Dear readers,
I’ve finally started to shed my inertia and write properly again. Here is the next set of Dialogues we had.
J:
Just to clarify, was it the Old Testament which said the earth was flat? And what do you think of witchcraft? You think it’s possible?
I’m reading ‘Small is Beautiful’ by E.F.Schumacher which talks about wha’ts wrong in our economic outlook and ‘Myths to live by’ by Joseph Campbell. I’m just starting them and but they’re good enough already to recommend. But I guess I recommend too many- Atlas Shrugged, J. Krishnamurthi etc…
S:
No the Old Testament doesn’t say that the earth is flat (as far as I can remember anyway). I guess early church leaders held that view because they had no reason to believe otherwise.
I think witchcraft is possible, in fact before I was a Christian I was involved in stuff like séances. But I think that witchcraft comes from Satan (similar to stuff like apparent experiences of the ‘otherside’, demon possession, magic, etc.). The Bible is very opposed to it though, because it doesn’t originate from God, and those who use it try to take things in their own hands, rather than trusting in God for provision).
What do you think?
J:
Witchcraft as its own art like how its depicted in medieval I guess it could be possible. I don’t know much about it. What is seances? Sounds familiar but can’t pin it down. I’m interested in medicinal plants scientifically but not for magic lol:)
I think everything comes from god so I dont mind anything. But using any tool or power for hurting people is bad…evil…
S:
Seances are where you attempt to contact with the dead. Its scary, and I believe it to be very dangerous. I have requested a copy of ‘Atlas Shrugged’ from the campus in Bathurst, so hopefully that will arrive soon 🙂
How are your applications to colleges coming along?
J:
I’m still not sure what to study. I guess I’m scientific but I’m eqully comfortable in humanities like religion (Did you read the essay I sent you?) and debating philosophy, interpretting literature. It gets hard to choose- like apoptosis!!:)
Atlas Shrugged is a long book. 1000+ pages. I hope you are a determined and tolerant reader. Looking forward to discussions on that:) Read Ka too if you can get your hands on it and have enough time. It’s mainly of Indian myths but is filled with philosophy and powerful imagery. Campbell gives a fresh and interesting perspective on the things we’ve been discussing. I really enjoyed the first chapter.
There are terror attacks happenening in Bombay. It’s horrible. People of ages 20 -25 from Pakistan have held people in 5 star hotels hostage. Killed so many….its a huge mess….but as deadly as war ….it started last night and still hasn’t stopped…I can’t believe people our age are doing such horrible things. It moved me to tears this morning when I heard. I guess I rather naively thought that terrorists are old people with no sense, that our generation will bring a change….what hopes now….
People tend to get used to it you know. But for me everything hits me like a fresh new bullet. I wish I could toughen up, believe less in the good, be less optimistic and idiotically hopeful. D0 you know how to become like that?
By the way, some of my friends have tried contacting the dead. I found it hard to believe though the coin moving by itself etc..!! Sounds a bit far fetched.
S:
Yeah seances do seem far-fetched, but I can tell you, I had some pretty scary experiences with them. Wow, are you excited about moving out? Would you still be close to your parents?
Tell me a bit more about the colleges you’re thinking of applying to. They sound cool 🙂
Yes I sure did read your essay. It was very well-written and thoroughly insightful in terms of your cultural experiences and beliefs.
I’m afraid my husband wouldn’t be able to come on exchange with me, since he graduates from the police college in August, and will have to start work straight away – that’s probably the main reason why I still have to think it over, to make sure I’m making a wise decision.
I’ve never heard of Joseph Campbell, so I’ll look him up 🙂
I heard about the terror attacks in Bombay (why was the name changed to Mumbai by the way?). I was devastated to see the images on the news. Many Australians have been involved as well, including a couple and their family who were celebrating their wedding. 2 Australians are dead, and 2 are still missing.
Are you far from there?
I just saw on the news that the attacks have ended – that brings some relief, but its still a shock. Apparently the death toll is still rising 🙁
I have been praying for you – please be strong. You are not “idiotically hopeful” in the least. Its very important to have hope.
I wish we didn’t live so far apart. If I was with you now, I would give you a big hug 🙂
J:
The violence is over in Bombay (they changed the name because Bombay was the British name for it. They like Indianising names again. For example my city is now officially Bengaluru, or Bengalooru, a Kannada version of Bangalore. I think it makes no difference and people still use the old names anyway. I prefer Bangalore anyday!)…but the funerals of those who faught was on TV and it was so sad. A mother of one of them collapsed when it was going on. The worst part is that they were targetting other national pepple in India so its affected so many countries!! I hope those who are missing come back safely.
Bangalore is quite south of Bombay so no, we arent anywhere close to it geographically but people keep saying that B’lore is becoming too safe for terrorists. Many of them hide out here!!
To live idealistically(or to strive for it) means to live a difficult life. I can’t change , probably won’t if really given a choice but many times I feel like life is easier and simpler for people who feel less for other peoplw. So at times I feel down about it. But I’m glad I have friends like you and people usually from the generation above us telling me I’m not wrong or not to give anything up or that i’m not crazy to still think and live like this. Thanks for the virtual hug:)
Aren’t there any exchange programs in India? Have you heard of Auroville ? It’s not an educational place but one rich in philosophy! I would love to visit if only i could earn it for myself. As i told u before, part time jobs are hard to get for students and since I look like I’m headed in the research direction I doubt I’ll be earning anything big anytime soon.
You had once said that a lot of your relationahip was long distance so maybe it will work anyway. I do hope you make the right choice and that it works out whatever you do.
