"Living Philosophies -The World as I see It" by Albert Einstein
How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people - first of all those smiles and well being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many,unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving. I am strongly drawn to a frugal life and am often oppressively aware that I am engrossing an undue amount of labor of my fellow men. I regard class distinctions as unjustified and, in the last resort, based on force. I also believe that a simple and unassuming life is good for everybody, physically and mentally.
I do not at all believe in human freedom in the philosophical sense. Everybody acts not only under external compulsion but also in accordance with inner necessity. Schopenhauer's saying "A man can do what he wants, but not want what he wants," has been a very real inspiration to me since my youth; it has been a continual consolation in the face of life's hardships, my own and others', and an unfailing well-spring of tolerance. This realization mercifully mitigates the easily paralyzing sense of responsibility and prevents us from taking ourselves and other people all too seriously; it is conducive to a view of life, which, in particular, gives humor its due.
To inquire after the meaning or object of one's own existence of that of all creatures has always seemed to me absurd from an objective point of view. And yet everybody has certain ideals which determine the direction of his endeavors and his judgments. In this sense I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves - this ethical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals, which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the filed of art and scientific endeavours, life would have seemed to me empty.
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Monday, April 11, 2005
Reflections of a Grandfather
(A speech I wrote for my grandfather's funeral Friday 8th April 2005)
Namaste,
In the Yogavasishtha Ramayana, Lila, the devoted wife of the ancient king Padma, propitiated goddess Sarasvati and sought immortality for her husband. Lila said “Tell me in short, Goddess Sarasvati, something more with regards to death, as to whether it is happy or painful to die and what becomes of people after they are dead and gone from here"
Goddess Sarasvati replied “Dying men are of three sorts and have different results upon their death. They are those who are ignorant, those who are versed in Yoga and those that are abstemious and religious."
Our beloved Aja was an abstemious and religious man. He dedicated his sweat, tears, love and his life to his family. Now he has departed this physical world, he is no longer a victim of this cosmic disillusion; he is on his continued journey to Brahma Loka (the divine kingdom of God).
The poet Khalil Gibran once said “You can find the secret of death if you seek it in the heart of life” and Aja discovered the secret of death because he lived a long and happy life in accordance to Vedic dharma.There was never a time when he was alone; he was constantly surrounded by the love and laughter of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Aja was always present in every family gathering. Being the head of the household he kept the family grounded and together. Aja, now that you are gone who is going to keep us united as a family?
Aja was very strict person and very much overprotective and I am sure all his children and grandchildren agree to this. The phrase “At 6 o clock in the evening I will lock up everyone inside this house and nobody leaving” would forever echo in the ears of the grandchildren. One night we were all remembering and reflecting our life with Aja and one of my cousins told me that she believed that Aja quarreled with her the most. Parents quarrelling with their children are testimony of their undying love and affection and genuine concern.
Aja was a man of great physical strength. For an old man he was physically strong. There was nothing that he could not accomplish. This was due to his strong will power. He had the desire to do; he had the desire to live. I remember a time when I was walking home from school in the hot sun and I saw an old man trotting down the Main Road, upon closer inspection I realized that it was Aja. I approached him and enquired “Pa what are you doing walking in the hot sun all by yourself”. He said “I just coming from your Aunty Savi house, I went to cut the lawn and paint the fence”. Like I said, a man of great physical strength!
Apart from his physical strength, Aja had great memory skills. For a man of his age, he remembered everything. He would always keep us entertained with vivid stories of his childhood days. I remember whenever introducing Aja to any of my friends he would ask “Who is your grandfather? Yes yes I know him when I was a little boy growing up……” and then he would proceed to narrate a childhood experience. Aja knew everyone in the community and everyone knew him.
Aja spent 91 years, living a life filled with happiness. The Vedas refer to this as "the Man of long life," the one who has lived his life, who has fulfilled his life span, does not die; he does not experience a break and, thus, a trauma; he has simply consumed the torch and exhausted the fuel. On Aja’s last days in this world, I sat there looking at him, dying slowly and I wondered what were his final thoughts. The Bhagavad-Gita says that it is the last thoughts of a dying man that decides his next life. Lord Krishna says, "Whoever at the time of death remembers My real Being as the Supreme Lord attains my glory and in fact reaches My Being". I knew in my heart that Aja’s final thoughts were spent meditating on the Supreme Being.
