Being Superhero!

There was a time when if someone had asked me who is my role model? Then my instant reply used to be Spiderman! I was mad behind him, I am. Even to this date, I think of becoming Spiderman one day, so that I can kiss my dream girl upside down :P.

Why we love Superheroes? Are they not just fictional characters? Are they not only for entertainment of children? No! They are more than that.

There is much to learn from the lives of Superheroes. They are no less than philosophical guides. Their character, actions, speech, style all show way to us. Be it Superman or Batman, Ghost Rider or Iron Man, or our own Shakti man, all are unique.

One thing that is common between them is, despite having many challenges and problems, they emphatically defeat the evil. They have more critics than supporters. They all have their personal life problems. Still they fight for justice.

They show us that how ‘one’ man can make a difference. We think that how I can make a difference in this big world. But if you start fighting for justice, not just as human being but as a symbol, as shown by our superheroes, you shall be successful.

One quality about them which I like the most is their ‘sense of responsibility’. They have super powers, using which they can live happily. They can use these powers for personal gains and live peacefully. But they choose not do so. They want all to live happily. As said by Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben, “With great power comes great responsibility”, they feel that it is their duty to save society from evil, to uphold justice.

God has given all of us one or the other super power. As superheroes have shown us, we must use these powers for well being of others, to fight for justice. We must have that ‘sense of responsibility’. We should not keep quiet, by seeing evil things happenings in society. We must contribute our share.  As Harvey Dent had said in The Dark Knight, “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.” Keeping mum is as good as becoming a villain. Just sharing a Facebook post or tweeting against the government is not enough. We must come out, should work as a responsible citizen.

Superheroes don’t want fame or publicity. They work with a secret identity. They work as a symbol. They sacrifice their life. This becomes important as there is a race among the people to become famous.

Now it is time to start working silently like a Superhero, transforming from human being to being Superhero.  

The Ethical Intolerance

“The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants.” – Omar Bradley

These are the words by a US Army General during World War times.

 Our world is growing and growing GDP wise or money wise. There is an arms race between the countries. Enmity and hatred among people is growing. Everywhere there are blasts and shoot outs. Violence, terrorism, destruction have become everyday life events. No one knows why this is happening and no one is able to stop these.

Recently there was a debate among our ‘intellectuals’ about growing ‘intolerance’ in our country. One group says there is a concentrated effort by some people to alienate religious minorities. They allege this process is supported by the government. The other group defends by saying there is no such ‘intolerance’ in the country but a manufactured one. They give examples from past to show the tolerant nature of our country.

 I don’t know if any such ‘religious’ intolerance exist in our society. But definitely there is a kind ‘intolerance’, which is irreligious. This intolerance is not based on any religion, caste or race. But among the people there is a kind of intolerance or impatience, which I call ‘Ethical Intolerance’.

When we see the behavior of people standing in queues for movie tickets or for darshana in temples or any other place, we can understand about this ‘Ethical Intolerance’ easily. We or the so called ‘general public’, in such queues, simply pull off each other to make way for ourselves. In the run we start fighting among ourselves for very silly reasons. On traffic signals and roads, we hurry as if we have some urgent tasks, during which we cause inconvenience to other people. It is applicable to other situations and places as well. Not to mention about public officials, bank employees, politicians behaving rudely with people.

We don’t like someone faster, smarter or better than us. We don’t like others crossing us. Let alone others, I have seen people comparing themselves with celebrities and great people. In social media, whenever there is a post about some famous personality, immediately two groups are formed, one in support and another to oppose. I have seen people abusing Ronaldo, Messi, Dhoni, Bacchan and other such stars. People abuse, make fun of, comment hate speeches about these stars comparing themselves with these legends. They don’t realize what it takes to be on such level. What I don’t understand is, why there is so much hate towards such people. If someone is not a fan of a particular person then it doesn’t mean that he /she should hate that person.

Not only these, but there are innumerable examples/situations from our daily lives which prove that we are becoming more and more impatient and intolerant.

And I am yet to know the reason behind such ‘intolerance’. Why are we not able to respect other’s views? Why we are becoming so selfish? And why is it all happening now? The questions which we need to ask ourselves.

Science and Religion

           Few days back there was some controversy or debate on whether Science, Mythology and Religion are interdependent? If our ancestors were way beyond us in Science and Technology? Through this article, I try to present difference and similarities between the two. For that first we need to understand what is Science and what is Religion. Science is the one which improves our day today life through some inventions, which helps us to understand our surroundings, which says what is right or wrong. Now apply this definition to Religion. Is it not the same? Even Religion improves our life, it helps us to understand our society, it says which is right or wrong. Then what is the difference between these two?
          Science needs a proof for everything and Religion does not. What makes Science different from Religion is this proof. You can propose a new theory both in Science and Religion, but you cannot make it valid in Science without a proof. Tomorrow if you say by doing this you will get something, it cannot  be treated as Scientific unless it has substantial proof with it. But for it to be included in Religion you need trust.
          The interesting fact about the ongoing debate on whether our ancestors were way beyond us, is true or it is simply a myth? In our ancient scripts we find many theorems of Mathematics, theories related to Science, methods used in medicines and many more things. But only few are accepted as Science. Like many of our earlier scientists were knowing that earth revolves around the sun. But until it was presented with a proof it was not accepted. Sushruta's methods in surgery are widely accepted now because it is proved that they work correctly. Many theories related to Astronomy, value of PI, Geometrical theorems and some other things are accepted as Science. But unless they are proved they cannot be accepted. There are many things which seem impossible to us now, but tomorrow if somebody proves it they will also be accepted.For example, Srinivasan Ramanujan's works are still under research. Still people are trying to understand what he has written as scratches on paper. Though the role of Religion or God here leads us to a different path.
           Some people are trying to reject our ancient works as Mythology. But what they need to understand is that Mythology is different. The stories or Puranas written in some epics or books are Mythology and not everything written as scriptures is Mythology. Also, people who are projecting every ancient work as Science, need to understand that there are some things which are really mythological. Please don't try to confuse people in the name of Science and Religion. Let our scientists do research on this, without much noise.