Anyone who knows God,
cannot describe Him.
Anyone who describes God
does not know Him.
- Paul Coelho
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
Intelligence, Artificial versus Human
The greatest thing that humans possess is consciousness.
I used to believe that can consciousness never be created in a machine, no matter how advanced Artificial Intelligence gets.
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Now I am not so sure.
With each passing day machines are growing smarter while humans seem to becoming less intelligent.
If the current pace of developments in Artificial Intelligence continues, then it is quite conceivable that in 20 years, scientists will be able to create machines and systems that will equal and exceed thought of man.
* This is not yet an established fact, merely a caution issued by a concerned man.
Monday, February 1, 2016
to Die before Death
Death is a stripping away of all that is not you.
The secret of life is to die before you die
and find that there is no death.
- Eckhart Tolle
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
The force is with you
My year old grandson Tegh Vir Singh, has discovered mobility. He crawls rapidly all over the house, being followed by some member of the family.
There is a heavy drawer in our bedroom which houses all the sheets and blankets etc. Tegh Vir had observed the actions of his grandmother as she cleans up the room every morning.
Children learn by imitating the behaviour of people around them. Even though Tegh is still so little, and unable to pull open the drawer, he persists, in trying to copy his grandmother's actions
This morning the drawer once again caught Tegh' attention. He huffed and he puffed but the drawer would not open. I decided to assist Tegh, so I discretely pulled open the drawer from one corner. Tegh Veer beamed with joy and he looked around announcing his success in that strange language that only mothers understand.
He then pushed the draw shut, again with my discrete help. He was delighted by his success and on discovering his new found capabilities.
We both played our roles in the game several times. After about a dozen cycles I stopped, because the game was becoming boring and hence weary.
Tegh, was so confused. In spite of all his efforts the drawer now refused to budge. He tried and he tried, looked around for support, and when none was forthcoming, began his huffing and puffing all over again.
"Well, my world is full of other fun things to do", he probably thought as he
embarked on a new adventure.
It suddenly dawned upon me that had just transpired was a great lesson in spirituality.
Each individual feels that he or she alone is the doer. Everything that succeeds is because of us and us alone. But hands and forces hidden and unknown to us are always working and assisting us.
Such is the power of creation which many call God, that miracles happen all the time.
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This is what all the great masters and teachers tell us, "Be true to yourself" or "seek and you shall find". But be a true seeker.
The spiritually evolved individual knowingly or unknowingly taps into this this vast reservoir of energy. We should remember that the energy of the cosmos or energy within us is just pure energy, and energy is not judgemental, it just follows its own rules.
If we are full of hate, anger, jealousy, then our bitterness and negativity will be magnified and we will be destructive and cause only harm and sorrow.
So it is with goodness. If we are compassionate, loving, friendly and helpful, we will achieve joy and well being, not only for ourselves but we will enrich the cosmos and everyone we come in contact with.
Believe in yourself and the power lying latent with-in and with-out you.
Make your choices wisely, for the force is always with you.
Friday, January 22, 2016
Lust and happiness.
The answer probably lies in lust and sexual repression.
To have sexual desire is the most natural of our traits. To condemn this itself is so sinister that man is condemned to be unhappy.
What greater punishment we inflict on ourselves?
No matter what we try, eventually nature always triumphs. Yet we force ourselves to try and live in unnatural ways. That is why humans have become cruel and violent. Rape, abuse, exploitation of the weak, violence, war, etc., are the products of a repressed sexuality.
Priests quoting from their respective holy books of organised religion, inform us that, lust means the desire for sex. They say that sex is taboo and even in marriage sex is regrettable.
Priests preach to us, to abandon the lust for power money and sex which is forbidden, which we can term as 'bad lust'. They instruct us to deactivate our minds, ignore our hearts and surrender much of our wealth to their religious institutions, so that we may properly chase religion and God. This is what could be termed as 'good lust'.
It is true that Prophets, Messiahs and the Gurus advised us not to lust. There is great depth and relevant meaning behind these statements. Unfortunately priests have twisted this statement to assume lust means only sexual lust.
As per the priests, to crave for sex and wealth is bad but to crave for religion and God is good. In reality there is no difference between the lust for power, sex, wealth, and lust for religion and God.
