Ganesha

All religious symbols and deities have deep underlying symbolism that extends beyond their obvious meanings. Start of the Ganapati utsav is is there so let us analyze the symbolism behind lord Ganesha.

Ganesh belongs to the category of Gods’ which are half human and half animals, these Gods’ are the most primitive ones and reflect the ancient men’s deep connection with nature. Hence, Ganesh the

God, with the head of an elephant. Elephant is an animal revered for its intelligence and strength. Elephants were held in awe by the ancient farming communities and occasionally a herd of wild elephants would plunder entire crops, the elephant God therefore serves as a safeguard against the forces of nature. The hybrid God also serves as a union of the conscious and unconscious mind. This merging of the conscious and unconscious is represented throughout ancient mythologies as hybrid god with some godlike and some animal properties.

Ganesha is also Ganpati - the Leader and hence represents the attributes of an ideal leader –

The Trunk: the elephant’s trunk is powerful to lift tree logs yet sensitive enough to find needle in hay, the leader must thus have the balance of power and sensitivity.

Wide Ears, pot belly: wide ears represent ability to listen to all and pot belly at the same time shows the ability to keep secrets. A leader must be a good listener but at the same time should also be able to keep secrets.

Modak and Kush: these signify the carrot and stick policy, which a leader has to use. Sometimes a leader punishes and sometimes rewards the faithful.

Ganesha also has however other symbolism, Ganesh represents the higher self which rides the mind represented by Ganesha’s rat. Mind like a rat is fickle and restless; it has to be reigned by the higher self to turn it into a vehicle for achieving our goals.

Ganesha is also depicted in eight avatars to vanquish the asuras :

As vakratunda he overcomes Matsara (jealousy)

As Ekdanta he overcomes Madasura (conceit)

As Mahodar he overcomes Mohasura (attachment)

As Gajanana he overcomes Lobhasura (greed)

As Lambodara he overcomes krodhasura (anger)

As Vikata he overcomes kamasura (lust)

As Vighnaraj he overcomes Mamasura(ego)

And finally as Dhoomravarna he overcomes Abhiman asura (pride)

These eight asuras therefore represent the eight tendencies which have to be overcome in order to realize the self.

Ganesh is also ekdanta, the one toothed one; Ganesha’s one tooth is the symbol of Non Dualism, the deep underlying unity that exists beneath all names and forms and also transcends them.

Tvamev sarv khalvidam Brahmasi,

Tvam sakshat atamsi nityam!!

Aum Gan Ganpatye namah!!

You are the light that shines in everything,

Your are the immortal soul itself,

I bow to Lord Ganesha!!

Apple vs. Samsung and the Principal of Evolutionary Convergence

Apple and Samsung are embroiled in bitter patent wars in US in what has been described in some media channels as the patent war of the century. Much of this has been centred about the design aspects of the smart phones introduced by both the companies during last couple of months. A major aspect of this lawsuit is the rectangular design with circular edges which Apple claims that Samsung has copied for its own smart phones. But what can the principal of Evolutionary Convergence tell us about design aspects, which are of such importance to this lawsuit. I would say much! What this principal from biology tells us is that two or more totally unrelated species could develop same evolutionary features if they occupy the same ecological niche in nature. One of the most widespread examples of evolutionary convergence is the development of wings, species across such wide range such as insects, birds, dinosaurs and mammals have developed the feature of wings, when they have to adapt for flight for survival. (Refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convergent_evolution for more details)

 With respect to humans this convergence appears in intellectual aspects or aspects in which humans shape their external environment. Take the example of Pyramids, why is that the pyramids found in Egypt, Peru, Mexico, China and several other parts of the world have almost similar shape ?? Was there any connection between the different civilizations that built these pyramids? Or was there some alien race guiding these diverse groups. The different civilizations that built these pyramids where such large distances apart and were separated by an even greater period of time, they could not have possibly influenced each other. Then what was the reason that all these pyramids have similar shape? The answer is simple, with the technology available at the hands of these civilizations and the height of structures which they wanted to build; only one shape could be used – shape which had a large base and which tapered as the height increased – in effect the shape of a pyramid. Thus people in different cultures and in different areas and epochs had come up with similar solutions to the problems that were posed to them.

