Purpose

"What drives you?" Is a question many people either reply to with a blank stare, or a seemingly quizzical look. Has the human race become so mechanical that we exist, work and live not knowing what we do it for?

" The most depraved man is the man without a purpose"--Francisco d'Anconia, "Atlas shrugged"

Purpose is something that starts early in life, it changes quite often, as we become more and more conditioned to the devouring maw of 'society'.

Anyone who dares go the other way, who even tries to resist, is branded a bad influence,parents tell their children not to assosciate with such people,such people are even demonized.All this for what?For someone not accepting their ideas? for 'daring' to simply say, "I dont think so."

The key words there being 'I' and 'think'.A powerful combination of words used so often in life that we dont really grasp how significant it is.

They form the the beam, of the scales held by that fairest and most ruthless of judges, Reality.

Why is it that people cannot stomach the thought of a different idea at all?Why is it that every new idea, philosophy or notion must first go through a phase of opposition?

The greatest thinkers of the ages were men that followed their own vision, who tried and found new ways to solve problems,problems that seemingly, only they could see.How many saw the apple fall from the tree before Newton took the hint? How many took for granted that gravitation was an instantaneous force before Einstein?

The answer of the brutish society that forces people to conform to its norms, has always been "We know" to suggest that they as a whole, know already what is best for them who are already beyond their bounds,does the air know what is best for the earth? Fifteen hundred years ago, everyone knew, the earth was flat, One hundred and fifty years ago, everyone knew, that alternating current was too dangerous and could never be tamed or transmitted, fifteen years ago, everyone knew,that no one would ever win more than 7 gold medals at the olympics,fifteen days ago, 15 days ago, everyone knew, the 4 teams who would make it to the IPL semifinals, imagine what we will know, 15 minutes from now.

Two quotes which best summarise this post "Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear."--Thomas Jefferson

"Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth -- more than ruin -- more even than death.... Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man."--Bertrand Russell

Therefore, thinking is the best defence we have, against the ills of the world, it is the best way to ensure that we always have a purpose,that we know for what we work, why we work, and guard us against the fate of becoming a race of automatons.

New Rules

"Life, that can shower you with so much splendour, is unremittingly cruel to those who have given up."--Stephen Fry.

There's a profound secret I've discovered,it is that life's rules aren't as rigid as one might think.What men can or cannot do really is all in our heads.In the star trek, the next generation episode "Tapestry" Picard initially dies in an attack, and is offered a chance to go back in time and correct the critical juncture by playing it safe, thus enabling to lead a long life and survive the attack in the process.He returns to his time to find that he is no longer the captain of the enterprise, but a lowly Lieutainant junior grade in the astrophysics department.As he repents having changed his past and seeing Q's rationale, returns to the past and puts things back the way they were.

Lt. J.G. Jean-Luc Picard : Having a good laugh now, Q? Does it amuse you to think of me living out the rest of my life as a dreary man in a tedious job?
Q : I gave you something most mortals never experience: a second chance at life. And now all you can do is complain?
Lt. J.G. Jean-Luc Picard : I can't live out my days as that person. That man is bereft of passion... and imagination! That is not who *I* am!
Q : Au contraire! He is the person you wanted to be: one who was less arrogant and undisciplined in his youth, one who was less like me... The Jean-Luc Picard you wanted to be, the one who did NOT fight the Nausicaan, had quite a different career from the one you remember. That Picard never had a brush with death, never came face-to-face with his own mortality, never realized how fragile life is, or how important each moment must be. So his life never came into focus. He drifted through much of his career, with no plan or agenda, going from one assignment to the next, never seizing the opportunities that presented themselves. He never led the away team on Milika III to save the ambassador; or take charge of the Stargazer's bridge when its captain was killed. And no one ever offered him a command. He learned to play it safe. And he never, ever, got noticed by anyone.

As I watched, I was struck by how remarkably it paralleled my own life in many instances(not all), as there are many instances where I too have wished to go back and rectify mistakes I have made, take back things I have said, not take a particular risk, not break a particular rule,basically be as I was expected to be...someone who played it safe, always obeyed, always agreed with the status quo.I am thankful that somewhere along the line, I did rebel,much to the chagrin of many.I firmly believe that unquestioned acceptance of anything, is wrong, and unquestioned acceptance of everything is lunacy.

