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Fundamental rethinking of Pragmatism

sravna

Well-known member
Pragmatism as a way of thinking and practice has been flourishing and well entrenched in out psyche now. I think it is high time we rethink that philosophy. Pragmatism as is practiced now has been taken to its logical extreme. We have begun to think only in terms of self and all our thinking and actions are guided by that. On the other extreme is idealism which has been dismissed as not realistically practicable. Though there is truth in it, i suggest we strongly introspect on the impact that hard core pragmatism has wrought upon self and society. I am saying that such pragmatism is not sustainable too as it will take us on a destructive path.

The right balance is we need to think of not only self but also others. Our systems should be changed to incorporate this and reward this thinking. Otherwise I am sure whatever our seeming achievements be they will be transient only and will be consumed by self destructive forces.
 
The world is becoming more robotic and more heartless making it more mindless. The overzealousness to be in control has led to indiscriminate planning giving no scope for humaneness when it is needed. The whole thing originated in the west and is fast catching up everywhere.

We are taking pragmatism to its ridiculous extreme. It is time we wake up and rethink.
 
The world is becoming more robotic and more heartless making it more mindless. The overzealousness to be in control has led to indiscriminate planning giving no scope for humaneness when it is needed. The whole thing originated in the west and is fast catching up everywhere.

We are taking pragmatism to its ridiculous extreme. It is time we wake up and rethink.
Add being over depedant on apps and smart phone.
No manual options available these days.
Also just going to a store to buy anything isnt as easy as just buy, pay and go home.

You would be bombarded with questions:

1) Are you a member?
2) Why dont you download our app?
3) Would you like to add on this and that to get a discount?

These days when I get asked too many questions I just tell them I am old school and prefer just buy, pay and go home.

At times I even just tell that I am not so well informed, just to get everyone to quit asking questions.

In fact I dont really mind going back to a life without much technology.
 
Yes Renuka you are right. The real problem is it has left behind those who are not tech savvy and has made life more difficult for them. It has created a new tech elite class and the rest are more or less at their mercy.
 
We have lot more become an experimenting society. Actually it is ok and a natural means to solutions. The external reality is constantly changing and the society 1000 years from now will be unrecognizable from what it is now. But we need to understand there are unchanging and timeless truths. To recognize them needs employment of mind. Experimenting definitely has its place but has its limitations too.
 
We have lot more become an experimenting society. Actually it is ok and a natural means to solutions. The external reality is constantly changing and the society 1000 years from now will be unrecognizable from what it is now. But we need to understand there are unchanging and timeless truths. To recognize them needs employment of mind. Experimenting definitely has its place but has its limitations too.
Agreed, actually its not to hard to stay in the safer zones of life.
One thing we need to learn is NOT to mess with nature especially when it comes to food.

For eg if a cow gives milk, the composition of milk is nature made..so its in balance.

Low fat milk is imbalance.
In fact low fat milk is unhealthy because there isnt much fat to prevent the lactose induced blood sugar spike.
The fat that is present naturally in milk will prevent the lactose induced blood sugar spike of milk..so its safe for everyone.

Ghee for example gets such a bad reputation but in moderate amounts it inhibits blood sugar spike when eating it with carbs.


Genetically modified food creates imbalance of the Three Doshas in the body and that leads to diseases.

Also the state of mind affects our whole general well being hence we have the brain-gut axis now.

I think we can correct ourselves not by any Nobel Prize winning research but through observing nature and especially animals.


Animals are aligned fully with nature, they do evolve but they dont stray from the law of being.

At times a free will human mind finally becomes ignorant.
Tribals so easily live in balance, something we modern humans have lost over time.

Sravna, this thread of yours is informative.
Keep it up.
 
Yes Renuka very well said. Aligning with nature is safe. That does not mean being sattvic in nature alone. One can be rajassic for example and align with nature. One has to represent the good side of the gunas. The converse holds true and then instead of being in sync with nature, nature takes control and we are subordinated. Ironically thats when we think we are controlling others.
 
Yes Renuka very well said. Aligning with nature is safe. That does not mean being sattvic in nature alone. One can be rajassic for example and align with nature. One has to represent the good side of the gunas. The converse holds true and then instead of being in sync with nature, nature takes control and we are subordinated. Ironically thats when we think we are controlling others.
Great point! We usually grade the Gunas and feel Rajas and Tamas are " lesser" than Sattva.
But we often forget Rajas is also needed when we have to speak up, defend ourselves or others etc.

Tamas is knowing when we can remain inactive as to lie low in times of danger.
 
All gunas are equally important and have their own strengths. An ideal being has a perfect balance of all the three gunas. Balance is what is totally lacking. Force has achieved preeminence and is pervasive in one way or other and there is absolutely no sense of righteousness.
 
The use of nuances and subtleties are totally gone and people also dont understand that. We are losing or have lost our fine thinking capabalities and in my opinion this is a concerning situation. We believe what we see is what is reality. So we are only focused on external reality. The whole world has moved that way. I believe it is a real and serious problem.
 
