The Three Stones

As most of this blog’s readers know, my father expired a couple of months ago. What followed his death is the subject of this post. I couldn’t decide whether the things that immediately followed his death were funny or disgusting. But, then I decided that they were on the funnier side of things. I know, I know, most of you are probably wondering what kind of (lunatic) guy sees funny things in his father’s death. I can because I can look at it objectively and not subjectively. But some the incidents I am about to narrate will I am sure if not make you laugh out aloud at least make you think” “Yeah, I can see the funny side of things here.”

1. All my “relatives” crying:
I couldn’t understand why in the hell were people who barely knew my father were crying loudly and profusely, whereas my bro, sis and I were not crying that much. I even went to take a nap and had food all three times of the day, whereas some of the people I have mentioned above ate very little food or completely refrained from eating food. What’s the point in not eating food? I don’t get it. Is the dead person going to come back to life if you don’t eat food?? The most funniest thing: here were the three people most closely related to deceased person going and consoling people who were distantly related to deceased.
I couldn’t understand why were people whom my father barely knew so worked up over his death. Then me friend told me: Most people cry at funeral whether they feel like it or not, because they think they are supposed to cry at funerals. It’s a sort of peer pressure thing. “People will think badly about me if i don’t cry at funerals” has been etched into the minds of people and they blindly follow it.
Also, people who were crying were uttering the following phrases to my father’s corpse. C’mon people, what’s the point in talking to a dead body? How can a dead person hear to what you are talking? And I am called insane!! Anyway, these phrases made me laugh. Some of the phrases were:
· “Why did you leave us and go? How did you have the heart to do this?”
Yeah, Right! Why would any sane person in his/her right mind voluntarily die? That too when they have many loved ones?? Some people actually scold the dead person for dying!!! I cannot still fathom till date why people behave that way in funerals.
· “Please open your eyes and look at me/us once.”
This is one seriously is the most funniest. I mean the person is dead, how would he/she open their eyes?? I wonder how many of them would not scream and run away or go mad, if a dead person opens his/her eyes?

Now, here are some questions.
a) According to most theist, when a person dies they go to heaven or hell depending upon whether they were a good person or a bad person. Now, most theists will claim heaven is a better place than the earth and etc etc. Now, I see that people cry at the funeral of everyone. The question is: So, is no one going to heaven, because everyone was a bad person or is that no one is happy that a person they know going to heaven??Answer this one theist!
b) Once a person dies, we start referring to the person’s body as it. Until that time, we refer to a person’s body as he/she. Why this disrespect? So, you guys mean to say that the body of a person has no relevance? If so, why then are people crying when only body has expired? Doesn’t a person still continue to live on?
c) Why at all do people cry at funerals? Just because a person dies does is it man that person is dead? I mean, physically that person is dead. But, doesn’t that person continue to live on in our memories and hearts?? It disgusts me that people seem to give so much importance to flesh and bones than to the person. After all a person is more than just flesh and bones. Isn’t a person also the ideals, values, and beliefs that were held by that person, the actions that the persons committed during his/her lifetime?

2. No Television:
This happened a couple of days (Some 4-5 days.) after my father’s death. One of my younger cousins wanted to watch that day’s IPL match. So, I was connecting the TV wires and was switching it on, when one of my aunts comes and says “No, No, you should not watch TV n all.” I was like “Huh!! Why can’t/shouldn’t I watch TV?” and switched on the TV. She stood there for some time starring at me and then walked away, because all my cousins and uncles came to watch the match. My aunt never gave me the explanation of why I shouldn’t switch on the TV. But the general message I think was that “You don’t watch TV, just a couple of days after someone has expired is the house.” I mean what kind of crap is that? I mean, isn’t it disgustingly funny??

3. No going out after dusk:
This is another “rule” that makes me laugh every time I think about it. This too happened a couple of days (Some 3-4 days.) after my father’s death. My friend had come to see me and said let’s go out, it will be a change for you. So I was starting to go out. Everyone was like “No, you can’t go out after dusk.” I laughed out aloud and asked “Why shouldn’t I go out after dusk?” The reply as usual was “You can’t gout that’s it.” and “Just listen to what we are saying. Don’t ask cross questions?” But, you all know me. I kept pressing everyone for an answer and not even one was able to come up with a proper answer.
I still am not able to understand the logic behind the “rule” that close relatives of a deceased person should not go out after dusk.

