tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-106258622024-03-14T05:03:55.448+09:00SarafSpaceObserving.Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-50934795005550499202022-07-24T17:05:00.002+09:002022-07-24T17:05:56.219+09:00Be a friend<p> 1995 - I was in the first year of engineering college, I went to Appā Baḷwanta Chowk, the place where numerous bookstores are there. I parked my scooter by the side of the road and started walking - looking at the shops - when suddenly a kind but strong voice called out -<br /><br /><b>Bol mitrā, tulā kaay pāhije, kaay shikāychay - mi deto. </b><br />(Bolo mitra, tumhe kyā chāhiye - kyā sīkhnā hai, mai detā hoon.<br />Hey friend, tell me what you want - what do you want to learn - I will give you.)<br /><br />I turned around to see - and there was this man with a wide smile standing outside a small 5 feet by 5 feet chai ṭaprī sized shop filled with books. Pradeep Book Depot.<br /><br />Since my schooling was in the part of Pune where friends typically spoke in Hindi or English - this was the first time someone had called out to me in Marathi using the word "Are mitrā". That too - an unknown person. At that moment - I paused - it felt as if someone is caring deeply for me. That feeling I still have, preserved, with me.<br /><br />And then, I also decided to start using the word mitra when talking with people - with the same bhāva ... </p><p>Hello friend - tell me what you want - I will give you.<br /><br /></p>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-82161240005575345282021-02-02T14:52:00.003+09:002021-02-02T15:02:15.118+09:00Follow up on Mosquito Mamas - Cleanup Teams<p>With respect to my previous post </p><p>https://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.com/2012/08/mosquitos-mamas-cleanup-teams.html</p><p> - somewhere I came across a sentence that said something to the effect - "No - only female mosquitoes bite only because they need the animal protein required for reproduction and their offspring."</p><p>My thoughts about that were - </p><p>a. Aah … so - if I eat meat - that will attract them - that explains this - whenever people from outside India - who have animal meat as a part of their diet come and visit us - no wonder - they are hounded by mosquito mamas, while I am not bothered by them at all!<br /></p><p></p><p></p><p>b. I have enough … I will gladly give a few drops to a mother for her children... in fact I will try to give the essence of the best I have.</p><p>a. AND … she still is doing it out of caring and love. <br /></p><p>And as far as the 'bad germs' they are supposed to spread are concerned - there is a population of billions living at that scale inside my body - my focused intention is that the bad guys get adjusted in that universe - and yes … there is enough power in that universe to assimilate and help them.</p>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-32693644948438706302012-08-26T09:59:00.002+09:002012-08-26T21:40:41.892+09:00Mosquito mamas Cleanup teams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
================ <br />
Caveat lector: Words here are an not a representation of reality but an
approximation of my model of it
and reflect more of where I come from and my observations. Labels:
idealist.
extremist. (non-conformist?) consider -knowing- important. mostly know
stuff only from books, but like practicable philosophy. revere the
yogasutras of patanjali - but am pretty green - inexperienced about
stuff in general. Have been intolerant about anything but the best, and
only recently have started being tempered by life. Hesitate to write,
lest it be a reproduction of what I have learnt from books, a mouthing of
platitudes or an expression of something that I do not understand yet,
and I believe words to be very powerful vehicles that can take one a
long way - but have sometimes used them carelessly in the past.<br />
================<br />
<br />
Engineering school. 1996. Late nights over a drafting board finishing Engineering Drawing assignments. <a href="http://www.dabur.com/Products-Home%20Care-Odomos" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Odomos</a> all over my hands and neck. A mosquito repellent coil lit up right beside me to prevent the little buggers from biting me.<br />
<br />
Forward to 1999. Alandi. A village near Pune associated with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dnyaneshwar" target="_blank">Saint Dnyaneshwar</a>. The Alandi centre of the Centre for the Development of Advanced Computing. I had this idea that I should verify if our spiritual texts represent practical values and they "really work". I had a photocopy of a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Science-Yoga-I-Taimni/dp/0835600238" target="_blank">book "The Science of Yoga" by I.K. Taimni on the Yogasutras of Patanjali</a>.<br />
<br />
In Alandi and the years that followed I discovered a few things about my relationship with mosquitoes.<br />
<br />
(Remember that I was trying to find out if yogic philosophy was pragmatic. )<br />
I decided to stop swatting mosquitoes and using any means to repel or kill them.<br />
I was experimenting with living in saatvik mode. (key words: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamas_%28philosophy%29" target="_blank">Tamas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajas" target="_blank">Rajas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sattva" target="_blank">Sattva</a>)<br />
<br />
<br />
Observation 1: As long as I was trying to be in saatvik mode, the mosquitos stopped biting me. If I switched to tamasic, say I had <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_foods" target="_blank">food that was tamasic</a>, they would start biting me again. ( saatvik food: a wholesome vegetarian diet plus refraining from eating stimulating/medicinal foods like onions and garlic for the sake of taste, abstaining from watching most popular entertainment or anything whose purpose was to stimulate.) This was helped by the fact that while in Alandi I was in a space that was cut off from media - television, newspaper, cinema and that we used to have food in a place named Mamata Jain Bhojanaalaya (keyword: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism" target="_blank">Jain</a>.)<br />
<br />
Fine. This agrees with the <a href="http://www.howstuffworks.com/mosquito3.htm" target="_blank">howstuffworks.com article on why mosquitos bite</a> - mosquitos are supposed to be attracted by sweat and body odor (added note: sweat and body odor if you keenly observe - change based on the food we eat - emotional food, mental food, physical "food" food ...), attracted by dark colors like black (added note: tamasic) and other waste products like lactic acid and carbon dioxide ...<br />
<br />
Observation 2: <br />
<br />
Some years later when at IBM - before I was hit by chronic fatigue, mosquitoes were actually helping me. If I abused my body in any way - say by staying up late at night in front of a laptop, mosquitoes would
come and sit on my eyelids, not biting me, but waiting till I got up and
went to bed. If I got out of bed and tried to get back in front of the
computer, they would be back buzzing around my eyes. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Now this appeared outlandish when I talked about it, to many people in my family (I did not dare to talk about such things with friends for risking being called a madman or a heretic).<br />
<br />
But my experiences were backed up by<br />
<br />
<b>a.</b> work done by <a href="http://www.wastetohealth.com/" target="_blank">Dr. Uday Bhawalkar,</a> a friend of my father, and a researcher with a doctorate from IIT Bombay. He had carried out research about the role of pests in society - and how they were actually the clean up teams provided by nature, and could be usually found in abundance where waste or garbage was present. He was doing work on methods to help them clean up the waste faster instead of using poisons to kill them. <br />
<br />
<b>b.</b> various commentaries on the yogasutras -<br />
<br />
<br />
If you follow extreme non-violence and live a highly saatvik existence, all beings shall drop their intentions of violence towards you in your presence.<br />
<br />
<br />
In the yogasutras, actually in the various -commentaries- on the yogasutras, there are claims that <a href="http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.jp/2011/06/prime-mover-memes-principles.html" target="_blank">appear fantastic</a> - . For instance in the above <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Science-Yoga-I-Taimni/dp/0835600238" target="_blank">book by Taimni</a> -<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
<br />
... Another important point to understand with regard to Yogic
morality is that the virtues which are prescribed have a much wider
scope and deeper significance than what appears on the surface. Each
virtue included in yama, for example , is a typical representative of a
class of virtues which have to be practised to a high degree of
perfection. The injunction against killing, stealing, lying, etc., under
Yama does not seem to represent a very high standard of morality even
from ordinary standards. Any decent and good individual is expected to
abstain from such anti-social conduct. Where is then the high standard
of morality which is demanded by higher Yoga? .. Each virtue is more
comprehensive in its meaning than what it is generally considered to be.
