Imagination, Reality and Creativity

One of the strangest things about brain is its potential

The human brain is not merely a net of nervous fibres. It is more than the control centre of the body. It is the integrated and sophisticated home of numerous dreams, imaginations and creations.

The brain interprets, generally the environment around us we call reality. But have you ever felt that your imagination on something, say a book you have read recently, was far better than when it came out of someone else's imagination? Have you ever felt you can bring about some change with the help of your imagination? At such, imagination induces creativity. The most honoured scientist of 20th century, Albert Einstein had once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." His own life reflected the fact.

Imagination is the key to success. From artists to inventors, the greatest of creations came out of imagination. One such inventor was Thomas Alva Edison. He is credited for invention of more than thousand products used in modern life among which the light bulb and the movie projector are the most popular. The light bulb was invented in his mind out of his imagination- without ever seeing one in reality! Then he worked out discovering the requirements to convert his fantasy into reality. With that passion he worked and worked and gifted the world with one of the most precious product of all time.

The world of imagination may be compared with the world of dreams and fantasy. The world might be close to the real world you see or be entirely different. We have enjoyed the fantasy world of Underland in "Alice in Wonderland", Middle Earth in the "Lord of the Rings", Hogwarts in Harry Potter and so on. We have also been introduced to several characters that came out of imagination of their creators. Mickey Mouse and his friends are among the most famous cartoon characters all around the world. And we love them, for they are the creations of human brain, proofs that it can overcome impossibility through its wonderful creations.

At times I feel the power of my imagination being drained by the introduction to reality. In such cases, I think of the world in a different way. What if the world we see is a dream of our own? Or we might be creations of someone else's imagination. Doing so, I come back to my world of imagination and it really feels good. After all, the purpose of life is to follow your true passion and get happiness out of it. I have not seen it yet and I can imagine it coming close, very soon.
The pictures below show striking similarity between networks human brain nerve fibres and the fabrication of universe in atomic scale. Something for brainstorming! 

   
 

That Black Day

The Setting

Monday, June 9, 2014. Life had been moving in its own pace. There had been a sort of tranquility. But it had not been destined to last long. The tranquility had just been an illusion. Some students studying Post-Graduate in Micro-biology at Tri-Chandra College had called out a strike at 1:00 pm. That had when the darkness unveiled itself.

The day had been bright, sky clear-except for some spots of clouds. The strike had been called for an hour which meant no vehicle would be allowed to pass through that route for an hour. People would have to face problems. Meanwhile, within five minutes of the call of the strike, some cadets of Nepal Police had entered the Campus premises and had started beating up students. Some of them were taken on to the now desolated road and keeping them ahead, the callers of the strike were attacked. There was a sort of war between both the sides. Students hurled bricks and stones at the Police and the Police charged at them. Had only the strike-callers been arrested, the matter would have been different, but whatever happened next was a sort of madness- an absolute insanity!

The Riot

While hurling at the strike-callers, the Police entered the College premises- first the Saraswoti Sadan wing and sorted out Micro-biology students. They were taken out from classrooms, laboratories and libraries and made to kneel down on the ground. Some of them were beaten up for having dusty hands. The Police had entered Peace Zone without permission and beaten up unconcerned students. I call them unconcerned and innocent because they did not even know that a strike had been called up. The students who were nagged out of the classrooms were Graduate level students. The Police had blindly striked at some students which had made almost made them unconscious.

Not only the students of Micro-biology but those of other faculties had also been terrorized. The Department of Geology at Ghantaghar wing too had been attacked. The students in the laboratory were beaten up by the Police without any concern or hearing. Many of the students who had been attacked by the Police were even taken into custody. Some of them were tortured there as well. All the arrested students were left by ten-thirty in the evening. The amount of physical and psychological tortured they had to face is indescribable.

The Conclusion

The number of students injured was about 200 of which a dozen were seriously wounded. The Police promised to provide compensation for the injured ones. I don't know if they apologized for the sort of insanity they showed but the students too are not willing to take any further action- they are studying in the College to secure their career, not to fight with the police. The issue, however, did not catch media attention. A few off-steam TV channels and a few online newspapers provided some news. In spite of of such a violent Police action at the heart of Kathmandu, the amount of priority given to the news was nominal. After the mini-riot ended, I had a very bad feeling, "If such a large group can be suppressed in the heart of capital Democratic Republic country, what might have happened to the people at rural areas during insurgency?"
After ten days, the thought still brings chills to my heart.*

* The above description is a true event and not a fiction. It is based on my talks with some of the victimized students. I had witnessed the aftermaths of the riot. The news story is available at :http://www.onlinekhabar.com/2014/06/208812/


   

The Losers: A Fiction

         It's the end of the season. We did well this time. Our soccer team, Shadows first time in the league history won the Eagles. They were the best last season and were unbeaten since last one hundred matches. In the first leg match they had thrashed us with score of 6-0. It was quite humiliating because the whole leg we played well and were in the second position. But we did not lose hope, so the victory in the last match of the league became ours.