4. The Three Stones:
Now, to the main thing that inspired post and the tittle of the post.
What would you do if some guy brings you a stone and says this is your father/mother? You would, if not bash him up at least get into a verbal argument with him. Some of you would probably laugh. Right?? How many of you would do nothing about it and keep quiet??
Hindus have a final rites ritual, which happens about 10 days after a person dies. I did not want to do all these rituals. (One of the reasons being: Though he was a theist, my father never believed in rituals.) I was emotionally blackmailed into it. So, I accompanied my brother to the place where the ritual is to be performed. (It’s performed by some lake side.) I sit down and the guy who helps you do the rituals places three stones in front of me and says pointing to each stone in turn: “This is your father, your grandfather, your great grandfather!!!” I almost burst out laughing. I mean, come on people. Wouldn’t you find it funny if some guy/girl brought a stone and said this is my father/mother /grandfather/grandmother…. You would think “Poor thing, he/she has lost his/her marbles.” (Interestingly, marbles are also stones. Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!)
I was supposed to do all kinds of poojas to the three stones, sorry to my forefathers. It was pathetic to say the least. What was more disgusting was the attitude of all my relatives who had accompanied us to do the ritual. They actually looked as I they took the whole “stones are your forefather” thing seriously. Judge for yourself people. I mean it is funny isn’t it? At least a tiny weenie bit??

5. Women are not allowed to perform the last rites:
Why is that we are in such a male chauvinistic society? Why is that women are still considered/treated as inferior to men? Why is that when a guy flirts/seduces many girls he called a playboy, a casanova and treated as a special person? Some people (Both guys and girls.) actually admire these guys and sort of place them on a pedestal. Whereas as when a girl flirts/seduces many boys, she’s called a slut, a whore and people treat her as a thing that is to be thrown to the dungeons?? Where is this diatribe leading to? Read on…
I have never been able to understand this aspect of Hindu society, not only are women are discriminated against in life but also in death. Women are not allowed to perform most of the rituals especially the last rites of a deceased person. C’mon, doesn’t a wife/mother/daughter/friend have as much right over the deceased person as a husband/father/son/friend? If you ask why women are not allowed, I am sure the answer to that will be: “Our forefathers did not allow it; they must have had some reason for it.” or “You should not question things like this.” I mean, no one, not a single person I am sure will come up with a rationale reason.

I am not saying one should not cry at a funeral. What I am saying is that, cry only if you feel like it. Second, learn to treat a person as more than just flesh and bones. A person is definitely more than that. Thirdly as J. K. Rowling speaks through her character Dumbledore asking a question; “Do you think our loved ones ever leave us?” The answer is of course a big NO. As mentioned earlier, our loved ones continue to live on in our memories, through their ideas and values. Fourth, try looking at life (your) objectively; you will realize a lot of things that you didn’t notice before.

In Defense of My Insanity – A Theory(s)

Finally, the theory/explanation for which all of you were eagerly waiting for! The theory that explains my insanity. Now, I am not going to tell you people how I became insane, that would be inappropriate as most of you are not ready for it. It would be like putting a 3 year old child in the controls of a 747 Boeing airplane with passengers in it. Actually, I myself do not know how and when I became insane!! Actually, even if i figure out how i went wrong i'll take it to my grave. (Which of course will never happen because, i am never going to die.)

Enough about myself, now for the theories:

Theory 1:

The idea for the first theory comes from two articles that I read in Popular Science magazine: Soul Search and Quantum Consciousness

The common aspect of both these articles is that; consciousness is in a way independent of the body and can exist even without the body. In the second article, the idea is stated that consciousness of a dead person escapes the body and still exists as energy. They go further to say that some apparatus can be designed to capture and store it.

Let us for a moment assume the above stated idea/theory to be true. So, now suppose that I was able to through the power of my will able to split my consciousness and extract one part of my consciousness and send that part of the consciousness in a journey across the entire Universe in search of knowledge.

So, only a part of my consciousness is available in my body. That explains a lot about my insanity, does it not??

Theory 2:

The second theory takes a completely different approach, but is still quite valid. The highest state that any human can achieve is called Nirvana. A state in which a person is beyond human desires and wants. A state where nothing “touches” the person who has reached this state.

