I have a friend in the US. I first met her in Bombay. Most of my friends over there are a result of my employment with Live Wire! BBS. I knew a lot of people back then, but retain contact with a few.
Drunkenness has always been my problem. I can get drunk on anything. Even in my 20s, I was drunk on Asterix, Tintin, and of course, even to this day, Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE. I wish those books were still being written.
Things stick in your head that immediately dissolve all the turmoil going on in that mighty but fallible instrument called the mind. Whether it was Captain Haddock's, "Ten thousand blistering barnacles in a thundering typhoon," or Obelix's, "These Roman's are crazy," or Wodehouse's, "Yes, but, dash it!"
Right now I am thinking of Obelix and his "These Roman's are crazy."
In a conversation with this friend, I once told her, "These humans are crazy."
I enjoy a decently made movie about aliens (if you do not mind a lot of cussing, you should see "Paul," a hilarious take on aliens), but I never really accepted the concept of aliens. Even my science fiction riddled mind could never come to terms with life in some other part of the universe, so at odds with our own, that they could just overwhelm us with fear (or laughter). However, I never felt part of humanity. There was too much difference. "They" and "I" had to have different origins. We did not meet at any point (except after about 60 mL of gin, then everyone was a brother and friend).
So, I told her, "These humans are crazy." In those days there was not much email in India, and certainly no social networking, we just sent the equivalent of an SMS through our 12 Kbps modems and thought it was amazing.
What we had been talking about I cannot exactly remember, but what I do remember is the constantly changing nature of people's demands from life and from each other.
There was no consistency, a thing that always created boundless confusion for me. Everyone seems to have ever-changing demands. You are supposed to follow a god, a religion, an education system, an economic system, a survival system, a social system (no, a social system does not encompass everything), a peer system, and goodness knows how many others. Since I always led a "cut-off" life, I am not sure of what other aspects are there. You can probably quintuple the list if you put your mind to it, but I cannot.
However, within all these systems, if there was a connection point, if it made sense, if it somehow meshed together - perhaps it could be accepted. It is rude to say so, but most people simply live with the system and never question it. That is perhaps the main reason why it works. Not because there is anything right about it, but simply because it is convenient. If water quenches thirst, does it really matter what water is? Yes, It is H20. But when there is thirst, or lack of cleanliness, or heat, does anyone think, "I need a chemical symbolized as H2O."? We only think of the properties of water and not what it is. We take the chemical, mix it around in any number of ways, and use it. Who cares?
But I am at heart a skeptic, even today. I feel compelled to question everything. The only difference is that previously when the answer did not satisfy me, I rejected the entire reason for the question arising, but now I am willing to think, give more consideration, try to understand why I am not satisfied, and even if I am not, trust my instincts that the answer is true even if it does not satisfy.
Anyway, it so happens that people swing. In India, first there were the untouchables, today they have reservations. In the west, women were not allowed to be part of the priesthood and now they are. In the Middle East, women were not allowed to vote and now they are. Holland is the only Roman Catholic country (in terms of majority, there are others faiths living there too) where euthanasia for terminally-ill patients is legal. When Columbus came back the second time to now-America, the natives were enslaved, killed, driven out... etc. and today even they have reservations. You think reservation is a problem in India, just look at what is happening in the dream destination of world.
There was a time when in India, the only country where spiritualism was treated with the respect it deserves, only a portion of the population was engaged in what we now call materialism. And even then the materialist put aside a few moments of his/her daily life and devote it to something that did not involve mere physical survival.
Then came the dreary days of war and conquest where damn near everyone wanted this place. The British got it eventually (so did the Mughal Empire, but its hold was not anywhere close to the Brits'). Spirituality went underground (literally). This has been happening all through the attempts to conquer India but the rest, as they say, is all history. The material happenings are known, but very few remember the subtle alteration in Indian society that eventually led to the death of a spiritually-dominant culture to a materially-dominant culture where in the 21st century a great number of so-called gurus are con-men and the rest are clubbed into the same category out of fear and lack of understanding.
The employer of the company that I used to work in in Bombay, Live Wire!, found his guru a long time ago and I once read a statement of his (not quoted verbatim), "All this (mess/suffering/foolishness) will lead to a more spiritual generation of humanity. All might not learn, but enough will learn and remember not to make such mistakes again." That was the import of what that guru had said. I do not even remember the year when I came across this, but I know I treated it utter scorn.
"Yeah, right!" about sums up my reaction. I saw no hope for this doomed species who seemed extremely bright at coming up with new ways of strangling itself to death.
