Can you handle the digital truth?

Love Today (Tamil; 2022)
Writer, Director, Actor: Pradeep Ranganathan

It is said that the amount of data carried by a mobile phone is equivalent to the amount needed to launch the spaceship Apollo 11. Having that much data, like an appendage attached to our body, cannot be without liabilities. People store way too much muck in there that, at any time, anyone can use it to paint an individual how they want him to be painted. With the same brush, they can be either portrayed as a saint or a devil re-incarnated from the raw data.

People, like salivating dogs to a bone, will volunteer their personal information to be used and misused at the sight of dangling freebies. All the promise of privacy is a fallacy. With a few tweaks here and there, the digital trail is at your disposal.

This innovative movie highlights this exact problem. Two lovebirds fall helplessly in love with each other. When the boy approaches her father for her hand, the father, a strict disciplinarian, puts the couple to the test. He thinks the couple should know each other before plunging head-on into tying the matrimonial knot.

The couple was told to swap phones for 24 hours before committing to each other. That is when the fun starts. Even though each initially resists the temptations to pry into the other's private lives, curiosity sets in. Compounded with suggestions by people around them and wanting to delete particular unsavoury messages that may be construed as offensive or suspicious, the boy scrambles to delete them cryptically. Paradoxically, it just increases each other's suspicion. The couple ends up hating each other.

On the other hand, the lover boy's sister is getting married soon. She is curious why her soon-to-be-groom is so secretive about anyone else accessing his mobile phone. She wonders if he is hiding something. That starts another tussle to lay a hand on the coveted husband-to-be.

The final take-home message is that sometimes it is worthwhile not knowing everything. Some things are left unknown. Some stones are better left unturned. 

Do we want to know the truth, the whole truth and everything about the truth, really?

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A journey of conquest of a different kind

Xuanzang (大唐玄奘, Mandarin, Hindi; 2016)

Hsuan Tsang or Xuanzang is mentioned in early historical scriptures as of one the first person who journeyed from China via the Silk Road through Central Asia to reach India (or Sindhu as it was referred to then). He documented his travels meticulously and penned down all his escapades as he traversed the treacherous terrains, hills, deserts, monsoon and scorching heat. A child prodigy, Xuanzang entered the Buddhist monastery and was ordained a monk in Mahayana Buddhism at the age of 20. He then mastered Sanskrit and started studying ancient texts. Discovering discrepancies in the available scriptures, at the age of 25, in the year 627AD, he started a solo journey on foot from Chang 'An to India. This was the transition time from the Sui to the relatively peaceful Tang dynasty. His final destination was Nalanda University, in Meghada kingdom.

After three long years, travelling through modern-day Kazhakstan, Kyzhegistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Lahore and Delhi, he reached his destination. He is the first person to have described the Hindu kingdom to be extending as far as Afghanistan. 

He describes all the places that he visited within India. He told about how people live, the social norms and their dietary peculiarities. After learning at Nalanda University, he makes his teachers proud by winning an interfaith debate organised by King Varsha during Kumbh Mela in the holy city of Prayag (modern-day Allahabad). After 19 long years, traversing through 110 countries and walking 25,000 km, Xuanzang returned to Chang 'An with a wealth of knowledge and scriptures.

Ajanta Caves

The film is recommendable for its infotainment value. It brings to light of mesmerising natural landscapes and buildings that most of us will not have a chance to witness in our lifetimes. Many of the magnificent shrines and temples that existed at the time of his visit are still standing today. One such majestic structure is Ajanta Caves.

In the early 5th century AD, another Buddhist scholar from China named Faxian made a similar trip to India. He visited India during the reign of a Hindu dynasty, Chandragupta II, and reached Gautama Buddha's birthplace of Lumbini to obtain Buddhist scripts. He also visited Pataliputra, a Buddhist stronghold (Maurya's kingdom). Faxian, however, continued his journey to Ceylon. He described the island as a land of demons. He returned to China via sea. His boat went off course to Java and again swept off to Shandong on a second trip back to China.

Sand dunes in the Gobi Desert

Xuanzang's route to India.