Thus Ahimsa - non-violence, does not merely abstaining from murder but
not wilfully inflicting any injury, suffering or pain on any living
creature, by word, thought or action. Ahimsa thus stands for highest
degree of harmlessness which is found only among saints and sages and
any ordinary person trying to practise it seriously in his life will
soon begin to feel that perfect harmlessness is an unrealizable ideal.
To what degree of perfection these virtues can be developed is shown in
the eleven sutras, II (35-45) .... An individual who has developed
ahimsa carries about him an invisible aura surcharged with love and
compassion even though these may not be expressed at an emotional
level. Also, because love is the power which binds together in a
spiritual union all the separated fragments of the One life, any
individual who is imbued with such love is inwardly attuned to all
living creatures and autmatically inspires confidence and love in
them.That is how the violent and hateful vibrations of those who come
near the Yogi are for the time being over-powered by the much stronger
vibrations of love and kindness emanating from him and even beasts of
prey become harmless and docile for the time being. Of course, when a
creature goes out of the immediate influence of such a yogi, its normal
nature is bound to assert itself but even this brief contact is likely
to leave a permanent mark on it and uplift it a little ...<br />
<br /></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Relevant parts from some earlier posts on this blog -<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.jp/search?q=how+cruel+or+kind+can+you+be" target="_blank">Dual meme transcendence</a> ... consider this - every time you breathe, you 'kill' millions of
micro-beings as you suck them into your lungs. Every time you eat, some
form, some being, some structure has 'sacrificed' itself, for another
structure to be created. You are massively violent at a micro scale.
Scale, not quality.) How 'kind or cruel' can you be? ...<br />
<br /></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #45818e;"><a href="http://draft.blogger.com/%20http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.jp/2011/06/prime-mover-memes-principles.html" target="_blank">Prime mover memes - principles </a>... Meme d:</span> Ahimsa - non violence<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">What alignment confers:</span> There is no obstruction. Action will progress without hindrance from any force/any one.<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Extreme alignment:</span> The being starts
creating an atmosphere around self, (self(x,space,time) for larger and
larger values of x,space,time) where violence and enmity must cease to
exist. All beings, even animals are sensitive to such an atmosphere - as
many trainers would testify - the animals 'know' they won't be hurt. ...<br />
<br /></blockquote>
<br />
<b>c.</b> And this takes the cake -<br />
<br />
From the howstuffworks article - " ... As mentioned before, only female mosquitoes bite."<br />
<br />
<br />
The males can survive on sugar without biting people - physiologically speaking, so can the females.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ask.yahoo.com/20011017.html" target="_blank">Is it true that only the female mosquitoes bite people, what do the males eat?</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"> Few people realize that mosquitoes rely on
sugar as their main source of energy. Both male and female mosquitoes
feed on plant nectar, fruit juices and liquids that ooze from plants.
The sugar is burned as fuel for flight and is replenished on a daily
basis.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<br />
The mosquito is careful that the bite itself does not hurt, you are only barely aware of it, takes away as many toxins out as she can, and leaves you with a slight irritation that is a pointer to a clean-up site. (I wouldn't be surprised if someone does research on how mosquito bites correspond to acupuncture points.)<br />
<br />
From the <a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/life/zoology/insects-arachnids/mosquito3.htm" target="_blank">howstuffworks article</a> ... <br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
If she is disturbed, she will fly away. Otherwise, she will remain until
she has a full abdomen. If you were to cut the sensory nerve to her
abdomen, she would keep sucking until she burst ...</blockquote>
She is not doing it for filling her stomach! <br />
Not just for fulfilling the vital clean-up role of a pest ... it can only be an act of love.<br />
<br />
Feel free to call me a madman. :) </div>
Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-77319392441460913252012-08-18T06:10:00.001+09:002013-01-23T16:27:10.672+09:00influence, affluence, corruption and social spirit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Corruption and bribery. A rebel take on how to "fight" it.<br />
<br />
Try to be aligned with the socio-economic-cultural perspective from where such a need arises.<br />
<br />
Overthrow concepts of 'fixed cost' and 'justifiable cost' or 'worth' of a transaction.
Value people more than money. Expect them to be and treat them as if. When work is performed up to competent levels, proactively give a post-bribe like a gift, from the heart, once the work is done.When asked for money, give more money than is demanded, and give it openly as a respectful gift, not under the table.<br />
<br />
Influence and affluence should be contagious. Let us tip the balance wherever possible and intuitively appropriate.<br />
<br />
Do not resign yourself to just feeling bad, angry, or putting yourself in a quandary in mind and spirit, or engaging in uncontrolled temporary physical action - when asked for a bribe. Go deep and hit at the real root.<br />
<br />
<br />
The root of the word corrupt is from the latin word for "to destroy, to spoil, to break". com- + pp. stem of rumpere - to break, as in rupture. <b>Actively prevent the spoiling or destruction of the spirit of
social transaction and relationship, by a person ignorant of its
sanctity.</b> Have a grin on your face, surprise the bribee and maybe allow the goodness in him to have space to surface.<br />
<div class="im">
<span style="color: #888888;"><br />
</span>As a gandhian model - when slapped on your cheek, turn the other one.<br />
When asked for some notes from your pocket, whip out your cheque book!<br />
I thought this was only a Gandhian concept, but it is also there in the bible (Matthew 5:38 to 5:42) among other places - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turning_the_other_cheek</div>
<div class="im">
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Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-28663973666027681712012-06-17T08:29:00.000+09:002012-07-01T09:37:25.767+09:00flowers, petals and why in heavens name do I have to study and do homework - part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I had a thought today morning that I would like to share ... in
school subjects such as maths, science, history, geography, sports,
crafts etc are taught. What I used to think are the subjects, are
actually "objects". (Think grammar - objects) The real subjects are present
within the individuals. (in + divi + duals = advaita, indivisible seers,
whereas the subject<->object pairs are the divi-duals) The
in|dividual is the core of the flower and the (subject-object) pairs, the 'dividuals', are like petals radiating from from the core.<br />
<br />
These flowers are present at each chakra ( which is why they are shown as flowers in images - It is typical for chakras to be depicted as either flower-like or
wheel-like. In the former case, "petals" are shown around the perimeter
of a circle - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra">wikipedia link</a>) So there are millions of subject+object pairs present at each level of a person.<br />
<br />
What
is being developed is the capacity to perceive and play with the
"objects". The SUBJECTS (actually present INSIDE the children) must not be
taught, they must be cultivated and allowed to generate seeds that will
blossom into trees that will grow and flower beyond the dreams of the
teacher.<br />
<br />
Homework, studies ... are NOT necessary at all. (whew ... sense of relief after 34 years of trying to figure out why they were trying to make me study in school. In the last year of engineering school, my view was that the sole aim of education was to enable an individual to focus his desire and attention to a laser sharp point so that anything may be perceived clearly, any goal may be achieved ... aah youth ;-) er .. not that I consider Aalhad Saraf to be old just yet)<br />
<br />
So homework and study are not -necessary- after all .. they are just an indication of the blossoming of flowers. You generally cannot stretch petals out for those flowers to bloom faster.<br />