One of the colleges is a large campus with lots of trees away from cities it’s nearest to Dehli of the main cities of India. They have a program in integrated PHD. It’s reputation is good though its new and it also has a quota system for the ‘lower’ castes….(something I disagree with but it’s a big debate. We could go into it if you want)
S:
I’m afraid there aren’t any philosophy exchange programs in India (at least as part of my uni). But who knows I may end up there on my many travels in the northern hemisphere. I’ve never heard of Auroville, but it sounds pretty cool 🙂
It’s a shame that there aren’t many part-time jobs for students. I’ve certainly appreciated the opportunity to work (even if I complain about it a lot lol).
Its interesting what you said about the quota system for lower castes. I guess you wouldn’t exactly call it that here, but there are special programs and incentives for people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background to study in Australia.
J:
Auroville is a place in Tamil nadu (Pondichery) but it doesn’t belong to any country. People from all over the world come there to be global citezens and lead simple lives. KFI schools are like that too (Krishnamurthi schools) like where I studied, except academics go on too and the people are mainly from India. You should look it up sometime.
Working gives you a sense of independance. I don’t feel it yet and I really want to.
Employment is okay in India. Most people qualified get jobs but there are still a lot of poor people who can’t get education. They try training in hands on stuff like cobblering etc. not formally, just watch and learn and they make a living. But you’ll see lots of people begging too. It irritates me when someone who could try to do somthing for themselves just resort to begging. They even have associations for it and rent out babies to get more sympathy. My veiw on charity is that instead of giving someone something, enable them to get it for themselves.
Research as of now would be between emotions, psychopathology, perception and memory of music and maybe its effects in curing mental diseases.
I believe in ‘upliftment’ of ‘lower’ castes but that tends to mean ‘positive discrimination’ on ‘upper’ castes. The right way to help them is to strenghten primary eductoin so thet they have equal opportunity to compete for seats in colleges like everyone else, or, make reservation based on economic status rather than caste. Some of the ‘lower caste people’ are much richer than ‘upper caste’ people and a lot of them have this whole casual attitude towards academics. It’s not nice.
I want to remind you to tell me the resoning behind the immaculate conception. Turns out (Joseph Campbell) Christianity has stories that correspond closely to lots of myths all over the world!! Maybe it’s not so far fetched then . If so many cultures have experinced similarly or atleast symbolically, it means somethign to humans worldwide.
So what do you think of evolution and the beginning of the universe.
S:
Hey, that’s weird that you wanted to ask me the same question about evolution! I think the evidence for evolution is quite overwhelming. It bothers me that people presuppose that evolution/science disproves Christianity/theism. The two can co-exist without a contradiction. As for my views on the relationship between man and nature, God has given us responsibility to care for His entire creation. Sure, we are meant to rule over plants and animals, but I think most people take this duty for granted. I also think that anyone who sees the stars, relaxes on a beach, etc. is crazy to deny that there is indeed a Creator.I don’t believe in the Big Bang theory – at least, not in the sense that the earth “just happened” without a cause. Everything that has a beginning has a cause. I doubt anyone could think of something that didn’t. As you would probably agree, something as miraculous as the earth and life itself is nothing but a miracle.Lol, why do you think I’d make a good nun? I don’t know if I’d like that, esp. having to wear the robes in the Australian summer lol. Besides, I love being married. It is a wonderful gift from God. God created relationships (along with sex) for our enjoyment. But, in saying that, I think it is better to be single. To be able to devote more time to God , to not feel obligated to consider how my decisions will affect another person, would be wonderful. It certainly takes a great deal of independence from your life.You are very blessed to be single, to have no one to consider when making your choices in life, to have so much extra time, etc.It’s funny though, because I don’t think that single people are content being single, or that married people are content being married. Man, this is annoying that I have to write this email again. I should save drafts from now on lol.Anyway, moving on…Auroville sounds really cool from what I read on wikipedia. Do you know anyone that’s been there before? Is it far from where you live? Your research topics of interest are…well, interesting lol. Especially emotions. I might do a subject called Philosophy of Emotions next year actually. Michael told me the caste system is now illegal in India. It seems from what you say, though, that it’s still fairly prevalent in the society and culture of India. Sorry, I have to go to work now. I hope I’ve answered all your questions. Oh wait, Jesus’ virgin birth…I’ll have to get back to you on that one!
J:
I’ve been holding my breath hoping you wouldn’t say that u dont believe in evolution. But to contradict myself I would say creation may not be all that false. Hhow do we know that we exist at all or whether anything has meaning.? In Ka, there are around seven to ten differnt implicit theories about how the universe started. Though the point is not a variety for choice, I liked the one proposed by the Rsis (pronounce rishees)- a desire to exist causes existance and a whole matrix of ‘reality’ forms around that. It’s better to read the book but the main idea is – You know how you have dreams where you’re almost sure it’s really happening, transpose that idea onto this reality. How do we know for sure that what we are living is not a dream? We only find out when we ‘wake up’. It’s a zapping idea but when you feel it, it’s a bit overwhelming because you so want to exist that as a mind, you don’t want to let this ‘reality’ go.
God hasn’t given the right species the job to rule. Look what a mess humans are making of the world…like accelerating into self destruction! As Spiderman’s uncle says, “With great power comes great responsibility.”. I don’t see humans as responsible at all. ‘Look what we are doing to his creation’. I would say …’look what we are doing to our fellow living things and the substances on which we depend for survival!’
Nuns should be able to change their clothes according to the climate. Contexualise the purpose.
Uuntouchability was abolished. The caste system is too ingrained unfortunately to be done away with and its a very effective political tool. Politics in India is nasty and overtly corrupt.
More to follow….