Too few take the opportunity to swim against the stream, to take on the system,the society at large.It is a deplorable thing indeed.To quote Thomas Jefferson

“Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear”

Why is it that people shrink from thinking?That they trap themselves in the same illusory cage that they believe their predecessors constructed especially for them?Indeed, life's rules are not as rigid as we might expect, but not arbitrary, and certainly not simple.It is like a system of roads that move, the road to a particular destination may be encountered oft, and at different stages, perhaps along the route to different destination as well,but the greatest advantage man has is free will, he is free to choose,choose what road he will travel, what beasts he will encounter,what mountains he will climb, whether he will climb, whether he will slay the beasts or be slain... life isn't change... life is choice.

To summarise, making mistakes is alright, the more the merrier, repetition of the mistakes is a sin.

The teachings of Phunsuk Wangdu

A new post after a very very long time, since that time, Manchester United did not manage to defend the UEFA cup, rather abysmally so,I might add,the world plunged deep into a recession,news of which evidently did not reach one F.Perez, of the board of Real Madrid FC, resulting in the world transfer record being broken twice,and the dawn of a new age of Galacticos in La liga.

In that time, I have started graduate studies,finished my first semester,which was alright, I did reasonably well,even though things do seem to be going my way, I ask of myself, why is it that I am still not happy?If it is anything that I have learnt over the course of my short existence, it is that people are inherently conditioned to look for , and pursue happiness.Any and all happiness I have found in the past few months has been from my work, my graduate studies,the projects and assignments therein, but the happiness achieved is much like the 'high' people have told me comes form cigarettes, alcohol or any other intoxicant.

It is fleeting, all too brief,much like the ripples in current or voltage from a rectifier,and I confess, I am nearly an addict, I crave more and more of this such that it is no longer the fleeting passing moment before looking for my next fix.Never before have I seen myself in such similar light to acerbic TV character I used to identify with, Dr.Gregory House(House MD).I really do understand it now, the constant need to have something interesting to occupy oneself with.

Another character, this time,from a movie,who shared the same obsession was Aamir khan's character in the movie 3 idiots.Which, unfortunately I managed to see only yesterday.The unfortunate part is that I took so long to get to see it.

The movie itself ,is in the true Indian way of saying it, 'filmy' in some parts, in the sense that some things would usually never fall into place.But the underlying message is one which everyone needs to hear,and live.The film is first rate, if you haven't seen it, please do.

I learnt a great deal from that movie:

1.Do what you love:

Most of today's society dismisses this as a bromide concocted for the 'losers' of society, those who do not lead a life where they are recognized as someone of standing, in their community, however small.To quote Kevin Spacey "If you aren't a rebel before 20 you've got no heart, if you aren't establishment by 30,you've got no brains."Speaking as someone who jumped on the establishment bandwagon, I might have no right to complain, although, I will say this, in my opinion, there is no establishment,it is a bogeyman concocted by parents and 'upstanding members of the society'.There is always room to change.Even within the most rigid hierarchial organizations.People must realise that their neighbours,parents and relatives are not yardsticks to measure their own success.Anything new, must go through what Gandhi said about his ideals 'First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then, you win.'

2.Dil bada darpok hai:

Another fact which is true,people are afraid to change, everywhere.People fear thought and change more than anything.People have become so conditioned to fear of failure,that they are afraid to think, which indeed, as Ayn Rand puts it in 'Atlas shrugged', the only evil thought.Thinking in a reasonable,rational manner,by a few, is what got the world where it is now,all the progress is by thinking and changing.If the first man did not think of rubbing sticks together to change the temperature of his surroundings, god knows what might have been.Every great discovery and invention has come at the independent work of some independent mind, every horror and destruction has come from trying to force men into a herd of brainless soulless robots.To remove this, the great Richard Feynman suggested as much in the title of one of his books 'What do you care what other people think?'

3.Strive for excellence, success will follow:

"When you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better.If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. Be the best of whatever you are."