<br />
Before the objects of the world start attracting the subjects, it would help a flower be happy if it only -KNEW- that a flower is what it itself is and a flowering is what the process is (and I may now be talking about what I do not really understand yet - but THIS knowing is samadhi and yoga.)<br />
<br />
I had this fervent desire that all students become yogis before they are exposed to the objects of the world, especially the senses. For the core to become stable before engagement with the world begins.<br />
<br />
And this is easiest achieved by flowers who already know they are flowers - children when they are young and small know it - and the grandmoms and granddads know it - after experience and when they reach their second childhood. So perhaps when the younger flowers are let be with the older flowers, this knowledge can be communicated (hint: the language used is not verbal or written), reinforced and maintained intact while later in life, the subject-object drama unfolds.<br />
<br />
Usual caveat lector applies.</div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-74437834791730026222012-04-07T05:59:00.000+09:002012-04-07T15:40:24.665+09:00note to self<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Dear Mr. Saraf,<br />
Whenever you speak, write, or think - anything with the word 'I' or 'me' in it, <br />
pause, pause, pause,<br />
briefly, subtly, gently but firmly,<br />
perceive,<br />
what that word means, implies, feels like<br />
and from where, how, when and why it comes.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-86034898128019837912012-03-26T20:56:00.001+09:002012-04-07T15:39:36.164+09:00blaze like a fire<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
Quote attributed to W.B. Yeats: Education is not the filling up of a pail with water, it is the lighting up of a fire.<br />
<br />
One of the things I had on my todo list: perfecting the art of lighting fires.<br />
<br />
Now, to light up a fire, one must possess a flame, at least a spark. Or even better, one must -be- a fire. A raging ball.<br />
<br />
So how do you go about becoming one ... one could dry oneself just enough through "vairaagya" - dispassion, produce enough friction through "aabhyaasa" - discipline so that some sparks may fly.<br />
<br />
Or even better, while doing so, let oneself be lit up by a larger fire - a guru. </div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-70894641499926953792012-01-23T21:30:00.000+09:002012-01-23T21:30:40.870+09:00Becoming poetry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I sometimes write down questions that strike me as being important.<br />
<br />
One such question, what to do when inspiration hits or enters, the mind goes on a high
and ideas that seem good just don't stop?<br /><br />
... express as words written onto paper, diagrams sketched, spoken about<br />
to a friend, look at and then let them ferment till they translate into<br />
action, look at and and then let be, merge into silence trusting<br />
that they will be refined and translated into manifestation with time,<br />
or let the flow continue on unabated ... :-D<br />
<br />
This reminded me of a thought partially borrowed from rumi, google<br />
isnt turning up the quote right now, but I got it from a facebook post<br />
from Amano Manish bhai: <b><i>write poetry, do not write poetry, let your<br />
life become poetry.</i></b></div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-32997917511731258382011-11-16T22:37:00.001+09:002012-04-07T15:41:58.653+09:00dreams - random verse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I lived for a year near the mountains of south Japan, mostly being, and teaching a group of schoolchildren on weekends, a friend told me that I was living out a life that was her dream. (Actually she was living a part of one of my high school dreams (we were studying German) - (to excel at the German language maybe complete a PhD and live a quiet life near a lake, teaching German to the people in Germany.))<br />
<br />
My life, it seems,<br />
a dream,<br />
for someone else,<br />
I seek out, my own.<br />
Is what is,<br />
is what it seems,<br />
or by me, it is being shown. <br />
<br /></div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-31835669826999064812011-10-13T22:42:00.002+09:002011-10-13T22:42:55.062+09:00Spirituality is perhaps not a choice.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Question from a friend:<br />
I read your blog, <br />
but they are increasingly spiritual, so tell me whats up <br />
<br />
Response:<br />
Spirituality is perhaps not a choice. :-D But both of them are tricky words.<br />
<br />
Words can be gooey things, slippery, vague and nebulous - but sometimes
strong, each being stuck with a whole cloud of ideas, meanings and
intentions. The subtler and more generic the word - usually the stronger
it is. But we must work with what we have. Hacking (reality hacking?)
through the layers of shabda - artha - rasa - bhaava (spoken word or
even lower, written word - meaning - emotion - intention) to identify
the spirit/identify with the spirit.<br />
<br />
For a photograph to exist, light is
not a choice.<br />
<br />
<br />
-email thread with an old friend <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-91430561278958667492011-09-04T11:00:00.002+09:002011-09-04T11:10:36.153+09:00to the (most probably very very few) readers of this log<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I have not been writing much.<br />
<br />
I am obsessed with that, which I believe I do not possess.<br />
<br />
(I have been obsessed with creation, timelessness and seminality, systematically eliminating the time-bound and trivial.)<br />
<br />
<br />
I experience that, which I believe is not a part of my being.<br />
<br />
I know that, which I believe I have no experience of.<br />
<br />
I express that, which I believe I have still some doubt about. (this reminds me of a sentence in ZATAOMM (zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance - R. Pirsig -- "No one is running around yelling that the sun is going to rise today! " To express something fanatically, there -must- be an element of doubt. )<br />
<br />
I talk about that, which I believe I do not entirely know.<br />
<br />
I have found myself talking too much, and have started noticing sometimes that it reminds me faintly of my ignorance.<br />
<br />
Hence the desire to integrate - being, possesion, knowledge, experience, intent, desire, meaning, and finally expression. <br />
<br />
All this is perhaps just a play of words. <br />
<br />
Perhaps ... hence the silence <br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-42823465984097986832011-09-03T11:45:00.000+09:002012-04-07T15:42:51.702+09:00A million new romances<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If I am alone, and must be a part of this world<br />
I will become the sun<br />
and I will marry the earth<br />
I'll love every single one<br />
person, animal and thing,<br />
caressing them with my rays<br />
impregnating them with my vitality<br />
creating new life<br />
with just a few glances,<br />
every day - a million new romances.<br />
- yearning, from miquelrius journal late 2007</div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-25174244045900402502011-08-07T12:31:00.002+09:002011-08-07T12:31:52.531+09:00dear 'kaahi bolaayche aahe'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Dearest "kaahi bolaayche aahe" (<a href="http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.com/2009/11/on-speech.html?showComment=1266568789657#c3560213034418280958">On speech</a> - http://www.blogger.com/profile/00580929730887756405),<br />
Ataa bolNyaachi shakti parat aali aahe. :-)<br />
You seem to have closed down your blog.<br />
<br />
If your're still reading this - I know -very- few people do, perhaps only the few people I have shared my copy of the patanjali yoga sutras with some time or the other.<br />
<br />
Ye na bolaaylaa aataa :) <br />
mail id: aalhad@acm.org</div>
Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-21142976365098944462011-06-06T09:42:00.001+09:002012-11-27T16:06:55.508+09:00Prime mover memes. Principles.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yesterday night, I asked my father some questions -<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Why has 'God' (even evolution - if that happens to be your God. Social evolution(?)) created both, forces like fundamentalist terrorists, as well as Mahatma Gandhi ? </li>
<li>Is it possible to act truly as an instrument of a God meme? I will not now act of my own will. I dare the creator of this space time dimension-space I find myself in, to enter 'me' and act directly; a stubborn child, I refuse to now act on 'my' own. </li>
<li>How does one differentiate between 'Gods' will and one's individual will?</li>