To me, at least this definition sounds close to the definition of insanity. I am of the view that Insanity and Nirvana are quite similar states except for a few minor differences. (I would rank Insanity above Nirvana.) So, I could say that in my quest for Nirvana I made a slight mistake in my calculations and ended up insane.

But what’s the difference, I would say none. I have long been of the view that only two kinds of people can truly happy; children and the insane. I know, I know. It’s usually children and sages. But let me ask you a question: Do you think a sage can have states like happiness, sorrow?? The answer is a big NO.

But back to the theory; so, in a way I am enlightened person. So I am enlightened that I am giving the explanations for my insanity myself. Sort of like a problem generating the solution for itself.

Theory 3:

This is theory is the last of my theories. According to this theory; everyone except me is insane. But, since insanity has become the dominant state, it is considered normal and is considered sane. But because I am the only sane person here, I am considered insane. Crazy isn’t it?

The War for India

India, the country of riches, is place where my physical self was born. Its history is a collage of legends, myths, facts, and what not. Many a traveler has described it as a land of riches. Its fame was renowned throughout the ancient world and still is. It has all the natural resources any country can wish for. Some of the greatest minds of all times are from India.

Ah, what a country India was…yes, my friend…was. India was once a great country, we no longer are great. I know it is difficult to accept what I am about to say, but the truth must be spoken and so it will be.

There are some common myths that must be addressed in order to continue this discussion.
a) That India won its independence.
b) We have achieved in 60years what it took America 200 years to achieve [economic growth].
c) India has never invaded another country in over 10,000 years of its culture.
d) That the war for India is over.

India did not win its independence as we would all like to think. It was granted to us. It was granted to us because the British Government was tired after the World War II. It lacked both the economic resources and the political will to control India. Thus, had it not been for the World War II India would not have attained Independence in 1947. I know that most of you may not agree with me; however what I have stated is the truth.

Now to the second myth - India has achieved economic growth that took the U.S 200 years to do. We forget that India did not kick start its economy on August 15th, 1947 but that we had various industries even during the British Raj. And, more importantly, the Raj left us the framework of a working transportation system – the Railways that was and is still used to run the economy. One more thing that I would like to say is that the methods and means we used to achieve the economic growth hat we have achieved were created, developed, tested, experimented and refined in other countries. What about the technology that was available when U.S. proclaimed independence and the technology that was available to us when we were granted Independence. Oh and also isn’t the Indian growth story, the IT industry heavily dependent on the U.S. economy? In fact isn’t America the birthplace of IT?

The third myth is the one that makes me want to laugh out aloud in the face of the person saying it. That India has never invaded another country in the 10,000 yeas of its existence. What we forget is that the idea of India emerged only around 330 B.C. to the great Chanakya. Secondly that India never had the chance to invade other countries as we were constantly being ravaged by the invaders from other countries. Thirdly, what about all the fighting going on between the different kingdoms that made up India? And weren’t these kingdoms considered to be separate countries in their own right? By the way, it is a well documented and accepted fact that the southern kingdoms of India have attacked and conquered Sri Lanka and some other island kingdoms in the Indian Ocean.

The final myth is the hardest and the most complex of all the myths. The myth is that the war for India is over. It is not my friends! We have but won only one battle, the battle for self-governance. The war still rages on. The enemy is decay of our country. Decay in everything. Can’t you see it all around us? I can. I can feel it everywhere; it stinks and makes me sick to the stomach. We are still fighting for independence.

Yes, we have achieved great progress in economic terms whether it is sustainable or not is another matter, but let us look at the other core areas that make up any society/country.

Politically, we proclaim that ours is the largest democracy. But is there true democracy? Does it reach the common man? The answer as we all know is a big NO. We have parties for literally every street corner most of which are based on caste lines with communal ideologies. And, what is worse that people actually vote for these parties. Every single state has some internal strife other going on, every single state without any exception.

Speaking about national leaders, we have none. We have no one with far-sightedness, the acumen, the political will, the charisma to lead the country. And, this is the land where Chanakya was born!!!

Socially, we have lost everything that we were. Atheists are still being discriminated against, though the condition has improved considerably. But there is still a social stigma against eunuchs. Eunuchs are discriminated against in all walks of life. They are abandoned by their parents and learn to grow up hating most of the society. Most of them turn to prostitution, begging for their live hoods. Homosexuality is still considered illegal. Homosexuals are considered diseased people, a group that is to be avoided at all costs.

