Science versus Religion
Well I just read quite a thought provoking article about the ceaseless and incessant strife between Science and Religion in today’s(Oct 13, 2013) Open Page section of The Hindu and I had to pen down some of my own thoughts. I believe I could be a spokesperson for most part of the educated and civilized mob who are willing to be cognizant about both sides of the coin.
I’ve personally always believed in the line “When in doubt, always go to the basics”. So I decided to go down the rabbit hole and asked myself this very simple question, knowing fully well it’s yet another wild goose chase. How did the concept of Science and Religion originate? The one thing that’s common between the two is us, human beings. Take it one step deeper, it’s fair enough to say both originated only after man started to think. While religion is about acknowledging the unknown, science is about trying to learn the unknown. But the fact remains that the disparate ideas of known and unknown could only be conceived by the human mind. And this conception of ideas by means of humane thoughts is an evolutionary process starting from the early man to the modern day man. Since evolution in itself is a science, is it fair to say that science gave birth to religion? If so, aren’t they meant to co-exist?
One factor that has caused a rift between science and religion is mostly the dominating prevalence of ideologies of the upper echelons of the society. For example, Galileo’s views were ridiculed by the church during his period because of the dominance of it. The Renaissance during it’s peak saw an invigorating growth to the intellectual life, be it art, literature, politics, science etc. in most parts of Europe. Right now, there’s no denying the fact that we’re at a point where the growth curve of science and technology has risen exponentially, while religion somehow still maintains its stronghold. I’m biased to think Science is starting to overshadow religion with its humongous growth. But nevertheless, inexplicable things still continue to happen which leaves science flummoxed for an answer. This is where our belief in the unknown comes in handy to save our day. Pragmatically speaking, we almost always see people praying to God in the face of a problem, no one ever prays to science! Given these circumstances, one would be inclined to think there’s no way we could live without either of them, which is absolutely true. There are scientists who are religious and there are religious people who believe in science. But we’re always consciously biased towards one side, albeit we acknowledge the existence of the other for there’s no conclusive proof that God doesn’t exist.
We also have to be conscious of the fact that both science and religion are nefarious in their own ways. We often tend to attach terrorism with religion and conclude religion is evil. Religion should just be seen as a willingness to gracefully accept the unknown entity, after all there’s not just one religion in the world, which is precisely why it’s a bit overrated too. But the fact remains that the same mind which conceived religion also conceived dynamites, missiles and nerve gas that are being used by countries now as a pretentious display of power.
As the saying goes.. “The more you know, the more you realize how much you don’t know – the less you know, the more you think you know.” In an ever expanding planet where there are no apparent boundaries for thoughts, we have to make an attempt to expand our mind to accommodate all the realms of possibilities or choose to remain ignorant to it, after all knowledge is wealth, half knowledge is dangerous, but ignorance is bliss!
A trip down memory lane..
Earlier this morning I was marching down the lane from the local railway station that leads to my home in Chennai.. It’s about a kilometre walk and it has been a little over 2 months since my last visit, but I couldn’t help notice the innumerous changes that has metamorphosized the place into what it is today. Now, these are not changes that had happened just over the last 2 months, but probably accumulated over god knows how long. The mere fact that I’ve remained oblivious to all these changes that are usually “visible to naked eye, yet invisible to the mind’s eye” made me take a stroll down the memory lane and contrast it with the vivid memories that I had of roaming around the place as a kid.
Right from the point when I got off the train, I stood facing the immortal Madras Institute of Technology ( incidentally the alma mater of former president Dr. Abdul Kalam ), somehow this building has withstood the test of time ( at least from the outside ). Down to the stretch that leads to my home, I obviously had to spot a few distantly familiar faces and the ubiquitous judgemental eyes( this is probably because of my rugged and urban Al-Qaeda gangsta look 😉 ). My eyes went searching for those empty roadside wagons where I used to devour samosas, only to realize my mouth has started watering already! The once gigantic looking gate to the Govt. boys high school, where we used to play around as boys, for some reason looked a tad smaller. Does time actually make things look smaller or is it just my mind?? Still puzzled by that thought, I continued walking down the lane to find a dozen new little shops strewn across either side of the road. All I could think about for the last few metres was the fact that I get to eat home made food for the next couple of days! Overwhelmed by that thought, I finally reached the one place on this earth that I’d like to call my home, rest all just remain mere apartments or houses.. Memories do play a confusing role. They make you laugh when you remember the time you cried! But make you cry when you remember the time you laughed”. True Story!
