October 2011!

Waking up in science

In Astronomy and Cosmology studies, they should not only teach us the theories of scientists like Einstein, Bhor, Planck, Heisenberg, Friedmann and the one million other scientists from every culture in the world, but also about the people they were. What was their life philosophy? What was their relationship with nature? How did they live their life? How did they think in that spectacular manner? What was their perception of consciousness? What was their understanding of religion?

This holds true for every discipline. Then perhaps we'd be able to see one more very "real" side of the picture that is our universe.

They say the answer to what's going on in the universe lies at the sub-atomic level. I've only begun to scratch the surface to understand what this really means.

Religion and spirituality have a lot to offer science. And vice-versa. Science is a modern language. But we shouldn't forget the stories told by the older language of religion.

But I'm perplexed. If religion (and here I speak of the vedas) had it right with the concept of a supreme creator existing in universal consciousness, then why did the world become the place it is today. It doesn't add up.

Why did science branch out from religion in the first place, when I'm certain that they're fighting towards the same goal: A means to explain the enigma that is life and the enigma that is the creation of our universe. The proverbial why.

Religion has failed and is failing more every day. Ever since it got trapped in the material world. But if religion disappears, who will teach us compassion, truth, love, generosity, tolerance, all teachings of religion---across religions. Will it be our society which functions via a government of politicians who operate in an economic system? Are there enough of us to not get lost.

I urge all scientists out there who have figured out something more, who exist in two worlds, to stand up and talk about it without fear. Science and spirituality are perceived as two unconnected things. But they're not. They're more connected than anyone is willing to acknowledge. They are parallel concepts operating at two distinct levels.

Can spirituality even be removed from our world? If it is the force it is, then it seems improbable. Am I worried for nothing? Will everything figure itself out?

I feel quite lost today. We've (and when I say we I mean I) invested so heavily in the material world, we've totally ignored, blocked out, and escaped from other non-material matters. And yet, I feel sad when I see my world around me. Where your धर्मं, कर्म, योग (karma, dharma, and yoga) don't mean anything. And another conflict, if we're all meant to contribute through karma, dharma, and yoga, then what are we contributing towards?

Those are my questions for today. And my learnings: everyone should be a teacher; everyone should be a student; everyone should question; everyone should share.

My Nephew Marc!

M: "It was a relationship where words weren't needed."
C: "I see."

"The Future of Power Grids is No Power Grids"

"100,000 Monks in prayer for a better world"

~source unknown

I spend a lot of time in denial that the world we live in is not that bad. No one wants guilt.

I attended a talk last week by Suprabha Seshan hosted by Shibumi friends in Amsterdam called "Rainforest Etiquette in a World gone mad". It was both inspiring and in retrospect, as Lipika said, depressing.

Suprabha's message was simple "where does one end and another begin." We like to imagine different aspects of our universe are disconnected. So the impact of our lives and our lifestyles are minimal to nothing. However, the truth is that everything is connected--I learn this every day in science; I learn this every day in life. And if we remember and incorporate this simple understanding in our actions, there is most certainly hope.

She also spoke of the living Earth. That the Earth is living, for me, is a fact. Perhaps our definitions of "living" differ because it is surely a different perspective. One that we have systematically removed from our modern culture to reduce our own guilt. The industrial civilization has removed other facts as well, and suppressed a number of our senses.

You can't deny the larger-scale forces, everywhere. As individuals we're different. As a group we're different. The bigger the group the greater the propensity for change -- good or bad, it REALLY is up to us and within our control.

In the universe, there is matter, and there is non-matter. It's a game, a dance. The human body is made of matter, but there's distinctly something non-matter in all of us. That's what religion really speaks to us about --  in ALL older civilizations. I'm not talking about today's organized religious practices (which have made me run away from this understanding for too long).

There's a lot of wrong in the world today. In India, the ego in Mumbai is rising at an alarming rate. My beautiful wonderful country is slowly but surely becoming a giant landfill of rotting garbage. And everyday, we're happy to continue our plunder without consequence. Just because our political governance does not impose consequences, doesn't mean they're not there. We need to start realizing our own consequences.

So let's take a step towards opening our senses. All our senses, even the unacknowledged ones. Let's welcome the intangible and change. Changes are required at all levels. A world filled with only humans doesn't seem very exciting. A world where humans control EVERYTHING doesn't seem exciting either.

Remember the idea is not to leave everything and go into a forest and live (we'd only destroy the forest). My message today is only awareness. It's to wake up.

Eureka

I hope I can take all the despair I have about the future and convert it into excitement!

Bothered about borders

Situation with Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh on Google Maps:

• INDIAN VERSION ( http://maps.google.co.in ) (Both are a part of India)
• US VERSION ( http://maps.google.com ) (Both are questionable/disputed; this version is also what people in Pakistan view)
• CHINESE VERSION (http://ditu.google.com/) (AP is in China; so is some of J&K)

What is causing this inconsistency?

(Re)Discovering Quantum Mechanics

"Consider throwing dice. One individual die is unpredictable. It could be a 1, or a 3, or a 6, who knows? But when you throw millions of dice, you can confidently predict that the average will be 3.5. So the Correspondence Principle says that classical Physics worked, because it was always dealing with aggregate properties of large numbers of particles (photons, dice) and could make correct predictions. But those predictions and theories don't apply at all to individual particles which may follow very different rules."
~Kenny

The last line sound familiar?

Thought of the Day

Something that's been on my mind lately is how we've taken the concept of "selling" to a whole new level. And people are even commended on their ability to convert any concept and sell them.

I wonder about the history of selling. I imagine that it started off with simply food, moving on to clothes, building materials, and the ball just got rolling from there. Today though, it's become quite a different picture. We're selling everything, even intangible aspects: "time" "experience" "knowledge" "advice" "fun" "happiness" -- we're selling everything, without really thinking about the fact that we're "selling" it, for exchange. In Belgium, you can't get "free" water at most restaurants, and water there is more expensive than beer, wine, and coke.

The concept of "selling your soul" is not a new one. So has (wo)man done this before: the cycle of soul selling? Are we headed there again?

Let's think about it for a while: What shouldn't I be selling and how does that affect me, my family, my community, my society, my state, my nation, my world, and finally my universe.