Let me not even talk about AIDS patients. Some doctors and hospitals actually refuse treatment for AIDS patients. There own family and friends desert them. But the condition is improving through the work of NGO’s spreading awareness about AIDS.

Communally, Indians have become an intolerant lot. The people are still divided among caste and religious lines. Each community views the other community with a degree of distrust. The caste system is still rampant in many parts of the country, especially in the rural areas. Communal clashes are a common occurrence today in all parts of the country. Where is the communal harmony that was so synonymous of India?? Isn’t this the nation that was ruled by the great Emperor Akbar, one of the most benevolent emperors in the history of mankind??

Speaking about communal and religious intolerance, there is also a rise in the number of disputes between the various states that make up the country. Each state seems to be at the others neck over some trivial issue or the other.

Educationally, we have so many uneducated people. There are districts in which the primary school education structure is virtually non-existence except on paper. There are still schools were there are no teachers for many of the classes. Even among the “educated” section of the country, how many actually have the required skills to be considered truly educated is matter of debate among the experts. Whether the students in the various primary schools across the country actually understand the concepts taught to them is question for which the answer is no.

But the worst hit of all is Art. Art is the soul of culture. Art is integrity; Art is the essence of culture. Art at its purest form is the soul of the artist. Art cannot be defined, it should not be. Art has no definition, art is everything! Economic strength can be achieved, political power usurped but not Art. Art can never be conquered, but sadly it can be made to rot away. And, that is what is happening in India. Indians have grown intolerant to art and have been trying to restrict it. One of the greatest painters of our time, M.F. Hussein is prevented from displaying his works. The books of Salman Rushdie, one of best writers of India, are banned. A college’s art galleries were shut, because the painting displayed were considered inappropriate. Sections of books are removed or changed in books and films that give a critical look at India thus distorting or not fully conveying the message that they would other wise have conveyed. Some books and films are even banned from releasing in India. Music seems to have generally escaped, but of course from time to time there is a furor raised over the wordings of some song, poetry.

Every and any culture or civilization that has tried to restrain art will only end up in ruin. The reason being that art is the highest form of self-expression. Deny people the means of self-expression and you might as well as put a nose around your neck. It has precedents, look at the Europe that tried to restrict its art at the height of the Roman Empires and the Dark Ages was the result. A period, were the civilization just stagnated and no progress was made in any field. In fact, the accumulated knowledge of all generations past was lost irrevocably. Look at any great civilization ad you see that the arts bear a direct relation to the well being of the country. When the arts stagnate, the civilization collapses. Lets us look at two examples from our own civilizations. Look at the reigns of Ashok Maurya and Akbar the Great. These are considered the golden ages of Indian history. In both these periods if you see, the arts flourished at their zenith. There was also tolerance towards others views. To even imagine that India can escape the fact of the other cultures is a foolish one.

Is this what you call a great country? A country that has lost its religious tolerance, where communal disharmony is the order of the day. A country that cannot appreciate art. Is this the nation for which our forefathers laid down their lives for? Is this the country Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru imagined for us? Is this the country that you would like to leave to your children?

But all is not lost. There is still time, albeit very little. The window of opportunity to save this country is reducing; we are probably the only generation that have a chance to stop this rot. We must act and act decisively now.

Let us make an oath to all the ancestors who died fighting for the self-governance of the country, the unborn children of our future, to the idea of India, on the ideas that we hold dear to do everything in our hands to make this country a better place to live.

We must first free our arts; learn tolerance for others and their views. Tolerance for other religions must be promulgated. We must change our political system so that people with the real passion to serve the people get a chance to make a difference. The educational system must be revamped to impart practical knowledge to the students. We must engage our friends to have a frank discussion about the various social issues and what can be done about these issues.

If we do this, we shall forever be remembered as the generation that saved India. If we fail, we will always be remembered as the generation that failed to fight for the country and condemned by all the children of our future.

Why do we eat chickens?

This has been a question that has been bothering me for a long time. Why do people eat chicken or for that matter beef, pork, egg, fish… since the list is endless, let’s just say any living matter and I am including plant life in this.

I confess that I am a “Non-Vegetarian”, basically a person who eats meat. But since plants are also life forms, shouldn’t we call the cells of the plants as meat too??

Now, coming to those self-righteous “Vegetarians” (Not all Vegetarians are like these, but some are. I am only referring to them and not all Vegetarians.) who go around saying that eating meat is a bad thing and that all “Non-Vegetarians” are “Killers”, let me tell you something. Plants i.e. vegetables are also life forms. Get your science right, before opening your traps.

