Fate, karma, causality, laws of nature, determinism—all these are different expressions of a conception that the universe follows a predictable logic. They imply that what happened arose consistently from what preceded it, and that the now is likewise determined by what came before. We consider this logic reasonable and rational, logically correct. Yet if we assume that the future is likewise determined by the now and the past, we dismiss this as superstition, irrationality, a lack of scientific rigor. We…
Yesterday I ended the year with a shared meditation. It was beautiful, calm, concentrated. And in a moment I want to go to the sea, swim a little; this seems a good start to me. I let a little of how I have lived over the past years and decades pass before my inner eye. I have lived in different places in different countries. That was exciting: different customs and practices, languages, cultures, different sensory impressions, from nature and food…
Approaching great themes with short texts—is that possible? The Mediterranean region is the birthplace of monotheism—Judaism, Christianity, Islam. India is the birthplace of Hinduism. Countless gods are conceived here, or else the absence of God, or the universality of the Divine, depending on which of the numerous strands one follows. Two principles are visible here, however: the maxim of individuality, which continues even beyond death, and the thought of being part of something much greater, within which individuality must be…
I grew up in the country where cars were invented. The roads and cars here seem safe; in any case, everything is done to make them safe. The accident is anticipated, the risk calculated, possible collisions computed, and the damage minimized through modular construction, so we are told. We want to be prepared for everything, here. It is this logic of securing, calculating risk, and prevention that makes me want to leave this country again. There is no room for…