The Eternal quest for Hope!
This is directly aimed and dedicated to everyone, and especially one person in particular, who, by a misplaced sense of trust, have lost their will and faith on many of the beautiful things that life throws at us. If you feel a little knot in your heart as you read these lines, you know it’s you 🙂
“Fear can keep you prisoner. Hope can set you free.”
One of the most pristine and beautiful lines to have ever been said from “The Shawshank Redemption”. Cut down to the chase, the story distinctly distinguishes the life of its protagonist ( Tim Robbins ) with the sorrowful prison librarian and what’s the factor that demarcates the lives of these 2 people? Hope. A falsely convicted person doesn’t lose faith in his life and pulls off something incredible to show that a little hope can always work wonders. The librarian, on the other hand has spent nearly his entire life within the four walls of the prison and lacks the courage or faith to actually lead an existential life in the outside world and ultimately decides to end his life. The story doesn’t end there! There’s a second protagonist ( Morgan Freeman ) , who leads a life almost similar to the librarian and having spent almost 36 years in jail, he almost loses faith of any life in the outside world, until his faith in life is restored by sheer hope. His last few lines from the movie..
“I find I’m so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.”
Losing hope grows like a weed in our brains and is impossible to get rid of once we start harbouring them. The worst part is, we will be conditioned to live in that mental prison forever if we lack the courage to take a leap of faith and move on with our lives. If something good happens to us, we never question “Why is something good happening to me?” It gives us a morale boost and elevates our faith in life. But somehow, we always live in denial whenever something goes awry in our lives. The first question we ask is “Why me?”. There’s no roadmap defined for life. We learn to take things in our stride and move on with it, be it pleasant or unpleasant. And the only thing that drives our very existence is that sparkling little ray of hope that emanates from your mind’s window, provided you keep your mind open to radiate and bask in its glory!
As the saying goes, “At the end of it all, we never regret the things that we did, We just regret the things that we don’t do”
Stealing one more line from the movie.. “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this message finds you, and finds you well – Your best friend, always :-)”
Overrated things in life!
Just a little disclaimer before I rant about this.. This is purely my personal perspective of things that are a bit overrated in life. Neither is it meant to target anyone in particular nor does it intend to hurt anyone’s “feelings” at will.
Three things that have been given way more importance than they deserve..
1) Birthdays – Seriously, What the eff is so special about this day? Is it just a “friendly reminder” that you’ve managed to survive another year on this planet? What the heck are the other 364 days for then? Please don’t tell me it’s a reminder for someone else!! You may argue you do a lot of volunteer work on your birthday, like feeding the poor, donating money/clothes to an orphanage etc.. Again, What the heck do you do on the remaining 364 days? Do you save all your good deeds to be done only on your birthdays? I don’t really see the point in being a philanthropist on birthdays. Either be one or don’t be one!
2) Caste system – I’m quite sure most of you would agree with me on this. What started out during the Vedic period as a grouping based purely on merit turned out to be an epicentre for ethnic calamities. The myriad subdivisions within each caste have just added to the clutter and might as well outnumber the population soon enough! Mathematically this is possible, and also given the exorbitant rate at which the population is increasing(good thing there’s no end for numbers, What a relief!) , I’m sure our people can conceive at least “one caste per day” and I’m exceedingly sure, in all fairness, our government will do a fabulous job in recognizing and reserving equal rights for all of them! It’s fair enough to say that the actual intention behind the caste system is long lost.