So, coming back to the topic, we kill and eat (most of the time) life forms and no one says anything (most of the time) about this. But kill a human and the whole crowd descends on you with a ruckus about, how is wrong to hurt any life form and the whole thing.

Now, (I am borrowing heavily from the book “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins.) what is the difference between a human life form and say that of a Chicken? Leaving out the biological differences, you will see that there is no difference at all. Both are lives. Both have flesh and bones. And, please don’t give me the argument about humans being more evolved than other species because it still does not make a difference in the sense that a life is still a life no matter how complex the life form maybe.

I always found it disgusting that we accept the use of guinea pigs, monkey, mice and any other species to test medicines, vaccines… but raise a hue when humans are used in trials. In fact, the laws are such that as long as no humans are harmed during the testing phase of any drug, you can kill as many guinea pigs, mice and monkeys as you want with impunity.

What about single cells organisms like bacteria, virus, amoeba, plankton…these too are life forms. But do we ever consider them in our normal day to day lives as life forms? No, I didn’t for a very long time.

We have all squashed/killed mosquitoes, insects, cockroaches… I have, I accept with all my heart. But do we ever pause and think that these too are life forms? No, we mostly don’t. My question is why? Is that we think that we are somehow superior to all other life forms on Earth?

The answer is surprisingly simple. As Richard Dawkins in the “The Selfish Gene” says, we accept these things as part of life because they (all life forms except humans) are all a different species from us.

The following link gives the various taxonomic ranks in biology.

As you will realize, all species come under the same category sooner or later. My point is “In which category do you draw the line and say, those not in the same category as humans are different? Because, all you have to do is move one category up and viola, some species not previously in the same category as humans will be present in the same category.

The question that immediately pops up is: Then what about the whole survival of the fittest thing? What about the laws of nature, where some species are the hunted and others are the hunters. Am I speaking against nature? No, I am not. Nature is best left un-tampered, a fact that we have yet to understand and accept.

Then, what you may ask is the entire purpose of this post? To stop eating vegetables or meat? Is to say stop killing insects, cockroaches, let them multiply in numbers and take over your houses? Stop using animals in laboratories? Stop using medicines to cure our diseases because they kill bacteria and viruses?

The answer is a definite No. What am I them proposing? It is simple. Give consideration to other life forms. Don’t apply double standards to other species.

Oppose the indiscriminate use of animals in laboratories. Animals, Plants of a species other than Homo sapiens sapien are also life forms.

Stop saying you are killers to “Non-Vegetarians”, because even “Vegetarians” too are killers.

Try avoiding medicines if you can. I know. I know, the body’s defense mechanism will anyways kill the foreign element, but at least it will be a natural death. (Funny isn’t it? To think about the death of bacteria, viruses as due to natural and unnatural causes. I am too good, am I not?)

If you can’t avoid taking medicines, then what happens? Well, that too bad for the bacteria or virus or whatever. It’s the survival of the fittest.

And oh, does it mean that I am proposing that people stop eating chickens, fish…etc. No, that’s a personal choice for each individual to take. Even though I have given an impassioned plea for the acceptance of all animals and plants as equals to humans, I continue to eat them.

What about the legal angle of my argument? I guess, it will take a long time to make a shift in the minds of the people to make them respect other life forms. This cannot be done through any law and must be from within the individual.

I end by saying, treat animals and plants kindly/humanely or who know maybe the incidents depicted in the film “The Happening” could happen one day.

Drifters

This is my first post after joining the B-school and most of you were expecting a post on a very different topic I know, some were even predicting a change in the mood of the blog. Yeah! Yeah! I can hear you guys saying, it’s just been two weeks, let’s wait and watch, but you people should know better than that.

Now, you might wonder, why is the topic titled as drifters and the why in the hell are you talking about something else. The point is “Precisely that!!”

See, I am aimlessly drifting; I am going everywhere but no where. Of course, as you all know I am slightly insane and prone to ramble and rant.

The definition of drifter as given in dictionary.com is that of a person who moves from place to place or job to job without any aim.

But what about the people who are “highly successful” individuals but do not have a aim in their life. People who stay in one place are successful in their personal and professional life but do not have a purpose to their life.

