The gluttonous sponsors of existential crisis

 

So, you are baffled that exploitative corporate like Coca-Cola (carbonated sugary water) is to be the ‘sponsors’ of one of the most crucial climate summits COP27 in Egypt. That a military dictator ruled Egypt (that quashes dissent and arrest dissidents including well respected and popular Alaa Abd El Fattah) is being chosen as venue is in itself problematic. As much like depleting biodiversity democratic egalitarian spaces across the world are also reducing at an alarming rate. Almost a decade back common people in Egypt had provided glimpses of possibilities when they uprooted a corrupt dictator unleashing a vibrant movement across the region. Unfortunately, they couldn’t sustain it as democratic institutions were not strong enough hence opportunist forces like religion capitalized to degrade and so army moved in as saviors. Feel extremely sorry for brave -tremendously inspiring, humanists of the region. Democracy provides humanist voices and institutions to thrive. It values liberty and freedom. Feudal control and influences are always anti thesis to democratic values. Attempts to patronize democratic institutions by feudal forces through euphemism of stability is ploy for control.

Imagine how they conceived the idea of ‘sponsoring’ a climate summit, quite clearly an attempt to normalize consumerism and work it within the ambit of ‘problem solvers’. And who is better to help us solve problems than Coca-Cola! They teach it as marketing strategy to younger herd as they are coopted into system as ‘success stories’ of money and intelligence. In primitive societies these are referred to as case of untold blessing as they easily move around pirouetting skills, charming people, influencing decisions, and generally agreed upon as refreshing ‘positive energy’ (there is a word in malayalam which was constantly used, and pushed on to ambivalent failures, ‘nokipadikada #@&#’ meaning ‘see and learn #@&#’). For marketeers this is -in their success churning lingo, a marketing coup. Most ‘leaders’ in flawed democracies across the world are presented to herd through these miracles of market. The ‘leaders’ are then elected to sustain corporate needs through euphemism of growth and development. Coca-Cola has this to say on its latest transgression on humanity “Coca-Cola’s firm belief that working together through meaningful partnerships will create shared opportunities for communities and people around the world and in Egypt.” When words are assigned narrow meanings devoid of contexts or evolving realities then it is an attempt at controlling narration.

There is no need to keep elaborating worst of corporates like Coca-Cola or Pepsi. Apart from largest polluters on planet it has played havoc on health, particularly of younger generation, all across the world by increasing obesity, diabetes so on at an alarming rate. Taking the specific case of Egypt which has the highest obesity rate in the African continent. ‘Between 2015 and 2019, the carbonated soft drinks market in Egypt grew by 27%, and from 2020, has been increasing annually by 19. By 2025, the market is estimated to be worth $4.08 billion’. There are other significant issues, that is also undermined by mainstream market media, of groundwater exploitation -natural resource depletion, and prioritizing electricity and resources to these exploitative corporates over needs of local population. This blogger had covered it in India almost two decades back https://depalan.blogspot.com/2011/03/anecdotal-study-on-nature-of-mncs.html. Not that it has changed anything but I can only do what is within my limit, as each one of us as conscientious objectors. We do our do. There are powerful forces who sideline, undermine and eventually block or tarnish, meanwhile they will ofcourse pose as benevolent force, as helping saviors, through opportunist celebrities and pliable influencers. Just that they will usurp all the power and money, and then ‘trickle down’ to keep the exploitative feudal system stable. It is how market spreads positive energy crap of ‘development and growth’. Unfortunately, they have reached a dead end. Neoliberal growth cannot work on limited and precious planet resources. Nice advertisement and meaningless words cannot stop climate calamities. West is facing the other end of neoliberalism what poorer societies have been facing all along. There is reason why west is suddenly facing ‘third world problems’. As they say, chicken is coming home to roost. Earth’s system cannot sustain unending demands of neoliberal gluttony. Quite clearly COP27 is turning out to be jamboree for leaders of flawed democracies, dictators, sponsors of greed, polluters and their lobbyists            

A Spectre Is Haunting World

 

Superficially black

 

This fellow here is a right example of what is defined as “superficially black”, indeed most ‘ethnic faces’ in British cabinet for last many years were superficially black. What Tony Blair’s party (that attacked Iraq and was responsible for many deaths and mayhem thereafter) aka Labour party must realize is that we are not living in 19^th century wherein ‘black’ had only one meaning devoid of any context -not even human, and that of skin colour. World has evolved since so has the word ‘black’, now the word, apart from ofcourse the unfortunate reference to skin colour hence racism, has a political and social context too. What it essentially means is that Kwarteng although he is black -hence all the historical context of racism/slavery attached against it, his evolution into social political has been such that his skin colour identity has become rather superficial. He is a neoliberal elite in a powerful position, and has consistently been immune to social reality of common people or the precarious state of environment. His education has failed him. Hence he is superficially black. Not at all difficult to understand. And this bunch who don’t even understand basic semantics of discourse or contexts of reality we live in are providing the political alternative in Britain. They want to keep common people ossified and controlled within the binary narration that help their manipulation for power. How can people ever trust these who pose as liberal progressives and an alternative to buffoonery show in Britain? These polarizing binaries is a significant reason why the world is in such a sorry state. While market media do ‘balancing act’ i.e. both sideism, to give credibility to manipulations and fake narrations. Ossified semantics, narrow meanings, becomes main mode of controlling narration to keep it tethered to past that has no value or connection with challenges common people face, indeed it’s a distraction, a criminal negligence, a sadist game.    

