Saturday, September 26, 2009

Trying to define Culture

Ug Krishnamurti talks about how the Culture has to go exit from our lives.According to him all knowledge is interpreted on our own level.If we have crossed the seas of ignorance every action will contain wisdom in it.If we are still at the nascent stage of illusory dominance then we look at everything from that perspective.I understood culture as something which we vaguely define by ancient monuments,old tunes of classical music and conservative fashion( which is a death to self expression).But as my knowledge in anthropology and history increases I begin to understand the present better.History is the guiding light to the present moment.But culture is also not a narrow set of rituals which when not followed will lead us directly to hell.So this whole charade of trying to protect our ancient heritage by the way we dress or talk is absurd.Every human being is unique and has a desire to express their uniqueness.Some people go the other way and shock the conservatives by expressing themselves in a weird/obscene way.
But this expression is a search for respect and value.Any ritual which aims to provide spiritual peace ultimately should not be contaminated by our own doses of ignorance or fear.

Then why are these rituals which bound us and not allow us to grow as human beings still around.History can provide us with an answer.In ancient India Buddhism gained a upper hand and was the major religion for many centuries(I don't know the exact timeline)This change from Hinduism to Buddhism happened because our main stream Hindu culture had become contaminated by weird rituals and human sacrifice.The remnants of these can be still found.Sati,child marriage,ill treatment of widows,sacrifice of animals(horse sacrifice etc) were so common.They were practiced till the late 1950's.Then Sankaracharya arrived on the scene and tried to remove the evil rituals and succeeded to an extent.Hinduism began its attempt to rise to glory.But Sankaracharya actions were made as rituals themselves,which is a ironical twist to his existence.If he was alive now,he would be disappointed by how people have formed his philosophy into a cult.Vivekananda failed to built a ashram which had no idols.Every time when an ashram was built the monks found a way to keep idols and pray.His dream of having a empty room to pray was never achieved.His idols are being used as gods themselves.Buddha had to face the same fate.His teachings of questioning everything and reaching nirvana went no where.After his death he was made into a "Super God."
May be our brains are wired to imitate and find easier routes to higher consciousness.Our minds are constantly telling us that,by exactly doing what others do we can reach the goal.The quote of J Krishnamurti can help us here.He says "Truth is a pathless land ."

The new definition of culture, I feel as spiritual aspirant I should learn is that there is nothing like a fixed way to the goal.May be some traditions and rituals may grant us some peace and serenity.But without our sharp logic and reasoning blade we cannot proceed.Many of them are contaminated by the use of male dominance.Some of them urge us to use our wealth to reach divinity.
Every being is capable of attaining the highest limits.Culture which makes me weak,which somehow gives me a ego boost,which helps me bully others...will be discarded.Ug Krishnamurti meant that this kind of culture which expresses itself in various negative ways should be discarded.He also showed a higher level where we can throw away the whole plate of religion,spirituality and also other theories.I have not reached that level.I don't know whether I would be able to hold myself on my own.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Some people go the other way and shock the conservatives by expressing themselves in a weird/obscene way.

## Comment: Like my song that went on to upset many but honestly I never intended to gain respects and praises. But people do shock soft conservatives. u r right.
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Every being is capable of attaining the highest limits.

##Comment: High implies Value
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I have not reached that level.

##Comment: Level implies Value.
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But without our sharp logic and reasoning blade we cannot proceed.

##Comment: Studies in logic can certainly help overcome lot of confusions that arise out of usage of language within a cultural structure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0cN_bpLrxk (here is a cinematic version)

Later, Wittgenstein talks of a private language usage to sort out language games. He was obscure then.
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Wittgenstein's ladder:
http://www.kfs.org/~jonathan/witt/t654en.html

Logic gives clarity. Once clarity attained, it must be thrown off.
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You should question your blogging's too. May be you are using too much energy to convey your quest to others. Just a perspective.
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The ancient wisdom of Indian sages are to be certainly considered. However, that which needs to be considered for practice is the biggest challenge. Unless one realizes that challenge, there is no use to going through all that. The practice of day to day routine effectively may be a simple experiment. It seems to me now that ugkrishnamurthy is very interesting person.