Most people, I at least according tome fall into this second category of successful but purposeless people. I accept that I too belong to this category (Of course I am not as highly successful as some of the people in this category.)

The reasons may be various, one of this maybe because there is simple no time to think of these things. As the saying goes “In today’s world, we have run fast just to stay in the same place”.

Another reason could be that people don’t want to answer that question because they are afraid of the answer. After all aren’t most of us thought from our childhood that success is about getting high marks in the examinations and that sports, arts come secondary? These are so ingrained into us, that by the time we grow up and realize what we have missed it is too late and we have been conditioned in the “conventional” way that to think otherwise becomes a pain to us. And so, most people choose the easy way out.

So, what am I trying to convey through this post? The answer is that is most of us drifters in one way or the other. Just that we don’t realize it.

By the way, no one here suspects me yet to be the lunatic that I am. I have been keeping my insane side in control. But I am staring to lose it.

GOD

God, as generally defined is a superpower that controls everything. God judges rights and wrongs and punishes us accordingly. Oh, by the way I forgot to mention that god also allows us free will.

I as an Atheist do not believe in god. Let me first explain what an Atheist is. An atheist is a person, who through the empirical evidence available to them, through logical reasoning independently arrives at the conclusion that a superpower as described by the many religions of the worlds is not possible.

Why do I think that god does not exist? Simple take two of the powers that are ascribed to god. The age old question to which no answer been given is “Can gods create a rock so big that gods cannot lift it?” No one has been able to successfully as of yet to answer this question. (The question was originally raised, I believe some time during the middle ages in Europe.)

Another argument is if god is omniscience, then god cannot be omnipotent. The reasoning goes some thing like this: Suppose god changes god’s mind over some issue, then god cannot be omnipotent as god would have already known that god’s mind is going to change. But if you say god does not or cannot change god’s mind over any issue then it means the omnipotent power is lost.

One more logical inconsistency with god as generally defined is that, if god is all good then why is there so much evil around? Why is there hunger, poverty, disease? Don’t tell me that all these are there as punishment. Because if god truly created us all, god would not wish us to suffer, at least everyone I know wouldn’t want anything they created to suffer one bit. Another answer given is that, we remember god only when there is suffering. So, god wants to be worshiped even at the cost of pain to its creation?

And they say that god will punish you if you don’t worship god, follow god’s guidelines. So in what way is the god you define any different from an autocrat?

Lets us come to the question of how god allows us free will yet controls all our actions and oh yeah god punishes us if we do “evil” by choosing the wrong choice of actions among all the choice that were presented to us in the first place by god.

How can you control everything that a person does yet give them free will? On yeah that’s because god can do thing that are incomprehensible to the human mind. Please………..

And, I forgot the icing… Take any book on god and you are most likely to see god referred to as a “He” and never as a “She” or “It”. This is true when we speak, we generally use the word he except when of course referring to a goddess or some gods that have an animal form.

How is it that you people decided that god was a male is something that escapes me. And also how is it that most representations of god are in a human likeness? You say god cannot be seen, only felt and yet all your representations of god are in human likeness and especially a likeness to male human.

And I could go on and on…But I will stop here and provide you a link to a George Carlin video on Religion that is damn funny.

And I would suggest reading "A God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins. Because it is a good read and is a beautiful book on religion and god and written in such logical manner that i coule never achieve.

End Versus Means

Does the End justify the Means or does it not. This is a question that has been with humanity as far long as humanity has existed.

I used to think that the End does and must justify the Means. Think about if after all, if the end result does a whole lot of good for a lot of people, then what is wrong if a few have to suffer?

This was the reasoning I held for a long time, but then, when I started thinking along the lines of morals, integrity I came across a dilemma. The dilemma is this: Say you use dubious means to achieve a highly honorable goal. Now, since you used dubious means, aren’t you morally unworthy of that goal? What if the means you used are contradictory of the goal that you wish to achieve?

Also, how do you define which is an honorable goal, and more importantly where do you draw the line on the means that you use to achieve the goal?

The above question along with the following quote which I came across

“He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster” by Friedrich Nietzsche begs the question of people who claim that the end does justify the means.

Scores and scores of cops, soldiers, and intelligence agents around the world have to make the choice everyday in their line of duty on end vs. means debate.

