The Gods Must Be Crazy has a dialogue that goes something like, "Man has complicated life to such extents that for mere survival, its young ones have to undergo atleast 13 years of formal education." This assertion sets me thinking...
In the beginning, Man didn't understand the forces of nature and hence gave birth to God, a father-figure who would take care of Man's basic needs, provided, Man demonstrated his obeisance to God's omni-potence. A linear logic by all means - very representative, nothing abstract. Thenceforth, for centuries, Man has worked overtime to complicate the notion of God - ideologies have been formulated, religions have been founded, gospel has been spread, masses have been converted, hatred has been engendered, intolerance has been tolerated, wars have been fought, and humanity has been discounted.
The advent of Science on the horizon of human consciousness not too long ago, has however, managed to replace God with Technology. Where the concept of God was symbolic of diversity in unity, Technology exemplifies unity in diversity. The end result however, is not very different. Where there was one God and many interpretations of Him, there are uncountable demi-Gods, or technological marvels, that swamp human existence with all the glory of their incomprehensible gadgetry, but appear as a cohesive whole - Technology. With a host of gizmos floating around, enticing humanity with the razzle-dazzle of their oft-unwanted utilities, the secret of growing at will, the forbidden fruits of knowledge on the tree of enlightenment, seems suddenly to have been revealed to Man.
Thus, in an attempt to simplify the complexity of his being, Man has complicated the simplicity of his existence.
October 16, 2004
October 04, 2004
A Streetcar Named Desire
At first, there is an eerie calm.
The proverbial lull before the storm.
A deafening silence that engulfs the tranquil soul,
and an intoxicated life that drowns the mind into unfathomable depths of a subconscious whole.
And then there is a gusty storm - one of the most extraordinary kind.
It comes unheralded, and whistles past the flummoxed mind.
Does incalculable damage, and leaves without an iota of trace.
And the fact that you survive it, offers no saving grace.
What remains after the rampage is a numbed mind, incapacitated in thought,
and an emaciated soul, whose purpose for existence is frantically sought.
O! What on mother Earth is this all-devastating storm called?
A Streetcar Named Desire! Lo and behold!!
Desire, an ordinary word that has come to acquire an extraordinary meaning. Is it fundamentally wrong to have desires? Is a soul with desires, fallen? Is desire the sole cause of misery? Is salvation, the lack of desires? Why do we always associate desire with such high-sounding philosophical questions, the answers to which are the hardest to come by?
A mind, in perfect harmony with its surroundings, is agitated beyond reprieve by the mere intrusion of a desirous thought. What appeases the mind thence is nothing less than performing the surreptitious act of giving into the temptation of desire. And even after the soul has succumbed to the temptation, the crazed mind knows no respite because the fear of God looms large as a spectre in its dark, long, and deserted alleys.
Who then is the true survivor - the one who abandons all fear or the one who abandons all desire?
The proverbial lull before the storm.
A deafening silence that engulfs the tranquil soul,
and an intoxicated life that drowns the mind into unfathomable depths of a subconscious whole.
And then there is a gusty storm - one of the most extraordinary kind.
It comes unheralded, and whistles past the flummoxed mind.
Does incalculable damage, and leaves without an iota of trace.
And the fact that you survive it, offers no saving grace.
What remains after the rampage is a numbed mind, incapacitated in thought,
and an emaciated soul, whose purpose for existence is frantically sought.
O! What on mother Earth is this all-devastating storm called?
A Streetcar Named Desire! Lo and behold!!
Desire, an ordinary word that has come to acquire an extraordinary meaning. Is it fundamentally wrong to have desires? Is a soul with desires, fallen? Is desire the sole cause of misery? Is salvation, the lack of desires? Why do we always associate desire with such high-sounding philosophical questions, the answers to which are the hardest to come by?
A mind, in perfect harmony with its surroundings, is agitated beyond reprieve by the mere intrusion of a desirous thought. What appeases the mind thence is nothing less than performing the surreptitious act of giving into the temptation of desire. And even after the soul has succumbed to the temptation, the crazed mind knows no respite because the fear of God looms large as a spectre in its dark, long, and deserted alleys.
Who then is the true survivor - the one who abandons all fear or the one who abandons all desire?
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