          Everyone was celebrating. The Coach had thrown a party to celebrate the first victory over the Eagles. He was extremely happy because in his fifteen years of career in the Shadows, the Eagles were defeated for the first time. I, as the captain of the team was called to make a victory speech. I was not prepared because the Coach had told that just at the beginning of the party. I was not sure what to say but went on the dais and started giving the speech which was as much as I remember like this:

          "I'm pleased that we won the Eagles. It was my dream since I joined this club as a professional. They were the best but we were better than the best. I thank Mr. Coach for the guidance and Matthew for his remarkable goal…"

    

          I was lost in emotions during the speech and I can't remember much of what I said but I did mention about Ricardo, the Assistant Coach who had improved our techniques and made us victorious in every match of second leg. After he came to the team, the league started to become exciting. None of the matches was predictable. One way or the other, the predictions came out to be wrong. The Eagles were expected to win every match but they lost two and most of their matches in second leg were drawn. In the end, our points leveled and then we got chance to beat them and we did it.

          Our Coach spent most of the time on talking about Ricardo and praised him for the success he gave to the team. Actually, Ricardo was not there in the party. I can't tell why but I think that he was busy packing as he was leaving the city early morning. I had hoped to see him in the party but he did not come. Our goalkeeper, Carlos told me that Ricardo wouldn’t come to meet us again. I got stunned because the team had won because of him and the hero of celebration was absent- actually he would not show his face again. I was quite confused and could not understand the reason he had to leave the Shadows that way.

     The night of celebration was over. I woke up in my home after a long sleep and hastily went in front of the TV. I wanted to see the news on victory of our team. I saw that the news was on our team but not the victory. I saw Ricardo being nagged. The crowd was going mad; people were throwing bottles and cans over Ricardo. He looked sad and lost. I didn't understand what to do. As I tried to ring my coach, I heard from news reader:

       "The MOST WANTED match fixer; Ricardo has been arrested for fixing matches for the Shadows. He, who had been searched by the INTERPOL for five years, was arrested on the basis of suicide letter written by Danny, the Eagles' captain. This can lead the Shadows to the prohibition to play any match in any tournament for at least five years..."

          I couldn't listen anything else. The day before we were the greatest team and our players were better than the best but today we had become the greatest losers of all times and the “hero of the celebration” ended up our careers with a shame.      

           

The 'M' thing, the 'W' stuff

The 'M' thing

The world today is run by a mysterious yet mystic force of the 'M' thing. Without it you are ruined- you get hopeless; you might have to suffer hindrances on your way of life. Once you have it, you wouldn't like to part with it. Partition with the 'M' thing somehow gives you pain if you are in the possession of very little of it.

From beggars on the street pavements to the Kings on the thrones, from a 'nanglo' businessperson to an elite personality, everyone from every part of the world are under the hypnotization of this 'M' thing. Whatever your creed, caste or religion be, one thing that binds you is the 'M' thing. If you have it, unknown people will become your family members; if you do not, your own family members will be alien to you. This mystifying 'M' thing acts like the center of gravitational force which attracts each and every people towards it makes them revolve round it just as planets revolve round the sun.

 

Binod Chaudhary- the billionaire from Nepal had to do the 'W' stuff to increase popularity

 

The 'W' stuff

The 'W' stuff is quite different from the 'M' thing. It is slow, creative and rebellious to some extent. The 'W' stuff often tries to run away from the 'M' thing, yet it is bound to be attracted by the 'M' thing. The 'W' stuff is not just the matter of truth, it is also a means to express your imagination. Held by the 'M' thing, when the mind forgets imagining, you can know the truth of the world but the 'W' stuff brings you much closer to the truth and more than that it teaches you to dream, imagine. However, dreaming alone does not run life. So, you will ultimately have to search for the 'M' thing.