<li>What are the biggest gears, the prime movers that lie at the root of this space-time complex? </li>
</ul>
<div>
Possible answers that struck me while I was sleeping. In reverse order:<br />
We must first define the framework for what we are trying to understand.<br />
<br />
<b>The prime movers - the big gears that drive this space-time complex</b><br />
<br />
This power to effect change is proportional to the extent of alignment one has with the memes that lie at the root of this space-time complex. To summarize my understanding (backed by intuition and experimental verification to varying degrees, of the Yogasutras of Patanjali - beginning with my reading of a photocopy of a study of the sutras by IK Taimini, sometime during my student days during engineering school and my stay in Alandi.) <br />
<br />
To summarize:<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Meme a:</span><span style="background-color: #0b5394; color: #45818e;"></span> Satya - Truth <br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">What alignment confers:</span> realization, materialization of one's intent<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Extreme alignment: </span>utterance or thought that is out of sync with this space-time complex or reality is impossible. What one speaks, thinks, conceives -must- come true, for not only is that being incapable of thinking or conceiving or dreaming of a falsehood, it is verily truth itself that continually speaks, acts and sees through him.<br />
<div style="color: #45818e;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #45818e;">Meme b:</span> Asteya or abstention from theft<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">What alignment confers:</span> freedom from a sense of lack of anything. Wealth flows. <br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Extreme alignment: </span>Nature cannot let such a being experience a 'lack' of anything. The whole universe is at ones disposal. <br />
<div style="color: #45818e;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #45818e;">Meme c:</span> Aparigraha or non-possesion and abstention from greed<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">What alignment confers:</span> Freedom from ties in this space-time complex - things, ideas, thought, belief... knowledge and action is possible across larger and larger expanses of time and space.<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Extreme alignment:</span> Knowledge of the past, present and future, of the seeds of desire that flower into manifestation through threads of matter woven across time. Patanjali posits that one may gain knowledge of the past, present and future lives of one's self. (I guess, self as a function of (x, time, space) for larger and larger and larger values of x, time and space as the self of sense expands.) <br />
<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Meme d:</span> Ahimsa - non violence<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">What alignment confers:</span> There is no obstruction. Action will progress without hindrance from any force/any one.<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Extreme alignment:</span> The being starts creating an atmosphere around self, (self(x,space,time) for larger and larger values of x,space,time) where violence and enmity must cease to exist. All beings, even animals are sensitive to such an atmosphere - as many trainers would testify - the animals 'know' they won't be hurt.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Meme e:</span> Brahmacharya - continence. Of speech, thought, action, being and also of the most refined, the most seminal representation of our essence, the ability to create and procreate.<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">What alignment confers:</span> creative force is available at one's disposal.<br />
<span style="color: #45818e;">Extreme alignment:</span> Tremendous creative force - to create anything in this spacetime fabric. create(x, space, time, matter, thought) for larger and larger values of x, space, time, matter and thought. At the very extreme, create new 'seed meme complexes' like this one.<br />
<br />
See and create, unhindered, across unlimited expanses of time and space, using every or anything - in this space-time complex, with a guarantee of materialization of intent. <b><i>This may perhaps be a good definition for 'God' hood.</i></b><br />
<br />
<br />
Some side-notes on the prime-movers:<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>These memes are vehicles.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">One starts by aligning oneself with them, by 'boarding' these meme vehicles. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Once this direction is fixed, one witnesses the beginning of a 'transcendence engine'. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>One must know where to get on and get off and when to press the accelerator, when to stop, rest or just enjoy the view.</b></span></blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">And either discover newer, more fundamental meme-vehicles, or create them.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">This is where 'the middle path' is important. As you start nearing the destination, and hit a point where you need to get off (transcend?), the duality of the vehicle becomes apparent. Mahatma Gandhiji rode the vehicle of non-violence to a point where his very existence was the highest form of violence for people who believed in violence as a vehicle of change. Summary: The middle path is safe. Skill is needed. Your mileage may vary. </span></div>
</blockquote>
<div>
<blockquote>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><br />
</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>The vehicle becomes the driver. The driver becomes the vehicle.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">After a point, no conscious driving is necessary. The vehicles or principal memes take charge, embed themselves further and start driving the person. One need not try to, or 'speak' the truth. One becomes truth. Truth starts using the person as a vehicle for expression. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span></blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>God's will, individual will</b></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
These large forces drive smaller forces,<br />
all lying within them,<br />
and they in turn have smaller still,<br />
and so on ad infinitum<br />
<br />
All these memes have dual kinds,<br />
For consciousness they dance,<br />
Riding vehicles of matter, Desires in their arms.</blockquote>
<blockquote>
The strongest memes are what we call God<br />
This massive dance is Mind<br />
(But -why- the heck all this goes on,<br />
I am yet to find.)<br />
<br />
These meme-dancers will go out of Time,<br />
without non-dual love to bind 'em,<br />
their matter-vehicles will sink into primeval slime,<br />
with no consciousness to find 'em.</blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div>
<div>
</div>
</div>
<div>
(adapted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Siphonaptera">the Siphonaptera</a> for the first verse.)<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
By this definition everybody is God(x), to an extent. And these memes and their duals(for it is a matter of degree - not of quality - like in <a href="http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.com/2008/12/dual-meme-transcendence-ii-beyond-good.html">the last statement in this post.</a>) may be considered as 'God's' will. This might be the basis of a statement often heard in India 'सब ईश्वर की इच्छा है'.</div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Fanatic fundamentalists - follow what they see as truth strictly, believe strongly in a code of ethics and are thus 'driven' and have varying degrees of power. Sometimes they ride the dual-meme-opposite of non-violence and thus are bound to face varying degrees of opposition and are limited in the amount of change they can effect. Only if terrorists would -experiment- with riding the vehicle of non-violence, I wonder what could be possible. But then when that happens, when the + and the - start seeming, becoming alike, we would perhaps be close to the beginning of a new space-time complex, a new set of prime-mover-gears-meme-set. <br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Further questions: </b><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>What is it that makes these prime-mover-constructs so powerful and seminal? </li>
<li>How is a sustainable, emergent value system and a desire system engineered?</li>
<li>How does one engineer such a system, a new set of prime-mover-gears, like the yamas outlined by Patanjali are for -this- space time complex.</li>
</ul>
i.e. How does one play God(x,self) for sufficiently large values of x and self.<br />
