That baffling human paradox

With great power lies great responsibility. Unlike nature that has very efficient methods of balancing power centers, man’s power centers are haphazard and self-regulated. Man is the only creature who can simultaneously live in two worlds: one on the inside and other on the outside.

And both can be diametrically opposite.

Besides, man can use borrowed powers: the powers developed by peaceful intelligent people can be used by destructive, unintelligent people. Creative growth solutions meant for peace and development can be used for destruction, genocide and terror. This combination of delusion and acquired potency brings forth counterfeit leaders and politicians and a hollow or forced governing system.

Every governing system no matter how beneficently conceived eventually tends to exploit the weaker segments of society. History shows us many examples of the worst implementations of benign ideologies. Communism conceived for equality and sanity has been applied by most insane dictators. Equal powers for all is used as all powers for one. Karl Marx and Lenin could never have imagined communism the way it was applied by Stalin.

Albert Einstein considered the theory of relativity that resulted in atom bomb, as his single greatest mistake in life. On the other hand, Harry Truman celebrated the night Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed.

Money that was invented as an excellent solution for relative worth has become the root of all evil among humans. A solution designed for active easy flow became an excellent method for passive, concealed hoardings.

Any creative idea comes as a coin: with both positive and negative sides. The owner is free to encash any of its sides. He is free to buy bread or poison from it. Ironically nature has no substitutes for wisdom. And it has no shortcuts to acquiring it either. Hard earned knowledge always carries wisdom within itself whereas book-acquired knowledge doesn’t. A life lived honestly and fearlessly produces knowledgeable and wise men: men with empathy, righteousness and intelligence.

Contrarily, pseudo knowledge earned in degrees, skills and techniques results in egotistical, destructive and rigid men. Men who do not know the worth or effect of power never hesitate to use it for wrong reasons.

It is a paradox that the more knowledgeable a person becomes the less he yearns for power. It seems as if in some warped way, power attracts the corruptible. A wise person will always hesitate to lead masses whereas an immature person will always rush towards it. So much so that he wouldn’t object to crushing others to succeed in his ambitions. Men love to reap where they never sowed.

Acquiring power helps a person ignore or hide his inferiorities or complexes.

But the fact remains that the big shots are only little shots that keep on shooting. Contemporary society which confuses power with greatness, has encouraged this mutation to flourish. Our social system has a tendency to respect the wrong attributes in subtle ways. The human power pyramid is working upside down. Rather than respecting individuals we respect possessions. This is one of the greatest tragedies of life as we know it to be.

Without a doubt….the right power in right hands blended with knowledge, wisdom, love and respect for life is humanity’s most urgent need at this time.

Ayn Rand-a documented contemporary monk

Uncontaminated reasoning is the essence of enlightenment. Apparently differing attributes in mankind are unremarkably indifferent and can be easily categorized with little understanding. Gautama the Buddha, Osho, Albert Einstein and Ayn Rand have wondrous agreement in their statements. These ambassadors of uncommon individualism, science, technology and agnosticism shared the same class. I call this class- a class of the monks: fearless, thoughtful, true and alone.


There are majorly two kinds of men: one who can reason and one who cannot. History has been categorizing men with reasoning as leaders, philosophers and gurus. With technological advancement the face has changed and creative energies are better streamlined into multiple defined faculties. But the class remains the same: of authenticity and intelligence. Ayn Rand is the twentieth century monk in the form of a writer.


Her works bear an unparallel resemblance with ideologies of Buddha, Osho and Zen monks. Self recognition, objectivism, individualism and a heroic self vision are in one form of the other pillars of Buddhism and Zen. Where Buddha relates it to human mind, Rand focuses more on manifestation of intelligence i.e creativity. But both restrict their approach to individual growth. Both lay extreme importance to clear reasoning. A thorough dedication to honest work and effort and, reclusion from collectivism again forms the base of any spiritual pursuit.


Rand’s emphasis on conscious efforts rather than emotional judgments is in complete accord with Buddha’s rational approach. Completely driven by logic and intentions both disregard psychological weakness of any sort.


Contemporaries and conservatives have always differed in discerning rationalization. Ayn Rand evolved as contemporary visionary of 20th century. She knew something that Russians didn’t. She saw this world coming, the convenient capitalist world we see today. This is also the world Buddha saw: a world of individualism and freedom. Similar vision indicates parallel grounds. Both must have shared their grounds somewhere.