Now coming back to the present could it be possible that two different groups of smart people (one Apple and other Samsung) would have come up with same design aspects of the Smartphone that they were trying to built. Yes, it could be very probable, at least in the physical design aspects of phone. To think of it, is it so impossible to come up with rectangular design with curved edges?? There are only few shapes available for suitable design – circle, rectangle and square. Even though circle gives the best optimized area, its symmetry makes it difficult to hold in hands as our hands are more capable of gripping fence and handle like shapes. Similar is the case with square whose symmetry makes it difficult to hold. This leaves us with the poor old rectangle as the available choice, but hey!! What about its sharp edges? Let’s file them off to give a really smooth feel, and Voila!! The design of the new smart phone emerges!! So I believe that given the same constraints it is quite possible for two different groups to come up with the same solution for a problem (even though the actual details of execution might be different). Whatever be the outcome of the Apple vs. Samsung lawsuit one thing is clear that the technological constraints, physical constraints and minimum expenditure of energy constraints will keep driving technological innovations around the world towards convergence.

The Dark Knight Saga and the Hero Myth

Watched the last part of dark knight saga – The Dark Knight Rises and couldn’t but wonder over the parallels with the Hero myth. First about the hero myth itself, the hero is a recurrent theme throughout the world’s civilizations. Everywhere we find this story told over and over again – the story about a hero who after undergoing great difficulties, trials and tribulations overcomes great evil and in effect achieves greatness. But why is this theme recurrent everywhere in the world throughout history, indeed there are evidences of the hero myth even during prehistoric times during the time of cave dwellers. The reason why hero myth is so prevalent throughout human civilization is because hero myth is the external metamorphosis of something much deeper, something that goes on inside the human psyche itself – the transformation of the human psyche. It is nothing but the simmering of human psyche itself which manifests itself in the form of an external story.

The real antagonist is the human mind as it goes through the pangs of birth and growth (the ordinary beginnings of a hero), sometimes the glorious reflections on childhood (the extraordinary events associated with the birth of hero). Next comes the dilemma of teenage and glorious visions of the future (the vision and dilemma of the hero), after this the entry in the real world during adulthood and taste of success/failure (the trials faced by the hero and his victory), finally, the achievement of wisdom at old age (the achievement of greatness by the hero). The hero myth is then nothing but the story of the development of divided and fractured human psyche into an undivided whole (Individual – the un-divided), no wonder the famous psychologist Carl Jung has call the process of maturing of the human psyche as the process of Individuation.

Coming back to the beginning, we see the hero myth retold in even the modern time and now through an ever powerful medium – Cinema. Here comes one of the greatest storytellers of this medium Christopher Nolan, the sheer genius of this man has produced some of the best cinematic experiences of our times – Memento, The Prestige and Inception. Now in the Dark Knight trilogy Mr. Nolan has told the hero myth woven around Batman (or should we say Super hero). Nolan in his own unique way of direction and storytelling has catapulted the dark knight trilogy to cult status and it has become one of the best hero myths told through the cinematic medium.

The outright differences with other superhero stories are twofold, one the relative absence of the superhuman (Batman actually does not have any superpowers at all) and second the overwhelming atmosphere of brooding and darkness – the reflections of the psyche of Bruce Wayne. Consider the following statement from Batman Begins

Bruce Wayne: They told me there was nothing out there, nothing to fear. But the night my parents were murdered I caught a glimpse of something. I've looked for it ever since. I went around the world, searched in all the shadows. And there is something out there in the darkness, something terrifying, and something that will not stop until it gets revenge... Me.

Batman Begins the first part of this trilogy depicts the emergence of hero. The hero must face his own fear; the hero must commit himself to the ideal. The mind must be ready to face its own evil and absolve itself of guilt, hence the following statement by Ducard who is later revealed as Ra's Al Ghul:

Henri Ducard: You travelled the world... Now you must journey inwards... to what you really fear... it's inside you... there is no turning back. Your parents' death was not your fault. Your training is nothing. The will is everything. If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely. Are you ready to begin?

