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Showing posts from November, 2020

May laugh at the old, but never at the young.

 Experience and knowledge which usually comes with age and tells us what has happened. So we form strong opinions on what works and what does not, what is good or what is bad. We become fixed in our mind and we rigidly assume what happened in the past will happen in the future.  In a sense we believe we have arrived at that intellectual destination where we smugly feel that we need little or no new learning. Almost impossible for adults to imagine a future much different from the past and the present. This is the exact opposite of the inherent childlike trait we all possess. A child is intensely curious, full of ideas,  fantasies and dreams.  The wise say 'Imagination is more powerful than knowledge'. While our knowledge is limited, our imagination can be infinite.  The young imagine more and thus have dreams so fantastic that the old cannot even begin to comprehend.  Where the mind goes so the body easily follows provided there is passion and sincerity. ...

What really is Experience and its importance to Success?

  It is in the human nature for us to seek success, happiness and love. In this endeavour we live, work and play, constantly interacting with our fellow beings and our environment.  Every interaction, triggers within us, some physical, intellectual and emotional reaction. This we commonly term as experience. If we merely register and do not learn, transform or evolve, from the interactions and the reactions, then we can only call them incidents, not experiences. Our reactions represent the lowest level of human intelligence, whereas our responses indicate the level of our intelligence. What then is the difference?  A reaction is immediate and originates from our animal instincts of fight or flight. Whereas a response comes from the measured and timely application of the mind with awareness. This is why the first prayer of a seeker is to develop an awakened mind. Materially speaking if we do not do anything, then there is nothing to be aware of. So the most experienced peo...

What is Truth?

Truth is a powerful concept. That is why it is often overused, misused and abused. Truth could be defined as thoughts, beliefs, words or deeds, that conform to some predefined standard. But, who sets the standard of what is true or how do we conclude if something is true? There are six common criteria used for determining the truth. They are are consensus, consistency, authority, durability, revelation and science. __________________ 1. Consensus Common knowledge or herd behaviour assumes that if everyone says so, then it must be true. This requires little or no effort, it is the preferred filter for the intellectually and spiritually lazy, inferior or timid, individual and society. Consensus is a safe bet. Even if proven wrong the person can always take shelter within the anonymous majority. They contend that so many people cannot be stupid or wrong. Wars, fads of all kinds social, economic, and political are the frequent result of consensus. 2. Consistency Consistency assumes that if...

Learning about voting from Joseph Stalin

 " One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors ." ~ Plato Contrary to public perception, successful politicians have to be incredibly hardworking. What they may be working hard on is another matter. Politics like war is a messy, ugly affair. Inspite of that, the public and the media draw a lot of entertainment from politics. It is certain that, one can always trust the political establishment with the help of the media to screw things up.  As the recent American Presidential elections reveal that the system is not about capabilities and performance, but about senility, crassness and the manipulation of the electoral process. Reminds one of the very powerful communist dictator Joseph Stalin of the former Soviet Union. “ The people who cast the votes, decide nothing. The people who count the votes decide everything. ”  Now what seems to matter in this American election is, it is not only who counts the vo...

Do people have ideas or ideas have people?

  We humans have always been confused with existence and our life in general, but thanks to an avalanche of information, never has humanity been this confused. Life has become insanely complicated and we know not why. We seem to have so much and yet we feel so hollow inside. In the haze, we wander around struggling to make sense of our lives, maintain sanity and stability.  We look outwards to the exterior of what we can see, touch, smell, hear and taste for answers. We care not or dare not look within where lie answers. Some of us focus on family, others on relationships, some on wealth and others on power and influence, etc. etc. Our unease compelling us to constantly search.  The search for an idea about the meaning of our lives inevitably leads us to various ideologies (a system of ideas and beliefs). Because we do not know, we have to believe and belief is always blind.  Whatever the 'ism be it political, religious, etc, like a lost and drowning individual who s...