Faxian's land route to India and back by sea.

With so much ease of acquiring knowledge through the plethora of portals available to us, we still have the inertia to go the extra mile. These two extraordinary figures risked their time and life to acquire and disseminate the wealth of knowledge to generations after them. Holding on to compasses in their hands, faiths in their heart as well as the stars above their heads as markers, they ventured into unknown territories. Come what may!

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Go forth and explore...

To all my friends who ask me not to think too much, please ponder upon the following. We think we know everything and there is nothing more to learn. How wrong we are? I have come to realise that every living day is another fresh day to acquire knowledge.

At the end of the 19th century, investigative officers thought they had a full-proof system to track down criminals. Anthromorphological features as described by witnesses and evidence at crime were sufficient to convict suspects. We all know how unreliable are accounts by bystanders or witnesses. 

This arrangement worked fairly well when it was practised in the West where individual variations in hair, eye colours and other obvious physical were there. The British Colonial Police had a tough time policing as the natives all looked the same in their eyes. That is when fingerprinting techniques became the state-of-art avantgarde armamentarium in crime-busting. For some time, the method was thought to be so unique that it could never be wrong.  

Then it became apparent that this investigative tool was observer dependant. Slowly studies started showing high false positives between 1:18 to 1:30 as it involved human judgement, hence exposed to cognitive biases and this analysis lacked scientific scrutiny.

Soon trickled DNA as a device to aid investigators. Suddenly, it became a big shot in the arm for many a prisoner who was wrongly convicted for a crime they did not commit. And, the technique got cheaper, widespread and ultra-sensitive. 

Unfortunately, DNA detection grew too sensitive for its own good. There is even a case where a person transmitted his DNA to a murder victim just because he had been transferred in the same ambulance and had used the same pulse oximeter!

Hence, perhaps DNA is not the end of it all to solve all unsolved criminal cases.

So friends wake up. One can never think that he has reached the pinnacle and there is nothing more to learn. One cannot depend on age-old wisdom and think that it would take us through the end of times. Go forth and explore...

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Of concordance and schisms

Aryabhata (476-550 CE)

Mathematician/Astronomer.

The first person to say that Earth 

is spherical and revolves around 

the sun. The first to suggest that 

any number divided by 0 

gives infinity ∞. (pinterest)

Continuing in the quest to make sense of things around me, I stumbled into something quite thought-provoking. It has something to do with our idea of separating knowledge into the sciences and the arts.

It is interesting to note that the Ionians, of the Eastern part of the Greek civilisation, and the Hindu culture started learning things about the world we live in entirely independent of each other. It is incredible how quite similar their discoveries were, at least in the initial stages.

The pre-Socratic thinkers thought that there was a connection between the Universe and the world immediately around us. Thales tried to say that water is the essence of our existence. Democritus put forward the theory of Void and eternal, indivisible atoms that made up our physical world. Pythagoras and his cult members attempted very hard to a mathematical formula for everything in the Cosmos, including music. His equations, he later realised, could be irrational at times. A case in point is the irrationality of √2. The hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle with dimensions of 1 X 1 cannot be calculated probably made him abandon his idea. From that time onward, another branch of knowledge is said to have developed - natural philosophy. Later philosophers quit looking at the stars for the answers but instead started gazing inwardly. They abandoned the physical sciences to rhetorics. Their idea of problem-solving was people watching. This type of wisdom continued all through Plato and subsequent sages. As we know Plato's teachings metamorphosed into Neoplatonic ideas which greatly influenced the Abrahamic religions.

Attempts to revive sciences through the works of Kepler, Copernicus and Newton met a lot of resistance from the society so ingrained in a kind of a dogmatic belief. Some of the branches of the Abrahamism realised their loss of grip on the flock and decided to move with the times while some found content in spewing their 6th-century or maybe 12th-century slightly improved ideologies.