Henri Ducard: You must become more than just a man in the mind of your opponent.

It is also here that need for symbolism is understood, it is as if mind understands its own sublime nature.
Bruce Wayne: as a man, I'm flesh and blood, I can be ignored or destroyed. But as a symbol, I can be incorruptible...I can be everlasting.
The second edition of the trilogy – The Dark Knight is about madness, madness embodied in Joker the antithesis of Batman. The psychosis of mind which erupts in madness, whereas the hero fights for order (the conscious mind) the antihero is an agent of disorder (the psychosis).
Here is Alfred talking about his experience about a bandit in Burma

Alfred Pennyworth: Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

The clash of the opposing forces of duality are exemplified by Joker -
The Joker: Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You truly are incorruptible, aren't you? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever.
The final edition of the trilogy- The Dark Knight Rises deals with the fall and the ultimate rise of the hero. Here batman is faced with an enemy that comes with a conviction and an ideal. This is the moral dilemma that faces the mind when faced with diverting ideals; the intellect itself is torn for the right choice. In this hour of crisis the mind often falsely chooses the brash and quick fix over what is rational. Consider the rhetoric of Bane; the tone is for a revolution to liberate Gotham when in fact he is leading Gotham to its destruction –

(What are you?) Bane: I am Gotham’s reckoning.

Bane: Gotham, take control... take control of your city. Behold the instrument of your liberation!

The fight is now elevated to an even higher level; the fight is for the soul of Gotham and the soul of Batman himself. The bedrock of the mind the soul itself is to be destroyed.
Bruce Wayne: Why didn't you just kill me?
Bane: Your punishment must be more severe.
Bruce Wayne: Torture?
Bane: Yes, but not of the body, of the Soul. I will build you and Gotham up with hope and then destroy you. Hope is really the key to torture. Gotham will build to a point of joy and then be wiped from the map.
Bruce Wayne: You are a madman.
Bane: When Gotham is ashes... then you have my permission to die.

When the hero falls into the deepest abyss of desperation and hopelessness, he must fall back on his own soul to find light. The hero must turn his own weakness into his greatest strength, Bruce Wayne receives wisdom – use your fear to rise!! . The only way to climb out of hellhole is without using ropes, using the strength that fear provides. The hero must Rise!!
Crowd: [chanting] Deh-Shay, Deh-Shay, Bah Sah Rah. Bah Sah Rah.
Bruce Wayne: What does that mean?
Prisoner: "Rise."

Finally after the evil is vanquished and order is restored, we are reminded that heroism is reflected not only in great acts of valour but also in simple acts of reassurance and help.

Batman: A hero can be anyone- even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulder to let him know the world hasn't ended.

Hat’s off to the wizardry of Mr. Nolan, now the long wait for his next masterpiece!!

Are some aspects of Human Thinking Non-Computational?

We have been dreaming for a long time to create a machine (read Artificial Intelligence) which will be able to encapsulate human thinking, which will be able to think in a manner we humans are able to think. But what if some aspects of human thinking is non computational, by non computational I mean that something which cannot be achieved in a series of computational steps or to put it in the language Computer Science, something for which no algorithm can be written down. Now what are such aspects which cannot be algorithmically achieved? The answer is any such thought processes which advances in leaps and bounds instead of in as series of sequential steps, to think of it any intuitional thought process which comes to your mind is non algorithmic. In many cases of problem solving scenarios we see that intuition takes precedence over thoughtful logical approach. Ask any mathematician about his problem solving approach and he will say that more often than not the starting point is some conviction or hunch before the systematic approach to a problem is taken.