Hindutva hooligans at the fore

 

What to expect from a primitive society? The mainstream nonsense is becoming unbearable. With castetva forces degrading the society and institutionalizing regressive values, expectedly lacking personal probity (nepotistic corrupt sycophantic charlatans working on eloquence and hedonistic ways as liberal) in the last many decades, it was but expected. Entertainment in this part of the world was always substandard (with very rare exceptions -necessarily against the norm. As mentioned earlier music and colors -mainly through folk art, are two aspects of expression that worked for me from this depressingly degraded part of the world), an excruciating experience. With modern technology it can only go to worst of details. To expect something enlightening from regressive foundation is foolishness, hence we have to tolerate, this therefore becomes defining moment for freedom of expression and arbitration of possibilities that democracy and modern technologies provides.     

The mainstream media and inbred litters in social media, shifting from castetva cannibalism to hindutva hooliganism, are baying blood for a latest movie about some Ramayana references through Ravan, Sita so on (check the details in the picture herein. This is India's next generation creating sinister conceptions from mythical stories as marketeers -in the garb of moviemakers, journalists...feed on 'controversy'!). As it is these were quite insipid stories carefully working feudal patriarchy crass contexts for religious values to keep common people in leash. Juvenile stories that move from adolescent spectacles to bawdy crude fantastical were meant to provide moral values, and are still vociferously presented in this modern world as alternate reality. Since herd is riveted, market driven mediocre entertainers have been using these for easy money. In the last many decades mediocre entertainers had free run to manipulate these ‘moral’ symbols for money churning enterprise. In recent time with hindutva hooligans working the deal for herd the ‘hurt sentiment’ has cascaded into riotous hold. Marketeer turned film makers working for easy money with least talent or creative skills conceptualized Ravana -closely resembling mainstream conception of Islamist or jehadi nightmare, the quintessential monster mullah. Now this was clever work to mollycoddle the hindu herd into contemporary realities of hatemongering hence successful formulae for money making. They even had him riding a flying bat -most likely to tap on the corona scare where bats were proclaimed as bloodthirsty villains to the hounded populace (I feel very sorry for bats -one of the most diverse mammal species they play a very significant role in ecosystem, and if you study how they use echolocation it's absolutely brilliant), now this is served to otherworldly blessed section with ordained role as saviors of humanity, of jagath gurus and mahatmas ordered as needed, who strongly hold the view that blessed Indians, obviously intelligent (pundit=intelligence/holder of spectacular knowledge that common people can never be privy to, and now even western ‘civilization’ too have acknowledge it by including it in daily conversation), could fly much sophisticated things than mere aircrafts!  

These cacophonies of absurd surrounding the ‘discussion’ (within the mythical vad-samvad traditions of putrid society) gets excruciating by the day. For literacy to become education is a big deal, it is saddening that modern technologies and spectacular access these provides has made it immensely possible but what we get is pursuit of crass and crude. It is easy to blame castetva cannibals for consolidation of hindutva hooligans, though this is largely true, but we are seeing trends across the world (latest in Brazil) where the worst of the people are getting acceptance in large scale. It is about time to understand this dangerous shifting -wise and better equipped minds should explore this. Most importantly these clever binaries that were assiduously created, and now collapse with remarkable ease in common people’s estimation, is stark. Manipulating feudal structures and hedonism into liberal and freedom while carefully feeding regressive religions as symbolic sacred. These constructed binaries are meant to polarize for easy manipulation and consolidation of sinister forces. These degradation of egalitarian into words with ominous intents has reached a dead end, it is being thoroughly breached into desperations of common people. We need to reclaim words that defines egalitarian values and human progress that hinges the shared aspirations of humanity. These cannot be kept ossified into 20^th century contexts and value system through narrative control of few. Modern world and its continuously emerging challenges need forceful semantics. Words holds meaning. Meanings are vibrant and constantly evolving.               

Interesting premise for a book

This book The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan works on an interesting premise. He chose to focus four domesticated plants namely Apple, Tulip, Cannabis, and Potato, each representing an important class of domesticated plants i.e., a fruit, a flower, a drug, and a staple food, to trace its social and natural history. These ‘domesticated’ plants took “advantage of one particular animal that had evolved not only to move freely around the earth, but to think and trade complicated thoughts. These plants hit on a remarkable clever strategy: getting us to move and think for them”. Its about exploring social natural history from plant's perspective. As Pollan puts it “That’s why it makes just as much sense to think of agriculture as something the grasses did to people as a way to conquer the trees”. Phew, figure that!               

