PREFACE TO THE 2005 UPDATE

From the valuable feedback of some readers, I am forced to write another introduction into this work.
Firstly, someone suggested that this work should be as a "blog" rather than a web site. Well that is not
what this site is about, that is, its not a personal diary of my opinions and views  Besides, the articles
have not been developed chronologically, and within the articles themselves several additions and
modifications have been made over time. This work is not in the form of a book, but just what it is :
an ongoing work on a web site. As long as I am alive, I shall continue to keep developing and
updating the site.

This site is the condensed results of my own explorations into my own inner spaces, not the personal
experiences themselves. Therefore there is no story here, only a generalised construct of my
explorations. Generally speaking, this is a construct on meaningful self- exploration and the
pitfalls or traps on the journey to self-discovery. The poetry and story sections are separate.

In response to a series of questions I had clarified that this work is an engineering construct : a sort of
home space for me, because by interest I am an engineer. This work has now become "castle" for me :
a place and space that gives me a sense of "concrete reality". I have no interest to promote it or to seek
any kind of approval or agreement from anyone about it. That's why this is a web site and not a "book"
in the conventional sense. Besides that is how this work started : with only a single page with a brief idea,
but gathered momentum and a grain of sand  which I had been toying around for a decade or so, over
only five years turned into a "castle". Major additions and modifications were made after my journeys
on the web But it started with a thought that I must somehow make a contribution : a gesture of gratitude
towards this world and all the wonderful, but especially the best people in this world for all the things I
have learned form these people all over the world. And that is why none of this work is copyrighted.
Anyone is free to use any contents of this site, even without any reference to this site. If anyone reaches
this site and finds something useful in their quest for discovering what it takes to be human, I will be
content that I have made my contribution to the web and to the world, which is the net result as well
as the central theme of this work : to give back more to this world than to take from it. And this may
well mean displeasing more people than pleasing them, and I am aware that very, very few people
will find this work pleasing.

I am quite aware that this work attacks both religion ( organised ) as well as science. Furthermore, I am
clarifying here that this work is an anti thesis to both organised religion as well as science. Art and its
resource : imagination are the only fields that are promoted, and these too are not to be accepted without
rigorous scrutiny. I am therefore content with this work's intent to be able to get across to only those
people who have a genuine desire to be self-explorers and who have a deep respect for Nature and also
an undying yearning for the unknown.

This work is not a philosophy, since philosophy is "love of wisdom". This work is not "love of
wisdom", but an application of  knowledge in its best and rightful direction. So it would be correct
to say that this work is all about forceful application of wisdom. Mere accumulation of knowledge
and wisdom are considered here as the pastime of vain people. There is no attempt to classify this
work into a narrow field of any 'ology or any 'ism. The closest to an 'ology that this work comes to
is : Epistemology of the Self, or in simpler words : the exploration and application of the knowledge
of one's own self and its relation to its parent entity - Nature. The only method that is stressed upon
repeatedly is to make maximum use of all of one's given faculties of reason, intuition, emotions,
instincts, imagination, etc, in order to attain a self that has integrity : and more importantly a state
of "active moral integrity".( The tendency to seek a passive withdrawl into a shell has been given
negative weightage in this work.)

To attain such a state of active moral integrity it has been deemed necessary for the individual to
develop their own reasoning and logic, and not to depend upon the logic that has been handed
down by society and culture. This work attempts to cut through accumulated and decadent social
and cultural norms, values and attitudes and the logic as well as the assumptions that underlie this
logic, and which has never been questioned for its validity. And it is because of this continuing blind
acceptance of the existing norms and the logic behind them, that the cultures that continue to promote
these, utterly fail to see where this is leading them.

This work therefore encourages the individual to go beyond the culturally imposed logic and develop
a logic that is independent of social and cultural norms, but that which is relevant for one's own given
nature and its predilections. The second most important consideration of this personally developed
reasoning should be that it must have a fluidity and flexibility at its core, so that this logic does not
become stagnant. One's ability to be imaginative and innovative depends greatly upon this one factor.
This is essential not only to learn from the experiences and mistakes of others but also to fulfill the
need to make adjustments and refinements with time.

Since everything in reality is inherently transitory, so should be one's reasoning.

It must have the ability to transform itself with ever changing reality, for time is the greatest innovator.

To remain stuck in a fixed logic is to be trapped in the past, and become a prey to Time, that will
undoubtedly find endless possibilities to put us through its tests. Time is merciless in its motion and
will wait for no one to catch up. The only way is to be one step ahead. And to do that requires creative
imagination as well as knowledge of human nature and capabilities. These can only be known by an
exposure to the deeds and misdeeds of various cultures, their failures as well as their accomplishments.
Both the positive as well as the negative aspects must be correctly understood, and even a single
misreading can prove fatal for oneself.

Although this work emphasises and promotes expressions of a diverse kind , its thrust is the
development of the intellect and its fusion with art, so that the resulting expressions in language are
creative and have moral integrity. But since a successful fusion rests upon the foundations of one's own
mind and how it has been formed by the requirements of survival and socialisation process, a critical
study of the functioning of one's own mind is a prerequisite. This work therefore is technically classified
by myself as an engineering construct of the the human mind. Something like : A Manual on the Reverse
engineering of the Human Mind, and if this sounds too tech then how about : How to Take Apart your
own Mind and Put it Together Again, or if this is too morbid then : The Dis-Assembly and Re-Assembly
of A Human Mind. Now you can take your pick. The deadliest of course is the first one in which an in
depth study of the Human Mind can not only lead to revelations about human nature but also shocks
and surprises, not to mention terror.
If one can withstand the full impact of  this, one can become capable of going way beyond culturally
imposed limits to take on challenges that seemed impossible before. Everything will then depend
upon one's creative abilities.

Since the main theme as well as conclusion of this work is each being's relation with the world in
which the being lives and dies, the following is a condensation of this idea, given in response to a
question :

Question : How can I give back more to this world than I have taken ?

Answer : The only way you can give back more to this world than to take from it is to have a genuine
desire to do so. If I have to put it  in a single sentence, it would be : try to bring out the best not only
in yourself, but also to bring out the best in whoever you meet or interact. The rest you have to figure
out, but there is no way a balance sheet can be made.
But it may not be a bad idea to make a list of all the possible mistakes that one has made in one's life
that have resulted in hurting some one else and try to relive the incidents and seek forgiveness from
the beings whose rights have been infringed upon. That may lessen the negative hold those incidents
have. But it will be effective only if there are follow up positive actions, not merely seeking empty
forgiveness. Ultimately each one of us is the best judge of our actions, and the future has to account
for each of our actions. And any deceptions about this become crystal clear when one leaves this world.
No one can lie to death........

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