pranoygreat

[pranoygreat]

Watt Joule Mean?

The sun - a small red giant situated somewhere in the Milky Way. A desolate corner of the universe by all measures except one - one of the planets orbiting it is populated by some evolved apes who have observed, measured, and studied every aspect of the universe that it understands.

Millions of nuclear fissions and fusions take place inside the sun. Our star produces more energy every second than humanity has utilized in our collective history. Nearly 173,000 terawatts of energy from the sun hits the earth every second. The sun is literally a giant stove heating up our earth but years of solar irradiation did not cause the earth to heat up as much as a few years of fossil fuel has. Why is that?

The wind carrying apupan thaadis, the blooming of flowers, the flutter of butterflies, the pitter-patter of birds, the roar of lions, and the trumpeting of elephants all need energy. Life on Earth collects the energy of the sun and converts it into different forms. Human beings thought it wise to conquer nature and strip life off of Earth. Us humans have not even begun to fathom the role that nature has been playing and our puny brains cannot understand the depth of the issues that we are causing in the universe.

Energy can neither be created nor be destroyed it can only change from one form to another - Émilie du Châtelet proposed and proved this theory. It is one of the universe's fundamental laws that we have understood. The valuation(price) of every object can be determined by the energy poured into it. There are many kinds of energy - the energy of the mass it contains, the energy needed to shape it a certain way, the energy needed to transport it to a particular place and so on.

Economics - the way we currently determine the value of something, utlizes a valuation unit that is not relevant to the universe or the natural world - money. A The principle known as the demand-supply model goes-  the unit price for a particular good, or other traded item such as labor or liquid financial assets, will vary until it settles at a point where the quantity demanded (at the current price) will equal the quantity supplied (at the current price), resulting in an economic equilibrium.

A star at the end of its term slowly burning out of fuel is tending toward equilibrium, an ecosystem is in equilibrium when it is almost extinct, death is a way for a body to head towards equilibrium. The fundamental value of the most important system followed by humanity is based on equilibrium - we are pursuing a status quo, a utopia that never changes. We are courting death.

But it doesn't have to be that way. We can change the value system. We can rethink. We can reprogram the systems. To value something based on energy. The value of work - the energy spent on that task as well as the energy spent acquiring skills. The valuation of every object based on the energy that goes into it. Let us account for energy - let us visualize a better way to value things based on the actual value based on the laws of the universe rather than an arbitrary unit created by human imagination. Let us move to an Energy Economy.

[pranoygreat]

Rebrand

I don't dance now, 

I make money moves

-Cardi B, 2017

The year is 1275 AD, a young Marco Polo arrives in Xanadu, the beautiful summer capital of the great Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan. Kublai had made the great Khan's dream come true - he was the first Mongol to conquer China. Once there, Marco sees many things that amaze him and hold him spellbound like gunpowder, coal, spectacles and porcelain wares. His father and uncle, who were merchants serving as the Khan's emissaries, guide him to Kublai's summer palace.

The great explorer was unprepared for the sight that greeted him there. A diamond merchant seeking the great Khan's favour presents him with a parcel of precious gems. In return, the Khan's minister bestows the merchant not with gold nor expensive silks but with some plain-looking black paper. Outraged - the merchant protests loudly in his language. In response, the Khan signals to one of his guards. In one sleek motion of the guard's sword, the merchant is relieved of his head. This was one of the first instances of the use of paper money - a commodity so common now that it is accepted as a natural part of the world.

Kublai Khan held absolute power so he had the power enforce the value of his money. But how does modern paper money work? Is it because the governments say it has value through force? Then why do the values fluctuate? Modern cash economics is no longer a matter of force. While it started as a tool to gauge value - money now is also a unit of account, and medium of exchange. The idea of the Mongol emperor turned out to be so useful that now it is used across the world and dominates the minds of people to such an extent that some people have even figured out ways to use the others’ emotions to make money, like in the field of advertising.