A finite life

A finite life 

Infinity is a place on the beach

Where you can walk forever and ever.

Where passing clouds and waves repeat

Again, and again.

Continuity of ocean breaks into discreet grains of sand.

The scene pixelated in infinite possibilities

Looking at you from shores light years away.

Thinking thoughts pause the fleeting moment

This sliver of time

This finite life

Through this human form

We are given only this much to see.   

nasa is live

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RA8Tfa6Sck

Two minutes to impact!!

Urgent collective action

 

Nature thrives in collective action. World is sustained by collective actions of different forces. Symbiosis and mutualism are norm. Predation and competing, though for specific limited purpose, these too are synergic part of the system that sustains life. Humans cannot survive on their own. They are dependent on biodiversity services of nature. Nor individuals can survive without society. That really doesn’t mean humans are social insects. Humans are sentient, and have free will, aspirations and different conceptions of ambitions and ideas of life. The instinct of life is byproduct of billions of years. Evolution is gradual consolidation of these instincts. Nature optimizes and not maximize; it sets it limit through synergic association with surrounding. Understanding nature’s instinct will therefore add significantly to awareness. Inquisitive minds and wise people have sought to understand these and consolidate into subjects of inquiry and knowledge. In this critical juncture of existential threat instincts of collective actions needs a way.    

As mentioned earlier systems that dehumanizes and isolates from humanity are constant threat. Significantly it prevents collective actions. A thriving collective action needs aware knowledgeable individuals otherwise collective becomes a danger of herd that has potential to be misled into mob. It is from these dehumanizing frames another regressive value system emerges that propose some as especially capable, some blessed individuals uniquely endowed to solve humanity’s concerns. Popular medium and entertainment has driveled these into mass psyche as hero worshipping -god is only a carefully constructed expressions of these. These seemingly proposing humbleness to bigger forces tend to undermine capacity of human. Individual assertions are classified as arrogance while individuality is seen as a threat. When someone escapes the tentacles of these regressive systems and is able to contain his/her unique human identity to contribute to humanity and if checks system's conception of success i.e. money, power, fame so on, then they are sought to be appropriated as blessed, as specially endowed, with divine grace as supernatural, as heroes, as avatars. Such is the degradation that money, power, fame -the paraphernalia of greed, sick minds, are presented by market as defining attributes to emulate to be successful. Since system rarely produce space for uniqueness hence we are presented with cheaper versions of entertainers with much fanfare. Comic versions are now serious mega buck heroes and influencers carrying the burden of humanity for quick and easiest fixes consolidating the subconscious narration of religion, of providence, of miracles. They create caricature of possibilities into implausible that needs superheroes, divine presences and blessed saviors.     

Life in itself is a providence. Each and every expression of nature is a miracle. It is only when humans are dehumanized that they fail to see these miracles. An evolved society will make it natural for humans to be part of the miracle. With knowledge, awareness and presence, they effortlessly connect and become perceptive to the vibrant universe surrounding us. Depending on their attitude, passion, they gain skills to explore. Thus, whether in art or science or both -since nature doesn’t work in silos nor mind, they sense the essence for humanity. Thus increasing our awareness and understanding hence evolving collective mind of humanity into a better world. It doesn’t need any specially endowed human or specific blessings since every life is part of the miracle and hence capable to replicate that miracle. In primitive societies such presences are impossible so binaries are created to appropriate the exceptions as a lesson for herd on implausible divine, impossible superheroes, so as to keep them in leash while awestruck to the miracle of the system and otherworldly providences that can be converted into goodies if they obey and follow. In evolved society or aware minds miracles are common place without loosing any of its wonder.

Climate breakdown is an existential crisis. It needs collective action from all across the world. Some people emerging from primitive societies are pushing for divine intervention -a super hero, an avatar or someone specially endowed with miraculous power (preferably a white male or a whitewashed exotic agreeable representation) to propose mindboggling solutions that unblessed are incapable to even comprehend. Beware of these mahatma burden carrying charlatans with severe savior syndrome. There is a reason why youngsters from some societies (particularly Scandinavian region) are actively involved in pushing for urgent climate action. Ofcourse, it has spread to other parts of the world creating a vibrant movement among youngsters but what is to be noted is that these aware youngsters are reflection of the evolved nature of society and perceptive education system. You will also note this kind of heightened awareness among tribals and aborigines who are synced with nature and can sense changes. Climate action is nurtured and empowered by active participation of youngsters into collective involvement from all across the world.

History is no reference

 

What happened a century or centuries back is no reference for events now. Contemporary world is quite a different place and is significantly evolved with immense awareness hence has nothing really in common with medieval times. The present cannot be judged from the prism of past. Past can only be understood. The only context when primitive references of history matters is when some present systems trace its values from history or seeks legitimacy through history or primacy of traditions or tries to replicate it through institutions that intends to suppress and discriminate group of people or individuals. This is true for white supremacist (fascist, nazis etc.), exceptionalism of anachronistic religions (through caste cannibals, monster mullahs, white racists, herd fantasy, so on) or feudal institutions like monarchy that nurtures deviant values and norms that is anti-thesis and a persistent threat to democratic institutions and egalitarian values. No country or society in the world valued equality, liberty and primacy of law in its true sense even a century back. World was a nasty place. The world as of now, despite its lacunas and serious flaws, is the best of humanity’s possibilities. Democratic values in its true sense nurtures egalitarian systems and humanistic concerns. It fosters each individual to their potential.

