MINDFULNESS ,
AWARENESS , ENLIGHTMENT...
I have been
told the following story years ago..
Someone ask
to a very poor and illiterate shepherd what was his preferred dish to eat? The
answer was very simple: " I like the sprout of the onion ". The
explanation of this answer is very sad. This poor man having nothing to eat
most of the time other than onion and bread just making a choice in between the
two. He is not in a position to make a choice between "filet mignon or
sushi or pizza or hamburgers".
Our understanding,
our capacity enlarge when we come to know more. You can not feel or see the beauty
of a piece of Paganini neither a masterpiece of Picasso. The same applies to
the literature, architecture, sculpture and to many fields of art and science.
I want to
give another simple example. Marbling is kind of painting done over a
thick water where you sprinkle dyes over it. With the help of needles , combs
and brushes you give shapes before the dyes diffuse. A blank paper is laid over
while the colorants are transferred to the paper. Only someone who
knows can understand the skill and the scope the piece. A common
people will not even understand what it is.
This a marvelous
art of colors . Especially in the early times of Islam where any kind of
human drawing was banned religiously.
As a human
being we continuously ask to ourselves the meaning of the life . Various faiths
have dogmatic answers mostly by means of omnipotent God or Gods and you are
expected to surrender fully. Most of them has no any acceptable answers to
crimes , poverty , illiteracy , pandemics , wars and inequality that we
endure constantly.
The motto of
KNOW YOURSELF is told for your endeavor to understand the world and life.
You can not
know what is happening around the globe if you don’t learn sociology , psychology
, philosophy , literature , history , economy , art and many fields of wisdom
and erudition .
For instance
in order to understand the existing wars it is a good idea to start learning
first the history of the existing populations in the world than go to sociology
and learn the fundamental principals on the human behaviors . Needless to
say economy is the leading actor.
To understand
the materialistic inequality between people and countries is a very
difficult challenge for all of us. You need to start review Antique Greek philosophers
like Socrates , Plato and Aristoteles than go beyond the enlightenment era philosophers
Marx, Montaigne, Rousseau , Smith , Kant and thousands other .
Only after
getting a knowledge of what is thought until now that you can start realizing what’s
going on around you. Indeed this is heavy task.
In his recent book "ENLIGHTMENT" Steven Pinker starts with the following experience he had at the university classroom...
“Why should I live?”
The student’s
ingenuous tone made it clear that she was neither suicidal nor sarcastic but
genuinely curious about how to find meaning and purpose if traditional
religious beliefs about an immortal soul are undermined by our best science.”
We came
presume that awareness starts with knowledge , experience and culture . Need a
lot of effort. Especially today we have a lot of misinformation running around
the internet, Mercenaries making wars , fighting for the account of rich and
ambitious persons and countries. Religious fundamentalists are in
the pursuit to convert you and enslave.
16.12.2019
Avram aji
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