Category: Philosophy

4 Aug 2010

Dimensions

Posted by Oblivion in Philosophy | 12:55pm


Even as he dropped all weapons and armour in the midst of the battlefield, Arjuna, the inimitable warrior, was fighting a battle with himself. Will he relish victory, exterminating the kin, he pondered.

Of what sweetness
Shall victory be
When I must slay
Those who I call mine

Of what merit
Shall peace be
Cold as death
A bitter fruit of war

Who will win? Who will lose? Who will die? Who will survive? What is right? What is not? What for, after all? Does the Lord, the Omniscient One, have the answers? Can He assure that nobody dies?

Lord Krishna's face radiated serenity and quiet. He turned to the dejected Arjuna and said with conviction, "Arjuna, I have no answers to your plight. Only this much is true - the war is the outer, the warrior is the inner. I cannot control the outer dimension. It's a battle; anything can happen. I can, however, control the inner dimension. I can assure you salvation, but cannot assure you of the next meal. Do what you can as best as you could; whatever happens, happens. That is all there is".

18 Jul 2010

Three Birds

Posted by Oblivion in Philosophy | 10:24pm


There are three kinds of birds.

The first bird is aggressive in flight and defending of its purpose. Aggression is its defence. It revels when you forget to fly, and clips your wings to accomplish its own flight. Ruthless in ambition, it's intolerant to deviations to its trajectory and its care is conditional. If you fail to comply, its eyes are red with fury. The rules are its, the game is its, and it takes you for granted. It is the master, you are the slave. It perseveres to impose its strength. Even when you fly along, it doesn't let you speak. Its delight is in reaching its destination.
 
The second bird is pliant but firm in resolve. Vulnerability is its strength. It grieves when you forget to fly and strains its wings to fly even to the end of the world just to see you fly. Unconditional in care and patient with trajectory, its delight is in watching you fly. If you give up on flight, its eyes are red with tears. It cares for you above itself. There are no rules, it is no game, flight is life. It braves devastating gales and rains to stand up for you. It perseveres to remind you of your strength. Even when you can't see it, it's never far enough to not hear your voice. Its focus is flight, not destination.

The third bird is too occupied with its own flight that it doesn't care whether you fly or not, or where you fly to. Its greetings are cursory and its smile is shallow.

9 May 2010

Shining Goddess

Posted by Oblivion in Philosophy | 2:05pm


Having just passed out of college, he had a few plans for the choice of his career. He needed a book and dropped by to check if I have. When he opened the bookshelf, he was almost amused at finding an exclusive space for philosophy. An exchange of a few questions and answers later, the invariable suggestion came up - "...but philosophy is for the old!"

I have heard this, from young and old alike, so many times that I feel almost apologetic to the subject. It's perhaps the fixation with livelihood that is imposed on the young that has rendered such image for philosophy. Slog, succeed, achieve, plunder, earn a livelihood first; understanding of life can wait! This prevalent view is, to my mind, utterly insane and nonsensical. It's akin to a lover seeking to understand the beloved, whom he has lived with for decades, when she is on the death-bed, when he himself has no life left to feel that zeal in its total flowering. It's like doing just for the sake of it. It's absolutely ugly.

If one loves someone, understanding should come at the beginning. If one loves life, one must understand it at the beginning and not pretend to do it at the end. Philosophy, the love of truth (nothing to do with the cliched term that we use, as opposed to falsehood and in connection with lying), should come first. It is meant for the young.

There were some great souls who fell madly in love with life, gave their entire lifetime to understand it and shared their insights, and we are lucky enough to read them. Notwithstanding this fact, philosophy has nothing to do with books. Philosophy is not cynical contemplation or a research topic. It's about the spirit of inquiry. And understanding is not a momentary task. It's a perpetual exercise. So it's ridiculous and vulgar to put it for the last few days of life. For it's not something that one can accomplish by reading ten books and finish with it. It takes a lifetime. For, truth is not something static that one can find and hold or that can be shown by another. Neither is it a concept, an idea or an ism that can be construed in one reading. It has nothing to do with ethics. If you are reading to find some divine secret or add to your knowledge or as a gesture of tokenism for life, you got it wrong. It should be the other way round - you love truth, you would die to find it, and so you read. Reading is secondary and insignificant.

Russell's quote fits perfectly: "Truth is a shining goddess, always veiled, always distant, never wholly approachable, but worthy of all the devotion of which the human spirit is capable".

Another question usually accompanies - "what's the use of philosophy? Does it land me a lucrative job?" My take is - if one really loves, such question never comes up. And the one who asks such a question has already moved away from discovering anything, for he has already reduced it to utility. When one loves, one just loves. It is thought that plays with questions; love doesn't. It never occurred to Mozart what his compositions would get him. He just composed. He loved music. He died in abject penury. Thanks to such souls we can still talk of passion in the real sense of that word. When Siddhartha wanted to find truth, he just walked out. Without a plan, without a care.

When you love someone, you would listen to her, sit beside her, and seek to understand her with all your being. You would be sensitive to her emotions, receptive to her every word and gesture. Every moment. Till you die. If one hasn't loved life like this, how else has he loved?

Philosophy has nothing to do with books or scriptures. It is to be in love. Love for truth. As long as one is alive.

Love. And let truth unfold itself.

Truth is truth, one, alone; it has no sides, no paths
- JK

19 Jul 2008

A Cup of Tea

Posted by Oblivion in Philosophy | 9:40pm


At a temple,
a learned professor seeks Zen.

Master Nan-yin offers tea.
He pours…and he pours.

“But…it is overflowing!”

“Like this cup, you are full of concepts and ideas …
Is there room for Zen?”

Source: Osho



Currently Reading: My Revolutions

6 May 2004

Prologue

Posted by Oblivion in Philosophy | 7:27am


If u ALLY the EVENT, ALL will fall into place. EVENTuALLY, that is.
it implies four fundamental things. facts, rather -

1.that we live in the field of time (chornological is in spite of us, we r referring to the psychological - yesterday, today and tomorrow)
2.all chaos in life is a result of our believing that we have more control over our lives than we really do
3.failing to realise that, we try to 'control' or 'change' the events rather than 'be' with them and understand
4.we get used to anything with the passage of time. ANYTHING.

so, eventually, everything falls into place. rest. period. stop.



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