There are two issues -which claims wronged history to rectify present, that needs attention. With death of british monarch debate was initiated on reparation with specific reference to Kohinoor diamond (a crystalized carbon that shines and had many wasted Homo sapiens irresistibly attracted). Let us make it clear few centuries back colonialism was a norm, at local level these were exploitations nurtured by feudal ways and idiosyncrasies of the ruled, any space for sanity was provided through patronizing hence control. Nincompoops in Indian region were incapable to defend themselves from colonial forces or invaders is not the fault of colonial forces or invaders. There was no rule of law, not by the invaders nor by the invaded society. It was might that ruled and decided. The claim for Britain reparation for colonial loot is quite ridiculous. How much is estimate of reparation? Who decides? Also, even within Indian subcontinent the feudals owe a reparation to common people. Where does this debate end? Britain is different country now so is the region of Indian subcontinent that was colonized. History froze in 1947. The rule of law came into effect. It is the democratic ideals that needs protection. 

Serious concern is not reparation or loot but the system that is being sustained. The feudal values that is nurtured through monarchy, as also how much it associates with colonial ways and racist mindsets. Most significantly, how much have these british medieval theatre of absurd influenced and degraded nascent emerging democracies of Asia and Africa in last many decades since independence? In many ways flawed society’s path towards democracy and egalitarian values, hence aspirations of common people, were actively undermined by elite sections who sought extra constitutional authority by emulating monarchy. Feudal values negated democratic institutions into pomp theatric ‘traditions’ while nurturing exceptionalism, nepotism and crony capitalism. Those who value liberty, equality and ideals of democracy must fiercely resist feudal forces even in its benign proposedly stabilizing form. It’s a dangerous and persistent threat to humanity. Democratic values through individual right and rule of law assure liberty and equality hence hope to common people. Hope brings stability.

Second issue is that of Gyanvapi mosque that is being claimed by hindus. What has happened in history cannot be claimed on present. Ramjanam Bhoomi/babri masjid case was different matter made worse by devious castetva congress capitalized by hindutva bjp. The site is now occupied by gyanvapi mosque, so it shall be. There is a distinct possibility that temple was demolished and mosque built over it. It was a norm during medieval time. Might ruled. Also, as invaders demolished temples common people did not come out to defend since it is quite possible that they had no dealing with temple. Indeed, temples weren’t space for egalitarian values or morals. It was a space that nurtured degrading dehumanizing values. How Buddhism exited out of India to contribute for egalitarian societies in East Asia must be studied. Also, how gods connected to local region, nature and saints were appropriated and castefied (avoid using words like 'brahmanical' since it gives leeway to castetva forces and their narrative control context. There are also compelling reasons why caste cannibalised words like pundit, pariah etc. were introduced into english and still used with impunity while caste cannibals played liberal savior exhibiting proprietorial entitled control over common people of India in West). Meanwhile sensitivities related to shivling must be respected and so need be handed over to hindus. Herds controlled by devious forces using religions shouldn’t be excited against each other. It is only common people who will suffer while deceit position. It is quite clear that religion is a threat to humanity and a terrible waste of time. Rule of law must prevail.   

A magnificent creature nevertheless

A magnificent creature nevertheless 

Bees see more colours than I can

Birds see colours I cannot conceive

Mantis shrimp see circularly polarized light that I don’t even understand

Fire chasing beetle sense heat I don’t feel

Elephants hear what I cannot sense

Moth locates scent miles away

Butterflies taste with their feet

Crocodile sense pressure many times over my fingers

Killer fly catch prey in space of my eye blink

His brain process visual information many times faster than mine

Dolphins echolocate what I cannot locate

Shark sense electric field

Robins use earth’s magnetic field to migrate

Dung beetle use milky way galaxy as navigational aid…

What I see and do not see

Not blind yet not so

What I hear and do not hear

Not dumb yet not so

What I sense and do not sense

Invulnerable yet not so

Yet I claim exception in all my actions

I am created in god’s image

I am all the million multi-headed, multi-handed, bigger and smaller gods

I am the wise

Yet I lack the sight, sound and sense of common place.

Yet I am another magnificent creature in the vast oasis of life.  