3) Religion – I’m positive I’ll draw a lot of ire for this, but nevertheless, Religion according to me is just a state of mind! Nothing more, nothing less. It’s our choice to follow and propagate the religion we adopt to. Each religion inculcates peace and harmony as it’s ultimate motive. Maybe the path each religion takes to arrive at the destination is different, but they’re striving towards a common goal. I’m aware the Gita says “The ends don’t justify the means”, but I’m also quite sure no religion demands you to behead someone on your way to attaining it’s ultimate goal! Yet, ironically, we use religion as a scapegoat for all the communal riots in a supposedly “secular” country. The reason, as I see it, is there are a few brilliant and overly ambitious minds that redefined the path to truce and laced it with a tinge of violence to prove they are superior in comparison to others. We can’t really blame them, as evolution would have it, thought process is something that evolves over generations and going by history, human thought process has evolved radically in the past few centuries. Also, evolution talks about survival of the fittest, so we need to serve our core existential purpose by proving ourselves superior, so that we’re not obliterated from the face of the earth!
Wimbledon 2013 – In Retrospect
I’ve never really been a big fan of Andy Murray, but I’ve gotta hand it to him for his game in the Wimbledon 2013 finals. This might look more like a news paper review of the game. The only difference is, this is being published 4 months after the game took place in Wimbledon, but was actually written on the match day! 🙂
The stage was set, and the audience had arrived. To name a few, British prime minister David Cameron, English footballer Wayne Rooney, actors Bradley Cooper and Gerard Butler, American tennis legend John McEnroe. With all these persona grata from diverse fields converging in for a single occasion, It gives us cause to wonder what the stage is actually set for? No prizes for guessing, the stage is being prepped for the clash of Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic for the Wimbledon 2013 finals at the ever so immortal Wimbledon centre court!
The British royalty and the fans are desperate to witness a glorious victory for their country after 77 long years ( heck, Halley’s comet is more frequent! ), while Novak is aiming for his 7th grand slam and a 2nd one at Wimbledon. The ghost of Fred Perry looms the centre court. Will it be able to find some solace after having traveled all the way from the beyond?
The first set began with Novak splurging away 3 break points, in retrospect, an eerie prediction of what was about to come. Murray lead the race securing his first break at 3-1, but not before long Novak levelled it 3-3. The game witnessed some of the longest baseline rallies with each passing serve counting close to 20 strokes! This was definitely turning into a mega slugfest until Murray spotted the light and broke Novak again to lead 5-3. The Brit just wouldn’t give up after that and surged through to take the set 6-4. The initial set witnessed Murray’s steely resolve in securing points no matter how long or hard it took.
Shifting sight to Novak, the first set might just be the best he played today. The swift and agile Serb was finding it tough to hold on to his serve. The number of unforced errors and the first serve were also cause to worry for Novak. Enter second set , Novak got an early breakthrough and was up 4-1 when the tide turned around. Much to his shock, Novak was still struggling to find his feet with the serve. Andy sensed the opportunity and cruised his way to take the set 7-5. Murray was in a metaphorical purgatory. He can see life if he wins the next set, but leaving Novak find his form would mean death!
The third set begins only for us to see the exact same re-enactment of the second. Down to 3 championship points for Murray, Novak manages to save all of them, only to throw away 3 break points at deuce and eventually succumbing to a fateful end by netting the ball.
The crowd erupts in joy, Fred Perry’s ghost does a cartwheel in mid air, Andy Murray couldn’t believe he’d done it! It’s been 77 long years and this was the moment. The wait was over. The final ceremony ends with the Duke of Kent giving away one of the worlds most prestigious trophy to Murray, who remained an icon of humility and fortitude through out the presentation and kept himself down to earth, despite the feat he’d just achieved. Maybe this is paradise after passing through purgatory? If so, we’re all lucky to have seen it alive. Cheers!
The Two faces of Addiction!
“Blogging is addictive, isn’t it?” I was asked by a good friend. That sowed the seed in my mind for writing something about it. But I intend to generalize the term “addiction” and transcend it across, well pretty much anything you could get addicted to.