Now that Aja has departed this world, he can no longer perform Agnihotra with us. No longer can he offer oblations into the sacrificial fire, but I know the flame of his life goes on and it burns in his sons, his daughters, his children's children, his friends, his work, and in his ideas which are scattered to the winds. Even his body, with its own energy, has already enriched the earth on which he has walked, the rivers in which he has bathed, and the living beings with whom he has been in communication and communion.
Aja was more than just a mortal man, more than a friend, a husband, father and grandfather. He was a legacy and the memory of his life will forever reside in our hearts. Life is continuous; the flower may fade but the fragrance floats. Aja’s physical body may disintegrate; but the immortal fragrance of his soul will always remain.
As I bid farewell to my beloved Aja, I wish to read these verses from the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda.
“Immortal is the region of celestial bliss,
Where all darkness dissolves
And every wish and yearning,
Every noble aspiration finds fulfillment.
It is the heavenly place where the soul is liberated
And happiness is gained never to be lost again.
Let my heart turn towards the love of The Resplendent Lord, the source of all light,
Speed fast, then, O mind
And unite with the source of eternal bliss.”
Aja, “May your soul, enlightened with light divine,
aspire to unite with God and acquire eternal bliss.
Inspired by divine energy, blessed with all worldly gifts,
Rise above them all and aspire to attain ultimate salvation.
Ascend upwards to that blissful state;
Sail across through both the worlds.
May Godly powers unite you with eternity”
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Namaste Aja
Namaste,
In the Yogavasishtha Ramayana, Lila, the devoted wife of the ancient king Padma, propitiated goddess Sarasvati and sought immortality for her husband. Lila said “Tell me in short, Goddess Sarasvati, something more with regards to death, as to whether it is happy or painful to die and what becomes of people after they are dead and gone from here"
Goddess Sarasvati replied “Dying men are of three sorts and have different results upon their death. They are those who are ignorant, those who are versed in Yoga and those that are abstemious and religious."
Our beloved Aja was an abstemious and religious man. He dedicated his sweat, tears, love and his life to his family. Now he has departed this physical world, he is no longer a victim of this cosmic disillusion; he is on his continued journey to Brahma Loka (the divine kingdom of God).
The poet Khalil Gibran once said “You can find the secret of death if you seek it in the heart of life” and Aja discovered the secret of death because he lived a long and happy life in accordance to Vedic dharma.There was never a time when he was alone; he was constantly surrounded by the love and laughter of his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Aja was always present in every family gathering. Being the head of the household he kept the family grounded and together. Aja, now that you are gone who is going to keep us united as a family?
Aja was very strict person and very much overprotective and I am sure all his children and grandchildren agree to this. The phrase “At 6 o clock in the evening I will lock up everyone inside this house and nobody leaving” would forever echo in the ears of the grandchildren. One night we were all remembering and reflecting our life with Aja and one of my cousins told me that she believed that Aja quarreled with her the most. Parents quarrelling with their children are testimony of their undying love and affection and genuine concern.
Aja was a man of great physical strength. For an old man he was physically strong. There was nothing that he could not accomplish. This was due to his strong will power. He had the desire to do; he had the desire to live. I remember a time when I was walking home from school in the hot sun and I saw an old man trotting down the Main Road, upon closer inspection I realized that it was Aja. I approached him and enquired “Pa what are you doing walking in the hot sun all by yourself”. He said “I just coming from your Aunty Savi house, I went to cut the lawn and paint the fence”. Like I said, a man of great physical strength!
Apart from his physical strength, Aja had great memory skills. For a man of his age, he remembered everything. He would always keep us entertained with vivid stories of his childhood days. I remember whenever introducing Aja to any of my friends he would ask “Who is your grandfather? Yes yes I know him when I was a little boy growing up……” and then he would proceed to narrate a childhood experience. Aja knew everyone in the community and everyone knew him.
Aja spent 91 years, living a life filled with happiness. The Vedas refer to this as "the Man of long life," the one who has lived his life, who has fulfilled his life span, does not die; he does not experience a break and, thus, a trauma; he has simply consumed the torch and exhausted the fuel. On Aja’s last days in this world, I sat there looking at him, dying slowly and I wondered what were his final thoughts. The Bhagavad-Gita says that it is the last thoughts of a dying man that decides his next life. Lord Krishna says, "Whoever at the time of death remembers My real Being as the Supreme Lord attains my glory and in fact reaches My Being". I knew in my heart that Aja’s final thoughts were spent meditating on the Supreme Being.