Word salad 

Ideograms of undeciphered thoughts

Hieroglyphics of forgotten deeds

Words stampede from left to right or right to left

It may float or congregate into strange patterns

Or collect in a bowl

To be eaten raw

Stream through blood

To decipher alien thoughts

Of civilization lost     

On studying useless thing

 

Market with active support from religion -as signs of blessing, have nurtured aspects of usefulness for herd to be kept occupied and controlled. Hence whatsoever doesn’t fall into this matrix of usefulness is deemed useless pursuit. Usefulness is clearly about extractive mindset -that market capitalism sustains on; it is quantified by money and power of control over herd. This then is showcased as success for which we are expected to strive for. Primitive religions authenticate these as outcome of specific blessings that is being granted. So, more money, power and godforsaken fame is to be latched with god returning the favor to obedient devotee. Hence the stampede to please and obey. 

It is in this context education is qualified by usefulness. Thus, we have younger herd members prepared to replicate the template of success by carefully regurgitating useful education into money churning enterprise. They compete and waste, and essentially become threat to all that is cherished. Market defines usefulness in education hence create goals to be attained. Religion works to authenticates these as god’s will. The more the young mind is goal oriented more extractive mindset settles in destroying the potential and capacity of the human. They become a cog in the competition to prove their worth in the extractive system. The existential impasse we are in can easily be traced to these devious ways of control. TedCruz is an American embarrassment on humanity. His extractive mind emblemizes the threat. Extractive mind essentially lacks qualities that define human, compassion being one. No one anywhere anyplace in the world should be taking loan to learn. Education must be free, if ever it should be minimally charged. Student in debt is a failure of society. Most importantly education must strive to create self-aware individuals, inquisitive to learn for knowing and using latest advancements to understand. Whether what they find interesting to be pursued or researched further must be decided by individuals and their aptitude. Society is expected to nurture the minds as presences to probe and sense the reality and subtleties. Awareness increases depth to observation. Fields of expertise are just tools. Only an evolved society produces such presences which therefore becomes common place, a norm. In primitive societies such presences are exceptions hence claims of blessedness or great souls. In these presences there are no binaries of usefulness and uselessness. These presences are excitements of life expressing what it means to be alive. It is these presences over the centuries that carried humans from caves to the sophisticated comforts and value systems to explore. Education is being conscious to all that connects lifeforms and systems at work. What is useless in extractive system is useful in life nurturing systems. In nature there is nothing useless. That ofcourse doesn’t mean carbon trapped in likes of TedCruz is in useful state.                

 

British embarrassment is now international embarrassment

 

The world is seeing worst of people churned in by complacent insecure people -lulled by consumption driven market and dehumanizing religions, into the helm of affair when existential threat to human life on earth is becoming increasingly apparent and imminent. As the climate crisis takes hold (as indicated by pandemic, food crisis, energy crisis etc.) nationalism is expected to rise as devious people controlling the systems will arbitrate to please the herd, and very soon as the situation deteriorates richer section will barricade and isolate.  

Colorful dinosaurs

 

Dinosaurs that we have come to understand through popular media, as also serious literature, is that of dull colors of brown and grey. The pleasant surprise here is that dinosaurs were most certainly tetrachromats, meaning, they were able to see vivid colors that humans could not only not see but cannot even conceive. Humans are trichromats which technically means they have three cones in the eye -that is, color spectrum consist of different combinations of basic colors Blue, Green and Red. Dinosaurs, like birds, have four cones and are able to observe further range of light through UltraViolet. Now if trichromats humans could observe non spectral colors like Purple that doesn’t exist in the rainbow, meaning, it needs more than one wavelength of light to form, imagine with extra cone what kind of vivid colors dinosaurs could have seen hence exhibited. Amazing. All this from an interesting book An Immense World (by Ed Young) I am reading. Strongly recommended.    

See, I am dying

See, I am dying 

Do you see the caterpillar wriggling in desperation 

to escape the forest fire?

He will not metamorphize into butterfly.

He will die.

See the carcass of interwoven emaciated giraffes

Etch art of horror

On dried pond.

See the death.

I am dying too. 

Sea turtle skeleton

Choked in plastic

Wash up on beach.

Dead fishes fill the river.

Dead birds fall from the sky.

Dead insects fill the shade.

Earth heats.

Glacier melts.

Ocean warms.

Clouds burst.

Rivers evaporate.

Sometimes I feel the caterpillar inside me

Waiting to metamorphize.

Into all the colors.

All the voices.

My heart beats too

But it loses the rhythm of life.  

(photo by Ed Ram)

Lovely pig

Lovely pig 

The little book says pig is filthy 

Another says humans have dominion over all the creatures

Cow the holiest unlike the filthy dark buffalo

I look at the pig and the pig look at me

98% DNA spiral from me to him and him to me

Thymine, Guanine, Cytosine and Adenine flip the 2%

A human from a pig and a pig from a human

Mutational chance initiated 80m years ago

A pig is a pig and a human is a human

When human is no longer human and pig no longer pig

98% 2% seep to filthy pristine matters of world

Innately the chance and molecules weave the magic

The pig is me is the pig

And so the world rearrange to kindle a new life

A pig or a human or   

An attack on words

 

Words are carriers of ideas, possibilities and hope. Words have wings of freedom. They fly into magical land to create a new world. An artist – a writer, with magic of words can conjure a dream into doorsteps of reality. Each reader opens their own door to enter their own wonder. Words articulate meaning to meaninglessness of life. Words bead the voice of experience through space and time.   

