Once upon a time, when we were small kids, we were taught that water exists in three states- solid, liquid and gas. We were told that its properties are different in different states. We were also told that heat could transform water from one state to another, and that in its liquid state, water took the shape of the vessel in which it resides.
We sometimes wonder why there are so many Gods and Goddesses in the Hindu religion. And then, to complicate matters, some people also say that there is only one God; that all these Gods and Goddesses are simply different manifestations of that single God. This sometimes confuses us- how can God be one and also be many? If he is one, why does he have so many manifestations? How can he be both निर्गुण and सगुण? Why is it said that it is easier to worship him in his सगुण form? Why all these differences?
And somehow, we never wonder why does water have so many forms? Why can it be solid and liquid and gas? How can ice, water and water-vapor all be water? They are all obviously different- ice is very cold, and it is solid- we can hit and break it with a hammer, and we can see it, but water-vapor is not cold, and we cannot see it, and we can try to hammer it all we like but we will only tire ourselves as a result, and liquid water- it is simply amazing- it takes the shape of any vessel we put it in! And we can also drink it! It is the cure for our thirst. Then how can all these be the same thing? How can all these be water?
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Existence
For the educated- the ones brought up on science, it is not difficult to believe that certain "things" exist that are beyond some of our senses. For example, there are things we cannot see but can smell and/or feel (air, LPG). So, it would not be hard for them to agree with the following statement-
Just because something cannot be seen does not mean that that thing does not exist.
Going a little further, one can even think of things that are beyond all our senses, but whose existence has been conclusively proven by science. Take the UV Rays for example. As far as I know, we humans cannot see them, feel them, smell them, hear them or taste them, but science says that they exist. And I guess that the basis of the proof of their existence is 'inference'. I am tempted to add 'inference' as the sixth sense that we possess, but I will try to resist the temptation for now. So, I guess, that an educated person may also easily agree that-
Just because something is beyond my five external senses does not mean that that thing does not exist.
Or, equivalently, there may be things that exist, that are beyond my external senses.
It should also be not too difficult to accept that the realization of the existence of something that lies beyond the reach of my senses cannot be had by the use of these senses alone- the use of some additional tool is necessary for such a realization, and that tool may conveniently be called an 'additional sense'. In the case of UV rays, that 'additional sense' was the brain, or possibly a certain portion of the brain that deals with logic and inference. If I had said that I would believe in the existence of UV rays only if I can 'perceive' them using my five senses and nothing else, I guess I would never have believed in their existence. So, if I were to depend on, and use, only my five senses, I think it would not be possible for me to realize that things beyond these senses may also exist. And if someone tried to explain about UV rays to me, I would not be able to understand.
Just like there is existence beyond the five senses, is it not possible that there is existence beyond the-senses-and-the-mind (or brain)? Beyond logic? Beyond inference? I do not think that it is possible to disprove, or understand, such an existence using only those tools beyond which this existence may lie.
It is said that God is beyond the reach of our senses and the brain.
Just because something cannot be seen does not mean that that thing does not exist.
Going a little further, one can even think of things that are beyond all our senses, but whose existence has been conclusively proven by science. Take the UV Rays for example. As far as I know, we humans cannot see them, feel them, smell them, hear them or taste them, but science says that they exist. And I guess that the basis of the proof of their existence is 'inference'. I am tempted to add 'inference' as the sixth sense that we possess, but I will try to resist the temptation for now. So, I guess, that an educated person may also easily agree that-
Just because something is beyond my five external senses does not mean that that thing does not exist.
Or, equivalently, there may be things that exist, that are beyond my external senses.
It should also be not too difficult to accept that the realization of the existence of something that lies beyond the reach of my senses cannot be had by the use of these senses alone- the use of some additional tool is necessary for such a realization, and that tool may conveniently be called an 'additional sense'. In the case of UV rays, that 'additional sense' was the brain, or possibly a certain portion of the brain that deals with logic and inference. If I had said that I would believe in the existence of UV rays only if I can 'perceive' them using my five senses and nothing else, I guess I would never have believed in their existence. So, if I were to depend on, and use, only my five senses, I think it would not be possible for me to realize that things beyond these senses may also exist. And if someone tried to explain about UV rays to me, I would not be able to understand.
Just like there is existence beyond the five senses, is it not possible that there is existence beyond the-senses-and-the-mind (or brain)? Beyond logic? Beyond inference? I do not think that it is possible to disprove, or understand, such an existence using only those tools beyond which this existence may lie.
It is said that God is beyond the reach of our senses and the brain.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
An Evening Sky
There is a painting.
And hence, there must be a painter.
This is logical inference.
That there is the painted sky
With myriad colors,
And effortless transitions
From one color to another.
And hence, there must be a painter.
How can this be sheer stupidity?