Now that Aja has departed this world, he can no longer perform Agnihotra with us. No longer can he offer oblations into the sacrificial fire, but I know the flame of his life goes on and it burns in his sons, his daughters, his children's children, his friends, his work, and in his ideas which are scattered to the winds. Even his body, with its own energy, has already enriched the earth on which he has walked, the rivers in which he has bathed, and the living beings with whom he has been in communication and communion.
Aja was more than just a mortal man, more than a friend, a husband, father and grandfather. He was a legacy and the memory of his life will forever reside in our hearts. Life is continuous; the flower may fade but the fragrance floats. Aja’s physical body may disintegrate; but the immortal fragrance of his soul will always remain.
As I bid farewell to my beloved Aja, I wish to read these verses from the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda.
“Immortal is the region of celestial bliss,
Where all darkness dissolves
And every wish and yearning,
Every noble aspiration finds fulfillment.
It is the heavenly place where the soul is liberated
And happiness is gained never to be lost again.
Let my heart turn towards the love of The Resplendent Lord, the source of all light,
Speed fast, then, O mind
And unite with the source of eternal bliss.”
Aja, “May your soul, enlightened with light divine,
aspire to unite with God and acquire eternal bliss.
Inspired by divine energy, blessed with all worldly gifts,
Rise above them all and aspire to attain ultimate salvation.
Ascend upwards to that blissful state;
Sail across through both the worlds.
May Godly powers unite you with eternity”
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Namaste Aja
Saturday, January 22, 2005
Thoughts of December and Everything After
Which is faster the speed of thought or the speed of light?
There were many times I would get lost in an avalanche of thought processes. My mind would consume itself. I would drown myself in chaotic thoughts. Deterministic thoughts with random like behaviour. The human mind is full of thoughts – random and never ceasing. It is impossible for the average person to stop these thoughts and the only way to get some control over them is to adopt a steady watching attitude. Without this, each thought will hook itself on to another thought and another.
The lyrics of such a song echoes in the emptiness of my mind…..”Close your eyes look deep in your soul step outside yourself and let your mind go…. Close your eyes and forget your name step outside yourself and let your thoughts drain”
One day a princess saved me from drowning in a cataclysmic labyrinth of my thoughts. She whispered into the emptiness of my mind, “ Why worry about things you cannot control”. Such a statement is simplistic yet profound. Most people including myself have tried to plan certain aspects of life, to shape destiny…. And sometimes get caught up in worrying about the success of future plans and they drive themselves into a state of panic. Such a people attempt to fashion a utopia based on the principle that chance favours the prepared mind; as a result, their lives are shrouded in frustration. They forget to enjoy the present moment. They lose part of their life. The princess taught me that the solutions to complex problems lie in the eloquence of simplicity and to my utter despair the princess flew away and left me with a vivid memory of an angelic smile would only fuel my thoughts of remembering the sweet textures of insane pleasures.
Thoughts generally fall into three categories -- remembering, planning and dreaming. If you are remembering, then you are lingering uselessly in the past, which can be both repetitive and obsessive. Just let it go. Don’t get involved. If your mind is busy with planning, you are thinking of the future, your aims, desires and hopes. Dreaming is self-explanatory. Do not get involved. Let the thoughts come and go without clinging to them.
After all that is said and done, after our mind is drained from all thoughts, emotions and desires we are left with the serenity of the soul, our true identity.
There were many times I would get lost in an avalanche of thought processes. My mind would consume itself. I would drown myself in chaotic thoughts. Deterministic thoughts with random like behaviour. The human mind is full of thoughts – random and never ceasing. It is impossible for the average person to stop these thoughts and the only way to get some control over them is to adopt a steady watching attitude. Without this, each thought will hook itself on to another thought and another.
The lyrics of such a song echoes in the emptiness of my mind…..”Close your eyes look deep in your soul step outside yourself and let your mind go…. Close your eyes and forget your name step outside yourself and let your thoughts drain”
One day a princess saved me from drowning in a cataclysmic labyrinth of my thoughts. She whispered into the emptiness of my mind, “ Why worry about things you cannot control”. Such a statement is simplistic yet profound. Most people including myself have tried to plan certain aspects of life, to shape destiny…. And sometimes get caught up in worrying about the success of future plans and they drive themselves into a state of panic. Such a people attempt to fashion a utopia based on the principle that chance favours the prepared mind; as a result, their lives are shrouded in frustration. They forget to enjoy the present moment. They lose part of their life. The princess taught me that the solutions to complex problems lie in the eloquence of simplicity and to my utter despair the princess flew away and left me with a vivid memory of an angelic smile would only fuel my thoughts of remembering the sweet textures of insane pleasures.