Words extend the potential of the world we live in and adds values to our aspirations. Words assist in asserting liberty of each individual. Words are assertion of humanity’s will. Attacking the writer is attacking the word. It is the basic of all assault. It is an attempt at muzzling the voice of humanity. It is an attack on the soul. It is undermining sanctity of life.

What makes a human being attempt at another human being’s life for superiority of their words over others is the most tragic reality of the times we live in. How is this ridiculous, indeed pitiable and deeply disturbing, mindset sustained? What gives these individuals surety of their action at the expense of sanctity of life? What kind of sickness nurtures these appalling transgressions? Clearly, a human being -in a way the pinnacle of nature’s experiment with life, a self-aware individual, a soul conscious to existential realities of life will not commit such an atrocity. It’s a self-recriminating idiocy. It is quite clear that anachronistic nuisance -that was meant to provide solace in the ephemeral nature of life, is throttling humanity in its primitive cannibalistic snare. A system that consistently and persistently devalues human experience as it degrades humans into herds has become an ever-growing toxic reality. It is unacceptable that UN has declared a day ‘against Islamophobia’, it is a grievous mistake and capitulation to sinister forces. Religiophobia must be celebrated. Celebrate Christianphobia, Hinduphobia, Buddhaphobia...Blasphemy must be valued. Religion must have wherewithal to confront questioning and ridicule in a civilized way. If it cannot then it has no place in civilized world. Religion must be stringently scrutinized and ridiculed at every available opportunity. There is absolutely no need to tolerate the intolerant. Hurt ‘sentiments’ is lack of evolving to reality. It’s a juvenile ever growing need of self-worth of immature cloistered insecure minds and must not be patronized nor pandered to -it’s a slippery slope to hell. It is the incapacity to appreciate finer aspects of life reflected in varying thoughts and expressions. It is an attempt at asserting insular worldview over other. It is a crude attempt at controlling others. Anything and anyone that gives credibility to such a system in the garb of faith is a threat to humanity.               

Mycelium miracle

Mycelium miracle 

Billions of years of wisdom to realize the web of life

To learn the language of nature

From first breath to last breath

Resurrecting spirit into death and decay

Rebirth, regeneration and rejuvenation

Moving nutrients at the beginning, at the end

Communicating networks deep into core of life

And plug synapses of conscious

To all that of stars and miracles   

WHY NOW?

 Was it necessary now? The world is facing so many serious, indeed existential, crisis. What was the need of it now? Already the international community has failed Ukraine, and now this. There is a serious food crisis looming, climate is breaking...lord why now? 

                                   

The essence

The essence in moment when time stills

The arrow moves back and forth in an instance

In the Cambrian slush and eternal engulfing Siberian traps

In the birth spell of matter and fading light of extinction

Catch the rhythm of breeze

The spirit will commune the loss and fondness

Wait.

Wait for the generosity of nature

Reveal the breadth and depth of this that you can

Probe the will of all that exists, and will exist

While you are

Embrace the universe

 

There is no providence in the fall of a sparrow

 There is no providence in the fall of a sparrow 

Have you seen life wrest death?

Not unlike the ashen face in Bergman’s Seventh Seal

Waiting patiently for chess to finish

An arrangement to abide the inevitable

Life in its ethereal grit is no game

Hot sky plucks the sparrow in his flight

Blood ooze in the hemorrhage of fall

The heart beats still while death awaits

Eyes open to the deep end of space

A President for The People

 

Planet’s Fight for Life

 Two books that attracted my attention in last few months are Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life by Edward Wilson and Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert. These two books, and I am quite sure there many more, elaborates on seriousness of crisis we are in and significant efforts being undertaken to understand the situation, to ameliorate and adapt. The solutions that are being explored is what makes these books important particularly for policy makers and younger generations. People like me read these to increase awareness and improve my understandings of issues that impacts, as also pass the awareness as consolidated thoughts through medium like these. Access to international publications through internet and online purchase has opened minds to amazing thoughts and experiences from across the world. We are no longer stuck to putrefying pits of self-obsessed mediocrities, though must add these are always in the periphery conniving to trap into sh*tholes and then gain for their miserable lives.

