Tatvamasi

Came across this insightful article on Scribd when i was searching for the Tatvamasi of Prof. Sukumar Azhikode.


TATVAMASI

Life and work (in the right order)

After all, it is hard to master both life and work equally well. So if you are bound to
fake one of them, it had better be life

JOSEPH BRODSKY

*********************
After all, it is hard to master both life and work equally well. So if you are bound to
fake one of them, it had better be work

-Me, modifying on the above quote because what use is mastery in work if life has not been mastered.
*********************

Added: Paulo Coelho's Convention of those wounded in Love (modeled after the Geneva Convention, it seems)

Kurai Ondrum Illai

A beautiful devotional song composed by C Rajagopalachari.
Sung in this video by MS Subbalakshmi.



Translation (given by the video uploader)


There is no grievance - Lord of Wisdom
There is no grievance - krishna
There is no grievance - govinda

You are omnipresent - kanna
Even though you are not visible for my naked eyes
There is no grievance - Lord of Wisdom

When Lord Venkatesa is always there to give what I want
I dont need anything else lord of seven hills

Krishna, you are standing behind the veiled curtains
You can be seen only by vedic scholars
still, There is no grievance dear krishna

You are posing like a idol over a hill
There is no grievance dear krishna
Father to these hills

In this Kalyug, you have come
and entered and staying in the santum of tirumala
Though i dont see you,
There is no grievance dear krishna

You dont refuse sincere prayers lord of hills
When Mahalakshmi is there with you
living in your chest
There is no grievance dear krishna
I have no complaints whatsoever Govinda

Losing Empathy

Empathy or the ability to put yourself in someone else' position is rare these days. Maybe because it is a dangerous thing, because if you empathize with the other, you will lose the will to fight against his position as ferociously so as to win. But it is also the quality that make us human.
I seem to be losing that quality these days. Filled with bitterness and frustration, I have come to view that a large part of my problems lie with someone else. The hatred against that person is overcoming my initial inclination to absorb the pains as part of the learning process. I am questioning wether what I am doing is worth it or am just wasting my time for a false ideal. Yes, I have the graduate student blues!
But that thought doesn't comfort me. I do not want to be comforted that everyone goes through these phases and I will come out better at the end. For I do not know about the future, but I know whats happening today. I have to take action and react to the way I feel right now. I have to understand what is going on and why I am feeling that way.
Its a mixed feeling and something I have rarely experienced ever. On the one hand it is frustratingly painful, but on the other hand it is mysterious. I cannot be sure if it is all bad or there is some good. Maybe it is both.
So finally a bit of rant out of my system and onto the blog.

Philosophy

Lying to teach

Overcoming Bias is a very interesting group blog, which tries to question the inherent biases which are present in our thoughts. This is a really great post about how even lies can really do you some good.

Related post : What does it mean to be good?

What have you changed your mind about?

When thinking changes your mind, that's philosophy.
When God changes your mind, that's faith.
When facts change your mind, that's science.

"A great event in the Anglo-Saxon culture." — El Mundo

Eminent Thinkers discuss things which they realized they were wrong about in this highly addictive question by the Edge magazine.
I enjoyed reading Nassim Taleb's answer and I am sure when I read the rest there will be many more equally entertaining.

being Good

Gayatri Jayaraman at Intentblog writes a tribute about the good people in this world.

"And you look at them, even if you don't know them at all, and suddenly believe that there is goodness in this world, and all those tales with morals meant for you to become such a person."

Makes one ponder about what it means to be good.

Perchance to live

You don't need much philosophy to live. You don't need to keep on searching for the meaning of life. I think, though I am not sure, that moksha can be found by anyone and everyone.
Scientific or artistic pursuit can become as worthless as just living only for money, if you do not have a reason why you are doing it. I admired the philosophy of doing it for your enjoyment or pleasure. But then pleasure and fun is subjective and changes with time as well. What is fun for you today might not be tomorrow or day after? So what will you do? Leave that and find something else for 'fun'. Ofcourse you must have to have fun to do well in what you are doing, but then that is not the be all and the end-all.

Here is a delightful perspective in living life by Eknath Eeswaran.

I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me. I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.
– Anne Frank

When you discover that everyone is contained in you and you are contained in everyone, you have realized the unity of life, which is the divine ground of existence. Then you are not just a person; you have become a beneficial force. Wherever you go, wherever you live, those around you will benefit from your life.

The life of such a person, such as Mahatma Gandhi in our own times, becomes a permanent, selfless force on this earth, because even after death his influence continues to bring people together, to make them aware of their trusteeship for the resources of the earth and for all creatures. Gandhi is still alive because he is still at work as a real force, advancing peace, good will, and unity.

Even one unassuming man or woman leading a selfless life, though he or she may live only a few years on earth, enriches all life for all time to come. Even if one person in a community is leading a selfless life, he will make his contribution, and she will slowly inspire others to make the same contribution, because human nature responds to such an example.

Indian Materialism : Caravaka

I recently came to know of a materialistic and hedonistic school of Indian Philosophy. Most of Indian Philosophy is dominated by a pessimistic outlook and directed towards the supernatural and seem to reduce man to something very small compared to the absolute principle, God etc.

But Caravaka and his few fellow thinkers were closer to the hedonists and epicureans of the greek. For them, only the life that we live right now holds any meaning. They believed that thinking about the intangibles like god which cannot be percieved is not useful. A delightful verse expresses the strength and weaknesses of their philosophy.

Yavajjivet sukham jivet

Rinam kritvaa ghritam pibet

Bhasmibhutasya dehasya

Punaraagamanam kutah

(As long as you live, live happily, take a loan and drink ghee. After a body is reduced to ashes where will it come back from?)

Eventhough it is difficult to agree completely to their philosophy, it was a pleasant surprise that there was a school of thought which valued the human life and did not look at the life as just waiting for something better.

I guess there was too much of a thirst for the truth back then and people were searching for the absolute truth. So when Adi Sankara was able to beat most of the other philosopher in debate, most people accepted the advaita vedanta as the absolute truth. In retrospect, it appears that it would have been better if other schools, even if they seem to be incorrect, were allowed to have flourished. It would have made a richer tapestry of Indian philosophy.

Related Link (added 3/29/08)
http://bantwal.blogspot.com/2005/04/charvaka-carvaka-chaarvaaka.html

What does it mean to be good?

There is constantly a fight between good and evil. For some, being good is to be virtuous, pure, untainted by any bad motives, always thinking of the good way. This is the stuff we read in myths, in religious scriptures and this is what is taught to be to children by most parents.

But we soon find out that the world is not black and white. That we are all in different shades of grey. And when a child realizes this, there is a sense of betrayal (atleast I felt it for the first time). It seems as your parents and the society were lying to you, as if they were being patronizing by thinking that you would not be able to understand such a complex thing.

But gradually you realize that it is only for the good. You realize your weaknesses and realize the importance of that initial perfidy. Eventhough it is a high standard that you are given at the begining, it ensures that even if you fall a little below, you are only becoming a normal human(whatever that means).

But a person is really good who, inspite of having the ability to do great harm, still does good. For what is good, if it is done only because you didnt have any other option. It maybe because you are weak, or are too afraid. You are good out of circumstance rather than choice.

When you have all the temptations of doing something wrong but you refuse and resist, and still do good. Not to show off. But only because you have atlast realized that there is pleasure even in delayed gratification.