Now let’s take the other side of the debate that the End does not justify the Means. Of what use would a goal be, if it were not achieved? It would be another failure and would only lead to disillusionment for all those involved with the goal/idea. What use would an idea be, if it were to never see the light of the day and was destroyed by a unscrupulous few?

Of course one may argue that one retains their integrity, morality. That the people involved do not behave in a contradictory manner from their held conventions and thus they are “whole” in the intellectual sense. But this may be labeled, by some, as an excuse for them not being strong enough to stomach what is necessary to be done to achieve their goal/idea. After all many a country’s independence was won through violent means.

So, where does this leave us?

Does the End justify the Means or not? Well, that is a choice that every individual has to make their own choice on this.

I have made my choice and that is that the End does not justify the Means.

I leave you with a quote from the nadirs of my mind:

“A person who truly believes that the End justifies the Means will always claim that the End does not justify the Means.”

Student Vs Professor

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty. He asks one of his new students to stand and.....

Prof: So you believe in God?
Student: Absolutely, sir.
Prof: Is God good?
Student: Sure.
Prof: Is God all-powerful?
Student: Yes.
Prof: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm? (Student is silent.)
Prof: You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Is Satan good?
Student: No.
Prof: Where does Satan come from?
Student: From...God...
Prof: That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student: Yes.
Prof: Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?
Student: Yes.
Prof: So who created evil? (Student does not answer.)
Prof: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?
Student: Yes, sir.
Prof: So, who created them? (Student has no answer.)
Prof: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Tell us if you have ever heard your God?
Student: No, sir.
Prof: Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?
Student: No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Prof: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student: Yes.
Prof: According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.
Prof: Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.
Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Prof: Yes.
Student: And is there such a thing as cold?
Prof: Yes.
Student: No sir. There isn't. (The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it. (There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)
Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Prof: Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?
Student: You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?
Prof: So what is the point you are making, young man?
Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Prof: Flawed? Can you explain how?
Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Prof: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir? (The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)
Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.) Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain? (The class breaks out into laughter.) Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir? (The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Prof: I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.
Student: That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH. That is all that keeps things moving & alive. And the student sits down.

To whomsoever it may concern,

This is a reply to the above dialogue between a Student and a Professor, which implicitly sates that it “proves” the existence of god. I was deeply hurt that a dialogue that has no logic in it has been going around the internet for so long a time.

The excerpts from the dialogue are in blue and the reply’s are in black.

Student: ... But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.
Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.
There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat
we cannot measure cold. Heat is energy.

There is something called Cold. Cold is the name given to low temperatures or low energy (heat energy) levels, which is vastly different from " absence of heat ". Absolute temperature (0 K –273.15 °C/ –459.67 °F) cannot be achieved, as it requires a perfect system without any imperfections. A system without any imperfections is not found in nature and neither can it be created except in theory. We do measure cold. Low temperature is cold.

Student: Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

Wrong. Cold is not absence of heat, but the name given to low energy (heat energy) levels as stated in my previous response.

Student: You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?

Accepted, darkness is the absence of light as perceived by humans. You see darkness is a human term. Many animals use sound, infra-red, vibrations, chemical signature for navigation and other purposes. So what would be darkness to a human may not be so for some other animal. Also, what’s the point the student is trying to get at here? Is it that the professor is wrong? Well it in no way affects the authenticity of the professor’s statements about god. Why? The reason is the first sentence of the discussion. “An atheist professor of philosophy…..”, as you can very well see the professor is qualified on the subject of philosophy and it nowhere mentions his qualifications in the field of physics. It would therefore not be incorrect to make a premise that the professor’s knowledge in physics is that of a layman as the fields of philosophy and physics differ from each other widely. The Student has made a logically incorrect premise that an expertise in one subject means an expertise in other subjects too.

Student: You argue there is life and then there is death, To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.

First of all The Professor nowhere makes a statement that death is the opposite of life. Again check the Student’s logic: There is absence of life on the Moon, so according to the Student, there is Death on the Moon. Wow, the Student is an absolute genius!!! I am expecting a thesis on the existence of death on the Moon. What crap?

Student: Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.

Really? I didn’t know that science couldn’t explain electricity and magnetism. I guess the Student has missed quite a few science classes during his school days.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)
Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.)

Evolution is a slow, continuous, cumulative process. It will take a hundred years if not a thousand years to perceive a change. The life period of an average human being is only 60 years. So isn't it logically incorrect of the Student to ask the Professor, if he has observed the process of evolution at work.