It lifts my spirits
To imagine
That God must have hired
Some beloved painter
And tasked him
To paint the sky
Each day
And each moment
With the most beautiful colors
Till eternity
And hence, there must be a painter.
This is logical inference.
That there is the painted sky
With myriad colors,
And effortless transitions
From one color to another.
And hence, there must be a painter.
How can this be sheer stupidity?
It lifts my spirits
To imagine
That God must have hired
Some beloved painter
And tasked him
To paint the sky
Each day
And each moment
With the most beautiful colors
Till eternity
Friday, June 11, 2010
The God of Small Things
It was a small, and new thought. It had just come to me about a couple of hours ago. It had eluded me for years. Now that it had finally come, it seemed so natural, so simple, and so comforting.
Bee: (smiling, muttering under his breath, hardly audible) It is a beautiful day. God must have come down to our world for a walk today.
Zed: What?
Bee: What what? I was just talking to myself.
Zed: Oh. Anyways, we were talking about being selfish, weren't we?
Bee: We were? Ah, yes, we were. So what were we saying?
Zed: Well, I was saying that I don't like being selfish.
Bee: Oh! But you are not selfish. What makes you think you are?
Zed: Well, whatever I do I do because there is something in it for me.
Bee: (Smiling widely) Hm. And you don't like being that way?
Zed: Well, yes. I don't. It has troubled me for long. I don't want to be selfish. But I don't understand how anyone could do away with selfishness. Even if I do something for someone else, like making them happy, I do it because it will, after all, make me happy, or content, or make me feel good in some way.
Bee: (His wide smile has not left him. He is almost beaming now.) So, you are saying that you feel good by doing good to others?
Zed: Yes, I think so.
Bee: And so, you concluded that you do good to others only because it makes you feel good?
Zed: Obviously. What other motive or driving force could I possibly have?
Bee: Hm. I have a request to make of you. Please think and answer me if you will. Have you ever sacrificed your own happiness for someone else's?
Zed: Well, yes, you could say that.
Bee: So, you made someone happy by being unhappy yourself? You possibly felt miserable, bad?
Zed: You... I guess, you could put it that way.
Bee: But, since you did good to someone else, it must have made you feel good? (Bee was now radiating happiness- it seemed that any moment now, he might start emitting light.)
Zed: I would say so.
Bee: So you felt both miserable and good, at the same time?
Zed: (He was being infected by Bee's smile. His face bore a mixture of amusement and wonder.) Though one could contest that, but I would say it might have been the case.
Bee: So?
Zed: So... what?
Bee: Oh well! If you want me to say it... If you did good only because it makes you feel good, you wouldn't have made this sacrifice, because it also made you feel miserable.
Zed: Well, but it did make me feel good.
Bee: Hm. I must say you have a point, even though it is hard to understand how you could feel miserable, and good at the same time... Hm. Alright then, let's change our direction just a wee bit then. I don't want to think of anything else on this line right now.
Zed: Fine.
Bee: Alright. Let's rewind a bit. So, you always feel good by doing good.
Zed: Yes.
Bee: And this implies that you do good because you feel good about it?
Zed: Right.
Bee: I do not agree. I consider this conclusion to be flawed. It seems to me that your feeling good is an effect of doing good, and not a cause.
Zed: I feel that it is both... But I must say that you have indeed made an interesting point.
Bee: Why thank you! I feel that there is no way in which either you or I can be certain about our claims, and so all I ask of you is not to be so sure about you being selfish.
Zed: (Simply smiles)
Bee: There is one more thing. May be I should have said it at the start itself. But nevertheless... Selfishness, according to me, is thinking only about yourself; having no concern for anyone else but yourself. And since you obviously do not think like that, you are not selfish. Simple and plain. You do have concern for others, and so you cannot be selfish, even if it be true that that concern arises solely out of your want to be happy yourself.
Bee: (smiling, muttering under his breath, hardly audible) It is a beautiful day. God must have come down to our world for a walk today.
Zed: What?
Bee: What what? I was just talking to myself.
Zed: Oh. Anyways, we were talking about being selfish, weren't we?
Bee: We were? Ah, yes, we were. So what were we saying?
Zed: Well, I was saying that I don't like being selfish.
Bee: Oh! But you are not selfish. What makes you think you are?
Zed: Well, whatever I do I do because there is something in it for me.
Bee: (Smiling widely) Hm. And you don't like being that way?
Zed: Well, yes. I don't. It has troubled me for long. I don't want to be selfish. But I don't understand how anyone could do away with selfishness. Even if I do something for someone else, like making them happy, I do it because it will, after all, make me happy, or content, or make me feel good in some way.
Bee: (His wide smile has not left him. He is almost beaming now.) So, you are saying that you feel good by doing good to others?
