Tag: Freedom
The young people’s search for optimism and for hope
Even personal problems, if constantly ruminated on, can drown any person’s enthusiasm. The young people of our day have the chance to leverage historically unparalleled resources and make a real difference.
Bipolar disorder – the inner conflicts arising from trying to reconcile the Old and New Testament writings
Bipolar disorder has become the accepted name given to the manifest inner conflicts of disturbed individuals. While there are questions and concerns over the diagnosis of bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness) itself, there are special considerations that arise as a person’s beliefs are considered. The source of those beliefs also invariably comes into question. Aside from…
The exclusive focus on physical things will create an imbalance
There has been a noticeable insistence on physical things in recent times. It has been very deliberate, systematic, and evident of great intelligence. Who are its proponents is not the most important thing. One could, of course, examine the sayings of modern, atheist thinkers like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins. Listening to such intelligent men…
How compulsion and desperation are driving the conversation toward extremes
A conversation has the power to liberate a human being. It has the power to set free the mind from bondage. Even one exchange of ideas is able to give a new direction to the thinking of a person, or the chance of realization. Why would anyone want to do so? The real reason has…
The mind and its need for certainty – a tendency toward black-and-white thinking
Time goes by and a human mind is able to persist despite a lack of certainty. It requires a simplicity and an exercise of patience, but it is possible. Keeping a sense of contentment is very important during times of uncertainty. It is quite like a ship out in the open sea. A ship can…
How can we use the speed of communication technology to social advantage?
In ancient times, a man would get on a horse if there was an important information to be delivered quickly. Horses were kept and cared for, for times just as these. Maybe the rider was sleeping in his bed. He was awakened for the express purpose of having to get the horse ready and deliver…
Man-made labels for social convenience and simplification
It is amazing to consider, that a human being would willingly accept a label to define his entire existence. There are many labels in existence. People label themselves based on education, profession, family, country, or religion. With an expanding knowledge, each of those labels proves insufficient and incomprehensive. So, in order to identify oneself, an…
Self-worth is not for society to determine
Even the strongest person cannot face an endless challenge. There are some challenges that are imposed upon a person. These can be due to health or family, for instance. On the other hand, there are challenges that are accepted by a person due to the way society is made up. These challenges are also imposed upon…
An imaginary world built through radio, television, and the Internet challenges reality
Mankind stepped into a new era when information could be transmitted over invisible waves to bring audio, and then, a combination of audio and video to so many people.
The book of human existence
There is the impossible task of asking society to offer solutions to problems that society itself has produced, tolerated, or silently witnessed for so long. When such a task is undertaken, there is the danger of quickly losing balance in any line of reasoning or with any argument. As soon as a statement can be…
Are your beliefs a response to external information?
Beliefs are one of the most fascinating, and some would say, the most significant component of the ideas that a human being holds. It wouldn’t be wrong to say, there is always some emotional connection to any idea that forms a part of the beliefs of any human being. When a wife believes her husband…
Observation – The disobedient angel and humans in Eden: what it says about the Creator?
Just in general terms and even with a number of misconceptions, the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden is one of the most popular stories from the Bible. It happens to be right at the start, in the first few chapters of Genesis. That is a prime reason for its popularity.…
Observation – Satan’s absurdity, and Eve’s naivete…and many questions
The claim is often made by individuals with specific objectives and interests that, the Bible is outdated and no longer useful. It is also believed that, there is nothing profound or worth learning from a book that many others consider to be the revealed will of God. It is possible that, the Bible falls short…
Crisis of democracy – social decline through politicization, and insistence on freedoms and rights
It is easier to answer the question, what is democracy as compared to why is democracy. Yes, why is democracy favored and touted as the ideal principle for governance, even though its failure was anticipated right from the time of Plato. As it is practically impossible for all the people to get together and make…
Crisis of democracy – The ongoing confusion regarding separation of institution and individual
“If people were to accept the existence of a government, then they must be the ones choosing it”. This simple idea became the foundation of democracy. Everything that we have today in the form of democratic systems is, built on this idea.