William Wordsworth's creativity was killed when he become the Royal Poet, i.e. closer to the 'M' thing

Most famous people are the slaves of the 'W' stuff and not the 'M' thing. People with the 'M' thing are like storms. They come and go away so fast that one moment you feel their presence and the other moment, they are forgotten. If you have enough of the 'M' thing but very few people know about you, you will automatically switch yourself to the 'W' stuff mode. The 'W' stuff becomes a window to your deeds. There are 'J' people and  can help you in such a matter but if you are good in the 'W' stuff yourself, you will leave nothing about your life; you will want to show to the world what you did and how.

Conclusion 

JK Rowling was able to earn the 'M' thing from her bestselling 'W' stuff

The 'M' thing and the 'W' stuff seem to move round each other in oval orbits; the oval of 'W' stuff being much lengthier. The orbits do meet at two points in space, thereby creating combinations "The 'M' thing + The 'W' stuff" and "The 'W' stuff + The 'M' stuff". (These combinations are to be judged by the readers!)

What do I want then- the 'M' thing or the 'W' stuff? At the end of this article, am I becoming confused?...Wait..., I think not!  I have a clear view, "Yes, I want to become a writer with both the 'M' thing(money) and the 'W' stuff(literary writings)."

...
..
.But...
..
.Which first??? 

  

Democracy or Aristodemocracy?

“Might is Right," the proverb goes. It was true then(when the proverb was invented), and it is true till date. From then till now, only the way of attaining might has changed and nothing else.

A mighty Emperor one would be in the past if he ruled a vast area of land with the help of his warlords and terror of weapon. He would do anything to remain in the power. He would be worshiped; people would bow their heads in front of him. Following his orders would be a compulsion; if not you might be killed in no time. All his foolish wishes had to be fulfilled; after all he had the might and he was the right. On this regard, I remember the stories of Akbar and Birbal. Akbar was a wise king, but like every other kings he had pride of his might and made his subjects do whatever he wished. Birbal, the wise often stopped him from doing so but he too used to fall in dilemma when the king used to order things like bull’s milk and building castle in the air. The stories of Akbar and Birbal may not be actual histories. A historical example of Surendra and Junge may be relevant here. Because Junge(Jung Bahadur Rana-Junge was what Surendra called him!) wanted to gain powers taking the advantage of perssuation over Surendra, he jumped into Trishuli with a horse, and jumped into a dry well . (It is also said that he jumped off the top of Dharahara with an umbrella!) Later on, when he gained his might what he did to Surendra and his children is a bitter part of history: even innocent people suffered his tyranny.

The etymology of the word “Democracy” leads us to the “rule of the people” in Greek. Democracy was practiced in Athens in the ancient times which spread to Europe with varying forms. Rome and Sparta had their own type of democracy but the main essence was that they worked in unison to the thoughts of people called citizens. To say that they followed modern democratic norms would be a mistake. The “citizens” were originally those who dwelt in the city minus the women, the slaves and the tradesmen. What we get as citizens were the rich men called ‘elites’. So, when we talk of democracy, aristocracy automatically comes into the scene.

In modern times, democracy and aristocracy(the rule of the elites) are used antonymously. This is the illusion that people have been suffering from in the developing and under-developed countries. The definition of citizen has changed and all the adults democratically cast votes to their representatives but they are ruled under aristocracy. In almost all the countries following democracy, one can become candidate in the elections easily but the winner is, in most of the cases, one who can spend money—actually distribute money among the people. Political parties that have strong support of the industrialists and capitalists usually win the elections. It is because the aid from the rich-class people can be used in campaigns to create vote-banks. Communists call this capitalism, I call this aristodemocracy—the democracy in which the elites are a little higher in status than the people of other economic classes. I am not sure if such a rule exists in the developed countries but Sir Charles Waldstein had given the term “aristodemocracy” in his book of the same name. However, the book explains vastly on the military strategies required to establish peace in the world. (The ideas seem contrasting, don't they?)

The sixteenth US President Abraham Lincoln said, “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people.” The people elect their representatives and expect that the popular needs are fulfilled through them. When the representatives of people like parliamentarians are elected by the people on the ground of their abilities, it is certain that they will do something for the development of at least their constituency. But if they are elected by the favor of elites, the “people’s representatives” are enslaved; resulting increased corruption, class-conflict and anarchy.