(a very small value of self - would be for instance, expanding ones self when starting a new family.)<br />
<br />
:-D<br />
<br />
Usual Caveat Lector applies.</div>
</div>
Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-60638994627053555482011-05-04T22:10:00.000+09:002011-05-04T22:10:29.303+09:00Optimal learning<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">After a long break, I have come back to using words.<br />
:-)<br />
If one masters the ability to enter a state of single pointed focus, the ability to focus ones desire to a laser sharp point and the ability to see what needs to be done i.e. vision - I used to believe that the purpose of formal education has been served. <br />
<br />
<br />
Learning is an interesting and fascinating phenomenon. <br />
<br />
<br />
One of the questions I had was - how does one achieve this one pointed focus at will?<br />
<br />
The Patanjali yogasutras offer hints as to how this process occurs. <br />
<br />
shraddhaa veerya smriti samaadhi pradnyaa poorvak itareshaam.<br />
Patanjali's yogasutras (1-20).<br />
<br />
Shraddhaa - loosely translated as faith. It begins with belief - with faith. Faith in the teacher, in the subject, in the process of learning. Faith provides the "wetness" necessary for union. (between teacher and student, between student and subject) In a teacher-student situation, without faith, there is dryness - resulting in "dry dis-course" that is a painful boring 'one-way' process. <br />
<br />
<br />
Veerya - this can also be translated as utsaah or enthusiasm. Faith leads to enthusiasm - (enthusiasm comes from en+theos from Greek - literal meaning - to be filled with God) and the being of the student is ready for union with the subject, for learning.<br />
<br />
Smriti - Enthusiasm leads to past experience and knowledge being brought up into the memory cache, ready to be recalled at will, thus providing a firm foundation for learning to occur.<br />
<br />
Next is samaadhi - or union with the subject of study, a state where one pointed focus is achieved. Nothing else except the subject exists.<br />
<br />
This leads to the awakening of pradnya - a state where after the subject is assimilated into ones being, the blossoming of wisdom results.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
( 'poorvak itaresham' - this sutra is referring to most normal people, and not those who have been talked about in the earlier sutras - those who have already achieved the ability to enter 'samaadhi' at will.)<br />
<br />
shraddhaa->veerya->smriti is one of the pre-conditions for achieving one pointed focus. Hmm.<br />
<br />
Wherever there are gaps in this chain, sub-optimal union with the subject at hand and thus learning might occur.<br />
</div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-42949602844668562312011-05-03T13:27:00.000+09:002011-05-03T13:27:04.670+09:00Refinement ... food<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> This desire to go beyond what is, slowly morphs itself into the desire to live the best life possible, a search for best practices. A process of continuous refinement. This process of refinement reflects itself in various ways. Including diet.<br />
<br />
In Japan there is a special kind of diet called shoujin ryouri. If you are a vegetarian in Japan, then you'll be glad to know that you can enjoy shoujin ryouri at most Buddhist temples and some onsen (hot water spring bath inns)<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X32lvlYzQ2Y/Tb99VsSJ_zI/AAAAAAAAEWk/Q0eOn9xvTyA/s1600/img_1053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X32lvlYzQ2Y/Tb99VsSJ_zI/AAAAAAAAEWk/Q0eOn9xvTyA/s320/img_1053.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The word shoujin is made of two characters. Shou - "refine, essence, spirit".<br />
Jin - "advance, progress".<br />
<br />
The word ryouri - loosely translated in English as "cooking" is composed of two characters "ryou" means material. And "ri" means "logic, arrangement, principles of right and wrong. <br />
<br />
There is a tacit recognition of the fact that all matter, everything that exists, is 'food' for some force or the other. <span style="color: red;">All material is food.</span> Cooking is the process of arrangement of material according to logical principles of right and wrong.<br />
<br />
However, material may be arranged to reflect refinement, <span style="color: red;">so as to bring out the essence</span> and to progressively aid the advancement of that refinement. The principles for doing so have been identified and are embodied in "shoujin ryouri".<br />
<br />
-miquelrius journal, end of 2008 </div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-72492019075053027352009-11-24T20:34:00.000+09:002009-11-24T20:34:57.267+09:00On speechFrom Miquelrius journal - Oct 25, 2006<br />
<br />
How long before I reach a state where every word I utter, can be construed as not being harmful to anyone. For instance: If I am speaking about something I desire or something desirable that I have acquired, people who don't have it may be hurt. If I tell someone what ought to be done - if they are incapable of doing it, they may be hurt. If they are not amicably related, they might even want to hurt me... even a thought of doing so should not be provoked in their minds.<br />
<br />
I must learn, neither to praise anyone, nor blame anyone, or compare anyone or anything using speech, for I have no control over the impressions and reactions it will form and cause in the consciousness of the listeners.<br />
<br />
A key virtue to have with respect to speech is the ability to only speak when necessary, for right action to occur in a manner such that it causes alignment among all listeners. This stretches the limit of not only expertise with language, but one's control over personal and collective consciousness.Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-34392383310023032882009-06-24T23:27:00.001+09:002009-06-24T23:28:12.272+09:00Characteristics of a philosopher - Epictetus - (commonplace entry from June 2006)The condition and characteristic of an uninstructed person is this: he never expects from himself advantage or harm, but from externals.<br />
The condition and characteristic of a philosopher is this: he expects all harm and all advantage from himself.<br />
<br />
The signs of the one who is making progress are these:<br />
<ul><li>he censures no man <br />
</li>
<li>he praises no man</li>
<li>he blames no man <br />
</li>
<li>he accuses no man <br />
</li>
<li>he says nothing about himself as if he were somebody or knew something</li>
<li>when he is impeded at all or hindered, he blames himself</li>
<li>if a man praises him, he ridicules the praiser to himself</li>
<li>if a man censures him, he makes no defence</li>
<li>he removes all desires from himself and he transfers aversion to those things within power and contrary to nature <br />
</li>
<li>He employs a moderate movement towards everything</li>
<li>Whether he is considered foolish or ignorant, he cares not</li>
</ul>And, in a word, watches himself as if he were an enemy waiting in ambush.<br />
- Epictetus - Enchiridion.<br />
<br />
(June 18, 2006, Commonplace from journal (Miquelrius) )Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-14378418271189047862009-06-12T03:19:00.000+09:002009-06-12T03:19:43.960+09:00A page from my diary - September 11, 2008<i></i><br />
If you treat your thoughts as clean and precious<br />
clear as a fresh brook, pure as the bright sun<br />
your mind will soar, till you need it no more,<br />
with the whole world you will be one...<br />
for with a being so pure, there's nothing more sure -<br />
the soul shines through, and to think - is to become.<br />
<br />
<br />
-----------------------<br />
<br />
Here you are you puny body,<br />
seated on the brink of death.<br />
you sordid tale of like and dislike<br />
the Elements bound by cords of breath<br />
<br />
yet within, a temple lies<br />
be still and you will see<br />
'tis open, vast ... like the boundless skies,<br />
<b>nothing </b>was, or is, and will be.<br />
<br />
-----------------------<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Repetition of message to self:</span><br />
Know very well that as you were born without too much control over where you were going, this body too will die. Live every moment then in oneness with whatever is around the body at the moment (in other words, like a God :-D)<br />
For to be one with any one thing is to be one with it all. Yoga is holographic.Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-34714099789400823942009-06-12T03:18:00.000+09:002009-06-12T03:18:02.946+09:00Consumption - Production game, who's who?Thinking about true cost and the story of a one rupee coin - had gotten me thinking about the <a href="http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.com/2008/12/dual-meme-transcendence.html">dual meme nature</a> of production and consumption.<br />