Etymologically speaking, Addicts are slaves given to Roman soldiers to reward them for performance in battle. Eventually, a person who was a slave to anything became known as an addict. I did not really know this until I looked it up a while back! But nevertheless, a nice piece of trivia.
So, Is there a distinct starting point for getting addicted to something?
Well, the answer is NO, and that’s the beauty of it. You randomly start off doing something that makes you feel good or happy and just strive to sustain that happiness you derive out of doing whatever it is that you’re doing without realizing that you’re progressively getting addicted to it. And one fine day, the realization dawns on you that you cannot live without it anymore. Sounds familiar?
Addiction can be attributed to pretty much anything that you do passionately, it doesn’t always have to be about the “bad stuff”. Unfortunately, the word has been stereotyped and misconstrued as a synonym for either alcohol or substance abuse. Think about it! You utter the word “Addict” to someone and their immediate response is to ask you “Alcohol or drugs?” Our neural pathways have been trained to the extent of eliciting involuntary responses for a select set of words, very much similar to Ian Pavlov’s “Classical Conditioning theory”, where the brain of a dog was conditioned to expect food at the sound of a bell.
Addiction can even be argued at a very basic level. If someone asks you to black out your brain temporarily and stop thinking about anything at all for the next few minutes, will you be able to do it? Impossible! “The more you try not to think about something, the more you end up thinking about it over and over again!” So, is thinking an addiction? No way. The more constructively you think, the better! In a similar way, we can argue if we’re addicted to some of the most primitive and elemental things that we do on a regular basis. It’s just my perception that whatever we get addicted to over a period of time, good or bad, integrates with us and when the addiction reaches it’s tipping point or maybe even before that, it starts defining us in some way, again good or bad. So choose well and get addicted wisely 🙂
I’ve attempted to show the bright side of the word “addiction”, but there’s an amazing movie “Requiem for a dream” in case you wish to see the ill effects of drug/substance addiction.
The educated pauper!
“Sir, can you please lend me some money so that I could take the bus to koramangala? I don’t have any money on me.”
Imagine the shock as you listen to those words coming out of a mendicant ( for the want of a better word ), verbatim! That was a true incident that happened to me while I was waiting for my cab a few months ago.
This ragamuffin looking guy was inching closer towards me, and I obviously knew he was gonna ask me for money, but what happened next was something I didn’t foresee. He came over to me and said those words in impeccable and fluent English! I swear I know quite a few educated people(count me one among them) who still have trouble with their grammar, but to hear such flawless english from someone like him was just un-freakin-believable! To paint you a picture, Imagine the surprise on Ron and Hermoine’s face when they first learn Harry can speak parseltongue? Yeah, you could imagine my reaction somewhere along those lines. I ended up giving him some money, but guess what? The ragged rascal ran(Triple alliteration!!) away with the money in the exact opposite direction of his destination. But listening to that guy just made my day! I wish I could’ve got a picture taken with him, but since it’s not an everyday occurrence, I was just too dumbstruck to think on my feet and ask him to pose for a snap.!!!!!!
Quote Unquote – Part II
To Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law.. Some of the best one liners and witty exchanges between the immortal Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Respect Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!
Sherlock: “I have no idea yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”
Sherlock: “You see, but you don’t observe. The distinction is clear. For example, you have frequently seen the steps which lead up from the hall to this room.”
Watson: “Frequently.”
Sherlock: “How often?”
Watson: “Well, some hundreds of times.”
Sherlock: “Well how many are there?”
Watson: “How many! I don’t know.”
Sherlock: “Quite so.You have not observed. And yet you have seen. That is just my point. Now, I know that there are seventeen steps, because I have both seen and observed.”
Sherlock: “I confess that I have been blind as a mole, but it is better to learn wisdom late than never to learn it at all.”
Sherlock: “Women are naturally secretive, and they like to do their own secreting.”
Sherlock: “Life is infinitely stranger than anything which the mind of man could invent.”
