We, the philosophers...

Philosophy as a term means the love for  knowledge . A philosopher on the other hand is one who is in quest for knowledge and the one who is seeking answers to the whys , hows and whats of life.

The very first image that strikes ,  when we talk of a philosopher is that of someone with a long beard , sitting somewhere aloof under a tree ,  completely uninterested in the happenings around him , occupied in the thoughts that might seem alien to others .  But contrary to this the fact is that each and everyone of us , irrespective of age and backgroung , are philosophers in some way .

The sense of wonder has been an inherent thing in each human being ever since he or she was born . Consider a small child of 2 to 3 years of age . The curiosity that a kid of that age shows in everything around him is unparalleled . But as he grows up , he is conditioned by the society to accept things as they are . The curiosity in him slowly subsides and he is no more fascinated by the beauty of life . But there are some who do not let the child in them die . The sense of wonder prevails as they grow and in fact becomes stronger than ever . These are the men who go on to become the great philosophers .

If it was not for the philosopher in Issac Newton  , we would not have come this far in the field of physics  and science . An apple falling from a tree was a thing people have been seeing for ages . They were conditioned to believe  that this is how things happen . An apple always falls to the ground and not go up in the sky  . Newton was the one who questioned this simple thing  , and the rest is history. In fact , every great scientist was a great philosopher before he turned the quest into a verifiable entity . The only difference between the two is that science tries to verify and philosophy is not something that can be verified .

When some misfortune srtikes us  , the philosopher in us awakens . The loss of a dear one make us question the meaning of life . We seek answer to the mystries of life . But then , as the life goes on , we leave these queries behind and once again flow with the time and become busy in the daily lives . Every one  , invariably , has in some part of his or her life has been a philosopher . We only fail to acknowledge it .

Humans are the only species , of 8.7 million life forms on the earth , who have the ability to reason . Let not this sense of wonder die . Let not the philosophers in us evanesce…

Not getting it easy !

Those who get things easy in life are considered as the lucky ones . But I also consider the ones who do not get things easily as lucky,  because the rough times teach us things we wouldn’t have known otherwise. Through all the crests and troughs I experienced , there are some things I learned which may seem not so obvious to others because all of us are unique and all of us learn same things in different ways. We may also differ in our opinions and ideas . Mine might seem totally disgusting to others and I think this is perfectly OK . 

Some things that I would want to share , not because they are some exclusive experiences or universal truths but because they helped me through the twists and turns !

One most important thing I have realised over the time is that the change is the only constant ! Quoting Charlie Chaplin here ~ “nothing is permanent in this world , not even our troubles”. Worst things happen on times unexpected ,yet if we hold on and realize that things will change for better because that’s the law of nature , we can face things straight on. Accepting change makes us coherent enough to face any tough situation in life .

I learned that there is a power above us that is unfathomable ( The atheists out there , I have nothing against you . This is totally my experience and yours can differ ). I cannot say much about it because this is something I can’t express but only feel . Call it God or the supreme power . My consciousness is too small to understand it ! 

I learned Karma ! Believe it or not , what we give is what we get . As they say – ‘ Life has a funny way of making you deal with what you make others go through ! ‘ This law of nature applies to all without exception and I have over the time become a strong believer of the same .

I learned that we are all complete on our own . We are all extremely strong as individuals . Some of us only fail to realize the immense power we have within. But somewhere we all know it , we only fail to acknowledge it . The circumstances teach us the same . As Swami Vivekananda said ~ “ If there is a sin , this is the only sin – to think that you are weak or others are weak” .

I learned no matter how bad things get , there is always someone out there for us . Help comes from unexpected sources . I read stuffs like these while in school and sometimes later too . But when I look back through the rough patches , I find this is absolutely the case ! If you hold on , aid will come . It’s only a matter of time!

I learned that the path appears when we are ready to walk and the journey never ends . Life goes on...