Thoughts generally fall into three categories -- remembering, planning and dreaming. If you are remembering, then you are lingering uselessly in the past, which can be both repetitive and obsessive. Just let it go. Don’t get involved. If your mind is busy with planning, you are thinking of the future, your aims, desires and hopes. Dreaming is self-explanatory. Do not get involved. Let the thoughts come and go without clinging to them.
After all that is said and done, after our mind is drained from all thoughts, emotions and desires we are left with the serenity of the soul, our true identity.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
A Dedication to the Tsunami Victims
The "Butterfly Effect" is the propensity of a system to be sensitive to initial conditions, which is the essence of the chaos theory. The idea is that small variations in the initial conditions of a dynamical system can produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system. Such systems over time become unpredictable. This idea gave rise to the notion of a butterfly flapping it's wings in one area of the world, causing a tornado or some such weather event to occur in another remote area of the world.
So imagine the long-term effects a tsunami would have on the entire world.
The tragic events of December 26th 2004 would be eternally etched in our hearts. That was the day the sea swallowed the earth and approximately 150 000 + people perished. It was the day the gods cried. The screams and cries of innocent victims drowning in a macrocosmic tidal wave would forever echo throughout the world. The infinite labyrinth of tears would eternally be shed from the faces of mankind. Why do these devastating natural disasters take place in the poorest of regions in this planet we call earth?.............. Father Domenico : "If you would be kind... Would you tell us, where did we fail?" The Goat laughed, spoke three words, and vanished. "God is Dead."- James Blish, Black Easter
The dawn of a new year, early in the age of Aquarius and the words dedication, tribute, pain, sorrow, distress, suffering, life……. death …takes on an entire new meaning. I sit here in reverence, humility and utmost respect, to express my sympathy to the tsunami victims, to pay respect and homage to the relief workers. My thoughts go out to all thoses affected by the destruction cause by the tsunami.
Curse the sea…. Oh God why have you forsaken us? Is there really a God……? One of the attributes in which the theology of some religions describe God is that of “God the punisher” or “feel the wrath of God”. If such is the case then why did some of these innocent people deserve to die like this? Why were they punished? Why was the world punished? "You believe in a God who plays dice, and I in complete law and order." - Albert Einstein letter to Max Born. The science of chaos is forcing scientists to rethink Einstein's fundamental assumptions regarding the way the universe behaves. Chaos theory has already shown that simple systems, obeying precise laws, can nevertheless act in a random manner. Perhaps God plays dice within a cosmic game of complete law and order.
There is reason for everything in this world…… a reason of divine order… in Sanskrit called Rta – the cosmic order that binds this disjointed multi-verse together.
The occurrence of natural disasters, claiming innocent victims is part testimony of the theory of cause and effect…..karma… and the concept of reincarnation. The cyclic nature of natural disasters is God’s way of restoring Rta….. maintaining the cosmic order in which humans disrupt by way of bad actions….. innocent victims are either rewarded in another life or were re-paying their karmic debts to the universe.
Someone once told me that the theory of reincarnation seems far fetched…….. to me it makes complete sense…. It portrays God as being fair…A God of justice…..
What I find far fetched is blind faith….. Developing faith on a religion that does not explain the science of the universe or the nature of the soul or the divine attributes of the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God….. a religion that would damn me to hell just because I call God by another name……a religion that condemns other religions, a religion that have slaughtered non believers.(No blasphemous or sacrilegious undertones intended…. I respect everyone’s belief). Ancient civilizations of the world believed in a omnipresent God, in that the presence of God pervades the universe and thus they personify attributes of nature in their God worship. Such a people were deemed pagans and many were slaughtered. Now look at the forces of nature in motion.
The events of December 26th 2004…..has ushered a greater respect for Prana- the breath of life in Sanskrit…… the phrase…”live everyday as though it is your last” makes perfect sense now. Do not fear death… for it is part of the circle of life…… It is only seemingly a paradox to affirm that a strong will to live entails an equally strong will to die. If the will to live is a realistic will to live a real life and not a whimsical desire for an imaginary life, we must recognize that inasmuch as real life is lived under the existential condition of death, death itself has to be taken into account and equally willed. To desire to live and not to desire the same degree of death that life may contain is not a realistic desire to live but a mere product of our imagination, which seeks to grasp at an illusory "life."
The great poet Khalil Gibran once wrote:
“For what it is to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what it is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when the earth shall claim your body, then shall you truly dance”
As the poet said, “You can find the secret of death if you seek it in the heart of life”.