Ever since money became a popular medium of exchange people have also been coming up with non-ethical ways to make it. From petty corruption, robbery to even assault and murder. We have even managed to pervert the very identity of money. The amount of money in your name has become a status symbol, a tool to subvert the legal system and even guide national policy. This tool has become such an important part of our psyche that, most people do not understand that its value is created by our inherent belief in it. The whole idea of money is based on trust but now fear, guilt and envy are the emotions most associated with it. 

Wait, it's not all doom and gloom, money has brought innovation and the human spirit to solve problems the fore. New currencies are being thought up that may spell the end of banking as we know it. Known to most as cryptocurrencies, these are based on a white paper written by an individual/group known to the world as Satoshi Nakamoto. The idea introduces a system known as the blockchain. The system is self-securing as anybody who validates transactions can make some money. They compare transactions and any data that is forged is identified. This system can clear up some of the main moral issues connected with money .i.e source of income. 

But, yes there is a but, some issues still haunt money. Primary among them is the fact that money is still very localised. Even a country as small as Seychelles has its currency and monetary policy. The economists in the world need to sit together and figure out a way to make a global currency (possibly based in cryptocurrency infrastructure). This is essential to lessen the chance of people exploiting/fuelling national crises to fill their coffers. Another problem associated with money is that right now it has no fail-safe to prevent exploitation of nature. If a hunter kills a tiger and manages to sell its skin, he gets money and this is perfectly legal tender, even though it was procured through illegal means. The proof of work/source of income concept that is part of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can be useful in this regard. The economic system can be altered to deter environmental exploitation through taxation and uphold environmental conservation through grants. The best part is that all of this can be created and automated with the technology that exists today. Money should not make us lose our morals, it should not make us break relationships. Money should empower us to protect this planet. Like honey that motivates a bee to pollinate a flower, money should motivate us to do better by the other species on this planet.

Further reading:

https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/quarterly-bulletin/2014/money-in-the-modern-economy-an-introduction.pdf

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/08/05/the-invention-of-money

https://aeon.co/essays/so-you-want-to-invent-your-own-currency

[pranoygreat]

Rebirth

Why?

Why do  I ask why so many times?

Over the course of my life I have asked why more times than I care to remember. It is not a reasonable question. A why is more an argument than a question. A ‘why’ is a shaming question and that is why I have made it into a habit - an unbreakable one at that.

I have decided that ‘Vishu’ this year has come at exactly the right time. A ‘New Year, a ‘New Chance and Several Other Old Cliches’ -that is the title of my life story. It has always been. I thought falling in love would change me. But parts of me have not allowed that change. It has stopped me from doing things. it has stooped me from going to see my love. Why? Again the argument.

I will murder my mind - a part of my mind that hates everything but pleasure. A moment of pleasure that’s all that part cares about. But life is not a moment pleasure. It is more pain than pleasure and harder the pain you put yourself through the higher the reward. 

So how do we kill a part of yourself? How do we murder a section of your brain that produces such thoughts? It is not just driven by pleasure but for its own survival can happen only when we let our life take us wherever it wants to take us to. This is the truth. There is no secret formula, no faking, no lies and no mystery. Are you ready for a sacrifice? Because that is how we are REBORN.

[pranoygreat]

Conquer

What if the world had a government?

No, I am not talking about dissolving the countries of the world

I am talking about making the governments of the world accountable.

Imagine a reality show, that is on 8 hours every day. This show stars the most prominent and influential people on the planet, including some of the richest. The point of this show will be to make sure that the governments of the world are accountable. The participants of this show will judge world leaders on different aspects to make sure they stay true to their promises and also the interests of their nation. 

Let us start with the members of this team. The first name seems kind of obvious 

Jeff Bezos - the world’s richest man. He can be uncorrupt and has the resources to make anything happen. His business is also at the forefront of the digital technological revolution. 