The mathematician Roger Penrose in his book Shadows of the Mind has outlined the proof for non computational process of human mind. What Penrose has done is, he has used Gödel’s theorem and Turing’s theorem for logic theory to show that elements of logic as encapsulated in mathematical problem solving is non computational. Gödel’s theorem basically says that given a sufficiently complex mathematical system with a set of predefined axioms and postulates its always possible to create a mathematical statement(read problem) which is nether provable nor un-provable within the given mathematical system. Note that this process will go on ad-infinitum, for example you might expand the given system to include some postulates which will lead to either proving or un-proving the given problem, however the adding of an additional postulate will also give us the flexibility to create another problem statement which can neither be proved nor unproved within the expanded system. Turing’s theorem answers on of the longstanding problems in computer science – Can any algorithm be designed which can tell us whether another algorithm with an input can give us the result in finite number of steps or not. For example if the there is a algorithm for solving some algebraic equation will the given algorithm will ever be able to solve a given equation fed to it or not, can an algorithm predict this.(this is called the halting problem – whether an algorithm will ever halt or not). The answer to this is “No”; no such algorithm can be made.

Combining these two and with some clever use of proof by contradiction Penrose has shown that our problem solving process might be non algorithmic. The proof however covers a narrow domain of mathematical logic and not all experts agree with it. This conjecture if correct will mean that there will always be certain aspects of human thought which a machine will never be able to mimic, since no algorithm can be created for such processes.

But how does the human brain achieve such a feat?? There are no clear cut explanations for the fact. However some understanding comes from Neuroscience. It has been observed that human brain consists of a large amount of cross wiring between different sensory processing centres. For example a sharp object might not only create a visual representation in the brain but also create an auditory impression (high pitch) even though no actual auditory input was there. Think for a moment what comes to your mind when you see the image of a spike! Because of this cross wiring human mind might be able to translate a problem from one domain to another. For example a problem statement might talk about a series of numerical steps, but we might be able to visualize the problem as that concerning a geometrical figure (say staircase) and voila!! The solution to the problem turns out to be the properties of that geometrical figure. Such type of transformations to solve familiar problem are common in science. These types of transformations may be one of the causes for Non computational problem solving in human brain. Some others including Penrose suggest that the non computability arises due to some deeper mechanisms in human brain which include the effects attributed to quantum physics. This hypothesis is however not widely accepted as there is a large gap between the scale of human cells and the scale at which quantum effects have been observed so far.

In summary if non algorithmic algorithms are indeed proved to be an integral part of human mind them it would pose a serious limit on how far the current artificial intelligence programs can go in mimicking the human mind. Also it’s a serious challenge in the current understanding of the mechanisms that drive the human brain.

How do we see??

This is a simple question and one which we may fee rather insignificant, but contains some deep secrets. Why, one would say, every child knows the answer of this one. Were we not told in biology that an image of what we see falls on the retina, and that optic nerves carries the signal from that image to the visual cortex (the back portion of the brain).

So this is what pretty much we are told, but there is a catch. The image which is formed on retina is converted into electrochemical signals and carried to the visual cortex, now how it is that these electrochemical signals (ions and neurotransmitters) are is perceived as the vivid visual imagery that we actually see. And it goes even mysterious than this, even if we granted that image is somehow mapped into corresponding electrochemical signals , what is it that  actually perceives this mapping. In popular notion we somehow implicitly assume that there is some sitting inside watching the image which is not actually the case. Now how does brain perform the feat of splitting itself in the perceiver and perceived at the same time. No one knows really!!

So next time whenever you see something, think about it – How do we actually see at all??

About The Inviolate Level.

What if the world’s deepest secrets have no linear answers, what if causation doesn’t exist, what if time is an illusion. In short reality may not only be far more stranger but may be much beyond what our mind and brains can understand. We may be like a colony of ants tucked away in a small mound in a garden while fathomless rain forests may lie beyond the fence. However hard we may try, we always hit a wall beyond which we cannot proceed, a dense fog beyond which we cannot see. I call this impenetrable beyond the ordinary level the Inviolate level. This blog is about science, spirituality and everything else in ordinary life that attempts to understand the inviolate level. I have divided the blog in several parts my random thoughts, stories, book reviews, thought experiments and occasional movie reviews. All these would have one thing in common somewhere or other they will touch the Inviolate Level.