Human beings have nothing to crow about February 8, 2021, 8:24 PM IST
By Narayani Ganesh
Culture, cognition, self-awareness, creativity and language are all seen as unique attributes of human beings that make us so special vis-à-vis other species. Decades of research by scientists has however, revealed an entirely different picture. In addition to all of the above, other animals may even be capable of achieving enlightenment, except that when they do, we have no way of knowing it because we have no access to their minds, points out ethologist, Patrick Bateson, who has closely observed the tool-making skills of the Caledonian crow.
Silence makes longevity possible
By Alka Nigam
The majestic peaks and deep valleys of the Himalayas silently call us and leave us speechless with their magnetic charm; so does the bewitching beauty of the Saharan desert. The sound of crashing ocean waves may comfort us, but it is the ocean’s unfathomable silent depth that astounds us.
In Hindu philosophy, silence is linked with ‘asat’, unmanifested, non-being. Words are ‘sat’, real and manifested. Ramana Maharshi explains that when we close our mind to outer stimuli, the primal thought ‘i’ enters a state of egolessness. In the absence of ego, the real Self surfaces, and then both inner and outer worlds shine. Anchored in the inner Self, one can experience the manifested reality, too. This is how God is ‘sat’ as well as ‘asat’, and the truth of both is known to seers. Silence becomes powerful because it has the living, forceful presence of non-existent ‘anubhuti’ of all the noise that has transcended its e
By Jug Suraiya When asked to prove that God does not exist, an atheist replied that, as God is a needless hypothesis, it is not necessary to prove his non-existence, but for believers to prove.
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan It is often seen that whenever a group wants its demands to be met, it takes the route of protest. However, it is not just a question of protest. The real.
Embracing the uncertainty principle
By Valson Thampu
Marx’s indictment of religion as the opium of the masses points to a core human perplexity. What is reality? How are we to relate to it? Or, how are we to not mistake reality, and run amok for it? In the old Indian tale of the elephant and the blind men, the elephant is real. Each one of them relates to it but only in part. The separate limbs they touch pertain to the elephant. But, in themselves, they are not elephants. The elephant is all of what they quarrel about, and a great deal more.