Notable quotes 


“And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. This god, this one word: 'I.'”-Ayn Rand


“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” –Buddha


“Crowd has no soul”-Osho




“Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values.”-Ayn Rand


I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction.


Rationality is the recognition of the fact that nothing can alter the truth and nothing can take precedence over that act of perceiving it.


That which you call your soul or spirit is your consciousness, and that which you call 'free will' is your mind's freedom to think or not, the only will you have, your only freedom, the choice that controls all the choices you make and determines your life and your character.


The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles.

“From the smallest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and everything we have comes from one attribute of man -- the function of his reasoning mind.”

“The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it.”

“The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live.”

“To say 'I love you' one must first be able to say the 'I.'”

“Why do they always teach us that it's easy and evil to do what we want and that we need discipline to restrain ourselves? It's the hardest thing in the world--to do what we want. And it takes the greatest kind of courage. I mean, what we really want.”

“Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death.”

Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be waiting for us in our graves – or whether it should be ours here and now and on this earth.

Reason is not automatic. Those who deny it cannot be conquered by it. Do not count on them. Leave them alone.

There are two sides to every issue: one side is right and the other is wrong, but the middle is always evil.

The most depraved type of human being is the man without a purpose.

Existence is Identity, Consciousness is Identification

Love is our response to our highest values.

Through centuries of scourges and disasters, brought about by your code of morality, you have cried that your code had been broken, that the scourges were punishment for breaking it, that men were too weak and too selfish to spill all the blood it required. You damned men, you damned existence, you damned this earth, but never dared to question your code. Your victims took the blame and struggled on, with your curses as reward for their martyrdom - while you went on crying that your code was noble, but human nature was not good enough to practice it. And no one rose to ask the question: Good? - by what standard?

Rationality is the recognition of the fact that existence exists, that nothing can alter the truth and nothing can take precedence over that act of perceiving it, which is thinking...

All work is an act of philosophy.

Man cannot survive except by gaining knowledge, and reason is his only means to gain it. Reason is the faculty that perceives, identifies and integrates the material provided by his senses. The task of his senses is to give him the evidence of existence, but the task of identifying it belongs to his reason, his senses tell him only that something is, but what it is must be learned by his mind.

My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

Only by accepting total compulsion can we achieve total freedom

Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Their goals differed, but they all had this in common: that the step was first, the road new, the vision unborrowed, and the response they received--hatred. The great creators--the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors--stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The first airplane was considered impossible. The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won.

Every Loneliness is a pinnacle.

In the temple of his spirit, each man is alone.

Do you believe in God, Andrei? No. Neither do I. But that's a favorite question of mine. An upside-down question, you know. What do you mean? Well, if I asked people whether they believed in life, they'd never understand what I meant. It's a bad question. It can mean so much that it really means nothing. So I ask them if they believe in God. And if they say they do—then, I know they don't believe in life. Why? Because, you see, God—whatever anyone chooses to call God—is one's highest conception of the highest possible. And whoever places his highest conception above his own possibility thinks very little of himself and his life. It's a rare gift, you know, to feel reverence for your own life and to want the best, the greatest, the highest possible, here, now, for your very own.

Quotes from Buddha

All that we are is the result of what we have thought. If a man speaks or acts with an evil thought, pain follows him. If a man speaks or acts with a pure thought, happiness follows him, like a shadow that never leaves him.

An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

He is able who thinks he is able.

No one saves us but ourselves, no one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path but Buddhas clearly show the way.

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.”-Buddha

“Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.”- Buddha

“You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.”

Utopia forever

On a warm, bright winter morning Ms. Butterfly decided to stroll around and relive the day. The world was beautiful with angels around. She took her way to the neighborhood market, stopping at a grocery store.


“Goodmorning Mr. Snake. “ Ms. Butterfly said to the grocer.

She eyed around and found the right corner of juices and picked luscious pink pack.

“How much is the juice worth?” The rose juice wetted her mouth.

“Its 100 Rs" said the grocer.

“But the retail price is 60 Rs?”Ms. Butterfly drew her thoughts back to grocer looking at the pack.