Trying to get down to the essence of this dual meme led me to this -<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">The desire to desire is the consumer. <br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: small;">That which believes it exists is the consumed. </span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">To clarify - that which believes it exists is - basically everything that 'is'. I use the word 'belief' for want of a closer word - for example, if you believe 'you' exist, you are binding this concept of self with space and time, and will thus be subject to the consumption process - if by nothing else then by time (which is to say - desire operates in time-space co-ordinates - and desire being the urge for something other than what is, what is - must be consumed.) Yoga enables 'one' to free 'oneself' perhaps, by neatly transcending this dual-meme. </span><br />
What this implies in space-time terms, may be understood by trying to practice the Yogasutras.<br />
<br />
(from somewhere in early 2008)Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-35597575709657570532009-05-30T15:32:00.003+09:002009-06-03T15:15:28.626+09:00Bus rides, the mind, rationality and sustainabilityHere is a thread about sustainability from an email conversation.<br />
Although some of it is a re-write of earlier posts, in retrospect, I find it to be a good summary.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 3:04 AM, Aalhad Saraf </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-style: italic;"><aalhad@acm.org></aalhad@acm.org></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> wrote:</span><br />
Dear G. san,<br />
<br />
Here are some thoughts on the sustainability thread -<br />
<br />
Words are <b><i>vehicles</i></b>. So is rationality. So is thought. It is possible to never see the map but just keep going from one place to another. It is possible to never know where to board and where to get off. Skill is needed. (just what this skill means is another big discussion)<br />
<br />
A few years ago - when I first hit upon the concept of un-sustainability while trying to define wealth <a href="http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.com/2008/05/story-of-one-rupee-coin-true-cost-and.html" target="_blank">http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/2008/05/story-of-one-<wbr></wbr>rupee-coin-true-cost-and.html </a>I happened to meet a 90 year old ayurvedacarya from the varkari sampradaaya <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varkari" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<wbr></wbr>Varkari</a>, in a RSS meeting that I was invited to - and we were discussing careers that kids should' pursue. I talked about the story of the one rupee coin then ... and the 90 year old was infuriated at my casual view of 'economics' - (which did not surprise me, I have often found RSS people to have an unusual fondness for picking fights and being angered by things.) However, his last remark stayed with me for some time - he said 'You are clever, and you have interesting ideas ... I quite like them ... however, almost everything you know, you will discover ... is wrong.'<br />
<br />
The next year showed me just how far the vehicle of thought and rationality and words can take us ... and the magnitude to which I was mistaken when I was thinking about sustainability, wealth and the world in general. Think cosmic makeover :)<br />
<br />
Most of what we can comprehend / see using the senses/rationality cannot be really verified 'objectively'. (<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">we are a bit like sprites in Doom II not being able to get the architecture of processor or the OS.</span>)<br />
<br />
The earth as we see it, 'is not'. It is a principle. sookshma. what we see is a sthoola roopa.<br />
<br />
I remember the RSS ayurvedacarya saying - 'You overestimate human role without understanding the architecture of what is'. I have since gradually come to comprehend what that might mean. Another thing he said was 'What do you know of the power of mother earth, beyond what your books have taught you ... and you know not where they come from ... or from what your senses tell you ... She has the power to nurture you infinitely, no matter what you do ... 'you' - if such a thing is there, are inconsequential, yet this you cannot comprehend. If you 'think' you are 'hurting' her, you are 'hurting' your'self' ... and make no mistake, you will cause pain ... but please do not talk confidently about what you do not understand.'<br />
<br />
God as we 'know' or 'talk' or write about ... even in the sacred scriptures 'is not'. The Yoga Vasishtha (which is perhaps the last book I studied seriously before I hit the end of 'words') also has an incident where Vasistha tells Rama ... 'What are the Gods that you talk about but a mental construct ... ' (I highly recommend this to you if you haven't read it yet - you will even come across discussions about the non-linearity of time) This is one version I found on amazon - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Yoga-Vasistha-Swami-Venkatesananda/dp/087395954X" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Concise-<wbr></wbr>Yoga-Vasistha-Swami-<wbr></wbr>Venkatesananda/dp/087395954X</a><br />
<br />
My model of the mind was radically altered in the months that followed.<br />
I am perhaps like a ripple in a field. Without any individual existence. (many scriptures mention this - but I had no experience, nor any concrete context) Like a node of a massively parallel machine (that is how you and I can see the same things in the same room) or perhaps even just the bits of code running on the node (DNA, other less 'sustainable' memes...) or perhaps not even that.<br />
<br />
This is a snippet from a mail I sent to aai, dada and some close friends ...<br />
<blockquote>I have seen the Mind.<br />
Imagine an ocean ... massive, without end, on a dark night with a full moon.</blockquote><blockquote>The wind still. The silence perfect.<br />
Now see the entire ocean turning up, vertical, into a massive wall ...<br />
like a tsunami ...<br />
you are surfing a foot away from this wall, and the wall stretches out up to infinity.<br />
dark roaring water. massive.<br />
And this is only an approximation of what it feels like.<br />
It is this force that creates everything you see around you now. </blockquote><br />
<blockquote>The sun. The moon. Your Gods.</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>The very screen you are now reading this on.</blockquote><blockquote><br />
If I die soon, I will have died after seeing the greatest spectacle possible on earth. The mind. There is nothing else left for me to see ... even if I climb on top of Mount Everest, I will be unstirred. Everything ordinary around me IS the freakin miracle.</blockquote><br />
<br />
Okay ... now, again, about sustainability ... it is one of those dual-memes. <a href="http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.com/2008/12/dual-meme-transcendence.html" target="_blank">http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/2008/12/dual-meme-<wbr></wbr>transcendence.html</a><br />
<br />
Everything has a time-stamp. A yogi can see it - and perhaps alter it.<br />
(A good engineer is a yogi to some extent that he creates some memes that sustain for a certain amount of time.)<br />
<br />
Some provocations - why do you want things to be sustainable? Isn't unsustainability a natural phenomenon? Everything perishes, right? So, just why did our race become enamored with this particular dual-meme? Why not enjoy the unsustainability? (it is easy to see beyond these questions) What is the DESIRE that drives the NECESSITY of sustainability? and where the hell does that DESIRE come from?<br />
<br />
Dual-memes are interesting ... all religions are based upon strong dual memes. Right-wrong, pure-impure ... and so on. religion = thing that holds together. A study of the principles of religion-creation is very relevant to having a deep understanding of sustainability. For sustainability is a side-effect of religion.<br />
<a href="http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.com/2008/06/you-may-think-that-im-im-religious.html" target="_blank">http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/2008/06/you-may-think-<wbr></wbr>that-im-im-religious.html</a><br />
<br />
Deep exploration of any meme associated closely with religion is likely to yield significant insights into sustainability. Take desire for instance. In 2004 or so, I found myself asking myself - what is the point in studying electronics or math ... some other fancy models of reality ... if one were to study Desire Engineering ... learn to focus desire to a laser sharp point in oneself and later in others, it would be possible to achieve ANYTHING (or even otherwise, that it is much more 'important' than physics or algo analysis ... I noticed this once again in 2006 during a thought-session, when I was given the responsibility for maintaining the 'technical vitality' of a group of people in IBM, i.e. ensuring that they maintain a state where they file patents and write papers ... and again in 2007 when I saw that everything visible... every single thing is a manifestation<br />