The second name for the list is the head of the IMF - Christine Lagard. She is responsible for the funding/aid that nations receive and world leaders will be eager to meet any standards that she sets for them. She can also judge the corruption in each country and score the efforts each government takes to fight petty and large-scale corruption in their respective country.

Tim Berners Lee - the creator of the internet, will be part of this team as a representative of the scientific community. He will judge each country’s contributions in the world of science and each scientific community.

Mehdi Hassan - the Al Jazeera TV host will judge each country on media freedom and the right to free speech. 

Vandana Shiva- the Indian environmentalist can judge the country on their environment protection activities and also sustainable development in each country,

Peter Tabichi - Kenyan science teacher, who is the current recepient of the best teacher in the world award. He will judge the country’s performance on the education sector.

John Finnis - Noted Australian philosopher of law will judge each country on the rule of law and their judicial systems. 

The goal of this team will be to enforce a global constitution that will be followed by the countries of the world - no matter what form of government they follow. This constitution will ensure that every country is dedicated to improving the quality of life of its citizens and prevent wrongful prosecution. Prevent the politicians from lying about achievements and also use the idea of competition effectively to create a better world and for this purpose each of these team members will also have their own teams that are completely dedicated to that particular purposes. The identities are selected by me and can be changed after discussion. But this does banish the thought that capitalism cannot create a utopia? 

[pranoygreat]

Reveal

A deep sigh - an expression not lost

The whisper of music upon my lips

The naughty gestures of bad intentions

Oh the several welcome vagaries of love

Oh why such pain?

Such a pain that the heart can’t bear

I was better, a healer of wounds

But you wound me like no other before

Oh why such hate?

Hate that has no reason

Nor does bear no grudge

Neither consumer nor creator

 And the sweet tender love

The sweet happiness that knows no bounds

Why doth one love? 

If not to smile at the tenderness of the world

[pranoygreat]

Smile

The curve that sets everything straight. 

A smile has powers to heal and to say things that words could never express.

So what is so magical about a smile? You might have felt irritaion or embarassment at the smile expressed by a stranger. You might even have felt anger when smiled at by a person towards whom you feel negatively. But the reaction to a smile is never spite or hatred. No matter how malicious its intent. A smile is always greeted with a hint of positivity. It cannot help to be negative towards a smile. 

Biologically we know that when we smile our body produces endorphins and other feel good hormones that makes us feel an internal bliss for being alive. This internal bliss is what most religions hope to achieve throught their practice. A simple feeling that I am enough and complete. Perfection is in this moment and whatever is happening in it. But our guilt and need for control cloud over our consiousness and make us have regrets. Regret is cruel it will leave you wounded unable to find a better tommorrow. Quoting Mario Puzo from Godfather, one of the most quoted books in the world (Am I becoming a conformist?), “In life there are no regrets, only lessons.”

Facing every instant in life with the confidence that you are doing the right thing and the humility to learn something from it is the only secret to happiness that ever existed. Add the gratitude to those that give you an opportunity to be a part of that moment and the recipe for bliss is almost complete. The last ingredient is something that is inexplicable. It has no word in English for it. It is feeling like wonder or curiosity about what is coming. The Zen call this ‘Shoshin’ which in simple words becomes the joy of discovering life. The concept of ‘Shoshin’ is so complex that a whole essay dedicated to it will not be able to capture the whole essence of it. But this feeling is another crucial part of the human experience and we should be readily be able to embrace it and celebrate it. 

[pranoygreat]

Razor

Let us start with a theory today, one of the basic tenets of logic. The Ockam’s Razor  - the simplest assumption is the most logical one - suggested by William of Ockham. The simplicity of this idea makes it so obvious when you read it. But imagine this, it is named after a person who died hundreds of years before us, and we still remember his name through this simple theory. It is believed that he did not invent this theory but was the leading proponent of it. 

And that brings us to today’s question if Ockham did not invent the Razor but was only immortalized because of his staunch belief in it. Why do we still remember some ideas, like religions and political theory by the names of their founders? This would be the opposite of what any progressive-minded human would want. He would want his ideas to evolve to suit whatever the requirements of the future generations will be. So why doesn’t this happen?  

