How Can We Matter

Does this image of a grieving bird stir something deeper in you? Does it prompt you to wonder what lies beyond death? Do we simply vanish into nothingness—or is there something more? A Grieving Bird Philosophical Concepts From a Hindu philosophical perspective , such moments offer profound reflection on timeless truths: Ātman – the individual soul, a divine spark present in all living beings. Brahman – the universal soul, the infinite consciousness that is eternal, unchanging, and the source of all existence. Māyā – the illusion that conceals Brahman and causes us to identify with the temporary, changing aspects of existence. Punarjanma – the cycle of rebirth, which ensures that life continues beyond a single incarnation. Karma – the universal laws of cause and effect that govern the journey of every soul towards ultimate liberation ( moksha ). Samsāra – the cycle of birth, suffering, and death through which all beings pass. Moksha – the ultimate liberation from Samsāra , when the soul...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has many uses and potential misuses. This post presents some examples of how AI can be used, misused, and abused and its potential consequences. Seeing the World Through Our Lens It all started when my imagination was triggered by a cloud formation of an image in the azure sky that looked like a giant face peeking out from behind a building. Immediately I captured that image with my mobile phone camera on 31 May 2024 at 18:21hrs. It goes without saying that what we observe in the sky depends on the way the image is visualized, conceived, and interpreted by us. This in turn is shaped by our background and life experiences.  That is, our ability to see, hear, and become aware of the image, through the limits of human senses, creates different perceptions on different people. AI: A Creative Tool Inspired by what I visualized in the photo, I used an AI tool (Google Gemini) to generate ideas for a poem. Of course, the poem is not a verbatim reproduction of w...

Karanavar’s Reminiscences Karanavar is the senior-most uncle of joint families of yesteryear who followed the Marumakkathaayam tradition (matrilineal system) in the Nair Tharavads of Kerala . The present Karanavar of Ningileri Tharavad is Sri Ningileri Thayillath Vasudevan Nambiar . As he is completing his 90 th star birthday today  (ആയില്യം, 4 ഏപ്രില്‍ 2020 ശനി) (DOB: 1105 മീനം 26 ആയില്യം or 8 April 1930 Tuesday) let us offer him a Navathi Pranamam. This memoir is written by his nephew NT Unnikrishnan. Introduction I am jotting down some of these memoirs with the idea that they will be fascinating for the coming generations as they provide glimpses into the people, places, and social practices of the society of 70 years back during the end of the British rule in India. I have also added some historical facts to the narrative ( shown in Text Boxes ) to provide the right context and background.  Wg. Cdr. NTV Nambiar (Retd.)   Wg.Cdr. NTV Nambiar (Retd.) is the o...