of a desire. There is nothing necessary. NOTHING IS NECESSARY. Necessity is ALWAYS predicated upon desire. (I tried some experiments with minimal living in 2004 to try and figure out just what is the minimum 'necessity' for existence - independent of desire. outcome - existence itself is based on desire, the desire to exist. (who has that desire, or where it comes from - is next step in the architecture series :-D but that is not very easily expressible in words or thought - for these tools are then useless.)<br />
<br />
<br />
Now - <span style="font-style: italic;">dual-memes are necessary for motion, or for anything to happen at all. (+ -)</span><br />
<br />
Un-sustainability is one side of a dual-meme.<br />
To create sustainability - one must transcend this dual-meme.<br />
People who are bothered by sustainability (rajas-tamas?) or are ignorant of it (tamas) will perhaps not be able to effect such/much change.(even if they want to/is 'necessary')<br />
<br />
(This brings to mind something I read somewhere - an advert. for a class on yoga by an Indian teacher in the US - had a picture of a jaTaa-dhaari orange-clad hermit standing in a one-legged pose on a surfboard in the sea. The caption read - we can't stop the waves, but we can sure teach you to surf!)<br />
<br />
This is where yoga comes in - and the reason why I urged you to read the Sutras. (Even the Yoga-sutras, their outermost form being clad in words, have their limits, but the words are where I had to begin.)<br />
<br />
PaanDitya or the pursuit of knowledge has a limit, easily reached.It is not very effective. It seems easier for a yogi to do something about sustainability than a pandit.<br />
<br />
Standard disclaimer applies:<br />
Caveat Lector. All Words are Lies to some extent of the other on the<br />
Index of Reality.<br />
:-D<br />
<blockquote></blockquote><br />
<blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">Mail reply from G. san,</span><br />
Interesting what happens when you cross the boundaries of reason and logic and get into the domain of faith?? Are our senses limiting us in the number of dimensions we can perceive around us? Is the method of reason and logic self limiting? Interesting proposition by Aalhad...is going to take time, if ever to sift through...<br />
The eternal conundrum.... Great job...<br />
I am sure Laurie the acerbic lawyer has a lot to say on this...<br />
That the method of reason and logic limits many a mind from going beyond .. Or is it the argument of those who cannot cast their thoughts in the logical framework.. The eternal conundrum...<br />
<br />
Cheers G.</blockquote><br />
<br />
<span style="font-style: italic;">On Wed, Feb 25, 2009 at 5:06 AM, Aalhad Saraf </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-style: italic;"><aalhad@acm.org></aalhad@acm.org></span><span style="font-style: italic;"> wrote:</span><br />
Dear G. san,<br />
thanks for the reply.<br />
<br />
no no ... no faith required ;)<br />
is reason and logic self-limiting ... :-P the moment you 'define' something, you have laid down the limits to what it is 'not'.<br />
<br />
see ... words are perhaps fairly useless (or useful (same thing!) - i.e. they may be used towards achieving an end - given an end). they may be used to do anything you want - like a tool. but they are inefficient at modeling reality. (the mind has tried in other parts to create other languages like math - but that again is a model.) A model has limits. Because it is 'defined'.<br />
<br />
What I have experienced is that 'argument' is a fairly inefficient method for the discovery of reality or truth. (what those methods are ... is another long story :) )<br />
<br />
Words are like a fairly utilitarian tool. Great for altering mental data structures - but even then deeper levels of language exist -<br />
<a href="http://kanjinotes.blogspot.com/2009/01/words-leaves-of-thought.html" target="_blank">http://kanjinotes.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/2009/01/words-leaves-of-<wbr></wbr>thought.html</a><br />
<br />
Do not blindly have FAITH in the methods of reason or the church of Words, test them. ;) but you cannot test them - for your methods for testing them are defined by the beliefs and systems themselves. Modeling reality - rather modeling reality completely is a wicked problem to crack.<br />
<br />
The logical framework (THE logical framework?) (the language guys... the pandits ... 'philosophy'... the upanishads...) is a vehicle. A tool. A yogi will have the skill to know where to get on and get off each vehicle - for otherwise - the 'conundrum' is eternal - hell, you have designed it to be so. The 'Why' has no final answer - it's a language feature very well suited for showing you the limits of the tool :-D<br />
<a href="http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.com/2008/07/unanswerable-why-and-mistaking.html" target="_blank">http://aalhadsaraf.blogspot.<wbr></wbr>com/2008/07/unanswerable-why-<wbr></wbr>and-mistaking.html</a><br />
<br />
<b>A body of thought that talks about 'knowability' must also perhaps</b> <b>define these entry and exit points - without which you are being taken </b><b>for a ride - without knowing where to, for an unknown fee ;) And maybe </b><b>you could pick a quarrel or get into all kinds of trouble for </b><b>insisting that your ticket IS not a ticket, not the map, but <span style="font-size: 130%;">the</span> </b><b>design document for this world.</b> ;)<br />
<br />
So would the 'conundrum' between logic-faith seem to be a 'conundrum' only to the people who are confusing their tickets for the design documents of the World(TM).<br />
<br />
Philosophy as expressed through words has easily visible limits - axioms, and the methods for defining those axioms. I mean, come on - if you define the limits of what is knowable and how you add to your 'body of knowledge' ... there is 'limit' written all over the place :)<br />
<br />
So even if modelng reality is a wicked problem - meanwhile, we humble humans have several utilitarian models and modeling strategies and vehicles ... the entry and exit points if known, one may skilfully travel towards addressing and then transcending a given dual-meme (rich-poor, terrorism-peace, sustainable-unsustainable). IMHO ... yoga is the most pragmatic vehicle I have seen so far. Wherever I see sustainability, I also see a yogi. (no faith required.)<br />
:-DAalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-1722529480721863102008-12-14T20:01:00.001+09:002009-06-12T03:21:12.752+09:00Dual-meme transcendence - II: Beyond Good and Evil and Beyond THAT.Continued from the previous post ...<br />
<blockquote><br />
If you're trying to be good, very good at what you do, or if you love someone with all your heart, or if you want to learn something with all your heart ... you are witnessing the start up of a transcendence engine.<br />
It is automatic. And seems universal. </blockquote><br />
This brings to mind the 'Beyond Good and Evil' of Nietzsche -<br />
<br />
Where he suggests that the strongest people are marked by a cruelty to themselves, according to which they mercilessly expose their every prejudice and assumption in order to dig further into themselves.<br />
"Free spirits are investigators to the point of cruelty, with rash fingers for the ungraspable, with teeth and stomach for the most indigestible".<br />
<br />
(A few years ago - before I read Nietzsche, I used to wonder - why is it that we as a species enjoy cutting off the reproductive paraphernalia (flowers) of another species (plants and trees) ... even for purposes like 'offering' them to constructs like 'Gods'. (and people still thought that I was religious, while I was trying to understand the -nature- of religion.) This would perhaps make Nietzsche put me in the 'free spirit' category.)<br />
<br />
Now the question is - is being a free spirit cruel to ones self? and what does cruel mean anyway? and what is this 'self' other than code passed on from media (friends, books, school ... ), DNA from parents... this 'self' to which a free spirit is cruel?<br />
<br />
What I feel: Like all dual-memes, cruel/kind dual-meme ends up being transcended as well, it has no easy resolution.<br />
<br />
(consider this - every time you breathe, you 'kill' millions of micro-beings as you suck them into your lungs. Every time you eat, some form, some being, some structure has 'sacrificed' itself, for another structure to be created. You are massively violent at a micro scale. Scale, not quality.) How 'kind or cruel' can you be?Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-31713298568686912942008-12-14T09:58:00.003+09:002008-12-14T20:19:32.425+09:00Dual-meme transcendence - IAnything that is a dual-meme, anything that has a dual - an opposite, is transcended.<br />
