Sunday, December 9, 2007

Planet of God's humor


I remember writing to myself "Life would be life as long as funny remains funny". Humans in general, and men in particular, take immense pride in their sense of humor. We see it as a measure of wit, intelligence and humility all at the same time. Given that it is such a pleasant quality, would it makes sense to accord God with a sense of humor better than any living being? After all, He is the Superior being, and any good quality found in such relative abundance (almost all men believe they have it, whether they are honest about it or not can't be said, but either ways, that beats honesty fair and square), would manifest itself in greater abundance in the divine being. It certainly appears to me to be the logical conclusion. The only reason God would not have a greater sense of humor, then appears to be if God was not logical. But since we human beings are logical, the same logic rebounds on itself that he must be logical too!

The other simple reason is to believe that there is no special God person anyways. I disagree with this belief on grounds that it is the smarter thing to do. Believing in Him doesn't seriously affect my present life and can only do good things for my after life. So having settled that God exists and must have a sense of humor, it goes without saying, it would larger and more lavish than anything we've experienced. How big would this sense of humor be? That depends entirely on the size of God you believe in. But is it rash to admit he would for his amusement, build a planet to get a few good laughs? I do not think so. In fact, I believe earth is that "planet of God's humor". It is a far shot, but some days it seems like the only good explanation.

We on earth have either not got the joke as yet, or maybe we are finding it hard to be at the butt end of the joke. Human beings have discovered the most glorified way of existence as could be for the survival of any species. It is apparent that the pressure of being the most intelligent specie on the planet, clearly got to us. In our bid to outdo the dolphins (recognized as the second most intelligent specie, by the way) by a fairly large amount, we chose to build this entire network of relations, rituals and society.

To enumerate all the instances at which mankind as a whole has acted funny, would be too big a task for me. I can just offer glimpses of the ludicrous behavior that I see around everyday. To start with we have the mesh of virtues and vices. We have these confusing definitions of what is right and what is not. some of them are outrightly crazy. Ambition of earning money is a "low" ambition, while working to become a successful business man is a "good" ambition. Helping others because it makes you famous (which makes you happy), is selfish while helping others because it makes you happy is not. And I don't even want to get started on the number of problems we create for ourselves. From family feuds to wars, from household waste to nuclear holocausts, we are just trying to solve problems that we created in the first place. And last but not the least, most of us believe that we have figured out what our purpose on this earth is. No, we don't even have a clue. But this one single illusion is the funniest. We believe mankind is consequential, intelligent and in control. And God up there is smiling from cheek to cheek.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Lets see how far we've come

Probably one of the peppiest songs talking about a real issue:

Hello
Hello
Hello

Waking up at the start of the end of the world,
But it's feeling just like every other morning before,
Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if it's gone,
The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour
And I started staring at the passengers who're waving goodbye
Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?

I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Well I believe it all is coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come

I think it turned ten o'clock but I don't really know
And I can't remember caring for an hour or so
Started crying and I couldn't stop myself
I started running but there's no where to run to
I sat down on the street took a look at myself
Said where you going man you know the world is headed for hell
Say your goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to

I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come

Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come

It's gone, gone, baby, it's all gone
There is no one on the corner and there's no one at home
It was cool cool, it was just all cool
Now it's over for me and it's over for you
Well it's gone, gone, baby, it's all gone
There is no one on the corner and there's no one at home
Well it was cool cool, it was just all cool
Now it's over for me and it's over for you

I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find out
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Well I, believe, it all, is coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come