Sherlock: “As a rule, the more bizarre a thing is the less mysterious it proves to be, It is your commonplace, featureless crimes which are really puzzling, just as a commonplace face is the most difficult to identify.”
“I am not a whole-souled admirer of womankind”; in fact, the motives of women are so inscrutable. How can you build on such quicksand? Their most trivial actions may mean volumes; their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin”.
When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
“There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact.”
“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius.”
“What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence. The question is what can you make people believe you have done.”
“It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but that you are a conductor of light. Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it.”
“No man burdens his mind with small matters unless he has some very good reason for doing so.”
Quote Unquote
Here goes some of my favourite lines from an assorted collection of books and movies, mostly for the language, but some for the truth and philosophy behind it..
- Then he and the crocodile vanished under the water which became agitated and rapidly turned into a foaming vortex of stinking brown water, horribly tinged with red. – The Vulture is a patient bird, James Hadley chase. Read this about ten years back, but the memory is still so vivid!
- Terraced gardens girdled the sides of the surrounding mountains with green ribbons, great white rocks gleamed, a tiny red hawk of Sicily rode down toward them on a shaft of sunlight. – The Sicilian , Mario Puzo.
- That impossible anger strangling the grief until your loved ones memory is just poison in your veins.. And one day you catch yourself wishing the person you loved had never existed just so you could be spared your pain. – Liam Neeson, as Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins.
- “Rolling pasture lands curved upward on either side of us, and old gabled houses peeped out from amid the thick green foliage, but behind the peaceful and sunlit countryside there rose ever, dark against the evening sky, the long, gloomy curve of the moor, broken by the jagged and sinister hills.”
- “Fire burst from its open mouth, its eyes glowed with a smouldering glare, its muzzle and hackles and dewlap were outlined in flickering flame. Never in the delirious dream of a disordered brain could anything more savage, more appalling, more hellish be conceived than that dark form and savage face which broke upon us out of the wall of fog.” – Excerpts From: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. “The Hound of the Baskervilles.”
- The Dalai Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, he said: “Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” – The Dalai Lama paradox.
- The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis. – Dan Brown, Inferno.
- When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life. – This was apparently said by John Lennon!
- To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour – William Blake
- The truth is that airports saw more sincere kisses than wedding halls, and the walls of hospitals have heard more prayers than the walls of the church. – Author unknown, unfortunately.
- Voilà! – in view, a humble Vaudevillian Veteran, cast Vicariously as both Victim and Villain by the Vicissitudes of Fate. This Visage, no mere Veneer of Vanity, is a Vestige of the Vox populi, now Vacant, Vanished. However, this Valorous Visitation of a bygone Vexation stands Vivified, and has Vowed to Vanquish these Venal and Virulent Vermin Vanguarding Vice and Vouchsafing the Violently Vicious and Voracious Violation of Volition! The only Verdict is Vengeance– a Vendetta, held as a Votive– not in Vain, for the Value and Veracity of such shall one day Vindicate the Vigilant and the Virtuous. Verily, this Vichyssoise of Verbiage Veers most Verbose, so let me simply add that it’s my Very good honor to meet you, and you may call me V. – V for Vendetta! Classic!
Art of Patience!
“Patience is an art well learnt at the mercy of nature”
That was a line from one of the chapters of my high school english literature. For no apparent reason, the quote was imbibed straight onto my permanent memory the moment I read it the first time. As enchanting and mysterious as it sounds, it left me wondering since that day if there was any way I could directly relate myself to it.
It was not until a few months ago that I felt first hand as to how it would feel to be at the mercy of nature. And YES! I was finally able to soak in each and every word of that line.