And yet, it is happening. The west is becoming increasingly curious (albeit misled, they are still trying to use spirituality as a means of physical well-being) about spirituality and what it entails. Even in India, despite all the con jobs, curse them, a healthy portion of the population is striving to look beyond the material.
The odd thing is that only the very poor or the very rich seem to be attracted by it. What we call the "middle class" toddles along, surviving day-to-day. It is as if something is giving a signal that unless you experience at least one end of the extreme swing of the pendulum, the true need will not arise.
It is food for thought that why do only the extremes choose to look inward? Why not everyone. Has survival become the only reason for living in this temporary state. Is that how we have structured our society?
I cannot believe that. Not anymore. I think this disparity is needed so that all of humanity can mature to an extent that we suffer enough of past transgressions and arrive at a balance where there is room for everyone and create a world where those out of balance can be helped to find their balance.
The pendulum will never stop swinging. We will always be between two extremes, but enlightenment means (among other things) to find the balance. There will always be disturbances, distractions, negative actions, thoughts, and feelings, but what if the world is being run by those who can see beyond all that and knee-jerk useless reactions and focus on instant gratification of the ego and be willing to sacrifice themselves for the overall good.
Actually, there is no "overall" good. That is just bullshit. If the whole world benefits, it is not possible that you will not benefit. But we like to think of a "overall" good because it makes our ego feel like god.
There are many pendulums; personal, social, economical, religious, belief, etc. They have been swinging for a ridiculously long time. We swing between extremes. Today this, tomorrow that.
It is time to find a balance. Extremes are no good. As long as the pendulum swings both ways, we as a species will always be divided. We cannot stop it from swinging. That is not in our power. But we can create a situation where a few extremes do not harm anyone, including those doing the swinging.
Awareness is the key. There is only one control. Personal control. Everything outside the body and mind and emotions, is not in control. Anyone can seize control of it for any number of reasons because the pendulum will not stop swinging. Swinging is not the pendulum's fault, that is its function. It only swings to let us know that we need balance, that the true essence of what we are is at the point where the pendulum crosses fastest, perpendicular to the earth, on either side of that it can only slow down.
So let the pendulum swing, but at the apex of its movement, seize that power, and transform. That is where the true power lies. That is where the pendulum has the most impact.
Everywhere else, it is only receding, merely to fall back and move in the opposite direction, over and over.
P.S. There are many meanings to the phrase "A pendulum swings both ways." The above is my limited interpretation.
Drunkenness has always been my problem. I can get drunk on anything. Even in my 20s, I was drunk on Asterix, Tintin, and of course, even to this day, Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, KBE. I wish those books were still being written.
Things stick in your head that immediately dissolve all the turmoil going on in that mighty but fallible instrument called the mind. Whether it was Captain Haddock's, "Ten thousand blistering barnacles in a thundering typhoon," or Obelix's, "These Roman's are crazy," or Wodehouse's, "Yes, but, dash it!"
Right now I am thinking of Obelix and his "These Roman's are crazy."
In a conversation with this friend, I once told her, "These humans are crazy."
I enjoy a decently made movie about aliens (if you do not mind a lot of cussing, you should see "Paul," a hilarious take on aliens), but I never really accepted the concept of aliens. Even my science fiction riddled mind could never come to terms with life in some other part of the universe, so at odds with our own, that they could just overwhelm us with fear (or laughter). However, I never felt part of humanity. There was too much difference. "They" and "I" had to have different origins. We did not meet at any point (except after about 60 mL of gin, then everyone was a brother and friend).
So, I told her, "These humans are crazy." In those days there was not much email in India, and certainly no social networking, we just sent the equivalent of an SMS through our 12 Kbps modems and thought it was amazing.
What we had been talking about I cannot exactly remember, but what I do remember is the constantly changing nature of people's demands from life and from each other.
There was no consistency, a thing that always created boundless confusion for me. Everyone seems to have ever-changing demands. You are supposed to follow a god, a religion, an education system, an economic system, a survival system, a social system (no, a social system does not encompass everything), a peer system, and goodness knows how many others. Since I always led a "cut-off" life, I am not sure of what other aspects are there. You can probably quintuple the list if you put your mind to it, but I cannot.
However, within all these systems, if there was a connection point, if it made sense, if it somehow meshed together - perhaps it could be accepted. It is rude to say so, but most people simply live with the system and never question it. That is perhaps the main reason why it works. Not because there is anything right about it, but simply because it is convenient. If water quenches thirst, does it really matter what water is? Yes, It is H20. But when there is thirst, or lack of cleanliness, or heat, does anyone think, "I need a chemical symbolized as H2O."? We only think of the properties of water and not what it is. We take the chemical, mix it around in any number of ways, and use it. Who cares?