The reason for the absence of political and religious theories that are able to evolve with time could be attributed to the fact that people are inherently narrow-minded. Our flight or fight mode is one most of the time and it requires mindful disengagement that has not been allowed mass adoption. We are inherent innocent but being wary of the wickedness of others makes us into wicked creatures. We assume agendas behind every action and we want to be the best in every way. The hero of every story. 

[pranoygreat]

She searched and searched but the answer was always within her.

mirage

[pranoygreat]

Pain or Pleasure?

The simplest questions often hold us spellbound. The way water ripples when the wind hits it. Did that just tell me a story? 

But why does the story come through only to me and no one else. Is it the story of where that wind came from? The smells it accosted me with and the stories that it saw as it reached this point of the world. The wind saw so much yet spoke so little. May be we ought to listen more?

What did the wind tell the water? “Baby you are so wet.” “ I am water I make things wet but I am not wet” “Then why do you shiver so when I fondle you so gently my love?

Nature’s most erotic bond after fire and flammables. While fire involves a different kind of energy. One that aims to assimilate, the wind is more inclusive. The most socialistic of the natural forces. It aims to give as much as it takes or even more.

What stories does wither wind say? What language does it speak? Does it have personality? Asking questions has never been easier. Questions that have no answer. Questions that serve no purpose and possess no agenda. When we can keep asking these questions that is when you know you have freedom to embrace the absurd and call it your own. The absurd is indeed mine.

[pranoygreat]

Go with the Flow

The breeze it toyed with her hair the way you wished you could have. She took one long puff and passed you the joint back. Then she stared at your eyes like she was looking into your soul to tell you something that words could not express. You inhaled and cast you eyes afar at the horizon. There a reddish sun was slowly sinking into the sea. You felt the gentle heat of the marijuana hit spreading slowly through your bloodstream. "Was this a one-off?" "Will I be this happy every again?". I haven't seen her for nearly a month now. That sweet smile and the kind eyes that felt a love and respect for all things. Love came so naturally to her. Some people have to force it for her it was the natural state. My natural state of hatred for everything, became the polar opposite of what she saw in the world. It is not that she saw just goodness, she found enjoyment in the rough edges too. Sometimes it seemed like she enjoyed discovering the rough edges more. Somehow she found perfection in the flaws of the world and found some kind of perverse joy in discovering them. Music? Why wouldn't she share her love of music? Is she scared of being judged? When will we have secrets? Secrets that make us hate each other and pull out our hairs. Secrets that make us question the morality that holds the other's personality together. May be she already knows too many of mine. May be she thinks I am irredeemably lost. A soul that wandered so far that it had rotten inside. The outer beauty made it seem like it shined but inside was toxic. Poison to everything that it touched. The fire of my soul may have set fire to everything that it seemed fit. Now only poison made it happy, only poison was its food. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Toxicity didn't kill me so it should have made me stronger, oblivious to my own toxicity I have been so far. Thinking all I do is enjoyed by the people around me. Enough is enough! Come on world Study me! Judge me! Sentence me!

[pranoygreat]

Serious

Some actions are considered despicable even though they are harmless. 

Wedgies, underwear dances, bathing in the trash, sitting races etc are all forms of harmless bullying that a lot of us have been put through and some of us have put others through. If you have been put through it, it is more or less certain that you have put others through it as well. The word harmless I mean in a physical sense, of course, there are those who are emotionally vulnerable and these kinds of actions can cause irreparable damage if they come at the wrong time. But to most people, it is just a reminder of their own irreverence - the bloody pointlessness of their inflated egos.