On the other side of the world, in the Indus Valley, things progressed slightly differently. Their perspective of life on Earth seems to one that was devoid of the outside realm but of one that incorporated all the celestial bodies in the Universe. Till today, they appreciate significant events of the heavens like the birth of the new moon, the glory of the full moon and specific planetary positioning. Modern science is slowly agreeing to many of their old age believed traditions about the Cosmos and its cyclical manner of doing things. People of the Indian sub-continent continue showing their appreciations to things which are taken for granted in life. A simple example is the festival of Thai Ponggal or Makara Sankranthi which is celebrated during the Indic solstice as the sun enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac Makara or Capricorn.
As more and more new things are discovered, one cannot fathom but only stand in awe trying to come in terms with how these ancient civilisations, with their rudimentary tools, were able to find things that were literally out of this world.

Kepler-186f is an exoplanet about 550 light-years from the Earth. It is the first planet with a radius similar to Earth's to be discovered in the habitable zone of another star. (Wiki) 

https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson

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Automatons, are we?

 Kardashians - fiz-x.com

This post was spurred with someone mentioning how the whole Government machinery has suddenly found new vigour to streamline all its dealings. At a wink of an eye, civil servants who all this while had not been civil enough to show the gratitude to the salary that the taxpayers paid them, have found rejuvenated zest to right their wrong of so many decades. Have they really turned over a new leaf? Have they had their wings clipped or hand tied that prevented them from doing what they were yearning to do all these while - to serve? Are these moves just reactionary to the change in the tide of the time?

My thoughts were cradled back to a time in our recent past. The mantra of the day then was that we were to become an industrialised and advanced country by 2020. Wealth and money were then the new God. The yardstick to gauge the advancement of a society was the material things, not civic-mindedness, positive human values or culture. Megalomania was an accepted and revered trait. At that time, the obsession to become rich, if possible overnight, was on everyone's mind. To be rich was being successful, being poor a failure.

Why was that so? The leader then said so.

Syed Qutb - Wiki

That is the psyche of an average man. He is so fickled. He needs a hero figure that he looks up to for guidance. The nearest superhero icon to him is the leader that leads that bring their tribe/nation/congregation through their daily dealings. This must have been the case of the Hindu mythology that put King Rama at the status of a demi-god or even of that of an avatar of God himself. His conduct and decisions in life-changing situations became the foundation of how life on Earth should be lived.

In the present times, this vacuum must surely be filled up by rock stars, pop artists and icons who do nothing like Kendall Jenner and the rest of the Kardashians.

Realising this, Syed Qutb, one of the critical conspirators in extremist Islamism, had posited that people, in general, do not know what they want. They just thread through life like sheep grazing in the field just following the herd. The shepherd needs to guide the passage of flock; to the grassland or the abattoir. The entrepreneur Steve Job, on working to come up with the next generation handheld communication device had been heard to have said when criticised about the acceptability of his new gadget, "People don't know what they want. We'll show them what they want!"

patriotretort.com

Something can go so wrong unchecked under our very eyes for so long with us realising. We are only jolted to reality with a hard jolt that occurs occasionally. We are easily swayed with rhetorics and hero-worship. We follow blindly without thinking. The thinkings ones are too much cowed into submission by the voice of the majority. The occasional scream of realisation by the minority for sense and equity to prevail is cast aside as elitists.

In a way, we are all ignorant children mesmerised to the tune of day to be led blindly into our destruction. Some would call it the lure of the Evil, Satan's mischiefs, negativity or the Dark Forces. I would call it our ignorance. The only way to combat this innocence is to peel open the inner eyes of awareness and enrich our treasure cove of knowledge. 

Reference: The Fish stinks from the Head.

 https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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It is in the tuning?

Yet another perspective of trying to understand the secrets of life. Perhaps there might be another way to tap wisdom from the Intellect around us.

www.scienceandnonduality.com

The vessel to concentrate energies. 

The location, on a particular grid, 

in relation to the Earth's magnetic powers 

coupled with the specific placing of 

deities on certain metals to act as 

conductors and linked to the chanting 

of 'mantras' attempt to open the gateway 

for a seamless flow of knowledge of the 

Agent Intellect.