But I am at heart a skeptic, even today. I feel compelled to question everything. The only difference is that previously when the answer did not satisfy me, I rejected the entire reason for the question arising, but now I am willing to think, give more consideration, try to understand why I am not satisfied, and even if I am not, trust my instincts that the answer is true even if it does not satisfy.
Anyway, it so happens that people swing. In India, first there were the untouchables, today they have reservations. In the west, women were not allowed to be part of the priesthood and now they are. In the Middle East, women were not allowed to vote and now they are. Holland is the only Roman Catholic country (in terms of majority, there are others faiths living there too) where euthanasia for terminally-ill patients is legal. When Columbus came back the second time to now-America, the natives were enslaved, killed, driven out... etc. and today even they have reservations. You think reservation is a problem in India, just look at what is happening in the dream destination of world.
There was a time when in India, the only country where spiritualism was treated with the respect it deserves, only a portion of the population was engaged in what we now call materialism. And even then the materialist put aside a few moments of his/her daily life and devote it to something that did not involve mere physical survival.
Then came the dreary days of war and conquest where damn near everyone wanted this place. The British got it eventually (so did the Mughal Empire, but its hold was not anywhere close to the Brits'). Spirituality went underground (literally). This has been happening all through the attempts to conquer India but the rest, as they say, is all history. The material happenings are known, but very few remember the subtle alteration in Indian society that eventually led to the death of a spiritually-dominant culture to a materially-dominant culture where in the 21st century a great number of so-called gurus are con-men and the rest are clubbed into the same category out of fear and lack of understanding.
The employer of the company that I used to work in in Bombay, Live Wire!, found his guru a long time ago and I once read a statement of his (not quoted verbatim), "All this (mess/suffering/foolishness) will lead to a more spiritual generation of humanity. All might not learn, but enough will learn and remember not to make such mistakes again." That was the import of what that guru had said. I do not even remember the year when I came across this, but I know I treated it utter scorn.
"Yeah, right!" about sums up my reaction. I saw no hope for this doomed species who seemed extremely bright at coming up with new ways of strangling itself to death.
And yet, it is happening. The west is becoming increasingly curious (albeit misled, they are still trying to use spirituality as a means of physical well-being) about spirituality and what it entails. Even in India, despite all the con jobs, curse them, a healthy portion of the population is striving to look beyond the material.
The odd thing is that only the very poor or the very rich seem to be attracted by it. What we call the "middle class" toddles along, surviving day-to-day. It is as if something is giving a signal that unless you experience at least one end of the extreme swing of the pendulum, the true need will not arise.
It is food for thought that why do only the extremes choose to look inward? Why not everyone. Has survival become the only reason for living in this temporary state. Is that how we have structured our society?
I cannot believe that. Not anymore. I think this disparity is needed so that all of humanity can mature to an extent that we suffer enough of past transgressions and arrive at a balance where there is room for everyone and create a world where those out of balance can be helped to find their balance.
The pendulum will never stop swinging. We will always be between two extremes, but enlightenment means (among other things) to find the balance. There will always be disturbances, distractions, negative actions, thoughts, and feelings, but what if the world is being run by those who can see beyond all that and knee-jerk useless reactions and focus on instant gratification of the ego and be willing to sacrifice themselves for the overall good.
Actually, there is no "overall" good. That is just bullshit. If the whole world benefits, it is not possible that you will not benefit. But we like to think of a "overall" good because it makes our ego feel like god.
There are many pendulums; personal, social, economical, religious, belief, etc. They have been swinging for a ridiculously long time. We swing between extremes. Today this, tomorrow that.
It is time to find a balance. Extremes are no good. As long as the pendulum swings both ways, we as a species will always be divided. We cannot stop it from swinging. That is not in our power. But we can create a situation where a few extremes do not harm anyone, including those doing the swinging.
Awareness is the key. There is only one control. Personal control. Everything outside the body and mind and emotions, is not in control. Anyone can seize control of it for any number of reasons because the pendulum will not stop swinging. Swinging is not the pendulum's fault, that is its function. It only swings to let us know that we need balance, that the true essence of what we are is at the point where the pendulum crosses fastest, perpendicular to the earth, on either side of that it can only slow down.
So let the pendulum swing, but at the apex of its movement, seize that power, and transform. That is where the true power lies. That is where the pendulum has the most impact.
Everywhere else, it is only receding, merely to fall back and move in the opposite direction, over and over.
P.S. There are many meanings to the phrase "A pendulum swings both ways." The above is my limited interpretation.
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