It all started when a group of 4 colleagues and I started hiking up on the lush and rocky terrain of Mt.Lafayette in Lincoln, New Hampshire. Our strategy was to scale up Mt.Little Haystack first, walk along the ridge en route Mt.Lincoln and all the way to reach Mt.Lafayette finally and retrace the trail back to the base. The total distance of the hike was around 9 miles and it took us about 10 hrs to and fro. It started off on a relatively sour note for me, for I just realized my hiking shoes had gotten a bit tight and I started feeling a mild discomfort on my toes already. But I was hell bent upon scaling this mountain. So, we set off with huge loads of gatorade and water cans stacked up in our backpacks. The ascent up was pretty smooth and I covered roughly 2.5 miles up to reach Little Haystack in 3 hours. The deafening silence amidst the thickets and trees, except for the sound of falling waters all around you is a little eerie, given the fact that we are so much used to the bustling noise of the city.
After a little respite for lunch, we continued our way along the ridge to Mt.Lincoln with a breathtaking and gorgeous view on either side of us. Now this is another 2.7 mile trek from Little Haystack to Lafayette along the ridge filled with razor sharp rocks piercing their way into your foot at every single chance. I was walking through the crests and troughs of the ridge when the accumulated discomfort turned into a pain and started radiating out of my toes due to the constant pressure against the vamp of my shoe. Within the next one mile the pain was searing through my toes so much that I had to take my shoes off and walk barefoot for the next 200-300 mts. Now, given the stinging rocks strewn all over the ridge, it was becoming next to impossible to walk barefoot either. A perfect impasse. Thankfully one of my colleagues who was an expert hiker wound the laces of my shoe so taut so as to give my toes some room. This worked for a while, but the damage had already been done. The pain persisted, but I managed it all the way to Lafayette. The first thing I did once I reached the summit was to take my shoes off and by god did it feel good!! I was literally able to hear my toes screaming in pain. With that blissful feeling engulfing me, we started taking some snaps in the exquisitely picturesque summit.
It was time to make the descent now, which means I had to put my shoes on again and walk for another 4.5 miles! The hike back to the base was quite interesting. Half way along the ridge, it started raining. The elegance of looking at rain pour down from 5260 ft above ground is something indescribable, a visceral feeling, albeit you observe it. It looks like vertical stripes of white ribbons spiralling down towards the earth only to be blown apart by the wind. It was a like a mini tornado in the sky and by far one of the most alluring things I’ve ever seen in my life. But I was told by the expert hiker in our group that it’s a bit dangerous to be out on the top, especially when it rains, since lightnings have a proclivity to hit the highest points above the ground first. Beauty always comes with a price! So, not only do I have to walk, but I have to walk FASTER now since we had a lot of ground to cover(approx 1 mile) along the ridge before we actually start our descent down the forest(another 2.5 miles). THAT MOMENT, right there, was when I realized I was at the mercy of nature and I have no other option but to remain patient and just continue walking! Consider the circumstances : A sore foot, toes crying out for help, walking speed compromised due to the pain, the downpour, lightning threat. Given all this, I had to walk faster, and giving up was not an option! I was reminded of the Joker’s paradoxical question “What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?”. Well, in this case the object(me) was “rendered” immovable and eventually would be fried by the unstoppable force.
So, we strapped our wind cheaters on and continued walking against the gushing winds from almost all directions. I’ve always heard people say, going up is the toughest part in anything, but to plunge down is easy. I respectfully disagree! According to me at least, hiking up a hill has always been easier compared to hiking down. Agreed, hiking up is much laborious and painstaking, but we need to exercise extra caution while climbing down a hill inside a forest, given all the slimy rubble we have to walk on and let’s face it.. gravity is always looking forward to drag you down even at the slightest chance.
I walked(read crawled) for the next couple of hours and abruptly there was a glimmer of hope! I was able to hear the sound of cars whizzing past in the highway outside! Finally, a sign of civilization! It restores your lost faith that every trail ends with the same place where you started from. But the problem here is you continue to hear the blaring sound of the highway and yet never really come in contact with it for what seems to be an eternity. The restored faith suddenly goes for a toss. But you have no other option but to keep walking! You lose track of time and all the highway noises just seem like a cruel prank, when out of the blue you’re abruptly back to the civilization where you belong! You see light!
I’ve been on a few hikes before, but this one stands out because it connected me with something profound and taught me what being patient is all about. I guess I remembered that line for a reason after all!
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