Zed: Yes, I think so.
Bee: And so, you concluded that you do good to others only because it makes you feel good?
Zed: Obviously. What other motive or driving force could I possibly have?
Bee: Hm. I have a request to make of you. Please think and answer me if you will. Have you ever sacrificed your own happiness for someone else's?
Zed: Well, yes, you could say that.
Bee: So, you made someone happy by being unhappy yourself? You possibly felt miserable, bad?
Zed: You... I guess, you could put it that way.
Bee: But, since you did good to someone else, it must have made you feel good? (Bee was now radiating happiness- it seemed that any moment now, he might start emitting light.)
Zed: I would say so.
Bee: So you felt both miserable and good, at the same time?
Zed: (He was being infected by Bee's smile. His face bore a mixture of amusement and wonder.) Though one could contest that, but I would say it might have been the case.
Bee: So?
Zed: So... what?
Bee: Oh well! If you want me to say it... If you did good only because it makes you feel good, you wouldn't have made this sacrifice, because it also made you feel miserable.
Zed: Well, but it did make me feel good.
Bee: Hm. I must say you have a point, even though it is hard to understand how you could feel miserable, and good at the same time... Hm. Alright then, let's change our direction just a wee bit then. I don't want to think of anything else on this line right now.
Zed: Fine.
Bee: Alright. Let's rewind a bit. So, you always feel good by doing good.
Zed: Yes.
Bee: And this implies that you do good because you feel good about it?
Zed: Right.
Bee: I do not agree. I consider this conclusion to be flawed. It seems to me that your feeling good is an effect of doing good, and not a cause.
Zed: I feel that it is both... But I must say that you have indeed made an interesting point.
Bee: Why thank you! I feel that there is no way in which either you or I can be certain about our claims, and so all I ask of you is not to be so sure about you being selfish.
Zed: (Simply smiles)
Bee: There is one more thing. May be I should have said it at the start itself. But nevertheless... Selfishness, according to me, is thinking only about yourself; having no concern for anyone else but yourself. And since you obviously do not think like that, you are not selfish. Simple and plain. You do have concern for others, and so you cannot be selfish, even if it be true that that concern arises solely out of your want to be happy yourself.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
VII
All this uncertainty, this confusion is extremely frustrating. Knowing only that I don't know anything gets to me. And just when I have given up, when I don't know what to do, suddenly, from somewhere, hope comes. I can't see her but I can feel that she is beautiful- probably the most beautiful thing that this world has to offer. She lifts my spirits, puts a smile on my face, and I am made to wonder if I am in love, again.
I hope. I hope that soon I shall know. I hope that there will be peace soon. I hope that the churning uncertain waters will become tranquil soon. I hope that the questions will evaporate from the sea of questions soon.
And I hope that hope will keep coming back to me whenever I need her!
V
I hope. I hope that soon I shall know. I hope that there will be peace soon. I hope that the churning uncertain waters will become tranquil soon. I hope that the questions will evaporate from the sea of questions soon.
And I hope that hope will keep coming back to me whenever I need her!
V
Monday, April 19, 2010
V
It has been a long time since I have been wanting to meet someone who understands me- I don't know if that will do me any good or not but nevertheless the want is there. I don't know where to look. I don't know if such a person exists or not.
May be I am just tired of trying to explain myself; tired of people telling me what is wrong with my thoughts; tired of trying to tell people not to try to find sense in my thoughts, actions, decisions. May be I just want to meet someone who will accept me the way I am, the way I have become; someone who will not question; someone who will have answers- all the answers.
Can you tell me where to find such a person?
V
May be I am just tired of trying to explain myself; tired of people telling me what is wrong with my thoughts; tired of trying to tell people not to try to find sense in my thoughts, actions, decisions. May be I just want to meet someone who will accept me the way I am, the way I have become; someone who will not question; someone who will have answers- all the answers.
Can you tell me where to find such a person?
V
IV
For anyone who may come across this
There is something amiss. Something is not right. Sudden mood changes are not good signs. I don't know. Just leave me alone. Just let me be. Let me be whoever, however, whatever I am- good or bad, selfish or not, stupid or smart, senseless or sensible- I don't know what I am. So just don't classify me, don't tell me what I already fear might be true. I don't know how I will react, and I am saying this right now. So don't blame me later. Please for God's sake try and understand. Please.
Vriksha
There is something amiss. Something is not right. Sudden mood changes are not good signs. I don't know. Just leave me alone. Just let me be. Let me be whoever, however, whatever I am- good or bad, selfish or not, stupid or smart, senseless or sensible- I don't know what I am. So just don't classify me, don't tell me what I already fear might be true. I don't know how I will react, and I am saying this right now. So don't blame me later. Please for God's sake try and understand. Please.
Vriksha
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