Imagine a shortwave radio or a ham radio. In order to receive transmissions, it needs to be set at a specific frequency for unhampered communications. Their whole function is determined by the ability to pick up signals by setting the dial at a particular station and for the antenna to absorb the waves. The devices in the radio turn them into audible sounds.

Many times, we run out of ideas. We seem to have hit a brick wall; thought blocks, muddled brains, whatever you call it. Suddenly, the Muse showers Her Grace and ideas just keep on flowing. How often a good nights' sleep clears the mind and makes you see everything in a different light. In the same vein how Ramanujam plucked formulas out of thin air as and when Goddess Namagiri whispered them to him.

This is yet another explanation for the existence of many deities amongst us. One divinity for one specific reason. It controls one particular trait of living. For someone whose immediate priority is to gain knowledge in academia and the arts may need to attune his thought frequencies to that of Sarasvati. To acquire wealth and prosperity, Lakshmi is invoked. For bravery and physical strength, Durga or Shakthi is summoned. The hymns and mantras recited are probably towards this end - to create an unimpeded channel for our brainwaves to be set at the required wavelength.

That must be the reason for all the rituals and meditative practices. The unearthly early morning rituals with the repeated chanting of verses in monotonous and hypnotic tones must all be towards this end - to set the internal antenna to the frequency we want to receive. Some receive it with ease, others struggle and yet some who miss the elephant in the room (pun unintended).

 https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson 

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The wisdom behind Murugan's Vel!

I have a confession. When I was young, at an impression age, when my guards were down, naive and the eyes of knowledge were still in slumber, I was ashamed whenever I attended religious functions. The theatrics showed by the professors of religions were, in my nimble mind, laughable. During Thaipusam and fire-walking ceremonies, the high decibels, high energies and activities that they emanated just took away any semblance of divinity from it. Now, I know better, I think, I hope.

Like the Oracles of Delphi, messages are transmitted in coded languages and double speaks. They are all symbolic notes to the secret of life. We have to understand that the religious leaders were spreading the good word to mostly illiterate simpletons and agrarians with primal needs.

The power, force, fire, sounds, noise, water and light are not as they are. The evil or dark forces are not from without but within; our naivety, ignorance and our inertia to progress. The sceptic in me, however, asks myself whether all these are just afterthoughts or justifications to our past history which is so full of carnage and evil?

The lady asks, "Murugan received the Vel (spear) from his mother Parvati to kill the enemies, right?"
"Yes," said the teacher.
The lady demands, "which mother would give a weapon to her child? Is it not irresponsible?"
The teacher sheepishly smiles to say, "It is all symbology." Whilst praising the Tamils, he replies,"... the Tamils were far ahead of their time, even more than 2500 years ago.
The Vel is actually a weapon, correct, but it is our thinking capacity. It should be sharp like the tip, wide like the blade and deep like the holder!"
To this, everybody applauded!!! Vel, Vel, Arohara!

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Where is wisdom?

Image Credit: superhv.com

Bruce Lee is famous not only for his martial art skill. He is also renowned for his ability to infuse traditional Confucius wisdom into contemporary modern living. One of his quotations goes as follows ‘A learned man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer’! Shakespeare too mentioned something to that effect. ‘A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool!’

 We are always under the impression that wisdom can learn from the books and scriptures and that one can wise just by sitting down and burying himself in the company of books. I disagree.

First, let us define ‘wisdom’. Wisdom can be described as the soundness of one’s action based on his application of experience, knowledge and good judgement. Somewhere along the way, there would also be empathy. 

True, academic knowledge is necessary for one to gain wisdom. From the books, we can acquire a wealth of knowledge in such a short time at the comforts of our chairs and homes. But is this wisdom? Are we able to put in practice? We can sit around all day learning about the intricacies and minute details of cycling, but, unless we go out and learn to coordinate our balancing with our pedalling, we would not go far, literally.

