Saturday 25 April 2015

Thoughts for the same Concern, Echo Together!

Am surprisingly glad, am not the only fish in the ocean of world to think the way I do, as I mentioned in my previous Blogs about the exponentially progressing science and technology - whether a boon or a curse? This question has always lingered since the beginning of the History of Mankind. Many Civilizations dawned up on the surface of earth, progressed enormously in their understandings of matter but somewhere on the way to achieving Godliness, without the sanity and control over their mind, brought upon Doom to themselves. Few of the ones like Mayan Civilization, the much spoken and much controversial Atlantis, The Ancient Egyptians (I read that only their Chief Priests knew how to regenerate human tissues with the help of some crystal and much more but this knowledge was classified information  and only supposed to be passed from one Chief Priest to other in hierarchy) and many more may be. 

Reproducing what I assimilated from Shri S.N.Goenka Gurujis lecture in Vipassana <REAL FACT>

A famous scientist discovers the truth about Atoms in Nuclear physics (with a very focussed mind but lacking peace and equanimity) and was awarded nobel prize. This discovery lead to creation of Atom Bomb and we all know the history of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When a Vipassana meditator who was from same place, visited him after knowing about him from one of Vipassana courses(this happened while they all were alive), he found what a mental wreck the scientist had become.. filled with so much anger, frustration and an obsessive madness. His discovery not only made him INSANE but also spread hatred and destruction in the real world.

On the other hand Lord Gautam Buddha had realised the same truth about atoms and mentioned it 2500 years ago through perseverance of insight meditation (Vipassana) with the help of only instrument - his human body (with a razor sharp focussed mind AND Equanimity) ! The results of HIS discovery not only made HIM liberated but also spread love, peace, tolerance, kindness and benevolence wherever HIS teachings spread during HIS time. 

EXCERPTS FROM THE DISCOURSES OF SHRI S N GOENKA AND SAYAGYI U BA KHIN ON VIPASSANA:

"Modern science has given us, for what it is worth, the atomic bomb, the most wonderful and yet at the same time the most dreadful product of man's intelligence. Is man using his intelligence in the right direction?

Why not use intelligence to look within? Know ourselves? This will give us the "peace within" and enable us to share it with all others. We will then radiate such powerful and purified mental forces as will successfully counteract the evil forces which are all around us. Just as the light of a single candle has the power to dispel darkness in a room, so also the light developed in one man can help dispel the darkness in several others

To imagine that good can be done by the means of evil is an illusion, a nightmare. For all the loss of lives, bloodshed and war, are we nearer to, or further away, from peace? These are the lessons which we have learnt. Change of mankind's mental attitude alone is the solution. What is necessary at the moment is mastery over the mind and not only mastery over matter."

whole article on - http://www.buddhanet.net/bvk_study/bvk21d.htm

Happenstancely I watched this movie yesterday- Avengers- Age of  Ultron (the sci-fi movie buff that I am ;) ) which again showed how human calculation and creation error can cost himself with  evolution of artificial intelligence. Movies have to show a winning end, always, as its a business of fantasy world supposed to entertain us and the audience only want to watch us(humans) win... whereas in reality the tables can turn with complete wipe off of the human species... Just like Ancient Red Indians were wiped out for reasons of technological prowess of their killers. Or in that case even the misuse of advanced Bio-Weapons in modern world as nicely shown in this movie "Doomsday"; the mention of which gives me goosebumps even now!

All this and todays Times of India Article "Soon, phones smarter than us" on page 17 by a Director of Research at Duke University (attached below) echoes the same concern about how far we should go in advancing technology and how to safeguard Peace?

Give it a thought!





Sunday 19 April 2015

Back to Square One- Increased Life expectancy could be tamed by our own Creation!

Todays Prime Focus is Sunday Times of India, Mumbai, April 19 2015,Page 19- (P.S. -Screenshot attached at the end of this Post) - The section reserved for talks of inventions, discoveries, scientific studies from all around the world. I always look forward to this section as much as I love reading the Spirituality corner “The Speaking Tree” coz whereas one helps to predict the progress of outer world, the other helps to sort out and progress inner world (mind and matter).

Anyways, todays page is filled with interesting articles… A News bite from Hong Kong showing picture of a Humanoid Robot making expressions on human commands during the Global Sources spring electronics show and this is sandwiched between two other articles – A) “Plus Asana : Rise of Fat Yoga in US” and the B) “ In a few years, 80 will be the new 40” an Interview from Terry Grossman aka the new Age Guru of Longevity! What an Irony!!!!


So....whats the IRONY in that? When I read this page my brain immediately analysed that whereas the Yoga article and The interview for longevity promises increased Life expectancy of human beings in very near future, that too a healthy one, (like I have mentioned in one of my previous blogs… ) we have already started creating the Great Grand Destroyers of those efforts… We can even look at it this way… Maybe , In a way Nature is trying to balance out the over smartness of We Humans to maintain the Ecosystem. Meaning: Even if we succeed in unravelling the mysteries of disease and ageing or are able to overpower natural death, we are somewhere also getting back to square one of self destruction by creating Humanoid Robots; in our yearn, for that Creation SuperGenius!


If you remember this movie “Universal Soldiers”- humans reach a point in research where a Supercomputer could start thinking and functioning on its own aswell as humans were transformed to UNISOL Robots with implantation of programmed microchips in their brains.. which was hacked by the Thinking Super Computer for using them to propagate his species, consequentially spelled disaster for their own creators.

Another such Movie was “X-Men – Days of Future Past” where humans created unbeatable and indestructible fully flexible Robot of interchangeable Fibre technology called Sentinels- to destroy the X-Men Mutants but without realizing the danger to their own species.


There are many more such movies (such as “Chappie” wherein how a machine could be converted to emotional Robot) which as of now entertains us and plays with our imaginations or fantasies in the sci-fi world… but seeing todays’ Newspaper page 19 I have started to realize that the days may not be very far that we might be at the receiving end for our own shortsightedness! If a Humanoid Robot can learn to emote, he might very well learn to think, to feel, to compete, to survive and so on….being naturally the strongest of us all, if HE decides to flourish his own species and wipe off/enslave all other intelligent ones, the Saga - Survival of the fittest will find its way!


We have already created enormous tension by making a Monster called Nuclear Bomb and now created more tension for ourselves to safeguard that Monster from falling into wrong hands… Its said that we must learn from History and avoid repeating same mistakes; but it seems we are disregarding the same in our sole quest to compete with each other ( read countries) paving way for self-created auto-destruction mode!

May Sanity and Good Sense prevail in super intelligent human minds!