And as for evidence of evolution, one word: Fossils. Oh also the genes of animals belonging to different species are quite similar to each other.

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, sir.

Again the Student’s logic is fallacious. That the Professor is able to reply coherently to his questions is not this by itself proof of a brain. The Professor is obviously qualified with at least Bachelors degree if not a Masters or Doctorate to be teaching. As far as I know, that would do require a brain.

The dialogue can be used to “prove” the existence of, among many others, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Invisible Pink Unicorn, and the Celestial Teapot. In the dialogue, just replace the instances of the word God with any of the three above and voila!

I doubt how many people would not ridicule a person who believes in the Flying Spaghetti Monster or the Invisible Pink Unicorn or the Celestial Teapot. C'mon, you would at least give a wry smile and call the person a nutcase. And yet, if a person believes in God, everyone else is expected to respect their religious sentiment and not make fun of it.

Awaiting a reply,

An Atheist

Pidology

Finally folks, you get to read the thoughts of the great Lord Pidog.

Lord Nihlus Pi Dog Says:

● In Life there are certain

✔ Questions not worth asking.

✔ Answers not worth chasing.

● If it's your fate to change fate then what can stop you?(If there is fate.)

● There is randomness in order and a order in randomness.

● Chaos is nothing but random order.

● Society is a tool for the non powerful who know their power to control the powerful who don't know their power.

● The only intransigent thing in life is transience.

● Life is transient, that's the beauty of it.

● Succeeding is great but knowing where you will is greater.

● It's easy to be wise you just need to know how.

● There is only one way from the top.

● No matter how many people you love, no matter how many people love you, when it really comes down to it, you are alone in this world.

● We don't determine our birth. We don't determine our death. Why then do we try to determine what happens in between?

Answer: Because we are humans!

● Is there anything as good or bad?

● Which is better? Being a Specialist or a Generalist.

● Sometimes we have to do things not because we want to but because we have to.

● In Life, tough decisions have to be taken whether you like it or not. The sooner you accept this fact the better it is for you.

● What would be the best way to show your contempt to something but by conquering it.

● We are what we are because of what we are.

● From the darkest of times come the brightest of lights (sort of redundant).

● Sometimes we do not mean what we mean and mean what we don't mean.

● The world is going to the dogs and i am one of them.

● The hardest thing in life is to be honest with oneself and the easiest is to lie.

● What will happen if we know what is going to happen?

● Which is worse? Consciously doing the wrong thing for the right reasons or doing the right thing for the wrong reasons.

● The greatest gift that you can offer a person is not that you can ascend the highest peaks but that you can descend to the deepest nadirs.

● Winners "write" history.

● History judges you not by How but by What.

● Your determination to do something is not shown by what your are willing to give up but by what your are willing to take up.

● The worse thing in life is not that giving up but refusing to take up.

● Which is better? Is it to "Stand and Fight" and Fall or to "Live Today, Fight Tomorrow" and Win.

● How much Grey matter you have determines how much you think about Grey area's.

● What is reality but our assumption that it something is real.

● Between the Deep Blue Sea and the Devil, choose the Devil at least you have a chance of making a deal.

● Sometimes to Win is to Lose and to Lose is to Win.

● It is sometimes better to Lose than to Win.

● Ignorance is sometimes better than knowledge.

● It is the principle of the thing rather than the thing itself that matters.

● If there had been no Goliath, there would have been no David.

● The Weak shall die and the Strong shall survive.

● The most barbaric are the most civilized and reverse holds as well.

● Death is not the end of Life, but its continuation.

● Nobody Wins in a War, the same goes for Life.

● Everyone Losses in a War, Life is the biggest War.

● I like journeys, but i don't like the biggest one of them all.

● Go to your deaths with your heads held high and with a laugh, after all it's what life is all about.

● Everyone has fears only the degree and the cause of fear varies.

● The two greatest sin's of the world Self-Deception and Self-Denial.

● Do we know all the time why we do what we do and why we feel what we feel?

● If perfection is a myth, why chase it?

● Perfection is against the very existence of the universe.

● Desire is considered the root of all evil, but without desire how can anyone live?

● If it is not about Winning or Losing, but only about how good a fight you put up, why is Winning given so much importance?

● If Winning is a habit (it should also hold true for Losing), then how does Losing become the first step to Success.

● That all truths are facts and all facts are truths is by itself a truth and a fact.