about something, fear of doing something new. Why do we have to fear so much? What are all these fears for? Can we not be rid of these fears for good!
The concept of God is to help man's ascent from the depths of fear, where he is bound by a tangled web of morbid feelings. The atheists must definitely be a courageous lot for they risk living without a belief in God...for most others such lack of faith will surely turn their heads to madness (I don't know of other types, but definitely a Scorpio man or woman who is an atheist definitely risks a lot for Scorpios have such intense feelings of all types including fear and they are such a suspicious, fearful lot!)
The first thing about fear one should realize is that it is but a reactive mental process - a feeling aimed to ensure an organism's survival, but conversely an organism which spends most of its lifetime in fear, be it externally or internally induced, only manages to diminish its lifespan considerably. The key to a long-lasting, healthy and fulfilling life (and all these three are inter-related) is to live a joyful life with very minimal and only necessary fear, only when absolutely required. Its like a bitter pill one takes when sick and if one has to take a bitter pill every other day, then it just goes on to show that one leads a sickly life and no pill can help such a person.
One should understand that fear, at its basic level is just an interplay of chemicals in our brain ensuring a certain mapping or linkages between neurons - it is not something very big or insurmountable - its in your brain and it can be surmounted.
Whenever you are fearful and you know consciously that it is just one of those irritating, irrational fears (most fears are like that only) - then just tell yourself -
Do not be fearful, Do not struggle
Let it go, let it leave out as you exhale breath
Calm down, relax, close your eyes
Stretch your lips as if you are smiling
Mentally imagine yourself smiling.
You inhale fresh air and smile grows more prominent
Now there's a shine on your face, you are positively beaming
Feel the joy as you inhale the fresh air
Feel the relaxation as you exhale
Its wonderful, its serene
Be joyful, be calm, be at peace
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Some thoughts
A cell is an autopoetic system - it has its individuality, which it maintains by its internal processes relating its various parts and this defines life. Existence is life. According to Franciso Varela - this is a necessary and sufficient condition - but a stone or inanimate object exists and continues to exist without having any flow of matter or energy. The answer to this is that if you break a stone into small parts, the individual parts of the stone still exist, but if you break a cell, its individual parts cease to exist because their existence was dependent on their mutual relationship - their organization. Hence the struggle for life - the various parts of a cell form a set of operational processes between them, which is information, which helps them to operate together to keep their organization alive.
If we look at a macro level, in business world organizations behave similarly to the cell organization - they have departments (akin to organs) which have their specific function and each employee (akin to a cell) who have their specific roles all related to each other through processes. Life is a team game - our groupings at a macro level mimic what they are at a cellular level, which constitutes us.
The individual cells or even the organelles within a cell, may not be conscious of the life of the system which they constitute and may want to exploit each other for their own sustenance, but in the process they put the existence of the entire system at risk.
If we look at a macro level, in business world organizations behave similarly to the cell organization - they have departments (akin to organs) which have their specific function and each employee (akin to a cell) who have their specific roles all related to each other through processes. Life is a team game - our groupings at a macro level mimic what they are at a cellular level, which constitutes us.
The individual cells or even the organelles within a cell, may not be conscious of the life of the system which they constitute and may want to exploit each other for their own sustenance, but in the process they put the existence of the entire system at risk.
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