Jesus and simplicity on the other side of complexity

There is a post on 'simplicity at the other side of complexity' in the 'Simplicity @ the other side of Complexity' blog. This is the kind of simplicity that is arrived at after working through the complexities in life. This simplicity helps us to deal with the complexity by understanding and leveraging the patterns that underlie the complexity. It also follows that a relatively simple set of principles (based on the patterns mentioned above) and their interactions can generate responses complex enough to effectively deal with a wide range of complex situations.

I feel that the following response from Jesus (when he was asked the question - ' Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" ) embodies this simplicity in a most elegant and profound manner. "Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)".

This response from Jesus is much more than a neat summary of the commandments. For example, this response/principle transcends the problem of 'having to choose between code ethics and situational ethics - and all the issues associated with code ethics and situational ethics' . However, this does not always mean that it would easy to act according to this principle. Since this is a 'principle to live by' and not a 'prescription for a standard response to situations', we still have to formulate our responses to individual situations . The principle would guide our actions/If we consistently practice this principle, we would develop a state of mind that would enable us to respond appropriately to all situations. Of course, this is easier said than done - and that is why we need the grace of God!

My newfound love for history

When I was in school, I never used to like history much. My favorite subject was physics. In the last couple of years I have found myself getting increasingly attracted to history. Initially, I did not know why this was happening to me. Now I feel that I might have a clue about what is going on. There are two factors involved - my changing perception about what history is all about and a better understanding about how my mind works.

Earlier, I used to view history as a description of a series of events/happenings . Now I am beginning to see the connections between these events and also the underlying patterns (social, cultural and psychological) - the forces that cause/ shape these events*.

Again I have realized that I have a 'connection seeking and pattern recognising' mind (my top two strengths in Gallup 'Strength Finder' are 'Ideation' and 'Strategic') - whenever I get an idea (a connection between two apparently unconnected things) or recognize an underlying pattern in apparently random data, I get a jolt of energy. I feel more alive and happy!.

I also realize that my love for physics is also largely because of the fascination with 'laws of physics'. A law in physics is nothing but a statement of the patterns underlying a set of phenomena. Earlier, I was viewing the events in history only at the phenomena level - as discrete happenings. Now I view history at the idea level - in terms of connections and patterns - in terms of the underlying principles of sociology, cultural anthropology and psychology - and hence my newfound love for history. By the way, understanding of the patterns* in the past events would also help us to make predictions about the future - making the study history even more useful!

I don't feel that the discovery/addition of 'pragmatic reasons' for doing something takes away anything from the original pure/aesthetic reasons for doing that thing. While it can be argued that 'engineering is prostitution of science', no one can argue that the the tremendous benefits derived from engineering has hurt pure science, so long us study of pure science does not get neglected because of the pragmatic reasons for studying engineering. After all, pure scientists would also need computers/databases to easily access relevant information related to their field of study, funds to support their research and aeroplanes to go to conferences !

*Note: I realize that many of these 'patterns' or 'trends' are retrofitted (i.e. they emerge only in retrospect). Now, if one looks for 'patterns' one is likely to find patterns - if the data set (or database) that one is looking at is sufficiently large. Some of these patterns would be purely accidental - and hence might not mean anything. So theorizing (especially theorizing that involve establishing cause and effect relationships) and predicting on the basis of these patterns can be problematic. From a 'scientific method' point of view, it is a much better approach to 'create a hypothesis first and then look at the data set to test the hypothesis' as compared to proceeding the other way around. Of course, hypotheses don't come out of nothing - often they are triggered by observations. So what one should guard against is the tendency to look only for data that confirms the hypothesis as opposed to looking at all the available data to test the hypothesis. So I understand that some of the patterns that I see don't mean anything. But that does not reduce the pure joy that I experience when I see patterns or the importance of pattern recognition in my life - as pattern recognition is a very key part of my individuality. I think I can safely indulge in this activity in its pure form (even without the precautions mentioned above) so long as I am doing it for intrinsic satisfaction and not for deriving actionable inferences!!!

Interesting Links

The aim of this post is to highlight some articles/posts that discuss matters in line with the basic nature of this blog. 

 1. Zazen and Christianity : This is a talk given by Yamada Roshi more than 30 years ago. It provides an insightful comparison between Zen and Christianity - the focus being on meditation.

2. Christianity in Kerala : This is an article written by Abraham Tharakan on the history of Christianity in Kerala. 

 3. India outside my window blog : This blog has very good pictures and articles focusing mainly on life in South India 

 4. Simplicity @ the other side of complexity blog : While most of the posts on this blog are on HR/OD, it has some interesting takes on personal effectiveness. The most relevant posts are Making problems disappear, Everlasting or timeless? , So true that it can't be real, Personal effectiveness and wisdom , Leaders and battle scars and Of problems, paradoxes, koans and wisdom.

 5. Experiencing life blog : Interesting posts - often from a social science perspective - like this one On maturity.

Samayamam radhathil (On the chariot of time)

If one tries to find out which is the Christian song in Malayalam that the maximum number of people know, the answer is likely to be 'Samayamam radhathil njan swarga yathra cheyyunnu' (I am traveling towards haven on the chariot of time). However, one is also likely to find that people sing it very rarely and that most people are rather uncomfortable with this song.

'Samayamam radhathil' is an absolutely beautiful song that was written by the missionary Volbrecht Nagel. It is so amazing, and probably a case of divine inspiration, that a foreigner could write such a beautiful song in Malayalam. Much later, this song was used  (with minor modifications)  in the movie Aranazhikaneram and that added to the popularity of the song.

But, people are still a bit wary of  this song as, this song is sung during all funerals. Thus, people associate this song with death, a very uncomfortable subject indeed for most people!

However, if we can live with our discomfort for a moment and look at the song more carefully, we will find that this song is more about life  and life after life than it is about death.

Our journey towards haven begins much before we die. Actually, the key part (and possibly the part that we can influence the most) of the journey takes place while we are alive. So, this song is equally about our walk with God while we are very much alive. This is so beautifully expressed in lines like 'bharangal koodunnathinu onnum venda yatrayil' (my journey doesn't need anything that encumbers me) and 'raathriyil njan daivathinte kaikalil urangunnu' (in the night, I sleep peacefully in the arms of God).

Yes, the song does talk about the 'end of our journey' (death) and about the 'life after life'. To me, this is essential to enable us to look at our lives differently and to live life more confidently, without being too overwhelmed by the fear of death.

When this song talks about death, 'aake alpa neram maathram ente yaathra theeruvaan' (it is just a little while for my journey to end), it makes us more aware of the limited time we have in this world, and hence exhorts us to live our life more intentionally and fully.

Hence, the next time we come across (or, seek out!) this song, let's listen to it/read it/experience it  with an open mind, so that we would be inspired and transformed by it, enabling us to be more effective and joyful in our walk with God!