While these actions should not be encouraged and bullying is it not an especially healthy behaviour to engage in. But silliness is something that everyone should readily embrace. To be mentally healthy, you should be able to disconnect from your sanity. The only sure fire way to know you are sane is if you ask the question- “Am I insane?” Otherwise, you are just pretending to be sane because true sanity cannot be possible in a modern world that is full of repetitions. We repeatedly do the same thing over and over expecting a different outcome. Just consider the grand big plan of society sending generations of children to study in schools, not realizing that they don’t go to school to get marks or build a life. They go there to integrate into society and learn how to behave in a group. 

Still millions of parents around the world tell their children to stop meeting their friends and not go to parties. Most parents would love it if their children were introverts. Introverted behaviour is not bad, it is just unhealthy to enjoy spending too much time alone. Another aspect of insanity that we all refuse to consider is momentous insanity or rage. Rage is a natural response triggered by injustice. It is common, especially when having an argument with someone who has been subject to a lot of propaganda in his life. Most people have some values about people who are above ridicule. These are the same people who will not laugh at themselves. They are a danger to all. Their inflated self-worth and need for validation is why many of the major world problems are still unsolved. There is a need to shut these people up or open up their minds. If you have a different persona at work and home or if you believe that something is above ridicule - please click this link for more help.

[pranoygreat]

Katy Wong’s Contact

[pranoygreat]

Distract

Screens are overloaded pixels

What is on them has no story

The colors never convey anything

They have no meaning or purpose

Why do we stare at them?

Why do we deny meaning?

Why purposelessness exists?

Why life needs purpose?

Screams and Silence

Passion about mediocrity

A fashion of unneeded

What is the dream?

[pranoygreat]

Fleeting

Glances and glimpses that is how we perceive the world. Some of us immersed into the world that is front of them, some of use oblivious to it and others taking in everything and letting nothing out. Then there are some who know exactly what to take in and exactly what to let out. They are the ones who truly run this world. It is not money or power that governs us, not the human definition of power any way. We are guided by glances, in a tiny little glance we encapsulate what we think of the world and a message of the world. Each glance is complete in itself. It tells a full story of what the world needs. Each glance is an event in itself measured in milliseconds it tells us about how the world works.

Staring into a person’s eyes may reveal what is going on in their soul. But only a glance can tell what is happening in their mind. Hold it for too long and you lose the information and only see the physical that is in front of you. The mind and soul merge into the background. With deep realizations, we are able to stumble into the realm of minds. Because that is the only place where thoughts have form. The dimension that exists of only thoughts. Picture this as you look around the room, a whole world of thoughts exists behind each mind. Each brain preoccupied with what to think about some of us mindfully aware but mostly completely ignorant. We stumble into the realm of thoughts with neither guidebook nor guide.

What we need to understand is how our emotions stumble into the minds of others. When we practice mindfullness and absolution, we forget our ability to just exists physically. We forget that we need not have a purpose or a goal. We are just an animal that is out to graze or hunt or reproduce. A collection of tiny cells that are each serving a purpose. A small tiny speck in the universe. We wonder why is everything so beautiful. Why is the world so complete? Is there anything that has never been done? Why were we made curious? Why do we love luxury? How can we obssess over money? So many questions that you can ponder over a lifetime and still come up short. The point may be to ask questions. The reason to exist excapsulated in a set of letters gathered in front of a question mark. When can we unite our thoughts and create something beautiful. When will our egg hatch?

[pranoygreat]

Inception

The broken strands of hair, never go out of fashion. Them flying in the wind tells us stories that many acclaimed artists could not come up with. The poetry and patterns of chaos have inspired the artist in many of us. But how many have been driven by reason? How many have had something at the core of their art that has driven to the ideas? Those are the names that people keep speaking as the eternal artists who transcend time.

The story of an idea and the reason behind it is what we explore very rarely. What prompted the ideas that define us? What was the reason behind distraction becoming the ruling force? Why have we been denied the knowledge to how this world works? Why did we start valuing intangibles more than tangibles? The abstract really confuses us. The real questions behind those abstracts are what we search repeatedly for. What does each shade of color mean? What do we want to find? Where are all the answers? They are all within. The garden is blooming.