Edward Wilson was iconic figure and a charming man (there are many videos available on Youtube) -who died last year, a myrmecologist he extended further into ecology and conservation. He made crucial contributions to our understanding of biodiversity. Collective intelligence of social insects was a significant step of evolution, and has much for human learning. There are exciting fields of study like swarm intelligence and algorithms from deep understanding of nature and scalable patterns. Almost three thousand years back human brain shrank with rise of collective intelligence. Collective have been repository of knowledge that individual lacks. In recent times these have refined and consolidated through researches, insights and applications. We maybe trapped in our individual aspirations or drudgeries but the collective mind is expected to warn us of the suicidal path that humanity is on.  Wilson writes “The central idea is to view the entire planet as an ecosystem, to see Earth as it is and not as we wish it to be”. Here he brings in his thoughts, surely accumulated through close association of a long and meaningful life, that could help us work out solution “Given that stability in the economy and in the environment are closely linked, they both require striving for quality of life through self-understanding as opposed to the conventional accumulation of material wealth, based on the assumption that the wealth can eventually be traded for quality of life”. Technology and awareness will help us move from quantity to quality hence consumptions that are meaningful and add value to life. Half-Earth proposes half of planet’s surface to nature. A global network of inviolable reserves. Many examples are given in the book wherein rich people are investing their money in improving ecosystem. The parks and reserves are to help biodiversity thrive but are also centers of research and education (needs to be pointed out biodiversity rich India still appoints Forest officials on the basis of archaic exams -encouraging manipulating mindset to score in the exam than passion for the job -specifically nature, as job-oriented hierarchy driven mediocre bureaucrats of the mold of colonial needs thriving on transactive and extractive value systems. I have met these, with rare exceptions are mostly wastrels. Primitive society’s valuation of education, intelligence and fate).     

It is becoming amply clear that consolidated intelligence of religions and that of market is of least help and is indeed anti-thesis to crisis that humanity face. It is science that confronts reality with human faculties and enlightened thoughts and reason. Then there are rare humans like Edward Wilson who contribute their understanding to add to the collective thinking. He argues “Despite all our pretenses and fantasies, we always have been and will remain a biological species tied to this biological world. Millions of years of evolution are indelibly encoded in our genes…wildland is our birthplace”. He proposes “Only a major shift in moral reasoning, with greater commitment given to rest of life, can meet this greatest challenge of the century.”              

“If humanity continues its suicidal ways to change the global climate, eliminate ecosystem, and exhaust Earth’s natural resources, our species will very soon find itself forced into making a choice, this time engaging the conscious part of our brain. It is as follows: Shall we be existential conservatives, keeping our genetically based human nature while tapering off the activities inimical to ourselves and the rest of the biosphere? Or shall we use our technology to accommodate the changes important solely to our own species, while letting the rest of life slip away? We have only short time to decide.” The book ends with these perceptive lines “We have come a very long way through the barbaric period in which we still live, and now I believe we’ve learned enough to adopt a transcendent moral percept concerning the rest of life. It is simple and easy to say : Do no further harm to the biosphere." 

The problem seems to be the hope filled assumption that we have come a long way from barbaric period.    

     

Fascinating

As Mr. Spock would have said "Fascinating". 

It really puts ephemeral nature of life in context. An emotional moment 

 

The religion problem

It is becoming quite clear that religion is a threat to humanity. Climate change, pandemic, war, extinction of species, biodiversity loss, ocean degradation, air water soil pollution, land degradation, food insecurity, malnutrition, human wildlife conflict, market capitalism, wanton consumption…the list is long, are all serious and imminent threat to survival of human on earth as also other species. However, all these critical issues are subsided by threat of religion as it makes humans incapable and incapacitated to respond to changing reality. Religion undermines existential threat by offering fantastical fictions as option. It offers otherworldly explanation and god’s will -fatalism, as solution. Now, few centuries back when the awareness of reality was limited, and threat were not global and did not have ramification beyond limited region, these did make sense. It assuaged human insecurities and frailties. It helped in creating some peace through cooperation among its followers hence civilizations to take root. With increase in awareness and knowledge it was expected that the compassionate system coopted these new understandings to help humans grow into better but that didn’t happen. The system was too ossified -a byproduct of darker and simpler age, and concerned with self-perpetuation of controllers. Religion is simply incapable to handle the intricate challenges that onslaught of new ideas and thoughts brought. It has become too glaring in recent times and is woefully, in most case embarrassingly, inconsistent with growing knowledge. It is acceptable when religion creates space for spiritual yearnings in uncertain times and provides in ephemeral nature of life, for common people to share and value their feelings. But the nature of religion doesn’t really allow these benign spaces. It hinges on prescriptions and adherence, working in a context increasingly alien to contemporary world. There are nefarious forces controlling the system that seeks to establish its authority over hapless people trapped in their insecurities and miseries. It is quite saddening the way things have turned out to be. It is deeply disturbing the way religions are severely degrading democratic institutions while narrowing space for humanity to thrive.

It will be wrong to put every religion in the same context. Every religion has gone through tribulation within the context of its functioning. They have all contributed to the growth of humanity in their own way. Every religion had its obscurantist force as also empathy driven enlightening presence. This has been the constant struggle throughout the history. In the contemporary world despite the best efforts, it is really impossible for religion to play positive role. The world has progressed too far from the realities that these religions made sense. World has become a small place with latest technologies and understandings hence religion becomes segregatory, exclusionist, seeding ideas that are increasingly fanciful and dangerous. It therefore becomes easy for charlatans to tap into these systems to further degrade discourse and possibilities of better world. Religions therefore cannot be allowed carte blanche as representing some innate truth or divine intervention. It cannot appropriate sacred space. It will have to face the contemporary world and its challenges. These fantastical fictions cannot be allowed to define identity hence sneak in as diversity. It’s a degradation. This must be understood in clear terms. It is a threat to hard won values of liberty and freedom. It is a persistent threat to all the values that humanity cherish.