In democratic countries, mightier are those who get popular votes off their abilities; they gain majority and they are the tyrants over minorities. In aristodemocratic countries, the mightier are those who get popular votes with the help of the rich-class; the minority group rules the majority group taking advantage over their inability to make apt decisions and choices. This should be impossible according to the modern democratic norms but its going on here, on the land from which I am writing this essay.

How can aristodemocracy be defeated? I am not sure there is an absolute answer to this question. Which place is there which does not have the gap between the haves and the have-nots? You might think of the USA, Obama’s country at an instant but the depictions of slum-like places in New York(Manhattan?) in movies and accounts of many tourists have showed that poor are always the poor. Another country that clicks into everyone’s mind is the UK, the kingdom of Queen Elizabeth, but I have heard a personal account of the poors’ life in slums of England from a young Bangla-originated Englishman, Sabirul Islam. There is always a great possibility that monetary resources are exploited by the election candidates. Therefore, he only way of turning over aristodemocracy  is to increase the political awareness among people or make it clear that the winner is the one who can use money to their advantage. 

If we want the citizens to be aware, when citizens vote for their representatives, they should be careful that the candidate is not under the influence of aristocrats and anarchists. Mass media and social media can be useful in raising awareness among the ordinary people and in helping them select the correct representatives. But the most essential need is that the leaders should be loyal to all the citizens; not only to the elite-class but also to the poor class.

The Meaning of the Word- Buddha

Who is Buddha?

 

Buddha is the one who knows the secrets of life and nature. Buddha is the Great Being who recognizes himself or herself- the one whose body, mind and soul are in unison. This knowledge and recognition is called enlightenment or Buddhatva. Thus, Buddha means the enlightened one.

Among all the Buddhas, Shakyamuni Gautam Buddha is the Greatest and of the highest order. He was able to lead people to the path of righteousness and virtue through the middle path between sensual pleasure and outrageous penances.  Vipaswi, Shikhi, Vishwambhu, Krakuchchanda, Kanakmuni and Kashyapmuni, Manjushree, Amoghsiddhi, Amitabh, Bajrayogini(female Buddha) are the notable names of Buddhas present in Buddhist scriptures.

How can Buddhatva or Enlightenment Attained?

Enlightenment may be achieved from the keen observation of anything that happens around us. When one sees a food chain and wonders why such thing ever existed, he moves to the path of enlightenment. When one sees dispute in his community and reasons for the solution for the solution of that dispute, he attains the way to speak to his soul. One's soul is not only confided to himself. It wants to wander, explore to the mystery of anything that happens around it. It then co-ordinates with the brain. If the brain ignores, the soul gets suppressed. If the brain and soul unite, they create a great level of concentration and reach to the depth of any matter. This results in creativity and creativity is a way of Happiness. To be enlightened is, therefore to find the way to happiness.

However, attaining enlightenment and becoming Buddha may be different things. While normal people try to attain Happiness, its for our own selfish interest. Buddha on the other hand, attains happiness, finds the cause of His Happiness, finds other righteous ways to Happiness and leads other people to their Happiness through his preachings. So, it is not a wonder why Buddha is called the "Great Human" or "Maha Manav".

Why is Buddha Significant in Modern Times?

In modern times, people have become extremely busy. They do not even have the time to think for themselves- let alone for others. There is rush everywhere. Everyone wants to get ahead of the other. No one is satisfied with what he has. 21st century has brought great changes in technology but people have started feeling more lonely. The need for monetary wealth and assets have increased so much that we are parting from our soul and converting ourselves into machines. The teachings of Buddha help in reverting the situation. They help to bridge the gap between our mind and soul. They help one to become compassionate human from emotionless machines.

Buddha taught Eight ways(fold-paths) to remain Happy. They are: 

(1) Right Vision                       (2) Right Meditation

(3) Right Thought                    (4) Right Speech

(5) Right Action                      (6) Right Livelihood

(7) Right Memory                   (8) Right Enlightenment

Buddha also preached to remain away from these four causes of Unhappiness: (1)Desire, (2)Rage, (3)Greed and (4)Lust.

When one Desires to become a multibillionaire like Bill Gates, he works hard for it. If he succeeds, he falls into Greed for more money. He wants to become richer and richer. If he does not succeed, then Rage captivates him. Such Greed and Rage ultimately lead to the Lust for Money or Life. Buddha's teachings help in minimizing the Desire such that pursuit of Happiness becomes easier. His preachings lead us to become good Human Beings.