Mr. snake hissed his forked tongue. "Its 100 for living and 60 for the dead. “

“Now do you want it for 60? “Ms Butterfly quickly picked out a hundred rupee note and rushed out of the shop.

She saw the theatre with a blockbuster “pa”. The waiting line was long but somehow she managed until her turn. Ms Cat who was 5th in the adjacent lane pushed ms butterfly and stood ahead. Losing her charm to watch the movie, Ms Butterfly walked back home.

She took the lonelier ring road to match her thoughts. Fresh winter morning breeze soothed her with lily scent of the farm. She took a halt and basked on the lily bed with winter dew.

“Off you go” said Mr. Grasshopper kicking Ms Butterfly from the top.

” This is my place. Who the one you to collect?”

Ms. Butterly passed through ranches, meadows and willows. There was heaven around with perfumes lilies and drifting daisies. But not for her.

Little boy house sparrow chased her even in the woods. Ms. Butterfly could we ride back home. I lost my way following you.

“Leave me alone. I am not going back to Greenville ever again” Irked Ms butterfly

So they crossed rivers, lakes, gardens and alleys, searching for a place that was meant for them.

“Where to? Ask the stranger Mr. Rabbit.

“We are going to utopia.” Replied Ms Butterfly

“Wait. I will join. This forest is not for me.”Mr. Rabbit followed

“ Is there a utopia? Oh… We have had been dreaming of it forever. We are coming with you.” The duck neighborhood was moved.

Deer, pigeons, frogs and bugs all followed the historical inquest of utopia forever. They crossed the Himalayas, Indian Ocean, rain forests and the North Pole.

Sun shone, rain wetted and snow chilled but, they were determined.
“Where to now?” asked Mr. Rabbit looking at the moon from the end of North pole.

Grand old Mr. Gear Bear howled and whooped on their story and pointed out to hiding Mr. snake, Ms cat and Mr grasshopper who had been following them on the great story.

“Those were the days when God lived with me. God frazzled through the days and the nights and kept me awake with him. You know creating a world is not an easy task. Now I am old and worn out but there was a time I carried it on my shoulders.”

He sighed

“For a brief it was all happy but, slowly people came fighting on the ownership of the world. They claimed that because they lived here, the world belonged to them and not to others. They also said that their share was inadequate.”

“God was out of answer and so he abandoned this place giving it all to them. Even now people come seeking their claim.”

I tell them that this world is not to own but, to be. It is a utopia if it is for all and a hell if for one. Ownership distorts vision turning beauty into ugliness.

Was Jesus- a God?

“May those who have Eyes, See; and those who have Ears, Hear” Jesus Forgot to include “may those who can reason, have the courage to accept their wrongs”. Being seen and heard became the foundation of Jesus of Nazerath’s execution. It is calamitous that malign criminals stroll free or at the most spend their life locked in the jail rooms but, compassionate authentic wise men are almost always killed brutally. From Jesus to Buddha to Mahatma Gandhi almost all good harmless influential people were executed.

Man is born with an inherent capability to distinguish between good and bad. No law can match the reasoning of an evolved being. Each of us has a clear understanding of where we stand, what we do and what should be done. But we all differ in our capacity to accept it, so we keep ignoring it to much or less extent. These few great men were the ones who had the total capacity and courage to accept and change themselves for the better.

Jesus , Buddha , Mahavir were authentic men, real men: as man should be. They were a yardstick for human existence; a challenge to mankind; an Everest to cliffs. But, they reminded fellow men of their pettiness. There is a very ancient saying that if you want to make one stick look small erect a bigger stick adjacent to it. So they stood like a pole to the moon.

Executing them was an effort to reestablish lost superiority in some way. But when one brutally murders someone utterly innocent, guilt remains. Calling Jesus, Buddha and Mahavir God is a subtle way to hide guilt: the guilt of all wrongs we did to them: Of killing absolutely sane people for insane reasons.

And naming them God is also a way to guard our betterment. It is an excuse for us in being as we are. We want to remain at the lowest because lowest needs no effort: It is an easy path. All good men turn to Gods and Mahatma’s and all bad remain to be human. Adolf Hitler was a human, so was Joseph Stalin and Mao-Tse Tung and so on.