Reflections in the red eye

How do you fight thoughts? How do you disconnect emotions from memories? By losing consciousness. Most people sleep through their entire lives without even realizing it. They are blissful in their ignorance.

Among the few who do perceive reality - they are the ones who see the gray that lies just under the facade of color, and the brilliant colour that lies past that gray - there are fewer still who are able to process the overwhelming barrage of sensory input and actually make something of it. The wise cut the glare by looking through a visor composed of patience and detachment. To the rest, however, reality is so loud, it's deafening and beyond comprehension - for the symmetry of the universe eludes the impatient eye. To see it for even the most fleeting of moments can precipitate an epiphany.

It is such an epiphany that can complicate things somewhat for an individual. For he now knows the endpoint but not the path that will lead him there. And in searching for this path, one learns repeatedly, the limitless extent of human inadequacies. Some are driven by an indescribable inner flame (call it curiosity, if you will) to to try again... and again. These are people who know the true nature of hope and see its beauty. Others, however, give up on the quest and even end up regretting their awakening, so to speak. These are the ones who try consciously to sleepwalk through life (a combination of fatigue and sleep deprivation works rather well, actually). It would smack of hubris for one to pity such sleepwalkers, especially so for one who has knowingly wasted years. The decent thing to do would be to offer hope and encouragement.

So, I shall end with a rather popular and often abused quote from Swami Vivekananda - "Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached."

On the subject of faith

A short while ago, I read excerpts from an article by Bhagat Singh, outlining the rationale behind his atheism - "Why I am an atheist". While I may not share his enthusiasm on the subject of Marxism (I will return to this topic, albeit briefly, in a short while), I must agree with him on the subjects of faith and rational thought. While I have tried to explain my position in this regard in previous posts, I can hardly hold a candle to Bhagat Singh when it comes to the clarity of his words and the exhaustiveness of his arguments.

Returning to the subject of Marxism, I believe that it is doomed to failure because, it fails to take into account human nature. Albert Einstein reportedly said, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity...and I'm not sure about the universe." Einstein may have been uncertain about the universe but Marx most definitely forgot to account for human stupidity. And, I will define stupidity broadly to include selfishness (in the sense that some measure of altruism in the individual is essential for the success of the species), ignorance, intellectual laziness and all of the innumerable other flavors we humans have come up with. When you think about the level of human stupidity, it becomes clear that two things are inevitable - one is the failure of Marxist principles and the other is the success of religion, 'organized' or otherwise.

To me, science is part of the silver lining around the dark, noxious cloud of human accomplishment. It seems almost miraculous that science and religion (the kind that is dogmatic and forced upon others by its proponents) evolved simultaneously and on occasion, within the same elements of consciousness. What separates the two is a short span over a deep crevasse - ideas on one side and beliefs on the other. And while believers may find the ways of science dry, cynical, unromantic and without hope, I would argue otherwise. What could be more beautiful than experience and understanding? What could be more cynical than believing in a supreme being who would stand by and watch the innocent be wronged? There is yet room for optimism for one who points to randomness to the way the world is.

Therefore, it is on the basis of history that I argue that faith is a luxury of the privileged, a refuge of the ignorant and an opium of the masses. Of those who would disagree, I only ask that they show me the data that would suggest otherwise.

PS. Thank you Partha, for pointing me to the article (Why I am an atheist).