I have been watching Star Trek series again after so many decades. I vaguely remember some but what I recall the most is the wonder it created in young mind. They created interesting premise to probe. Now as I watch I have come to appreciate and value the subtle world they created and the attempts they made to evolve human minds through these stories and entertainment. It also shows how much effort it must have been to nurture such minds. The other day was watching wherein humanoid realizes the importance of diversity. The creation values infinite diversity. For which Mr. Spock (iconic character -part human part Vulcan, played by amiable brilliant Leonard Nimoy) replies “…and the way our differences combines to create meaning and beauty”. Diversity is something to be cherished. Nature favors diversity. It creates resilience as also opportunities to evolve to deal with reality optimally. The reason why biodiversity is critical for survival of life. Similarly, diversity of ideas and understanding adds to “meaning and beauty” of life. Religion doesn’t add to any diversity. It’s a degradation, and is usurping the space for diversity. There are some sinister feudal forces who are promoting religion in these benign garbs to play savior.             

Religion is a human created aberration on earth system. It is a virus that converts decent sentient humans into herds incapable to value life or estimate the significance of reality. It must be resisted. As societies evolved and people became aware they start to question the authority of religion. They created space for banter as also derision on this ridiculous faith in fantastical fiction that contradicted directly to easy evaluations and basic logic. This helped religion to evolve too into spiritual spaces shedding its anachronistic narrations. Things though have degraded at an alarming rate in recent times. Cunning conniving herd controllers are competing with each other for control. The failure of education, its immense possibilities confined to narrow ‘use’. Sense of insecurities pervading despite the best of possibilities for humans that could ever be imagined. Market media and capitalism hinged on wanton consumption too have contributed to discontent and apathy. Transactional relations and loneliness added to the disquiet. For unexamined minds the semantics of dealing was already trapped in alphabets of superstition and faith. It was easy for the subconscious to associate with centuries of well-entrenched traps of instincts of religion. It is heart wrenching as humans get entrapped in cesspool that denies their core being.

Life is sacrosanct. There is nothing more precious than life. So, when pernicious religion claims sanctity over human life then sane forces must realize the danger it poses to humanity. A civilized society must nurture space to ridicule religion, it must encourage blasphemy. It must encourage inquisitive minds and free souls. Survival of humanity is hinged on these. Shackles of religion holds everything that is detrimental to human progress. Ridicule is not one way process. It is not a claim that my way is better than yours. My way is very much open to ridicule, and correction. The only thing that matters here is aesthetics. Aesthetics of life that connects to nature.

Putinyoshka Vampire Gobbling Up The World

 

When I am tree

When I am tree 

Molecules will disintegrate

Congregate and integrate the chance

Somewhere in deep earth or hilltop

Or in some rotting matter

It will break out and reach for the sky

I feel the rush of xylems and phloems

Burst into leaves and flowers

Sense the sun, raindrops, and breeze

Pattern the world in my sway

Agnipath scheme is the need of hour

The Defence force of the country is not a charity initiative nor an employment guarantee scheme. Indeed, nor is the government. Ideally the government is elected to frame policy and implement for the betterment of the society. They are expected to provide the wherewithal for education system to nurture young minds, health infrastructure to provide basic health and nutrition and investment in all the avenues for citizens to progress into better people. Which also means having an efficient and effective defence forces to protect the democratic nation. Agnipath scheme is well thought out. It can be reviewed after few years as the need maybe. As of know it is apt.        

Employment is not for government to create. Few centuries back people used to find their own job depending on their need, aspirations and skills. That is how it should be. Progressive societies prospered while primitive societies like India suffered hence couldn’t contribute much to humanity despite its vast population. The idea of job is exaggerated by feudal corporates and spread by market influenced education system that churn out herds, ably supported by religion, rabidly panting for money, position and power. Ideally education is expected to create self-aware individuals. Self-awareness increases the connection with reality hence means and intent to respond to the arising need/challenge that one would like to respond to. This then creates skills as it suits. Government therefore must invest in all the avenues to nurture all sort of skills. Internet has created a connected world for knowledge and skills to spread. The idea of education has nothing to do with goals hence marks and examinations doesn’t really make sense. Education is about creating awareness and exploring possibilities through inquisitive mind. Skills creates searing eye to probe but presence is what that gives it value. There is no presence when life is capsulated in goals. It is not about fish’s eye but awareness of fish, the world. A self-aware human will never aim for fish’s eye. Despite high skills his or her presence does not allow skill to be narrowed down to crass. That is aesthetic. Its an indelible mark of humanity.                   

Meanwhile there should be zero tolerance to vandalism. Each and every one who vandalizes the public property must be tracked, identified and face exemplary punishment. Also, it must be thoroughly checked whether the vandalizers were instigated by controllers. Many a times these vandalizing herd are only pawn in the sinister game.