LOVe LoST

It was a boring day; the day of St. Valentine. Somehow i felt empty inside, a pain. Throughout this month it was like this. Actually no one can love others, it seems. The idea of unconditional love is just another social construct, developed by poets and philosophers.
Why do i criticise the world for my failure. It was totally my own headache not anybody else’s. I couldn’t follow the way of the world. I couldn’t love anyone.
It is almost weeks that I’m thinking anything else but her. My world starts and ends with her. But now everything seems colourless. Dark.
The days and minutes are too long. I went to different social gatherings just to find out how lonely i am in this world.
At times I feel like a free bird without bothering to think about anything. But later it was loaded with some heavy sack or anything like that.
“i am like a balloon, without any weight. I can wander here and there without any obstacles,” I said.
“yea, but if the balloon touches a pin there ends everything”, said my sister, my friend.
It’s true. But it’s life. There is guarantee about our existence, nor anything in this world. I thought.

Hind Swaraj Or Indian Home Rule by Mahatma Gandhi




The philosophic dimensions he has given to the everyday life and the simple way he adopts really makes it a simple experience; but the profound truth he expressed will remain in our psyche for a long time..



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വ്യക്തികളല്ല ,ആശയങ്ങളും
നിലപാടുകളുമാണ് എന്നെ
ക്ഷോഭിപ്പിക്കാരുള്ളത്.
എന്നെ സംബന്ധിച്ചിടത്തോളം
എന്‍റെ ചിന്തയുടെയും
അഭിരുചിയുടെയും
സ്വാതന്ത്രിയം പ്രകടിപ്പിക്കാനുള്ള
ഉപായം കൂടിയാണ്
സാഹിത്യവിമര്സനം.
എന്‍റെ ചിന്തകളും വികാരങ്ങളും
ഒളിച്ചു വയ്കുവാന്‍
അറിഞ്ഞു കൂടാത്തത് കൊണ്ടാണ്
ഞാന്‍ എഴുതുന്നത്.
K.P.Appan
1. New critic should be like Socrates, the first rebel, always misunderstood by the society.
2. He should have a disinherited mind
3. Follow the footsteps of Cicero by saying liberty or death.
4. He should be a cynic like Diogenes.
There is only one person who fulfils all these standards, C.J Thomas, according to Appan. Appan discussed about the new tradition of criticism in his book Kshobhathinte Ithihasm. Somehow in his idea of a good critic the models he seek are all Westerners. Maybe pure coincidence!!!

On Idol Worship

The responses of a group of people in matters of food, clothing, marriage, death ,birth and their whole inclusive attitude is what we called the religion of that particular group. Based on the size, historical time period they survived as a group, whether they are organized or not, all these will contribute in the development of their religious system. The geographical and historical elements will be crucial in understanding and defining any particular religious system.
Almost all the religions in the present century are highly organized and it is difficult to analyze the various features which constitute the belief system. There is no single criterion to analyze the nature of any particular belief system.
The question I would like to analyze now is, whether idol worship is acceptable or not. There are so many agreements and disagreement among scholars about the practice of idolatry. From the beginning itself, reformers in India raised severe objections regarding idol worship. The Christian world viewed it as a pagan practice, were people worship stones and trees and such inanimate things. Since then talking in favor of idol worship is considered something bad and shows lack of knowledge. It is lack of knowledge since the authentic texts of worship, including Vedas talked against idol worship.
So what should be the criteria of analyzing a religion? Whether we can solely believe the words of the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Holy Bible and the Holy Koran is a crucial question. Or is it possible to analyze any religion based on these texts, since none of us follow the written precepts.
Some thinkers expressed the view that, when the words of the authentic text and the mode of worship of the people differ each other the words on the page should be the most authenticated. Then the question is what a text is?
The text, whether written by an individual or divinely inspired, is nothing but some symbols or signs in a large system of signification. It is just one sign among the other signs, including the various performances of that particular group. To understand any religion we should study each sign without any prejudices.
As far as Hindu religion is concerned the practice of idol worship is just a sign with multiple significations. Each and every sign/idol shows different thanthric sambradayas and a correct understanding of it require a lot of study, including a closer study of the Vedas based on these symbols. These signs are nothing but a short way to the inner truths of Vedas. By negating the importance of Idols we can never fully understand Hindu religion. This has nothing to do with paganism since it includes lots of scientific truths within them.

Martyre as a Romantic Concept

Martyrs
"A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it."
— Oscar Wilde
"I have been astonished that men could die martyrs
for their religion--
I have shuddered at it,
I shudder no more.
I could be martyred for my religion.
Love is my religion
and I could die for that.
I could die for you."
— John Keats
"The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins."
— Søren Kierkegaard
അവനവനു വേണ്ടിയല്ലാതെ അപരന്നു ചുടു
രക്തമൂടി കുലം വിട്ടു പോയവന്‍ രക്തസാക്ഷി
മരണത്തിലൂടെ ജനിച്ചവന്‍
സ്മരണയില്‍ ഒരു രക്തതാരകം രക്തസാക്ഷി .
മുരുകന്‍ കാട്ടാക്കട

One of the most romanticised concepts in this period is the concept called martyrdom. Martyr is one who sacrifices everything for the well being of the community or group in which he belongs. He sacrifices what is called the selfish, personal interest for the larger interest of the group. For him the silly issues like family and such affairs are nothing. The world we live now emerged because of the sufferings and sacrifices of such great revolutionaries and martyrs. For every nation there will be at least one or two martyrs with great stories surrounding that personality, most of which looks like Byronic tales. The idea of sacrifice without any selfishness is something very hard to digest. Is it possible for a man to live without any personal interest? Is selflessness possible?
The irony is that those who celebrate the martyrdom of great personalities never allowed an objective study of their contributions. Each year they celebrate the sacrifice and each of such programmes will leads to new sacrifices.
The sacrifices are never been sacrifices, if we closely analyse each and every case in detail. They will be either the victims of a plot by their own friends and followers, or they simply could not escape the situation. Once they rose to prominence they can’t go back to their simple life because it will be considered as cowardice. They will not have any other option but move forward. In certain cases they may be unaware of their opponents’ strength.
These all are mere possibilities; my point is that there are so many myths related to martyrdom which are highly romanticised.