[pranoygreat]

The Fight

The alarm rang with an awful enthusiasm that day. “I am on the Highway to Hell” sang AC/DC on the sound system, he could feel the waves of audio envelop him. 

He breathed in deep, ‘I am equipped to conquer the world - what is my stupid superiors? Then again all of this is an exercise to earn a hypothetical reward that has presence only in the minds of the billions of humans that walk on this earth. Their common validation of a concept is the reason that it is able to hold sway over this planet. When the rest of the world feels the way I do about money. Then it will no longer rule the world,’ today’s thoughts seemed to be the start of a revolution. ‘No more revolutions, no more dreams of change, no more wanting to be the mentor of humanity for a new way of life.’

The smiles that greeted him on the way in seemed to be radiating all the hatred in the world. ‘Why do I feel so evil?’,  ‘Am i really inadequate?’ these thoughts were at the forefront of his mind as he walked into what he thought as his throne. ‘Do not let anyone make you question yourself,’ he reinforced in his own mind. 

“Daydreaming again!” the loud voice shook him awoke. He looked up to see his annoying boss looking at him. There are twenty files pending in the database and I catch you staring at the ceiling. ‘I was considering the banality of what I am doing to the world,’ he wanted to say. ‘This is all so pointless,’ he wanted to scream. But he caught himself being sucked into another bottomless pool of corporate bullshit, “The new audit team from the parent company will be here soon.” His lips were moving but he felt they never conveyed anything from his intellect. The intellect was switched off with most people he met now. They never wanted to consider the world and learn from it. The world is not a lesson it is just a torture that has to be endured without spitting out any facts. ‘You are being interrogated and tortured throughout the life and the only thing that you can hope for is to not divulge anything that can give any advantage to anyone ever,’ you felt from your boss. “You know how you are the best resource at this place. Nobody even sees the things you do in those account statements. We need you at your best so that everyone can help you become the best auditor in the team,” your boss had ended his motivational-rant. 

‘No i am not falling for that crap, you getting me to do all the shit that you want  me to do. No I am not gonna let you use my intellect to get what you want without even giving me credit.’ the thoughts were echoing the grey walls of his brain but nothing gave them shape. Nothing let them force the world. No those thoughts were just echoes in the mind. Yes, the mind that wants to learn what it is to learn to be inadequate what it means to be incomplete. The mind understands this to a very deep degree and ignores it at all costs.

“I am not inadequate!” he screamed at the fat man’s face. 

“No I do not say that you are”

“Was’nt it what you implied”

“Never I never”

“Your words they implied so much more”

“What are you saying?”

“Yes you think I am incapable of doing the tasks”

“No, I think you are multi-talented and excellent”

“Why then does conversation with you make me feel less confident?”

“That was never my intention. I just wanted to empower you.”

:Empower that is a neat word is’nt it?”

“What is wrong with you?”

“I am tired of you screaming at me whenever you boss screams at you.”

“I do not do that”

“Yes, you do. I exactly follow what you tell me. Everything I do exactly as I do and even then if there is a mistake it is my fault?”

“I have never blamed you for anything.”

“You are incompetent and lazy at your job and you try to make me accountable for your failings.”

“I have never done that.”

“You think a leader is someone who can scream at his employees.”

“If I have been rude to you please forgive me.”

“What is the point?”

“Please will you do that task i allocated to you.”

“Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahahahaha”

[pranoygreat]

Sweet embrace

Death!

The ultimate solution to every problem.

It is a sweet escape into an abyss.

Cowardice? You need courage to take your life

Escapist? People exist in masks and no work is enlivening

There are so many suicide prevention helplines but none to help choose death.

Isn’t your life your only true possession? 

The rest all are just bells and whistles on the busride of life.

My personal brush with death was rudely interrupted by a phonecall.

The bed of that river called out to me like my mother’s outstretched hands.

That is all we want a hug from someone we love!

And the circle has now come become complete.