On inevitability and the immortality of hope!

हर मुलाक़ात का अंजाम जुदाई क्यों है?

This one question has haunted me ever since a wonderful song chanced by me a few days back. The song in question, "Zindagi jab bhi.." from Umrao Jaan (of 1981!), can be streamed from this page (4th track).
For the bandwidth un-challenged, here's a download link.

Returning to the line. I don't quite know how and where to start, so here goes.

Why does every meeting result in separation?

"meeting": an instance of time-space coordinates intersecting for 2 or more people desirous of a rendezvous. A duration of time spent together, in a state of mutual sharing.

"result": The end product obtained from a process or operation.

"separation": An act of detachment or distancing between two previously closer entities.

All the above definitions have been taken from the my handy copy of the Standard Daily Usage Mental Dictionary.

On the face of it, the inevitabilities are overwhelmingly obvious. The very concept of meeting may (a certain degree of possibility) be seen a dual for separation, and thus semantically dependent mutually for real significance.
Also, the constancy of change angle may also be brought in to prove the truth behind this lemma/axiom/theory.

However, as I'd mentioned to the unsuspecting gtalker I'd bumped into that night, it is the scope of finding an exception to this rule, which makes this all the more fascinating.
To elaborate, the clouds of gloom that may appear by the helpless inevitability of this scenario, suddenly find linings in every possible hue, by the possibility of circumventing this trap of circumstance. The very idea, that there MAY be a day, when one could break free of this deadlock; when the shackles of logical conformity may get replaced by those of the most pristine forms of freedom, has the potential to inspire and alleviate beyond measure.

It is in this direction, that I shall perhaps attempt to grow all my remaining days. For now though, a few baby steps...

In the definition of 'meeting', the mentioned time-space dimensions are assumed absolute. That needn't necessarily be the case always. Being of the truly scientific temper, one can never rule out the existence of another latent dimension, waiting for our selves to grow out of our current cocoon. Perhaps such a discovery (at a VERY individual and personal level) would lead us to a realm where it would be possible to function perfectly parallely. Perhaps upon this finding, we would begin our journeys toward The Omnipotent.
Also, on a more earthly level (or maybe not!), the definition of 'together' is again rather subjective, and heavily dependent on various growth level parameters et al. So perhaps we may one day evolve to a state where we can be together in spirit, while on different continents/planets/galaxies.
I see this option shall eventually trail on to the first one only, so I'll leave it here.

Coming to 'result'. It isn't quite fair to restrict the scope of a word as momentous and significant as this, to just that which is observed/obtained in the end. Perhaps, the result of an exercise can sometimes be obtained at the very beginning, with the rest of the activity required to complete the shell in which the new born chick had grown.
{Pause.}

'Separation' now. To defy the physical boundaries set, I shall take the obvious route of questioning the predominance of physical perception. I shall hope that one day, the less tangibles within and without us, shall rise and claim their rightful place in our consciousness. This of course is a reversed way of hoping that we'll all grow and raise our selves to that level.

And I see, that the saar/crux of all the distinct points I've made till now, are immovably common. There always had been just one very slippery little point. One answer to all the stated issues, but with a million little faces, each overlapping with a billion others.

I can't quite put my finger on it yet, but it does have something to do with consciousness, love, peace, you and Him. The links among these variables, are part of the oh-so-convenient "To-be-Determined" list. But I believe, that the very fact that such a line was composed, and such a question crossed the minds of many thereafter, is part of the answer revealed (an immensely minuscule part, but still!).

It is this hope, against what at first glance seems to be a doomed walk in the park of eternal inevitables, that proves its essential immortality. "Hope springs eternal", they say. I feel it is one of the n core elements that live in us, beyond the realms of time and space.

And as long as there shall be paradoxes and conundrums as "hopeless" as the 1st line of this post, we shall know that hope has enough fodder to feed on; and that there is still present, a gloriously infinite reserve of untapped inspiration and bliss, waiting for the unassuming and unsuspecting simpleton to stumble upon!

Sigh...

On love and purity...

Something thats been doing the rounds in my head for a few days now...

Lets assume a few variables first:
L -- love
P -- purity
X -- unknown
S -- sense of selflessness/service.

I have come to believe, over the past n days, that the degree or extent of selflessness we have towards anybody, is a function of the above mentioned variables. Here is how,
For any form of service to be honestly executed, there must be:
1. A threshold minimum level of love in our hearts towards the destined recipient of service.
OR/and
2. A threshold minimum level of purity that we observe in the destined recipient.

It is worth mentioning here, that inherently, the 2 points above are interconnected, in that one is a prerequisite for the presence of the other.

To take a few examples:

1) Hearts melt upon seeing a little baby. And no amount of strife, in the process of its taking care, can ever cause that love to end. Here therefore, the baby's purity and innocence induce a sense of loving care towards it in us. Vice versa too is possible as is obvious.

2) A couple stay together through thick and thin. Individual mistakes are worked out/forgiven, owing to the underlying belief in their mutual purity, which in turn is derived from the sense of love towards each other. Of course, the extent and validity of such a bond may come into question in the case of repeated misdemeanors. Beyond scope, beyond current jurisdiction.


However, experience tells me He never created such simplistic equations in human nature. Thus, comes flying in the unknown parameter, that which has the power to nullify as well as bolster the fruits of the defined variables.