Just because a person may not be looking scholarly and may not be speaking the same language as us, we cannot assume the other person is unwise. The Native Indians and the Australian aborigines were always looked down upon as uncultured and lacking in common knowledge by the invaders from the West. Fast forward to the future, now, everyone appreciates the subtleties of their language and advanced nature of their civilisation to live in a symbiotic relationship with Nature and all its occupants. The human race cannot be considered wise until and unless he realises that they have only one Earth. This is our home, and we are not going anywhere in the near future. What is the use of all the high-tech pieces of machinery which able to reap the treasures of Mother Earth and leaving a barren wasteland for our generations to come?

Take a person off the street from any of these densely populated towns of a third world country - Mumbai, Rio de Janeiro or Cairo. The streets in those cities are reeling with vagabonds and members of the public who lost out in the gruelling rat race of urban living. And yet, these people still lead fulfilling lives in their own ways. It is called street smartness. It is a very tangible skill that one can learn living amongst the dwellers of the street. If you and I were left to fend ourselves in these environments, we would not last a third day. The dexterity to outmanoeuvre challenges in such climate is something being in the field. These people have the wisdom to survive however hard ‘the tough gets going’!

An Indian poet once said that Man saw the birds and he made planes; He saw the Moon and he built a rocket; He heard echoes and he made radio. Basically what the poet is saying is that there are a lot of wisdom that we can learn if we keep over senses open. We can learn empathy from seeing sick, handicapped and the old people who are suffering around us. Look at the members of the avian population and we can understand how is it is to fly mammoth distances if we do it groups and car-pooling. Even things as minute as bacteria and viruses may teach us a thing or two. Their ability to withstand the constant insult from pharmaceutical agents via genetic mutation can spur new approaches to combat various diseases that plague mankind, like cancers and other lethal viral illnesses.

(Thanks DKLA for input)

Every living day is a learning experience

So you go around with a chip on your shoulder, with the nose so high up in the air as if you walk inhaling imported air. You straddle around like you are on Yudhistira's chariot, always two feet above the ground, quite full of air. You speak with such confidence convinced that your listeners are impressed with your command of the language.

You think you produced a masterpiece that everybody would sing only praises of it. That is until you send it for proofreading.

That is when your bubble bursts, your ego gets deflated, and you get down from your mighty horse and is brought down to the ground. You soon realise that the things which you had taken for granted mean more than what meets the eyes.

You get an extra 'e' when you are a lady engaged to a man. A fiancée is to a female just what a fiancé is to a man.

Everything seems watertight as if you have a foolproof system but your friends tell you that he has full proof that 'fullproof' is not even a word! I guess you are the fool now.

You thought you had thrashed out all your work of trash, forgetting an 'h' thrashes your good to the trash bin. It just 'hanged' your credibility, not to have it hung in the hall of fame. Even your offspring cannot help as no matter how many of them you have, you will never know. The plural of offspring is offspring. You, even in the sleekest way, is not slick enough to notice that. I guess you should not have been too emphatic on your convictions but rather be empathetic to others' views as well. Anyway, I am contented that you have decided to put your ego aside and contend with all the line of corrections. But, I do wonder sometimes if it is all a facade, and you may wander into other fields to avenge after your recent ego-bruising experiences.

But we move on...

Just that you know!

Thanks SK for input!

Me wanna go to Norway for continuing education ...

Them Moscovite dogs surely are smarter than me !

eeeerie ! remember the movie "Final Destination" ??

... nope, not applicable in Malaysia nor China

: ... can prisoners be deported to Netherlands then ?

... naaah ! I won't be joining the queue to try poop-meat anytime soon ...

: ... Wow ! I would certainly be the DEARly departed ..

... no wonder ... betcha I would made trillions if I could bottle it & sell it ... :)

so sad ... why did the mama elephant reject / kick the baby ?

: ... there you go - never judge a banana by its skin ...

- fatal attraction of the vehicular kind

- that's why pandas are called China's national treasures ...

- so what is the message - don't stop generating rubbish ?

T, this was the size of our Pekingese, Mimi's puppies when Mom delivered them .. & Mimi was a miniature Peke ...

- 

... and I thot that was to keep the coins for the parking meter .. :(

duhhh ... sorry, run that by me again please ...