Naivete is when you are ignorant about pretty much everything and people molly-coddle you. Slowly you start learning and realizing very many things. And you find it difficult to believe that people wont acknowledge that you are old enough to know these things and take sensible decisions on your own. There comes rebellion, to show that you are an adult. Maturity is when you realize that for you to be recognized as an adult, you need to be yourself instead of being a rebel.
Naivete is when you do not realize that these concepts are not necessarily independent of one another.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
To be, or not to be, spiritual
For decades, we have been hearing of religion and spirituality. For many of those years, many of us probably believed it and some others among us did not. Those who take refuge in spirituality get what they wish for. A calm, a link to the "Almighty". Everyone likes to feel one is special - the chosen one, the one who had a special connection with the higher being. It is quite likely that you will be taken in by such emotions if you are fed them on a 24x7 basis.
As a school-going kid, I remember that my parents never forced me to go to temples to offer prayers. Yet there was a strong belief in the Almighty creator. More recently though, I have seen more of the world and begin to question the creator's existence. If He creates only to destroy, why would He create at all? Why would He manipulate the way a common human being does? In fact, if He is so all-powerful and all-knowing, why would He bother with such petty games? One of the following has to be true (i) He is not all that magnanimous, so he is just another human-like entity (ii) He is the Almighty, but our understanding of Him is flawed (iii) He is an artefact of our peace-starved imagination.
Our mind is such a complex machine, and certainly due credit to the Creator, whoever that it is. However, when it comes to handing out credit, I would like to be sure I am crediting the right entity and not the wrong one. And if it is not in my power to know who my Creator is, then perhaps that's the way it is meant to be and I should not be trying to get to know Him at all? So, in conclusion, it should not even matter whether I believe in Him or not, because the purpose of our life is clearly only to live.
As a school-going kid, I remember that my parents never forced me to go to temples to offer prayers. Yet there was a strong belief in the Almighty creator. More recently though, I have seen more of the world and begin to question the creator's existence. If He creates only to destroy, why would He create at all? Why would He manipulate the way a common human being does? In fact, if He is so all-powerful and all-knowing, why would He bother with such petty games? One of the following has to be true (i) He is not all that magnanimous, so he is just another human-like entity (ii) He is the Almighty, but our understanding of Him is flawed (iii) He is an artefact of our peace-starved imagination.
Our mind is such a complex machine, and certainly due credit to the Creator, whoever that it is. However, when it comes to handing out credit, I would like to be sure I am crediting the right entity and not the wrong one. And if it is not in my power to know who my Creator is, then perhaps that's the way it is meant to be and I should not be trying to get to know Him at all? So, in conclusion, it should not even matter whether I believe in Him or not, because the purpose of our life is clearly only to live.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Sexist jokes not funny
Sexism defined as "Stereotyping of individuals or groups because of their gender". Perpetuation of myths like, "women gossip (more)", "women are high maintenance", "women difficult to manage" and "women difficult to understand", happens purely on the strength of sexist jokes and remarks.
Sexism is as bad as racism. However, if you were to make a racist remark, you could get skinned alive but if you were to make a sexist comment, all you would get are a few nervous laughs?! Half of the men may laugh whole heartedly because they agree and the other half because they know not how to voice their discontent? And most of the women will laugh nervously to hide what they truly feel, or perhaps to blend-in with this male-dominated crowd that is allowing such hideous jokes to flourish in the first place! If any of them bothers to say something against it, they will be calmed down with, "Relax, it is just a joke. No need to get all your feathers in a flutter". Well, enough with women being the butt of all jokes, then. Let's have some other jokes now.
Sexist jokes are not funny, at least to women (and many men) they are not!
Sexism is as bad as racism. However, if you were to make a racist remark, you could get skinned alive but if you were to make a sexist comment, all you would get are a few nervous laughs?! Half of the men may laugh whole heartedly because they agree and the other half because they know not how to voice their discontent? And most of the women will laugh nervously to hide what they truly feel, or perhaps to blend-in with this male-dominated crowd that is allowing such hideous jokes to flourish in the first place! If any of them bothers to say something against it, they will be calmed down with, "Relax, it is just a joke. No need to get all your feathers in a flutter". Well, enough with women being the butt of all jokes, then. Let's have some other jokes now.
Sexist jokes are not funny, at least to women (and many men) they are not!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Celebrating women's day
Surely, do celebrate women's day. Make a mark for women in this world, demand for equality, talk about what is not equal, take steps to bring in equality. But please refrain from trivializing it by telling us how great we are, and how much work we do in essaying various roles (daughter, sister, mother, wife) with such great strength. Enough with the accolades and putting us on pedestals. Let us just be human, not goddesses. No more of "idealizing into powerlessness".
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