Wednesday, December 26, 2012

None but the moon

Modern car,
zipping through a earthly highway!
Ancient moon,
hanging still on the heavenly highway!
Sitting in the car
observing the white disc,
feel the car flowing forward
until there is none but the moon!

See - Observe - Love

"Don't just see. Observe." - Sherlock Holmes
"Don't just observe. Love." - Yogic enhancement of the above statement :)

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Some Links

Eheu fugaces

Eheu fugaces, Postume, Postume, labuntur anni!
Alas, the fleeting years glide away, Postumus, Postumus!

-- from "Eheu fugaces", an ode to Postumus on the futility of hoarding up treasure

Tapas

तदात्मनि निरते य उपनिषत्सु धर्मास्ते
May all the Dharmas extolled by the Upanishads shine in me!


    -- Chandogya upanishad


What kind of tapas would get one there from the normal state of existence?

Links from Damn Interesting

The Pit of Life and Death
"By 1983, the hill was so exhausted that the Anaconda Mining Company was no longer able to extract minerals in profitable amounts. They packed up all the equipment that they could move, shut down the water pumps, and moved on to more lucrative scraps of Earth. Without the pumps, rain and groundwater gradually began to collect in the pit, leaching out the metals and minerals in the surrounding rock. The water became as acidic as lemon juice, creating a toxic brew of heavy metal poisons including arsenic, lead, and zinc. No fish live there, and no plants line the shores. There aren’t even any insects buzzing about. The Berkeley Pit had become one of the deadliest places on earth, too toxic even for microorganisms. Or so it was thought."


The Ethyl-Poisoned Earth
Extents to which corporate greed can blind people to distort information and screw up our biosphere in order to make profits! 

"Upon learning that automotive fuel was the source of the contamination, Dr. Patterson began to publish materials discussing the toxic metal's ubiquity and its probable ill effects... The Ethyl corporation allegedly offered him lucrative employment in exchange for more favorable research results, but Dr. Patterson declined. For a time thereafter, Patterson found himself ostracized from government and corporate sponsored research projects, including the a National Research Council panel on atmospheric lead contamination. The Ethyl corporation had powerful friends, including a Supreme Court justice, members of the US Public Health Service, and the mighty American Petroleum Institute. Nevertheless, Patterson was unrelenting, and the resulting rise in scientific and public awareness eventually led to the Clean Air Act of 1970, and a staged phaseout of leaded gasoline. Ethyl and Du Pont sued the Environmental Protection Agency, claiming that "actual harm" must be demonstrated rather than just "significant risk," an effort which successfully prolonged lead additives' life by another decade."
 
"In March 1968, the toxin under scrutiny was VX, one of the most potent nerve agents in existence. The original compound was created by Ranajit Ghosh, a chemist working at Imperial Chemical Industries. The liquid proved to be an effective pesticide and it was quickly put on the market under the name Amiton. Not long afterwards, however, it was taken off the market for being too toxic to handle safely. The agent's extreme toxicity drew the attention of government weapons research labs, whose scientists were always on the lookout for more efficient ways to kill people."
 
 

In Soviet Russia, Lake Contaminates You
Perils involved in playing with nuclear power!!

"In 1951, after about three years of operations at Chelyabinsk-40, Soviet scientists conducted a survey of the Techa River to determine whether radioactive contamination was becoming a problem. In the village of Metlino, just over four miles downriver from the plutonium plant, investigators and Geiger counters clicked nervously along the river bank. Rather than the typical "background" gamma radiation of about 0.21 Röntgens per year, the edge of the Techa River was emanating 5 Röntgens per hour."

Shut up and practice

There are many concepts and terms associated with quantum mechanics and its interpretations. Schrodinger's cat, wave function collapse and multi-verses are just a few of them. These terms and their varied interpretations are usually highly intriguing and interesting. Consequently, there are many interpretations for them which serves to confuse the layman. Amongst the popular interpretations, there is one that caught my eye. It is called the instrumentalist interpretation which is also referred to as the 'shut up and calculate' view. The primary concern of the physicists who subscribe to this view is to be focused on the physics and not be worried about interpretations. This does not mean that they do not know the interpretations. It is just that they are agnostic to the interpretations.



Like always, one can draw analogies between physics and Yoga. Like the mind boggling terms in quantum physics, Yoga also has its own set of terms that serve to guide and confuse. Most often, even serious practitioners are caught up in the terms - kaivalya, brahman, self etc. Analogous to the 'shut up and calculate' view in quantum physics, one can easily formulate the 'shut up and practice' view in Yoga. These terms like 'sunyata' and 'aham brahmasmi' intrigue beginners and are living truths in the enlightened (and who are one in a hundred million by the way). Hence, for all serious non-amateur practitioners, the best view on the highest philosophy would be 'shut up and practice'. It is useful to know these terms enough to be not disturbed by intellectual challenges but not more. The practice then involves rigorous adhering to basic principles and continuously eliminating all impurities from the lower aspects of oneself. The actual practice can take various forms depending on the individuals needs and inclination but will most certainly involve personal physical and mental health practices, compassion and responsibility etc.

My personal practice is centered around these three statements. For the purpose of expression, they have been split into three although it is one continuous whole - the grossest being expressed first and the most subtle expressed last.


1.) At the external level it is captured by this statement from Yoga Vasishta.

शुबाषुबाब्यां मार्गाब्यां वहन्ति वासना सरित
पोउरुषेण प्रयत्नेन योजनीया शुभे पथि!

Tendencies flow on healthy and undesirable paths. Men of wisdom put in the right effort to direct them along the healthy paths!


To me this emphasizes proper asana / pranayama / dietary / sleep routines on the personal front. It also implies continuous vigil against anger / insensitiveness etc which crop up easily when one is placed in tough situations.


2. At the internal level, I have this statement adapted from the Yoga Sutras.

श्रीराम प्रपत्ति क्लेश कर्म निव्र्त्तिहि!
On surrendering to Ram, one is liberated of impurities and consequences of action!

This involves following the path of Ram of sincerely attempting to be perfect and correct always. To accomplish this, the basic necessity is the subjective conquest of matter aka indiscipline (earth), insensitivity (water), lack of motivation (fire), lack of imagination (air) and lack of acceptance (space). When one accomplishes this, naturally, the state of inner purity is recognised and pure action automatically flows. Then one takes total responsibility for all dimensions of ones life. Personal, social, national and world issues all become equally important. Cleaning ones egoic relations become as important as cleaning up the garbage produced by ones life style.


3. At the deepest level, the only practice for everyone is neatly summed up by this statement from the Ashtavakra Gita.

असङ्गोऽसि निराकारो विश्वसाक्षी सुखी भव!
Rest in peace as the unattached formless witness of all of creation!


Relentless adherence to these three statements covers my definition of 'shut up and practice'.