I perceive that unknown to be the coefficient of our personal growth. The closer we are to Him:
1. The more we shall identify each individual as nothing less than His living embodiment. Thus inducing the sense of "purity in all" (even latent) and the sense of everyone being worthy of our love.
2. The more love we shall have, to freely give to all those who may be in need.

For both the above points, the highest example that comes to mind right now is Mother Teresa.

Now that I have (hopefully) clarified my views, we may proceed to the mathematics of it.
I propose the following formula for the extent of selfless service that one can give to another:

S = (L^m) + (P^n) + (X)

To add another layer of subjective complexity to this fascinating mix, the powers are themselves functions of the person in us. As in, it depends on factors such as one's:
1. values
2. upbringing
3. experiences
4. et al

or in short, the powers are functions of THE mysterious "growth" variable.

Hence, the equation becomes:

S = (L^f(X)) + (P^(f(X)) + (X)

Thus, as we move ahead, and trivialize the boundaries between entities such as love, purity and selflessness further and further, its not too hard to see, that as a blackbox,

S = F(X).

Also, an important point here is:
As we all grow, at our own pace, in our own time, it would only be natural for our 'X' values to come closer and higher together. And thus, as we approach higher levels of "goodness", the variable distinctions in L, V, X to evaporate. Thus the last equation above, which right now seems to be a criminal instance of approximation and generalization, shall become THE most accurate expression for all that is good in us.

Further proof perhaps, of the underlying simplicity in all of His infinitely complex workings.

Cheers!
Good Morning!

Lightning

This is a little poem that came to me whilst gazing heavenward during a nice thunderstorm a couple of nights back. In the absence of a camera, and the presence of a belief in the underlying commonalities between different forms of human expression, I figured a poem would be
a nice way to capture the moment.
---

O great spears of Thor!
What is it that you seek to speak?
Flashing your wonder and majesty,
Piercing the realms of the night and beyond.

Is that a song of praise you sing,
When you lighten up the canvas up high?
A new song for every time,
For the One who pets your infinite might.

In you are born a thousand suns.
From you stand defeated the darkest nights.
Amongst all of nature's magical rights,
You find your worthy place and time.

Are you the fueller of the world's hearts?
Is it your embrace that frees the bound enslaved?
All these venerate your immaculate embellishment.
Lead us to your Master, O one untamed!

---

The language/code sequence of sleep!

Just a trivial little incident from today morning...
Upon getting woken up from bed for a scale, I prepared to doze off again, given the relative earliness of the hour et al.
As I was floating in that state conducive for lucid dreaming, I chanced on something scurrying across my... mind, or imagination, mind-stage, or whatever. It was no bigger than a cat, a little furry, and pretty skippy and fast. For now, lets just refer to it as a Mipchunk.

Now I'm not sure what it was, but that little creature was spewing random syllable chunks, either verbally or in written. Then, SOMETHING happened at the precise moment the little Mipchunk ran across my mind. I think I observed myself falling asleep right then. Effectively, it seemed that my conscious self had switched itself off, or something to that effect, at the command given by the little furry coder.

And that was what led me to this little post.

What did the mipchunk say?

The unconscious ambiguity that defines our lives...

Alrite, this little idea, originally introduced to me by my brother, found its second life when I chanced on the following lines in a wonderful book, courtesy Ajit:

"No mathematician has ever seen an integer! When we read "1994", we read a word whose letters are called numerals."

Pause, think, and move ahead.

I shall mostly agree with you if you say that visualizing numbers doesn't really make too much sense in the first place. But even then, one can't help but feel a LITTLE duped, when learning that, that which had defined the basis of one's mathematical prowess, was little more than a derivative from language.
(A debate on whether mathematics is the father of language and all other sciences, or vice versa, is BEYOND the scope of this particular post!)

It would be instructive to consider another example. This time more easy relate-able.
You see a red rose. It is your brain that tells you that the shades of the delectable little creation in front of your eyes, are closest in its RGB mix, to that of Red.
But what is red in the first place?

Is it not the colour that your mom/dad/teacher/anywho called out, when pointing to apples, Manchester United memorabilia, and yes, roses, when you were 3.1 years old, and innocent to such boundaries of chrominance?
So, what is red to him/her?

Instead of embarking on that infinite loop, I'll take an unconditional jump, to:
What you perceive to be red, is ONLY what YOU perceive to be red. As of today, (to the best of my limited knowledge), there is NO way for you to confirm, that "your red" is the same as "your neighbour's red". That is, it is possible that you might be calling Team India's jersey "Blue", in spite of it seeming to be what your neighbour would call "Red".

Next, I shall proceed, as is rather straightforward, to generalizingly extrapolate to cover the remainder of the senses.
Partially ignoring the subjectivities of aesthetics:
1. it is possible that the audio filters present in my ears end up transforming what might be Yanni to you, into your Metallica, for me. And given my programming since my most impressionable childhood, I have grown to appreciate "that Yanni", as you appreciate "your Yanni".
2. it is possible, that I actually feel "your cold", when touched by a "your hot" pan, but I call it "F#$@ that was HOT!", given my programming since my impressionable childhood.
3. I needn't go on now. You can very well see how sight, sound and touch can be extended to smell and taste.

Enough for now!
Without further ado, I shall leave you and your self, to talk it over on whatever it is that you're thinking right now.

Cheers duniya!