Indian government’s demonetization step – preparing a nation for the future
It has to be maintained that, when history would look back upon the Indian government’s decision of demonetization, factors more significant than political party and economics would be considered. Did the present Indian government under the BJP have complete and full understanding of the implications, and of the effects of demonetization as they would be…
Indian government’s demonetization step – rooted in the concept of the divine
Try as one may otherwise, the human mind by necessity needs to have some basic concepts about the world around us. The concepts we have could be, should be, of a more general nature. Upon these basic concepts, details are added through observations, experiences, training, and learning. If the basic concept is correct, they will…
The nature of conviction, and the certainty of belief
Conviction and certainty of belief impart a particular trait to the very thinking and expression of a person that goes counter to reason, and the willingness to listen. Be it blunt or sharp, the absolutist conclusion of the convinced person does not have the opening to alter the conviction. The belief is not only unchallenged,…
The natural order of things as a basis for justice
There is a natural order of things. Nature works because, it has its own system. The most gigantic interaction of living and the nonliving makes up the system of nature. In this system, there are many parts and subsystems. We can discern, there is an order to the way all creatures interact with the environment…
Conceptualizing justice in the age of impatience
For those who are thinking actively, it would seem prudent not to put words like justice and impatience in the same sentence. However, as soon as one steps out of propriety and sentence construction in theoretical settings, it is easy to see that, our practical reality puts us in precisely this undesirable position. In the…
The flawed and biased employment of critical thinking
The website, “The Critical Thinking Community” carries this definition of critical thinking, on one of its pages: Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form,…
Extreme views: Seeing the world from the edges, or rooted in a view
The greater the sense of confusion grows, so grows the desperation to find answers. Finding oneself unable to compete in a world of ever-growing divides, even those with experience find themselves thrown off-balance. Falling down the slippery slopes of divided views, people find themselves secure at the very edges. From the very edges they establish…
Jehovah’s witnesses prove themselves the antichrist, and no better than those they habitually criticize
These 2 screenshots (cropped for ease) are taken from the JW article about the 4 horsemen. The article later shows Jesus as the first rider on the white horse. So, according to the Watchtower publication, Jesus is not only one of the 4, he is also leading the charge! By this understanding, Jesus is taking the…
Overcoming disappointment with Jehovah’s witnesses, and humans in general
I was never interested in organized religion. Organized religion meant the confining and defining of any real faith a person might have. The worst taste of religion for me – deeply organized and correctly identified as a cult – was with Jehovah’s witnesses. Right from the time I was studying, I could see some crucial…
Individualism and the challenges to democracy: uncertainties in the hands of men
The rise of individualism and social congregation of like-minded individuals on social networks is, most certainly the end of traditional democracy. Already there is a kind of reactionary leadership, leading to a weakening of authority.
Why the growth of extremism in recent times? Is there a remedy?
It would be a mistake to confine extremism to religion or political ideology or a nationality. Extremism can be found anywhere, even in music and art. It is usually a response to some external trouble. It could be seen as a means of countering the negative influence of outside forces, and as a means to…
Short thought – 6 – The preferred lie
An assumption took hold, An imagination was sold, Men would find the way out of damnation, People would create their own salvation. The dream lives on, The effort goes on, While the struggling masses wait, There is rampant injustice within the gate. Science has not tried long enough, Philosophy has not explored deep…
Lesson from Solomon – Continuity and finality – opposite worldviews.
Do you have a worldview? Even though you may have never sit down and enunciated what it is, or taken pains to explain it to others, most surely you do have a worldview. In the globalized world where, even the knowledge of distant galaxies is available to the boy on the street, potential for knowledge-based…
Determining what is “fake news”. What is “real news”?
The phrase “fake news” has become popular in recent times. In the year 2016, another related phrase “post truth” became popular. Outside of the political world, there is much that is happening which makes the appearance and use of these phrases timely and legitimate. A consideration of what is behind these ideas will help us…
The adoption of a thought
The adoption of a thought is a uniquely human trait. With exposure to so much information which, clearly exceeds any human’s ability to process, it becomes difficult to be certain of anything. A person could be asked to question the validity of any thought, even those dear to him. Where a person is himself unwilling…