I dedicate this verse from the Atharva Veda (written in Ancient India 5000 B.C), to all the people who have lost their lives in the tragic events of December 26th 2004.
“May your soul, enlightened with light divine, aspire to unite with God and acquire eternal bliss.
Inspired by divine energy, blessed with all worldly gifts,
Rise above them all and aspire to attain ultimate salvation.
Ascend upwards to that blissful state;
Sail across through both the worlds.
May Godly powers unite you with eternity”
So imagine the long-term effects a tsunami would have on the entire world.
The tragic events of December 26th 2004 would be eternally etched in our hearts. That was the day the sea swallowed the earth and approximately 150 000 + people perished. It was the day the gods cried. The screams and cries of innocent victims drowning in a macrocosmic tidal wave would forever echo throughout the world. The infinite labyrinth of tears would eternally be shed from the faces of mankind. Why do these devastating natural disasters take place in the poorest of regions in this planet we call earth?.............. Father Domenico : "If you would be kind... Would you tell us, where did we fail?" The Goat laughed, spoke three words, and vanished. "God is Dead."- James Blish, Black Easter
The dawn of a new year, early in the age of Aquarius and the words dedication, tribute, pain, sorrow, distress, suffering, life……. death …takes on an entire new meaning. I sit here in reverence, humility and utmost respect, to express my sympathy to the tsunami victims, to pay respect and homage to the relief workers. My thoughts go out to all thoses affected by the destruction cause by the tsunami.
Curse the sea…. Oh God why have you forsaken us? Is there really a God……? One of the attributes in which the theology of some religions describe God is that of “God the punisher” or “feel the wrath of God”. If such is the case then why did some of these innocent people deserve to die like this? Why were they punished? Why was the world punished? "You believe in a God who plays dice, and I in complete law and order." - Albert Einstein letter to Max Born. The science of chaos is forcing scientists to rethink Einstein's fundamental assumptions regarding the way the universe behaves. Chaos theory has already shown that simple systems, obeying precise laws, can nevertheless act in a random manner. Perhaps God plays dice within a cosmic game of complete law and order.
There is reason for everything in this world…… a reason of divine order… in Sanskrit called Rta – the cosmic order that binds this disjointed multi-verse together.
The occurrence of natural disasters, claiming innocent victims is part testimony of the theory of cause and effect…..karma… and the concept of reincarnation. The cyclic nature of natural disasters is God’s way of restoring Rta….. maintaining the cosmic order in which humans disrupt by way of bad actions….. innocent victims are either rewarded in another life or were re-paying their karmic debts to the universe.
Someone once told me that the theory of reincarnation seems far fetched…….. to me it makes complete sense…. It portrays God as being fair…A God of justice…..
What I find far fetched is blind faith….. Developing faith on a religion that does not explain the science of the universe or the nature of the soul or the divine attributes of the omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God….. a religion that would damn me to hell just because I call God by another name……a religion that condemns other religions, a religion that have slaughtered non believers.(No blasphemous or sacrilegious undertones intended…. I respect everyone’s belief). Ancient civilizations of the world believed in a omnipresent God, in that the presence of God pervades the universe and thus they personify attributes of nature in their God worship. Such a people were deemed pagans and many were slaughtered. Now look at the forces of nature in motion.
The events of December 26th 2004…..has ushered a greater respect for Prana- the breath of life in Sanskrit…… the phrase…”live everyday as though it is your last” makes perfect sense now. Do not fear death… for it is part of the circle of life…… It is only seemingly a paradox to affirm that a strong will to live entails an equally strong will to die. If the will to live is a realistic will to live a real life and not a whimsical desire for an imaginary life, we must recognize that inasmuch as real life is lived under the existential condition of death, death itself has to be taken into account and equally willed. To desire to live and not to desire the same degree of death that life may contain is not a realistic desire to live but a mere product of our imagination, which seeks to grasp at an illusory "life."
The great poet Khalil Gibran once wrote:
“For what it is to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?
And what it is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when the earth shall claim your body, then shall you truly dance”
As the poet said, “You can find the secret of death if you seek it in the heart of life”.
I dedicate this verse from the Atharva Veda (written in Ancient India 5000 B.C), to all the people who have lost their lives in the tragic events of December 26th 2004.
“May your soul, enlightened with light divine, aspire to unite with God and acquire eternal bliss.
Inspired by divine energy, blessed with all worldly gifts,
Rise above them all and aspire to attain ultimate salvation.
Ascend upwards to that blissful state;
Sail across through both the worlds.
May Godly powers unite you with eternity”
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