People grossly underestimate natures capabilities. The advances in science and technology have made us believe we are greater than even nature. Our modern pragmatism exactly strongly girds this false belief. Whatever be our thinking style synching with nature is important. If not time is there to teach the truth.
 
The problem is not inadequate intelligence but terrible attitude that veils the intelligence. We have to come out of it somehow. It may be very difficult and painful but there is no other way to come out of all the pressing problems that the world faces
 
In my view true intelligence is not nurtured or rewarded in our society. It is perverted thinking that is oriented towards self that is regarded as intelligent thinking. It is because in this excessive materialistic world people see it as pragmatic. One who is able to exploit and negatively control others is actually seen as intelligent. That type of thinking is the exemplar now.

The vested interests have brainwashed the rest of the world to such an extent that righteous thinking is seen as not pragmatic or even a threat.
 
Negativity which influences the rest of the society needs to be rooted out. I will do all I can to contribute towards that goal.
 
Modern pragmatism is about the external oblivious of any inner reality. It is about the words used by the speaker oblivious of their intent. The problem is people are being taken in. The jugglery projects only the surface adeptly hiding whats beneath. We really need to look beyond.
 
People grossly underestimate natures capabilities. The advances in science and technology have made us believe we are greater than even nature. Our modern pragmatism exactly strongly girds this false belief. Whatever be our thinking style synching with nature is important. If not time is there to teach the truth.
I captured this pic near my home. There is a spider that has built this beautiful web. It doesnt know what is the value for PI(3.14) or where it needs to have anchor points to hold the web. Its constructing a perfect circle with equidistant lines. They have been probably around even before man invented a wheel. This is a fine example or math+computing+construction . Sometimes I feel bad for us while I am boasting about IOT, AI etc . If we think deeply, we are not even remotely close to learning nature's secrets.
 

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I captured this pic near my home. There is a spider that has built this beautiful web. It doesnt know what is the value for PI(3.14) or where it needs to have anchor points to hold the web. Its constructing a perfect circle with equidistant lines. They have been probably around even before man invented a wheel. This is a fine example or math+computing+construction . Sometimes I feel bad for us while I am boasting about IOT, AI etc . If we think deeply, we are not even remotely close to learning nature's secrets.
Well said!
 
People talk of creativity and innovations. They are good to possess and display but even they should be used in the proper way. Nothing can have a greater negative impact than misused creativity. We need to be careful and go in accordance with nature the ultimate creativity.[
 
Pragmatism has to be grounded on reality. Unless you have concern for others also it is not grounded on reality. Pragmatism is what works and what sustains in mundane reality. Surprisingly being selfish is not being pragmatic. It has a strong underlying streak of self harm and even self destruction when taken to the extreme. I think people really have a misconception that one has to put ones interest above others or to the exclusion of others. The reality is one has to be balanced. It is high time that people appreciate this truth and not be influenced by propaganda to the contrary.
 
Pragmatism has to be grounded on reality. Unless you have concern for others also it is not grounded on reality. Pragmatism is what works and what sustains in mundane reality. Surprisingly being selfish is not being pragmatic. It has a strong underlying streak of self harm and even self destruction when taken to the extreme. I think people really have a misconception that one has to put ones interest above others or to the exclusion of others. The reality is one has to be balanced. It is high time that people appreciate this truth and not be influenced by propaganda to the contrary.
I had bought a book called God's psychology ..a book by a Sri Lankan Tamil Sufi Saint Bawa Muhaiyadeen.

He talks about having concern for others..but he clearly states that true concern for others isnt just about wanting to do something for others but its about us getting the qualities of Godliness in us by first transcending our own attachments, "craziness" , evil qualities..only then we would be able to experience that the happiness and sorrow of others is our happiness and sorrow too and then actual help can be rendered to others.

I guess till we humans reach that state, even the most selfless among us are helping others through our own ego of wanting to do good.
That isnt true selflessness yet but its a good start till total purification starts.

One more thing I notice is that we can actually experience " Instant Karma"
On daily basis when I drive I make sure I at least wait for a few cars to get into a lane..I stop for a while and signal them to cut accross..many drivers respond by waving their hands as thank you gestures.

I have noted that these days I get many cars waiting for me to cut in too..one car yesterday waited so long for me when it was raining heavily.


I feel when we consciously make an effort to do conducive deeds we generate a conducive "frequency" and that frequency attracts others who are having similar frequency to help us out the same way we help others.

When we experience this, we actually develop a healthy dose of " spiritual fear"..that is we dare not misbehave or entertain a bad thought because we already experienced good deeds attract good returns and we know bad deeds will surely attract bad returns.

Its through simple things we can experience these subtle knowledge.

Its not about spiritual powers or radical change in mindset or approach..its just Love Ever Hurt Never and gradually we learn from our own self through the process of " unlearning".
 
I agree Renuka. We need to be rid of our own negative qualities to get the authentic feeling of helping others. Conscious efforts are very important.
 

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