Lust, is an intense craving. Lust means to desire, and to desire something passionately if not desperately. Desperation and passion are both blinding.
Only a heart and mind which is at peace and calm can progress on the spiritual journey. But a heart possessed by a craving, any craving is always unsettled and in turmoil. Turmoil occupies and ties us down, calmness releases us.
Imagine our individual being, as a pond.
Any object thrown into the water will cause ripples.
Similarly a craving thrown into our being will also causes ripples and hence turmoil.
It matters not, whether we throw an ordinary stone, gold nugget or even a diamond into the calm waters of the pond. All objects cast into the water will always cause ripples.
Our lust, our craving constantly creates ripples in our mind and therefore our mind is always in turbulence. How can we ever achieve peace and divinity with a turbulent mind and spirit?
It matters little, whether we crave sex, wealth, power, enlightenment or God, all craving is lust. To crave or to lust means to be dissatisfied with what we already have and to desire something else. We crave for something more and therefore we live, not in the present but in the future. That is what causes turmoil and unhappiness.
Thus after many years of rituals, discussions with sages, searching endlessly for answers Gautam Buddha got enlightened.
What did he achieve, when we say, "Siddhartha got enlightened"?
Lord Buddha discovered that there is no need to crave for anything, he just had to be. To merely accept existence, and that is a state of Godliness.
Lord Buddha discovered that to be blissful, no answers are needed. Existence is not a problem that needs to be solved, nor a challenge that must be overcome, but a mystery that simply needs to be experienced.
The greatest gift is to be at peace with ourselves. This can happen in three phases.
First, to live life naturally, fulfilling our biological needs and then transcending our sexual and hunger desires.
Next to evolve from body to mind by reflection and intellectual nourishment to attain wisdom.
Finally, by meditating, transcend both body and mind to become truly spiritual. Eventually we will come to know both ourselves and existence .
* This article is based on the talks of the Master, Osho.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
A Saviour came this day
Wherever one goes in the world, you will find a special type of people. They are inevitably respected for their integrity, passion and joyful nature. They work hard, live well and love passionately. They are the Sikhs.
Who are the Sikhs and where did they come from?
Whenever there is grief and unbearable anguish and humanity loses its way, there always arrives a saviour, to provide a loving balm, guide and inspire people to rise and discover through their true potential, salvation.
When people are lost they seek guidance, but the priests inevitably land up distancing man from God. The older the faith the more distorted and abused is the religion by those who claim to serve it.
Sikhism is the most modern and relevant faith in the world. The teachings of Guru Nanak ji are easy to understand and hence follow, as it is in the spoken language, free of rituals and does not need middlemen. All it requires, is for us to be loving and to be true.
Guru Nanak ji's preached three fundamental beliefs.
- 'Kirat Karo': Fulfil your duties. Make an honest living. For if you do not earn how will you provide for those you are responsible for. This is why the Sikhs are extremely hard working and have a very good work ethic.
- 'Vand Chakko': Share what you earn with others, who are in need. This is why the Sikhs are so helpful and charitable.
- 'Nam Jappo': Remember God and joyfully sing his praise. This is why Sikhs are usually alway happy evening adversity.
Sikhism is relevant even more today for it teaches,
- Tolerance and universal brotherhood. All are accepted and welcome without any preconditions or compulsions.
- Breaks all forms of class barriers ignoring sex, colour, religion, caste, rank or wealth.
- The "Langar" or the community kitchen where kings and the poorest break bread together
- Feed, protect and care for the poor, the hungry and the unfortunate.
- Promotes environmentalism. For to love and respect creation is to love The Creator.
- To honour and respect women as equals and give them same rights and privileges as men.
Guru Nanak ji had two constant companions Mardana a Muslim and Bala a Hindu. He travelled widely across a world torn by strife, singing hymns and teaching love and tolerance by example.
They travelled mostly on foot from Punjab in all directions, up North till Tibet and South to Sri Lanka, up to Myanmar in the east and Saudi Arabia in the West.
If we do seek salvation then let us learn from a saviour. Paths may be many, but the destination is the same. "There is only One and He is Truth"
I congratulate all the people in all lands on this great day.
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*Rai-Bhoi-di Talwandi is now called Nankana and is in Pakistan
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