<br />
During childhood, sometimes it is a big deal whether a room has the lights turned on at night or not. Eventually, as we understand the nature of light and dark, and learn that light can be controlled, we cease to think of it as a fear inducing element. In fact we cease to 'think of it' at all.<br />
<br />
A combination of what we allow our senses to perceive, and how we process them and act (karma) seems to decide what memes our thinkspace will be occupied by. (why is it that I don't have to bother about my throat being slitted by a knife or being shot?) That also decides whether our awareness expands or contracts. By contract, here what I feel is that, if awareness is like a balloon like surface, a highly contracted state will take us back to being intensely bothered about whether a room is lighted or dark, a botheration that was once 'transcended'. An highly expanded state of awareness, might result in a loss of identity of the individual 'self' (which is a very narrow detailed story), one of the strongest dual-memes.<br />
<br />
In between - there are a lot of other dual-memes that get transcended. Here are some that come to mind right now -<br />
<ul><li>Like trust/mis-trust (I used to find it difficult to decide whom to 'trust' with what, and to what extent ... eventually, it becomes a non-question)<br />
</li>
<li>Pleasure/pain (this one takes a long time sometimes. eventually, once you know they are the same see-saw (one predicating the existence of the other. two sides of the same see-saw plank ... then after a point, you outgrow the see-saw.))</li>
<li>Mine/yours (having a child is one of the events that helps go beyond this one I guess.)</li>
<li>Production/Consumption (For a long time, I thought it was 'better' to be producer than a consumer ... (i.e. to create video games than to just play them ...); but if one produces something, someone must consume, then just what is it that makes production better?!)</li>
<li>First/Last (I'd come 1st in class in school, but then I couldn't figure out WHY must there be a system where a very small part of a system are in a position that is coveted, when the majority of the class IS not the guy who comes first. Also, why must there be pain on 'failure' or on not getting something 'right' in a 'test'. I tried flunking a few courses, tried 'fighting' my genes, just to prove that I am not bound by anything as mechanical as that. Similarly in the corporate world, I wondered about WHY must all the 'desirables' in the world, go to a minority say 5%, when the remaining 95% remains a big part of the corporation. If a manager is responsible for the entire team, and the CEO for the entire company - is creating a coveted position on top that everybody aspires for the only way to reward and to ensure progress. Can't there be a more inclusive system. Anybody seen the massive minus field around on 'performance evaluation day', well, 95% of the guys can't play the game as well, (even if the rule is to write really good code or some such) and aren't happy. (The root of this unhappiness is another story altogether, but you don't usually get the system till you see beyond it.) )<br />
</li>
<li>Doctor/Patient (the meme called a doctor is 'useful', 'because' the meme called 'patient' exists. New dis-'eases' will keep springing up. This dual-meme has been transcended and well documented in our scriptures. For instance, among one of the causes of disease as stated in the Caraka Samhita is the unnatural production or suppression of natural movement-forces in the body - the forces that move tears, urine, vomit, flatulence, sperm ... and so on. A yogi, by sublimating the root causes of these movements, can transcend this dual-meme easily. Other simple means of transcending this is to live a balanced life - (maybe, as documented and prescribed in the aahaar, vihaar etc sections of the caraka samhitaa...))<br />
</li>
</ul><br />
Everything that has an opposite, gets transcended by awareness.<br />
<br />
Which is perhaps pretty much everything of what 'is' - in the conventional sense.<br />
<br />
Now WHY BOTHER ABOUT ALL THIS ANYWAY?<br />
<br />
It seems this process is automatic.<br />
One of those processes that seems to be a part of 'evolution' (?)<br />
It begins with best practices. Trying to live the best life possible. Even with trying to minimize pain for self or others. Or being kind. Or trying to discover what one is supposed to do in this world.Once you get serious with this (by this time, you have perhaps already 'transcended' <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow_hierarchy_of_needs">Maslow's needs-pyramid</a>); you can hit a lot of very difficult questions (if seeing and solving difficult problems and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jnana_Yoga">path of discriminative wisdom - viveka buddhi</a> is your preferred way of life.)<br />
<br />
Or even if you want to -<br />
<ul><li>be good, very good at what you do, or</li>
<li>love someone with all your heart, or</li>
<li>know and study something with all your heart, or</li>
<li>focus on your work with all your heart</li>
</ul>... <b><i>you are witnessing the startup of a transcendence engine</i>.</b><br />
It is automatic. And seems universal.<br />
Everyone is a yogi to a different extent.Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-51182394609687022882008-12-10T05:37:00.010+09:002008-12-11T08:53:51.272+09:00notes on the kanji - a new blog begins<a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);" href="http://kanjinotes.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">imi no bakebanashi 意味の化け話</span></a><br /><a href="http://kanjinotes.blogspot.com/">http://kanjinotes.blogspot.com</a><br /><br />Some of the initial posts from the blog follow:<br /><br />Stories about the ghosts of meaning as they mutate and float around in kanji characters, words and compounds.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">意味 imi = 意(feelings, thoughts)+味(flavor, taste)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">化け(る)bake(ru) = to change, mutate, take the form of (also implies ghost as in obake - in this case, the ghosts of meaning.)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">話 hanashi = tale, story.</span><br /><br />Mojibake - 文字化け is composed of 文字 (moji), which means letter, character, and 化け (bake), from the verb 化ける (bakeru), which means to appear in disguise or to take the form of. Literally, it means "character mutation".<br /><br />This journey is about how imi (meaning) bake'd into moji(characters) and how moji bake'd into jukugo(compounds) and later perhaps even look at how that bake'd into bun(sentences).<br /><br />It is a record of my journey as I explore the space between reality, the manner in which the ancient Chinese perceived it, and how that perception condensed into the snowflakes we call the Kanji. And further into Kanji compounds. Also perhaps, some interesting patterns that emerged as the kanji were adapted by the Japanese to fit their language. And then some oddities, questions and interesting kanji tidbits.<br /><br />slowly the <span class="nfakPe">kanji</span>,<br />sink into this mind-ripple,<br />like snowflakes drifting down to the ground.<br />each one different, but similar<br />silent moments of frozen beauty, a clue ...<br />for this world, that there is another....<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10625862.post-41719683908968696512008-11-28T09:25:00.002+09:002008-12-11T21:23:06.821+09:00Who's the beggar?There was a discussion somewhere some months ago about beggars ....<br /><br />here is some ugly hip hop I made up ;) .....<br /><br /><br /> The world is a perpetual beggar.<br /> the stomach when fed,<br /> does not stop,<br /> nor do the ears, the eyes or that<br /> mind on top<br /> MORE MORE MORE till the fella goes POP<br /> reached a high, beg for a taller ladder, don't DROP<br /> have enough, want more,<br /> got it, then store!<br /> work for love? that's a bore.<br /> you're POOR, you beggar<br /> salary raise, more money, more marks<br /> you're not just any beggar<br /> okay don't be sore,<br /> but ... you... you don't just beg,<br /> you whore.<br /><br /> not pretty. but the next time you see a beggar on the street look at yourself carefully to see how much of your own self, mind and body constantly begs for more. And who is the greater beggar.<br /><br /><br /><br />Yeah, this was about the time when I used to really dislike words then.<br />Because they can be used to any effect. (Law and Lawyers)<br />However they are very, very bad at modeling reality.Aalhad Sarafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10932252250280339511noreply@blogger.com1